JPH0829204A - Pointer illuminator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the brightness of a pointer by increasing efficiency of use of light source and reduce cost with a simple structure. CONSTITUTION:For a pointer illuminator 1 for illuminating inside pointer 3 by directing the light from a light source 4 through a transparent body 2 to the pointer base 31 and inducing the brightness of the pointer indication part 32, the transparent body 2 has a light reception end surface 5a having a light reception area roughly corresponding to the luminous cross sectional area of the light source 4, the luminous reflection end surface 6a for directing the light to the pointer base part 31, a luminous part 6 formed on the other end side and is made up of a column body having almost the same cross sectional area as that of the reception area. Simultaneously, the luminous part 6 has a rectangular luminous reflection end surface 6a and is formed in a square column shape 60.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pointer illuminating device for use in, for example, automobile instruments, and more particularly to a pointer illuminating device having a light guide for guiding light from a light source to a pointer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Meters used in automobiles and the like are observed by illumination from the inside of the night instrument. Further, in the case of an instrument having a pointer, the pointer illumination is sufficiently effective in order to improve its visibility. It is necessary to

For this reason, conventionally, a light guide has been used which guides light from a light source provided on the back side of the instrument panel to a pointer.

FIG. 6 shows such a conventional light guide body 10 disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 56-174012.
Indicates 0. The light guide body 100 is formed by integrally providing an elliptical first light guide plate 101 and a second light guide plate 102 made of a translucent material such as acrylic resin.

That is, the outer peripheral side surfaces of the first and second light guide plates 101 and 102 are reflective surfaces 103 and 1, respectively.
04, the respective light guide plates 101 and 102
The light receiving portions 105 and 106 that take in the light of the light source 200 and the light emitting portions 107 and 108 that take out the guided light are formed at two positions corresponding to the elliptical focal point position of
The light emitting parts 107 and 108 are integrally formed so as to be common to form the light guide 100.

Further, each light receiving portion 105 of this light guide body 100
Lens portions 109 and 110 are formed on the reference numerals 106 and 106, respectively.

In the light guide body 100, in the first light guide plate 101, the light emitted from the light source 200 enters the first light guide plate 101 from the light receiving portion 105, and the side thereof with respect to the light emitting portion 107 is located. The light “a” directed toward the side is reflected by the reflecting surface 103 and introduced into the light emitting unit 107, and at the same time, the light emitting unit 10
The light directed to 7 becomes parallel light refracted by the lens unit 109 and is introduced into the light emitting unit 107, and in the second light guide plate 102, light a directed to the light emitting unit 108 in the lateral direction a similarly.
₁ is reflected by the reflecting surface 104, and the light b ₁ directed to the light emitting unit 108 is collimated by the lens unit 110 and introduced into the light emitting unit 108. In this way, the light guide body 100 introduces the light of the light source 200 into the light emitting portion 107 (108) and makes the light of the light source 200 incident on the pointer base portion (not shown) arranged in the light emitting portion 107 (108) to guide the pointer. It is designed to illuminate the interior.

[0008]

However, in the light guide body 100, the light a, a ₁ of the light from the light source 200 is reflected by the reflection surfaces 103 and 104 which are the outer peripheral side surfaces of the light guide body 100, and the light emitting section is formed. Since it is introduced into 107 (108), a part of the light a, a ₁ is emitted to the outside at the time of reflection and the light is lost, and since the light guide body 100 is formed of a plate-shaped body, it is a light receiving portion. The light receiving areas of 105 and 196 are reduced, and the light source 2
Since it can receive only a part of the light of No. 00, it was not preferable for effective use of the light.

In addition, the light guide 100 includes a light emitting portion 107.
The lens unit 10 for increasing the amount of light guided to (108)
It is necessary to provide 9 and 110, and the structure becomes complicated correspondingly, and there is also a problem that the cost is increased.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to enhance the effective use of light from a light source to increase the brightness of a pointer and to reduce the cost with a simple structure. An object of the present invention is to provide a pointer illumination device that can be designed.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 makes a pointer by causing light entering a light guide from a light source to enter a pointer base and causing a pointer indicating section to shine. In the pointer illuminating device for internally illuminating, the light guide body has a light receiving end surface having a light receiving end surface having a light receiving area substantially corresponding to a light emitting cross-sectional area of the light source, and a light receiving portion formed on one end side, and light is emitted to the pointer base portion. A light emitting portion having a light emitting reflection end face to be incident and formed on the other end side, the whole is formed of a columnar body having a cross-sectional area substantially equal to the light receiving area, and at least the light emitting portion is formed. It is characterized in that it is formed into a prismatic body having the light emitting reflection end face in a rectangular shape.

