Panel components and electronic musical instruments

Abstract

The present invention provides a panel component that is aesthetically pleasing and has good visibility of signs such as letters, figures, and symbols, as well as an electronic musical instrument equipped with the panel component. [Solution] The operation panel comprises a base layer 341 including a transparent portion 341a that transmits visible light and takes the shape of the marker I, and a base portion 341b that surrounds the transparent portion 341a and has a lower transmittance of visible light than the transparent portion 341a; a first color-emitting layer 342 located above the base layer 341, formed of a certain color, and transmitting at least a portion of visible light; a diffuse reflection layer 343 located above the first color-emitting layer 342, which diffusely reflects at least a portion of visible light; and a second color-emitting layer 344 formed above the diffuse reflection layer 343 or inside the diffuse reflection layer 343, and formed inside the shape of the marker I of the transparent portion 341a in a plan view from above.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to panel members and electronic musical instruments.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a panel member that irradiates light from a light source on the back side to illuminate and display characters, figures, symbols, etc. on the surface is known. As the panel member, an acrylic panel is used (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the acrylic panel has a problem that fingerprints on the surface are likely to be conspicuous and the appearance is deteriorated.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a panel member having a good appearance and good visibility of signs such as characters, figures, symbols, etc., and an electronic musical instrument including the panel member.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the panel member according to the present invention comprises a base layer including a transparent portion that transmits visible light and takes the shape of a certain form, and a base portion that surrounds the transparent portion and has a lower transmittance of visible light than the transparent portion; a first color-emitting layer located above the base layer, formed of a certain color, and transmitting at least a portion of visible light; a diffuse reflection layer located above the first color-emitting layer and diffusely reflecting at least a portion of visible light; and a second color-emitting layer formed above the diffuse reflection layer or inside the diffuse reflection layer, and formed on the inside of the certain shape when viewed from above in plan view. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a panel member that is aesthetically pleasing and has good visibility of signs such as letters, figures, and symbols, and an electronic musical instrument equipped with said panel member. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is an overall perspective view of the electronic keyboard instrument in this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a top view of the control panel. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view AA' of the control panel section of Figure 1. [Figure 4] Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view showing each layer that makes up the plate-like section. [Figure 5] This figure schematically shows the appearance of the indicator when the light-emitting part is illuminated on the control panel section of Figure 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments described below are subject to various technically preferred limitations for carrying out the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and illustrated examples below.

[0010] The electronic keyboard instrument (electronic instrument) 1 shown in Figure 1 comprises a keyboard section 10 having multiple keys (playing controls) such as white keys and black keys, and a case 20. A control board and the like are housed inside the case 20. In the following description, the arrangement direction of the multiple keys of the electronic keyboard instrument 1 will be described as the left-right direction (the left side of the keyboard section 10 in Figure 1 will be considered the left direction), the front-to-back direction of each key will be considered the front-to-back direction (the front side of the keyboard section 10 in Figure 1 will be considered the front direction), and the up-and-down direction of the electronic keyboard instrument 1 will be described as the up-and-down direction. Figures 1 and 2 are shown as line drawings, and the addition of color has been omitted.

[0011] Case 20, when viewed from above, has a horizontally elongated, roughly rectangular shape with the left-right direction being the longitudinal direction of the entire keyboard, and includes an upper case 22, a lower case 24, a left case 26, and a right case 28.

[0012] The top surface of the upper case 22 is provided with a power button 2 for turning the electronic keyboard instrument 1 on and off, a volume knob 4 for controlling the volume of musical tones, and an operation panel 30 (panel component). The electronic keyboard instrument 1 is equipped with a processor, and when the power is turned on and it starts up, the processor controls the operation panel 30 to light up.

[0013] As shown in Figure 2, the control panel 30 is provided with multiple touch switches TS. Each touch switch TS is a capacitive switch for executing various functions related to the electronic keyboard instrument 1, and is assigned to various operations such as demo performance, tone and brightness changes. Each touch switch TS is provided with an indicator I that shows an equals sign shape indicating the location of the touch switch TS, or letters or symbols indicating the function of the touch switch TS, such as "FUNCTION". In Figure 2, for convenience, all are labeled "FUNCTION", but different names (indicators I) may be assigned to each function.

[0014] As shown in Figure 3, the operation panel section 30 generally comprises, from bottom (back) to top, a circuit board 31, a light-emitting section 32, a detection section 33, and a plate-shaped section 34. The circuit board 31 is a horizontally elongated, roughly rectangular shape that extends over almost the entire area of ​​the operation panel section 30. Various wires, not shown, are routed through the circuit board 31. On the upper surface of the circuit board 31, light-emitting sections 32 are provided in areas corresponding to each touch switch TS in the vertical direction, emitting light (visible light) upwards (i.e., toward the plate-shaped section 34). The light-emitting section 32 is composed of, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and emits light to the plate-shaped section 34 from the back (from below) via the detection section 33. Preferably, a reflective case, not shown, is provided around the light-emitting section 32 to reflect the light from the light-emitting section 32.

