Light-emitting knob and annular backlight module thereof

Abstract

The invention provides a light-emitting knob capable of avoiding light mixing and an annular backlight module thereof. The annular backlight module comprises a plurality of light-emitting elements and a tooth-shaped annular light guide element. The tooth-shaped annular light guide element is arranged on the plurality of light-emitting elements. The tooth-shaped annular light guide element comprises an annular body and a plurality of extension parts. The plurality of extension parts are arranged on the same side of the annular body and correspond to the plurality of light-emitting elements respectively. A separation area is formed between two adjacent extension portions of the plurality of extension portions. The intensity of the illumination light emitted by the light-emitting elements is rapidly and progressively decreased through the air interval design of the separation areas, and therefore the light mixing phenomenon of the adjacent light-emitting elements is effectively prevented.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a luminous knob and an annular backlight module thereof, in particular to a luminous knob and an annular backlight module thereof for avoiding light mixing. Background Art

[0002] The traditional illuminated knob includes an operating member and a backlight module. The backlight module surrounds the operating member and has a plurality of light-emitting elements and a light guide ring arranged in a ring shape. The operating member is arranged in the central area of ​​the light guide ring, and the plurality of light-emitting elements correspond to different sections of the light guide ring. Although the plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged at intervals from each other, when only the lighting function of some of the light-emitting elements is turned on, the illumination light emitted by the light-emitting elements with the lighting function turned on will be transmitted through the light guide ring to the section of the light guide ring corresponding to the light-emitting elements with the lighting function not turned on. In other words, the light guide ring of the traditional illuminated knob is susceptible to cross-zone interference from adjacent light-emitting elements. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention provides a light-emitting knob and an annular backlight module thereof for avoiding light mixing, so as to solve the above-mentioned problem.

[0004] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention proposes an annular backlight module, which includes a plurality of light-emitting elements and a toothed annular light-guiding element, the toothed annular light-guiding element is located on the plurality of light-emitting elements, the toothed annular light-guiding element includes an annular body and a plurality of extension parts, the plurality of extension parts are arranged on the same side of the annular body, the plurality of extension parts respectively correspond to the plurality of light-emitting elements, and a separation area is formed between two adjacent extension parts among the plurality of extension parts.

[0005] As an optional technical solution, the annular body is a circular ring structure or a polygonal ring structure.

[0006] As an optional technical solution, each of the multiple extension portions has a first end edge and a second end edge relative to each other, the first end edge is connected to the annular body, the second end edge faces a corresponding light-emitting element among the multiple light-emitting elements, and the first length of the first end edge is different from the second length of the second end edge.

[0007] As an optional technical solution, each of the multiple extension portions has a first end edge and a second end edge relative to each other, the first end edge is connected to the annular body, the second end edge faces the corresponding light-emitting element among the multiple light-emitting elements, and the first length of the first end edge is the same as the second length of the second end edge.

[0008] As an optional technical solution, the separation zone has a first zone edge and a second zone edge relative to each other, the first zone edge is aligned with the outer edge of the annular body, the second zone edge is aligned with the inner edge of the annular body, and the third length of the first zone edge is the same as the fourth length of the second zone edge.

[0009] As an optional technical solution, the separation zone has a first zone edge and a second zone edge relative to each other, the first zone edge is aligned with the outer edge of the annular body, the second zone edge is aligned with the inner edge of the annular body, and the third length of the first zone edge is different from the fourth length of the second zone edge.

[0010] As an optional technical solution, each of the multiple extension parts has a first side surface and a second side surface opposite to each other, the first side surface and the second side surface respectively face the adjacent extension part, and the first side surface and the second side surface are respectively a plane.

[0011] As an optional technical solution, each of the multiple extension parts has a first side surface and a second side surface relative to each other, the first side surface and the second side surface respectively face the adjacent extension part, and the first side surface and the second side surface are respectively an arc surface.

[0012] As an optional technical solution, each of the plurality of extension portions has a bottom surface, the bottom surface faces a corresponding light emitting element among the plurality of light emitting elements, and the corresponding light emitting element corresponds to the center of the bottom surface.

[0013] In addition, the present invention also provides a light-emitting knob, which includes the annular backlight module and an operating button as described above, and the emitting sequence of the plurality of light-emitting elements corresponds to the rotation angle of the operating button relative to the annular body.

[0014] The present invention provides a light-emitting knob and an annular backlight module for preventing light mixing. The light-emitting knob can be designed such that the firing order of multiple light-emitting elements corresponds to the rotation angle of the operating knob relative to the annular body, and the toothed annular light-guiding element of the annular backlight module is configured with two adjacent extensions and separation areas on the annular body; the extensions can be a solid structure made of light-guiding material, and the separation areas are air gaps between the extensions. In this way, when the light-emitting element outputs illumination light to the corresponding extension, the intensity of the illumination light will decrease rapidly due to the air gap design of the separation area, which can effectively prevent the adjacent light-emitting elements from mixing light.

[0015] The specific implementation modes of the present invention are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a light-emitting knob according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a structural cross-sectional view of a light-emitting knob according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a toothed annular light guide element according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 Schematic diagram of other variations of the toothed annular light guide element according to the embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a top view of a toothed annular light guide element according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a partial structure of a toothed annular light guide element according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a partial structure of a toothed annular light guide element according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of a toothed annular light-guiding element according to another embodiment of the present invention. Implementation

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the present invention, the present invention is further described below in conjunction with preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. Similar components in the accompanying drawings are represented by the same reference numerals. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the content specifically described below is illustrative rather than restrictive, and should not be used to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the luminous knob 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 It is a structural cross-sectional view of the luminous knob 10 of an embodiment of the present invention. The luminous knob 10 may include an operating button 12 and an annular backlight module 14. The operating button 12 can rotate along a rotation direction D. The annular backlight module 14 can be arranged in a housing 16 of an electronic device (not drawn in the figure), and the annular backlight module 14 also includes a circuit board 18, a light-emitting element 20 and a toothed annular light-guiding element 22. A plurality of light-emitting elements 20 are distributed at different positions of the circuit board 18. The toothed annular light-guiding element 22 engages with the housing 16 and is located above the plurality of light-emitting elements 20. The operating button 12 may be arranged on the circuit board 18 and located in the toothed annular light-guiding element 22.

[0019] See also Figures 3 to 5 , Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a toothed annular light guide element 22 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another variant of the toothed annular light guide element 22 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 FIG. 2 is a top view of a toothed annular light guide element 22 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The toothed annular light guide element 22 may include an annular body 24 and an extension 26. The shape of the annular body 24 may be determined according to design requirements, for example, Figure 3 The ring structure shown may be Figure 4The actual application of the polygonal ring structure shown is not limited thereto. There may be multiple extensions 26, and the actual number thereof may correspond to the number of light-emitting elements 20. Multiple extensions 26 are distributed on the same side of the annular body 24, such as the lower side of the annular body 24, and correspond to multiple light-emitting elements 20 respectively. A separation area 28 may be formed between each two adjacent extensions 26, and the separation area 28 faces the gap between the corresponding two adjacent light-emitting elements 20. The bottom surface 40 of the extension 26 is the light incident surface of the light-guiding element 22, and the top surface 41 of the annular body 24 is the light emitting surface of the light-guiding element 22.

[0020] Therefore, the light-emitting element 20 can obtain control instructions or electronic signals such as electricity through the circuit board 18 to output illumination light. The illumination light is projected upward to enter the extension portion 26 of the toothed annular light-guiding element 22, and then passes through the annular body 24, so that the user of the electronic device can visually observe the lighting effect of the light-emitting knob 10. In an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of light-emitting elements 20 can be gradually illuminated as the operating button 12 rotates. For example, when the reference point 30 of the operating button 12 rotates from zero degrees to ninety degrees, a plurality of light-emitting elements 20 (approximately one-fourth of the total number of the plurality of light-emitting elements 20) corresponding to the reference point 30 within its moving range will output illumination light. These illumination lights can pass through the extension portion 26 and the annular body 24, so that the toothed annular light-guiding element 22 has a lighting effect in the corresponding quarter section; Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, the rotation direction D is the moving direction of the reference point 30, the length of the arrow in the rotation direction D is the moving range of the reference point 30, and the quarter section of the toothed annular light guide element 22 represents the light transmission area 13 with a checkered pattern. In the present invention, the light transmission area 13 is separated by the extension 26 to form a separation area 28, which can form clear boundaries 131 and 132 at both ends, while the light guide ring of the traditional light-emitting knob only has a blurred boundary when some light-emitting elements turn on their lighting function.

[0021] like Figure 3 As shown, each extension portion 26 may have a first end edge 261 and a second end edge 262 opposite to each other. The first end edge 261 is connected to the annular body 24, and the second end edge 262 faces the corresponding light-emitting element 20. The first length L1 of the first end edge 261 may be the same as the second length L2 of the second end edge 262; in this embodiment, the first length L1 is the dimension of the first end edge 261 of each extension portion 26 along (or approximately along) the radial direction of the toothed annular light-guiding element 22, and the second length L2 is the dimension of the second end edge 262 of each extension portion 26 along (or approximately along) the radial direction of the toothed annular light-guiding element 22. Therefore, the extension portion 26 of this embodiment can be regarded as a parallel structure, and the extension portion 26 is not limited to the aforementioned design features. Please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6FIG. 2 is a partial structural diagram of a toothed annular light guide element 22A according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 The components with the same number in the illustrated embodiment have the same structure and function, and will not be described again. Figure 6 As shown, the extension portion 26A of the toothed annular light guide element 22A may have a first end edge 261A and a second end edge 262A opposite to each other. The first end edge 261A is connected to the annular body 24, and the second end edge 262A faces the corresponding light emitting element 20. The first length L1' of the first end edge 261A is different from the second length L2' of the second end edge 262A; for example, the second length L2' is shorter than the first length L1', so that the extension portion 26A can present a cone-shaped structure.

[0022] For example Figure 3 As shown, the separation area 28 may have a first area edge 281 and a second area edge 282 opposite to each other. The first area edge 281 may be aligned with the outer edge of the annular body 24, and the second area edge 282 may be aligned with the inner edge of the annular body 24. The third length L3 of the first area edge 281 may be the same as the fourth length L4 of the second area edge 282, that is, the separation area 28 may be a parallel air spacer area; the separation area 28 may not be limited to the aforementioned design features. Please refer to Figure 7 , Figure 7 FIG. 2 is a partial structural diagram of a toothed annular light guide element 22B according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 The components with the same numbers in the illustrated embodiment have the same structure and function, and will not be described again.

[0023] like Figure 7 As shown, the separation area 28B of the toothed annular light guide element 22B may have a first area edge 281B and a second area edge 282B opposite to each other. The first area edge 281B may be aligned with the outer edge of the annular body 24, and the second area edge 282B may be aligned with the inner edge of the annular body 24. The third length L5 of the first area edge 281B may be different from the fourth length L6 of the second area edge 282B. For example, the third length L5 may be greater than the fourth length L6. That is, the separation area 28B may be a fan-shaped air spacer. Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 7 Each extension portion 26 may have a first side surface 32 and a second side surface 34 facing each other, and the first side surface 32 and the second side surface 34 respectively face the adjacent extension portion 26. The first side surface 32 and the second side surface 34 are both planar, that is, no matter the partition area 28 designed as a parallel air spacer or the partition area 28B designed as a fan-shaped air spacer, the corresponding extension portion 26 will have a planar first side surface 32 and a planar second side surface 34.

[0024] See also Figure 8 , Figure 8It is a partial structural schematic diagram of a toothed annular light-guiding element 22C according to another embodiment of the present invention. The extension portion 26 of the toothed annular light-guiding element 22C may have a first side surface 36 and a second side surface 38 opposite to each other, and the first side surface 36 and the second side surface 38 are respectively facing the adjacent extension portion 26. The first side surface 36 and the second side surface 38 may be respectively designed to be in the form of arc surfaces, so the separation area 28C of the toothed annular light-guiding element 22C may be interpreted as a pillow-shaped or gourd-shaped air spacing area. In addition, the bottom surface 40 of the extension portion 26 will face the corresponding light-emitting element 20, and the corresponding light-emitting element 20 will preferably correspond to the center of the bottom surface 40 to ensure that the illumination light of the light-emitting element 20 is evenly distributed and penetrates the extension portion 26. The corresponding relationship between the bottom surface 40 and the light-emitting element 20 is not limited to Figure 8 The illustrated implementation can also be applied to other illustrated embodiments, and will not be described again herein.

[0025] The light-emitting knob 10 can alternately turn on the lighting functions of multiple light-emitting elements 20; through the configuration design of the extension portion 26 and the partition area 28 of the toothed annular light-guiding element 22, due to the air spacing design of the partition area 28, the lighting brightness in this range decreases rapidly, so there will be no cross-region interference between adjacent light-emitting elements 20, and the light-transmitting area 13 of the toothed annular light-guiding element 22 can have a more obvious lighting boundary contrast. The light-emitting knob 10 can also turn on the lighting functions of multiple consecutive light-emitting elements 20 at the same time, and it also uses the air spacing design of the partition area 28 to quickly decrease the lighting brightness, improve the lighting boundary contrast, and make the lighting boundary of the light-transmitting area 13 of the light-emitting knob 10 clearer, so that the rotation angle and range of the light-emitting knob 10 can be clearly indicated, and there will be no cross-region interference between adjacent light-emitting elements 20.

[0026] In summary, the present invention provides a light-emitting knob and an annular backlight module thereof that avoids light mixing. The light-emitting knob can be designed such that the firing order of multiple light-emitting elements corresponds to the rotation angle of the operating knob relative to the annular body, and the toothed annular light-guiding elements of the annular backlight module are configured with two adjacent extensions and separation areas on the annular body; the extensions can be a solid structure made of light-guiding material, and the separation areas are air gaps between the extensions. In this way, when the light-emitting element outputs illumination light to the corresponding extension, the intensity of the illumination light will decrease rapidly due to the air gap design of the separation area, which can effectively prevent the adjacent light-emitting elements from mixing light.

[0027] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not limitations on the implementation methods of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in the relevant field, other different forms of changes or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is impossible to list all the implementation methods here. All obvious changes or modifications derived from the technical solution of the present invention are still within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A ring-shaped backlight module, characterized in that: The annular backlight module includes: a plurality of light emitting elements; and A toothed annular light guide element is located on the plurality of light-emitting elements, and the toothed annular light guide element comprises: Ring-shaped body; as well as A plurality of extension parts are arranged on the same side of the annular body, the plurality of extension parts respectively correspond to the plurality of light emitting elements, and a separation area is formed between two adjacent extension parts among the plurality of extension parts.

2. The annular backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The annular body is a circular ring structure or a polygonal ring structure.

3. The annular backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the plurality of extensions has a first end and a second end opposite to each other, the first end being connected to the annular body, the second end facing a corresponding light emitting element of the plurality of light emitting elements, and a first length of the first end being different from a second length of the second end.

4. The annular backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the plurality of extensions has a first end and a second end opposite to each other, the first end is connected to the annular body, the second end faces a corresponding light emitting element of the plurality of light emitting elements, and a first length of the first end is the same as a second length of the second end.

5. The annular backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The separation zone has a first zone edge and a second zone edge opposite to each other. The first zone edge is aligned with the outer edge of the annular body, the second zone edge is aligned with the inner edge of the annular body, and the third length of the first zone edge is the same as the fourth length of the second zone edge.

6. The annular backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The separation zone has a first zone edge and a second zone edge opposite to each other. The first zone edge is aligned with the outer edge of the annular body, the second zone edge is aligned with the inner edge of the annular body, and a third length of the first zone edge is different from a fourth length of the second zone edge.

7. The annular backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the plurality of extension portions has a first side surface and a second side surface opposite to each other. The first side surface and the second side surface respectively face the adjacent extension portion. The first side surface and the second side surface are respectively a plane.

8. The annular backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the plurality of extension portions has a first side surface and a second side surface opposite to each other. The first side surface and the second side surface face the adjacent extension portion respectively. The first side surface and the second side surface are respectively an arc surface.

9. The annular backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the plurality of extension portions has a bottom surface, the bottom surface faces a corresponding light emitting element of the plurality of light emitting elements, and the corresponding light emitting element corresponds to the center of the bottom surface.

10. A light-emitting knob, characterized in that: The luminous knob comprises the annular backlight module and an operating button according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and the ignition sequence of the plurality of luminous elements corresponds to the rotation angle of the operating button relative to the annular body.

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