JPH10207408A - Light transmission unit and display device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a light transmission unit high in luminance and capable of performing illumination uniformly even in the daytime by applying a light diffusing treatment to the reflection surface for light propagation of a light transmission plate for ring illumination. SOLUTION: A light transmission plate for ring illumination 9A has a light guide 15 forming the circular-arcuate shape of a flat viewing. Then, the plate has incident planes 16 on which a light for ring illumination from full color LEDs is made incident, a reflection surface for light emission 17 emitting the light for ring illumination made incident from the incident planes 16 and a reflection surface for light propagation 18 reflecting and propagating the light for ring illumination made incident from the incident planes 16. A light diffusing part is provided on the reflection surface for light propagation 18 of the plate 9A by applying white painting or hot stamping for light diffusion so that a diffusion area becomes smaller gradually and also the separation gap between walls of the part each other becomes smaller from the incident planes 16 toward the inside of the light fuide 15. As a result, a roughly uniform light for ring illumination is transmitted from the full color LEDs to the reflection surface for light emission 17 regardless of ring positions.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light guide unit and a vehicle display device, and more particularly to a light guide unit and a vehicle display device used for a black face type vehicle combination meter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional vehicle combination meter. The vehicle combination meter 100 is roughly classified into a casing 102 provided with a night illumination light source (bulb bulb) 101 for performing illumination at night, an instrument group 103 for displaying a running state of the vehicle, and the like. In order to perform ring illumination of the movement assemblies 110 to 113 constituting the group 103, the illumination is emitted from the night illumination light source 101 and a return unit 105 described later.
The ring light guide plate 104 for illuminating the instrument group 103 around each dial with the illumination light reflected by the illuminator, and a part other than the display part of the instrument group 103 and the like are shielded from the user. And a front glass unit 106 for protecting the instrument group 103 and preventing dust and the like from entering the vehicle combination meter 100.

[0003] The instrument group 103 includes a speedometer unit for displaying the speed of the vehicle, a tachometer unit for displaying the number of revolutions of the engine, a fuel gauge unit for displaying the remaining amount of fuel, and cooling of the engine. And a temperature gauge unit that displays the temperature of water.The speedometer unit, tachometer unit, fuel gauge unit, and temperature gauge unit integrate a pointer, a cross-coil movement, and a dial as described below. Thus, the movement assemblies 110 to 113 are respectively constituted.

[0004] Here, movement assemblies 110-1
13 has the same configuration, the movement assembly 110 including the speedometer unit will be described as an example. FIG. 17 is a partial cross-sectional view in the assembled state near the movement assembly 110 including the speedometer unit.

[0005] A movement assembly 110 including a speedometer unit is provided with a cross-coil type movement 120 having a cross coil for driving a pointer 123 attached to a rotating shaft 120A, through which a current corresponding to the speed of the vehicle is supplied, Dial light guide plate 12 for guiding illumination light LL ′ emitted from illumination light source 101 to the dial.
1 and a dial 122 formed integrally with the dial light guide plate 121 and having characters printed or cut out in advance.

Next, the general operation will be described. A movement assembly 110 including a speedometer unit displays the speed of the vehicle based on an output signal of a vehicle speed sensor (not shown). The movement assembly 111 including the tachometer unit displays the number of revolutions of the engine based on the output signal of a not-shown number of revolutions sensor. The movement assembly 112 including the fuel gauge unit displays the remaining amount of fuel based on an output signal of a fuel sensor (not shown). The movement assembly 113 of the temperature gauge unit displays the temperature of the cooling water of the engine based on the output signal of a temperature sensor (not shown).

At the same time, a light source 101 for night illumination is used.
As shown in FIG. 17, the illumination light LL ′ emitted from the night illumination light source 101 enters the dial light guide plate 121 constituting the movement assemblies 110 to 113, as shown in FIG. The character shines through the character print portion 122 or the cutout portion of the character.

Further, the illumination light LL 'emitted from the night illumination light source 101 is reflected by the facing unit 105, enters the ring illumination light guide plate 104, is emitted in a ring shape, and surrounds the dial 122 around the dial 122. To illuminate. More specifically, in the cross-coil type movement 120 corresponding to the speedometer unit, a current corresponding to the speed of the vehicle is passed through the cross coil, and the pointer 123 attached to the rotating shaft 120A is driven to display the speed. Will do.

In parallel with this, when the power of the night illumination light source 101 is supplied, the illumination light LL ′ emitted from the night illumination light source 101 is incident on the dial light guide plate 121 and becomes the dial 122. And the character display portion becomes brilliant. Further, the illumination light LL 'emitted from the night illumination light source 101 is reflected by the look-back unit 105, enters the ring illumination light guide plate 104, is emitted in a ring shape, and includes a movement assembly 1 including a speedometer unit.
The periphery of the ten dials 122 is illuminated in a ring shape.

