JP3250172B2 - Guidelines for instrument display devices - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, and a thermometer for informing a driver of, for example, a running speed of an automobile, an engine speed, a remaining amount of fuel in a tank, and a temperature of engine cooling water. The present invention relates to a pointer of a display device for an instrument used in a transmission illumination type meter in an instrument such as a combination meter having an in-vehicle analog meter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a combination meter provided on a dashboard located in front of a driver's seat for a vehicle to transmit various kinds of information to a driver while the vehicle is running includes a high-speed driving system during the night as well as during the day. It is necessary to have visibility so that the display of each meter can be read accurately regardless of the incidence of sunlight even when traveling or traveling on a snowy road.

For this reason, recent combination meters use a dark smoke filter on the surface panel of the meter, reduce the transmittance thereof, and make the display background a so-called black face, so that the pointer, characters (numerals and numerals) in the meter display section are displayed. ), The parts other than the scales and the like are made less noticeable, and the above-mentioned pointers, the characters on the dial, the scales, etc. are displayed in white and sharp with respect to the display background by the transmission illumination from the back side, so-called backlight. It is desired to take measures such as ensuring that the image can be read reliably by ensuring sufficient contrast and sufficient luminance for display both day and night.

In a conventional instrument display device, a light source such as an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode (LED), an electroluminescence (EL), or a cold cathode discharge tube is used as a light source for transmitted illumination. It is considered to be provided on the back side. However, it is difficult for the above-mentioned incandescent lamp to obtain sufficient luminance, and it is not possible to obtain a bright white color. Further, the light emitting diode cannot obtain white light, and furthermore, it is necessary to use a large number of elements. further,
Electroluminescence is difficult to emit white and high-brightness light and is also problematic in terms of durability.

[0005] On the other hand, a cold cathode discharge tube is a light source that is capable of obtaining vivid white light with high luminance and has high vibration resistance without a hot cathode filament. One used for transmitted illumination of a meter has been proposed.

[0006]

In a conventional instrument display device which performs transmitted illumination using a cold cathode discharge tube as described above, a display unit for indicating numbers, characters, symbols, etc., indicating scales and numerical values on a dial. When illuminating and displaying the dial, a light guide plate is provided on the back side of the dial, and a cold cathode discharge tube is provided at one end of the dial, so that the dial can be illuminated through the entire surface from the back side. I have. Further, the pointers constituting the above-described instrument display device are formed by an elongated rod-shaped light guide, and a light receiving portion of the light guide is provided near a pivot portion on the dial, and the light guide plate on the back of the dial is provided. This light is received, and this light is guided to the tip of the pointer to illuminate and display the pointer.

However, with the above-described structure, it is not possible to secure a sufficient luminance especially for the pointer, and it is not possible to reduce the transmittance of the front panel of the meter as described above.

In particular, in the case where the transmittance of the front panel is set to several tens% by making the black face described above, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-201410, separate light sources for hands and dials are used. A cold cathode discharge tube is used. That is, conventionally, in order to illuminate the indication display unit on the dial, conventionally, a mercury cold cathode discharge tube formed in a substantially annular shape along the scale on the back side of the dial is used,
The pointer uses an extra-fine cold cathode discharge tube or other light emitting means. In the case where the pointer is constituted by a light emitting means, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-77016, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 41-12
No. 380, for example.

However, in such a structure, it is necessary to use two types of light sources to illuminate and display the indication display portion and the pointer of the dial of the meter, and the number of parts constituting the meter is large and the structure is complicated. And the assembling work is troublesome, and the cost is high. Furthermore, in the above-described structure, not only a device for supplying power to each light source is separately required, but also each of the light sources is caused to emit light in a required state, and the indication display portion of the dial and the pointer are arranged. It is difficult to display the illumination uniformly.

For this reason, when illuminating the dial or pointer of such a meter, measures should be taken to eliminate the above-mentioned problems, and in particular, the amount of light used for illuminating from the base to the tip of the pointer should be reduced. It is desirable to secure a necessary amount and to take some measure to obtain a necessary and sufficient and uniform illumination brightness of the pointer.

That is, conventionally, an elongated pointer-shaped light guide is used as a pointer, and a structure in which a base end portion of the light guide is held by a shaft support member is used. But,
In such a pointer, not only the pointer portion of the light guide is too thin and the amount of guided light is insufficient, but also no light shielding measures are taken in this pointer portion, and a lot of light leaks. In this case, there is a problem in that the illumination brightness at the point is lower than that at the base end side, and the visibility is impaired in the illumination display of the pointer.

In order to increase the amount of light guided by the light guide at the pointer, it is conceivable to increase the cross-sectional area of the pointer and increase the entire pointer. Considering these points, it is desirable to enable effective light guide at the pointer and increase the illumination brightness at the tip of the pointer.

[0013] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in illuminating and displaying the pointer of the meter,
Effectively guides the illumination light taken in from the light receiving part close to the shaft support part to the tip of the pointer, secures a sufficient amount of guided light, and makes the illumination brightness at the tip of the pointer relatively larger than that at the base end. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a guideline of a display device for an instrument that can perform illumination display with uniform brightness over the entire unit, has a simple structure, and can reduce cost.

[0014]

In order to respond to such a demand, the pointer of the instrument display device according to the present invention is rotated around an axis on the dial, and the indication display portion of the dial at the tip is provided. A light-receiving part for receiving illumination light, which is entirely formed of a light-guiding material and is radiated from the back side of the dial to the vicinity of a shaft support on the dial, A pointer body having a reflecting surface on the surface side near the pivot portion for reflecting the illumination light introduced from the front end side, and facing the light receiving portion of the pointer body at least on the surface, both side surfaces and near the pivot portion of the pointer. A cover that covers an opening formed in the dial, and a slit is formed in a portion of the cover that covers the surface of the pointer main body from the vicinity of the pivot portion to the tip, and an outer periphery near the pivot portion of the cover. Opposed flange portions on the dial plate, in correspondence to the slits is obtained by forming a reflective film on the back side of the pointer body.

According to the present invention, there is provided a pointer of an instrument display device in which a tip is pointed to an instruction display portion of the dial by rotating around an axis on the dial, wherein the pointer is entirely formed of a light-guiding material. A light-receiving portion that receives illumination light emitted from the back side of the dial near the pivot portion on the dial, and a reflecting surface that reflects the illumination light introduced from the light-receiving portion toward the front end is a surface near the pivot portion. The main body has a cover that covers at least the surface and both side surfaces of the main body, and the width of the main body in a plan view gradually increases as the planar shape goes from near both ends in the width direction of the reflection surface to the tip. It is formed in a triangular shape (or long trapezoidal shape) so as to be narrower, and a slit is formed in a portion of the cover covering the surface of the pointer main body from the vicinity of a shaft support portion to the tip, and the pointer book corresponding to the slit is formed. On the back side is obtained by forming a reflective film. Further, both side surfaces of the pointer main body are formed to be substantially perpendicular to the surface of the dial. Further, the reflecting surface of the pointer main body is formed by a single surface having the same inclination angle.

According to the present invention, there is provided a pointer of an instrument display device in which a tip is pointed to an instruction display portion of the dial by rotating around an axis on the dial, wherein the pointer is entirely formed of a light-guiding material. A light-receiving portion that receives illumination light emitted from the back side of the dial near the pivot portion on the dial, and a reflecting surface that reflects the illumination light introduced from the light-receiving portion toward the front end is a surface near the pivot portion. And a plurality of regions having different inclination directions in the left and right directions so as to guide the illumination light from the light receiving unit to the tip end side of the pointer body. It is formed by a light receiving surface.

According to the present invention, the illuminating light received by the light receiving portion provided on the pointer body made of a light-guiding material is reflected toward the tip end of the pointer portion by the reflecting surface. By sequentially reflecting the light on the reflection film on both sides, the inclined surface on the front surface, and the reflection film on the back surface, the amount of light guided to the tip of the pointer main body can be increased. In particular, in addition to the light guiding performance of the main body of the pointer, the amount of light guided inside the main body of the pointer, the light-shielding cover that covers the outside thereof, the reflection film provided on the back surface of the main body of the pointer, and the It can be sufficiently secured by the cross-sectional area.

The light guided as described above is emitted to the outside as a thin and sharp light from a slit formed in the cover, so that the pointer can be illuminated and displayed. A sufficient and uniform illumination luminance can be obtained. Here, the pointer main body and the cover forming the pointer are formed so that the tip of the pointer portion is narrow, so that the indication display portion is less obstructed when the indication display portion of the dial is designated. Is configured.

Further, according to the present invention, the reflecting surface for reflecting the illumination light introduced from the light receiving portion of the pointer body toward the distal end is generally formed by a single surface having the same inclination angle. Even if the light guide to the tip is increased or the length to the tip of the pointer body is long,
The reflecting surface may be composed of a surface with a plurality of regions with different inclination angles in the upper and lower directions, a surface with a plurality of regions with different inclination directions in the left and right directions, and different inclination angles. By forming the light receiving part, which is the part that takes in the illumination light into the main body, with a light receiving surface formed by a plurality of regions with different inclination directions and inclination angles in the left and right directions, the illumination light from this light receiving part is transmitted to the pointer main body. It can be efficiently concentrated and guided to the distal end side.

Further, according to the present invention, the opening formed in the dial opposite to the light receiving portion of the pointer main body is closed by the flange portion provided at the portion corresponding to the pointer shaft support portion of the cover. From the light can be prevented.

Further, according to the present invention, the reflecting surface for reflecting the light introduced from the light receiving portion of the pointer main body toward the distal end of the pointer is formed by a plurality of regions having different inclination angles, so that the distal end of the pointer is formed at the distal end. By increasing the number of optical paths and increasing the amount of guided light, the illumination brightness from the base end to the tip end of the pointer is made uniform and sufficient.

Here, the dial is, for example, a panel made of a translucent material and having a light-shielding portion formed on its surface except for an indication display portion, but is not limited to such a panel structure. The instruction display section of the dial is composed of numbers, characters, symbols, and the like representing scales and numerical values. Furthermore, the pointer is composed of a pointer body made of a light-guiding material and a light-shielding cover covering the surface, of which a portion extending from the pivot portion serves as a pointer, and has a slit on the surface of the pointer. . The cover includes a cover formed by applying a light-shielding paint. Further, the pivot portion of the pointer is constituted by a pivot member which is a separate member from the pointer body and the cover, but may be provided integrally with the pointer body or the cover.

The instrument display device is, for example, an in-vehicle combination meter, which is a combination meter of an analog meter having a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, a thermometer, etc., for performing transmitted illumination. However, the present invention is applicable to some of these meters or various meters used in other fields, and is not limited thereto. Further, a reflective film is formed on the back surface of the pointer main body constituting the pointer except for the light receiving portion, and may be formed by applying a paint and attaching a reflective sheet.

[0024]

1 to 8 show one embodiment of a pointer of a display device for an instrument according to the present invention. In these drawings, in this embodiment, the present invention is transparent. The case where the present invention is applied to a pointer in an in-vehicle combination meter that is an illuminated meter will be described below.

Here, the combination meter 1 to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.
The combination meter 1 has an analog speedometer 2 for displaying a running speed of a car, a tachometer 3 for displaying an engine speed, a fuel gauge 4 for displaying a remaining fuel amount, and a temperature for displaying a temperature of engine cooling water. It has 5 in total. A reference numeral 6 in FIG. 5 denotes a range finder which is provided on a part of the speedometer 2 and indicates a mileage of the vehicle. Reference numeral 7 denotes a select lever of a transmission of the vehicle, which is not shown in detail. And a display unit provided with a transmission indicator indicating various shift positions or various warning lights.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a meter case formed with an open front surface. Reference numeral 9 denotes a meter cover provided at an open end of the case 8 and having an opening 9a for exposing only the dial portion of each meter to the front. The front end side of the cover 9 is opened forward, and a surface cover (not shown) using a so-called smoke filter whose transmittance is reduced so as to cover the front opening thereof.
Is provided, and the inside of the meter is black-faced except for the indication display portion of the dial and the hands.

The transmitted illumination type analog meter including the speedometer 2, the tachometer 3, the fuel meter 4, and the thermometer 5 has the following configuration. This embodiment exemplifies a case where the speedometer 2 and the fuel gauge 4 and the tachometer 3 and the thermometer 5 are integrally formed.

The structure of each of these meters will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. Reference numeral 11 denotes a dial of each meter.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a sheet made of a material having a light-transmitting property, and a scale necessary for a meter, an instruction display unit 12 including numerals, characters, symbols, and the like representing numerical values are formed as a transmission unit, and the entire surface other than the indication display unit 12 is formed. The light-shielding film 11a is formed by printing or other methods. As shown in FIG. 6B, a transparent light diffusion sheet 13 having substantially the same shape is attached to the back surface of the sheet-shaped dial 11 or a coating film is provided. The display unit 12 is configured to diffuse the illumination light from the rear surface side and display the instruction display unit 12 with uniform transmitted illumination throughout. In addition, an opening 14 is provided at a central portion of the dial 11 at a portion for pivotally supporting a pointer to be described later. Further, a rectangular display window 15 is formed in a lower portion of the opening 14 of the dial 11 serving as the speedometer 2. Of course, the openings 14a and 15a are formed in the light diffusion sheet 13 corresponding to the opening 14 and the display window 15.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a pointer having a pointer main body 17 formed of a translucent material so as to have a substantially pointer shape as a whole.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, 6, and 7, a pointer main body 17 made of a light-guiding material and a light-shielding cover 1 covering the outside thereof are provided.
8 and a shaft member 19 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 6) serving as a pointer shaft support. Here, the pointer body 1
7 has a light receiving portion 17a protruding near the pivot portion on the dial 11 so as to receive illumination light emitted from the back side of the dial 11, and the light receiving portion 17a is provided on the back side of the pointer main body 17. Except for the light receiving surface of the light receiving portion 17a, the reflection film 17b is formed by applying a white paint, attaching a white sheet, or the like. In addition, in combination with the reflective film 17b, a conventionally well-known dot reflecting portion may be appropriately formed on the back surface of the pointer main body 17 in order to make the reflected light uniform over the entire surface.

