JP4962269B2 - Pointer instrument - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointer instrument that illuminates the front surface of a three-dimensional dial.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various methods have been adopted in a vehicular pointer instrument in order to obtain a visually attractive and novel visibility. For example, a pointer instrument for a vehicle that illuminates the front surface of a three-dimensional dial is disclosed (see Patent Document 1).

The three-dimensional dial has an inclined ring-shaped inclined part on the outer peripheral side, and the vehicle pointer instrument is disposed on the dial and the back side of the inclined part to illuminate the viewing side front surface of the inclined part And a ring-shaped light guide for guiding the light of the light source to the front side of the inclined portion on the viewing side. By illuminating the front side of the inclined portion on the viewing side, the three-dimensional effect of the dial is emphasized, and a novel and vivid visibility is obtained.
JP 2002-296078 A

  Although it is not described in Patent Document 1, if the intensity of the illumination light that illuminates the front side of the inclined portion on the viewing side is insufficient, it becomes difficult to obtain a novel visual appearance. There is a demand for improving the intensity of illumination light.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a pointer instrument that can improve the intensity of illumination light that illuminates the front surface of a three-dimensional dial.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a pointer, a first dial having an opening, a second dial disposed so as to cover the opening in front of the first dial on the viewing side, and a first dial A light transmissive member disposed between the outer peripheral side of the opening of the dial and the second dial and having a light reflecting surface on the outer peripheral side, and light formed on the outer peripheral side of the first dial A transparent portion, a front side of the first dial facing the light transmissive member on the outer peripheral side and positioned outside the light transmissive portion, and a guide disposed at the opening of the first dial. An optical member, a light source disposed on the back side of the first dial, and a reflecting member disposed on the outer peripheral side of the light source, and the light from the light source is transmitted through the light guide member and the light transmissive member. The light is guided to the front side of the face of the first dial, reflected through the reflecting member, and transmitted through the light transmitting portion on the outer peripheral side of the first dial. Is reflected by the light reflecting surface of the over-member, characterized in that leads to view side front face of the first face with.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the viewing-side front surface on the outer peripheral side of the opening of the first dial has the light of the light source guided through the light guide member and the light transmissive member, and the reflection member. The light is transmitted through the light transmitting portion on the outer peripheral side of the first dial and reflected by the light reflecting surface of the light transmissive member. The intensity of the illumination light with respect to the front surface is improved, and the viewing side front surface can be illuminated brightly.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the light guide member includes a first wall portion interposed between the outer peripheral side of the opening portion of the first dial and the second dial portion, and an inner portion of the opening portion of the first dial portion. A second wall portion interposed between the peripheral side and the second dial, and a U-shaped section having a mounting portion for connecting the both wall portions and mounting the second dial. The light from the light source is guided to the viewing side front surface of the first dial through the first wall portion and the light-transmitting member of the light guide member, and the first dial portion through the second wall portion of the light guide member. Of these, it is guided to the front side on the viewing side on the inner peripheral side of the opening.

  According to invention of Claim 2, in addition to the outer peripheral side of an opening part among the 1st dials in the wall part of the cross-sectional U-shaped part of a light guide member, the visual side front side of the inner peripheral side is also a light source. Can be illuminated. Further, the second dial can be supported by the placement portion of the U-shaped portion of the light guide member.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the front side on the viewing side on the outer peripheral side of the dial has a slope shape.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the viewing-side front surface has a slope shape, the viewing-side front surface can be reliably irradiated with light from the light source, and the slope-side shape is a three-dimensional shape. The front side of the viewing side can be raised more three-dimensionally by the light applied to the front side of the viewing side.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the light transmissive member has a color filter characteristic that allows the first color light to pass therethrough.

  According to invention of Claim 4, the visual side front surface of a 1st dial can be illuminated with the color different from the light of a light source.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the light transmitting portion has a color filter characteristic that allows the second color light to pass therethrough.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to illuminate the viewing side front surface of the first dial with a color different from the light of the light source.

