JP2009042121A - Vehicle meter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle meter whose cost increase can be suppressed, the vehicle meter having a built-in display device. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle meter 10 includes: an EL panel 20 for displaying information; a facing plate 40 which is disposed on the side of a display surface 21 of the EL panel 20 and on which a display window 41 allowing visual recognition of the display surface 21 is formed; and a case 50 disposed on a back surface side of the EL panel 20 and holding the EL panel 20. A recessed part 27 is formed at a position of the display surface 21 of the EL panel 20 facing the facing plate 40, and a protruding part 42 fitted into the recessed part 27 is formed on a surface of the facing plate 40 facing the display surface 21 of the EL panel 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle instrument.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle instrument in which a display device including a self-luminous display panel is incorporated in a pointer instrument is known (see Patent Document 1). A dial plate of a pointer instrument is disposed on the surface side of the display device, and a display window is formed on the dial plate so that an information display area of the display device can be visually recognized. The case of the vehicle instrument holds the periphery of the display device on the back side of the dial.
JP 2007-58188 A

  In the prior art in which the peripheral portion of the display device is held by the case, a gap is provided between the case and the peripheral portion of the display device in consideration of manufacturing errors of the case and the display device.

  However, if a gap is provided between the case and the peripheral portion of the display device, the display device may move by the gap in the direction along the display surface, and the peripheral portion of the display device may enter the display window. There is. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the area of the display surface of the display device. As a result, there arises a problem that the cost of the display device increases, and consequently the cost of the vehicle instrument increases.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle instrument capable of suppressing an increase in cost of a vehicle instrument incorporating a display device.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a display device that displays information, a decorative member that is disposed on the display surface side of the display device and has a display window that allows the display surface of the display device to be visually recognized, And a case for holding the display device, wherein the concave portion is formed at a position facing the decorative member on the display surface of the display device. A convex portion that is fitted into the concave portion is formed on the surface facing the display surface.

  According to this structure, a display apparatus can be directly fixed to a predetermined position with respect to the display window of a decorative member. For this reason, even in a state where a gap is formed between the case and the display device, the display device itself can be prevented from being displaced from the display window. This makes it possible to reduce the area of the display surface of the display device as much as possible, unlike the prior art that increases the area of the display surface of the display device in consideration of the amount of movement of the display device in the direction along the display surface. . As a result, since it is not necessary to manufacture the display device larger than necessary, it is possible to suppress an increase in the cost of a relatively expensive display device and, in turn, an increase in the cost of the vehicle instrument.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, the display device includes a pair of electrode plates on which electrodes are formed, and a self-light emitting device that is enclosed between the electrode plates and emits light by applying a voltage between the electrodes of the electrode plates. A self-luminous display panel comprising a substance and a sealing member provided between the electrode plates and sealing the self-luminous substance between the electrode plates, wherein the recess is on the decorative member side of at least a pair of electrode plates It is characterized by being formed at a position corresponding to the seal member of the electrode plate.

  According to this configuration, a self-luminous display panel can be used as the display device. The self-luminous display panel includes a pair of electrode plates, a self-luminous material sealed between the electrode plates, and a sealing member for sealing the self-luminous material provided between the electrode plates, and a recess. Is formed at a position corresponding to the sealing member of the electrode plate on the decorative member side, so that there is no member for forming a recess in the electrode plate, and the self-light-emitting sealed between the electrode plates The recess can be formed without affecting the substance.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the display device is provided with a pair of electrode plates on which electrodes are formed, liquid crystal sealed between the electrode plates, and provided between the electrode plates, and the liquid crystal is sealed between the electrode plates. A liquid crystal panel including a slip seal member, wherein the recess is formed at a position corresponding to the seal member of the electrode plate on the decorative member side of at least the pair of electrode plates.

  According to this configuration, a liquid crystal panel can be used as the display device. The liquid crystal panel includes a pair of electrode plates, a liquid crystal sealed between the electrode plates, and a sealing member for sealing the liquid crystal provided between the electrode plates, and the recess is an electrode on the decorative member side. Since it is formed at a position corresponding to the sealing member of the plate, the concave portion is formed without any member for forming a concave portion on the electrode plate and without affecting the liquid crystal sealed between the electrode plates. Can be formed.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, the case has a claw portion that supports the peripheral portion of the display device, and at least the claw portion is bent in a direction along the display surface of the display device. .

  According to this structure, since the nail | claw part which supports the peripheral part of a display apparatus bends in the direction along the display surface of a display apparatus, the freedom degree of the position of the display apparatus with respect to a case increases. For this reason, even if the position of the case and the display window shifts, the display device can be arranged at an appropriate position with respect to the display window without the position of the display device being fixed by the claw portion.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same or equivalent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a front view of a combination meter 10 as a vehicle meter according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a combination meter 10 is disposed in front of a driver's seat of an automobile (vehicle) or in an instrument panel in the center, and displays various information on the vehicle.

  The combination meter 10 includes three meters having pointers. In FIG. 1, an engine tachometer 11, a speedometer 12, and a fuel gauge 13 are arranged from the left side. Between the engine tachometer 11 and the speedometer 12 and between the speedometer 12 and the fuel gauge 13, a vehicle state, for example, a battery abnormality, an engine oil abnormality, a handbrake state, and the like are indicated by pictograms, designs, symbols. A plurality of indicator lamps 14 are displayed.

  Further, on the left and right sides of the speedometer 12, there are disposed direction indicator lamps 15 that flash in response to an operation of a direction indicator lever (not shown). Below the speedometer 12, an EL panel 20 that displays the total travel distance (ODO) and travel distance (TRIP) of the vehicle is disposed. The EL panel 20 corresponds to the display device described in the claims.

  On the left side of the EL panel 20, a changeover switch 16 is provided for switching the contents (ODO, TRIP) of the EL panel 20 and instructing resetting of the travel distance (TRIP). Details of the EL panel 20 will be described later. The EL panel 20 may display information such as time, engine speed, vehicle speed, instantaneous fuel consumption, and average fuel consumption.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the electric circuit of the combination meter 10. The control device 61 includes a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, and RAM, peripheral circuits, and the like. The control device 61 receives engine speed information, vehicle speed information, fuel remaining amount information, battery capacity warning information, engine oil amount warning information, direction indicator operation information, and reset information by the changeover switch 16 from various sensors 17 from the battery 19. In response to the display switching instruction information and the like, predetermined calculation processing is performed to control the EL panel 20, the indicator lamp 14, the direction indicator lamp 15, the engine tachometer 11, the speedometer 12, and the fuel gauge 13.

  In order to operate the combination meter 10 even when the ignition switch 18 is off, the control device 61 is always supplied with the battery voltage VB from the battery 19 without passing through the ignition switch 18, and the battery via the ignition switch 18. A power supply path through which the voltage VB is supplied is provided.

  FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the EL panel 20 incorporated in the combination meter 10. On the display surface side of the combination meter 10, a resin facing plate 40 as a decorative member according to the claims is arranged, and the EL panel 20 is arranged behind it. A display window 41 that allows the display surface 21 of the EL panel 20 to be visually recognized is formed on the facing plate 40, and the EL panel 20 is disposed at a position corresponding to the display window 41.

  The EL panel 20 is held by a claw portion 51 of a resin case 50 disposed behind the EL panel 20. A plurality of claw portions 51 are formed, support the upper and lower peripheral edge portions 22 of the EL panel 20, and restrict the movement toward the facing plate 40 side. Further, the claw portion 51 is formed so as to bend in a direction along the display surface 21 of the EL panel 20. Thereby, the EL panel 20 can be moved in the direction along the display surface 21 within a range where the claw portion 51 is bent while the movement toward the facing plate 40 and the case 50 is restricted.

  Next, the EL panel 20 will be described. The EL panel 20 includes an anode-side electrode plate 23 formed on the surface with an anode disposed on the facing plate 40 side, and a cathode-side electrode plate 24 formed on the surface with a cathode disposed on the case 50 side. . A seal member 25 is sandwiched between the outer peripheral portions of the electrode plates 23 and 24.

  A space formed by the electrode plates 23 and 24 and the seal member 25 is filled with a self-luminous substance 26 that emits light by itself when a voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode. Examples of the self-luminous substance 26 include an aluminum complex which is a low molecular light emitting material, a soot conjugate polymer which is a high molecular light emitting material, and a low molecular dye-containing polymer.

  Of the pair of electrode plates 23 and 24 of the EL panel 20, the anode-side electrode plate 23 disposed on the facing plate 40 side is, for example, a transparent glass substrate, and the anode formed on the electrode plate 23 is also transparent. It has become a thing. As the anode, for example, ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is used. For this reason, when a voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode and the self-luminous material 26 emits light, the light is emitted from the anode side electrode plate 23 to the facing plate 40 side.

  The EL panel 20 of this embodiment has a plurality of pixels, and an anode and a cathode are formed on both electrode plates 23 and 24 so that light emission and non-light emission can be controlled for each pixel. Information such as the total travel distance is displayed on the display surface 21 by controlling the light emission and non-light emission of each pixel by the control device 61 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

  A circuit board 60 on which electronic components such as the control device 61 are mounted is disposed behind the EL panel 20 and the case 50. The EL panel 20 is connected to the control device 61 by a flexible substrate (not shown).

  The anode side electrode plate 23 of the EL panel 20 is formed with a concave portion 27 into which a convex portion 42 formed on a facing plate 40 described later is fitted. In the present embodiment, a plurality of recesses 27 are formed outside the display window 41 indicated by a one-dot chain line and at a position corresponding to the seal member 25 (see FIG. 4). The depth of the recess 27 is substantially the same as the thickness of the anode electrode plate 23 as shown in FIG. Since the concave portion 27 is formed at a position corresponding to the seal member 25, the self-luminous material 26 enclosed between the electrode plates 23 and 24 leaks to the outside, or the self-luminous material 26 is not affected by the outside. It can be prevented.

  A convex portion 42 that can be fitted into the concave portion 27 is formed on the back side of the facing plate 40, that is, the surface facing the display surface 21 of the EL panel 20.

  In the present embodiment, since the concave portion 27 is formed only in the anode side electrode plate 23, when the combination meter 10 is assembled, the front and back of the EL panel 20 can be prevented from being assembled incorrectly.

  With the EL panel 20 held by the claw portion 51 of the case 50, the convex portion 42 of the facing plate 40 is fitted into the concave portion 27 of the EL panel 20, and the facing plate 40 is disposed on the display surface 21 side of the EL panel 20. As a result, the EL panel 20 is positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the display window 41 of the facing plate 40. That is, even when a gap is formed between the case 50 and the peripheral edge portion 22 of the EL panel 20, the central portion of the display surface 21 of the EL panel 20 and the central portion of the display window 41 are substantially matched. be able to. It can be prevented that the EL panel 20 is displaced from the display window 41 and the peripheral edge 22 of the EL panel 20 enters the display window 41.

  This eliminates the need to increase the area of the display surface of the EL panel 20 in consideration of the amount of movement of the EL panel 20 in the direction along the display surface 21. As a result, an increase in the cost of the relatively expensive EL panel 20 can be suppressed, and as a result, an increase in the cost of the combination meter 10 can be suppressed.

  By the way, in the prior art, there is a possibility that the EL panel moves in a direction along the display surface, so that the information displayed on the area of the display window does not deviate from the display window. The size was limited.

  According to the combination meter 10 of the present embodiment, the position of the EL panel 20 and the display window 41 is fixed by fitting the convex portion 42 of the facing plate 40 into the concave portion 27 of the EL panel 20. The size of the information displayed on the 20 display surfaces 21 can be increased as much as possible. For this reason, since relatively large information can be displayed on the EL panel 20, visibility is improved. Moreover, the freedom degree of the design of the combination meter 10 increases.

  In the present embodiment, the number of the concave portions 27 formed in the EL panel 20 is two. However, as long as the display surface 21 of the EL panel 20 can be fixed at a predetermined position with respect to the display window 41 of the facing plate 40, any location is possible. You may form in.

  The shape of the recess 27 is not limited to a circle. For example, it may be elliptical or polygonal (triangular, quadrangular).

  Further, the recess 27 may be formed so as to penetrate both the electrode plates 23 and 24 of the EL panel 20. In addition, when an inclined surface is formed in the opening of the recess 27, it is possible to prevent the protrusion 42 from being cut by the opening of the recess 27 when the protrusion 42 of the facing plate 40 is fitted into the recess 27.

(Second Embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 5, a liquid crystal panel 30 may be used instead of the EL panel 20 used in the first embodiment. Here, only parts different from the first embodiment will be described.

  The liquid crystal panel 30 includes a counter electrode side electrode plate 33 formed on the surface with a counter electrode arranged on the facing plate 40 side, and a pixel electrode side electrode plate 34 formed on the surface with a pixel electrode arranged on the case 50 side. Have. A seal member 35 is sandwiched between the outer peripheral portions of the electrode plates 33 and 34.

  Both electrode plates 33 and 34 are transparent glass substrates, and the electrodes formed on both electrode plates 33 and 34 are also transparent. For example, ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is used as a material for the transparent electrode.

  In a space formed by both the electrode plates 33 and 34 and the seal member 35, a liquid crystal 36 that transmits light by applying a voltage between the counter electrode and the pixel electrode is sealed. Examples of the material of the liquid crystal 36 include nematic liquid crystal and smectic liquid crystal.

  A circuit board 60 on which electronic components such as the control device 61 are mounted is disposed behind the liquid crystal panel 30 and the case 50. A light emitting diode 62 that irradiates the liquid crystal panel 30 from behind is mounted on the circuit board 60.

  The liquid crystal panel 30 has a plurality of pixels, and counter electrodes and pixel electrodes are formed on both electrode plates 33 and 34 so that transmission and non-transmission of light can be controlled for each pixel. Information such as the total travel distance is displayed on the display surface 31 by controlling the transmission and non-transmission of light of each pixel by the control device 61 (see FIG. 1).

  Similarly to the EL panel 20 of the first embodiment, the counter electrode side electrode plate 33 of the liquid crystal panel 30 is also formed with a concave portion 37 into which the convex portion 42 of the facing plate 40 is fitted. By fitting the convex portion 42 of the facing plate 40 into the concave portion 37 of the counter electrode side electrode plate 33, the relative position between the display surface 31 of the liquid crystal panel 30 and the display window 41 of the facing plate 40 can be set to an appropriate position. it can.

It is a front view of the combination meter by a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electric circuit of the combination meter by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the III-III line | wire in FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of the EL panel in FIG. 3. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of the combination meter by 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Combination meter (vehicle instrument), 20 EL panel (display apparatus), 21 Display surface, 22 Peripheral part, 23 Anode side electrode plate (electrode plate), 24 Cathode side electrode plate (electrode plate), 25 Seal member, 26 Self-luminous substance, 27 recess, 30 liquid crystal panel (display device), 31 display surface, 33 counter electrode side electrode plate (electrode plate), 34 pixel electrode side electrode plate (electrode plate), 35 seal member, 36 liquid crystal, 37 recess 40 Display plate (decorative member) 41 Display window (display window) 42 Convex part 50 Case 51 Claw part 60 Circuit board 61 Control device 62 Light emitting diode

Claims (4)

A display device for displaying information;
A decorative member that is disposed on the display surface side of the display device and has a display window that allows the display surface of the display device to be visually recognized.
A vehicular instrument provided with a case that is disposed on the back side of the display device and holds the display device,
A recess is formed at a position facing the decorative member of the display surface of the display device,
A vehicular instrument characterized in that a convex part fitted into the concave part is formed on a surface of the decorative member facing the display surface of the display device. The display device includes a pair of electrode plates on which electrodes are formed, a self-luminous material that is enclosed between the electrode plates and emits light by applying a voltage between the electrodes of the electrode plates, and the electrode plates. A self-luminous display panel comprising a sealing member provided between the electrode plates and sealing the self-luminous substance,
2. The vehicular instrument according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion is formed at a position corresponding to the seal member of the electrode plate on the decorative member side of at least a pair of the electrode plates. The display device includes a pair of electrode plates on which electrodes are formed, a liquid crystal sealed between the electrode plates, and a seal member provided between the electrode plates and sealing the liquid crystal between the electrode plates. A liquid crystal panel comprising:
2. The vehicular instrument according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion is formed at a position corresponding to the seal member of the electrode plate on the decorative member side of at least a pair of the electrode plates. The case has a claw portion that supports a peripheral portion of the display device,
The vehicular instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least the claw portion bends in a direction along the display surface of the display device.

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