JPH07237464A - Indicator plate illuminating structure for shift lever device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an indicator plate illuminating structure for a shift lever device wherein nonuniformity of illumination in a shift position display window provided in an indicator plate can be prevented to improve visibility and further this visibility can be realized by suppressing particular work and cost increase to a minimum limit. CONSTITUTION:Just under an indicator plate 20, a lamp house 50 is arranged to receive a lamp 52. In a front/rear wall 50B of the lamp house 50, a light reflecting film 58 is held by a guide part 54, opposed to a character 22 and a display window 23. Accordingly, also light, reflected by this light reflecting film 58, is applied to the indicator plate 20, and nonuniformity of illumination in each location in the lengthwise direction of the indicator plate 20 is prevented to improve visibility. Since this constitution is not the constitution providing white color painting and a particular light guide, workability is improved to reduce a cost.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an indicator plate illuminating structure for illuminating an indicator plate used in a shift lever device for indicating a shift position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among shift lever devices for shifting a transmission of a vehicle, a shift lever device used for an automatic transmission selects (changes) a shift mode (range) by operating a shift lever. It is supposed to do. Further, the selected shift mode can be visually confirmed (confirmed) by the letters for displaying the shift position and the display window of the indicator plate provided on the upper housing of the shift lever device.

Here, in a normal case, the indicator plate is formed of a light-transmissive (transparent) plate material,
Furthermore, "P", "R", "N",
After the opaque print is once made on the entire surface except for the characters indicating the shift range such as “D” and the portion corresponding to the display window,
A semi-transparent print is printed on the character portion indicating the shift range. The indicator plate is fixed to the upper housing.

A cover slide interlocked with a shift lever is slidably arranged on the back side of the indicator plate. A mark piece with a red sticker or the like is integrally formed on the cover slide. The mark piece faces the letters indicating the shift range of the indicator plate and the back side of the display window with a predetermined gap, and when the cover slide moves together with the lever, the mark piece is directly below the display window corresponding to each shift position. Is positioned so that the mark piece with a red sticker or the like is visually recognized from the outside through the display window, and the shift position of the shift lever is displayed.

Further, in such a shift lever device, an illuminating device is also provided to secure visibility at night. That is, a lamp (light source) is housed in a lamp house arranged along the display window just below the indicator plate (display window), and the mark piece is illuminated by the light from the lamp to reflect the mark. Light is incident from the letters indicating the shift range and the display window and is visible from the outside.

By the way, the indicator plate (that is, the character indicating the shift range and the display window) is provided long in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. Therefore, in the lighting device as described above, the lamp is provided at the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the indicator plate. It is located directly below. Thus, the middle portion in the longitudinal direction of the indicator plate (that is, the characters indicating the N shift range and the D shift range and the display window) and the both ends of the indicator plate in the longitudinal direction (that is, the characters indicating the P shift range and the L shift range and the display). The illumination unevenness in the windows was reduced. However, in such a structure in which the lamp is simply arranged directly below the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the indicator plate, although it is possible to reduce the illumination unevenness to some extent, it is difficult to reduce it significantly, and the illumination unevenness is still present. This is a cause of deterioration of visibility and appearance.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such a defect, in the conventional lighting device, the bottom surface of the lamp house is painted white or a special light guide is provided. Thereby, the light is evenly radiated along the longitudinal direction of the indicator plate, the illumination unevenness at each position is significantly reduced, and the visibility is improved.

[0008]

However, here,
When the white coating as described above is applied to the bottom surface of the lamp house, it is necessary to perform masking work such as covering the inner surface of the lamp house before performing the coating work. That is, not only the complicated coating work itself but also the work such as the masking work are indispensable, which causes an increase in the work process and an increase in cost. Further, even when a special light guide is provided, the cost is similarly increased.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention can prevent the illumination unevenness of the shift position display window provided on the indicator plate to improve the visibility, and perform the special work such as painting work or masking work. An object of the present invention is to obtain an indicator plate illumination structure for a shift lever device that can be realized with a minimum increase in cost.

[0010]

An indicator plate illumination structure for a shift lever device according to the present invention is provided with a shift position display window of a shift lever for shifting a transmission, and is transmitted through a rear surface side and then a front surface side. An indicator plate for displaying the shift position by a light beam,
An indicator plate of a shift lever device including a light source that is arranged directly below the display window and emits light to the display window, and a lamp house that is arranged directly below the display window along the display window and houses the light source. In the illumination structure, a light-reflecting film that has been subjected to white printing for reflecting the light of the light source and irradiating the display window is arranged on the inner peripheral wall of the lamp house so as to face the display window, and the light It is characterized in that guide portions for holding both widthwise ends of the reflection film are integrally formed with the lamp house without being undercut when the lamp house is injection-molded.

[0011]

In the indicator plate lighting structure of the shift lever device having the above structure, the light from the light source housed in the lamp house is not only directly radiated to the back side of the indicator plate (display window) but also the light reflecting film. The reflected light reflected by is also applied to the indicator plate, and the shift position is displayed by the transmitted light that is transmitted to the front surface side. Therefore, uneven illumination is prevented in each part of the indicator plate in the longitudinal direction, and the visibility is improved.

Here, in this indicator plate lighting structure, the light of the light source is reflected by the light reflecting film arranged on the inner peripheral wall of the lamp house, and white coating is applied to the bottom surface of the lamp house as in the conventional case. Since no special light guide is provided, complicated coating work, masking work, etc. are not required, and the work process and cost are not increased.

As described above, the indicator plate lighting structure of the shift lever device according to the present invention can prevent the uneven illumination of the shift position display window provided on the indicator plate and improve the visibility, and the coating work It can be realized without special work such as masking work and increase in cost.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the entire structure of a shift lever device 10 to which an indicator plate lighting structure according to the present invention is applied.

The shift lever device 10 includes a shift lever 1
Equipped with 2. The shift lever 12 is connected to a transmission (not shown), and by operating it forward and backward to incline, the shift mode (range) of the transmission can be changed.

An upper housing 14 is arranged at the base end of the shift lever 12. Upper housing 1
4 is made of ABS resin, for example, and is fixed to a plate (not shown) fixed to the vehicle floor surface and arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction, and further, a guide hole 16 formed in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed. Has been done. The shift lever 12 penetrates the guide hole 16 and is moved back and forth along the guide hole 16 for shift operation.

An indicator plate 20 is arranged in the upper housing 14 beside the guide hole 16.

The indicator plate 20 is made of a thin and light-transmissive plate material (for example, PMMA: methacrylic acid resin), and its side wall portion is joined to the upper housing 14 by insert molding to be integrated, or a claw fitting. It has been done. On the back surface of the indicator plate 20, opaque printing is once performed on the entire surface except for the portions corresponding to the plurality of characters 22 indicating the shift range such as “P”, “R”, “N”, and “D” and the display window 23. After the shift is made, a semi-transparent print is printed on the portion of the character 22 indicating the shift range, which is for the shift position display.

On the back surface of the upper housing 14,
A pair of L-shaped guide rail portions 32 facing each other,
34 are formed, and the guide rail portions 32, 34 are formed.
A cover slide 36 is slidably arranged on the cover. The cover slide 36 is formed in a relatively long rectangular plate shape, and both end portions in the width direction thereof are so-called both-end supported so as to be movable along the guide rail portions 32 and 34.

A through hole 38 corresponding to the guide hole 16 is formed at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the cover slide 36. The shift lever 12 penetrates through the through hole 38, and the shift lever 12 is further guided by the guide hole 16 of the upper housing 14.
Penetrates through. Therefore, when the shift lever 12 moves along the guide hole 16, the side wall of the through hole 38 is pressed accordingly, so that the cover slide 36 moves along with the shift lever 12 along the guide rail portions 32 and 34. It is a configuration.

A leg portion 40 is extended to the side of the through hole 38 of the cover slide 36, and a mark piece portion 42 is continuously and integrally formed at the bent end of the leg portion 40. The mark piece portion 42 is located opposite to the character 22 of the indicator plate 20 and the back surface side of the display window 23 with a predetermined gap therebetween. A red sticker or the like is attached to the upper surface of the mark piece portion 42. Therefore, when the cover slide 36 moves together with the shift lever 12, the character 22 corresponding to each shift position is displayed.
And the mark piece portion 42 is located directly below the display window 23,
As a result, the mark piece portion 4 with the red sticker or the like attached thereto
2 is visually recognized from the outside through the character 22 and the display window 23, and the shift position of the shift lever 12 is displayed.

On the other hand, immediately below the indicator plate 20 provided on the upper housing 14, a lamp house 50 is provided.
Are arranged. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the lamp house 50 includes left and right walls 50A, front and rear walls 50B, and a bottom wall 50C.
Is formed into a thin box shape that is trapezoidal in side view along the indicator plate 20, and covers the characters 22, the display window 23, and the mark piece portion 42 of the indicator plate 20 from the back surface side. Therefore, the front and rear walls 50B and the bottom wall 50C of the lamp house 50 face the characters 22 and the display window 23 of the indicator plate 20.

A lamp 52 as a light source is arranged on the bottom wall 50C of the lamp house 50, and the letters 22 on the indicator plate 20, the display window 23, and the mark piece portion 42 can be irradiated with light. That is, the mark piece portion 42 is illuminated by the light from the lamp 52,
The character 22 and the display window 2 whose reflected light indicates the shift range
3 is a configuration that is visually recognized from the outside by a transmitted light beam that is incident on the light beam 3 and is transmitted to the front surface side.

Further, guide portions 54 are formed on the left and right walls 50A of the lamp house 50 in the vicinity of the front and rear walls 50B so as to integrally project with the lamp house 50 inward. A through hole 56 is provided in the front and rear walls 50B facing the guide portion 54. As a result, the guide portion 54 does not become an undercut when the lamp house 50 is injection-molded, and the lamp house 50 can be easily molded by so-called vertical drawing without using a core.

Further, the front and rear walls 50B of the lamp house 50
A light-reflecting film 58 is arranged in the. The light reflection film 58 has a thickness of, for example, about 0.5 mm, and has a surface on which white printing for reflecting light is applied, and both widthwise end portions thereof are held by the guide portions 54 of the lamp house 50. . Thereby, the light reflection film 58 is
Indicator plate 20 (character 22 and display window 23)
And the light of the lamp 52 is
Not only the characters 22 and the display window 23 of the indicator plate 20 and the mark piece portion 42 are directly irradiated, but also the reflected light reflected by the light reflection film 58 is also irradiated to the indicator plate 20.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the shift lever device 10 having the above-described configuration, when the shift lever 12 is operated to select (change) the shift mode (range), the cover slide 36 moves along with the shift lever 12 along the guide rail portions 32 and 34, and each shift lever 12 is operated. The mark piece portion 42 is located immediately below the character 22 and the display window 23 according to the shift position, whereby the mark piece portion 42 (red sticker) is visually recognized from the outside through the display window, and the selected shift mode is selected. Can be confirmed.

Further, at night or the like, the light of the lamp 52 housed in the lamp house 50 directly transmits the characters 22.
Also, not only the display window 23 and the mark piece portion 42 are irradiated, but also the reflected light reflected by the light reflection film 58 is also irradiated. Therefore, the indicator plate 20
Illumination unevenness in each part in the longitudinal direction is prevented, and visibility is improved.

In the indicator plate lighting structure applied to the shift lever device 10, the light of the lamp 52 is reflected by the light reflecting films 58 arranged on the front and rear walls 50B of the lamp house 50. As described above, since the white coating or the special light guide is not provided on the inner circumference of the lamp house 50, complicated coating work, masking work and the like are not required, which may lead to an increase in work process and cost. Absent. Further, in the lamp house 50, the guide portion 54 does not become an undercut when the lamp house 50 is injection-molded, and the lamp house 50 can be easily molded by so-called up-and-down punching without using a core. Also, the cost can be reduced.

Further, the light reflection film 58 provided on the lamp house 50 has guide portions 54 at both widthwise end portions thereof.
It is configured so that it can be easily slid and inserted into the guide portion 54 from the longitudinal end portion as shown in FIG. 2, and the assembling property is also good. Further, in this case, since the light reflection film 58 is thin, it is possible to bend the light reflection film 58 in an appropriate direction (for example, along the width direction) and insert it into the guide portion 54.

As described above, in the indicator plate lighting structure according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent uneven illumination of the characters 22 for displaying shift positions and the display window 23 provided on the indicator plate 20 and improve the visibility, and This can be achieved without any special work such as painting work or masking work and increase in cost.

[0031]

As described above, since the indicator plate lighting structure of the shift lever device according to the present invention has the above-mentioned structure, it is possible to prevent uneven illumination of the shift position display window provided on the indicator plate and improve the visibility. In addition, it has an excellent effect that it can be realized by minimizing the special work such as painting work and masking work and the increase in cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an overall configuration of a shift lever device to which an indicator plate illumination structure according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway sectional view showing details of a lamp house and a light reflection film of the shift lever device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 shift lever device 12 shift lever 20 indicator plate 22 characters 23 display window 50 lamp house 52 lamp (light source) 54 guide portion 58 light reflection film

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A shift position display window for a shift lever for shifting a transmission is provided, and an indicator plate is provided immediately below the display window for displaying the shift position by a transmitted light beam that is incident from the rear surface side and then transmitted to the front surface side. An indicator plate illumination structure of a shift lever device, comprising: a light source that is disposed and irradiates light to the display window; and a lamp house that is disposed immediately below the display window along the display window and that houses the light source. A light-reflecting film that has been subjected to white printing to reflect the light of the above and irradiates it to the display window is disposed on the inner peripheral wall of the lamp house so as to face the display window, and both ends in the width direction of the light-reflecting film. A guide portion for holding the portion is integrally formed with the lamp house without being undercut when the lamp house is injection-molded. An indicator plate illumination structure for a shift lever device, comprising: