JP2007272245A - Electroluminescent light emitting display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electroluminescent light emitting display device in which: manufacturing cost and part unit prices are reduced by adopting an EL plate as a display section of an integrated composite display instrument (combination meter); and the structure is simplified. <P>SOLUTION: The electroluminescent display device 10 includes: a character electrode 22A formed by printing in a shape that corresponds to a desired letter, number, sign, pattern, scale or the like formed on a surface of a substrate 21 so as to display measurement results depending on measured value obtained from a measuring device; an insulating layer 25 that covers the character electrode; a light emitting layer 26 that covers the insulating layer 25; and the EL plate 20 on which a plurality of character light emitting sections 21A having a transparent electrode 27 covering the light emitting layer 26. The character electrode 22A is formed on the substrate 21 so that the character light emitting sections 21A emit lights in a desired shape. Moreover, the character electrode 22A is placed in a predetermined position on the substrate 21. Each of the character electrodes 22A in the character light emitting section 21A is connected to individual wirings, which enables the character light emitting section 21A to be individually turned on/off. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an EL light-emitting display device that can be applied to, for example, a speedometer in a vehicle, a ship, an aircraft, and the like, and a method for manufacturing the EL light-emitting display device. ) To reduce the manufacturing cost of the composite display instrument .

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a combination meter 90 mounted on a driver's seat of an automobile includes a case 92 fixed to a vehicle body via a mount 91, a display unit 93 accommodated in the case 92, and a display unit 93. And a front glass 94 attached in a state of being accommodated in the case 92, and a plurality of pieces of information are displayed at a time.
In this figure, the front glass 94 is provided on the payback 95 with the hood.

The conventional display unit 93 includes a sheet-like wiring board 93A attached to the outer surface of the case 92, a plurality of internal units 93C supported on the inner side of the case 92 via a transparent optical plate 93B, and each optical plate. And a scale plate 93D fixed to 93B. The scale plate 93D has a translucent portion whose shape corresponds to letters, numbers, symbols, patterns, scales, etc., and each translucent portion is individually transmitted and illuminated by a plurality of light bulbs arranged on the back surface. Is displayed.
Since such a conventional combination meter 90 is composed of a large number of parts as described above, there is a problem that the parts cost and the assembly cost are high.

In recent years, in order to solve these problems, various combination meters that employ an EL plate as a backlight have been proposed.
The EL plate includes a substrate made of glass / epoxy or the like, an electrode formed over substantially the entire area of the substrate, an insulating layer covering the electrode, a light emitting layer formed so as to cover the insulating layer with EL powder, and insulation. It comprises a transparent electrode laminated in a layer, and a design such as letters is formed on the surface of the electrode so that the entire area of the electrode emits light.

For example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-134335, an EL unit is used to form a character unit, a warning light character, a design, or illumination of an instrument unit and a warning light, which are installed in the instrument panel casing. There is shown a vehicle instrument panel that is provided as a module that is divided in accordance with the light, and that each module can be attached and detached from the outside of the instrument casing.
In this vehicular instrument panel, the EL plate has a U-shaped cutout groove that can be inserted through a pointer shaft protruding from the internal unit, and a desired character, pattern, or the like is formed by masking applied to the surface of the EL plate. It appears to be raised.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-134335

  By the way, the above-described vehicle instrument panel has a mechanical or electrical instrument unit as a main display method, and the back illumination that has been conventionally performed by an incandescent lamp or the like is replaced with the dial as an integral body or as a separate body. As a result, characters, numbers, symbols, patterns, scales, etc. are illuminated and displayed from the back, and the number of parts and assembly man-hours are not changed or increased compared to the conventional method. It has been difficult to reduce the unit price.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its object is to significantly reduce the manufacturing cost and the unit cost of components by adopting an EL plate as a display unit of an integrated composite display instrument (combination meter). An object of the present invention is to provide an EL light emitting display device that can simplify the structure.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a desired character formed on the surface of a substrate for displaying a measurement result based on a measurement value obtained from a measurement apparatus. Design electrodes having shapes corresponding to numbers, symbols, patterns, scales, etc., insulating layers formed by printing covering the design electrodes, light emitting layers covering the insulating layers, and transparent electrodes covering the light emitting layers An EL plate having a plurality of design light emitting portions, and the design electrodes are formed on the substrate and arranged at predetermined positions on the substrate so that the design light emitting portions emit light in a desired shape. In addition, the design electrodes of the respective design light emitting portions are connected to individual wirings, and the design light emitting portions can be individually turned on / off.

Here, the design electrode for forming the design light emitting portion may have a shape corresponding to, for example, a desired character, number, symbol, pattern, scale, etc., and a desired position of the substrate by etching, printing, molding, or the like. It should be placed in.
In addition, you may comprise this design electrode integrally with the wiring as an electric circuit other than a design electrode. In addition, the insulating layer, the light emitting layer, and the transparent electrode need only be sequentially stacked in accordance with at least the shape and arrangement position of the design electrode, but may be stacked so as to cover the entire substrate.

Furthermore, as the light emitting layer, a fluorescent material (light modulation material) is added or laminated (surface layer) as a coloring material to each EL powder, or an appropriate color light filter is laminated on the outermost layer, thereby obtaining a desired color. You may make it color.
Further, as the transparent electrode or the surface thereof, if the light emission of the light emitting layer can be transmitted through a desired design, if a pigment or the like is mixed or laminated corresponding to the entire display surface or the design electrode, Light can be emitted in a desired color or design by a combination or a combination of EL powder and a fluorescent material.

  Furthermore, as a structure for supplying power to the design electrode, a wiring is arranged in a region where the design electrode is not provided on the surface of the substrate, that is, a ground surface portion, and power is supplied by this wiring, or on the back surface of the substrate. Wiring is placed and the power is fed by wiring through the circuit line provided on the end face of the board, or the wiring is placed on the back surface of the board, and through the through hole that penetrates the board in the thickness direction. A structure in which power is supplied by wiring can be adopted.

Here, the wiring may be formed by etching a copper foil on the back surface of the substrate, or a sheet-like wiring board used for supplying power to an internal unit of a conventional combination meter is used. Also good. And when arrange | positioning wiring in the ground color surface part of a board | substrate, what is necessary is just to make it a light emitting layer not cover wiring.
Moreover, the design electrode may give the function to a transparent electrode. In this case, the transparent electrode is arranged in a desired pattern on a transparent sheet.

On the other hand, when power is supplied to the design electrode by the wiring provided on the back surface of the substrate, a ground color electrode is formed on the ground color surface portion so as to isolate and insulate from the design electrode. The ground color light emitting portion may be provided by sequentially laminating a ground color insulating layer, a ground color light emitting layer, a ground color transparent electrode, and the like that supply power and cover the ground color electrode.
Here, the ground color light emitting part has a fluorescent material added to the ground color light emitting layer so as to emit light with a hue different from the design light emitting part, or an appropriate color light filter is provided on the outermost layer of the ground color light emitting layer. It may be affixed.

In the EL light emitting display device configured as described above, the design light emitting section emits light independently or synchronously arbitrarily based on the shape and arrangement position of the design electrode.
Accordingly, in this EL light emitting display device, the desired position is emitted in a desired shape so that letters, numbers, symbols, patterns, scales, ground color surface portions, and the like are lifted up so that almost necessary display can be achieved. This can be performed by one EL display device. Such a plate-shaped EL light emitting display device can reduce the number of components, simplify the structure, and can easily change the design or the overall design, and can perform display expression with a high degree of freedom. In addition, a very light and thin combination meter can be provided.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, a plurality of the design light emitting portions are provided, and the design electrodes of the respective design light emitting portions are connected to individual wirings, so that each design light emitting portion is individually turned on / off / flashed. Or they can be operated with a delay. Therefore, in this EL light emitting display device, for example, the blinker can be blinked and displayed independently on the left and right.

In the present invention, the design electrode and a wiring for supplying power to the design electrode may be integrally formed. Here, in the design electrode and the wiring integrated with each other, an insulating layer, a light emitting layer, a transparent electrode, and the like are sequentially laminated in a portion corresponding to the design electrode, and only an insulating layer is laminated in a portion corresponding to the wiring. That's fine.
In such an EL light emitting display device, if the design electrode is arranged at a predetermined position on the surface of the substrate, the wiring is automatically completed, so that the assembly process can be simplified.

On the other hand, the present invention may be provided with a correcting means for correcting the color or shape of the design light emitting part.
Here, examples of the correcting means include a filter made of a synthetic resin, a fluorescent material added to the light emitting layer, the light emitting layer surface layer, or the transparent electrode surface layer, a light shielding or transmissive pigment, and the like. When a filter is used as the correction means, a filter having a desired color and transmission characteristics is appropriately selected, and the filter is applied between the light emitting layer and the transparent electrode, or on the surface layer of the transparent electrode, or embedded in the transparent electrode. You may keep it.

In such an EL light emitting display device, since the correcting means is provided, the design light emitting portion can emit light in a desired color or shape, or the light emission can be relaxed / enhanced.
Further, in the EL light emitting display device configured as described above, when a plurality of design light emitting units are provided, it is possible to set the design light emitting units so that each design light emitting unit emits light with a different hue by the correcting means. Become. Therefore, when the EL light emitting display device is applied to, for example, a car speedometer or tachometer, a design light emitting portion that is turned on when a certain speed or a certain number of revolutions is exceeded may be set to color red or the like. In this case, the driver's attention can be drawn.

In the present invention, if the correction means is a fluorescent material and the fluorescent material is added to the light emitting layer or the transparent electrode in advance, for example, as compared with a case where a predetermined filter is simply pasted on the surface layer of the transparent electrode. Thus, the color correction of the design light emitting portion can be performed reliably.
Further, according to the present invention, when the correction means is used as a filter and this filter is attached to the surface layer of the transparent electrode, for example, the color of the design light emitting portion is compared with the case where the fluorescent material is simply added to the light emitting layer or the transparent electrode. The correction can be performed reliably.
Therefore, in the EL light emitting display device of the present invention, even if the light emitting layer is colored in an unintended color or the color is weak, color correction can be surely and easily performed.

Furthermore, in the present invention, a ground color light emitting portion may be provided on a ground color surface portion of the substrate where the design light emitting portion is not formed.
Here, the ground color light emitting part may be configured in the same manner as the design light emitting part, and the ground color insulating layer, ground color light emitting layer, ground color transparent electrode with respect to the ground color electrode formed on the ground color surface part. May be laminated in sequence. And this ground color light emission part should just be set so that it may light-emit with a different hue from the design light emission part.
In the EL light emitting display device configured as described above, since the ground color light emitting portion is provided on the ground color surface portion of the substrate, the entire area of the EL plate can emit light, thereby improving the visibility and design. Become superior and unique.

  In the present invention, if the design light emitting part and the ground color light emitting part can be individually turned on / off, for example, when applied to an automobile speedometer or tachometer, a number of design electrodes are adjacent to each other. Can be set so that the lights are sequentially turned on based on the traveling speed or the engine speed, so that the driver can intuitively grasp the traveling speed and the engine speed. In this EL light emitting display device, for example, a display device such as one of the design light emitting portion and the ground color light emitting portion being delayed with respect to the other is easily displayed.

Furthermore, the present invention may be such that the design electrode is connected to a wiring via a circuit line, and the circuit line is provided along the substrate.
Here, the circuit line may be formed integrally with the design electrode or the wiring, and when the circuit line is separate from the design electrode or the wiring, the circuit line is connected by an appropriate method such as welding or adhesion. Just keep it.
In such an EL light emitting display device, the design electrode and the wiring are connected to each other via the circuit line, so that the design electrode can be arranged at an arbitrary position without being influenced by the fixed position of the wiring. Design constraints on the surface can be reduced.

In the present invention, the circuit line is provided along the thickness direction of the substrate. For example, the circuit line may be provided along the end surface of the substrate, or a through hole formed in the substrate. You may provide along.
In such an EL light emitting display device, since the circuit lines are provided along the thickness direction of the substrate, in other words, the wiring is provided on the back surface of the substrate. That is, in this EL light emitting display device, since the wiring is not disposed on the ground color surface portion of the substrate, the design of the display surface can be improved. In particular, in this EL light emitting display device, since the wiring is not arranged on the ground color surface portion of the substrate, it is possible to provide the ground color light emitting portion over substantially the entire area of the ground color surface portion of the substrate. Designability can be improved. This may be performed with a transparent electrode layer appropriately disposed on the transparent sheet, as described above.

Furthermore, in the present invention, if the circuit line is a through hole penetrating the substrate in the thickness direction, the circuit line is formed from the end surface of the substrate toward the design electrode, unlike when the circuit line is provided on the end surface of the substrate. Thus, the design of the display surface can be further improved.
In the present invention, if the outermost layer is covered with the smoke filter, the brightness (contrast) with respect to when the design light emitting part or the ground color light emitting part is not emitting light can be improved, and the visibility is increased. .

On the other hand, in the method for manufacturing an EL light emitting display device according to the present invention, in order to display a measurement result based on a measurement value obtained from the measurement device, desired characters, numbers and symbols formed at predetermined positions on the surface of the substrate. , A design light-emitting portion having a design electrode having a shape corresponding to a pattern, scale, etc., an insulating layer covering the design electrode, a light-emitting layer covering the insulating layer, and a transparent electrode covering the light-emitting layer, The design electrode is formed on the substrate so that the light emitting portion emits light in a desired shape, and is disposed at a predetermined position of the substrate, and the ground color surface portion on the substrate where the design light emitting portion is not formed. A ground-color light-emitting part having a ground-color electrode, an insulating layer covering the ground-color electrode, a ground-color light-emitting layer covering the insulating layer, and a transparent electrode covering the ground-color light-emitting layer, Design light emitting part and the ground color light emitting part A method of manufacturing an EL light emitting display device, which is connected to individual wirings, and wherein the design light emitting part and the ground color light emitting part can be individually turned on / off, wherein the design light emitting part and the ground color light emitting part The light emitting layer is formed by multicolor printing.

In such a method for manufacturing an EL light-emitting display device, a light-emitting layer and an insulating layer are formed by a general printing method, so that advanced thin-film processing technology such as sputtering of an organic thin film EL, an inorganic thin film EL, or the like is required. The manufacturing process can be greatly simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where other fine processing techniques such as EL and LCD / VFT are required.
Further, in the present invention, by forming the light emitting layer by multicolor printing, for example, a case where a plurality of types of display portions are formed can be dealt with.
[The invention's effect]
As described above, according to the present invention, as described in claim 1, characters, numbers, symbols, patterns, scales, ground color surface portions, etc. appear to be raised by causing the desired position to emit light in a desired shape. By doing so, it is possible to perform almost the necessary display with a single EL light emitting display device, so the number of components can be reduced, the structure can be simplified, and a very lightweight and thin combination meter. Can be provided.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the design electrodes of a plurality of designed light emitting units are connected to individual wirings, each design light emitting unit is individually turned on / off / flashed, or mutually delayed. It becomes possible to make it.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a combination meter according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing the configuration of the combination meter, FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing the structure of an EL light emitting display device, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view showing the main part of the EL light emitting display device.

  FIG. 1 shows a combination meter 10 according to the present invention. This combination meter 10 is an EL light emitting display device for displaying various information such as traveling speed to a driver by being attached to a driver's seat of an automobile. And the front glass 12 attached to the case 11 in a state where the EL plate 20 is accommodated.

The EL plate 20 displays a traveling speed, an engine speed, a fuel remaining amount, a water temperature, and the like obtained from a measuring device (not shown), and lights, extinguishes or blinks various indicators.
The combination meter 10 is provided with a humidity maintaining means 30 for maintaining the humidity in the vicinity of the EL plate 20 below a certain level, and a cooling means 40 for cooling the EL plate 20.

The humidity maintaining means 30 has a structure in which the EL plate 20 and the desiccant 31 are shielded from the outside air and sealed by the case 11 and the front glass 12.
As shown in FIG. 2, the case 11 is provided with a Peltier receiving portion 13 having a substantially concave cross section that opens toward the back surface (the lower surface in FIG. 2), and a front surface (see FIG. 2). 2 having an annular desiccant-receiving groove 14 that opens in a concave shape toward the upper surface in the middle (2), and a flange 15 provided along the opening edge of the desiccant-containing groove 14. A pair of convex ribs 15A are formed concentrically on the upper surface in FIG.
In this case 11, a Peltier receiving portion 13, a desiccant receiving groove 14, and a flange portion 15 are integrally formed of a metal such as aluminum having good thermal conductivity and low water permeability. Note that the desiccant-containing groove 14 does not need to be provided at the periphery of the Peltier receiving portion 13, and can be appropriately selected in implementation.

On the other hand, the front glass 12 is an acrylic plate that is transparent over the entire surface and is coated with a ceramic coating that is extremely low in water permeability, and has a planar shape that coincides with the periphery of the collar portion 15 described above.
The front glass 12 has a recess 12A corresponding to the rib 15A of the flange 15, and is fixed to the flange 15 by fixing means such as a fixing screw 16.

And when fixing the collar part 15 to the front glass 12, the metal shim 17 as a sealing means is interposed between the recessed part 12A and the rib 15A.
The metal shim 17 sandwiched between the recess 12A and the rib 15A is deformed in the thickness direction when the fixing screw 16 is tightened, and both surfaces thereof are brought into close contact with the front glass 12 and the flange 15, respectively. Can be maintained.

The desiccant 31 sealed in such a case 11 has a chemical reaction type irreversibility that takes in moisture and does not release to the outside, and is formed into a flat annular shape by covering with a mesh (FIG. 2). Middle two-dot chain line state).
Then, when the desiccant 31 is accommodated in the desiccant-accommodating groove 14, the desiccant-accommodating groove 14 is exposed after exposing an outer surface adhesive portion of a double-sided adhesive tape (not shown) affixed to the outer peripheral surface of the mesh. Inside, the cross-sectional opening is deformed and oriented in a substantially U-shaped cross-section so that the cross-sectional opening faces the front glass 12 (state of solid line in FIG. 2).

On the other hand, the cooling means 40 has a structure having a cooling unit 41 provided so as to cover the outer surface of the case 11.
The cooling unit 41 includes a cooling portion 42 having a substantially concave cross section that opens toward the case 11 (upper side in FIG. 2), and a bowl-shaped mounting portion 43 provided along the opening edge of the cooling portion 42. The Peltier element 44 is provided on the inner bottom surface of the cooling unit 42.

A Peltier element 44 that performs a cooling action by the Peltier effect has a P-type thermoelectric semiconductor and an N-type thermoelectric semiconductor connected to each other in a substantially staggered manner via a copper plate 44A, and is sandwiched between a pair of ceramic plates 45, 45. . In the Peltier element 44, one of the ceramic plates 45, 45 (lower in FIG. 2) is fixed to the bottom surface of the cooling unit 42, and the other (upper in FIG. 2) has an aluminum plate member 46. It is attached.
Therefore, such a Peltier element 44 can obtain electrical insulation and thermal conductivity at the same time by the ceramic plates 45 and 45.

FIG. 3 shows a conceptual diagram of the EL plate 20. In this figure, the EL plate 20 has a double-sided wiring board 21 made of glass / epoxy, and a design light emitting portion 21A is provided on the surface (upper side in FIG. 3) of the double-sided wiring board 21.
The design light emitting section 21A includes a design electrode 22A formed on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21, an insulating layer 25 covering the design electrode 22A, a light emitting layer 26 and a transparent electrode 27 sequentially stacked on the upper layer of the insulating layer 25. Have. The design electrode 22A of the design light emitting portion 21A is supplied with power by the wiring 23A formed on the back surface (the lower surface in FIG. 3) of the double-sided wiring board 21.

  The design electrode 22A and the wiring 23A are connected to each other via a silver paste circuit line 24A provided in a through hole penetrating the double-sided wiring board 21 in the thickness direction. These design electrodes 22A and wirings 23A are made of, for example, copper foil formed by etching or printing.

The circuit line 24A may be provided along the end face of the double-sided wiring board 21 if the design electrode 22A and the wiring 23A are provided near the end face of the double-sided wiring board 21.
Further, in the design light emitting portion 21B shown on the left side in FIG. 3, the design electrode 22B and the wiring 23B integrated with each other are formed on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21. The design electrode 22B is formed in a shape representing the numeral “3”, and the light emitting layer 26 is not laminated on the wiring 23B by providing an appropriate step in the insulating layer 25. 26 emits light in a desired color and shape imitating the number “3”.

Further, in this figure, the power supply connector 21C provided at the end of the double-sided wiring board 21 is shown as being connected only to the wiring 23A, but actually the wiring 23B and the like are also connected to the power supply connector 21C. The design light emitting units 21A and 21B are turned on / off / flashing simultaneously or individually.
In addition, when turning on and off the design light emitting portions 21A and 21B, one of them may be delayed with respect to the other.

  For example, the insulating layer 25 is mixed with barium titanate as an aggregate (average particle size: 2 μm to 10 μm), mixed with cyanoresin as a conductive binder, added with an appropriate amount of solvent and stirred, and then dried. It is provided by metal plate screen printing so that a predetermined thickness (for example, 10 μm to 100 μm) is sometimes obtained.

  The light-emitting layer 26 is mixed with zinc sulfide (average particle size: 10 μm to 100 μm) as EL powder, mixed with cyanoresin as a binder, added with an appropriate amount of solvent and stirred, and then dried to a predetermined average thickness ( For example, it is provided by metal plate screen printing so that 10 um to 140 um) can be obtained.

  The transparent electrode 27 is a conductive transparent sheet having a predetermined thickness, and is laminated so as to cover the entire surface of the double-sided wiring substrate 21 by, for example, hot pressing with a roll.

Such an EL plate 20 is covered with a moisture-absorbing layer 28 and a moisture-proof layer 29 on both sides. A transparent moisture-absorbing sheet having a thickness of 40 μm to 160 μm is adopted for the moisture-absorbing layer 28, and a transparent moisture-proof sheet such as a fluororesin having a predetermined thickness is adopted for the moisture-proof layer 29.
Here, examples of the moisture-proof sheet constituting the moisture-absorbing layer 28 include nylon 66 (material name). These moisture absorption layer 28 and moisture proof layer 29 cover both surfaces and end surfaces of double-sided wiring board 21 so that only power supply connector 21C is exposed. Note that the moisture absorption layer 28 and the moisture proof layer 29 are not essential to the present invention and may be omitted as appropriate.

When a voltage is applied to the light emitting layer 26 by the cooperation of the design electrode 22A and the transparent electrode 27, such an EL plate 20 emits light according to the shape of the design electrode 22A (substantially rectangular in this figure) and the arrangement position. Layer 26 emits light.
Here, when the light emitting layer 26 is formed, the EL plate 20 is preliminarily colored with a coloring material such as a fluorescent material so that a desired color such as red, yellow, or blue can be developed with the application of a voltage. May be. Further, the EL plate 20 may be provided with a filter 20A for performing color correction of the light emitting layer 26 on the upper layer of the light emitting layer 26 in accordance with application of a voltage. The filter 20A is a synthetic resin film colored in a desired color, for example, and may be affixed and printed on the surface of the moisture-proof layer 29 as shown in this figure (see the solid line in FIG. 3), or the transparent electrode 27 You may affix and print on the surface (refer to the dashed-two dotted line in FIG. 3).

In order to further adjust the design shape of the light emitting part, a light blocking filter 20B may be provided in the upper layer of the light emitting part 26.
If such a light-shielding filter 20B is provided, for example, in the upper layer of the light emitting portion 26 corresponding to the end portion of the design electrode 22A, the light emission display of the design light emitting portion 21A becomes clear.

In this figure, the EL plate 20 is formed in a flat plate shape, but may be formed in a curved plate shape having an arc surface or a spherical surface.
Furthermore, the design electrode 22A and the design light-emitting portion 21A configured by the design electrode 22A may be appropriately curved in order to express a three-dimensional effect, and need not have a planar shape.

In this embodiment, the EL plate 20 can emit light with the design as shown in FIG. 4 by arranging a number of design electrodes 22A having a desired shape at desired positions on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21. Yes.
In this figure, an EL plate 20 includes a speedometer 70 for displaying the traveling speed of the vehicle body by arranging a number of design electrodes 22A, a tachometer 71 for displaying the engine speed, and cooling water for cooling the engine. A water temperature gauge 72 that displays the temperature, a fuel gauge 73 that displays the remaining amount of fuel, and other indicators are provided.
Such an EL plate 20 has a speedometer 70, a tachometer 71, a water temperature gauge 72, a fuel gauge 73, a range where no other indicators are provided, in other words, a double-sided wiring board 21 on which no design electrode 22A is arranged. The ground color surface portion can emit light with a different hue by the ground color light emitting unit 80.

The speedometer 70 includes a light emission speedometer 74 that displays a travel speed by light emission and a digital speedometer 75 that displays a travel speed numerically.
The light emission speed meter 74 is configured to include a design light emitting part 21A constituted by a large number of design electrodes 22A and a ground color light emitting part 80 arranged on a ground color surface part between the design electrodes 22A.

  The luminous speed meter 74 has a substantially C shape with the ground color light emitting portion 80 interposed therebetween so that each design electrode 22A is formed in a substantially fan shape and is insulated from each other along an arc line curved with a constant radius. It is densely arranged in a shape. As shown in FIG. 5, these design electrodes 22A can be individually supplied with power by wirings 23A formed in large numbers on the back surface of the double-sided wiring board 21, and are shown at the lower left in FIG. 4 based on the traveling speed of the vehicle body. It lights up sequentially from the end in the clockwise direction.

On the other hand, in the ground color light emitting portion 80, an insulating layer 25, a ground color light emitting layer 82, and a transparent electrode 27 are sequentially laminated on a ground color electrode 81 formed by copper foil etching similar to the design electrode 22A. The ground color electrode 81 is spaced apart from the design electrode 22 so as to obtain insulation from the design electrode 22A. Here, the ground-color light emitting unit 80 is connected to the same wiring so as to be fed in conjunction with the light control switch.
The light emitting layer 26 and the ground color light emitting layer 82 are formed corresponding to the shape, size, and arrangement position of the design electrode 22A and the ground color electrode 81, respectively. The ground color light emitting unit 80 emits a darker color than the design light emitting unit 21A.

Specifically, for example, the light emitting layer 26 for displaying the low speed range develops blue, and the light emitting layer 26 for displaying the medium speed range develops yellow, and the light emitting layer for displaying the high speed range 26 develops red, and the ground-color light emitting layer 82 develops a slightly dark green color. For this reason, an appropriate color forming material that develops a desired color on the EL powder is added to the light emitting layer 26 and the ground color light emitting layer 82 in advance.
The light emitting layer 26 and the ground color light emitting layer 82 as described above are collectively formed by multicolor printing using a metal plate screen.

In this embodiment, the hygroscopic layer 28 and the moisture-proof layer 29 are laminated on the upper layer of the transparent electrode 27 that constitutes the light emission speed meter 74, and the color corresponds to the light emission layer 26 that displays the high speed range. A filter 20A for correction is attached or printed. This filter 20A is a resin film or printing colored in deep red, and is formed at a predetermined position using an appropriate method.
Therefore, the luminous speed meter 74 displays the high speed range with a clear red color, and can thereby alert the driver.

Returning to FIG. 4, the digital speedometer 75 is arranged so that the design electrode 22 forms a three-digit counter, and is appropriately lit so as to indicate a numerical value based on the traveling speed of the vehicle body. Yes. The digital speedometer 75 is provided at the center of the diameter of the light emission speed meter 74 and is interlocked with the display of the light emission speed meter 74.
In such a digital speedometer 75 as well, as in the light emission speedometer 74 described above, a ground color light emitting section 80 is provided between the design electrodes 22.

  Further, the tachometer 71 has a digital tachometer 76 in which a large number of design electrodes 22 formed in a substantially fan shape are densely arranged in a substantially C shape, similar to the speedometer 70 described above. The digital tachometer 76 is sequentially turned on clockwise from the lower left end in FIG. 4 based on the engine speed. Also in this digital tachometer 76, the ground color electrode 80 is formed between the design electrodes 22A, as in the above-described light emission speed meter 74, and the high rotation area is displayed in clear red. You can call attention.

In the water temperature gauge 72 and the fuel gauge 73, a large number of design electrodes 22A formed in a rectangular shape are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction in the figure.
In the water temperature gauge 72 and the fuel gauge 73, the light emitting layer is sequentially turned on from the lower side in the figure to the upper side in the figure based on the water temperature or the remaining amount of fuel.
In these water temperature gauges 72 and fuel gauges 73, the light emitting layer is displayed in clear red with a predetermined water temperature or remaining amount as a boundary, as in the case of the light emission speed meter 74 or the digital tachometer 76 described above. Can be alerted.

In this EL plate 20, the outermost layer, that is, the surface of the moisture-proof layer 29 may be covered with a smoke filter.
If it does in this way, while the design property when the design light emission part or a ground color light emission part is not light-emitting can be improved, the contrast of the time of lighting and non-lighting increases, and visibility improves.

  Control of the EL plate 20 such as turning on / off, timing and synchronization thereof is performed by the control unit 90 shown in FIG. 1, but the control can be easily changed depending on the intention of the manufacturer or driver. For example, since the control pattern is easily changed by a program installed in the control unit 90 or a function switch 90A connected to the control unit 90, control of another EL plate having a different design and a difference in the preference of the driver It is possible to easily cope with changes in the operation mode.

  Next, a procedure for assembling the combination meter 10 configured as described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, first, the desiccant 31 is accommodated in the desiccant accommodating groove 14 of the case 11, and the EL plate 20 is bonded and fixed to the bottom of the Peltier receiving part 13 via the heat conductive adhesive 18. Next, the front glass 12 is attached to the case 11 by a fixing means such as a fixing screw 16 with a sealing means such as a metal shim 17 interposed between the flange 15 and the EL plate 20 and the desiccant 31 thereby. Seal in case 11.

  At this time, the air in the vicinity of the surface of the EL plate 20 (the upper surface in the figure) comes into contact with the desiccant 31 through the through-hole 20B provided in the EL plate 20. Therefore, the air sealed in the case 11 at the time of assembly is gradually absorbed by the irreversible desiccant 13 and maintained at a low humidity for a long time.

Next, the case 11 and the cooling unit 41 are fixed to each other with a fixing screw 47. At this time, the Peltier receiving portion 13 of the case 11 and the plate member 46 of the Peltier element 44 constituting the cooling unit 41 are brought into close contact with each other by interposing an adhesive 48 having thermal conductivity therebetween. .
As shown in FIG. 1, a control unit 90 is connected to the EL plate 20 and the cooling means 40 via a flexible flat cable (FFC) 91. The control unit 90 calculates the measurement value obtained from each measurement device and outputs a drive current to the EL plate 20, and detects the surface temperature or the ambient temperature of the EL plate 20 to appropriately supply power to the Peltier element 44. It has become.

  According to the combination meter 10 as described above, the design electrode 22 having a desired shape is arranged in a desired shape on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21 so that the desired position of the EL plate 20 emits light in the desired shape. Letters, numbers, symbols, patterns, scales, and the like can be raised on the surface of 20, and the number of manufacturing processes can be reduced as compared with the prior art, and the structure can be made very lightweight and thin.

Further, in this combination meter 10, since a plurality of design electrodes 22A are connected to individual wirings 23A, each design light emitting portion 21A can be individually turned on / off / flashed, or can be operated with a delay. .
In particular, because the design electrode 22A has the wiring 23A formed on the back surface of the substrate 21, there is no restriction on the planar shape of the design electrode 22A or the location of the design electrode 22A. The freedom above is obtained.

  Further, the design light emitting section 21A is provided with a correcting means for correcting the color development and a correcting means for correcting the light emission shape, so that it emits light in a desired color or shape, or emits light. Can be relaxed and strengthened. In particular, since the correction means are the filters 20A and 20B, color correction and shape correction can be performed reliably and easily by attaching them at appropriate positions.

In addition, this combination meter 10 alerts the driver by displaying red above a certain speed or above a certain number of revolutions because each light emitting layer 26 corresponding to each design electrode 22A emits light with a different hue. it can.
In particular, in this embodiment, a filter 20A that performs color correction corresponding to the light emitting unit that displays red at a certain speed or more or a certain number of revolutions or more is employed, so that a desired color can be reliably developed.

Further, in this embodiment, since the design electrodes 22A densely arranged on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21 are individually supplied with power based on the running speed or the engine speed, the driver can Intuitively understand engine speed.
In addition, since the EL plate 20 has the light emitting layer 26 and the ground color light emitting layer 82 formed in multiple colors by printing, in other words, the EL plate 20 can be manufactured in the same manner as a conventional transmitted illumination dial, thereby increasing the manufacturing process. There is nothing.

Moreover, according to this combination meter 10, since the EL plate 20 is sealed by the case 11 and the front glass 12, the humidity in the vicinity of the EL plate 20 does not increase from the time of sealing. That is, according to this combination meter 10, the lifetime of the EL plate employed as the EL plate 20 can be extended as compared with the conventional case.
In particular, according to the combination meter 10, since the EL plate 20 is sealed in the case 11, a dustproof effect and a magnetic shield effect on the EL plate 20 can be obtained at the same time.
Furthermore, since the desiccant 13 is accommodated in the case 11, the humidity in the case 11 can be reliably and easily lowered.

In addition, since the EL plate 20 and the cooling means 40 are hermetically sealed in the case 11 and the front glass 12, the combination meter 10 can maintain the vicinity of the EL plate 20 at a low temperature, thereby also increasing the lifetime of the EL plate 20 in the past. Can be longer than
Since the cooling means 40 cools the EL plate 20 by the Peltier element 44, for example, it can be reduced in size and weight as compared with the case where an air cooling fan or air cooling fin is provided, and quietness can be obtained. Can be reliably controlled to a low temperature.
In particular, since the cooling means 40 can obtain electrical insulation and thermal conductivity at the same time by the ceramic plates 45 and 45 sandwiching the Peltier element 44, electrical insulation can be reliably obtained without impeding thermal conductivity. .

And in the combination meter 10 mentioned above, since the humidity maintenance means 30 and the cooling means 40 are used together, it is possible to further extend the service life of the EL plate 20 as compared with the case where only one of them is adopted. A remarkable effect is obtained.
Since the combination meter 10 described above is provided with a luminous speed meter 74 and a digital tachometer 76 that display a running speed by a large number of design electrodes 22 densely arranged on the speed meter 70 and the tachometer 71, respectively. It can also be used by users who can intuitively grasp measurement results compared to digital displays indicated by numbers.

Further, in the combination meter 10 described above, since the EL plate 20 can be formed in a curved plate shape, it is easy to design in consideration of the viewpoint position of the driver, and the design can be improved.
Further, in this combination meter 10, since the depth dimension can be reduced as compared with a combination meter that employs an internal unit, restrictions on vehicle body design can be reduced.
According to the combination meter 10, since the internal unit, the light guide plate, the light bulb, the LCD, etc. constituting the combination meter employing the internal unit are not necessary, the number of components can be reduced.

Note that the EL light-emitting display device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications and improvements can be made.
For example, in the embodiment described above, the double-sided wiring board is covered with the moisture absorption layer and the moisture proof layer, but these are not essential to the present invention and may be omitted as appropriate.

In addition, as a sealing means interposed between the case and the front glass, a metal shim has been exemplified. However, for example, a rubber packing having a low water permeability may be employed. , Form is not questioned. Further, the cooling efficiency may be improved by laminating a plurality of peltier elements constituting the cooling means.
In addition to the dense arrangement in the arc shape, the arrangement form of the design electrodes includes a form in which the arrangement is linearly densely arranged.

  Further, the combination meter in the above-described embodiment has been exemplified by an EL plate that is integrally provided with a speedometer, a tachometer, a water temperature meter, a fuel meter, and various indicators, and constitutes a display surface. A combination meter may be configured by housing a plurality of EL plates obtained by individually dividing areas corresponding to instruments and various indicators in a case.

Further, the ground color light emitting part provided on the ground color surface part may be set to be turned on / off simultaneously with the design light emitting part, or one of the design light emitting part and the ground color light emitting part may be set to the other. It may be set so that the delay point is turned on or off.
In this embodiment, the internal unit and the pointer attached to the pointer shaft of the internal unit are not employed. However, the EL light emitting display device of the present invention is a combination meter having these internal unit, pointer shaft, and pointer. Is included.
In addition, the EL light-emitting display device of the present invention is not applicable only to the above-described automobile combination meter. For example, as an EL light-emitting display device for various measurement values in aircraft, ships, railways, various measuring instruments, home appliances, etc. Is also applicable and does not limit the application.

As described above, according to the present invention, as described in claim 1, characters, numbers, symbols, patterns, scales, ground color surface portions, etc. appear to be raised by causing the desired position to emit light in a desired shape. By doing so, it is possible to perform almost the necessary display with a single EL light emitting display device, so the number of components can be reduced, the structure can be simplified, and a very lightweight and thin combination meter. Can be provided.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the design electrodes of a plurality of designed light emitting units are connected to individual wirings, each design light emitting unit is individually turned on / off / flashed, or mutually delayed. It becomes possible to make it.

Further , according to the present invention, the design electrode and the wiring are integrally formed, so that the assembly process can be simplified.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, since the correction means for correcting the color development and shape of the design light-emitting portion is provided, the design light-emitting portion can emit light in a desired color or shape, or the light emission can be relaxed / enhanced. .
When the correcting means is a fluorescent material, if the fluorescent material is added to the light emitting layer or the transparent electrode in advance, the design light emission can be performed as compared with a case where a predetermined filter is simply attached to the surface layer of the transparent electrode. Color correction can be performed reliably.
In addition, when the correcting means is a filter, if the filter is attached to the surface layer of the transparent electrode, for example, the color correction of the design light emitting portion can be performed as compared with the case where the fluorescent material is simply added to the light emitting layer or the transparent electrode. It can be done reliably.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the ground color light emitting portion is provided on the ground color surface portion of the substrate, the entire area of the EL plate can emit light.
According to the present invention, the design light-emitting part and the ground-color light-emitting part can be individually turned on and off. Intuitively understand the rotation speed.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the design electrode is connected to the wiring via the circuit line, the design electrode can be arranged at an arbitrary position without being influenced by the fixed position of the wiring, thereby improving the design on the display surface. Can be reduced.
Further, when the wiring is provided on the back surface of the substrate by the circuit line provided along the thickness direction of the substrate, the wiring is not disposed on the ground color surface portion of the substrate, thereby improving the design of the display surface. .

Furthermore, when the circuit line is a through hole penetrating the substrate in the thickness direction, the design of the display surface can be further improved.
And if the outermost layer is covered with the smoke filter, the design property when the design light emission part or the ground color light emission part is not light-emitting can further be improved.

On the other hand, in the manufacturing method of the EL light emitting display device in the present invention, the EL layer is formed by printing, and therefore other ELs that require advanced thin film processing techniques such as sputtering of organic thin film EL, inorganic thin film EL, etc. Compared with the case where advanced fine processing technology such as LCD / VFT is required, the manufacturing process can be remarkably simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
Further, according to the present invention, since the light emitting layer is formed by multicolor printing, for example, it is possible to cope with the case where a plurality of types of display portions are formed.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the example of a form of the combination meter which concerns on this invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the structure of a combination meter. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the structure of EL plate. It is a model front view which shows EL plate. It is an expansion schematic cross section which shows the principal part of EL plate. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a general combination meter.

Explanation of symbols

10 Combination meter (EL light emitting display)
11 cases
12 Front glass
13 Desiccant
20 EL plate
20A filter (correction means)
21 Double-sided wiring board (board)
21A Design light emitting part
22A Design electrode
23A wiring
24A circuit line
25 Insulation layer
26 Light emitting layer
27 Transparent electrode
30 Humidity maintenance means
31 Desiccant
40 Cooling means
44 Peltier element
45 Ceramic plate
80 Ground color light emitting part
81 Ground electrode
82 Ground color light emitting layer

Claims (1)

A design electrode having a shape corresponding to a desired character, number, symbol, pattern, scale, or the like formed on the surface of the substrate in order to display a measurement result based on a measurement value obtained from the measurement device, and the design electrode An EL plate provided with a plurality of design light emitting portions each having an insulating layer formed by printing covering the light emitting layer, a light emitting layer covering the insulating layer, and a transparent electrode covering the light emitting layer,
The design electrode is formed on the substrate so that the design light emitting portion emits light in a desired shape, and is disposed at a predetermined position of the substrate,
An EL light-emitting display device, wherein the design electrodes of the design light-emitting portions are connected to individual wirings, and the design light-emitting portions can be individually turned on / off.

Images