Patent Publication Number: US-2019195480-A1

Title: Electronic device with illuminant

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-247583 filed on Dec. 25, 2017 the entire disclosure of which, including the description, claims, drawings, and abstract, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electronic device with an illuminant. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
     Conventionally, there is known an electronic device such as a speaker system, having a housing with faces provided with an indicator which emits light (such as a light emitting surface) and an operation unit. 
     As an electronic apparatus of this kind, for example, the speaker device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-32187 is provided with an indicator and an operation unit on a top face of the housing. The speaker device can be installed with the top face tilting obliquely. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device includes: multiple light transmissive panels which are provided so that light emitting surfaces of the panels are not parallel to each other; a plurality of light emitters which includes a first light emitter and a second light emitter, the first light emitter and the second light emitter being provided corresponding to one of the panels and each radiating light to out of the electronic device through the one of the panels; and a partition plate which is erected between the first light emitter and the second light emitter so that the partition plate prevents the light of the first light emitter from being incident on a position on the one of the panels where the light of the second light emitter is incident. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a speaker device according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2C  are views of the speaker device according to the embodiment viewed from respective three directions. 
         FIG. 3  is a view schematically showing arrangement of speaker units in a rear case of the speaker device according to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 4A  is a sectional view of the speaker device taken along the line IV-IV in  FIG. 2B , and  FIG. 4B  is a detailed view of the portion A in  FIG. 4A . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the rear case in a state where an inner case according to the embodiment is incorporated. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a rotary encoder mounted on a dial substrate, for explaining an internal structure of a dial type switch according to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 7A  is a sectional view of the speaker device as in  FIG. 4A , and  FIG. 7B  is a perspective view of the sectional view of  FIG. 7A  viewed obliquely from the front. 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  show a modification example of the embodiment.  FIG. 8A  is a sectional view of a speaker device as in  FIG. 4A , and  FIG. 8B  is a detailed view of the portion B in  FIG. 8A . 
         FIG. 9  is a view schematically showing arrangement of speaker units and bass reflex ports in a rear case according to a second modification example of the embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a view schematically showing arrangement of speaker units and passive radiators in a rear case according to a third modification example of the embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic view of a speaker device according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, embodiments will now be described with reference to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 11 , in which an electronic device according to the present invention is applied to a speaker device (speaker system). 
     The following embodiments involve various technically preferred limitations for accomplishing the present invention, however, the scope of the invention should not be limited to the embodiments and the drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a speaker device  1  according to the present embodiment.  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2C  are views of the speaker device  1  from three directions.  FIG. 2A  is a plan view,  FIG. 2B  is a front view, and  FIG. 2C  is a lateral view from the right.  FIG. 3  is a view schematically showing arrangement of loudspeakers  23  in a rear case  2  of the speaker device  1 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the speaker device  1  is a computer including a CPU  71  (processor, controller), a RAM  72 , a ROM  73 , LEDs  511  (light emitters), LEDs  611  (light emitters), an operation unit  22 , a loudspeaker(s)  23 , and the like. The CPU  71  executes a control program stored in the ROM  73  and the RAM  72  and causes the loudspeaker  23  to output musical tones and the LEDs  511  and  611  to emit light in accordance with the operation signal output from the operation unit  22 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the speaker device  1  of the present embodiment is an active speaker with a built-in amplifier and is formed in a substantially hexagonal truncated pyramid shape having a hexagonal shape when viewed from the front. The speaker device  1  is a Bluetooth speaker compliant with Bluetooth (registered trademark) of the Wireless Personal Area Network standard. The speaker device  1  can reproduce audio data received wirelessly from various digital devices which are also compatible with Bluetooth. 
     In the following, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “rear (back)”, “left”, and “right” are used to indicate directions described in the drawings, in which the front direction of the speaker device  1  is defined as a front side, and the side having the operation unit  22  described later is defined as an upper side. Further, the terms “radial direction” and “peripheral direction”, and similar terms thereof are used to indicate directions in reference to the center axis Ax of the speaker device  1  which is along the front-back direction (see  FIG. 4 ), unless otherwise specified. 
     Specifically, the speaker device  1  is provided with the rear case  2  whose front side is open. 
     The rear case  2  is formed in a substantially hexagonal truncated pyramid shape whose hexagonal shaped section in the front view gradually decreases toward the rear. 
     More precisely, the rear case  2  has a hexagonal shape when viewed from the front, which is three-fold rotationally symmetry with short sides and long sides alternately connected. The periphery of the front edge of an opening of the rear case  2  is formed in a sawtooth-like shape in the lateral view, since three tilt portions  21  tilting back and forth at a constant tilt angle are connected along the periphery so as to form a ring (see  FIG. 5 ). Each tilt portion  21  extends over the central angle range of 120° when viewed from the front, which is the range from one vertex to another vertex at two points ahead of the one vertex in the present embodiment. 
     The rear case  2  constitutes all the surfaces composing the outer face of the speaker device  1  except for a front surface  1   a , that is, the six surrounding side surfaces including the upper and lower surfaces (i.e., the upper surface  2   a , the lower surface  2   b , the two (left and right) upper side surfaces  2   c , the two (left and right) lower side surfaces  2   d ), the and a rear surface (back surface)  2   e . Among the six surrounding side surfaces, the upper surface  2   a  and the two lower side surfaces  2   d  are on the short sides viewed from the front, and the lower surface  2   b  and the two upper side surfaces  2   c  are on the long sides viewed from the front. 
     The upper surface  2   a  of the rear case  2  is provided with an operation unit (user interface)  22  which mainly receives various operations by a user. The operation unit  22  has multiple buttons  221 . These multiple buttons  221  include, for example, a power button, a volume button, a light ON/OFF button for turning on/off the LEDs  511  and  611  described later, a pairing button for pairing of Bluetooth, a mode switching button for switching the acoustic mode, and the like. Further, the operation unit  22  is provided with various terminals such as a power supply terminal (DC jack), a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal, and an audio input terminal, though not shown in the drawings. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , each of the two (left and right) upper side surfaces  2   c  of the rear case  2  is provided with a loudspeaker  23  which is a speaker unit of a full range (for all frequency bands). 
     It should be noted that  FIG. 3  is a diagram showing the arrangement of the loudspeakers  23  in the rear case  2  not accurately but schematically. To be exact, a fixing plate  23   a  perpendicular to the inner bottom (rear) surface of the rear case  2  is erected on the bottom surface at an edge of the upper side surface  2   c  side, and the loudspeaker  23  is attached to the fixing plate  23   a  (see  FIG. 4A ). A number of sound holes (not shown in the drawings) are formed in the upper side surface  2   c  outside of the fixing plate  23   a , and sound from the loudspeaker  23  is output to an outside of the rear case  2  through these sound holes. A rib (not shown in the drawings) is erected on the outer face of the fixing plate  23   a  at both sides of the loudspeaker  23  in the peripheral direction. The rib closes a gap between the tilting upper side surface  2   c  and the fixing plate  23   a.    
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2B , the lower surface  2   b  of the rear case  2  serves as an installation surface when the speaker device  1  is installed upright and provided with multiple rubber feet (not shown in the drawings). 
     The rear surface  2   e  of the rear case  2  serves as an installation surface when the speaker device  1  is installed horizontally, and provided multiple rubber feet (not shown in the drawings). 
     As described above, the outer face of the speaker device  1  is configured from the front surface  1   a , the six side surfaces of the rear case  2  (the upper surface  2   a , the lower surface  2   b , two upper side surfaces  2   c  on the left and right, and the two lower side surfaces  2   d  on the left and right). These surfaces have different directions from each other. From these surfaces are separately selected a surface(s) (e.g., the upper side surface(s)  2   c ) on which the speaker(s)  23  is arranged and a surface (e.g., the front surface  1   a ) on which a passive radiator  34  described later is arranged, without overlapping. In the present embodiment, from these surfaces are further separately selected a surface (e.g., the upper surface  2   a ) on which the operation unit  22  is arranged and an installation surface (e.g., the lower surface  2   b  or the rear surface  2   e ) without overlapping each other. 
     The device can be more compact as a total by arranging the functional surfaces separately on the multiple surfaces of a polyhedron in this manner, compared with a device in which multiple functional surfaces are collectively arranged on one large surface. 
     Further, since the respective speakers  23  are arranged on the two upper side surfaces  2   c  which are not parallel to each other, these speakers  23  do not cancel the audio from each other. 
     Further, from the six side surfaces of the rear case  2 , the two upper side surfaces  2   c  on which the speakers  23  are each arranged and the lower surface as the installation surface are separately selected from the three side surfaces on the long sides when viewed from the front. The upper surface  2   a  on which the operation unit  22  is arranged is selected from the three side surfaces on the short sides when viewed from the front. As a result, the device can be more compact as a total, while the surfaces having large area are secured as surfaces which require a relatively large area, such as an arrangement area for arranging the loudspeaker  23  and an installation area for stable installation. 
     The shape of the outer face of the speaker device  1  including the respective surfaces of the rear case  2  is not limited by the above description. For example, the six side surfaces of the rear case  2  may not tilt with respect to the front-back direction, or the shape of the rear case  2  may not be hexagonal when viewed from the front. However, in order to ensure rigidity of the rear case  2  (a speaker box), the shape of the rear case  2  viewed from the front is preferably a convex polygonal shape having five or more vertexes. 
     Further, the outer face of the speaker device  1  is preferably composed of six to eight surfaces which face directions different from each other. In this case, it is preferred that there are any one of the loudspeaker  23 , the passive radiator  34  described later, and the user interface arranged on at least five surfaces in the outer face of the speaker device  1 , and that at least one of the remaining surface(s) is the installation surface. 
     The multiple surfaces forming the outer face of the speaker device  1  are not limited to flat surfaces, as long as their main directions are different from each other. The surfaces may be curved surfaces, for example. The surfaces may partially have small concavo-convex portions. The whole outer face may include multiple surface portions at different angles from each other, as long as the envelope surface (the surface enveloping the multiple surface portions) is substantially flat. 
     Further, the present embodiment does not limit which of the multiple surfaces constituting the outer face of the speaker device  1  is selected as: the surface on which the speaker  23  is arranged; the surface on which the passive radiator  34  described later is arranged; the surface on which the operation unit  22  is arranged; and the installation surface(s), as long as the selected surfaces do not overlap each other. 
       FIG. 4A  is a sectional view of the speaker device  1  taken along the line IV-IV of  FIG. 2B .  FIG. 4B  is a detailed view of the portion A in  FIG. 4A .  FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the rear case  2  in a state where the inner case  3  described below is incorporated.  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a rotary encoder  62  mounted on a dial substrate  61  for explaining an internal structure of a dial type switch  6  described later. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 5 , the inner case  3 , a front case  4 , and a light-emitting unit  5  are housed inside the rear case  2 . 
     Among them, the inner case  3  is formed in a shape having a connected plate  31  and a cylindrical portion  32 . The connected plate  31  includes multiple tilt plates  311  which are connected so as to form steps. (The connected plate  31  may be referred to as a flat plate in the following, because it has a substantially flat plate shape with slight steps with respect to a reference plane when an envelope surface enveloping multiple convex portions at the front face of the speaker device  1  is set to be a reference plane.) The cylindrical portion  32  is erected from the center of the connected plate  31  toward the front. The inner case  3  is formed of a material having high heat dissipation property (thermal conductivity), such as aluminum die-cast or zinc die-cast. 
     The connected plate  31  is formed in a hexagonal shape corresponding to the shape of the rear case  2  (opening shape) viewed from the front. The connected plate  31  is substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the rear case  2  and is in contact with the front edge of the fixing plate  23   a . The connected plate  31  closes the opening of the rear case  2  at a position slightly in front of the central portion of the interior of the rear case  2  in the front-rear direction. As a result, a closed space including the loudspeaker  23  is formed by the rear case  2  and the connected plate  31  (the inner case  3 ). The closed space is a main air chamber S 1  of the speaker device  1 . In other words, the connected plate  31  (the inner case  3 , a partition member) partitions the space in the rear case  2  into the main air chamber S 1  and a component arrangement space S 3  in which electronic components other than the loudspeakers  23  are arranged. 
     Almost half of the outer peripheral side of the connected plate  31  is formed by connecting (peripherally arranging) the three tilt plates  311  which tilt back and forth at a constant tilt angle along the outer periphery of the rear case  2  (arranged to forma ring). The three tilt plates  311  form sawtooth-like steps along the outer periphery of the rear case  2  when viewed in clockwise (or counterclockwise). The sawtooth-like steps correspond to the three tilt portions  21  of the rear case  2 . Specifically, each of the three tilt plates  311  which tilt back and forth at a constant tilt angle has a constant width and extends along the outer periphery of the connected plate  31  in a central angle range of 120°, which is the range from one vertex to another vertex at two points ahead of the one vertex of the outer shape of connected plate  31  in the present embodiment. 
     A flat portion  312  is formed at the inner peripheral side of the connected plate  31  (inside of the three tilt plates  311 ). The flat portion  312  is substantially orthogonal to the front-back direction and has a hexagonal shape corresponding to the outer shape of the connected plate  31 . 
     A main substrate  33  on which the main control circuit of the speaker device  1  etc. are mounted is arranged on the front face of the flat portion  312 . The main substrate  33  is formed in a hexagonal outer shape corresponding to the flat portion  312 . A circular hole  33   a  slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion  32  (a stepped portion  321  described later) is formed at the center. Fixation of the main substrate  33  is made by abutting (contacting) the front face of the flat portion  312  with the cylindrical portion  32  (the stepped portion  321  described later) being inserted in the hole  33   a . Since the flat portion  312  of the inner case  3  having high heat dissipation property is in contact with the main substrate  33  in this manner, the heat generated at the main substrate  33  can be efficiently removed. 
     The cylindrical portion  32  is formed in a stepped shape, and the stepped portion  321  at its base end has larger diameter than the front portion. 
     The cylindrical portion  32  has a passive radiator (drone cone)  34  at the front end as an acoustic auxiliary portion for enhancing bass sound. The rear end of the cylindrical portion  32  is open so that internal space of the cylindrical portion  32  communicates with the main air chamber S 1  at the back. This internal space is the sub air chamber S 2  of the speaker device  1 . In other words, the sub air chamber S 2  is disposed on the side of the component arrangement space S 3  with respect to the connected plate  31 , and communicates with the main air chamber S 1  through the cylindrical portion  32  formed in the inner case  3 . 
     Since the cylindrical portion  32  protrudes from the inner case  3  forming the main air chamber S 1  and has an internal space (the sub air chamber S 2 ) communicating with the main air chamber S 1  in this manner, the total volume of the air chambers of the entire speaker device  1  is increased and the acoustic performance (for example, sound quality of bass sound) is improved, as compared with a case where an acoustic auxiliary portion such as a passive radiator is simply disposed on a lateral face of the rear case  2 . 
     Further, by providing the passive radiator  34  at the front end of the cylindrical portion  32  protruding toward the front, the passive radiator  34  can be arranged outside the main air chamber S 1 . As a result, bass sound enhancing effect by the passive radiator  34  can be obtained while the total volume of the air chambers are increased. 
     Further, the user can visually recognize the movement of the diaphragm of the passive radiator  34  at the time of sound output. As a result, the user visually perceives the bass sound enhancing effect by the passive radiator  34 , as well as acoustically. 
     A portion of the cylindrical portion  32  ahead of the stepped portion  321  is a dial type switch (operation unit)  6  as a volume or mode selector. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4B and 6 , the dial type switch  6  is provided with a dial substrate  61 , a rotary encoder  62 , a hollow shaft  63 , and a dial knob  64 , which are arranged around the cylindrical portion  32 . 
     The dial substrate  61  is formed in an annular plate shape and is fixed by abutting (contacting at its surface) the stepped portion  321  of the cylindrical portion  32 . A plurality of (twelve in the present embodiment) LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes)  611  is evenly arranged at the outer periphery of the dial substrate  61 . A rotary encoder  62  of a hollow shaft type is surface-mounted on the dial substrate  61 . A hollow shaft  63  is rotatably disposed on the outer periphery of the rotary encoder  62 . A cylindrical dial knob  64  is fitted to the hollow shaft  63  so as to cover the front and the outer periphery of the hollow shaft  63 . A decorative ring  641  is attached to the front face of the dial knob  64 . A dial nameplate (not shown in the drawings) such as a scale plate is arranged on the face of the passive radiator  34  which closes the tip of the cylindrical portion  32 . 
     With such a configuration, when the user rotates the dial knob  64  of the dial type switch  6  according to the present embodiment, the rotary encoder  62  detects a rotation amount or a rotation position thereof, so that the sound volume is changed or the acoustic mode is switched according to the rotation amount or the rotation position. The dial type switch  6  not only changes sound volume or switches acoustic mode, but executes any function realized by processing the electronic components (main substrate  33 , LEDs  511 , LEDs  611 , etc.) arranged in the component arrangement space S 3 . 
     In this way, since the dial type switch  6  is disposed at the cylindrical portion  32  which protrudes to the front, good operation property of the dial type switch  6  can be ensured. 
     Further, since the dial substrate  61  is in contact with the stepped portion  321  of the inner case  3  having high heat dissipation property, the heat generated at the dial substrate  61  can be efficiently removed. 
     Further, at the tip (front end) of the dial type switch  6 , the cylindrical portion  32  slightly protrudes from the dial knob  64  to the front (forward). Therefore, although a dial type switch protruding forward easily receives impact at the tip when it is hit against somewhere, the cylindrical portion  32  mainly receives the impact according to the above embodiment. Further, since there is a gap between the dial knob  64  and the dial substrate  61 , the dial knob  64  does not contact the dial substrate  61  even when the dial knob  64  is pushed by the impact diagonally applied to the dial type switch  6 . As a result, it is possible to reduce the impact on the dial knob  64 , and to reduce the impact on the dial substrate  61  via the rotary encoder  62 . Damages to the dial substrate  61  can be thereby suppressed. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the front case  4  is formed in a hexagonal outer shape corresponding to the flat portion  312  of the connected plate  31  of the inner case  3  when viewed from the front. The hexagonal outer shape of the front case  4  has a size approximately the same as that of the flat portion  312 , and is arranged in front of the flat portion  312 . 
     On the outermost portion of the front case  4  is erected an outer wall  41  substantially along the front-rear direction. The outer wall  41  is erected on the innermost portion of the front face of the tilt plates  311  of the connected plate  31  of the inner case  3 . The front edge and the back edge of the outer wall  41  are each formed in a shape corresponding to the three tilt portions  21  at the front edge of the rear case  2  or corresponding to the three tilt plates  311  of the inner case  3 . That is, although not shown in the drawings, the front edge and the back edge of the outer wall  41  are each formed in a sawtooth-like shape in the lateral view, since three tilt portions which tilt back and forth at a constant tilt angle are connected along the periphery and forms a ring. Each tilt portion extends over the central angle range of 120° in the front view, which is from one vertex to another vertex at two points ahead of the one vertex in the present embodiment. Therefore, the front edge face and the back edge face of the outer wall  41  are formed in parallel to each other. 
     A flat plate  42  substantially orthogonal to the front-back direction is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the outer wall  41  near the center of the outer wall  41  in the front-back direction. The flat plate  42  is disposed at approximately the same position in the front-back direction, as the front end of the stepped portion  321  of the cylindrical portion  32  of the inner case  3 . The inner periphery of the flat plate  42  forms a circular hole  42   a  having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the stepped portion  321  of the cylindrical portion  32 . The flat plate  42  is arranged so as to cover the front side of the main substrate  33  while the stepped portion  321  is inserted in the round hole  42   a.    
     On the front face of the flat plate  42 , there is erected a supporting wall  43  which supports transparent plates  45  described later. The supporting wall  43  is erected around the outer peripheral side of the dial substrate  61  and forms a regular hexagonal shape when viewed from the front. 
     The inner peripheral side of the supporting wall  43  of the front case  4  is an inner peripheral illuminant(s) L 1 . 
     At the inner peripheral illuminant L 1 , outer periphery of the dial substrate  61  is located in front of the flat plate  42  so that a plurality of LEDs  611  is exposed on the front side. An annular inner peripheral LED case  44  along the arrangement (rows) of the plurality of LEDs  611  is arranged in front of the plurality of LEDs  611 . The inner peripheral LED case  44  has an opening in the front face to expose the plurality of LEDs on the front side. A surface treatment for suitably reflecting light from the plurality of LEDs  611  is performed on faces facing the plurality of LEDs  611  of the inner/outer peripheral wall erected on the inner/outer peripheral side of the plurality of LEDs  611 . At the front edge of the inner peripheral wall of the inner peripheral LED case  44  and at the front edge of the supporting wall  43  of the front case  4 , the transparent plates  45  of an annular plate shape are arranged so as to cover the front side of the plurality of LEDs  611 . In the transparent plates  45 , only the annular portion(s) located in front of the plurality of LEDs  611  is the light transmitting portion(s)  45   a  which transmits light. 
     With such a configuration, the inner peripheral illuminant L 1  emits light from the plurality of LEDs  611  forward, through the light transmitting portion  45   a  in the transparent plate  45 , so that light is emitted from the periphery of the dial type switch  6 . According to the inner peripheral illuminant L 1  of the present embodiment, the LED  611  corresponding to the rotation position of the dial type switch  6  (dial knob  64 ) emits light to display the rotation position. 
     The light-emitting unit  5  is arranged on the front face of the three tilt plates  311  of the connected plate  31  of the inner case  3 , and constitutes an outer peripheral illuminant L 2  which causes the speaker device  1  to emit light from the outer periphery of the front face. 
     Specifically, the light emitting unit  5  includes an outer peripheral LED case  51  and transparent plates (panels)  52  which transmit light. 
     The outer peripheral LED case  51  is formed in a shape corresponding to the three tilt plates  311  of the connected plate  31  of the inner case  3  when viewed from the front, and is arranged on the front faces of the three tilt plates  311  so as to be fitted between the outer wall  41  of the front case  4  and the rear case  2 . Although not shown in the drawings, as well as the three tilt plates  311  of the connected plate  31 , the outer peripheral LED case  51  is formed in a shape in which three tilt portions tilting back and forth at a constant tilt angle are connected along the outer periphery. The outer peripheral LED case  51  has an opening in the front face, and includes three LED substrates  512  at the bottom, on which a plurality of LEDs  511  are each mounted. The three LED substrates  512  are disposed corresponding to the three tilt plates  311  (that is, three illuminants  5   a  described later). The plurality of LEDs  511  is arranged in three parallel rows at different radial positions from each other, along the outer shape of the outer peripheral LED case  51 . In the present embodiment, each of the LEDs  511  is a full-color LED on which chips of three colors (RGB: red, green, blue) are mounted. In the outer peripheral LED case  51  (that is, between the transparent plate  52  and the LED substrate  512 ), a partition plate(s)  513  is erected and partitions the rows of the plurality of LEDs  511  one by one. A surface treatment for suitably reflecting light from the plurality of LEDs  511  is performed on both faces of the partition plates  513 , on faces facing the plurality of LEDs  511  of the inner peripheral wall and the outer peripheral wall, and the like. With the partition plate  513 , light from the respective LEDs  511  is incident on different positions on the transparent plate  52  separately. That is, by each of the LEDs  511 , light is incident (irradiation with high intensity is performed) only on a position corresponding to the LED  511  itself on the transparent plate  52  (the region in front of the LED  511  itself and which does not overlap the region in front of the other LEDs  511 ), and is not incident (irradiation with high intensity is not performed) on positions corresponding to other LEDs  511 . 
     The transparent plates  52  are formed in a shape corresponding to the outer peripheral LED case  51  when viewed from the front, and is arranged so as to cover the front side of the outer peripheral LED case  51 . The transparent plates  52  are provided so that light emitting surfaces of the transparent plates are not parallel to each other. More specifically, the transparent plate  52  tilts such that the radially inner side thereof is positioned slightly at the front side, and is arranged so as to form a plane which connects the tilt portions  21  at the front edge of the opening of the rear case  2  and the outer wall  41  of the front case  4 . The transparent plate  52  is formed in a shape corresponding to the three tilt portions  21  at the front edge of the rear case  2  or corresponding to the three tilt plates  311  of the inner case  3 . That is, the transparent plate  52  is formed in a shape in which three tilt plates  521  tilting back and forth at a constant tilt angle are connected along the periphery. Each of the tilt plates  521  extends over the central angle range of 120° when viewed from the front, which is the range from one vertex to another vertex at two points ahead of the one vertex in the present embodiment. The frontmost portion (a far edge which is farthest from the LEDs) of one of the tilt plates  521  is connected to the rearmost portion (a near edge which is nearest to the LEDs) of an adjacent tilt plate  521  via a step, so that the tilt plates  521  are connected to each other. Further, the transparent plate  52  has three rows of light transmitting portions  52   a  in each of the three tilt plates  521 . The light transmitting portions  52   a  are disposed in front of and corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of LEDs  511 . In the transparent plate  52 , only the light transmitting portions  52   a  transmit light. As a result, the surfaces of the three tilt plates  521  functions as the three light emitting surfaces  5   a  having respective main faces which emit light to the outside and are arranged at different angles from each other (arranged so as not to be parallel to each other). Here, the three light emitting surfaces  5   a  include the tilt portion  21  at the front edge of the opening of the rear case  2  and the outer wall  41  of the front case  4 , and constitute the surface at the front edge of the outer periphery of the speaker device  1 . 
     The transparent plate  52  is semitransparent and diffuses light from the LEDs  511  to form a light emitting surface on its face. By increasing the degree of diffusion (lowering the transparency), the brightness and the appearance of the light emitting surface can be uniform regardless of the direction from which the light emitting surface is viewed. 
     By increasing the transparency of the transparent plate  52 , the brightness and the appearance of the light emitting surface cannot be uniform, but the room (for example, the ceiling etc.) in which the speaker device  1  is placed can be illuminated. 
     Further, the transparent plate  52  may be a half mirror made of highly transparent plate such as acrylic or polycarbonate having an inner face vapor-deposited with aluminum. Asa result, although the light from the inside is radiated to the outside through the transparent plate  52 , the internal structure cannot be seen from the outside, and thereby improves designing characteristics. 
     The front face of the connected plate  31  of the inner case  3  may be formed as a flat plane (a plane perpendicular to the center axis Ax), with the three LED substrates  512  arranged perpendicular to the center axis Ax on the same plane, and each of the three tilt plates  521  of the transparent plate  52  tilting with respect to each of the LED substrates  512 . In this case, the partition plates  513  are erected on the LED substrates  512  perpendicularly. The partition plates  513  are disposed at multiple positions and each have a length corresponding to the distance from the transparent plate  52  (tilt plates  521 ) to each of the LED substrates  512 . 
     With such a configuration, the light emitting unit  5 , that is, the outer peripheral illuminant L 2 , emits light from the plurality of LEDs  511  forward, through the light transmitting portions  52   a  of the transparent plate  52 , so that light is emitted from three light transmitting portions  52   a  at the front side of the outer periphery of the speaker device  1 . In the present embodiment, this outer peripheral illuminant L 2  is a light emitting unit for a performance, for example, and the plurality of LEDs  511  emit light with colors, intensities and the like according to the acoustic mode or the like of the output sound. 
     Here, the three light emitting surfaces  5   a  have surfaces arranged at different angles (or directions) from each other, and are disposed around the dial type switch  6  protruding from the front surface  1   a  of the speaker device  1 . Therefore, it is possible to visually recognize the light emitting surfaces  5   a  from a wide angle around the speaker device  1  (approximately 360° in the present embodiment) and to operate the dial type switch  6 . As a result, as compared with the conventional device which provides good visibility of the indicator and good operation property of the operating unit only from a specific direction, the visibility of the light emitting surfaces  5   a  and the operation property of the dial type switch  6  can be improved. 
     Further, by setting the installation surface to the lower surface  2   b  or the rear surface  2   e  of the rear case  2 , it is possible to change the direction of the front surface  1   a  provided with the dial type switch  6  to the lateral direction or the upward direction. As a result, excellent visibility of the light emitting surfaces  5   a  and the operation property of the dial type switch  6  can be obtained from any desired direction. 
     Further, as described above, each of the three light emitting surfaces  5   a  tilts with respect to the protruding direction of the dial type switch  6  (front direction), and a position P 1  on a plane connecting the frontmost portions of the respective light emitting surfaces  5   a  is in front of the tip of the dial type switch  6 . Therefore, even when the speaker device  1  falls on its front surface, for example, it is possible to prevent the dial type switch  6  from receiving impact because the three light emitting surfaces  5   a  mainly comes into contact with the floor or the like. As a result, damages to the dial substrate  61  connected to the dial knob  64  at the tip of the dial type switch  6  can be suppressed. 
     Further, a position P 2  on a plane connecting the rearmost portions of the respective light emitting surfaces  5   a  is at the back of the tip of the dial type switch  6 . (That is, the dial type switch  6  penetrates the plane.) Therefore, a user can easily hold the dial type switch  6  at the back of the tip of the dial type switch  6  through the three light-emitting surfaces  5   a . The operation property of the dial type switch  6  can be thereby improved. 
     The number of the light-emitting surfaces  5   a  is not particularly limited as long as multiple light-emitting surfaces  5   a  are disposed, but it is preferable that at least three light-emitting surfaces  5   a  are disposed. Further, preferably, the plurality of light emitting surfaces  5   a  is evenly arranged around the dial type switch  6 . As a result of these configurations, it is possible to more reliably prevent the dial type switch  6  from receiving impact. 
     Further, the shape (such as the tilt angle and the width) of the light emitting surface  5   a  is not particularly limited, and may be determined in accordance with a desired visible range, design, and the like. 
     As described above, according to the speaker device  1  of the present embodiment, three light emitting surfaces  5   a  each having a main surface which emit light to the outside are disposed around the dial type switch  6  disposed on the front surface  1   a . The main surfaces of the three light emitting surfaces  5   a  are arranged at different angles (directions) from each other. 
     Therefore, it is possible to visually recognize the light emitting surfaces  5   a  from a wide angle around the speaker device  1  (approximately 360° in the present embodiment) and to operate the dial type switch  6 . As a result, as compared with the conventional device which provides good visibility of the indicator and good operation property of the operating unit only from a specific direction, the visibility of the light emitting surfaces  5   a  and the operation property of the dial type switch  6  can be improved. In addition, since the light emitting surfaces  5   a  on the front face (the front surface  1   a ) can be visually recognized from the lateral side, it is not necessary to provide a light emitting portion on the side surfaces, and as a result, the number of parts can be reduced. 
     Further, by setting the installation surface to the lower surface  2   b  or the rear surface  2   e  of the rear case  2 , it is possible to change the direction of the front surface  1   a  provided with the dial type switch  6  to the lateral direction or the upward direction. As a result, excellent visibility of the light emitting surfaces  5   a  and the operation property of the dial type switch  6  can be obtained from any desired direction. 
     Further, the dial type switch  6  protrudes from the front surface  1   a . Each of the three light emitting surfaces  5   a  tilts with respect to the protruding direction of the dial type switch  6  (front direction), and the position P 1  on a plane connecting the frontmost portions of the respective light emitting surfaces  5   a  is in front of the tip of the dial type switch  6 . 
     Therefore, even when the speaker device  1  falls on its front surface, for example, it is possible to prevent the dial type switch  6  from receiving impact because the three light emitting surfaces  5   a  mainly comes into contact with the floor or the like. As a result, damages to the dial substrate  61  connected to the dial knob  64  at the tip of the dial type switch  6  can be suppressed. Therefore, since it is not necessary to provide components (such as a bumper) for avoiding or reducing the impact to the dial type switch  6 , it is possible to reduce costs and improve designing characteristics. 
     Further, the position P 2  on a plane connecting the rearmost portions of the respective light emitting surfaces  5   a  is at the back of the tip of the dial type switch  6 . 
     Therefore, the user can easily hold the dial type switch  6  at the back of the tip of the dial type switch  6  through the three light-emitting surfaces  5   a . The operation property of the dial type switch  6  can be thereby improved. 
     Next, an example of output control of musical tones from the loudspeaker  23  by the speaker device  1 A and light emission control from the LEDs  511  and the LEDs  611  will be described. 
     In accordance with the operation of the operation unit  22  by the user, the CPU  71  reads musical tone data stored in the RAM  72  and causes the loudspeaker  23  to output musical tones according to the melody or the accompaniment represented by the read musical tone data. 
     In addition, the CPU  71  causes the loudspeaker  23  to output musical tones in accordance with the musical tone data, and at the same time causes the LEDs  511  and the LEDs  611  to emit light in a light emission pattern corresponding to the output musical tones. 
     For example, the light emission may be controlled in accordance with the reproduction (output) of the musical sound by sequentially reading light emission pattern data which is stored in advance corresponding to sections such as bars in musical tone data. Alternatively, the light emission pattern may be sequentially determined according to the scale, length, and the chord of the sound included in the musical sound data, and the operation content of the operation unit  22  by the user. 
     The CPU  71  controls each rows of the LEDs  511  partitioned by the partition plates  513  so that the rows emit light in different light emission patterns. Here, the different light emission patterns mean light emission patterns for different colors of light, different emission timings of light, or different emission timings for multiple colors of light. 
     For example, the outermost row among the multiple rows of the LEDs  511  is made to correspond to a vocal sound (melody) included in the musical tone data, the innermost row is made to correspond to a bass sound (accompaniment) included in the musical tone data, and multiple colors of light from the LEDs  511  are made to correspond to respective scales and/or respective sound volumes. Then, while reproducing sounds of the vocal sound (melody) and/or the bass sound (accompaniment) in a designated scale and volume, the CPU  71  causes the LEDs  511  in the corresponding row(s) to emit light in the corresponding color and timing in accordance with this musical tone data. 
     As described above, the partition plates  513  which partition the multiple rows of the LEDs  511  can prevent light from the LEDs  511  in each row from being incident on a position on the transparent plate (panel)  52 , that is, on the same position where the light of the second light emitter is incident. Therefore, it is possible to divide a light emitting region of the transparent plate (panel)  52  into multiple regions which each emit light of different colors or at different timings. 
     Modification Example 
     Next, a speaker device  1 A which is a modification example of the above embodiment will be described. The same reference numerals are given to the same constituent elements as those in the above embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted. 
       FIGS. 7A  and B are sectional views of the speaker device  1 A sectioned at the center in the left-right direction as in  FIG. 4A .  FIG. 7A  is a lateral view and  FIG. 7B  is a perspective view of  FIG. 7A  as seen obliquely from the front. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the speaker device  1 A includes a rear case  2 A, an inner case  3 A, and a front case  4 A. 
     Among them, the rear case  2 A is formed in a substantially hexagonal truncated pyramid shape whose hexagonal shaped section in the front view gradually decreases toward the rear, as well as the rear case  2  of the above embodiment. The rear case  2 A constitutes all the surfaces composing the outer face of the speaker device  1 A except for the front surface  1   a , that is, the upper surface  2   a , the lower surface  2   b , the two (left and right) upper side surfaces  2   c , the two (left and right) side surfaces  2   d , and the rear surface (back surface)  2   e.    
     However, in the rear case  2 A, the tilt portions  21  are not formed at the front edge of the opening. Further, the loudspeaker(s)  23  is not mounted on the upper side surface(s) of the rear case  2 A, but mounted on the inner case  3 A. 
     A power supply terminal (DC jack)  24  is disposed at the lower edge of the rear surface  2   e  of the rear case  2 A. A fixing portion  25 A for fixing the inner case  3 A is erected forward from the center of the inner bottom (rear) surface of the rear case  2 A. 
     The configurations of the rear case  2 A other than the above are the same as those of the rear case  2  in the above embodiment. 
     The inner case  3 A has a substantially flat connected plate  31 A and six side plates erected backward from the periphery of the connected plate  31 A, and has a shape opening toward the rear side. The connected plate  31 A is a substantially flat plate formed in a hexagonal shape corresponding to the shape of the rear case  2 A (opening shape) viewed from the front. The six side plates are each erected perpendicularly backward from the respective sides (edges) of the connected plate  31 A. 
     The six side plates correspond to the respective six side surfaces of the rear case  2 A, and each faces the corresponding side surface. Among these side plates, the two (left and right) upper side plates  3   c A are each provided with a loudspeaker  23 , and the two (left and right) lower side plates  3   d A are provided with respective passive radiators  37 A. The lower plate  3   b A is formed so as to have a concave portion toward the radially inner side. A substrate  38 A for the power supply terminal  24 A is disposed at the concave portion. The passive radiators  37 A may not be disposed on the lower side plates  3   d A. Bass reflex ports may be formed without disposing the passive radiators  37 A. 
     The opening on the rear side of the inner case  3 A is closed by the bottom surface of the rear case  2 A. As a result, a closed space including the loudspeakers  23  and the passive radiators  37 A is defined by the rear case  2 A and the inner case  3 A. The closed space is an air chamber S 1  of the speaker device  1 A. In other words, the inner case  3 A (the connected plate  31 A) partitions the space in the rear case  2 A into the air chamber S 1  and the component arrangement space S 3  in which electronic components other than the loudspeakers  23  and the passive radiators  37 A are arranged. 
     In the inner case  3 A, a boss  39 A is erected from the center of the rear face of the connecting plate  31 A. The fixing portion  25 A of the rear case  2 A is fitted to the tip (rear end) of the boss  39 A, and fastened thereto with a screw  26 A. Thus, the rear case  2 A is firmly fixed to the inner case  3 A so that the speaker box including them has improved rigidity and is not easily affected by externally applied force etc. Sound quality can be improved as a result. 
     The configurations of the inner case  3 A other than the above are the same as those of the inner case  3  in the above embodiment. 
     A front case  4 A is arranged inside of the rear case  2 A, specifically in the component arrangement space S 3 . 
     At the center of the front face of the front case  4 A is disposed a dial type switch (operation unit)  6 A as a selector for volume or mode. 
     The dial type switch  6 A is provided with a circuit substrate  61 A, a rotary encoder  62 A, a dial holder  63 A, and a dial knob  64 A. 
     The circuit substrate  61 A includes a main control circuit of the speaker device  1 A and the like, has a flat plate shape, and is fixed to the rear face of the front case  4 A. At the center of the circuit substrate  61 A, there is formed a circular hole  61   a A in which a shaft  641 A of the dial knob  64 A can be inserted. 
     The rotary encoder  62 A is a hollow shaft type and surface-mounted on the circuit substrate  61 A. T dial holder  63 A is rotatably disposed on the outer periphery of the rotary encoder  62 A. The dial knob  64 A has a substantially cylindrical shape and is fitted to the dial holder  63 A so as to cover the front and the outer periphery of the dial holder  63 A. 
     The shaft  641 A protruding backward is disposed at the rotation center of the dial knob  64 A, which is at the center of the rear face inside of the dial knob  64 A. The shaft  641 A is inserted in the hole  61   a A of the circuit substrate  61 A, through the inside of the dial holder  63 A and the rotary encoder  62 A. A first gap G 1  is formed between the shaft  641 A and the connected plate  31 A of the inner case  3 A in the front-rear direction. The rear edge of the outer periphery of the dial knob  64 A, which is around the shaft  641 A, functions as a support unit  642 A which supports the rotary encoder  62 A and has a diameter slightly larger than that of the rotary encoder  64 A. A second gap G 2  is formed between the support unit  642 A and the circuit substrate  61 A in the front-rear direction. The second gap G 2  is larger than the first gap G 1 . 
     As described above, the second gap G 2 , which is larger than the first gap G 1  between the connected plate  31 A and the shaft  641 A, is interposed between the circuit substrate  61 A and the support unit  642 A of the dial knob  64 A. Therefore, when the dial type switch  6 A is hit against somewhere and receives impact at its tip so that the dial knob  64 A shifts backward, the shaft  641 A of the dial knob  64 A contacts the front face of the connected plate  31 A first. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the impact on the circuit substrate  61 A transmitted via the dial knob  64 A by preventing the support unit  642 A of the dial knob  64 A from contacting the circuit substrate  61 A. However, when the dial knob  64 A receives the impact, the impact is transmitted to the circuit substrate  61 A via the dial holder  63 A and the rotary encoder  62 A. The first gap G 1  is set between the shaft  641 A and the connected plate  31 A, so that the shaft  641 A of the dial knob  64 A contacts the front face of the connected plate  31 A before the impact transmitted as described above exceeds a predetermined level allowed for the circuit substrate  61 A. 
     Further, the second gap G 2  may be smaller than the first gap G 1 , as long as the deflection amount of the circuit substrate  61 A pushed by the support unit  642 A is not so much as to damage the circuit substrate  61 A. In other words, even when the rotary encoder  62 A pushed by the dial knob  64 A comes into contact with the circuit substrate  61 A, the resulting deflection amount of the circuit substrate  61 A is acceptable as long as the circuit substrate  61 A is not damaged. 
     The front side of the outer periphery of the front case  4 A constitutes an outer peripheral illuminant L 2 . 
     In the outer peripheral illuminant L 2 , an LED case  51 A is disposed at the outer periphery of the front case  4 A. 
     The front side of the LED case  51 A is formed in a shape corresponding to the opening of the rear case  2 A when viewed from the front. The front side of the LED case  51 A is open. To the back side of the LED case  51 A is fixed a LED substrate  512 A on which a plurality of LEDs  511 A is mounted. The plurality of LEDs  511 A is arranged in three parallel rows at different radial positions from each other, along the outer shape of the LED case  51 A. In the LED case  51 A, partition plate(s)  513 A are erected so as to partition the rows of the plurality of LEDs  511 A one by one. A surface treatment for suitably reflecting light from the plurality of LEDs  511 A is performed on both faces of the partition plates  513 A, on faces facing the plurality of LEDs  511 A of the inner peripheral wall and the outer peripheral wall, and the like. The partition plates  513 A are formed such that its thickness gradually decreases toward the front. With the partition plates  513 A, light from the respective LEDs  511 A is incident on different positions on the transparent plate  52 A separately. That is, the partition plates  513 A play a role of preventing light emitted from the LEDs  511 A adjacent to each other from being incident on a position on the transparent plate (panel)  52 A, that is, on the same position where the light of the second light emitter is incident. 
     The opening on the front side of the LED case  51 A is covered with the transparent plate  52 A. The transparent plate  52 A tilts so that the radially inner side thereof is positioned slightly at the front side, and is formed in a shape corresponding to the LED case  51 A when viewed from the front. This transparent plate  52 A is formed in a shape in which three tilt plates  521 A tilting back and forth at a constant tilt angle are connected along the outer periphery. Each tilt plate  521 A extends over the central angle range of 120° when viewed from the front, which is the range from one vertex to another vertex at two points ahead of the one vertex in the present embodiment. The frontmost portion of one of the tilt plate  521 A is connected to the rearmost portion of an adjacent tilt plate portion  521 A via a step. The tilt plates  521 A are thereby connected to each other. As a result, the surfaces of the three tilt plates  521 A functions as the three light emitting surfaces  5   a A having respective main faces to emit light to the outside and are arranged at different angles from each other. 
     The configurations of the front case  4 A other than the above are the same as those of the front case  4  in the above embodiment. 
     The speaker device  1 A having the above configurations also exhibits the same effect as the speaker device  1  in the above embodiment. 
     Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to them, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. 
     For example, the passive radiator  34  is disposed at the tip of the cylindrical portion  32  in the above embodiment, however, instead of the passive radiator  34 , a bass reflex port  35  may be formed as an acoustic auxiliary portion as shown in  FIGS. 8A and 8B . In this case, the tip of the cylindrical portion  32  may be open so that the cylindrical portion  32  forms at least a part of the bass reflex port  35 . Further, by extending the cylindrical portion  32  backward from the rear face of the inner case  3 , the length of the bass reflex port  35  (bass reflex duct) may be adjusted according to the desired bass sound enhancing effect. 
     As a result, the bass reflex port  35  can be formed outside of the main air chamber S 1 . Then, unlike the case where a bass reflex port is formed on a side surface of the rear case  2 , it is possible to achieve bass sound enhancing effect by the bass reflex port  35  without pressing the main air chamber S 1 . 
     Further, since the side surfaces can be freely designed as compared with the case where a bass reflex port is formed on a side surface (for example, on the lower side surface  2   d ) of the rear case  2 , it is possible to more freely design the shape and to arrange layout of parts. 
     Further, when the bass reflex port  35  is formed, an air flow generated in the main air chamber S 1  and the sub air chamber S 2  further enhances heat radiation effect of the inner case  3  made of a material having high heat dissipation property. Therefore, it is possible to remove the heat of the main substrate  33  and the dial substrate  61  which are in contact with the inner case  3  more efficiently. In this case, although not shown in the drawings, a heat dissipation fin is preferably disposed near the opening of the bass reflex port  35  in the main air chamber S 1  of the inner case  3 . Further, a grill (not shown in the drawings) may be disposed at the bass reflex port  35  on the front side. 
     In the case where the bass reflex port  35  is formed in the cylindrical portion  32  instead of the passive radiator  34 , as shown in  FIG. 9 , bass reflex ports  72   a  may be formed on the two (left and right) lower side surfaces  2   d  of the rear case  2 . Bass reflex ducts  72  each having the bass reflex port  72   a  may be erected in the main air chamber S 1 . As a result, bass sound enhancing effect by the bass reflex port can be further improved. 
     As well as  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 9  is a view schematically showing arrangement of the loudspeakers  23  and the like on the side surfaces of the rear case  2 , and does not show arrangement of the bass reflex ports  72   a  (the bass reflex ducts  72 ) accurately. To be exact, the bass reflex ports  72   a  (the bass reflex ducts  72 ) are each formed at a fixing plate (not shown in the drawings) erected perpendicularly from the edge of the inner bottom (rear) surface of the rear case  2  at the lower side surface  2   d  side, as well as the loud speaker  23  described above. A number of sound holes (not shown in the drawings) are formed in the lower side surface  2   d  outside of the fixing plate, and sound from the bass reflex port  72   a  is output to the outside of the rear case  2  through these sound holes. In such cases, a rib (not shown in the drawings) is erected on the outer face of the fixing plate at both sides of the bass reflex port  72   a  in the peripheral direction. The rib closes a gap between the tilting lower side surface  2   c  and the fixing plate. 
     Further, in the case where the passive radiator  34  is disposed at the cylindrical portion  32 , as shown in  FIG. 10 , additional passive radiators  71  may be disposed on the two (left and right) lower side surfaces  2   d  of the rear case  2 . As a result, bass sound enhancing effect by the bass reflex port can be further improved. 
     The passive radiator  71  may be disposed on any of the surfaces of the rear case  2  which define the main air chamber S 1 , except for the upper side surface(s)  2   c  on which the loudspeaker(s)  23  is disposed. However, the passive radiator  71  is preferably disposed on a surface other than the lower surface  2   b  and the rear surface  2   e , which may be the installation surfaces. 
     Further, the shape and the like of the cylindrical portion  32  is not particularly limited, as long as it protrudes from the inner case  3  and includes a sub air chamber S 2  communicating with the main air chamber S 1 . The cylindrical portion  32  may have a rectangular cross section, or may be curved or bent. 
     Further, the dial type switch  6  may be another kind of operation unit, as long as it is disposed at the cylindrical portion  32 . 
     Further, in the above embodiment, vibration of the inner case forming the air chamber may be prevented from being transmitted to the front case by using a vibration isolating member such as rubber at a connecting portion between the front case and the inner case. 
     Further, in the above embodiments, an example of the electronic device according to the present invention is applied to a speaker device (speaker system), however, the electronic device according to the present invention may be devices other than a speaker device, as long as the outer face provided with the operation portion has a light emitting portion.