Indicator lamp

Abstract

To provide an indicator lamp that is strong against force from a lateral direction, and in which light from an LED is sufficiently diffused and transmitted to the outside from a whole light transmission part of an outer lens.SOLUTION: In an indicator lamp 1, the height of a peripheral wall 21 of a housing 2 is set so as to correspond to the height of a peripheral wall 32 of an outer lens 3, an inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 32 of the outer lens 3 is almost wholly supported by an outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 21 of the housing 2, a board 6 is provided on a bottom plate 22 of the housing 2 on the side opposite to the outer lens 3, an LED 5 is arranged on the side of a front surface of the board 6, an inner lens 4 is provided so as to apply light of the LED 5 toward a light transmission part 31 of the outer lens 3, and an insulation plate 7 is provided on the side of a back surface of the board 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an indicator light. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional indicator lights are required to be thin, so a lamp chamber is formed by fixing the lower end surface of the periphery of an outer lens to the upper peripheral surface of a flat housing.This lamp chamber generally contains a substrate fixed to the housing, a light source such as an LED mounted on the substrate, and an inner lens that irradiates light from the light source toward the outer lens (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-113295 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in conventional indicator lights, the housing and outer lens are fixed at multiple points by small screws that are screwed into the lower end surface of the outer lens's periphery from the back (bottom) side of the housing, which means that the fixing force is weak and, particularly when force is applied from the side, the screwed parts are damaged, causing the outer lens to separate from the housing. Furthermore, in order to ensure the overall thinness of the indicator light, the distance between the light source and inner lens and the outer lens is narrow, so the light from the light source is irradiated onto the outer lens without being sufficiently diffused, and so light only passes through part of the outer lens, usually the central part facing the light source, which means that only the central part of the indicator light is visible.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and aims to provide an indicator light that is resistant to lateral forces, and that allows light from the light source to be sufficiently diffused and incident on the outer lens, and then transmitted to the outside through the entire light-transmitting portion of the outer lens, thereby improving visibility. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, in one aspect of the present invention, an indicator light comprises a housing having a peripheral wall and a bottom plate, an outer lens having a peripheral wall around the periphery of a light-transmitting portion, an inner lens, an LED as a light source, a substrate, and an insulating plate, wherein the height of the peripheral wall of the housing is set to correspond to the height of the peripheral wall of the outer lens, a support portion is formed on the outside of the peripheral wall of the housing, and the peripheral wall of the outer lens is supported by the support portion, the substrate is provided on the opposite side of the outer lens on the bottom plate of the housing, the LED is arranged on the front (top) side of the substrate, and the inner lens is provided so as to irradiate light from the LED toward the light-transmitting portion of the outer lens, and the insulating plate is provided on the back (bottom) side of the substrate.

[0007] According to this aspect, the height of the peripheral wall of the housing is set to correspond to the height of the peripheral wall of the outer lens, and support portions are formed outside the peripheral wall of the housing and support the peripheral wall of the outer lens on the support portions. Therefore, by supporting the peripheral wall of the outer lens in a planar manner with the peripheral wall of the housing, strength against lateral forces is increased, and the supported state is reliably maintained even when subjected to lateral forces while maintaining the thinness required for an indicator light. Furthermore, the substrate is provided on the bottom plate of the casing opposite the outer lens, and the LED is disposed on the surface (top) side of the substrate. The inner lens is provided so that light from the LED is irradiated toward the light-transmitting portion of the outer lens. Therefore, the distance between the LED and the inner lens and the outer lens can be increased by the amount corresponding to the placement of the substrate on the opposite side of the housing from the outer lens. Therefore, the light emitted from the LED is sufficiently diffused by the inner lens, irradiates the outer lens, and transmits to the outside through the entire light-transmitting portion of the outer lens.

[0008] In another aspect, the peripheral edge of the bottom plate is connected to the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the housing, so that the bottom plate forms an inclined surface that descends from the peripheral edge of the bottom plate toward the center.

