JP7495279B2 - Alarm - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an alarm.

Patent Document 1 discloses an alarm device that includes a case body with a display window, a lens portion disposed on the display window of the case body from the rear side, a substrate housed within the case body, and a display panel disposed between the lens portion and the substrate.

In order for such alarms to pass the indicator light test (easy to see from 3 m away in a room with 300 lux), it is necessary to improve the visibility of the display panel.

However, when using inexpensive reflective liquid crystal for the display panel, visibility is determined by how much light hits the reflector, so it is necessary to configure it so that visibility is improved even when there is little light.

JP 2017-58716 A

Therefore, in order to improve the visibility of the display panel of an alarm such as that of Patent Document 1, it is desirable to devise a configuration that can utilize the light that strikes the lens body more effectively than ever before.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and aims to provide an alarm that can improve the visibility of the display panel by making more effective use of the light that hits the lens body than conventional alarms.

The alarm device according to the present invention comprises a substrate, a display panel mounted on the substrate via terminals, and a lens body portion which covers a surface portion of the display panel and is light transmissible, the rear surface of the lens body portion being textured, and the surface of the lens body portion having a front mirror-finished surface which is mirror-finished, and a front textured surface which is textured around the periphery of the front mirror-finished surface.The alarm device according to the present invention comprises a substrate, a display panel mounted on the substrate via terminals, and a lens body portion which covers a surface portion of the display panel and is light transmissible, the rear surface of the lens body portion being textured, and the rear textured surface is formed on the rear surface of the lens body portion at a position which is outside the edge of the display panel.

The alarm device of the present invention improves display performance by making the display panel appear brighter as light strikes the textured back surface and is diffusely reflected. As a result, the light that strikes the lens body can be used more effectively than ever before, improving the visibility of the display panel.

The present invention makes it possible to utilize the light that strikes the lens body more effectively than ever before, improving the visibility of the display panel.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic diagram of an alarm device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the internal structure of the alarm device with the upper case removed. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration on a substrate. 1A is a perspective view of the lens portion as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the lens portion as viewed from the rear side. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the lens unit and the display panel. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a lens portion, a display panel, and a substrate, in which the display panel is disposed at a position farther away from the lens portion than in an actual embodiment. 1A is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1, showing the path of light reflected and diffusely reflected by the lens portion, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1, showing the path of light reflected and diffusely reflected by the lens portion.

The present invention will be described below in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, in the embodiment described below, some configurations are omitted from illustration and description, but it goes without saying that publicly known or well-known technologies are used as appropriate for the details of the omitted technologies, within the scope of not causing any contradiction with the contents described below.

Figure 1 is a front view showing a schematic of an alarm device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the internal structure of the alarm device 1 with the upper case 12 removed. Figure 3 is a plan view showing the configuration on the board 30. The alarm device 1 according to this embodiment is an alarm device that issues an alarm for, for example, methane, hydrogen, or carbon monoxide (CO), and is used by being installed, for example, on a wall inside a room, and detects and issues an alarm when an abnormal condition (such as a gas leak or incomplete combustion in a combustion appliance) occurs at the installation location (gas alarm function). The alarm device 1 according to this embodiment is an alarm device that issues an alarm for fire, and is used by being installed, for example, on a wall inside a room, and detects and issues an alarm when an abnormal condition (such as smoke or fire) occurs at the installation location (fire alarm function). This alarm device 1 is battery-powered.

The alarm 1 has a case body 10, circuit boards 30 and 31, a display panel 37, multiple LEDs 35, a switch 36, a gas sensor 50, a CO sensor 60, and a battery (not shown).

(Case body)
1 and 2, the case body 10 is a housing that houses the above-mentioned circuit boards 30, 31, display panel 37, multiple LEDs 35, switch 36, gas sensor 50, CO sensor 60, battery (not shown), etc. The case body 10 is made up of a lower case 11 (see FIG. 2) and an upper case 12 (see FIG. 1) which are separable from each other, and the housing is formed by fitting the lower case 11 and the upper case 12 together. When installing the alarm 1, it is fixed to a wall or the like with the lower case 11 facing back.

The lower case 11 is a box-shaped member with an open front side, and is made of synthetic resin or the like. The lower case 11 has a rectangular plate-shaped back part 11a and a rectangular frame-shaped peripheral wall part 11b erected on the periphery of the back part 11a. The substrate 30, which will be described later, is arranged parallel or approximately parallel to the back part 11a of the lower case 11.

