JP4379317B2 - Self-luminous combination meter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-luminous combination meter for automobiles, and in particular, the brightness of the light source and the surface glass of the self-luminous combination meter according to the direct sunlight area and the amount of solar radiation in front of the self-luminous combination meter. The light transmittance is automatically changed and adjusted to ensure good visibility and, depending on the situation, the surface glass is made transparent to show the internal structure of the self-luminous combination meter, thereby improving the merchantability.

Various measures have been proposed for self-luminous combination meters for automobiles when the visibility deteriorates due to direct sunlight on the front.
FIG. 6 shows an example of countermeasures (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-118888). This combination meter is arranged on the back surface 2 of the meter hood and detects a plurality of direct lights reflected by the smoke glass 1. Relative to each other, the solar radiation amount determining means 4 for determining the amount of solar radiation directly applied to the smoked glass 1 from the detection signal levels of these optical sensors 3, and the respective detection signals that change depending on the solar radiation angle of the direct light. The solar radiation pattern judging means 5 for judging the solar radiation pattern of the direct light on the smoked glass 1 from the level difference state, and the brightness of the light source 7 corresponding to the judged solar radiation pattern is raised according to the judged solar radiation amount. A light control means 6.
Thus, the conventional combination meter can improve visibility by dimming each meter light source independently in accordance with the actual direct-lighting area on the front face of the meter and the amount of solar radiation.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-118883 JP-A-5-330362 JP-A-9-43531

  However, in the configuration shown in FIG. 6, since the optical sensor 3 receives the reflected light from the smoke glass 1, direct light from all directions can be reliably detected depending on the shape of the smoke glass 1. In addition to the difficulty of the structure, a plurality of optical sensors 3 are required to detect the reflected light from the smoked glass 1 over a wide range.

  In addition, instead of adjusting the brightness of the light source, a means for variably adjusting the light transmittance of the front glass by using a light transmittance variable material using a liquid crystal material or an electrochromic material for the front glass is considered. These materials are not suitable for the structure of a combination meter as shown in FIG. 6 because they are difficult to construct with curved surfaces and cannot collect light.

  Moreover, in the combination meter shown in FIG. 6, in order for the optical sensor 3 to detect reflected light, it is necessary to always make the smoke glass 1 into a smoke state, and it was difficult to show the structure inside the meter. .

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a conventional technique, and can detect direct light from all necessary directions without being influenced by the shape of the front glass. It can detect the direct light within the required range, and can use liquid crystal materials or electrochromic materials with the surface glass as a flat surface. An object of the present invention is to provide a self-luminous combination meter that can be improved in merchandise by showing.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the self-luminous combination meter of the present invention makes the luminance of the light source variable, forms the front glass with a light transmittance variable material, and covers the periphery of the front glass. It is based on the fact that a light sensor provided with a shade having a light passage part simulating the shape of the opening of the meter hood on the light receiving surface is arranged outside the meter hood. The brightness of the light source and the light transmittance of the front glass are automatically variably adjusted based on the amount of received light to improve visibility.
In addition to arranging this optical sensor in an instrument panel or a package tray, the surface glass that can be formed into a planar shape by the above configuration is a light transmittance variable material such as a liquid crystal material or an electrochromic material. It is formed using.

  By adopting such a configuration, the present invention enables detection of direct light from all necessary directions regardless of the shape of the front glass, and a single optical sensor can detect direct light within the required range. Sensing is possible. Since the surface glass does not require the collection of reflected light, the shape of the surface glass can be made flat, so that a light transmittance variable material such as a liquid crystal material or an electrochromic material can be used in combination. Also, by using a light transmittance variable material for the front glass, it is possible to show the internal structure of the meter by making the front glass transparent when not in use or in the absence of direct sunlight, which can improve the merchantability. it can.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing a basic configuration of the present invention. The self-luminous combination meter 11 is a self-luminous type in which the luminance of the light source is variable, a meter display unit 12 having a front glass (not shown), a meter hood 13 that covers the periphery of the front glass, a light The front glass is formed using a light transmittance variable material such as a liquid crystal material or an electrochromic material.

  The optical sensor unit 15 includes an optical sensor body 16 that receives and detects light, and a shade 18 provided on the light receiving surface 17. In the shade 18, a light passage portion 19 is opened by simulating the shape of the opening portion 14 of the meter hood 13.

  The optical sensor unit 15 is arranged outside the meter hood 13 such as an instrument panel or an upper portion of a package tray, which is a position different from the inside of the meter hood 13 where the meter display unit 12 is arranged. Further, the direction of the light receiving surface 17 of the optical sensor unit 15 is set to be the same as the direction of the surface formed by the opening 14 of the meter hood 13.

  With such a configuration, the light received by the optical sensor body 16 has the same shape and the same direction as the light incident on the opening 14 of the meter hood 13, that is, the same equivalent light. It can be seen.

Here, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the basic configuration shown in FIG. 1 in more detail, and shows the relationship between the self-luminous combination meter 11 and the optical sensor unit 15.
FIG. 2A schematically shows the opening 14 of the meter hood 13 provided in the instrument panel 30 and the meter display unit 12 that can be seen from the opening 14, and FIG. 2B shows the optical sensor unit 15. The shade 18 and the light passage portion 19 formed in the shade 18 are shown. Here, the outer shape 31 of the light passage portion 19 has a shape simulating the shape of the opening portion 14 of the meter hood 13, and the portion other than the light passage portion 19 of the shade 18 is a light shielding portion 32 that does not allow light to pass. Yes.

  FIG. 2C shows a state in which light accompanied by a shadow 33 such as a pillar is directly shining on the meter display unit 12, and FIG. It shows a state in which light accompanied by a shadow 33 such as

  2 (e) shows the sum of FIG. 2 (a) and FIG. 2 (c), and FIG. 2 (f) shows the sum of FIG. 2 (b) and FIG. 2 (d).

  Thus, since the correlation between the meter display section 12 and the shadow 33 in FIG. 2E and the light passage section 19 and the shadow 33 in FIG. By sensing this, it is possible to reproduce the light receiving range / non-light receiving range of the meter display unit 12. Further, in the case where it is impossible to arrange the photosensor main body 16 in FIG. 2E, by arranging the photosensor main body 16 in FIG. 2F, the inside of FIG. It is possible to obtain a light reception value obtained when the optical sensor main body 16 is disposed in the center.

  As described above, since the light received by the optical sensor body 16 can be regarded as the light incident on the meter hood 13, the luminance and the table of the light source of the self-luminous combination meter 11 based on the amount of light received by the optical sensor body 16. Good visibility can be secured by variably adjusting the light transmittance of the glass.

  In addition, it is possible to detect direct light in all directions and all ranges required by one optical sensor unit 15, and the front glass has a planar shape because it does not need to collect reflected light as in the prior art. Accordingly, a light transmittance variable material such as a liquid crystal material or an electrochromic material can be used in combination.

  Furthermore, by using a light transmittance variable material for the front glass, it is possible to show the structure such as the plating ring and three-dimensional shape inside the meter by making the front glass transparent when not in use or without direct sunlight. Thus, merchantability can be improved.

  As the meter display unit 12 of the self-luminous combination meter 11, for example, a translucent type using a lamp as a back light source, a dial or pointer emitting light, a digital display type, etc. Various means are conceivable. As a means for automatically changing the luminance of the light source based on a signal from the optical sensor body 16, an electric circuit such as that shown in FIG. Similarly, as a means for automatically changing the light transmittance of the front glass, which is a light transmittance variable material, by a signal from the optical sensor main body 16, an electric circuit as shown in FIG. 6 can be used.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a high mount stop lamp 40 is mounted on a package tray 41 disposed inside the rear window glass 50, and this high mount stop lamp is further provided. An optical sensor unit 15 is attached to the lamp 40. 4 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the high-mount stop lamp 40 to which the optical sensor unit 15 is attached, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. In the figure, 42 is a high mount stop lamp cover, 43 is a high mount stop lamp unit, 44 is a foot of the high mount stop lamp, 45 is a sensor amplifier, and 46 is a wire harness.

  As described above, the optical sensor unit 15 can be used by being attached to the high-mount stop lamp 40 located at the position separated from the meter hood 13 toward the rear of the vehicle. Also in this case, the direction of the light receiving surface 17 of the optical sensor unit 15 is set to be the same as the direction of the surface formed by the opening of the meter hood 13 as in the basic configuration of FIG.

  The optical sensor unit 15 can be made small as in this example, and the position where it is arranged and attached can be, for example, the upper surface of the instrument panel in addition to the package tray as in this example. You can also.

  As is apparent from the above description, the self-luminous combination meter of the present invention has a brightness of the light source of the self-luminous combination meter according to the direct sunlight region and the amount of solar radiation in front of the self-luminous combination meter. The light transmittance of the front glass is automatically changed and adjusted to ensure good visibility, and the commerciality can be improved by showing the internal structure of the self-luminous combination meter by making the front glass transparent depending on the situation. Is.

1 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing a basic configuration of the present invention. It is the schematic explaining the effect | action of the basic composition shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the high mount stop lamp which attached the optical sensor part in FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3. It is a perspective view which shows a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Self-light-emitting combination meter 13 Meter hood 14 Opening part 15 Optical sensor 17 Light-receiving surface 18 Shade 19 Light passage part 41 Package tray 30 Instrument panel

Claims (3)

A meter display unit with variable brightness of the light source and a front glass, a meter hood that covers the periphery of the front glass, and an optical sensor unit that detects direct light to adjust the brightness of the light source In the self-luminous combination meter,
The optical sensor unit is provided outside the meter hood with a shade having a light passage part simulating the shape of the opening of the meter hood on the light receiving surface,
The self-luminous combination meter, wherein the luminance of the light source and / or the light transmittance of the front glass is variably adjusted based on the amount of received light sensed by the optical sensor.   The self-luminous combination meter according to claim 1, wherein the optical sensor unit is arranged on an instrument panel or a package tray. The self-luminous combination meter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front glass is formed of a light transmittance variable material such as a liquid crystal material or an electrochromic material.

Images