JP2002323353A - Measuring instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a measuring instrument having a large degree of freedom of an expressible light emission design, capable of attaining miniaturization. SOLUTION: This instrument is equipped with a pointer 4 driven around axis by the rotation axis 2 of a driving device 3, a scale plate 5 arranged on the back of the pointer 4, a ring-shaped member 6 arranged on the forward side of the scale plate 5 so as to enclose the prescribed region, and a light source 8(82) arranged on the back of a panel body 5, is also provided with an irradiation part 58 for passing light from the light source 8 through the scale plate 5 on the ring-shaped member 6 side to illuminate the surface thereof.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instrument mounted on various moving objects such as motorcycles and automobiles, and more particularly to an illumination structure thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An instrument mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle is equipped with an instrument body having a rotating shaft protruding from a circuit board.
A pointer is attached to the tip of the rotating shaft, a panel body consisting of a scale plate having a measurement value display unit corresponding to the pointer is placed behind this pointer, and the measured value is displayed by a light source placed behind this panel body. A structure for transmitting (backlighting) a part or a pointer is generally used.

[0003] In general, this kind of meter device can display a plurality of types of measured values with a pointer, so that a plurality of hands driven by a plurality of meter bodies and a plurality of measured values corresponding to the respective hands are provided. It has a plurality of pointer-type display units as a display unit, for example, a pointer-type display unit consisting of a speedometer, a tachometer, a water temperature gauge, and a fuel gauge. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-207408 discloses an example in which a ring-shaped light-emitting portion corresponding to the rotation trajectory of a pointer is provided on each pointer-type display section for the purpose of improving the characteristics, discrimination, design, and the like.

[0004] The one disclosed in this publication is to introduce light into a ring-shaped member made of a translucent material to emit light in an arc shape, and is excellent in that the light-emitting design itself can be expressed sharply (clearly). In ring light emission by transmitted light, there is a limit to a light emitting design that can be expressed, and for example, it is difficult to express the texture of the ring-shaped member itself or the shape of the ring-shaped member.

On the other hand, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 3-90018 discloses a structure in which a ring-shaped member is illuminated with light from a light source disposed in front of a panel body along with a pointer and a scale. According to this structure, since the light-emitting design is formed by light reflected from the surface of the ring-shaped member, it is easy to express the texture of the ring-shaped member itself and its modeling feeling, and the freedom of the light-emitting design that can be expressed. Great degree.

[0006]

However, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 3-90018 described above, a wide display range including a pointer, a panel body (scale), and a ring-shaped member is uniformly illuminated with a front light. It is necessary to provide a space between the display range and the light sources disposed in front of these display ranges, so that the size of the device is easily increased, and the number of components is likely to increase due to the convenience of the light source arrangement. In addition, since it is a structure that uniformly illuminates a relatively wide display range other than the ring-shaped member, it cannot be distinguished despite the use of the ring-shaped member, and the design of the ring-shaped member The effect cannot be fully obtained. The present invention has been made in view of this point, and a main object of the present invention is to provide an instrument device that has a large degree of freedom in a light emitting design that can be expressed and that can achieve miniaturization.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a pointer driven around a shaft by a rotating shaft of a driving device, a panel disposed behind the pointer, and at least an operation of the pointer. A ring-shaped member arranged so as to surround the front side region of the panel body corresponding to the range,
A light source disposed behind the panel body, and the panel body is provided with an irradiating unit for passing light from the light source toward the ring-shaped member and illuminating the ring-shaped member.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the panel body has a standing wall corresponding to the ring-shaped member, and the irradiation section is formed on the standing wall.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that a light diffusion section is formed in the irradiation section.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the surface of the ring-shaped member is formed in a metal tone.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the ring-shaped member is provided with an inclined surface corresponding to the irradiation section.

Further, according to the present invention, the panel body comprises a scale plate having a translucent measured value display portion corresponding to the pointer, and at least the measured value display portion and the ring-shaped member are shared by the light source. It is characterized by lighting.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A meter device according to the present invention has a pointer which is driven around a shaft by a rotating shaft protruding from a predetermined driving device, and a scale corresponding to the pointer, for example, a scale or a measured value display portion consisting of characters. A panel body made of a plate or a return plate (panel material) that conceals other than a predetermined area including the scale plate and the pointer, and a panel body area on the front side of the panel body corresponding to at least the operation range of the pointer. And a light source disposed behind the panel body, and the panel body has an irradiation unit that illuminates the ring-shaped member by passing light from the light source to the ring-shaped member side. The ring-shaped member emits light in a ring shape by reflecting light from the irradiation unit. In this way, light is passed from behind the panel body to the front side through the irradiating section, and the passed light hits the surface of the ring-shaped member, thereby reflecting and illuminating the ring-shaped member. The degree of freedom of the light-emitting design that can be expressed can be increased, and for example, the texture and shape of the ring-shaped member itself, which were difficult with the light-emitting method using transmitted light, can be easily expressed. Further, unlike the front light illumination method, there is no need to arrange a light source in front of the panel body, so that the device can be reduced in size and simplified. In addition, since the ring-shaped member is intensively illuminated through the irradiating section, it is possible to form a lighting design that emphasizes the ring-shaped member, and realize a novel and impactful appearance in combination with the color tone and texture expression of the ring-shaped member. Can be enhanced.

The irradiating portion for transmitting the light from the light source may have any structure as long as the light from the light source disposed behind the panel body can be transmitted to the front side to illuminate the ring-shaped member. For example, by forming a standing wall portion that partially protrudes corresponding to the ring-shaped member in the panel body, and providing an irradiation section on the standing wall section, the irradiation section can be formed only by devising the structure of the panel body, The configuration can be simplified. Also, if the panel body is formed, for example, by dividing into a plurality of scale plates or a facing plate, or a scale plate and a facing plate, and providing a space through which the light from the light source is provided between the plurality of panel bodies, the space may be formed. It can function as an irradiation unit, and according to this structure, the structure of the panel body can be simplified.

The irradiating section may be provided on at least one of the inner side and the outer side of the ring-shaped member. By providing a light diffusing unit made of the same, the ring-shaped member is illuminated with the diffused light passing through the light diffusing unit, which is advantageous for uniform illumination.

The ring-shaped member may be a ring-shaped structure that is at the front side of the panel body and continuously surrounds at least the rotary operation range of the hands. The surface of the ring-shaped member may be, for example, a metal tone, a carbon tone, a hairline tone, or the like. Although it is preferable to use a material having a predetermined texture or decoration, or a material having a predetermined design, any ring-shaped member can be used as long as a light-emitting design can be formed by light from the irradiation unit.

If an inclined surface is provided at a position corresponding to the irradiation portion of the ring-shaped member to reflect light from the irradiation portion forward, light reflection through the ring-shaped member can be improved.

When the panel body is formed of a scale plate having a translucent measured value display portion corresponding to the pointer, at least the measured value display portion and the ring-shaped member are illuminated by a common light source. Thus, the number of light sources can be reduced, and cost reduction can be achieved.

[0019]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an instrument device according to the present invention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of the instrument device, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view along the line A.

1 and 2, the instrument device according to the present embodiment includes a circuit board 1, an instrument body 3 having a rotating shaft 2 extending forward, a pointer 4 driven to rotate by the rotating shaft 2, and a pointer 4 A scale plate (panel body) 5 located behind 4, a ring-shaped member 6 disposed on the front side of the scale plate 5, and a front side including the hands 4, the scale plate 5 and the ring-shaped member 6 are exposed. It comprises a return plate (panel body) 7 made of a panel material, a light source 8 provided on the circuit board 1, and a frame 9 arranged between the scale plate 5 and the circuit board 1.

The circuit board 1 is, for example, a hard circuit board in which a wiring pattern (not shown) is formed on a glass epoxy base material, and a driving means (not shown) for driving and controlling the light source 8 and, for example, the instrument main body 3. And various circuit components (not shown) such as resistors and capacitors are electrically connected to the wiring pattern.

The instrument main body 3 is composed of a movable magnet type instrument or a stepping motor, and its main part is mounted behind the circuit board 1 so that the rotating shaft 2 penetrates the circuit board 1. It is electrically connected to the wiring pattern (the driving means) by the conducting means.

The pointer 4 is made of a light-transmitting synthetic resin, is connected to the tip of the rotating shaft 2, and has a light-shielding cover attached to the center of rotation. The pointer 4 is a light-emitting pointer that emits light by receiving light from the light source 8.

The scale plate 5 includes a through-hole 51 for connecting the rotary shaft 2 to the pointer 4, a plurality of characters 52a and a plurality of scales 52b arranged along the rotation path of the tip of the pointer 4. It has a measurement value display section 52, a ground color section 53 serving as a background of the measurement value display section 52, and a reflective layer (not shown) provided on the back side serving as the light source 8 side. A plurality of graduations 52 are arranged so as to be positioned outside the portion 52a, each having an arcuate array shape corresponding to the rotating operation of the hands 4.

The measured value display section 52, the ground color section 53, and the reflection layer are formed of a printed layer formed on a substrate 54 serving as a base material of the scale plate 5, and the measured value display section 52 has a transparent color. The ground color portion 53 and the reflection layer are printed and formed with light-shielding ink using optical ink, respectively. The ground color portion 53 having light-shielding property is a light-transmitting measurement value display section 52.
Are provided uniformly on the front side of the substrate 54 in a predetermined area except for the portion corresponding to It is provided uniformly in the back area.

The scale plate 5 has a substantially convex shape protruding forward in the sectional shape shown in FIG.
A first plate surface portion 55 extending outward from a peripheral edge of the through hole 51 which is nearby, and a second plate portion surrounding the first plate surface portion 55 and bending to extend rearward (toward the frame 9 or the circuit board 1). And the second plate surface portion 56
And a third plate surface portion 57 extending substantially in parallel with the first plate surface portion 54 toward the outer periphery from the measurement value display portion 52 and the ground color portion 5.
3. A drawing process in which a flat portion is formed by thermally deforming the flat substrate 54 on which the reflective layer is formed, or a measured value display portion 52, a ground color portion 53, It can be formed by foil molding for transferring the foil of the reflective layer.

The first plate surface portion 55 has a planar shape along the extension direction of the pointer 4, and the character portion 52a is arranged at this portion.

The second plate surface portion 56 is formed on a standing wall portion which is bent at a predetermined angle with respect to the first plate surface portion 55, approximately 90 degrees in the present embodiment, and is formed on an inner peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped member 6 which will be described later. The ground color portion 53 and the reflection layer are partially removed (extracted) from the second plate surface portion 56 that is opposed to the standing wall portion, and the light from the light source 8 is removed from the ring-shaped member 6. A light-transmitting irradiating portion 58 that allows the light to pass (transmit) on the inner peripheral surface is formed.

The irradiating portion 58 is formed with a light diffusing portion 58a for diffusing the light radiated outward from this portion. In this case, the light diffusing portion 58a is formed from a light diffusing printing layer having fine irregularities on the surface. This light diffusion printing layer is provided,
Although not shown in detail, the overcoat layer covering the ground color portion 53 is provided on substantially the entire scale plate 5 except for the measurement value display portion 52.

A scale portion 52b is disposed on the third plate surface portion 57, and a ring-shaped member 6 is disposed on the outer peripheral edge front side.

The measured value display section 52 composes the pointer type display section D in combination with the pointer 4. In the case of the present embodiment, the pointer type display section D has a plurality of pointer type display sections D (FIG. 1). From the middle and left, a fuel gauge display section, a tachometer display section, a speedometer display section, and a water temperature gauge display section are provided.

The ring-shaped member 6 has a molded portion 61 made of a light-shielding synthetic resin, and a surface coating made of a metal-colored (for example, silver-colored) resin-plated layer or a vapor-deposited layer applied to a required portion of the surface of the molded portion 61. As shown in FIG. 2, the cross-sectional shape is formed in a tapered shape in which the scale plate 5 side is wide and the side opposite to the scale plate 5 (the tip side) is narrow, and The six ring-shaped members facing 58 are
Inclined surface 63 inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to second plate surface portion 56
Is set to

The return plate 7 exposes a part of the ring-shaped member 6 and the pointer type display portion D surrounded by the ring-shaped member 6 and conceals other required areas. An opening 71 is provided.

The light source 8 is composed of a plurality of, for example, surface-mounted light emitting diodes intensively arranged around the rotation axis 2, and among the plurality of light sources 8, the light source 81 adjacent to the rotation axis 2 is interposed. Illuminates the hands 4, and the light source 82 located outside the light source 81 illuminates the measured value display section 52 of the scale 5 and the ring-shaped member 6.

The frame 9 is a case body made of, for example, a white synthetic resin and positioned between the scale plate 5 and the circuit board 1 to support the scale plate 5. The frame 9 accommodates a light source 81 and guides the light to the pointer 4.
Extends in the outer circumferential direction so as to face the light source 82 from the outer circumference of
A first reflecting portion 92 that reflects light from the light source 82 in an outer peripheral direction around the rotation axis 2, and a second reflecting portion that reflects light reflected through the first reflecting portion 92 to the scale plate 5 side And a reflector 93. The reflectors 92 and 93 form an illumination room that guides light from the light source 82 to the measured value display unit 52 and the irradiation unit 58.

At this time, the reflection layer of the scale plate 5 has a function of causing the reflection layer to re-reflect light into the illumination room, thereby increasing illumination efficiency. In this embodiment, FIG. 2 shows only a cross-sectional view of an instrument portion constituting a pointer type display section D including a tachometer display section, but a pointer type display section D including a speedometer display section adjacent thereto is shown. The instrument has the same configuration as the instrument that composes the pointer-type display section D including the tachometer display section.

In such a configuration, when the light source 81 emits light, the light illuminates the pointer 4 through the cylindrical portion 91,
The pointer 4 shines linearly. On the other hand, light emitted from the light source 82 is reflected and diffused through the illumination room, and the scale 5
Of the measurement value display section 52, a part of the light passes through the irradiation section 58 and is radiated to the front side of the scale plate 5, and the radiated light is transmitted to the ring-shaped member 6 (in this case, particularly, the inclined surface 59).
Illuminate a). As a result, the ring-shaped member 6 emits an annular light with a metallic tone around the pointer-type display portion D.

As described above, in this embodiment, the driving device 3
A pointer 4 driven around the axis by the rotary shaft 2, a scale plate 5 disposed behind the pointer 4, and a ring-shaped member 6 disposed in front of the scale plate 5 so as to surround a predetermined area thereof. And a light source 8 (8
2), an illuminating unit 5 for passing light from the light source 8 through the scale plate 5 to the ring-shaped member 6 side to illuminate the surface thereof
The surface of the ring-shaped member 6 can be reflected and illuminated with the light radiated from the irradiating unit 58 by providing the light-emitting unit 8. In this embodiment, a metallic tone can be expressed, and the degree of freedom of the light emitting design that can be expressed can be increased. Further, since the ring-shaped member 6 is illuminated with the light that has passed through the irradiating section 58, there is no need to arrange a light source in front of the scale plate 5, and the device can be reduced in size and simplified. Further, the ring-shaped member 6 through the irradiation unit 58
Are intensively illuminated, so that the ring-shaped member 6 can form a striking lighting design, and in combination with the color tone and texture expression of the ring-shaped member 6, a novel and impactful appearance can be realized, and the marketability can be improved.

In this embodiment, a second plate surface portion (standing wall portion) 56 that protrudes forward is formed on the scale plate 5 corresponding to the ring-shaped member 6, and the second plate surface portion 56 is formed on the second plate surface portion 56. Irradiation unit 5
With the provision of 8, the irradiation unit 58 can be formed only by devising the structure of the scale plate 5, and the configuration can be simplified.

