JP2007064682A - Pointer instrument for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pointer instrument for a vehicle capable of visually recognizing a ring member along whole perimeter with a high illumination. <P>SOLUTION: The center cover 10 is provided in such a manner that it covers the through hole 24 of the dial plate 2, the light from the light emission diode 4 enters the center cover 10 through the through hole 24 is diffuse reflected on the rear surface 10a of the center cover 10, a part of reflected light enters the slanted surface 91 of the decoration ring 9 and reflected to the direction of visual recognition of a driver. Thereby, an amount of light entering the decoration ring 9 can be magnified, therefore the speed meter 1 is provided can visually recognize the decoration ring 9 along the whole periphery with the high illumination. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointer instrument for a vehicle, and is suitable for use in, for example, an automobile.

As a conventional pointer instrument for a vehicle, for example, in order to improve the appearance of the pointer instrument for a vehicle, a ring member as a frame member is attached to the surface of the dial, and a dial for irradiating the pointer with light is used. The inner wall surface of the ring member is illuminated by light leaking from the opening. (See Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-222539 A

  However, the conventional vehicle pointer instrument described above has a problem in that the illuminance on the inner wall surface of the ring member is low because the light leaking from the opening of the dial plate directly irradiates the ring member.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular pointer instrument capable of visually recognizing a ring member with high illuminance.

  The present invention employs the following technical means to achieve the above object.

  A pointer instrument for a vehicle according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a dial on which a display design is formed, a movement that is arranged on the back side of the dial and rotates a rotary shaft, and a rotary shaft provided on the dial. Is inserted in the through hole, the pointer fixed to the rotating shaft and arranged to rotate on the front side of the dial, and arranged on the back side of the dial so that light can enter the pointer through the through hole A pointer instrument for a vehicle equipped with a light source, the frame disposed on the front side of the dial plate and the outer peripheral side of the display design, and the pointer disposed so as to cover the front side of the pointer and the through hole The light shielding member is provided.

  According to such a configuration, part of the light from the light source that has passed through the through hole directly irradiates the frame. Further, a part of the light from the light source that has passed through the through hole is reflected on the back surface of the light shielding member, and then the frame is irradiated. That is, the frame body is irradiated with both the light from the light source that has passed through the through hole and the light from the light source that has been once reflected by the light shielding member.

  Thereby, since the light quantity which irradiates a frame with respect to the conventional pointer instrument for vehicles can be increased, the illumination intensity of a frame can be raised.

  As described above, it is possible to provide a vehicular pointer instrument capable of visually recognizing the frame body with high illuminance.

  The pointer instrument for a vehicle according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that the frame body is formed in a convex cross section that gradually opens toward the outside.

  According to such a configuration, the reflected light from the light source on the frame of the light travels forward of the dial, that is, toward the viewer side with a certain angle range. Therefore, even when the viewer's posture changes or the viewer's physique is different, the brightness of the frame can be viewed almost the same.

  The pointer instrument for a vehicle according to claim 3 of the present invention is characterized in that the frame and the light shielding member are integrally formed.

  Thereby, the positional relationship between the light shielding member and the frame can be maintained with high accuracy, and the illuminance of the frame can be made uniform and high.

  Moreover, the number of parts and assembly man-hours of the pointer instrument for vehicles can be reduced.

  In the pointer instrument for a vehicle according to claim 4 of the present invention, a dial plate is provided on the dial side and on the outer peripheral side of the display design, and at least one of the frame and the light shielding member is integrated with the dial plate. It is characterized by being formed.

  Thereby, the number of parts of a pointer instrument for vehicles and the number of assembling steps can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, an example in which a vehicular pointer instrument according to the present invention is applied to a speedometer 1 installed in a passenger compartment of an automobile will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a front view of a speedometer 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the upper side is the upper side of the automobile, and the left-right direction is the width direction of the automobile.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. In FIG. 2, the left side is a driver's seat, and the speedometer 1 is visually recognized from the left side in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a front view of the decorative ring 9 that is a frame of the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention and the center cover 10 that is a light shielding member.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining an electric circuit configuration of the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The speedometer 1 is provided in front of the driver's seat in the passenger compartment of the automobile so that the driver can visually recognize it, and indicates the traveling speed of the automobile with a pointer.

  Below, the structure of the speedometer 1 by 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  The dial 2 is made of a light-transmitting material, for example, a thin plate made of a colorless and transparent polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin. The dial 2 includes a scale 21, a number 22 and a character 23 as a display design. The scale 21 and the numeral 22 are for instructing the traveling speed of the automobile together with a pointer 5 described later. Moreover, the character 23 represents the unit of the displayed traveling speed. The scales 21, the numbers 22, and the characters 23 are formed by applying a light-shielding film to the surface 25 of the dial 2 except for the scales 21, the numbers 22, and the characters 23 by printing or the like. That is, only the scale 21, the numbers 22, and the characters 23 are translucent, and their surroundings are light-shielding. As a result, the scale 21, the numbers 22, and the characters 23 are transmitted and illuminated by light from a light emitting diode 4 (described later) disposed on the back side (right side in FIG. 2) of the dial plate 2 and are lit and displayed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the dial 2 is provided with a through-hole 24 through which a rotating shaft composed of a shaft 61 of a movement 6 as a driving device described later and a sleeve 5a of a pointer 5 is inserted. ing. The sleeve 5a of the pointer 5 may be eliminated, and the shaft 61 may be extended from the through hole 24 of the dial 2 and connected to the pointer 5.

  In the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the scale 21, the numbers 22, and the characters 23 are provided with a translucent white paint, and a light-shielding black paint is provided around them. However, it is not necessary to limit to the combination as described above, and the scale 21, the number 22, and the character 23 may be colorless and transparent. In this case, the scale 21, the numbers 22, and the characters 23 are lit and displayed in the luminescent color of the light emitting diode 4.

  On the back side of the dial plate 2 (right side in FIG. 2), a light guide 3 for guiding light from the light emitting diode 4 as a light source to the dial plate 2 and the pointer 5 is disposed. The light guide 3 is made of a translucent material such as a colorless and transparent polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin. As shown in FIG. 2, the light guide 3 includes a dial light guide 31 for guiding the light emitted from the light emitting diode 4 to the scale 21, the numeral 22, and the character 23 of the dial 2, and the light emitted from the light emitting diode 4. It is comprised from the guide light guide part 32 for guide | inducing to the pointer 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the dial light guide part 31 is formed in a substantially disk shape, and the pointer light guide part 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a light emitting diode 4 as a light source is disposed behind the dial 2, that is, behind the light guide 3 so that light can enter the pointer 5, that is, the light guide 3. For example, a white light emitting diode that emits white light is used as the light emitting diode 4. In order to display all the scales 21, the numbers 22, and the characters 23 with uniform brightness, and to display the pointers with uniform brightness over the entire rotation angle range, a plurality of light emitting diodes 4, for example 3 One is provided.

  The pointer 5 is made of a translucent material such as a colorless and transparent polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin, and is disposed along the driver's seat side (left side in FIG. 2) of the dial 2 as shown in FIG. . The pointer 5 is fixed to a shaft 61 that is a rotation shaft of a movement 6 that is a driving device that will be described later disposed on the back side (right side in FIG. 2) of the dial 2. As a result, when the movement 6 is driven and the shaft 61 rotates, the pointer 5 rotates integrally with the shaft 61. The back surface 51 of the pointer 5 is colored red by printing or hot stamping. As a result, the pointer 5 is illuminated with the light from the light emitting diode 4 described above and is lit and displayed in red. That is, the light emitted from the light emitting diode 4 incident on the pointer 5 is reflected by the reflecting surface 52 of the pointer 5 toward the tip of the pointer 5, and this reflected light is reflected by the back surface 51 in the driver's visual recognition direction. Is done. That is, in the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the white light emitting diode is used as the light emitting diode 4 so that the pointer 5 is lit and displayed in the color of the colored layer applied to the back surface 51 of the pointer 5. . In this case, the color of the colored layer applied to the back surface 51 of the pointer 5 does not need to be limited to red, and may be colored to other colors, for example, orange or green. On the other hand, a white colored layer may be provided on the back surface 51 of the pointer 5, and a light emitting diode having a color other than white may be used as the light emitting diode 4. In this case, the pointer 5 is lit and displayed by the light emission color of the light emitting diode 4. The pointer 5 may be formed from a colored transparent resin material instead of being colorless and transparent, and the pointer 5 may be lit and displayed with the colored color.

  For example, a cross coil actuator or a stepping motor is used as the movement 6 that generates a driving force for rotating the pointer 5. When a voltage is applied from the outside, the movement 6 generates torque and rotates the shaft 61 that is a rotating shaft. As a result, the pointer 5 fixed to the tip of the shaft 61 rotates along the surface 25 of the dial 2.

  The light emitting diode 4 and the movement 6 described above are mounted on a printed circuit board 7 disposed on the back side (right side in FIG. 2) of the dial plate 2. The printed circuit board 7 is formed of, for example, a glass epoxy board or the like, and forms an electric circuit portion of the speedometer 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a controller 8 is mounted on the printed circuit board 7 for controlling the turning on / off of the light emitting diode 4 and the driving control of the movement 6 for rotating the pointer 5. The controller 8 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer.

  On the front side of the dial 2 (left side in FIG. 2), a facing plate 12 is arranged as shown in FIG. The facing plate 2 is made of a resin material in the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the facing plate 2 is formed in a substantially frame shape while making the scale 21, the numbers 22, and the characters 23, which are display designs on the dial plate 2, visible, and the contour shape of the speedometer 1 is adjusted. Yes.

  On the front side of the dial 2 (left side in FIG. 2), as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the decoration ring 9 is located on the outer peripheral side of the display design, that is, on the outer peripheral side of the scale 21 arranged on the radiation and on the arc. In other words, the decorative ring 9 is arranged coaxially with the pointer 5. The decoration ring 9 is formed of a resin material in the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the cross-sectional shape of the decoration ring 9 is formed in a convex shape that gradually opens toward the outside, that is, the left side of FIG. Thus, a substantially conical inclined surface 91 is formed on the inner peripheral side of the decorative ring 9. The decoration ring 9 is fixed to the facing plate 12.

  On the front side of the pointer 5 (left side in FIG. 2), it covers the through hole 24 of the dial 2 and is separated from the pointer 5, that is, keeps a gap from the pointer 5 and prevents the pointer 5 from rotating. The center cover 10 which is a light shielding member is arranged so as not to be present. The center cover 10 is formed from a resin material. The center cover 10 is formed integrally with the decorative ring 9 in the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. That is, the center cover 10 and the decorative ring 9 are formed as a single component as shown in FIG. Therefore, the center cover 10 is also fixed to the facing plate 12 similarly to the decorative ring 9. As shown in FIG. 1, the contour of the center cover 10, that is, the contour when viewed from the driver's visual recognition direction, is partially formed in an arc shape, and this arc is coaxial with the through hole 24 of the dial 2. And it is coaxial with the decorative ring 9. The center cover 10 prevents light from the light emitting diode 4 from directly entering the eyes of the driver through the through hole 24 of the dial 2. Further, the center cover 10 functions to illuminate the decorative ring 9 by diffusing and reflecting light incident on the center cover 10 through the through hole 24.

  The dial plate 2, the movement 6, the printed circuit board 7, and the facing plate 12 described above are accommodated and fixed in the case 11. A transparent cover 13 is attached to the tip of the facing plate 12 as shown in FIG. The transparent cover 13 is formed in a thin plate shape made of colorless and transparent polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin. On the other hand, a lower case 14 is attached behind the case 11 (on the right side in FIG. 2). The lower case 14 is made of a resin material.

  Next, the electric circuit configuration of the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, electric power is constantly supplied from the battery 17 to the controller 8. An ignition switch 16 is connected to the controller 8 so that its operation state (ON or OFF) can be detected. As shown in FIG. 4, the light emitting diode 4 and the movement 6 are connected to the controller 8.

  When the ignition switch 16 is turned on by the driver's operation, the controller 8 starts running speed instruction control. That is, the light emitting diode 4 is turned on, the traveling speed of the vehicle is calculated based on the detection signal from the speed sensor 15, and the movement 6 is driven so that the pointer 5 indicates the calculated traveling speed on the dial 2. .

  When the ignition switch 16 is turned off, the controller 8 turns off the light emitting diodes 4 and drives the movement 6 so that the hands 5 indicate a travel speed of 0 km / h on the dial 2. Alternatively, the power supply to the movement 6 is stopped. When the energization of the movement 6 is stopped, the shaft 61 of the movement 6 rotates to a position where the pointer 5 indicates a travel speed of 0 km / h by an elastic force of a return spring (not shown).

  Next, the effect of the center cover 10 on the illumination of the decorative ring 9 that is a feature of the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  First, in the conventional pointer instrument for a vehicle, since the light leaking from the opening of the dial plate directly irradiates the ring member, there is a problem that the amount of light irradiating the ring member is small and the illuminance of the ring member is low. there were.

  On the other hand, in the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the center cover 10 is provided so as to cover the through hole 24 of the dial 2. For this reason, the light from the light emitting diode 4 that has entered the center cover 10 through the through hole 24 is diffusely reflected by the back surface 10a of the center cover 10, and a part of the reflected light is incident on the inclined surface 91 of the decorative ring 9. Reflects in the driver's viewing direction. Of course, part of the light from the light emitting diode 4 that has passed through the through hole 24 of the dial 2 is directly incident on the inclined surface 91 of the decorative ring 9.

  Thereby, in the speedometer 1 by 1st Embodiment of this invention, the illumination intensity of the decoration ring 9 illuminated by the light leak from the through-hole 24 can be raised.

  In addition, since the light incident on the center cover 10 through the through hole 24 is diffusely reflected by the back surface 10a of the center cover 10, the amount of light exiting the outer periphery of the center cover 10 is substantially uniform in the circumferential direction of the center cover 10. It becomes. Accordingly, the amount of light incident on the decoration ring 9 is also uniform over the entire circumference of the decoration ring 9, whereby the decoration ring 9 is illuminated with uniform brightness over the entire circumference.

