JP7245438B2 - Pointer-type instrument device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pointer-type instrument device mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile.

2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle such as an automobile is equipped with an instrument device for displaying information necessary for driving, such as a speedometer and an engine tachometer. A measuring instrument device has, for example, a dial on which designs such as scales and numbers are applied, and pointers that indicate the designs. In order to enhance the visibility and appearance of the pointer, a pointer illuminated by a light source is known. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a pointer-type instrument device that reduces light leaking from the pointer to the display plate.

JP 2017-207419 A

The instrument device of Patent Document 1 has an enclosing wall that surrounds the drive shaft of the pointer and has a tip protruding from the dial, and a light shielding portion that overlaps the enclosing wall and the dial on the front side. As a result, the distance between the dial and the hands is increased by the height of the overlap, which impairs the sense of unity between the hands and the dial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a pointer-type instrument device capable of improving its appearance.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a pointer-type instrument device according to the present invention includes a dial plate having an index, a circuit board provided on the back side of the dial plate, a circuit board provided on the circuit board, and a a pointer driving portion having a pointer shaft extending vertically toward the front side; a light source provided around the pointer driving portion for illuminating the front side of the circuit board; a pointer illuminated by the light of the light source, and a case supporting the circuit board and the dial, and having a case-side light-shielding wall surrounding the light source and guiding the light to the pointer; A side light shielding wall is provided outside the light source, and has an inner light shielding wall having a first diameter around the pointer shaft and an outer light shielding wall having a second diameter larger than the first diameter around the pointer shaft. A light shielding wall and a horizontal wall connecting the inner light shielding wall and the outer light shielding wall are provided, and the pointer has a third diameter smaller than the second diameter and is formed by the outer light shielding wall. It has a pointer-side light-shielding wall having a tip in the space on the back side of the dial.

In the pointer-type instrument device according to the present invention, the appearance can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The front view which shows embodiment of the pointer-type measuring instrument apparatus which concerns on this invention. Sectional drawing which follows the II-II line of FIG.

An embodiment of a pointer-type instrument device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The pointer-type instrument device according to the present invention is mounted, for example, on vehicles such as automobiles and two-wheeled vehicles, ships, agricultural machinery, and construction machinery. In this embodiment, an example in which a pointer-type instrument device according to the present invention is a pointer-type instrument device mounted in an instrument panel of an automobile will be described.

An embodiment of a pointer-type instrument device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The pointer-type instrument device according to the present invention is mounted, for example, on vehicles such as automobiles and two-wheeled vehicles, ships, agricultural machinery, and construction machinery.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a gauge device 1 that is an embodiment of a pointer-type gauge device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II--II of FIG.

In the following description, the "front (front) side" means the front side in FIG. 1 and the upper side (dial plate 12 side) in FIG. 2, which is viewed by a viewer (driver). The "back (rear) side" means the back side in FIG. 1 and the lower side (outer case 42 side) in FIG.

The instrument device 1 has a speedometer 2 and an engine tachometer 3 . The speedometer 2 is a pointer-type (mechanical) instrument that displays the speed of the vehicle. The engine speed meter 3 is a pointer-type instrument that displays the engine speed of the vehicle.

The instrument device 1 mainly has pointers 11 , a dial plate 12 , a dial plate 14 , a circuit board 15 , a light guide 16 and an inner case 43 .

The pointer 11 is connected to the tip of a pointer shaft 30a of a pointer driving portion 30 provided on the circuit board 15, and rotates on a plane parallel to the dial 12 on the dial front surface 12b side. The pointer 11 rotates and points to a design 21 (indicator) such as a scale or numbers formed on the dial 12 corresponding to the speed or engine speed of the vehicle. Also, the pointer 11 is illuminated by light from the light source 31 . Details of the indicator 11 will be described later.

The dial 12 is a thin plate member provided on the front side of the light source 31 and on the back side of the hands 11 . The dial 12 has a base material and a light shielding layer.

The base material of the dial 12 is, for example, a transparent polycarbonate resin, and is a plate-like member having transparency (translucency).

The light-shielding layer is a printed layer printed with black light-shielding ink and formed on the front side (or back side) of the substrate. The light shielding layer has a cutout character portion corresponding to the shape of the design 21 (index). The design 21 is letters, symbols, and scales and numbers indicated by the pointer 11 . The dial 12 lights up and displays the design 21 by transmitting light from a light source (not shown) for the design 21 .

The dial plate 14 covers the front surface of the dial plate 12 and shields unnecessary areas on the dial plate 12 . The dial plate 14 has an opening window 14a that defines (exposes) the display areas of the speedometer 2 and the engine tachometer 3 . The dial plate 14 is fitted with a cover (not shown) made of translucent polycarbonate resin or inorganic glass on the front side, and an outer case 42 made of black synthetic resin or the like on the back side. , forming the housing of the instrument device 1 .

The circuit board 15 is provided on the dial back surface 12a side. The circuit board 15 mainly has a pointer driving section 30 , a light source 31 , and a control section including drivers for the light source 31 and the pointer driving section 30 .

The control unit has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and executes predetermined arithmetic processing according to a program written in the ROM, for example. The control unit, for example, acquires various vehicle information from an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the vehicle. The control unit lights the light source 31 and drives the pointer driving unit 30 based on the acquired information.

The pointer drive unit 30 rotates the pointer shaft 30a in accordance with the input running speed of the vehicle and engine speed. The pointer shaft 30a extends vertically from the circuit board 15 toward the front side.

The light source 31 is provided on the front surface of the circuit board 15 and illuminates the front side. The light source 31 is, for example, a top-view type (top emission type) LED (Light Emitting Diode). A required number of light sources 31 are provided around the pointer driving portion 30 (pointer shaft 30a). Also, the light sources for the designs 21 are provided according to the number and positions of the designs 21 of the instrument device 1 .

The light guide 16 is made of transparent resin such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The light guide 16 is provided on the outer periphery of the pointer shaft 30 a and inside a pointer-side light shielding wall 71 (described later), and guides light from the light source 31 to the pointer 11 .

The middle case 43 is made of synthetic resin such as white, and fixes and supports the dial 12 , the circuit board 15 and the light guide 16 .
The middle case 43 has a case-side light shielding wall 50 that surrounds the light source 31 and guides light to the hands 11, as shown in FIG. The case-side light shielding wall 50 forms a cylindrical space with a wall that separates the illumination (light emitting) region of the light source 31, and light passes through this cylindrical space. One end of the case-side light-shielding wall 50 (the end face of the case-side light-shielding wall 50 facing the circuit board 15) is in contact with the circuit board 15, and the other end (the end face of the case-side light-shielding wall 50 facing the dial 12) is a character. It is in contact with the plate back surface 12a.

The case-side light shielding wall 50 has an inner light shielding wall 51 , an outer light shielding wall 52 and a horizontal wall 53 .

The inner light shielding wall 51 is provided outside the light source 31 and has a first diameter (inner diameter) around the pointer shaft 30a. The outer light shielding wall 52 has a second diameter (inner diameter) larger than the first diameter around the pointer shaft 30a. Note that the first diameter and the second diameter may change in the front-rear direction, and may increase toward the front side, for example. The horizontal wall 53 horizontally connects the inner light shielding wall 51 and the outer light shielding wall 52 . Thus, the inner light shielding wall 51, the outer light shielding wall 52, and the horizontal wall 53 form a cylindrical case-side light shielding wall 50 that is continuous in a stepped manner. The horizontal wall 53 also has a protruding wall 54 extending inward (in the direction of the pointer shaft 30a) from the pointer-side light shielding wall 71. As shown in FIG.

Next, details of the indicator 11 will be described.

The pointer 11 has a light-emitting portion 61 , a pointer seat 62 , a weight 63 and a cap 64 .

The light-emitting portion 61 is, for example, a transparent polycarbonate resin, and is a pointer-shaped member having transparency (translucency). The light emitting portion 61 receives the light from the light source 31 through the light receiving portion 61a and reflects the light toward the tip 61c by the reflecting surface 61b.

The pointer seat 62 is made of black polycarbonate resin, for example, and has a base portion 68 , a seat surface 69 , a shaft coupling portion 70 , and a pointer-side light shielding wall 71 . The base 68 is a circular thin plate positioned at the center of rotation of the pointer 11 . The base portion 68 exposes the light receiving portion 61a of the light emitting portion 61 to the light source 31 side and fixes it. The seat surface 69 is a surface that receives the rear surface of the light emitting unit 61 and fixes the light emitting unit 61 . The seat surface 69 has a seat surface side light shielding wall 69a (light shielding member) that protrudes substantially perpendicularly to the seat surface 69 toward the dial front surface 12b (back side). The shaft coupling portion 70 is a cylindrical member protruding from the base portion 68 in the rearward direction. The shaft coupling portion 70 couples the pointer 11 and the pointer shaft 30a by inserting the pointer shaft 30a of the pointer driving portion 30 .

The pointer-side light shielding wall 71 shields the light from the light source 31 so that it does not leak onto the dial 12 . The pointer-side light-shielding wall 71 is a cylindrical member that protrudes in the rearward direction from the base 68 of the pointer seat 62 and has one closed end. The pointer-side light shielding wall 71 has a third diameter (inner diameter) smaller than the second diameter, which is the diameter of the outer light shielding wall 52 , and the first diameter, which is the diameter of the inner light shielding wall 51 . The pointer-side light shielding wall 71 has a tip 71a in the space formed by the outer light shielding wall 52 on the back side of the dial 12 . That is, the pointer-side light shielding wall 71 is provided so as to penetrate from the base portion 68 located on the front side of the dial 12 to the rear side of the dial 12 . The tip 71 a faces the projecting wall 54 of the horizontal wall 53 . The front end portion 16a, which is the emission surface of the light guide 16, is positioned inside the pointer-side light shielding wall 71 and faces the light receiving portion 61a of the light emitting portion 61 exposed from the base portion 68 to the rear side. ing.

A weight 63 , for example a polyamide composite material having the required weight, is provided on the base 68 of the pointer seat 62 . The weight 63 is designed so that the center of gravity of the pointer 11 is close to the center of rotation of the pointer 11 .

The cap 64 is made of, for example, black ABS resin, and covers the light emitting part 61 and the weight 63 by covering the indicator seat 62 from the front side. The cap 64 has a slit 64a and a cap-side flange 64b. The slit 64a exposes the light-emitting portion 61 in a stripe shape. The cap-side flange 64b (light shielding member) protrudes from the peripheral edge 64c of the cap 64 toward the dial front surface 12b (back side).

Such an instrument device 1 can reduce the distance between the hands 11 and the dial 12 in the front-rear direction, and at the same time, prevents the light from the light source 31 from leaking to the front face 12b of the dial. can lead to That is, by accommodating the pointer-side light-shielding wall 71 in the cylindrical space 80 formed by the case-side light-shielding wall 50 , the pointer 11 can be brought closer to the dial 12 .

Further, as the hands 11 are brought closer to the dial 12, the space 80 becomes larger, and there is a possibility that the light from the light source 31 may leak to the dial front surface 12b. However, the instrument device 1 forms an inner light shielding wall 51 and an outer light shielding wall 52 with different diameters, and has a labyrinth structure (crank structure) of the case side light shielding wall 50 and the pointer side light shielding wall 71. Light can be reflected and attenuated by each of the light shielding walls 51, 52, 53, and 71. FIG. That is, it is possible to reduce the amount of light that can be recognized by a viewer, such as the light leaking directly to the dial front surface 12b, from leaking to the dial front surface 12b.

Further, since the instrument device 1 has the projecting wall 54 of the horizontal wall 53, even if the light passing through the light guide 16 is emitted from the light guide side 16b on the back side of the horizontal wall 53, It is possible to prevent the light from leaking out to the dial front face 12b side by being reflected by the projecting wall back face 54a.

Furthermore, since the instrument device 1 has the cap-side brim 64b of the cap 64 and the seat-side light-shielding wall 69a of the pointer seat 62, even if light leaks to the dial front surface 12b side, the cap-side brim 64b and the seat are blocked. The light can be further shielded by the surface-side light shielding wall 69a. Also, the cap-side brim 64b and the seat-side light shielding wall 69a can shield the space 80 from the opening of the dial 12 so that the space 80 is not visible.

Therefore, the instrument device 1 can have a sense of unity between the hands 11 and the dial 12, and the appearance of the instrument device 1 can be improved.

While several embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

1 Instrument device 2 Speedometer 3 Engine tachometer 11 Needle 12 Dial 12a Dial back 12b Dial front 14 Dial plate 14a Opening window 15 Circuit board 16 Light guide 16a Front end 16b Light guide side 21 Design 30 Pointer driving portion 30a Pointer shaft 31 Light source 42 Outer case 43 Middle case (case)
50 Case-side light-shielding wall 51 Inner light-shielding wall 52 Outer light-shielding wall 53 Horizontal wall 54 Protruding wall 54a Protruding wall back surface 61 Light-emitting part 61a Light-receiving part 61b Reflecting surface 61c Tip 62 Pointer seat 63 Weight 64 Cap 64a Slit 64b Cap-side collar 64c Periphery 68 Base 69 Seat surface 69a Seat surface side light shielding wall 70 Shaft coupling portion 71 Pointer side light shielding wall 71a Tip 80 Space

Claims (5)

a dial having indices;
a circuit board provided on the back side of the dial;
a pointer driving unit provided on the circuit board and having a pointer shaft extending vertically from the circuit board to the front side;
a light source provided around the pointer driving unit for illuminating the front side of the circuit board;
a pointer that is connected to the pointer shaft, rotates to point to the index, and is illuminated by light from the light source;
a case that supports the circuit board and the dial and has a case-side light shielding wall that surrounds the light source and guides the light to the hands;
The case-side light shielding wall is provided outside the light source and has an inner light shielding wall having a first diameter centered on the pointer shaft and a second diameter larger than the first diameter centered on the pointer shaft. and a horizontal wall connecting the inner light shielding wall and the outer light shielding wall,
The pointer has a third diameter smaller than the second diameter, and has a pointer-side light-shielding wall having a tip in a space on the back side of the dial formed by the outer light-shielding wall. . The pointer-type instrument device according to claim 1, wherein said third diameter is smaller than said first diameter. 2. The pointer-type instrument device according to claim 1, wherein said horizontal wall has a projecting wall extending inwardly of said pointer-side light shielding wall. 2. The pointer-type instrument device according to claim 1, further comprising a light guide provided inside said pointer-side light-shielding wall for guiding said light from said light source to said pointer. 5. The pointer-type instrument device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said pointer has a light shielding member projecting toward the front surface of said dial.

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