JP2001202803A - Signal indicator lamp using light emitting diode - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] A light emitting diode that is easy to assemble and disassemble, does not require space for electrical wiring and connection inside the indicator light itself, and has a high degree of freedom in changing specifications of the number and size of LEDs. Providing indicator lights using SOLUTION: Light-transmitting hollow gloves 5a, 5b,
5c is a signal indicating lamp in which light emitting diodes 8a, 8b, 8c are arranged as light sources, and globes 5a, 5b,
5c, a supporting column 2b disposed substantially coaxially, and a flexible substrate 6 which forms a conductive pattern on the power supply side and is attached so as to be wound around the column 2b. The light emitting diodes 8a, 8b, 8c are surface-mounted by conducting to the wiring pattern.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a signal indicating lamp using a light emitting diode for notifying an operating condition of various machines in a factory or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A variety of indicator lamps have been used to inform surrounding workers and the like of the operation status of various machines installed as production equipment in factories and the like or the arrival of maintenance time. Among such indicator lights, there are those using a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as “LED”) as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-40444.

The signal indicating lamp described in this publication distinguishes the operating state of a machine by three kinds of colors, red, yellow and green, similarly to the conventional one.
It uses ED. Then, for example, in order from top to bottom to divide the light emitting area in order of red, yellow, and green, 3
Blocks, and a cylindrical printed wiring board is incorporated in these blocks, and the printed wiring board is
D is implemented. The blocks are used not only to support the printed wiring board, but also as partitions of light-emitting regions of each color and as light-emitting surfaces from LEDs, and serve as trunks constituting the indicator lamp itself.

[0004]

One reason for incorporating LEDs of each color together with a printed wiring board in units of blocks is to change the combination of red, yellow, and green light emitting positions according to the application. In other words, in many cases, a red block that informs that a trouble has occurred in the operation of the machine is generally arranged at the upper stage, but when the machine is installed or when the worker is not allowed to approach the machine, the red block is used. In some cases, it is easier to confirm that the block is arranged at the bottom. Therefore, by enabling the combination of the emission colors in block units, it is possible to perform display according to the work environment at the site. In addition, by increasing the number of combinations instead of the three blocks of red, yellow, and green, the number of display functions can be increased.

However, since a printed wiring board is provided for each block, electric wiring must be connected to each of the printed wiring boards of each block. For this reason, the assembling work becomes complicated, and a holding portion for holding the wiring in each block is required. In addition, since the space for the wiring and the holding portion must be secured inside the indicator light, the size of the outer diameter of the indicator light is also restricted. Further, the printed wiring boards of the blocks can be connected to each other by a connector, but an extra space for incorporating the connector is required.

On the other hand, when the LED is mounted on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical printed wiring board as described in the above-mentioned publication, light can be emitted in all directions around the signal light. There is an advantage that there is no restriction. However, since a cylindrical printed wiring board has a wiring pattern formed on its outer peripheral surface, it is necessary to prepare printed wiring boards of various specifications according to the outer diameter of the signal indicator. For this reason, the number of specifications of the indicator lamps is also limited, and the response to the demand for special products is lacking.

As described above, in the conventional indicator lamp using LEDs, since a block incorporating a printed wiring board on which LEDs of each color are mounted is used as a unit, assembly and disassembly are troublesome, and a space for wiring is taken up. Therefore, there is a limit to miniaturization. Further, in the case where a cylindrical printed wiring board is used, light can be emitted in all directions, but there is a problem that it is poorly compatible with diversification of product specifications.

The present invention uses a light-emitting diode which is easy to assemble and disassemble, does not require a space for electrical wiring and connection inside the indicator light itself, and has a high degree of freedom in changing the specification of the number and size of the LEDs. It is intended to provide an indicator light.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a signal indicating lamp in which light-emitting diodes are arranged as light sources in a light-transmitting hollow globe, and a support pillar arranged substantially coaxially in the glove. And a flexible substrate that forms a conductive wiring pattern on the power supply side and is mounted around the support post so as to be imitated, and the light emitting diode is surface-mounted by conducting the wiring pattern on the flexible substrate. .

In such a configuration, a plurality of light emitting diodes can be energized by one flexible substrate, so that electric wiring is simplified, and only the flexible substrate and its wiring pattern are changed in accordance with the size of the support. Thus, it is possible to cope with the manufacture of signal indicators of various specifications.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 is a signal indicating lamp in which a light emitting diode is arranged as a light source in a light-transmitting hollow glove, which is arranged substantially coaxially in the glove. And a flexible substrate that forms a conductive wiring pattern on the power supply side and is mounted around the support column so as to be imitated, and the light emitting diode is surface-mounted by conducting the wiring pattern of the flexible substrate. It is a signal indicator light using a light emitting diode, and a single flexible board can supply electricity to a plurality of light emitting diodes, so that electrical wiring is simplified, and the flexible board and its wiring are adapted to the size of a support. The effect is that it is possible to cope with the manufacture of a signal indicator lamp of various specifications only by changing the pattern.

