Combination visible and infrared pipe

摘要

Many device components include a printed circuit board supporting light-generating means along with a light pipe to conduct light from the light-generating means to a diffuser adjacent the surface of the components. The present invention offers an improvement whereby the light pipe can be utilized both for transmission of visible wavelengths and for transmission/reception of invisible (infrared) wavelengths. To accomplish this, a light pipe is constituted of two adjacent portions, and an infrared transceiver module is coupled into both portions.