[0009] According to this aspect, the inclined surface of the bottom plate is positioned opposite the light-transmitting portion of the outer lens and functions as a reflector, so that the light from the LED is more fully diffused and irradiated onto the entire light-transmitting portion of the outer lens, and is transmitted evenly to the outside.

[0010] In another embodiment, the support portion of the housing has an outer peripheral wall that rises to correspond to the outer surface of the lower end of the peripheral wall of the outer lens.

[0011] According to this aspect, the outer lens is supported by being sandwiched between the peripheral wall and the outer circumferential wall of the support portion of the housing, so that the outer lens is more reliably supported by the housing. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, an indicator light can be obtained that is thin, has high strength against lateral forces, and has improved visibility by irradiating and transmitting sufficiently diffused light to the light-transmitting portion of the outer lens. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a central cross-sectional view showing an indicator light according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the invention.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the indicator light 1 includes a housing 2, an outer lens 3, an inner lens 4, an LED 5, a substrate 6, and an insulating plate 7.

[0016] The housing 2 is made of a non-translucent resin and has a peripheral wall 21 and a bottom plate 22 located inside the peripheral wall 21. The peripheral edge of the bottom plate 22 is integrally connected to the upper edge of the peripheral wall 21, and the bottom plate 22 forms an inclined surface 22a that slopes downward from the peripheral edge toward the center. The central portion of the bottom plate 22 is flat, and an inner lens attachment hole 22b is provided at a predetermined position in the central portion. On the outside of the peripheral wall 21, a horizontal portion 21a is integrally formed with the peripheral wall 21, and an outer peripheral wall 21b is formed by raising the horizontal portion 21a on the side opposite the peripheral wall 21. The height of the outer peripheral wall 21b corresponds to the lower end of the peripheral wall 32 of the outer lens 3, which will be described later. The peripheral wall 21, the horizontal portion 21a, and the outer peripheral wall 21b form a support portion.

[0017] The outer lens 3 is made of translucent resin and has a peripheral wall 32 around a light-transmitting portion 31, the height of which corresponds to the height of the peripheral wall 21 of the housing 2. The peripheral wall 32 of the outer lens 3 is supported by a support portion of the housing 2, more specifically, the outer surface of the peripheral wall 21, the upper surface of the horizontal portion 21a, and the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall 21b, and is fixed to the support portion by an appropriate means such as welding, adhesive bonding, or fastening with screws from the underside of the horizontal portion 21a. The space surrounded by the light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3 and the bottom plate 22 of the housing 2 forms a lamp chamber.

[0018] A non-transparent resin substrate 6 is provided on the bottom plate 22 of the housing 2 on the side opposite the outer lens 3. An LED 5 serving as a light source is disposed on the front (upper) surface of the substrate 6 in a position corresponding to the inner lens mounting hole 22b, and the inner lens 4 is fitted and fixed to the inner lens mounting hole 22b so that light from the LED 5 is irradiated toward the light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3. Although not shown, power is supplied to the LED 5 from outside the indicator light 1 via a circuit on the substrate 6.

[0019] Furthermore, an insulating plate 7 made of an insulating resin sheet is provided on the back (lower) side of the substrate 6 so as to be positioned within the housing 2. Forming the insulating plate 7 using a resin sheet to be thin has the advantage that a wide gap can be maintained between the outer lens 3 and the inner lens 4 even when the insulating plate 7 is placed within the housing 2. Furthermore, using the sheet-like insulating plate 7 and placing it within the housing 2 has the advantage that the overall thinness of the indicator light 1 can be maintained without increasing the thickness formed by the housing 2 and the outer lens 3. The insulating plate 7 and the substrate 6 are fixed to the housing 2 with screws at a position in the center that does not correspond to the inner lens mounting hole 22b.