[0010]

In the above-described conventional vehicle combination meter, when ring illumination is performed, reflected light is used, so that there is a problem that luminance is low and unevenness occurs.

In addition, since a light source for night illumination is used as a light source for ring illumination, there is a problem that ring illumination cannot be performed in daytime. Further, since the light source is also used as a night light source, the color of the dial plate cannot be made different from the color of the dial plate light, and there is no room for selecting a color variation.

Furthermore, there is a problem that the user can see the inside of the movement assembly on the back side of the facing unit via the light guide plate for ring illumination. In addition to these technical problems, there is also a problem that the texture of the ring illumination is low in design.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, a first object of the present invention to provide a light guide unit and a display device for a vehicle, which are capable of performing high-brightness, uniform illumination, and ring illumination capable of performing illumination even during daytime. A second object of the present invention is to provide a light guide unit and a vehicle display device capable of expanding a selection range of color variations of ring illumination.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a light guide unit and a vehicle display device in which the inside of the movement assembly is invisible to the user.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light guide unit provided in a display device for a vehicle for illuminating a periphery of a display section of an indicating instrument with a ring. The light guide path of the light guide unit has an annular shape in plan view or an arcuate shape in plan view, and a light-propagating reflection surface constituting a part of the light guide path is provided through an incident surface from an external light source. And a light diffusion process for diffusing the incident illumination light.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the area around the display unit of the indicating instrument is ring-illuminated, the light incident from an external light source is applied by light diffusion processing performed on the light propagation reflecting surface of the light guide path. The working light is emitted while being propagated while being diffused,
The periphery of the display unit of the indicating instrument is ring-illuminated by annular or arcuate illumination light.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the light diffusion processing is performed at a predetermined interval.
It is configured such that reflecting portions for reflecting the illumination light and diffusion portions for diffusing the illumination light are alternately formed. Claim 2
According to the invention described in claim 1, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the light diffusion processing includes, at a predetermined interval, a reflection unit that reflects illumination light and a diffusion unit that diffuses illumination light. Because they are formed alternately, the illumination light propagates through the light guide path,
Reflection and diffusion are repeated, and the light is emitted in a uniform state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the light diffusion processing includes: a reflecting section for reflecting the illumination light on the light-propagating reflection surface; and a diffusion section for diffusing the illumination light. And an area of the reflecting section is reduced and an area of the diffusing section is increased in accordance with the distance from the light source.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the light diffusion process diffuses the illumination light by reflecting the illumination light on the reflection surface for light propagation. Since the area of the reflection part is reduced and the area of the diffusion part is increased in accordance with the distance from the light source,
As the distance from the light source increases, the area of the diffuser increases, the component of the diffused light increases, and the illumination light is emitted almost uniformly even at different distances from the light source.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, in the light diffusion process, a dot-shaped diffusion portion for diffusing the illumination light is uniformly formed on the light-propagating reflection surface. The configuration is as follows. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the light diffusion process uniformly forms a dot-shaped diffusion portion for diffusing the illumination light on the light-propagating reflection surface. Therefore, the illumination light repeats reflection and diffusion when propagating in the light guide path, and is emitted in a uniform state.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light guide unit provided in a display device for a vehicle for illuminating a ring around a display unit of an indicating instrument, wherein the light guide path of the light guide unit is one or more. It has a plurality of incident surfaces, has an annular shape in a plan view, and the light-emitting reflecting surface that constitutes a part of the light guide path,
It is configured to perform a light reflection process for reflecting illumination light incident from an external light source via an incident surface.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the light emitting reflecting surface which forms a part of the light guide path reflects the light from the external light source via the incident surface. The illumination light is reflected, the annular illumination light is emitted, and the periphery of the display unit of the indicating instrument is ring-illuminated.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the light reflection process is a white paint process or a hot stamping process. According to the invention of claim 6, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 5, since the light reflection processing is a white painting processing or a hot stamping processing, it is possible to reflect illumination light with high efficiency. .

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light guide unit provided in a display device for a vehicle for illuminating a ring around a display section of an indicating instrument, wherein an annular emission section from which illumination light is emitted. And the illumination light is respectively incident from n (n: an integer of 2 or more) external light sources via the corresponding incident surfaces, and is projected onto a plane perpendicular to the reference emission direction of the illumination light. And n incident surfaces whose angles are arranged approximately every 360 / n [゜].

According to the present invention, the projection angles of the n external light sources onto a plane perpendicular to the reference emission direction of the illumination light are arranged at approximately 360 / n [゜]. Illumination light respectively incident on the incident surfaces of the optical instruments propagates in the light guide path, is emitted from the annular emitting section, and illuminates the periphery of the display section of the indicating instrument with a ring.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is a light guide unit provided in a display device for a vehicle for ring-illuminating a periphery of a display unit of an indicating instrument, wherein an illumination light is incident from an external light source. Having a light guide member main body having an annular shape in plan view or an arc shape in plan view, the light guide member main body having an emission surface formed to form a predetermined angle with respect to a predetermined reference light emission direction, A reflection surface that is substantially orthogonal to the reference emission direction, and that has been subjected to a reflection process for reflecting the illumination light reflected by the emission surface and emitting the illumination light from the emission surface.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the reflection surface of the light guide member main body reflects the illumination light reflected by the exit surface and guides the illumination light to the exit surface again. As a result, the illumination light is emitted from the exit surface as an annular or arc-shaped ring illumination light, and the blurring of the ring illumination light is reduced, thereby reducing the possibility of the user viewing the inside of the vehicle display device. can do.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the eighth aspect, the reflection processing is a white paint processing or a hot stamping processing. Claim 9
According to the invention described above, in addition to the operation of the invention described in claim 8, since the reflection processing is a white paint processing or a hot stamping processing, it is possible to reflect illumination light with high efficiency.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the illumination light is diffused between the incident surface and the external light source. A light diffusing member to be incident on the incident surface later is provided. According to the invention described in claim 10, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 9, the light diffusing member enters the incident surface after diffusing the illumination light, More uniform illumination light can be incident, and uniform ring illumination can be performed.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light guide unit according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, a payback unit combined with the light guide unit to form an assembly, A plurality of the light sources provided corresponding to the light guide unit, the indicating instrument having a pointer and performing various displays, and a dial unit constituting the display unit.

According to the eleventh aspect, the look-back unit and the plurality of light sources are combined with the light guide unit according to any one of the first to tenth aspects to form an assembly. The illumination light emitted from each light source is incident on the light guide unit, is emitted as ring-shaped or arc-shaped ring illumination light, and ring-illuminates the display unit including the pointer of the indicating instrument and the dial unit. .

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect, the light source is a full-color LED. According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the function of the eleventh aspect, the light source is a full-color L
Since it is ED, ring illumination of any color can be performed.

[0033]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. First Embodiment FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle combination meter according to a first embodiment.

The vehicle combination meter 1 is roughly divided into a casing 3 provided with a dial illumination light source 2.
An instrument group 4 for displaying the running state of the vehicle, etc .; a dial light guide plate 5 for guiding the dial illumination light CL from the dial illumination light source 2 to a dial described later; Dial 6 for performing the movement, a pointer 7 constituting the instrument group 4 integrally with the movement 4A, and a side light for ring illumination of a predetermined area (display unit) on the dial 6 corresponding to each movement 4A. Ring illumination light L emitted from a full color LED 8 which is a ring illumination light source in an edge light system
L (see FIG. 6), ring light guide plates 9 </ b> A and 9 </ b> B having a ring shape, and a facing unit 10 for shielding a part other than a display part such as the meter group 4 from a user.
And a front glass unit 11 for protecting the instrument group 4 and preventing dust and the like from entering the vehicle combination meter 1. In this case, the ring light guide plates 9A and 9B function as light guide units.

Each movement 4A constituting the instrument group 4
Has a speedometer for displaying the speed of the vehicle, a tachometer for displaying the engine speed, a fuel gauge for displaying the remaining fuel, and a temperature gauge unit for displaying the temperature of the engine cooling water. Configure.

Here, the full-color LED 8 is a red LED
LE that can drive ED, green LED and blue LED in one package and drive each LED independently
D unit. The full-color LED 8, the ring illumination light guide plates 9A and 9B, and the facing unit 10 are integrally combined to form an assembly. As a result, it is not necessary or easy to connect and connect the rear surface of the casing 3 to a wiring board (not shown), so that the assembling operation can be facilitated and simplified.

FIG. 2 shows (a) a plan view, (b) front view, and (c) side view of the light guide plate 9A for ring illumination. As shown in FIG. 2A, the ring light guide plate 9A has a light guide path 15 having an arc shape in plan view, and is a full-color LED.
Incident surface 16 on which the ring illumination light LL from FIG.
A light-emitting reflecting surface 17 (see FIG. 2B) for emitting the ring illumination light LL incident from the incident surface 16 and the ring illumination light LL incident from the incident surface 16 for propagation. And a reflecting surface 18 for light propagation.

The material of the light guide plate 9A for ring illumination is as follows.
Transparent acrylic resin is used.
Light reflection processing such as white painting or hot stamping is performed to improve the reflectance. By the way, when the ring illumination light LL is repeatedly reflected and propagated in the ring illumination light guide path, the light may be attenuated by interfering with each other, and the distance from the ring illumination light source may be increased. In the position, there is a possibility that the brightness is reduced.

Further, depending on the shapes of the reflection surface for light propagation and the reflection surface for light emission, the light for ring illumination is partially condensed, and the luminance difference (light / dark difference) depends on the position on the ring (light emission position). May occur. In view of this, in the first embodiment, the luminance is made uniform irrespective of the position on the ring by performing light diffusion processing on the reflection surface for light propagation of the light guide plate for ring illumination.

More specifically, as shown in the enlarged plan view of FIG. 3, the light diffusion reflecting surface 18 of the ring illumination light guide plate 9A is gradually diffused from the incident surface 16 toward the inside of the light guide path 15. Light-diffusing white paint or hot stamping is applied so that the area becomes smaller and the distance between them gradually decreases, and the light-diffusing portions 29-1, 29-2,...
Is provided.

As a result, substantially uniform ring illumination light LL is transmitted from the full-color LED 8 to the light exiting reflection surface 17 regardless of the ring position, and it is possible to reduce luminance unevenness. FIG. 4 shows (a) a plan view, (b) front view, and (c) side view of the ring illumination light guide plate 9B.

As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the ring illumination light guide plate 9B has a light guide path 20 having an arc shape in plan view, and the incident light from which the ring illumination light LL from the full-color LED 8 is incident. A surface 21 and a light-emitting reflecting surface 22 (FIG. 4) for emitting the ring illumination light LL incident from the incident surface 21.
(Refer to (b)), and a light-propagating reflective surface 23 that reflects and propagates the ring illumination light LL incident from the incident surface 21.

As a material of the light guide plate 9B for ring illumination,
A transparent acrylic resin is used, and the reflection surface for emission 22 includes
Light reflection processing such as white painting or hot stamping is performed to improve the reflectance. FIG. 5 shows a partially enlarged front view of the combination meter 1 for a vehicle in the state where the light guide plates 9A and 9B for ring illumination are mounted on the dial 6.

The ring illumination light guide plate 9A is fixed on the dial 6 so as to perform ring illumination around a tachometer display section 6A formed on the dial 6. Further, the ring illumination light guide plate 6B is fixed on the dial 6 so as to perform ring illumination around the display unit 6B for the temperature gauge formed on the dial 6.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, light guide plate 9 for ring illumination
The operation of A and 9B will be described. In this case, since the operating principle of the ring illumination light guide plate 9A and the ring illumination light guide plate 9B are the same, only the operation of the ring illumination light guide plate 9A will be described. The red, green, and blue light emitted from each of the red, green, and blue LEDs constituting the full-color LED 8 is mixed and emitted from the full-color LED 8 as ring illumination light LL.

The ring illumination light LL emitted from the full-color LED enters the light guide path 15 from the incident surface 16 of the ring illumination light guide plate 9A directly or reflected by the reflector 8A (see FIG. 6). Then, the light is reflected by the light-propagating reflection surface 18 and propagates in the light guide path 15, and a part of the light is reflected by the light reflection processing of the emission reflection surface 17 with high efficiency. Side).

As a result, if ring illumination is performed in the state shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 7, the area AR9A emits light by the ring illumination light guide plate 6A, and the area AR9B is emitted by the ring illumination light guide plate 6B. Will emit light. In this case, as shown in FIG.
Is equipped with a reflector 8A, which prevents ring illumination light from leaking in unnecessary directions.
High-brightness ring illumination can be performed by effectively utilizing the light quantity.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the light source for ring illumination is provided separately from the light source for dial illumination, and the light propagation distance is set short.
Because it is configured using high-brightness full-color LEDs,
Ring illumination with high brightness and no unevenness can be performed. As a result, the ring illumination can be applied to a blackface type vehicle combination meter.

Also, since high-luminance ring illumination can be performed,
The user can recognize the ring illumination even in the daytime. Also, a red LED that constitutes a full-color LED,
A ring illumination of an arbitrary color can be performed by individually controlling turning on / off and controlling the light amount of the green LED and the blue LED.

In the above description, a full-color LED is used as the light source for ring illumination, but it is also possible to use an ordinary bulb light bulb. In this case, the emission color can be arbitrarily set using a filter. (1) First Modification of First Embodiment In the description of the first embodiment, the light guide path 1 from the incident surface 16 to the light propagation reflection surface 18 of the ring illumination light guide plate 9A.
5, the light diffusion process is performed such that the diffusion area gradually decreases and the distance between them gradually decreases. However, in the first modification, a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. As shown in (1), a light-diffusing portion 36 is formed on the light-propagating reflection surface 35 of the ring illumination light guide plate 34, which is provided with white paint or hot stamping for light diffusion, which is disposed at equal widths and at equal intervals.

As a result, similarly, the light emitting reflecting surface 37
In this case, substantially uniform ring illumination light LL is transmitted irrespective of the ring position, and luminance unevenness can be reduced. (2) Second Modification of First Embodiment In the second modification , as shown in the partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. 9, the distance LEN from the incident surface 41 of the light guide plate 40 for ring illumination corresponds to the distance LEN. The reflecting portion 4 which has not been subjected to light diffusion processing (white coating or hot stamping).
The same effect as in the third embodiment can be obtained by reducing the area of 2 and increasing the area of the diffusion section 43, which is the part where the light diffusion processing is performed.

(3) Third Modification of First Embodiment In the third modification , as shown in the partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. 10, the light-propagating reflection surface 4 of the ring illumination light guide plate 45.
By forming the light diffusing portion 47 in which the light diffusing process (white painting or hot stamping) is performed in a uniform dot shape on 6, the same effect as in the third embodiment can be obtained. Second Embodiment In the first embodiment described above, the full-color LED, which is a light source for ring illumination, is directly opposed to the incident surface of the light guide plate for ring illumination. As shown in FIG. 11 as an example, a diffuser film (diffusion film) 22 for diffusing light in an optical path between the full-color LED 20 and the incident surface of the light guide plate 21 for ring illumination is provided.

As a result, a plurality of LEs of a full-color LED
By mixing the light from D more evenly, ring illumination with less color unevenness can be performed. Further, even when a normal bulb bulb is used, it can be regarded as a more uniform surface light source, and ring illumination with less luminance unevenness can be performed. Third Embodiment FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a ring illumination light guide plate according to a third embodiment in an attached state.

The ring illumination light guide plate 50 has a light guide path 51 having an arc shape in plan view, and an incident surface (not shown) through which ring illumination light LL from a full color LED (not shown) is incident, and this incident surface. A light-emitting reflection / transmission surface 52 that emits the ring illumination light LL incident from a light source; a light propagation reflection surface 53 that reflects and propagates the ring illumination light LL incident from the incident surface; An emission reflecting surface 54 that reflects the ring illumination light LL propagated by the surface 54 and reflected by the light emitting reflection / transmission surface 52 to the light emission reflection / transmission surface 52 again.

As a material of the light guide plate 50 for ring illumination,
A transparent acrylic resin is used.
Light reflection processing such as white painting or hot stamping is performed to improve the reflectance. As shown in FIG. 12, the ring illumination light guide plate 50 is fixed on a dial 55, and a facing unit 56 is attached to the opposite surface.

Next, the operation of the light guide plate for ring illumination will be described. Red LE constituting the full-color LED 8 not shown
D, the red light, the green light and the blue light emitted from each of the green LED and the blue LED are mixed and emitted from the full color LED as the ring illumination light LL,
Alternatively, the light is reflected by a reflector (not shown) and enters the light guide path 51 from the incident surface of the light guide plate 50 for ring illumination.

The ring illumination light LL is reflected by the light propagation reflection surface 53 and propagates in the light guide path 51, and a part of the ring illumination light LL is reflected by the emission reflection transmission surface 52, and is reflected by the emission reflection surface 52. Guided to surface 54. Emission reflective surface 5
4 guides the ring illumination light LL guided by the emission reflection / transmission surface 52 to the emission reflection / transmission surface 52 side again with high efficiency by light reflection processing.

As a result, the ring illumination light LL is emitted to the user side (front glass unit side), and a predetermined area emits light with high luminance. As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the ring illumination light LL propagated in the light guide path 51 is reflected in the order of the emission reflection / transmission surface → the emission reflection surface → the emission reflection / transmission surface. Since the light is emitted, the blurring of the ring illumination due to the difference in the viewing angle of the user is reduced, and the occurrence of a state in which the internal structure is visible (medium) is reduced.

Further, since the light source for the ring illumination is provided separately from the light source for the dial illumination, the light propagation distance is set short, and a high-luminance full-color LED is used. Thus, ring illumination without unevenness can be performed. As a result, the ring illumination can be applied to a blackface type vehicle combination meter.

Furthermore, since high-luminance ring illumination can be performed, the user can recognize the ring illumination even in the daytime. Furthermore, ring illumination of an arbitrary color can be performed by individually controlling on / off and controlling the light amount of the red, green, and blue LEDs constituting the full-color LED.

In the above description, a full-color LED is used as the light source for ring illumination, but it is also possible to use an ordinary bulb light bulb. In this case, the emission color can be arbitrarily set using a filter. Fourth Embodiment In the first to third embodiments described above, only the case where the ring illumination is performed in an arc shape has been described. However, the fifth embodiment is an embodiment in which annular ring illumination is performed. is there.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a light guide plate for ring illumination according to the fifth embodiment. The light guide plate 60 for ring illumination has a light guide path 61 that forms an annular shape in plan view, and is a full-color LED.
First incident surface 63A on which ring illumination light LL1 from 62A is incident, second incident surface 63B on which ring illumination light LL2 from full color LED 62B is incident, and first incident surface 63A or second incident surface 63B. The reflecting surface 64 for emitting the light LL1 and LL2 for ring illumination which is incident from the light source, and the light LL1 and LL2 for ring illumination which is incident from the first incident surface 63A or the second incident surface 63B are reflected and propagated. And a light propagation reflection surface 65.

As a material of the light guide plate 60 for ring illumination,
A transparent acrylic resin is used, and the reflection surface 64 for light emission is subjected to light reflection processing such as white painting or hot stamping in order to improve the reflectance. Next, FIG.
The operation of the ring illumination light guide plate 60 will be described with reference to FIG.

The red light, green light and blue light emitted from each of the red, green and blue LEDs constituting the full-color LEDs 62A and 62B are mixed, and the full-color light LL1 or the light LL2 for ring illumination is mixed. The light is emitted from the LEDs 62A and 62B.

The ring illumination lights LL1 and LL2 emitted from the full-color LEDs 62A and 62B are reflected directly or by a reflector (not shown), and the first incidence surface 63A and the second incidence surface 63B of the ring illumination light guide plate 60.
From the light guide path 61.

Then, the light is reflected by the light-propagating reflection surface 65 and propagates in the light guide path 61, and a part of the light is reflected.
The light is reflected by the light reflecting surface 64 with high efficiency by the light reflection processing, and is emitted toward the user (front glass unit side). As described above, as a result of performing ring illumination using a plurality of light sources for ring illumination, that is, a plurality of full-color LEDs, annular ring illumination with high brightness can be performed without unevenness.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, the light source for ring illumination is provided separately from the light source for dial illumination, the light propagation distance is set short, and
Because it is configured using high-brightness full-color LEDs,
An annular ring illumination with high brightness and no unevenness can be performed, and it can correspond to various forms in terms of design. As a result, the ring illumination can be applied to a blackface type vehicle combination meter.

Also, since high-luminance ring illumination can be performed,
The user can recognize the ring illumination even in the daytime. Also, a red LED that constitutes a full-color LED,
A ring illumination of an arbitrary color can be performed by individually controlling turning on / off and controlling the light amount of the green LED and the blue LED.

In the above description, a full-color LED is used as the light source for ring illumination. However, it is also possible to use a normal bulb bulb. In this case, the emission color can be arbitrarily set using a filter. Modification of Fourth Embodiment In the above description of the fourth embodiment, the case has been described in which the number of incidence surfaces of the ring illumination lights LL1 and LL2 is two. However, when ring illumination with higher luminance is desired, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
It is also possible to provide a plurality of light sources, such as full-color LEDs, in a corresponding number (n: n is an integer of 3 or more).

In this case, n (3 in FIG. 14)
) From the light sources 71A to 71C.
The ring illumination lights LL1 to LL3 are respectively incident through the corresponding incident surfaces 72A to 72C, and the plane (corresponding to the paper surface) perpendicular to the reference emission direction (perpendicular to the paper surface) of the ring illumination light LL. By arranging the incident surfaces 72A to 72C such that the projection angle of each is approximately every 360 / n [゜], uniform ring illumination without unevenness can be performed.

More specifically, in the case of FIG. 14, the projection angle of the ring illumination light LL1 to LL3 onto a plane (corresponding to the paper surface) perpendicular to the reference emission direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface) is approximately 360/3 = The incidence surfaces 72A to 72C are arranged every 120 [゜].

As a result, according to the fifth embodiment (including a modification of the fifth embodiment), it is possible to perform annular ring illumination with no seams or chips at high luminance without unevenness. Fifth Embodiment The fifth embodiment is an embodiment in the case where the shape of the ring illumination light guide plate is formed so that the user cannot peep through the inside of the vehicle display device via the ring illumination light guide plate. .

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a ring illumination light guide plate according to the fifth embodiment. The ring illumination light guide plate 80 has a rectangular cross section, and has an annular shape in plan view or an arc shape in plan view. Further, the light guide plate 80 for ring illumination
Has a light guide path 81 as a light guide member main body having a ring shape in plan view or a circular arc shape in plan view, having an incidence surface (not shown) on which illumination light LL is incident from an external light source (not shown) such as a full color LED. The optical path 81 is based on the assumption that the virtual incident light LV is incident from a predetermined reference light emitting direction (in FIG. 15, upward), and the incident angle θ1 of the virtual incident light LV is a predetermined angle equal to or larger than the critical angle θlim. And a light-guiding reflection surface 83 formed such that the incident angle θ2 of the virtual incident light LV is smaller than the critical angle θlim.

As a result, when the user visually recognizes the ring illumination light guide plate 80 from the reference emission direction, the incident angle θ2 becomes
Since the angle is less than the critical angle θlim, total reflection does not occur, and the direction D1 side transmitted through the light-guiding reflection surface 83 is visually recognized, and the direction D2 side is less visually recognized through the light-guiding reflection surface 83. .

Therefore, the occurrence of a state in which the internal structure of the vehicle display device can be seen (medium appearance) is reduced.

[0076]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the area around the display unit of the indicator is illuminated by a ring, light is incident from an external light source by light diffusion processing performed on the light propagation reflection surface of the light guide path. The illuminated light is emitted while being diffused and propagated, and the ring or the arc-shaped illuminated light illuminates the periphery of the display unit of the indicating instrument with a ring, so that the illuminated light can be more uniformly propagated. Uniform ring illumination can be performed.
Further, the light propagation distance can be set short, and ring or circular ring illumination with high luminance can be performed, so that the user can recognize the ring illumination even in the daytime.

Further, since ring illumination with high luminance can be performed, it is suitable for a black face type vehicle display device. According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the light diffusion processing includes, at a predetermined interval, a reflecting portion that reflects the illumination light and a diffusion portion that diffuses the illumination light. Since the portions are alternately formed, the illumination light repeats reflection and diffusion when propagating in the light guide path, is emitted in a uniform state, and can perform more uniform ring illumination.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the light diffusion processing includes the step of diffusing the illumination light with the reflection portion for reflecting the illumination light on the light propagation reflection surface. Since the area of the reflection part is reduced and the area of the diffusion part is increased in accordance with the distance from the light source,
As the distance from the light source increases, the area of the diffusing portion increases, the component of the diffused light increases, and even when the distance from the light source varies, the illumination light is emitted almost uniformly, and furthermore. It is possible to perform uniform ring illumination.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the function of the first aspect of the invention, the light diffusion processing is performed by uniformly forming a dot-shaped diffusion portion for diffusing the illumination light on the light propagation reflection surface. Therefore, when the illumination light propagates in the light guide path, reflection and diffusion are repeated, and the illumination light is emitted in a uniform state, so that high-luminance and uniform ring illumination can be performed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by the light reflection processing of the light emitting reflection surface forming a part of the light guide path, the light emitting reflection surface is incident from an external light source via the incident surface. The illumination light is reflected, the arc-shaped illumination light is emitted, and the area around the display unit of the indicator is ring-illuminated, so that the light propagation distance can be set short, and the high-intensity arc-shaped ring is used. Illumination can be performed, and the user can recognize ring illumination even in the daytime.

Also, since high-luminance ring illumination can be performed, it is suitable for a black-face type vehicle display device. According to the invention of claim 6, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 5, since the light reflection processing is a white painting processing or a hot stamping processing, it is possible to reflect illumination light with high efficiency. , More clear ring illumination can be performed. You.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the projection angles of the n external light sources onto a plane perpendicular to the reference emission direction of the illumination light are arranged at approximately every 360 / n [゜]. The illumination light respectively incident on the incident surface of the light propagates through the light guide path and is emitted from the annular emission part, and illuminates the periphery of the display unit of the indicating instrument with a ring. Can be performed, and the ring illumination can be reliably recognized even in the daytime.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the reflecting surface of the light guide member main body reflects the illumination light reflected by the emission surface and guides the illumination light back to the emission surface, so that the illumination light is emitted from the emission surface. The light is emitted as ring-shaped or circular arc-shaped ring illumination light, and the blurring of the ring-illumination light is reduced, and the possibility that the user can see the inside of the vehicle display device can be reduced. Ring lighting with excellent design can be performed.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the function of the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the reflection process is a white coating process or a hot stamping process, it is possible to reflect illumination light with high efficiency. Therefore, high-luminance ring illumination can be easily obtained. According to the invention described in claim 10,
In addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the light diffusion member diffuses illumination light and then enters the incident surface, so that more uniform illumination light is incident. Since ring illumination can be performed uniformly, ring illumination with high luminance and excellent design can be performed.

According to the eleventh aspect, the look-back unit and the plurality of light sources are combined with the light-guiding unit according to any one of the first to tenth aspects to form an assembly, and are emitted from each light source. The illuminating light enters the light guide unit and is emitted as an annular or arcuate ring illuminating light to ring illuminate the indicator unit and the display unit including the dial unit. A high-luminance, uniform ring illumination can be performed without impairing the display, and a highly visible and highly designable indicating instrument for a vehicle can be constructed.

According to the twelfth aspect, according to the first aspect,
In addition to the functions of the invention described in 1, the light source is a full-color LED
Therefore, ring illumination of any color can be performed, visibility can be improved, and designability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle combination meter according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a light guide plate 9A for ring illumination,
(B) is a front view and (c) is a side view.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a light diffusion process according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a (a) plan view of a ring illumination light guide plate 9B;
(B) is a front view and (c) is a side view.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged front view of the vehicle combination meter in a state in which the light guide plates for ring illumination 9A and 9B are mounted on the dial, in the middle of assembly.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an operation state of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a ring illumination state.

FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a first modified example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a second modified example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a third modified example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a light guide plate for ring illumination according to a third embodiment is mounted.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a ring illumination light guide plate according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a modification of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional vehicle combination meter.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional movement assembly.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Combination meter for vehicles 2 Light source for dial illumination 3 Casing 4 Instrument group 5 Light guide plate for dial 6 Dial 7 Guide 8 Full color LED 9A, 9B Light guide plate for ring illumination 10 Look-up unit 11 Front glass unit 20 Full color LED 21 Ring Light guide plate for illumination 22 Diffuser film (diffusion film) 29-1 to 29-4 Light diffusion unit 30 Reflection surface for light emission 31 Full color LED 34 Light guide plate for ring illumination 35 Reflection surface for light propagation 3 36 Light diffusion unit 37 Light emission Reflection surface 40 Ring illumination light guide plate 41 Incident surface LEN distance 42 Reflector 43 Diffusion unit 45 Ring illumination light guide plate 46 Light propagation reflection surface 47 Light diffusion unit 50 Ring illumination light guide plate 51 Light guide path 52 Light emission reflection Transmission surface 53 Reflection surface for light propagation 54 Reflection surface for light propagation 55 Dial 56 Look back Knit 60 Light guide plate for ring illumination 61 Light guide path 62A, 62B Full color LED 63A First incidence surface 63B Second incidence surface 64 Reflection surface for light emission 65 Reflection surface for light propagation 70 Light guide plate for ring illumination 71A to 71C Light sources 72A to 72C Incident surface 80 Ring illumination light guide plate 81 Light guide path 82 Outgoing reflection surface 83 Light guide reflection surface CL Dial illumination light LL, LL1, LL2, LL3 Ring illumination light LV Virtual incident light θ1, θ2 Incident angle θlim Critical Corner

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A light guide unit provided on a display device for a vehicle for illuminating a periphery of a display unit of an indicating instrument with a ring, wherein a light guide path of the light guide unit is annular in plan view or circular arc in plan view. The light-reflecting surface, which forms a part of the light guide path, has been subjected to a light diffusion process for diffusing illumination light incident from an external light source via an incident surface. A light guide unit characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The light guide unit according to claim 1, wherein, in the light diffusion processing, a reflection unit that reflects the illumination light and a diffusion unit that diffuses the illumination light are alternately arranged at a predetermined interval. A light guide unit, wherein the light guide unit is formed. 3. The light guide unit according to claim 1, wherein, in the light diffusion processing, a reflection portion that reflects the illumination light and a diffusion portion that diffuses the illumination light are formed on the light propagation reflection surface. A light guide unit configured to reduce an area of the reflection portion and increase an area of the diffusion portion in accordance with a distance from the light source. 4. The light guide unit according to claim 1, wherein in the light diffusion processing, a dot-shaped diffusion portion for diffusing the illumination light is uniformly formed on the light propagation reflection surface. Light guide unit. 5. A light guide unit provided in a display device for a vehicle for ring-illuminating a periphery of a display unit of an indicating instrument, wherein a light guide path of the light guide unit includes one or a plurality of incident surfaces. A light reflection process for reflecting illumination light incident from an external light source via an incident surface on a light exiting reflection surface having an annular shape in plan view and constituting a part of the light guide path; A light guide unit characterized by applying. 6. The light guide unit according to claim 5, wherein the light reflection process is a white paint process or a hot stamping process. 7. A light guide unit provided on a display device for a vehicle for ring-illuminating a periphery of a display unit of an indicating instrument, wherein the ring-shaped emission unit emits illumination light, and n (n) : An integer greater than or equal to 2) from the external light source through the corresponding incident surfaces, respectively, and the projection angle of the illumination light onto a plane perpendicular to the reference emission direction is approximately 360 / n. [゜] A light guide unit, comprising: n number of incident surfaces arranged for each. 8. A light guide unit provided in a display device for a vehicle for ring-illuminating a periphery of a display unit of an indicating instrument, the light guide unit having an incident surface on which illumination light from an external light source is incident, and a flat surface. A light guide member main body having an annular shape or a circular arc shape in plan view, wherein the light guide member main body is formed with an emission surface formed at a predetermined angle with respect to a predetermined reference light emission direction, and with respect to the reference emission direction. And a reflecting surface that is substantially orthogonal and that has been subjected to a reflection process for reflecting the illumination light reflected by the emission surface and emitting the light from the emission surface. 9. The light guide unit according to claim 8, wherein the reflection process is a white paint process or a hot stamping process. 10. The light guide unit according to claim 1, wherein the light incident unit is provided between the incident surface and the external light source and diffuses the illumination light. A light guide unit, comprising: a light diffusing member that is incident on the light guide member. 11. A light guide unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10, a return unit that is combined with the light guide unit to form an assembly, and a light guide unit that forms the assembly and A display device for a vehicle, comprising: a plurality of the light sources provided correspondingly; an indicating instrument having a pointer and performing various displays; and a dial unit constituting the display unit. 12. The vehicular display device according to claim 11, wherein the light source is a full-color LED.