JPH1130533A - Needle lighting device for instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a needle lighting device for instrument where a pointer can be formed slimly without losing the brightness of the pointer while maintaining an advantage in that the brightness does not change due to the rotation of the pointer and hence appearance can be improved. SOLUTION: The pointer lighting device for instrument applies light to a needle 2 that rotates with a base part 2c being fixed to a rotary shaft 5 through a dial as a center with a pointer reflection surface 2c for guiding light entering a light reception surface 2b of the base part 2a from a lower part along the periphery of the rotary shaft 5 toward the direction of an indication part 2d. At least either the light reception surface 2b or the pointer reflection surface 2c has a condensing means and a condensing region is provided in the indication part 2d.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instrument for illuminating a pointer for an instrument, and more particularly to an illuminator for improving the visibility of a pointer attached to a rotating shaft in an instrument for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to improve the visibility of a pointer,
A device that shines the pointer portion of a pointer is known. For example, a pointer illuminating device as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 7-218294) has been proposed. In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a dial, and reference numeral 2 denotes a pointer having a base 2a fixed to an upper end of a rotating shaft 5 penetrating the dial 1. A light guide plate 4 for guiding light emitted from the light source 3 is provided below the dial 1, and is configured to reflect light toward the base 2 a by a light guide plate reflection surface 4 a formed in a conical shape. I have. The base 2a of the pointer 2 extends so as to cover the entire light guide plate reflection surface 4a.
a light receiving surface 2b for receiving light reflected from the light receiving surface 2a;
and a flat pointer reflecting surface 2c for reflecting the light incident from the point b toward the distal end side of the pointer 2.

[0003]

Such a pointer illuminating device has an advantage that its brightness does not change even if the pointer 2 is rotated. However, if the pointer 2 is to be made to emit light more brightly, the light guide plate will be reflected. It is necessary to guide the light incident from the surface 4a to the pointer 2 as much as possible. Therefore, in the related art, the area of the pointer reflecting surface 2c is increased, and the inclination thereof is set to 45 ° which is larger than the critical angle of the total reflection of light. However, in this case, the height of the base 2a of the pointer 2 is reduced. At the same time, the thickness is inevitably increased, resulting in a problem of poor appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the brightness of the hands while maintaining the advantage that the brightness does not change due to the rotation of the hands. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pointer lighting device for an instrument, which can have a slim shape without impairment, and thus can improve the appearance.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an instrument pointer illuminating device according to the present invention comprises a pointer rotating around a base fixed to a rotating shaft passing through a dial.
In a device for illuminating with a pointer reflecting surface that guides light incident on the light receiving surface of the base from below along the circumference of the rotation axis in the direction of the indicating portion, at least one of the light receiving surface and the pointer reflecting surface is provided. It is characterized in that it comprises a light condensing means and is configured to have a light condensing area in the pointing section.

In the instrument pointer illuminating device according to the present invention, the condensing means is a parabolic or elliptical reflecting surface, or a lens formed or attached to the light receiving surface. Even if the base is suppressed from becoming large, light can be efficiently guided to the thin pointing portion, and bright light can be emitted.

[0007] Since the light-collecting region is located near the boundary between the base portion and the pointing portion, the entire pointing portion can emit light brightly, and the light-collecting region can be located near the tip of the pointing portion. By arranging, the tip portion of the pointing portion can be made to emit light brightly.

Further, if a micro prism surface is formed or provided on the light receiving surface, light incident along the rotation axis can be efficiently guided toward the pointer reflecting surface. The degree of freedom in setting the shape, size, position, posture, and the like of the reflecting surface is increased, and the appearance can be easily improved by changing the shape and size of the pointer.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a lighting device for an instrument pointer according to the present invention, and the reference numerals of the respective parts in the drawings are the same as those of the respective parts described in FIGS.

In FIG. 1, a light guide plate 4 is provided on the back side of the dial 1, and a rotation shaft 5 penetrating the dial 1 and the light guide plate 4 is moved by a movement 6 installed on a substrate 7. It is driven to rotate. The light emitted from the light source 3 similarly set on the substrate 7 is guided through the inside of the light guide plate 4 formed of a light guide material, and is turned around the hole through which the rotating shaft 5 penetrates by 45 °.
The light guide plate reflection surface 4a formed in the shape of a conical surface is reflected, reflected in a direction along the rotation axis 5, and emitted from the light guide plate window surface 4b.

Further, the pointer 2 made of a light-guiding material is used.
Is mounted such that its base 2 a is fitted and fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 5. A light receiving surface 2b is formed on the dial 1 side of the base 2a, and a pointer reflecting surface 2c is formed on the side of the base 2a with respect to the light receiving surface 2b, so that light incident from the light guide plate window surface 4b passes through the light receiving surface 2b. Pointer reflective surface 2
c, and the light is reflected toward the pointing unit 2d. Reference numeral 8 denotes a pointer cap.

The light receiving surface 2 formed on the base 2a
At least one of the pointer b and the pointer reflecting surface 2c is provided with a light collecting means. Such a light condensing means is for converging light incident on the light receiving surface 2b as a parallel light flux from the light guide plate window surface 4b or diverging into a narrow light condensing area. In the case of the light receiving surface 2b, the lens itself may be a lens surface, or a lens may be provided in front of the light receiving surface 2b. In the case of the pointer reflecting surface 2c, it may itself be a part of a paraboloid or a part of an elliptical surface.
These light condensing means are used alone or in combination to refract or reflect light incident from the light guide plate window surface 4b as a pseudo light source at the base 2a, and
Any material can be used as long as it works so as to efficiently converge the light-collecting region 2e inside d.

Further, the lens on the light receiving surface 2b provided with the light condensing means may be a convex lens or a Fresnel lens formed on the light receiving surface 2b, or may be a light receiving surface 2b.
May be a convex lens or a Fresnel lens provided in parallel with the surface. Such light condensing means on the light receiving surface 2b is effective for reducing the size of the pointer reflecting surface 2c.
Further, the paraboloid or ellipsoid formed by the pointer reflecting surface 2c provided with the above-mentioned condensing means is not necessarily a paraboloid of revolution or ellipsoid of revolution, but also a paraboloid or ellipsoid of cone. Alternatively, a parabolic surface or an elliptical surface having various cross-sectional shapes may be adopted according to the range and position of the light-collecting region 2e.

In the present invention, the light converging area 2e where light is converged by the light converging means may be not only point-shaped but also linear, and is not particularly limited. In addition, the position of the light-collecting region 2e is effective for increasing the brightness by being inside the indicating section 2d. Then, the position of the light-collecting region 2e is designated by the instruction unit 2
By setting d near the base 2a, it is easy to reduce the thickness of the indicator 2d, and there is an advantage that the brightness can be increased as a whole. On the other hand, when set near the tip of the indicator 2d, There is an advantage that the brightness at the front end portion is particularly large and the scale of the dial 1 is easy to see.

In the present invention, the microprism provided on the light receiving surface 2b changes the direction of the light incident on the light receiving surface 2b from vertical to nearly horizontal. This is effective in reducing the height, and is also effective in reducing the size of the light-collecting region 2e.

Further, it is preferable that an optical path is formed in the base portion 2a so that the light incident from the light receiving surface 2b is reflected by the pointer reflecting surface 2c and converges on the light collecting area 2e. Since it is not always preferable to repeat reflection and refraction in the hand, it is preferable that the pointer 2 is made of a light-guiding material and the base 2a and the pointing portion 2d are formed integrally.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The construction of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 other than the pointer 2 is essentially the same as that of the prior art shown in FIGS. The pointer 2 used in this example is made of an acrylic resin or the like and is colorless and transparent, but is made of a material that can be scattered by mixing fine powder materials having different refractive indexes. It may be formed. The base 2a of the pointer 2 has an outer shape similar to a lateral cone, and an indicator 2d is formed to extend laterally from the top. A pointer reflecting surface 2c is formed on the upper part of the base 2a, and a lower part of the base 2a is
A flat light receiving surface 2b is formed surrounding the mounting portion of the rotating shaft 5, and the light emitted upward from the light guide plate window 4b by the light guide plate reflection surface 4a passes through the light reception surface 2b and remains as a pointer. It reaches the reflection surface 2c.

The pointer reflecting surface 2c is formed in a shape that constitutes a part of a paraboloid of revolution having an axis parallel to the rotation axis 5, and its focal position is between the base 2a and the pointing portion 2d. It is configured so as to be closer to the instruction portion 2d than the connection portion. Therefore, the light incident on the light receiving surface 2b in parallel along the rotation axis 5 is reflected by the pointer reflecting surface 2c, converges on the light-collecting area 2e in the indicating portion 2d including the focal position, and is directed toward the tip of the indicating portion 2d as it is. I will go towards it.

The light focused on the focusing area 2e directly from the pointer reflecting surface 2c without unnecessary reflection on the outer wall surface of the base 2a in this manner repeats reflection on the peripheral surface of the pointing portion 2d. It is effective to increase the brightness of the indicator 2d because
By providing a transparent or translucent colored paint film or the like on the upper surface or the like of the indicator 2d, the degree of recognition can be further increased.

In the above example, instead of forming the pointer reflecting surface 2c so as to form a part of a paraboloid of revolution, one of the focal positions is focused on the light guide plate window 4b and the other focal position is focused. A shape that forms a part of the spheroid such as the region 2e can be used. In this case, the operation and effects are exactly the same as those in the above-described example, except that the image of the light guide plate window 4b is formed on the light-collecting area 2e in the indicating section 2d.

FIG. 3 shows a pointer 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The structure other than the pointer 2 is essentially the same as that of the embodiment of FIG. The light receiving surface 2b of the pointer 2 used in this example has a shape in which a microprism array perpendicular to the axial direction of the pointing portion 2d is formed instead of being a flat surface, Light incident on the light receiving surface 2b from below is refracted in the direction in which the indicator 2d is provided, and is directed to the pointer reflecting surface 2c forming a paraboloid.

For this reason, the pointer reflecting surface 2c in this embodiment is provided so as to take a posture which is closer to the horizontal and inclined in the direction of the indicator 2d, so that the angle of incidence of light on the pointer reflecting surface 2c increases, and The light-collecting region 2e can be further moved in the direction toward the inside of the instruction portion 2d.

Further, in this embodiment, the microprism array formed on the light receiving surface 2b may be provided so that the light incident on the light receiving surface 2b is refracted in a direction away from the indicator 2d. In this case, the pointer reflecting surface 2c is provided at a position closer to the vertical and separated from the pointing portion 2d, and the pointer reflecting surface 2c can be reduced and provided at a lower position.

In the pointer 2 in another embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the base 2a has an outer shape similar to a lateral pyramid or wedge, and the curvature of the pointer reflection surface 2c is converged in the horizontal direction. The position is in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the pointing portion 2d and the base 2a, and the focusing position in the vertical direction is near the tip of the pointing portion 2d. Therefore, the light reflected by the pointer reflecting surface 2c has a vertically elongated focusing shape near the connecting portion between the pointing portion 2d and the base 2a. Then, the light is repeatedly reflected between both longitudinal sides as the light travels in the direction of the tip of the indicator 2d, and converges in the vertical direction near the tip of the indicator 2d.

In some cases, in FIG. 5, the light receiving surface 2b of the pointer 2 can be configured to be a convex lens surface instead of a flat surface. In this case,
Since the light traveling toward the pointer reflecting surface 2c is in the process of being converged, the pointer reflecting surface 2c can be made smaller, light collection becomes easier, and the size of the pointer 2 can be further reduced.

[0026]

As described above, the instrument pointer illuminating device of the present invention retains the advantage of the prior art that the brightness does not change due to the rotation of the pointer, and also reduces the light incident on the pointer. Since the light can be efficiently condensed in the indicator, the pointer can be made slim while increasing the brightness of the indicator. In addition, since the degree of freedom in designing the shape, size, position, posture, etc. of the pointer reflecting surface for guiding light into the indicating portion is increased, the appearance is improved without impairing the original function by downsizing the pointer. It is easy to improve.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an embodiment of an instrument pointer illumination device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the pointer used in the embodiment of the instrument pointer illumination device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a vertical section of a pointer used in another embodiment of the instrument pointer illumination device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a pointer used in another embodiment of the instrument pointer illumination device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a vertical section of a pointer used in still another embodiment of the instrument pointer illuminating device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional pointer lighting device.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing a light guide plate and a light source portion of a pointer lighting device according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dial 2 pointer 2 pointer 2a light receiving surface 2c pointer reflection surface 2d indicator 2e light condensing area 3 light source 4 light guide plate 4a light guide plate reflection surface 4b light guide window surface 5 rotation axis 6 movement 7 substrate 8 pointer cap

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Noriaki Ota 1-7-1 Yokoi, Shimada-shi, Shizuoka Yazaki Keiki Co., Ltd.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A pointer which rotates around a base fixed to a rotating shaft penetrating a dial, guides light incident on a light receiving surface of the base from below along the periphery of the rotating shaft in the direction of the indicator. In an apparatus for illuminating with a pointer reflecting surface, at least one of the light receiving surface and the pointer reflecting surface includes a light condensing unit, and is configured to have a light condensing area in the pointing unit. Instrument pointer lighting device. 2. The instrument pointer illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the light collecting means is a parabolic or elliptical reflecting surface, or a lens formed or attached to the light receiving surface. 3. The instrument pointer illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the light-collecting region is located near a boundary between the base portion and the pointing portion. 4. The instrument pointer lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light-collecting region is located near a tip of the pointing unit. 5. The instrument pointer lighting device according to claim 1, wherein a microprism surface is formed or provided on the light receiving surface. 6. The instrument pointer lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the base portion and the pointing portion are formed of a translucent material. 7. The instrument pointer lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the base portion and the indicating portion are formed integrally. 8. An optical path in which light incident on the light receiving surface enters the indicating portion is entirely in the base.
The pointer lighting device for an instrument according to any one of the above.