JP2010210515A - Instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an instrument capable of reducing the manufacturing cost. <P>SOLUTION: This instrument is constituted to include: a display board 10 for displaying information; a circuit board 20 arranged on the rear surface side in the display direction of the display board 10, on which an electronic component is mounted; an LED 81 mounted as the electronic component on the rear surface, in the display direction of the circuit board 20, for emitting light; an opening part 23, formed on the circuit board 20 for passing light from the rear surface side in the display direction to the front-surface side in the display direction; a back cover 30 for covering the rear-surface side in the display direction of the circuit board 20; a swelling part 31, formed by the bulging of the back cover 30 to the rear-surface side in the display direction in a region including both the LED 81 and the opening part 23; a reflection surface 40, formed on the front surface side in the display direction of the swelling part 31 for reflecting light from the LED 81 and guiding it to the opening part 23; and a scale design 60 and a character design 61, illuminated by transmission by light passing the opening part 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an instrument that displays various types of information.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional instrument that displays various types of vehicle information. This instrument includes a dial on which a display design is formed, a case that supports the dial from the rear side in the display direction, and a light emitting diode (LED) that is disposed on the rear side in the display direction of the case and illuminates the display design. It has a circuit board on which electronic components are mounted, and a back cover that is arranged on the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board and supports the circuit board together with the case.

  The case is formed with a cylindrical opening that guides light emitted from the LED, which is a point light source, to the display design. The cylindrical opening is formed so that the inner diameter becomes larger toward the display design side, and demarcates the outer periphery of the diffusion space for diffusing the light from the LED in order to light the display design evenly.

JP 2008-157811 A

  As described above, the conventional instrument has a complicated structure including a dial plate, a case, a circuit board, and a back cover as main components. Therefore, it has been difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost of the instrument.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an instrument that can reduce manufacturing costs.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a display board that displays information, a circuit board that is disposed on the rear side in the display direction of the display board and on which electronic components are mounted, and is mounted as an electronic part on the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board. A first light source unit that emits light, a first light passage unit that is formed on the circuit board and allows light from the rear side in the display direction to pass to the front side in the display direction, and a cover that covers the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board In the region including both the first light source part and the first light passage part, the cover is formed on the front side in the display direction of the bulge part, and a bulge part formed by bulging on the rear side in the display direction. An instrument comprising: a reflection surface that reflects light from a light source unit and guides it to a first light passage unit; and a first display design unit that is transmitted and illuminated by light that passes through the first light passage unit. .

  According to the present invention, the light from the first light source unit is reflected by the reflecting surface provided on the front side in the display direction of the bulging unit, is guided to the first light passing unit, and passes through the first light passing unit. The first display design portion is transmitted and illuminated. Thereby, the space required for diffusing the light from the first light source unit can be secured on the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board. For this reason, since the circuit board and the first display design portion can be arranged close to each other, a case that has been conventionally required to secure a diffusion space between the circuit board and the first display design portion. Can be omitted. Therefore, since the number of parts of the instrument can be reduced, the manufacturing cost of the instrument can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the reflecting surface includes a planar bottom surface portion parallel to the circuit board, and a side surface portion formed in a tapered cylindrical shape on the outer periphery of the bottom surface portion so that the facing angle with the bottom surface portion forms an obtuse angle. It is characterized by having.

  Thereby, since the light from a 1st light source part can be efficiently guide | induced to a 1st light passage part, a 1st display design part can be transmitted and illuminated with a high intensity | strength light.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that all electronic components are mounted on the rear surface of the circuit board in the display direction. Thereby, since the circuit board can be mounted on one side, the component mounting process on the circuit board can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost of the instrument can be further reduced.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the display board is in surface contact with the front surface of the circuit board in the display direction. Thereby, even when the case is omitted, the display board and the circuit board can be easily fixed, so that the manufacturing cost of the instrument can be further reduced.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the first light passage portion is an opening formed through the circuit board in the display direction. Thereby, since the 1st light passage part of a circuit board can be formed easily, the manufacturing cost of a meter can further be reduced.

  The invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that the first display design portion is formed on the display plate. As a result, the circuit board and the display board can be arranged close to each other.

  The invention described in claim 7 is characterized in that the first display design portion includes a transmissive display panel. Generally, when the display panel is transmitted and illuminated, a light guide plate is provided that uniformly illuminates the display panel by converting light from the light source unit into a surface light source. On the other hand, according to the present invention, a space necessary for diffusing light from the first light source unit can be secured on the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board, so that the light guide plate can be omitted. Therefore, since the number of parts of the instrument can be reduced, the manufacturing cost of the instrument can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 8 is formed to protrude from the peripheral edge of the display board to the front side in the display direction, and is formed in the visor part that shields extraneous light, and is disposed on the front side in the display direction from the circuit board. A display surface, a second light passage portion formed on the circuit board and passing light from the rear side in the display direction to the front side in the display direction, and mounted as an electronic component on the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board. A second light source unit that emits light to the front side in the display direction through the unit; and a second display design unit that is formed on the display surface and is transmitted and illuminated by the light from the second light source unit. Yes.

  Thereby, a space for diffusing light from the second light source unit can be secured between the display surface formed in the visor unit and the circuit board. Since the visor portion is naturally formed so as to protrude forward in the display direction in order to shield external light, it is easy to secure a space between the display surface and the circuit board. Therefore, even when the case is omitted, the second display design portion can be illuminated uniformly.

  The invention according to claim 9 is a display board that displays information, a circuit board that is disposed on the display direction rear surface side of the display board, and on which electronic components are mounted, and is formed on the circuit board, from the rear side of the display direction. A light passage part that allows light to pass to the front side in the display direction, a light source part that is mounted as an electronic component on the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board, and emits light to the front side in the display direction through the light passage part, a display board, and a circuit A light guide that is arranged between the substrate and guides light incident through the light passage portion in an in-plane direction along the display plate, and is formed on the display plate and is transmitted by the light that guides the light guide. It is an instrument characterized by having the display design part illuminated.

  According to the present invention, the light from the light source unit enters the light guide through the light passage unit, and is guided through the light guide in the in-plane direction along the display plate so as to transmit and illuminate the display design unit. Become. Thereby, the optical path length required for diffusing the light from the light source unit can be ensured in the plane along the display plate. For this reason, since the circuit board and the display design part can be arranged close to each other, the case conventionally required for securing the diffusion space between the circuit board and the display design part is omitted. Can do. Therefore, since the number of parts of the instrument can be reduced, the manufacturing cost of the instrument can be reduced.

It is a front view which shows the structure of a part of combination meter in 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the cross-sectional structure of the combination meter in the II-II line | wire of FIG. It is a figure which shows the electric constitution of the combination meter in 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the cross-sectional structure of the combination meter in 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a partial configuration of a combination meter 100 as an instrument of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the combination meter 100 is a meter group that is housed in an instrument panel provided in a vehicle interior of a vehicle and arranged with the front side shown in FIG. 1 facing the driver's seat. The combination meter 100 includes instruments that display various information of the vehicle, such as a tachometer 110 and an odometer / trip meter 120, a speedometer, a water temperature gauge, an oil temperature gauge, a fuel gauge, and a voltmeter (not shown). Further, the combination meter 100 has a visor portion 140 that protrudes forward in the display direction at a peripheral portion such as an upper side or a side of the meter and shields extraneous light. The visor unit 140 is provided with a plurality of indicators for displaying various types of vehicle information by lighting or blinking. In FIG. 1, only the turn signal indicator 130 for the left turn that imitates the leftward arrow is shown as an indicator.

  The tachometer 110 includes a display board 10 that displays information and a pointer 111 that rotates on the display board 10 in accordance with the engine speed. A plurality of scale designs 60 and a plurality of character designs 61 are formed on the display board 10 as display design portions (first display design portions). Each scale design 60 is a rectangular design whose longitudinal direction is the radial direction of a circle centered on the rotation axis of the pointer 111, and is arranged at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The character design 61 is a design imitating a number indicating the indication value of each scale design 60, and is arranged in the vicinity of the scale design 60 and shifted to the rotation center side of the pointer 111 with respect to the scale design 60. Yes. The tachometer 110 displays information related to the engine speed of the vehicle by pointing the scale design 60 at the tip of the pointer 111.

  The odometer / trip meter 120 has a display screen 121 formed by a segment-type transmissive liquid crystal display panel described later. The odd / trip meter 120 digitally displays the indicated value on the display screen 121 by controlling the transmittance of the illumination light from the rear side in the display direction for each segment. The odometer / trip meter 120 selectively displays the cumulative travel distance or the section travel distance of the vehicle on the display screen 121 when a switch (not shown) is operated by the driver.

  The turn signal indicator 130 has an arrow design 131 imitating a leftward arrow. The turn signal indicator 130 blinks the arrow design 131 to display the operation state of the turn signal of the vehicle.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a cross-sectional configuration of the combination meter 100 taken along the line II-II in FIG. The upper part of FIG. 2 represents the driver side, that is, the front in the display direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the display board 10 is arrange | positioned in the surface which cross | intersects with respect to a display direction. The display panel 10 is formed, for example, by printing a light-shielding layer that shields light on the surface of a sheet material formed to a thickness of about 0.5 mm using a translucent material such as polycarbonate. The light shielding layer of the display panel 10 is opened in a predetermined shape in a region corresponding to each display design portion such as the scale design 60 and the character design 61, and light is transmitted with a predetermined transmittance in the region. Yes. Thereby, each display design part lights up in a predetermined shape by the light emission of the light source part arrange | positioned in the display direction back.

  In addition, a pointer opening 11 penetrating in the display direction is formed in the display plate 10 near the rotation axis of the pointer 111. Further, a screen opening 12 that exposes the display screen 121 is formed at a position corresponding to the odd / trip meter 120 on the display board 10.

  A circuit board 20 is provided on the rear side of the display board 10 in the display direction. For example, the circuit board 20 is disposed such that the front surface in the display direction of the circuit board 20 and the rear surface in the display direction of the display board 10 are in surface contact, and is fixed to the display board 10 by adhesion or the like, for example. The circuit board 20 is made of a hard and electrically insulating board such as paper phenol or glass epoxy. A wiring pattern (not shown) made of a predetermined copper foil material is formed on the rear surface of the circuit board 20 in the display direction. On the rear surface of the circuit board 20 in the display direction, a plurality of electronic components connected to the wiring pattern, specifically, a stepper motor 70, LEDs (first light source units) 81 and 84, and LED (second light source unit) 80. LEDs 82 and 83, a liquid crystal display panel 150, and a connector 160 (not shown in FIG. 2) to which wiring from the vehicle side is connected are mounted. All these electronic components are mounted on one side only on the rear surface of the circuit board 20 in the display direction, for example.

  On the circuit board 20, a pointer opening 21 is formed at a position corresponding to the pointer opening 11 of the display board 10. In the circuit board 20, a screen opening (first light passage portion) 22 is formed at a position corresponding to the screen opening 12 of the display board 10. Furthermore, a design opening portion (first light passage portion) 23 is formed in the circuit board 20 at a position corresponding to the display design portion such as the scale design 60 and the character design 61 of the display board 10. The circuit board 20 has an indicator opening (second light passage) 24 at a position corresponding to an indicator such as the turn signal indicator 130.

  The stepper motor 70 includes a rotor that rotates in synchronization with input pulse power, a pointer shaft 71 that is integral with the rotor, and a motor housing 72 that houses a mechanism such as a rotor and a magnet. The pointer shaft 71 rotates to a desired angle in the direction to rotate in accordance with the input pulse power. The pointer shaft 71 passes through the pointer opening 21 of the circuit board 20 and the pointer opening 11 of the display board 10 and protrudes forward in the display direction of the display board 10.

  On the front side of the motor housing 72 in the display direction, a flat plate-shaped light guide 73 made of a translucent material such as acrylic resin is assembled. Thus, when the stepper motor 70 is mounted on the circuit board 20, the light guide 73 is held between the motor housing 72 and the circuit board 20 along the board surface of the circuit board 20. The light guide 73 has an incident surface 73a, a light guide 73b, a reflective surface 73c, and an exit surface 73d. The incident surface 73a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the light guide 73, and allows light from the light source unit to enter. The light guide unit 73b guides light incident from the incident surface 73a to the inner peripheral side. The reflecting surface 73c is provided on the inner peripheral side of the light guide 73 and is formed to be inclined with respect to the incident surface 73a. In the reflection surface 73c, the light guided through the light guide portion 73b is reflected to the front side in the display direction. The exit surface 73 d is exposed to the pointer 111 side through the pointer opening 21 of the circuit board 20 and the pointer opening 11 of the display board 10. From the emission surface 73d, the light reflected by the reflection surface 73c is emitted to the pointer 111 side.

  The pointer 111 is made of a translucent material such as acrylic resin. The proximal end portion of the pointer 111 is attached to the pointer shaft 71 of the stepper motor 70. As a result, the pointer 111 rotates along the front surface of the display plate 10 in the display direction as the pointer shaft 71 rotates. In addition, the pointer 111 guides the light incident from the exit surface 73d of the light guide 73 toward the tip portion, and emits the light from the front side in the display direction. Thereby, the display direction front side of the pointer 111 emits light uniformly as a whole.

  A disc-shaped cap portion 112 made of a light-shielding material such as black ABS resin is attached to the proximal end portion of the pointer 111. The cap part 112 is formed so that the outer diameter thereof is larger than the inner diameter of the pointer opening 11 of the display plate 10 and has a function of shielding the pointer opening 11 from the front side in the display direction.

  The LEDs 80, 81, 82, and 83 are point light sources that emit light when a voltage is applied. The LED 80 is a light source unit that turns on or blinks the turn signal indicator 130 with transmitted illumination. The LED 80 is mounted so as to straddle the indicator opening 24 on the rear surface of the circuit board 20 in the display direction, and emits light from the back surface side (mounting surface side) of the circuit board 20 through the indicator opening portion 24 in the display direction. Type LED. The LED 81 is a top-emitting LED for transmitting and illuminating the display design portion. The LEDs 82 and 83 are side-emitting LEDs that are arranged in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the light guide 73 and emit light from the side surface facing the outer peripheral surface. The LEDs 82 and 83 are light source units for illuminating the pointer 111 through the light guide 73. The LED 84 is a top emission type LED for transmissive illumination of the liquid crystal display panel 150.

  The liquid crystal display panel 150 displays an instruction value on the display screen 121 by adjusting the voltage applied to the liquid crystal for each segment of a predetermined shape and controlling the light transmittance from the rear side in the display direction for each segment. This is a segment type transmissive liquid crystal display panel.

  A back cover 30 is provided on the rear side of the circuit board 20 in the display direction. The back cover 30 is formed of a resin material such as polypropylene, and is attached to the visor part 140 using a fastening member such as a screw. The back cover 30 is formed so as to cover almost the entire area of the rear surface of the circuit board 20 in the display direction, and prevents intrusion of foreign matter from the rear surface side of the circuit board 20 and its mounted components in the display direction. 10 and the circuit board 20 are supported. The back cover 30 has a plurality of bulged portions 31, 32, 33, and 34 in the shape of a bottomed container formed to bulge to the rear side in the display direction. The back cover 30 as a whole has a connected container body shape in which a plurality of bottomed containers are connected.

  The bulging portion 31 is formed in a region including the LED 81 and the plurality of design openings 23 of the circuit board 20, and covers the LED 81 and the design opening 23 of the circuit board 20 independently from other regions. A reflection surface 40 that reflects light from the LED 81 is formed on the inner surface (front surface in the display direction) of the bulging portion 31. The reflective surface 40 is plated with a metal such as aluminum and has a high light reflectance. The reflection surface 40 has a bottom surface portion 40a parallel to the surface of the circuit board 20, and a side surface portion 40b formed in a tapered cylindrical shape on the outer periphery of the bottom surface portion 40a. The facing angle between the bottom surface portion 40a and the side surface portion 40b is an obtuse angle. The light emitting surface (upper surface) of the LED 81 faces the side surface portion 40b. As a result, most of the light emitted from the LED 81 is incident on the side surface portion 40b and reflected in the in-plane direction.

  The light emitted from the LED 81 is reflected once or a plurality of times by the reflecting surface 40 and guided toward the design opening 23. A space surrounded by the reflection surface 40 and the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board 20 is a diffusion space 42 that ensures a relatively long optical path length from the LED 81 to the design opening 23 through the reflection surface 40. As a result, light sufficiently diffused in the diffusion space 42 is emitted from the design opening 23.

  The bulging portion 32 is formed in a region including the LED 84, the screen opening 22 and the liquid crystal display panel 150 on the circuit board 20, and covers the LED 84, the screen opening 22 and the liquid crystal display panel 150 independently of the others. . A reflection surface 41 that reflects light from the LED 84 is formed on the inner surface of the bulging portion 32. The reflection surface 41 is formed in the same manner as the reflection surface 40 and has a high light reflectance. The reflection surface 41 has a bottom surface portion 41a parallel to the surface of the circuit board 20, and a side surface portion 41b formed in a tapered cylindrical shape on the outer periphery of the bottom surface portion 41a. The facing angle between the bottom surface portion 41a and the side surface portion 41b is an obtuse angle. The light emitting surface of the LED 84 faces the side surface portion 41b. Thereby, most of the light emitted from the LED 84 is incident on the side surface portion 41b and reflected in the in-plane direction.

  The light emitted from the LED 84 is reflected once or a plurality of times by the reflecting surface 41 and guided toward the liquid crystal display panel 150. A space surrounded by the reflection surface 41 and the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board 20 is a diffusion space 43 that ensures a relatively long optical path length of light traveling from the LED 84 to the liquid crystal display panel 150 via the reflection surface 41. Accordingly, the liquid crystal display panel 150 is transmitted and illuminated by the light sufficiently diffused in the diffusion space 43. The other bulging portions 33 and 34 cover electronic components and the like mounted on other regions of the circuit board 20.

  The visor part 140 is integrally formed of, for example, a light-shielding resin material. The visor unit 140 is formed so as to protrude forward in the display direction from the display panel 10 in order to shield external light. The visor unit 140 is provided so as to intersect with the display direction so that various indicators are arranged, and the protrusion formed to protrude further forward in the display direction than the display surface 142 on the side or above the display surface 142. Part 141. The display surface 142 is disposed in front of the circuit board 20 in the display direction. The visor part 140 has a cylindrical opening 143 extending from the display surface 142 toward the indicator opening 24 of the circuit board 20 and the LED 80. The cylindrical opening 143 is formed so that the inner diameter becomes larger toward the display surface 142 side. A diffusion space 144 for diffusing light from the LED 80 is formed inside the cylindrical opening 143. The cylindrical opening 143 and the diffusion space 144 are formed independently for each indicator.

  A display plate 145 is provided in front of the display surface 142 in the display direction. The display board 145 is formed by printing a light shielding layer that shields light on the surface of a sheet material made of a translucent material such as polycarbonate. The light shielding layer of the display board 145 is opened in a predetermined shape at a position corresponding to a display design portion (second display design portion) such as an arrow design 131 constituting each indicator, and light is transmitted with a predetermined transmittance in the region. Is designed to be transparent. Accordingly, each indicator is lit in a predetermined shape by the light emission of the LED 80 arranged behind the display direction.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of the combination meter 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the combination meter 100 is electrically configured by a meter controller 170, a stepper motor 70, LEDs 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, a liquid crystal display panel 150, and the like. The combination meter 100 is connected to an external battery 200, an ignition relay 210, a controller area network (CAN) 220 that is an in-vehicle network, and a grounded ground wiring 230.

  The meter control unit 170 includes a ROM that stores a control program, a CPU that executes a control program in the ROM, a RAM that temporarily stores data obtained during the execution of the control program, and an external device. A microcomputer having an input / output port for performing input / output is provided. The meter control unit 170 has a power supply system that is always in conduction with the battery 200 and a power supply system via the ignition relay 210, and is supplied with power from the battery 200. In addition, the meter control unit 170 is connected to the CAN 220 mounted on the vehicle, and information on the vehicle output to the CAN 220, for example, the traveling speed of the vehicle, the engine speed, and the on / off state of the ignition switch 240 , To obtain the turn signal operating state, vehicle width light on / off state, etc.

  The meter controller 170 is electrically connected to the stepper motor 70, the LEDs 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, the liquid crystal display panel 150, and the like. The meter control unit 170 calculates the rotation direction, rotation angle, and rotation speed of the pointer shaft 71 based on the acquired engine rotation speed information. The meter control unit 170 outputs pulse power corresponding to the calculation result to the stepper motor 70 to drive the pointer shaft 71. The meter control unit 170 controls the application of voltage to the LEDs 80, 81, 82, 83, and 84 based on the acquired turn signal operating state, on / off state of the vehicle width lamp, and the like. Further, the meter control unit 170 calculates the cumulative travel distance and the like based on the acquired travel speed information, and controls the voltage applied to the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal display panel 150 for each segment based on the calculated cumulative travel distance information. To do.

  A power supply control circuit 250 is provided on the CAN 220 connected to the combination meter 100. The power supply control circuit 250 is connected to the battery 200, an ignition switch 240, an ignition relay 210, an engine control circuit (not shown), and the like. The power supply control circuit 250 is supplied with power from the battery 200, detects the operation of the ignition switch 240 by the driver, applies a voltage to the ignition relay 210, and puts the relay 210 in an energized state. Further, the power supply control circuit 250 outputs information related to the on / off state of the ignition of the vehicle on the CAN 220 based on the operation of the ignition switch 240.

  According to the configuration of the combination meter 100 described above, when the driver operates the ignition switch 240, the power supply control circuit 250 turns on the ignition state of the vehicle. At this time, the power supply control circuit 250 applies a voltage to the ignition relay 210 to make the battery 200 and the meter control unit 170 conductive. At the same time, information indicating that the ignition state of the vehicle is on is output on CAN 220. After acquiring information that the ignition state of the vehicle is on, the meter control unit 170 starts acquiring information about the vehicle through the CAN 220. The meter control unit 170 controls the connected electronic components based on the information acquired from the CAN 220, specifically, lighting or blinking control of the LEDs 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, and the liquid crystal display panel 150. Display control and drive control of the stepper motor 70 are performed. Thereby, in the combination meter 100, the display of the measured value measured by each part of the vehicle is started.

  Further, when the operation of the ignition switch 240 is performed again by the driver, the power supply control circuit 250 turns off the ignition state of the vehicle. At this time, the power supply control circuit 250 stops the application of the voltage to the ignition relay 210 and stops the conduction between the battery 200 and the meter control unit 170. At the same time, information indicating that the ignition state of the vehicle is off is output on CAN 220. The meter controller 170 acquires information that the ignition state of the vehicle is off, and then stops applying voltage to the LEDs 80, 81, 82, 83, 84 and the liquid crystal display panel 150 and to the stepper motor 70. A pulse power that causes the pointer shaft 71 to return to zero is output. Thereby, in the combination meter 100, the display of a measured value is stopped.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the back cover 30 that covers the display surface rear surface side of the circuit board 20 is formed with the bulging portions 31 and 32 that bulge toward the display direction rear surface side. The bulging portion 31 is formed in a region including the LED 81 and the design opening 23 of the circuit board 20. A reflection surface 40 is formed on the inner surface of the bulging portion 31, and a diffusion space 42 is formed between the reflection surface 40 and the circuit board 20. Thereby, the light emitted from the LED 81 first travels through the diffusion space 42, is reflected once or a plurality of times by the reflecting surface 40, and is guided to the design opening 23 side. The light reflected by the reflecting surface 40 further travels through the diffusion space 42 and passes through the design opening 23 to illuminate the scale design 60 and the character design 61. Therefore, the optical path length necessary for diffusing the light from the LED 81 can be secured in the diffusion space 42 on the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board 20. Therefore, since the light diffused in the diffusion space 42 is emitted from the design opening 23, even if the design opening 23 and the scale design 60 and the character design 61 are arranged close to each other, the scale design 60 and the character The design 61 can be lit evenly. That is, in this embodiment, the case conventionally required in order to ensure the diffusion space between LED and the display design part in the display direction front side rather than a circuit board can be abbreviate | omitted.

  Further, the bulging portion 32 is formed in a region including the LED 84, the screen opening 22, and the liquid crystal display panel 150 of the circuit board 20. A reflective surface 41 is formed on the inner surface of the bulging portion 32, and a diffusion space 43 is formed between the reflective surface 41 and the circuit board 20. Thereby, similarly to the above, the optical path length necessary for diffusing the light from the LED 84 can be secured in the diffusion space 43 on the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board 20. Therefore, since the liquid crystal display panel 150 can be transmitted and illuminated by the light diffused in the diffusion space 43, the liquid crystal display panel 150 can be illuminated and displayed evenly.

  Generally, in order to display a liquid crystal display panel uniformly with LEDs, it is necessary to secure a diffusion space between the LED and the liquid crystal display panel, or use a light guide plate to convert the light from the LED into a surface light source. is there. In this embodiment, since the diffusion space 43 between the LED 84 and the liquid crystal display panel 150 can be secured on the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board 20, the diffusion space is secured on the front side in the display direction of the circuit board 20. Both the case necessary for the light source and the light guide plate for converting the light from the LED into a surface light source can be omitted.

  That is, in the present embodiment, a case that has been conventionally required to secure the diffusion space between the LED and the display design portion on the front side in the display direction of the circuit board 20 can be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, in order to uniformly illuminate the liquid crystal display panel 150, a light guide plate that converts the light from the LED into a surface light source can be omitted. Therefore, according to this embodiment, since the number of parts of the instrument can be reduced, the manufacturing cost of the instrument can be reduced.

  In this embodiment, various electronic components including the LEDs 80, 81, 82, 83, 84 are all mounted on the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board 20. Thereby, since the circuit board 20 can be mounted on one side, the component mounting process on the circuit board 20 can be simplified. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the instrument can be further reduced.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the rear surface in the display direction of the display board 10 and the front surface in the display direction of the circuit board 20, which is a non-mounting surface on which no electronic component is mounted, are in surface contact. Thereby, since the space | interval between the display board 10 and the circuit board 20 can be abbreviate | omitted, an instrument can be reduced in thickness. In addition, by bringing the display board 10 and the circuit board 20 into surface contact, the display board 10 and the circuit board 20 can be easily fixed even when the case is omitted, so that the manufacturing cost of the instrument can be further reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as a light passing part that allows light to pass from the rear side in the display direction of the circuit board 20 to the front side, the screen opening 22 formed through the circuit board 20 in the display direction, the design opening 23, and An indicator opening 24 is used. Thereby, the light passage part can be easily formed, and light incident from the rear side in the display direction can be emitted from the light passage part with the same intensity. For this reason, while being able to improve the lighting brightness of the scale design 60, the character design 61, the liquid crystal display panel 150, and the indicator 130, in order to obtain desired lighting brightness with the scale design 60, the character design 61, the liquid crystal display panel 150, and the indicator 130 Necessary power consumption of the LED can be reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, various indicators 130 are arranged in the visor unit 140 that shields extraneous light. The indicator 130 includes a display design portion such as an arrow design 131 formed on the display surface 142 of the visor portion 140 and a backside light emitting LED 80 mounted on the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board 20. The visor unit 140 is naturally formed so as to protrude forward in the display direction from the display panel 10 in order to shield external light. For this reason, it is easy to secure the diffusion space 144 for diffusing the light from the LED 80 between the display surface 142 of the visor unit 140 and the circuit board 20 regardless of the presence or absence of the case. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the case is omitted, the diffusion space 144 can be easily secured and the display design portion of the indicator can be lit evenly.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a cross-sectional configuration of the combination meter 300 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, the cross section of the combination meter 300 in the position corresponding to the IV-IV line of FIG. 1 is shown. As shown in FIG. 4, the tachometer 110 of the combination meter 300 includes a display board 10 having substantially the same shape as that of the first embodiment. A circuit board 320 is disposed on the rear side of the display board 10 in the display direction. Electronic components such as a stepper motor 70, LEDs (light source units) 80, 85, 86, and a connector 160 are mounted on the rear surface of the circuit board 320 in the display direction. All these electronic components are mounted on one side only on the rear surface of the circuit board 320 in the display direction. In the circuit board 320, light guide openings 25 and 26 penetrating in the display direction are formed. The LEDs 85 and 86 are mounted on the circuit board 320 so as to straddle the light guide openings 25 and 26, respectively. The LEDs 85 and 86 are of a backside light emitting type in which light is emitted forward from the element back side through the light guide openings 25 and 26 in the display direction. Further, for example, a plurality of locking through holes 321 penetrating in the display direction are formed in the circuit board 320 (only one is shown in FIG. 4).

  The rear surface of the circuit board 320 in the display direction is covered with a bottomed container-like back cover 330. In the back cover 330, the vicinity of the area corresponding to the locking through-hole 321 of the circuit board 320 is in surface contact with the circuit board 320. Further, a locking through-hole 331 having the same opening shape as the locking through-hole 321 is formed in this area of the back cover 330.

  A flat plate-shaped light guide 310 is disposed between the display board 10 and the circuit board 320. The light guide 310 has, for example, a plurality of locking claws 311 (only one is shown in FIG. 4) protruding toward the rear side in the display direction. The locking claw portion 311 passes through the locking through hole 321 of the circuit board 320 and the locking through hole 331 of the back cover 330 and is locked to the rear surface of the back cover 330 in the display direction. As a result, the light guide 310 is fixed to the circuit board 320 and the back cover 330.

  The light guide 310 has an incident surface 310 a that is provided to face each of the light guide openings 25 and 26 and that receives light from the LED 85. The light guide 310 has reflection surfaces 310b and 310c that are formed to be inclined with respect to the incident surface 310a at a position facing the incident surface 310a. The reflective surface 310b reflects light that enters from the incident surface 310a and travels forward in the display direction, and guides the light guide part 310d on the outer peripheral side of the light guide 310 in the in-plane direction. The reflective surface 310c reflects light that enters from the incident surface 310a and travels forward in the display direction, and guides the light guide part 310e on the inner peripheral side of the light guide 310 in the in-plane direction.

  The light guide portion 310d on the outer peripheral side is formed on the circuit board 320 side inclined with respect to the emission surface 310f provided at a position facing each display design portion of the display panel 10 and the emission surface 310f. An annular reflecting surface 310g that reflects light that guides 310d toward the outer peripheral side toward the exit surface 310f is formed. The light reflected by the reflective surface 310g and emitted from the emission surface 310f to the front in the display direction transmits and illuminates each display design portion of the display panel 10.

  An inner light guide 310e is provided with an annular exit surface 310h that faces the proximal end of the pointer 111 through the pointer opening 11 of the display board 10, and a circuit board 320 that is inclined with respect to the exit surface 310h. An annular reflecting surface 310i that is formed on the side and reflects light that guides the light guide portion 310e toward the inner peripheral side toward the exit surface 310h is formed. The light reflected from the reflective surface 310i and emitted from the exit surface 310h to the front in the display direction is incident on the pointer 111 and uniformly emits light on the front side in the display direction of the pointer 111.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the light from the LEDs 85 and 86 enters the light guide 310 through the light guide openings 25 and 26, and the light guide 310 is in-plane direction along the display plate 10. The light is guided to transmit and illuminate each display design part. Thereby, the optical path length necessary for diffusing the light from the LEDs 85 and 86 can be ensured in the plane along the display panel 10. For this reason, since the circuit board 320 and the display board 10 can be arranged close to each other, the case conventionally required for securing the diffusion space between the circuit board 320 and the display board 10 is omitted. can do. Therefore, according to this embodiment, since the number of parts of the instrument can be reduced, the manufacturing cost of the instrument can be reduced.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since it is not necessary to form an opening part in the circuit board 320 in the position corresponding to each display design part, even if it is a case where the display design part area on the display board 10 is large, in the circuit board 320, it is. The area ratio of the opening can be reduced. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily secure the mounting space and wiring space for the electronic components on the circuit board 320, and to suppress the decrease in the mechanical strength of the circuit board 320.

(Other embodiments)
In the said 1st Embodiment, although the reflective surfaces 40 and 41 formed by giving metal plating to the inner surface of the bulging parts 31 and 32 were mentioned as an example, if the light from a light source part can be reflected, It may be a reflective surface that is not subjected to metal plating, or may be a reflective surface that is painted white or an unpainted reflective surface.

  In the above embodiment, the circuit boards 20 and 320 on which one side of all the electronic components and the like are mounted on the rear side in the display direction are taken as an example. However, the circuit boards 20 and 320 may be mounted on both sides. . For example, the LED 80 provided at a position that does not interfere with the display board 10 may be mounted on the front surface of the circuit boards 20 and 320 in the display direction.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as the light source unit that emits light to the front side in the display direction through the indicator opening 24 and the light guide openings 25 and 26, the back-emitting LEDs 80, 85, and 86 are given as examples. The light source unit may have a configuration in which a top-emitting LED and a light guide that reverses the path of light from the LED are combined.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the opening part 22,23,24,25,26 which penetrated the circuit board 20,320 to the display direction was mentioned as an example as a light passage part which lets light pass through the circuit board 20,320. As the light passage portion, a hole portion in which the thickness of the circuit board 20 or 320 in the display direction is reduced may be used. Further, the circuit boards 20 and 320 themselves may be formed of a translucent material. In the above embodiment, the segment type liquid crystal display panel 150 is taken as an example. However, the liquid crystal display panel 150 is a dot matrix type. Also good.

  Further, the present invention can be applied to various instruments other than a combination meter installed in a vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Display board 20, 320 Circuit board 22 Screen opening 23 Design opening 24 Indicator opening 25, 26 Light guide opening 30, 330 Back cover 31, 32, 33, 34 Bulging part 40, 41 Reflecting surface 42, 43 Diffusion space 60 Scale design (display design part)
61 Character Design (Display Design Department)
80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86 LED (light source)
100, 300 Combination meter 140 Visor part 141 Protruding part 142 Display surface 144 Diffusion space 145 Display panel 150 Liquid crystal display panel 310 Light guide

Claims (9)

A display board for displaying information;
A circuit board that is arranged on the rear side of the display direction of the display board and on which electronic components are mounted;
A first light source unit that is mounted as the electronic component on the rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board and emits light;
A first light passage part formed on the circuit board and passing light from the rear side in the display direction to the front side in the display direction;
A cover covering the display surface rear side of the circuit board;
In a region including both the first light source part and the first light passage part, a bulging part formed by the cover bulging to the rear side in the display direction;
A reflective surface formed on the front side of the bulging portion in the display direction, and reflecting the light from the first light source portion to guide the first light passage portion;
And a first display design portion that is transmitted and illuminated by the light passing through the first light passage portion.   The reflective surface has a flat bottom surface portion parallel to the circuit board, and a side surface portion formed in a tapered cylindrical shape on the outer periphery of the bottom surface portion and having an obtuse angle with the bottom surface portion. The instrument according to claim 1.   3. The instrument according to claim 1, wherein all of the electronic components are mounted on a rear surface in the display direction of the circuit board.   The instrument according to claim 3, wherein the display board is in surface contact with the front surface of the circuit board in the display direction.   5. The instrument according to claim 1, wherein the first light passing portion is an opening formed so as to penetrate the circuit board in a display direction.   The instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first display design portion is formed on the display plate.   The instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first display design portion includes a transmissive display panel. A visor part that protrudes from the peripheral edge of the display plate to the front side in the display direction and shields extraneous light; and
A display surface that is formed in the visor portion and is disposed on the front side in the display direction from the circuit board;
A second light passage portion formed on the circuit board and passing light from the rear side in the display direction to the front side in the display direction;
A second light source unit mounted on the rear surface of the circuit board in the display direction as the electronic component and emitting light to the front side of the display direction through the second light passage unit;
The instrument according to claim 1, further comprising a second display design portion formed on the display surface and transmitted and illuminated by light from the second light source portion. A display board for displaying information;
A circuit board that is arranged on the rear side of the display direction of the display board and on which electronic components are mounted;
A light passage portion formed on the circuit board and allowing light from the rear side in the display direction to pass to the front side in the display direction;
A light source unit mounted as the electronic component on the rear surface of the circuit board in the display direction and emitting light to the front side of the display direction through the light passage unit,
A light guide disposed between the display board and the circuit board and guiding light incident through the light passage portion in an in-plane direction along the display board;
An instrument comprising: a display design portion formed on the display plate and transmissively illuminated by light guided through the light guide.

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