JP2010210514A - Pointer instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pointer instrument which attains thinning, while maintaining high visual appearance of a rotating pointer. <P>SOLUTION: A combination meter 100 includes: a display board 30 for displaying a design part 32; a circuit board 80 arranged on the rear surface side in the display direction of the display board 30; an LED 83, mounted on the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board 80, for radiating a light flux LF; a light-emitting pointer 40, made of a translucent material and having a pointer incident surface 41 for allowing incidence of the light flux LF and a pointer radiation part 43 for radiating the light flux LF to the front side in the display direction, which is a pointer 40 rotating along the front surface in the display direction of the display board 30 for pointing the design part 32; and a light guide 70, made of a translucent material and having an incident surface 71 for allowing incidence of the light flux LF radiated from the LED 83, a light guide part 75 formed along the circuit board 80 and guiding the light flux LF, and a radiation surface 79 formed opposite to the rotating pointer incident surface 41 and radiating the light flux LF. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointer instrument that includes a display member that displays a design portion and a pointer member that rotates along the front surface in the display direction of the display member and points to the design portion.

  Conventionally, as a pointer instrument for a vehicle, in addition to a display board and a pointer member, a circuit board disposed on the rear side in the display direction of the display member, and a light source unit that is mounted on the circuit board and emits a light beam Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a pointer instrument, the light beam emitted from the light source unit mounted on the circuit board is incident on the pointer incident part of the pointer member made of a translucent material, and then radiated forward in the display direction. According to this structure, even if it is a rotating pointer member, the light emission display is realized.

JP 2008-157811 A

  Now, in recent vehicles, it is required to increase the space in the passenger compartment. Therefore, there is a strong demand for further thinning the pointer instrument mounted in the passenger compartment. In the pointer instrument described in Patent Document 1 described above, the circuit board has a light source portion mounted on the rear surface in the display direction and has a through hole for allowing a light beam from the light source portion to pass therethrough. The through hole was formed in a tapered shape with an inner diameter gradually increasing toward the front side in the display direction, and the inner peripheral surface was plated. With these configurations, an effect of diffusing the light beam that has passed through the through hole has been obtained.

  However, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, an interval for diffusing the luminous flux is required between the pointer incident portion and the light source portion of the pointer member. Therefore, in this pointer instrument, it has been difficult to further reduce the distance between the display member and the circuit board. When the distance between the display member and the circuit board is further reduced, the luminous flux emitted from the light source part reaches the pointer incident part without being sufficiently diffused. Since the pointer member moves the position of the pointer incident portion in accordance with the rotation operation, the amount of incident light flux cannot be made constant. Therefore, the pointer member that emits light causes a change in luminance with rotation, which causes a problem of impairing the appearance of the pointer instrument.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pointer instrument that realizes a reduction in thickness while maintaining a high appearance of a rotating pointer member.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the display member for displaying the design portion, the circuit board disposed on the display surface rear surface side of the display member, and the display substrate on the rear surface in the display direction are mounted. A light source unit that emits a light beam, a pointer member that rotates along the front surface of the display member in the display direction and points to the design portion, which is made of a light-transmitting material and that makes the light beam incident thereon, and displays the light beam It has a pointer radiating part that radiates to the front of the direction, and is made of a light-emitting pointer member, a light-transmitting material, an incident part that makes the light beam emitted from the light source part incident, and formed along the circuit board to guide the light beam. And a light guide member having a radiating part that radiates a light beam and is formed to face the rotating light guide incident part.

  According to the present invention, the light beam emitted from the light source unit mounted on the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board is incident on the incident part of the light guide member made of a translucent material. Then, the light beam traveling in the light guide formed along the circuit board is gradually diffused and radiated from the light guide member by the radiation unit. A part of the light beam emitted from the light guide member is incident on the pointer member made of a translucent material by the pointer incident portion facing the radiation portion. The pointer member can emit light by radiating the luminous flux from the pointer radiating portion in the display direction.

  The light beam diffused in the light guide unit can be uniformly emitted from the radiation unit. Since the density of the light beam emitted from the radiating portion is uniform, even if the position of the pointer incident portion is moved by the rotation of the pointer member, the amount of light beam incident on the pointer member is constant. Therefore, the pointer member that emits light can maintain a constant luminance regardless of its rotating operation. Based on the above, the appearance of the pointer member is not impaired.

  In addition, by mounting the light source unit on the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board, the distance between the display member and the circuit board can be reduced. Furthermore, the thickness of the light guide in the display direction can be suppressed by providing a light guide for diffusing the light beam along the circuit board. According to the above, the amount of reduction in the distance between the display member and the circuit board will sufficiently exceed the amount of increase in thickness due to the addition of the light guide. Therefore, it is possible to realize a pointer instrument that achieves thinning while maintaining the appearance of the rotating pointer member.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, by mounting all the electronic components including the light source unit on the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board, the display member can be disposed in contact with the front surface in the display direction of the circuit board. Thus, by omitting the interval between the display member and the circuit board, it is possible to provide a pointer instrument that is further reduced in thickness.