[0012] The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the light emitting diodes are arranged in a group having the same light emitting color, and the light emitting diodes are arranged in plural groups in the axial direction of the column. This is a signal display lamp using a light emitting diode, and has an effect that light emission can be displayed by pattern division by the number of emission colors.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the signal display using the light emitting diodes according to the first aspect, the light emitting diodes are arranged in a pattern as a combination of different emission colors of red, green and blue. It is a lamp, and has a function of enabling full-color light emission by controlling the blinking of the light emitting diodes of the three primary colors of light, red, green, and blue, so that the colors of the light emission display can be diversified.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the light-emitting diodes are formed as a group in which a combination pattern of different emission colors of red, green, and blue is formed as one group, and the light-emitting diodes are grouped into a plurality in the axial direction of the support. 2. A signal indicating lamp using a light emitting diode according to claim 1, wherein the signal indicating lamp is divided and arranged, and not only diversification of color identification by full-color light emission but also a combination of light emitting colors between groups of light emitting diodes is added. This has the effect that a displayed message can be obtained.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the support has a circular cross-sectional shape, and the flexible substrate is wound around and attached to the outer peripheral surface thereof.
It is a signal indicator light using the light emitting diode according to any of the above, if mounted on the wiring pattern of the flexible substrate so that the light emitting diodes are arranged at a substantially equal circumferential pitch around the support, the direction of the indicator light Irrespective of this, there is an effect that the display can be displayed and emitted with a uniform brightness around.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of an indicator lamp using the LED of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, an indicator light is connected to a base housing 2 at an upper end of a post 1 which stands on a work floor of a factory or an installed machine.
A display section L divided into yellow and green light emitting areas is disposed. A top cover 3 is disposed at an upper end of the display section L. A display section L is provided between the top cover 3 and the base housing 2. And a post 1 is attached to a metal plate base 2 a attached to the lower end of the base housing 2.
Are connected at the upper end.

In the display section L, three partition plates 4a, 4b, 4c are arranged in this order from the upper end of the base housing 2, and gloves 5a, 5b, 5c are respectively arranged between these partition plates 4a to 4c. Has a structured
The LED light source is arranged inside. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the internal structure of the display unit L.

As shown in FIG. 2, a support 2b is coaxially connected to the base 2a, and a flexible substrate 6 is integrally attached around the support 2b. As shown in FIG. 3, the support 2b is a column having a circular cross section with a uniform outer diameter, and is formed of an insulating resin or the like having an appropriate strength. The flexible substrate 6 is the same as the one used when a liquid crystal display module is formed by being conductively connected to, for example, a liquid crystal display panel of a mobile phone or the like.
As shown in the figure, the wiring pattern is sealed in an insulating film sheet 6a.

Film sheet 6a of flexible substrate 6
The wiring patterns formed on the common connection terminals 7a and 3
This is a three-system conductive path extending between the independent connection terminals 7b, 7c, and 7d. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, three groups of LEDs 8a, 8b, 8c from above are mounted on the conduction paths included in each system. These L
Each of the EDs 8a, 8b and 8c is a chip type that can be surface-mounted.
The middle group of LEDs 8b emit yellow light, and the lower group of L
The ED 8c emits green light. Then, each group of the LEDs 8a, 8b, 8c of these three emission colors has a positional relationship included in the globes 5c, 5b, 5a of the display unit L shown in FIG.

The flexible substrate 6 on which the LEDs 8a, 8b and 8c are mounted is wound around the support 2b as shown in FIG. 2, and is fixed to the support 2b with an adhesive. Then, the common connection terminal 7a and the independent terminals 7b, 7c, 7d
2 connected to the base 2a by wiring
Conductively connected to c and 2d. And LED8 of each emission color
By equalizing the mutual intervals in the width direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4) of the flexible substrates 6 of the groups a, 8b, and 8c, four LEDs 8a are equally spaced around the support 2b as shown in FIG. , 8b, 8c.

In the above configuration, red, yellow and green LEDs 8 are formed on the wiring pattern formed on one flexible substrate 6.
a, 8b, 8c are mounted with conduction. For this reason,
Compared with the conventional method in which each color is divided into blocks and electric wiring is connected to each block, the structure is simplified, and the assembling and disassembling operations are facilitated. Also, all the LEDs 8a, 8
Since only the lead wires 2c and 2d need be connected for b and 8c, the space occupied by the wiring and other electric systems can be reduced. Therefore, when the cylindrical globes 5a, 5b, and 5c are formed as shown in the figure, the outer diameter can be made smaller, and when the globes have a rectangular cross section, the globes can be made compact and flat.

Since the flexible substrate 6 is wound around the column 2b, the LEDs 8a, 8b, 8c mounted on the flexible substrate 6 are equally spaced around the column 2b in four directions as shown in FIG. It is a posture to face. Therefore, the light from the LEDs 8a, 8b, 8c can be emitted in all directions, and the operator of the machine can operate the display unit L regardless of the orientation of the display unit L with respect to the machine. Light emission can be confirmed without mistake.

