JP3241304B2 - Illuminated license plate - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character-type license plate, and more particularly, to a license plate using an EL luminous body so as to emit a number or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a number plate is a metal plate on which predetermined characters (including numbers) are written. The number plate is attached to the front and rear portions of a vehicle, and at the same time, it is mounted on a vehicle at night. It is illuminated by a number light.

In order to improve the visibility at night,
As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a letter 3 part is punched out of a predetermined ground color and a letter 3 is punched into an opening / closing frame 2 attached to the entire surface of a flat case 1, and a transparent synthetic resin plate is put on the letter 3 part. In some cases, the number plate 4 attached is fixed, and an illumination lamp 5 is provided inside the case 1.
At night, etc., the characters on the license plate 4
There is also known a luminous license plate which is made to shine.

As a light source of such a license plate, a light bulb is currently used. However, such a light bulb has a drawback that the character 3 cannot be uniformly illuminated unless a light dispersion plate or the like is used. E that emits light on the surface
A character-type license plate using an L illuminant has also been developed (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-41642, Japanese Utility Model Publication 7-5).
No. 2766). The EL luminous body 6 has a structure in which a luminous body 61 is covered with a transparent waterproof resin sheet 62 as shown in FIG. 6, and the luminous body 61 is connected to a DC power supply (battery of an automobile). Electrode terminal 6 for connection
3 is extended, and has a structure protruding from the cover of the resin sheet 62. The conducting wire 7 is connected to the electrode terminal 63, and the conducting wire 7 is configured to be connected to the DC / AC converter 8.

[0005] The EL illuminator 6 is provided over the entire character portion of the license plate so as to illuminate all the characters 3 on the license plate. However, in the above-described configuration, first, in order to illuminate the plurality of characters 3, the light-emitting portion is formed substantially over the entire surface of the light-emitting body 61, and the light-emitting portion is wastefully used. There are drawbacks.

In addition, the light-emitting license plate of an automobile must be capable of exhibiting light even under severe weather conditions such as typhoons and thunderstorms, climatic conditions such as use in coastal areas, and under conditions where vibrations are constantly applied. Therefore, it is assumed that rust is generated by water, salt, or the like, or a short circuit or the luminous body itself is destroyed. Therefore, Case 1
Although a sealing material or the like is provided on the upper end surface of the case 1 to prevent water, dust and the like from entering the case 1, it cannot be completely prevented. In this case, it is assumed that when water or the like enters the EL luminous body 6, it enters from the end of the resin sheet 62.

[0007] Further, the EL luminous body 6 as described above maintains luminescence for 10,000 hours or more per se, but it is inevitable that the luminous time elapses or that the EL luminous body 6 is replaced due to some circumstances. However, conventionally, such exchangeability as described above is not considered at all, and it is not practical at present.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. In a character-type license plate using an EL light-emitting body, the area of a light-emitting portion is reduced, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide a luminous license plate that prevents water from entering from the end of a luminous body and has excellent exchangeability.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems To solve the above-mentioned problems, a character-type license plate according to the present invention is provided with an opening / closing frame attached to the entire surface of a case, which is colored in a prescribed ground color and has a character. In a character-type license plate in which a portion is punched out and a character plate is fixed with a license plate plate on which a transparent synthetic resin plate is adhered, and an EL luminous body is provided inside the case to make the character portion shine.
The EL luminous body is sandwiched between supporting members consisting of an upper member and a lower member.
It is worn and hermetically supported, and the support member is
It is characterized in that it is detachably supported on the open end in a suspended state and that the light emitting body has a light emitting portion only at a position corresponding to a character portion.

According to the present invention, since the EL luminous body is covered with the supporting member, water does not enter the luminous body from the end, and the EL luminous body is not suspended from the bottom of the case but in the case. I supported it. Water that has entered the case tends to flow along the inner or bottom surface of the case.
Water and the like hardly come into contact with the surface of the L light emitting body, and the durability is improved. Further, since the frame is supported by the support member and the frame is placed on the upper part (for example, a flange) of the case, there is an advantage that the frame can be easily replaced simply by opening the opening / closing frame. In addition, since the light emitting portion is limited to the character portion, there is an advantage that the manufacturing cost is reduced.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of a light-emitting license plate according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the light-emitting license plate according to the present invention when an open / close frame is opened, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the EL luminous body 6 when the upper member is removed from the support member.

As is apparent from these figures, the character-type license plate according to the present invention is provided with an opening / closing frame 2 attached to the entire surface of a flat case 1 and is colored with a prescribed ground color, and punches out three characters. A license plate 4 having a transparent synthetic resin plate adhered to the character 3 is fixed (see FIGS. 4 and 6), and an EL luminous body 6 is provided inside the case 1. The EL luminous body 6 is a luminous body 61
Is covered with a transparent waterproof resin sheet 62, and the electrode terminals 63 for connecting to a DC power supply extend from the luminous body and project from the resin sheet 62 cover. ing. A conductor 7 is connected to the electrode terminal. The conductor 7 is detachably connected to a DC / AC converter 8 through a watertight outlet.

In the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the EL luminous body 6 is supported by a support member 9.
In this embodiment, the support member 9 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
A lower member 91 for fixing the lower member 91 with an adhesive or the like, and an upper member 92 having a flange 921 having a similar shape and protruding in the circumferential direction and a fitting projection 922 hanging downward. The EL luminous body 6 is sandwiched and fixed by being fitted to the fitting protrusion 922 of the upper member 92. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the EL luminous body 6 is sandwiched between the lower member 91 and the upper member 92, and has a structure sealed with the support member 9. Therefore, the upper member 9
2 is made of transparent or translucent resin, etc.
The light of the EL luminous body 6 is transmitted upward.

The lead connected to the electrode terminal 63 of the EL luminous body 6 extends below a gap between the upper member 92 and the lower member 91 and is detachably connected to the converter 8. ing. At this time, it is preferable to use a watertight outlet for the connection between the conducting wire 7 and the converter 8, and it is preferable that the converter is housed in a watertight container.

On the other hand, a flange 11 is formed all around the peripheral end of the case 1.
The sealing material 1 which is also elastic over substantially the entire circumference
2 are formed. When the opening and closing frame 2 is closed, the sealing material 12 comes into contact with the convex portion 41 of the license plate 4 attached to the opening and closing frame, and acts so as to prevent water or the like from entering the case 1. Has become.

As described above, the upper member 92 has the flange 921 protruding over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction. This flange 921 protrudes in the circumferential direction from the upper end of the upper member. The EL luminous body 6 supported by the support member 9 is supported by placing the flange 921 on the flange 11 of the case 1. For this reason, the EL luminous body 6 is provided in the case 1 in a so-called suspended state. Further, the flange 921 is provided so as not to be in contact with the sealing material 12, and even when water invades beyond the sealing material 12, most of the water is removed from the wall surface of the case 1 or the flange 11. It moves downward along.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which the EL luminous body 6 is adhered to the lower member 91. As is clear from this figure, the luminous body 61 of the EL luminous body 6 has a resin sheet 62.
(Indicated by a dashed line). The luminous body 61 includes a license plate 4.
And a non-light-emitting portion 612 that is not a light-emitting body.
1 is formed at a position corresponding to the portion where the character 3 is provided. That is, unlike the related art, the light emitting portion 611 is not provided over the entire surface of the light emitting body 61. Therefore, there is an advantage that the area of the expensive light emitting portion can be reduced.

A wiring 10 is provided around the luminous body 61. One of the wires 10 is connected to, for example, an upper electrode of the light emitting portion 611, and the other 102 is connected to a lower electrode of the light emitting portion 611. The light emitting portion 61 as described above
By forming the wiring 10 in the longitudinal direction of the EL element 1, the EL luminous body emits light well.

As described above, according to the present invention, the EL luminous body 6
Is supported by the upper member 92 and the lower member 91, and the EL luminous body 6 can be supported in a suspended state in the case 1. Since the risk of exposure is reduced and the EL luminous body 6 is sealed with the support member,
Intrusion of water, salt, and the like can be prevented. Furthermore, E
When the L illuminator 6 is transported as a part or stored, the EL illuminator 6 does not bend, and when the L illuminator 6 is exchanged, the converter 8 is used as described above.
Since the connection between the EL light emitting element 6 and the EL light emitting element 6 is performed by a watertight outlet, even when the EL light emitting element 6 fails,
It is easily replaceable simply by removing the outlet, which is extremely practical. Further, even when vibration is applied, there is also an advantage that vibration is absorptive due to the suspended state. In addition, since the light emitting portion is limited to the character portion, there is an advantage that the manufacturing cost is reduced.

The above-described light-emitting license plate according to the embodiment of the present invention can be lit without any trouble in a salt spray test of 5% salt water at 20 ° C., a high humidity test, and a sunshine test for 1000 hours.

[0021]

As described above, according to the light-emitting license plate of the present invention, since the end of the EL luminous body is covered with the support member, water does not enter the luminous body from the end. In addition, instead of being supported on the bottom surface of the case, it is supported in the case so as to be suspended in the air. Since water or the like entering the case tends to flow along the inner surface or the bottom surface of the case, supporting the device in a suspended state makes it difficult for water or the like to come into contact with the EL luminous body surface, thereby improving durability. Further, since the frame is supported by the support member and the frame is placed on the upper part (for example, a flange) of the case, there is an advantage that the frame can be easily replaced simply by opening the opening / closing frame. In addition, since the light emitting portion is limited to the character portion, there is an advantage that the manufacturing cost is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an essential part when an open / close frame of an embodiment of a license plate according to the present invention is opened.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which the EL luminous body of the embodiment is adhered to a lower member.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a conventional light-emitting license plate.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which an open / close frame of a conventional light-emitting license plate is opened.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which an open / close frame of a license plate using a conventional EL luminous body is opened.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 Opening / closing frame 3 Character part 4 License plate 5 Illumination light 6 EL light-emitting body 61 EL light-emitting body 611 Light-emitting part 612 Non-light-emitting part 62 Resin sheet 63 Electrode terminal 7 Conducting wire 9 Supporting member 91 Lower member 92 Upper member 10 Wiring

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 13/10 B60Q 1/56 G09F 7/00 G09F 13/22 G09F 21/04

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An opening / closing frame attached to the entire surface of a case,
The character portion is colored in a prescribed ground color, and a character portion is punched out. A number plate plate having a transparent synthetic resin plate adhered to the character portion is fixed, and an EL luminous body is provided inside the case to illuminate the character portion. In the illuminated license plate, the EL luminous body is composed of an upper member and a lower member.
The support member is sandwiched between the support members and hermetically supported. The support member is detachably supported by the open end of the case in a suspended state, and the luminous body is positioned at a position corresponding to a character portion. A light-emitting license plate characterized in that only a light-emitting portion is provided. Wherein said casing has a flange projecting in the circumferential direction, whereas the support member according to claim 1 Symbol, characterized in that it has a lockable flange to the flange
The illuminated license plate. 3. The luminous body has two wirings disposed around the luminous body. Each of the wirings is connected to an upper electrode and a lower electrode of a light emitting portion, and each of the wirings is connected to an electrode terminal. The character-type license plate according to any one of claims 1 and 2 , characterized in that: Wherein said EL lead attached to the light emitters either shaped light-number plate of claims 1 to 3, wherein the connecting to freely DC / AC converter desorbed by watertight outlet.