JP4437550B2 - Vehicle indicator instrument - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular pointer instrument suitable for use in an automobile or the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various methods have been adopted in a vehicular pointer instrument mounted on an automobile in order to ensure a novel visual appearance. For example, a first light source that causes the pointer and the display board to emit light in a first color, and a second light source that causes either the pointer or the display board to emit light in a second color different from the first color are provided. There is a configuration in which either the pointer or the display board emits light in the second color after the pointer and the display board emit light in the first color (see Patent Document 1).

In this case, in the pointer instrument for a vehicle, after the pointer and the display board emit light in the first color, the light emission color of either the pointer or the display board is switched to the second color. Thereby, the luminescent color of each part of the pointer instrument for vehicles can be changed with progress of time.
JP 2003-254792 A

  However, in the above-described conventional vehicle pointer instrument, the first light source is mainly for illuminating the pointer, and part of the light from the first light source is in the vicinity of the pointer through hole in the display board. The display panel emits light in the first color by diffracting to the display panel side. Therefore, the brightness of the first color on the display panel is low, and there is a possibility that the effect of the light emission color change effect is diminished.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle pointer instrument that performs a light emission color change effect, and can provide a higher light emission color change effect effect by increasing the luminance of each color. It is to provide a pointer instrument.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means.

  A pointer instrument for a vehicle according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a pointer, a dial disposed behind the pointer, and a decorative plate made of a translucent material disposed on the pointer side of the dial, A first light source in which the pointer and the decorative plate are arranged to emit light in the first color, a second light source in which the decorative plate is arranged to emit light in the second color, and a third for illuminating the dial A light source, a reflecting portion that is formed on the decorative plate and reflects light from the first light source and the second light source toward the viewer side, and controls turning on / off of the first light source, the second light source, and the third light source. And a control means.

  According to the above-described configuration, when only the first light source is turned on, the pointer is lit and displayed in the first color, and at the same time, the decorative board, more specifically, the reflective portion of the decorative board is lit and displayed in the first color. . In this state, when the second light source is additionally turned on, the reflecting portion of the decorative plate is irradiated with both the light from the first light source and the light from the second light source. Therefore, the reflective portion is lit and displayed in a mixed color of the first color and the second color. That is, when viewed from the viewer, it appears that the emission color of the reflective portion of the decorative plate is changed to the first color first, and then to the mixed color of the first color and the second color.

  By the way, in the conventional vehicular pointer instrument described above, the display board, which is a decorative board, is entirely lit and displayed in the first color, but its luminance is low, and there is a possibility that the effect of changing the luminescent color may be diminished. .

  On the other hand, in the vehicular pointer instrument according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the reflecting portion formed on a part of the decorative board, not the whole decorative plate, is configured to emit light, the light emitted from the reflecting portion first light source is emitted. Most of the incident light on the decorative plate is incident on the reflecting portion. Thereby, the light emission brightness | luminance of a reflection part can be raised and the pointer instrument for vehicles which can obtain a high luminescent color change effect can be provided.

  In the vehicular pointer instrument according to claim 2 of the present invention, the control means turns on the first light source in conjunction with the start of operation of the vehicular pointer instrument, and after the elapse of a predetermined time, the second light source and the third light source are turned on. It is characterized by lighting.

  According to the above-described configuration, the emission color of the reflective portion of the decorative plate can be reliably changed according to a predetermined rule, so that it is possible to provide a vehicular pointer instrument that can provide a high emission color change effect.

  The pointer instrument for a vehicle according to claim 3 of the present invention is characterized in that the decorative plate includes an arcuate reflecting surface coaxial with the pointer as a reflecting portion.

  According to the above-described configuration, the shape of the portion where the emission color changes can be associated with the pointer which is the main part of the pointer instrument for the vehicle, so that the effect of the emission color change effect can be further enhanced.

  In this case, as in the vehicle pointer instrument according to claim 4 of the present invention, if the reflective part of the decorative plate is part of the display design of the instrument, the pointer instrument in addition to the arc-shaped reflective surface A novel indicator instrument for a viewing vehicle can be provided by using the display design, for example, a scale or the like, as a target of the luminescent color change effect.

  Hereinafter, an example in which the vehicle pointer instrument according to the present invention is applied to a speedometer S provided in a combination meter 1 mounted on an automobile will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a partial front view of a combination meter 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

  3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an electric circuit configuration of the combination meter 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the on / off operation of the light emitting diodes 4, 5, 6 in the combination meter 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The combination meter 1 is disposed at a position that is visible from the driver in front of the driver's seat of the automobile, and includes a speedometer S that displays the traveling speed of the automobile as shown in FIG. And various indicators. The driver's seat is on the left side of the combination meter 1 in FIG. 2, and the combination meter 1 is visually recognized from the left side in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the speedometer S mainly includes a decorative plate 3, a dial 2, a pointer 10, a movement 11, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the dial 2 is arranged behind a pointer 10 described later, that is, on the right side in FIG. The dial 2 is formed in a thin plate shape from a translucent material such as colorless and transparent polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin. As shown in FIG. 2, the dial 2 includes a plurality of characters 2 a as a display design of the speedometer S. The plurality of characters 2a are arranged along a common arc, specifically along an arc centered on the rotation center of a pointer 10 described later. The character 2a is formed by printing or hot stamping the front surface or the back surface of the dial 2 to provide a light-shielding colored layer. In the combination meter 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the character 2a is colored translucent orange. The portion around the character 2a of the dial 2, that is, the background portion, is colored translucent blue. As shown in FIG. 2, the dial 2 includes a through hole 2 b for inserting a shaft 11 a of a movement 11 (described later) or a boss 10 b of the pointer 10 at the center thereof.

  On the dial 10 side of the dial 2, that is, on the left side in FIG. The decorative board 3 is formed in a substantially plate shape from a translucent material such as a colorless and transparent polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin. As shown in FIG. 1, the decorative plate 3 has a substantially fan shape, and an outer peripheral edge thereof has an arc shape coaxial with a rotation axis of a pointer 10 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a reflection surface 3 a that is a reflection portion is formed at the outer peripheral side end of the decorative plate 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the reflecting surface 3 a has an arc shape coaxial with a rotation axis of a pointer 10 described later. The reflective surface 3a is inclined with respect to the driver's visual recognition direction, that is, the left-right direction in FIG. In other words, it faces both the direction along the surface of the decorative board 3 (vertical direction in FIG. 2) and the driver's visual recognition direction. Therefore, the light traveling in the direction along the surface of the decorative plate 3 in the decorative plate 3 can be reflected toward the driver.

  In the decorative board 3, both end portions of the arc-shaped reflecting surface 3 a are bent toward the back of the decorative board 3 to form a light guide portion 3 c as shown in FIG. 3. The light guide 3c is for introducing the light emitted from the white light emitting diode 5 as the second light source into the decorative plate 3 through the end face 3d.

  On the back surface of the decorative plate 3, that is, the right surface in FIG. 2, a scale 3b as a reflecting portion is formed. A plurality of scales 3b are provided to form a part of the display design of the speedometer S, that is, a scale of the instrument. As shown in FIG. 3, the scale 3 b is formed as a groove having a V-shaped cross section. That is, it has two slopes constituting a V-shaped groove. These scales 3b can also reflect the light traveling in the direction along the surface of the decorative plate 3 toward the driver, similarly to the reflective surface 3a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a red light emitting diode 4 as a first light source for illuminating the pointer 10 and the decorative board 3a is disposed on the back side of the dial 2 (right side in FIG. 2). The light emission color of the red light emitting diode 4 is red which is the first color. Therefore, the pointer 10 and the decorative board 3a are displayed by light emission from the light emitting diode 4 in red as the first color.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a white light emitting diode 5 as a second light source for illuminating the decorative board 3a is disposed on the back side of the dial 2 (right side in FIG. 2). The light emission color of the white light emitting diode 5 is white which is the second color. Therefore, the decorative board 3a is lit and displayed in white as the second color by the light from the light emitting diode 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a light guide plate 7 is disposed in close contact with the back side of the dial 2. The light guide plate 7 is for guiding light emitted from a light emitting diode 6 as a third light source, which will be described later, to the dial 2, whereby the dial 2 is transmitted and illuminated by light emitted from the light emitting diode 6.

  On the back side of the dial 2 (right side in FIG. 2), as shown in FIG. 2, a light emitting diode 6 as a third light source for illuminating the dial 2 is arranged. As the light emitting diode 6, a so-called white light emitting diode whose emission color is white is used. Therefore, the dial 2 is illuminated by the light of the light emitting diode 6 so that the character 2a is displayed in orange and the background portion is displayed in blue.

  Each of the above-described light emitting diodes, that is, the red light emitting diode 4, the white light emitting diode 5, and the light emitting diode 6 are mounted on a printed circuit board 9 disposed behind the dial 2, as shown in FIG. The printed circuit board 9 is made of, for example, a glass epoxy substrate and forms an electric circuit portion of the combination meter 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a light shielding cylinder 8 is disposed between the printed board 9 and the dial 2. The light shielding cylinder 8 is formed in a cylindrical shape from, for example, a resin material, one end of which is in close contact with the printed circuit board 9 and the other end is fitted in the through hole 2 b of the dial 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the other end of the light shielding tube 8 is substantially flush with the surface of the dial 2, and the end surface of the decorative plate 3 is exposed from the light shielding tube 8. As shown in FIG. 2, the light shielding cylinder 8 is disposed inside the light shielding cylinder 8 so as to contain the red light emitting diode 4.

  A movement 11 for rotating the pointer 10 is mounted on the printed board 9 as shown in FIG. For the movement 11, for example, a cross coil actuator or a stepping motor is used. When a voltage is applied from the outside, the movement 11 generates torque and rotates the shaft 11a. A pointer 10 is fixed to the tip of the shaft 11a. The shaft 11 a or the boss portion 10 b of the pointer 10 is inserted through the inside of the light shielding tube 8 and extends to the front side of the dial 2.

  The pointer 10 is made of a translucent material such as colorless and transparent polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin, and is disposed along the surface of the dial 2 as shown in FIG. The pointer 10 rotates integrally with the shaft 11a when the shaft 11a of the movement 11 rotates. The back surface 10a of the pointer 10 is colored white by printing or hot stamping. Thereby, when the light from the red light emitting diode 4 enters the pointer 10, the light is reflected by the back surface 10a, so that the pointer 10 is displayed in red.

  A controller 16 is mounted on the printed circuit board 9 as a control means for controlling lighting / extinction of the light emitting diodes 4, 5, 6. The controller 16 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer. The controller 16 also performs drive control of the movement 11.

  The dial 2, the decorative board 3, the printed board 9, and the like described above are accommodated and fixed in the casing 12. The casing 12 is made of, for example, a resin material.

  On the front side (right side in FIG. 2) of the dial 2 and the decorative plate 3, a substantially frame-shaped facing plate 13 is mounted. The facing plate 13 is made of, for example, a resin material. As shown in FIG. 2, the facing plate 13 includes a flange portion 13 a. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the flange portion 13 a covers the rotating base portion of the pointer 10, that is, the light shielding cylinder 8 and its periphery. Thereby, it can prevent that the light which the red light emitting diode 4 emits enters into a driver | operator's eyes, and is felt dazzling. As shown in FIG. 2, a transparent cover 14 is attached to the viewer side end of the facing plate 13. The transparent cover 14 is formed from a thin plate such as a transparent resin or glass. The facing plate 13 and the transparent cover 14 improve the appearance of the combination meter 1 and prevent dust and moisture from entering the inside of the combination meter 1.

  On the other hand, a lower cover 15 is mounted behind the casing 12 as shown in FIG. The lower cover 15 is made of, for example, a resin material.

  Next, an electric circuit configuration of the combination meter 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, electric power is constantly supplied from the battery 18 to the controller 16. Further, the controller 16 is connected to an ignition switch 17 so as to detect its operating state (ON or OFF).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the light emitting diodes 4, 5, 6 and the movement 11 are connected to the controller 16.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 16 is connected to a speed sensor 19 for detecting the traveling speed of the automobile so that a detection signal can be input. For example, an electromagnetic pickup type or the like is used as the speed sensor 19 and detects the number of revolutions of a propeller shaft that is an output shaft of an automobile transmission, for example.

  When the ignition switch 17 is switched to the ON state by the driver's operation, the controller 16 detects it and starts the operation of the combination meter 1. That is, the light emitting diodes 4, 5, and 6 are turned on according to a predetermined rule. At the same time, the travel speed of the automobile is calculated based on the detection signal from the speed sensor 19, and the movement 11 is driven so that the pointer 10 indicates the calculated travel speed on the dial 2. As a result, the pointer 10 is rotated by the movement 11 on the dial 2 to indicate the traveling speed of the automobile.

  When the ignition switch 17 is switched to the OFF state by the driver's operation, the controller 16 detects this and stops the operation of the combination meter 1. That is, the light emitting diodes 4, 5, and 6 are turned off according to a predetermined rule. At the same time, the movement 11 is driven so that the pointer 10 indicates a speed of 0 mph (miller per hour) on the dial 2. Alternatively, the power supply to the movement 11 is stopped. When the energization of the movement 11 is stopped, the shaft 11a of the movement 11 rotates to a position where the pointer 10 indicates 0 mph by an elastic force of a return spring (not shown).

  Next, a predetermined rule for turning on and off the light emitting diodes 4, 5, 6, that is, control of turning on / off the light emitting diodes 4, 5, 6 by the controller 16 will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

  When the ignition switch 17 is switched to the ON state by the driver's operation, the controller 16 detects it and starts the operation of the combination meter 1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 16 first turns on the red light emitting diode 4. As a result, the pointer 10 is lit and displayed in red, which is the first color. At the same time, part of the light from the red light-emitting diode 4 enters the decorative plate 3 at the pointer 10 side opening end of the light shielding tube 8. This light is reflected by the reflecting surface 3a and the scale 3b and is visually recognized by the driver. That is, the reflective surface 3a and the scale 3b are lit and displayed in red as the first color. That is, when the red light emitting diode 4 is turned on, the pointer 10, the reflective surface 3a and the scale 3b of the decorative board 3 are lit and displayed in red.

  When the time t elapses when the red light emitting diode 4 is turned on, the controller 16 turns on the white light emitting diode 5 and the light emitting diode 6 in addition to the red light emitting diode 4 as shown in FIG. The light emitted from the white light-emitting diode 5 enters the decorative plate 3 and is reflected by the reflecting surface 3a and the scale 3b and is visually recognized by the driver. At this time, the light from the red light emitting diode 4 and the light from the white light emitting diode 5 are simultaneously incident on the reflecting surface 3 a and the scale 3 b, but the amount of light from the white light emitting diode 5 is greater than that from the red light emitting diode 4. It is overwhelmingly more than the amount of light. For this reason, the reflective surface 3a and the scale 3b are lit and displayed in white as the second color. On the other hand, light from the light emitting diode 6, that is, white light, passes through the light guide plate 7 and illuminates the dial 2. As a result, the character 2a is lit in orange and its background portion is displayed in blue.

  Looking at the light emission display operation of the combination meter 1 from the driver, first, the pointer 10, the reflective surface 3a and the scale 3b of the decorative board 3 are displayed in red, and after a while, the reflection surface 3a and the scale 3b The emission color changes from red to white, and at the same time, the character 2a of the dial 2 is displayed in orange and its background portion is displayed in blue. That is, the appearance of the combination meter 1 can be made novel by changing the emission color of the reflecting surface 3a and the scale 3b.

  Subsequently, when the ignition switch 17 is switched to the OFF state by the driver's operation, the controller 16 detects this and stops the operation of the combination meter 1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 16 first turns off the white light emitting diode 5 and the light emitting diode 6. Thereby, in the dial 2, the character 2a and the background portion thereof are not transmissively illuminated and become almost black, and only the pointer 10, the reflective surface 3a and the scale 3b of the decorative board 3 are lit and displayed in red.

  In the dial 2, when the character 2a and the background portion thereof disappear and only the pointer 10, the reflective surface 3a and the scale 3b of the decorative board 3 are lit and displayed in red, and the time t has elapsed, the controller 16 As shown in FIG. 5, the red light emitting diode 4 is turned off. As a result, the pointer 10, the reflective surface 3a and the scale 3b of the decorative board 3 also disappear, and the entire speedometer S is visually recognized in black.

  By the way, in the conventional vehicular pointer instrument, since the entire decorative board is lit and displayed in the first color, the brightness is low, and the effect of changing the luminescent color may be diminished.

  On the other hand, in the combination meter 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the reflection part formed on a part of the decorative board, that is, the reflection surface 3a and the scale 3b is displayed in a light emitting manner instead of the entire decorative board. For this reason, most of the light incident on the decorative plate 3 out of the light emitted from the red light emitting diode 4 as the first light source is incident on the reflecting surface 3a and the scale 3b. Thereby, the combination meter 1 which can light-emit the reflective surface 3a and the scale 3b with high brightness | luminance, and can obtain a high luminescent color change effect can be provided.

  In addition, in the combination meter 1 by one Embodiment of this invention demonstrated above, although the display design of the meter formed as a reflection part in the decorative board 3 is made into a scale, it is not necessary to restrict to a scale and it may replace with a character. Good. Or you may provide a scale and a character in the decorative board 3 as a reflection part.

  Moreover, in the combination meter 1 by one Embodiment of this invention demonstrated above, the time difference of the red light emitting diode 4 which is a 1st light source, the white light emitting diode 5 which is a 2nd light source, and the light emitting diode 6 which is a 3rd light source. Although the lighting control and the time difference extinction control are performed, either one of the two time difference controls may be controlled simultaneously, that is, the first to third light sources may be turned on or off all at once.

  In the combination meter 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the white light emitting diode 5 as the second light source and the light emitting diode 6 as the third light source are turned on and off simultaneously. The diodes 5 and 6 may be configured to further perform at least one of time difference lighting control and time difference extinction control.

  Further, in the combination meter 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the first light source is the red light emitting diode 4 and the second light source is the white light emitting diode 5, but the first light source and the second light source are the above-described light emitting elements. There is no need to limit the combination of colors, and at least one of the two may be replaced with a light emitting diode of another light emitting color, for example, blue, yellow, or green.

  In the combination meter 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the light emission color of the dial 2 is orange for the character 2a and blue for the background portion. However, the present invention is not limited to this combination, and other color combinations are possible. It is good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the speedometer S of the combination meter 1 has been described as an example of the pointer instrument. However, the speedometer S is not limited to the speedometer S, and other types of instruments, for example, the engine rotational speed of the automobile. May be applied to a tachometer for instructing, a fuel meter for instructing the amount of remaining fuel in the fuel tank, a water temperature meter for instructing the engine coolant temperature, and the like. Further, a plurality of pointer meters may be provided in one combination meter 1.

It is a partial front view of the combination meter 1 by one Embodiment of this invention. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is the III-III sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is a mimetic diagram explaining the electric circuit composition of combination meter 1 by one embodiment of the present invention. It is a timing chart which shows lighting / extinguishing operation | movement of the light emitting diodes 4, 5, and 6 in the combination meter 1 by one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Combination meter (vehicle pointer instrument)
2 Dial 2a Character (display design)
2b Only the through-hole pointer 10, the reflective surface 3a and the scale 3b of the decorative board 3 are lit and displayed in red.

3 Scale plate (decorative plate)
3a Arc surface (reflecting part, arc-shaped reflecting surface)
3b Scale (reflective part, display design)
4 Light-emitting diode (first light source)
5 Light-emitting diode (second light source)
6 Light-emitting diode (third light source)
7 Light guide plate 8 Light-shielding tube 9 Printed circuit board 10 Pointer 10a Back surface 10b Boss portion 11 Movement (rotation inner unit)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11a Shaft 12 Casing 13 Turn-up plate 13a Hook 14 Transparent cover 15 Lower cover 16 Controller 17 Ignition switch 18 Battery 19 Speed sensor S Speedometer

Claims (4)

Guidelines,
A dial arranged behind the pointer,
A decorative plate made of a translucent material disposed on the pointer side of the dial;
A first light source arranged so that the pointer and the decorative plate can emit light in a first color;
A second light source disposed on the decorative plate so as to emit light in a second color;
A third light source for transmitting and illuminating the dial;
A reflecting portion that is formed on the decorative plate and reflects light toward the viewer side from the first light source and the second light source;
A pointer instrument for a vehicle comprising control means for controlling turning on and off of the first light source, the second light source, and the third light source.   2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on the first light source in conjunction with the start of operation of the vehicle pointer instrument, and turns on the second light source and the third light source after a predetermined time has elapsed. The vehicle pointer instrument as described.   The vehicular pointer instrument according to claim 1, wherein the decorative plate includes an arc-shaped reflecting surface coaxial with the pointer as the reflecting portion.   The vehicular pointer instrument according to claim 3, wherein the reflection portion of the decorative plate constitutes a part of a display design of the instrument.

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