JP2007316291A - Measuring instrument device and its driving method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a measuring instrument device capable of affording novelty to the expression in non-display operation and improving merchandise and design characteristics and its driving method. <P>SOLUTION: The measuring instrument device 1 rotationally moves a pointer on a display plate and displays vehicle information. The measuring instrument device is equipped with a control means 6 which makes an illumination means 3d for illuminating at least one of the pointer or the display plate flicker for a prescribed time according to the input of the prescribed start signal and gradually shortening the lighting time of the illumination means 3d during flickering. The start signal is the input at which a power source switch is turned on or the input at which the power source switch is turned off. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an instrument device that displays vehicle information by rotating a pointer on a display board.

  As an instrument device for displaying various vehicle-related information (hereinafter referred to as vehicle information) such as vehicle speed, engine speed, water temperature, hydraulic pressure, etc., for example, a pointer is attached to a drive body, and the pointer is rotated on a display board. It is known that it is equipped with a pointer display type instrument that displays a measured amount for displaying the vehicle information, a combination meter in which a speedometer, a tachometer and a fuel meter are housed in a case body, or a single analog type There is a so-called aftermeter that houses the instrument body in a case and monitors the vehicle information separately from the combination meter.

Such an instrument device is desired to have a novel design, and an initial operation or an end operation (non-display) different from the display of the vehicle information according to an input to turn on or off an ignition switch (power switch) of the vehicle. A display operation is known. As this non-display operation, for example, the pointer is rotated from the zero point position to the highest scale position along the scale of the display board and then returned to the zero point position. There is an illumination light source that is turned on by changing the lighting timing of the illumination light source according to the ON state of the IGN switch. As such an instrument apparatus, it is disclosed by patent document 1, for example.
JP 2004-245755 A

  However, in the conventional non-display operation, the expression of simply lighting the illumination light source at a time difference has a problem that there is room for further improvement in order to provide novelty as an expression method using illumination.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made paying attention to the above-described problems, and provides an instrument device and a driving method thereof capable of giving a novel expression to a non-display operation and improving merchantability and designability. It is intended to do.

  In order to solve the above problems, the instrument device of the present invention is an instrument device that displays vehicle information by rotating a pointer on a display board, and the pointer or the display according to an input of a predetermined start signal. It is characterized by comprising control means for blinking the illumination means for illuminating at least one of the plates for a predetermined time and gradually shortening the lighting time of the illumination means at the time of blinking.

  The start signal is an input to turn on or off a power switch.

  An instrument device driving method according to the present invention is a method for driving an instrument device that displays vehicle information by rotating a pointer on a display board, and the pointer or the display board according to an input of a predetermined start signal. The lighting means for illuminating at least one of the lighting means blinks for a predetermined time, and the lighting time of the lighting means at the time of blinking is gradually shortened.

  The start signal is an input to turn on or off a power switch.

  The present invention relates to an instrument device that displays vehicle information by rotating a pointer on a display board, and it is possible to give a novel expression to non-display operation and improve merchantability and design. .

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an aftermeter in which a single analog instrument is housed in a case body will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The overall configuration of the instrument device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The instrument device 1 mainly includes a case body 2, an instrument body 3, vehicle information detection means 4, IGN (ignition) detection means 5, and control means 6.

  The case body 2 is made of, for example, a resin material and houses the instrument body 3 including electrical components. Note that the front side of the case body 2 is covered with a translucent cover body (not shown).

  The meter body 3 is formed of a drive body 3a composed of a stepping motor, a drive circuit 3b for driving the drive body 3a, and a plurality of light emitting element (LED) groups provided as illumination light sources for the meter body 3. First and second illumination means 3c and 3d are provided. The meter body 3 has a pointer 3e attached to the drive body 3a via a rotation shaft (not shown), and a display index such as a scale or a number formed on a display board 3f disposed behind the pointer 3e. It is possible to know the change in vehicle information by comparing and interpreting 3g and the pointer 3e. In the present embodiment, the meter body 3 displays the intake pressure of the engine as the vehicle information. The pointer 3e and the display board 3f are illuminated by the first and second illumination means 3c and 3d, respectively, and the first and second illumination means 3c and 3d are input in response to an input from an operation means (not shown). When is turned on, the indicator part of the pointer 3e is illuminated by the illumination light of the first illumination means 3c, and the display indicator 3g is transmitted and illuminated by the illumination light of the second illumination means 3d.

  The vehicle information detection means 4 is composed of sensors for detecting vehicle information. In the present embodiment, the vehicle information detection means 4 is composed of a pressure sensor including a semiconductor pressure detection element for detecting intake pressure of the vehicle engine.

  The IGN detection means 5 detects the transition of the IGN switch 7 of the vehicle from the off state to the on state and the transition from the on state to the off state. When the IGN switch 7 detects the on state or the off state, the control means The detection signals are output to 6 respectively. The on state of the IGN switch 7 is a transition from the off state of the IGN switch 7 to the on state of the accessory power source, a transition from the off state of the IGN switch 7 to the on state of the engine start, or the on state of the accessory power source. Any state in which the engine start is shifted to the on state may be used. The IGN switch 7 has one end connected to the vehicle battery power supply 8 and the other end connected to the IGN detection means 5.

  The control means 6 is constituted by a microcomputer provided with a CPU, ROM, RAM, an input / output interface and the like. The control means 6 receives a state signal from the vehicle information detection means 4, obtains measurement data of vehicle information based on the state signal by a predetermined calculation process, and sends a drive signal corresponding to the measurement data via the drive circuit 3b. In this manner, the drive body 3a is driven at a predetermined cycle to drive the drive body 3a, and the pointer 3e attached to the drive body 3a is rotated. Further, when the control means 6 inputs a detection signal for turning on the IGN switch 7 from the IGN detection means 5, the control means 6 causes the meter body 3 to perform an initial operation (non-display operation) different from the vehicle information display operation. The initial operation function will be described in detail later.

  The instrument device 1 is configured by the above-described units. Next, the initial operation function of the control means 6 in the instrument device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The meter body 3 is displayed so that the indicated angle is 0 ° to 270 °, the minimum scale position is the clock scale position at 6 o'clock, and the maximum scale position is at the clock scale position at 3 o'clock. What forms the display index 3g of the board 3f is used. The origin position of the pointer 3e is assumed to be the minimum scale position.

  When the control means 6 detects the ON state (input to be turned on) of the IGN switch 7 via the IGN detection means 5, the drive body 3a and the first and second illumination means 3c, 3d are caused to execute the initial operation. A drive signal is output to.

  FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing a control method of the drive main body 3a and the first and second illumination means 3c and 3d in the initial operation. In the initial operation, the control means 6 turns on the first illumination means 3c for illuminating the pointer 3e with the maximum luminance, outputs a drive signal to the drive body 3a of the meter body 3, and is attached to the drive body 3a. The pointer 3e is turned from the minimum graduation position (indicated angle 0 °) toward the maximum graduation direction in the display index 3g. Next, the control means 6 rotates the pointer 3e in the minimum scale direction in the display index 3g after a predetermined time has elapsed since the pointer 3e arrived at the maximum scale position (indicated angle 270 °). Then, the control means 6 turns on the second illumination means 3d for illuminating the display board 3f at the maximum brightness for the time T2 after the time T1 has elapsed since the pointer 3e started to rotate in the minimum graduation direction. Flashes alternately and repeatedly. At this time, the control means 6 executes a process of gradually shortening the lighting times t1 to t4 of the second illumination means 3d at the time of blinking (t1> t2> t3> t4). Note that the turn-off time of the second illumination means 3d is constant. The control means 6 controls the drive main body 3a so that the pointer 3e reaches the minimum scale position, and waits for the pointer 3e to reach the minimum scale position, thereby waiting for the first and second illumination means 3c, 3d is turned off, the initial operation is terminated, and the vehicle information display operation is started.

  By executing the above processing by the control means 6, the instrument device 1 rotates the pointer 3 e within a predetermined range in the initial operation, and the display board 3 f is instantaneously intense similar to thunder light “Bikabika”. Flash operation can be performed.

  In addition, regarding the illumination method of the above-mentioned display board 3f, you may use for what is called an end operation | movement which uses the input which turns off the IGN switch 7 as a start signal. FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing an example of a method for controlling the drive main body 3a and the first and second illumination means 3c and 3d in the end operation.

  When the control means 6 detects the OFF state (input to be turned off) of the IGN switch 7 via the IGN detection means 5, the control means 6 causes the drive body 3a and the first and second illumination means 3c and 3d to execute the end operation. A drive signal is output.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the end operation, the control means 6 turns on the first illumination means 3c that illuminates the pointer 3e with the maximum luminance, and outputs a drive signal to the drive body 3a of the meter body 3. Then, the pointer 3e starts to rotate from the current indicated position where the vehicle information is displayed toward the minimum scale direction in the display index 3g. The control means 6 blinks the second illumination means 3d for illuminating the display board 3f at the maximum brightness for the time T4 after the time T3 has elapsed since the pointer 3e started to rotate in the minimum graduation direction. At this time, the control means 6 executes a process of gradually shortening the lighting times t5 to t8 of the second illumination means 3d (t5> t6> t7> t8). Note that the turn-off time of the second illumination means 3d is constant. Then, the control means 6 controls the drive body 3a so that the pointer 3e reaches the minimum scale position (indicated angle 0 °), and waits for the pointer 3e to reach the minimum scale position. The illumination means 3c and 3d are turned off, the end operation is ended, and the driving of the instrument device 1 is stopped.

  By executing the above processing by the control means 6, the instrument device 1 rotates the pointer 3 e within a predetermined range even in the end operation, and the display board 3 f is instantaneously similar to thunder light “Bikabika”. Intense flash operation can be performed.

  The instrument device 1 and the driving method thereof are instrument devices that display vehicle information by rotating the pointer 3e on the display plate 3f by the control means 6 in accordance with the input of a predetermined start signal. The second illumination means 3d for illuminating 3f blinks for a predetermined time T2 or T4, and the lighting times t1 to t4 or t5 to t8 of the second illumination means 3d at the time of blinking are gradually shortened. . The start signal is an input to turn on or off the IGN switch 7.

  Therefore, the instrument device 1 and the driving method thereof can cause the display board 3f to perform a flashing momentary flashing operation similar to thunder light “bibicabica” in the initial operation or the end operation which is a non-display operation. It is possible to give a novel expression to the display operation and improve the merchantability and design. Such lighting expression can be realized from the feature that the lighting time is gradually shortened at the time of blinking, and it is a novel expression that can draw attention to the user more strongly and give the afterglow after blinking. In this case, the simple blinking that alternately repeats the lighting state and the unlighting state at the same time is visually recognized as a completely different expression.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a demonstration operation in which a rotating operation is performed within a predetermined range for display.

  In the present embodiment, the second illumination means 3d for illuminating the display board 3f is blinked. However, in the present invention, even if the first illumination means 3c for illuminating the pointer 3e is blinked. good.

The figure which shows the instrument apparatus which is embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an electrical structure same as the above. The figure which shows the processing method of a control means same as the above. The figure which shows the processing method of a control means same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instrument apparatus 3 Instrument main body 3a Drive main body 3c 1st illumination means 3d 2nd illumination means 5 IGN detection means 6 Control means

Claims (4)

An instrument device that displays vehicle information by rotating a pointer on a display board,
In accordance with an input of a predetermined start signal, a control means is provided for causing the illumination means for illuminating at least one of the pointer or the display board to blink for a predetermined time and gradually shortening the lighting time of the illumination means during the blinking. An instrument device characterized by comprising: The instrument device according to claim 1, wherein the start signal is an input to turn on or turn off a power switch. A driving method of an instrument device for rotating a pointer on a display board to display vehicle information,
In accordance with an input of a predetermined start signal, the lighting means for illuminating at least one of the pointer or the display board blinks for a predetermined time, and the lighting time of the lighting means at the time of blinking is gradually shortened. To drive the instrument device. The method for driving an instrument device according to claim 1, wherein the start signal is an input for turning on or off a power switch.

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