JP2008102092A - Measuring instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a novel display in a measuring instrument for displaying an index with a display plate. <P>SOLUTION: The display plate 10 of the measuring instrument displays a first design 78 used as the index by reflecting external light coming from the front side of the display direction, and superimposes and displays a second design 88 used as the index inside the first design 78 by transmitting light source light coming from a light source on the back side of the display direction of the display plate 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an instrument that displays an index on a display board, and more particularly to an instrument suitable as a vehicle instrument installed in a vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vehicle instrument or the like, an instrument that can illuminate a display plate that displays an index such as a scale or characters from the rear side in the display direction with a light source is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such an instrument, an index is displayed by reflection of external light from the front side in the display direction, while an index is displayed by transmission of light source light from the rear side in the display direction.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-39295

  However, in the conventional instrument described above, the design displayed as an index by reflection of external light is the same as the design displayed as an index by transmission of light from the light source. For example, the appearance of the indicator does not change remarkably between daytime and nighttime. Therefore, in particular, in vehicle instruments and the like that have been required to have a novel display in recent years, it is not possible to sufficiently meet the demand.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object thereof is to realize a novel display on a meter.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an instrument comprising a display board for displaying an indicator and a light source for illuminating the display board from the rear side in the display direction, and the display board is external light incident from the front side in the display direction. The first unique design as an index is displayed by reflecting the light, and the second design as the index is superimposed on the inside of the first unique design by transmitting the light source light incident from the light source on the rear side in the display direction. It is characterized by displaying.

  As described above, in the display board according to the first aspect, the first unique design among the first and second designs serving as indexes is displayed by reflection of external light, and the second design is displayed from the rear side in the display direction. Is superimposed and displayed on the inner side of the first unique craft. Therefore, when the display panel is not illuminated by the light source, the brightness of the second design is reduced, so that the first unique design stands out as an index, while when the display board is illuminated, the brightness of the second design is increased, The second design, which is different from the unique design, stands out as an index. Accordingly, since the change in the appearance of the index becomes remarkable between when the display panel is not illuminated and when illuminated, a novel display that has never been achieved can be realized.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, since the second design has a shape that is not similar to the first unique design, the change in the appearance of the index becomes more noticeable when the display panel is not illuminated and when illuminated.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the second design has a color tone different from that of the first unique design, a change in the appearance of the index becomes more remarkable when the display panel is not illuminated and when illuminated.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, the display plate is formed so as to be smaller than the first recess in the plan view of the display direction overlapping the first recess and the first recess opening to the front side in the display direction. A second concave portion that opens to the rear side, reflects the external light at the bottom of the first concave portion, displays the first unique design, and transmits the light source light from the bottom of the second concave portion to the bottom of the first concave portion. To display the second design.

  As described above, in the invention according to the fourth aspect, the external light is reflected at the bottom of the first concave portion that opens to the front side in the display direction, whereby the first unique design is displayed. Therefore, since the inner peripheral part of the first recess is visually recognized as an outline surrounding the outside of the first unique design from the front side in the display direction when not illuminated, the display of the first unique design becomes clear.

  In the invention according to claim 4, the second recess opens to the rear side in the display direction opposite to the first recess, and the second recess is smaller than the first recess in plan view in the display direction overlapping the first recess. The second design is displayed by transmitting the light source light from the bottom to the bottom of the first recess. Therefore, from the front side in the display direction at the time of illumination, the second design with the contour along the inner peripheral portion of the second recess is visually recognized superimposed on the inner side of the first unique design. Here, since the bottom portion of the first recess facing the front side in the display direction faces the opposite side to the light source that illuminates from the rear side in the display direction, the first unique design displayed during illumination by the bottom portion is displayed. Since it will be visually recognized from the front side of the direction as a dark part that highlights the outline of the second design, the display of the second design becomes clear.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, the display panel is formed with a light transmissive layer between the first light transmissive layer and the second light transmissive layer on the rear side in the display direction with respect to the first light transmissive layer. The first recess has a first through hole penetrating the first opaque layer and the end on the rear side in the display direction is covered with the transparent layer, and the second recess has the second opaque The end of the second through hole penetrating the light transmissive layer on the front side in the display direction is covered with the light transmissive layer.

  In the invention according to claim 5, the inner peripheral portion of the first recess is formed by the first through hole of the first light-impermeable layer, and the first portion is covered by the portion that covers the first through-hole in the light-transmitting layer. The bottom of the recess is formed. Therefore, from the front side in the display direction during non-illumination, the first through hole of the first opaque layer that forms the inner peripheral portion of the first recess is displayed by the transparent layer that forms the bottom of the first recess. It will be visually recognized as the dark part which makes the outline stand out with respect to the 1st unique craftsman. Therefore, at the time of non-illumination, the first unique craft can be clearly displayed with a brightness difference from the outside.

  In the invention according to claim 5, the inner periphery of the second recess is formed by the second through hole of the second opaque layer, and the second recess is formed by the portion covering the second through hole in the transparent layer. Is formed at the bottom. Therefore, at the time of illumination, the light source light incident along the second through hole of the second light-impermeable layer that forms the inner periphery of the second recess forms the bottoms of the second and first recesses. Since the light is transmitted through the light-transmitting layer, the second design can be clearly displayed with a brightness difference from the outer first unique design.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, the translucent layer has semi-translucency that reflects light from the front side in the display direction and transmits light from the rear side in the display direction. According to such a translucent layer, not only can the external light from the front side in the display direction be reflected as the bottom of the first recess when not illuminated, but each of the second and first recesses when illuminated. The light source light from the rear side in the display direction as the bottom can be reliably transmitted.

  Since the invention according to claim 7 is a vehicle meter installed in a vehicle, for example, the indicator is remarkably changed between the daytime when it is not illuminated and the nighttime when it is illuminated, which is innovative for the vehicle occupant. A display image can be given.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol to the corresponding component in each embodiment.

(First embodiment)
1 and 2 show a vehicle meter 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle meter 1 is a combination meter installed in the front of the vehicle interior of the vehicle, and includes a display board 10, a pointer 20, a light source 30, a rotating inner unit 40, a control circuit 50, and the like.

  The display board 10 is disposed with the direction from the front to the rear in the passenger compartment as the display direction. A plurality of scales 12 and letters 14 are formed on the display board 10 as “indicators” to be displayed for passengers in the vehicle interior (hereinafter simply referred to as “occupants”).

  The pointer 20 is disposed on the front side of the display plate 10 in the display direction. The rotating shaft 22 of the pointer 20 penetrates the display board 10 from the front side to the rear side in the display direction and is connected to the rotating inner unit 40, whereby the pointer 20 can be rotated. The pointer 20 indicates the scale 12 and the character 14 corresponding to the rotation position with the tip. Here, the pointer 20 of the present embodiment indicates the vehicle speed by indicating the scales 12 and the characters 14 arranged along the rotation direction of the rotation shaft 22, but other vehicle information such as the remaining fuel amount and the engine It may represent the rotational speed, the engine coolant temperature, or the like.

  The light source 30 includes a light emitting diode 32 and an optical reflector 34. The light emitting diode 32 is, for example, a chip type and emits white light when energized. The light emitting diode 32 is disposed on the rear side in the display direction of the display panel 10 and can irradiate the display panel 10 with light. The light reflector 34 is disposed outside the light emitting diode 32 on the rear side in the display direction of the display panel 10. The light reflector 34 reflects light traveling in a direction deviating from the display panel 10 out of the light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 toward the display panel 10. With such a configuration, the light source 30 can illuminate the display panel 10 with high efficiency from the rear side in the display direction.

  The rotating inner unit 40 is, for example, a coil actuator or a stepping motor, and has an output shaft 42. The rotating inner unit 40 is arranged on the rear side of the display direction of the display board 10, and the output shaft 42 is coaxially connected to the rotating shaft 22 of the pointer 20. The turning inner unit 40 drives the pointer 20 together with the output shaft 42 by energization.

  The control circuit 50 is an electric circuit such as a microcomputer, for example, and is arranged on the rear side of the display panel 10 in the display direction. The control circuit 50 is electrically connected to the light emitting diode 32 of the light source 30 and the rotating inner unit 40. The control circuit 50 is electrically connected to the vehicle light control switch 52 and the vehicle speed sensor 54 directly or via another control circuit. With these configurations, the control circuit 50 controls energization to the light emitting diode 32 according to the operation position of the light control switch 52 by the occupant and energizes the rotating inner unit 40 according to the detection signal of the vehicle speed sensor 54. Control. In the present embodiment, the light control switch 52 is provided with three operation positions: a lamp off position, a vehicle width lamp on position, and a headlamp on position.

  Next, the characteristic configuration of the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the display panel 10 includes a laminated layer in which a light transmissive layer 60 is formed between a first light transmissive layer 70 and a second light transmissive layer 80 on the rear side in the display direction from the layer 70. Is the body. In the translucent layer 60, the base material 62 is formed by resin molding or the like, and is colorless and transparent in this embodiment. The colored layer 64 laminated on the front side in the display direction of the base material 62 in the light transmissive layer 60 is formed by printing of a semi-translucent ink or the like, and is colored white in this embodiment. The colored layer 64 exhibits semi-translucency that reflects light from the front side in the display direction and transmits light from the rear side in the display direction (base material 62 side) to the front side in the display direction.

  The first light-impermeable layer 70 laminated on the front side in the display direction with respect to the light-transmissive layer 60 is formed by printing light-impermeable ink or the like, and is colored black in this embodiment. In the first light-impermeable layer 70, first through holes 72 are formed at positions corresponding to the scales 12 by a mask process or the like during printing. The first through-hole 72 passes straight through the first light-impermeable layer 70 in the display direction, and the end on the rear side in the display direction is covered with the light-transmitting layer 60. Thereby, in the display panel 10, the first unique design 78 (opening to the front side in the display direction and the bottom portion 74 and the inner peripheral portion 75 are formed by the first recess 76 formed from the light transmitting layer 60 and the first light transmitting layer 70, respectively. In FIG. 3, the outline is indicated by a solid line) as a scale 12.

  Specifically, when external light enters the first recess 76 from the front side in the display direction, the external light is transmitted to the front side in the display direction by the bottom 74 of the first recess 76 formed by the semi-translucent translucent layer 60. It is reflected to. By this reflected light, the occupant can visually recognize the white first unique design 78 having an outline along the inner peripheral portion 75 of the first recess 76. Here, particularly in this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the first through-hole 72 of the first opaque layer 70 that forms the inner peripheral portion 75 is rectangular, so that from the front side in the display direction, FIG. The first unique craft 78 having a rectangular outline as shown is visually recognized.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second light-impermeable layer 80 laminated on the rear side in the display direction with respect to the light-transmissive layer 60 is formed by printing light-impermeable ink or the like, and is black in this embodiment. It is colored. In the second light-impermeable layer 80, second through holes 82 are formed at positions corresponding to the scales 12 by a mask process or the like during printing. The second through hole 82 passes straight through the second opaque layer 80 in the display direction, and the end portion on the front side in the display direction is covered with the transparent layer 60. As a result, in the display panel 10, the second design 88 is opened by the second concave portion 86 which opens to the rear side in the display direction and the bottom portion 84 and the inner peripheral portion 85 are respectively formed from the light-transmitting layer 60 and the second light-impermeable layer 80. (The outline is indicated by a broken line in FIG. 3) is displayed as a scale 12.

  Specifically, the second concave portion 86 overlaps the first concave portion 76 for displaying the scale 12 at the same location on the rear side in the display direction, and the first concave portion in a plan view that is a projection in the display direction. It is formed smaller than 76. Thus, when light (hereinafter simply referred to as “light source light”) is incident on the second concave portion 86 from the light source 30 on the rear side in the display direction, the second concave portion 86 formed by the semi-translucent translucent layer 60 is formed. The light source light is transmitted from the bottom 84 toward the bottom 74 of the first recess 76, and passes through the first recess 76 toward the front side in the display direction. By this transmitted light, the occupant can visually recognize the white second design 88 having an outline along the inner peripheral portion 85 of the second recess 86 and superimposed on the inner side of the first unique design 78. Here, particularly in the present embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the second through-hole 82 of the second opaque layer 80 forming the inner peripheral portion 85 is smaller than the first through-hole 72 and is a rhombus, thereby From the front side in the display direction, as shown in FIG. 3, a second design 88 having a rhombus outline that is not similar to the first unique design 78 is visually recognized.

  Next, the characteristic operation of the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  In the daytime when sunlight enters the vehicle interior as external light, the operation position of the light control switch 52 is set to the lamp-off position. At this time, since the control circuit 50 turns off the power supply to the light emitting diode 32, the display panel 10 is in a non-illuminated state where it is not illuminated by the light source 30. That is, since the light source light is not transmitted from the bottom 84 of the second recess 86 to the bottom 74 of the first recess 76, the second design 88 displayed by the transmitted light is insufficient in brightness, as shown in FIG. As shown, it is difficult to see from the front side in the display direction. Further, at this time, since the light source light does not pass through the first recess 76, the white unique design 78 displayed by the external light reflection of the bottom 74 of the first recess 76 is as shown in FIG. It becomes visible from the display direction front side. Furthermore, at this time, external light from the front side in the display direction is hardly incident on the inner peripheral portion 75 of the first recess 76 formed by the black first light-impermeable layer 70. The inner peripheral portion 75 is visually recognized as a dark portion that makes the outline of the first unique craft 78 stand out. As described above, in the daytime when the display board 10 is not illuminated, the first unique craft 78 having a rectangular outline is displayed as the scale 12 with a remarkable brightness difference from the outside.

  On the other hand, at night when sunlight does not enter the vehicle interior as outside light, when the vehicle passes through in the dark (hereinafter referred to as “nighttime etc.”), the operation position of the light control switch 52 is the headlight on position or the vehicle width. Set to the lamp on position. At this time, since the control circuit 50 turns on the power supply to the light emitting diode 32, the display panel 10 is in an illumination state illuminated by the light source 30. That is, since the light source light is transmitted from the bottom 84 of the second recess 86 to the bottom 74 of the first recess 76, the inner periphery of the second recess 86 is seen from the front side in the display direction as shown in FIG. A white second design 88 having an outline along the portion 85 is visible. At this time, external light is not easily incident on the bottom 74 of the first recess 76, and light source light is also difficult to be incident because the bottom 74 faces the front side in the display direction opposite to the light source 30. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, from the front side in the display direction, the first unique design 78 displayed by the reflection of external light from the bottom 74 is visually recognized as a dark part that highlights the contour of the second design 88. Furthermore, since the first light-impermeable layer 70 visually recognized on the outer side of the first unique design 78 from the front side in the display direction is colored black, the first unique design 78 visually recognized as a dark part is It becomes the background which spreads outside the second design 88 together with the layer 70. As described above, at night when the display panel 10 is illuminated, the second design 88 having a rhombus outline and smaller than the first unique design 78 has a remarkable brightness difference from the outer first unique design 78 as the scale 12. Will be displayed.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, since the shape of the scale 12 changes significantly between daytime and nighttime, an unprecedented display image can be given to the occupant. In particular, the scale 12 has a relatively large number of “indicators” displayed on the display board 10, so that the image improvement obtained by the shape change of each scale 12 becomes enormous.

(Second embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 6, the second embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the configuration of the light transmitting layer 110 of the display panel 100 is different. Specifically, the translucent layer 110 includes a colored layer 112 that is different from the colored layer 64 on the side opposite to the colored layer 64 of the base material 62, that is, between the base material 62 and the second non-light-transmissive layer 80. Have. The colored layer 112 is formed by printing translucent ink or the like, and is colored blue in this embodiment.

  According to such a second embodiment, in the daytime when the display panel 100 is in a non-illuminated state, the rectangular outline and the white first unique design 78 are displayed as the scale 12 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Become. On the other hand, in the nighttime when the display panel 100 is in an illumination state, the light source light is transmitted from the bottom 84 of the second recess 86 formed by the colored layer 112 to the bottom 74 of the first recess 76, thereby A diamond-shaped outline and a blue second design 88 different from the design 88 are displayed as the scale 12. Therefore, not only the shape of the scale 12 but also the color tone changes remarkably between daytime and nighttime, so that a more innovative display image can be given to the occupant.

(Third embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 7, the third embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the first embodiment. In the display panel 200 of the third embodiment, a translucent colored layer 202 is added on the opposite side of the second opaque layer 80 from the transparent layer 60. The translucent colored layer 202 is formed so as to fill the second recess 86 by printing translucent ink or the like, and is colored blue in this embodiment.

  According to the third embodiment, in the daytime when the display board 200 is in a non-illuminated state, the rectangular outline and the white unique design 78 are displayed as the scale 12 in the same manner as the first embodiment. Become. On the other hand, in the nighttime when the display panel 200 is in an illuminated state, the light source light that has passed through the translucent colored layer 202 is further transmitted from the bottom 84 of the second recess 86 to the bottom 74 of the first recess 76. The rhombic outline and the blue second design 88 different from the second design 88 are displayed as the scale 12. Therefore, not only the shape of the scale 12 but also the color tone changes remarkably between daytime and nighttime, so that a more innovative display image can be given to the occupant.

(Other embodiments)
Although a plurality of embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not construed as being limited to these embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. it can.

  Specifically, the shapes of the first and second designs 78 and 88 may be appropriately set as long as the second design 88 smaller than the first unique design 78 is displayed superimposed on the inside of the first unique design 78. it can. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the shape of the second design 88 may be similar to that of the first unique design 78 (an example of a rectangle in the figure). In addition to the scale 12, the “index” represented by the first and second designs 78 and 88 may be, for example, a character 14 as shown in FIG.

  About the color of the colored layer 64, as long as translucency is exhibited, it can set suitably. Further, the base material 62 itself may be colored without providing the colored layer 64. Furthermore, the colors of the colored layers 112 and 202 can be appropriately set as long as they are different from the colors of the colored layer 64 and the base material 62.

  The colors of the first and second opaque layers 70 and 80 can be appropriately set in consideration of the colors of the layers 64, 112, and 202 and the base material 62 as long as they have opaqueness. In addition, the first and second through holes 72 and 82 penetrating the first and second opaque layers 70 and 80, respectively, are formed so as to have inner peripheral portions 75 and 85 that are inclined with respect to the display direction. May be.

  The light source 30 may include a light bulb, a discharge lamp, an EL panel, or the like instead of the light emitting diode 32, and the emission color can be appropriately set according to the type. The light source 30 may not be provided with the light reflector 34. Furthermore, an optical system such as a light guide can be appropriately added to the light source 30.

  The present invention can be applied to various “instruments” in addition to the vehicle instrument 1 installed in the vehicle.

It is a front view which shows the meter for vehicles by 1st embodiment of this invention. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a front view which expands and shows the characteristic part of the meter for vehicles of FIG. It is the IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the characteristic action | operation of the vehicle meter by 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the characterizing part of the meter for vehicles by 2nd embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. It is a figure which shows the characteristic part of the meter for vehicles by 3rd embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. It is a front view which shows the modification of FIG. It is a front view which shows the modification of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle instrument (instrument), 10 Display board, 12 Scale (index), 14 characters (index), 20 Pointer, 30 Light source, 32 Light emitting diode, 34 Light reflector, 40 Turning inner machine, 50 Control circuit, 52 Light Control switch, 54 Vehicle speed sensor, 60 Translucent layer, 62 Base material, 64 Colored layer, 70 First opaque layer, 72 First through hole, 74 Bottom portion, 75 Inner peripheral portion, 76 First concave portion, 78 First Design, 80 Second opaque layer, 82 Second through hole, 84 Bottom, 85 Inner circumference, 86 Second recess, 88 Second design, 100 Display board, 110 Translucent layer, 112 Colored layer, 200 Display board 202 Translucent colored layer

Claims (7)

An instrument comprising a display board for displaying an index, and a light source for illuminating the display board from the rear side in the display direction,
The display board is
By reflecting external light incident from the front side of the display direction, the first unique design serving as the index is displayed,
An instrument characterized by displaying a second design serving as the index superimposed on the inside of the first unique design by transmitting light source light incident from the light source on the rear side in the display direction.   The instrument according to claim 1, wherein the second design has a shape that is not similar to the first unique design.   The instrument according to claim 1, wherein the second design has a color tone different from that of the first unique design. The display board is
A first recess opening forward in the display direction;
A second recess that is formed to be smaller than the first recess in a plan view of the display direction overlapping the first recess and opens to the display direction rear side;
Have
Displaying the first unique craft by reflecting the external light at the bottom of the first recess,
The instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second design is displayed by transmitting the light source light from the bottom of the second recess to the bottom of the first recess. The display panel is a laminate in which a light transmissive layer is formed between a first light transmissive layer and a second light transmissive layer on the rear side in the display direction from the first light transmissive layer,
The first concave portion is configured such that the end portion on the rear side in the display direction of the first through hole penetrating the first opaque layer is covered with the transparent layer,
5. The instrument according to claim 4, wherein the second concave portion is formed by covering the front end in the display direction of the second through hole penetrating the second opaque layer with the transparent layer.   The instrument according to claim 5, wherein the translucent layer has semi-translucency that reflects light from the front side in the display direction and transmits light from the rear side in the display direction.   It is a vehicle instrument installed in a vehicle, The instrument as described in any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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