  Hereinafter, a case where the pointer instrument according to the present invention is applied to a combination meter mounted on an automobile will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Constitution)
In FIG. 1, a combination meter 1 as a pointer instrument constitutes a speedometer that displays the traveling speed of the automobile, and includes a three-dimensional dial composed of a first dial 2 and a second dial 3, and a pointer 4. With. The pointer 4 rotates along the front surface of the first dial 2, and a scale 31 and a character 32 indicated by the pointer 4 are formed on the second dial 3. The combination meter 1 displays the traveling speed by the dials 2 and 3 and the pointer 4 that rotates by indicating the scale 31 and the character 32.

  In FIG. 2, the first dial 2 has an opening 21. The opening 21 is formed in a shape along the turning locus of the tip of the pointer 4 and has, for example, a ring-shaped opening 21. The first dial 2 includes a first substrate 20 formed of a light-transmitting resin, for example, a colorless and transparent polycarbonate resin, a background layer 22 that is a light transmitting portion formed on the first substrate 20, and a black background. A layer 23, a metallic (silver) background layer 24, and an inclined portion 25 are provided. The background layer 22 has a color filter characteristic that transmits, for example, blue light, which is the second color, and is opposite to the opening portion 21 with respect to the elastomer portion 5 that is a light-transmitting member in the first dial 2. (Right side in FIG. 2). In FIG. 2, the background layer 22 is formed up to the outer peripheral end 211 of the opening 21, but the background layer 22 may not be formed on the left side of the elastomer portion 5.

  The ring-shaped second dial 3 having the same shape as the opening 21 is arranged to cover the opening 21 on the viewing side (the upper side in FIG. 2) of the first dial 2. The second dial 3 includes a second substrate 30 formed of a resin material having thermoplasticity and light transmittance, for example, an acrylic resin, a silver background layer 33 and a black background layer formed on the second substrate 30. 34. The scale 31 is formed as an opening in the background layer 33, and the character 32 is formed as an opening in the background layer 34.

  The elastomer portion 5 is disposed between the first dial 2 and the second dial 3, that is, sandwiched between the first dial 2 and the second dial 3, and the first dial 2 and the second dial 3. It arrange | positions so that the space | gap of the board 3 may be obstruct | occluded and the vibration of the 2nd dial 3 is suppressed by elastically deforming. The elastomer part 5 suppresses the vibration of the second dial 3 caused by the vibration of the automobile by elastic deformation of the elastomer part 5. The elastomer portion 5 is formed of an elastomer material having elasticity and thermoplasticity. For this reason, the elastomer portion 5 can be bonded to the second dial 3 by different material molding (so-called two-color molding). That is, since these can be integrated, the assembly process of the combination meter 1 can be simplified.

  The elastomer part 5 has a light-transmitting property and a color filter characteristic that transmits, for example, blue light as the first color, and is formed on the outer peripheral end 211 side of the opening 21 in FIG. The elastomer portion 5 is formed with a light guide hole 51 for guiding light from a light emitting diode 7 which is a light source to be described later to the scale 31. In addition, a light reflecting surface 52 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the opening 21 of the first dial 2 in the elastomer portion 5, and a light guide hole 51 is provided at a position facing the scale 31 of the first dial 3. Is formed.

  The background layer 22 of the first dial 2 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the opening 21 and at a position facing the elastomer portion 5. Further, the viewing side front face 26 of the first dial 2 is located outside the background layer 22 and has a slope shape.

  The light emitting diode 7 is disposed behind the first dial 2, that is, behind the second dial 3 (lower side in FIG. 2), and emits white light to transmit and illuminate the second dial 3, for example. The light emitting diode 7 is mounted on the printed circuit board 9.

  The light diffusing plate 6, which is a light guide member, has a U-shaped section 60 in the opening 21 of the first dial 2. The U-shaped section 60 of the light diffusing plate 6 includes a first wall 61 interposed between the outer peripheral side of the opening 21 and the second dial 3, the inner peripheral side of the opening 21 and the second character. A second wall part 62 interposed between the board 3 and a planar mounting part 63 for connecting the wall parts 61 and 62 is provided. The third dial 3 is placed on the placement portion 63.

