JPH086266Y2 - Instrument panel - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instrument panel such as an automobile speedometer, and more particularly to a thin instrument panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Instrument panels used in conventional automobiles are
The cross coil type has been widely used. this is,
A magnetic field is generated in each coil by passing a current that changes according to the measurement amount in the coils that intersect each other, and the magnet rotor is rotated in the direction of these combined magnetic fields.
The pointer attached to the magnet rotor displays the measured amount.

[0003]

However, this cross-coil type instrument panel is difficult to meet the demand for a thinner instrument. That is, in order to reduce the thickness of the instrument panel, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the air-core coil portion or reduce the size of the air-core coil portion. However, if this is done, the drive torque will decrease and the pointer will not move accurately. As a solution to this, it is conceivable to use other driving means such as a motor, but a feedback circuit is required to control the position of the pointer, and the driving circuit becomes very complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel which has a simple structure and can be made thin.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a rotary shaft that penetrates a dial, a pointer attached to the rotary shaft, and the pointer at a reference position on the dial. A trigger device that generates a reference pulse when it comes around, a phase circuit that generates a lighting pulse whose phase is deviated from the reference pulse by the amount of measurement to be indicated by a pointer, and blinks in synchronization with the lighting pulse. A configuration consisting of a lighting device is adopted.

Further, the pointer is a slit formed on the light-shielding disk attached to the rotary shaft, and the illumination device is provided on the back surface of the slit, and the time when the lighting pulse is turned on can be changed. Thus, the lighting device may be turned on only while the lighting pulse is on, or a plurality of trigger devices may be provided and the number of measured amounts corresponding to each trigger device may be displayed on one dial. .

[0007]

The rotating shaft is constantly rotated by a motor or the like, and the pointer is also rotating together with the rotating shaft. Then, each time the pointer reaches the reference position (for example, 0 point) of the instrument panel, the trigger device generates a reference pulse. From this reference pulse, a lighting pulse is generated which is shifted by a phase corresponding to the measured amount (for example, the speed of the automobile), and the lighting device is made to blink in synchronization with this lighting pulse.

That is, the rotating pointer receives the light from the illuminating device each time it comes to the designated position according to the measurement amount, and it looks as if it always stops at the designated position. Since the drive means for the rotary shaft only needs to rotate the pointer, no torque is required, and an ultra-thin motor such as a sheet coil motor can be used, and the instrument panel can be made thin.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following is a description of an automobile speedometer, but it goes without saying that the same configuration can be applied to an automobile tachometer, a fuel gauge, and other general instruments other than automobiles.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a motor, which is an ultra-thin sheet coil motor or the like and has a rotation speed of about 3000 rpm. Reference numeral 2 is a rotary shaft that penetrates the motor 1. A pointer 3 is attached to the upper end of the rotary shaft at a right angle to the rotary shaft 2, and the pointer 3 rotates on the dial 4. On the dial 4, numbers indicating the measured amount of speed and the like are written on the periphery. Reference numeral 5 is a trigger device, which is composed of a light-shielding needle 5a fixed on the lower end of the rotating shaft in a plane substantially parallel to the pointer, and a photocoupler 5b fixed separately from the rotating shaft 2. Then, each time the light blocking needle 5a passes between the light emitter and the light receiver of the photocoupler 5b,
The light is blocked and one pulse is generated. Since this pulse is generated when the pointer 3 comes to a specific position on the dial 4, it indicates the reference position of the pointer 3. The reference position may be anywhere on the dial 4, but in this embodiment it is 0 on the meter.
To the point.

Reference numeral 6 is an illuminating device, which is capable of emitting light in a short time (about 200 μs) such as a xenon tube or a high-brightness LED. Reference numeral 7 is a phase circuit, which receives a reference pulse from the trigger generation circuit 5 and measures a measured amount V such as speed.
A lighting pulse having a phase shifted from the reference pulse by an amount corresponding to is generated and input to the lighting device 6.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. The trigger device 5 generates a reference pulse as shown in (a) every time the rotating pointer 3 indicates the 0 point as the reference position. The time T between the reference pulses
Indicates the time required for one rotation of the rotary shaft 2 and the pointer 3. The reference pulse thus generated is input to the phase circuit 7. In addition to the reference pulse, the measured amount V (for example, 50 km / h per hour) is input to the phase circuit 7 from a speed detection means (not shown), and the phase corresponding to the measured amount V is shifted from the reference pulse. A light pulse (b) is generated and input to the lighting circuit 8. The lighting circuit 8 lights the lighting device 6 only when the pointer 3 is rotated to a position indicating a speed of 50 km / h in synchronization with the lighting pulse as shown in (c), and turns off otherwise. . By doing this, it is as if the pointer 3 is at that position (
It seems to stop at 50 km / h). Similarly,
The light emission at the timing (d) (the phase is 0 °) indicates as if the pointer 3 is stopped at the 0 point.

At this time, the lighting time of the lighting device 6 is
The entire time when the lighting pulse is turned on is normal, but the lighting pulse may be turned on only for a part of the time when the lighting pulse is turned on.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the construction of the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a light-shielding disc 9 orthogonal to the rotating shaft 2 is attached, and the light-shielding disc 9 is provided with a slit 9a extending in the radial direction as a pointer. Then, the light emitting means 6 is arranged below (on the back side of) the light shielding disc 9. The trigger device 5, the phase circuit 7, the lighting circuit 8 and the like are the same as in the case of FIG. Therefore, the slit 9a portion illuminates at the timing at which the light emitting means 6 emits light, and operates in the same manner as the pointer 3 in FIG. If the part of the dial 4 is made of a translucent material, the letters on the dial are illuminated from the back side by the intermittent lighting of the illumination device 6 and can be read.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 5A shows the reference pulse, and T shows the time required for one rotation of the disc 9 as described above.

The time when the lighting pulse is turned on is shown in FIG.
When shortened as in (b), the width of the slit 9a is
It looks slender as shown in (a). On the other hand, the width of the lighting pulse is widened as shown in FIG.
If the same time as when the pulse is turned on, the width of the pointer 9a appearing on the instrument panel is displayed thick as shown in FIG. 4 (b). Therefore, by changing the length of the lighting pulse, the width of the pointer 9a can be narrowed or thickened as desired.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (d), the length of the lighting pulse is changed from the rising of the reference pulse (t = 0) to the falling of the lighting pulse (t = xkm / h). If it is made longer, the lighting device 6 continues to be illuminated from the 0 point to the predetermined designated position, and the speed is displayed as a zone of 0 km / h to xkm / h.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a device for synchronizing the rotation speed of the motor and the lighting device. In this embodiment, the phase circuit 7 is a CPU of a computer. A motor rotation speed signal and a signal indicating the measured amount V such as a speed signal or an engine rotation speed signal are input to the phase circuit 7, and the lighting circuit 8 is synchronized with the rotation speed of the motor 1. Lighting pulses whose phases are shifted are output. Since the lighting circuit 8 causes the lighting device 6 to blink, the pointer always indicates the measured amount regardless of whether the motor 1 rotates fast or slowly.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of an apparatus for detecting the rotation speed of the motor 1. The photosensor 10 is provided below the light-shielding disc 9 described above. The photosensor 10 irradiates the light-shielding disc 9 with light, and the photosensor 10 receives the reflected light from the light-shielding disc 9 to detect the motor 1. Detect the number of rotations.
The motor rotation speed signal thus obtained is input to the phase circuit 7 in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, two trigger devices 5, 5'are provided.
Two measured quantities V ₁ and V ₂ (for example, speed and rotation speed) are input to the phase circuit 7, and the dial is divided in half,
The speed is displayed on one side and the rotation speed is displayed on the other side. FIG. 9 is a timing chart in this case, in which (a) is a trigger pulse, (b) is a lighting pulse indicating the measured amount for the speedometer, and (c) is a lighting pulse indicating the measured amount of the rotational speed.

The trigger device shown in this embodiment is 180 °
Although they are arranged in a staggered manner, it goes without saying that the division may be arbitrary. Moreover, three or more trigger devices are provided, and
It is also possible to display three or more measured quantities on one instrument panel.

In the above structure, the motor 1 is only required to be able to rotate the rotating shaft 2, the pointer 3, or the light-shielding board 9 and the light-shielding needle 5a, and the cross coil and the feedback circuit for controlling the position of the pointer. It becomes unnecessary. Therefore, since the load on the motor 1 is lightened, no torque is required, and an ultra-thin motor such as a sheet coil motor can be used, and the thickness of the entire instrument panel can be reduced.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the cross coil is eliminated from the instrument panel and the ultra-thin motor can be used, the instrument panel can be made thin. Also, by adjusting the turn-on time of the lighting pulse, the width of the pointer can be widened according to the user's preference,
It is possible to make it thinner, and it is also possible to display it in zones.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part configuration of an example in which a slit is formed in a light-shielding disc as a pointer in a second embodiment of the present invention.

4 (a), (b) and (c) are the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
It is a figure which shows the display mode of the Example which changed the width of the lighting pulse.

5 (a) to 5 (d) are timing charts of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a device for synchronizing a motor rotation speed and a lighting device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an apparatus for detecting the rotation speed of a motor.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention displaying two or more measured quantities.

9 (a) to 9 (c) are timing charts of the embodiment shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Motor 2 Rotating Axis 3 Pointer 4 Dial 5,5 'Trigger Device 6 Illuminator 7 Phase Circuit 8 Lighting Circuit 9 Light-Shielding Disc 9a Pointer (Slit)

Claims (4)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A rotary shaft passing through a dial, a pointer attached to the rotary shaft, a trigger device for generating a reference pulse when the pointer comes to a reference position on the dial, and a pointer. An instrument panel comprising: a phase circuit that generates a lighting pulse having a phase shifted from the reference pulse by an amount corresponding to a measurement amount to be instructed; and a lighting device that blinks in synchronization with the lighting pulse. 2. The instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein the pointer is a slit formed on a light-shielding disk attached to the rotary shaft, and an illuminating device is provided on the back surface of the slit. 3. The instrument panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a time when the lighting pulse is turned on can be changed, and the lighting device lights only while the lighting pulse is on. 4. The instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of trigger devices are provided, and the number of measured quantities corresponding to each trigger device can be displayed on one dial.