Patent ID: 7251418

Claim:
An apparatus for receiving an optical signal from a remote control, comprising: a front panel provided with a window through which a light including the optical signal passes; a circuit board disposed at substantially a right angle to the front panel; a photodetector mounted on the circuit board in a manner that allows the photodetector to have a directionality in a normal direction on the circuit board; and a light guide attached to the front panel for guiding the light passing through the window toward the photodetector; wherein the light guide comprises homogenous material and guides the light with a boundary between an outer surface thereof and the atmosphere reflecting the light totally; wherein a light guiding portion of the light guide extending from an entrance end of the light guide facing the window to an exit end of the light guide facing the photodetector has a substantially circular cross section and is curved gently and non-angularly such that the entrance end and the exit end are arranged substantially perpendicular to each other; wherein the exit end includes a concave surface, is configured to be coaxial with and opposite to a shape of a light-receptive portion of the photodetector, and is adjacent to the light-receptive portion; wherein a center of the exit end corresponds to a center of the photodetector in a plan view; and wherein the photodetector comprises a substantially dome-shaped light-receptive portion, and the exit end of the light guide is coaxial with and opposite to the substantially dome-shaped light-receptive portion.