JP3788359B2 - Lighting device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a lighting device that illuminates a pointer and a display board mounted on a vehicle meter such as an automobile.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as this kind of lighting device, for example, one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-22210 has been known. The illumination device includes a pointer, a display plate disposed behind the pointer, and a light source that illuminates the pointer.
[0003]
The pointer has an indicator member having a base portion located in the rotation center region, an indicator portion extending linearly from the base portion in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the drive device, and a cap covering the base portion of the indicator member. In this case, the indicator and the cap are formed so as to transmit light of a predetermined color upon receiving light from a light source supplied to the base.
[0004]
The display board has a scale that is an indication target of the indication part, a display part that consists of numbers, and a background part that is the background of the pointer, and a through-hole through which the rotation shaft passes is formed in the center part of the background part. .
[0005]
The rotating shaft exposed from the through hole is connected to the boss extending behind the base, so that the cap is disposed on the display plate so as to surround the through hole. Thus, the cap of the pointer is the through hole of the display plate. It has been adopted to block.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of a conventional lighting device, the background portion of the display board does not emit light when the light source is turned on, but the cap of the pointer is colored and emitted by light from the light source, so the cap is visually recognized by a color different from that of the background portion. Will be. As a result, a cap that is inherently insignificant to the pointing function of the pointer is visually recognized, and since it has a different color from the background, the presence of the cap stands out, giving a miscellaneous impression on the appearance of the pointer. Had a problem.
[0007]
This invention is made | formed in view of this point, The main objective is to provide the illuminating device which can make a cap inconspicuous.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Since the present invention is to achieve the above object, guidelines and a display panel disposed behind the guide, and a light source for illuminating the display plate and the pointer, the pointer is translucent resin extending linear An indicator made of a material, and a cap that covers the rotation center region of the indicator, and the display board includes a display unit that is an indication target of the pointer, and a background part that is a background of the pointer, The cap is made of a metallic translucent resin material having a light-transmitting colored portion formed on the inner wall surface thereof, the background portion is a light-transmitting colored layer having the same color as the colored portion, and the front surface of the colored layer A transparent portion having a light-transmitting metallic ground color layer formed on the outer periphery of the cap, and a region surrounding the outer periphery of the cap, and when the light source is turned off, the cap is caused by external light from the front side of the pointer. Is different from the color of the indicating portion, and is the same as the color of the translucent portion. Of a visually recognized as having a color of metallic tone, at the time of lighting of the light source a color different from the luminescent color of the indicator portion emission color of the cap, the emission color and the same color of the colored portion of the translucent portion It is characterized by being set to color .
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a case where the embodiment of the present invention is applied to, for example, a meter mounted on an automobile will be described. 1 is a front view of the lighting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the pointer showing the region B in FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the display board showing the region C of FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the illumination device when the light source is turned on according to the embodiment.
[0011]
1 and 2, the illumination device according to the present embodiment includes a circuit board 1, a driving device 3 that is conductively attached to the circuit board 1 and has a rotary shaft 2 extending forward, and a pointer that is rotationally driven by the rotary shaft 2. 4, a display board 5 disposed on the circuit board 1 behind the pointer 4, a light source 6 disposed in front of the circuit board 1 and illuminating the pointer 4 and the display board 5, the circuit board 1, It is comprised from the case member 7 arrange | positioned between the display boards 5. FIG.
[0012]
The circuit board 1 is composed of a hard circuit board in which a wiring pattern (not shown) is provided on a glass epoxy base material, for example, and a light source 6 and a driving means (not shown) for driving and controlling the driving device 3, for example, For example, various circuit components (not shown) such as resistors and capacitors are conductively connected to the wiring pattern.
[0013]
The driving device 3 is composed of a movable magnet-type instrument or a stepping motor, the main part of which is mounted behind the circuit board 1 so that the rotating shaft 2 penetrates the circuit board 1 and is appropriately connected by means such as soldering. It is electrically connected to the wiring pattern (the driving means).
