JP7656906B2 - Light guiding structure for electronic components - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a light guide structure for an electronic component that has a rotating knob.

Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, some rotating electronic components have a structure in which a part of the outer periphery of the rotating knob (180) of the rotating electronic component (1) is exposed to the outside through a rotating knob exposed part (303) provided on an exterior case (300), and the part of the rotating knob (180) exposed from the rotating knob exposed part (303) is rotated with a finger or the like to drive an internal electrical function part (sliding contact pattern 65, slider 110) and change its detection output.

Meanwhile, the light emitted from the light emitting element (70) installed on the circuit board (60) is introduced into the light guide plate (40) and guided to the light scattering section (43), where it is emitted from the front surface of the light scattering section (43) and illuminates the knob operation section (183) of the rotating knob (180) from the rear side of the knob operation section (183), brightly displaying the cut-out characters and other parts on the painted surface of the knob operation section (183).

JP 2010-9937 A

However, in some electronic components having a rotating knob, due to their structure, it is sometimes difficult to install a light guide plate on the back side of the knob operation part of the rotating knob. For example, in the case of the rotating electronic component (1) shown in Patent Document 1, the light scattering part (43) of the light guide plate (40) is installed on the back side of the knob operation part (183) of the rotating knob (180). Therefore, if liquid seeps in through the gap between the knob operation part (183) of the rotating knob (180) and the exposed part (303) of the rotating knob of the exterior case (300), the liquid that has seenp in may run directly down the light guide plate (40) and adhere to the surface of the circuit board (60) on which the light emitting element (70) is installed. If a drip-proof structure were to be installed to prevent this, the structure near the rear side of the knob operation part (183) of the rotating knob (180) would become complicated, making it difficult to install the light scattering part (43) of the light guide plate (40) in the space near the rear side of the knob operation part (183).

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a light-guiding structure for an electronic component that can easily and efficiently illuminate the outer surface of a rotating knob without directly illuminating the outer surface of the rotating knob with a light-guiding member that guides light emitted from a light-emitting element.

The present invention relates to a light guide structure for an electronic component including a rotating knob having a rotating knob body and a shaft portion protruding from the rotating knob body and supporting the rotating knob body so as to be rotatable, a light emitting element, and a light guide member that introduces light emitted by the light emitting element and guides it to the rotating knob, the rotating knob including a knob light guide portion that constitutes at least the rotating knob body and a part of the shaft portion, the knob light guide portion having a light incident surface at the tip of the shaft portion and diffusing light by reflecting light incident from the light incident surface at the center of the rotating knob body toward the outer circumferential surface of the rotating knob body. The light guiding member has a light diffusing section composed of a reflective surface, and the light guiding member is provided with a light guide section having a light exit surface at its tip that exits light emitted from the light emitting element and entered the light guiding member, and a portion of the light exit surface of the light guiding member is cut at an angle, leaving a space above the surface of the light reflecting surface that constitutes the light diffusing section, and the light emitted from the light emitting element is introduced into the light guiding member and exits from the light exit surface of the light guide section, and is introduced into the knob light guiding section from the light entrance surface of the rotating knob, and is diffused by the light diffusing section to illuminate the outer peripheral surface of the rotating knob body.
According to the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide member from the light-emitting element is guided to the outer circumferential surface of the rotary knob body through the knob light guide portion that constitutes the rotary knob, so that the outer circumferential surface of the rotary knob can be easily and efficiently illuminated. Even if the outer circumferential surface of the rotary knob cannot be directly illuminated by the light guide member due to structural reasons such as drip-proofing, it is possible to illuminate the outer circumferential surface.
In addition, according to the present invention, the surface of the light reflecting surface that constitutes the light diffusion section is left empty, that is, no other objects are allowed to come into contact with the surface of the light reflecting surface. This prevents the light reflecting surface from being damaged and maintains a good light reflection state, thereby more effectively illuminating the outer circumferential surface of the rotating knob.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the obliquely cut light exit surface (corresponding to the refraction inclined surface in the embodiment described below) enables light that would not be directed to the desired light reflecting surface within the light diffusing section if it were not cut to be directed to the desired light reflecting surface by refraction, thereby enabling more of the reflected light reflected by the light diffusing section to be directed toward the desired range on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating knob.

In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention is characterized in that an area of the light exit surface of the light guide member is smaller than an area of the light entrance surface of the rotary knob.
According to the present invention, even light emitted so as to spread beyond the outer periphery of the light exit surface of the light guide member can be made to enter the light entrance surface of the rotary knob, thereby allowing more light to be incident on the light entrance surface of the rotary knob. This effect is particularly effective when there is a gap between the light exit surface of the light guide member and the light entrance surface of the rotary knob to prevent wear caused by direct contact between the two and rotation of the rotary knob.

According to the present invention, the outer surface of the rotating knob can be easily and efficiently illuminated without directly illuminating the outer surface of the rotating knob with a light-guiding member that introduces light emitted from the light-emitting element.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic component (rotary electronic component) 1. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the rotating electronic component 1 (a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1 ). 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main unit 10 and the fourth case 300. FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main unit 10. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the main unit 10 as viewed from a different angle. FIG. 1 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main portion showing the positional relationship between a light exit surface 195 and a light entrance surface 117. FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a main portion showing a light exit surface 195. FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the rotary knob 100 as viewed from the second case 70 side, and FIG. 8B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of the light diffusion portion 110 taken along the line BB in FIG. 8A. 10 is a schematic diagram of the electronic component 1 for explaining the installation conditions of the protrusion 107. FIG.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic component (hereinafter referred to as a "rotary electronic component") 1 constructed using one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the rotating electronic component 1 (schematic cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1), FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an exploded view of the main unit 10 and the fourth case 300 constituting the rotating electronic component 1, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the main unit 10, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the main unit 10 viewed from a different angle. As shown in these figures, the rotating electronic component 1 is constructed by including a main unit 10 that houses various components, and a fourth case 300 that covers the surface of the main unit 10 that protrudes from the rotating knob (operation knob) 100. In the following description, "upper" refers to the direction in which the fourth case 300 is viewed from the main unit 10, and "lower" refers to the opposite direction. Additionally, "front" refers to the direction when looking at the rotating knob 100 side from the first case 20 described below, and "rear" refers to the direction when looking at the circuit board 160 side from the first case 20 described below.

As shown in Figures 2 to 5, the main unit 10 is configured by storing the rotating knob 100 with the slider 130 attached between the first case 20 and the second case 70, storing the terminal unit 140 on the opposite side of the first case 20, and then installing the circuit board 160, the light guide member 190, and the third case 220 on top of that. The rotating electronic component 1 is also configured by attaching the fourth case 300 to this main unit 10.

The first case 20 is a molded product made of synthetic resin made of a non-transparent material and molded into a substantially rectangular box shape. The first case 20 has a substantially cylindrical bearing section 21 at the center of the upper part, a first storage section 23 formed of a recess on the side of the bearing section 21 facing the rotating knob 100, and a second storage section 25 formed of a recess on the side facing the circuit board 160. The first storage section 23 side of the left and right sides of the first case 20 has a pair of latched sections 27 formed of rectangular through holes that latch the claws 79 of the second case 70 described below. The second storage section 25 side of the left and right sides of the first case 20 has a pair of latched sections 29 formed of rectangular through holes that latch the claws 223 of the third case 220 described below. The first case 20 has a pair of latched sections 30 formed between the latched sections 27, 29 on the left and right sides of the first case 20 that latch the latched sections 309 of the fourth case 300 described below. Below the bearing 21, a roughly rectangular terminal unit storage section 31 that opens toward the rear is formed. Also, a pair of left and right stopper locking sections 35 (only one is shown in FIG. 4) are formed that abut against a stopper section 129 of the rotating knob 100 described below to prevent it from moving upward. Also, although not shown, below the surface where the bearing 21 is provided in the first storage section 23 (at a position facing the click ball 127 described below), a click engagement section that is uneven in an arc-shaped direction (the arc direction in which the click ball 127 moves) is formed.

The second case 70 is integrally molded from a non-transparent synthetic resin, and is comprised of a substantially flat rectangular case body 71 and a disk-shaped knob support 73 that protrudes from the center of the top of the case body 71 toward the rotating knob 100. The outer periphery of the knob support 73 on the rotating knob 100 side protrudes cylindrically, and a bottomed cylindrical protrusion 75 is provided protruding from the center of the inside. A pair of locking claws 77 protrude from both left and right sides of the case body 71 toward the rotating knob 100. The locking claws 77 are flat, and have claws 79 on both outer sides near their tips (only one is shown in Figs. 4 and 5).

The rotating knob 100 is a molded product of synthetic resin, and is a two-color molded product made of translucent resin A1 and non-translucent resin A2 as shown in FIG. 2. The rotating knob 100 is composed of a rotating knob body 100A having a substantially circular plate shape and a shaft portion 111 that protrudes from the rotating knob body 100A and supports the rotating knob body 100A rotatably. The outer peripheral surface 101 of the knob body 100A is an operating portion that is rotated by a finger or the like. A circular recess 103 is provided on the surface of the rotating knob body 100A facing the second case 70, and within the recess 103, a cylindrical protruding portion 105 and a resin injection protruding portion 107 that protrudes approximately semi-cylindrical inside the protruding portion 105 are concentrically protruding. The circular recess between the two protrusions 105 and 107 is an insertion section 109 into which the protrusion 75 of the second case 70 is inserted. The bottom surface of the recess in the center of the protrusion 107 is a light diffusion section 110 consisting of a light reflecting surface having a substantially conical concave shape. A substantially cylindrical shaft section 111 protrudes from the center of the surface of the rotary knob body 100A facing the first case 20. The upper surface of the shaft section 111 is a slider mounting surface 113, and a truncated cone-shaped light guide protrusion 115 protrudes from the center of the slider mounting surface 113. The tip surface of the light guide protrusion 115 is a light incidence surface 117. A slider mounting protrusion 119 consisting of a small protrusion is formed on the slider mounting surface 113. A ring-shaped drip-proof recess 121 is formed around the shaft section 111. Additionally, a click mechanism storage section 123 consisting of a bottomed circular hole is formed on the outer periphery of the surface of the rotating knob body 100A facing the first case 20. A coil spring 125 and a click ball 127 are stored in the click mechanism storage section 123. Additionally, the outer periphery where the click mechanism storage section 123 is provided bulges outward from the outer periphery of the rotating knob 100, and the bulging portion serves as a stopper section 129.

As described above, the rotating knob 100 is formed by integrally molding two types of resin A1 and A2 (see FIG. 2). One resin A1 is a resin having translucency, and the other resin A2 is a resin having no translucency. The translucent resin A1 constitutes the knob light guide A1 in its entirety, optically connecting the shaft 111 of the rotating knob 100 and the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating knob body 100A, and is molded to optically connect the outer peripheral surface 101 and the light incidence surface 117. The light incidence surface 117 is formed in a circular flat shape. The knob light guide A1 comprises a substantially circular plate-shaped light guide main body A11 and a light guide shaft A13 that protrudes perpendicularly from the center of the light guide main body A11 to the shaft 111 side and constitutes the central portion of the shaft 111. The outer peripheral surface 101 of the light guide body A11 is formed by cutting out the desired character or symbol shape from the opaque paint applied to the surface with a laser or the like, but may be formed by various other methods. The light diffusion section 110 is formed in the center of the surface of the light guide body A11 opposite the light guide shaft section A13. The protrusions 105 and 107 also constitute part of the light guide body A11. On the other hand, the resin A2 is formed on the back side of the outer peripheral surface 101 of the light guide body A11 on the light diffusion section 110 side and on the substantially entire surface of the shaft section 111 side of the light guide body A11, and constitutes the shaft section 111 except for the light guide shaft section A13, the slider mounting surface 113, and the drip-proof recess 121.

Figure 8(a) is a perspective view of the rotary knob 100 seen from the second case 70 side, and Figure 8(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the light diffusion section 110 at cross section B-B in Figure 8(a). As shown in this figure and Figure 2, the light diffusion section 110 is composed of a conical recess. A part of the part near the outer periphery of this conical recess is provided with the protrusion 107 for resin injection, which protrudes in a roughly semi-cylindrical shape. A resin injection port connection section 107a is formed on the tip surface of the protrusion 107, to which the resin injection port of the mold was connected when molding the knob light guide section A1.

The protrusion 107 is provided to allow the molten resin injected from the resin injection port connection portion 107a to smoothly fill the entire cavity of the mold that will become the knob light guide portion A1. A more preferable shape would be cylindrical, but this would narrow the reflective surface that constitutes the light diffusion portion 110, so the protrusion 107 is provided in a roughly semi-cylindrical shape only in the portion that has the least effect on illuminating the outer peripheral surface 101 in the desired range. This point will be discussed later.

Returning to Figures 2 to 5, the slider 130 is made of an elastic metal plate and includes a base 131 and an arm 133 that protrudes in an arch shape from the outer periphery of the base 131 and is formed by folding back the base portion. A contact portion 135 is formed in the center of the arm 133, which is bent so as to protrude toward the circuit board 160. A small mounting hole 137 is also formed in the base 131.

The terminal unit 140 is constructed by insert-molding six metal plate terminals 141 into a roughly rectangular molded resin terminal case 143 and a roughly square prism-shaped terminal holding case 145. One end of each terminal 141 protrudes in a row from the rear surface of the terminal case 143, and the other end protrudes from the side of the terminal case 143 and bends downward, and after being fixed by the terminal holding case 145, the tips of the terminals protrude in a row from the bottom surface of the terminal holding case 145.

The circuit board 160 is configured by providing a circular through-hole 163 on the upper part of an insulating board 161 made of a hard, approximately rectangular plate, forming a sliding contact pattern 165 on the front side around the through-hole 163 for sliding contact with the contact part 135 of the slider 130, forming a terminal insertion hole 167 consisting of six small holes in a horizontal row near the lower side of the insulating board 161 into which one end of the terminal 141 is inserted, further mounting a light emitting element 169 on the lower part of the through-hole 163 on the rear side of the insulating board 161, and mounting various other electronic components 171 at predetermined positions. A circuit pattern (not shown) is formed on the insulating board 161, electrically connecting the sliding contact pattern 165, the light emitting element 169, the various electronic components 171, and the terminals 141 attached to the terminal insertion hole 167. Various patterns such as a switch pattern and a resistor pattern can be used as the sliding contact pattern 165.

The light guide member 190 is formed by integrally molding a transparent synthetic resin into a substantially rectangular box shape with an open front. The front side of the light guide member 190 is a concave board storage section 191, and a cylindrical light guide section 193 protrudes from the top of the bottom surface. The board storage section 191 is formed in a shape that stores and covers the entire circuit board 160. The light guide section 193 is formed to a size that allows it to be inserted into the insertion section 163 of the circuit board 160, and its tip surface is a light exit surface 195. The upper end surface of the light guide member 190 also serves as a light exit surface 197. In addition, a light reflecting surface 199 that reflects light in the direction of the light exit surface 195 and a light reflecting surface 201 that reflects light in the direction of the light exit surface 197 are formed on the rear surface side of the light guide member 190.

Figure 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the light exit surface 195. As shown in the figure, the light exit surface 195 is composed of a main exit surface 195a and a refraction inclined surface 195b. The main exit surface 195a is composed of a substantially semicircular plane (a plane perpendicular to the central axis of rotation of the rotating knob 100). The refraction inclined surface 195b is composed of a plane that inclines from the linear boundary line 195c with the main exit surface 195a in a direction away from the light entrance surface 117 of the opposing rotating knob 100.

The outer diameter of the light exit surface 195 is smaller than the outer diameter of the light entrance surface 117. In other words, the area of the light exit surface 195 is smaller than the area of the light entrance surface 117. When the electronic component 1 is assembled as described below, the light exit surface 195 and the light entrance surface 117 face each other, but the center of the light exit surface 195 and the center of the light entrance surface 117 are aligned so that the outer periphery of the light exit surface 195 is located closer to the center (inside) than the outer periphery of the light entrance surface 117.

Returning to Figures 2 to 5, the third case 220 is made by molding opaque synthetic resin into a generally flat rectangular shape, and is formed into an outer shape that generally covers the rear surface of the first case 20. A pair of locking claws 221 protrude from both the left and right sides of the third case 220 toward the first case. The locking claws 221 are flat, and have claw portions 223 on both outer sides near their tips.

2 and 3, the fourth case 300 is a molded product of synthetic resin and is molded into a substantially rectangular box shape with an open bottom surface, thereby forming a case body storage section 301 that covers and stores the upper part of the main unit 10 on the bottom surface of the fourth case 300. An opening 305 that exposes a part of the outer circumferential surface 101 of the rotating knob 100 is formed at a position facing the rotating knob 100 on the top surface (decorative surface) 303 of the fourth case 300, and an illumination section 307 is formed at a position facing the light emission surface 197 of the light guide member 190. The illumination section 307 is formed by cutting out the opaque paint applied to the surface of the transparent molded resin that constitutes the fourth case 300 into the shape of the desired characters, symbols, etc. using a laser or the like, but may be formed by various other methods. Additionally, on both the left and right side surfaces of the fourth case 300, there are formed latching portions 309 each consisting of a rectangular through hole that latches with the latching portion 30 of the first case 20.

