JPH041692A - Light emission display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent display nonuniformity occurring and the light of light sources mixed by forming the thickness of a diffusion plate so as to be formed thinly as being separated from a first light emitting element, and providing a light reduction wall between a second light emitting element. CONSTITUTION:When the light from the first light emitting element 10 is reflected on a reflecting surface 11, the light reflected on a part separated from the first light emitting element arrives at the diffusion plate 5 tracing a longer route. Therefore, the more separated from the first light emitting element 10, the more the light arriving at the diffusion plate 5 is weakened. Meanwhile, the diffusion plate 5 is formed so that the more separated from the first light emitting element 10, the more thinly it is formed, and since the more thin the part, the more a transmission factor is low, the distribution of the light arriving at a character plate 7 can be uniformized. Also, since the upper side of the diffusion plate 5 is blocked from the second light emitting element 20 by the light reduction wall 14, the weak light of the first light emitting element 10 diffused by the diffusion plate 5 can be further weakened when it passes through the light reduction wall 14, which prevents the light mixed with the one emitted from the second light emitting element 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a light-emitting display device, and more particularly to a display device that is provided on a steering wheel of a vehicle and displays predetermined characters and symbols by light emission.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional light emitting display device is shown in FIG.

This light emitting display device is provided, for example, in a pad portion 1 of a steering wheel, and in FIG. 5, the upper side shows the surface side of the pad portion 1, and the lower side shows the inside of the pad portion 1. A through hole 3 is formed in this pad portion I, and a lamp unit 4 is attached to the through hole 3 from the inner surface of the pad portion 1. A reflection chamber 9 is formed in the lamp unit 4 so as to open into the through hole 3 of the pad portion 1, and an indicator lamp 10 is attached to one side of the reflection chamber 9, and a bottom wall 9b of the reflection chamber 9 is The reflecting surface 11 is formed by being inclined.

A flat diffusion plate 31 is disposed within the through hole 3 so as to close the opening of the reflection chamber 9. Further, a dial plate 7 is attached to the surface of the pad portion l, and the transparent portion of the dial plate 7 forms predetermined characters. And the display lamp 10
The light irradiated from is reflected by the reflective surface 11 and changed its path, and after passing through the diffuser plate 31 and being diffused, the light emitted from the dial plate 7
Selectively transmit transparent parts. Therefore, characters are displayed on the dial plate 7 by emitting light, and predetermined information is transmitted to the driver.

Further, in the through hole 3, at a position close to the reflection chamber 9, there is an LE.
A D20 is provided, and the light from the LED 20 directly passes through the transparent portion of the dial 7 without passing through the diffusion plate 31, so that the symbols on the dial 7 are displayed by emitting light.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, as described above, when the light from the display lamp 10 is reflected by the reflective surface 11, the light reflected at a portion distant from the display lamp 10 reaches the diffuser plate 31 through a long path. . Therefore, as the distance from the display lamp 10 increases, the light reaching the diffuser plate 31 becomes weaker and the light distribution becomes uneven, causing a problem in that the light emitting state of the characters on the dial plate 7 becomes uneven.

Furthermore, since there is no separation between the upper part of the diffusion plate 31 and the LED 20, the light diffused by the diffusion plate 31 and the LED 20
The light emitted by the two lights mixes with each other, making each display unclear. Furthermore, an indicator lamp 10 and an LED
When the tones of the lights emitted by the LEDs 20 are different, there is a problem in that the lights are mixed, making it impossible to display characters and symbols in a desired color tone.

An object of the present invention is to provide a light emitting display device that can uniformly distribute light to prevent display unevenness, and that can display a clear and desired color tone by preventing light from mixing between light sources. It is about providing.

[Means to solve the problem]

In the present invention, the reflection chamber in which the first light emitting element is disposed is formed so that one side thereof is open, and the light from the first light emitting element is emitted to the outside from the opening. a reflective surface is formed to reflect the light, and a translucent diffuser plate is provided in the opening to diffuse the light,
In a light emitting display device, a dial plate that selectively transmits diffused light is provided above the diffuser plate, and a second light emitting element is provided below the dial plate and in a close position outside the reflection chamber. , the thickness of the diffusion plate is formed to be thinner as the distance from the first light emitting element increases, and the light of the first and second light emitting elements is prevented from being mixed with each other between the diffuser plate and the second light emitting element. The gist of this invention is a light-emitting display device provided with a light-reducing wall.

[Effect]

The light from the first light-emitting element is reflected by the reflective surface, has its path changed, passes through the diffuser plate, is diffused, and then selectively passes through the dial so as to form characters or symbols. Therefore, characters and symbols are displayed on the dial plate, and predetermined information is transmitted to the driver. Further, the second light emitting element may be lit in conjunction with the display on the dial, or may be completely unrelated to display other information.

As described above, when the light from the first light emitting element is reflected by the reflective surface, the light reflected to the part of the reflective surface that is separated from the first light emitting element follows a long path and passes through the diffuser. reach. Therefore, the farther the light emitting element is from the first light emitting element, the weaker the light that reaches the diffuser plate.

On the other hand, this diffuser plate is formed to be thinner as it goes away from the first light emitting element, and the transmittance is higher in the thinner portion, so that the distribution of light reaching the above-mentioned diffuser plate is made uniform.

In addition, since the upper side of the diffuser plate and the second light emitting element are separated by the light attenuation wall, when the weak light from the first light emitting element diffused by the diffuser plate passes through the light attenuation wall, it becomes even weaker. This prevents the light from being mixed with the light emitted by the second light emitting element.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a light emitting display device for a steering wheel provided in a vehicle will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the steering wheel, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view thereof. As shown in these figures 2 and 3,
A pad portion 1 of the steering wheel is provided with a switch accommodating portion 2, and a horn switch and the like (not shown) are accommodated within this switch accommodating portion 2. An arcuate mounting portion 2a is formed around the switch accommodating portion 2, and a rectangular through hole 3 is formed in the center of the mounting portion 2a.

The lamp unit 4 is attached to the through hole 3 from the back side of the pad section 1 using screws (not shown), and the pad section 1 is attached to the through hole 3 from the back side of the pad section 1.
A diffusion plate 5 is fitted from the front surface side.

An arcuate dial plate 7 is mounted on the surface of the mounting portion 2a so as to overlap the diffuser plate 5. Further, a horn pad 6 is attached to the switch accommodating portion 2. As will be described later, the driver can check the operating status of the vehicle's equipment through the display on the dial 7.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a pad portion 1 showing the light emitting display device of this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a front view showing details of the dial plate 7. In FIG. 1, the upper side shows the surface side of the bat part 1, and the lower part shows the inside of the Pa-Soto part 1. To explain the assembled state of the lamp unit 4, a reflection chamber 9 is formed in the main body 8 of the lamp unit 4 so as to open into the through hole 3 of the pad portion 1.

An indicator lamp IO as a first light emitting element is attached to a side wall 9a of the reflection chamber 9, and a bottom wall 9b of the reflection chamber 9 is inclined so that the farther it is from the indicator lamp 10, the closer it is to the surface side. The inner surface of the wall 9a is a reflective surface 11. Therefore, the light from the indicator lamp 10 is reflected by the reflective surface 11 and is irradiated into the through hole 3 of the butt part 1. The lamp 10 is turned on in conjunction with a light switch provided on the vehicle and emits white light.

As described above, the diffusion plate 5 is provided in the through hole 3 of the butt part l.
is disposed, and the diffuser plate 5 is positioned by a locking collar 3a in the through hole 3 in a state in which the interior of the reflection chamber 9 is closed. This diffuser plate 5 is made of polyacetal resin, and has a translucent milky white plate shape. A flat portion 12 is formed on the upper surface of the diffuser plate 5 on the display lamp 10 side, and an inclined surface 13 is formed adjacent to the flat portion 12.
The inclined surface 13 is inclined toward the inside of the pad portion 1 as it becomes farther away from the display lamp 10. Therefore, the thickness of the diffuser plate 5 becomes thinner as the distance from the display lamp 10 increases.

Further, on the upper surface of the diffuser plate 5 on the side opposite to the display lamp 10, a thick dimming wall I4 is formed in the width direction.

The lower surface of the dial 7 abuts against the flat portion 12 of the diffuser plate 5 and the dimming wall 14, and a printed layer 16 is selectively formed on the lower surface. The transparent portion on which the printing layer 16 is not formed forms predetermined characters 17 on the upper side of the diffuser plate 5, and in this embodiment, the characters 17 indicate the names of two types of equipment (ABCD and EFGH) installed in the vehicle. is displayed.

On the other hand, a mounting seat 18 is integrally formed on the main body 8 of the lamp unit 4 adjacent to the reflection chamber 9, and a printed circuit board 19 is mounted on the mounting seat 18. A pair of LEDs 20 as second light emitting elements are mounted on the printed circuit board 19.
is fixed by a support member 2I, and both LEDs 20 face the dial 7 through the through hole 3 of the pad portion l. This LED 20 lights up in conjunction with the operation of each device in the vehicle,
It emits green light. A circular transparent portion is formed on the printed layer 16 of the dial plate 7 so as to correspond to each LED 20, and this transparent portion serves as a lighting display portion 22. As shown in FIG. 4, each lighting display portion 22 corresponds to a character 17 representing the two types of equipment described above.

Next, the operation of the light emitting display device for the steering wheel configured as described above will be explained.

At night, when the driver operates a light switch, the indicator lamp 10 lights up, and the light is reflected by the reflective surface 11 in the reflective chamber 9 and reaches the diffuser plate 5.

Furthermore, after the light is diffused by the diffusion plate 5, the light is diffused by the dial plate 7.
Only the transparent characters 17 are selectively transmitted. Therefore, the characters 17 are displayed in white on the surface of the dial plate 7. Note that during the daytime, the characters on the dial plate 7 can be visually recognized even if the display lamp IO does not emit light.

Further, when the driver operates one of the two types of devices described above, the LED 20 corresponding to that device lights up. Therefore, the light emitted from the LED 20 passes through the lighting display section 22 and displays a green light. The driver can confirm the operation of the device based on the name of the device displayed in characters 17 and the lighting state of the lighting display section 22.

On the other hand, as described above, the light from the display lamp 10 is reflected by the reflective surface ll and reaches the diffuser plate 5, but as shown in FIG. It follows the route and reaches the diffuser plate 5. Therefore, the further the distance from the display lamp 10 is, the weaker the light reaching the diffuser plate 5 is. On the other hand, this diffuser plate 5 is formed thinner as it gets farther from the display lamp 10, and the transmittance is higher in the thinner part.
The unevenness of the light that reaches the above-mentioned diffuser plate 5 is reduced, and the distribution of the light that passes through this diffuser plate 5 and is irradiated onto the dial 7 is made uniform. However, since the light distribution in this portion is almost uniform at a position close to the display lamp IO, there is no need to tilt it.

In addition, since it is separated from the LED 20 by the dimming wall 14,
The light diffused and weakened by the diffuser plate 5 is further diffused and weakened by the light-reducing wall 1.
4, and the light emitted by the indicator lamp 10 and the light emitted by the LED 20 are prevented from mixing with each other. Therefore, the display is prevented from becoming unclear due to the mixture of lights, and the color tone (white and green) of each display is also prevented from changing due to the mixture of lights.

In this way, the light emitting display device for the steering wheel of this embodiment can reduce the unevenness of the light reflected by the reflective surface 11 with the diffuser plate 5 and make the distribution of light uniform. The brightness of the characters 17 displayed by emitting light can be made uniform.

In addition, since the light attenuation wall 14 prevents light from mixing on the diffuser plate 5 side and the LED 20 side, the characters 17 and the lighting display section 22 can always be displayed clearly by emitting light, and each display can be adjusted as desired. You can keep the color toned.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and for example, although the above embodiments are embodied in a light emitting display device for a steering wheel, it may also be embodied in a light emitting display device provided in an instrument panel of a vehicle. Good too.

In addition, the display lamp 10 is painted on the side surface of the dimming wall 14.
It is also possible to completely block each other's light from entering the area of the other side.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, according to the light emitting display device of the present invention, it is possible to uniformly distribute light to prevent display unevenness, and also to prevent light from mixing between light sources to produce a clear and desired color tone. It exhibits an excellent effect of being able to perform display.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the pad section showing the light emitting display device of the example, Fig. 2 is a front view of the steering wheel, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the steering wheel, and Fig. 4 shows details of the dial. The front view and FIG. 5 are cross-sectional views of a pad portion showing a conventional light emitting display device. 5 is a diffusion plate, 7 is a dial, 9 is a reflection chamber, 10 is an indicator lamp as a first light emitting element, 11 is a reflection surface, 14 is a dimming wall, 20 is an LED as a second light emitting element Patent application Person Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney On 1) Hironobu (and 1 other person) 1st KI 11th

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reflection chamber (9) in which the first light emitting element (10) is arranged is formed so that one side thereof is open, and the first light emitting element (10) a reflective surface (1
1), a translucent diffusion plate (5) for diffusing the light is provided in the opening, and a dial plate (5) for selectively transmitting the diffused light is provided on the upper part of the diffusion plate (5). 7), and a second light emitting element (20) is provided at a proximate position below the dial (7) and outside the reflection chamber (9), comprising: the diffusion plate (5); ) of the first light emitting element (10)
The first and second light emitting elements (20) are formed thinner as the distance from
10, 20) to prevent mutual light turbidity (14).
) A light emitting display device characterized by being provided with: