JP2008311056A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device aimed at downsizing and easy to be mounted. <P>SOLUTION: The display device, provided with a first illumination object part 42 as well as a second illumination object part 72a arranged at different positions, is provided with a light source 80 for illumination commonly used for the first as well as the second illumination object part 42, 72, a first light guide member 61 guiding light emitted by the light source 80 for illumination to the first illumination object part 42, and a second light guide member 72b fitted between the light source 80 for illumination and the second illumination object part 72a for guiding light emitted by the light source 80 for illumination to the second illumination object part 72a and endowed with transmittancy different from that of the first light guide member 61. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device having a plurality of illumination target portions.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a display device for displaying an operation state of a switch or the like is provided on an instrument panel or the like of an automobile. In addition, as this display device, there is a display device that illuminates a portion for displaying the operation state or the like with a predetermined illumination light source so that the operation state or the like is recognized even at night.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a display device having an illumination target portion that is used for a switch having an operation knob and displays an operation state of the operation knob. The display device includes a plurality of illumination target portions for displaying the position and operation state of the operation knob, and a plurality of illumination light sources for individually illuminating the plurality of illumination target portions. Yes. And in this display apparatus, the operation state of the said operation knob, etc. are displayed by illuminating each illumination object part to which each illumination light source respectively respond | corresponds individually.
JP-A-11-162280

  An instrument panel or the like of the automobile needs to be equipped with a large number of display devices as described above, and each display device is required to be easily downsized and assembled. However, the conventional display device as described above has a problem that a plurality of illumination light sources are provided on the back side of the illumination target portion, which makes it difficult to reduce the size of the entire display device and requires time for assembly. .

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a display device that can be reduced in size and can be easily assembled.

  As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a display device having a first illumination target part and a second illumination target part that are arranged at different positions, wherein the first illumination target part is provided. The illumination light source shared by the illumination and the illumination of the second illumination target part, and provided between the illumination light source and the first illumination target part, the light emitted by the illumination light source is the first light A first light guide member that leads to one illumination target part, and the light source provided between the illumination light source and the second illumination target part, and the light emitted from the illumination light source is sent to the second illumination target part And a second light guide member having a light transmittance different from that of the first light guide member. A display device is provided.

  According to such a structure, the first illumination target part and the second illumination target part can be efficiently illuminated with desired illuminance, respectively, and the number of illumination light sources can be reduced. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the display device and facilitate the assembly of the display device. That is, in the structure, the first light guide member and the second light guide member emit light emitted from the common illumination light source to the first illumination target unit and the second illumination target unit, respectively. Since it leads efficiently, it is not necessary to provide an illumination light source for each illumination target part. And since the transmissivity of these 1st light guide members and the transmissivity of the 2nd light guide member are different, although these illumination object parts are arrange | positioned in a different position, these illumination object It becomes possible to illuminate each part with individual illuminance.

  Moreover, in this invention, the said 1st illumination object part is provided in the position far from the said light source for illumination rather than the said 2nd illumination object part, The said 1st light guide member is the light which the said light source for illumination emits. From the light guide that the first light guide member guides the light emitted from the light source for illumination to the second illumination target part. It is preferable that the light transmittance per unit length of the first light guide member is higher than the light transmittance per unit length of the second light guide member. (Claim 2).

  Thus, the light guide path of the first light guide member that guides light to the first illumination target part is set longer than the light guide path of the second light guide member that guides light to the second illumination target part. And if the light transmittance per unit length of the first light guide member is set higher than the light transmittance per unit length of the second light guide member, Even when one illumination target part is provided at a position far from the illumination light source, light can be efficiently guided to the first illumination target part, and the illuminance of the first illumination target part can be reduced. Uniformity with the illuminance of the second illumination target portion can be achieved.

  In the present invention, the first light guide member and the second light guide member are formed in two colors to form a single composite light guide member, and the first light guide member In a position interposed between the first illumination target part and the illumination light source, and the second light guide member is interposed between the second illumination target part and the illumination light source, Preferably, the synthetic light guide member is disposed (claim 3).

  In this way, it is not necessary to separately assemble the first light guide member and the second light guide member, and the assembly becomes easy.

  Here, as the installation position of the illumination light source, for example, a position facing a connection portion between the first light guide member and the second light guide member can be cited.

  In addition, the application example of the display device is not particularly limited. For example, the display device includes an operation knob that can rotate around a predetermined axis, and includes an operation knob that can rotate around a predetermined axis. The first illumination target portion is provided on the surface of the operation knob so as to be rotatable integrally with the operation knob, and is a position spaced from the surface of the operation knob to the back surface side, and in plan view The second illumination target portion is provided at a position surrounding the outer side of the operation knob, and the rotation position of the operation knob is displayed by illuminating the first illumination target portion with the illumination light source. In addition, there is an apparatus in which the outer peripheral portion of the operation knob is illuminated by illuminating the second illumination target portion with the illumination light source.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a display device that can reduce the size of the entire device while keeping the illuminance of each illumination target part appropriate, and can be easily assembled.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Here, a case where the display device according to the present invention is applied to a rotary switch attached to an instrument panel will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which the rotary switch 10 and the display device 1 are attached to an instrument panel 100. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the rotary switch 10 and the like in the state shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG.

  The rotary switch 10 is for operating an air conditioner attached to the vehicle. Specifically, the air conditioner is turned on and off and the temperature is adjusted by operating the rotary switch 10. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the rotary switch 10 has a switch element 20, an operation knob 40, and an outer frame 120, and a part of the operation knob 40 protrudes to the front side of the instrument panel 100. In this state, the instrument panel 100 is attached.

  The display device 1 is for illuminating and displaying the position of the rotary switch 10 and its operation state. The display device 1 includes a pointer display unit (first illumination target unit) 42, a synthetic light guide member 50, and a plurality of LEDs (lighting light sources) 80. As will be described later, the pointer display unit 42 displays the rotational position of the operation knob 40. The display device 1 illuminates the pointer display unit 42, so that the rotary switch can be used even at night. The visibility of 10 operation states is ensured. A part of the synthetic light guide member 50 is provided with a second illumination target part 72a illuminated by the LED 80, and the display device 1 illuminates the second illumination target part 72a. Thus, the periphery of the operation knob 40 is illuminated to ensure the visibility of the position of the operation knob 40.

  First, a specific configuration of the rotary switch 10 will be described.

  The switch element 20 is a rotary switch element. The switch element 20 is mounted on a circuit board 110 provided on the back side of the instrument panel 100. The switch element 20 has an upper end portion that can rotate around an axis in the normal direction of the circuit board 110, and the output of the rotary switch 10 changes as the switch element 20 rotates.

  The operation knob 40 is for rotating the switch element 20. The operation knob 40 has a shape that protrudes from the instrument panel 100 to the front side. The operation knob 40 includes an outer wall 40a, a lid portion 40b, and two knob side stoppers 40d. The outer wall 40a, the lid 40b, and the knob side stopper 40d are integrally formed with each other.

  The outer wall 40a is substantially cylindrical and has a shape surrounding the switch element 20 from the outside. Moreover, the said cover part 40b has a shape which covers the opening part of the front side of the said outer wall 40a. On the back surface of the lid portion 40b, a locked portion 40c that extends toward the switch element 20 and is locked to the switch element 20 is provided. Then, the lid 40 b and thus the operation knob 40 are fixed to the switch element 20 by the engagement between the locked portion 40 c and the switch element 20. Further, by this engagement, the operation knob 40 and the switch element 20 can be rotated together, and the output of the switch element 20 can be changed by rotating the operation knob 40.

  The knob side stopper 40d restricts the rotation of the operation knob 40. The knob-side stopper 40d is a plate-like member that protrudes inward from the inner peripheral surface of the outer wall 40a on the back surface side of the lid portion 40b. As shown in FIG. 5, the knob side stopper 40 d abuts on a light guide side stopper 66 described later, thereby restricting the rotation of the operation knob 40.

  The outer frame 120 surrounds the operation knob 40. The outer frame 120 has such a shape that a gap is formed over the entire circumference between the inner peripheral surface thereof and the outer peripheral surface of the outer wall 40a of the operation knob 40.

  Next, a specific configuration of the display device 1 will be described.

  As described above, the display device 1 includes the pointer display unit 42, the synthetic light guide member 50, and the plurality of LEDs 80.

  The pointer display unit 42 is for displaying the rotational position of the operation knob 40, that is, the output state of the switch element 20. The pointer display portion 42 is a member having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is fixed to rotate integrally with the operation knob 40 along the outer peripheral edge of the lid portion 40b of the operation knob 40. The pointer display unit 42 displays the rotational position of the operation knob 40 by moving around the switch element 20 as the operation knob 40 rotates. Moreover, this pointer display part 42 has translucency, and emits light on the front side when illuminated by the LED 80. By this light emission, the rotation position of the operation knob 40 is illuminated and displayed at night or the like.

  The LED 80 is also used as an illumination light source for the pointer display unit 42 and an illumination light source for a second illumination target unit 72a described later. In the present embodiment, a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction is provided at a position facing the substantially middle point between the outer peripheral edge of the lid portion 40b of the operation knob 40 provided with the pointer display portion 42 and the second illumination target portion 72a. Three LEDs 80 are provided. These three LEDs 80 are fixed to the circuit board 110 and emit light toward the front side.

  The synthetic light guide member 50 is a member having translucency. A schematic perspective view of the synthetic light guide member 50 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the synthetic light guide member 50 includes an inner member 60 and an outer member 70. The inner member 60 and the outer member 70 are both translucent, but the transmissivities thereof are different from each other. And the synthetic | combination light guide member 50 is comprised by integrally forming the inner member 60 and the outer member 70 from which this translucency differs by two-color molding.

  The outer member 70 has an illumination part 72 and a support part 74.

  The illumination unit 72 is a donut-shaped flat plate member that surrounds the inner member 60 and extends in parallel with the circuit board 110. The illumination unit 72 is connected to the inner member 60 on the inner peripheral surface thereof. Here, in the present embodiment, a part of the front side surface of the illumination unit 72 is set as the second illumination target unit 72a. Specifically, a portion of the front side surface of the illumination unit 72 that is viewed in a gap formed between the outer peripheral surface of the outer wall 40a of the operation knob 40 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer frame 120 is the second portion. This corresponds to the illumination target portion 72a. Moreover, in this embodiment, the part located in the back side of the said 2nd illumination object part 72a among the said illumination parts 72 functions as a 2nd light guide member. More specifically, a portion 72b interposed between the second illumination target portion 72a and the LED 80 corresponds to the second light guide member.

  The second illumination target portion 72a illuminates the periphery of the operation knob 40. The second light guide member guides the light from the LED 80 to the illumination target portion 72a. That is, in the illumination unit 72, first, the portion 72b corresponding to the second light guide member in the illumination unit 72 guides the light of the LED 80 incident on the back side surface of the illumination unit 72 to the front side surface. And the said 2nd illumination object part 72a provided in the front side surface of this illumination part 72 receives the said light, and light-emits on the front side.

  The support part 74 supports the illumination part 72 and the inner member 60 connected to the illumination part. The support portion 74 has a shape extending from the outer peripheral portion of the illumination portion 72 to the back surface side, and the back side end portion is fixed to the circuit board 110. And this support part 74 supports the synthetic | combination light guide member 50 containing the said illumination part 72 on the said circuit board 110 by the said fixation.

  The inner member 60 includes a first light guide member 61 and a light guide side stopper 66.

  The first light guide member 61 guides the light from the LED 80 to the pointer display unit 42. The first light guide member 61 has a shape extending front and back so as to surround the switch element 20. Specifically, the first light guide member 61 includes a central portion 63 connected to the illumination portion 72 of the outer member 70, a base portion 62 extending from the back surface of the central portion 63 toward the back side, It is comprised by the protrusion part 64 which protrudes toward the said pointer display part 42 from the surface of the center part 63. As shown in FIG.

  The base portion 62 is disposed at a position where light emitted from the LED 80 is incident on the outer peripheral surface thereof. Further, the protrusion 64 has a shape extending to a region surrounded by the outer wall 40a of the operation knob 40. And in this 1st light guide member 61, the light of said LED80 which injected into the outer peripheral surface of the said base part 62 is guide | induced to the front-end | tip of the protrusion part 64, reflecting on the lower end part of the said protrusion part 64, and this protrusion part 64 is advanced from the tip of 64 to the pointer display part 42.

  Here, in the present embodiment, since the pointer display unit 42 is provided at a position that is relatively far away from the LED 80, the LED 80 is directed from the LED 80 toward the pointer display unit 42 by the first light guide member 61. A relatively long light guide path is formed, and the light of the LED 80 is efficiently guided to the pointer display unit 42. Specifically, the light guide path of the first light guide member 61 guides the light emitted from the LED 80 out of the second light guide member, that is, the illumination unit 72, to the second illumination target unit 72a. It is longer than the part 72b.

  In the present embodiment, the illuminance of the second illumination target part 72a provided at a position relatively close to the LED 80 and the position away from the second illumination target part 72a with respect to the LED 80. The transmissivity of the illuminating unit 72 including the portion 72 b corresponding to the second light guide member and the transmissivity of the first light guide member 61 so that the illuminance of the pointer display unit 42 provided is uniform. Different from light rate. Specifically, the illumination unit 72 is formed of colored acrylic or polycarbonate synthetic resin, so that the transmittance per unit length is suppressed to 20% or less, while the first light guide is provided. By forming the member 61 with transparent or translucent acrylic or polycarbonate synthetic resin, the transmissivity per unit length is set to 90% or more, whereby the distance from the LED 80 is reduced. The illuminance of the different second illumination target part 72a and the illuminance of the pointer display part 42 are made uniform.

  The light guide side stopper 66 has a shape that protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion 64 of the first light guide member 61, and comes into contact with the operation knob side stopper 40d so as to perform the operation. The rotation of the knob 40 is restricted. In the present embodiment, two light guide body side stoppers 66 are provided on the outer periphery of the projecting portion 64, and the operation knob 40 rotates and moves within a range surrounded by the two light guide body side stoppers 66.

  Next, how the illumination light emitted from the LED 80 illuminates the pointer display unit 42 and the second illumination target unit 72a in the display device 1 configured as described above will be described.

  When the LED 80 is turned on, the light emitted from the LED 80 is incident on the back side surface of the illumination unit 72. The light incident on the back side surface of the illuminating unit 72 is guided to the front side surface of the illuminating unit 72 by the portion 72b corresponding to the second light guide member in a state where the brightness is suppressed to a predetermined amount. And the 2nd illumination object part 72a provided in the front side surface of this illumination part 72 light-emits on the front side when the light from said LED80 is guide | induced to the back surface. The light emitted from the front side of the second illumination target portion 72 a is further transmitted to the front side through the gap between the operation knob 40 and the outer frame 120 to illuminate the outer portion of the operation knob 40. As a result, the driver or the like can recognize the position of the operation knob 40.

  Further, the light emitted from the LED 80 is also incident on the outer peripheral surface of the base portion 62 of the first light guide member 61 at the same time. The light passes through the base portion 62 and the central portion 63 of the first light guide member 61 and is guided to the lower end portion of the projecting portion 64, and then reflected by the lower end portion of the projecting portion 64. The protrusion 64 guides the pointer indicator 42. Here, as described above, the light guide path of the first light guide member 61 is set to be longer than the light guide path of the portion 72b corresponding to the second light guide member. On the other hand, the light transmittance per unit length of the first light guide member 61 is sufficiently larger than the light transmittance per unit length of the portion 72b corresponding to the second light guide member. Is set. Accordingly, the pointer display unit 42 to which the light emitted from the LED 80 is guided emits light with an illuminance equivalent to that of the second illumination target unit 72a, and displays the rotational position of the operation knob 40.

  As described above, in the present display device 1, the pointer display part 42 and the second illumination target part 72 a are illuminated by the shared LED 80, and the LED 80 is compared with the case where the individual LED 80 is illuminated. The number and space for its arrangement can be reduced. As a result, the display device 1 can be reduced in size and can be easily assembled.

  In addition, in the present display device 1, the transmissivity per unit length of the first light guide member 61 that guides the light of the LED 80 to the pointer display unit 42 is transmitted to the second illumination target unit 72 a. It is set to be larger than the transmissivity per unit length of the portion 72b corresponding to the second light guide member that guides the light of the LED 80, and the pointer display unit 42 has the second indicator light. The pointer display unit 42 and the second illumination target part 72a can be illuminated with substantially the same illuminance, despite being provided at a position farther from the LED 80 than the illumination target part 72a. .

  Further, in the present display device 1, the inner member 60 including the first light guide member 61 and the outer member 70 including the portion 72 b corresponding to the second light guide member are formed in two colors to form a single unit. The composite light guide member 50 is configured, and the inner member 60 and the outer member 70 need not be separately assembled, and the assembly is facilitated.

  Further, the LED 80 is provided at a position substantially opposite to an intermediate position between the pointer display unit 42 and the second illumination target unit 72a, and the light of the LED 80 is transmitted from the pointer display unit 42 and the second illumination target unit 72a. It is efficiently incident on any of the illumination target portions 72a.

  Here, the application of the display device according to the present invention is not limited to the rotary switch 10 as described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the display panel 210 is fixed to the instrument panel 100 or the like, and the first illumination target unit 262 and the second illumination target unit 272 are both on the display panel 210. The distances between the illumination target portions 262 and 272 and the illumination light source 280 are different from each other in the direction parallel to the display panel 210, and the first light guide member 261 and the second light guide member 261 are different from each other. The present invention can also be applied to an apparatus in which the members extend in directions away from each other.

  The specific structure of the synthetic light guide member 50 is not limited to the above. For example, the inner member 60 and the outer member 70 may be separate. Further, the light transmittance of the first light guide member 61 may be set smaller than the light transmittance of the portion 72b corresponding to the second light guide member.

It is a front view which shows the state by which the display apparatus and rotary switch which concern on this invention were attached to the instrument panel. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of cut | disconnecting the display apparatus and rotary switch of the state shown in FIG. 1 by a predetermined surface. It is a schematic sectional drawing of FIG. It is a schematic perspective view of the synthetic | combination light guide member 50 provided in the display apparatus shown in FIG. It is a schematic front view which shows the state by which rotation of the rotary switch shown in FIG. 1 was controlled. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows other embodiment of the display apparatus concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display apparatus 10 Rotary switch 20 Switch element 40 Operation knob 42 Pointer display part (1st illumination object part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 Synthetic light guide member 60 Inner member 61 1st light guide member 62 Base part 63 Center part 64 Protrusion part 70 Outer member 72 Illumination part 72a 2nd illumination object part 72b 2nd light guide member 74 Support part 80 LED ( Lighting light source)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Instrument panel 110 Circuit board 120 Outer frame 261 1st light guide member (other embodiment)
262 1st illumination object part 271 2nd light guide member 272 2nd illumination object part 280 LED (light source for illumination)

Claims (5)

A display device having a first illumination target unit and a second illumination target unit disposed at different positions,
An illumination light source shared by the illumination of the first illumination target unit and the illumination of the second illumination target unit;
A first light guide member that is provided between the illumination light source and the first illumination target part and guides the light emitted from the illumination light source to the first illumination target part;
The light source is provided between the illumination light source and the second illumination target part, guides the light emitted from the illumination light source to the second illumination target part, and transmits the light transmittance of the first light guide member. And a second light guide member having different light transmittances. The display device according to claim 1,
The first illumination target part is provided at a position farther from the illumination light source than the second illumination target part,
The first light guide member has a light guide path that guides light emitted from the illumination light source to the first illumination target portion, and light emitted from the illumination light source is emitted from the second light guide member. The light guide member has a shape that is longer than the light guide path leading to the second illumination target part,
The display device according to claim 1, wherein a light transmittance per unit length of the first light guide member is higher than a light transmittance per unit length of the second light guide member. The display device according to claim 1 or 2,
While the first light guide member and the second light guide member are two-color molded to form a single composite light guide member,
The first light guide member is interposed between the first illumination target unit and the illumination light source, and the second light guide member is the second illumination target unit and the illumination light source. The synthetic light guide member is disposed at a position interposed between the display devices. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The display device, wherein the illumination light source is provided at a position substantially opposite to an intermediate position between the first illumination target part and the second illumination target part. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
It has an operation knob that can rotate around a predetermined axis.
The first illumination target portion is provided on the surface of the operation knob so as to be rotatable integrally with the operation knob,
The second illumination target part is provided at a position spaced from the front surface of the operation knob to the rear surface side and surrounding the outer side of the operation knob in a plan view.
By illuminating the first illumination target part and the second illumination target part by the illumination light source, the rotation position of the operation knob is displayed and the outer peripheral part of the operation knob is illuminated. Characteristic display device.

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