JP2015105922A - Needle and meter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a needle and a meter, in which an angle of a reflecting surface in an extension direction of the needle can be reduced without increasing light transmitted through the reflecting surface.SOLUTION: A needle 5 includes: a light incidence surface 15 on which illumination light supplied from the rear side of the needle 5 impinges; a reflecting surface 16 which reflects the illumination light entering the inside of the needle 5 via the light incidence surface 15, toward a front end part 7 of the needle 5 in an extension direction of the needle; and a light emission surface 17 which is formed on the front side of the needle 5 to emit the illumination light reflected by the reflecting surface 16. The light incidence surface 15 includes a plane 18 which refracts the illumination light so as to cause the illumination light to impinge on the reflecting surface 16 at an angle equal to or larger than a critical angle and is inclined at a prescribed angle to the extension direction of the needle 5.

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointer and an indicating instrument, and more particularly, to a pointer and an indicating instrument used in a vehicle.

  As an indicating instrument used in vehicles such as automobiles, for example, a speedometer (speedometer) and a rotational speedometer (tachometer) are known.

  As such an indicating instrument, an analog meter provided in a combination meter portion of an instrument panel located in front of a driver's seat in a vehicle interior of a vehicle is generally used, and pointer illumination as described in Patent Document 1 is used. Some have a structure.

  The pointer illumination structure described in Patent Document 1 includes a light incident portion that introduces illumination light emitted from a light source provided on the lower surface side of the pointer into the pointer, and a reflective surface that reflects the extending direction of the pointer And a light emitting surface that is formed on the upper surface side of the pointer and transmits the illumination light reflected by the reflecting surface, and the light incident portion has a semicircular cross section so as to be convex toward the light source. And a condensing curved surface portion formed integrally with the lower surface side of the pointer.

  In Patent Document 1, the condensing curved surface portion has the above-described configuration, whereby illumination light from the light source can be introduced directly upward so as to be substantially parallel to the inside of the pointer.

JP 2007-333568 A

  By the way, by increasing the area of the reflecting surface (hereinafter referred to as “effective area of the reflecting surface”) where the illumination light from the light source reaches, the more light from the light source is on the tip side of the pointer. Can be reflected to the back.

  However, in the pointer illumination structure of Patent Document 1, by tilting the angle of the reflecting surface with respect to the extending direction of the pointer (by changing the angle of the reflecting surface so as to approach the direction parallel to the extending direction), When the effective area is widened, there is a problem in that transmitted light that passes through the reflecting surface increases, and illumination light cannot be reflected efficiently.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a pointer that can tilt the angle of the reflecting surface with respect to the direction in which the pointer extends without increasing the transmitted light on the reflecting surface, and the indicating instrument. is there.

  The pointer as the first aspect of the present invention includes a light incident surface on which illumination light supplied from the back side of the pointer is incident, and illumination light that enters the pointer through the light incident surface in the extending direction of the pointer. And a light emitting surface that is formed on the surface side of the pointer and that emits the illumination light reflected by the reflection surface. A plane inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the extending direction of the pointer for refracting illumination light so as to be incident on the reflecting surface at an angle equal to or greater than a critical angle is provided.

  As one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that illumination light entering the inside of the pointer reaches the upper end of the reflecting surface through one end of the plane in the extending direction.

  As one embodiment of the present invention, when the plane is a first light incident surface, the light incident surface preferably includes a second light incident surface that is continuous with the first light incident surface at the one end. .

  As one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the second light incident surface is a plane parallel to the extending direction.

  A pointer as one embodiment of the present invention, a pointer rotating shaft extending in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction, the pointer main body having the tip portion of the pointer and extending in the extending direction, A base end located on the opposite side of the pointer main body across the pointer rotation axis in the extending direction, the light incident surface and the reflection surface are provided at the base end, and the light emitting surface is It is preferable that the pointer main body is provided.

  An indicating instrument as a second aspect of the present invention has a dial, a support member located on the back side of the dial, and a drive rotation shaft extending between the dial and the support member. A drive device supported by the support member, and attached to the drive rotary shaft through an opening provided in the dial, and the drive rotary shaft in a plane substantially parallel to the dial on the surface side of the dial. A pointer that is rotatable at the center, and a light source that is located on the back side of the dial and supplies illumination light to the pointer through the opening of the dial, the pointer being an illumination supplied from the light source A light incident surface on which light is incident, a reflecting surface that reflects illumination light entering the inside of the pointer through the light incident surface toward the distal end side of the pointer in the extending direction of the pointer, and a surface side of the pointer Formed on the reflective surface. A light emitting surface that emits the emitted illumination light, and the light incident surface refracts the illumination light so that the illumination light supplied from the light source is incident on the reflection surface at an angle greater than a critical angle. A plane inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the extending direction of the pointer is provided.

  According to the pointer and the indicating instrument of the present invention, the angle of the reflecting surface with respect to the extending direction of the pointer can be tilted without increasing the light transmitted through the reflecting surface.

It is sectional drawing which shows the indicating instrument as one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view showing a pointer as one embodiment of the present invention. It is the expanded sectional view which expanded some pointers in the indicating instrument of FIG. It is a figure which shows the path | route of the light ray of the illumination light within the pointer | guide in the indicating instrument shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a pointer and an indicating instrument according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the common member in each figure.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an indicating instrument 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The indicating instrument 1 includes a dial 2, a support member 3 positioned on the back side of the dial 2, a driving device 4 supported by the support member 3, and a pointer 5 rotatable on the front side of the dial 2. And a light source 6 that is located on the back side of the dial 2 and supplies illumination light to the pointer 5.

  Hereafter, each structure and the characteristic part in this embodiment are demonstrated in detail. In addition, the indicating instrument 1 demonstrated here contains the pointer | guide 5 which is one embodiment of this invention.

[Dial 2]
The dial 2 is provided with, for example, a speed scale and a shaft rotational speed (number of rotations per unit time) scale along a trajectory when the tip 7 of the pointer 5 described later rotates. The front end portion 7 is rotated to an appropriate position according to the speed of the vehicle and the rotational speed of the shaft by the driving device 4 described later, and indicates the corresponding speed value and rotational speed value on the dial 2. Thereby, the user can easily recognize the speed of the vehicle and the rotational speed of the shaft.

  The dial 2 in the present embodiment is a flat plate member made of a resin material, and is disposed to face the driver at an angle that is easy to see from the driver of the vehicle. In addition, the scale provided on the surface of the dial 2 (the surface on the user side such as a driver) is formed of a light-transmitting material, and at the night or the like the back side of the dial 2 (opposite the surface) Illuminated from behind by a backlight installed on the surface side.

[Supporting member 3]
The support member 3 is a flat plate member located on the back side of the dial 2 and arranged in parallel with the dial 2. The support member 3 in this embodiment is comprised by the board | substrate 3a.

[Drive device 4]
The drive device 4 has a drive rotation shaft 8 extending between the dial 2 and the support member 3 and is supported by the support member 3. Specifically, the drive device 4 includes a drive motor 9 and a drive rotary shaft 8 attached to the drive motor 9 and driven to rotate by the drive motor 9. In the present embodiment, the drive motor 9 is supported by the support member 3 by being attached to the back side of the support member 3 (the side opposite to the surface on the user side). The support member 3 defines an opening 11 penetrating from the front surface side (user side surface) to the back surface side, and the drive rotating shaft 8 passes through the opening 11 from the back surface side to the front surface side. And extended. For example, a stepping motor can be used as the drive motor 9.

  Further, drive control of the drive device 4, that is, rotation control of the drive rotary shaft 8 by the drive motor 9 is performed by the control unit 12.

[Guideline 5]
The pointer 5 is rotatable on a surface side of the dial 2 in a plane substantially parallel to the dial 2. Specifically, the pointer 5 is attached to the drive rotary shaft 8 through the opening 13 provided in the dial 2 and rotates around the drive rotary shaft 8 in a plane substantially parallel to the dial 2 on the surface side of the dial 2. Is possible. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a single unit of the pointer 5. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing only a part of the pointer 5 in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pointer 5 is rotatably supported on the drive rotation shaft 8 of the drive device 4. The pointer 5 includes a light incident surface 15 on which illumination light supplied from the back side of the pointer 5 (opposite surface facing the user such as a driver) enters, and the pointer 5 through the light incident surface 15. Illumination light entering the inside is reflected on the reflecting surface 16 that reflects toward the tip 7 side of the pointer 5 in the extending direction A of the pointer 5 and on the surface side of the pointer 5 (the surface side facing the user such as a driver). A light emitting surface 17 that is formed and emits the illumination light reflected by the reflecting surface 16 outward.

  The light incident surface 15 refracts the illumination light so that the illumination light is incident on the reflection surface 16 at an angle greater than the critical angle. The plane 18 is inclined by a predetermined angle θ2 with respect to the extending direction A of the pointer 5 (first surface). A light incident surface 19) is provided (see FIG. 3). In other words, the angle θ2 of the plane 18 with respect to the extending direction A of the pointer 5 is such that the illumination light from the light source 6 (see FIG. 1) entering the pointer 5 through the plane 18 exceeds the critical angle on the reflecting surface 16. The angle is set to an angle at which the light is incident and is totally reflected by the reflecting surface 16. 1 and 3 show a cross section that is parallel to the extending direction A of the pointer 5 and that passes through the front surface and the back surface of the pointer 5.

  The reflecting surface 16 emits illumination light emitted from the light source 6 provided on the back side of the pointer 5 and transmitted through the light incident surface 15 and entering the pointer 5 in the extending direction A of the pointer 5. Reflected to the part 7 side. The details of the illumination light that passes through the light incident surface 15 and reaches the reflective surface 16 will be described later (see FIG. 4).

  The light emitting surface 17 is an emission surface that emits the illumination light reflected by the reflecting surface 16 outward. The user can easily identify the position of the pointer 5 at night or the like by the light emitted from the light emitting surface 17.

  More specifically, the pointer 5 includes a pointer rotation shaft 20, a pointer main body 21, and a base end portion 22, and the light incident surface 15 and the reflection surface 16 described above are provided at the base end portion 22 of the pointer 5. (See FIGS. 1 to 3). The light emitting surface 17 described above is provided on the pointer main body 21 of the pointer 5 (see FIG. 1). That is, the light incident surface 15 is formed on the outer wall on the back surface side of the outer wall of the base end portion 22, and the reflection surface 16 is formed on the outer wall on the front surface side of the outer wall of the base end portion 22. The light emitting surface 17 is formed on the outer wall on the surface side of the outer wall of the pointer main body 21.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pointer rotation shaft 20 is connected to the drive rotation shaft 8 through the opening 13 of the dial 2. Thereby, the pointer 5 can be rotated on the surface side of the dial 2 with the rotation of the drive rotary shaft 8. Here, the axial direction B of the pointer rotating shaft 20 (the same direction as the axial direction of the drive rotating shaft 8) is a direction substantially orthogonal to the extending direction A of the pointer 5.

  The pointer main body 21 can rotate around the pointer rotation shaft 20. Specifically, the pointer main body 21 is integrated with the pointer rotating shaft 20 so as to rotate following the rotation of the pointer rotating shaft 20, and is in one direction (clockface 2) substantially orthogonal to the axial direction B of the pointer rotating shaft 20. Is one direction along the surface of the needle 5 and extends in the extending direction A of the pointer 5 described above. The pointer main body 21 has a tip 7 that indicates a scale such as a speed provided on the dial 2.

  The outer wall of the pointer main body 21 in the present embodiment has a surface that is a surface on the user side, a back surface that is the opposite surface, and both side surfaces that connect the front surface and the back surface, and part or all of the surface is the above-described surface. A light emitting surface 17 is formed. Further, the back surface of the pointer main body 21 constitutes an irregular reflection surface 26 that diffuses and diffuses toward the front surface side of the pointer main body 21 when the illumination light reflected by the reflecting surface 16 is incident. The irregular reflection surface 26 can be formed, for example, by using a rough surface, or by providing a synthetic resin layer mixed with a fluorescent paint or other light diffusing material. By providing the irregular reflection surface 26, the illumination light reflected by the reflection surface 16 can be efficiently emitted outward from the light emitting surface 17. Note that the surface of the pointer main body 21 is inclined so as to approach the back side as it goes from the pointer rotation shaft 20 toward the tip end portion 7. That is, the thickness of the pointer main body 21 in the axial direction B of the pointer rotating shaft 20 is configured to gradually decrease from the pointer rotating shaft 20 toward the distal end portion 7.

  The base end portion 22 is located on the opposite side of the pointer main body 21 with the pointer rotation shaft 20 in between in the extending direction A of the pointer 5.

  The base end portion 22 in the present embodiment is configured to extend only in the extending direction A of the pointer 5, but in addition to this direction, the base end portion 22 extends in another radial direction around the pointer rotating shaft 20. The base end portion 22 may also be extended. For example, the base end portion 22 may have a fan shape when viewed from the upper side in the axial direction B (upper side in FIG. 1).

  The outer wall of the base end portion 22 in the present embodiment has a surface that is a surface on the user side, a rear surface that is a surface opposite to the front surface, and both side surfaces that connect the front surface and the rear surface, and the entire surface. Constitutes the reflection surface 16 described above, and the entire back surface constitutes the light incident surface 15 described above. As shown in FIG. 3, the first light incident surface 19 of the reflecting surface 16 and the light incident surface 15 is inclined with respect to the extending direction A of the pointer 5 at predetermined angles θ1 and θ2, respectively. Thus, the illumination light emitted from the light source 6 can be totally reflected by the reflection surface 16. Details of this point will be described later (see FIG. 4).

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the light incident surface 15 in the present embodiment is a second continuous with the first light incident surface 19 in addition to the plane 18 (first light incident surface 19) described above. A light incident surface 24 is provided. Specifically, the second light incident surface 24 in the present embodiment is provided at a position that is continuous with the first light incident surface 19 on the distal end portion 7 side of the pointer 5 (pointer body 21). The second light incident surface 24 is a flat surface extending in a direction parallel to the extending direction A of the pointer 5 and is continuous with the first light incident surface 19 at a predetermined angle. Details of this point will also be described later (see FIG. 4).

  In the present embodiment, the entire back surface of the base end portion 22 is the light incident surface 15 (the first light incident surface 19 and the second light incident surface 24). However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. It is also possible to make only a partial area of the back surface of the base end portion 22 a light incident surface according to the material, design, etc. used.

  The pointer 5 in the present embodiment is integrally molded with a resin material having optical transparency. The pointer rotating shaft 20 is a cylindrical portion that extends in the axial direction B orthogonal to the extending direction A of the pointer 5, but it is sufficient that the pointer 5 is provided with a rotating bearing portion that receives the drive rotating shaft 8. It is not limited to the shape of the pointer rotation shaft 20 in the embodiment. Further, in this embodiment, polycarbonate is used as a transparent resin material having optical transparency. However, any resin material having optical transparency may be used, and for example, acrylic may be used. Furthermore, the pointer 5 in the present embodiment is integrally molded with a resin material having optical transparency. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the pointer main body 21 and the base end portion 22 are integrally molded, and after molding, The pointer rotation shaft 20 may be connected to integrate the pointer rotation shaft 20, the pointer main body 21, and the base end portion 22.

[Light source 6]
As shown in FIG. 1, the light source 6 is attached to the support member 3, and is provided on the back surface of the pointer 5 through the opening 13 of the dial 2, specifically on the back surface side of the base end portion 22 of the pointer 5. Illumination light is supplied to the light incident surface 15. More specifically, the light source 6, the opening 13, and the light incident surface 15 in the present embodiment are arranged in a straight line in the axial direction B of the pointer rotation shaft 20, and from the light source 6 to the opening 13 side, that is, Illumination light is emitted toward the light incident surface 15 side. As the light source 6 in the present embodiment, a point light source 6a such as a light emitting diode can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the light source 6, the drive rotation shaft 8 of the driving device 4, and the pointer rotation shaft 20 of the pointer 5 in the present embodiment are the rotation direction C of the pointer rotation shaft 20 (the rotation of the drive rotation shaft 8). (The same direction as the direction) is surrounded by an annular housing 25. The annular housing 25 suppresses light emitted from the light source 6 from leaking from other than the opening 13 of the dial 2. In addition, a light guide unit that reflects the illumination light from the light source 6 is provided on the inner wall of the housing 25 so that the illumination light from the light source 6 is reflected by the inner wall of the housing 25 and guided to the opening 13 of the dial 2. You may make it provide. If it is set as the structure which provides a light guide part, the illumination light which reaches | attains the light-incident surface 15 of the pointer 5 from the light source 6 can be increased further. The light guide portion on the inner wall of the housing 25 can be realized by various methods such as making the material constituting the housing 25 a highly reflective material or processing the inner wall of the housing 25. By forming 25 with a white resin material, the white inner wall of the housing 25 can be used as a light guide.

  In addition, since the base end portion 22 rotates around the pointer rotation shaft 20 in the same manner as the pointer main body 21, a plurality of light sources 6 are arranged in the rotation direction C of the pointer rotation shaft 20. By arranging in this way, illumination light from any one of the light sources 6 can be taken from the light incident surface 15 into the pointer 5 regardless of the position of the pointer rotation shaft 20 in the rotation direction C.

[Path of illumination light from light source 6]
Up to this point, the configuration of the indicating instrument 1 as the present embodiment has been mainly described. Hereinafter, the illumination mechanism in the indicating instrument 1 will be described using the path of illumination light from the light source 6. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the pointer 5 as in FIG. 3, but the light rays of the illumination light supplied from the light source 6 (see FIG. 1) are indicated by solid lines and broken lines. That is, in FIG. 4, the illumination light from the light source 6 enters the pointer 5 from the light incident surface 15 at the proximal end portion 22 of the pointer 5, is then reflected by the reflecting surface 16, and then the distal end portion 7 of the pointer main body 21. The path | route of the illumination light which advances to the side (refer FIG. 1) is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the illumination light emitted from the light source 6 first passes through the air and reaches the light incident surface 15 provided on the back surface side of the base end portion 22 of the pointer 5. The illumination light beam travels linearly from the light source 6 until it reaches the light incident surface 15.

  Of the illumination light emitted from the light source 6, the light rays of the illumination light incident on the first light incident surface 19 and the second light incident surface 24 on the light incident surface 15 are the first light incident surface 19 and the second light incident surface. The light passes through the first light incident surface 19 and the second light incident surface 24 without being reflected by the light 24, and enters the pointer 5. When the illumination light passes through the first light incident surface 19 and the second light incident surface 24, except for the illumination light incident from directions orthogonal to the first light incident surface 19 and the second light incident surface 24, respectively. The illumination light from the light source 6 is refracted at the first light incident surface 19 and the second light incident surface 24 and enters the inside of the pointer 5.

  The illumination light that has entered the inside of the pointer 5 from the light incident surface 15 travels linearly inside the pointer 5 and reaches the reflecting surface 16. In the present embodiment, the angle θ1 (see FIG. 3) of the reflecting surface 16 with respect to the extending direction A of the pointer 5 is set to 35 degrees, and the illumination light incident on the reflecting surface 16 enters the air from the reflecting surface 16 into the air. It is totally reflected without transmitting. That is, the incident angle of the illumination light incident on the reflecting surface 16 is not less than the critical angle.

  Most of the illumination light reflected by the reflecting surface 16 travels inside the pointer main body 21 toward the distal end portion 7 side (see FIG. 1) of the pointer main body 21 and reaches the irregular reflection surface 26 on the back surface of the pointer main body 21. . The illumination light incident on the irregular reflection surface 26 is diffusely reflected by the irregular reflection surface 26 and diffused in various directions on the surface side of the pointer main body 21.

  Most of the diffused illumination light goes out from the light emitting surface 17 of the pointer main body 21. The user can easily recognize the position of the pointer 5 by perceiving the light emitted outward.

  Here, the angles θ1 and θ2 of the reflecting surface 16 and the first light incident surface 19 of the light incident surface 15 with respect to the extending direction A of the pointer 5 in the sectional view of FIG. 3 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the reflecting surface 16 is incident from the back side of the pointer 5, and totally reflects to the distal end portion 7 side of the pointer main body 21 without transmitting all the illumination light incident on the reflecting surface 16. It is desirable to make it. This is because the illumination light transmitted through the reflecting surface 16 is not likely to contribute to the illumination of the pointer main body 21. Therefore, when the illumination light from the light source is introduced directly above the pointer so as to be substantially parallel to the inside of the pointer as in the pointer illumination structure described in Patent Document 1, all illumination light incident on the reflecting surface is obtained. Is preferably set to an angle larger than the critical angle (about 39 degrees), which corresponds to the angle θ1 of the present embodiment.

  On the other hand, the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16 in this embodiment is 35 degrees (an angle smaller than the critical angle 39 degrees of the reflecting surface 16). In addition, since the pointer 5 in the present embodiment is made of polycarbonate, the critical angle is about 39 degrees as in the pointer illumination structure described in Patent Document 1. Therefore, if the light beam emitted from the light source 6 and traveling in the axial direction B of the pointer rotating shaft 20 reaches the reflecting surface 16 linearly without being refracted by the light incident surface 15, the reflecting surface of this light beam is assumed. The incident angle with respect to 16 is also 35 degrees, which is smaller than the critical angle 39 degrees of the reflecting surface 16, so that the light beam is transmitted through the reflecting surface 16.

  That is, in the traveling direction of the illumination light in the pointer illumination structure of Patent Document 1, the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16 is tilted, and the width W of the reflecting surface 16 in the extending direction A of the pointer 5 is increased. Even if the reflection surface area where the emitted illumination light reaches, that is, the effective area of the reflection surface 16 is widened, the transmitted light transmitted through the reflection surface 16 increases, and the illumination light emitted from the light source 6 is indicated as a pointer. There is a problem that it is difficult to make effective use for the illumination of No. 5.

  However, the light incident surface 15 of the present embodiment includes a plane 18 as a first light incident surface 19 that is inclined at a predetermined angle θ2 with respect to the extending direction A of the pointer 5, and the plane 18 is the plane 18. The illuminating light can be refracted so that the illuminating light entering the pointer 5 enters the reflecting surface 16 at an angle greater than the critical angle. Therefore, when it is assumed that the light beam of the illumination light emitted from the light source 6 travels linearly from the light source 6 to the reflection surface 16 without being refracted by the first light incident surface 19, the assumed illumination light is reflected. Even if the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16 is set to an angle that is incident on the surface 16 at an incident angle smaller than the critical angle, the plane 18 (inclined by a predetermined angle θ2 with respect to the extending direction A of the pointer 5 ( By providing the first light incident surface 19), the illumination light can be refracted by the plane 18 and incident on the reflecting surface 16 at an incident angle greater than the critical angle, and as a result, totally reflected by the reflecting surface 16. It becomes possible. Further, the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16 can be designed relatively freely by adjusting the angle θ2 of the first light incident surface 19, so that the first light incident surface 19 extends in the extending direction. The configuration including the plane 18 that is inclined at a predetermined angle θ2 with respect to A can contribute to an improvement in the degree of freedom in design of the pointer 5.

  In the present embodiment, the angle θ2 of the first light incident surface 19 is adjusted in order to set the angle θ1 of the reflective surface 16 to 35 degrees, but the angle θ2 of the first light incident surface 19 is limited to this angle. Instead, it can be appropriately adjusted according to the position of the light source 6, the desired angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16, the material of the pointer 5, and the like.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one end of the first light incident surface 19 in the extending direction A of the pointer 5 is the lower end (one end on the back side) of the reflecting surface 16 and the pointer main body. The top portion 28 is formed continuously in the plane X including the back surface of 21.

  Furthermore, the other end of the first light incident surface 19 in the extending direction A of the pointer 5 (one end on the distal end portion 7 side of the pointer 5) is continuous with one end of the second light incident surface 24 to form a top portion 29. (See FIGS. 3 and 4). As shown in FIG. 4, the upper end 23 of the reflecting surface 16 (one end on the tip 7 side of the planar reflecting surface 16) is passed through the other end of the first light incident surface 19 in the extending direction A of the pointer 5. Illumination light entering the interior of That is, the position of the top portion 29 is set to a position where the light beam reaching the upper end 23 of the reflecting surface 16 among the light beams of illumination light entering the pointer 5 through the first light incident surface 19 passes. If the top portion 29 is set closer to the distal end portion 7 side, a part of the illumination light transmitted through the first light incident surface 19 does not reach the reflecting surface 16 and may not be used for illumination of the pointer 5 and may be wasted. . Therefore, as in the present embodiment, the position of the top portion 29 is a position through which a light beam reaching the upper end 23 of the reflecting surface 16 among the light beams of illumination light entering the pointer 5 through the first light incident surface 19 passes. It is preferable to set to.

  Note that the positions of the upper end 23 and the lower end (the top portion 28 in the present embodiment) of the reflecting surface 16 can be appropriately changed according to the design of the pointer 5, the configuration of the cap 27 (see FIG. 1), and the like. .

  The light incident surface 15 in the present embodiment includes a second light incident surface 24 in addition to the first light incident surface 19. As shown in FIG. 4, the second light incident surface 24 refracts (or refracts) the illumination light emitted from the light source 6 and deviates from the first light incident surface 19 toward the reflection surface 16. Without transmitting). That is, the angle of the second light incident surface 24 with respect to the extending direction A is such that the illumination light from the light source 6 that passes through the second light incident surface 24 is refracted toward the reflective surface 16 or directed toward the reflective surface 16. Therefore, it is set to an angle at which light is transmitted without being refracted. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the second light incident surface 24 in the present embodiment is a flat surface extending in a direction parallel to the extending direction A of the pointer 5, and the second light incident surface with respect to the extending direction A. The angle of the surface 24 is 0 degrees.

  As described above, by providing the second light incident surface 24 as well as the first light incident surface 19, the illumination light transmitted through the first light incident surface 19 is totally reflected by the reflective surface 16. In addition, the illumination light transmitted through the second light incident surface 24 without being transmitted through the first light incident surface 19 by the second light incident surface 24 is all moved toward the tip 7 of the pointer 5 by the reflecting surface 16. It becomes possible to make it reflect. That is, by providing the first light incident surface 19 and the second light incident surface 24, more illumination light is emitted from the light source 6 as compared with the structure including only the first light incident surface 19. Since it can be used for light emission of the pointer 5, the illumination efficiency of the pointer 5 can be improved.

  The angle of the second light incident surface 24 with respect to the extending direction A of the pointer 5 is refracted so that the illumination light emitted from the light source 6 and transmitted through the second light incident surface 24 is directed toward the reflecting surface 16. The angle is not limited to the angle (0 degree) in the present embodiment, as long as the angle is such that the illumination light is totally reflected by the reflecting surface 16 (an angle greater than the critical angle of the reflecting surface 16). . Therefore, the angle of the second light incident surface 24 with respect to the extending direction A is set to, for example, an acute angle (the first light incident surface 19 and the second light incident surface 24, depending on the position of the light source 6, the angle θ 1 of the reflective surface 16, etc. Can be set to a predetermined angle of an obtuse angle.

  The other end of the second light incident surface 24 on the tip 7 side in the extending direction A of the pointer 5 extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the second light incident surface 24 (the same direction as the axial direction B). It is continuous with one end of the plane 30 to be As described above, the back surface side of the base end portion 22 of the pointer 5 in the present embodiment protrudes in the axial direction B of the pointer rotating shaft 20 from the back surface of the pointer main body 21 as shown in FIGS. A light incident protrusion is provided, and the light incident protrusion has three sides of the first light incident surface 19, the second light incident surface 24, and the plane 30 in the cross-sectional views of FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. It has a trapezoidal shape.

  Here, in this embodiment, the angle W1 of the reflecting surface 16 in the extending direction A of the pointer 5 is increased by making it possible to reduce the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16 (decline the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface). However, the effective area of the reflecting surface 16 is increased, but the range of the reflecting surface 16 is simply expanded to the upper end 23 side and / or the lower end (top portion 28) side without reducing the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16. Thus, a method of increasing the effective area by increasing the width W of the reflecting surface 16 is also conceivable. However, increasing the effective area of the reflecting surface 16 by expanding the upper end 23 side of the reflecting surface 16 without reducing the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16 is the thickness T of the pointer 5 (the axial direction of the pointer 5). (Length in B) becomes thick and may affect the configuration of the cap 27, for example, the size and shape of the cap 27, which is not preferable in terms of design. Even if the effective area of the reflecting surface 16 is increased by expanding the lower end (the top portion 28 in this embodiment) side of the reflecting surface 16 without reducing the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16, the reflecting surface 16 Most of the illumination light reflected by the increased portion does not reach the inside of the pointer main body 21, so that the illumination efficiency of the pointer 5 cannot be greatly improved. Therefore, it is beneficial to increase the effective area of the reflecting surface 16 by increasing the width W of the reflecting surface 16 by reducing the angle θ1 of the reflecting surface 16 as in this embodiment.

  The present invention relates to a pointer and an indicating instrument, and more particularly, to a pointer and an indicating instrument used in a vehicle.

1: indicator instrument 2: dial 3: support member 3a: substrate 4: drive device 5: pointer 6: light source 6a: point light source 7: tip 8: drive rotary shaft 9: drive motor 11: opening 12: controller 13 : Opening 15: Light incident surface 16: Reflective surface 17: Light emitting surface 18: Flat surface 19: First light incident surface 20: Pointer rotating shaft 21: Pointer main body 22: Base end portion 23: Upper end 24 of the reflective surface: Second input Optical surface 25: Housing 26: Diffuse reflecting surface 27: Cap 28: Top 29: Top 30: Plane A: Direction of extension of the pointer B: Axial direction of the pointer rotating shaft C: Rotating direction of the pointer rotating shaft T: Thickness X of the pointer : Plane W including back surface of pointer main body: width of reflecting surface in extending direction of pointer θ1: angle of first light incident surface θ2: angle of second light incident surface

Claims (6)

A light incident surface on which illumination light supplied from the back side of the pointer is incident, and a reflection surface that reflects the illumination light that enters the pointer through the light incident surface toward the distal end side of the pointer in the direction in which the pointer extends. A light emitting surface that is formed on the surface side of the pointer and emits illumination light reflected by the reflecting surface;
The light incident surface includes a plane inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the extending direction of the pointer, which refracts the illumination light so that the illumination light is incident on the reflection surface at an angle greater than a critical angle. Guidelines to do.   2. The pointer according to claim 1, wherein illumination light entering the inside of the pointer reaches the upper end of the reflecting surface through one end of the plane in the extending direction. When the plane is the first light incident surface,
The pointer according to claim 2, wherein the light incident surface includes a second light incident surface continuous with the first light incident surface at the one end.   The pointer according to claim 3, wherein the second light incident surface is a plane parallel to the extending direction. A pointer rotation shaft extending in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction, a pointer main body having the tip portion of the pointer and extending in the extending direction, and sandwiching the pointer rotation shaft in the extending direction A proximal end located on the opposite side of the pointer body,
The pointer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the light incident surface and the reflection surface are provided at the base end portion, and the light emitting surface is provided at the pointer main body. Dial,
A support member located on the back side of the dial,
A drive device having a drive rotation shaft extending between the dial and the support member, and supported by the support member;
The pointer is attached to the drive rotation shaft through an opening provided in the dial, and can be rotated around the drive rotation shaft in a plane substantially parallel to the dial on the surface side of the dial;
A light source located on the back side of the dial and supplying illumination light to the pointer through the opening of the dial;
The pointer includes a light incident surface on which illumination light supplied from the light source is incident, and illumination light that enters the pointer through the light incident surface toward the distal end side of the pointer in the extending direction of the pointer. A reflective surface that reflects, and a light emitting surface that is formed on the surface side of the pointer and emits illumination light reflected by the reflective surface,
The light incident surface is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the extending direction of the pointer, which refracts the illumination light so that the illumination light supplied from the light source is incident on the reflection surface at an angle greater than a critical angle. An indicating instrument comprising a flat surface.

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