  The light diffusing plate 6 guides the white light of the light emitting diode 7 to the elastomer part 5 through the opening 21 and transmits it through the elastomer part 5, and diffuses the white light of the light emitting diode 7 to the second dial 3 uniformly. It leads to.

  The case 8 that is a reflecting member is formed of a white resin having a high reflectance, has a function of guiding the white light of the light emitting diode 7 to the light diffusion plate 6, and transmits the white light of the light emitting diode 7 through the background layer 22. Thus, the light is led to the light reflecting surface 52 of the elastomer portion 5.

  The second dial 3 integrated with the first dial 2, the light diffusing plate 6, and the elastomer portion 5 is fixed to the case 8. Specifically, the relative positional relationship between the first dial 2 and the light diffusing plate 6 is determined by a positioning pin (not shown) formed on the first dial 2 and the relative position between the second dial 3 and the light diffusing plate 6. The relationship is determined by positioning pins (not shown) formed on these members, and the second dial 3 presses the light diffusing plate 6 and the first dial 2 against the case 8. A screw (not shown) is fixed to the case 8. As a result, a three-dimensional dial composed of the first dial 2 and the second dial 3 is formed.

  Next, the electric circuit configuration of the combination meter 1 will be described with reference to FIG. A speed sensor 11 that detects the traveling speed of the automobile, a movement 41 that rotates the pointer 4, and a light emitting diode (LED) 7 are connected to the control device 10 that includes a microcomputer or the like. The control device 10 drives the movement 41 according to the detection signal from the speed sensor 11 to rotate the pointer 4.

(Operation)
When an ignition switch (not shown) is turned on, in FIG. 3, the control device 10 detects it and starts operation. That is, the control device 10 calculates the traveling speed based on the signal from the speed sensor 11 and drives the movement 41 so as to rotate the pointer 4 by an angle corresponding to the traveling speed. At this time, the control device 10 turns on the light emitting diode 7.

  The white light emitted from the light-emitting diode 7 is diffused by the light diffusing plate 6 and uniformly guided to the second dial 3 according to the optical path P1 shown in FIG. Lights up in white. The white light of the light emitting diode 7 is reflected by the case 8 according to the optical path P2, passes through the light diffusing plate 6, the second substrate 30, and the background layer 22, and passes through the light guide hole 51 of the elastomer portion 5. The scale 31 is transmitted and illuminated. As described above, since the background layer 22 has a color filter characteristic that allows blue light to pass through, the white light of the light-emitting diode 7 is colored blue by passing through the background layer 22, and transmitted light colored in blue. However, the scale 31 is transmitted and illuminated. As a result, the scale 31 is lit and displayed in blue with the silver background layer 33 as the background.

  The white light emitted from the light-emitting diode 7 is guided to the light diffusing plate 6 along the optical path P 3, reaches the elastomer part 5 through the first wall part 61, and this light passes through the elastomer part 5. As described above, since the elastomer portion 5 has a color filter characteristic that allows blue light to pass through, the white light of the light-emitting diode 7 is colored blue by passing through the elastomer portion 5. The transmitted light colored in blue illuminates the viewing side front face 26 of the first dial 2 in the illumination area 2A shown in FIG.

  Further, the white light of the light-emitting diode 7 turned on is guided to the case 8 and reflected by the case 8 along the optical path P4, and is transmitted through the light diffusing plate 6, the second substrate 30, and the background layer 22. The transmitted light is reflected by the light reflecting surface 52 of the elastomer part 5. As described above, the white light of the light-emitting diode 7 is colored blue by passing through the background layer 22 and reflected by the light reflecting surface 52, and the reflected light colored blue is visually observed on the first dial 2. The front side surface 26 is illuminated in the illumination area 2A shown in FIG.

  Through both of the optical paths P3 and P4, that is, the white light of the same light emitting diode 7 is transmitted light (optical path P3) transmitted through the elastomer part 5 and reflected light (optical path P4) reflected by the light reflecting surface 52 of the elastomer part 5. As both of these, since the viewing-side front face 26 of the first dial 2 is illuminated, the intensity of illumination light that illuminates the front face 26 of the three-dimensional dial can be improved. Therefore, the illumination intensity of the illumination area 2A can be increased.

