JP6451066B2 - Instrument - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an instrument.

Conventionally, as this type of instrument, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1 below.
The vehicle-mounted instrument described in Patent Document 1 is a pointer-type engine tachometer, and has a transparent dial plate with an indicator for notifying the engine speed, and the engine speed. A dial that rotates in response, a light emitting diode for a dial for illuminating the dial, and a reflecting case and a reflecting member for reflecting the light of the light emitting diode for the dial.

JP 2002-267505 A

In the in-vehicle instrument described in Patent Document 1, the light of the light emitting diode for dial is reflected by the reflective case and the reflective member to illuminate the dial.
However, there is a problem that the shape of the reflecting case and the reflecting member is limited, the luminance balance of illumination is poor, and the appearance is poor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an instrument that can perform illumination with good brightness balance and good appearance without any restrictions on the shape of the reflecting case and the reflecting member.

In order to achieve the above object, the meter according to the present invention is:
A case having a light source, a central cylindrical portion, a disc portion on the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical portion, and a conical portion that is formed in the cylindrical portion and guides light from the light source to the disc portion And an indicator unit for notifying the measurement amount, and a display board illuminated with the light from the light source,
The display board includes a printed layer that transmits and illuminates light from the light source,
The print layer has a printed layer of a printing layer and the back surface of the surface of the display panel, the rear surface of the printed layer by light transmittance overlap stepwise constant each print layer, said light source From the position where the distance from the first distance is the second distance closer to the second distance than the first distance, and the chromaticity of each printing layer is adjusted. Thus, the light transmitted through the print layer is configured to be the same as or close to the chromaticity and luminance at the position at the first distance and the chromaticity and luminance at the position at the second distance.
It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, there is no restriction on the shape of the reflecting case and the reflecting member, and it is possible to perform illumination with good brightness balance and good appearance.

It is a front view of the meter which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. 1 of the principal part of the meter which concerns on embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view of the printing layer of the A section of Drawing 2 of a dial of a meter concerning an embodiment.

  An instrument 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the front side when the instrument 1 is viewed from the front (that is, when the user confirms the measured value when viewing the instrument 1 from the front) is referred to as “front”, and the rear side is referred to as “back”. That's it.

  The meter 1 of the present embodiment is provided in a vehicle such as an automobile or a two-wheeled vehicle, for example, and indicates a vehicle speed to a user (driver) by expressing the vehicle speed by rotating the pointer, for example, a speedometer (speedometer) ).

First, the configuration of the meter 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the meter 1 includes, in order from the front side, a pointer 2, a dial plate (display plate) 3, a case 4 and a circuit board 5, a pointer light source 6 mounted on the circuit board 5, and a dial plate A light source (light source) 7 and a drive unit 8.
The pointer 2 has a rotation center portion 20 that is rotated by the power of the drive unit 8, and rotates together with the hollow rotation shaft 2 a that rotates together with the rotation center portion 20, and the index portion 30 of the dial 3. And an instruction unit 2b for instructing. Details of light emission by the pointer light source 6 of the pointer 2 will be described later.

The pointer light source 6 is for causing the pointer 2 to emit light. The dial light source 7 is for illuminating the dial 3. The pointer light source 6 and the dial light source 7 are composed of, for example, LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). The pointer light source 6 and the dial light source 7 are mounted on the front side of the circuit board 5.
A plurality of pointer light sources 6 are arranged on the inner (small diameter) circumference centered on the axis of the rotary shaft 2a of the pointer 2 so as to correspond to the rotation range of the pointer 2 at equal intervals.
A plurality of dial light sources 7 are arranged around the circumference of the circumference of the outer periphery (large diameter) of the pointer light source 6 at equal intervals with the axis of the rotation shaft 2a of the pointer 2 as the center. As will be described later, the pointer light source 6 and the dial light source 7 are shielded from light by the cylindrical portion 4 a of the case 4 to emit the pointer 2 and illuminate the dial 3.

  The drive unit 8 is composed of, for example, a stepping motor, and rotates the rotating shaft 8a under the control of a control unit described later. The drive unit 8 is mounted on the back side of the circuit board 5. The rotating shaft 8 a passes through a hole provided in the base material of the circuit board 5 and is disposed on the front side of the circuit board 5. A hollow rotary shaft 2a of the pointer 2 (provided at the rotation center portion 20 of the pointer 2) is connected to the rotary shaft 8a. Accordingly, the pointer 2 rotates with the rotation of the rotation shaft 8a of the drive unit 8. The drive unit 8 rotates the pointer 2 to a position corresponding to the vehicle speed under the control of the control unit.

  The circuit board 5 is formed by printing various wirings on a plate-like base material having insulating properties made of, for example, glass epoxy resin (GFRP: Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics). A control unit (not shown) for controlling the operation of the meter 1 is mounted on the circuit board 5. This control unit acquires vehicle information such as the speed of the vehicle from an external device of the meter 1 (for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the vehicle), and based on the acquired information, the pointer light source 6 and the dial light source 7 is turned on / off, and the drive unit 8 is operated.

The dial plate 3 is located on the back side of the pointer 2, and a transparent smoke printing layer 10 is formed on the front side of a plate material formed transparently from, for example, a polycarbonate resin. When the dial 3 is not illuminated by the dial light source 7 by the front side smoke print layer 10, the dial 3 is in a blackout state that looks almost black, has high contrast, and has a better visual effect. Can be illuminated.
The dial plate 3 includes an indicator portion 30 that serves as an indicator for notifying the measurement amount. The indicator portion 30 is described on the surface of the permeable smoke print layer 10 in the dial plate 3 and is expressed, for example, as a so-called blank character shape. The indicator part 30 includes a scale part 30a, a numerical value part 30b, and a light transmission part 30c. That is, the scale part 30a, the numerical value part 30b, and the light transmission part 30c have translucency. The indicator portion 30 is provided in an arc shape along a circle centering on the axis of the rotary shaft 2a of the pointer 2 when the dial 3 is viewed from the front.
The numerical value portion 30b represents a numerical value that serves as a guide for the indicated value of the pointer 2, and is arranged in an arc shape so that the value increases in the clockwise direction when the dial 3 is viewed from the front side. The scale part 30a is provided along the outside of the numerical value part 30b and represents a scale corresponding to each numerical value represented by the numerical value part 30b. The light transmission part 30c includes a plurality of light transmission windows and is provided on the outer peripheral side of the scale part 30a to illuminate the indicator part 30.
In addition, you may form the light transmissive part 30c in the inner peripheral side of the numerical value part 30b. Further, the light transmission part 30 c may be formed as a hole that penetrates the dial 3. The dial 3 is provided with a printed layer 11 on the back surface for improving the brightness balance by the dial light source 7, which will be described in detail later.

The pointer 2 includes a rotation center portion 20 that rotates about the rotation shaft 2a, an instruction portion 2b that is formed integrally with the rotation center portion 20, a cover portion 2c, and a pointer cap 2d.
The rotation center portion 20 and the instruction portion 2b are formed transparently from a resin such as PMMA (Polymethyl Methacrylate), for example. The cover portion 2c and the pointer cap 2d are light opaque portions, and are formed of a predetermined resin in black, for example.

The rotation center portion 20 has a rotation shaft 2 a connected to the rotation shaft 8 a of the drive unit 8. Thereby, the rotation center part 20 rotates centering on the rotating shaft 2a. The instruction unit 2 b is a portion that is provided so as to extend along the outer peripheral direction of the rotation center portion 20 and that indicates the indicator unit 30.
A light receiving surface 2e and an inclined surface 2f are formed on the opposite side of the rotation center portion 20 in the direction in which the instruction portion 2b extends. The light receiving surface 2 e is a surface facing the back side of the rotation center portion 20 and receives light from the pointer light source 6. The inclined surface 2f is located on the front side of the light receiving surface 2e, and reflects the light from the pointer light source 6 incident from the light receiving surface 2e toward the distal end direction of the indicating unit 2b. For example, a white foil is hot stamped on the back surface of the instruction unit 2b to shield it from light. The light incident from the light receiving surface 2e is reflected by the inclined surface 2f and guided to the distal end side of the indicating unit 2b, and the indicating unit 2b emits light. In addition, light that hits the back surface of the light guided to the front end side of the instruction unit 2b or light (for example, sunlight) incident from the front side of the instruction unit 2b is reflected by the back surface of the instruction unit 2b and is reflected to the front side. Emitted.

  The light opaque portion cover portion 2c is provided so as to surround the side portion of the instruction portion 2b. The cover part 2c and the instruction part 2b are integrally formed, for example. The pointer cap 2d covers the front side of the rotation center portion 20. Light from the rotation center 20 to the front side is shielded by the pointer cap 2d.

The case 4 is fixed to the surface side of the circuit board 5 and is made of, for example, a white polypropylene resin (PP: Polypropylene) having a light shielding property. The case 4 includes a cylindrical portion 4a at the center, a disc portion 4b on the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical portion 4a, and an outer cylindrical portion 4c on the outer peripheral side of the disc portion 4b.
The cylindrical portion 4 a at the center of the case 4 is provided between the pointer light source 6 and the dial light source 7 on the circumference, and is formed in a cylindrical shape that extends along the normal direction of the circuit board 5. Yes. The rotating shaft 2a of the pointer 2 is located on the inner peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion 4a. The cylindrical portion 4 a causes the pointer 2 to emit light while shielding the light from the pointer light source 6 so as not to spread in the radial direction of the rotation shaft 2 a of the pointer 2. The intermediate part of the cylindrical part 4a is integrally formed with an inverted conical cone part 4d having a large diameter on the front side. The conical portion 4d guides the light from the dial light source 7 to the outer peripheral side and illuminates the dial 3 from the back side.

In this instrument 1, in order to uniformly illuminate the dial 3 with light from the dial light source 7, the printed layer on the back surface of the dial 3 is changed to the reflective surface or reflective member of the case 4 so far. 11 is provided.
Since a plurality of dial light sources 7 on the circuit board 5 are provided at equal intervals on the circumference, the front dial 3 portion of the dial light source 7 has the highest luminance and is illuminated brightly. On the other hand, the portion of the dial 3 farthest from the dial light source 7 has the lowest luminance and is illuminated darkly. That is, the brightness varies depending on the distance (radius) from the dial light source 7, the brightness of the dial 3 is not uniform, and the brightness balance is poor.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the meter 1 adjusts the luminance balance by providing a printed layer 11 with the light transmittance changed stepwise on the back surface of the dial 3.
The print layer 11 that changes the light transmittance stepwise has a second distance closer to the first distance from a position where the distance (radius) from the dial light source 7 is the first distance. It suffices if the transmittance gradually decreases toward.

In this instrument 1, the reference of the brightness at the dial 3 is based on the brightness and chromaticity of the portion farthest from the dial light source 7. The luminance and chromaticity can be changed as much as possible with respect to the reference value, and the chromaticity and luminance of the light from the dial light source 7 that passes through the printing layer 11 at each stage can be illuminated or close to the reference value. Like that.
In this instrument 1, the light transmittance is stepwise based on the difference between the luminance of the portion of the dial 3 that is farthest from the dial light source 7 and the luminance of the portion of the dial 3 that is closest to the dial light source 7. The number of print layers 11 to be provided is determined.
Since the luminance of the portion of the dial plate 3 farthest from the dial light source 7 cannot be increased, the luminance of this portion is used as a reference value. Since the brightness of the portion of the dial plate 3 that is farthest from the dial light source 7 can be lowered, the smoke printing layer or the like depends on the size of the dial light source 7 or the instrument 1 (distance from the light source). It is also possible to use the lowered brightness by providing the reference value.

In this instrument 1, the portion of the dial 3 that is farthest from the dial light source 7 is not provided with the printing layer 11, the light transmittance of each layer is constant, and the light transmittance is gradually increased by overlapping these layers. Five changed printing layers 11A to 11E are provided.
For example, the print layer 11 has a light transmittance of 85% in one print layer 11 and is provided with five print layers 11A to 11E instead of five steps, and has six steps of luminance. That is, when the light transmittance at the portion of the dial plate 3 farthest from the dial light source 7 is 100% (actually, the light transmittance is lowered by transmitting through the dial plate 3). The transmittance in each of the printing layers 11A to 11E is as follows. In the first printing layer 11A, the light transmittance is 85%. The second printed layer 11B has a light transmittance of 85%, and the transmittance of the dial 3 in the portion where the two printed layers 11A and 11B are stacked is 72.2%. The third print layer 11C has a light transmittance of 85%, and the transmittance of the dial 3 in the portion where the print layers 11A, 11B, and 11C are stacked is 61.4%. . The fourth printing layer 11D has a light transmittance of 85%, and the transmittance of the dial 3 in the portion where the printing layers 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D are stacked is 52. 2%. The fifth print layer 11E has a light transmittance of 85%, and the transmittance of the dial 3 in the portion where the print layer 11A, the print layer 11B, the print layer 11C, the print layer 11D, and the print layer 11E are overlaid. Is 44.3%.
The five printed layers 11A to 11E change the brightness on the dial plate 6 to 6 levels so that the brightness is almost uniform and the brightness is well balanced.

The chromaticity of each of the printing layers 11A to 11E changes the light transmittance and the chromaticity shifts when the same printing layer is overlapped. Therefore, the chromaticity of each of the printing layers 11A to 11E is a reference value (chromaticity). Adjust to match.
As the reference value of the chromaticity of the print layer, for example, the target chromaticity (X, Y) of the portion of the dial 3 that is farthest from the dial light source 6b without the print layer 11 is (0.2, 0.2). And the chromaticity of illumination by the dial plate light source 7 that passes through the dial plate 3 is equal to the reference value or close to the extent that the user (driver) does not know even when the print layers 11A to 11E are superimposed. adjust.

By providing such a printed layer 11 on the back surface of the dial plate 3, the illumination of the dial plate 3 by the dial plate light source 7 can be balanced in luminance and the appearance can be improved.
In addition, compared with the case where the case 4 is provided with a reflection portion or a reflection member to achieve brightness balance, there is no restriction due to the shape of the case 4, and only the dial 3 and the printing layer 11 can be used. 1 itself can be made compact.

  The control unit provided on the circuit board 5 controls turning on / off of the pointer light source 6 and the dial light source 7. The control by the control unit, for example, links the turning on / off of the pointer light source 6 and the dial light source 7 with the ON / OFF of the ignition switch. When interlocked with ON / OFF of the ignition switch, the pointer light source 6 and the dial light source 7 are always lit while the engine is running.

  Next, the illumination of the dial 3 by the light emitted from the dial light source 7 in the instrument 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

When the ignition switch is turned on in the meter 1, the pointer light source 6 and the dial light source 7 are always turned on.
The light emitted from the pointer light source 6 is received by the light receiving surface 2e facing the back side of the rotation center portion 20. The light incident from the light receiving surface 2e is reflected by the inclined surface 2f and guided to the distal end side of the indicating unit 2b, and the indicating unit 2b emits light. In addition, light that hits the back surface of the light guided to the front end side of the instruction unit 2b or light (for example, sunlight) incident from the front side of the instruction unit 2b is reflected by the back surface of the instruction unit 2b and is reflected to the front side. Emitted. Of the light guided to the distal end side of the instruction section 2b, the light that hits the side section is shielded by the cover section 2c surrounding the side section of the instruction section 2b. The front side of the rotation center portion 20 is covered and shielded by the pointer cap 2d.

When the dial light source 7 is turned on, illumination of the black-out dial 3 is started.
The light emitted from the dial light source 7 is applied to the back surface of the dial 3.
This light is irradiated in a state where the brightness of the dial 3 portion close to the dial light source 7 is high and the brightness of the dial 3 portion decreases as the distance increases.
In this instrument 1, the light transmitted through the dial 3 is provided with printing layers 11 </ b> A to 11 </ b> E whose chromaticity is adjusted stepwise on the back surface of the dial, and therefore from the dial light source 7. Regardless of the distance, the luminance and chromaticity at the portion of the dial 3 farthest from the dial light source 7 as the reference value is the same or close to the luminance and chromaticity of the reference value.
Thereby, the brightness | luminance of the dial 3 is not switched rapidly, but the dial 3 is illuminated in the state where the brightness | luminance balance was taken.
Moreover, since the chromaticity of illumination is also adjusted, the dial 3 is illuminated uniformly without any change in chromaticity.
According to the instrument 1, the dial 3 is illuminated with good visibility and good appearance, with a balance between luminance and chromaticity. Moreover, illumination can be made uniform by the printing layers 11A to 11E of the dial plate 3, and it is not necessary to provide a reflective part or reflective member whose angle is adjusted in the case, and the instrument can be made compact.

  The instrument 1 described above includes a dial light source 7 and a dial 3 having an indicator 30 for notifying the measurement amount and illuminated by transmitting light from the dial light source 7. The dial plate 3 includes the printing layers 11A to 11E that transmit light from the dial light source 7 and illuminate, and the printing layers 11A to 11E have a first distance from the dial light source 7. And the light transmitted through the printing layers 11A to 11E at the first distance from the position at a distance of 2 to a position at a second distance closer to the first distance. Since the chromaticity and luminance at a certain position are the same as or close to the chromaticity and luminance at a position at a second distance, there are no restrictions on the shape of the reflecting case and the reflecting member, and the printing layers 11A to 11E are There is no change in chromaticity just by providing it on the dial 3, and the brightness balun Can be well performed good-looking lighting.