The upper case 12 is a box-shaped member with an open back side, and is made of synthetic resin or the like. The upper case 12 has a rectangular plate-shaped front part 12a and a rectangular frame-shaped peripheral wall part 12b erected on the periphery of the front part 12a. The outer surface (front) of the front part 12a has a speaker output part 13, an operation part 14, a display window part 15, a display part 16, and a slit 17.

The speaker output section 13 is composed of, for example, multiple slits, and is formed at a position corresponding to a speaker (not shown) arranged on the substrate 30.

The operation unit 14 operates the switch 36 through a pressing action by the user. Specifically, the operation unit 14 is configured so that a required portion of the upper case 12 is elastically deformable, and is configured with text markings such as "alarm stop." The operation unit 14 is formed in a position corresponding to the switch 36 arranged on the substrate 30.

The display window 15 is formed as a rectangular opening cut out of part of the upper case 12, and is formed in a position corresponding to the display panel 37 (see FIG. 7(a) described below) mounted on the substrate 30. A lens portion 40 is disposed in the display window 15 to protect the display panel 37 and to position it on the substrate 30. A method of arranging the display panel 37 using the lens portion 40 will be described later.

The display unit 16 is configured as an opening formed by cutting out part of the upper case 12 in a vertically long rectangular shape, and is formed in a position corresponding to the multiple LEDs 35 arranged on the substrate 30. A transparent or translucent plate is disposed in the opening that constitutes the display unit 16 to close the opening.

The slit 17 is an opening formed in the case body 10 and passes through the inside and outside of the case body 10. The slit 17 functions as an opening through which the atmosphere around the alarm device 1 can enter the interior of the alarm device 1.

(substrate)
The substrate 30 is a printed wiring board, and has a gas sensor 50, a CO sensor 60, and a plurality of other electronic components mounted thereon by soldering or the like. The substrate 30 has a wiring pattern that is electrically connected to the mounted display panel 37 and other electronic components to form an electric circuit.

The substrate 30 also has a treated surface 30a, a plurality of through holes 30b, an opening 30c, and a notch 30d. The treated surface 30a is a white surface that is treated by silk screen printing on the projection portion of the lens body 41 projected toward the substrate 30, and is provided to reflect light (see Figures 6, 7(a), and 7(b)). The white surface here refers to a surface of a color that reflects light with a wavelength of 380 nm to 750 nm with a spectral reflectance of 80% or more in the spectral reflectance curve. This white surface is better if it is a white surface with a spectral reflectance close to 100%. In this embodiment, as will be described later with reference to Figure 6, the treated surface 30a is formed on the back embossed surface 63 of the second plate thickness portion 41b and on the back surface of the first plate thickness portion 41a, which is opposite to the surface on the inside of the back embossed surface 63 by a predetermined dimension.

The through holes 30b are holes into which the terminals 38 of the display panel 37 are inserted. The openings 30c are portions into which the upper legs 43 (see FIG. 4B) of the lens unit 40 are inserted. The notches 30d are portions into which the lower legs 43 (see FIG. 4B) of the lens unit 40 are engaged.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the substrate 31 is disposed perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the rear surface portion 11a of the lower case 11. As shown in FIG.

(Display panel)
The display panel 37 is, for example, a reflective liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. The display panel 37 is mounted on the substrate 30 via terminals 38. The display panel 37 is controlled by a microcomputer to display the battery state. Specifically, when the battery voltage is equal to or higher than a predetermined voltage, the display panel 37 displays that there is a battery (or the power is on) (for example, a solid black display of a battery-shaped symbol). Conversely, when the battery voltage is less than the predetermined voltage, the display panel 37 displays that the battery is dead (or the power is off) (for example, a display without the solid black display of the battery shape). The display panel 37 is mounted on the substrate 30 by inserting the terminals 38 into the through holes 30b of the substrate 30. The display panel 37 faces the display window 15 (see FIG. 1) via a lens unit 40.

The LEDs 35 are mounted on the substrate 30 and are configured, for example, with three LEDs corresponding to red, yellow and green. These LEDs 35 are controlled by a microcomputer to output an alarm from the gas sensor 50 and the CO sensor 60, or to output a warning state.
The switch 36 is mounted on the substrate 30 and instructs the microcomputer to start an inspection operation or to stop an alarm.

A speaker (not shown) is mounted on the substrate 30 and is controlled by the microcomputer to output alarms generated by the gas sensor 50 and the CO sensor 60 .
A microcomputer (not shown) is mounted on the substrate 30 and is responsible for controlling the alarm device 1, and issues an alarm by controlling the LED 35 and speaker based on the detection signals output from the gas sensor 50 and the CO sensor 60.

