Remote control with key lighting

A remote control for remote controlling an appliance from a place remote from the place of the appliance, said remote control comprising:

• a circuit board having circuits for performing various remote control functions, having a light emitting circuit including at least one light emitting element and having a plurality of spaced apart first contacts, said light emitting circuit including one of said first contacts;
• a contact plate disposed over said circuit board and having a plurality of spaced apart second contacts which can individually and selectively be moved against one of said first contacts to close respective ones of said remote control circuits, said plurality of second contacts including a second contact associated with the light emitting circuit which selectively can be moved into contact with one of said first contacts associated with said lighting circuit for closing said light emitting circuit;
• said at least one light emitting element being disposed at a predetermined position on said circuit board to protrude upwardly from said circuit board and being connected into said light emitting circuit, said light emitting circuit being constructed and arranged to cause said light emitting element to emit light for several seconds at an activated state that is established when said light emitting circuit is closed by said first and second contacts associated with said light emitting circuit coming into contact with each other;
• said contact plate having at least one through hole therethrough adapted to allow light to pass upwardly therethrough from said light emitting element;
• a transparent or translucent elastomeric plate having, at an upper surface thereof, a plurality of upwardly protruding buttons corresponding respectively to and positioned over said second contacts which overlie and correspond to said first contacts on said circuit board and having at, a lower surface thereof, a plurality of downwardly extending pressing projections, each located over a second contact;
• and,
• a transparent or translucent button fixing or locating plate having a plurality of through holes which receive and serve to fix, locate and guide each downwardly extending pressing projection against one of said second contacts to cause said second contact to come into aligned contact with its associated first contact on said circuit board to ensure accurate closing of each of said remote control circuits, whereby,
• when said button associated with said first and second contacts associated with said light emitting circuit is depressed to bring it into contact with its associated second contact, said light emitting circuit is closed and said light emitting element projects light against said transparent or translucent fixing plate which scatters light emitted from said light emitting element so that said scattered light is spread along all of said transparent or translucent fixing plate and into said buttons thereby illuminating same to a user of the remote control.