Light illuminating type manipulation and display apparatus

• US 6,155,691 A
• Filed: 06/02/1999
• Issued: 12/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Miyasaka, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Shea, Sandra
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alavi, Ali
• Application Number:
  US09/324,537
• Time in Patent Office: 552 Days
• Field of Search: 362/28, 362/29, 362/30, 362/85, 200/316
• US Class Current: 362/30
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/0065 Control members, e.g. levers or knobs B60H1/00985 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/139 Clusters of instrument input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/139 Clusters of input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 1/105 comprising arrangements for illumination

Abstract

In a light illuminating type manipulation and display apparatus including a light source and rotary knobs having a plurality of stop positions and indicator sections which are illuminated and displayed with the light from the light source at each of the stop positions. In the apparatus, light reflecting bodies having a plurality of light reflecting surfaces corresponding to a plurality of the stop positions of the rotary knobs are disposed, and the light from the light source is reflected from each of the light reflecting surfaces of the light reflecting bodies and illuminates the indicator sections located at each of the stop positions. With this arrangement, the quality of the apparatus can be improved with reduced power consumption.

Claims

1. A light illuminating type manipulation and display apparatus comprising:

a light source;

a rotary knob having a plurality of stop positions and an indicator section which is illuminated and displayed with the light from said light source at each of the stop positions; and

a light reflecting body having at least one or more light reflecting surfaces corresponding to the plurality of stop positions of said rotary knob,

wherein the light from said light source is reflected from each of the light reflecting surfaces of said light reflecting body and illuminates the indicator section located at each of the stop positions.

2. The light illuminating type manipulation and display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between a light reflecting surface which is far from said light source and the stop position of the indicator section which stops at the position corresponding to the light reflecting surface is shorter than the distance between a light reflecting surface which is near to said light source and the stop position of the indicator section which stops at the position corresponding to the light reflecting surface.

3. The light illuminating type manipulation and display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, among the plurality of light reflecting surfaces, a light reflecting surface which is far from said light source has a reflecting area larger than that of a light reflecting surface which is near to said light source.

4. The light illuminating type manipulation and display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positional relationship between each reflecting surface and each position where the indicator section stops is held such that a light beam incident on the central portion of each light reflecting surface illuminates the central portion of the indicator section which corresponds to each light reflecting surface.

5. The light illuminating type manipulation and display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light reflecting body is disposed integrally with a lamp housing.

6. The light illuminating type manipulation and display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light source is disposed approximately at the center of said lamp housing, said rotary knobs are disposed on both sides of said light source at preset intervals, and said light reflecting bodies are disposed in the light passages from said light source to the rotational regions of the indicator sections of said rotary bodies, respectively.