JP3444754B2 - Instrument pointer lighting device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instrument pointer illuminating device incorporated in, for example, a combination meter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A combination meter is constructed by incorporating various instruments such as a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, and a water temperature gauge in a single case.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show a part of the corner of such a combination meter 100. In this combination meter 100, a fuel gauge is arranged at the corner. In this case, part of the dial 103 of the fuel gauge is covered with the dial 102, and the pointer 110 is attached in the vicinity of the dial 102.

The pointer 110 at this time is the light source 20.
The light of 0 is guided by the light guide plate 1 attached to the back side of the dial plate 103 to illuminate.

That is, the light guide plate 1 is provided with a pointer shaft insertion hole 2 at a position near the dial 102, and a reflection surface 3 is formed in the peripheral portion of the pointer shaft insertion hole 2. The pointer 110 is attached by inserting the pointer shaft 113 into the pointer shaft insertion hole 2, and the light L1 of the light source 200 guided by the light guide plate 1 is reflected by the reflecting surface 3 and is incident on the pointer 110 and the pointer 110. The pointer 110 is illuminated by being reflected by the reflecting surface 111 on the side.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional pointer illuminating device, the light L2 diffused and reflected is emitted from the reflecting surface 3, and the light L2 passes through the gap D between the dial 103 and the pointer cap 112. To reach the side surface of the dial 102, so that a portion A (indicated by hatching in FIG. 5) of the side surface of the dial 102, which is close to the pointer cap 112, is illuminated with higher brightness than other places, and the imbalance of the illumination is caused. However, there is a problem in that it causes the appearance and impairs the aesthetic appearance.

Therefore, the present invention provides a pointer illuminating device for a meter, which is capable of avoiding a partial increase in the brightness of the dial even though it is provided close to the dial, thereby improving the appearance. The purpose is to do.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 reflects the light guided by the light guide plate by the reflection surface formed in the peripheral portion of the pointer shaft insertion hole of the light guide plate. Light introduced into the pointer and emitted from the reflecting surface.
The peripheral portion of the pointer shaft insertion hole by facing the reflection surface.
Is integrally formed on the light guide plate of both sides and has been treated with fine marks on both sides.
In a pointer illuminating device for an instrument in which light is blocked by a light blocking wall, the light blocking wall has a shape of the reflecting surface of the pointer shaft insertion hole.
Formed within the thickness range of the light guide plate on the same side as the growth side
In addition, a curved wall portion formed along the pointer shaft insertion hole,
The general portion of the light guide plate is extended on both sides of the curved wall of the
And a block-shaped side wall that also constitutes a part of
It is characterized by

Therefore, in the invention described in claim 1, the light emitted outward from the reflecting surface due to the diffused reflection is transmitted through the pointer shaft insertion hole.
Formed within the thickness range of the light guide plate on the same side as the reflective surface
Reaches the light-shielding wall composed of the curved wall portion and the block-shaped side wall portion, and is attenuated and diffused on both side surfaces of the light-shielding wall that have been subjected to fine scratches, and are directly reflected to the facing side surface. It can prevent unnecessary irradiation.

[0010]

[0011]

Further, the invention according to claim 2 uses a light guide plate to guide the light.
The reflected light was formed around the pointer shaft insertion hole of the light guide plate.
It is reflected on the reflective surface and introduced into the pointer, and the reflective surface
The light emitted from the
It is formed integrally with the light guide plate around the insertion hole and is fine on both sides.
A pointer for the instrument that is designed to block light with a light-shielding wall that has been subjected to scratch treatment.
In the illuminating device, the light-shielding wall may be the pointer shaft insertion hole.
The side corresponding to the peripheral portion on the side opposite to the side where the reflecting surface is formed
It is characterized in that it is formed on the upper surface of the light guide plate .

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the invention, the light emitted from the reflecting surface due to the diffuse reflection is reflected by the reflecting surface of the pointer shaft insertion hole.
To the light-shielding wall formed on the upper surface of the light guide plate corresponding to the peripheral portion on the side opposite to the side where the light-shielding side is formed, and are attenuated and diffused on both side surfaces of the light-shielding wall that have been subjected to fine scratches, and are directly reflected to the side surface of the facing. It can prevent unnecessary irradiation.

[0014]

[0015]

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Such same components and Contact 4 and 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an instrument pointer illumination device as a first embodiment of the present invention applied to a fuel meter of a combination meter similar to the prior art. In this pointer illuminating device, the light L1 guided by the light guide plate 1 is reflected by a reflecting surface 3 formed around the pointer shaft insertion hole 2 of the light guide plate 1 and introduced into the pointer 110 to illuminate the pointer 110. The light-shielding wall 5 with fine marks on both sides is the reflecting surface 3
Is integrally formed with the light guide plate 1 in the peripheral portion of the pointer shaft insertion hole 2 facing the.

In the first embodiment, the light shielding wall 5 is formed within the thickness range of the light guide plate 1 so as to be adjacent to the reflecting surface 3 at the peripheral portion of the pointer shaft insertion hole 2 on the side where the reflecting surface 3 is formed.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the pointer shaft insertion hole 2 is formed as a vertical semicircular vertical groove in which a part of a side portion is cut out, and the reflecting surface 3 is inserted into the pointer shaft insertion hole. Three inclined surfaces are formed in the peripheral portion of the pointer shaft insertion hole 2 as an inclined surface that is inclined toward the hole 2, and the light shielding wall 5 is formed from the top of the reflection surface 3 along the thickness direction of the light guide plate 1. 1 side surface 5a and another side surface 5b formed as a side end surface of the light guide plate 1 corresponding to the one side surface 5a (see FIG. 1).

More specifically, one side surface 5a of the light shielding wall 5 is formed with one side curved surface 6a facing the central reflecting surface 3 and the reflecting surfaces 3, 3 on both sides which are continuously formed on both sides of the one side curved surface 6a. And the other side surface 5b is formed continuously with the other side curved surface 6b corresponding to the one side curved surface 6a and both sides of the other side curved surface 6b. The other side planes 7b and 8b respectively correspond to the side planes 7a and 8a. That is, the light shielding wall 5 has curved surfaces 6a and 6b on both sides, and has a thin curved wall portion 6 formed at a height within the thickness of the light guide plate 1, and both side flat surfaces 7a and 7b on both sides of the curved wall portion 6, respectively. And 8a, 8
Block-shaped side wall portions 7 and 8 extending with b and having the same thickness as the general portion 1a of the light guide plate 1 and also constituting the general portion 1a.
It consists of and.

Further, the light-shielding wall 5 is formed by subjecting both side surfaces 5a and 5b thereof to fine trace treatment. In the first embodiment, this fine mark treatment is performed by honing. That is, by performing honing processing on both side surfaces 5a, 5b of the light shielding wall 5, cross hatches as grinding marks are formed on the both side surfaces 5a, 5b.

The light guide plate 1 thus formed is a dial plate 1.
03 is attached to the back side of the stack, and the pointer 11
0 is attached by inserting the pointer shaft 113 into the pointer shaft insertion hole 2 to configure the pointer illuminating device of the meter as the first embodiment. In addition, reference numeral 112 is a pointer 11
This is a cap that covers the base end portion of 0, and prevents the light incident on the base end portion from leaking to the outside.

According to the first embodiment, the light L1 (shown by the solid line in FIG. 1) of the light source 200 guided by the light guide plate 1 as shown in FIG. The pointer 11 is reflected by the reflecting surface 111 on the pointer 110 side.
It is possible to illuminate 0, and the irregularly reflected light L2 (shown by a dotted line in FIG. 1) is emitted outward from the reflecting surface 3 and reaches the light shielding wall 5, and both side surfaces 5a of the light shielding wall 5 which have been subjected to the fine trace treatment. , 5b are attenuated and diffused. As a result, it is possible to prevent the side surface of the dial 102 from being directly illuminated by the irregularly reflected light L2. Therefore, the appearance can be improved.

Further, the first embodiment has a simple structure in which the light shielding wall 5 is provided, and the light shielding wall 5 is provided in the light guide plate 1.
Since it can be integrally molded at the same time as itself, and the necessary fine trace treatment can be easily performed by honing the both side surfaces 5a and 5b of the light shielding wall 5, the number of parts can be increased and the work can be performed. There is no complication.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show an instrument pointer illuminating device as a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except for the formation position of the light shielding wall.

That is, in the second embodiment, the light shielding wall 1
0 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the light guide plate 1 corresponding to the peripheral portion of the pointer shaft insertion hole 2 opposite to the side where the reflection surface 3 is formed. At this time, the pointer shaft insertion hole 2 is formed in a circular shape,
The light-shielding wall 10 is formed as a thin-walled standing wall having substantially flat side surfaces 10a and 10b, and both side surfaces 10a and 10b of the light-shielding wall 10 are finely traced by honing as in the first embodiment. Has been done.

According to the second embodiment, the light L1 (shown by the solid line in FIG. 3) of the light source 200 guided by the light guide plate 1 as shown in FIG. The pointer 11 is reflected by the reflecting surface 111 on the pointer 110 side.
It is possible to illuminate 0, and the irregularly reflected light L2 (shown by a dotted line in FIG. 3) is emitted outward from the reflecting surface 3 and reaches the light-shielding wall 10, and both side surfaces 10a of the light-shielding wall 10 which have been subjected to fine mark treatment are processed. ，
Attenuated and diffused at 10b. As a result, it is possible to prevent the side surface of the dial 102 from being directly illuminated by the irregularly reflected light L2. Therefore, the appearance can be improved.

At this time, the light shielding wall 10 is located within the projected area of the cap 112 attached to the base end portion of the pointer 110 and is not exposed to the outside.

Further, the second embodiment has a simple structure in which the light shielding wall 10 is provided as in the first embodiment, and the light shielding wall 1
Since both side surfaces 10a and 10b of 0 can be easily subjected to fine trace treatment by honing, the work is not complicated.

[0030]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, according to the invention of claim 1,
The light emitted from the reflecting surface to the outside by irregular reflection is inserted into the pointer shaft.
Within the range of the thickness of the light guide plate on the same side as the side where the reflective surface of the through hole is formed
It is composed of a curved wall part and a block-shaped side wall part
Since it reaches the light-shielding wall and is attenuated and diffused on both side surfaces of the light-shielding wall that have been subjected to fine scratches, it is possible to prevent direct irradiation of the light-reflective side surface. Therefore, it is possible to provide a pointer illumination device for an instrument, which can avoid the imbalance of the above, and thereby improve the aesthetic appearance.

In addition, the invention according to claim 1 has a simple structure in which only the light shielding wall is provided, and since the light shielding wall can be integrally formed at the same time when the light guide plate itself is formed,
There is no increase in the number of parts and complexity of work.

[0033]

According to the second aspect of the invention, the light emitted from the reflecting surface due to the diffused reflection is the light of the pointer shaft insertion hole.
It reaches the light-shielding wall formed on the upper surface of the light guide plate corresponding to the peripheral portion on the side opposite to the side on which the reflecting surface is formed, and is attenuated and diffused on both side surfaces of the light-shielding wall that have been subjected to the fine mark treatment, and then the light-shielding side surface Direct irradiation can be prevented, and the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 1 can be obtained.

[0035]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view in which hatching of a pointer illuminating device for an instrument according to a first embodiment of the present invention is omitted.

2A and 2B show a main part of a light guide plate used in the pointer illumination device of the instrument of FIG. 1, in which FIG. 2A is a plan view and FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in which hatching of a pointer illuminating device for an instrument as a second embodiment of the present invention is omitted.

4 is a plan view of a main part of a light guide plate used in the pointer lighting device of the instrument of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a part of a conventional combination meter.

6 is a cross-sectional view of the combination meter of FIG. 5 with some hatching omitted.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Light guide plate 2 Pointer shaft insertion hole 3 reflective surface 5,10 Shading wall 5a, 5b, 10a, 10b Side surface (of light shielding wall) 110 pointer L1 light

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. The light guided by the light guide plate is reflected by a reflection surface formed in the peripheral portion of the pointer shaft insertion hole of the light guide plate and introduced into the pointer, and the light emitted from the reflection surface is reflected by the reflection surface.
The light guide plate around the pointer shaft insertion hole so that it faces the surface.
Light-shielding with a light-shielding wall that is formed on the body and has fine marks on both sides
In the pointer illuminating device of the instrument, the light shielding wall is on the side where the reflecting surface of the pointer shaft insertion hole is formed.
Formed on the same side as the thickness of the light guide plate,
A curved wall portion formed along the pointer shaft insertion hole and the curved wall
Part of the general part of the light guide plate that is extended on both sides of the part
And a block-shaped side wall portion that also constitutes 2. The light guided by the light guide plate is inserted into the guide shaft of the light guide plate.
It is reflected on the reflective surface formed around the through hole and guided to the pointer.
The light emitted from the reflecting surface as well as entering
The light guide plate around the pointer shaft insertion hole so that it faces the surface.
Light-shielding with a light-shielding wall that is formed on the body and has fine marks on both sides
In the pointer illuminating device of the instrument, the light shielding wall is on the side where the reflecting surface of the pointer shaft insertion hole is formed.
A pointer illuminating device for an instrument, which is formed on the upper surface of the light guide plate corresponding to the peripheral portion on the side opposite to .