  Moreover, according to the meter 1, the printing layers 11A to 11E are formed using the chromaticity and luminance of the light from the dial light source 7 that transmits the dial 3 at the position at the first distance as reference values. By simply providing the printing layers 11A to 11E on the dial 3, it is possible to illuminate with the chromaticity and luminance of the reference value being the same as or close to each other, and it is possible to perform illumination with good luminance balance and good appearance.

  Further, according to the meter 1, the position at the first distance is set as the position of the dial 3 that is farthest from the dial light source 7, and the dial light source that transmits the dial 3 at the position at the first distance. The chromaticity and brightness of light from 7 are used as reference values, the transmittance is lowered toward the position at the second distance, and the chromaticity and brightness are the same as or close to the chromaticity and brightness of the reference value. Thus, the printed layers 11A to 11E having the chromaticity and luminance equal to or close to the reference chromaticity and luminance are free from any restrictions on the shape of the reflecting case and the reflecting member, have a good luminance balance, and have a good appearance. It can be performed.

  In addition, according to the instrument 1, the light from the dial light source 7 that passes through the dial plate 3 farthest from the dial light source 7 is constituted by the light transmitted through the printing layer 10, so that the light is farthest away. The brightness and chromaticity of the dial part can be arbitrarily set.

  In addition, the printing layers 11A to 11E are configured to overlap each other step by step, so that illumination with a good luminance balance and good appearance can be performed without abruptly changing the luminance in the stacked printing layers.

  The printed layers 11A to 11E configured to overlap each other are configured by reducing the transmittance of each layer by 85%, so that the luminance balance is good and the appearance is good without changing the luminance abruptly. It can be carried out.

In addition, this invention can be implemented in various aspects, without being limited to the described embodiment.
In the above-described embodiment, the light transmittance from the dial light source 7 is adjusted by layering the print layers step by step, but one layer is predetermined depending on the distance from the dial light source 7. It is also possible to form printed layers with the same transmissivity. Also in this case, it is desirable that the luminance and chromaticity of the printed layers formed side by side be the same as or close to the luminance and chromaticity of the reference value.
If the chromaticity shift is small even when the print layers are overlapped, the respective print layers may be configured using the same specification ink even if the chromaticity is slightly deviated from the target value.

  Moreover, although said instrument 1 demonstrated as a speedometer for vehicles in said embodiment, it is not restricted to this. The meter 1 may be configured as a meter such as a tachometer or a combination meter that displays a plurality of measurement amounts.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Meter 2 Pointer 20 Rotation center part 2a Rotating shaft 2b Instruction part 2c Cover part 2d Pointer cap 2e Light-receiving surface 2f Inclined surface 3 Dial 30 Index part 30a Scale part 30b Numerical part 30c Light transmission part 4 Case 4a Cylindrical part 4b Circle Plate portion 4c Outer cylinder portion 4d Conical portion 5 Circuit board 6 Light source for pointer 7 Light source for dial plate 8 Drive portion 8a Rotating shaft 10 Smoke print layer (surface print layer)
11 Printing layer ( printing layer on the back)
11A-11E Each printing layer

Claims (4)

A case having a light source, a central cylindrical portion, a disc portion on the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical portion, and a conical portion that is formed in the cylindrical portion and guides light from the light source to the disc portion And an indicator unit for notifying the measurement amount, and a display board illuminated with the light from the light source,
The display board includes a printed layer that transmits and illuminates light from the light source,
The print layer has a printed layer of a printing layer and the back surface of the surface of the display panel, the rear surface of the printed layer by light transmittance overlap stepwise constant each print layer, said light source From the position where the distance from the first distance is the second distance closer to the second distance than the first distance, and the chromaticity of each printing layer is adjusted. Thus, the light transmitted through the print layer is configured to be the same as or close to the chromaticity and luminance at the position at the first distance and the chromaticity and luminance at the position at the second distance.
Instrument characterized by that. The printed layer on the back surface is formed with reference to chromaticity and luminance of light from the light source that transmits the display plate at a position at the first distance.
The instrument according to claim 1. The position at the first distance is the position of the display plate farthest from the light source.
The instrument according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above-mentioned. The printed layer on the back surface constituted by the superposition is constituted by reducing the transmittance of each layer by 85%,
The instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein

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