[0014]
The pointer 4 includes an indicator member 41 that instructs a display unit 51 (to be described later) of the display board 5, a pedestal member 42 that is arranged behind the indicator member 41, and a cap 43 that covers the periphery of the pedestal member 42 and a required portion of the indicator member 41. And have.
[0015]
The indicator member 41 is made of a translucent synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 3, a base portion 44 located in the rotation center region R, and an indicator extending from the front side of the base portion 44 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axis D of the rotary shaft 2. Part 45.
[0016]
A space portion 46 having an inverted trapezoidal shape is formed at the center of the base portion 44. In FIG. 3, the space portion 46 includes a first reflecting portion 47 located on the left side with respect to the axis D of the rotating shaft 2, and a second reflecting portion 48 located on the right side. The reflective portions 47 and 48 correspond to the trapezoidal hypotenuse of the space portion 46.
[0017]
A pair of projecting portions 49 are formed on the back surface of the base portion 44 corresponding to the first and second reflecting portions 47 and 48, and are fitted into through holes 405 described later of the base member 42. When the first light source 61 that emits light emits light, the light enters the projecting portion 49, and the light that enters the projecting portion 49 of the projecting portion 49 corresponding to the first reflecting portion 47 is the first light. The reflecting portion 47 reflects the tip of the indicating portion 45, and the indicating portion 45 shines linearly. Further, the light incident on the 49 protruding portions corresponding to the second reflecting portion 48 is reflected by the second reflecting portion 48 toward the rear end side of the indicating portion 45.
[0018]
Reference numeral 401 denotes a red translucent hot stamp layer formed on the front surface of the instruction unit 45, and reference numeral 402 denotes a white light-shielding hot stamp layer formed on the rear surface of the instruction unit 45. In this case, the light-shielding hot stamp layer 402 is provided on the front end side of the space 46.
[0019]
The pedestal member 42 is made of a translucent synthetic resin, has a cross-sectional “T” shape, is a holding member that holds the base 44, and has a disk portion 403 having an outer shape corresponding to the inner diameter of the cap 43, A boss portion 404 is provided that protrudes rearward from a substantially central portion of the plate portion 403 and is inserted and fixed to the rotary shaft 2. In addition, a through hole 405 through which the protruding portion 49 passes is formed in the disc portion 403.
[0020]
The cap 43 is made of a translucent resin material having a metallic surface color and covers the base 44 from the front side to the periphery thereof, and is formed in a hollow cup shape having an opening on the base member 42 side. A slit-shaped exposed portion 406 that exposes 45 portions of the indicator portion extending on the base portion 44 and a peripheral wall portion 407 that covers the periphery of the base portion 44 of the indicator member 41 are provided.
[0021]
A colored portion 408 made of blue translucent ink is formed on the inner wall of the peripheral wall portion 407. When light from the first light source 61 is supplied to the colored portion 408, this light passes through the colored portion 408. The cap 403 emits blue light when the blue light is transmitted through the peripheral wall portion 407. In addition, when the blue light is brighter than necessary, for example, a dimmer 409 for adjusting the intensity and color of the light transmitted through the peripheral wall portion 407 may be provided on the inner wall surface of the colored portion 408.
[0022]
On the other hand, when the first light source 61 does not emit light, the cap 43 is visually recognized by a metallic tone that is a color tone of the peripheral wall portion 407 itself by reflected light such as external light from the front side of the pointer 4.
[0023]
The display board 5 has an arcuate array shape along the rotation trajectory of the pointer 4 and has a display 51 including a scale 51a and a number 51b to be indicated by the indicator 45 of the pointer 4, and the display 51 and the pointer. In the present embodiment, a translucent portion 53 surrounding the outer periphery of the cap 43 is formed at the center of the background portion 52.
[0024]
Next, based on FIG. 4, the printing process of the display board 5 for forming these scale 51a, the number 51b, the background part 52, and the translucent part 53 is demonstrated. First, a display color layer 55 made of a white light-transmitting ink and a colored layer 56 made of a blue light-transmitting ink are printed and formed on the front surface of a light-transmitting substrate 54 serving as a base material. At this time, a portion corresponding to the background portion 52 is formed as a cutout portion 57 where the display color layer 55 and the colored layer 56 are not formed, and the background portion 52 is printed on the cutout portion 57.
[0025]
The background portion 52 is formed of blackish light-shielding ink so as to include the boundary portion between the extraction portion 57 and the display color layer 55 and the extraction portion 57 and the coloring layer 56. As a result, the display color layer 55 and the colored layer 56 are partially exposed by the area where the background portion 52 is not formed, and the scale 51 a and the number 51 b are formed by the exposed portion of the display color layer 55.
[0026]
Next, a ground color layer 58 made of a metallic translucent ink is printed on the exposed surface of the colored layer 56, and finally an overcoat layer 59 made of a translucent matte ink is formed on the display color layer 55, Overprinting is performed on the background portion 52 and the ground color layer 58. At this time, the ground color layer 58 is formed on the front surface portion of the colored layer 56 corresponding to the cutout portion 57 so as to include the boundary portion between the colored layer 56 and the background portion 52. A translucent portion 53 is formed on which are printed.
[0027]
In this case, when light is not supplied from a second light source 62 (to be described later) of the light source 6, the translucent part 53 is a metallic tone that is the color tone of the ground color layer 58 itself by reflected light such as external light from the front side of the substrate 54. Is visually recognized. Further, when the second light source 62 emits light, the light is colored blue when it passes through the colored layer 56, and the blue light is transmitted through the ground color layer 58, so that the light transmitting portion 53 emits blue light.
[0028]
The print layers of the display color layer 55, the colored layer 56, the ground color layer 58, and the overcoat layer 59 are formed by printing using means such as screen printing.
[0029]
The light source 6 is formed of, for example, a chip-type light emitting diode that emits white light. A plurality of light sources 6 are arranged on the front side of the circuit board 1, arranged adjacent to the rotating shaft 2, and illuminate the pointer 4. And a second light source 62 that illuminates the display board 5.
[0030]
The case member 7 is made of, for example, white synthetic resin, and functions as a holding member that holds the display plate 5, functions as a housing that houses the light source 6, and serves as a reflecting member that reflects light from the light source 6 forward. It has a function.
[0031]
In such a configuration, when the light source 6 does not emit light, the indicator 45 is visually recognized in red by reflecting reflected light such as external light from the front side of the pointer 4 on the front surface of the translucent hot stamp layer 401. The Further, the cap 43 is visually recognized by a metallic tone when the reflected light reflects the front surface of the peripheral wall portion 407.
[0032]
Further, on the display board 5, the reflected light passes through the overcoat layer 59 and reflects on the front surface of the background portion 52, the display color layer 55, and the ground color layer 58, so that the display portion 51 has the color tone of the display color layer 55. The white portion is visually recognized, the background portion 52 is visually recognized by black, and the translucent portion 53 is visually recognized by a metallic tone which is the color tone of the ground color layer 58. Therefore, the cap 43 and the translucent part 53 are visually recognized in a metallic style (for example, gun metallic), whereas the indicator part 45 is visually recognized in red, so that the cap 43 itself is less noticeable as shown in FIG. The instruction part 45 having a large role for the instruction function of the pointer 4 is clearly visible.
[0033]
When the light source 6 emits light, the light emitted from the first light source 61 out of the light emitted from the light source 6 is the light that reaches the first and second reflecting portions 47 and 48 through the protruding portion 49. The light is roughly divided into light introduced into the rotation center region R from the 42 base member portions other than the protruding portion 49. The light that has reached each of the reflecting portions 47 and 48 is reflected to the front end side and the rear end side of the indicating member 41 and is colored by the translucent hot stamp layer 401, so that the indicating portion 45 emits red light.
[0034]
Further, the light introduced into the rotation center region R from the 42 pedestal members other than the projecting portion 49 reaches the back surface of the peripheral wall portion 407 located around the exposed portion 406 and is introduced into the dimming portion 409. Then, after the light intensity and color are adjusted by the light adjusting unit 409, the light is colored blue by the coloring unit 408, the blue light is transmitted through the peripheral wall 407, and the cap 43 emits blue light. In this case, the cap 43 enters the protrusion 49 in addition to the light introduced from the base member 42, and the light incident on the protrusion 49 does not pass through the translucent hot stamp layer 401. The light emitted from the side surface of 41 emits blue light.