Next, to assemble the rotary electronic component 1, first assemble the main unit 10. That is, in advance, the base 131 of the slider 130 is placed on the slider mounting surface 113 of the rotary knob 100, and the slider mounting protrusion 119 of the slider mounting surface 113 is inserted into the mounting hole 137 of the slider 130, and the tip is attached by thermal caulking (or by press-fitting only). In addition, the drip-proof recess 121 of the rotary knob 100 is filled with drip-proof grease G. Meanwhile, the tips of the terminals 141 protruding from the rear of the terminal unit 140 are inserted into the terminal insertion holes 167 of the circuit board 160, and the opposite side is fixed to a circuit pattern (not shown) on the circuit board by solder h (see FIG. 2).

Then, the rotating knob 100, to which the slider 130 is attached and the coil spring 125 and the click ball 127 are stored in the click mechanism storage section 123, is stored in the first storage section 23 of the first case 20, and the shaft section 111 of the rotating knob 100 is rotatably inserted into the bearing section 21 of the first case 20 and supported. At this time, the bearing section 21 of the first case 20 is inserted into the drip-proof recess 121 filled with grease G of the rotating knob 100, thereby forming a drip-proof processing section. Next, the second case 70 is attached so as to cover the side surface on the front side of the rotating knob 100, and the claw section 79 of the locking claw 77 is locked to the locked section 27 of the first case 20, thereby attaching the second case 70 to the first case 20 with the rotating knob 100 sandwiched between them. At this time, the knob support part 73 of the second case 70 covers the front side of the rotating knob 100, and the protrusion 75 is inserted into the insertion part 109 of the rotating knob 100.

Next, the circuit board 160 with the terminal unit 140 attached and the light guide member 190 are stored in the second storage section 25 of the first case 20, and then the third case 220 is placed over them. Then, each of the claws 223 of the third case 220 is engaged with each of the engaged sections 29 of the first case 20, completing the main unit 10 as shown in FIG. 3.

At this time, an opening H1 is formed on the upper surface between the first case 20 and the second case 70, and an opening H2 (see FIG. 2) is formed on the upper surface between the first case 20 and the third case 220. In the opening H1, a part of the outer circumferential surface 101 of the rotating knob 100 is exposed so as to protrude outward (upward). In the opening H2, the light emission surface 197 of the light guide member 190 is exposed so as to protrude outward (upward). As shown in FIG. 2, the contact portion 135 of the slider 130 abuts against the sliding pattern 165 of the circuit board 160. At this time, the terminal unit 140 is stored in the terminal unit storage portion 31. At this time, the outer periphery of the light guide member 190 abuts against the surface of the first case 20 facing the light guide member 190 side, covering the circuit board 160 and preventing the circuit board 160 from being drip-proof. The light guide portion 193 of the light guide member 190 is inserted into the insertion portion 163 of the circuit board 160, and the light exit surface 195 at the tip faces the light entrance surface 117 of the rotating knob 100.

Figure 6 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main part showing the positional relationship between the light exit surface 195 of the light guide member 190 and the light entrance surface 117 of the rotating knob 100. As shown in the figure, the light exit surface 195 of the light guide member 190 is close to the light entrance surface 117 of the rotating knob 100 and faces it with a thin gap a1 between them. As shown in Figure 2, the main exit surface 195a of the light exit surface 195 is located on the upper side of the electronic component 1, i.e., on the opening 305 side of the fourth case 300, and the refraction inclined surface 195b is located on the opposite side (the lower side of the electronic component 1).

Next, the fourth case 300 is attached so as to cover the main unit 10. That is, the upper part of the main unit 10 is stored in the case body storage section 301 of the fourth case 300, and at that time, each locking portion 30 of the main unit 10 is locked to each locked portion 309 of the fourth case 300, thereby completing the assembly of the rotating electronic component 1. Note that the above assembly procedure is one example, and it goes without saying that various other different assembly procedures may be used for assembly.

At this time, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, a portion of the outer circumferential surface 101 of the rotating knob 100 is exposed from the opening 305. In addition, the light exit surface 197 of the light guide member 190 is disposed in a position facing the lower surface (rear surface) of the illumination portion 307 of the fourth case 300.