  Further, the white light of the light-emitting diode 7 turned on is diffused by the light diffusing plate 6 along the optical path P5, and through the second wall portion 62, the viewing side on the inner peripheral side of the opening 21 of the first dial 2. The front surface 26 is illuminated in the illumination area 2B shown in FIG.

  Therefore, on the viewing-side front surface 26 of the first dial 2, a three-dimensional dial composed of the first dial 2 and the second dial 3 is illuminated by the blue illumination in the illumination area 2A and the white illumination in the illumination area 2B. The three-dimensional effect can be emphasized.

  Further, the light diffusing plate 6 that imparts light transmittance to the elastomer portion 5 that suppresses vibration of the second dial 3 and diffuses the light of the light emitting diodes 7 and uniformly guides it to the second dial 3 is provided as one of the diffused light. The illumination part 2A is reflected to the elastomer part 5, and the viewing side front face 26 of the first dial 2 is illuminated with the reflected light transmitted through the elastomer part 5, thereby realizing illumination of the illumination area 2A by the optical path P3. . Accordingly, the front side 26 on the viewing side of the first dial 2 can be illuminated without adding new dedicated parts and without increasing the number of parts.

  Further, the background layer 22 is made light transmissive, and the light reflecting surface 52 of the elastomer portion 5 reflects the light of the light emitting diode 7 that has passed through the background layer 22 to the viewing side front surface 26 of the first dial 2. The illumination of the illumination area 2A by the optical path P4 is realized. Accordingly, the front side 26 on the viewing side of the first dial 2 can be illuminated without adding new dedicated parts and without increasing the number of parts.

  Further, by providing the elastomer part 5 with a color filter characteristic that transmits blue light, the light of the light emitted from the light emitting diode 7 is different from the white of the light, that is, blue different from the white of the transmitted illumination light of the second dial 3. The front face 26 on the viewing side of the first dial 2 can be illuminated.

  Further, by providing the background layer 22 with a color filter characteristic that allows blue light to pass through, the background layer 22 has a blue color different from the white color of the light emitted from the light emitting diode 7, that is, a blue color different from the white color of the transmitted illumination light of the second dial 3. The front face 26 on the viewing side of the first dial 2 can be illuminated.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the viewing side front surface 26 of the slant shape of the first dial 2 can be illuminated by both the optical path P3 and the optical path P4. it can. Further, the viewing side front face 26 on the inner peripheral side of the opening of the first dial 2 can also be illuminated by the optical path P5. Further, since the second dial 3 is fixed to the first dial 2 via the elastomer portion 5, vibration of the second dial 3 due to vibration can be suppressed.

(Modification)
In the above example, both the elastomer portion 5 and the background layer 22 have the color filter characteristics that allow blue light to pass therethrough, but the present invention is not limited to this. By arbitrarily setting the color filter characteristics of the elastomer portion 5 and the background layer 22, the illumination color of the illumination area 2A can be arbitrarily changed. For example, when both the elastomer part 5 and the background layer 22 have a color filter characteristic that allows red light to pass therethrough, the white light of the light-emitting diode 7 passes through the elastomer part 5 and the background layer 22 and turns red. Colored. This red illumination light illuminates the illumination area 2A.

  It is also possible to set the color filter characteristics of the elastomer portion 5 and the color filter characteristics of the background layer 22 to be different from each other. For example, when the elastomer part 5 has a color filter characteristic that allows blue light to pass therethrough and the background layer 22 has a color filter characteristic that allows green light to pass therethrough, the white light of the light-emitting diode 7 is reflected in the elastomer part 5. Is transmitted through the background layer 22 and is colored green. Both the blue illumination light and the green illumination light having different colors illuminate the illumination area 2A. Thereby, since illumination area 2A can be illuminated with illumination light of two different colors, the appearance of combination meter 1 can be enhanced.

  It is also possible to make both the elastomer portion 5 and the background layer 22 colorless and transparent members having no color filter characteristics. In this case, the white light of the light emitting diode 7 passes through the elastomer portion 5 and the background layer 22 as white light, and this white illumination light illuminates the illumination area 2A.

  In the above-described example, the elastomer portion 5 and the background layer 22 are provided on the outer peripheral end 211 side of the opening portion 21, but this is not restrictive. The elastomer portion 5 and the background layer 22 can be provided on the inner peripheral end 212 side of the opening 21, or can be provided on both the outer peripheral end 211 side and the inner peripheral end 212 side of the opening 21.

  In the above example, the elastomer portion 5 is bonded to the second dial plate 3 by different material molding (so-called two-color molding), and these are integrated, but this is not restrictive. It is also possible to attach the elastomer part 5 to the first dial 2 made of a polycarbonate resin, which is a thermoplastic resin material, by two-color molding and to integrate them.

  Moreover, it is also possible to provide an elastic member made of a light-transmitting rubber material instead of the elastomer portion 5. Since the rubber material has thermosetting properties, the elastic member formed from the rubber material cannot be bonded to the first dial 2 or the second dial 3 by two-color molding. The same effect can be obtained.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned example, although the shape of the opening part 21 and the 2nd dial 3 was made into ring shape, it is not restricted to this. As long as it has a shape along the turning locus of the tip of the pointer 4, the shape of the opening 21 and the second dial 3 can be, for example, an arc shape, an ellipse shape, or an elliptic arc shape.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and various combinations of the above examples and various modifications can be considered.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a combination meter 1 which is a pointer meter according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. FIG. 3 is a circuit configuration diagram of the combination meter 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining illumination of the dials 2 and 3 shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view for explaining illumination of the dials 2 and 3 shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Combination meter (pointer meter), 2 1st dial, 20 1st board | substrate 21 Opening part, 211 outer periphery end, 212 inner periphery end, 22 Background layer (light transmission part)
23, 24 Background layer, 25 Inclined portion, 26 Front side of viewing side, 2A, 2B Illumination area 3 Second dial, 30 Second substrate, 31 scale, 32 characters, 33, 34 Background layer 4 Pointer, 41 Movement, 5 Elastomer Part (light transmissive member)
51 light guide hole, 52 light reflecting surface, 6 light diffusion plate (light guide member)
7 Light emitting diode (LED, light source), 8 Case (reflecting member), 9 Printed circuit board, 10 Control device, 11 Speed sensor, 60 U-shaped cross section, 61, 62 1st, 2nd wall, 63 Placement

Claims (5)

Guidelines,
A first dial having an opening;
A second dial arranged so as to cover the opening in front of the first dial on the viewing side;
A light transmissive member disposed between the outer peripheral side of the opening and the second dial among the first dial and having a light reflecting surface on the outer peripheral side;
A light transmitting portion formed on the outer peripheral side of the first dial;
A viewing-side front surface located on the outer peripheral side of the first dial and facing the light-transmitting member and outside the light-transmitting portion;
A light guide member disposed in the opening of the first dial;
A light source disposed on the back side of the first dial;
A reflective member disposed on the outer peripheral side of the light source,
The light of the light source is guided to the viewing side front surface of the first dial through the light guide member and the light transmissive member, and is reflected through the reflecting member to be reflected on the outer periphery of the first dial. A pointer instrument that transmits the light transmitting portion on the side and reflects the light transmitting surface of the light transmitting member to the front side of the first dial face on the viewing side. The light guide member includes a first wall portion interposed between the outer peripheral side of the opening of the first dial and the second dial, and an inner peripheral side of the opening of the first dial. And a second wall portion interposed between the second dial, and a U-shaped section having a mounting portion for connecting the both wall portions and mounting the second dial. And
The light of the light source is guided to the viewing side front surface of the first dial through the first wall portion of the light guide member and the light transmissive member, and the second wall portion of the light guide member. 2. The pointer instrument according to claim 1, wherein the pointer instrument is guided to a viewing side front surface on an inner peripheral side of the opening portion of the first dial. 3. The pointer instrument according to claim 1, wherein the front side on the viewing side on the outer peripheral side of the first dial has a slope shape.   The pointer instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light transmissive member has a color filter characteristic that allows light of a first color to pass therethrough.   The pointer instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the light transmitting portion has a color filter characteristic that allows light of a second color to pass therethrough.

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