JP5820175B2 - Meter device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a meter device that can be used as an instrument for various vehicles such as an automobile instrument, a ship instrument, and an aircraft instrument.

  Conventionally, various types of meter devices used for various instruments have been proposed and developed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  Among these, as shown in FIG. 5, the meter device 100 of Patent Document 1 has a substantially circular translucent portion and a translucent portion on the outer peripheral side of the translucent portion at the front open portion of the case body 101 whose front surface is open. A dial 102 having a character and a scale portion is provided, and a disc-shaped pointer plate 103 having a pointer such as a slit is provided on the front side of the dial 102. A movement 104 for rotating the pointer plate 103 based on a predetermined measurement amount is disposed in the case body 101, and a light source 105 that emits irradiation light diffused by the dial plate 102 around the movement 104. Is arranged. Further, a reflection member 106 is disposed on the top of the movement 104 to reflect the irradiation light emitted from the light source 105 toward the pointer plate 103.

  In the meter device 100 having such a configuration, as described above, since the reflection member that reflects the irradiation light emitted from the light source to the dial side is disposed on the top of the movement, the diffusion irradiation light of the movement portion is reflected. It is reflected by this reflecting member and is irradiated from the back side of the dial. Therefore, a bent portion due to the movement is not generated on the center side of the pointer portion of the pointer plate.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the meter device 200 described in Patent Document 2 includes a substrate 210, a pointer 220 having a base portion 220 having a rotation center and a pointer portion 231 extending in a radial direction from the base portion 220, A movement 240 having a rotating shaft 241 that is supported on the substrate 210 and rotationally drives the pointer 230, a light source 250 such as an LED that is mounted on the substrate 210 and irradiates the pointer 230 with light, and the light from the light source 250 is indicated by the pointer A plurality of light sources 250 are mounted on the substrate 210 around the rotating shaft 241. In addition, the light guide 260 has a support portion 261 supported at one end by the rotating shaft 241 of the movement 240, an incident portion 262 that protrudes in a radial direction from the rotating shaft 241 and receives light from the light source 250, and an incident portion 262. And an emission part 263 for emitting the light incident on the.

  According to the meter device 200 having such a configuration, since the light guide body 260 having a specific shape in which a large number of light sources 250 can be arranged is provided, a meter device capable of emitting light with high brightness of the pointer 230 can be provided.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-2022 JP 2008-76111 A

  By the way, according to the meter device 100 as described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a unique and high-quality meter device in which the pointer portion is configured by a slit can be realized, which is advantageous in that respect. However, in this meter device 100, for example, a difference is easily generated between the amount of illumination light passing through the region immediately below the reflecting member 106, which is a portion on the rotation center side of the pointer portion, and the tip side of the pointer portion away from the reflecting member 106. As a result, unevenness in brightness is generated, and it is difficult to obtain a uniform light emitting state and good visibility.

  On the other hand, according to the meter device 200 described in Patent Document 2, provision of the large-diameter light guide 260 is advantageous in that the pointer can emit light with high brightness. However, on the other hand, since the outer diameter of the light guide 260 is large even on the upper side, the inner diameter of the hole 271 of the dial 270 through which the light guide 260 passes is also increased, so that light leaks from the hole 271. It cannot be ignored. In addition, if the upper outer diameter of the light guide 260 is large, the cap 280 that covers the upper end surface is inevitably large, and there is a problem that the design is impaired accordingly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is that the design is good and light leakage from the shaft hole through which the pointer shaft of the dial penetrates can be suppressed as much as possible. It is providing the meter apparatus which becomes.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the meter device according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (5).
(1) and movement having a rotation shaft irradiation light from the light source is incident, a motor for rotating the rotary shaft, and
A dial with various markings on it,
A pointer main body indicating the mark on the dial, and a base end side that is suspended from the base of the pointer main body toward the dial is rotatably inserted into the shaft hole of the dial and the tip of the rotating shaft A pointer shaft that is connectable to the side, and
A light-shielding member for suppressing light leakage from the shaft hole which is attachable to the proximal end of the previous SL pointer shaft Te back side smell of the dial, the pointer shaft passes,
Comprising
about.
(2) A meter device configured as described in (1) above,
A suppression member that suppresses transmission of light from the inside of the pointer shaft to the outside is provided in a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the pointer shaft that is positioned closer to the dial than the light shielding member.
about.
(3) A meter device configured as described in (1) or (2) above,
A prism disposed at the tip of the rotating shaft;
The prism is configured to refract part of light from the light source that has propagated in the rotation axis in a direction away from the dial.
about.
(4) A meter device configured as described in (3) above,
The prism and the light shielding member have means for connecting the pointer shaft and the rotation shaft,
about.
(5) The meter device having any one of (1) to (4) above,
The light-shielding member has a color similar to that of the dial at least on the side facing the dial.
about.

According to the meter device having the configuration (1), it is not necessary to put a large cap on the tip portion exposed from the dial of the pointer shaft. In other words, even with a small cap, light leakage from the shaft hole through which the pointer shaft of the dial penetrates can be suppressed as much as possible. Thereby, the meter apparatus with favorable design property is realizable.
According to the meter device having the above configuration (2), the light from the single light source is refracted by the prism toward the reflection part in the case of the dial, so that the dial can be illuminated simultaneously with the illumination of the pointer. .
According to the meter device having the configuration (3), it is not necessary to provide a dedicated connecting means between the pointer shaft and the rotating shaft, so that the cost can be reduced.
According to the meter device having the above configuration (4), it is possible to prevent the light-shielding member immediately below the transparent or translucent dial from being seen through from the outside of the dial. Can be avoided.

  According to the meter device of the present invention, it is not necessary to put a large cap on the tip exposed from the dial of the pointer shaft, and light leakage from the shaft hole through which the pointer shaft of the dial penetrates is possible even with a small cap. It becomes possible to suppress to. As a result, a design-display meter device with good design can be provided.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the modes for carrying out the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a top view which shows the meter apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is arrow sectional drawing in the II-II line | wire of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the pointer | guide of the meter apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the light-shielding member of the meter apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional meter apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the other conventional meter apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show a meter device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The meter device 1 includes a light source 3 mounted on the substrate 2, a movement 4 attached to a predetermined location on the substrate 2 including a region where the light source 3 is mounted, a number installed on the top of the movement 4, A dial 5 for indicating necessary information regarding the vehicle itself or the environment around the vehicle, such as letters and symbols, a pointer 6 for indicating numbers, letters, symbols, etc. of the dial 5, a prism 7 and a light shielding member 8 which will be described in detail later Have. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a display unit using an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying a trip meter, an odometer, etc., reference numeral 10 denotes a case in which these members are accommodated, reference numeral 12 denotes a display board, Each is shown. Further, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 13 denotes an in-case reflecting portion located inside the instrument case 10, and the surface of the in-case reflecting portion 13 is effectively reflected without absorbing illumination light. It is formed of a suitable material.

  The light source 3 is composed of, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) that emits visible light having a predetermined wavelength (λ), and is an end face on the lower side of the rotating shaft 41 (hereinafter referred to as “base end face”). It is mounted on the substrate 2 directly below it in a state facing directly. The LED that is the light source 3 of the present embodiment has an optical axis set in the Z direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the substrate 2, and most of the main light from this LED (hereinafter referred to as “illumination light”). ) Is emitted toward the base end surface of the rotation shaft 41 directly above.

  In the movement 4, movement parts such as a step motor M, a reduction gear train G, and a rotating shaft 41 are accommodated in a movement case 40 of the movement shown in FIG. Note that the upper surface side of the movement case 40 is reflected in the case toward the outer periphery so that the illumination light after refraction is reflected by the prism 7 to be described later and the uniform reflection part 13 can be illuminated. It has a slope shape inclined downward toward the portion 13. In addition, the upper surface of the movement case 40 is formed of an appropriate material that effectively reflects the illumination light without being absorbed.

  The step motor M is for rotating the rotating shaft 41, and rotates the rotating shaft 41 while decelerating via the reduction gear train G, that is, the intermediate gear G1 and the output gear G2. By rotating the rotary shaft 41, the pointer 6 integrated therewith is rotated along the surface of the dial plate 5 to indicate various necessary information. As shown in FIG. 2, the step motor M of the present embodiment includes a stator M1 and a rotor M2 including a rotor shaft that is installed at the opened central portion of the stator M1. In addition, the structure which decelerates with the single gear instead of the above reduction gear trains G may be sufficient.

  The output gear G2 is formed integrally with the rotary shaft 41 in the vicinity of the intermediate portion of the rotary shaft 41. For example, the output gear G2 of the present embodiment is integrally formed with the rotary shaft 41 having a light guiding function by using an appropriate transparent resin material. In the present embodiment, the output gear G2 and the rotary shaft 41 are integrally formed. However, the output gear G2 and the rotary shaft 41 are formed separately, and then the rotary shaft 41 is passed through and fixed to the output gear G2. It may be the configuration.

  The rotation shaft 41 is formed integrally with the output gear G2 from an appropriate light-transmitting (or light-guiding) resin material having excellent light guide properties, and transmits the rotational force from the step motor M to the pointer shaft 61. In addition, the illumination light from the light source 3 is propagated to the pointer shaft 61. Specifically, the rotating shaft 41 is provided so as to protrude upward and downward from the center of the disk-shaped gear body of the output gear G2, and above the rotating shaft 41 extending vertically upward with respect to the gear body. , The lower axis of the rotating shaft 41 extending vertically downward with respect to the gear body, and the gear axis of the gear body are located on the same straight line. The rotating shaft 41 has a substantially cylindrical shape in order to effectively guide the illumination light from the light source 3 to the pointer 6.

  The rotating shaft 41 has an outer diameter, particularly an outer diameter on the lower side, that is thicker than a rotating shaft that does not have a light guiding function in order to secure a required amount of light. Since the outer diameter of the lower side of the rotating shaft 41 is made larger, the light receiving efficiency for the illumination light from the light source 3 is higher than that of the small diameter. In particular, the rotating shaft 41 of the present embodiment is configured such that the outer diameter dimension on the lower side is the same as that on the upper side. Therefore, the illumination light that guides the inside of the rotation shaft 41 on the upper side is different from the structure that is reduced in diameter from a large diameter to a small diameter, and the illumination light that has been guided inside the rotation shaft 41 has a reduced diameter portion. The phenomenon of light leakage due to the light can be avoided, so that the light guide efficiency is also increased.

  The rotating shaft 41 protrudes from the upper portion of the movement case 40 to the outside, and the upper side, which is the distal end side, is an end portion of a later-described pointer shaft 61 (this is referred to as a “base end”), and the prism 7 and the light shielding member. They are assembled together via the member 8. Further, the rotating shaft 41 has a distal end side supported by a shaft hole 40 </ b> A of the movement case 40, and a proximal end side rotatably supported by a shaft hole 40 </ b> B serving as a bearing provided in the movement case 40. .

  As described above, the rotating shaft 41 is directly opposed with the base end face installed immediately above the light source 3. Therefore, when the illumination light from the light source 3 is incident on the base end surface, most of the illumination light is reflected at the interface with the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 41, for example, is guided while repeating total reflection or regular reflection. Then, it is propagated upward, which is the tip.

  In the meter device 1 of the present embodiment including the movement 4, a dial plate 5 formed of a transparent material or a translucent material is fitted over the entire surface of the speedometer. Further, the dial 5 is provided with holes and various display windows for installing various instruments including the movement 4. Further, the dial 5 is covered at its upper part with a transparent front glass (not shown). The surface glass is not limited to being colorless and transparent, but may be any transparent material such as a black transparent material or a so-called smoked glass on which a smoke film is stretched.

  In addition, the meter apparatus 1 provided with the movement 4 comprises the speedometer in the case of this embodiment, for example. In this case, based on a sensor signal corresponding to the current speed detected by a sensor (not shown), a later-described pointer 6 is rotated by a predetermined angle, and the current speed is analogized by pointing a specific number formed on the dial 5. indicate.

  The dial plate 5 is formed of a transparent material or a translucent material, and necessary information regarding the vehicle itself or the environment around the vehicle is written in place. In addition, the dial 5 is provided with a shaft hole 50 through which the pointer shaft 61 of the pointer 6 penetrates in the center portion. The shaft hole 50 is formed with an inner diameter dimension D having a minimum necessary size. ing. In this way, by forming the inner diameter dimension D to the minimum, the outer dimension of the cap 9 that covers the base 63 of the pointer 6 can inevitably be the minimum required.

  In the present embodiment, the cap 9 having the minimum necessary size is attached to the pointer 6, but the cap 9 can be eliminated by the presence of the light shielding member 8 described later.

  As described above, the pointer 6 has the light transmitting pendulum shaft 61 suspended from the base 63 of the pointer main body 62 so that the illumination light propagating through the rotary shaft 41 is incident and propagated to the pointer main body 62. Yes. In addition, the pointer 6 includes a cap 9 that covers the base 63 that is directly above the pointer shaft 61. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, illumination light propagating through the pointer shaft 61 toward the base 63 of the pointer main body 62 leaks from the outer peripheral surface of the pointer shaft 61 to the outside on the outer peripheral surface of the pointer shaft 61. In order to suppress this, a suppression member 60 made of an appropriate reflective film or the like is formed. In addition, the formation part of this suppressing member 60 should just be the outer peripheral surface at least ahead of the light-shielding member 8, ie, the tip end of the pointer shaft 61.

  The prism 7 is integrally assembled on the front end side of the rotating shaft 41, and refracts a part of the illumination light propagating through the rotating shaft 41 before reaching the light shielding member 8, whereby the back surface of the dial 5. Illumination is performed directly from the side or from the back side of the dial 5 after being reflected by the reflection part 13 in the case. Therefore, the prism 7 is formed using an appropriate transparent material, and has a substantially disk shape with a thickness that decreases toward the outer periphery.

  The prism 7 has a lower hole 71 into which the tip of the rotary shaft 41 is press-fitted at the center of the lower surface, and an upper hole 72 into which a bearing portion 81 (to be described later) of the light shielding member 8 is press-fitted at the center of the upper surface. By installing such a prism 7, the illumination light from the single light source 3 can be used as the illumination of the dial plate 5 together with the illumination of the pointer 6, so that the meter device 1 can be reduced in size and cost. Figured. Here, a structure in which the rotating shaft 41 and the prism 7 are separated will be described. However, the prism 7 and the rotating shaft 41 may be integrally formed. At that time, the shape of the movement case 40 is appropriately changed.

  The light shielding member 8 prevents a part of the illumination light refracted by the prism 7 and traveling in various directions from leaking from the shaft hole 50 to the outside of the dial plate 5. Thanks to this light shielding member 8, it is not necessary to cover the base 63 of the pointer 6 with a cap having a large outer diameter.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the light shielding member 8 of the present embodiment is formed in a substantially umbrella shape using an appropriate opaque material. The light shielding member 8 basically needs to be configured to absorb or reflect light having a wavelength serving as illumination light. Preferably, the light shielding member 8 has a wavelength in the visible light region, that is, approximately 380 nm to 760 nm. It is preferable that the structure absorbs or reflects all light in the wavelength band.

  The light shielding member 8 of the present embodiment has at least an upper surface portion facing the dial plate 5 formed or colored in a similar color to the dial plate 5. The light shielding member 8 is located on the back side of the dial 5 having transparency or translucency. However, the light shielding member 8 is formed or colored with the same color as the dial 5 so that the dial 5 is Even if it transmits light, the light blocking member 8 is prevented from being seen through from the upper surface side of the dial plate 5.

  The light shielding member 8 has a structure that can be attached to a part of the proximal end side of the pointer shaft 61, and in the present embodiment, the light shielding member 8 is formed through the bearing portions 81 and 82 that project to the central portion of the lower and upper surfaces. Are integrally assembled in the through-hole 80 formed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
Illumination light emitted from the light source 3 enters from the base end surface of the rotating shaft 41, is guided to the distal end surface of the rotating shaft 41 protruding from the upper surface of the movement case 40, and then enters the prism 7 and travels through the inside. To do. After that, among the illumination light, illumination light mainly emitted from the vicinity of the central portion at the upper part in the prism 7 is transmitted from the pointer shaft 61 integrally connected to the rotary shaft 41 via the prism 7 and the light shielding member 8. The light enters from the base end face and proceeds upward in the inside. In this way, the illumination light propagating through the pointer shaft 61 is emitted from the pointer main body 62 thereafter, so that the pointer 6 is illuminated.

  Of the illumination light that enters the prism 7 and travels inside, the illumination light that is refracted at the interface between the prism 7 and air and travels outward from the prism 7 is refracted by the prism 7 and then refracted. The portion proceeds toward the back surface of the dial 5, the top surface of the movement case 40, or the in-case reflection portion 13 located inside the case 10 of the instrument. Among these, the illumination light traveling toward the upper surface portion of the movement case 40 or the reflection part 13 in the case is configured not to be absorbed by those surfaces, so that it is reflected after the reflection or with these again. Eventually, the dial plate 5 can be transmitted from the back side. Thereby, even if it is the illumination light by the single light source 3, illumination of both the pointer | guide 6 and the dial 5 is attained.

  Such light emission illumination with the pointer 6 is performed in exactly the same way regardless of the direction in which the pointer 6 is rotating and the direction in which the pointer 6 is rotating. That is, the propagation operation when the illumination light from the light source 3 propagates to the rotation shaft 41, the prism 7, the pointer shaft 61, and the pointer main body 62 (these are referred to as rotating members here) is the rotation operation. While the member is rotating, the same operation is performed regardless of the rotation angular velocity or the rotation position of the rotation member. As a result, the pointer 6 and the dial 5 are illuminated and illuminated in the same manner.

  According to the present embodiment, when the illumination light from the light source 3 leaks from, for example, the outer peripheral surface of the rotation shaft 41, even if the leaked illumination light is directed upward (Z), the light shielding member 8 is mostly used. Absorb or reflect. For this reason, light leakage from the narrow shaft hole 50 of the dial plate 5 to the outside of the dial plate 5 through the gap between the light shielding member 8 and the back surface of the dial plate 5 can be almost avoided. In particular, in this embodiment, since the shaft hole 50 is formed to the minimum necessary inner diameter, the light leakage can be further avoided.

  The illumination light refracted from the prism 7 in the upward (Z) direction has the same action as the above case, and light leakage can be avoided. Further, a suppression member 60 shown in FIG. 3 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pointer shaft 61. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that light leaks to the outside from the outer peripheral surface of the pointer shaft 61 and goes upward (Z) and leaks from the shaft hole 50 of the dial plate 5 to the outside of the dial plate 5.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, light leakage from the shaft hole 50 through which the pointer shaft 61 of the dial plate 5 penetrates can be suppressed as much as possible, and thus light leakage from the shaft hole 50 can be prevented. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the cap 9 is formed such that the length L on the short diameter side is slightly larger than the inner diameter dimension D having the minimum required size of the shaft hole 50. It can be formed much smaller than before.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the cap 9 can be greatly reduced in the meter device that can suppress light leakage from the shaft hole 50 through which the pointer shaft 61 of the dial plate 5 penetrates as much as possible. As a result, a product with good design can be obtained.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, the light-shielding member 8 of the present invention has a structure that can be attached to a part of the proximal end side of the pointer shaft 61. In the present embodiment, the light-shielding member 8 is inserted into the through-hole 80 formed in the central portion. Are integrally assembled in the inserted state, but not particularly limited thereto. That is, the light shielding member 8 may be integrally assembled on the back surface which is the inner surface of the dial 5, for example. In that case, in order to rotatably support the pointer shaft 61, the through hole 80 provided with a bearing for supporting the pointer shaft 61 at the center is shielded in a state in which the through hole 80 matches the shaft hole 50 of the dial 5. The member 8 may be fixed to the back surface of the dial 5.

  In the present embodiment, the light shielding member 8 is formed in the same color as the dial 5, but is not particularly limited to this configuration. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a similar color blindfold member 14 having the same shape as or larger than that of the dial plate 5 is provided on a part of the case 10 directly above the light shielding member 8 and on the back surface of the dial plate 5. The light shielding member 8 may be made of a light shielding material of any color.

  In this case, since the light shielding member 8 can form the outer surface including the upper surface in any appropriate color that absorbs the illumination light from the light source 3, the light shielding member 8 has the illumination light regardless of the color. Can be absorbed, and the degree of freedom of selection of materials increases. On the other hand, the portion directly above the light shielding member 8 on the back side of the dial has the same shape as the light shielding member 8 or a larger shape, and has the same wavelength as that of the dial 5. A blindfold member 14 that allows only visible light to pass through and absorbs visible light in other wavelength ranges is provided.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the cap 9 having a minimum necessary size is attached to the pointer 6, but this is not particularly essential.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the prism 7 is additionally installed at the tip of the rotary shaft 41. However, the prism is not used by installing a dedicated light source for illuminating the dial at an appropriate position separately from the pointer light source. A configuration is also possible.

  Moreover, as a meter apparatus of this invention, it can apply to meter apparatuses, such as various measuring instruments, such as a fuel gauge part, a tachometer part, a speedometer part, and a water temperature gauge, for example. Furthermore, although the meter device of the present invention has been described as an automobile instrument, it can also be applied as an instrument for various vehicles such as a ship instrument and an aircraft instrument.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Meter apparatus 11 Display part 12 Display board 13 Case reflection part 14 Blindfold member 2 Substrate 3 Light source 4 Movement 40 Movement case 40A, 40B, 50 Shaft hole 41 Rotating shaft 5 Dial 6 Pointer 60 Suppression member 61 Pointer shaft 62 Pointer body 63 Base portion 7 Prism 8 Light shielding member 80 Through hole 81, 82 Bearing portion 9 Cap 10 Case G Reduction gear train M Step motor

Claims (5)

A movement having a rotation shaft which light emitted from the light source is incident, a motor for rotating the rotary shaft, and
A dial with various markings on it,
A pointer main body indicating the mark on the dial, and a base end side that is suspended from the base of the pointer main body toward the dial is rotatably inserted into the shaft hole of the dial and the tip of the rotating shaft A pointer shaft that is connectable to the side, and
A light-shielding member for suppressing light leakage from the shaft hole which is attachable to the proximal end of the previous SL pointer shaft Te back side smell of the dial, the pointer shaft passes,
Comprising
A meter device characterized by that. A suppression member that suppresses transmission of light from the inside of the pointer shaft to the outside is provided in a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the pointer shaft that is positioned closer to the dial than the light shielding member.
The meter device according to claim 1. A prism disposed at the tip of the rotating shaft;
The prism is configured to refract part of light from the light source that has propagated in the rotation axis in a direction away from the dial.
The meter device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The prism and the light shielding member have means for connecting the pointer shaft and the rotation shaft,
The meter device according to claim 3. The light-shielding member has a color similar to that of the dial at least on the side facing the dial.
The meter device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein:

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