Support pins and lighting devices

Abstract

The present invention provides a support pin that can adjust the strength with which it supports the diffuser plate, thereby suppressing scratches and damage to the diffuser plate. [Solution] The support pin 10 is attached to the chassis 2 of the lighting device 1 and supports the diffuser plate 5 which is spaced apart on the chassis 2. The support pin 10 has an adjustment mechanism 13 for adjusting the length of the support pin 10 that protrudes from the chassis 2 towards the diffuser plate 5.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a support pin for supporting a diffusion plate and a lighting device using the same.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a lighting device including a diffusion plate that diffuses light, a light source that emits light toward the diffusion plate, and a support member that supports the diffusion plate is known. In the lighting device, as the size increases, the diffusion plate with increased self-weight tends to bend. Therefore, a method for suppressing the bending of the diffusion plate has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A conventional backlight device has a plurality of light sources arranged in a housing having an opening on the upper surface, a display panel arranged to close the opening of the housing, and a support member erected on the bottom surface of the housing is composed of a non-transparent member and has a conical shape with a hemispherical tip.

[0005] In the conventional backlight device, the support member prevents the diffusion plate from sagging, but the support member is fixed to the housing, and the amount of protrusion from the bottom surface of the housing is fixed. With such a configuration, when the device is installed at an inclination, there is a concern that the diffusion plate, which is greatly bent by its own weight, strongly contacts the support member, causing damage or breakage to the diffusion plate.

[0006] This disclosure is made to solve the above-mentioned problems and aims to provide a support pin and a lighting device using the same that can adjust the strength with which it supports the diffuser plate and suppress scratches and damage to the diffuser plate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The support pin according to this disclosure is attached to the chassis of a lighting device and supports a diffuser plate provided spaced apart on the chassis, and is characterized in that the support pin has an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the length of the support pin that protrudes from the chassis toward the diffuser plate.

[0008] The support pin according to this disclosure is mounted so as to penetrate through an insertion hole provided in the chassis from the back side of the chassis to the side of the diffuser plate, and the adjustment mechanism may be configured to adjust the length of the support pin that protrudes from the insertion hole to the side of the diffuser plate.

[0009] The support pin according to this disclosure further comprises a support portion for supporting the diffusion plate and a locking portion that engages with the peripheral edge of the insertion hole, and the adjustment mechanism may be configured to change the length protruding from the chassis by switching between a first state in which the locking portion is engaged with the peripheral edge of the insertion hole and a second state in which the locking portion is not engaged with the peripheral edge of the insertion hole.

[0010] In the support pin according to this disclosure, the support portion and the locked portion may be formed of a translucent material.

[0011] The support pin according to this disclosure is configured to rotate about an axis along the thickness direction of the chassis, and the adjustment mechanism may be configured to switch between the first state and the second state by rotating the support pin.

[0012] The support pin according to this disclosure may have a biasing member that biases the locked portion to press against the peripheral edge of the insertion hole in the first state.

[0013] The lighting device according to the present disclosure is a lighting device having a support pin according to the present disclosure, characterized by comprising a chassis to which the support pin is attached, a light source fixed to the chassis, and a diffuser plate provided spaced apart from the chassis. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to this disclosure, by changing the amount the support pins protrude, the strength with which they support the diffuser can be adjusted, thereby suppressing scratches and damage to the diffuser. Furthermore, because the amount the support pins protrude can be adjusted, the support pins can be used in common even in other models with different spacing between the chassis and the diffuser. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This is a schematic side view showing a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a schematic side view showing the lighting device with the support pin protrusion amount adjusted. [Figure 3] This is a schematic side view showing the support pin as seen from one side. [Figure 4] This is a schematic side view showing the support pin as seen from the other side. [Figure 5] This is an enlarged top view showing a close-up of the area near the insertion holes in the chassis. [Figure 6] This is a schematic top view showing the positional relationship between the locked portion and the insertion hole in the first state. [Figure 7] This is a schematic top view showing the positional relationship between the locked portion and the insertion hole in the second state. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0016] Hereinafter, the lighting device according to the embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0017] Figure 1 is a schematic side view showing a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] The lighting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a chassis 2, a fixing pin 3, a light source 4, a diffusion plate 5, and a support pin 10.

[0019] The chassis 2 is provided at a distance from the diffusion plate 5. The light source 4 is, for example, an LED element, is fixed to the chassis 2, and irradiates light toward the diffusion plate 5. The light-emitting element that is the light source 4 may be directly attached to the chassis 2, or a substrate on which the light-emitting element is mounted may be attached. The diffusion plate 5 diffuses the light irradiated from the light source 4 and illuminates the surroundings.

[0020] The fixing pin 3 is attached to the chassis 2 and supports the diffusion plate 5. Specifically, the fixing pin 3 is attached to the chassis 2 so as to stand upright toward the diffusion plate 5. The fixing pin 3 is disposed at a position facing the end of the diffusion plate 5. The fixing pin 3 is fixed to the chassis 2, and the amount of protrusion from the chassis 2 (the length protruding toward the diffusion plate 5 side) does not vary.

[0021] Similar to the fixing pin 3, the support pin 10 supports the diffusion plate 5, and the support pin 10 is attached to the chassis 2 so as to stand upright toward the diffusion plate 5. The support pin 10 is disposed at a position facing the central portion of the diffusion plate 5. The support pin 10 has an adjustment mechanism 13 for adjusting the length protruding from the chassis 2 toward the diffusion plate 5 side. Specifically, the support pin 10 is attached so as to penetrate from the back side (the lower surface side in FIG. 1) of the chassis 2 toward the diffusion plate 5 side through an insertion hole 20 provided in the chassis 2. Then, the adjustment mechanism 13 adjusts the length by which the support pin 10 protrudes from the insertion hole 20 toward the diffusion plate 5 side.

[0022] The support pin 10 has a support portion 11 that supports the diffuser plate 5 and a locking portion 12 that engages with the periphery of the insertion hole 20. The adjustment mechanism 13 switches between a first state in which the locking portion 12 is engaged with the periphery of the insertion hole 20 and a second state in which the locking portion 12 is not engaged with the periphery of the insertion hole 20. Figure 1 shows the lighting device 1 with the support pin 10 in the first state (protruding state), and Figure 2, which will be described later, shows the lighting device 1 with the support pin 10 in the second state (embedded state). The detailed structure of the support pin 10 will be explained with reference to Figures 3 and 4, which will be described later.

[0023] In the first state, the locking portion 12 is locked to the periphery of the insertion hole 20 so that it is located on the surface side (upper side in Figure 1) of the chassis 2. As a result, the portion of the support pin 10 that includes both the support portion 11 and the locking portion 12 protrudes from the chassis 2.

[0024] Figure 2 is a schematic side view showing the lighting device with the support pin protrusion amount adjusted.

[0025] In this embodiment, the support pin 10 is configured to rotate around an axis (rotational direction R) along the thickness direction of the chassis 2 (vertical direction in Figure 2), and the adjustment mechanism 13 switches between a first state and a second state by rotating the support pin 10. When the switch is made from the first state to the second state, the locked portion 12 is released from its locking at the periphery of the insertion hole 20 and enters the insertion hole 20 as indicated by arrow S. At this time, the support portion 11 does not pass through the insertion hole 20 but is locked to the periphery of the insertion hole 20. As a result, only the support portion 11 of the support pin 10 protrudes from the chassis 2.

[0026] By adjusting the amount the support pins 10 protrude, as shown in Figure 2, even if the diffuser plate 5 bends significantly and the gap between it and the chassis 2 narrows, it becomes less likely for the support pins 10 (especially the support part 11) to come into contact with it, thus preventing damage to the diffuser plate 5.

[0027] In Figures 1 and 2, the spacing between the support pins 10 and fixing pins 3 and the diffuser plate 5 is shown to be wide for the sake of readability. However, the design is not limited to this, and in actual structures, the spacing between them may be narrowed to the point where they are only slightly in contact. Also, Figures 1 and 2 schematically show a part of the lighting device 1, and other components not shown may be included. For example, a frame that supports the ends of the chassis 2 and the diffuser plate 5 may be included, and the chassis 2 and the diffuser plate 5 may be supported with a predetermined distance between them.

[0028] Figure 3 is a schematic side view showing the support pin as seen from one side, and Figure 4 is a schematic side view showing the support pin as seen from the other side.

[0029] The support pin 10 is provided with a support portion 11, a locking portion 12, a shaft portion 13a, and a knob portion 13b, in that order from the tip side closest to the diffuser plate 5.

[0030] The support portion 11 is conical in shape and made of a translucent material. The tip of the support portion 11 may be rounded to increase the contact area with the diffuser plate 5. The shape of the support portion 11 is not limited to this; it may also be cylindrical or triangular, and only the area near the tip facing the diffuser plate 5 may be tapered. In this way, since the support pin 10 is translucent, it can be made so as not to block the light irradiated onto the diffuser plate 5.

[0031] The locking portion 12 is shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped with an adjacent wide side (wide surface 12a) and a narrow side (narrow surface 12b), and is made of a translucent material. Figure 3 shows the view of the wide surface 12a of the locking portion 12, and Figure 4 shows the view of the narrow surface 12b of the locking portion 12.

[0032] The shaft portion 13a is cylindrical, and a coil spring is wound around it as a biasing member 13c. The knob portion 13b is cylindrical with a larger diameter than the shaft portion 13a. In this embodiment, the adjustment mechanism 13 corresponds to the shaft portion 13a, the knob portion 13b, and the biasing member 13c.

[0033] The wide surface 12a is formed to be wider than the diameter of the shaft portion 13a, and the narrow surface 12b is formed to be narrower than the diameter of the shaft portion 13a. The relationship between the sizes of the locking portion 12 and the shaft portion 13a and the insertion hole 20 will be explained later with reference to Figures 5 to 7.

[0034] As shown in Figure 2, when the support pin 10 is attached to the chassis 2, the shaft portion 13a is located on the back side of the chassis 2, and the biasing member 13c extends so that one end abuts against the knob portion 13b and the other end reaches the locking portion 12. When the support pin 10 is pushed up from the second state, as shown in Figure 1, the biasing member 13c is compressed by being sandwiched between the knob portion 13b and the back side of the chassis 2 (the periphery of the insertion hole 20), biasing it to widen the gap between them. In other words, the biasing force of the biasing member 13c acts to press the locking portion 12 against the periphery of the insertion hole 20 in the first state. In this way, by biasing with the biasing member 13c, it is possible to maintain a predetermined amount of protrusion.

[0035] Figure 5 is an enlarged top view showing the vicinity of the insertion holes in the chassis.

[0036] When viewed from above, the through-hole 20 has a shape formed by superimposing a circular central hole portion 21 corresponding to the shaft portion 13a and a rectangular extended hole portion 22 corresponding to the locking portion 12. The extended hole portion 22 is provided so as to pass through the center of the central hole portion 21 and extends in a straight line so as to widen the outer edge of the central hole portion 21.

[0037] Figure 6 is a schematic top view showing the positional relationship between the locked portion and the insertion hole in the first state.

[0038] Figure 6 schematically shows a cross-section passing slightly above the insertion hole 20 in the first state, with a portion of the support pin 10 extracted and shown. For the sake of readability of the drawing, the locked portion 12 is hatched.