(Gas sensor)
The gas sensor 50 is, for example, a semiconductor gas sensor. The gas sensor 50 detects the concentration of methane contained in the atmosphere entering the case body 10 through the slit 17 (see FIG. 1 ) and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the concentration to a microcomputer. Note that the gas sensor 50 may be another gas sensor such as a catalytic combustion type gas sensor.

The gas sensor 50 is mounted on the substrate 31. The gas sensor 50 has a cylindrical outer shape and is arranged so that its longitudinal direction (axial direction of the cylinder) is parallel to the substrate 30 and perpendicular to the substrate 31. Therefore, the gas sensor 50 is arranged horizontally (parallel to the back surface 11a and the front surface 12a) in the lower case 11 (case body 10). The gas sensor 50 is composed of a cylindrical sensor body 50a and a detection section 50b that is arranged at one end of the sensor body 50a and is used to detect the gas to be detected.

(CO sensor)
The CO sensor 60 is, for example, an electrochemical CO sensor. The CO sensor 60 detects the concentration of carbon monoxide contained in the atmosphere entering the case body 10 through the slit 17 (see FIG. 1 ) and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the concentration to the microcomputer.

The CO sensor 60 is mounted on the substrate 30. The CO sensor 60 has a cylindrical outer shape and is arranged so that its longitudinal direction (axial direction of the cylinder) is parallel to the substrate 30. Therefore, the CO sensor 60 is arranged horizontally (parallel to the back surface 11a and the front surface 12a) in the lower case 11 (case body 10). The CO sensor 60 is composed of a cylindrical sensor body 60a and a detection section 60b that is arranged at one end of the sensor body 60a and is used to detect the gas to be detected.

(Lens section)
Fig. 4(a) is a perspective view of the lens unit 40 as viewed from the front side, and Fig. 4(b) is a perspective view of the lens unit 40 as viewed from the back side. The solid shaded areas in Fig. 4(a) and Fig. 4(b) are the parts that are textured, and are drawn with shaded lines for convenience in explaining the positions of the textured areas. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the lens unit 40 and the display panel 37. The solid shaded areas extending in the lower right direction in Fig. 5 and the dotted shaded areas extending in the upper right direction in Fig. 5 are the parts that are textured, and are drawn with shaded lines for convenience in explaining the positions of the textured areas.

Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the lens unit 40, display panel 37, and substrate 30, in which the display panel 37 is positioned farther away from the lens unit 40 than in reality. The bold line portion of the lens body 41 in Figure 6 is the part that has been embossed, and is drawn with diagonal lines for convenience in explaining the position of the embossing. The bold line portion of the substrate 30 in Figure 6 is the part that has been processed by silk screen printing, and is drawn with bold lines for convenience in explaining the position that has been processed by silk screen printing.

The lens unit 40 is disposed inside the upper case 12 (on the rear side of the upper case 12) so as to be visible through the display window 15 of the upper case 12 (see Figs. 6, 7(a) and 7(b)). As shown in Figs. 4(a) and 4(b), the lens unit 40 has a lens body 41, a frame 42 and legs 43.

(Lens body)
The lens body 41 is formed in a flat plate shape using a material that can transmit light. The lens body 41 is a portion that covers the surface 37a (see FIG. 6) and the edge 37b (see FIG. 6) of the display panel 37 from the front (see FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b)). In this embodiment, the lens body 41 can also be said to be a portion that faces the surface 37a and the edge 37b of the display panel 37. The lens body 41 has a first plate thickness portion 41a and a second plate thickness portion 41b. The first plate thickness portion 41a and the second plate thickness portion 41b will be described below, particularly with reference to FIG. 6.

(First plate thickness part, back side, front side)
The first thick portion 41a is a portion that is formed with a first thickness W1. The first thick portion 41a has a rectangular flat plate shape and faces the front surface of the display panel 37.

The back surface of the first plate thickness portion 41a has a back mirror-finished surface 61 and a back peripheral surface 62. The back mirror-finished surface 61 is a mirror-finished surface that transmits light. The back peripheral surface 62 is a surface formed around the back mirror-finished surface 61. The back peripheral surface 62 is an embossed surface. Note that embossing refers to a process in which etching is performed on the surface of a component to create, for example, wood grain, rock grain, sand grain, matte finish, geometric patterns, etc.

The surface of the first plate thickness portion 41a has a front mirror-finished surface 51 and a front textured surface 52. The front mirror-finished surface 51 is a mirror-finished surface that transmits light. The front textured surface 52 is a textured surface that surrounds the front mirror-finished surface 51.