  Note that most of the light emitted from the light emitting diode 4 and passing through the through hole 24 passes through the vicinity of the sleeve 5a of the pointer 5 and enters the center cover 10 as is apparent from FIG. Therefore, when the pointer 5 is formed of a colored transparent resin material, the light emitted from the outer periphery of the center cover 10 toward the decorative ring 9 becomes the colored light of the pointer 5. That is, by forming the pointer 5 from a colored transparent resin material, the illumination color of the decorative ring 9 can be changed as necessary.

  As described above, in the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the decoration ring 9 can be made brighter and visible with uniform illuminance over the entire circumference as compared with the conventional pointer instrument for vehicles.

  Therefore, it is possible to provide the speedometer 1 that can visually recognize the decoration ring 9 with uniform brightness and high illuminance over the entire circumference.

  In the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above, the decorative ring 9 and the center cover 10 are integrally formed as one part, but these are integrally formed with the facing plate 12. You may form in. That is, the three parts of the decorative ring 9, the center cover 10, and the facing plate 12 may be formed as one part. Alternatively, either the decorative ring 9 or the center cover 10 may be formed integrally with the facing plate 12 and the other may be a separate part.

  Moreover, in the speedometer 1 by 1st Embodiment of this invention demonstrated above, in the dial 2, the scale 21, the number 22, and the character 23 are light-emitted by translucent illumination as translucency, and other parts, In other words, the background part is light-shielding. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the background portion of the dial 2 is made translucent to emit light in a planar shape, and the scale 21, the number 22 and the character 23 are made light-shielding. It is good also as a structure visually recognized by black in a bright background. By the way, a part of the reflected light incident on the back surface 10a of the center cover 10 through the through hole 24 and diffusely reflected there irradiates the surface of the dial plate 2. Therefore, if the background portion of the dial 2 is configured to emit light, the influence of the reflected light on the appearance of the dial 2 of the speedometer 1 can be reduced.

  In the speedometer 1 according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention described above, the light emitting diode 4 is used as a light source. However, other types of light sources such as a light bulb, a discharge, etc., or an EL panel are used. Or the like.

  Moreover, although embodiment described above has demonstrated as an example the case where the pointer instrument for vehicles by this invention is applied to the speedometer 1 of a motor vehicle, it is not necessary to limit the application object to the speedometer 1 and other The present invention may be applied to various types of vehicle indicator instruments, for example, an engine tachometer that indicates the engine rotational speed of the automobile, a water temperature gauge that indicates the engine coolant temperature, and the like. Further, the present invention may be applied to a so-called combination meter that includes a plurality of vehicle pointer instruments according to the present invention.

It is a front view of the speedometer 1 which is the pointer instrument for vehicles by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is a front view of the decoration ring 9 which is the frame of the speedometer 1 by 1st Embodiment of this invention, and the center cover 10 which is a light-shielding member. It is a schematic diagram explaining the electric circuit structure of the speedometer 1 by 1st Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Speedometer (Vehicle pointer instrument)
2 Dial 21 Scale (Display design)
22 Numbers (display design)
23 characters (display design)
24 Through-hole 3 Light guide 31 Dial light guide 32 Pointer light guide 4 Light emitting diode (light source)
5 Pointer 51 Back surface 52 Reflecting surface 6 Movement 61 Shaft (Rotating shaft)
7 Printed circuit board 8 Controller 9 Decoration ring (frame)
91 Slope 10 Center cover (light shielding member)
11 Case 12 Turn plate 13 Transparent cover 14 Lower case 15 Speed sensor 16 Ignition switch 17 Battery

Claims (4)

A dial on which a display design is formed;
A movement that is arranged on the back side of the dial and rotates a rotating shaft;
A through hole provided in the dial and through which the rotating shaft is inserted;
A pointer connected to the rotating shaft and arranged to rotate the front side of the dial;
A pointer instrument for a vehicle comprising a light source disposed on the back side of the dial so that light can be incident on the pointer through the through hole;
A frame disposed on the front side of the dial and on the outer peripheral side of the display design;
A pointer instrument for a vehicle, comprising: a light shielding member arranged separately from the pointer so as to cover the front side of the pointer and the through hole.   The vehicular pointer instrument according to claim 1, wherein the frame body is formed in a convex cross section that gradually opens toward the outside.   The pointer instrument for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the frame and the light shielding member are integrally formed. A facing plate arranged on the front side of the dial and the outer peripheral side of the display design,
3. The vehicular pointer instrument according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the frame body and the light shielding member is formed integrally with the facing plate. 4.

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