JPH10142012A - Structure of pointer of indicator for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide such a structure of pointer that a pointer is hard to be reflected on a window even when a hood is made small and is eliminated. SOLUTION: Light passing through an indication section 24a of a dial plate 24 is controlled as to be directed toward the driver only. A pointer 23 is provided with an indicating section 23a made of light-transmitting resin and a pointer cap 23e that covers the base part of the section 23a and is made of non-light-transmitting resin, and it indicates the measured quantity in cooperation with the section 24a. The instruction section 23a is covered with a light blocking material 23c which is provided with a slit 23b for exposing the light emitting surface in the lengthwise direction of the section 23a. A rib 23d with a specified height is formed on the side edge of the slit 23b along the slit 23b, and the outgoing angle of a light from light emitting surface is controlled by adjusting the width of the slit 23b and height of the rib 23d.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of an instrument pointer of a vehicle instrument device mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly, to a scale and a character display portion formed on the surface of a dial. The present invention relates to a pointer structure of a vehicle instrument device that displays a measured amount in cooperation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an instrument system for a vehicle is generally configured as shown in FIG. 6, and an instrument case 11 accommodates an instrument movement 12 which is operated according to a measured amount such as a vehicle speed and an engine speed. The pointer 13 driven by the operation of the instrument movement 12 is attached to the opening 1 of the instrument case 11.
The measurement amount is instructed in cooperation with the display unit 14a for the scales, characters, etc. of the dial 14 arranged on the reference numeral 1a.
A front cover 15 made of a transparent resin material for covering and protecting the hands 13 and the dial 14 is provided in the opening 11 a of the instrument case 11. The front cover 15 is tilted so that the surface thereof faces upward, but is generally mirror-finished, and the reflection image on the surface reflects the reflection image upward when the driver is seated in the driver's seat. So that they are not visible.

[0003] The instrument panel for a vehicle having the above-described configuration is provided with an instrument panel in front of the driver's seat so that the driver 2 seated in the driver's seat shown as an eye range can visually recognize the display via the steering wheel 3. 4. The instrument panel 4 has a hood 4a protruding in the shape of an eaves in the direction of the driver's seat at a position where the vehicle instrument device is disposed. The hood 4a has various functions.

The first is to prevent the reflected image of the driver reflected by the front cover 15 from being reflected on the surface of the windshield 5 of the vehicle and preventing the driver from seeing a window. Second, the display performed by the display unit 14a and the pointer 13 of the dial 14 is reflected on the surface of the windshield 5 of the vehicle so as to prevent reflection of a window which is visually recognized by a driver. Third, it is to prevent external light incident through the windshield 5 from being reflected on the front cover 15 and giving a dazzling feeling to the driver.

A light source 16 is accommodated in the instrument case 11 adjacent to the instrument movement 12.
The light generated by lighting is transmitted to the display unit 14a for the scales and characters printed without characters by irradiating the back surface of the dial 14 and is introduced into the hands 13 to be used for the display unit 14a and the hands 13 of the hands 13. Used to ensure visibility.

[0006]

The hood 4a having various functions as described above also forms a boundary between the display of the instrumentation for the vehicle and the foreground view through the windshield, and impairs the sense of continuity of the view. At the same time, it causes many inconveniences, such as making the space in front of the driver narrow.

Therefore, it has been considered that the amount of protrusion of the hood 4a is made as small as possible.
It is necessary to provide a means that plays the first to third roles in place of a.

The first and third roles are performed by the front cover 15.
By forming a non-reflective film on the surface of the hood, it can be performed instead of the hood 4a. The second role is also dial 1
This can be achieved by disposing a light control member for controlling the light from the display unit 14a to be directed only toward the driver on the four surfaces.

However, the pointer 13 above the dial 14
Generally has a structure as shown in FIG. 7, in which a base of an indicator 13a made of a transparent material such as an acrylic resin is covered with a pointer cap 13b made of a non-translucent resin material, and formed on this base. The connecting portion (not shown) is fixed to the upper end of the output rotation shaft of the instrument movement 12. In addition, the pointer 13 introduces light from the outside to its base, for example, guides the introduced light to its tip through the indicator 13a made of a transparent or translucent material, and in the course of this light guiding, Light is diffused by a hot-stamp-printed colored fluorescent paint layer (not shown) on the bottom surface of the indicator 13a to shine the entire indicator 13a. For this reason, with respect to the hands 13, the problem of the reflection of the window cannot be solved only by arranging the light control member on the surface of the dial 14.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a pointer structure of a vehicle instrument device in which a hood is made small or a window is hardly projected even if the hood is lost.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pointer device for a vehicle instrument device, comprising: an indicator made of a transparent resin material; A pointer cap made of a non-translucent resin material that covers the base portion, and illuminates the light-emitting surface of the indicator with light that guides the indicator, so that light transmitted through the display is directed toward the driver. In the pointer structure of the vehicle instrument device that displays the measured amount in cooperation with the display unit of the dial controlled to face only, the light shielding material having a slit that exposes the light emitting surface in the longitudinal direction of the indicating unit is used. Cover the indicator,
And a rib of a predetermined height is formed along the slit on the side edge of the slit, and the emission angle of light from the light emitting surface is controlled by the width of the slit and the height of the rib. I have.

In the structure of the first aspect, the light emitting surface of the pointer indicating portion is covered with a light shielding material and only the slit portion is exposed in the longitudinal direction of the indicating portion, so that the light guided through the indicating portion is emitted from the light emitting surface. In the light emitting surface, the light exiting from the slit on the light emitting surface has an exit angle that is determined by the width of the slit and the width of the rib. Can be controlled by height.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a state where a vehicle instrument device to which the present invention is preferably applied is incorporated in a vehicle. In FIG. 1, parts that are the same as those in the related art described above with reference to FIG. And a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the instrument system for a vehicle shown in FIG. 1, the hood 4a formed in the conventional apparatus described above with reference to FIG. 6 by projecting from the instrument panel 4 in the direction of the driver's seat is omitted. In connection with the omission of the hood, a front cover 25 made of a transparent resin material provided for covering and protecting the hands 23 and the dial 24 at the opening 11a of the instrument case 11 has an anti-reflection coating on its inner and outer surfaces. And is provided so as to be substantially parallel to the dial 24 perpendicular to the line of sight of the driver 2 without being tilted so that the surface faces upward. Then, the front cover 25 is attached to the instrument panel 4.
In the opening 4b, only the front portion substantially parallel to the dial 24 is exposed, and the other side portion is covered by the instrument panel 4 so as not to be seen from the outside.

The front cover 25 has a structure in which an anti-reflection coating is applied to its inner and outer surfaces. As a result, the driver sitting in the driver's seat does not visually recognize his own reflected image on the front glass. In addition, since the reflected image of the driver on the front cover 5 is eliminated, the reflected image is reflected on the surface of the windshield 5 of the vehicle, and the reflection of the window that is visually recognized by the driver can be prevented. In addition, it is possible to prevent external light that has entered through the windshield 5 from being reflected by the front cover 25 and giving a dazzling feeling to the driver.

The dial 24 is connected to the opening 11 of the instrument case 11.
a, for example, as shown in FIG.
And a display section 24a for displaying scales and characters of the fuel gauge 24B. The dial 24 also has a scale on the surface of the translucent substrate,
Except for the portion corresponding to the display portion 24a such as characters, the display portion is formed by applying a dark color non-translucent printing layer such as black, and the display portion 2 has the display portion 2 on its surface.
A louver-shaped member (not shown) that regulates the light beam angle of the light from the light source 16 that transmits the light 4a is provided. As a result, the light transmitted through the display unit 24a is controlled so as to be directed only toward the driver, and the display unit 24a of the dial 24 is reflected on the surface of the windshield 5 of the vehicle to be visually recognized by the driver. Reflection can be prevented.

As shown in the enlarged perspective view of FIG. 3, the pointer 23 has a structure in which a pointing portion 23a is covered with a light shielding material 23c made of a non-translucent material having a slit 23b. The indicating portion 23a is formed by molding a transparent synthetic resin material such as an acrylic resin so as to guide the light from the light source 16 received at its base.
The light-shielding material 23c that covers the pointing portion 23a
b is provided on the light emitting surface of the indicator 23a facing the driver, whereby the indicator 23a
The center of the light emitting surface is exposed along its longitudinal direction. On both side edges of the slit 23b, ribs 23d having a predetermined height for regulating the light ray angle of the light from the light emitting surface are provided.
3b. Note that a pointer 23 is provided on the surface opposite to the light emitting surface, that is, on the bottom surface of the indicator 23a.
A colored layer (not shown) such as white, orange, or green, which determines the display color, is provided by a hot stamp or the like. The light-shielding member 23c has a dark color, such as black, on the surface for the reason described later.

In the illustrated embodiment, the light shielding member 23c is a rib 23
d is an integrally molded member, which is mounted on the outside of the separately formed indicator 23a.
A similar structure can be obtained by applying a light-shielding printing layer to, for example, a hot stamp on three surfaces excluding the light emitting surface of 3a, and attaching an L-shaped member to the light emitting surface. Alternatively, the light-shielding member 23c is formed integrally with the pointer cap 23e, which is generally formed of a black resin material, except for a portion corresponding to the bottom surface of the indicator 23a.
The pointer cap 23e may be attached to the base of the indicator 23a at the same time as the pointer cap 23e is attached.

In this case, a dark non-light-transmitting light-shielding layer may be formed so as to overlap the colored layer for determining the indicator display color provided on the bottom of the indicator 23a. When made of a translucent material, this bottom may be a shade that is not directly visible to the driver, and it may not be necessary to provide a light blocking material.

As described above, the slit 23c exposes the center of the light emitting surface of the indicator 23a along the longitudinal direction,
Since ribs 23d having a predetermined height are formed on both sides of the slit 23b, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, the ray angle θ of the light from the light emitting surface is equal to the width d of the slit 23b. It is regulated depending on the height h of the rib 23d, and when the indicator 23a is viewed from outside the range of the ray angle θ,
Only the light shielding member 23c is visible, and the light emitting surface of the indicator 23a cannot be seen through the slit 23b.

As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the instrument 2 for the vehicle disposed on the instrument panel 4 of the vehicle has no hood, so that the driver 2 holds the surface of the windshield 5 as indicated by the optical paths L1 to L4. The resulting reflection allows the user to visually recognize the dial 24 surface and the pointer 23 in the range below the broken lines X and X in FIG.

However, the display portion 24a of the dial 24 has a louver-like member (not shown) disposed on the surface of the dial 24, which regulates the angle of light rays. The optical paths L1
Since it does not enter the range of L4, it is not visually recognized.

The pointer 23 also has an indicator 2
Since the portion 3a is covered by the light shielding material 23c except for the slit 23b, and the light from the light emitting surface is restricted within the range of the ray angle θ by the rib 23d, the pointer 23 is slightly rotated from the horizontal position. When it is in the range below the broken lines X, X, the slit 23b
The light emitted through does not enter the range of the optical paths L1 to L4, and is not visually recognized by the driver. At this time, the pointer 23 itself is in the visible range of the reflected image, but the light-shielding member 23c and the pointer cap 23e other than the exposed portion of the light emitting surface in the slit 23b are positioned behind the dial 24.
And a dark color, so that the reflected image is difficult to be visually recognized by the driver.

As a result, even if there is no hood, it is possible to prevent the dial 24 and the pointer 23 from being reflected on the surface of the windshield 5 of the vehicle and from being seen by the driver.

In the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 3, the pointing portion 23a has a rectangular cross section.
The present invention can be equally applied to a pointer having an indicator having an arbitrary cross-sectional shape such as a circle as shown in FIG. 5 as long as it has a rib for restricting the light emission direction within the ray angle Z. .

In the above embodiment, the front cover 2
Although no particular mention is made of the material of No. 5 or the point of time when the light source 16 is turned on, these can have two configurations.

One is a case where the light source 16 is turned on only when the surroundings are dark, such as at night, and at other times, the display portion 24a and the hands of the dial 24 are visually recognized by external light. In this case, the front cover 25 is preferably formed of a transparent acrylic resin material.

The other is a so-called black face type display in which nothing is seen through the front cover 25 when the light source 16 is not turned on.
In this case, irrespective of the surrounding brightness, when the display is required, the light source 16 is always turned on to illuminate the display portion 24a of the dial 24 and the indicating portion 23a of the pointer 23, and the front cover 25 is darkened. It is necessary to be formed of a light-transmitting resin material so that the display portion 24a of the shining dial 24 and the indication portion 23a of the pointer 23 cannot be visually recognized. In the latter display format, the pointer 23 is preferable for display since the portion other than the brilliant slit 23b is not visually recognized.

Further, in the above embodiment, the pointer 23
Although the color of the light-shielding material 23c that covers the indicating portion 23a is dark, it is not always necessary to use the dark color in relation to the color of the windshield and the like. There is a possibility that window reflection can be prevented. In short, if the shining slit portion is not reflected in the window, the other portions can be dealt with in any way by the color scheme.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the light emitting surface of the pointer indicating portion is covered with the light shielding material, and only the slit portion is exposed in the longitudinal direction of the indicating portion. The emitted light is emitted only from the slit on the light emitting surface and becomes bright, and a rib of a predetermined height is formed along the slit at the side edge of the slit, and the emission angle of the light emitted from the slit on the light emitting surface Can be controlled by the width of the slit and the height of the ribs, so even if the hood becomes smaller or disappears and the reflected image of the hands by the windshield becomes visible to the driver, The range of the light beam angle of the light emitted from the light-emitting surface is determined by the width of the slit so that the light reflected by the windshield does not reach the driver's eyes. By setting the height of the rib, it prevents the reflected image of the slit to be bright is actually viewed by the driver, so the window being viewed as guidelines is prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a state where a vehicle instrument device to which a pointer structure according to the present invention is applied is assembled to a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view showing a part of the front of the vehicle instrument device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a part of a pointer and a dial in FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a cross-section of the pointer of FIG. 3 in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the shape of the cross section of the pointer indicating unit.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a conventional general vehicle instrument device.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a pointer used in the instrument device of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 23 pointer 23a indicator 23b slit 23c light shielding material 23d rib 23e pointer cap 24 dial 24a display

Claims (1)

[Claims] An indicator 23a made of a translucent resin material.
And a pointer cap 23e made of a non-translucent resin material for covering the base of the indicator. The light guiding the indicator causes the light emitting surface of the indicator to shine, and the display 24
In the pointer structure of the vehicle instrument device for displaying the measured amount in cooperation with the display unit of the dial 24 controlled so that the light passing through a is directed only to the driver, The indicator is covered with a light-shielding member 23c having a slit 23b exposed in the longitudinal direction, and a rib 23d having a predetermined height is formed along a slit on a side edge of the slit, and the width of the slit and the height of the rib are formed. A pointer structure for a vehicle instrument device, wherein an emission angle of light from a light emitting surface is controlled by the angle.