JPH11143412A - Combination meter using electroluminescent display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To extend the service period of an electroluminescent(EL) plate employed as a display section by providing the EL plate for displaying a measured value based on the measured value obtained from a measuring device, and keeping the humidity near the EL plate constant. SOLUTION: This combination meter 10 is provided with a humidity maintaining means 30 keeping the humidity near an EL plate 20 at a fixed value or below and a cooling means 40 for cooling the EL plate 20. The humidity maintaining means 30 interrupts the EL plate 20 and a desiccant 31 from the outside air to seal them with a case 11 and a surface glass 12. The cooling means 40 has a cooling unit 41 provided to cover the outer side face of the case 11, thereby the humidity near the EL plate 20 is prevented from rising from the value at the time of sealing. The cooling means 40 cools the EL plate 20 with a Peltier element 44 and can surely control it at a low temperature.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a combination meter applicable to, for example, a speedometer of a vehicle, a ship, an aircraft, or the like, and uses an EL (electroluminescence) of an electroluminescent material adopted as a display portion for a long life. The present invention relates to a combination meter using an EL light-emitting display device that can be formed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 6, a combination meter 90 mounted on a driver's seat of an automobile includes a case 91 fixed to a vehicle body via a mount 91, an EL plate 93 housed in the case 91, and It includes a front glass 94 attached with the EL plate 93 housed in the case 92, and displays a plurality of pieces of information at a time. In this figure, a front glass 94 is provided on a hooded look 95.

The conventional combination meter 90 includes a sheet-like wiring board 93A attached to an outer surface of a case 92, and a plurality of inner units 93C supported inside the case 92 via a transparent light guide plate 93B. Scale plate 93D fixed to each light guide plate 93B
It is comprised including. The scale plate 93D has a light-transmitting portion at a predetermined position corresponding to a character, a number, a symbol, a pattern, a scale, and the like, and each light-transmitting portion is individually transmitted and illuminated by a large number of bulbs arranged on the back surface. Is displayed. Since such a conventional combination meter 90 is configured by a large number of components as described above, there is a problem that component costs and assembly costs are high.

In recent years, in order to solve these problems, E
Various combination meters employing an L plate as a backlight have been proposed. The EL plate includes a substrate made of glass / epoxy or the like, an electrode formed over substantially the entire area of the substrate, an insulating layer covering the electrode, a light emitting layer formed so as to cover the insulating layer with EL powder, and an insulating layer. A transparent electrode laminated on a layer is provided, and a design such as a character is formed on the surface thereof, and illumination is performed so that the entire area of the electrode emits light.

[0005] For example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 55-134335 discloses that a character unit, a design, or lighting of an instrument unit and a warning light provided in an instrument panel casing is constituted by an EL plate, and this EL plate is connected to each instrument. An instrument panel for a vehicle is shown, which is provided as a separate module corresponding to a unit or a warning light, and each module is configured to be detachable from the outside of the instrument panel casing. In this vehicle instrument panel, the EL plate is formed with a U-shaped notch groove through which a pointer shaft protruding from the inner machine can be inserted, and desired characters, patterns, and the like can be formed by masking the surface. It is made to look embossed.

[0006]

By the way, in general, E
It is widely known that the service life of an L plate can be extended as the operating environment is lower in humidity and lower in temperature. For this reason, in the above-mentioned vehicle instrument panel, a desired effect can be obtained by covering the surface of each module with a moisture absorbing layer and a moisture proof layer.

However, in such a method, there is a problem that the moisture absorption capacity of the moisture absorption layer is small, the moisture proof effect of the moisture proof layer is not absolutely reliable, and the manufacturing process of the EL plate is complicated. . The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an EL plate that can increase the service life of an EL plate used as a display unit.
An object of the present invention is to provide a combination meter using a light-emitting display device.

[0008]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an EL plate for displaying a measurement result based on a measurement value obtained from a measurement device. The EL plate includes a design electrode formed on a surface of a substrate, an insulating layer covering the design electrode, a light emitting layer covering the insulating layer, and a transparent electrode covering the light emitting layer. In a combination meter using an EL light-emitting display device provided with a unit, the EL
It is characterized by comprising a humidity maintaining means for maintaining the humidity near the plate constant.

Here, as the humidity maintaining means, for example, E
A structure in which the L plate is sealed in a predetermined container can be adopted. In the combination meter using the EL light emitting display device configured as described above, since the humidity in the vicinity of the EL plate is kept constant by the humidity maintaining means, the service life of the EL plate can be extended as compared with the related art. .

The present invention is characterized in that the humidity maintaining means has a sealing means capable of sealing the EL plate. here,
As the sealing means, an openable and closable sealed container, a vacuum pack with a shrink film, or the like can be used.

In a combination meter using an EL light-emitting display device configured as described above, for example, an EL
If you keep the assembly room that seals the plate at low humidity,
Humidity in the vicinity of the EL plate can be reliably reduced over a long period of time, and thereby the service life of the EL plate can be further extended. Further, in the combination meter using the EL light emitting display device, since the EL plate is sealed, a dust-proof effect, a magnetic-shield effect and the like for the EL plate can be obtained at the same time.

Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 3, the sealing means comprises a metal case made of aluminum or the like, and a ceramic-coated acrylic surface glass or the like attached to the case. It is characterized in that the case and the front glass have extremely low water permeability, and a metal shim or gasket (packing) as sealing means having extremely low water permeability may be interposed between them. In a combination meter using this EL light emitting display device, since the sealing means is made of a case and a front glass, in other words, when used as a combination meter for an automobile, a part of the sealing means also serves as a component of the combination meter, As a result, the number of parts can be reduced.

According to the present invention, if a desiccant is contained in the case, the EL can be used.
The humidity in the vicinity of the plate is reliably and easily reduced, and the drying step can be omitted from the EL plate manufacturing process. In addition, by keeping the inside of the meter at low humidity, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of dew condensation in the meter when the meter is at a low temperature or when the EL plate is cooled, thereby ensuring visibility and protecting the electric circuit. Here, the desiccant preferably has a chemical reaction type irreversibility that absorbs moisture and does not release it to the outside.

On the other hand, the present invention comprises an EL plate for displaying a measurement result based on a measurement value obtained from a measuring device, wherein the EL plate has a surface of a substrate. An EL light emitting display device provided with a design light emitting portion having a design electrode formed on the substrate, an insulating layer covering the design electrode, a light emitting layer covering the insulating layer, and a transparent electrode covering the light emitting layer was used. In the combination meter, a cooling means for cooling the EL plate is provided. In a combination meter using an EL light-emitting display device configured as described above, for example, a cooling means such as a Peltier element, an air-cooling fan, and an air-cooling fin that are in close contact with the EL plate is provided. Can be made longer than

Further, according to the present invention, the cooling means may include a Peltier element, and a plurality of Peltier elements may be stacked in implementation. According to this configuration, the size and weight can be reduced and quietness can be obtained, and the temperature of the EL plate can be reliably controlled, as compared with the case where an air-cooling fan or an air-cooling fin is provided, for example. According to the present invention, when the Peltier element is sandwiched between a pair of ceramic plates, electrical insulation and thermal conductivity can be obtained at the same time.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a combination meter according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a configuration of the combination meter, and FIG.
4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing the structure of the EL light emitting display device, FIG.
Is a schematic front view showing the design of the EL light emitting display device, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of the L light emitting display device.

FIG. 1 shows a combination meter 10 according to the present invention. This combination meter
Reference numeral 10 denotes an EL for displaying various information such as a traveling speed to a driver by being attached to a driver's seat of an automobile.
A case 11 which is a light emitting display device and is attached to a vehicle body.
And an EL plate 20 accommodated in the case 11, and a front glass 12 attached to the case 11 with the EL plate 20 accommodated.

The EL plate 20 displays a running speed, an engine speed, a remaining fuel amount, a water temperature, and the like obtained from a measuring device (not shown), and turns on / off or blinks various indicators. The combination meter 10 includes a humidity maintaining unit 30 for maintaining the humidity near the EL plate 20 at a certain level or less, and an EL plate 20.
And cooling means 40 for cooling the air.

The humidity maintaining means 30 has a structure in which the EL plate 20 and the desiccant 31 are sealed off from the outside air by the case 11 and the cover glass 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the case 11 includes a Peltier receiving portion 13 having a substantially concave cross section and opening toward the rear surface (the lower surface in FIG. 2).
An annular desiccant storage groove 14 provided on the periphery of the groove 13 and opening concavely toward the surface (the upper surface in FIG. 2);
And a flange 15 provided along the opening edge of the 14
A pair of convex ribs 15A are formed concentrically on the upper surface (the upper surface in the figure) of the 15. The case 11 is made of a metal having good thermal conductivity and low water permeability, such as aluminum, for example.
15 are integrally molded. Note that the desiccant storage groove 14 does not need to be provided on the peripheral edge of the Peltier receiving portion 13, and can be appropriately selected in practice.

On the other hand, the front glass 12 is an acrylic plate coated with a ceramic coat that is transparent and extremely low in water permeability over the entire surface, and has a planar shape that matches the periphery of the flange 15 described above. . The front glass 12 has a flange 15
A concave portion 12A corresponding to the rib 15A is formed, and is fixed to the flange portion 15 by fixing means such as a fixing screw 16.

When the front glass 12 is fixed to the flange portion 15, a metal shim 17 as sealing means is interposed between the concave portion 12A and the rib 15A. Recess 12A and rib 15
When the fixing shim 16 is tightened, the metal shim 17 sandwiched by A is deformed in the thickness direction, and both surfaces are brought into close contact with the front glass 12 and the flange 15, respectively, so that the watertightness of the case 11 can be maintained. It has become.

The desiccant 31 sealed in such a case 11
Has a chemical reaction type irreversibility that takes in moisture and does not release it to the outside, and is formed in a flat annular shape by covering with a mesh (the state shown by a chain line in the figure). Then, when the desiccant 31 is stored in the desiccant storage groove 14, after exposing an outer surface adhered portion of a double-sided adhesive tape (not shown) adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the mesh, Inside, the cross section is deformed and oriented in a substantially U-shape so that the cross section opening faces the front glass 12 (solid line in the figure).

On the other hand, the cooling means 40 has a structure having a cooling unit 41 provided so as to cover the outer surface of the case 11. The cooling unit 41 includes a cooling portion 42 having a substantially concave cross section that opens toward the case 11 (upper side in FIG. 2), a flange-shaped mounting portion 43 provided along an opening edge of the cooling portion 42, and And a Peltier element 44 is provided on the inner bottom surface of the cooling unit 42.

The Peltier element 44, which performs a cooling action by the Peltier effect, includes a P-type thermoelectric semiconductor and an N-type thermoelectric semiconductor connected in a substantially zigzag π-shape via a copper plate 44A and a pair of ceramic plates 45, 45. It is pinched. In the Peltier element 44, one (lower in the figure) of the ceramic plates 45, 45 is fixed to the bottom surface of the cooling unit 42, and an aluminum plate member 46 is mounted on the other (upper in the figure). ing. Therefore, such a Peltier element 44
The electrical insulation and the thermal conductivity are simultaneously obtained by the ceramic plates 45 and 45.

FIG. 3 shows a conceptual diagram of the EL plate 20. In this figure, the EL plate 20 has a double-sided wiring board 21 made of glass / epoxy, and a design light emitting portion 21A is provided on the surface (upper side in the figure) of the double-sided wiring board 21. The design light emitting portion 21A includes a design electrode 22A formed on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21 and an insulating layer covering the design electrode 22A.
25, a light emitting layer 26, and a transparent electrode 27, which are sequentially stacked on the insulating layer 25. The design electrode 22A of the design light emitting section 21A is supplied with power by the wiring 23A formed on the back surface (the lower surface in the figure) of the double-sided wiring board 21.

The design electrode 22A and the wiring 23A are mutually connected to the double-sided wiring board 21 via a silver paste circuit line 24A provided in a through hole penetrating in the thickness direction. The design electrode 22A and the wiring 23A are made of copper foil formed by, for example, etching or printing.

If the design electrode 22A and the wiring 23A are provided near the end face of the double-sided wiring board 21, the circuit line 24A may be provided along the end face of the double-sided wiring board 21. In the design light emitting portion 21B shown on the left side in FIG. 3, the design electrode 22B and the wiring 23B integrated with each other are formed on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21. This design electrode 22B
Is formed in a shape representing the number “3”, and by appropriately providing a step in the insulating layer 25, the wiring 23B is formed.
Since the light emitting layer 26 is not laminated thereon, the light emitting layer 26 emits light in a desired color and shape simulating the numeral "3".

Although FIG. 1 shows that only the wiring 23A is connected to the power supply connector 21C provided at the end of the double-sided wiring board 21, the wiring is actually
23B and the like are also connected to the power supply connector 21C so that the design light emitting portions 21A and 21B are turned on / off / blink simultaneously or individually. In turning on / off the design light emitting portions 21A and 21B, one of them may be delayed with respect to the other.

The insulating layer 25 is, for example, mixed with barium titanate (average particle size: 2 μm to 10 μm) as an aggregate, cyanoresin as a conductive binder, and an appropriate amount of a solvent added thereto and stirred. After that, it is provided by metal plate screen printing so that a predetermined thickness (for example, 10 μm to 100 μm) is obtained at the time of drying.

The light-emitting layer 26 is prepared by mixing a cyanoresin as a binder with zinc sulfide (average particle diameter: 10 μm to 100 μm) as an EL powder, adding an appropriate amount of a solvent, and stirring the mixture. Average thickness (for example, 10um to 140u
In order to obtain m), it is provided by metal plate screen printing.

The transparent electrode 27 is a conductive transparent sheet having a predetermined thickness, and is laminated so as to cover the entire surface of the double-sided wiring board 21 by, for example, hot pressing with a roll.

The EL plate 20 is covered on both sides with a moisture-absorbing layer 28 and a moisture-proof layer 29. Moisture absorption layer 28
, A transparent moisture-absorbing sheet having a thickness of 40 μm to 160 μm is employed, and a transparent moisture-proof sheet such as a fluororesin having a predetermined thickness is employed for the moisture-proof layer 29. Where the moisture absorbing layer
As a moisture-proof sheet constituting 28, for example, nylon 66
(Material name) and the like. And these moisture absorbing layers 28
The moisture-proof layer 29 covers both surfaces and the end surface of the double-sided wiring board 21 so that only the power supply connector 21C is exposed.
Note that the moisture absorbing layer 28 and the moisture-proof layer 29 are not essential to the present invention, and may be omitted as appropriate.

The EL plate 20 has a design electrode 22
When a voltage is applied to the light emitting layer 26 in cooperation with A and the transparent electrode 27, the light emitting layer 26 emits light according to the shape (substantially rectangular shape in this figure) and the arrangement position of the design electrode 22A. here,
The EL plate 20 is formed by adding a coloring material such as a fluorescent material before forming the light emitting layer 26.
A desired color such as red, yellow, or blue may be developed with the application of the voltage. Further, the EL plate 20 includes a filter 20A for performing color correction of the light emitting layer 26 in accordance with application of a voltage.
May be provided on the light emitting layer 26. The filter 20A is, for example, a synthetic resin film colored in a desired color, and may be affixed and printed on the surface of the moisture-proof layer 29 as shown in FIG. It may be attached and printed on the surface (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3).

It should be noted that a light-shielding filter 20B may be provided on the light-emitting section 26 in order to further adjust the design of the light-emitting section. If such a light-shielding filter 20B is provided, for example, in an upper layer of the light-emitting portion 26 corresponding to the end of the design electrode 22A, the light-emitting display of the design light-emitting portion 21A becomes clear.

In this figure, the EL plate 20
Is formed in a flat plate shape, but may be formed in a curved plate shape having an arc surface or a spherical surface. further,
The design electrode 22A and the design light emitting portion 21A constituted by the design electrode 22A may be appropriately curved to express a three-dimensional effect, and need not have a planar shape.

In this embodiment, the EL plate 20 can emit light in a design as shown in FIG. 4 by arranging a large number of design electrodes 22A having a desired shape at desired positions on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21. It has been. In this figure, the EL plate 20 has a large number of design electrodes 22A.
Speedometer that displays the running speed of the vehicle body by arranging
70, a tachometer 71 for displaying the number of revolutions of the engine, a water temperature gauge 72 for displaying the temperature of the cooling water for cooling the engine, a fuel gauge 73 for displaying the remaining fuel, and other indicators. Have been. The EL plate 20 has a range in which the speedometer 70, the tachometer 71, the water temperature gauge 72, the fuel gauge 73, and other indicators are not provided, in other words, the double-sided wiring board 21 in which the design electrode 22A is not arranged. The ground color light emitting portion 80 can emit light in different hues.

The speedometer 70 includes a light-emitting speedometer 74 for displaying the running speed and a digital speedometer 75 for displaying the running speed numerically.
It is comprised including. As shown in FIG. 5, the luminous speed meter 74 includes a design light emitting portion 21A constituted by a large number of design electrodes 22A, and a ground color light emitting portion 80 arranged on the ground color surface between the design electrodes 22A. It is composed of

The light emitting speed meter 74 has a ground color light emitting portion 80 so that each of the design electrodes 22A is formed in a substantially fan shape and has insulating properties with each other along a circular arc curved with a constant radius.
Are arranged densely in a substantially C-shape with the.
These design electrodes 22A can be individually supplied with power by a large number of wirings 23A formed on the back surface of the double-sided wiring board 21, and sequentially clockwise from the lower left end in FIG. 4 based on the running speed of the vehicle body. It is lit.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the ground color light emitting portion 80 is provided with a ground color electrode 81 formed by etching a copper foil basically in the same manner as the design electrode 22A, and an insulating layer 25 and a ground color light emitting layer 82. , Transparent electrodes 27 are sequentially stacked. The ground electrode 81 is spaced apart from the design electrode 22 so as to obtain insulation from the design electrode 22. Here, the ground-color light-emitting units 80 are connected to the same wiring and are collectively connected so that power is supplied in conjunction with the light control switch. The light emitting layer 26 and the ground color light emitting layer 82 are formed corresponding to the shape, size, and arrangement position of the design electrode 22A and the ground color electrode 81, respectively. Then, the ground color light emitting section 80
Is designed to emit a darker color than the design light emitting portion 21A.

Specifically, for example, the light emitting layer 26 for displaying a low speed region emits blue, the light emitting layer 26 for displaying a medium speed region emits yellow, and the light emitting layer 26 for displaying a high speed region. The light emitting layer 26 emits red, and the ground color light emitting layer 82 emits slightly dark green. For this reason, an appropriate coloring material for producing a desired color in the EL powder is added to the light emitting layer 26 and the ground color light emitting layer 82 in advance. The light emitting layer 26 and the ground color light emitting layer 82 as described above are collectively formed by multicolor printing using a metal plate screen.

In this embodiment, the light emission speed meter 74 is used.
Above the transparent electrode 27, a moisture absorbing layer 28 and a moisture proof layer 29 are laminated, and a filter 20A for performing color correction is attached or printed at a position corresponding to the light emitting layer 26 that displays a high speed region. Have been. The filter 20A is a resin film or printing colored deep red, and is formed at a predetermined position using an appropriate method. Accordingly, the light-emission speed meter 74 displays the high-speed region in vivid red, thereby drawing the driver's attention.

Returning to FIG. 4, the digital speedometer 75 is arranged so that the design electrodes 22 form a three-digit counter, and is appropriately lit so as to indicate a numerical value based on the running speed of the vehicle body. It has become. The digital speedometer 75 is provided at the center of the diameter of the light emission speedometer 74, and is linked with the display of the light emission speedometer 74. Also in such a digital speedometer 75, a ground color light-emitting portion 80 is provided between the design electrodes 22 similarly to the light-emitting speedometer 74 described above.

The tachometer 71 has a digital tachometer 76 in which a large number of design electrodes 22 formed in a substantially fan shape are densely arranged in a substantially C-shape, similarly to the above-described tachometer 70. The digital tachometer 76 is sequentially turned on clockwise from the lower left end in FIG. 4 based on the engine speed. In this digital tachometer 76 as well, the ground color electrode 80 is formed between the design electrodes 22 similarly to the above-described light emission speedometer 74, and the high rotation range is displayed in clear red, thereby the driver's You can call attention.

In the water temperature gauge 72 and the fuel gauge 73, a large number of design electrodes 22 formed in a rectangular shape are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction in the figure. In the water temperature gauge 72 and the fuel gauge 73, the light emitting layers are sequentially turned on from the lower side in the figure to the upper side in the figure based on the water temperature or the remaining fuel amount. In these water temperature gauges 72 and fuel gauges 73, similarly to the above-mentioned light emission speed meter 74 or digital tachometer 76, the light emitting layer is displayed in clear red at a predetermined water temperature or the remaining amount as a boundary, whereby the driver It is possible to call attention.

In the EL plate 20, the outermost layer, that is, the surface of the moisture-proof layer 29 may be covered with a smoke filter. By doing so, the design property when the design light emitting portion or the ground color light emitting portion does not emit light can be improved, and the contrast between when the light is turned on and when the light is not turned on is increased, and the visibility is improved.

The control such as turning on / off the EL plate 20 or its timing and synchronization is performed by the control unit 90 shown in FIG. 1, but the control is easily performed by the manufacturer or driver's intention. Can be changed. For example, by a program installed in the control unit 90 or a function switch 90A connected to the control unit 90,
Since the control pattern is easily changed, control of another EL plate having a different design, differences in driver preferences,
It can easily respond to changes in the operation mode.

Next, the procedure for assembling the combination meter 10 configured as described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, first, the desiccant 31 is inserted into the desiccant accommodation groove 14 of the case 11.
And through the heat conductive adhesive 18, the EL
The plate 20 is bonded and fixed to the bottom of the Peltier receiving portion 13. Next, the front glass 12 is attached to the case 11 by a fixing means such as a fixing screw 16 with a sealing means such as a metal shim 17 interposed between the flange section 14 and the EL plate 20 and the desiccant.
31 and seal. At this time, the air near the surface (the upper surface in the figure) of the EL plate 20 comes into contact with the desiccant 31 through the through hole 20B provided in the EL plate 20.
Therefore, the air sealed in the case 11 during assembly is
Moisture is gradually absorbed by the irreversible desiccant 13 and maintained at low humidity for a long time.

Next, the case 11 and the cooling unit 41 are fixed to each other by fixing screws 47. At this time, the Peltier receiving part 13 of the case 11 and the Peltier element constituting the cooling unit 41
The 44 plate members 46 are brought into close contact with each other by interposing an adhesive 48 having thermal conductivity therebetween. As shown in FIG. 1, a control unit 90 is connected to the EL plate 20 and the cooling means 40 via a flexible flat cable (FFC) 91. The control unit 90 calculates a measurement value obtained from each measurement device and outputs a drive current to the EL plate 20, and detects a surface temperature or an ambient temperature of the EL plate 20 and appropriately supplies power to the Peltier element 44. It has become.

According to the above-described combination meter 10, the EL plate 20 is hermetically sealed by the case 11 and the surface glass 12, so that the humidity near the EL plate 20 does not rise from the time of sealing. That is, according to the combination meter 10, the service life of the EL plate used as the EL plate 20 can be made longer than in the related art. In particular, according to the combination meter 10, the EL plate 20 is sealed in the case 11, so that a dust-proof effect, a magnetic-shield effect, a heat-insulating effect, and the like for the EL plate 20 can be obtained at the same time. Further, since the desiccant 13 is contained in the case 11, the humidity in the case 11 can be reliably and easily reduced.

This combination meter 10
Since the EL plate 20 and the cooling means 40 are sealed in the case 11 and the cover glass 12, the vicinity of the EL plate 20 can be kept at a low temperature, and the service life of the EL plate 20 can be made longer than before. And the cooling means 40
Since the EL plate 20 is cooled by the Peltier element 44, the size and weight can be reduced and quietness can be obtained as compared with a case where an air-cooling fan or an air-cooling fin is provided, and the EL plate 20 can be reliably cooled at a low temperature. Can be controlled. In particular, since the cooling means 40 can simultaneously obtain electrical insulation and thermal conductivity by the ceramic plates 45 and 45 sandwiching the Peltier element 44, electrical insulation can be reliably obtained without impairing thermal conductivity. .

Then, the above-described combination meter
In FIG. 10, since the humidity maintaining means 30 and the cooling means 40 are used in combination, a remarkable effect that the service life of the EL plate 20 can be further extended as compared with the case where only one of them is employed is obtained. . The above-described combination meter 10 is provided with a light-emitting speedometer 74 and a digital tachometer 76 for emitting and displaying the traveling speed by a number of design electrodes 22 densely arranged on the speedometer 70 and the tachometer 71, respectively. It is possible to respond to a user who can grasp the measurement result more intuitively than the digital display indicated by a number.

The combination meter 10 described above
In this case, since the EL plate 20 can be formed into a curved plate shape, the design in consideration of the driver's viewpoint is facilitated and the design can be improved. Further, in the combination meter 10, the depth dimension can be made smaller than that of a combination meter employing an inner machine, so that restrictions on vehicle body design can be reduced. According to the combination meter 10, since the inner unit, the light guide plate, the light bulb, the LCD, and the like that constitute the combination meter employing the inner unit are not required, the number of components can be reduced.

According to the combination meter 10, the design electrode 22 having a desired shape is arranged in a desired shape on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21 so that the EL plate 20 is formed.
Since the desired position emits light in a desired shape, the EL plate 20
Characters, numbers, symbols, patterns, graduations, etc., can be raised on the surface of the device, so that the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced as compared with the prior art, and the structure can be made extremely lightweight and thin.

The combination meter 10
Since the plurality of design electrodes 22A are connected to the individual wirings 23A, each of the design light emitting portions 21A can be individually turned on / off / flickered, or can be operated with a delay. In particular, in the design electrode 22A, since the wiring 23A is formed on the back surface of the substrate 21, there is no restriction on the planar shape of the design electrode 22A and the location of the design electrode 22A with respect to the substrate 21. Above freedom is obtained.

Further, since the design light emitting section 21A is provided with a correcting means for correcting the color development, the design light emitting section 21A can emit light of a desired color or reduce or enhance the light emission.
In particular, since the correction means is the filter 20A, the color can be reliably and easily corrected by attaching the filter to an appropriate position.

In addition, the combination meter 10
Since each light emitting layer 26 corresponding to each design electrode 22A emits light with a different hue, the driver can be alerted by displaying red at a certain speed or higher or at a certain speed or higher. In particular, in this embodiment, since the filter 20A for performing color correction corresponding to the light-emitting portion that displays red at a certain speed or higher or at a certain speed or higher is employed, a desired color can be reliably produced.

Further, in this embodiment, since the design electrodes 22A densely arranged on the surface of the double-sided wiring board 21 are individually supplied with power based on the traveling speed or the engine speed so as to be sequentially turned on, the driver is required The running speed and engine speed can be intuitively grasped. In addition, this EL plate 20
Since the light-emitting layer 26 and the ground-color light-emitting layer 82 are formed in multiple colors by printing, in other words, they can be manufactured in the same manner as a conventional transillumination dial, and thus the number of manufacturing steps does not increase.

Note that the EL light emitting display device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate modifications and improvements can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the double-sided wiring board is covered with the moisture-absorbing layer and the moisture-proof layer, but these are not essential to the present invention and may be omitted as appropriate.

As the sealing means interposed between the case and the front glass, a metal shim has been exemplified, but for example, rubber packing having low water permeability may be employed.
In short, the material, form and the like are not limited as long as watertightness can be obtained.
Further, the cooling efficiency may be improved by stacking a plurality of Peltier elements constituting the cooling means. The arrangement form of the design electrodes includes not only a dense arrangement in an arc shape but also a form in which the design electrodes are densely arranged in a straight line.

Further, the combination meter in the above-mentioned embodiment is exemplified by an EL plate which is integrally provided with a speedometer, a tachometer, a water temperature gauge, a fuel gauge, and various indicators to constitute a display surface. A combination meter may be configured by housing a plurality of EL plates in each of which a region corresponding to each of these combination meters and various indicators is individually divided.

Further, the ground color light emitting portion provided on the ground color surface portion may be set to turn on and off at the same time as the design light emitting portion, or one of the design light emitting portion and the ground color light emitting portion may be turned off. On the other hand, it may be set so that the delay light is turned on and the delay light is turned off. In this embodiment, the inner machine and the pointer attached to the pointer shaft of the inner machine are not adopted. However, as the EL light emitting display device of the present invention, these inner machines,
It includes a pointer shaft and a combination meter having pointers. In addition, the EL light-emitting display device of the present invention is not only applicable to the above-described combination meter for automobiles, but is used as an EL light-emitting display device for various measured values in, for example, aircraft, ships, railways, various measuring instruments, and home appliances. Is also applicable, and the use is not limited.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, as described in claim 1, a humidity maintaining means for maintaining a constant humidity in the vicinity of the EL plate is provided. Thus, the service life of the EL plate can be extended. Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 2, since the humidity maintaining means has a sealing means capable of sealing the EL plate, the humidity near the EL plate can be reliably reduced for a long time. Thus, the service life of the EL plate can be further extended.

Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 3, since the sealing means comprises a case and a front glass, when used as a combination meter for an automobile, a part of the sealing means is a part of the combination meter. It also serves as a component part, which can reduce the number of parts. According to the present invention, since the desiccant is contained in the case as described in claim 4, the humidity near the EL plate is reliably and easily reduced, and the drying is performed from the manufacturing process of the EL plate. The process can be omitted.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, since the cooling means for cooling the EL plate is provided as described in claim 5, the service life of the EL plate can be made longer than that of the related art. Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 6, since the cooling means includes a Peltier element, the cooling means can be reduced in size and weight, and quietness can be obtained.
The temperature of the L plate can be reliably controlled. According to the present invention, as described in claim 7, the Peltier element is sandwiched between the pair of ceramic plates, so that electrical insulation and thermal conductivity can be obtained at the same time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a combination meter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a configuration of a combination meter.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a structure of an EL plate.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing an EL plate.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view showing a main part of an EL plate.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a general combination meter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Combination meter 11 Case 12 Surface glass 13 Desiccant 20 EL plate 21 Double-sided wiring board (substrate) 22A Design electrode 23A Wiring 25 Insulating layer 26 Light emitting layer 27 Transparent electrode 30 Humidity maintaining means 31 Desiccant 40 Cooling means 44 Peltier element 45 Ceramic Board

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H05B 33/04 H05B 33/04

Claims (7)

[Claims] An EL plate for displaying a measurement result based on a measurement value obtained from a measurement device;
The L plate has a design electrode formed on the surface of the substrate,
In a combination meter using an EL light emitting display device provided with a design light emitting portion having an insulating layer covering the design electrode, a light emitting layer covering the insulating layer, and a transparent electrode covering the light emitting layer, the vicinity of the EL plate A combination meter using an EL light-emitting display device, comprising a humidity maintaining means for maintaining a constant humidity. 2. The combination meter according to claim 1, wherein said humidity maintaining means has sealing means capable of sealing said EL plate. 3. The combination meter according to claim 2, wherein said sealing means comprises a case and a front glass attached to said case. 4. The combination meter according to claim 3, wherein a desiccant is contained in the case. 5. An EL plate for displaying a measurement result based on a measurement value obtained from a measurement device,
The L plate has a design electrode formed on the surface of the substrate,
In a combination meter using an EL light emitting display device provided with a design light emitting portion having an insulating layer covering the design electrode, a light emitting layer covering the insulating layer, and a transparent electrode covering the light emitting layer, A combination meter using an EL light emitting display device, comprising a cooling means for cooling. 6. The combination meter according to claim 5, wherein said cooling means includes a Peltier element. 7. The combination meter according to claim 6, wherein the Peltier element is sandwiched between a pair of ceramic plates.