JPH11237259A - Light guide plate for combination meter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a light guide plate which can reduce the number of components as members to enhance the efficiency of illumination without turning on a warning part falsely. SOLUTION: A light guide plate 4 for a combination meter 1 is used for the combination meter 1 in which a plurality of measuring instruments such as a speedometer, a revolution indicator, a fuel meter, a water temperature meter and the like and a warning part 14 composed of a plurality of illumination chambers 14a partitioned by a partition wall 14b so as to correspond to warning items such as a gear position display item, a fuel shortage item and the like are arranged and installed. The light guide plate 4 is formed integrally so as to be provided with a light guide part 16 which is common to the plurality of measuring instruments, with a lens part 15 which covers the upper part of the illumination chambers 14a in the warning part 14 and with a slit 17 in the boundary part between the light guide part 16 and the lens part 15. Light which is introduced into the light guide part 16 is reduced by the slit 17, and its leak to the lens part 15 is suppressed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the warning part 14 from being turned on falsely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light guide plate for a combination meter for guiding illumination light to efficiently illuminate a dial, a pointer and the like of the combination meter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A combination meter is provided with a plurality of instruments such as a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, a water temperature gauge, a gear position display, and a warning display such as a fuel shortage in a single case. And a warning section composed of a plurality of lighting rooms partitioned by a light source.

[0003] In this combination meter,
For the purpose of improving the lighting efficiency, a light guide plate is used for each of a plurality of meters, and a lens plate is used to cover the upper part of the illumination room in the warning section.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional combination meter, a plurality of light guide plates and a lens plate separate from the light guide plates (in the case where there are a plurality of warning portions) are provided as members for improving the illumination efficiency. Requires a plurality of lens plates), resulting in a problem that not only the number of parts is increased and the parts management becomes troublesome but also the number of assembling steps is increased. The reason why the light guide plate and the lens plate are formed separately is to prevent the light guide of the light guide plate from leaking into the lens plate and causing a false lighting of the warning portion when they are integrally formed.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a light guide plate for a combination meter which can reduce the number of parts as a member for improving illumination efficiency without causing a false lighting of a warning portion.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a plurality of instruments such as a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, a water temperature gauge, a gear position display, a fuel shortage and the like. A combination meter light guide plate for use in a combination meter provided with a warning unit including a plurality of lighting rooms defined by partition walls corresponding to warning display items, wherein the light guide is common to the plurality of meters. And a lens part for covering the upper part of the illumination room of the warning part, and a light shielding part at a boundary between the light guiding part and the lens part.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the light guide portion common to the plurality of instruments and the lens portion of the warning portion are integrally formed, so that the illumination enhancing member used in the combination meter is constituted by one component. be able to.
Also, the light-shielding portion at the boundary between the light guide portion and the lens portion
Leakage of the light guide of the light guide portion to the lens portion can be blocked to prevent false lighting of the warning portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the light guide plate for a combination meter according to the first aspect, wherein a peripheral surface of the light guide plate and a back surface of the light guide portion are covered with a light guide plate case. I have.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide portion is prevented from leaking out of the light guide plate by the light guide plate case as much as possible, and is efficiently guided.

The invention according to claim 3 is the light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 2, wherein the light guide plate case is formed by integrally forming a partition wall of the warning portion. Features.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the partition wall of the warning portion is integrally provided on the light guide plate case.
Good agreement between the partition wall and the lens portion of the light guide plate is obtained.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the light guide plate for a combination meter according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the light shielding portion is constituted by a slit formed at the boundary portion. It is characterized by having.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide portion is reduced by the slit, and leakage to the lens portion is suppressed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the light guide plate for a combination meter according to the fourth aspect, wherein the slit has a reflection surface formed by inclining a slit side surface on the light guide portion side. It is characterized by being constituted.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide portion is reflected by the reflection surface which is the slit side surface on the light guide portion side, and the light guide direction is changed. Leakage is suppressed.

The invention according to claim 6 is the light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 4, wherein the slit is formed by forming a light shielding layer on a side surface of the slit.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 6, since the light introduced into the light guide portion is prevented from leaking into the slit by the light shielding layer on the side surface of the slit, the leak into the lens portion is suppressed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the light guide plate for a combination meter according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, wherein the light-shielding portion includes the slit and a light-shielding member inserted into the slit. It is characterized by consisting of walls.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 7, even when a small amount of light introduced into the light guide portion leaks into the slit, the influence of the leaked light on the lens portion can be prevented by the light shielding wall. .

The invention according to claim 8 is the light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 7, wherein the light-shielding wall is formed by an extended portion of the light guide plate case.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the light-shielding wall is formed by the extended portion of the light guide plate case, the light-shielding wall is formed without interference with other members and without increasing the number of parts. can do.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the light guide plate for a combination meter according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the light-shielding portion is formed to be thin with the light guide portion having a large thickness. And a step portion formed at a boundary portion with the lens portion.

Therefore, according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide portion is introduced into the lens portion with its light quantity significantly reduced by the step portion.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the light guide plate for a combination meter according to the ninth aspect, wherein the light shielding portion is composed of the step portion and a slit formed in the lens portion. It is characterized by:

Therefore, according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide portion is remarkably reduced by the step portion and is reduced by the slit, so that leakage to the lens portion is suppressed.

[0026] The invention of claim 11 is the first to third aspects of the present invention.
The light guide plate for a combination meter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light-shielding portion is formed of a reflection surface formed to be inclined in the light guide plate at the boundary portion.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide portion is reflected by the reflection surface formed in the light guide plate to change the light guide direction, so that the light leaks to the lens portion. Is suppressed.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a combination meter 1 to which a light guide plate 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The combination meter 1 has a plurality of instruments, such as a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, a water temperature gauge, etc., and a plurality of instruments divided by a partition wall in correspondence with warning display items such as a gear position display and a fuel shortage. And a light guide plate 4 for improving the lighting efficiency of the plurality of instruments and the warning section.

In this embodiment, the light guide plate 4 is covered with the light guide plate case 3 from the back side, and is mounted on the hard wiring board 8 close to the bottom surface of the case 2 and the dial plate 5 arranged on the front surface of the case 2. The plurality of instruments are electrically connected to the hard wiring board 8 for each instrument, and penetrate through the through-hole 3a of the light guide plate case 3 so that the hard wiring board 8
Movements (not shown) provided between the light guide plate 4 and the light guide plate 4, and hands attached to portions protruding from the insertion holes 4 a and 5 a of the light guide plate 4 and the dial 5 with the pointer shaft of each movement (see FIG. (Not shown) and instrument designs 10, 11, 12, and 13 displayed on the dial 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the warning portion 14 is electrically connected to the plurality of illumination chambers 14a, 14a,... Formed by the partition wall 14b formed integrally with the light guide plate case 3 and the hard wiring board 8. It comprises a light source 19 connected and attached to each lighting room 14a, and a warning design 9 (see FIG. 1) displayed on the dial 5.

In addition, the combination meter 1 is entirely constructed by attaching a facing 6 to the front of the case 2 and attaching a front glass 7 to the front of the facing 6. The facing 6 is attached by screwing a boss 6c projecting from the rear surface thereof to the bracket 2b of the case 2, and the front glass 7 looks down at the lower end 7a having a triangular cross section and drops into the lower groove 6a of the same shape. At the same time, look back at the engaging projections 7c, 7c formed on both side surfaces 7b, 7b.
Are attached to the engaging portions 6b, 6b on both sides. Reference numeral 2a in FIG. 1 denotes a movement pedestal integrally formed on the bottom surface of the case 2.

The light guide plate 4 includes a light guide portion 16 common to a plurality of instruments, a lens portion 15 covering the upper part of the illumination chamber 14a of the warning portion 14, a light guide portion 16 and the lens portion 15
And a light-shielding portion at a boundary portion between them.

In the present embodiment, the light guide plate 4 includes the light guide portion 16.
A condensing portion 16a is formed at an appropriate position on the peripheral edge of the unit, and a unit lens portion 15a that covers the upper part of each illumination chamber 14a is formed on the lens portion 15, and the entire portion is formed in a flat plate shape.
The peripheral surface 4b and the back surface 4c of the light guide 16 are covered with the light guide plate case 3 and assembled (see FIG. 2). In this assembled state, the light source 18 is attached to the hard wiring board 8 so as to be electrically connected to the light converging portion 16a and the light introduced into the light guide portion 16 of the light source 18 is transmitted to the light guide plate case 3 by the light guide plate. 4. Leakage to the outside is prevented as much as possible, and light is efficiently guided. At this time, the light guide plate case 3 is formed of a white plate that reflects light. Further, since the partition wall 14b of the warning portion 14 is provided integrally with the light guide plate case 3, good matching between the partition wall 14b and the lens portion 15 of the light guide plate 4 can be obtained.

The light-shielding portion of the light guide plate 4 has the structure shown in FIGS.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which the light shielding portion is formed by the slit 17.

That is, the light shielding portion is formed by a simple slit 17 formed at the boundary between the light guide portion 16 and the lens portion 15.
(FIG. 3A). In this light-shielding portion, the light L introduced into the light guide portion 16 is reduced by the slit 17 and leakage to the lens portion 15 is suppressed.

The light-shielding portion can be constituted by a slit 17 formed with a reflection surface 20 formed by inclining the side surface of the slit on the light guide portion 16 side (FIG. 3).
(B)). In this light-shielding portion, the light L introduced into the light guide portion 16 is reflected by the reflection surface 20 to become reflected light L1 and the light guide direction is changed, so that leakage to the lens portion 15 is suppressed.

Further, the light shielding portion has a light shielding layer 2 on the side surface of the slit.
1 can be formed by the slit 17 (FIG. 3C). The light-shielding layer 21 is formed, for example, by applying a black paint on the side surface of the slit, and it is sufficient to form the slit 17 on one side on the light guide portion 16 side. Is done. In this light shielding portion, the light L introduced into the light guide portion 16 is transmitted to the light guide portion 1.
Since the light-shielding layer 21 on the sixth side prevents leakage into the slits 17 and the light-shielding layer 21 on the lens part 15 side can also block incident light on the lens part 15 from other directions. Unnecessary light leakage to 15 is suppressed.

As described above, the light guide plate 4 having the light shielding portion including the slit 17 can suppress unnecessary leakage of light to the lens portion 15, and thus can prevent the warning portion 14 from being simulated.

In the slit 17 having the reflection surface 20, the light shielding layer 21 is provided on the side of the slit on the lens portion 15 side.
May be formed to form the slit 17. Also in this case, pseudo lighting of the warning unit 14 can be prevented in the same manner as described above.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the light-shielding portion is constituted by a slit 17 and a light-shielding wall inserted in the slit 17.

In this embodiment, the light shielding wall is formed by the extending portion 22 of the light guide plate case 3.

That is, the light shielding portion in this embodiment is
As shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C, FIG.
The extended portion 22 of the light guide plate case 3 is inserted into each of the slits 17 shown in (a), (b) and (c).

As described above, the slit 17 and the light guide plate case 3
The light guide plate 4 having the light shielding portion composed of the extension portion 22 of
Even when a small amount of light L introduced into the light guide portion 16 leaks into the slit 17, the effect of the leaked light on the lens portion 15 can be prevented by the extended portion (light shielding wall) 22 of the light guide plate case 3. Thus, the pseudo lighting of the warning unit 14 can be more reliably prevented. In this embodiment,
Since the light-shielding wall is formed by the extended portion 22 of the light guide plate case 3, the light-shielding wall can be formed without interference with other members and without increasing the number of parts.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which the light shielding portion is formed by another structure.

That is, the light-shielding portion shown in FIG. 5A is composed of a thick light guide portion 16 and a thin lens portion 1.
5 is formed of a step portion 23 formed at a boundary portion with the step 5.

For this reason, the light L introduced into the light guide portion 16 is remarkably reduced in its light quantity by the step portion 23 and is introduced into the lens portion 15, thereby preventing the warning portion 14 from being simulated. it can.

The light-shielding portion shown in FIG. 5B is composed of the step 23 described above and the slit 17 formed in the lens portion 15. For this reason, the light L introduced into the light guide portion 16 is remarkably reduced in the amount of light by the step portion 23 and is also reduced by the slit 17 so that the lens portion 1
5 is suppressed, whereby the warning portion 14
Can be prevented.

Further, the light shielding portion shown in FIG.
It is composed of reflecting surfaces 20 and 20 formed to be inclined in the light guide plate 4 at the boundary between the lens 6 and the lens portion 15. The reflecting surfaces 20, 20 are formed on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the light guide plate 4, respectively, and are formed to be inclined in reverse to each other. Therefore, the light L introduced into the light guide portion 16 is reflected by the reflection surfaces 20 and 20 formed in the light guide plate 4 and becomes reflected light L2 and L3, respectively, and the light guide direction is changed. Leakage to the warning portion 15 is suppressed, and thereby, the false lighting of the warning portion 14 can be prevented.

As described above, according to the light guide plate 4, since the light guide portion 16 common to a plurality of instruments and the lens portion 15 of the warning portion 14 are integrally formed, the illumination improving member used in the combination meter 1 is formed as a single component. Can be configured. The light-shielding portion at the boundary between the light guide portion 16 and the lens portion 15 is a light guide lens portion 1 of the light guide portion 16.
5 can be blocked, and false lighting of the warning section 14 can be prevented.

[0052]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the light guide portion common to a plurality of instruments and the lens portion of the warning portion are integrally formed, so that the illumination used in the combination meter is improved. The member can be composed of one part, thereby reducing the number of parts, and a light-shielding part formed at the boundary between the light guide part and the lens part to the light guide lens part of the light guide part. Can be prevented, and false lighting of the warning section can be prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the peripheral surface of the light guide plate and the back surface of the light guide portion are covered with the light guide plate case.
Light introduced into the light guide portion is prevented from leaking out of the light guide plate as much as possible in the light guide plate case, and is efficiently guided, whereby illumination without unevenness for a plurality of instruments can be secured.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the partition wall of the warning portion is provided integrally with the light guide plate case, good matching between the partition wall and the lens portion of the light guide plate can be obtained.
Thus, it is possible to appropriately prevent the light from leaking to the lens portion together with the good assembling property.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide portion is reduced by the slit to prevent the light from leaking to the lens portion, thereby preventing the warning portion from being simulated. .

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide portion is reflected by the reflection surface, which is the slit side surface on the light guide portion side, and the light guide direction is changed. Leakage is suppressed, and thereby false lighting of the warning section can be prevented.

According to the invention of claim 6, since the light introduced into the light guide portion is prevented from leaking into the slit by the light shielding layer on the side surface of the slit, the leak to the lens portion is suppressed. The false lighting of the warning part can be prevented.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, even if a small amount of light introduced into the light guide portion leaks into the slit, the influence of the leaked light on the lens portion can be prevented by the light shielding wall. This can prevent false lighting of the warning section.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the light-shielding wall is formed by the extending portion of the light guide plate case, the light-shielding wall is formed without interference with other members and without increasing the number of parts. Thus, the assembling property can be improved.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the light introduced into the light guide portion is remarkably reduced by the step portion and introduced into the lens portion, light leakage to the lens portion is suppressed as much as possible. As a result, the false lighting of the warning section can be prevented.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the amount of light introduced into the light guide portion is significantly reduced by the step portion, and at the same time, the light is reduced by the slit to suppress leakage to the lens portion. The false lighting of the warning part can be prevented.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the light introduced into the light guide portion is reflected by the reflection surface formed in the light guide plate to change the light guide direction. This suppresses the false lighting of the warning section.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a combination meter to which a light guide plate for a combination meter of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the combination meter of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 (a), (b), and (c) are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the combination meter light guide plate of the present invention having different light-shielding portions.

FIGS. 4 (a), (b), and (c) are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the combination meter light guide plate of the present invention having different light shielding portions.

FIGS. 5 (a), (b), and (c) are explanatory views of the operation of the combination meter light guide plate of the present invention having different light shielding portions.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Combination meter 3 Light guide plate case 4 Light guide plate (light guide plate for combination meter) 4b Peripheral surface (of light guide plate) 4c Back surface (of light guide portion of light guide plate) 14 Warning portion 14a Lighting room 14b Partition wall 15 Lens portion 16 Guide Light part 17 Slit 20 Reflecting surface 21 Light shielding layer 22 Extension part (light shielding wall) 23 Step part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Nobuhiro Kobayashi 1-7-1 Yokoi, Shimada-shi, Shizuoka Yazaki Keiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Haruyoshi Ono 1-7-1 Yokoi, Shimada-shi, Shizuoka Yazaki Keiki In the formula company

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of instruments, such as a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, and a water temperature gauge, and a plurality of lighting rooms defined by partition walls corresponding to a gear position display and a warning display item such as a fuel shortage. A combination meter light guide plate used in a combination meter provided with a warning unit, wherein a light guide unit common to the plurality of meters, a lens unit covering an upper part of an illumination room of the warning unit, and A light guide plate for a combination meter, wherein the light guide plate is formed integrally with a light shielding portion at a boundary portion between a light portion and a lens portion. 2. The light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 1, wherein a peripheral surface of the light guide plate and a back surface of the light guide portion are covered with a light guide plate case. . 3. The combination meter light guide plate according to claim 2, wherein the light guide plate case is formed by integrally forming a partition wall of the warning portion. Light guide plate. 4. The light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 1, wherein the light-shielding portion is constituted by a slit formed at the boundary portion. Light guide plate for combination meter. 5. The light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 4, wherein the slit has a reflection surface formed by inclining a slit side surface on the light guide portion side. A light guide plate for a combination meter. 6. The light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 4, wherein the slit is formed by forming a light shielding layer on a side surface of the slit. 7. The light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 4, wherein the light-shielding portion comprises the slit and a light-shielding wall inserted in the slit. Characteristic light guide plate for combination meter. 8. The light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 7, wherein the light shielding wall is formed by an extended portion of the light guide plate case. 9. The light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 1, wherein the light-shielding portion is formed with a thick light guide portion and a thin lens. A light guide plate for a combination meter, wherein the light guide plate is constituted by a step portion formed at a boundary portion with the portion. 10. The combination meter light guide plate according to claim 9, wherein said light shielding portion is constituted by said step portion and a slit formed in said lens portion. Light guide plate for meter. 11. The light guide plate for a combination meter according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding portion is formed by a reflection surface formed to be inclined in the light guide plate at the boundary portion. A light guide plate for a combination meter, comprising: