Operation unit and game machine

• US 10,043,338 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2014
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Sumi, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Kang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Blaise, Malina D
• Application Number:
  US14/469,976
• Publication Number:
  US 20150094149A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,441 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/83 characterised by legends, e.g. Braille, liquid crystal displays, light emitting or optical elements

Abstract

An operation unit has a touch panel that senses a press, a button plate disposed above the touch panel, and having a plurality of push buttons, each of which protrudes on a side opposite to a side where the touch panel is disposed, a light guide plate disposed between the touch panel and the button plate, and a light emission pattern disposed on a surface of the light guide plate that forms an image by emitted light. The button plate is provided along a surface of the touch panel and has a base section comprising apertures at respective positions where the plurality of push buttons are formed, top surface sections, each of which constitutes corresponding one of the plurality of push buttons and serving as an operation surface.

Claims

1. An operation unit comprising:

a touch panel that senses a press;

a button plate disposed above the touch panel, and having a plurality of push buttons, each of which protrudes on a side opposite to a side where the touch panel is disposed;

a transparent light guide plate in which light is guided disposed between the touch panel and the button plate;

a luminous substrate, provided on one side of the touch panel, wherein the one side is along the longitudinal direction of the touch panel, and wherein the luminous substrate comprises a light source which supplies light to a side of the light guide plate; and

a light emission pattern provided on a surface of the light guide plate in a display area of the light guide plate,

wherein the light emission pattern has a pattern through which light having been supplied into the light guide plate is emitted outside and in accordance with which an image is formed by the emitted light,

wherein the button plate is provided along a surface of the touch panel and comprises;

a transparent base section comprising apertures at respective positions where the plurality of push buttons are formed,

top surface sections, each of which constitutes corresponding one of the plurality of push buttons and serving as an operation surface,

bending deformable sections, each of which connects, in a freely elastically deformable manner, a peripheral section of corresponding one of the top surface sections and an edge of corresponding one of the apertures formed in the base section, and

protrusions disposed on back sides of the top surface sections,

wherein one or more of the protrusions come into contact with the surface of the touch panel at the time when any one of the top surface sections is pushed down toward the touch panel and corresponding one of the bending deformable sections is subjected to bending deformation,

wherein the one or more of the protrusions corresponds to the one top surface section pushed down,

wherein the light guide plate comprises apertures at respective positions corresponding to the plurality of push buttons, and

wherein the apertures of the light guide plate are formed so as to allow passage of the protrusions provided to the plurality of push buttons.

2. The operation unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein the button plate has optical transparency that makes a display of the touch panel visible.

3. The operation unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein the button plate is produced by two-color molding, with use of different materials one of which is for the bending deformable sections and the other one of which is for the base section and the top surface sections.

4. The operation unit as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

an element substrate comprising a light-emitting device, the element substrate being positioned between the light guide plate and the button plate,

wherein the element substrate has optical transparency that makes a display of the touch panel visible, and apertures at respective positions corresponding to the plurality of push buttons, and

wherein the apertures of the element substrate are formed so as to allow passage of the protrusions provided to the plurality of push buttons.

5. A game machine comprising the operation unit as set forth in claim 1.