JP2940788B2 - Instrument lighting system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting device for an instrument suitable for mounting on a vehicle, and more particularly, to a light receiving portion formed on a plate-shaped light guide plate made of a transparent light-transmitting material for lighting. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting device for an instrument that introduces light facing a light source, guides the light introduced from the light receiving unit, and illuminates a pointer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a device for illuminating a pointer or a dial such as an instrument for a vehicle, light emitted from a light source for illumination disposed behind the dial is guided to the pointer and the dial by a light guide plate to shine them. There is something. FIG. 5 shows an example of a conventional configuration of a vehicle instrument provided with such an illuminating device. In FIG. 5, an instrument movement 2 for driving a pointer 1 according to a measured amount is shown.
Scales, characters, etc. for displaying the measurement amount are drawn by character-absent printing, and the dial 3 on which the scale on the dial 3 is indicated by the pointer 1 in accordance with the measurement amount, and installed behind the dial 3 An instrument unit 10 including a light guide plate 4 formed of a transparent light-transmitting material such as an acrylic resin in a plate shape is housed and fixed in an instrument case 6.

A light receiving portion 41 is formed on the light guide plate 4, and the light receiving portion 41 is arranged in close proximity to the illumination light source 7 and takes in the illumination light 7 b emitted from the illumination light source 7 into the light guide plate 4. The illumination light 7b ′ taken from the light receiving unit 41 is
The light is guided to the dial 3 and the pointer 1 while traveling straight in the light guide plate 4 or repeating reflection between both surfaces thereof, and the illumination is performed by shining the light.

A through hole 61 for mounting the illumination light source 7 is formed in the instrument case 6, and the illumination light source 7 is fitted and fixed in the through hole 61, so that the light receiving portion 41 and the illumination light source 7 can be moved relative to each other. Target positioning is performed. The power supply to the illumination light source 7 is performed by connecting a wiring for supplying power to the illumination light source 7 from an external circuit to a printed wiring board 90 disposed along the back surface of the instrument case 6 having the light source mounting through-hole 61. It is performed by forming.
In addition, a pair of conductive portions 91 are formed around the periphery of the through hole 61 and are formed by being routed from the printed wiring board 90. A pair of socket terminals 85 provided inside the holding portion 81 of the valve socket 80 are provided with a pair of conductive portions 91. Contact pieces 86 that are electrically connected to each other are formed.

In the above conventional example, the illumination light source 7 is a wedge-based bulb 70, and the light-emitting portion of the wedge-based bulb 70 is a filament 71 as shown in FIG.
The filament 71 is sealed in a glass bulb 72 and emits light by incandescent when a current is passed. Both ends of the filament 71 are drawn out to the outside by lead wires penetrating the wedge-shaped sealing portion 73 of the glass bulb 72, and both lead wires are folded to the opposite sides along both surfaces of the wedge outside the sealing portion 73. A valve terminal 74 is formed.
In the usual structure of the wedge-based valve 70,
The major axis direction 71x of the filament 71 is parallel to the plane of the wedge of the sealing portion 73.

[0006] A valve socket 80 is used to mount the wedge-based valve 70 to the instrument case 6. The bulb socket 80 is formed with a cylindrical retaining portion 81 having a space corresponding to the shape extending from the lower portion of the glass bulb 72 to the wedge-shaped sealing portion 73, thereby retaining the wedge-based bulb 70. I do. A projection-shaped tightening guide 82, a flange-shaped receiving portion 83, and a claw-shaped rotation stopper 84 are formed on the outer periphery of the holding portion 81, respectively.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the wedge base type valve 70 is held in the valve socket 80. FIG. 7 shows the details of the light source mounting through-hole 61 provided at the position where the valve socket 80 is mounted on the instrument case 6 together with the bulb socket 80. A notch 62 for positioning is formed at the edge of the through hole 61.

After inserting the holding portion 81 of the valve socket 80 into the mounting through hole 61 so that the positions of the tightening guide 82 and the notch 62 coincide with each other and the receiving portion 83 contacts the edge of the through hole 61, When rotated in the direction of 84x, the edge of the through-hole 61 is sandwiched between the tightening guide 82 and the receiving portion 83, and the rotation stopper 84 hits the edge of the notch 62 to prevent rotation. Valve socket 8
0 is fixed at a predetermined position on the instrument case 6 and at the same time, the major axis direction 71x of the filament 71 is determined.

That is, from the relationship between the wedge-shaped sealing portion 73 and the holding portion 81, the filament 71 in the longitudinal direction 71x
8 is determined with respect to the valve socket 80, and the direction of the valve socket 80 is determined with respect to the instrument case 6 when the claw-shaped detent 84 formed on the holding portion 81 contacts the edge of the notch 62. As a result, FIG. The wedge-based valve 70 is fixed to the instrument case 6 in such a manner that the angle B of the long axis direction 71x of the filament 71 with respect to the direction line 62x of the edge of the notch 62 is always constant, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the light guide plate 4 and the mounting position of the illumination light source 7 are selected so that the light receiving portion 41 and the illumination light source 7 are closely opposed to each other, and the illumination light emitted from the light source 7 is selected. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 9, in order to take in as much of the wedge base 7b as possible from the light receiving portion 41, the wedge base is oriented such that the long axis direction of the light receiving portion 41 coincides with the long axis direction 71x of the filament 71. Mold valve 7
The direction of the edge of the notch 62 of the through hole 61 is set so that 0 is fixed to the instrument case 6.

In FIG. 5, among the illumination light 7b emitted from the light source 7, the illumination light 7
b ″ transmits and illuminates the dial 3 without passing through the light guide plate 4.

[0012]

However, the wedge-based valve 70 has a sealing portion 7 due to manufacturing restrictions.
Actually, there is considerable variation in the relative positional dimension of the filament 71 with respect to the outer shape of No. 3. Therefore, when the illumination light source 7 having such a positional variation of the filament 71 is used in the instrument illumination device having the above-described conventional configuration, as shown in FIG.
Of the illumination light 7b emitted from the light source 7 that is largely shifted
b ′ decreases.

That is, as shown in FIG.
Since the filament 71 is arranged in such a direction that the major axis direction of the filament 71 coincides with the major axis direction 71x of the filament 71, the introduction amount of the illumination light 7b greatly varies due to a slight shift 71 ′ of the position of the filament 71. In addition, large irregularities in the illumination luminance of the products are liable to occur, resulting in rejected products and in some cases not satisfying the required illumination luminance, which is extremely inconvenient.

When a rejected product as described above occurs, it is necessary to perform a troublesome operation such as replacing the illumination light source 7 with another one after the luminance test, so that the productivity of the instrument is significantly impaired. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a lighting device for an instrument which can provide a constant introduction of illumination light regardless of a displacement of a filament position.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above object, an instrument lighting device according to the present invention comprises a light receiving portion provided on a plate-shaped light guide plate made of a translucent material, facing a light source for illumination. In the instrument lighting device for guiding the light from the light source introduced from the light receiving unit to illuminate the pointer, the major axis direction of the light emitting unit of the illumination light source and the major axis direction of the light receiving unit of the light guide plate. The light source for illumination and the light receiving portion of the light guide plate are arranged so that the light sources are substantially orthogonal to each other.

The illumination light source is constituted by a wedge base type bulb having a light emitting portion composed of a filament which emits incandescent light by passing an electric current, and an instrument case for accommodating and fixing an instrument unit comprising the dial, hands and light guide plate. A light source mounting through hole for mounting the wedge base type bulb is provided on the base, and a bulb socket holding the wedge base type bulb is fitted and fixed in the through hole to extend the filament in the major axis direction and the length of the light receiving portion. The valve socket is positioned with respect to the instrument case so that the axial direction is substantially orthogonal to the instrument case.

A printed wiring board is arranged along the back surface of the instrument case having the light source mounting through-hole, and a pair of conductive portions of the printed wiring board are arranged around a periphery of the light source mounting through-hole. Forming a pair of socket terminals electrically connected to valve terminals connected to both ends of the filament of the wedge-based valve, and the pair of socket terminals electrically contacting the pair of conductive portions, respectively. By forming a contact piece, the bulb socket is fitted into the light source mounting through-hole, thereby positioning the illumination light source and making electrical contact between the pair of conductive portions and the contact piece, respectively. Is electrically connected to a power supply circuit.

[0019]

According to the above construction, the filaments are arranged so that the long axis direction of the light receiving portion and the long axis direction of the filament are substantially orthogonal to each other. Therefore, the amount of illumination light introduced into the light guide plate due to the displacement of the filament position. Changes are small, and uneven illumination light for each product can be eliminated.

Further, by fitting the bulb socket into the light source mounting through-hole, the light source is arranged and positioned, and the power supply circuit is electrically connected to the light source, so that any troublesome work is required. Absent.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of a lighting device for an instrument according to the present invention. In these drawings, parts having the same function as the conventional one described above with reference to FIGS.
The same reference numerals are given and the detailed description is omitted.

In this embodiment, the illumination light source 7 is a wedge-based bulb 70,
In order to attach 0 to the instrument case 6, the valve socket 8
0 is used, and the valve socket 80 is attached to the mounting through-hole 61.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show an aspect of the fitting.

The difference of the present invention from the fitting mode of the conventional one described above with reference to FIGS.
The notch 62 is formed by rotating the direction 62x of the notch 62 by about 90 °.

With this change, as shown in FIG. 4, the major axis direction 41x of the light receiving portion 41 and the major axis direction 7
The filament 71 is arranged so that 1x is substantially orthogonal to the filament 71.

As a result, even if a wedge-based bulb 70 having a variation in the position dimensions of the above-mentioned filament 71 is used, the light introduced into the light guide plate 4 by the illumination light 7b due to the displacement 71 ′ of the filament 71 is different for each product. Fluctuation is small. If the major axis direction 41x of the light receiving section 41 and the major axis direction 71x of the filament 71 intersect at a sufficiently large angle, the effect of suppressing the fluctuation of the illumination light is produced. Therefore, the configuration for positioning in mounting is easy.

The power supply to the light source 7 in the present invention is performed by the following configuration. Light source mounting through hole 6
A printed wiring board 90 is arranged along the back surface of the instrument case 6 having the wiring 1 for supplying power to the illumination light source 7 from an external circuit. The substrate 90 may be shared with signal wiring and the like for the instruments housed in the instrument case 6. In addition, the light source mounting through-hole 61 may be actually formed on the printed wiring board made of a hard insulating substrate.

On the periphery of the light source mounting through-hole 61, a pair of conductive portions 91 formed by drawing from the printed wiring board is formed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. A pair of socket terminals 85 that are electrically connected to the valve terminals 74 of the valve 70 are provided. The socket terminals 85 are formed with contact pieces 86 that are electrically connected to the pair of conductive portions 91, respectively. Appearing on the top.

The bulb socket 80 is provided with the through hole 6 for mounting the light source.
1, the light source 7 is positioned and the conductive portion and the contact piece 86 are electrically connected to each other.
Is electrically connected to the power supply circuit. Therefore, according to this configuration, the attachment positioning of the light source 7 and the electrical connection are performed in one behavior, and the workability is good.

[0029]

As described above, according to the structure of the present invention, the variation in the amount of illumination light introduced for each product due to the displacement of the light emitting portion of the light source 7 with respect to the light receiving portion of the light guide plate is small and stable, It is possible to eliminate irregularities in illumination luminance for each.

Further, since there is no need for precision in the intersection between the long axis direction of the light receiving portion and the long axis direction of the filament, the positioning structure in mounting is easy.

Further, by fitting the bulb socket into the light source mounting through hole, the light source is positioned and positioned, and the power supply circuit is electrically connected to the light source, so that the assembling workability is improved. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a lighting device for an instrument of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing attachment of the illumination light source according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing attachment of a light source for illumination in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional instrument lighting device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an illumination light source.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing attachment of a light source for illumination in the prior art.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing mounting of a light source for illumination in a conventional technique.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 pointer 3 dial 4 light guide plate 6 instrument case 7 illumination light source 10 instrument unit 41 light receiving section 41 x long axis direction of light receiving section 61 through hole for light source mounting 70 wedge base type valve 71 filament 71 x long axis direction of light emitting section 74 valve Terminal 80 Valve socket 85 Socket terminal 86 Contact piece 91 Conductive part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (56) References JP-A-5-248896 (JP, A) JP-A 63-115721 (JP, U) JP-A 54-184152 (JP, U) JP-A 4- 130026 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Shou 59-58029 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01D 11/28

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An instrument for illuminating a pointer by guiding a light receiving portion provided on a plate-shaped light guide plate 4 made of a translucent material to an illumination light source, and guiding light from the light source introduced from the light receiving portion. In the illumination device for illumination, the light source for illumination and the light receiving unit of the light guide plate are arranged such that a major axis direction of a light emitting unit of the illumination light source and a major axis direction of the light receiving unit of the light guide plate are substantially orthogonal to each other. A lighting device for an instrument, comprising: 2. The illumination light source is constituted by a wedge-based bulb having a light-emitting portion composed of a filament which emits incandescent light by passing an electric current, and accommodates and fixes an instrument unit composed of the dial, hands and light guide plate. A light source mounting through hole for mounting the wedge base type bulb in an instrument case is provided. A bulb socket holding the wedge base type bulb is fitted and fixed in the through hole, and a long axis direction of the filament and the light receiving portion are provided. The instrument lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the bulb socket is positioned with respect to the instrument case such that a long axis direction of the bulb socket is substantially perpendicular to the instrument case. 3. A printed wiring board is arranged along a back surface of the instrument case having the light source mounting through-hole, and a pair of conductive portions of the printed wiring board are arranged around a periphery of the light source mounting through-hole. The valve socket is provided with a pair of socket terminals that are electrically connected to valve terminals connected to both ends of the filament of the wedge-based valve, and the pair of socket terminals are in electrical contact with the pair of conductive portions, respectively. By forming a contact piece that fits, the bulb socket is fitted into the through hole for light source mounting, thereby positioning the illumination light source and electrically contacting the pair of conductive parts and the contact pieces, respectively.
3. The instrument lighting device according to claim 2, wherein a power supply circuit is electrically connected to the light source.