In the rotary electronic component 1 assembled as described above, when the rotary knob 100 is rotated around the rotation axis K1, the contact portion 135 of the slider 130 slides on the sliding pattern 165 of the circuit board 160, thereby changing the detection output between the terminals 141. When the rotary knob 100 is rotated, its stopper portion 129 (see FIG. 5) comes into contact with a pair of left and right stopper locking portions 35 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 4) provided in the first storage portion 23 of the first case 20, so that the knob does not rotate beyond a predetermined angle. In other words, the rotary knob 100 moves in an arc.

When the light emitting element 169 emits light, the light is introduced into the light guide member 190 as shown by dashed lines X1, X2, and X3 in FIG. 2. A portion of the light introduced into the light guide member 190, light X1, is reflected by the light reflecting surface 201 and the like toward the light exit surface 197, and is emitted from that surface, brightly illuminating the illumination portion 307 of the fourth case 300 from its back side.

On the other hand, a portion of the light X2 introduced from the light emitting element 169 into the light guide member 190 is reflected by the light reflecting surface 199, etc., toward the light exit surface 195, emitted from the main exit surface 195a, and introduced into the knob light guide portion A1 from the light entrance surface 117 of the rotating knob 100. The light introduced into the knob light guide portion A1 from the main exit surface 195a travels inside the light guide shaft portion A13, and is reflected mainly upward (mainly toward the opening 305) at the light diffusion portion 110, travels upward inside the light guide main body portion A11, and is mainly guided to the portion of the outer peripheral surface 101 exposed to the opening 305, brightly illuminating the outer peripheral surface 101 exposed in this opening 305. At this time, there is space above the surface of the light reflecting surface that constitutes the light diffusion section 110, i.e., no other objects are in contact with the light reflecting surface, so the light reflectance is improved, and the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating knob 100 can be illuminated more effectively (the same applies to the light refracted by the refraction inclined surface 195b described below).

In addition, a portion of the light X3 introduced from the light emitting element 169 into the light guide member 190 is reflected by the light reflecting surface 199, etc., toward the light exit surface 195, emitted from the refraction inclined surface 195b, and introduced into the knob light guide portion A1 from the light entrance surface 117 of the rotating knob 100. When the light is emitted from the refraction inclined surface 195b, refraction occurs, and the light X3 is guided upward, that is, to the reflecting surface facing the opening 305 side in the light diffusion portion 110. Then, by being reflected mainly upward (mainly toward the opening 305) in the light diffusion portion 110, the light X3 travels upward in the light guide main body portion A11 and is mainly guided to the portion exposed to the opening 305 in the outer peripheral surface 101, brightly illuminating the outer peripheral surface 101 exposed in this opening 305. In this way, by providing the refraction inclined surface 195b on the light exit surface 195, the light that would otherwise travel in the direction of the lower surface of the light diffusion section 110 if the light exit surface 195 were only the main exit surface 195a can be directed in the direction of the upper surface, and the reflected light can be more efficiently collected and illuminated on the portion of the outer peripheral surface 101 that is exposed to the opening 305.

In addition, in this electronic component 1, the outer diameter of the light exit surface 195 is smaller than the outer diameter of the light entrance surface 117, so that the light emitted from the light exit surface 195 of the light guide member 190 so as to spread out beyond its periphery can be collected and made incident on the light entrance surface 117, thereby more efficiently illuminating the outer periphery 101 of the rotating knob 100. This effect is particularly effective when there is a gap a1 between the light exit surface 195 of the light guide member 190 and the light entrance surface 117 of the rotating knob 100 to prevent wear caused by direct contact between the two and the rotation of the rotating knob 100.

The gap a1 is provided for the following reason. That is, when the light exit surface 195 of the light guide member 190 and the light entrance surface 117 of the rotating knob 100 are in contact with each other, the frictional force caused by the contact makes the rotating force of the rotating knob 100 heavier. Furthermore, as the rotating knob 100 continues to rotate, the light exit surface 195 and the light entrance surface 117 are worn down, and a gap gradually forms between the light exit surface 195 and the light entrance surface 117, causing the rotating force of the rotating knob 100 to become lighter. That is, the rotating force of the rotating knob 100 becomes unstable. For this reason, a thin gap a1 is provided in advance between the light exit surface 195 and the light entrance surface 117 to stabilize the rotating force of the rotating knob 100.