The invention according to claim 2 is the pointer illuminating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the light receiving portion is formed in a cylindrical body.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the pointer illuminating device according to the second aspect, the light guide body is changed from a columnar portion to a prismatic portion between the columnar portion and the prismatic portion. It is characterized in that it is continuously formed by the gradual change columnar portion.

The invention according to claim 4 is the pointer illuminating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light source emits light that is incident in a direction orthogonal to the light receiving end face. It is characterized by having a light emitting portion.

[0015]

Since the invention according to claims 1 to 4 has the above-mentioned structure, it has the following effect.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the light receiving portion of the light guide has a light receiving end surface having a light receiving area substantially corresponding to the light emitting cross section of the light source, most of the light source can receive light. In addition, since the entire length of the light guide is formed to have substantially the same cross-sectional area, the number of light reflection points in the light guide process should be reduced to reduce the loss due to light reflection. You can Further, in the invention according to claim 1, since the light emitting portion is formed in the prismatic body, the light reflected by the light emitting reflection end face can be transmitted through the flat surface of the prismatic body without being diffused. It is possible to prevent the loss of light when entering the base portion, and since the reflecting end face is formed in a rectangular shape, it is possible to obtain a sufficient amount of incidence on the corresponding pointer base portion.

Moreover, in the invention according to the first aspect, since the light guide body is formed of the columnar body, it can be easily molded with a simple structure.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the light receiving portion is formed in a cylindrical body, the light receiving end face can be formed in a shape corresponding to the light emitting cross-sectional shape of the light source.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the space between the columnar portion and the prismatic portion of the light guide body is continuously formed by the columnar portion which is changed from the columnar shape to the prismatic shape. Despite the different cylindrical portion and prismatic portion, it is possible to reduce the light reflection points in the light guiding process and reduce the loss due to the light reflection.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, the light of the light source becomes the light which is incident in the direction orthogonal to the light receiving end face of the light guide, so that the light receiving efficiency of the light guide is improved.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below based on the illustrated embodiments.

1 and 2 show a pointer illuminating device 1 as one embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the pointer device 1 includes a light guide 2 made of a transparent acrylic resin, which is disposed on the back side of the dial 10 and is fixed to the instrument body 11, and a pointer base 31 protrudes from the instrument body 11. The pointer indicating portion 32 is press-fitted and supported by the pointer shaft 12, and is fixed to the instrument case 13 so as to face one end face of the light guide 2 and the pointer 3 made of a transparent acrylic resin located on the dial 10. The light source 4 is generally configured. The pointer illuminating device 1 is configured to input the light incident on the light guide 2 from the light source 4 to the pointer base 31 and illuminate the pointer indicating portion 32 to internally illuminate the pointer 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the light guide 2 has a light receiving portion 5 formed on one end side having a light receiving end surface 5a having a light receiving area substantially corresponding to the light emitting cross section of the light source 4. A columnar body having an emission reflection end face 6a for making light incident on the pointer base 31 and a light emission part 6 formed on the other end side, and having an overall cross-sectional area substantially equal to the light receiving area is L-shaped. It is formed by bending into a shape.

The bent end 7 of the columnar body has a light-receiving end surface 5
Light guide reflection surface 7 for guiding the light incident from a to the light emitting unit 6 side
a is formed.

At this time, the light receiving portion 5 is formed in a cylindrical body, and the space between the light emitting portion 6 and the bent portion 7 is formed in the prismatic body 60, and between the light receiving portion 5 and the bent portion 7. Are formed so as to be continuous along the lengthwise direction with a columnar portion 8 which is changed from a columnar shape to a prismatic shape. Therefore, the light emitting reflection end face 6a is formed obliquely on the light emitting portion 6 and the bent portion 7, respectively.
The light guide reflection surface 7a is a rectangular reflection surface.

Further, the light source 4 is suitably a bulb having a tip light-emitting portion that emits light incident in a direction orthogonal to the light-receiving end surface 5a. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a lens portion 41 is provided at the tip. A light source 4 capable of obtaining parallel light rays (or capable of focusing light) is used. Specifically, as such a light source 4, there is a top lens bulb or an LED lamp.

Further, the pointer 3 has a pointer base portion 31 press-fitted and supported on the pointer shaft 12, and a base end portion is integrated with the pointer base portion 31 so that the tip end portion extends outwardly of the pointer base portion 31 in a needle shape. And a pointer indicating section 32 formed by
Light incident from the light guide 2 is guided to the base end portion of the pointer pointer 32.
A rectangular pointer reflecting surface 33 that reflects the light in the direction and guides the light is formed obliquely so as to face the light emitting reflecting end surface 6 a of the light guide 2.

The light guide 2, the light source 4 and the pointer 3 are assembled as follows to form the pointer illuminating device 1.

That is, three light guides 2 are used in this embodiment, and the light receiving parts 5 of each of the light guides 2 are positioned below and the light emitting parts 6 are connected as shown in FIG. The light guide for illumination of the pointer illuminating device 1 is configured by integrally connecting in a T-shape with a character-shaped void portion 9. The light guide for illumination has a mounting flange portion 1 protruding from the light guide 2.
4 is attached to the instrument main body 11 via the light source 4 and
3 are used corresponding to each light guide body 2, and the tip light emitting part is opposed to the light receiving end surface 5a of each light guide body 2 and the instrument case 1
It is fixed to 3.

A dial 10 is arranged on the upper surface of the light guide for illumination, and a pointer 3 has a void formed in a continuous portion of the light guide 2 by projecting a pointer base 31 thereof from the instrument main body 11. The pointer shaft 12 protruding upward from the portion 9 is press-fitted and supported. At this time, the light guide 2 is provided on the dial plate 10 at a substantially central portion thereof.
Through-hole 1 so as not to block the incident from the light emitting part 6 of
0a is provided (see FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 4, the pointer illuminating device 1 thus assembled has a parallel light A emitted from the light source 4.
Enters the light receiving portion 5 from the light receiving end surface 5a of the light guide 2, is guided by the light receiving portion 5 and the rectifying columnar portion 8, and is reflected by the light guide reflection surface 7a of the bend 7 toward the light emitting portion 6, Further, it is reflected toward the pointer base portion 31 by the light emitting reflection end surface 6a of the light emitting portion 6. Then, the light A that has entered the pointer base portion 31 is reflected by the pointer reflecting surface 33 toward the pointer pointing portion 32, and the pointer pointing portion 3
2 is made to shine and the pointer 3 is irradiated from the inside.

At this time, since the light receiving portion 5 of the light guide 2 has the light receiving end face 5a having a receiving area substantially corresponding to the light emitting cross section of the light source 4, most of the light A of the light source 4 is received. You can Further, the light guide 2 is formed in the length direction with substantially the same cross-sectional area (substantially the same as the light receiving area), and the changeable columnar portion 8 is provided between the bent portion 7 and the light receiving portion 5 having different cross-sectional shapes. Since they are formed continuously, it is possible to reduce the portion where the light A is reflected in the light guiding process and reduce the loss due to the reflection of the light A.

Further, the light emitting portion 6 of the light guide 2 is a prismatic body 6.
Since the light A reflected by the light emitting / reflecting end surface 6a passes through the flat surface 6b (see FIGS. 1 and 4) of the prism 60, there is no light diffusion at the time of transmission. It is possible to prevent the loss of the light A upon incidence on the light beam 31, and to easily assemble the dial plate 10 using the flat surface 6b of the prism 60.

In addition, since the light emitting / reflecting end surface 6a and the light guiding / reflecting surface 7a of the light guide 2 are formed in a rectangular shape, the light receiving area of the circular light receiving end 5a of the light receiving section 5 made of a columnar body is larger than that of the light receiving area. Therefore, a large reflection area can be formed, and the loss of reflected light can be reduced.

As described above, the pointer illuminating device 1 can enhance the effective use of the light A of the light source 4 to increase the brightness of the pointer 3 (in particular, the pointer indicating portion 32) and form the light receiving portion 5 in a cylindrical body. By doing so, the material can be saved, and since the light guide body 2 is configured by a simple columnar body without providing the lens portion and the like conventionally required, the structure is simple and can be easily formed, which leads to cost reduction. Can also be achieved.

FIG. 5 shows a pointer illuminating device 2 as another embodiment.
Indicates 0.

The pointer illuminating device 20 is the same as the pointer illuminating device 1 except that the pointer illuminating device 20 uses different light guides. For this reason, the same constituent elements are designated by the same reference numerals and redundant description will be omitted.

The light guide 21 in the pointer lighting device 20
Has a light-receiving end face 22a having a light-receiving end face 22a having a light-receiving area substantially corresponding to the light-emitting cross-sectional area of the light source 4 at one end side, and has a rectangular shape for allowing light to enter the pointer base 31 at the other end side. The light emitting portion 23 is formed with the light emitting reflection end face 23a, and is formed by a single linear columnar body having the same sectional area as the light receiving area. In addition, three light guides 21 are used in this embodiment.
Similarly to the above-mentioned pointer illuminating device 1, the light emitting portions 23 are connected to each other and are integrally formed in a T-shape to form an illuminating light guide of the pointer illuminating device 20.

Since the light guide body 21 does not have the light guide reflection surface 7a of the light guide body 2 described above and the end face shape does not change, the number of portions where the spectrum is reflected is reduced and the loss due to the reflection of light is further reduced. It is possible to further improve the effective use of light, the structure is simpler and the molding is easier,
As a result, the cost can be further reduced.

[0040]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects.

That is, according to the first aspect of the invention, since the light receiving portion of the light guide has a light receiving end surface having a light receiving area substantially corresponding to the light emitting cross section of the light source, most of the light source is received. Since the entire light guide body is formed with a cross-sectional area that is substantially the same in the lengthwise direction, the number of light reflection points in the light guide process is reduced and the loss due to light reflection is reduced. Since the light emitting portion is formed in the prismatic body, the light reflected by the light emitting reflection end face passes through the flat surface of the prismatic body, so there is no light diffusion at the time of transmission, and It is possible to prevent the loss of light at the time of incidence, and since the light emitting reflection end face is formed in a rectangular shape, it is possible to obtain a sufficient amount of incidence on the corresponding pointer base portion. Increasing the use and brightness of the pointer It is possible to provide a pointer illuminating apparatus capable.

Furthermore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the light guide body is formed of the columnar body, it is possible to easily mold the light guide body with a simple structure, and further, it is possible to reduce the cost. Can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the light receiving portion is formed in a cylindrical body, the light receiving portion having a light receiving end surface having a light receiving area substantially corresponding to the light emitting cross section of the light source can be easily used without wasting material. It is possible to provide a pointer illuminating device that can be formed into a structure, and as a result, can further reduce the cost by saving the material.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the columnar portion and the prismatic portion of the light guide body are continuously formed by the columnar portion which is changed from the columnar shape to the prismatic body, Despite the presence of the cylindrical portion and the prismatic portion having different cross-sectional shapes, it is possible to reduce the light reflection points in the light guiding process and reduce the loss due to the reflection of light. As a result, effective use of light is possible. It is possible to provide a pointer illuminating device that can improve the brightness of the pointer by increasing the brightness.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, since the light of the light source becomes the light which is incident in the direction orthogonal to the light receiving end face of the light guide, the light receiving efficiency of the light guide is improved, and as a result, the light is obtained. It is possible to provide a pointer illuminating device capable of further increasing the effective use of the pointer and further increasing the brightness of the pointer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a pointer lighting device as one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an assembled state of the pointer illumination device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram of a light source used in the pointer illumination device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the pointer lighting device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a pointer lighting device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a light guide used in a conventional pointer illumination device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,20 Pointer illuminating device 2,21 Light guide 3 Pointer 4 Light source 5 Light receiving part (of light guiding body) 6 Light emitting part (of light guiding body) 8 Changeable columnar part (of light guiding body) 5a Light receiving end face 6a Light emitting Reflective end face 31 Pointer base portion 32 Pointer pointing portion 41 Lens portion (tip light emitting portion) 60 Prismatic columnar body

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pointer illuminating device for internally illuminating a pointer by causing light entering a light guide from a light source to enter a pointer base and causing a pointer indicating section to shine, wherein the light guide cuts off light emission of the light source. A light-receiving end face having a light-receiving area substantially corresponding to the area, and a light-receiving part formed on one end side, and a light-emitting reflection end face for allowing light to enter the pointer base part, and a light-emitting part formed on the other end side. And a light-emitting portion having at least the light-emitting area, and at least the light-emitting portion is formed into a prismatic body having the rectangular light-emitting reflection end face. Pointer lighting device characterized by the above. 2. The pointer illuminating device according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving portion is formed in a cylindrical body. 3. The pointer illuminating device according to claim 2, wherein the light guide body has a columnar portion and a prismatic portion which are continuously formed by a gradual change columnar portion which changes from a columnar shape to a prismatic shape. A pointer lighting device characterized by being formed. 4. The pointer illuminating device according to claim 1, wherein the light source has a tip light emitting portion that emits light incident in a direction orthogonal to the light receiving end surface. Pointer lighting device characterized by the above.