U.S. patent application number 11/690135 was filed with the patent office on 2008-06-12 for light-guiding structure.
This patent application is currently assigned to Inventec Corporation. Invention is credited to Chia-Ju Ho.
Application Number | 20080137361 11/690135 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39497778 |
Filed Date | 2008-06-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080137361 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ho; Chia-Ju |
June 12, 2008 |
LIGHT-GUIDING STRUCTURE
Abstract
A light-guiding structure including a plurality of light pipes,
a plurality of connecting portions and a fixing socket is provided.
The light pipes are disposed on the fixing socket, and the light
pipes are connected together by the connecting portions. At least
one to-be-destroyed portion is formed between the connecting
portions. In addition, the fixing socket has at least one
destructive structure for disconnecting the connecting portions
from each other by destroying the to-be-destroyed portion.
Therefore, the interference caused by the light wave passing
through the connecting piece is avoided.
Inventors: |
Ho; Chia-Ju; (Taipei City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JIANQ CHYUN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE
7 FLOOR-1, NO. 100, ROOSEVELT ROAD, SECTION 2
TAIPEI
100
omitted
|
Assignee: |
Inventec Corporation
Taipei City
TW
|
Family ID: |
39497778 |
Appl. No.: |
11/690135 |
Filed: |
March 23, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
362/555 ;
362/551 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B 6/0008 20130101;
G02B 6/0006 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
362/555 ;
362/551 |
International
Class: |
G09F 13/00 20060101
G09F013/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 7, 2006 |
TW |
95145600 |
Claims
1. A light-guiding structure, comprising: a plurality of light
pipes; a plurality of connecting portions, for connecting the light
pipes, wherein a to-be-destroyed portion is formed between the
connecting portions; and a fixing socket, for bearing the light
pipes, having a destructive structure corresponding to the
to-be-destroyed portion, wherein the destructive structure is used
to destroy the to-be-destroyed portion, so as to disconnect the
connecting portions.
2. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
connecting portions and the light pipes are integrated as a whole,
and the to-be-destroyed portion is a necked-down portion.
3. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
to-be-destroyed portion has at least one through hole.
4. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
fixing socket comprises a plurality of light shielding walls, and
the light pipes are separated by the light shielding walls.
5. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
fixing socket comprises a plurality of buckling portions, and the
light pipes are fixed on the fixing socket with the buckling
portions.
6. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
fixing socket comprises a plurality of plugs, and the light pipes
are fixed on the fixing socket with the plugs.
7. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising a plurality of light sources disposed on one end of the
light pipes for emitting light waves into the light pipes.
8. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein the
light sources are light emitting diodes.
9. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
destructive structure comprises a sharp object or a notch
structure.
10. A light-guiding structure, comprising: a plurality of light
pipes; a plurality of connecting portions for connecting the light
pipes, wherein a to-be-destroyed portion is formed between the
connecting portions; and a fixing socket for bearing the light
pipes, having a plurality of light shielding walls, wherein the
light pipes are separated by the light shielding walls, the light
shielding walls have at least one destructive structure
corresponding to the to-be-destroyed portion, and the destructive
structure is used to destroy the to-be-destroyed portion, so as to
disconnect the connecting portions.
11. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
destructive structure comprises a sharp object or a notch
structure.
12. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
to-be-destroyed portion is a necked-down portion.
13. The light-guiding structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
to-be-destroyed portion has at least one through hole.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan
application serial no. 95145600, filed on Dec. 7, 2006. All
disclosure of the Taiwan application is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a light pipe, and more
particularly to a light-guiding structure for preventing the
interference of light waves.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Generally, most electronic devices take the signal light
emitted by light emitting diodes (LEDs) as the indicating signal to
show current operation state of the electronic device. However,
since the position where the LED disposed from the surface of the
casing of the electronic device is usually separated by a distance,
a light pipe must be used to transmit the signal light wave, and
display it on the surface of the casing.
[0006] Referring to FIG. 1, it is a schematic view of the
configuration of conventional light pipes. Each LED 100 is disposed
on one end of respective light pipe 110, which emits light wave
with a different wavelength such as red light, blue light, or green
light. When the light wave is transmitted in each light pipe 110,
the user can see from each end of light pipes 110 that the
indicating lamp is ON or Off state, so as to determine the current
operation state of the electronic device.