(Second plate thickness part, back side, front side)
The second thick plate portion 41b is disposed around the first thick plate portion 41a, and is a portion formed with a second thickness W2 that is thicker than the first thickness W1. The second thick plate portion 41b is disposed so as to be exposed to the outside from the display window portion 15 (see FIG. 1) so as to be visible when the alarm device 1 is viewed from the front. The second thick plate portion 41b is disposed around the display panel 37, so that light can enter the area around the display panel 37.

The back surface of the second plate thickness portion 41b is a back textured surface 63. The back textured surface 63 is formed by texture processing at a position on the back surface of the lens body portion 41 that is outside the edge portion 37b of the display panel 37, and is a surface that diffusely reflects light when it is incident on it. The back textured surface 63 is located around the back peripheral surface 62. A step surface 64 is formed between the back peripheral surface 62 and the back textured surface 63. In this embodiment, the step surface 64 is formed so as to be perpendicular to the back peripheral surface 62 and the back textured surface 63. The step surface 64 faces the edge portion 37b of the display panel 37.

The surface of the second plate thickness portion 41b has a surface textured surface 52 and an engagement recess 53. The surface textured surface 52 is a surface textured on the surface of the second plate thickness portion 41b, and is formed in a range outside the surface mirror finish surface 51. The surface textured surface 52 is provided across the surface of the first plate thickness portion 41a and the surface of the second plate thickness portion 41b. The surface textured surface 52 is formed flush with the surface mirror finish surface 51. Comparing the texture of the surface textured surface 52 and the texture of the back textured surface 63, the texture of the surface textured surface 52 is formed by finer textures (more textures per unit area), and the texture of the back textured surface 63 is formed by coarser textures (fewer textures per unit area). This difference is provided in order to enhance the concealing function of the surface textured surface 52 compared to the back textured surface 63. The texture of the front textured surface 52 and the texture of the back textured surface 63 may be substantially the same in height.
The engagement recess 53 is a portion that engages with the display window 15 of the upper case 12 from the rear surface side of the upper case 12. The engagement recess 53 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the display window 15.

As shown in FIG. 4(b), a plurality of support parts 45, 46 extend from the back embossed surface 63 of the second plate thickness part 41b of the lens body part 41. As shown in FIG. 5, the display panel 37 is fitted into these support parts 45, 46, and the display panel 37 is supported by the lens part 40.

(Frame body part)
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B , the frame portion 42 is erected on the periphery of the rear surface of the lens body portion 41 so as to surround the lens body portion 41 .

(leg)
As shown in Figures 4(a) and 4(b), the legs 43 extend from the frame portion 42 towards the substrate 30, and position the lens main body portion 41 in front of the substrate 30. In this embodiment, the legs 43 are provided in two locations corresponding to the top and bottom of the lens portion 40 when the installed state of the alarm device 1 is used as the reference.

In the lens unit 40 configured in this way, the upper leg 43 is press-fitted into the opening 30c of the substrate 30, and the lower leg 43 is engaged with the notch 30d, so that the lens unit 40 is fixed to the substrate 30. In this case, the display panel 37 is set on the rear side of the lens unit 40. Specifically, the display panel 37 faces the rear side of the lens body 41, and the periphery of the display panel 37 is held by the frame 42.

Next, how light travels through the lens portion 40 and the substrate 30 will be described below.
7(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1, showing the path of light reflected and diffused by the lens portion 40, and Fig. 7(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Fig. 1, showing the path of light reflected and diffused by the lens portion 40. The light travels in the direction of arrow L1, passes through the first plate thickness portion 41a from the front mirror-finished surface 51, and is reflected in the direction of arrow L2 by the rear surface of the display panel 37, heading toward the user.

The light travels in the direction of arrow L3, enters the second plate thickness portion 41b from the embossed front surface 52, is diffused by the embossed back surface 63, and is reflected in the direction of arrow L4 toward the user. As a result, the user visually recognizes that the embossed back surface 63 is bright.

The light travels in the direction of arrow L3, passes from the front textured surface 52 through the second thick portion 41b, and travels in the direction of arrow L5 (or is diffusely reflected by the back textured surface 63 and travels in the direction of arrow L8) to reach the substrate 30, where it is reflected on the surface of the substrate 30 in the direction of arrow L6 (or in the direction of arrow L9 for light that travels in the direction of arrow L8), passes from the back textured surface 63 through the second thick portion 41b, and travels from the front textured surface 52 in the direction of arrow L7 (or in the direction of arrow L10 for light that travels in the direction of arrow L9) toward the user. This allows the user to visually recognize that the back textured surface 63 is even brighter.

