JPH0684894B2 - Instrument pointer device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pointer device for an instrument provided with a self-luminous pointer capable of emitting light with high luminous intensity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An instrument of a vehicle such as an automobile is provided with a lighting means in order to ensure visibility in a dark place such as at night. In an instrument having a pointer and a dial, the illumination is provided with an illuminating lamp on the back of the instrument panel, etc. to illuminate the surface of the instrument panel through a slit, or a transparent portion is provided on the dial and the pointer is illuminated. The prism is used to guide the light of the illuminating lamp to a translucent pointer.

[0003]

However, in the conventional instrument, since the pointer itself is not a light emitter, the luminous intensity of the pointer is limited, and changes in the surrounding environment such as twilight, backlight, and high speed running. In some cases, the visibility of the pointer may be insufficient. Therefore, it is conceivable to use a self-luminous pointer as the pointer, but this leads to complication of the structure of the current-carrying means, etc.
The centrifugal force has a drawback that the pointer moves in the axial direction and a drawback that positioning is difficult when the pointer is attached.

The object of the present invention is to obtain excellent visibility at all conditions of use and to have a simple structure.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a pointer device for an instrument in which the pointer does not move with respect to centrifugal force and the positioning of the pointer is easy.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a pointer driving means for rotating a meter shaft according to an input signal and a part of an outer surface of an elongated hollow rod-shaped valve. A self-luminous pointer having a constricted portion, an internal electrode provided at the end of the bulb, and a discharge tube having an external electrode in the form of a strip along the axial direction on the outer surface of the bulb, and the meter shaft. Adopted a structure which is mounted and holds the constricted part of the discharge tube, and which has a pointer fixing means for fixing the discharge tube across the meter axis, and a power supply terminal for supplying power to the internal electrode and the external electrode of the discharge tube. did.

[0006]

[Operations and effects of the invention] (a) Since the pointer itself is a luminous body, sufficient luminous intensity can be obtained, and the pointer can be easily viewed under any usage condition of the surrounding environment such as twilight, backlight, high speed traveling. Excel.

(B) An inner electrode is provided at an end portion of a bulb having a slender hollow rod-like pointer, and a constricted portion of a discharge tube provided with a belt-shaped outer electrode along an axial direction is sandwiched on an outer surface of the bulb. Since it is fixed to the meter shaft with electricity, it is possible to energize the pointer with a power supply terminal with a simple structure that is attached to the pointer fixing means. Can be reliably prevented from moving, and positioning can be performed easily and accurately when the pointer is attached.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An instrument pointer device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 14 show an automobile speedometer 300 equipped with a pointer device 100 for an instrument according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the speedometer 300 has the pointer device 100 mounted in the meter housing 200.

The meter housing 200 has a meter case 201 which is a base body, and a dial plate 202 having a lid attached to the front surface of the meter case 201 and having a scale or the like. Dial 20
A frame-shaped meter plate 203 is arranged on the front surface of 2, and a transparent meter glass 204 is fixed to the front surface so as to cover the dial 202. Further meter case 20
On the back of 1, the meter sub-plate 20 that also serves as a wiring board
5 is attached.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pointer device 100 is disposed inside the meter case 201 behind the dial plate 202, and has pointer driving means 1 for rotating the meter shaft 11 according to an input signal. It has a discharge tube 2 which is a self-luminous pointer, and a pointer fixing means 3 which fixes the rear end of the discharge tube 2 so as to intersect the meter shaft 11. In this pointer fixing means 3,
Power supply terminals 5 and 6 of the energizing means 4 for energizing the discharge tube 2.
Is installed.

The pointer driving means 1 is a known electric type,
When an input signal that changes according to the vehicle speed is input to a built-in coil (not shown), torque is applied to the meter shaft 11. The meter shaft 11 is stopped at the equilibrium point between this torque and the spring force of the pair of hair springs 12 and 13 (shown in FIG. 1) attached to the meter shaft 11 so as to face each other.
As a result, the discharge tube 2 is rotated by the meter shaft 11 along the dial plate 202, and the speed corresponding to the vehicle speed and the gasoline loading amount are displayed.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the discharge tube 2 includes an elongated hollow rod-shaped bulb 21 and the bulb 21.
The inner electrode 22 provided at the inner end portion 213 (the rear end on the rotation center side) and the outer electrode 23 mounted on the outer surface of the bulb 21 in a strip shape in the longitudinal direction are provided. A coating 24 has been applied.

The bulb 21 has a hemispherical shell-shaped tip portion 211,
The intermediate portion 212 has a cylindrical shape, and the inside of which is hollow is filled with an inert gas. End 213 of valve 21
Is solid and includes a narrow portion 25 forming a constricted portion and a pair of power receiving portions 26 having a rectangular cross section. This end 21
A bare lead wire 221 that is connected to the internal electrode 22 is embedded in the center of 3, and the end portion of the bare lead wire 221 is
It is bent and pressed against the surface of the power receiving unit 26. A conductive layer 261 made of silver paste is applied to the surface of the power receiving portion 26 to achieve electrical conduction with the bare lead wire 221.
A strip-shaped conductive layer 231 made of silver paste is applied to the tip end side of the narrow portion 25 of the bulb 21 in the circumferential direction to form a power receiving portion 27 of the external electrode 23.

The outer surface of the bulb 21 is covered with a light shielding film 28. A slit 29 having a width of 0.5 mm and a total length of 55 mm is formed in the light-shielding film 28 in the axial direction of the bulb 21, and this portion serves as a light-transmitting surface capable of transmitting light. Further, the rear end of the slit 29 is provided 2 mm away from the internal electrode 22 on the front end side.

The external electrode 23 is formed by applying a paste made of a conductive material such as carbon phenol or silver paste on the outer surface of the bulb in a belt shape in the axial direction. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the width of the external electrode 23 is set larger as the distance from the power receiving unit 27 increases. As a result, the electrons emitted from the internal electrode 22 toward the external electrode 23 are made uniform over the entire external electrode 23, and the discharge tube 2 emits light with a uniform luminous intensity in the longitudinal direction.

The discharge tube 2 has a weight of 0.8 g and an outer diameter of 2.4 m.
m is an elongated hollow rod shape, and 50Toor of a mixed gas of xenon and neon is enclosed inside. Discharge tube 2
When high-frequency power is supplied from the energizing means 4 described later, glow discharge is generated between the inner electrode 22 and the outer electrode 23, and the fluorescent coating 24 produces a high-luminance visible light of 5000 cd / m ² . The fixing means 3 has a pointer boss 7 and a pointer boss cover 8, both of which are integrally formed of polyacetal resin.

The pointer boss 7 is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a cylindrical leg portion 71 externally fitted to the meter shaft 11.
And a bulb holding portion 72 made of an elastic member, which is provided orthogonal to the leg portion 71, the rear end of the discharge tube is fitted thereinto.
On the outer peripheral surface of the leg portion 71, a flat surface 711 is placed in the longitudinal direction in a backward direction.
712 is provided and serves as a contact surface for the power supply terminals 5 and 6.

The valve holding portion 72 is, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 11 (respectively, AA, BB, CC, DD, and EE sectional views of FIG. 1), as shown in FIG. It has an open annular cross-sectional shape that is slightly larger than a semi-circle and is open (upper side in FIG. 4), and has longitudinal ridges 7 on both edges and the middle on the inner peripheral surface.
21, 722 and 723 are provided. Each ridge 72
The tips of 1, 722 and 723 are arranged at an interval of approximately 120 °, and are located on a circumference having a diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the discharge tube 2.

Protrusions 73 and 74 are formed in the longitudinal direction on both outer sides 721 of the valve holding portion 72 and serve as locking portions for the pointer boss cover 8. Valve holding part 72
A rectangular groove 7 for fixing the power supply terminals 5 and 6 is provided on the lower surface of the
5, 76 are provided in the longitudinal direction. A support plate 78 having a U-shaped cutout 77 is provided at the rear end of the valve holding portion 72 and is connected to the groove at the bottom of the valve holding portion 72.

The rear portion of the discharge tube 2 has the ridges 721,
It is fitted between 722 and 723 and is fixed by the elasticity of the valve holder 72. At this time, since the support plate 78 is connected only to the bottom portion of the valve holding portion 72 and separated from the side portion, the valve holding portion 72 is elastically deformed smoothly. The narrow portion 25 of the discharge tube 2 has a cutout 77.
It is inserted into, and is axially positioned and fixed.

The pointer boss cover 8 is in the shape of a sheath having a flat front surface 81 and cylindrical surfaces on both sides 82 and 83. The ceiling of the rear portion 84 of the cover 8 is high, and the front surface 81 is formed with a slit 85 from the tip. A longitudinal ridge 86 is formed at the center of the inner surface of the cover 8 and is formed on both sides 82,
At the rear end of 83, claws 87 and 88 that engage with the protrusions 73 and 74 of the valve holding portion 72 are projected. Further, on the back surface of the rear portion 84, a rib 80 with a groove 89 into which the screw 32 for balance adjustment is screwed is formed. Cover 8
The claws 87 and 88 are engaged with the ridges 73 and 74 of the valve holding portion 72 and are attached to the pointer boss 7.

The energizing means 4 has the power supply terminals 5 and 6 and inner ends 411 and 421 at the tips 51 and 61 of the power supply terminals 5 and 6, respectively.
Hair springs 41 and 42 to which is fixed. The hair springs 41 and 42 are arranged in opposite directions to each other, and are connected to fixing fittings (terminals) 43 and 44 for fixing these outer ends 412 and 422. The fixing brackets 43 and 44 are fixed on the fixer plate 14 formed of an electrically insulating substantially C-shaped plate at 90 degrees apart, and the fixer plate 14 is fixed on the pointer driving means 1 by screws 15 and 16. Has been done.

The fixing fittings 43, 44 are lead wires 45, 4
It is connected to a high frequency power source (not shown) via 6. The high-frequency power supply is shielded and 1 kHz or more and 500 kHz
Generates high frequencies in the frequency range of less than, the fluctuation of the frequency is small, and the occupied band is narrow.

This energizing means 4 is 1 kHz or more and 500 k
I am using a high frequency with a frequency below Hz, which
This is for enabling glow discharge through the tube surface of the bulb 21. Here, the numerical value is limited because if it is less than 1 kHz, the tip of the discharge tube 2 cannot sufficiently emit light, and if it is 500 kHz or more, it interferes with the medium-wave radio mounted on the vehicle or the like. . Further, the reason why the frequency fluctuation is small and the occupied band is narrow is that the VLF (ultra long wave) band, the LF (long wave) band, and the MF (medium wave) band are scattered in the above frequency band range. This is to prevent reception interference such as radio communication frequencies of submarines and fishing boats, position measurement frequencies of Omega, Loran, Decca, and rescue and rescue calling frequencies. Furthermore, the reason why the high-frequency power generator is shielded is that the energy radiated to the outside of the device is set to 15 μV or less at 100 m of Article 6 of the Radio Law, and the radio mounted on the vehicle is thereby reduced. It is designed not to cause any damage to electrical components such as equipment and those nearby.

In the power supply terminals 5 and 6, the intermediate portions 52 and 62 are flat surfaces 711 and 7 of the outer peripheral surface of the leg portion 71 of the pointer boss 7.
12 is provided so as to extend in the radial direction from the rear end thereof, and the tip end thereof is fixed to the inner ends 411, 421 of the hair springs 41, 42. Intermediate portion 52, 62
From the front end of the arm, arm plates 54 and 64 are provided which are provided with returns 53 and 63 projecting from both sides and extend in the radial direction.
The arm plates 54 and 64 are fitted in rectangular grooves 75 and 76 provided in the lower portion of the valve holding portion 72. The arm plate 5
Clamping portions 55 and 65 that hold the power receiving portions 26 and 27 of the discharge tube 2 are provided at the tips of the reference numerals 4 and 64. An insulator 9 that doubles as a holder for the power supply terminals 5 and 6 is provided between the hair springs 41 and 42.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 14, the insulator 9 is integrally molded of polyacetal resin, and has a semicylindrical portion 91 which is somewhat larger than a semicircle, and is extended from one edge to the other edge. The holding portion 93 includes a flat plate portion 92, and the annular plate portion 95 integrally formed from the rear end (lower end in FIG. 4) of the holding portion 93 via the connecting portion 94. An axial protrusion 96 is provided on the inner wall of the semi-cylindrical portion 91. The insulator 9 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11, the flat plate portion 92 holds the intermediate portion 52 of the power supply terminal 5 between the flat portion 721 and the flat surface 711 of the outer peripheral surface of the leg portion 71 of the pointer boss 7, and the ridge 96 is in pressure contact with the flat surface 712. As a result, the power supply terminal 5 is held by the leg portion 71 of the pointer boss 7 at the intermediate portion 52. Ring plate part 95
Are arranged in the middle of the hair springs 41 and 42 to prevent the hair springs 41 and 42 from coming into contact with each other due to vibration or the like.

To fix the insulator 9 to the leg portion 71 of the pointer boss 7, as shown in FIG. 13, a claw 97 formed on the inner surface of the leg portion 71 is provided with a projection 713 formed on the outer surface of the pointer boss as shown by the solid line. This is done by the arm 98 located at the position overcoming while returning to the original position while deforming to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in the figure. The hair springs 41 and 42 are
The torque is set to 1/3 of the torque of the hair springs 12 and 13 (downward in FIG. 1) for rotating the meter shaft.

A rectangular opening 209 is formed in the central portion of the dial plate 202 so that the discharge tube 2 can be mounted when the discharge tube 2 is arranged near the dial plate 202. The two pairs of plate decorations 206 are arranged from both sides of the leg portion 71 in order to close the lower portion of the leg portion 71, which is a portion below the dial plate 202 (the lower portion in FIG. 1), from the side of the leg portion 71. It is screwed to the dial 202 at 207 and 208.

The pointer device 100 having the above structure is shown in FIG.
Assembled in the following order as shown in. (A) The power feeding terminal 6 is fitted in the fixing grooves 75, 76 of the pointer boss 7 from the left side in the drawing, and (a) the power feeding terminal 5 is fitted from the right direction. (C) The leg 71 is passed through the insulator 9. (D) The end of the hair spring 41 for the pointer on the center side is fixed to the tip 51 of the power supply terminal 5. (E) The discharge tube 2 is fitted into the bulb holding portion 72. (F) Insert the cover 8 into the pointer boss 7. (G) Screw the screw 32 into the groove 89. (H) The insulator 9 is loosely inserted into the end of the meter shaft 11.
(F) The outer end of the hair spring 41 is fixed to the fixing bracket 43. (U) The outer end of the hair spring 42 is fixed to the fixing member 44. (Sa) Plate decoration 2
06 is screwed onto the dial 202 by (s) mounting screw 207 and (s) mounting screw 208.

The pointer device 10 of the instrument according to this embodiment has the following actions and effects. a. Since the discharge tube 2 is used as the pointer of the meter, the pointer has high brightness. For this reason, the visibility of the pointer is excellent even when there are changes in the surrounding environment such as twilight, backlight, and high speed running.

B. The discharge tube 2 is fixed axially by the bulb 2
Since the narrow portion 25 provided at the end 213 of No. 1 is fitted into the U-shaped notch 77 of the support plate 78 provided at the pointer boss 7, centrifugal force is generated due to the rotation of the pointer. Even so, the pointer is mechanically firmly fixed so that it does not fall off, and the positioning at the time of mounting can be performed accurately.

C. The internal electrode 22 only needs one end of the bulb 21. Therefore, the appearance of the tip of the pointer is the same as that of the conventional one. Further, since the discharge tube 2 can be made lighter, it is not necessary to improve the driving torque, so that the discharge tube 2 can be easily mounted on the instrument.

D. Since the light emitting surface shines extremely thinly by the slit 29 to indicate the display scale, the display can be read with high accuracy. e. By changing the width of the slit 29, the width of the light emitting surface can be set as necessary.

F. At the rear end of the slit 29, the internal electrode 22
Since it is provided 2 mm away from the tip to the internal electrode 2
It is possible to avoid the blackening of the tube near the electrode due to the sputtering of No. 2. As a result, the appearance is excellent without switching for a long time, and the entire pointer can be maintained at high illuminance.

G. The electric discharge tube 2 can be attached to the pointer fixing means 3 simply by fitting it into the valve holding portion 72 of the pointer boss 7, so that the pointer can be easily attached at the time of assembly or replaced at the time of replacement.

H. Since the electric current is applied to the discharge tube 2 via the hair springs 41 and 42, the electric connection to the discharge tube 2 can be facilitated and the conventional instrument can also be easily installed.

I. Since the torque of the hair springs 41, 42 is ⅓ of the torque of the hair springs 12, 13 for rotating the meter shaft, zero adjustment adjustment can be performed by the fixer of the instrument. As a result, the instrument pointer device of the present invention can be easily mounted on an instrument having a conventional configuration. Moreover, it is easy to adjust the zero point of the pointer.

J. Slit 85 on pointer boss cover 8
Since the is formed, the light emitting surface of the pointer can be lengthened. k. Since the component to be mounted above the pointer boss 7 is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the pointer, the opening 209 can be a narrow opening having a small area, and there is little difference in appearance from the conventional one.

FIG. 15 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which is characterized by the power receiving portion of the discharge tube 2. In this embodiment, the end portion 213 of the bulb 21 is formed into a cylindrical shape, and recesses 214 and 215 are formed therein, and a conductive layer made of silver paste is applied to these recesses. A band-shaped conductive layer 231 made of silver paste is applied to the recess 215 in the circumferential direction as the power receiving portion 27 of the external electrode 23. The bare lead wire 221 connected to the internal electrode 22 is bent and pressed against the surface of the recess 214. The internal electrode 2 is provided in this recess 214.
A band-shaped conductive layer 231 made of silver paste is applied as the second power receiving portion 26 in the circumferential direction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a pointer device for an instrument showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an automobile speedometer using the pointer device shown in FIG.

3 is a front view of the automobile speedometer of FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 4 is an assembly diagram of a main part of the speedometer shown in FIG.

5 is a plan view of a discharge tube used as a pointer of the speedometer shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the discharge tube shown in FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

8 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG.

11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE of FIG.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of an insulator portion of the pointer device of FIG.

13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF of FIG.

14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a power receiving portion of a discharge tube showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Instrument pointer device 1 Pointer driving means 2 Discharge tube (self-luminous pointer) 3 Pointer fixing means 4 Energizing means 5,6 Power supply terminal 7 Pointer boss 8 Pointer boss cover 11 Meter shaft 21 Valve 22 Internal electrode 23 External electrode 25 Constricted part Narrow part 213 end part 214 recessed part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A pointer drive means for rotating a meter shaft according to an input signal, a constriction portion provided on a part of an outer surface of a valve having an elongated hollow rod shape, and an internal electrode at an end portion of the valve. With the self-luminous indicator having a discharge tube provided with a strip-shaped external electrode along the axial direction on the outer surface of the bulb, the bulb is attached to the meter shaft, and holds the constricted portion of the discharge tube to discharge the discharge. An instrument pointer device comprising a pointer fixing means for fixing the tube across the meter axis and a power supply terminal for supplying power to the internal electrode and the external electrode of the discharge tube. 2. The pointer device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge tube has a hemispherical shell-shaped end portion and a cylindrical middle portion. 3. The pointer boss, wherein the pointer fixing means has a leg portion attached to the meter shaft, a holding portion which is orthogonal to the leg portion and elastically holds the discharge tube, and a support plate which holds the constricted portion. The pointer device according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover for covering a part of the discharge tube held by the pointer boss. 4. The internal electrode has a conductive layer for power reception formed at a rear end portion of the discharge tube, and the layer is engaged with a power supply terminal for the internal electrode. Pointer device described in 3. 5. The external electrode has a conductive layer for power reception, which is formed in an intermediate portion of the discharge tube and covers the cylinder.
3. The pointer device according to claim 2, wherein the layer engages with a power supply terminal for the external electrode. 6. A pointer driving means for rotating a meter shaft according to an input signal, an internal electrode provided at one end of a valve having an elongated hollow rod shape, and an axial direction on an outer surface of the valve. A self-luminous indicator having a band-shaped external electrode and a discharge tube having a constriction near the one end of the bulb, and the meter shaft attached to the constriction of the discharge tube. A pointer device for an instrument, which is provided with a pointer fixing means that holds the discharge tube in an axially immovable manner and fixes the discharge tube across the meter axis, and a power supply terminal that supplies power to the internal electrode and the external electrode of the discharge tube.