[0015] The detection unit 33 is, for example, a capacitive touch sensor and includes a metal plate that constitutes the electrode of a roughly annular (not shown) touch sensor with an opening in the center. When a touch operation is performed on each touch switch TS (when the user's finger touches or approaches it), the capacitance of the sheet metal member that is the electrode in the detection unit 33 changes. The detection unit 33 detects this change in capacitance and transmits a detection signal to the processor of the electronic keyboard instrument 1. The processor of the electronic keyboard instrument 1 executes a function corresponding to the touched touch switch TS in response to this detection signal.

[0016] The substrate of the plate-shaped portion 34 (diffuse reflection layer 343 in Figure 4) is, for example, a matte acrylic plate with a matte finish on its surface that diffusely reflects at least a portion of the visible light. If the upper surface of the operation panel is a glossy acrylic plate without a matte finish, there is a problem that fingerprints will be noticeable and the appearance will be reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, by making the substrate of the plate-shaped portion 34 a matte acrylic plate, an operation panel 30 with a good appearance that does not show fingerprints is provided. However, if the acrylic plate of the plate-shaped portion 34 is made matte, light from the light-emitting portion 32 will not transmit easily, so if the configuration that displays the sign I by transmitting light irradiated from below, as described in Patent Document 1, is applied as is, there is a problem that the visibility of complex signs I, such as letters, will be poor.

[0017] Therefore, as shown in Figure 4, the plate-like portion 34 in this embodiment has a structure in which a base layer 341, a first color-developing layer 342, a diffuse reflection layer 343, and a second color-developing layer 344 are laminated in order from the bottom (back side).

[0018] As described above, the diffuse reflection layer 343 is made of a matte acrylic plate which is the substrate of the plate-shaped part 34. The first color-developing layer 342 and the base layer 341 are laminated on the lower side (back side) of the diffuse reflection layer 343. The first color-developing layer 342 is formed of a certain color and transmits at least some visible light. The color of the first color-developing layer 342 is the main color that is visible on the surface of the operation panel part 30. The first color-developing layer 342 is formed, for example, by printing on the back side of the diffuse reflection layer 343.

[0019] The base layer 341 is formed under the first color - emitting layer 342. The base layer 341 has a transmissive portion 341a that transmits visible light and has a certain shape, and a base portion 341b that surrounds the transmissive portion 341a and has a lower visible - light transmittance than the transmissive portion 341a. As shown in FIG. 4, the shape of the transmissive portion 341a mimics the shape of the above - mentioned label I. That is, the shape of the transmissive portion 341a is in the shape of an equal - sign - shaped figure indicating the location of the touch switch TS or characters or symbols indicating the role of the touch switch TS such as "FUNCTION". The base layer 341 is formed, for example, by performing knockout printing on the shape of the transmissive portion 341a with an ink (such as black or dark - gray ink with a lightness less than a predetermined threshold value) having a visible - light transmittance less than a predetermined threshold value under the first color - emitting layer 342. That is, the base layer 341 transmits the light irradiated from the lower side by the light - emitting portion ۳۲ in the shape of the label I.

[0020] In addition, when the color of the first color - emitting layer 342 is a high - lightness color such as a white - based color, as shown in FIG. 4, it is preferable that the base layer 341 has a two - layer structure of a first base layer 3411 and a second base layer 3412. The first base layer 3411 is provided above the second base layer 3412 and has a higher lightness color than the second base layer 3412. For example, the first base layer 3411 can be light gray, and the second base layer 3412 can be black or dark gray. Thereby, when the color of the first color - emitting layer 342 is a bright color, it is possible to suppress the color of the first color - emitting layer 342 from appearing darker due to the color of the base portion 341b of the base layer 341 when viewed from above. When the color of the first color - emitting layer 342 is a low - lightness color such as black or dark gray, the base layer 341 can be composed of only the second base layer 3412.

[0021] A second color - emitting layer 344 is provided on the upper surface side (top - surface side) of the irregular - reflection layer 343. As shown in FIG. 4, the second color - emitting layer 344 mimics the shape of the label I in plan view and is formed, for example, by printing on the irregular - reflection layer 343. Note that the second color - emitting layer 344 is not limited to printing as long as it colors the irregular - reflection layer 343.

[0022] The color of the second color - emitting layer 344 is preferably substantially the same as the color of the first color - emitting layer 342. Substantially the same color means a color that is generally difficult for humans to visually distinguish, such as a color where the color difference between two colors is less than a predetermined threshold value, and it does not have to be exactly the same color. By making the color of the second color - emitting layer 344 substantially the same as the color of the first color - emitting layer 342, the label I can be made invisible when the power is off (when the light - emitting part 32 is not emitting light), and the design can be enhanced.

[0023] The second color - emitting layer 344 is formed so as to be disposed inside the transmissive part 341a (the white - out part) of the base layer 341 in a plan view. For example, when the label I is a character, the character formed by the second color - emitting layer 344 is thinner than the character formed by the transmissive part 341a of the base layer 341. Thus, when the power of the electronic keyboard instrument 1 is on and the light - emitting part 32 is emitting light, the periphery of the label I of the second color - emitting layer 344 is illuminated by the light of the light - emitting part 32 through the transmissive part 341a, the first color - emitting layer 342, and the diffuse - reflection layer 343. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the label I can be made to float and be displayed so that the user can easily visually recognize the label I.

[0024] As described above, the operation panel part 30 of the electronic keyboard instrument 1 includes a base layer 341 that transmits visible light and has a transmissive part 341a that shapes the label I and a base part 341b that surrounds the transmissive part 341a and has a lower visible - light transmittance than the transmissive part 341a, a first color - emitting layer 342 that is above the base layer 341 and is formed of a certain color and transmits at least part of the visible light, a diffuse - reflection layer 343 that is above the first color - emitting layer 342 and diffusely reflects at least part of the visible light, and a second color - emitting layer 344 that is above the diffuse - reflection layer 343 and is formed inside the shape of the label I of the transmissive part 341a in a plan view from above. Therefore, it is possible to provide an operation panel part 30 that looks good because fingerprints are not prominent and has good visibility of labels I such as characters, figures, and symbols when irradiated with light from below.

[0025] For example, the second color-developing layer 344 is shaped to correspond to the mark I in a plan view from above, and is formed inside the shape of the mark I in the transmissive portion 341a. Therefore, the visibility of the mark I when light is shone from below can be improved.

[0026] For example, if sign I is a letter, the letter formed by the second color-emitting layer 344 is thinner than the letter formed by the transparent portion 341a of the base layer 341. Therefore, when light is shone from below, the letter of sign I formed by the second color-emitting layer 344 can be made to stand out, thereby improving the visibility of sign I.

[0027] Furthermore, the first color-emitting layer 342 and the second color-emitting layer 344 are formed in substantially the same color. Therefore, the second color-emitting layer 344 can be made invisible when the power to the electronic keyboard instrument 1 is turned off, and an even more aesthetically pleasing control panel 30 can be provided.

[0028] Furthermore, the control panel section 30 is located below the base layer 341 and has a light-emitting section 32 that emits light. Therefore, a control panel section 30 with good visibility can be provided.

[0029] Furthermore, the control panel section 30 includes a detection unit 33 located below the base layer 341 that detects contact or proximity of the user's finger. Therefore, it is possible to detect the user's touch operation.

[0030] The descriptions in the above embodiments are merely preferred examples of embodiments of the present invention and are not limited thereto. For example, in the above embodiments, the case in which the operation panel section 30 as a panel member of the present invention is provided on an electronic keyboard instrument 1 was described as an example, but the panel member to which the present invention is applied is not limited to an electronic keyboard instrument and may be mounted on other electronic instruments or electronic devices.

[0031] Furthermore, although the above embodiment was described as having the second color-developing layer 344 formed above the diffuse reflection layer 343, the second color-developing layer 344 may also be formed inside the diffuse reflection layer 343. For example, the second color-developing layer 344 may be sandwiched between two diffuse reflection layers 343.

[0032] Furthermore, the detailed configuration and operation of the control panel section 30 can also be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0033] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but is determined based on the claims. Furthermore, equivalent scopes of the present invention that have been modified from the claims but are not related to the essence of the present invention are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0034] 1 Electronic keyboard instrument, 30 Control panel section, 34 Plate-shaped section, 341 Base layer, 342 First color-generating layer, 343 Irradiation layer, 344 Second color-generating layer

Claims

1. A base layer comprising a transparent portion that transmits visible light and forms a certain shape, and a base portion that surrounds the transparent portion and has a lower transmittance of visible light than the transparent portion, A first color-emitting layer located above the aforementioned base layer, formed of a certain color, and transmitting at least some visible light, A diffuse reflection layer located above the first color-producing layer, which diffusely reflects at least a portion of the visible light, The device comprises a second color-developing layer formed above or inside the diffuse reflection layer, and which, when viewed from above in a plan view, is formed on the inside of the certain shape. Panel component.

2. The second color-developing layer is shaped to correspond to a certain shape in a plan view from above, and is formed inside the certain shape of the transparent portion. The panel member according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned shape is a letter, The characters formed by the second color-developing layer are thinner than the characters formed by the transparent portion. The panel member according to claim 2.

4. The first color-developing layer and the second color-developing layer are formed to be approximately the same color as each other. The panel member according to claim 1.

5. A light-emitting unit provided below the base layer, which irradiates light from below the base layer, The panel member according to claim 1, comprising:

6. Below the base layer, there is a detection unit that detects contact or proximity of the user's finger. The panel member according to claim 1, comprising:

7. A panel member as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, Multiple performance controls, An electronic musical instrument equipped with [specific features / features].

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