Patent Abstract:
A light-guiding structure including a plurality of light pipes, a plurality of connecting portions and a fixing socket is provided. The light pipes are disposed on the fixing socket, and the light pipes are connected together by the connecting portions. At least one to-be-destroyed portion is formed between the connecting portions. In addition, the fixing socket has at least one destructive structure for disconnecting the connecting portions from each other by destroying the to-be-destroyed portion. Therefore, the interference caused by the light wave passing through the connecting piece is avoided.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 95145600, filed on Dec. 7, 2006. All disclosure of the Taiwan application is incorporated herein by reference. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present, invention relates to a light pipe, and more particularly to a light-guiding structure for preventing the interference of light waves. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Generally, most electronic devices take the signal light emitted by light emitting diodes (LEDs) as the indicating signal to show current operation state of the electronic device. However, since the position where the LED disposed from the surface of the casing of the electronic device is usually separated by a distance, a light pipe must be used to transmit the signal light wave, and display it on the surface of the casing. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , it is a schematic view of the configuration of conventional light pipes. Each LED  100  is disposed on one end of respective light pipe  110 , which emits light wave with a different wavelength such as red light, blue light, or green light. When the light wave is transmitted in each light pipe  110 , the user can see from each end of light pipes  110  that the indicating lamp is ON or Off state, so as to determine the current operation state of the electronic device. 
   However, due to the limitation on formation, when the light pipes  110  are fabricated, the light pipes  110  are connected through the plasticizing process by the fixing connecting portion  120 , such that the light pipes  110  can be fixed on a suitable position in the electronic device. However, it may cause the light wave transferring from a light pipe  110  to another light pipe  110  through the fixing connecting portion  120 , as a result, the light waves are mixed and the light signals are irregular. Therefore, how to prevent the light waves emitted by the LEDs  100  from being transferred into another light pipe  110  is an urgent issue. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a light-guiding structure, which is applicable for preventing the mutual interference of the light waves in the light pipes. 
   The present invention provides a light-guiding structure, which comprises a plurality of light pipes, a plurality of connecting portions, and a fixing socket. The light pipes are disposed on the fixing socket, and they are connected with the connecting portions. A to-be-destroyed portion is formed between the connecting portions. Furthermore, the fixing socket has a destructive structure corresponding to the to-be-destroyed portion, and the destructive structure is used to destroy the to-be-destroyed portion, so as to disconnect the connecting portions. 
   In an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of LEDs is disposed on one end of each light pipe for emitting light waves into the light pipe, and the other end of the light pipe displays the light wave transmitted via the light pipe, so as to be used as an indicating lamp. 
   In an embodiment of the present invention, the fixing socket comprises a plurality of buckling portions, and the light pipes are fixed on the fixing socket with the buckling portions. 
   In an embodiment of the present invention, the fixing socket comprises a plurality of plugs, and the light pipes are fixed on the fixing socket with the plugs. 
   In an embodiment of the present invention, the destructive structure can block the transmission path of the light wave, so as to prevent the mutual interference of the light waves when passing through the connecting portions between two light pipes. The destructive structure is, for example, a sharp object, a notch structure, or a quirk, and it can cut off the to-be-destroyed portion between the connecting portions under an external force. The to-be-destroyed portion can be a necked-down portion, or can have at least one through hole. 
   The present invention further provides a light-guiding structure, which comprises a plurality of light pipes, a plurality of connecting portions, and a fixing socket. The light pipes are disposed on the fixing socket, and they are connected with the connecting portions. A to-be-destroyed portion is formed between the connecting portions. Furthermore, the fixing socket has a plurality of light shielding walls, and the light pipes are separated by the light shielding walls. The light shielding wall has a destructive structure corresponding to the to-be-destroyed portion, and the destructive structure is used to destroy the to-be-destroyed portion, so as to disconnect the connecting portions. 
   The light-guiding structure cutting off the to-be-destroyed portion is employed in the present invention, such that the light waves cannot be transmitted through the connecting portions, so as to prevent the mutual interference of the light waves. 
   In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, preferred embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the configuration of conventional light pipes. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a light-guiding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic view of the configuration of a light-guiding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the light pipes of  FIG. 3  fixed on a fixing socket. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 2  is a schematic view of light-guiding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is a schematic view of the configuration of a light-guiding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be firstly noted that, the light-guiding structure in this embodiment can be applied for the indicating lamp of a display, a portable computer, a tablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or the like to display the operation state of the electronic device. However, those of ordinary skill in the art may apply it on any indicating lamps, point light sources, or linear light sources, which is not limited herein. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the light-guiding structure  200  includes a plurality of light pipes  210 , a plurality of connecting portions  220 , and a fixing socket  230 . Before the light pipe  210  is assembled on the fixing socket  230 , the light pipes  210  are connected with the connecting portions  220 , such that the light pipes  210  can be integrally assembled on a suitable position in the electronic device. The light pipe  210  and the connecting portions  220  are, for example, injected by a forming mold and then formed through molding releasing process. Each light pipe  210  has a light entrance end  212  and a light exit end  214 , and the light entrance end  212  is corresponding to each indicating light source (not shown) of the electronic device, for example, a red LED, a green LED, or a blue LED. 
   The light emitted by the indicating light sources may enter from the light entrance end  212  of the light pipe  210 , and transmit to the light exit end  214  through the light transmission part  216 , for the user to see the indicating lamp to be bright or dark to determine the operation state of the electronic device. As shown in  FIG. 3 , a substrate  250  has a partition plate  252 , and the light exit end  214  of each light pipe  210  is exposed on the partition plate  252 , to be used as the indicating lamps. 
   In order to prevent light leakage, the fixing socket  230  has a plurality of light shielding walls  232 , and each light pipe  210  is disposed on the fixing socket  230  and separated by the light shielding walls  232 , so as to reduce the light refraction effect, and thereby obstructing the light waves. However, since the light waves may still pass through the light shielding walls  232  via the connecting portions  220 , it is not sufficient for blocking the interference of the light wave by way of merely using the light shielding walls  232  of the fixing socket  230 . In the forming process, the light pipes  210  are connected together through the connecting portions  220 , which is convenient for the subsequent assembling operation. But after the assembling process, if the connecting portions  220  are still maintained on the light pipes  210 , the possibility of the interference of the light waves is increased without any benefits. Therefore, in the present invention, the connecting portions  220  are destroyed to block the transmission path of the light waves. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , it is a schematic view of the configuration of a light-guiding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. A to-be-destroyed portion  222  is formed between the connecting portions  220 , and the fixing socket  230  correspondingly has a destructive structure  234 , such that when an external force is applied to the to-be-destroyed portion  222 , the to-be-destroyed portion  222  is cut off by the destructive structure  234 . In order to easily destroy the connecting portions  220 , the sectional area of the to-be-destroyed portion  222  can be smaller than that of the other regions without being destroyed, for example, a through hole  222   a  or a necked-down portion is formed on the to-be-destroyed portion  222  between the connecting portions  220 . 
   In this embodiment, the destructive structure  234  can be disposed on the light shielding wall  232  in a form of protruding from the light shielding wall  232  to form a sharp object. In another embodiment, the destructive structure  234  can also be formed by opening a notch structure or a V-shaped quirk on the light shielding wall  232 , such that the connecting portions  220  are destroyed. As shown in  FIG. 3 , after the light pipes  210  has been assembled, the to-be-destroyed portion  222  and the through hole  222   a  of  FIG. 2  are destroyed, which cannot be seen in  FIG. 3 . The destructive structure  234  is not limited to be disposed on the light shielding wall  232 , and it can be separately disposed on the fixing socket  230  depending upon the actual conditions. 
     FIG. 4  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the light pipes of  FIG. 3  fixed on a fixing socket. In order to firmly fix each light pipe  210  on the fixing socket  230 , the fixing socket  230  further has a plurality of plugs  240  and a plurality of buckling elements  242  and  244 . The plugs  240  can be inserted into a base  210   a  of the light pipe  210 , and the plugs  240  are heated and pressed, so as to be melted and fixed on the base  210   a . Furthermore, the buckling elements  242  and  244  are arranged on two sides of the light pipes  210  in pairs. Once an external force is applied on the light pipes  210 , the buckling elements  242  and  244  are deformed under the external force, such that the light pipe  210  passes between the buckling elements  242  and  244  and thereby being fixed under the buckling elements  242  and  244 . Each light pipe  210  can be fixed on the fixing socket  230  through the plugs  240  and the buckling elements  242  and  244 , so even if the connecting portions  220  are destroyed, the assembling reliability is not affected. 
   To sum up, the light-guiding structure of the present invention includes a plurality of light pipes, a plurality of connecting portions, and a fixing socket. A to-be-destroyed portion is formed between the connecting portions, and the fixing socket has a corresponding destructive structure. When a force is applied on the to-be-destroyed portion, the to-be-destroyed portion is cut off by the destructive structure, so that the light waves cannot be transmitted through the connecting portions. Furthermore, the fixing socket further has a plurality of light shielding walls disposed between two neighboring light pipes, so as to prevent the interference of the light waves, and thereby preventing the neighboring light sources from affecting each other. 
   It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6