Illumination apparatus with housing frame including cut-out portion for FPC
AssigneeMinebea Co., Ltd.
InventorToshinori Chino
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spread illuminating apparatus including a housing frame, the housing frame including respective positioning means for a light conductive bar, and a light conductive plate, and a recess for positioning a spot-like light source. The spot-like light source is mounted on a flexible printed circuit (FPC) that extends from a bottom surface of the housing frame through side and top surfaces thereof, and reaches the recess, in which the spot-like light source is housed. A cut-out for accommodating the FPC is formed in a top surface of the housing frame, and two slots for receiving the ends of the FPC are formed at both side walls of the cut-out, whereby the spot-like light source can be fixedly set in place.
Claims19
A spread illuminating apparatus of side light system, comprising
- a light conductive plate made of a light-transmissible material;
- a light conductive bar disposed along and close to at least one end surface of said light conductive plate;
- a spot-like light source mounted on an FPC, disposed in such a manner as to face at least one end surface of said light conductive bar, and adapted to emit light rays to be introduced into said light conductive plate through said light conductive bar;
- and
- a housing frame provided with a positioning means for said light conductive plate, a positioning means for said light conductive bar, and a recess for positioning said spot-like light source, wherein:
- a top surface of said housing frame includes a cut-out portion for housing said FPC, said cut-out portion extending from a side surface of the housing frame to said recess for positioning said spot-like light source, and
- a portion of said FPC extends from a bottom surface of said housing frame, at least one of wraps around a portion of the side surface of the housing frame or through said cut-out portion, and further extends along at least a portion of said top surface of said housing frame.
A spread illuminating apparatus of side light system, comprising:
- a first light conducting member made of a light-transmissible material;
- a second light conducting member, the second light conducting member being arranged substantially adjacent to at least a first surface of the first light conducting member;
- a light source arranged on a flexible printed circuit, the light source arranged to emit light rays toward at least one surface of the second light conducting member such that the emitted light rays travel through the second light conducting member and reach at least the first surface of the first light conducting member;
- and
- a housing member, the housing member comprising a receiving portion, the receiving portion being a portion of the housing member having at least one recess in an outer surface of the housing member, wherein
- an end portion of the flexible printed circuit at least partially overlaps a first surface and a second surface of the housing member, the first surface and the second surface extending substantially along two different directions, and
- when the flexible printed circuit including any components and conductive patterns arranged thereon is set into position in the receiving portion, the flexible printed circuit including any components and conductive patterns arranged thereon is contained within a space defined by the at least one recess or an internal space of the receiving portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.