FIG. 5 shows the display section L when a large indicator light is used.
It is a cross-sectional view which shows the principal part of. In the illustrated example, the red light emitting LED 8a is shown, but the same components as those in the previous example are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As compared with the example shown in FIG. 3, the outer diameter of the globe 5a of the display portion L is larger, and the outer diameter of the column 2b disposed therein is also larger. Therefore, since the peripheral length of the outer periphery of the column 2b is also long, if the wiring pattern is formed so that the LED 8a whose number is increased by enlarging the film sheet 6a of the flexible board 6 can be mounted, the LED 8 in the display section L can be mounted.
The emission luminance can be increased by increasing a. That is, in the conventional example, since a cylindrical substrate is used, it is necessary to prepare a large number of specifications in which the size of the cylindrical substrate is changed according to the size of the display portion L. On the other hand, in the present invention, it is only necessary to change the size of the flexible substrate 6 in accordance with the size of the column 2b, and it is easy to cope with a change in specifications as compared with the workability of the cylindrical substrate.

In addition, the flexible substrate 6 may be replaced by a column having a cross section such as a square instead of the column 2b.
If so, it can be pasted along the surface of the pillar. Therefore, the LED 8a,
If the wiring pattern of the flexible substrate 6 is arranged such that the lines 8b and 8c are arranged, it is possible to obtain a light emitting display having directivity corresponding to the four light emitting surfaces of the four pillars.

Further, in the illustrated example, L, yellow, and green light emission L
The EDs 8a, 8b and 8c are divided into respective groups.
For each group located corresponding to each globe 5a, 5b, 5c, a combination of LEDs emitting red, green, and blue light may be used. That is, each of the 12 LEDs 8a in FIG.
For each group of 8b and 8c, a pattern of arranging four LEDs of red, green and blue which are three primary colors of light,
By controlling the light emission and lighting of each color to mix colors,
Full-color light emission display becomes possible. Therefore, the three groups of LEDs 8a, 8b, 8c can all emit the same color, or the colors of the LEDs 8a, 8b, 8c of each group can be changed. Thus, the LEDs 8a, 8b, 8
By executing the blinking control of c, instead of displaying only the emission colors of red, green, and yellow, the emission colors are diversified and the globe 5a,
The number of displayed messages can be increased by the variation of the combination of the emission colors from 5b and 5c.

As described above, three of the LEDs 8a, 8b, 8c
By using a combination of red, green, and blue LEDs of the three primary colors of light in the light emitting area of the group, the display form from the display unit L can be variously changed. Therefore, if the operation status of the machine is classified into more subdivided items and display forms corresponding to these items are set in advance, three colors of red, yellow, and green light are emitted.
Not only the street information, but also how the machine works for a variety of situational conditions.

[0030]

According to the present invention, since light-emitting diodes of different colors can be mounted on a flexible substrate which is mounted so as to follow the columns, display light of each color can be obtained. In particular, the wiring structure is simplified and the wiring space is reduced. For this reason, reduction in the number of parts and reduction in the number of assembling steps are promoted, and a great improvement in cost can be obtained.

In addition, even when the size and shape of the support are changed into various specification products, the specifications can be changed only by processing the flexible substrate in accordance with the size of the outer peripheral surface of the support, and the demand for special products is also reduced. Can respond promptly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of a signal indicator using a light emitting diode of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an outline of a light emitting unit incorporated in a display unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a main part of a display unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic development view showing a flexible substrate on which an LED is mounted on a wiring pattern.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a globe and a support column having a large diameter and an LED.
Schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of increasing the number of mounted

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 post 2 base housing 2a base 2b support 2c, 2d lead wire 3 top cover 4a, 4b, 4c partition plate 5a, 5b, 5c globe 6 flexible substrate 6a film sheet 7a common connection terminal 7b, 7c, 7d independent connection terminal 8a , 8b, 8c LED (light emitting diode)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A signal indicating lamp in which light emitting diodes are arranged as light sources in a light-transmitting hollow glove, wherein a support pillar disposed substantially coaxially in the glove and a wiring connected to a power supply side. A flexible substrate on which the pattern is formed and attached around the support column, wherein the light emitting diode is surface-mounted by conducting to a wiring pattern of the flexible substrate. . 2. The light-emitting diode according to claim 1, wherein light-emitting diodes having the same emission color are arranged as one group, and the light-emitting diodes are arranged in a plurality in the axial direction of the support. Signal indicator light. 3. A signal indicating lamp using a light emitting diode according to claim 1, wherein said light emitting diodes are arranged in a pattern as a combination of different emission colors of red, green and blue. 4. A group in which the light emitting diodes are formed in a combination pattern of different emission colors of red, green, and blue,
2. The signal indicating lamp using a light emitting diode according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting diode group is divided into a plurality in the axial direction of the column. 5. The signal display using a light emitting diode according to claim 1, wherein the support has a circular cross-sectional shape, and the flexible substrate is wound around an outer peripheral surface thereof. light.