JP2021092438A - Instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide the same liquid crystal indicator that both a right-handle car and a left-handle car can utilize.SOLUTION: A liquid crystal indicator 4 includes an element part 41 and a component side connector 43. A circuit board 6 includes case-side connectors 81, 82 that are housed in a case and to which the component-side connector of the liquid crystal indicator 4 fitted to a fitting part is connected. The circuit board includes a part for fitting the case-side connectors so as to achieve connection with the component-side connector even if the liquid crystal indicator is fitted to a fitting part in a first fitting mode, or a second fitting mode rotated by 180° within a display screen from the first fitting mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present disclosure relates to instruments mounted on a vehicle.

In Patent Document 1 below, in order to improve the appearance of the instrument by using a vertically oriented liquid crystal display and realizing a flat and seamless design without unevenness in the instrument mounted on the vehicle. A structure is described in which the entire display surface is covered with a sheet-shaped dial.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-28231

The liquid crystal display has directivity due to the action of retardation, and the color and contrast change depending on which direction the liquid crystal display is viewed from. That is, there is a good visual range in which excellent transmittance and contrast can be obtained. The retardation is the deviation of the wave surface (that is, the phase difference) that occurs when two different polarized light pass through, and the directivity due to the action of the retardation occurs when the polarized light having the phase difference is synthesized.

The dial is manufactured by stretching a polycarbonate sheet with a roller. By this stretching process, the molecules constituting the dial are aligned, so that the dial is given a function as a polarizing plate. Therefore, in the conventional device, the tendency that the color and contrast of the displayed object change inside and outside the good visual range due to the interaction between the liquid crystal display and the dial is further emphasized.

By the way, in the case of a right-hand drive vehicle, the driver's line of sight to see the instrument is slightly to the right with respect to the front of the instrument in the case of a right-hand drive vehicle, and conversely, in the case of a left-hand drive vehicle, the line of sight is slightly to the front of the instrument. It will be to the left. Therefore, in the conventional device, there is a problem that it is necessary to make different liquid crystal displays depending on whether the instrument is for a right-hand drive vehicle or a left-hand drive vehicle so that the line-of-sight direction and the good visual range match. there were.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a technique for making the same liquid crystal display available to both right-hand drive and left-hand drive vehicles.

One aspect of the present disclosure is an instrument mounted on a vehicle, which includes a liquid crystal display (4), a case (2), and a circuit board (6). The liquid crystal display includes a display element (41) having a shape symmetrical with respect to rotation of 180 ° in the display surface, and a component-side connector (43) having a plurality of terminals used for display control. The case includes a mounting portion (22a) on which a liquid crystal display is mounted. The circuit board includes a case-side connector (81, 82) that is housed in a case and to which a component-side connector of a liquid crystal display mounted on the mounting portion is connected. Further, regardless of whether the liquid crystal display is mounted on the mounting portion on the circuit board in either the first mounting form or the second mounting form rotated by 180 ° in the display surface from the first mounting form, the component side. A part for mounting the case-side connector is provided so that the connection with the connector is realized.

According to such a configuration, the liquid crystal display having directivity can be mounted in either the first mounting form or the second mounting form. Therefore, regardless of whether the instrument is mounted on a right-hand drive vehicle or a left-hand drive vehicle, the driver's line-of-sight direction and good visual range can be matched by simply changing the mounting form of the liquid crystal display. That is, it is possible to manufacture an instrument having excellent visibility by using a common liquid crystal display regardless of the right-hand drive vehicle and the left-hand drive vehicle.

It is a front view of an instrument. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mounting form of the liquid crystal display in each of a left-hand drive vehicle and a right-hand drive vehicle. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other structural example of the component side connector part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other structural example of the component side connector part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship with the case side connector part when there are a plurality of component side connector parts.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
[1. Constitution]
The instrument 1 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged in a vehicle such as an automobile at a position facing the driver's seat across the steering wheel, that is, a position that the driver can see while driving. In the instrument 1, various information measured by a sensor or the like mounted on the vehicle is displayed on the instrument display surface 1a, which is a surface facing the driver.

The instrument display surface 1a is provided with a pointer unit 11, an indicator light unit 12, and a segment unit 13.
The pointer unit 11 is provided in the center of the instrument display surface 1a and is an area where a speedometer provided with a pointer is displayed.

The indicator light unit 12 is provided on the left and right sides and the upper side of the pointer unit 11 on the instrument display surface 1a, and is an area in which a plurality of indicator lights expressing the situation of the automobile by pictograms, designs, or symbols are displayed. The status of the automobile represented by the indicator light includes, for example, the charging status of the battery, the position of the shift lever, the operating status of the turn signal, and the like.

The segment unit 13 is provided on the instrument display surface 1a on the lower side of the pointer unit 11, and is an area in which information such as a mileage and a time is displayed by numbers and characters. The segment portion 13 is used, for example, as an ODO meter indicating the total mileage of an automobile, a TRIP meter indicating the mileage, a clock, or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the instrument 1 includes a case 2 for storing parts and the like necessary for display in the pointer unit 11, the indicator light unit 12, and the segment unit 13. The case 2 includes an outer case 21 that forms a storage space and has an opening formed in a portion that becomes an instrument display surface 1a, and a partition plate 22 that is provided in the storage space formed by the outer case 21. The partition plate 22 is divided into a pointer portion 11, an indicator light portion 12, and a segment portion 13 to hold various parts necessary for display in each portion at predetermined positions, and the light used in each portion is mutually used. It has a structure that suppresses leakage.

The outer case 21 has an opening, and the dial 3 is attached so as to close the opening.
The dial 3 has a main body 31 and a black background printing layer 32. The main body 31 is a transparent sheet-like member manufactured by stretching a polycarbonate sheet with a roller. The black background printing layer 32 is formed by printing, for example, ink that blocks the transmission of light on one surface of the main body 31. In the dial 3, the region where the black background printing layer 32 is not formed is called a transmission region, and the region where the black background printing layer 32 is formed is called a blocking region. The dial 3 is fixed to the outer case 21 with the black background printing layer 32 facing the storage space side. The black background print layer 32 is formed so that at least the area used for displaying the segment portion 13 is a transparent area.

Here, the internal structure of the instrument 1 in the segment portion 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Although FIG. 2 shows a disassembled state having a vertical gap between the components, in reality, there is no vertical gap in the figure, and the components are assembled in contact with each other. Further, in FIGS. 2 and 3, the illustration of the outer case 21 is omitted.

The segment portion 13 includes a liquid crystal display 4, a light diffusing plate 5, and a circuit board 6.
The partition plate 22 near the segment portion 13 has an opening (hereinafter, front opening) toward the instrument display surface 1a of the instrument 1 and has a recess 22a for holding the liquid crystal display 4 and the light diffusing plate 5. The recess 22a corresponds to the mounting portion. The recess 22a also has an opening (hereinafter, bottom opening) on the bottom surface facing the front opening.

The liquid crystal display 4 and the light diffusing plate 5 are held in a laminated state in the recess 22a so that the liquid crystal display 4 is located on the front opening side and the light diffusing plate 5 is located on the bottom opening side. The front opening of the recess 22a is covered with a dial 3 fixed to the outer case 21. That is, the position of the recess 22a in the partition plate 22 is set so that the liquid crystal display 4 held in the recess 22a can be visually recognized by the driver through the transmission region of the dial 3.

The light diffusing plate 5 diffuses the light having strong directivity emitted from the light emitting element 7 described later, and the light equalized by the diffusion is incident on the liquid crystal display 4 as a backlight. The light diffusing plate 5 is a frosted glass-like sheet material formed by mixing a light diffusing material with a base resin such as acrylic.

As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid crystal display 4 includes an element portion 41, a base portion 42, and a component-side connector 43.
The element unit 41 has a rectangular display surface for displaying a plurality of digits and simple characters and symbols in a segmented manner. The element unit 41 is configured by using a negative display type liquid crystal display element, and displays in a vertically oriented type capable of high contrast and a wide viewing angle. The element unit 41 includes a so-called 7-segment display arranged so that a single-digit Arabic numeral can be expressed by seven rod-shaped segments whose lighting and extinguishing can be individually controlled. The element unit 41 may include a segment representing a decimal point and a segment representing a symbol such as a colon representing the boundary between hours, minutes, and seconds. However, the element unit 41 is designed to have a rotationally symmetric arrangement and shape so that the arrangement and shape of the segments are the same as before the rotation when rotated by 180 ° in the plane of the display surface.

That is, in the liquid crystal display 4, the segment in which the voltage is turned on is displayed in white, and the segment in which the voltage is turned off is displayed in black, so that numbers, characters and symbols are displayed.
The base portion 42 is a rectangular circuit board having a long side having substantially the same length as the element portion 41 and a short side formed longer than the element portion 41. The element portion 41 is mounted at a position biased to one end in the short side direction of the base portion 42 so that one long side of the element portion 41 coincides with one long side of the base portion 42. In the base portion 42, the component side connector 43 is mounted on a portion where the element portion 41 is not mounted.

The component side connector 43 includes a plurality of pin connectors. The pin connector projects outward from the long side portion of the base portion 42 along the short side direction of the base portion 42 from the mounting surface of the element portion 41 in the base portion 42, and faces the back surface orthogonal to the mounting surface and opposite to the mounting surface. It has a shape that is bent in an L shape in the direction. Further, the plurality of pin connectors are arranged in a row at the same interval.

The component-side connector 43 includes at least a power supply terminal to the element unit 41 and an input terminal for a control signal for controlling light transmission and blocking in each segment formed in the element unit 41.
The liquid crystal element forming the element unit 41 has a characteristic (hereinafter, directivity) in which the illuminance and contrast change depending on the viewing angle due to the action of retardation. Therefore, when the instrument 1 is attached to the right-hand drive vehicle, the element unit 41 has a desired color in the line-of-sight direction of the driver who visually recognizes the display of the segment unit 13, and maximizes the illuminance and contrast. Directivity is designed for. The angle range in which good visibility can be obtained in this way is called the good vision range.

Here, the long side direction of the element unit 41 is the X-axis direction, the short-side direction is the Y-axis direction, and the direction of the display surface is the Z-axis direction. Further, a form in which the component side connector 43 is located above the element portion 41 is defined as a first mounting form, and a form in which the component side connector 43 is located below the element portion 41 is defined as a second mounting form. The directivity of the element unit 31 and thus the liquid crystal display 4 is such that the line-of-sight direction of the driver who visually recognizes the display of the liquid crystal display 4 in the right-hand drive vehicle is the good of the liquid crystal display 4 mounted in the recess 22a in the first mounting form. It is set to be included in the visual range.

Specifically, in the first mounting mode, there is a good visual range in the direction inclined to the right from the Z-axis direction (for example, the A direction in FIG. 2) in the XZ plane. However, the line-of-sight direction of the driver who visually recognizes the display of the liquid crystal display 4 is symmetrical between the right-hand drive vehicle and the left-hand drive vehicle. However, by mounting the liquid crystal display 4 in the recess 22a in the second mounting mode, the good visual range of the liquid crystal display 4 is set to the left in the XZ plane in the XZ plane, contrary to the case of the first mounting mode. It can be moved in a direction inclined to (for example, the B direction in FIG. 2). That is, the good visual range can include the driver's line-of-sight direction in the left-hand steering wheel vehicle.

The circuit board 6 is formed so as to have a component mounting surface wider than the bottom opening, and is fixed to the partition plate 22 so as to at least close the bottom opening of the recess 22a. A space for mounting circuit components is formed between the circuit board 6 fixed to the partition plate 22 and the light diffusing plate 5 held in the recess 22a.

A plurality of light emitting elements 7 and two case-side connectors 81 and 82 are mounted on the circuit board 6. As the light emitting element 7, for example, a light emitting diode (that is, an LED) is used. The plurality of light emitting elements 7 are evenly arranged in a region located inside the bottom opening in the circuit board 6 fixed to the partition plate 22, and are used as a backlight of the liquid crystal display 4.

The two case-side connectors 81 and 82 are arranged on the circuit board 6 at positions opposite to the bottom opening on the long side of the bottom opening. Specifically, the first case-side connector 81 is mounted at a position where the connection with the component-side connector 43 of the liquid crystal display 4 mounted in the recess 22a in the first mounting form is secured. The second case-side connector 82 is mounted at a position where the connection with the component-side connector 43 of the liquid crystal display 4 mounted in the recess 22a in the second mounting form is ensured. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the liquid crystal display 4 is mounted in the second mounting form by a broken line. Further, it is not necessary that both the case-side connectors 81 and 82 are mounted on the circuit board 6, and only one of the case-side connectors 81 and 82 corresponding to the mounting form of the liquid crystal display 4 is mounted. It suffices if it is done. Further, since a plurality of pin connectors are arranged in a row at the same interval in the component side connector 43, a plurality of terminals (that is, a plurality of terminals viewed from one fixed direction) are fixed in the first mounting form and the second mounting form. , Pin connector) arrangement does not change, and becomes the same arrangement.

[2. motion]
In the instrument 1 mounted on the right-hand drive vehicle, since the liquid crystal display 4 is mounted in the first mounting form, the good visual range is located in the direction tilted to the right with respect to the front surface of the instrument 1. Therefore, in a right-hand drive vehicle, the line-of-sight direction in which the driver visually recognizes the instrument 1, particularly the liquid crystal display 4, coincides with the good visual range.

Further, in the instrument 1 mounted on the left steering wheel vehicle, since the liquid crystal display 4 is mounted in the second mounting form, the good visual range is located in the direction inclined to the left with respect to the front surface of the instrument. Therefore, in the left steering wheel vehicle, the line-of-sight direction in which the driver visually recognizes the instrument 1, particularly the liquid crystal display 4, coincides with the good visual range.

Since the element unit 41 of the liquid crystal display 4 is composed of a 7-segment display, it is possible to provide the same display regardless of whether it is mounted in the first mounting form or the second mounting form.

[3. effect]
According to the first embodiment described in detail above, the following effects are obtained.
(3a) The instrument 1 is configured so that the directional liquid crystal display 4 can be mounted in either the first mounting form or the second mounting form rotated by 180 ° in the display surface. Therefore, regardless of whether the instrument 1 is mounted on a right-hand drive vehicle or a left-hand drive vehicle, the driver's line-of-sight direction and the good visual range can be matched by simply changing the mounting form of the liquid crystal display 4. That is, the instrument 1 having excellent visibility can be manufactured by using the common liquid crystal display 4 regardless of the right-hand drive vehicle and the left-hand drive vehicle.

[4. Other embodiments]
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modifications.

(4a) In the above embodiment, the connect pin is used as the component side connector 43, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, as in the liquid crystal display 4a shown in FIG. 5, an FPC connector 44 using a flexible printed circuit board (that is, an FPC) may be used. Further, as in the liquid crystal display 4b shown in FIG. 6, the conductive rubber 45 is used, and the pattern formed on the element portion 41 and the circuit board 6 are formed by using the conductive portion 45a of the conductive rubber 45 as a terminal. It may be configured to be in contact with the pattern 61.

(4b) In the above embodiment, the element unit 41 is composed of a 7-segment display, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The segment constituting the element unit 41 may have a shape and arrangement capable of expressing numbers, letters and symbols having the same shape and the same arrangement even when rotated by 180 °.

(4c) In the above embodiment, the case where the liquid crystal display 4 has one component side connector 43 has been described, but as shown in FIG. 7, the liquid crystal display 4c has a plurality of component side connectors 43a and 43b. You may be. In this case, the plurality of component-side connectors 43a and 43b may have the same number and arrangement of terminals, or may be individually different. The number of case-side connectors 81 and 82 provided at the locations where the component-side connectors 43 having different numbers of terminals differs between the first mounting form and the second mounting form corresponds to the number of component-side connectors 43b having a large number of terminals. Use one with the number of terminals. If the terminal arrangement is different for each mounting form, use a case-side connector that can handle any arrangement.

(4d) A plurality of functions possessed by one component in the above embodiment may be realized by a plurality of components, or one function possessed by one component may be realized by a plurality of components. .. Further, a plurality of functions possessed by the plurality of components may be realized by one component, or one function realized by the plurality of components may be realized by one component. Further, a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be omitted. In addition, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added or replaced with the configuration of the other above embodiment.

(4e) In addition to the above-mentioned instrument, the present disclosure can be realized in various forms such as a system including the instrument as a component and a method of mounting a liquid crystal display in the instrument.

1 ... Instrument, 1a ... Display surface, 2 ... Case, 3 ... Dial, 4 ... Liquid crystal display, 5 ... Light diffuser, 6 ... Circuit board, 7 ... Light emitting element, 11 ... Pointer, 12 ... Indicator , 13 ... segment part, 21 ... outer case, 22 ... partition plate, 22a ... recess, 31 ... main body, 32 ... black background printing layer, 41 ... element part, 42 ... base, 43 ... component side connector, 44 ... FPC connector, 45 ... Conductive rubber, 61 ... Pattern, 81, 82 ... Case side connector.

Claims (8)

An instrument mounted on a vehicle
A liquid crystal display (4) including a display element (41) having a shape symmetrical with respect to rotation of 180 ° in the display surface, and a component-side connector (43) having a plurality of terminals used for display control.
A case (2) including a mounting portion (22a) on which the liquid crystal display is mounted, and a case (2).
A circuit board (6) including a case-side connector (81, 82) housed in the case and to which the component-side connector of the liquid crystal display mounted on the mounting portion is connected.
With
When the liquid crystal display is mounted on the circuit board in either the first mounting form or the second mounting form rotated by 180 ° in the display surface from the first mounting form, the liquid crystal display is mounted on the mounting portion. An instrument provided with a portion for mounting the case-side connector so that the connection with the component-side connector can be realized. The instrument according to claim 1.
The liquid crystal display is an instrument that is a segment type display. The instrument according to claim 1 or 2.
The display element is a vertically oriented liquid crystal element.
An instrument further provided with a transparent dial (3) provided on the display surface. The instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The component-side connector is an instrument configured so that the arrangement of the plurality of terminals is the same in the first mounting form and the second mounting form. The instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The liquid crystal display includes a plurality of the component-side connectors having different numbers of terminals.
The case-side connector provided at a portion where the component-side connector having a different number of terminals differs between the first mounting form and the second mounting form has a size corresponding to the component-side connector having a large number of terminals. Instrument with. The instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The component-side connector is an instrument configured using a plurality of connect pins. The instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The component-side connector is an instrument configured using a flexible printed circuit board. The instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
An instrument in which either the component-side connector or the case-side connector is made of conductive rubber.

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