[0020] In this embodiment, the height of the peripheral wall 21 of the housing 2 is set to correspond to the height of the peripheral wall 32 of the outer lens 3, and the peripheral wall 32 of the outer lens 3 is supported outside the peripheral wall 21 of the housing 2 by the outer surface of the peripheral wall 21, the upper surface of the horizontal portion 21a, and the inner surface of the peripheral wall 21b. Therefore, the peripheral wall 32 of the outer lens 3 is supported in a planar manner so as to be sandwiched between the outer surface of the peripheral wall 21 of the housing 2 and the inner surface of the peripheral wall 21b, thereby increasing strength against lateral forces and reliably maintaining the supported state even when lateral forces are applied. In particular, the outer surface of the peripheral wall 21 supports the inner surface of the peripheral wall 32 over almost the entire surface, so that lateral forces can be reliably applied.

[0021] Furthermore, by providing a substrate 6 on the side of the bottom plate 22 of the housing 2 opposite the outer lens 3, arranging an LED 5 on the surface (upper surface) of the substrate 6, and providing an inner lens 4 so that light from the LED 5 is directed toward the light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3, it is possible to increase the distance between the substrate 6 and the light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3, i.e., the distance between the LED 5 and the inner lens 4 and the light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3. As a result, the light emitted from the LED 5 is sufficiently diffused by the inner lens 4 and directed toward the light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3, and is transmitted to the outside from the entire light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3, thereby improving the visibility of the indicator light 1.

[0022] Furthermore, the bottom plate 22 of the housing 2 is inclined downward from the periphery toward the center, with the inclined surface 22a facing the light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3, so that the inclined surface 22a functions as a reflector, and when the light emitted from the LED 5 is sufficiently diffused by the inner lens 4 and irradiated onto the light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3, the light of the LED 5 is diffused and irradiated to every corner of the light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3. As a result, the light of the LED 5 passes through the entire light-transmitting portion 31 of the outer lens 3 and is radiated to the outside, further improving the visibility of the indicator light 1.

[0023] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, although the inclined surface 22a of the bottom plate 22 is illustrated as being linear, it may be curved and bulge toward the substrate 6. Furthermore, when integrally connecting the peripheral edge of the bottom plate 22 and the upper edge of the peripheral wall 21, the connecting portion may be formed into a rounded shape. Furthermore, the peripheral wall 21b of the peripheral wall 21 of the housing 2 does not necessarily have to be provided. If the peripheral wall 21b is not provided, the peripheral wall 21 and the horizontal portion 21b form a support portion, and the outer surface of the peripheral wall 21 and the upper surface of the horizontal portion 21a support the peripheral wall 32 of the outer lens 3. Even in this case, the outer surface of the peripheral wall 21 supports the inner surface of the peripheral wall 32 almost entirely, so that lateral forces can be reliably received. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1 indicator light 2. Housing 21 Peripheral wall 21a Horizontal part 21b Outer wall 22 Bottom plate 22a Slope 22b Inner lens mounting hole 3 outer lens 31 Light transmission part 32 Peripheral wall 4 Inner lens 5 LED 6 PCB 7. Insulating plate

Claims

1. An indicator lamp including a housing having a peripheral wall and a bottom plate, an outer lens having a peripheral wall on the periphery of a light-transmitting portion, an inner lens, an LED, a substrate, and an insulating plate, The height of the peripheral wall of the housing is set to correspond to the height of the peripheral wall of the outer lens, and a support portion is formed on the outside of the peripheral wall of the housing; a peripheral wall of the outer lens is supported by the support portion; the substrate is provided on a bottom plate of the housing on the opposite side to the outer lens; The LED is disposed on the front surface side of the substrate, and the inner lens is provided so as to irradiate light from the LED toward the light transmitting portion of the outer lens; The insulating plate is provided on the rear surface of the substrate. An indicator light characterized by:

2. The peripheral edge of the bottom plate is connected to the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the housing, so that the bottom plate forms an inclined surface that descends from the peripheral edge of the bottom plate toward the center.

2. An indicator light according to claim 1.

3. The support portion of the housing has an outer peripheral wall that is raised to correspond to the outer surface of the lower end of the peripheral wall of the outer lens.

2. An indicator light according to claim 1.

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