Patent ID: 7455415

Claim:
An operation device comprising: an ornamental panel having a front side and a rear side, the ornamental panel including a plurality of operation portions arranged on the front side and a plurality of illumination portions respectively arranged in or near the plurality of the operation portions, wherein the illumination portions are light-transmissive; a resiliently deformable member arranged at the rear side of the ornamental panel and resiliently deformed by force applied by the plurality of operation portions; a plurality of contacts arranged on the resiliently deformable member; a circuit board arranged adjacent to the resiliently deformable member and including a first surface facing toward the resiliently deformable member and a second surface located on the opposite side of the first surface; a plurality of switches arranged on the first surface of the circuit board in correspondence with the plurality of contacts, wherein each of the plurality of switches is contactable with a corresponding one of the contacts when the resiliently deformable member is resiliently deformed; at least one light source arranged on the second surface of the circuit board, wherein quantity of the at least one light source is less than quantity of the plurality of illumination portions; and a light guide, arranged on the second surface of the circuit board, for guiding light from the at least one light source to each of the plurality of illumination portions; wherein the circuit board includes a plurality of openings extending through the circuit board at locations corresponding to the plurality of illumination portions, and the light guide includes a reflection structure for reflecting light from the at least one light source toward the plurality of openings.