[0039] The locking portion 12 has a wide surface 12a that intersects (is perpendicular to) the direction in which the hole extension portion 22 extends, and its end protrudes outside the center portion 21 of the hole. In this state, the locking portion 12 cannot pass through the insertion hole 20, and the locking portion 12 is locked to the peripheral edge of the insertion hole 20.

[0040] Figure 7 is a schematic top view showing the positional relationship between the locked portion and the insertion hole in the second state.

[0041] Figure 7 schematically shows a cross-section passing slightly above the insertion hole 20 in the second state, with a portion of the support pin 10 extracted and shown. For the sake of readability of the drawing, the locked portion 12 is hatched.

[0042] Figure 7 shows the state after rotating the support pin 10 in the rotational direction R from the state shown in Figure 6. By rotating the support pin 10, the wide surface 12a becomes parallel to the direction in which the hole extension portion 22 extends, and the locking portion 12 overlaps with the hole extension portion 22. As a result, the locking portion 12 is no longer locked to the periphery of the insertion hole 20, and the locking portion 12 passes through the insertion hole 20.

[0043] As described above, by changing the amount the support pin 10 protrudes, the strength with which it supports the diffuser plate 5 can be adjusted, thereby suppressing scratches and damage to the diffuser plate 5. Furthermore, since the amount the support pin 10 protrudes can be adjusted, the support pin 10 can be used in common even in other models with different spacing between the chassis 2 and the diffuser plate 5. The support pin 10 is mounted so as to penetrate the chassis 2, and the amount it protrudes can be easily adjusted by the adjustment mechanism 13. In this embodiment, the amount it protrudes can be adjusted by rotating the support pin 10 without changing its mounting position.

[0044] The adjustment mechanism 13 only needs to be configured to change the amount the support pin 10 protrudes by switching between a first state in which the locked portion 12 is locked and a second state in which the locked portion 12 is not locked, and the shape of each part may also be changed.

[0045] Furthermore, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and do not constitute a limiting interpretation. Accordingly, the technical scope of this disclosure is not to be interpreted solely by the embodiments described above, but is defined based on the claims. This includes all modifications within the meaning and scope of equivalents to the claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0046] 1. Lighting device 2 Chassis 3 Fixing pins 4 light source 5. Diffuser 10 Support pins 11 Support part 12 Locked part 13 Adjustment mechanism 20 Through holes

Claims

1. A support pin attached to the chassis of a lighting device, which supports a diffuser plate provided spaced apart on the chassis, The support pin has an adjustment mechanism to adjust the length that protrudes from the chassis towards the diffuser plate. A support pin characterized by the following.

2. A support pin according to claim 1, It is attached so as to penetrate from the back side of the chassis to the side of the diffuser plate through an insertion hole provided in the chassis, The adjustment mechanism adjusts the length of the support pin that protrudes from the insertion hole toward the diffuser plate. A support pin characterized by the following.

3. A support pin according to claim 2, The device further comprises a support portion for supporting the diffusion plate and a locking portion that engages with the peripheral edge of the insertion hole, The adjustment mechanism changes the length protruding from the chassis by switching between a first state in which the locked portion is locked to the peripheral edge of the insertion hole and a second state in which the locked portion is not locked to the peripheral edge of the insertion hole. A support pin characterized by the following.

4. A support pin according to claim 3, The support portion and the locked portion are formed of a light-transmitting material. A support pin characterized by the following.

5. A support pin according to claim 3, The chassis is configured to rotate around an axis along the thickness direction, The adjustment mechanism switches between the first state and the second state by rotating the support pin. A support pin characterized by the following.

6. A support pin according to claim 3, In the first state described above, the system includes a biasing member that biases the locked portion to press against the peripheral edge of the insertion hole. A support pin characterized by the following.

7. A lighting device having a support pin according to any one of claims 1 to 6, A chassis to which the support pins are attached, A light source fixed to the chassis, The system includes a diffuser plate provided at a distance from the chassis. A lighting device characterized by the following.

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