BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The disclosures herein relate to an illumination device, and more specifically relate to an attachment structure for attaching a light guide of the illumination device to a housing.

2. Description of the Related Art

In conventional switches installed in vehicles, a technology that can illuminate marks provided at operation positions from the back side is utilized. With regard to such a technology, Patent Document 1 below describes a technology that can guide light emitted from one light source to a plurality of switches through a light guide having branches.

However, with such a conventional technique, an assembly process for attaching a light guide to a housing may become complicated if the size of a space where the light guide is disposed is reduced or the size of a space required for assembly is reduced in order to reduce the size of the entire apparatus including a switch. In addition, the complicated assembly process may make it difficult to attach the light guide to a precise position in the housing.

RELATED-ART DOCUMENTS

Patent Documents

Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-308102

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to at least one embodiment, an illumination device includes a housing having an opening that extends through the housing from a first side to a second side of the housing; a substrate; a light source configured to emit light; and a light guide. The opening includes a first space and a second space. The first space is located closer to the first side and extends in a first direction, and the second space is located closer to the second side relative to the first space, is continuous from the first space, and extends in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction. The substrate is disposed closer to the second side relative to the second space. The light source is disposed on one surface of the substrate so as to face the second space. The light guide is disposed across the first space and the second space, and is configured to guide the light, emitted from the light source, to the opening. The housing has a wall surface that faces both the second side and the second space and contacts the light guide, a guide rib that extends in the second direction, and a fitting wall that extends in a third direction. The third direction is different from the first direction and the second direction. The light guide has a first contact surface that contacts the wall surface so as to position the light guide in the first direction, and a guide groove that is provided in the first contact surface and is fitted to the guide rib so as to position the light guide in the third direction while guiding movement of the light guide in the second direction.