  In a third aspect of the invention, a rotation mechanism having a rotation shaft for rotating the pointer member is provided on the rear surface side in the display direction of the circuit board, and the pointer member has a pointer incident portion at a base end portion attached to the rotation shaft. The light guide member is disposed between the rotation mechanism unit and the circuit board. Generally, the pointer incident portion of the pointer member is formed at the base end portion attached to the rotating shaft, thereby suppressing the appearance of the pointer member from deteriorating. When the pointer incident portion is formed at the proximal end portion of the pointer member in this way, there is a possibility that the light guide of the light beam may be hindered by the rotation mechanism portion for rotating the pointer member. However, the light guide member disposed between the rotation mechanism portion and the circuit board can reliably guide the light flux from the light source portion to the pointer incident portion of the pointer member. Therefore, even if the pointer instrument is thinned, the appearance of the rotating pointer member can be maintained.

  In the invention according to claim 4, the light guide member is fixed to the circuit board by attaching the rotation mechanism part to the circuit board by holding the light guide member in the rotation mechanism part. According to the above configuration, the light guide member can eliminate the configuration required for attachment to the circuit board, which can contribute to thinning of the pointer instrument.

  In the fifth aspect of the present invention, the light source unit is mounted on the outer peripheral side of the rotation mechanism unit so that the light source unit and the rotation mechanism unit are shifted in the direction intersecting the display direction. In this way, by arranging the rotation mechanism portion and the light source portion so as not to overlap in the display direction, it is possible to realize a reduction in thickness on the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board.

  In the invention according to claim 6, the light source unit is mounted on the circuit board and emits a light beam in a direction along the circuit board, and the light guide member is an incident part formed along the display direction. A first reflecting portion for reflecting the light beam guided by the portion toward the front side in the display direction; and a radiating portion formed along the circuit board.

  According to the present invention, the shape of the light guide member can be simplified by using the light source unit that emits the light beam in the direction along the circuit board while being mounted on the circuit board. Specifically, the light guide member having the light beam incident thereon while maintaining the traveling direction by the incident portion formed along the display direction is guided after the light beam is diffused by the light guide portion. It is reflected on the front side in the display direction by the reflection part. And a light guide member can radiate | emit a light beam, maintaining a advancing direction by the radiation | emission part formed along a circuit board. According to such simplification of the shape of the light guide member, it is possible to realize emission of a light beam having a uniform density from the radiation portion. Therefore, even a pointer instrument that achieves a reduction in thickness can maintain the appearance of the rotating pointer member.

  In the invention according to claim 7, the light source part is mounted on the circuit board and emits a light beam to the rear side in the display direction, and the light guide member is formed to face the circuit board on the rear side in the display direction of the light source part. Incident part, a second reflecting part for reflecting the light beam incident by the incident part in a direction along the circuit board, a first reflecting part for reflecting the light beam guided by the light guiding part to the front side in the display direction, and a circuit It has the radiation | emission part formed along a board | substrate, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the present invention, the shape of the light guide member is complicated even when using a light source unit that emits a light beam to the rear side in the display direction in a state of being mounted on a circuit board. Can be suppressed. Specifically, the light guide member in which the light beam is incident while the traveling direction is maintained by the incident portion formed to face the circuit board on the rear side in the display direction of the light source unit is the second light reflecting portion. Reflect in a direction along the circuit board. The light guide member guided by diffusing the light beam in the direction along the circuit board by the light guide unit reflects the light beam to the front side in the display direction by the first reflection unit, and then changes the traveling direction by the radiation unit. Radiates while maintaining. As described above, even when a light source unit that emits a light beam on the rear side in the display direction is used, a light guide member that maintains a simple shape can be obtained by adding the second reflecting surface. Therefore, since the density of the light flux emitted from the radiating portion can be made uniform, the appearance of the rotating pointer member can be maintained even with a pointer instrument that realizes a reduction in thickness.

It is a front view of the combination meter by a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mechanical structure of the combination meter by 1st embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the combination meter by 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification of FIG.

  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)
FIG. 1 is a front view of a speedometer 20 constituting a combination meter 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The combination meter 100 is a display device that is housed in an instrument panel provided in a vehicle interior of a vehicle and is arranged with the front side shown in FIG. 1 facing the driver's seat side.

(Basic configuration)
Hereinafter, the basic configuration of the combination meter 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The combination meter 100 is an instrument that displays various information related to the vehicle. The combination meter 100 includes a speedometer 20 and instruments (not shown) such as a tachometer, a water temperature gauge, an oil temperature gauge, a fuel gauge, and a voltmeter.

  The display of the speedometer 20 is formed by a display board 30 that displays the design portion 32, a pointer 40 that rotates along the front side in the display direction of the display board 30, a decorative ring 36 provided on the outer edge of the display board 30, and the like. The The design portion 32 displayed by the display board 30 includes a scale design 32a, a numerical design 32b, and a character design 32c. The scale design 32 a is arranged on the display plate 30 radially and at equal intervals with the rotation center of the pointer 40 as a base point. The scale design 32a displays a rectangular design whose longitudinal direction is the direction in which the pointer 40 extends. The number design 32 b displays a design imitating a number, and is arranged on the rotation center side of the pointer 40 with respect to the scale design 32 a on the display board 30. The character design 32 c displays a design imitating a character representing a unit of speed, and is arranged on the display board 30 below the center of rotation of the pointer 40. Thus, the speedometer 20 can display information on the traveling speed of the vehicle by pointing the design portion 32 displayed on the display board 30 with the tip of the rotating pointer 40. In addition, the decoration ring 36 can indicate the boundary between the speedometer 20 and other instruments in the combination meter 100 on the display. In an environment with little extraneous light, the combination meter 100 indirectly illuminates the design portion 32 and the pointer 40 from the front side in the display direction with the illumination device 86 and causes the pointer 40 to emit light.

  Next, the mechanical configuration of the combination meter 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The combination meter 100 includes a housing 50, a lighting device 86, and a circuit board 80 in addition to the display board 30, the decorative ring 36, and the pointer 40 described above.

  The housing 50 is configured by assembling a plurality of members such as a front case 53, a rear case 55, and a front panel 51.

  The front case 53 is formed in a cylindrical shape from a resin material such as polypropylene. The front case 53 has an anti-glare part 53a, a shielding part 53b, an opening part 53c, and a visor part 53d. The anti-glare part 53a is applied to the inner peripheral surface of the front case 53 and has an effect of improving the anti-glare property of the front case 53. Specifically, the black paint that suppresses reflection of light, and light It is formed by the formation of a texture that irregularly reflects light. The shielding part 53b is provided on the inner peripheral side of the front case 53 in a plate shape orthogonal to the display direction. The rear surface of the shielding portion 53b in the display direction supports the circuit board 80. The opening 53c is opened to the shielding part 53b in a perfect circle shape, and penetrates the shielding part 53b along the display direction. A decorative ring 36 is fitted in the opening 53c. The visor portion 53d is a portion protruding from the upper side in the gravity direction of the shielding portion 53b to the front side in the display direction, and shields extraneous light. Further, the visor portion 53d accommodates the lighting device 86.

  The rear case 55 is a bottomed container formed of a resin material such as polypropylene. The rear case 55 is assembled to the rear side of the front case 53 in the display direction by a fixing claw (not shown) or the like. As described above, the rear case 55 assembled to the front case 53 accommodates the circuit board 80 and prevents adhesion of dust, dust and the like from the rear side in the display direction to the circuit board 80.

  The front panel 51 is assembled to the front side of the front case 53 in the display direction by a fixing claw (not shown) or the like. The front panel 51 is formed of a translucent material such as a colorless and transparent acrylic resin, and the appearance is improved by a method of forming an antireflection film for preventing reflection of extraneous light or the like on the surface. Yes.

  The lighting device 86 includes a light source unit such as a light bulb that converts electrical energy into light energy. The illuminating device 86 is electrically connected to the circuit board 80, and emits light from the light source unit when voltage is applied. The illuminating device 86 is accommodated in the visor portion 53d of the front case 53 in a state in which the light beam emitted from the light source portion is directed to the display plate 30 side.

  The circuit board 80 is made of, for example, a paper phenolic or glass epoxy hard substrate. The circuit board 80 is provided with a wiring pattern (not shown) made of a predetermined copper foil material on the rear surface side in the display direction and a pointer opening 81 penetrating along the display direction. ing. On the circuit board 80, a plurality of electronic components 82 connected to the wiring pattern, specifically, a stepper motor 60, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 83, a meter control unit 85, and the like are mounted.

  The stepper motor 60 includes a rotor that rotates in synchronization with input pulse power, a pointer shaft 61 that is integral with the rotor, and a motor housing 63 that houses a mechanism such as a rotor and a magnet. The pointer shaft 61 of the stepper motor 60 rotates to a desired angle in the direction to rotate in accordance with the input pulse power. The stepper motor 60 is disposed on the rear side in the display direction of the pointer opening 81 provided on the circuit board 80, and the tip end portion 61 a of the pointer shaft 61 protrudes forward in the display direction through the pointer opening 81. The motor housing 63 is configured by combining a cylindrical member made of a metal material and a disk-like member made of a resin material.

  The LED 83 is a semiconductor element that converts electrical energy into light energy, and emits a light beam LF when a voltage is applied. The LED 83 is a light source unit that emits a light beam LF for causing the pointer 40 to emit light, and emits a red light beam LF, for example. As the hue of the light beam LF emitted from the LED 83, a hue other than red, specifically blue or green may be selected as appropriate.

  The display board 30 is made of a light-transmitting material such as colorless and transparent polycarbonate, and is formed by performing light-shielding printing on the surface of a sheet material formed to a thickness of about 0.5 millimeters. In this display board 30, a color different from that of the ground portion other than the design portion 32 is printed at a position corresponding to the design portion 32 (see FIG. 1). The display board 30 is fitted into the opening 53c of the front case 53 and supported by the decorative ring 36 on the front side in the display direction. In addition, the display board 30 has a pointer opening 31 that overlaps with the pointer opening 81 of the circuit board 80 in the display direction and is opened with the same inner diameter as the pointer opening 81.

  The pointer 40 is formed in a tapered shape by a translucent material such as a colorless and transparent acrylic resin, and has a pointer incident surface 41, a pointer reflecting surface 42, a pointer radiating portion 43, and a cap portion 47. The pointer 40 is rotated along the front surface in the display direction of the display plate 30 by attaching the base end portion 40 a to the tip end portion 61 a of the pointer shaft 61 of the stepper motor 60. In addition, the pointer 40 is capable of emitting light. Specifically, the luminous flux LF incident from the pointer incident surface 41 is reflected by the pointer reflecting surface 42 in the direction in which the pointer extends, and the pointer radiating unit 43 displays the front side in the display direction. Can be emitted. The pointer incident surface 41 is a plane formed along the direction orthogonal to the display direction at the base end portion 40a, and makes the light beam LF that has passed through the pointer opening 31 of the display plate 30 enter. The cap portion 47 is a disk-shaped member that is formed of a light-shielding material such as black ABS resin and is curved in a convex shape on the front side in the display direction. The cap portion 47 is formed so that the outer diameter thereof is larger than the inner diameter of the pointer opening 31 of the display plate 30, and has an action of shielding the pointer opening 31 from the front side in the display direction.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the combination meter 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The combination meter 100 is electrically configured by a meter control unit 85, a stepper motor 60, an LED 83, a lighting device 86, and the like. The combination meter 100 is connected to an external battery 95, an ignition relay 94, a controller area network (CAN) 91 that is an in-vehicle network, and a grounded ground wiring 98.

  The meter control unit 85 is composed of a microcomputer that operates according to a program. The meter control unit 85 has a power supply system that is always in conduction with the battery 95 and a power supply system via an ignition relay 94, and is supplied with power from the battery 95. In addition, the meter control unit 85 is connected to the CAN 91 mounted on the vehicle, and information on the vehicle output to the CAN 91, for example, the traveling speed of the vehicle, the ON / OFF state of the ignition switch 93, the vehicle width light The ON / OFF state etc. of is acquired. The meter control unit 85 is connected to the LED 83 and the lighting device 86, and applies a voltage to the LED 83 and the lighting device 86 based on the acquired information on the ON / OFF state such as the vehicle width, and emits the light flux LF. To do. Further, the meter control unit 85 is connected to the stepper motor 60 and, based on the acquired information on the traveling speed of the vehicle, determines the rotation direction, rotation angle, and rotation speed of the pointer shaft 61 (see FIG. 2). calculate. Then, the meter control unit 85 outputs pulse power corresponding to the calculation result to the stepper motor 60 and drives the pointer shaft 61.

  In addition, a power supply control circuit 92 is provided on the CAN 91 connected to the combination meter 100. The power supply control circuit 92 is connected to a battery 95, an ignition switch 93, an ignition relay 94, an engine control circuit (not shown), and the like. The power supply control circuit 92 is supplied with power from the battery 95, detects a pressing operation of the ignition switch 93 by the driver, applies a voltage to the ignition relay 94, and puts the relay 94 in an energized state. To do. Further, the power supply control circuit 92 outputs information on the ON / OFF state of the vehicle ignition on the CAN 91 based on the detected pressing operation of the ignition switch 93 by the driver.

  According to the operation of the combination meter 100 described above, the light emission display of the pointer 40 and the indirect illumination to the design portion 32 shown in FIG. 1 are performed. Further, the tip of the pointer 40 indicates one of the plurality of scale designs 32a by rotation of the pointer shaft 61 to an angle corresponding to the vehicle speed. Thus, a pointer display corresponding to the traveling speed of the vehicle is formed on the speedometer 20 of the combination meter 100. If the vehicle width lamp is in the OFF state, the light emission display of the pointer 40 and the indirect illumination of the design portion 32 may not be performed.

  Further, when the operation of the ignition switch 93 shown in FIG. 3 is performed again by the driver, the power supply control circuit 92 turns off the ignition state of the vehicle. At this time, the power supply control circuit 92 stops the application of the voltage to the ignition relay 94 and stops the conduction between the battery 95 and the meter control unit 85. At the same time, information indicating that the ignition state of the vehicle is OFF is output on the CAN 91. After acquiring the information that the ignition state of the vehicle is OFF, the meter control unit 85 stops applying the voltage to the LED 83 and the lighting device 86 and causes the pointer shaft 61 to return to the stepper motor 60. Outputs pulse power. By the operation of the meter control unit 85, the LED 83 and the illumination device 86 stop the emission of the light beam LF, and the pointer shaft 61 of the stepper motor 60 is returned to zero.

  According to the operation of the combination meter 100 described above, the pointer 40 shown in FIG. 1 is turned off and the indirect illumination is stopped. In addition, the pointer 40 returns to zero. Therefore, the speedometer 20 of the combination meter 100 stops displaying the traveling speed of the vehicle.

(Characteristic part)
Hereinafter, the characteristic part of the combination meter 100 by 1st embodiment of this invention is demonstrated in detail based on FIG.

  The circuit board 80 is a single-sided mounting board on which all the electronic components 82 are mounted on the rear surface in the display direction where the wiring pattern is formed. The circuit board 80 is held on the rear surface in the display direction of the shielding portion 53b of the front case 53 by fastening with a fastening member (not shown) such as a screw. The display panel 30 is disposed in contact with the rear surface in the display direction on the front surface of the circuit board 80 where the electronic components 82 are not mounted. According to this configuration, the circuit board 80 supports the display board 30 from the rear side in the display direction, and holds the display board 30 together with the decorative ring 36 fitted to the front case 53.

  Two LEDs 83 are mounted on the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board 80 and on the outer peripheral side of the stepper motor 60. The two LEDs 83 are arranged so as to face each other with the pointer shaft 61 of the stepper motor 60 as a center, and in a mounted state, the light beams LF along the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board 80 are directed toward the pointer shaft 61 side. Radiate.

  The light guide 70 is an annular member made of a translucent material such as a colorless and transparent acrylic resin. The light guide 70 is assembled in advance on the front side in the display direction of the motor housing 63 of the stepper motor 60 and is held by the stepper motor 60 assembled on the circuit board 80. According to this configuration, the light guide 70 is disposed between the stepper motor 60 and the circuit board 80.

  In addition, the light guide 70 has an incident surface 71, a light guide part 75, a first reflection surface 77, and a radiation surface 79. The incident surface 71 is formed along the display direction and is provided on the pointer shaft 61 side of the LED 83. The incident surface 71 causes the light beam LF emitted in the direction along the circuit board 80 by the LED 83 to enter the light guide 70. The light guide unit 75 is formed along the rear surface of the circuit board 80 in the display direction, and guides the light beam LF incident on the light guide 70 through the incident surface 71 to the pointer shaft 61 side. The first reflecting surface 77 is an inner peripheral surface of an annular light guide 70 formed so that the inner diameter gradually increases toward the rear side in the display direction. The first reflecting surface 77 faces the incident surface 71 in the direction along the rear surface of the circuit board 80 in the display direction, and faces the radiation surface 79 in the direction along the display direction. With this arrangement, the first reflecting surface 77 reflects the light beam LF guided by the light guide unit 75 toward the radiation surface 79 on the front side in the display direction. The radiation surface 79 is formed along the rear surface of the circuit board 80 in the display direction, and is exposed from the pointer opening 81 of the circuit board 80 to the front surface in the display direction. In addition, the radiation surface 79 is provided so as to always face the pointer incident surface 41 of the rotating pointer 40, and the light beam LF reflected by the first reflecting surface 77 toward the pointer incident surface 41 is displayed in the display direction. Radiate along.

  According to the above configuration, the light beam LF emitted from the LED 83 enters the light guide 70 while maintaining the traveling direction from the incident surface 71 and travels straight in the light guide 75. The light beam LF is gradually diffused as it travels through the light guide portion 75, and then reflected by the first reflecting surface 77 toward the front side in the display direction. The light beam LF is radiated from the light guide 70 by the radiation surface 79 while maintaining the traveling direction. A part of the light beam LF emitted from the light guide 70 enters the pointer 40 from the pointer incident surface 41 facing the radiation surface 79. The pointer 40 reflects the light beam LF incident from the pointer incident surface 41 in the extension direction of the pointer by the pointer reflecting surface 42 and radiates the pointer radiating portion 43 to the front side in the display direction. According to the above, the pointer 40 can emit light freely.

  In the first embodiment described so far, the light beam LF diffused in the light guide unit 75 can be radiated uniformly from the radiation surface 79. Since the density of the light beam LF emitted from the radiation surface 79 is uniform, even if the position of the pointer incident surface 41 is moved by the rotation of the pointer 40, the amount of light beam LF incident on the pointer 40 is constant. Therefore, the pointer 40 that emits light can maintain a constant luminance regardless of its rotating operation. Therefore, the appearance of the pointer 40 is not impaired.

  In addition, by arranging the display board 30 in contact with the circuit board 80, the interval is omitted. Since the increase in the thickness in the display direction due to the addition of the light guide 70 is slight, the combination meter 100 can be thinned by reducing the distance between the display plate 30 and the circuit board 80 until it is omitted. .

  Here, in order to prevent the appearance of the pointer 40 from deteriorating, the pointer incident surface 41 is formed at the base end portion 40 a and is shielded from the front side in the display direction by the cap portion 47. As described above, it is difficult to guide the luminous flux LF on the pointer incident surface 41 formed on the base end portion 40a of the pointer 40 due to the hindrance of the configuration of the stepper motor 60 and the like. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the light guide 70 is disposed between the stepper motor 60 and the circuit board 80 to ensure the light guide from the LED 83 to the pointer incident surface 41. According to this configuration, the appearance of the rotating pointer 40 can be maintained even if the pointer instrument is thin. In addition, according to the fact that the light guide 70 is held by the stepper motor 60, the light guide 70 is fixed to the circuit board 80 by attaching the stepper motor 60 to the circuit board 80. Become. Thus, the light guide 70 that does not require a configuration for attachment to the circuit board 80 can contribute to the thinning of the combination meter 100.

  In the first embodiment, the LED 83 is mounted on the outer peripheral side of the stepper motor 60 so that the LED 83 and the stepper motor 60 are shifted in the direction intersecting the display direction. Arranging the LED 83 and the stepper motor 60 so as not to overlap in the display direction can contribute to a reduction in the thickness of the circuit board 80 on the rear side in the display direction, so that the combination meter 100 can be made thinner. is there.

  In the first embodiment, the light guide 70 is simply mounted by using, as the LED 83, a light emitting diode that emits a light beam LF in a direction along the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board 80 while being mounted on the circuit board 80. The shape is realized. By simplifying the light guide 70, the route of the light beam LF in the light guide 70 can be predicted, so that the risk of spots in the density of the light beam LF emitted from the radiation surface 79 can be reduced. it can. According to such simplification of the shape of the light guide 70, it is possible to easily maintain the appearance of the combination meter 100 that is thinned.

  In addition, in the first embodiment, as the circuit board 80, a board on which the electronic component 82 is mounted only on one side is used. Thus, by using a low-cost single-sided mounting substrate, it is possible to provide the combination meter 100 that realizes a reduction in thickness and a reduction in cost.

  In the first embodiment, the display plate 30 is the “display member” described in the claims, the pointer 40 is the “pointer member” described in the claims, and the pointer incident surface 41 is the “pointer incident” described in the claims. The stepper motor 60 is in the “rotation mechanism” described in the claims, the pointer shaft 61 is in the “rotation shaft” in the claims, and the light guide 70 is the “light guide member” in the claims. In addition, the incident surface 71 is the “incident part” described in the claims, the first reflecting surface 77 is the “first reflecting part” described in the claims, and the radiating surface 79 is the “radiating part” described in the claims. The LED 83 corresponds to the “light source unit” described in the claims, and the combination meter 100 corresponds to the “pointer instrument” described in the claims.

(Second embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 4, the second embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the LED 283 and the light guide 270 of the combination meter 200 according to the second embodiment will be described in detail.

  Similar to the LED 83 of the first embodiment, two LEDs 283 are arranged facing the pointer shaft 61 of the stepper motor 60 in the center. The LED 83 is a light emitting diode that emits a light beam LF toward the rear side in the display direction when mounted on the circuit board 80, and is generally the most popular light emitting diode.

  The light guide 270 is an annular member that is held by the stepper motor 60 and disposed between the stepper motor 60 and the circuit board 80, similarly to the light guide 70 of the first embodiment. The light guide 270 has an incident surface 271, a second reflective surface 273, a light guide 275, a first reflective surface 277, and a radiation surface 279. The incident surface 271 is a plane parallel to the rear surface of the circuit board 80 in the display direction, and faces the circuit board 80 on the rear side of the LED 283 in the display direction. The incident surface 271 causes the light beam LF emitted toward the rear side in the display direction by the LED 283 to enter the light guide 270. The second reflecting surface 273 is an outer peripheral surface of an annular light guide 270 formed so that the outer diameter gradually decreases toward the rear side in the display direction. The second reflecting surface 273 faces the incident surface 271 in the direction along the display direction, and faces the first reflecting surface 277 in the direction along the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board 80. With this arrangement, the second reflecting surface 273 reflects the light beam LF incident on the incident surface 271 toward the first reflecting surface 277 on the pointer shaft 61 side. The light guide unit 275 is formed along the rear surface of the circuit board 80 in the display direction, and is spaced from the rear surface to the rear side in the display direction. The light guide 275 guides the light beam LF reflected by the second reflecting surface 273 to the pointer shaft 61 side. The first reflecting surface 277 is an inner peripheral surface of an annular light guide 270 formed so that the inner diameter gradually increases toward the rear side in the display direction. The first reflecting surface 277 faces the second reflecting surface 273 in the direction along the display surface rear surface of the circuit board 80 and faces the radiation surface 279 in the direction along the display direction. With this arrangement, the first reflection surface 277 reflects the light beam LF guided by the light guide unit 275 toward the radiation surface 279 on the front side in the display direction. The radiation surface 279 is formed along the rear surface of the circuit board 80 in the display direction, and is exposed from the pointer opening 81 of the circuit board 80 to the front surface in the display direction. In addition, the radiation surface 279 is provided so as to always face the pointer incident surface 41 of the rotating pointer 40, and the light beam LF reflected by the first reflecting surface 277 toward the pointer incident surface 41 is displayed in the display direction. Radiate along.

  According to the above configuration, the light beam LF emitted from the LED 283 is incident on the light guide 270 while maintaining the traveling direction from the incident surface 271 and is reflected by the second reflecting surface 273 toward the pointer shaft 61 side. The light guide unit 275 travels straight. The light beam LF gradually diffuses as it travels through the light guide 275 and is reflected again by the first reflecting surface 277 toward the front side in the display direction. The light beam LF is radiated from the light guide 270 by the radiation surface 279 while maintaining the traveling direction. A part of the light beam LF emitted from the light guide 270 enters the pointer 40 from the pointer incident surface 41 facing the radiation surface 279. According to the above, the pointer 40 can emit light as in the first embodiment.

  In the second embodiment described so far, the light beam LF diffused in the light guide unit 275 can be uniformly emitted from the radiation surface 279. Since the density of the light beam LF emitted from the radiation surface 279 is uniform, even if the position of the pointer incident surface 41 is moved by the rotation of the pointer 40, the amount of light beam LF incident on the pointer 40 is constant. Therefore, the pointer 40 that emits light can maintain a constant luminance regardless of its rotating operation. Therefore, the appearance of the pointer 40 is not impaired.

  The light guide 270 of the second embodiment has a larger thickness in the display direction than the light guide 70 of the first embodiment. However, as in the first embodiment, the display panel 30 is arranged in contact with the circuit board 80, thereby omitting the interval. As described above, if the distance between the display board 30 and the circuit board 80 can be reduced, the thickness of the combination meter 100 can be reduced while offsetting the increase in thickness due to the addition of the light guide 270. is there.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the light source 270 obtained by adding the second reflection surface 273 and changing the direction of the incident surface 271 to the light guide 70 of the first embodiment is used as a light source unit. It is possible to use the LED 83 which is widely used. Since the light guide 270 maintains a simple shape, the route of the light beam LF inside can be predicted in the same manner as the light guide 70. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk of spots in the density of the light beam LF emitted from the radiation surface 279. Therefore, it is possible to easily maintain the appearance of the thinned combination meter 100 and to realize cost reduction.

  In the second embodiment, the light guide 270 is described in the “light guide member” described in the claims, the incident surface 271 is described in the “incident part” described in the claims, and the second reflecting surface 273 is described in the claims. The first reflecting surface 277 is in the “first reflecting portion”, the radiation surface 279 is in the “radiating portion”, and the LED 283 is in the claim. The combination meter 200 corresponds to the “light source unit” and the “pointer meter” recited in the claims.

(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. .

  In the above embodiment, by using the circuit board 80 on which the various electronic components 82 are mounted only on one side, the display board 30 is brought into contact with the circuit board 80 to reduce the thickness and reduce the cost. However, as long as the distance between the display board 30 and the circuit board 80 can be reduced, the display board 30 may not be arranged in contact with the circuit board 80. A circuit board on which electronic components 82 are mounted on both sides may be used. In addition, in the above embodiment, the circuit board 80 and the display board 30 are provided separately. However, the design portion 32 is directly provided on the circuit board 80 by performing screen printing or the like on the front surface of the circuit board 80 in the display direction. The structure formed in this may be sufficient. In this case, the printed layer formed on the front surface of the circuit board 80 in the display direction is the “display member” described in the claims.

