JPS589263Y2 - Alphanumeric code display package - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a solid state circuit display package, and more particularly to an alphanumeric code light emitting display package configured in a hybrid circuit configuration including a plurality of light emitting diodes mounted on a substrate.

Packages are known that are used to display multiple alphanumeric symbols by means of a plurality of light emitting diodes mounted on a substrate.

In this type of packaging, it is customary to use a plurality of translucent plastic plugs, generally having the required shape for each segment of the alphanumeric code.

In this case, the light from the active light emitting diode passes through the plastic segment and illuminates the plastic translucent material, causing a luminescent display of the digit segment;
The translucent nature of the plastic eliminates the need for a lens system and allows the combination of all illuminated segments to form the desired code.

A fundamental drawback of such known technology packages is the inefficient characteristic that only a small amount of light from each light emitting diode is transmitted through the translucent plastic, and it is desirable to develop more efficient systems.

It is an object of the present invention to generate a plurality of alphanumeric symbols using a plurality of individual light emitting diodes, each of which when electrically activated provides a point light source corresponding to one segment of the plurality of alphanumeric symbols. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved package configured to selectively display one of the following.

The present invention has a substrate on which a plurality of light emitting diodes corresponding to the segments necessary for the shape of all the alphanumeric codes to be displayed are arranged in the horizontal direction, and two parallel surfaces facing each other. a single block-like material adjacent to the substrate, the surfaces of which are disposed close to and parallel to the substrate; and an opaque insulator covering the light emitting diode on a surface of the substrate adjacent to the single block-like material. a plurality of light tubes extending completely through the block-like material from the first surface to a second surface opposite the first surface; a composite lens covering opposing second surfaces and a non-reflective layer disposed on the second surface of the block of material, each of the light tubes corresponding to one of the light emitting diodes; The composite lens includes a number of compound lenses arranged in a row and each light tube having a reflective wall so that light emitted from the electrically active diodes passes through the corresponding light tube. , further comprising said composite lens covering at least all ends of said light tube extending to said second surface such that light from an electrically active light emitting diode passes through the corresponding light tube and composite lens. and wherein one or more of the light emitting diodes are electrically active so that all segments of the selected alphanumeric code are optically displayed on the lens.

Light tubes have been used in the past for light transmission in incandescent light bulbs, but there have been no examples of light tubes that have sufficient light transmission efficiency for the small amount of light emitted from light emitting diodes.

In the present invention, a light tube with a reflective wall is used,
Moreover, it has been found that the combination of covering the display end of the tube with a compound lens may provide a very efficient means of displaying light from small light emitting diodes.

This innovative combination of the present invention can provide a significant improvement over the prior art light emitting diode packaging using translucent plastic, and has the advantage of being easy and inexpensive to mass produce. .

The present invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a light emitting diode 11
, 12°, 13.14, 15.16 and 17 are mounted on a conductive metal plate 18 with their respective light-emitting surfaces facing upward.

These diodes are placed side by side on the substrate in segments in the shape of all the characters to be displayed.

In this embodiment, diodes 11, 12, 13, 1
4, 15, 16, and 17 are arranged corresponding to the figure-8-shaped segments (see Fig. 2).

As is known, a seven-segment figure-eight can display all the digits 0 through 9 by selective activation of two or more diodes.

Diode 13 is used to display a decimal point.

Since this segment arrangement is generally known, detailed explanation will be omitted here.

The first electrical connection to each diode is a common connection from the solder joint of each diode to a common metal plate 18 on substrate 10, as shown in FIG. 1, and the other electrical connections are from the surface of each diode. An individual connection for selectively activating each diode in the form of a line 19 from the conductive post 20 to the conductive post 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the posts 20 extend outward from the bottom of the package for plug-in connection to a common printed circuit board.

The surface of the metal plate 18 is coated around the diode with an opaque insulating layer, such as black paper, to prevent the wire 19 from shorting to the surrounding metal.

In this way, unnecessary reflection of light from this part can be prevented.

A single block of material containing a light tube according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

The block 21 can be made of plastic,
As shown in FIG. 3, it has a first bottom surface 22 that is close to the top surface of the substrate 10 and located above the light emitting diode.

Further, the block 21 is connected to a second opposing block 21 as shown in FIG.
, and the light passing through the light tube 24 is displayed on that surface.

Block 21 includes a plurality of light tubes 24 having the shape of the desired character segments.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, these segments extend from the first side 22 to the opposite second side 23 of the block 2.
1, and each of the light tubes 24 is placed in line with each of the light emitting diodes 11-17 of FIG.

The inner wall of each light tube 24 is reflective.

To achieve this reflectivity, it is desirable to coat the inner wall of each light tube with a reflective material, for example a reflective metal such as gold.

Although gold is expensive, it is one of the most reflective metals available.

With the construction of block 21 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the light emitted from each electrically activated diode passes efficiently through a corresponding light tube 24 and is directed to face 23 of block 21. displayed as a luminescent segment on top.

For optimum efficiency, it has been found advantageous to coat the surface 23 with an anti-reflective coating surrounding the exposed segment 24.

However, if the lens cap 25 shown in FIG. 3 is not provided, the amount of light displayed on the surface 23 of the block 21 will not be in the form of individual segments, but in the center of each light tube.
It can appear as a "hot spot".

Therefore, in the present invention, the synthetic lens cap 25
The second surface 23 of the block 21 is coated using the same.

This lens cap includes a number of compound lenses 26 arranged closely together.

This lens cap has the effect of diffusing the display light and completely illuminating the segment.

The compound lens 26 covers at least the end of the light tube 24 extending into the second surface 23 as shown in FIG.

In other words, the lens cap 25 must include at least an area of the compound eye lens 26 sufficient to cover the entire figure 8 and the decimal point 27 shown in the second figure.

In the illustrated embodiment, a lens cap 25 formed of translucent plastic is box-shaped with an end wall and a side wall extending generally perpendicular thereto;
A compound lens is directly molded on the inner surface of the end wall of No. 5, and as a result, the end wall constitutes a composite lens.

The plastic material can be white, red, transparent, matte,
Any other color can be used depending on the purpose of the display device.

Further, the lens cap 25 constitutes a cover whose side walls tightly fit against the side surfaces of the block-like material and the side surfaces of the substrate, as shown in FIG. 3, thereby creating a completely hermetic state.

The light emitted by the first illustrated electrically active light emitting diode 11-17 passes through a corresponding light tube 24 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 and then through a lens cap 25 as shown in FIG. By electrically activating one or more light emitting diodes, all segments of the selected alphanumeric code are passed through the lens cap 2.
5 can be optically displayed.

For example, if all of the light emitting diodes 11-17 are electrically active, the segment 24 shown in FIG.
, and the decimal point 27 is illuminated, followed by the 8 with the decimal point.
is displayed.

Also, the two lower left segments of the second illustrated segment (
If all diodes are illuminated except diodes 11 and 12 corresponding to one vertical segment and one horizontal segment, the displayed code will be a figure 9 followed by a decimal point. Become.

Furthermore, if the first illustrated diode 13 is not activated, the decimal point 27 (FIG. 2) is not displayed.

The invention naturally uses scales to display symbols representing alphabetic and numeric characters, and also uses segments 24 of any other shape and corresponding arrangement of light emitting diodes on the substrate to display designated characters. By arbitrarily selecting and activating the illuminating diodes, it can also be used to display Chinese characters, Japanese rates, and other arbitrary shaped characters, and this type of technology is known.

In addition, with the configuration of the present invention, the number of parts can be reduced as much as possible, such as by using both the lens and the cover.
The structure can be extremely simplified and costs can be reduced.

Furthermore, such a structure also has the effect of facilitating hermetic sealing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a top view of the substrate of the present invention, Figure 2 is a top view of a block containing the light tube of the present invention, Figure 3 is a sectional view showing the inside of the package of the present invention, and Figure 4 is a line of the block shown in the second figure. 4-4 is a cross-sectional view. 10......Substrate, 11, 12, 13
,14゜15.16,17...Light emitting diode, 18...Metal plate,
19・・・・・・・・・Connection line, 20・・・・・・
・・・・・・Conductive post, 21・・・・・・・・・・
...Block, 22゜23...Block face, 24...Light tube, 25
......Synthetic lens cap, 26.
・・・・・・・・・Compound lens.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A method for producing a plurality of alphanumeric codes using a plurality of independent light emitting diodes formed to provide a point light source, each of which corresponds to one segment of the plurality of alphanumeric codes, when electrically conductive. A package for selectively displaying one type of code consists of a substrate on which a plurality of light emitting diodes are arranged horizontally corresponding to the segments required for the shapes of all alphanumeric symbols to be displayed, and two parallel surfaces facing each other. a single block of material adjacent to the substrate, the first surface of which is disposed adjacent to and parallel to the substrate, and the light emitting diode on the surface of the substrate adjacent to the single block of material; an opaque insulating layer covering around the block of material; a box-shaped lens cap having an end wall and a side wall extending perpendicularly therefrom; and a non-reflective layer disposed on a second surface of the block of material; the walls of each light tube are reflective so that the light emitted by the electrically energized diode passes through the opposing light tube; The end wall of the lens cap constitutes a composite lens covering the second surface of the block-like material, the composite lens including a number of compound lenses in close contact with each other, the composite lens at least covering the second side of the light tube. covering all ends extending to the second surface such that light from the electrically energized light emitting diodes passes through the corresponding light tube and the combining lens; electrically active so that all segments of the selected alphanumeric code are optically displayed on the lens, the sidewalls of the lens cap forming a compliant cover over the sides of the block of material and the substrate; An alphanumeric code display package characterized by: