JPH08136288A - Selfluminous pointer type instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve the mounting of a light emitting element and the power supply without disturbing the rotation of a pointer. CONSTITUTION: Metal lead plates 2A, 2B are disposed in the base 11 of a pointer to be rotated to an angle position responsive to an input signal, a light emitting element is mounted at and connected to them. The inner end 41 of a flexible printed circuit board 4 spirally disposed is fixedly connected to the one ends 21 of the plates 2A, 2B, protruding from the sides of a pointer boss 111, thereby bringing the plates 2A, 2B in continuity with the conductive patterns 43, 44 of the board 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-luminous pointer type instrument and, more particularly, to improvement of its power feeding structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There has been proposed a self-luminous pointer type speedometer or the like in which a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the pointer to illuminate the pointer and the visibility is improved. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-66601 discloses that power is supplied to LEDs in a rotating pointer by a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) having flexibility arranged spirally around the rotation axis of the pointer. There is.

[0003]

The instrument described in the above publication can realize the simplification of the power feeding structure and the cost reduction by using the FPC.
It is a lead part for mounting the LED by extending the PC as it is into the pointer. However, in order to bond the LED as the lead portion, it is necessary to have high hardness. On the other hand, the spiral FPC around the pointer needs to have the Young's modulus as small as possible so as not to hinder the smooth rotation of the pointer. Therefore, both parties are required to have antinomy characteristics, and the integrated FP
It is difficult for C to satisfy such characteristics. Further, in manufacturing an FPC having a long extending lead portion, there is a problem that it is disadvantageous to take a mold at the time of molding and it takes time and labor.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a self-luminous pointer-type instrument which is capable of favorably mounting both a light-emitting element and supplying electric power without hindering the rotation of the pointer, and which is easy to manufacture. To aim.

[0005]

In the first structure of the present invention, the lead plates 2A and 2B are arranged in the pointer 1 which can be rotated to an angular position according to an input signal, and the light emitting element 3 is provided therein.
Is connected and attached, and one end 41 of the flexible printed wiring board 4 extending from the power source is connected to one end 21 of the lead plates 2A and 2B located at the base end portion of the pointer 1.

In the second structure of the present invention, the flexible printed wiring board 4 is spirally arranged around the rotary shaft 62 of the pointer 1, and the inner end 41 of the flexible printed wiring board 4 is provided with the lead plates 2A and 2B.
Connected to one end 21 of the.

In the third structure of the present invention, the lead plate 2 is used.
A and 2B are made of metal, and one end 41 of the flexible printed wiring board 4 is connected and fixed to one end 21 of the flexible printed wiring board 4 by thermocompression bonding or soldering to connect the lead boards 2A and 2B to the conductive pattern 43 of the flexible printed wiring board 4. , 44.

[0008]

In the first structure, the lead plates 2A and 2B to which the light emitting element 3 is connected and mounted and the flexible printed wiring board 4 for power supply to the lead boards 2A and 2B are provided separately, so that the rigidity of the former is increased. It is possible to facilitate the mounting of No. 3 and reduce the Young's modulus of the latter to ensure the smooth rotation of the pointer 1. Further, the flexible printed wiring board 4 can be easily manufactured because there is no long lead portion.

In the second structure, the flexible printed wiring board 4 is compactly housed around the rotation axis of the pointer 1.

In the third structure, the flexible printed wiring board 4 is mechanically fixed and electrically connected to the lead plates 2A and 2B simultaneously and easily by thermocompression bonding or soldering.

[0011]

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 shows a side view of a partial cross section of an instrument main body, and FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view thereof. In the figure, a movement 6 having a cross coil installed therein is provided on a mounting substrate 5 (FIG. 1), and a circular casing 61 of the movement 6 is provided.
A pointer shaft 62 projects upward at the center of the. Pointer axis 6
The reference numeral 2 projects through a central opening of a fixer plate 63 (FIG. 2) attached to the upper end of the casing 61, and a known hair arranged spirally in the casing 61 in the middle of the pointer shaft 62. One end of the spring 64 is fixed. The pointer shaft 62 has the spring force of the hair spring 64,
It rotates to a position where it is balanced with the rotational torque given by the cross coil in accordance with the input signal and stands still.

A tip end of the pointer shaft 62 extends further upward through an opening of a dial plate 72 fixed on the meter case 71, and a boss portion 111 protruding downward from the base end of the pointer 1 is fitted to this tip end. It is fixed. Pointer 1 is the boss 1 above
1 has a base 11 (FIG. 2) in which 11 is formed to project.
1 has an elongated rectangular box shape that extends in the horizontal direction and opens upward. In the base body 11, metal lead plates 2A and 2B are laid in two rows on the bottom wall in the longitudinal direction (FIG. 3), and the LED 3 is provided at a plurality of longitudinal positions between the lead plates 2A and 2B.
Are attached and connected by bonding. Lead plate 2
The upper part of A and 2B is filled with a transparent synthetic resin material 14, and a bending lens 12 is provided so as to close the opening. As shown in FIG. 2, the light-deflecting lens 12 moves 90 ° in the longitudinal direction.
LED3 is formed by forming a sawtooth surface that bends up and down alternately at an angle of
The light from is emitted directly upward (that is, in the front direction of the meter). A cover body 13 provided with a transparent window 131 in the longitudinal direction is attached to the base 11 covering the light-deflecting lens 12 from above.

One end 21 (FIG. 2) of each of the lead plates 2A and 2B provided in the base 11 of the pointer 1 projects from the side surface of the boss portion 111 and is bent downward. One end is connected. As shown in FIG. 4, the FPC 4 includes a flexible strip-shaped base film 42 made of a polyimide resin or the like and a conductive pattern 4 made of copper foil or the like.
3 and 44 are formed and covered with an insulating film except for the connection terminals, and the whole is shaped into a spiral shape as shown in the drawing.
It is supported by terminal plates 65 and 66 (FIG. 1) on the fixer plate 63 at two locations on the outer circumference. The details of this support portion will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, in which the terminal plate 65 (FIG. 5) is inserted into the upper and lower cuts 45 formed in the base film 42 near the end portion of the one conductive pattern 43, and Both side edges are connected to the conductive pattern 43 by soldering. Also,
The other conductive pattern 44 extends longer than the conductive pattern 43 in the circumferential direction, and terminal plates 66 (FIG. 6) are inserted into the upper and lower cuts 46 formed in the base film 42 near the terminal end as well, and both side edges thereof are formed. Are soldered to the conductive pattern 44. Thus, the FPC 4 is supported by the terminal plates 65, 66, and at the same time, the terminal plates 65, 66
66 and the conductive patterns 43 and 44 are electrically connected,
Power is supplied from the former to the latter.

The inner end portion 41 of the spiral of the FPC 4 is
As described above, one end 21 of the lead plates 2A and 2B in the pointer 1
(See FIG. 2), and details of the connection will be described below. In FIG. 7, one end 2 of each of the lead plates 2A and 2B
In No. 1, the tip portion 211 is further bent horizontally after being bent downward along the side surface of the base boss portion 111. on the other hand,
The inner end portion 41 of the FPC 4 on which the parallel conductive patterns 43 and 44 are formed is bent upward, and at this portion, the conductive pattern 4 is formed.
3 and 44 are wide, and through holes 47 and 48 are provided in the bent portion of the pattern. Then, the leading end portions 211 of the lead plates 2A and 2B are inserted into the through holes 47 and 48, respectively, and supported by the receiving jig 81 behind the lower half portions of the lead plates 2A and 2B (FIG. 8) to perform thermocompression bonding. Jig 82
By this, the lead plate tip portion 211 is folded back onto the conductor patterns 43 and 44 of the FPC inner end portion 41. This allows the FPC
The inner end portion 41 includes one end 21 of the lead plates 2A and 2B and the tip portion 2
It is sandwiched between 11 and fixed together, and FPC4
The conductor patterns 43 and 44 and the lead plates 2A and 2B are electrically connected.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the lead plates 2A and 2B in the pointer 1 are made of metal and have high rigidity, so that the LED 3 can be easily mounted and the FP
C4 has a structure with a sufficiently small Young's modulus to ensure smooth rotation of the pointer 1.

Further, since it is not necessary to form a long extending lead portion in the FPC inner end portion 41 as in the conventional case, the FPC can be easily manufactured and the lead portion can be prevented from being deformed when it is shaped into a spiral shape. There is no need to hold it.

[0017]

Second Embodiment The lead plate and the FPC may be connected by the structure shown in FIG. In the drawing, each one end 21 of the lead plate in the base 11 is projected horizontally from the upper end side surface of the boss portion 111, and through holes 47 and 48 provided at left and right positions of the upper end of the FPC inner end portion 41 are fitted therein. And is connected to the conductor patterns 43 and 44 on the FPC 4 by soldering. With such a structure, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0018]

Third Embodiment Further, each end 21 of the lead plate is bent downward as shown in FIG. 10, and thermocompression-bonded from above to the inner end portion 41 of the FPC 4 located in contact with the side surface of the boss portion 111.
Even if the PC 4 is fixed and electrically connected to the conductor patterns 43 and 44 at the same time, the same effect as in each of the above embodiments can be obtained.

[0019]

As described above, according to the self-luminous pointer type meter of the present invention, the lead plate for mounting the light emitting element in the pointer and the flexible printed wiring board for supplying power to the lead plate are separately provided, and these are simplified. By connecting to the light source, reliable attachment of the light emitting element and power feeding ensuring smooth rotation of the pointer can be realized. Further, the manufacturing and assembling of the flexible printed wiring board is easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a self-luminous pointer type meter showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a self-luminous pointer type instrument.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a base boss portion of a pointer.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of a flexible printed wiring board.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a flexible printed wiring board.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a flexible printed wiring board.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of an inner end connecting portion of a flexible printed wiring board.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an inner end connecting portion of a flexible printed wiring board.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an inner end connecting portion of a flexible printed wiring board showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an inner end connecting portion of a flexible printed wiring board showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 pointer 2A, 2B lead plate 21 one end 3 light emitting element 4 flexible printed wiring board 41 inner end (one end) 43, 44 conductive pattern 62 pointer shaft (rotating shaft)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Michiyuki Noba 1-1-1, Showamachi, Kariya city, Aichi prefecture

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A lead plate is arranged in a pointer which is rotated to an angular position according to an input signal, and a light emitting element is connected and attached to this, and one end of the lead plate located at the base end of the pointer is A self-luminous pointer-type instrument characterized by connecting one end of a flexible printed wiring board from the power source. 2. The self-luminous pointer-type instrument according to claim 1, wherein the flexible printed wiring board is spirally arranged around a rotation axis of a pointer, and an inner end of the flexible printed wiring board is connected to one end of the lead plate. 3. The lead plate is made of metal, and one end of the flexible printed wiring board is connected and fixed to one end thereof by thermocompression bonding or soldering so that each lead plate is electrically connected to a conductive pattern of the flexible printed wiring board. The self-luminous pointer-type instrument according to claim 1 or 2.