JP2018017523A - Pointer illuminator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pointer illuminator capable of suppressing leakage of light from a gap between a pointer body and a dial plate.SOLUTION: A pointer illuminator 10 includes: a case 11 for supporting a dial plate 13; a rotary shaft member 21 which passes through the dial plate 13 and is rotatable; a cylindrical light guide body 32 which surrounds the rotary shaft member 21; a light source 31 which is provided on a lower surface side of the light guide body 32 so as to supply light to the light guide body 32; a translucent pointer body 33 which is supported on an upper side of the rotary shaft member 21 and has a light receiving surface for receiving light from an upper end face of the light guide body 32; an outside light shielding wall 23w which is supported by the pointer body 33 and extends toward the light guide body side; an inside light shielding wall 41 which is supported by the case 11 and cylindrically extends toward the pointer body side inside the outside light shielding wall 23w; and a flange section 42 which is provided on a radial direction outer face of the inside light shielding wall 41. The flange section 42 is located on a top face of the dial plate 13, and at least a partial region on the top face of the flange section 42 has a reflection section for reflecting light from an upper side inward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointer illumination device employed in, for example, a vehicle instrument.

  Conventionally, a pointer illuminating device has been put into practical use in which a pointer main body that rotates on a dial plate is formed of a light-transmitting material, and light from a light source such as an LED is guided by a light guide to shine the pointer main body. ing.

  In this type of pointer illumination device, it is common that the upper part (front) of the rotating shaft member that rotates the pointer main body and the periphery thereof are covered with a pointer cap made of a light-shielding member. As a result, light leakage is basically suppressed.

  However, slight light leakage may occur from the gap between the pointer cap and the dial.

  Therefore, for example, in the pointer illumination device 100 according to Patent Document 1, a cylindrical light shielding member 108 extending toward the pointer main body 110 is provided on the outer peripheral side upper portion of the cylindrical light guide 105 as shown in FIG. The light path is made a labyrinth by overlapping the concentric double upper side peripheral wall portions 183 and 184 of the light shielding member 108 and the pointer cap 111 in the radial direction, and thereby, between the pointer cap 111 and the dial plate 102. Light leakage from the gap S is suppressed.

JP-A-2005-156454 Patent No. 3305297

  However, in order to suppress the light leakage by adopting the configuration as shown in FIG. 7, it is necessary to secure a sufficient overlap height between the upper peripheral wall portions 183 and 184 and the pointer cap 111. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to secure a sufficient clearance with respect to the dial plate 102 for rotating the pointer main body 110.

  Further, in the configuration in which the upper peripheral wall portions are arranged side by side in the double (plurality) radial direction as shown in FIG. 7, the radial direction dimension of the pointer cap itself is increased in order to accommodate these in the pointer cap, and the design property is increased. There was a problem of lowering.

  On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration that prevents light leakage while preventing radial expansion by providing one upper peripheral wall portion and providing a light leakage prevention portion on the back side of the rotation center region. Has been. However, in the configuration of Patent Document 2, since the light leakage prevention portion is provided in the rotation center region where it is necessary to provide the light transmission portion, it is difficult to achieve the contradictory purposes of light transmission and light leakage at the same location. It is difficult. Further, in the configuration of Patent Document 2, since light emitted from the light guide body immediately reaches the light leakage prevention unit, light with high luminance is likely to be dispersed, and light leakage may not be effectively prevented.

  The present invention has been created based on the above findings. The object of the present invention is to prevent the light from the gap between the pointer main body and the dial plate while preventing the radial dimension from expanding even when the clearance for the dial plate for rotation of the pointer main body is sufficiently secured. An object of the present invention is to provide a pointer illumination device that can sufficiently suppress leakage.

  The present invention includes a case for supporting a dial, a rotatable rotary shaft member that penetrates the dial, a light guide that is provided so as to surround the rotary shaft member, and light to the light guide. A light source to be supplied; a translucent pointer main body supported on the upper side of the rotating shaft member and having a light receiving surface for receiving light from the light guide; and the light guide side supported by the pointer main body An outer light-shielding wall that extends in a cylindrical shape toward the guide, an inner light-shielding wall that is supported by the case and extends in a cylindrical shape toward the pointer main body inside the outer light-shielding wall, and the inner light-shielding wall A flange portion provided on a radially outer surface of the flange portion, and the flange portion is located on an upper surface of the dial, and at least a partial region of the upper surface of the flange portion is from above. A finger characterized by having a reflecting portion that reflects light inward It is a lighting device.

  According to the present invention, at least a part of the upper surface of the flange portion has the reflecting portion that reflects the light from the upper side to the inner side, so that the dial for rotating the pointer main body can be provided. Even when the clearance is sufficiently secured, light leakage from between the inner light shielding wall and the outer light shielding wall can be sufficiently suppressed.

  Furthermore, according to this invention, the flange part which has a reflection part on the upper surface is located on the upper surface of a dial. Thereby, instead of directly reflecting the direct strong light from the light guide as in the configuration of Patent Document 2, the reflection part reflects (bounces back) light that has been reflected (bounced back) once, Compared with Patent Document 2 in which stronger light is scattered, it is easier to control the light and can effectively prevent light leakage. That is, since the flange portion having the reflection portion is provided at a location far from the light generation source on the optical path, the effect of preventing light leakage is greater.

  Preferably, the inner light shielding wall is a single wall. In this case, the radial dimension can be reduced as compared with the case where the inner light shielding wall is a double wall.

  Preferably, at least the outer peripheral region of the upper surface of the flange portion has a plurality of concentric frustoconical surfaces that reflect light from the upper side inward.

  Preferably, the inclination angle of the plurality of concentric frustoconical surfaces is smaller on the inner peripheral side. In this case, the light can be controlled more effectively.

  Preferably, the height positions of the plurality of concentric frustoconical surfaces are deeper on the inner peripheral side. In this case, the light can be controlled more effectively.

It is a schematic sectional drawing of the pointer illuminating device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view of the rotating shaft part of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the modification of the upper surface of the flange part of the pointer | light indicator illuminating device of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the other modification of the upper surface of the flange part of the pointer | light indicator illuminating device of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the other modification of the upper surface of the flange part of the pointer | light indicator illuminating device of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the other modification of the upper surface of the flange part of the pointer | light indicator illuminating device of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the rotating shaft part of the conventional pointer illuminating device (based on FIG. 2 of patent document 1).

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a pointer illumination device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a rotating shaft portion of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pointer illumination device 10 of the present embodiment is configured as a tachometer for a vehicle and includes a substantially disc tray-shaped case 11. The case 11 has a through hole 11a at the center.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a substantially circular main scale member 16 and a ring member 17 are provided on the outer peripheral side of the case 11.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rotary shaft member 21 that can rotate about its own axis line includes a through hole 11 a in the case 11, a through hole in the display unit dial 13, and a through hole in the fine light guide 14. And extends through the through hole of the smoke dial 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the through hole 11a of the case 11, a substantially cylindrical shape is formed so as to surround the rotary shaft member 21 while leaving a sufficient gap so as not to prevent the rotation of the rotary shaft member 21. A light guide 32 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an LED light source 31 for supplying light to the light guide 32 is provided on the lower surface side of the light guide 32. Three LED light sources 31 are arranged at intervals of 120 ° in the circumferential direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pointer main body 33 is supported on the upper side of the rotary shaft member 21 via the pointer support member 22. The pointer main body 33 is made of a translucent material, extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotary shaft member 21, and receives light from the upper end surface 32u of the light guide 32. 33r.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an outer light shielding wall 22w extending in a cylindrical shape toward the light guide 32 is formed on the pointer support member 22 and the pointer cap 23 supported by the pointer main body 33. 23w is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the light shielding member 40 that provides the inner light shielding wall 41 extending in a substantially cylindrical shape toward the pointer main body 33 inside the outer light shielding walls 22 w and 23 w is provided in the case 11. It is supported by.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the light shielding member 40 has a flange portion 42 provided on the radially outer surface of the inner light shielding wall 41. And the upper surface of the flange part 42 has a shape which reflects the light from an upper side to an inward side.

  Specifically, the upper surface of the flange portion 42 of the present embodiment includes four concentric frustoconical surfaces (inclined surfaces in cross section) that reflect light from the upper side inward, and each frustoconical surface. And a cylindrical surface (an upright surface in the cross section), and has a jagged cross section as a whole. The four concentric frustoconical surfaces of the present embodiment have the same width (radial length).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the case 11 supports the smoke dial 15 that extends on the light guide 32 side with respect to the pointer main body 33, and the flange portion 42 has the smoke dial 15. It is located on the top surface.

  According to the pointer illumination device 10 of the present embodiment as described above, the upper surface of the flange portion 42 has four concentric frustoconical surfaces that reflect light from the upper side inward. Even when the clearance (height e) for the smoke dial 15 for rotating the pointer main body 33 is sufficiently secured, light leakage from between the inner light shielding wall 41 and the outer light shielding walls 22w and 23w is prevented. It can be sufficiently suppressed.

  Further, according to the pointer illumination device 10 of the present embodiment, light leakage is effectively prevented by the single inner light shielding wall and the reflection shape of the upper part of the flange without overlapping a plurality of inner light shielding walls in order to prevent light leakage. Therefore, the configuration in which the plurality of inner light shielding walls overlap each other can be made compact in the radial direction. For this reason, the diameter of the cap which accommodates them can also be comprised small, and the designability improves.

  In the above embodiment, the entire upper surface of the flange portion 42 has a shape that reflects light from the upper side inward, but the present invention is not limited to this aspect, and the flange portion 42. It is sufficient that the outer peripheral region of the upper surface has a shape that reflects light from the upper side to the inner side. For example, the region on the inner peripheral side of the upper surface of the flange portion 42 may be a conventional flat surface.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the inclination angles of the cross-sections of the four concentric frustoconical surfaces are all 45 °, but the present invention is not limited to this aspect, and as shown in FIG. It may be smaller on the side. With this configuration, the angle of the outer peripheral side that is likely to leak to the outside when light strikes is increased so that the light is reflected to the inner peripheral side. The inner peripheral side can be prevented from leaking effectively by reducing the angle on the inner peripheral side and reflecting it again to the inner peripheral side wall and the light receiving surface of the outer light shielding surface. Also in this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the innermost region may be a flat surface (in this case, the number of truncated conical surfaces is three).

  In the above embodiments, the four concentric frustoconical surfaces have the same height position (the same), but the present invention is not limited to this mode and is shown in FIG. Thus, it may be deeper on the inner peripheral side. By configuring in this way, the height of the outer peripheral side, which is more likely to leak to the outside when exposed to light, is shallower and the light is reflected to the inner peripheral side. In addition, it is possible to effectively prevent light leakage by reducing the height of the inner peripheral side to be reflected again on the inner peripheral side wall and the light receiving surface of the outer light shielding surface. Also in this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the innermost region may be a flat surface (in this case, the number of truncated conical surfaces is three).

  Further, in the above embodiment, the truncated conical surface is adopted as a shape that reflects the light from the upper side to the inner side, but the present invention is not limited to this aspect, for example, the upper surface of the flange portion, You may have a truncated polygonal cone surface and the polygonal column surface (an upright surface in a cross section) which connects each truncated polygonal pyramid surface.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pointer illumination apparatus 11 Case 11a Through-hole 12 Display part light guide 13 Display part dial plate 14 Fine light guide 15 Smoke dial 16 Main scale 17 Ring 21 Rotating shaft member 22 Pointer support member 22w Outer light shielding wall 23 Pointer cap 23w Outer light shielding wall 31 LED light source 32 Cylindrical light guide 33 Pointer body 40 Light shielding member 41 Inner light shielding wall 42 Flange 100 Conventional pointer illumination device 102 Dial 105 Light guide 108 Light shielding member 110 Pointer body 111 Pointer cap 183 First upper peripheral wall portion 184 Second upper peripheral wall portion

Claims (5)

A case that supports the dial,
A rotatable rotating shaft member penetrating the dial,
A light guide provided to surround the rotating shaft member;
A light source for supplying light to the light guide;
A translucent pointer body supported on the upper side of the rotating shaft member and having a light receiving surface for receiving light from the light guide;
An outer light-shielding wall supported by the pointer body and extending in a cylindrical shape toward the light guide body;
An inner light shielding wall that is supported by the case and extends in a cylindrical shape toward the pointer main body side inside the outer light shielding wall;
A flange portion provided on a radially outer surface of the inner light shielding wall;
With
The flange portion is located on the upper surface of the dial,
At least a part of the upper surface of the flange portion has a reflecting portion that reflects light from the upper side toward the inner side. The pointer illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the inner light shielding wall is a single wall. 3. The pointer illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting portion includes a plurality of concentric frustoconical surfaces that reflect light from the upper side inward. The pointer illumination device according to claim 3, wherein an inclination angle of the plurality of concentric frustoconical surfaces is smaller on an inner peripheral side. The pointer illumination device according to claim 3, wherein the height positions of the plurality of concentric frustoconical surfaces are deeper on the inner peripheral side.

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