  In the above embodiment, the light guides 70 and 270 are formed in an annular shape and are disposed between the circuit board 80 and the stepper motor 60. However, the shape and arrangement of the light guide are not limited. For example, a part of the configuration of the light guide may be disposed between the display board 30 and the circuit board 80, and a part of the light guide may be exposed to the front side in the display direction of the display board 30. . Further, the position of the pointer incident surface 41 of the pointer 40 is not limited to the proximal end portion 40a. As long as the light guide has a light guide formed along the circuit board 80, the shape of the light guide may be appropriately changed according to the position of the pointer light entrance and the LED. Furthermore, the light guide may not be held by the motor housing 63 of the stepper motor 60. For example, it may be directly assembled to the circuit board 80 or may be formed integrally with a member constituting the motor housing 63.

  In the above embodiment, the LEDs 83 and 283 are used as the light source unit for causing the pointer 40 to emit light. However, the light source unit is not limited to the light emitting diode as long as the light beam LF can be emitted. For example, a light bulb, a cold cathode tube, or another light emitting element may be used as the light source unit. Further, the number and position of the LEDs to be mounted are not limited. The light source unit may be one or more than three, and may be configured to overlap the stepper motor 60 and the display direction between the stepper motor 60 and the circuit board 80. However, when a light source unit such as a plurality of LEDs is used, the light source unit is equidistant from the pointer shaft 61 and the pointer shaft 61 is arranged to make the density of the light beam LF emitted from the radiation surfaces 79 and 279 uniform. It is desirable to arrange them at equal intervals in the center.

  The present invention can be applied to various “pointer meters” in addition to a combination meter installed in a vehicle.

20 Speedometer, 30 Display board, 31 Pointer opening, 32 Design portion, 32a Scale design, 32b Numerical design, 32c Character design, 36 Decoration ring, 40 Pointer (pointer member), 40a Base end, 41 Pointer incident surface ( Pointer incidence part), 42 Pointer reflecting surface, 43 Pointer radiation part, 47 Cap part, 50 Case, 51 Front panel, 53 Front case, 53a Anti-glare part, 53b Shielding part, 53c Opening part, 53d Visor part, 55 Rear case , 60 Stepper motor (rotating mechanism), 61 Pointer shaft (rotating shaft), 61a Tip, 63 Motor housing, 70, 270 Light guide (light guide member), 71, 271 Incident surface (incident part), 273 Second Reflection surface (second reflection part), 75,275 Light guide part, 77,277 First reflection surface (first reflection part), 79,279 Radiation surface (radiation) Part), 80 circuit board, 81 pointer opening, 82 electronic component, 83, 283 LED (light source part), LF luminous flux, 85 meter control part, 86 illumination device, 91 CAN, 92 power supply control circuit, 93 ignition switch , 94 Ignition relay, 95 battery, 98 Earth wiring, 100, 200 Combination meter (pointer meter)

Claims (7)

A display member for displaying the design part;
A circuit board disposed on the rear side in the display direction of the display member;
A light source unit that is mounted on the rear surface of the circuit board in the display direction and emits a light beam;
A pointer member that rotates along the front surface of the display member in the display direction and points to the design portion. The pointer member is made of a light-transmitting material, and enters the light beam. A pointer member having a radiating portion and capable of emitting light;
It is made of a translucent material, and is opposed to an incident part that makes a light beam emitted from the light source part incident, a light guide part that is formed along the circuit board and guides the light beam, and a rotating pointer incident part. And a light guide member having a radiation portion that emits the light flux. On the circuit board, all electronic components including the light source unit are mounted on the rear surface in the display direction,
The pointer instrument according to claim 1, wherein the display member is disposed in contact with a front surface of the circuit board in a display direction. A rotation mechanism having a rotation shaft for rotating the pointer member is provided on the rear side of the display direction of the circuit board,
The pointer member has the pointer incident portion at a base end portion attached to the rotating shaft,
The pointer instrument according to claim 1, wherein the light guide member is disposed between the rotation mechanism unit and the circuit board.   The pointer instrument according to claim 3, wherein the light guide member is held by the rotation mechanism unit.   The pointer instrument according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the light source unit is mounted on an outer peripheral side of the rotation mechanism unit. The light source unit is mounted on the circuit board and radiates the light flux in a direction along the circuit board.
The light guide member is formed along the circuit board, the incident portion formed along a display direction, a first reflection portion that reflects the light beam guided by the light guide portion toward the front side in the display direction. The pointer instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising the radiation portion. The light source unit is mounted on the circuit board and emits the luminous flux to the display direction rear side,
The light guide member is formed on the rear side in the display direction of the light source unit so as to face the circuit board, and the light beam incident by the incident part is reflected in a direction along the circuit board. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second reflecting portion, a first reflecting portion that reflects the light beam guided by the light guiding portion toward a front side in a display direction, and the radiation portion that is formed along the circuit board. The pointer instrument according to any one of to 5.

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