In the present embodiment, the illumination of the ring-shaped member 6 can be made uniform by providing the light diffusing portion 58a in the irradiation portion 58.

In the present embodiment, the inclined surface 63 for reflecting the light from the irradiating section 58 forward is provided at a position corresponding to the irradiating section 58 of the ring-shaped member 6, so that the light can pass through the ring-shaped member 6. Light reflection can be made favorable.

In this embodiment, the scale plate 5 is composed of a scale plate 5 having a translucent measured value display section 52 corresponding to the pointer 4, and the measured value display section 52 and the ring-shaped member 6 are shared by a common light source. , The number of light sources can be reduced, and cost reduction can be achieved.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
1, a ring-shaped member 6 is disposed, and a substantially flat scale plate 5 is disposed in front of the concave portion 71 with a predetermined space therebetween, and a space formed between the scale plate 5 and the return plate 7. The light from the light source 8 is passed through the portion (radiating portion) 580, and the inner peripheral side of the ring-shaped member 6 is emitted in a ring shape by the passed light. In this embodiment, the same as in the first embodiment. Scale plate 5 and return plate 7
Structure can be simplified.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the side wall (standing wall) 72 is formed by recessing the dial plate 7 in a concave shape. An opening (irradiation part) 78 corresponding to the outer peripheral part of the ring-shaped member 6 in the part 72
The light guide 1 is provided between the light source 8 and the opening 780.
0, and the light from the light source 8 passes through the light guide 10 so that the opening 78 is formed.
In this embodiment, the ring-shaped member 6 emits light by irradiating the ring-shaped member 6 through the opening 780, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be expected in this embodiment.

[0046]

As described in detail above, the present invention is applicable to a pointer driven around a shaft by a rotating shaft of a driving device, a panel disposed behind the pointer, and at least an operating range of the pointer. A ring-shaped member arranged so as to surround a front side region of the panel body, and a light source arranged behind the panel body, and the panel body receives light from the light source on the ring-shaped member side. By providing an irradiating section for illuminating the ring-shaped member by passing the same, it is possible to provide an instrument device that has a large degree of freedom of a light-emitting design that can be expressed and that can achieve downsizing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a meter device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view along the line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Circuit board 2 Rotating axis 3 Instrument main body 4 Pointer 5 Scale plate 6 Ring-shaped member 7 Return plate 8 (81, 82) Light source 9 Frame body 10 Light guide 51 Through hole 52 Measurement value display part 52a Character part 52b Scale part 53 Ground color portion 54 Substrate 55 First plate surface portion 56 Second plate surface portion (standing wall portion) 57 Third plate surface portion 58 Irradiation portion 61 Molding portion 62 Surface film 63 Inclined portion 71 Concave portion 72 Side wall portion (standing wall portion) 91 cylindrical part 92, 93 first and second reflection parts 580 space part (irradiation part) 780 opening part (irradiation part) D pointer type display part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A pointer driven around an axis by a rotation shaft of a driving device, a panel disposed behind the pointer,
A ring-shaped member arranged so as to surround a front-side region of the panel body corresponding to at least the operation range of the hands, and a light source arranged behind the panel body, wherein the panel body receives light from the light source. An instrument device, comprising: an irradiating section for passing light toward the ring-shaped member and illuminating the ring-shaped member. 2. The instrument device according to claim 1, wherein said panel body has a standing wall portion corresponding to said ring-shaped member, and said irradiating section is formed on said standing wall portion. 3. The instrument device according to claim 1, wherein a light diffusion section is formed in the irradiation section. 4. The instrument device according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the ring-shaped member is formed in a metallic color tone. 5. The instrument device according to claim 1, wherein an inclined surface corresponding to the irradiation unit is provided on the ring-shaped member. 6. The panel body is composed of a scale plate having a translucent measurement value display section corresponding to the pointer, and at least the measurement value display section and the ring-shaped member are illuminated by the common light source. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein:
The measuring device according to any one of the above.