[0007] However, due to the limitation on formation, when the light
pipes 110 are fabricated, the light pipes 110 are connected through
the plasticizing process by the fixing connecting portion 120, such
that the light pipes 110 can be fixed on a suitable position in the
electronic device. However, it may cause the light wave
transferring from a light pipe 110 to another light pipe 110
through the fixing connecting portion 120, as a result, the light
waves are mixed and the light signals are irregular. Therefore, how
to prevent the light waves emitted by the LEDs 100 from being
transferred into another light pipe 110 is an urgent issue.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a
light-guiding structure, which is applicable for preventing the
mutual interference of the light waves in the light pipes.
[0009] The present invention provides a light-guiding structure,
which comprises a plurality of light pipes, a plurality of
connecting portions, and a fixing socket. The light pipes are
disposed on the fixing socket, and they are connected with the
connecting portions. A to-be-destroyed portion is formed between
the connecting portions. Furthermore, the fixing socket has a
destructive structure corresponding to the to-be-destroyed portion,
and the destructive structure is used to destroy the
to-be-destroyed portion, so as to disconnect the connecting
portions.
[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of
LEDs is disposed on one end of each light pipe for emitting light
waves into the light pipe, and the other end of the light pipe
displays the light wave transmitted via the light pipe, so as to be
used as an indicating lamp.
[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fixing socket
comprises a plurality of buckling portions, and the light pipes are
fixed on the fixing socket with the buckling portions.
[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fixing socket
comprises a plurality of plugs, and the light pipes are fixed on
the fixing socket with the plugs.
[0013] In an embodiment of the present invention, the destructive
structure can block the transmission path of the light wave, so as
to prevent the mutual interference of the light waves when passing
through the connecting portions between two light pipes. The
destructive structure is, for example, a sharp object, a notch
structure, or a quirk, and it can cut off the to-be-destroyed
portion between the connecting portions under an external force.
The to-be-destroyed portion can be a necked-down portion, or can
have at least one through hole.
[0014] The present invention further provides a light-guiding
structure, which comprises a plurality of light pipes, a plurality
of connecting portions, and a fixing socket. The light pipes are
disposed on the fixing socket, and they are connected with the
connecting portions. A to-be-destroyed portion is formed between
the connecting portions. Furthermore, the fixing socket has a
plurality of light shielding walls, and the light pipes are
separated by the light shielding walls. The light shielding wall
has a destructive structure corresponding to the to-be-destroyed
portion, and the destructive structure is used to destroy the
to-be-destroyed portion, so as to disconnect the connecting
portions.
[0015] The light-guiding structure cutting off the to-be-destroyed
portion is employed in the present invention, such that the light
waves cannot be transmitted through the connecting portions, so as
to prevent the mutual interference of the light waves.
[0016] In order to make the aforementioned and other objects,
features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible,
preferred embodiments accompanied with figures are described in
detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the configuration of
conventional light pipes.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a light-guiding structure
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the configuration of a
light-guiding structure according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the light
pipes of FIG. 3 fixed on a fixing socket.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0022] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of light-guiding structure
according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is
a schematic view of the configuration of a light-guiding structure
according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be
firstly noted that, the light-guiding structure in this embodiment
can be applied for the indicating lamp of a display, a portable
computer, a tablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or the
like to display the operation state of the electronic device.
However, those of ordinary skill in the art may apply it on any
indicating lamps, point light sources, or linear light sources,
which is not limited herein.
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the light-guiding structure 200
includes a plurality of light pipes 210, a plurality of connecting
portions 220, and a fixing socket 230. Before the light pipe 210 is
assembled on the fixing socket 230, the light pipes 210 are
connected with the connecting portions 220, such that the light
pipes 210 can be integrally assembled on a suitable position in the
electronic device. The light pipe 210 and the connecting portions
220 are, for example, injected by a forming mold and then formed
through molding releasing process. Each light pipe 210 has a light
entrance end 212 and a light exit end 214, and the light entrance
end 212 is corresponding to each indicating light source (not
shown) of the electronic device, for example, a red LED, a green
LED, or a blue LED.
[0024] The light emitted by the indicating light sources may enter
from the light entrance end 212 of the light pipe 210, and transmit
to the light exit end 214 through the light transmission part 216,
for the user to see the indicating lamp to be bright or dark to
determine the operation state of the electronic device. As shown in
FIG. 3, a substrate 250 has a partition plate 252, and the light
exit end 214 of each light pipe 210 is exposed on the partition
plate 252, to be used as the indicating lamps.
[0025] In order to prevent light leakage, the fixing socket 230 has
a plurality of light shielding walls 232, and each light pipe 210
is disposed on the fixing socket 230 and separated by the light
shielding walls 232, so as to reduce the light refraction effect,
and thereby obstructing the light waves. However, since the light
waves may still pass through the light shielding walls 232 via the
connecting portions 220, it is not sufficient for blocking the
interference of the light wave by way of merely using the light
shielding walls 232 of the fixing socket 230. In the forming
process, the light pipes 210 are connected together through the
connecting portions 220, which is convenient for the subsequent
assembling operation. But after the assembling process, if the
connecting portions 220 are still maintained on the light pipes
210, the possibility of the interference of the light waves is
increased without any benefits. Therefore, in the present
invention, the connecting portions 220 are destroyed to block the
transmission path of the light waves.
[0026] Referring to FIG. 3, it is a schematic view of the
configuration of a light-guiding structure according to an
embodiment of the present invention. A to-be-destroyed portion 222
is formed between the connecting portions 220, and the fixing
socket 230 correspondingly has a destructive structure 234, such
that when an external force is applied to the to-be-destroyed
portion 222, the to-be-destroyed portion 222 is cut off by the
destructive structure 234. In order to easily destroy the
connecting portions 220, the sectional area of the to-be-destroyed
portion 222 can be smaller than that of the other regions without
being destroyed, for example, a through hole 222a or a necked-down
portion is formed on the to-be-destroyed portion 222 between the
connecting portions 220.
[0027] In this embodiment, the destructive structure 234 can be
disposed on the light shielding wall 232 in a form of protruding
from the light shielding wall 232 to form a sharp object. In
another embodiment, the destructive structure 234 can also be
formed by opening a notch structure or a V-shaped quirk on the
light shielding wall 232, such that the connecting portions 220 are
destroyed. As shown in FIG. 3, after the light pipes 210 has been
assembled, the to-be-destroyed portion 222 and the through hole
222a of FIG. 2 are destroyed, which cannot be seen in FIG. 3. The
destructive structure 234 is not limited to be disposed on the
light shielding wall 232, and it can be separately disposed on the
fixing socket 230 depending upon the actual conditions.
[0028] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the light
pipes of FIG. 3 fixed on a fixing socket. In order to firmly fix
each light pipe 210 on the fixing socket 230, the fixing socket 230
further has a plurality of plugs 240 and a plurality of buckling
elements 242 and 244. The plugs 240 can be inserted into a base
210a of the light pipe 210, and the plugs 240 are heated and
pressed, so as to be melted and fixed on the base 210a.
Furthermore, the buckling elements 242 and 244 are arranged on two
sides of the light pipes 210 in pairs. Once an external force is
applied on the light pipes 210, the buckling elements 242 and 244
are deformed under the external force, such that the light pipe 210
passes between the buckling elements 242 and 244 and thereby being
fixed under the buckling elements 242 and 244. Each light pipe 210
can be fixed on the fixing socket 230 through the plugs 240 and the
buckling elements 242 and 244, so even if the connecting portions
220 are destroyed, the assembling reliability is not affected.
[0029] To sum up, the light-guiding structure of the present
invention includes a plurality of light pipes, a plurality of
connecting portions, and a fixing socket. A to-be-destroyed portion
is formed between the connecting portions, and the fixing socket
has a corresponding destructive structure. When a force is applied
on the to-be-destroyed portion, the to-be-destroyed portion is cut
off by the destructive structure, so that the light waves cannot be
transmitted through the connecting portions. Furthermore, the
fixing socket further has a plurality of light shielding walls
disposed between two neighboring light pipes, so as to prevent the
interference of the light waves, and thereby preventing the
neighboring light sources from affecting each other.
[0030] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *