JPH1151715A - Pointer cap structure of display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate light leakage from a cap and provide sufficient light intensity shining on a pointer by circumferentially providing a light shield plate on a cap wall face covering the pointer shaft part of a pointer base end. SOLUTION: Light from a light source is made incident on a light guide plate 20, reflection is repeated and light reaches a reflection face 20. Reflection light on a reflection face 20r is emitted from the upper face 20y of the light guide plate 20, and made incident on a pointer 10 from the lower face of a pointer shaft 10x to shine the pointer 10. At the time of light source generation, since the graduation of a dial 1, indexes and the pointer 10 is shone, visibility of a driver is enabled. At the time of non-emission a meter face can be prevented from being observed by a protection cover performing black facing. At this time, a cap 11 to cover a pointer shaft part 10x is disposed in the center of the dial 1, and a light shield plate 30 is formed to circumferentially be provided on the outside wall face of the cap 11. Thereby light leakage from the cap 11 is eliminated, and sufficient light intensity shining on the pointer can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pointer cap structure for a display device, and more particularly to a display device for displaying a pointer by illuminating the pointer, and more particularly to a display device suitable for a black-faced display device. It relates to a pointer cap structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a moving body such as a vehicle is equipped with an instrument for displaying measured values such as a vehicle speed and an engine speed. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a display device using a conventional pointer, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a conventional pointer lighting device, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a dial, and a scale 1a and indices 1b such as numerals, characters or symbols are formed on the surface of the dial 1. Reference numeral 2 denotes a pointer, which is arranged in front of the dial 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes an inner machine, which rotates the pointer 2 according to the measured amount. Reference numeral 4 denotes a case, which fixes and stores the dial 1 and the inner unit 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes a look-back, which is arranged so as to cover the dial 1. Reference numeral 6 denotes a protective cover for protecting the hands 2 on the dial 1.

[0004] In such a display device, there is known a display device in which the pointer portion of the pointer is illuminated in order to improve the visibility of the pointer. The configuration of this conventional pointer will be described with reference to FIG.

[0005] A rotating shaft 3x protrudes upward from the inner machine 3, which is the instrument body. Light L from the light source 7 disposed so as to face the inner unit 3 is guided by a light guide plate 20 made of a transparent acrylic resin or the like. The light guide plate 20 is arranged above the inner unit 3, and both ends of the light guide plate 20 face the light source 7.

In the through hole 20h of the light guide plate 20,
The rotating shaft 1x faces, and the through-hole 20h is formed to have a smooth truncated cone shape. In the vicinity of the through hole 20h, a pointer shaft portion 10x of a pointer 10 to be described later
A reflection surface 20r is provided so as to be reflected toward the lower surface of the inner unit 3 so as to be inclined toward the guided light L in the same direction, for example, at an angle of 45 degrees, and open toward the inner unit 3.

[0007] Similarly to the light guide plate 20, a through hole 1h is formed in the dial 1 disposed above the light guide plate 20. The through hole 1h is formed to be wider than the width of the lower surface 10y of the pointer shaft portion 10x, which will be described later, and to have a smooth circular shape. Further, by removing the design of the scale 1a and the index 1b of the dial 1, the light L reaching the light guide plate 20 attached to the dial 1 from the light source shines the scale 1a and the index 1b.

A cap 11 is arranged at the center of the dial 1 so as to cover the pointer shaft 10x, and extends from the ceiling 11a of the cap 11 and extends through the through hole 20h.
The leading end of the rotating shaft 3x is press-fitted into b. The pointer 10 is made of a member having good light-guiding properties, and the boss 11b is press-fitted into the pointer shaft 10x at the base end of the pointer. The pointer 10p extending in the radial direction from the pointer shaft 10x is
And is located above dial 1.

The pointer shaft 1 functions as a light receiving surface.
0x is a light guide plate 20 functioning as a light exit surface.
The light guide plate 2 is provided on the pointer shaft 10x.
A reflecting surface 10r for reflecting the light L from the 0 reflecting surface 20r to the pointer 10p is formed. On the lower surface of the pointer 10p, a hot stamp layer 12 of red color or the like is formed.

The instrument has a light guide plate 20 having a dial 1 and a flange 3y provided at the upper end of the inner machine 3 mounted on the upper surface of an inner machine 2 fixed to a printed wiring board via screws 8. The screw 8 is desirably located as close as possible to the through hole 1h of the dial 1 in consideration of the bending caused by expansion and contraction of the dial 1 and the light guide plate 20 due to heat. By fixing the inner machine 3, the dial 1, and the light guide plate 20 with the screws 8, the deflection can be prevented.

Next, the display operation of the display device configured as described above will be described. The light L from the light source 7 is
The light enters the light guide plate 20 from both end portions of the light guide 20 and repeatedly reaches the reflection surface 20r. The light L reflected by the reflection surface 20r exits from the upper surface 20y of the light guide plate 20. And
The light L emitted from the upper surface 20r of the light guide plate 20 is incident on the pointer 10 from the lower surface 10y of the pointer shaft 10x, and is reflected on the reflection surface 1r.
The light is reflected at 0r and proceeds to the hot stamp layer 12. The light L that has reached the hot stamp layer 12 in this manner is diffused by the hot stamp layer 12, and illuminates the pointer 10p with red or the like. The above-described display device is proposed and known in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-20716.

In the above-described display device, when realizing a black face, a black translucent resin is used for the protective cover 6. By doing so, when the light source 7 disposed below the dial 1 emits light, the scale 1a, the indicator 1b, and the pointer 10 on the dial 1 are shining, so that the driver can view the inside of the display device. Can be observed. On the other hand, in a state where the light source 7 does not emit light, the driver cannot observe the state of the dial and the like inside the display device, and can make a black face.

As described above, when a member having low transparency is used for the protective cover 6 of the display device in order to form a black face when the light source 7 does not emit light, the scale 1a, the index 1b and the pointer 10 are used when the light source 7 emits light. L guided to the
If the luminous intensity is low, there is a problem that it is difficult to visually recognize.

Problems with the scale 1a and the index 1b are not shown, but the surface of the light guide plate 20 attached to the dial 1 that is not the light L transmitting portion of the scale 1a and the index 1b is subjected to light reflection. The problem can be solved by winding with a high rate, for example, a white organic substance. The white organic substance reflects light that has entered the light guide plate 20 back into the light guide plate 20, thereby eliminating light leaking from the light guide plate 20 and securing the luminous intensity of the light L guided from the light source 7. can do. Furthermore, if the luminous intensity of the light source 7 is increased, the light L with higher luminous intensity can be guided.

Next, regarding the brightness of the pointer 10, the pointer 1
Since it is desirable to guide the light L incident from the light guide plate 20 to the pointer 10p by utilizing all the reflection surfaces 10r of the light guide plate 20r, the reflection surface 20r having the same width as the reflection surface 10r is formed by the light guide plate 20r.
Is required. However, since the thickness of the light guide plate 20 is limited, the thickness of the light guide plate 20 can be increased only within the range of the restriction. The luminous intensity of the light L incident on the light source can be increased. Thus, the luminous intensity of the light L can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the light guide plate 20. Further, when it is desired to increase the luminous intensity of the light L, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
This is dealt with by using a structure in which the reflecting surface 20r of the light guide plate 20 is divided into a plurality of parts so as to be inclined in the same direction toward the guided light L to form a step-like reflecting surface, such as 05768. be able to.

Further, by forming the diameter of the through hole 1h of the dial 1 close to the diameter of the cap 11, the light guide plate 20 is formed.
Of the upper surface 20y can be increased. Therefore, more light can be emitted from the upper surface 20y of the light guide plate 20 with respect to the light L reflected by the reflection surface 20r.

By adopting the above-described structure, it is possible to solve the problem that the scale 1a, the index 1b and the pointer 10 are difficult to visually recognize in a black-faced display device.

[0018]

However, the following disadvantages still remain with each of the above-mentioned prior arts. That is, when the luminous intensity of the light L emitted from the light guide plate 20 increases, the lower surface 1
There is a problem that light is leaked from the cap 11 by being reflected at 0y and the lower end of the cap 11. That is, when the driver looks at the display device through the protective cover 6, the periphery of the cap 11 appears to be blurred, resulting in halation. Furthermore, light hits the screw thread 8a of the screw 8 disposed so as to be opposed to the cap 11 so that the driver can visually recognize the screw thread 8a, and the light reflected by the screw thread 8a causes halation. Will also increase the range.

Further, when the through hole 1h of the dial 1 is enlarged, there is a problem that the internal structure such as the light guide plate 20 can be seen from between the cap 11 and the dial 1 depending on the driver's viewing angle. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and in a display device having a black face, a light guide plate is provided around a wall surface of a cap covering a pointer shaft at a base end of a pointer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pointer cap structure which can prevent light leakage from the cap by being formed and satisfy the luminous intensity that makes the pointer shine.

[0021]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to the first aspect of the present invention is directed to a pointer shaft reflecting surface, which constitutes a pointer attached to the tip of a rotating shaft protruding from an instrument body, from a light source. A meter using a pointer illumination structure for reflecting the light guided by the reflection surface of the light guide plate provided with a reflection surface inclined toward the guided light, and illuminating the hands of the hands, and covering the meter. With a protective cover with reduced transparency for the black face arranged in the, the pointer, scale and numbers, at least one of the indicators such as letters or symbols, shine, moving the pointer according to the measured amount, In a display device that displays a measured amount in cooperation with a scale and an indicator attached to a dial, by forming a light shielding plate around a wall surface of a cap that covers a pointer shaft portion at a base end of the pointer, From the pointer shaft to the dial Wherein the concealed light leakage.

A feature of the invention according to claim 1 is that a light-shielding plate is formed so as to surround the wall surface of the cap. With this configuration, the same effect as the first aspect can be obtained even if the shape of the cap of the pointer is variously changed.

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, if the tip of the light-shielding plate is formed to be bent in the dial direction as in the invention of the third aspect, the shape of the light-shielding plate can be reduced. At the same time, the concealment function can be improved.

According to the invention described in claim 1, 2, or 3, further, as in the invention described in claim 4, the light-shielding plate of the cap is provided on the surface of the dial plate with screws for fixing the dial and the inner machine. By configuring the protruding screw thread to be hidden at a higher position, the screw thread can be removed from the surface of the dial in a pseudo manner.

A feature of the first, second, third or fourth aspect of the present invention is that the pointer cap structure is a display device having a low transparency of a protective cover arranged so as to cover the instrument, that is, a black face. In this case, the protective cover having high transparency is used in place of the protective cover for the black face arranged so as to cover the meter as in the invention according to claim 4. That is, by using a normal pointer for a display device that shines, it is possible to make the shine of the pointer clearer and to prevent halation at night.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example of an embodiment in which the pointer cap structure according to the present invention is used for a black-faced display device will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a pointer cap structure according to the present invention when used in a conventional display device, as viewed from the tip end of the pointer, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the pointer cap structure according to the present invention from above.

In FIG. 1, similarly to the above-described conventional display device, light from a light source (not shown) is incident on the light guide plate 20, and repeats reflection to reach the reflection surface 20r. The light reflected by the reflection surface 20r exits from the upper surface 20y of the light guide plate 20. Then, the light emitted from the upper surface 20y of the light guide plate 20 is incident on the hands 10 from the lower surface of the hands 10x, and makes the hands 10 shine. With such a structure, when the light source emits light, the scales, indicators, and hands 10 of the dial 1 are illuminated, so that the driver can view the scale. On the other hand, when the light source does not emit light, the protective face 6 formed into a black face can prevent the instrument surface from being observed.

In such a display device, the pointer shaft 1
The cap 11 is arranged at the center of the dial 1 so as to cover 0x, and a light-shielding plate 30 is formed so as to surround the outer wall surface of the cap 11. As for the member of the light-shielding plate 30, if the cap 11 is a non-transmissive member, it is desirable to configure the same member. Further, it is desirable that the cap 11 and the light shielding plate are formed integrally by a flange process or the like, which is a bending process. With such a structure, the cap 1 can be formed without increasing the number of parts during assembly.
Light leaking from the dial 1 to the dial 1 can be reliably concealed. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the wall surface of the cap 11 and the light shielding plate 30 are formed to be perpendicular, but the wall surface of the cap 11 and the light shielding plate 30 may be formed to be oblique.

Further, the formation range of the light shielding plate 30 can be variously changed depending on the shape of the cap 11. If the cap 11 is circular, the light shielding plate 30 is also formed so as to be provided around. The movement range of the pointer differs between the meter as the speedometer and the meter as the fuel meter, and the movement range of the pointer of the fuel gauge is smaller. In this manner, the range of the upper surface 20y of the light guide plate 20 functioning as the light exit surface can be narrowed according to the moving range of the pointer 10. In such a case, the light blocking plate 30 may be partially formed according to the range of the upper surface 20y of the light guide plate 20. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, for the cap 11 in which the light shielding plate 30 is not circular,
It may be formed partially on the wall surface of the cap 11 and formed into a circular shape by integrating the light shielding plate 30 and the cap 11.

Next, the driver reads the cap 11 and the dial 1 from the driver.
In order to solve the problem of the lateral appearance that the internal structure of the light guide plate 20 and the like can be seen from between, the width and the position of the light shielding plate 30 from the wall surface of the cap 11 are determined in consideration of the lateral appearance angle θ from the driver. It can be dealt with by designing.

In the display device shown in FIG. 1, the position of the light shielding plate 30 is formed on the wall surface of the cap 11 so as to be close to the surface of the screw thread 8a because the screw thread 8a exists on the surface of the dial 1. The width of the light shielding plate 30 is determined by the thread 8a.
It is large enough to cover up. By forming the light shielding plate 30 in this manner, the angle of lateral view θ from the driver can be reduced, and the light leaked from the cap 11 to the dial 1 can be concealed. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, since the light shielding plate 30 covers and hides the screw thread 8 a, it is possible to show the driver that the screw 8 is not used on the dial 1. Note that the formation position of the light shielding plate 30 in the cap 11 is desirably formed so as to be close to the dial 1 in consideration of the horizontal viewing angle θ.

The shape of the light shielding plate 30 can be variously different. Although the light-shielding plate 30 may be formed in a plate-like state around the wall surface of the cap 11, the tip of the light-shielding plate 30 may be bent in the direction of the dial 1 as in the light-shielding plate 30 of FIG. The shape can also be changed. With such a shape, if the position of the wall surface of the cap 11 is at the same height, the side view angle θ can be narrower than that of the light-shielding plate 30 that is not bent in a plate shape. In addition, about the shape of the bending of the front-end | tip part of the light-shielding plate 30, various shapes, such as an ironing bending or a push-off bending, can be used.

Although the above embodiment has been described with respect to a display device having a black face, the pointer cap structure of the present invention can also be used for a display device which is not black face which makes the pointer shine. In the case of a display device that shines a pointer that is not blackfaced, the halation near the center of the pointer is inconspicuous during the day, but the surroundings are dark at night, so the center of the pointer is similar to the display device that is blackfaced. Halation occurs in the vicinity. Therefore, if the present invention is applied to a display device that uses a transparent protective cover to make a normal pointer shine, it is possible to make the pointer shine more vividly and to prevent halation at night.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a display device having a black face, a light guide plate is formed so as to surround a wall surface of a cap covering a pointer shaft at a base end of a pointer. Thus, there is an effect that light leakage from the cap can be eliminated and the luminous intensity that makes the pointer shine can be satisfied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a pointer cap structure according to the present invention when used in a conventional display device, as viewed from a pointer tip direction.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view from above of a pointer cap structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a display device using a conventional pointer.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a main part of a conventional pointer lighting device.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dial 3 Inner machine 8 Screw 8a Thread 10 Pointer 11 Cap 20 Light guide plate 30 Shield plate

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A reflection surface of a light guide plate in which a reflection surface inclined toward light guided from a light source is provided on a reflection surface of a pointer shaft constituting a pointer attached to a tip of a rotation shaft protruding from an instrument main body. An indicator using a pointer illumination structure that reflects the light guided by the indicator to shine the pointer of the pointer, and a protective cover with reduced transparency for a black face disposed to cover the meter, the pointer A display device for illuminating at least one of a scale and an index such as a numeral, a character or a symbol, moving the pointer according to the measured amount, and displaying the measured amount in cooperation with the scale and the index attached to the dial. Wherein light leakage from the pointer shaft to the dial is concealed by forming a light-shielding plate around the wall surface of the cap covering the pointer shaft at the base end of the pointer. Pointer cap structure for display device. 2. The pointer cap structure for a display device according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding plate is partially formed on a wall surface of a cap that covers a pointer shaft at a base end of the pointer. 3. A pointer cap structure for a display device according to claim 1, wherein a tip portion of said light-shielding plate is bent in a dial direction to improve a concealing function. 4. The light-shielding plate of the cap is formed so as to be concealed at a position higher than a thread of a screw for fixing the dial and the inner unit that protrudes from the dial surface. Item 4. A pointer cap structure for a display device according to item 1, 2 or 3. 5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein a protective cover having high transparency is used instead of the protective cover for a black face arranged so as to cover the instrument. Pointer cap structure.