Light guiding structure for electronic components

Abstract

To provide a light guide structure for an electronic component, making it possible to easily and efficiently illuminate an outer peripheral surface of a rotary knob.SOLUTION: A light guide structure for an electronic component comprises: a rotary knob 100 including a rotary knob body 100A and a shaft part 111; a light emitter 169; and a light guide member 190. The rotary knob 100 comprises a knob light guide part A1. The knob light guide part A1 has a light incident surface 117 at a tip of the shaft part 111 and a light diffusion part 110 to be a light reflection surface at the center of the rotary knob body 100A. Above a surface of the light diffusion part 110 is a space. The light guide member 190 has a light lead-out part 193 having a light emission surface 195 for emitting light that is emitted from the light emitter 169 and incident in the light guide member 190. Light emitted from the light emitter 169 is introduced into the light guide member 190 before being emitted from the light emission surface 195, is introduced from the light incident surface 117 of the rotary knob 100 into the knob light guide part A1, is diffused by the light diffusion part 110, and is used for illuminating an outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotary knob body 100A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a light guide structure for an electronic component having a rotating knob. [Background technology]

[0002] Among conventional rotating electronic components, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, there has been a structure in which a part of the outer periphery of a rotating knob (180) of a rotating electronic component (1) is exposed to the outside through a rotating knob exposed portion (303) provided on an exterior case (300), and the part of the rotating knob (180) exposed from the rotating knob exposed portion (303) is rotated with a finger or the like to drive an internal electrical functional portion (sliding contact pattern 65, slider 110) and change its detection output.

[0003] On the other hand, the light emitted from the light-emitting element (70) installed on the circuit board (60) is introduced into the light guide plate (40), guided to the light scattering section (43), and is emitted from the front surface of the light scattering section (43) to illuminate the knob operation section (183) of the rotating knob (180) from the back side of this knob operation section (183), thereby brightly displaying cut-out characters and other parts on the painted surface of the knob operation section (183). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-9937 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] 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 rotating knob exposed part (303) 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 one were to install a drip-proof structure to prevent this, the structure near the rear side of the knob operation portion (183) of the rotating knob (180) would become complicated, making it difficult to install the light scattering portion (43) of the light guide plate (40) in the space near the rear side of the knob operation portion (183).

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned 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 having to directly illuminate the outer surface of the rotating knob with a light-guiding member that guides light emitted from a light-emitting element. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides a light guide structure for an electronic component comprising 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 comprising a knob light guide portion constituting at least the rotating knob body and a part of the shaft portion, the knob light guide portion having a light entrance surface at the tip of the shaft portion and a light diffusion portion at the center of the rotating knob body constituted by a light reflection surface that diffuses light that is incident from the light entrance surface by reflecting it toward the outer circumferential surface of the rotating knob body, the light guide member being provided with a light exit portion having a light exit surface at its tip that exits light that is emitted from the light emitting element and enters the light guide member, The light exit surface of the light guide member is partially cut obliquely,The light diffusing section has a feature that the surface of the light reflecting surface is left as a space, and the light emitted from the light emitting element is introduced into the light guiding member, emitted from the light exit surface of the light guiding section, and 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.

[0008] 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. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, the outer circumferential surface of the rotating knob can be easily and efficiently illuminated without directly illuminating the outer circumferential surface of the rotating knob with a light guiding member that guides light emitted from the light emitting element. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic component (rotary electronic component) 1. [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the rotary electronic component 1 (a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1). [Diagram 3] 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main unit 10 and a fourth case 300. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main unit 10. [Diagram 5] 13 is an exploded perspective view of the main unit 10 as viewed from a different angle. FIG. [Figure 6] 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. [Figure 7] 13 is an enlarged perspective view of a main portion showing a light exit surface 195. FIG. [Figure 8] 8(a) is a perspective view of the rotating knob 100 as viewed from the second case 70 side, and FIG. 8(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the light diffusion section 110 in cross section BB of FIG. 8(a). [Figure 9] 1 is a schematic diagram of electronic component 1 for explaining installation conditions of protrusion 107. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail 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 rotary electronic component 1 (schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1), FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an exploded view of a main unit 10 and a fourth case 300 constituting the rotary 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 another angle. As shown in these figures, the rotary 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 on the side from which a rotary knob (operation knob) 100 protrudes. 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. Moreover, "front" refers to the direction when looking from first case 20 toward rotating knob 100, which will be described below, and "rear" refers to the direction when looking from first case 20 toward circuit board 160, which will be described below.

[0013] 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, and also storing the terminal unit 140 on the opposite side of the first case 20, with the circuit board 160, the light guide member 190, and the third case 220 placed on top of that. The rotating electronic component 1 is configured by attaching a fourth case 300 to this main unit 10.

[0014] 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, and is provided with a substantially cylindrical bearing portion 21 at the center of the upper portion, a first storage portion 23 formed of a recess on the side of the bearing portion 21 facing the rotary knob 100, and a second storage portion 25 formed of a recess on the side facing the circuit board 160. A pair of locked portions 27 consisting of rectangular through holes that lock the claw portion 79 of the second case 70 described below are provided on the first storage portion 23 side of both left and right sides of the first case 20. A pair of locked portions 29 consisting of rectangular through holes that lock the claw portion 223 of the third case 220 described below are formed on the second storage portion 25 side of both left and right sides of the first case 20. A pair of claw-shaped locking portions 30 that lock the locked portion 309 of the fourth case 300 described below are formed between the locked portions 27, 29 on both left and right sides of the first case 20. Below the bearing 21, there is formed a terminal unit storage section 31 having a generally rectangular shape and opening toward the rear. Also, there are formed a pair of left and right stopper locking sections 35 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 4) that abut against a stopper section 129 of the rotating knob 100 described below to prevent the rotation knob 100 from moving upwards. Although not shown, there is formed a click engagement section that is concave and convex in an arc-shaped direction (the arc-shaped direction in which the click ball 127 moves) below the surface on which the bearing 21 is provided in the first storage section 23 (at a position facing the click ball 127 described below).

[0015] The second case 70 is integrally molded from a synthetic resin made of a non-transparent material, and is configured to include a substantially flat rectangular case body 71 and a disk-shaped knob support part 73 that protrudes from the upper center of the case body 71 toward the rotating knob 100 side. The outer periphery of the surface of the knob support part 73 on the rotating knob 100 side protrudes cylindrically, and a cylindrical protrusion 75 with a bottom is provided protruding from the inner center. A pair of locking claws 77 protrude from both left and right sides of the case body 71 toward the rotating knob 100 side. The locking claws 77 are flat, and have claws 79 on both outer positions near their tips (only one is shown in Figs. 4 and 5).

[0016] The rotating knob 100 is a molded product of synthetic resin, and is a two-color molded product made of a resin A1 having translucency and a resin A2 having no translucency as shown in FIG. 2. The rotating knob 100 is configured to have a rotating knob body 100A having a substantially disk shape and a shaft portion 111 that protrudes from the rotating knob body 100A and axially supports the rotating knob body 100A so as to be freely rotatable. The outer peripheral surface 101 of the knob body 100A is an operation 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 in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape inside the protruding portion 105 are concentrically provided. The circular recess between the two protrusions 105, 107 serves as 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 serves as 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 serves as a slider attachment surface 113, and a truncated cone-shaped light guide protrusion 115 protrudes from the center of the slider attachment surface 113. The tip surface of the light guide protrusion 115 serves as a light incidence surface 117. A slider attachment protrusion 119 consisting of a small protrusion is formed on the slider attachment surface 113. A ring-shaped drip-proof recess 121 is formed around the shaft section 111. Additionally, click mechanism housing section 123 consisting of a bottomed circular hole is formed on the outer periphery of the surface of rotating knob body 100A facing first case 20. Coil spring 125 and click ball 127 are stored in click mechanism housing section 123. The outer periphery where click mechanism housing section 123 is provided bulges outward from the outer periphery of rotating knob 100, and the bulged portion serves as stopper section 129.

[0017] As described above, the rotating knob 100 is formed by integrally molding two types of resins 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 as a whole, optically connecting the shaft 111 of the rotating knob 100 and the outer circumferential surface 101 of the rotating knob body 100A, and is molded so as to optically connect the outer circumferential 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 includes a substantially disk-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 toward the shaft 111 and constitutes the central portion of the shaft 111. The outer peripheral surface 101 of the light-guiding 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-guiding body A11 opposite to the light-guiding shaft section A13. The protrusions 105 and 107 also constitute a part of the light-guiding body A11. On the other hand, the resin A2 is formed on the back side of the outer peripheral surface 101 of the light-guiding body A11 on the light diffusion section 110 side and on the substantially entire surface of the shaft section 111 side of the light-guiding body A11, and constitutes the part of the shaft section 111 excluding the light-guiding shaft section A13, the slider attachment surface 113, and the drip-proof recess 121.

[0018] Fig. 8(a) is a perspective view of the rotating knob 100 seen from the second case 70 side, and Fig. 8(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the light diffusion section 110 in the cross section BB of Fig. 8(a). As shown in Fig. 8(a) and Fig. 2, the light diffusion section 110 is configured with a conical recess. A part of the part near the outer periphery of this conical recess is provided with the protruding section 107 for resin injection, which protrudes in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape. A resin injection port connection section 107a is formed on the tip surface of the protruding section 107, to which the resin injection port of the mold was connected when the knob light guide section A1 was molded.

[0019] Protrusion 107 is provided to smoothly fill the molten resin injected from resin injection port connection portion 107a into the entire cavity of the mold that becomes knob light guiding portion A1, and although a more preferable shape is a cylindrical shape, this narrows the reflective surface that constitutes light diffusion portion 110, so protrusion 107 is provided in a roughly semi-cylindrical shape only in a portion that has little effect on illuminating the desired range of outer circumferential surface 101. This point will be described later.

[0020] 2 to 5, slider 130 is made of an elastic metal plate and includes base 131 and arm 133 which protrudes in an arch shape from the outer periphery of base 131 and is formed by folding back its base portion. A contact point 135 is formed in the center of arm 133 and is bent so as to protrude toward circuit board 160. Base 131 is also formed with a small mounting hole 137.

[0021] The terminal unit 140 is configured by insert-molding six metal plate terminals 141 into a substantially rectangular molded resin terminal case 143 and a substantially 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 surface of the terminal case 143 and bends downward. 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.

[0022] 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, substantially 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 arranged in a horizontal row near the lower side of the insulating board 161 for inserting one end of the terminal 141, attaching a light emitting element 169 to the lower part of the through-hole 163 on the rear side of the insulating board 161, and attaching various other electronic components 171 at predetermined positions. A circuit pattern (not shown) is formed on the insulating board 161, and electrically connects 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.

[0023] The light guide member 190 is formed by integrally molding a transparent synthetic resin into a substantially rectangular box shape with an open front surface. 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 upper part 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 in 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.

[0024] 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a main portion showing a portion of light exit surface 195. As shown in the figure, light exit surface 195 is configured to include main exit surface 195a and refraction inclined surface 195b. Main exit surface 195a is configured by a substantially semicircular plane (a plane perpendicular to the central axis of rotation of rotating knob 100). Refraction inclined surface 195b is configured by a plane that inclines from a linear boundary line 195c with main exit surface 195a in a direction away from light entrance surface 117 of rotating knob 100 that faces it.

[0025] Further, the outer diameter dimension of light exit surface 195 is smaller than the outer diameter dimension of light entrance surface 117. In other words, the area of ​​light exit surface 195 is smaller than the area of ​​light entrance surface 117. When electronic component 1 is assembled as described below, light exit surface 195 and light entrance surface 117 face each other, and at that time, the center of light exit surface 195 and the center of light entrance surface 117 are aligned so that the outer periphery of light exit surface 195 is located closer to the center (inner) than the outer periphery of light entrance surface 117.

[0026] 2 to 5, third case 220 is made of opaque synthetic resin molded into a generally flat rectangular shape, and is formed into an outer shape that generally covers the rear surface of first case 20. A pair of locking claws 221 protrude from both left and right sides of third case 220 toward the first case. Locking claw 221 is flat, and has claw portions 223 provided on both outer sides near the tip.

[0027] As shown in Figs. 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 an 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 a non-translucent coating applied to the surface of the transparent molded resin that constitutes the fourth case 300 into the shape of a desired character or symbol using a laser or the like, but may be formed by various other methods. Further, on both the left and right side surfaces of the fourth case 300, there are formed locked portions 309 each consisting of a rectangular through hole for locking the locking portion 30 of the first case 20.

[0028] Next, to assemble the rotary electronic component 1, first, the main unit 10 is assembled. 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 at that time, 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 only by press-fitting). Also, the drip-proof recess 121 of the rotary knob 100 is filled with drip-proof grease G. Meanwhile, the tip of each terminal 141 protruding from the rear of the terminal unit 140 is inserted into each terminal insertion hole 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).

[0029] Then, the rotating knob 100, to which the slider 130 is attached and in which the coil spring 125 and the click ball 127 are housed in the click mechanism housing 123, is housed in the first housing 23 of the first case 20, and at this time, the shaft 111 of the rotating knob 100 is rotatably inserted into the bearing 21 of the first case 20 and supported. At this time, the bearing 21 of the first case 20 is inserted into the drip-proof recess 121 of the rotating knob 100 filled with grease G, 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 79 of the locking claw 77 is locked to the locked portion 27 of the first case 20, and the second case 70 is attached to the first case 20 with the rotating knob 100 sandwiched therebetween. At this time, knob support portion 73 of second case 70 covers the front side surface of rotating knob 100 , and protruding portion 75 thereof is inserted into insertion portion 109 of rotating knob 100 .

[0030] Next, the circuit board 160 with the terminal unit 140 attached thereto 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, the claws 223 of the third case 220 are locked to the locked portions 29 of the first case 20, completing the main unit 10 as shown in FIG.

[0031] 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. A part of the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating knob 100 is exposed in the opening H1 so as to protrude outward (upward). In addition, in the opening H2, the light emission surface 197 of the light guide member 190 is exposed so as to protrude outward (upward). In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the contact portion 135 of the slider 130 abuts against the sliding contact pattern 165 of the circuit board 160. In addition, at this time, the terminal unit 140 is stored in the terminal unit storage portion 31. In addition, 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 dripped. Furthermore, light guiding portion 193 of light guiding member 190 is inserted into insertion portion 163 of circuit board 160 , and light exit surface 195 at the tip thereof faces light entrance surface 117 of rotating knob 100 .

[0032] 6 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main part showing the positional relationship between light exit surface 195 of light guide member 190 and light entrance surface 117 of rotating knob 100. As shown in the figure, light exit surface 195 of light guide member 190 is close to light entrance surface 117 of rotating knob 100 and faces it with a thin gap a1 therebetween. As shown in FIG. 2, main exit surface 195a of light exit surface 195 is located on the upper side of electronic component 1, i.e., on the opening 305 side of fourth case 300, and refraction inclined surface 195b is located on the opposite side (lower side of electronic component 1).

[0033] 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 section 30 of the main unit 10 is locked to each locked section 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.

[0034] 1 and 2, a part of outer circumferential surface 101 of rotating knob 100 is exposed from opening 305. Also, light exit surface 197 of light-guiding member 190 is disposed at a position facing the lower surface (rear surface) of illumination section 307 of fourth case 300.

[0035] 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 contact 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 rotary knob 100 does not rotate beyond a predetermined angle. In other words, the rotary knob 100 makes an arcuate motion.

[0036] When the light emitting element 169 emits light, the light is introduced into the light guiding member 190 as shown by dashed lines X1, X2, and X3 in Fig. 2. A part of the light introduced into the light guiding member 190, light X1, is reflected by the light reflecting surface 201, etc., toward the light emitting surface 197, and is emitted from that surface, thereby brightly illuminating the illumination portion 307 of the fourth case 300 from the back side thereof.

[0037] On the other hand, light X2, a part of the light introduced from light-emitting element 169 into light-guiding member 190, is reflected by light reflecting surface 199 and the like, proceeds toward light exit surface 195, is emitted from main exit surface 195a, and is introduced into knob light-guiding portion A1 from light entrance surface 117 of rotating knob 100. The light introduced from main exit surface 195a into knob light-guiding portion A1 travels inside light-guiding shaft portion A13, and is reflected mainly upward (mainly toward opening 305) by light diffusion portion 110, travels upward inside light-guiding main body portion A11, and is mainly guided to a portion of outer circumferential surface 101 exposed to opening 305, and brightly illuminates outer circumferential surface 101 exposed in 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 reflectance of light is improved, and this makes it possible to more effectively illuminate the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating knob 100 (the same applies to the light refracted by the refraction inclined surface 195b described below).

[0038] Also, a part 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 and the like toward the light exit surface 195, is emitted from the refraction inclined surface 195b, and is 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 a reflecting surface facing the opening 305 side in the light diffusion portion 110. Then, the light X3 is reflected mainly upward (mainly toward the opening 305) in the light diffusion portion 110, and travels upward in the light guide main body portion A11, and is guided mainly to a portion of the outer peripheral surface 101 exposed to the opening 305, and brightly illuminates the outer peripheral surface 101 exposed in the opening 305. In this way, by providing refraction inclined surface 195b on light exit surface 195, light that would otherwise travel toward the lower surface of light diffusion section 110 if light exit surface 195 were only main exit surface 195a can be directed toward the upper surface, and the reflected light can be more efficiently collected and illuminated on the portion of outer peripheral surface 101 exposed to opening 305.

[0039] Furthermore, in this electronic component 1, the outer diameter dimension of light exit surface 195 is formed smaller than the outer diameter dimension of light entrance surface 117, so that light that is emitted from light exit surface 195 of light-guiding member 190 so as to spread beyond its outer periphery can also be collected and entered at light entrance surface 117, which also makes it possible to more efficiently illuminate outer periphery 101 of rotating knob 100. This effect is particularly effective when there is a gap a1 provided between light exit surface 195 of light-guiding member 190 and light entrance surface 117 of rotating knob 100 to prevent wear caused by direct contact between the two and rotation of rotating knob 100.

[0040] 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 rotational operating 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 is gradually formed between the light exit surface 195 and the light entrance surface 117, and the rotational operating force of the rotating knob 100 becomes lighter. That is, the rotational operating 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 rotational operating force of the rotating knob 100.

[0041] In addition, in the knob light guide A1 of the rotating knob 100, the protrusion 107 is formed in a semi-cylindrical shape 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 substantially disk-shaped light guide main body A11 and the light guide shaft A13 that protrudes from the center 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 reflecting 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 located at the peripheral position of 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 reflecting surface, so the surface area of ​​the conical reflecting surface is narrowed accordingly, and the amount of reflected light toward the outer circumferential surface 101 is reduced. Therefore, protrusions 107 are provided only on those portions of outer circumferential surface 101 where the effect on the amount of reflected light heading toward opening 305 is minimal.

[0042] 9 is a diagram for explaining the installation conditions of protrusion 107, and is a schematic diagram of electronic component 1 as viewed from the left side of FIG. 2. As shown in the figure, assuming that rotating knob 100 rotates within a range of angle α1, ends 107a and 107b of protrusion 107 are positioned so that protrusion 107 is not positioned within the reflective surface of outer peripheral surface 101 that reflects light toward opening 305, even when rotating knob 100 is rotated to the farthest right or left. As a result, the amount of light reflected by light diffusion section 110 toward outer peripheral surface 101 of rotating knob 100 exposed within opening 305 is not reduced by protrusion 107.

[0043] For example, in the case of the present embodiment, in which 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, it is sufficient that the reflected light is irradiated to all the cut-out characters or cut-out patterns, so the formation 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 formation 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 a desired range is not reduced by the protrusions 107.

[0044] As described above, the rotary electronic component 1 comprises a rotating knob 100 having a rotating knob body 100A and a shaft portion 111 that protrudes from the rotating knob body 100A and axially supports the rotating 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 rotating knob 100. The rotating knob 100 comprises a knob light-guiding portion A1 that constitutes at least the rotating knob body 100A and a part of the shaft portion 111. The knob light-guiding portion A1 has a light incident surface 117 at the tip of the shaft portion 111, and guides light incident from the light incident surface 117 to the center of the rotating knob body 100A through an outer peripheral surface 112 of the rotating knob body 100A. 100A。 Light guiding member 190 has a light diffusing section 110 composed of a light reflecting surface that diffuses light by reflecting it in the direction of 100A. Light guiding member 190 is provided with a light exit surface 195 at its tip, which exits light that is emitted from light emitting element 169 and enters light guiding member 190. A space is formed above the surface of the light reflecting surface that constitutes light diffusing section 110. Light emitted from light emitting element 169 is introduced into light guiding member 190 and exits from light exit surface 195 of light guiding section 193, and introduced into knob light guiding section A1 from light entrance surface 117 of rotatable knob 100. The light is diffused by light diffusing section 110, thereby illuminating outer peripheral surface 101 of rotatable knob body 100A.

[0045] In this way, the light introduced from the light emitting element 169 into the light guide member 190 is guided to the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating knob body 100A through the knob light guide section A1 constituting the rotating knob 100, so that the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating knob 100 can be easily and efficiently illuminated. Even if the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating 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 peripheral 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 not to come into contact with other objects, the light reflecting surface is not damaged and a good light reflecting state can be maintained, so that the outer peripheral surface 101 of the rotating knob 100 can be illuminated more effectively.

[0046] In addition, the area of ​​light exit surface 195 of light-guiding member 190 is configured to be smaller than the area of ​​light entrance surface 117 of the rotating knob 100. Therefore, light that is emitted so as to spread beyond the outer periphery of light exit surface 195 of light-guiding member 190 can also be made to enter light entrance surface 117, thereby more effectively illuminating outer periphery 101 of the rotating knob 100.

[0047] Furthermore, since a portion of the light exit surface 195 of the light-guiding member 190 is cut at an angle, the light exit surface (refracting inclined surface 195b) cut at an angle can refract light that would not be guided to a desired light reflecting surface within the light diffusion section 110 if the light was not cut, and can thereby direct more of the reflected light 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).

[0048] 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 provides the functions and effects of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, a gap for preventing contact is formed between the light exit surface of the light guide member and the light entrance surface of the knob light guide portion, 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, the position of the light emitting element on the circuit board can be changed in various ways. In the above embodiment, the light diffusion portion is formed in a cone shape, but it may be formed in various other shapes, such as a hemisphere or a polygonal pyramid. 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 rotary knob, but in some cases, they may be the same area or larger.

[0049] In addition, the embodiments described above and shown in each drawing can be combined with each other as long as there is no contradiction in the purpose, configuration, etc. In addition, even a part of the description in the above description and the description in each drawing can be an independent embodiment, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to one embodiment that combines the description in the above description and each drawing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1 Rotating electronic components (electronic components) 20 Case 1 (Case) 70 Second Case (Case) 100 Rotary Knob 100A Rotary Knob Body 101 Outer surface 110 Light diffusion section (light reflecting surface) 111 Shaft 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 Optical output section 195 Light exit surface 195a Main exit surface 195b Refraction slope 220 Case 3 (Case) 300 4th Case (Case) 305 Aperture A1 Light guide for knob

Claims

1. 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.

2. 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.

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