JP2000346680A - Light source unit - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (with correction) [PROBLEMS] To provide a versatile light source unit that is inexpensive, has a reduced number of components, and can be used in a small space. A light source unit includes an LED, an LED, and an LED.
Holder 21, light guide plate case 23, light guide plate 24
And The LED holder 21 includes a housing in which the LED is mounted, and a cover fitted to the housing. The light guide plate case 23 includes a light guide plate holding portion 25 formed according to the outer shape of the light guide plate 24, and a light guide plate. Holder 2
5, a holder mounting portion 26 for receiving and holding the LED holder 21.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a light source unit having an LED and a light guide plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an instrument panel provided inside a vehicle such as an automobile has a speedometer,
Various indicators such as tachometer, warning display, gauges, etc. are concentrated and stored in one meter case, and a combination meter that is integrated by covering a transparent protective cover from the front side of the meter case is installed. I have.

[0003] In recent years, from a design standpoint, the protection cover of the combination meter is subjected to a dark coloring treatment (smoke treatment) to reduce the light transmittance of the protection cover and to prevent the display from being operated when the display is not operating. While the indicator in the meter case is not visible from the passenger compartment,
When the display is operated, a combination meter having a configuration in which only the light-emitting portion of the display emits light and appears to emerge from a dark portion, that is, a black-faced combination meter has come to be mounted.

In the above-described combination meter having a black face, a light source having a high luminance, such as a cold cathode tube or a xenon bulb, is usually used as the light source.
This is because the use of the above-described smoked member and the need for the light source having a considerably high luminance in order to obtain good visibility even in a bright place requiring illumination during the day are required.

[0005]

However, the cost of the light source is relatively high, which affects the manufacturing cost. In addition, the use of the above light source requires a dedicated circuit for lighting, and a cold cathode tube requires a light source noise suppressing member and the like, which leads to further cost increase and increase in the number of components. Would be. From this, it can be said that if there is still a certain amount of internal space, but if there is only a small amount of internal space (for example, an air conditioner switch device in a vehicle), it is very difficult to make a black face. No longer. Further, since the above-mentioned light source has a problem that the calorific value is high, it must be said that a black face cannot be naturally formed when only a small internal space is provided as described above.

[0006] In order to solve the problems relating to the light source, the applicant of the present application has solved the above-mentioned problems such as cost and heat generation by replacing the light source with an LED (light emitting diode). We think that we can do. In addition, when the light source is replaced with an LED, a sufficient luminance must be ensured. For example, a configuration in which a light guide plate is disposed immediately below a light emitting unit of a display is considered. Furthermore, it is necessary to combine the improvement of the mounting technology for the LED with the provision of a structure that can respond to variations of the LED and the light guide plate.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a versatile light source unit which is inexpensive, has a reduced number of parts, and can cope with even a small space.

[0008]

The light source unit of the present invention according to the first aspect of the present invention has been developed to solve the above problems.
D, a housing in which the LED is mounted, and an LED holder including a cover fitted to the housing, a light guide plate on which light from the LED enters via the LED holder, and an outer shape of the light guide plate And a light guide plate case, which is formed with a light guide plate holding portion, and a holder attachment portion coupled to the light guide plate holding portion to receive and hold the LED holder.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light source unit.
2. The light source unit according to claim 1, wherein the holder mounting portion is configured such that the LED guides face at least one end of the light guide plate and an intermediate portion of the light guide plate between the one end and the other end. 3. The light guide plate holding portion is coupled to a holding portion, and directs light from the LED, which enters through the holder mounting portion at the intermediate position, to the one end or the other end, or the one end and the other end. The light guide plate is characterized in that the light guide plate has a depression with which the light source branch contacts.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light source unit.
In the light source unit according to claim 1 or 2,
A substantially claw-shaped locking projection protruding from the outer surface of the housing is provided on the housing, and a locking hole into which the locking projection is engaged is formed in the holder mounting portion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light source unit.
The light source unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a change member for changing the directivity and color of light is attached to the housing.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the light source unit, the light guide plate is held by the light guide plate holding portion of the light guide plate case, the LED is mounted on the LED holder, and the LED holder is provided. LED is stored and locked in the holder mounting part of the light guide plate case.
Even if the light from the LED is incident on the light guide plate via the holder for illumination, illumination can be sufficiently ensured. That is, if the light guide plate is arranged, for example, directly below the light emitting portion of the display to illuminate, sufficient luminance can be ensured. In addition, when the LED is used as the light source, problems of cost and heat generation can be solved. That is, LEDs are less expensive than conventional light sources such as a cold-cathode tube and a xenon bulb, and the amount of heat generated is small enough to cause no problem.
Note that LEDs have the advantage of being easy to handle. Furthermore, the above light source unit has a small number of constituent members,
Thus, it can be made small and thin. On the other hand, since the LED is mounted on the LED holder, even if there are various types of LEDs, the LED can be positioned as one common component by the LED holder. In addition, since the light guide plate also has various forms, if the light guide plate case is used and the LED holder is attached thereto, the light guide plate can cope with various forms. From the above, if the light source unit is widely deployed horizontally, it is possible to expect a cost merit more than the price difference when replacing the conventional light source with the LED.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to cause the light guide plate to emit light uniformly or to positively cause spots of light emission. That is, the light from the LED that is incident from one end of the light guide plate is attenuated by various factors, but light from another LED is made incident via the holder mounting portion at an intermediate position, and the light is transmitted to the light guide plate. For example, if the light is shaken toward the above-mentioned one end in the concave portion, uniform light emission can be realized by compensating for the attenuation (light from the LED is also made incident from the other end of the light guide plate, and light that has entered the middle is guided. If the light is distributed to both ends of the light plate, the entire light guide plate can emit light uniformly.) Also, suppose that another LE
By shaking the light from D to only the other end, it is possible to positively generate spots. Further, if the light from the another LED is distributed to one end and the other end, it is possible to make it appear that the light from the LED incident from one end of the light guide plate hardly attenuates in the extending direction of the light. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, if the shapes of the locking projections and the locking holes are maintained, it is possible to easily cope with various types of light guide plates, for example. be able to.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to arrange a light source that is not restricted by the directivity of the light source.
The light amount adjustment design can be made freely. Further, the emission color can be tuned freely. Since the member for changing the directivity and the like is mounted on the housing, there is no restriction from parts other than the LED holder.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of the light source unit of the present invention. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the LED holder of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows the housing of FIG. 2, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view,
(C) is a right side view, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the housing showing the mounting state of the LED by a virtual line, and FIG. 5 is an exploded view of an LED holder for explaining a state when a directivity changing member is inserted. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the light guide plate case of FIG.

In FIG. 1, a light source unit indicated by a reference numeral 11 includes a plurality of LED holders 21 and a plurality of LED holders 21.
The LED 22 (see FIG. 2) mounted on the ED holder 21, the light guide plate case 23, and the light guide plate case 2
3 is provided.
The light guide plate case 23 has a light guide plate holding portion 25 formed according to the outer shape of the light guide plate 24, and a plurality of holder mounting portions 26 coupled to the light guide plate holding portion 25.
The LED holder 21 is accommodated and locked in the holder mounting portion 26.

As shown in FIG. 2, the LED holder 21 comprises a synthetic resin housing 27 and a synthetic resin cover 28, and a known LED (light emitting diode) is provided at a predetermined position of the housing 27. d
iode) 22 and the cover 28 is fitted to the housing 27.

The housing 27 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 or any one of FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c). The housing 27 is formed by injection molding into a substantially rectangular box shape having an open upper surface. Reference numeral 29 denotes a front wall, 30 denotes a rear wall, 31 and 31 denote side walls, and 32 denotes a bottom wall.

In the front wall 29, a circular exit hole 33 for passing light emitted from the LED 22 is formed at the center. Further, a terminal lead-out portion 34 is formed on the rear wall 30 facing the front wall 29 from the upper surface toward the bottom wall 32, that is, cut out in the mounting direction of the LED 22. The terminal lead-out portion 34 is a substantially U-shaped cutout for leading out the terminal 35 of the LED 22 to be mounted.
Since the terminal 35 does not interfere with the rear wall 30 when the LED 22 is mounted, the LED 22 can be mounted smoothly.

The side walls 31, 31 are bilaterally symmetrical. Only one side wall 31 will be described. The side wall 31 has a member to which the LED holder 21 is attached, that is, the light guide plate case 23 (FIG. 1). Locking projections 3)
6 and a locking hole 37 for a locking projection 55 described later of the cover 28 are formed on the upper surface side.

The locking projection 36 is a substantially claw-shaped projection protruding from the outer surface of the side wall 31.
A taper 38 is formed on the second side in consideration of the fitting property with the light guide plate case 23 (see FIG. 1). The locking hole 37 is a hole formed by penetrating the side wall 31 in a substantially rectangular shape, and a taper 39 that is inclined from the upper surface to the locking hole 37 is formed on the inner surface of the side wall 31. By forming the taper 39, workability at the time of fitting to the cover 28 is improved.

Inside the housing 27, there are provided a groove 41 for holding the flange 40 of the LED 22 in the front-rear direction of the housing 27, and an insertion portion 42 for inserting a polarizing plate 58 or the like as a directivity changing member to be described later. Is formed.

The groove 41 is formed inside the housing 27 so that the inner wall 4
By providing 3, it is formed between the inner wall 43 and the rear wall 30. The distance between the inner wall 43 and the rear wall 30 is at least as large as the thickness of the flange 40 of the LED 22, and the distance between the inner wall 43 and the rear wall 30 may be such that the flange 40 is slightly press-fit. The inner wall 43 has the same shape as the rear wall 30, and has a substantially U-shaped notch 44 similar to the terminal lead-out portion 34.

The shape of the inner portion 45 of the notch 44 is L
The curvature of the light emitting portion 46 of the ED 22 is substantially the same as the curvature of the light emitting portion 46 (see FIG. 3B). Even if the LED 22 has various sizes, the flange 40 of the LED 22 is
If it is absorbed by, it can be prevented from being affected by the difference in size. In other words, if the mold in the groove 41 is formed into the insert piece structure, it is possible to easily cope with a difference in size.

The insertion portion 42 is provided with the exit hole 33 and the L
It is located between the tip of the light emitting portion 46 of the ED 22 and is formed by projecting walls 47, 47 from the inner surfaces of the side walls 31, 31, respectively. The interval between the protruding walls 47, 47 is
The space is provided at least by the thickness of the polarizing plate 58 (see FIG. 5) and the like, and the interval can be set so that the polarizing plate 58 (see FIG. 5) and the like are slightly press-fitted. A taper 48 is formed at an end of the protruding wall 47 on the upper surface side.
In addition, the space between the front wall 29 and the protruding walls 47 on the front wall 29 side may be a second insertion portion (the reference numeral is omitted). Conversely, an insertion portion can be provided on the LED 22 side.

On the other hand, behind the rear wall 30, a guide portion 49 for the terminal 35 is connected. That is, the guide part 4
9 includes a base wall 50 continuous with the bottom wall 32 and a guide wall 51 erected on the base wall 50, and the guide wall 51 is provided in parallel with the rear wall 30. The guide wall 51 has a concave portion 52 cut out in the mounting direction of the LED 22, and the terminal 35 is formed by using the concave portion 52.
Can be bent toward the base wall 50 side (see FIG. 4). A concave portion 53 (see FIG. 3A) for extending the bent terminal 35 along the guide wall 51 is formed at an end of the base wall 50.

The cover 28 has a rectangular plate-shaped cover body 54 for covering the upper surface of the housing 27, and locking holes 37, 37.
And locking projections 55, 55 (only one is shown). The locking projection 55 is a substantially claw-shaped projection protruding from the lower surface (not shown) of the cover main body 54, has flexibility, and is formed with a taper 56 that comes into contact with the taper 39 at the time of fitting. I have. Reference numeral 57 indicates a locking surface.

Next, the directivity changing member will be described with reference to FIG. As the directivity etc. changing member, a polarizing plate indicated by reference numeral 58, a diffusion plate indicated by 59, 60
And the like. By inserting these into the insertion portion 42, polarization and diffusion can be controlled by the LED holder 21 itself, instead of being left to the LED 22 itself. The color filter 6
With 0, the configuration can be such that the emission color of the LED 22 is not restricted.

The shapes of the polarizing plate 58, the diffusion plate 59, and the color filter 60 in the drawing are merely examples, and can be changed as appropriate. In addition, the polarizing plate 58 or the diffusing plate 5
9 is inserted, and the above-mentioned second insertion part (quotation marks are omitted)
The color filter 60 may be inserted into the device. Since the polarizing plate 58 and the like are inserted into the housing 27, there is no restriction from other components, that is, components other than the LED holder 21.

The light guide plate 24 is made of a synthetic resin material such as acryl. As shown in FIG. 1, a depression 61 is formed at a substantially middle portion in a substantially horseshoe shape. In addition, an inclined surface 62 is formed between the end surfaces to reflect light incident from an end surface of the light guide plate 24 or the like.

The light guide plate case 23 is made of synthetic resin (for example, white polycarbonate), and has a substantially horseshoe-shaped light guide plate holding portion 25 and both end portions of the light guide plate holding portion 25 as shown in FIG. And three holder mounting portions 26 provided in the middle.

The light guide plate holding portion 25 has an outer peripheral wall 63, an inner peripheral wall 64, and a bottom wall 65, and has an upper surface opened for mounting the light guide plate 24 (see FIG. 1). Also, the inner peripheral wall 64
An inclined wall 66 that contacts the inclined surface 62 (see FIG. 1) is formed between the bottom wall 65 and the bottom wall 65. The inclined wall 66
Functions to reflect light from the LED 22 (see FIG. 2) to the upper surface side. Further, the light guide plate holding unit 2
5, a light source branching portion 67 having a substantially triangular prism shape is provided with an inclined wall 6.
6 and the inner peripheral wall 64.

The holder mounting portion 26 is formed in a U-shape in cross section so as to be able to accommodate the housing 27 (see FIG. 2) of the LED holder 21 (see FIG. 2). , 68 have locking projections 36,
36 (see FIG. 2, only one is shown)
9, 69 are drilled. Also, above the locking holes 69, 69 and on the upper edge of the side walls 68, 68, the taper 38 of the locking projections 36, 36 (see FIG.
38 (see FIG. 2, only one shown)
0 and 70 are formed. The formation of the taper 70 allows the locking projection 36 to be smoothly guided during mounting.

Further, the bottom wall 7 of the holder attaching portion 26
A plurality of projections 72 each having a substantially triangular cross section are formed on the projection 1. The projection 72 acts to push the mounted housing 27 (see FIG. 2) in the opposite direction to the mounting direction.
Therefore, the locking state can be strengthened, and the play in the design is absorbed. In addition, the positional accuracy of the LED is improved, and the state of incidence on the light guide plate 24 (see FIG. 1) is stabilized.

The intermediate holder mounting portion 26 is provided for the purpose of equalizing the brightness of the entire light guide plate 24 (see FIG. 1) (in contrast to this, it is provided so as to positively form spots). However, the position is not limited to the position in the figure. The light from the LED 22 (see FIG. 2) mounted on the LED holder 21 attached thereto is
In the case of the above embodiment, the light is split to both end portions of the light guide plate holding portion 25 by the light source branch portion 67 (see FIG. 7). The number of the intermediate holder mounting portions 26 is not limited to one, and a plurality of intermediate holder mounting portions 26 can be provided as necessary. From the above, the light source arrangement (quantity) can be made in consideration of the attenuation factor of the light source, and the light amount adjustment design can be made freely.

In the above configuration, the light guide plate case 23
By mounting the LED holder 21 and the light guide plate 24 on which the LEDs 22 (see FIG. 2) are mounted, a thin light source unit 11 (see FIGS. 1 and 7) is obtained (thickness of the light guide plate 24). It is thin because it does not change much, and the number of constituent members is small, and the LED holder 21 is used.
Is close to the light guide plate 24, so that the size is reduced.)

According to such a light source unit 11, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, an air conditioner switch device can be black-faced.

Referring to FIG. 8, the air conditioner switch device will be briefly described. Reference numeral 74 indicates a case having an open upper surface. In the case 74, a board 76 on which a rotary switch 75 is mounted is disposed. I have. Also,
A dial 78 having a design portion 77 is provided in an upper opening portion of the case 74, and the light source unit 11 is provided immediately below the dial 78. On the outer surface side of the dial 78, a smoked panel 79 subjected to smoke processing is attached. Dial 78 and smoke panel 7
Reference numerals 9 each have an opening, and the dial 80 is attached to the rotary switch 75 through the opening.

When the air conditioner switch device is operated, the light emitted from the LED 22 (see FIG. 2) is
Since the light passes through the design part 77 and the smoke panel 79 through 4, the operation state or function of the air conditioner switch device appears in a dark part. On the other hand, when it is not operated, the smoke panel 79 disables visual recognition.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view for explaining another example of the light source unit. The light source unit denoted by reference numeral 12 has a light guide plate 82 having an inclined surface 81 and formed in a substantially horseshoe shape, a light guide plate case 83 holding the light guide plate 82, and an LED 22 (see FIG. 2). And LED holders 21, 21. The light guide plate case 83 has a light guide plate holding portion 84 formed according to the outer shape of the light guide plate 82, and the holder mounting portions 26, 2
6 are respectively coupled.

The light guide plate holding portion 84 has an inclined wall 85 which is in contact with the inclined surface 81 of the light guide plate 82. Note that the holder mounting portion 26 is the same as that of the above-described light guide plate case 23, and thus description thereof is omitted.

Further, a light source unit having a form as shown in FIG. 10 can be provided. That is, in FIG. 10, the light source unit indicated by the reference numeral 13 includes the inclined surface 86 and the recess 8.
7, a light guide plate 88 holding the light guide plate 88, and LED holders 21, 21, 21 to which the LEDs 22 (see FIG. 2) are mounted. The light guide plate case 89 has a straight light guide plate holding portion 90, and the light guide plate holding portion 90.
The holder mounting portions 26, 26, 26 similar to those described above are respectively coupled to both ends and the middle (the same meaning as described above). Reference numeral 91 denotes an inclined wall that comes into contact with the inclined surface 86, and reference numeral 92 denotes a light source branching portion that has the same function as the light source branching portion 67.

Incidentally, as will be understood from the light source units 11 to 13 described above, the light guide plate case 23
If the (83, 89) is always provided with the holder mounting portion 26, the LED holder 21 is connected to the light guide plate case 23 regardless of the form of the light guide plate 24 (82, 88).
(83, 89).

As described above, the LED holder 21 can correspond to LEDs of various sizes and can change the directivity and emission color (see FIG. 5). A spacer 93 as shown can be optionally mounted. That is, the locking holes 94, 94 (FIG. 3A) are formed in the base wall 50.
) Is formed, and the spacer 93 is detachably attached thereto, so that variations at the time of mounting are increased.

In FIG. 11, a spacer 93 has a rectangular cylindrical spacer body 95 through which the bent terminal 35 is inserted, and a locking projection 96 fitted into the locking holes 94, 94 (see FIG. 3A). , 96 and a fixed wall 97,
The fixing wall 97 is provided at the upper end opening of the spacer body 95.

FIG. 12 shows the state of the spacer 9 from the state of FIG.
3 shows a state in which the LED holder 3 is fitted to the LED holder 21, and the positional accuracy can be stabilized even when the LED holder 21 is provided at a position away from the substrate 76 (see FIG. 8).

Next, the deformation of the housing 27 will be described with reference to FIG. Housing 9 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a housing 27 (see FIG. 2) having a taper 99 provided around the emission hole 33 (see FIG. 2) (otherwise, the configuration is substantially the same as that of the LED holder 21). The exit hole 100 is useful when diffusing light emitted from (see FIG. 2). Therefore,
When it is desired to diffuse the light emitted from the LED 22 (see FIG. 2) as much as possible, the housing 98 may be used.

In view of the above, in the light source unit described above, the light source arrangement (quantity) in consideration of the light source attenuation factor and the light source arrangement that is not restricted by the directivity of the light source are possible, so that the light amount adjustment design is free. Accordingly, a maintenance-free light source unit can be provided.

Further, if the light source unit described above is widely deployed horizontally, it is possible to expect a cost merit more than the price difference when replacing the conventional light source with the LED. That is, the present invention can be applied not only to the above-described air conditioner switch device but also to a car audio switch device, a combination meter, or a ring illumination structure (with or without a black face). Becomes

It should be noted that the light source unit itself and the above-described air conditioner switch device and the like can be easily assembled. Since the light source unit is a small and thin light source unit, the design flexibility of the above air conditioner switch device and the like is increased. There is an advantage.

[0052]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a light source unit for an LED includes an LED, a housing in which the LED is mounted, and a cover fitted in the housing. Holder, a light guide plate into which light from the LED is incident via the LED holder, a light guide plate holding portion formed in accordance with the outer shape of the light guide plate, and a light guide plate holding portion coupled to the LED holder, A light guide plate case comprising a holder mounting portion to be locked. As described above, in the light source unit, the light guide plate is held by the light guide plate holding portion of the light guide plate case, and the LED is an LED.
The light from the LED is incident on the light guide plate via the LED holder and is illuminated because the LED holder is attached to the holder for the light guide plate case, and the LED holder is housed and locked in the holder mounting portion of the light guide plate case. In this case, the luminance can be sufficiently secured. That is, if the light guide plate is arranged and illuminated directly below the light emitting portion of the display, for example,
Luminance can be sufficiently ensured. In addition, when the LED is used as the light source, problems of cost and heat generation can be solved. That is, LEDs are less expensive than conventional light sources such as a cold-cathode tube and a xenon bulb, and the amount of heat generated is small enough to cause no problem. Note that LEDs have the advantage of being easy to handle. Furthermore, the light source unit described above has a small number of constituent members, and can be made small and thin. On the other hand, since LEDs are mounted on LED holders, even if there are various types of LEDs, the LE
D can be positioned as one common component by the LED holder. In addition, since the light guide plate also has various forms, if the light guide plate case is used and the LED holder is attached thereto, the light guide plate can cope with various forms. From the above, if the light source unit is widely deployed horizontally, it is possible to expect a cost merit more than the price difference when replacing the conventional light source with the LED. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a versatile light source unit that is inexpensive, has a reduced number of components, and can cope with even a small space.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the holder mounting portion guides the LED holder such that at least one end of the light guide plate and the middle of the light guide plate between the one end and the other end are opposed to each other. The light guide plate holding unit is coupled to the light plate holding unit, and the light guide plate holding unit is a protruding light source that branches the light from the LED incident through the holder mounting portion at the intermediate position toward one end or the other end, or toward the one end and the other end. Since the light guide plate has the divergence and is provided with the dent that the light source divergence contacts, the light guide plate can uniformly emit light or positively generate light emission unevenness. That is, the light from the LED that is incident from one end of the light guide plate is attenuated by various factors, but light from another LED is made incident via the holder mounting portion at an intermediate position, and the light is transmitted to the light guide plate. For example, if it shakes at the above-mentioned one end side in the hollow part of
The uniform light emission can be realized by compensating for the attenuation (light from the LED is also incident from the other end of the light guide plate, and the light incident in the middle is distributed to both ends of the light guide plate. It is possible to emit light uniformly). Further, if the light from the another LED is only radiated to the other end side, it is possible to positively cause spots. Further, if the light from the another LED is distributed to one end and the other end, it is possible to make it appear that the light from the LED incident from one end of the light guide plate hardly attenuates in the extending direction of the light. . Therefore, in addition to the contents of the first aspect, it is possible to secure a sufficient luminance, and it is also possible to arrange the light source (quantity) in consideration of the attenuation rate of the light source. This has the effect of being free.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the housing is provided with a substantially claw-shaped locking projection protruding from the outer surface of the housing, and the locking hole is engaged with the holder mounting portion. Therefore, if the shapes of the locking projections and the locking holes are maintained, it is possible to easily cope with, for example, various forms of the light guide plate. Therefore, there is an effect that versatility can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the housing is provided with the changing member such as the directivity of light for changing the directivity or color of the light, the light source is not caught by the directivity of the light source. The arrangement can be performed, and the light amount adjustment design can be made freely. Further, the emission color can be tuned freely. Since the member for changing the directivity and the like is mounted on the housing, there is no restriction from parts other than the LED holder. Therefore, there is an effect that the versatility can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a light source unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the LED holder of FIG.

3 shows the housing of FIG. 2, wherein (a) is a plan view,
(B) is a front view, (c) is a right side view.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the housing showing the mounting state of the LEDs by virtual lines.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the LED holder for explaining a state when a directivity changing member is inserted.

6 is a perspective view of the light guide plate case of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a light guide state of the light source unit.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner switch device in which a light source unit is disposed immediately below a dial.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view for explaining another example of the light source unit.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view for explaining still another example of the light source unit.

FIG. 11: Option for LED holder (spacer)
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view for explaining a state where the spacer is fitted to the LED holder from the state of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is another example of the housing of the LED holder, and is a perspective view of the housing showing a state in which a taper is provided around the emission hole.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11-13 Light source unit 21 LED holder 22 LED 23 Light guide plate case 24 Light guide plate 25 Light guide plate holding unit 26 Holder mounting unit 27 Housing 28 Cover 29 Front wall 30 Rear wall 31 Side wall 32 Bottom wall 33 Emission hole 34 Terminal lead-out unit 35 Terminal 36 Locking projection 37 Locking hole 38, 39 Taper 40 Flange 41 Groove 42 Insertion part 43 Inner wall 44 Notch 45 Back part 46 Light emitting part 47 Projection wall 48 Taper 49 Guide part 50 Base wall 51 Guide wall 52, 53 recess 54 Cover main body 55 Locking protrusion 56 Taper 57 Locking surface 58 Polarizing plate 59 Diffusion plate 60 Color filter 61 Depression 62 Inclined surface 63 Outer wall 64 Inner wall 65 Bottom wall 66 Inclined wall 67 Light source branching section 68 Side wall 69 Lock hole 70 Taper 71 Bottom wall 72 Projection 93 Spacer 94 Lock hole 95 Spacer body 96 Locking projection 97 Fixed wall 98 Housing 99 Taper 100 Emission hole

Claims (4)

[Claims] An LED; a housing to which the LED is mounted; and an LED holder including a cover fitted to the housing; and a light guide plate through which light from the LED is incident via the LED holder. A light guide plate holding portion formed in accordance with the outer shape of the light guide plate; and a light guide plate case comprising a holder attachment portion coupled to the light guide plate holding portion to receive and hold the LED holder. A light source unit characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The light source unit according to claim 1, wherein the holder mounting portion is configured such that the LED holders respectively face at least one end of the light guide plate and an intermediate portion of the light guide plate between the one end and the other end. The light guide plate holding portion is coupled to the light guide plate holding portion, the light guide plate holding portion receives the light from the LED incident through the holder mounting portion at the intermediate position at the one end or the other end, or the one end. A light source unit, comprising: a light source branch portion having a protruding shape for branching toward the other end, wherein the light guide plate includes a depression with which the light source branch portion contacts. 3. The light source unit according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a substantially claw-shaped locking projection protruding from an outer surface of the housing, and the locking projection is provided on the holder mounting portion. A light source unit, wherein a locking hole to be engaged is formed. 4. The light source unit according to claim 1, wherein a change member such as a directivity for changing a light directivity or a color is mounted on the housing.