In addition, in the knob light guide section A1 of the rotating knob 100, the protrusion 107 is made semi-cylindrical for the following reason. That is, since the protrusion 107 is a part that connects the resin injection port, in order to uniformly and smoothly fill the approximately disk-shaped light guide main body section A11 and the light guide shaft section A13 that protrudes from the center of the light guide main body section A11 with resin, the resin injection port is most preferably located at the center position of the light diffusion section 110, that is, the center position of the conical (cone-shaped) recess that constitutes the light diffusion section 110. However, since the center position becomes the reflective surface of the light diffusion section 110, it is not possible to connect the resin injection port to the center position. For this reason, the protrusion 107 that connects the resin injection port is installed at the position around the light diffusion section 110 that is closest to the center position. However, when the protrusion 107 is provided, the base portion is no longer a conical reflective surface, so the surface area of the conical reflective surface is narrowed accordingly, and the amount of reflected light toward the outer peripheral surface 101 is reduced. Therefore, the protrusions 107 are provided only on the outer peripheral surface 101 where they have little effect on the amount of reflected light that travels toward the opening 305.

Figure 9 is a diagram for explaining the installation conditions of the protrusion 107, and is a schematic diagram of the electronic component 1 as viewed from the left side of Figure 2. As shown in the figure, assuming that the rotating knob 100 rotates within the range of angle α1, the ends 107a and 107b of the protrusion 107 are positioned so that the protrusion 107 is not positioned within the reflective surface of the outer peripheral surface 101 that reflects light toward the inside of the opening 305, even when the rotating knob 100 is rotated to the farthest right or left. As a result, the amount of light reflected by the light diffusion section 110 toward the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating knob 100 exposed within the opening 305 is not reduced by the protrusion 107.

For example, in the case of the present embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotary knob 100 is painted with cut-out characters or the like, and light is emitted outward only from the cut-out characters or the like. Since it is sufficient that the reflected light is irradiated to all the cut-out characters or cut-out patterns, the range of the protrusions 107 may be formed so that the amount of reflected light is not reduced by the protrusions 107 even to the cut-out characters or cut-out patterns located on both outermost sides. In this case, it is not necessary to consider that the entire outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotary knob 100 exposed in the opening 305 is irradiated with reflected light that is not reduced by the protrusions 107. In other words, it is desirable that the range of the protrusions 107 is set to a range in which the amount of reflected light by the light diffusion section 110 to the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotary knob 100 in the desired range is not reduced by the protrusions 107.

As described above, the rotary electronic component 1 comprises a rotary knob 100 having a rotary knob body 100A and a shaft portion 111 that protrudes from the rotary knob body 100A and supports the rotary knob body 100A so as to be freely rotatable, a light-emitting element 169, and a light-guiding member 190 that introduces light emitted by the light-emitting element 169 and guides it to the rotary knob 100. The rotary knob 100 comprises a knob light-guiding portion A1 that constitutes at least the rotary knob body 100A and a part of the shaft portion 111. The knob light-guiding portion A1 has a light incidence surface 117 at the tip of the shaft portion 111, and guides light incident from the light incidence surface 117 to the center of the rotary knob body 100A through the outer peripheral surface 1 The light guiding member 190 has a light diffusion section 110 composed of a light reflecting surface that diffuses light by reflecting it in the direction of 01, and the light guiding member 190 has a light output section 193 with a light output surface 195 at its tip that outputs light that is emitted from the light emitting element 169 and enters the light guiding member 190. The surface of the light reflection surface that constitutes the light diffusion section 110 is made into a space, and the light emitted from the light emitting element 169 is introduced into the light guiding member 190 and output from the light output surface 195 of the light output section 193, and introduced into the knob light guiding section A1 from the light input surface 117 of the rotating knob 100, and diffused by the light diffusion section 110 to illuminate the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating knob body 100A.

In this way, the light introduced from the light emitting element 169 into the light guide member 190 is guided to the outer circumferential surface 101 of the rotary knob body 100A through the knob light guide section A1 constituting the rotary knob 100, so that the outer circumferential surface 101 of the rotary knob 100 can be easily and efficiently illuminated. In addition, even if the outer circumferential surface 101 of the rotary knob 100 cannot be directly illuminated by the light guide member 190 due to the structure, such as drip-proofing, it is possible to illuminate the outer circumferential surface 101. In addition, since the surface of the light diffusion section (light reflecting surface) 110 is made a space, that is, since the light reflecting surface is configured so that other objects do not come into contact with the surface, the light reflecting surface is not damaged and a good light reflecting state can be maintained, and thus the outer circumferential surface 101 of the rotary knob 100 can be illuminated more effectively.

In addition, the area of the light exit surface 195 of the light guide member 190 is configured to be smaller than the area of the light entrance surface 117 of the rotating knob 100, so that light that is emitted so as to spread beyond the outer periphery of the light exit surface 195 of the light guide member 190 can also be made to enter the light entrance surface 117, thereby more effectively illuminating the outer periphery surface 101 of the rotating knob 100.

In addition, a portion of the light exit surface 195 of the light-guiding member 190 is cut at an angle, so that the light exit surface (refracting inclined surface 195b) cut at an angle can refract light that would not be guided to the desired light reflecting surface in the light diffusion section 110 if it were not cut, and can direct more of the reflected light reflected by the light diffusion section 110 in the desired direction (in this embodiment, the direction toward the inside of the opening 305 in the outer peripheral surface 101).

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, specification, and drawings. Any shape, structure, or material not directly described in the specification and drawings is within the scope of the technical ideas of the present invention as long as it achieves the action and effect of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, a gap is formed between the light exit surface of the light guide member and the light entrance surface of the knob light guide portion to prevent contact, but in some cases, the two may be abutted. In addition, the main exit surface and the refraction inclined surface of the light exit surface of the light guide member are both flat, but they may have a surface shape other than a flat surface. Similarly, the light entrance surface of the knob light guide portion may also have a surface shape other than a flat surface. In the above embodiment, the rotation angle of the rotating knob is restricted by a stopper mechanism, but it may be configured to be rotatable 360 degrees. In the above embodiment, the opening of the fourth case is installed so as to face directly upward, but it may be installed so as to face another direction (for example, diagonally upward, horizontally, diagonally downward, etc.). Needless to say, various modifications are possible to the installation position of the light emitting element on the circuit board. In the above embodiment, the light diffusion section is formed in a cone shape, but it may be formed in various other shapes, such as a hemisphere or a polygonal pyramid shape. In the above embodiment, the area of the light exit surface of the light guide member is smaller than the area of the light entrance surface of the rotating knob, but in some cases it may be the same area or larger.

The above description and the embodiments shown in each figure can be combined as long as there is no contradiction in the purpose and configuration. The above description and the descriptions in each figure can each be an independent embodiment, even if only in part, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to a single embodiment that combines the above description and each figure.

1. Rotating electronic components (electronic components)
20. Case 1 (Case)
70 Second Case (Case)
100 Rotary knob 100A Rotary knob body 101 Outer circumferential surface 110 Light diffusion portion (light reflecting surface)
111 Shaft portion 117 Light incidence surface 130 Slider (detection means)
160 Circuit board 165 Sliding contact pattern (detection means)
169 Light emitting element 190 Light guiding member 193 Light guiding portion 195 Light emitting surface 195a Main emitting surface 195b Refraction inclined surface 220 Third case (case)
300 4th Case (Case)
305 Opening A1 Light guide for knob

Claims (2)

a rotating knob having a rotating knob body and a shaft portion protruding from the rotating knob body and supporting the rotating knob body so as to be freely rotatable;
A light-emitting element;
a light guiding member that guides the light emitted by the light emitting element to the rotary knob;
In a light guiding structure of an electronic component,
The rotary knob includes a knob light guide portion that constitutes at least the rotary knob body and a part of a shaft portion,
the knob light guide portion has a light incident surface at the tip of the shaft portion, and a light diffusion portion at the center of the rotary knob body, the light being diffused by reflecting the light incident from the light incident surface toward the outer peripheral surface of the rotary knob body;
the light guide member is provided with a light guide portion having a light exit surface at a tip thereof for emitting light emitted from the light emitting element and entering the light guide member, and a part of the light exit surface of the light guide member is cut obliquely;
A space is defined on the surface of the light reflecting surface constituting the light diffusion unit,
A light guiding structure for an electronic component, characterized in that light emitted from the light-emitting element is introduced into the light-guiding member, exits from the light exit surface of the light guide portion, and is introduced into the knob light guiding portion from the light entrance surface of the rotating knob, and is diffused by the light diffusion portion to illuminate the outer peripheral surface of the rotating knob body. The light guiding structure of an electronic component according to claim 1 ,
13. A light guiding structure for an electronic component, wherein an area of a light exit surface of said light guiding member is smaller than an area of a light entrance surface of said rotating knob.