JPH0682274A - Instrument with light-emitting pointer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an instrument with a light-emitting pointer which has a simple electrical connection structure and excellent assembling properties and facilitates emission of light in a plurality of colors. CONSTITUTION:A base plate 5 whereon a plurality of light-emitting diodes 7 directed onto the dial 2 side are mounted is disposed between a dial 2 and a movement 3. An irradiation light of the light-emitting diodes 7 is passed through a hole 22 and introduced from the end face 43 of a pointer 4 made from resin of transmitting properties into a light-introducing part 42 thereof and a pointing part 41 is made to emit the light.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instrument with a light emitting pointer which emits light by a light emitting element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an indicating instrument which displays with a pointer, such as a speedometer for an automobile, not only a pointer is illuminated with a dial, but also light from a light source such as a light emitting element is separately applied to the pointer. There is a device in which the pointer is made to emit light by giving it to. As an instrument equipped with such a light emitting pointer, a light emitting element is directly fixed to the pointer itself in the vicinity of the center of rotation, as in the device of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-36921, or a light emitting pointer is used.
As in the invention of No. 20, there is one in which an incident portion is formed on the side opposite to the pointer indicating portion with respect to the rotating shaft, and a light source and a reflecting portion are provided in the vicinity of the incident portion so that the pointer emits light.

[0003]

However, in the former case, since the light emitting element is fixed to the pointer, the electrical connection structure to the light emitting element becomes complicated in order to secure the pivotability of the pointer. Assembling performance is poor and the manufacturing cost rises. In the latter, the light source and the reflection part are on the opposite side of the pointer indicating part with the rotation axis sandwiched, so the range of rotation of the pointer is limited, and the speedometer and tachometer are limited. It cannot be used for center-top type instruments such as.

An object of the present invention is to provide an instrument with a light emitting pointer, which has a simple electrical connection structure and is excellent in assembling.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the character is provided by an output shaft which is disposed through a through hole formed in the dial and is rotationally driven by a drive member provided on the back side of the dial. In an instrument which is arranged on the front side of the plate and rotates a pointer formed by a transparent member, a circuit board is arranged between the dial and the driving member, and at least a light emitting element oriented toward the dial side is provided. While being mounted on the circuit board near the output shaft, an end face directed to the circuit board side for introducing the irradiation light of the light emitting element into the inside is integrally provided with the pointer, and the irradiation light of the light emitting element is provided. Is introduced into the pointer through the through hole as a technical means.

[0006]

In the present invention, the pointer rotates when the output shaft is driven by the drive member. On the other hand, when the light emitting element mounted on the circuit board is energized and the light emitting element emits light, the light passes through the through hole of the dial and is introduced into the inside of the pointer from the end face of the pointer, and goes from the pointer to the outside. Is irradiated. Therefore, the emitted pointer gives an instruction according to the driving state of the driving member.

[0007]

According to the present invention, since the light emitting element for emitting the pointer is mounted on the circuit board between the dial and the driving member, the electric connection structure is simple and the number of parts can be reduced. Easy to assemble. In addition, the pointer does not have an electrical connection to make it emit light, and there is nothing that limits the range of rotation of the pointer on the front side of the dial, so the pointer can be used in a wide range regardless of the light emitting state of the pointer. It can be rotated.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on a speedometer 1 for automobiles shown in FIG. The speedometer 1 mainly comprises a dial 2 on which speed indicating scales are marked, a movement 3, and a pointer 4 which is rotationally driven by the movement 3.

The movement 3 is arranged on the back side of the dial 2, and is, for example, an electric type of a cross coil type or a moving coil type, and a metal shaft 31 is made to be a speed sensor (shown in the figure) by a separately provided drive circuit. Rotate at an angle according to the (none) signal. On the back side of the dial 2, a substrate 5 is provided between the dial 3 and the movement 3,
Is a prism 2 provided on the back surface of the dial 2 for guiding light emitted from a light source (not shown) to illuminate the dial 2.
It is fastened and fixed to the movement 3 by means of the screw 32 through the screw 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 5 is formed with a hole 51 through which the shaft 31 of the movement 3 passes.
Around the hole 51, a plurality of light-emitting diodes 7 made of chips are arranged so that the shaft 31 faces the dial 2 side.
Are arranged in a circular shape so as to surround the shaft 31 in the vicinity of and are mounted on the surface of the substrate 5 on which the printed wiring is provided. In this embodiment, the plurality of light emitting diodes 7 are arranged such that green elements 71 that emit green and red elements 72 that emit red are alternately arranged.
It is covered with a lens 52 fixed to the substrate 5 by heat staking. The lens 52 is made of a transparent resin or the like and contains a light diffusing material.

The pointer 4 includes an indicating portion 41 for indicating a speed indication scale on the surface of the dial 2 and a light introducing portion 42 for introducing the irradiation light of the light emitting diode 7 by a transparent resin such as acrylic or polycarbonate. It is integrally formed so as to have a substantially L shape. The end face 43 of the light introducing portion 42 is the substrate 5
In order to efficiently introduce the light of the light emitting diode 7 mounted in
It is directed to the surface of the substrate 5. In addition, a reflecting surface 44 for guiding the light incident on the pointer 4 from the end face 43 to the indicator 41 is provided at the joining portion between the indicator 41 and the light introducing portion 42. It is formed by being processed. Further, on the dial 2 side of the indicator 41, a white hot stamp 45 for effectively reflecting the illumination color of the light emitting diode 7 introduced into the pointer 4 to enhance the visibility is provided as a thin film. ing.

The pointer 4 is covered with a boss 46 made of a black resin such as Duracon, which does not transmit light, on the side of the light introducing portion 42, so that the irradiation light of the light emitting diode 7 is prevented from leaking to other than the pointer 4. The boss 46 is also used to adjust the relative angle between the pointer 4 and the shaft 31 to adjust the pointing direction of the pointer 4, and after the pointing direction is adjusted, the end of the shaft 31 is press-fitted. Fixed.

The hole 22 of the dial 2 is used not only for penetrating the shaft 31 of the movement 3 but also for irradiating the light from the light emitting diode 7 to the light introducing portion 42 of the pointer 4 having the above-mentioned structure. In order to guide, the diameter of the holes 22 is arranged in a circular shape and is set larger than the arrangement diameter of the plurality of light emitting diodes 7. Therefore, the light emitting diode 7
When is turned on, the light 9 passes through the hole 22 of the dial 2 and is introduced from the end face 43 to the light introducing portion 42, is reflected by the reflecting surface 44 and goes to the indicating portion 41, and the hot stamp 45 on the dial 2 side. Is illuminated from inside the pointer 4, and the pointer 4 emits light in a color corresponding to the element of the light emitting diode 7 which is lit.

In addition to the movement 3 for driving the pointer 4, the speedometer 1 having the above structure is provided with a lighting circuit 8 for energizing the light emitting diode 7 for causing the pointer 4 to emit light. The lighting circuit 8 is a substrate. 5 is connected to the light emitting diode 7 through the terminals 53 and 54. Here, the green element 71 and the red element 72 are connected to the substrate 5
Connected by printed wiring on the surface, and as shown in FIG. 3A, a plurality of green elements 71 and a plurality of red elements 72 connected in series are connected in parallel so that their polarities are opposite to each other. Further, the lighting circuit 8 can switch the polarity of the battery 81 mounted on the vehicle in accordance with the external signal 82. Thereby, the light emitting diode 7 to be turned on can be switched according to the direction of the voltage when the voltage is applied, and the emission color of the pointer 4 can be changed.

Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 3B, when only the positive voltage is continuously applied by the external signal 82, only the green element 71 of the light emitting diode 7 is turned on, and the positive voltage and the negative voltage are generated. When applied alternately in pulses,
The green element 71 and the red element 72 are turned on in accordance with the duty ratio to be a mixed color (for example, yellow), and when only a negative voltage is applied, only the red element 72 is turned on.

When the speedometer 1 having the above-mentioned structure has the dial 2 as shown in FIG. 4, for example, when the vehicle speed is 0 km / h, the green element 71 is turned on, and when the vehicle speed is 240 km / h. When the red element 72 is turned on and the duty ratio of the pulse is gradually changed at the vehicle speed during that period, the green element 71 and the red element 72 emit light according to the duty ratio, and the emission color of the pointer 4 is , Gradually changing from green to red, and finally red. As a result, the driver can recognize the speed by the color of light emitted from the pointer 4.

5 and 6 show another embodiment of the present invention.
Here, the color of light emitted from the light emitting diode 7 is made to correspond to the range of speeds indicated by the pointer 4, for example, 0 to 140 km.
In the portion where the light introducing portion 42 of the pointer 4 is located between / h,
The green element 71 is arranged, and the yellow element 73 is arranged in a portion corresponding to 140 to 180 km / h,
The red element 72 is arranged in a portion corresponding to 0 km / h. As a result, when the speed exceeds a predetermined speed, the emission color of the pointer 4 changes clearly, and the outline of the speed can be grasped without looking at the pointing position of the pointer 4.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a speedometer showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view and a sectional view showing a substrate of a first embodiment of a speedometer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a circuit diagram of a first embodiment of a speedometer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3A is a voltage waveform diagram showing an external signal in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the speedometer for explaining the display state of the pointer in the first embodiment of the speedometer according to the present invention.

5A and 5B are a plan view and a sectional view showing a substrate of a second embodiment of the speedometer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the speedometer for explaining the display state of the pointer in the first embodiment of the speedometer according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Speedometer (instrument with light emitting pointer) 2 Dial 22 Hole (through hole) 3 Movement (driving member) 31 Shaft (output shaft) 4 Pointer 43 End face 5 Board (circuit board) 7 Light emitting diode (light emitting element)

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] September 22, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Brief description of the drawing

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a speedometer showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view and a sectional view showing a substrate of a first embodiment of a speedometer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 (A) is a circuit diagram of a first embodiment of speedometer embodiment of the present invention is a voltage waveform diagram showing an external signal in (B) First Embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the speedometer for explaining the display state of the pointer in the first embodiment of the speedometer according to the present invention.

5A and 5B are a plan view and a sectional view showing a substrate of a second embodiment of the speedometer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the speedometer for explaining the display state of the pointer in the first embodiment of the speedometer according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 Speedometer (instrument with light emitting pointer) 2 Dial 22 Hole (through hole) 3 Movement (driving member) 31 Shaft (output shaft) 4 Pointer 43 End face 5 Board (circuit board) 7 Light emitting diode (light emitting) element)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An output shaft which is arranged on the front side of the dial by an output shaft which penetrates through a through hole formed in the dial and is rotationally driven by a drive member provided on the back side of the dial. In an instrument for rotating a pointer formed by a member, a circuit board is arranged between the dial and the driving member, and at least a light emitting element oriented toward the dial is provided in the circuit near the output shaft. While being mounted on a board, an end face directed to the circuit board side for introducing irradiation light of the light emitting element to the inside is integrally provided with the pointer, and irradiation light of the light emitting element is passed through the through hole. An instrument with a light emitting pointer that is introduced into the pointer.