JP2011242353A - Pointer type meter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pointer type meter which allows the common use of a light source for pointer illumination and a light source for dial illumination and can simplify the structure by reducing the number of components.SOLUTION: A pointer type meter 1 includes: a pointer 5 having optical transparency; a dial 6 which is arranged in a rear side of the pointer 5 and has a scale 10 serving as an index of the pointer 5 provided thereon; a stepping motor 7 for rotating the dial 6 to thereby change the position of the scale 10 indicated by the pointer 5; an LED 8; and a light guiding member 9 for guiding light emitted from the LED 8 to the pointer 5.

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointer type meter.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a pointer-type meter provided with a light source for pointer illumination and a light source for dial illumination.

JP 2002-357460 A

In a conventional pointer-type meter, there is a need to share the light source for pointer illumination and the light source for dial illumination in order to reduce the cost, and to simplify the structure by reducing the number of parts.
An object of the present invention is to provide a pointer type meter that can share a light source for pointer illumination and a light source for dial plate illumination, and can simplify the structure by reducing the number of parts.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the pointer type meter of the present invention, a pointer having light permeability, a dial plate disposed on the back side of the pointer, a movement for rotating the dial plate, and emitted from a light source A light guide member for guiding light to the pointer.

  Therefore, in this invention, the shape of a pointer and a light guide member can be made into the shape specialized for light condensing property by not rotating a pointer. Further, the base end of the pointer and the scale of the dial can be arranged at close positions. For this reason, since the dial scale can be illuminated sufficiently brightly with the light leaking from the pointer, the light source for pointer illumination and the light source for dial illumination can be shared, and the structure can be simplified by reducing the number of parts. .

1 is a front view of a pointer type meter 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a pointer-type meter 1 of Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of the dial 6 according to the first embodiment. 6 is a front view of a dial plate 20 of Example 2. FIG.

Hereinafter, the form for implementing the pointer type meter of the present invention is explained based on the example shown in a drawing.
[Example 1]
First, the configuration will be described.
1 is a front view of a pointer-type meter 1 according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the pointer-type meter 1 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a front view of a dial 6 according to the first embodiment.
A pointer-type meter 1 according to the first embodiment is a fuel gauge that indicates the remaining amount of fuel (gasoline) of a vehicle, and is disposed at a position below a dial (panel) 3 of the vehicle speedometer 2. The vehicle speed meter 2 is provided on an instrument panel (not shown) in the passenger compartment, and constitutes a combination meter together with a rotational speed meter and a water temperature meter (not shown).

The window 4 is for exposing the design portion (the scale 10, the characters, and the strip-shaped figure 12) of the dial 6 from the dial 3, and is formed at a position below the dial 3 of the vehicle speedometer 2. The window 4 has a shape surrounded by two concentric arcs having different radii centered on the rotation center O1 of the indicator 2a of the speedometer 2 and two radii of a circle centered on the rotation center O1. These are arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to the vertical direction of FIG. The length of the dial 3 in the circumferential direction of the window 4 is set to correspond to the deflection angle (about 90 degrees) of the dial 6.
The pointer 5 is used to indicate the scale 10 described on the dial 6 and is disposed on the front surface 3a of the dial 3 at the left and right center positions below the window 4. The pointer 5 is made of a light-transmitting synthetic resin and has a rectangular shape when viewed from the front. The pointer 5 is formed integrally with the light guide member 9. The base end 5 b of the pointer 5 is located at the periphery of the window portion 4, and the tip 5 a protrudes to the upper side of the window portion 4.

The dial 6 has a scale 10 serving as an index of the pointer 5, and is arranged on the back surface 3b side of the dial 3. For example, a gap of about 1 mm is set between the dial 6 and the dial 3. The dial 6 is formed of a light-transmitting material in a fan shape. On the front surface 6a of the dial plate 6, a background layer 11 having light impermeability is printed.
The scale 10 is formed of a transparent print layer without printing the background layer 11. At both ends of the scale 10, a letter “F” indicating FULL and a letter “E” indicating EMPTY are formed on the transparent printing layer without printing the background layer 11. Further, on the front surface 6a of the dial 6, the strip-like figure 12 extending along the direction of the scale 10 and smoothly changing in width according to the position of the scale 10 does not print the background layer 11, and is transparent. It is formed with a printing layer. The width of the strip-shaped figure 12 corresponds to the position of the scale 10, and is the thickest at the position F and the thinnest at the position E.

The stepping motor (movement) 7 rotates the dial 6 around the rotation axis O2 according to a signal from a controller (not shown) arranged on the circuit board 13, and the position of the scale 10 indicated by the pointer 5 The remaining amount of fuel is displayed by changing. A dial 6 is connected to the tip of the rotation shaft 7a of the stepping motor 7. The controller controls the rotation angle of the stepping motor 7 based on a signal from a liquid level sensor provided in a gasoline tank (not shown). The stepping motor 7 is disposed on the back surface 13b side of the circuit board 13, and the rotation shaft 7a passes through an opening 13c formed in the circuit board 13. The circuit board 13 is, for example, a hard circuit board in which a wiring pattern is applied to a glass epoxy base material.
The LED (light source) 8 is disposed on the back surface 3 b side of the dial 3 and on the front surface 13 a of the circuit board 13. The LED 8 is lit by receiving power supply from the circuit board 13 while the accessory power supply or ignition power supply of the vehicle is on. In addition, a meter that illuminates only at night is lit when the light is on.

The light guide member 9 guides the light emitted from the LED 8 to the pointer 5 and is formed integrally with the pointer 5. The light guide member 9 passes through the opening 3c formed in the dial plate 3. The lower end portion 9a of the light guide member 9 has a shape expanded toward the LED 8 side so that the light of the LED 8 can be more easily collected. The light guide member 9 may be colored with a color that transmits light.
Between the dial plate 3 and the circuit board 13, a reflecting plate 14 for the purpose of preventing light diffusion of the LED 8 is disposed so as to surround the LED 8. The reflection plate 14 is fixed to the circuit board 13 and the dial plate 3.

Next, the operation will be described.
A conventional pointer-type meter is provided with a light source for pointer illumination and a light source for dial illumination. The light emitted from the light source for pointer illumination is guided to the proximal end of the pointer by the light guide member, and the proximal end to the distal end of the pointer is illuminated.
Here, since the conventional pointer-type meter has many restrictions on the shape of the pointer and the light guide member due to the structure in which the pointer rotates, it is difficult to increase the shape of the pointer and the light guide member to improve the light collecting performance. It is. Also, the conventional pointer-type meter has a long distance between the base end and the tip of the pointer, that is, the distance from the base end to the dial scale is long, so the light reaching the tip of the pointer is weak, and the distance from the tip of the pointer The light that leaks cannot illuminate the scale sufficiently brightly.

  Therefore, when the light source for the pointer illumination is omitted and a part of the light emitted from the light source for the dial plate illumination is supplied to the pointer by the light guide member, the pointer becomes dark. On the other hand, when the light source for dial illumination is omitted and the dial is illuminated by light leaking from the tip of the pointer, the scale becomes dark. That is, in the conventional pointer-type meter that rotates the pointer, it is difficult to share the light source for dial illumination and the light source for pointer illumination.

On the other hand, in the pointer-type meter 1 of the first embodiment, the pointer 5 is fixed on the dial plate 3 and the dial plate 6 is rotated, so that the shapes of the pointer 5 and the light guide member 9 are light-collecting. High shape can be obtained. Specifically, the pointer 5 is thicker than the conventional one, and the length from the proximal end 5b to the distal end 5a is extremely shortened. Further, the light guide member 9 is formed integrally with the pointer 5, and the lower end portion 8a is expanded. Further, the base end 5b of the pointer 5 and the scale 10 of the dial 6 are arranged at close positions.
For this reason, since the tip 5a of the pointer 5 can be brighter than the conventional one, the scale 10 can be illuminated sufficiently brightly by the light leaking from the pointer 5. In other words, it is possible to illuminate both the pointer 5 and the dial 6 as brightly as possible using a single LED8, so the light source for pointer illumination and the light source for dial illumination can be shared, and the number of parts The structure can be simplified by the reduction.

In the first embodiment, the dial 6 is arranged on the back surface 3b side of the dial 3 of the vehicle speedometer 2, and the dial 4 is provided with the window 4 that exposes the scale 10 of the dial 6. The part except for can be hidden from the driver, and the appearance design can be improved.
In the first embodiment, the dial 6 is provided with the light-opaque background layer 11 and the light-transmitting scale 10 (including the characters and the strip-shaped figure 12). With direct transmission illumination. In addition, since it is not necessary to illuminate the periphery of the window portion 4, light leaking from the gap between the window portion 4 and the rotating dial 6 can be reduced, and the pointer 5 and the dial can be illuminated more brightly.

  In the first embodiment, the dial 6 is provided with the strip-like figure 12 that extends along the direction of the scale 10 and whose width changes according to the position of the scale 10. In a conventional pointer-type meter in which the pointer rotates, it is possible to grasp the approximate remaining amount of fuel by looking at the position (angle) of the pointer without reading the scale numbers. However, in the pointer-type meter 1 of the first embodiment, since the pointer 5 is fixed, a rough numerical value cannot be grasped from the position of the pointer 5. Therefore, in the first embodiment, by providing the band-like figure 12 having a width corresponding to the position of the scale 10, that is, the remaining amount of fuel, the rough remaining amount of fuel can be grasped from the width of the position indicated by the pointer 5. I made it. Thereby, recognition time can be shortened.

  In Example 1, the pointer type meter 1 was applied to the fuel gauge. The fuel gauge and the water temperature gauge have a deflection angle of about 90 degrees necessary for display and the visual speed is not limited. Therefore, even if the dial 6 is rotated as in the first embodiment, the fuel gauge and the water temperature gauge are large. Thus, layout flexibility can be increased by downsizing. In addition, since the responsiveness is not questioned in the display of the fuel and the water temperature, an inexpensive movement with low responsiveness can be adopted as the movement (stepping motor 7) for rotating the dial 6 and the cost increase can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the deflection angle is narrow and the range for illuminating the dial 6 is small, the entire range of the scale 10 can be illuminated brightly with one LED 8.

  In Example 1, the pointer-type meter 1 is provided on the dial 3 of the vehicle speed meter 2. Conventional combination meters generally employ a layout in which large vehicle speedometers and tachometers are arranged at the center in the left and right, and small fuel meters and water temperature meters are arranged on both sides of the left and right. For this reason, when the vehicle speed meter and tachometer are enlarged, when the combination meter is viewed from the opening of the steering wheel, only the vehicle speed meter and tachometer are visible, and the fuel meter and water temperature meter are hidden behind the steering wheel and cannot be seen. There is a high possibility that it will end. In contrast, in the first embodiment, the pointer-type meter 1 is provided on the dial 3 of the vehicle speedometer 2 so that the vehicle speedometer 2 is enlarged to improve the visibility, and the remaining amount of fuel is reduced from the opening of the steering wheel. I can confirm. Further, the configuration of the entire combination meter can be made compact as compared with a vehicle speed meter and a fuel meter separately arranged.

The pointer-type meter 1 according to the first embodiment has the following effects.
(1) The dial 5 having light transmittance, the dial 6 arranged on the back side of the pointer 5 and having the scale 10 serving as an indicator of the pointer 5, and the dial 6 is rotated to instruct the pointer 5 The stepping motor 7 that changes the position of the scale 10 to be performed, the LED 8, and the light guide member 9 that guides the light emitted from the LED 8 to the pointer 5 are provided. This makes it possible to illuminate both the pointer 5 and the dial 6 brightly to a practical level using a single LED 8. This makes it possible to share the light source for the pointer illumination and the light source for the dial illumination. Since the structure can be simplified by the reduction, the cost can be reduced.
(2) The dial 3 having the window 4 is provided, the pointer 5 is disposed on the front surface 3a side of the dial 3 and on the periphery of the window 4, and the dial 6 faces the window 4. Since it is arranged on the back surface 3b side of the plate 3, the portion excluding the scale 10 of the dial 6 can be hidden from the driver, and the appearance design can be improved.

(3) Since the dial 6 is provided with the light-transmitting scale 10 on the light-impermeable background layer 11, the scale 10 can be directly transmitted and illuminated with the light of the LED 8. In addition, since it is not necessary to illuminate the periphery of the window portion 4, light leaking from the gap between the window portion 4 and the rotating dial 6 can be reduced, and the pointer 5 and the dial can be illuminated more brightly.
(4) Since the band-like figure 12 extending along the direction of the scale 10 and changing in width according to the position of the scale 10 is written on the dial 6, the driver is required to start from the width at the position indicated by the pointer 5. The rough remaining amount of fuel can be grasped, and the recognition time can be shortened.
(5) Since the present invention is applied to a fuel gauge that indicates the remaining amount of fuel in the vehicle, it is possible to reduce the size of the dial 6 while rotating the dial 6. Further, the performance of the stepping motor 7 can be kept low, which is advantageous in terms of cost.
(6) Since the dial 3 of the speedometer 2 is provided, the remaining amount of fuel can be confirmed from the opening of the steering wheel. Further, the configuration of the entire combination meter can be made compact as compared with a vehicle speed meter and a fuel meter separately arranged.

[Example 2]
The second embodiment is an example in which the pointer-type meter 1 of the first embodiment is a water temperature gauge and is provided on a dial of a tachometer.
In the following description, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same names and the same reference numerals, and the vehicle speedometer 2 in FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a front view of the dial 6 according to the first embodiment, and the scale 15 is formed of a transparent printing layer without printing the background layer 11. On both ends of the scale 15, a letter “H” indicating HIGH and a letter “C” indicating COOL are formed by a transparent printing layer without printing the background layer 11. Further, on the front surface 6a of the dial 6, the strip-shaped figure 12 extending along the direction of the scale 15 and smoothly changing in width according to the position of the scale 15 does not print the background layer 11, and is transparent. It is formed with a printing layer. The width of the strip-shaped figure 12 corresponds to the position of the scale 10, and is the thickest at the H position and the thinnest at the C position.

Next, the operation will be described.
In the second embodiment, since the pointer type meter 1 is applied to the water temperature gauge, the size can be reduced even when the dial 6 is rotated. Moreover, since an inexpensive movement (stepping motor 7) with low responsiveness can be used, an increase in cost can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the deflection angle is narrow and the range for illuminating the dial 6 is small, the entire range of the scale 10 can be illuminated brightly with one LED 8.
Moreover, in Example 2, since the pointer type meter 1 is provided on the dial 3 of the tachometer 2, the tachometer 2 can be enlarged to increase the visibility, and the temperature of the cooling water can be confirmed from the opening of the steering wheel. . In addition, the overall configuration of the combination meter can be made compact compared to a configuration in which the rotation speed meter and the water temperature meter are separately arranged.

As described above, the second embodiment has the following effects in addition to the effects (1) to (4) of the first embodiment.
(7) Since the present invention is applied to a water temperature meter that indicates the temperature of cooling water for cooling the internal combustion engine of the vehicle, it is possible to reduce the size of the dial 6 while rotating the dial 6. Further, the performance of the stepping motor 7 can be kept low, which is advantageous in terms of cost.
(8) Since it is provided on the dial 3 of the tachometer 2, the temperature of the cooling water can be confirmed from the opening of the steering wheel. In addition, the overall configuration of the combination meter can be made compact compared to a configuration in which the rotation speed meter and the water temperature meter are separately arranged.

(Other examples)
As described above, the pointer type meter of the present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the configuration shown in the embodiments, and it relates to each claim described in the claims. Design changes and additions are allowed without departing from the spirit of the invention.
For example, the light source may be a light bulb.
The movement for rotating the dial may be a cross coil type movement.
The position of the pointer is not limited to the center of the window.
The width of the band-like figure may change in multiple steps (steps). Further, it may be discontinuous.

1 Pointer type meter
2 Speedometer (rotometer)
3 Dial (panel)
4 Window
5 Guidelines
6,20 dial
7 Stepping motor (movement)
8 LED (light source)
9 Light guide member
10 scales
11 Background layer
12 Band shape

Claims (7)

A guide with light transmission;
A dial that is arranged on the back side of the pointer and has a scale that serves as an indicator of the pointer;
A movement for rotating the dial to change the position of the scale indicated by the pointer;
A light source;
A light guide member that guides light emitted from the light source to the pointer;
A pointer-type meter characterized by comprising In the pointer type meter according to claim 1,
A panel having a window,
The pointer is on the front side of the panel and is disposed on the periphery of the window portion,
The dial according to claim 1, wherein the dial is arranged on a back side of the panel facing the window. In the pointer type meter according to claim 2,
The dial according to claim 1, wherein the dial having a light transmitting property is provided on a background layer having a light impermeability. In the pointer type meter according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A pointer-type meter characterized in that a band-like figure extending along the direction of the scale and changing in width according to the position of the scale is described on the dial. In the pointer type meter according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A fuel gauge, characterized by being applied to a fuel gauge that indicates the remaining amount of fuel in a vehicle. In the pointer type meter according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A water temperature meter applied to a water temperature meter that indicates the temperature of cooling water for cooling an internal combustion engine of a vehicle. In the pointer type meter according to claim 5 or 6,
A pointer-type meter provided on a dial of a vehicle speedometer or an internal combustion engine tachometer.

Images