The pointer for indicating the instruction display section 12 of the pointer main body 17 described above is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the inclined surfaces 17c, 17c whose width in plan view gradually becomes narrower toward the tip.
Are formed on both sides. Further, an inclined surface 17d is formed such that the surface of the pointer portion is inclined obliquely downward toward the tip. Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, a reflection surface 17e for reflecting the illumination light introduced from the light receiving portion 17a to the tip end side of the pointer portion is formed on the surface side near the pivot portion of the pointer. . Reference numeral 17f denotes a mounting piece for assembling with the cover 18 and the shaft member 19.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cover 18 is formed of a material having a light shielding property so as to cover at least the surface and both side surfaces thereof in accordance with the shape of the pointer main body 17 described above. I have. Further, a reflection film 18a made of a white paint or a white sheet is provided between the surface and both side surfaces of the pointer main body 17 in the cover 18 and the inner surface covering them. This reflection film 18a may be formed on the back surface of the cover 18, provided on the pointer main body 17 side, or interposed between them.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 to FIG. A flange portion 18b larger than the locus is provided. The flange portion 18b is for covering the opening 14 formed in the vicinity of the pivot portion at the center of the dial 11 so as to face the light receiving portion 17a regardless of the position of the light receiving portion 17a. . 1, 3 and 5 to
As shown in FIG. 7, a slit 18 c for exposing the surface portion of the pointer portion of the pointer main body 17 to the outside is provided on the cover 18.
The portion covering the surface of the pointer main body 17 in FIG.

By using the dial 11 and the pointer 16 as described above, illumination from the back side of the dial 11
The instruction display section 12 of the dial 11 and the pointer section of the pointer 16 are illuminated and displayed, and the tip of the pointer section can point to an arbitrary instruction display section 12 as the pointer 16 rotates around the axis.

In FIGS. 2 and 3 described above, the pointer 16
The both sides of the pointer main body 17 are formed by simple straight inclined surfaces 17c and 17c so that the width of the pointer gradually becomes narrower toward the front end.
Is formed in accordance with this. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the tip of the pointer portion has a number of inflection points and is smoothly formed by a straight line or a curve so as to be as narrow as possible. It may be formed by a curved surface. By doing so, this guideline 16
When the tip of the pointer portion points to the instruction display portion 12 of the dial 11, the portion that covers and hides the instruction display portion 12 can be reduced.

Here, in this embodiment, in the meter having the above-described configuration, the rear surface of the dial 11 is
The light guide plate 20 is arranged as shown in FIG. The light guide plate 20 guides illumination light over the entire surface of the dials 11 and 11 of the speedometer 2 and the fuel gauge 4 and the dials 11 and 11 of the tachometer 3 and the thermometer 5 in the meter 1 shown in FIG. It is formed in a shape that can be used. Also, this light guide plate 2
As shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, a cold cathode discharge tube 21 formed of a straight tube for guiding light over the entire surface of the light guide plate 20 is provided along the side edge of the light guide plate 20. , As a light source.

The hands 16 on the dial 11
Of the cold cathode discharge tube 2 through an opening 14 provided near the pivot portion of the light receiving portion 17a so as to be larger than the rotation locus of the light receiving portion 17a.
In order to guide the light from No. 1 to the light receiving portion 17a, the light guide portion 22 for pointer illumination is provided integrally with a part of the light guide plate 20, as shown in FIGS. The pointer illumination light guide section 22 has a light irradiation section 23 having an area substantially equal to the opening 14 of the dial on one end side, and at least two faces (this face) with respect to the cold cathode discharge tube 21 on the other end side. In the embodiment, the light introduction surfaces 24a, 24b, 2
4c, a light introducing portion 24 having a shape having a prism for guiding light toward the light irradiating portion 23 is provided.

In addition, the illumination light guided from the light introducing section 24 is directed to the light receiving section 17a of the pointer 16 through the opening 14 on the back side of the light irradiating section 23 in the pointer illuminating light guide section 22. Reflecting surface 25 (25a, 25a) for irradiating
b, 25c). Furthermore, in this embodiment, the pointer illumination light guide portion 22 provided integrally with the light guide plate 20 is provided.
Is formed in a shape having side surfaces 26, 26 inclined with respect to the light guiding direction so that the width in plan view gradually increases from the light irradiation part 23 at one end to the light introduction part 24 at the other end.

Here, the left side of the meter 1 in FIG. 5 shows a case where a rectangular mounting portion 27 is formed by projecting and forming a part of the light guide portion 22 from the side surfaces 26, 26. This means that an integrator 6 is provided on the pointer illumination light guide section 22 as a display member for performing display using light from the light guide section 22, and the display surface thereof is partially formed of the dial 11. The display as the integrator 6 can be performed by exposing the display from the rectangular display window 15 provided in. Further, reference numerals 28 and 28a in FIG. 8 are used to insert a shaft member 19, which is a shaft supporting portion of the hands 16, into the light irradiating section 23 of the light guide section 22 for hands and the part of the light guide plate 20 corresponding thereto. It is an insertion hole provided. In FIGS. 6 and 7, reference numeral 29 denotes a pointer driving unit for rotating the pointer 16 provided in the case 8 below the light guide plate 20.

Further, the pointer-illuminating light guide portion 2 provided on the back surface and side edges of the light guide plate 20 and a part thereof.
The reflection film 30 is formed on the rear surface side and the reflection surface 25 by white paint, white printing, or sticking of a white sheet. Further, a dotted reflecting portion 31 is formed on the back surface of the light guide plate 20 to improve the light guide characteristics, and
Lighting with uniform brightness can be performed over the entire surface of the zero. Such a stippling reflector may be provided in the pointer-guiding light guide 22 as well.

In FIG. 6A and FIG. 8, reference numeral 32 denotes the cold cathode discharge tube 21 at the side edge of the light guide plate 20 and the end of the pointer light guide 22 on the light introducing portion 24 side. It is a reflection member provided so as to surround the outside, and is a member for efficiently introducing the amount of light emitted from the cold cathode discharge tube 21 to the light guide plate 20 and the light guide unit 22.

According to the above configuration, the light from the cold cathode discharge tube 21 is guided over the entire surface of the dial 11 by the light guide plate 20, and the indication display section 12 of the dial 11 is transmitted and illuminated from the back side. Similarly, the light from the cold-cathode discharge tube 21 is guided to the light irradiating section 23 facing the shaft support of the pointer 16 by the pointer illuminating light guiding section 22 of the light guide plate 20, and is made of a light guide material constituting the pointer 16. The light is received by the light receiving portion 17a of the pointer main body 17 and guided to the tip of the pointer 16, so that the pointer 16 can be illuminated.

In particular, the light guide portion 22 for illuminating the pointer of the light guide plate 20
Light from the three directions of the cold-cathode discharge tube 21 to the light introduction surfaces 24a, 24b, 24c and the reflection surface 2
5 (25a, 25b, 25c), the light guide 23 is guided to the light irradiator 23, so that a light guide path of three layers of light can be obtained in the light guide 22. In this case, three times as much light can be guided toward the pointer 16 as compared with the light guide in the above, and can be irradiated. As a result, the amount of light received on the hands 16 can be increased, and the illumination brightness of the hands 16 can be increased. It should be noted that such an amount of received light depends on the light guide portion 22 for pointer illumination.
The length of the light introducing portion 24 in the longitudinal direction facing the cold cathode discharge tube 21 can be further improved by gradually increasing the width by the inclined side surfaces 26 and 26. .

As described above, the light radiated from the light irradiating section 23 of the pointer illuminating light guide section 22 provided on the light guide plate 20 to the hands 16 is transmitted through the opening 14 provided on the dial 11. The light is received by the light receiving portion 17a of the pointer main body 17. The received illumination light is transmitted to the pointer main body 17 as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the light is reflected toward the tip end of the pointer by the reflection surface 17e, and furthermore, both side surfaces of the pointer of the pointer main body 17,
By sequentially reflecting the light on the inclined surface on the surface, the pointer 16
The light is guided to the tip.

In particular, according to the present invention, the pointer portion of the pointer main body 17 is formed wider than in the conventional case, and both side surfaces are formed by the inclined surfaces 17c, 17c so as to taper toward the tip. Further, the surface of the pointer portion is formed by an inclined surface 17d inclined downward toward the tip, and the reflection film 17b provided on the back surface and the reflection film 1 provided on the inner surface of the cover 18 are provided.
By 8a, it is possible to efficiently guide the illumination light and increase the amount of guided light. In other words, the amount of light guided in the pointer main body 17 is not only the light guide performance of the pointer main body 17, but also the light-shielding cover 18 covering the outside of the pointer main body 17 and the reflection film 17b provided on the back surface of the pointer main body 17. Further, it can be sufficiently secured by the cross-sectional area of the pointer main body 17.

Further, the light guided as described above is emitted to the outside as a thin and sharp light from a slit 18c formed in the cover 18, and the indicator 16 can be illuminated and displayed. Sufficient and uniform illumination brightness from the lens to the tip can be obtained. Here, the pointer main body 17 and the cover 18 constituting the pointer 16 are formed so that the tip of the pointer portion becomes narrow, and the instruction display section 12 of the dial 11 requires the instruction display section 12. There is no more interruption.

Further, according to the present invention, the dial 11 faces the light receiving portion 17a of the pointer main body 17 by the flange portion 18b provided at the portion of the cover 18 corresponding to the pointer shaft support portion.
By closing the opening 14 formed at the bottom, light leakage from this portion can be prevented.

According to the above configuration, the pointer 16
It is possible to increase the amount of light guided to the tip of the pointer in the inside, so that a small light source can be used as a light source for irradiating the illumination light thereto, or the light source can also be used as a transmission illumination light source on the dial 11 side. it can. In addition, the pointer 16 according to the present invention, which has the advantage of increasing the amount of light guided by the pointer illumination light guide 22 provided integrally with a part of the light guide plate 20 in the above-described embodiment, is combined with the pointer 16 in the present invention. As a result, the effect of performing the illumination display with the transmitted illumination type meter can be further exhibited.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show another embodiment according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the reflecting light for reflecting the illumination light introduced from the light receiving portion 17a of the pointer main body 17 to the distal end side. The surface 17e is formed by a plurality of regions (in this embodiment, two upper and lower regions 17e1 and 17e2) having different inclination angles θ1 and θ2.

According to such a configuration, in the pointer main body 17, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), a large number of optical paths toward the tip of the pointer portion are provided by the plurality of regions 17e1 and 17e2 constituting the reflection surface and having different inclination angles. By doing so, the illumination brightness at the distal end is relatively increased as compared with that at the base end side, whereby the brightness from the base of the pointer to the distal end can be made uniform and sufficient. Such an advantage is apparent from a comparison with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A shown in FIG. 1 and a single surface having the same inclination angle in the embodiment shown in FIG.

However, the present invention is not limited to such a structure. As a modification of the above-described embodiment, the reflecting surface 17e is provided with a plurality of regions having different left and right inclination directions and inclination angles. May be formed. For example, a configuration is also possible in which the inclined surface 17e is formed with an inclined surface that is inclined left and right with the center of the inclined surface 17e as a ridge line, so that the optical path toward the tip of the pointer main body 17 can be more appropriately and intensively guided. Good. In particular, these structures are
Increasing the amount of light guided to the tip of 7 can be effective in making the light emission luminance uniform in the slit 18c.

FIG. 11 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the light receiving section 17a of the pointer main body 17 is divided into a plurality of regions having different inclination directions and inclination angles in the left and right directions. The light receiving surface is formed as follows. Here, the central portion of the light receiving portion 17a is a narrow flat band portion,
Both sides are formed as inclined light receiving surfaces having different inclination directions. According to such a configuration, in the pointer main body 17, the illumination light received by the light receiving portion 17a is applied to the distal end portion of the pointer main body 17 by the reflection surfaces 17e (17e1, 17e2).
) Is effective for efficiently guiding the light to the leading end.

In particular, when such a configuration is used, the light receiving ratio of the illumination light at the light receiving portion 17a can be increased, and the illumination light received by the light receiving portion 17a is concentrated near the central portion of the pointer main body 17. Since these can be guided toward the distal end portion of the pointer main body 17, it is possible to form the pointer portion of the pointer main body 17 in a narrower shape by narrowing the pointer portion than the base end portion, as shown in FIG. Thus, the instruction by the hands can be formed in a shape that covers the instruction display unit 12 on the dial 11 side as much as possible. Of course, although not shown in FIG. 11, the cover 18 is of course provided to cover the surface of the pointer main body 17.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the structure described in the above-described embodiment, and the shape of each part of the instrument display device,
The structure and the like can be appropriately modified and changed. That is,
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the invention is applied to the indicator 16 such as the speedometer 2 and the tachometer 3 in the in-vehicle combination lamp 1 which is an instrument provided with a display device that performs transmitted illumination is described. However, it is a matter of course that the guideline of an analog instrument can be applied to various instruments used in various fields.

The dial 11 is, for example, a panel made of a translucent material and having a light-shielding portion 11a formed on its surface except for the indication display portion 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. The instruction display unit 12 may be stamped and formed on the light shielding plate, and a light diffusion sheet may be attached to the back surface.

Further, a case has been described in which the light guide portion 22 for guiding the illumination light to the hands 16 is provided integrally with the light guide plate 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, any light source that can emit light from the back side of the dial 11 through the opening 14 may be used.

[0056]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cold cathode discharge tube 21 is used as a light source, and is disposed along the side edge of a light guide plate, so that a dial 1 is provided.
1 as a pointer illumination light guide portion 22 provided in a part of the light guide plate 11, one end of which faces a predetermined length range of the cold cathode discharge tube 21 as a light introduction portion 24, and The other end faces the light irradiating section 23 that can secure the rotation trajectory range of the light receiving section 17a on the pointer 16 side, and is formed so as to become wider toward the light introducing section 24 side.

The back and side edges of the light guide plate 20
On the back surface of the pointer illumination light guide section 22, a reflection film 30 and a stippled reflection section 31 are appropriately formed. Furthermore, the cold cathode discharge tube 21
In illuminating the hands 16 and the dial 11, the display has sufficient brightness to read the display during the daytime,
At night, brightness that does not cause glare is required, and its control means is used.

[0058]

As described above, according to the pointer of the display device for an instrument according to the present invention, the light receiving portion for receiving the illumination light emitted from the back side of the dial near the shaft support on the dial is provided. A pointer body made of a light-guiding material having a reflection film formed on at least the back surface side except for the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving portion, and a light-shielding material formed so as to cover at least the front surface and both side surfaces of the pointer body. Provided with a cover provided with a reflective film between the surface of the pointer body, both side surfaces and the inner surface that covers them, and the width of the pointer body in plan view increases from the vicinity of the shaft support on the dial to the tip. Both sides are formed with inclined surfaces that gradually become narrower, and the inclined surface is formed so that the surface is inclined diagonally downward toward the tip, and the illumination light introduced from the light receiving unit is reflected toward the tip. Let me Is formed on the surface side near the shaft support, and a slit is formed from the vicinity of the shaft support to the tip of the cover covering the surface of the pointer body. It has excellent effects.

That is, according to the present invention, the illuminating light received by the light receiving portion provided on the pointer body made of a light-guiding material is efficiently reflected toward the tip end of the pointer portion by the reflecting surface. By sequentially reflecting the light on both sides of the pointer and the inclined surface, it is possible to increase the amount of light guided to the tip of the pointer. Lighting can be displayed. In particular, with such a configuration, it is possible to obtain a sufficient and uniform illumination luminance from the base to the tip of the pointer.

Here, in addition to the light guiding performance of the pointer body, a light-shielding cover covering the outside thereof, a reflection film provided on the back surface of the pointer body, and Can be sufficiently secured by the sectional area of the pointer body. In addition, in the above-described configuration, since the pointer body and the cover forming the pointer are formed so that the tip of the pointer portion is narrow, an instruction display unit is required when indicating the instruction display unit of the dial. No more obstruction.

Further, according to the pointer of the display device for an instrument according to the present invention, a flange portion larger than the rotation locus of the light receiving portion accompanying the rotation of the pointer is provided near the pivotal support portion of the pointer in the cover. With this configuration, the flange portion closes the opening formed in the dial facing the light receiving portion of the pointer main body, thereby preventing light from leaking from this portion.

According to the pointer of the instrument display device according to the present invention, the reflecting surface for reflecting the illumination light introduced from the light receiving portion of the pointer main body to the tip side is a single surface having the same inclination angle, Or, by forming a plurality of areas with different inclination directions and inclination angles in the left and right directions, increase the number of light paths toward the tip of the pointer, increase the illumination brightness at the tip, from the base of the pointer to the tip Can be made uniform and sufficient.

Further, according to the present invention, the illumination light received by the light receiving portion provided on the pointer body made of a light-guiding material is reflected toward the tip end of the pointer portion by the reflecting surface, and By reflecting the light sequentially on the reflective film on both sides, the inclined surface on the front surface, and the reflective film on the back side, the amount of light guided to the tip of the pointer body is increased, and the illumination brightness at the tip of the pointer is increased. As a result, the brightness from the base to the tip of the pointer can be made uniform and sufficient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B show one embodiment of a pointer of a display device for an instrument according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a pointer, FIG. 1B is a sectional view of a pointer shaft support, and FIG. It is sectional drawing.

2A is a plan view of the main body of the pointer, and FIG. 2B is a bottom view thereof.

FIG. 3 shows the pointer and the pointer body shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
(A) is a plan view of a cover that covers the pointer main body, and (b) is a bottom view thereof.

4A and 4B show modified examples of the pointer main body and the cover shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein FIG. 4A is a plan view of the pointer main body and FIG. 4B is a plan view of the cover.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing one embodiment of a combination meter as a display device for an instrument to which the present invention is applied.

6A is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a cross section of a pointer shaft support, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a cross section of a dial portion.

7 is a cross-sectional side view showing the left half of the meter of FIG.

8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a pointer-guiding light guide unit provided on the light guide plate in FIGS. 5 to 7. FIG.

9A and 9B show another embodiment of the pointer of the display device for an instrument according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 9A is a front view of a pointer main body, and FIG. 9B is a side view of a base end side thereof.

10A is a diagram illustrating a light guiding state of the pointer main body illustrated in FIG. 9, and FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a light guiding state of the pointer main body illustrated in FIG.

11A and 11B show another embodiment of the pointer of the display device for an instrument according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 11A is a plan view of the pointer main body, and FIG.
Is a side view thereof, and (c) is a view of a base end portion of the pointer main body as viewed from a side.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Combination meter which is the instrument provided with the display apparatus by the transmitted illumination 2 ... Speedometer 3 ... Tachometer 6 ... Integrator (display member), 8 ... Meter case, 9 ... Meter cover, 11 ... Dial, 12: instruction display unit, 13: light diffusion sheet, 14: opening, 15: display window, 16: pointer, 17 ...
Pointer body, 17a: light receiving section, 17b: reflective film, 17c ...
Slope, 17d ... Slope, 17e (17e1, 17e2)
) ... Reflective surface, 18 ... Cover, 18b ... Flange part, 1
8c: slit, 19: shaft member, 20: light guide plate, 21:
Cold-cathode discharge tube, 22: guide light unit for pointer illumination, 23: light irradiation unit, 24: light introduction unit, 25: reflection surface, 26: side surface, 27
... display device mounting portion, 28 ... insertion hole, 29 ... pointer driving portion,
Reference numeral 30 denotes a reflection film, 31 denotes a dotted reflection portion, and 32 denotes a reflection member.

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pointer of an instrument display device in which an end points to an indication display portion of the dial by rotating around an axis on the dial, wherein the whole is formed of a light-guiding material, and A pointer having a light receiving portion for receiving illumination light emitted from the back side of the dial near the pivot portion and a reflecting surface on the front side near the pivot portion for reflecting the illumination light introduced from the light receiving portion to the front end side A main body, and a cover for covering an opening formed in the dial opposite to the light receiving portion of the pointer main body at least on the surface, both side surfaces, and near the pivot portion of the pointer main body, the surface of the pointer main body of the cover A slit is formed from the vicinity of the pivot portion to the tip of the cover, and a flange portion is provided on the outer periphery of the cover near the pivot portion so as to face the dial, and the back surface of the pointer body corresponding to the slit Guidance of the instrument display apparatus characterized by forming a reflective film on. 2. A pointer of an instrument display device in which an end points to an instruction display portion of the dial by rotating around an axis on the dial, wherein the entirety is formed of a light-guiding material, and A pointer having a light receiving portion for receiving illumination light emitted from the back side of the dial near the pivot portion and a reflecting surface on the front side near the pivot portion for reflecting the illumination light introduced from the light receiving portion to the front end side A main body, and a cover that covers at least the surface and both side surfaces of the pointer main body. The shape of the pointer main body is such that the width dimension gradually decreases from the vicinity of both ends in the width direction of the reflection surface to the tip. It is formed in a triangle (or long trapezoidal shape), and a slit is formed in a portion of the cover covering the surface of the pointer main body from the vicinity of a pivot portion to the tip, and corresponding to this slit, on the back side of the pointer main body. Guidance of the instrument display apparatus characterized by the formation of the reflection film. 3. A pointer for an instrument display device according to claim 1, wherein both side surfaces of the pointer main body are formed to be substantially perpendicular to the surface of the dial. Equipment guidelines. 4. The pointer of an instrument display device according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting surface of the pointer body is formed by a single surface having the same inclination angle. . 5. By rotating around an axis on the dial,
An instrument display that points to the instruction display of this dial at the tip
In the pointer, the shaft support on the dial is formed entirely of a light-guiding material.
To receive illumination light emitted from the back side of the dial
Light receiving part and the illumination light introduced from this light receiving part
A finger having a reflecting surface to be reflected on a surface side near the pivot portion
A needle main body, and the light receiving section of the pointer main body is illuminated with light from the light receiving section.
In the left and right directions so that
Formed by a light receiving surface with multiple areas with different tilt directions
Guidance of the instrument for a display device, characterized in that it was.