As described above, the alarm 1 according to this embodiment comprises a substrate 30, a display panel 37 mounted on the substrate 30 via terminals 38, and a lens body 41 that covers the surface 37a of the display panel 37 and is light-transmitting, with the back surface of the lens body 41 being textured and formed with a textured back surface 63. With this configuration, light hits the textured back surface 63 and is diffusely reflected, making the display panel 37 appear brighter, improving the display function. As a result, the light that hits the lens body 41 can be used more effectively than before, improving the visibility of the display panel 37.

In addition, this configuration also makes the display panel 37 brighter, making it easier to tell that it is an LCD display even from a distance. It also makes it easier for a certification agency to recognize it as an indicator light. Because the display panel 37 has a strong presence, it can be recognized as an indicator light even without the words "battery display" being displayed, which simplifies the design.

The substrate 30 also has a white-colored treated surface 30a that has been treated by silk screen printing at the projection portion where the lens body portion 41 is projected onto the substrate 30. With this configuration, light can be reflected by the treated surface 30a of the substrate 30 after passing through the lens body portion 41. The light passes through the second plate thickness portion 41b and heads toward the user. As a result, the user can see the second plate thickness portion 41b more brightly, improving the visibility of the display panel 37 as a whole.

The surface of the lens body 41 has a mirror-finished front mirror-finished surface 51 and a textured front surface 52 that is textured around the mirror-finished front surface 51. With this configuration, the mirror-finished front surface 51 can hide the internal substrate 30 from the periphery of the display panel 37, and can also hide structures other than the display surface of the display panel 37 (metal fittings and edges). In particular, the edges of the display panel 37 are structurally black, and when viewed from a distance, the display panel 37 appears to be displaying something, but the mirror-finished front surface 51 can hide this. The difference in brightness between the mirror-finished front surface 51 and the textured front surface 52 makes it easier to see the frame of the display panel 37.

The back embossed surface 63 is formed on the back surface of the lens body 41 at a position outside the edge 37b of the display panel 37. With this configuration, light can pass next to the edge of the display panel 37 and illuminate the area next to the edge of the display panel 37.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and other technologies may be appropriately combined to the extent possible.

[Modification 1]
In the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment described above, the display panel 37 was a reflective liquid crystal display panel, but this is not limited to the above embodiment. That is, the display panel 37 may be a liquid crystal display provided with a backlight, or an organic EL that does not require a backlight. Even with this configuration, it is possible to brighten the area around the display panel 37.

[Modification 2]
Furthermore, in the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment described above, the second thickness W2 of the second thick portion 41b is greater than the first thickness W1 of the first thick portion 41a, but this is not limited to the above embodiment. That is, the second thickness W2 of the second thick portion 41b and the first thickness W1 of the first thick portion 41a may be the same.

1: Alarm device 10: Case body 11: Lower case 11a: Rear part 11b: Peripheral wall part 12: Upper case 12a: Front part 12b: Peripheral wall part 13: Speaker output part 14: Operation part 15: Display window part 16: Display part 17: Slit 30: Substrate 30a: Treatment surface 30b: Through hole 30c: Opening 30d: Notch part 31: Substrate 35: Multiple LEDs
36: Switch 37: Display panel 37a: Surface portion 37b: Edge portion 38: Terminal 40: Lens portion 41: Lens body portion 41a: First plate thickness portion 41b: Second plate thickness portion 42: Frame body portion 43: Legs 45, 46: Support portion 50: Gas sensor 50a: Sensor body 50b: Detection portion 51: Front mirror-finished surface 52: Front textured surface 53: Engagement recess 60: CO sensor 60a: Sensor body 60b: Detection portion 61: Back mirror-finished surface 62: Back peripheral surface 63: Back textured surface 64: Step surfaces L1 to L10: Arrow W1: First plate thickness W2: Second plate thickness

Claims (3)

A substrate;
a display panel mounted on the substrate via a terminal;
a lens body portion that covers a surface portion of the display panel and is capable of transmitting light;
The lens body has a back surface that is textured,
The surface of the lens body portion is
A mirror-finished front surface;
A surface textured surface which is textured around the periphery of the surface mirror finish;
An alarm device comprising : A substrate;
a display panel mounted on the substrate via a terminal;
a lens body portion that covers a surface portion of the display panel and is capable of transmitting light;
The lens body has a back surface that is textured,
An alarm device , characterized in that the back embossed surface is formed on the back surface of the lens body at a position outside the edge of the display panel. 3. The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a white treated surface that is treated by silk screen printing at a projection portion of the lens body portion projected onto the substrate.

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