[0035]
Further, by providing the light control part 409 on the peripheral wall part 407, the light transmitted through the peripheral wall part 407 can be adjusted by the light control part 409, and a dedicated light adjustment member separate from the cap 43 becomes unnecessary, and the structure Can be simplified.
[0036]
Further, the light emitted from the second light source 62 is reflected to the display panel 5 side through the case member 7 and reaches the back surface of the display panel 5. The light that has reached the back surface of the display plate 5 is transmitted through the substrate 54, and the transmitted light causes the display unit 51 and the light transmitting unit 53 to emit light in a predetermined color.
[0037]
At this time, the display unit 51 emits white light by transmitting the transmission light transmitted through the substrate 54 through the display color layer 55 and the overcoat layer 59, and the light transmission unit 53 transmits the transmission light to the colored layer 56 and the ground color layer. 58 and the overcoat layer 59 are transmitted to emit blue light as described above. In addition, since the said transmitted light is absorbed in the background part 52 which has light-shielding property, the background part 52 is visually recognized by black. Accordingly, since the cap 43 and the light transmitting portion 53 emit blue light, and the indicator 45 emits red light, the cap 43 itself is not easily noticeable as shown in FIG. The indication part 45 which is is visually recognized clearly.
[0038]
The transmitted light that illuminates and transmits the light transmitting portion 53 illuminates the back surface of the indicating member 41. Since the light blocking hot stamp layer 402 is formed on the back surface of the indicating member 41, this transmitted light is blocked by the light blocking hot stamp. By being absorbed by the layer 402, the light emission color of the indicating unit 45 is different from the transmitted light of the light transmitting unit 53.
[0039]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the pointer 4, the display plate 5 disposed behind the pointer 4, and the pointer 4 and the light source 6 that illuminates the display plate 5 are provided. Part 45 and a cap 43 that covers the rotation center region of the indicating part 45, and the display board 5 includes a display part 51 that is an instruction target of the pointer 4 and a background part 52 that is the background of the pointer 4. The indicator portion 45 and the cap 43 are formed to be light transmissive to emit light of a predetermined color upon receiving light from the light source 6, and the background portion 52 is formed to the light transmissive portion 53 to emit light upon receiving light from the light source 6. Since the light emission color of the cap 43 is different from the light emission color of the instruction unit 45 and the same color as the light emission color of the translucent unit 53, the instruction unit 45 that is important for the instruction function of the pointer 4 is clearly visible. Is done.
[0040]
Further, in the present embodiment, the translucent portion 53 is formed in a region surrounding the outer periphery of the cap 43, so that the cap 43 itself is less noticeable and the indication portion 45 is clearly visible.
[0041]
Further, in the present embodiment, the light control portion 409 is provided on the inner wall surface of the peripheral wall portion 407 of the cap 43, but the method of forming the light control portion 409 is arbitrary, and may be formed on the pedestal member 42, for example.
[0042]
FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the pointer 4 and the display board 5 are illuminated by an illuminating means 9 comprising a single light source 6 comprising a light emitting diode and a light guide member 8. It is.
[0043]
The light guide member 8 is formed of a translucent acrylic resin in a substantially “L” cross section, a plate-like flat plate portion 81 formed along the back surface of the display plate 5, and a direction orthogonal to the flat plate portion 81. And a light incident part 82 for receiving light from the light source 6. The flat plate portion 81 has a reflection surface 83 that reflects the light taken in from the light incident portion 82 toward the rotating shaft 2 and a reflection surface that is disposed opposite to the protrusion 49 of the pointer 4 and reflects the light from the reflection surface 83 to the protrusion 49. A wall 84 is formed.
[0044]
Further, a light diffusion layer 10 is printed on the back surface of the display plate 5 between the display plate 5 and the flat plate portion 81, and the light diffusion layer 10 efficiently transmits light from the flat plate portion 81 in the display plate 5. It is provided for the introduction.
[0045]
When the light source 6 emits light, the light emitted from the light source 6 enters the light incident part 82,
The light incident on the light incident portion 82 is guided to the reflection wall 84 side by the reflection surface 83. At this time, the light from the reflecting surface 83 to the reflecting wall 84 is repeatedly internally reflected in the flat plate portion 81, and the light emitted from the front of the flat plate portion 81 illuminates the display plate 5 through the light diffusion layer 10. . Thereby, the translucent part 53 of the display board 5 light-emits blue like the said 1st Embodiment.
[0046]
On the other hand, the light reflected to the pointer 4 side by the reflecting wall 84 enters the projecting portion 49, and the indicator portion 45 emits red light and the cap 43 emits blue light as in the first embodiment. Further, when the light source 6 does not emit light, the cap 43 and the translucent portion 53 are visually recognized by a metallic tone, that is, the cap 43 can be made inconspicuous also in such an embodiment, and the same effect as in the first embodiment. The effect can be expected.
[0047]
FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the translucent portion 53 is formed by a plurality of ring-shaped translucent portions 531 concentrically formed so as to surround the outer periphery of the cap 43. In this case, the ring-shaped light emitting unit 531 has a first ring-shaped light emitting unit 532 located on the cap 43 side and a second ring-shaped light emitting unit 533 located on the display unit 51 side. A background portion 52 is formed between the cap 43 and the first ring-shaped light transmitting portion 532, and between the first ring-shaped light transmitting portion 532 and the second ring-shaped light transmitting portion 533. Also in this embodiment, since the cap 43 is visually recognized as a part of the ring-shaped light transmitting portion 531 (a part of the design of the display board 5) rather than as a part of the pointer 4, the cap 43 is made inconspicuous. Therefore, it is possible to expect the same effects as those of the above embodiments.
[0048]
In each of the above embodiments, the configuration in which the light transmitting portion 53 is provided in a part of the background portion 52 is adopted. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the entire background portion 52 is configured as the light transmitting portion 53. The translucent part 53 should just be formed so that the outer periphery of the cap 43 may be surrounded at least.
[0049]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an illuminating device that can achieve the initial purpose and make the cap inconspicuous.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a lighting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a pointer showing a region B in FIG. 2 in an enlarged manner.
4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the display panel showing a region C in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a front view of the illumination device when the light source is turned on according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a front view of a lighting device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Circuit board 2 Rotating shaft 3 Drive apparatus 4 Pointer 5 Display board 6 Light source 7 Case body 8 Light guide member 9 Illuminating means 10 Light diffusion layer 41 Indicator member 42 Base member 43 Cap 44 Base 45 Indicator 51 Display part 52 Background part 53 Light transmitting portion 54 Substrate 56 Colored layer 58 Ground color layer 81 Flat plate portion 82 Light incident portion 83 Reflecting surface 84 Reflecting wall 407 Peripheral wall portion 408 Colored portion 409 Dimming portion D Axis G Weight R Rotation center region

Claims (1)

A pointer, a display plate disposed behind the pointer, a light source that illuminates the pointer and the display plate, and the pointer is made of a light- transmitting resin material extending linearly; and the pointer A cap that covers the rotation center region of the display, the display board includes a display unit that is an indication target of the pointer, and a background portion that is a background of the pointer, and the cap is light-transmitting on an inner wall surface thereof. The colored portion is formed of a metal-like translucent resin material, and the background portion is formed of a light-transmitting colored layer having the same color as the colored portion and a light-transmitting layer formed on the front surface of the colored layer. A light-transmitting part having a metallic ground color layer is provided in a region surrounding the outer periphery of the cap, and when the light source is turned off, the cap is different from the color of the indicator by external light from the front side of the pointer, Visually visible as having a metallic color that is the same color as the translucent part Is the illumination at the time of lighting of the light source is a different color from the emission color of the indicator portion emission color of the cap, characterized in that set emission color and the same color of the colored portion of the translucent portion apparatus.

Images