WO1998037385A1 - Light emitting pointer and its illumination device - Google Patents

Abstract

A light emitting pointer disposed in front of a display panel (1) having an indication portion (1A) for indicating a predetermined physical quantity, for indicating the indication portion (1A) of the display plate (1) while emitting light upon receiving light emitted thereto, includes integrally a rod-like indicator (12) for indicating the indication portion (1A) of the display plate (1) and a pointer fixing portion (11) capable of being fixed to a rotary shaft (7) of a meter main body (6). A pointer main body (10) is made of a transparent material capable of receiving and transmitting light substantially along its entire length inclusive of the pointer fixing portion (11) and the indicator (12). Therefore, a simple pointer illumination structure becomes feasible, and a simple, slim and shadow-free light emitting pointer having high visibility can be achieved.

Description

 Description Emission guide and its lighting equipment

 The present invention relates to a light-emitting pointer for illuminating a pointer in order to satisfactorily determine a measured value such as a traveling speed in a vehicle instrument, and a lighting device therefor. Background art

 In general, as a structure of this type of instrument lighting device, in order to satisfactorily judge measured values such as running speed at night etc., for example, an instrument body is provided in a case, and a pointer is fixed to the rotating shaft of this instrument body, A display with a light-transmissive printed layer on the light-transmitting substrate on the front side of the instrument body, excluding characters, numbers, and scales, to form indicators that make the letters, numbers, and scales transparent. An instrument device is provided inside the case, which is provided with a plate, and rotates the pointer on the display plate on which the indicator is formed, and displays the measured values such as the traveling speed by reading the contrast between the indicator and the indicator. The light from the light source is transmitted from the light-transmitting index portion toward the front surface of the display panel to illuminate characters, numerals, scales, and the like serving as the index portion.

 In order to illuminate the hands, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-15058 issued by the Japan Patent Office, a light guide plate is provided on the back side of the display plate, and the light guide plate is provided with a guide shaft. A reflective surface inclined about 45 degrees is formed around the hole, a part of the display panel corresponding to this reflective surface position is cut out in a circular shape, and the upper surface of the light guide plate is exposed toward the pointer, and the upper surface of the display panel is exposed. The base of the pointer provided at the base is provided with a light receiving part for receiving light to be irradiated from the reflecting surface of the light guide plate to the pointer, and a reflecting surface inclined at about 45 degrees for reflecting and guiding the light toward the tip of the pointer. Is provided. In this way, the display panel is illuminated via the light guide plate by turning on the light source inside the case, and at the same time, the hands can be illuminated.

However, according to the above configuration, in order to make the pointer emit light brightly, it is necessary to efficiently reflect and guide the light from the light source through the light guide plate and the reflection surface of the pointer base. In the design of the reflective surface, there are problems that it takes time to perform an optical path analysis and the like, and that forming the reflective surface increases the cost of a mold.

 In addition, this type of instrument may have a lighting structure that illuminates the display panel surface and hands with light from the front of the display panel. That is, a light source provided in a case for transmitting and illuminating the indicator portion of the display panel as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-1275778 issued by the Japan Patent Office is provided. The light from this light source is guided to the front side of the display panel along the inner wall of the case by a light guide member made of transparent acryl, etc., and the end of this light guide member is exposed through a hole in the case to form a light emitting portion. Then, light is emitted from the light emitting portion to the display panel surface side, and the illumination is performed by reflecting the light on the display panel surface and the pointer surface by the emitted light.

 In this structure, the light guide plate and the pointer do not need to be provided with a reflecting surface for illuminating the pointer as compared with the above-described pointer illumination structure, and the structure is simplified, but in this case, since the pointer is formed of a light-shielding member, There is a problem that the shadow of the pointer is generated on the display panel due to the illumination from the front side of the display panel.

 Other pointer lighting structures include a built-in light source at the base of the pointer to reflect and guide light toward the translucent indicator, and a built-in LED chip along the indicator to emit light. However, there has been a problem in that the assembly is complicated and the power supply structure such as terminals and soldering is easily complicated because power is supplied to the inside of the rotating pointer.

 In addition, many of the above-mentioned pointer illumination methods have been proposed in general in pursuit of uniformity of brightness and brightness of a pointer that emits light. However, the display form of the pointer that emits light is generally flat and lacks interest. There were many.

 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an instrument illuminating device which enables a simple pointer illumination structure, does not generate a shadow of a pointer on a display panel, and has good visibility, and has a novel display form. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a light emitting guide and its lighting device. Disclosure of the invention

The present invention relates to a light-emitting indicator which is disposed in front of a display plate having an indicator portion representing a predetermined physical quantity and which indicates the indicator portion of the display plate while receiving and illuminating light. And a rod-shaped indicating portion for indicating the indicator portion of the display plate and a pointer fixing portion that can be fixed to the rotating shaft of the instrument main body are integrally provided, and over substantially the entire length including the pointer fixing portion and the indicating portion. Since the pointer body is made of a transparent material that can receive and transmit light, it enables a simple pointer illumination structure and provides a simple, slim, highly visible light-emitting pointer without shadows on the pointer. can do.

 Further, since the pointer main body is made of a chromatic translucent material other than black, the pointer main body receives ambient light and emits chromatic color light, thereby improving visibility.

 In addition, since the pointer main body has a light receiving portion having a flat surface for receiving light on a surface facing the display plate in a cross-sectional shape, light of the display plate emitting light is transmitted to the pointer by the light receiving portion having the flat surface. Can be accepted over almost the entire length of the.

 Further, since the thickness and width of the pointer main body are gradually reduced in the length direction with respect to the pointer fixing portion, the entirety of the pointer main body can be made a slim design, and the pointing portion for indicating an angle is provided. Can be sharpened, and accurate physical quantity can be displayed. Conversely, since the pointer fixing portion is the thickest in both thickness and width, the press-fitting strength of the rotating shaft can be maintained, and the rotating shaft insertion hole formed in the display plate is thickened. The pointer fixing portion makes it hard to see, and prevents the appearance from being deteriorated.

 Further, in the light receiving portion, the pointer fixing portion and the bottom portion of the pointing portion are on the same plane, and are formed of a flat surface provided in parallel with the display plate. The light receiving part consisting of a flat surface can be received over almost the entire length of the pointer, and there is no step in the light receiving part between the pointer fixing part and the pointing part, preventing the generation of unnatural light due to this step. It is possible to make the light emission of the pointer body look natural as a whole.

 In addition, by constructing the pointer main body from a plurality of types of chromatic translucent materials having different colors or transmittances, it is possible to accentuate the light emission of the pointer main body and improve the visibility.

In addition, a display plate having a ground color surface with high brightness and forming an index portion representing a predetermined physical quantity, and a rod-shaped indicating portion for indicating the index portion of the display plate are provided, and the instrument body is turned. A pointer body formed of a fixing portion that can be fixed to the spindle; and the pointer body is formed of a transparent material that can receive and transmit light from the display panel over substantially the entire length, and has a cross-sectional shape thereof. Since a light receiving portion made of a flat surface is formed on the surface facing the display panel in the above, a simple pointer illumination structure is enabled by using the light emission of the display panel to emit light over substantially the entire length. Cost reduction is possible. In addition, it is possible to provide a simple, slim, and highly visible light-emitting pointer without causing shadows on the pointer. In addition, the display panel is configured so that substantially the entire surface of at least the rotation range of the pointer main body is made of a color brighter than the color of the pointer main body, so that the transmitted light from the light source from the rear surface or the display panel surface The main body of the pointer can emit light by receiving the light from the display panel, which emits light brightly by reflected light to the main body, and transmitting the light to the front side. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

 FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a front view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. The figure is a sectional view showing a main part of the second embodiment of the present invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention.

A ground color layer made of a light-transmitting bright color is printed on the entire surface of a substrate made of a light-transmitting material, and the indicator 1A, which is composed of letters, numbers, and scales, representing a predetermined physical quantity, is printed by light-shielding printing. The display panel 1 is provided, and a light guide plate 2 is provided on the back side of the display panel 1. A light source 3 is provided at one end of the light guide plate 2, and the light source 3 is turned on to introduce light from the light source 3 into the light guide plate 2 at night when the surroundings become dark. Almost the entire area of the display panel 1 is caused to emit light with the ground color of the display panel 1 by a so-called edge light method, and the light-shielding indicator 1A is visually recognized in the area. . The light guide plate 2 is formed so as to gradually decrease in thickness from one end side where the light source 3 is provided to the other end side, and is configured so that the entire display plate 1 emits light almost uniformly. A white or silver reflector 4 is printed and formed on the rear side of the light guide plate 2 so that light guided inside the light guide plate 2 can be reflected well toward the upper display plate 1. ing.

 Inside the case 5 on the back side of the light guide plate 2, an instrument body 6 composed of a bobbin type instrument, a stepping motor, etc. is disposed, and a rotating shaft 7 of the instrument body 6 is formed on the display plate 1 and the light guide plate 2. It is provided so as to penetrate toward the front surface of the display panel 1 through the holes 8 and 9.

 A pointer body 10 made of a transparent material is press-fitted and fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft 7 of the instrument body 6, and the pointer body 10 rotates along the indicator 1 A formed on the display panel 1. It moves and indicates the measured value.

 At this time, the pointer body 10 is integrally formed of a pointer fixing portion 11 fixed to the rotating shaft 7 of the instrument body 6 and a rod-shaped indicating portion 12 pointing to the indicator 1A of the display panel 1. Further, the pointer main body 10 is made of a light-transmitting material made of a chromatic color other than black that can receive and transmit light over substantially the entire length including the pointer fixing portion 11 and the indicating portion 12.

In this embodiment, the pointer main body 10 is different from the emission color of the display panel 1 in order to increase the contrast of the pointer main body 10 with respect to the background of the light-emitting display panel 1 and emit light. The pointer body 10 is formed of a colored translucent resin material, and the light of the display panel 1 is received and transmitted through the pointer body 10 so that the pointer body 10 emits light by the color of the transparent material of the pointer body 10. ing. That is, in the present embodiment, while the luminescent color of the display panel 1 based on the ground color is white, the pointer main body 10 is made of a light-transmissive red transparent resin material, so that 0 is colored red, which is different from the white light emission color of the display panel 1, so as to be transmitted and illuminated. At this time, since the pointer body 10 takes in the entire surface of the display panel 1 which emits light and transmits and illuminates it, the emission color of the display panel 1 is higher than the color of the pointer body 10. The color is set to a bright color, and the display panel 1 is formed with a white transparent ground color layer such as white or cream. In this case, the ground color layer formed on the surface of the display panel 1 has a white color or a bright color. It is desirable to form by metallic printing.

 Therefore, the entire surface of the display panel 1 is used as it is to illuminate the pointer body 10 as it is, so that the pointer body 10 can emit light with the simplest illumination structure and the cost can be reduced. .

 In the daytime when the light source 3 is not turned on, the high brightness ground layer of the display panel 1 reflects the outside light on the surface of the display panel 1 well. The pointer main body 10 transmits and emits chromatic colors.

 Since the main body 10 is made of a transparent material, the main body 10 is formed on the display panel 1 even if the main body 10 blocks the indicator 1A such as characters, numerals, and scales. It is also possible to see through the index portion 1A as it is, and the pointer body 10 and the index portion 1A of the display panel 1 can be easily compared and read.

 In addition, the pointer body 10 is a light receiving section 14 having a flat surface 13 at a portion facing the display panel 1. In this case, the pointer fixing section 11 and the bottom section 15 of the indicating section 12 are connected. A light receiving portion 14 for receiving light from the display panel 1 is formed by being disposed in parallel with and facing the display panel 1 which emits light in the same plane. Then, the cross-sectional shape is formed narrower from the light receiving portion 14 on the side facing the display panel 1 toward the front side, and the front side is formed as a convex curve, and The illuminating light incident from the light receiving portion 9 composed of the flat surface 13 is focused toward the front side by both side portions of the pointer main body 8 to cause the pointer main body 8 to emit light brightly.

 At this time, the pointer main body 10 is composed of a three-dimensional pointer main body 10 made of a chromatic transparent material, and the pointer is directed from the display panel 1 toward the driver 1 according to the rotation angle position of the pointer main body 10. The path of light passing through the main body 10 is different, the line of sight changes, the amount of transmitted light changes continuously, and the reflection and scattering of light on the inner surface of the pointer body 10 or the surface of the pointer body 10 causes the main body of the pointer. Since the pointer main body 10 rotates while continuously changing the emission color according to the rotation of the main body 10, a new display form of the light emission of the main body 10 can be provided. Will also be excellent.

Further, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a reflective surface or a light source at the base of the pointer main body 10 as in the related art, so that the pointer cap for blindfolding the reflective surface or the light source can be eliminated, or the size can be reduced. Achievable and slim pointer appearance, freedom of pointer design It increases.

 At this time, since the thickness and width of the pointer main body 10 are gradually reduced in the length direction with the pointer fixing portion 11 as a base point, the entire pointer main body 10 can be made a slim design, and the angle indicating portion 1 is provided. The tip of 2 can be sharpened, and accurate physical quantity display is possible. Conversely, since the pointer fixing portion 11 is the thickest in both thickness and width, the press-fit strength of the rotating shaft 7 can be maintained, and the rotating shaft 7 formed in the display plate 1 has a hole 8 for insertion. The thick pointer fixing portion 11 makes it hard to see and prevents the appearance from being deteriorated.

 FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a display panel 1 on which a white translucent ground color layer having high brightness is printed and formed on the entire surface is provided. A light source 16 composed of an EL illuminator is installed on the back side of the display panel.When the light source is not lit during daytime, the display panel 1 reflects white light due to the reflection of external light on the surface, and emits light when it is dark, such as at night. In addition, the display panel 1 is transmitted and illuminated with the light from the light source 16 by illuminating the EL illuminant which is the light source 16 so that the display panel 1 emits blue-green light.

 On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the pointer main body 10 has two kinds of colors including a central portion 17 made of, for example, a red translucent material and a peripheral portion 18 made of a green translucent material 18. It is integrally molded with resin using different translucent materials.

 With the above configuration, for example, when the light source 16 is not turned on in the daytime, the display panel 1 is surface-reflected by external light to emit white light, and in the background of the display panel 1, the pointer body 10 has a central portion 17 in red. In addition, the peripheral portion 18 emits blue light and is visually recognized.

At night, the display panel 1 emits blue-green light by the light of the light source 16 composed of an EL luminous body. In the background of the blue-green display panel 1, the pointer body 10 has a central portion 17 in red and a peripheral edge. Part 18 emits green light and is visible. However, in this case, unlike the daytime light emission, the red color in the central part 17 is dimly emitted with respect to the background of the blue-green display panel 1 and the color is canceled, and the green color in the peripheral part 18 is assimilated with the background color The contrast becomes low. Then, only the dim red part of the central part 17 is prominently illuminated in a silhouette-like manner, and the pointer body 10 is visually recognized as if it were thinner than in daytime. In this way, the display form of the pointer Various changes can be made in combination with the scenery.

 In this case, the two types of translucent materials may be different in color as in the present embodiment, may be different in transmittance, or may be different from the peripheral portion and the central portion. The setting of the color of the section may be reversed, and the arrangement, size, shape, etc. of these translucent materials may be appropriately selected.

 Furthermore, in this embodiment, a single light source made of an EL light emitting body is provided, and the display form of the pointer is changed between daytime when the light source is not lit and nighttime when the light source is lit. However, for example, two kinds of light sources with different emission colors are provided, and two kinds of translucent materials that have a similar color and complementary color to this light source color are selected to configure the pointer body, and the light source can be switched and lit The display mode in which a part of the pointer body that is similar to the light source color emits a chromatic color while the other parts that have a complementary color relationship with the light source color emits dark light is alternately switched by switching on and off the light source. It can also be displayed. In the light emitting guideline of the present invention, by providing a display plate 1 having a light-transmitting ground color layer formed on a light-transmitting substrate, reflection of the display plate 1 can be performed both in the daytime and at night. The light-transmitting pointer body 10 is illuminated by the light emitted from the display panel 1 by light or transmitted light from the light sources 3 and 16. However, when the display panel 1 is made of a light-shielding material, this display panel is used. (1) By providing a ground layer with high brightness on the surface, the pointer body 10 may be illuminated by the reflected light of the display panel 1 due to external light in the daytime, or when a light source is used. The light is reflected on the surface of the display panel 1 by the direct light from the light source from the front of the display panel 1 or the indirect light from the light source in the case, and the pointer body is illuminated by the reflected light on the surface of the display panel 1. It may be provided as follows. In this case, the ground color layer formed on the surface of the display panel 1 is desirably formed by printing a white color or a metallic color having a bright color.

 The present invention is most useful when the above-described pointer body is applied to a structure in which substantially the entire surface of the display panel 1 is formed of a ground color layer having high brightness, or a structure in which substantially the entire surface of the display panel emits light. Not only the configuration of the pointer but also the main body of the pointer 10 can emit light not only by the light of the display panel 1 but also by external light, for example, external light, direct light or indirect light from a light source. It has no effect.

In addition, by adjusting the transmission amount of the chromatic translucent pointer body 10, the illumination For example, by providing a translucent pointer body 10 with good transmittance against the background where the entire surface of the display panel 1 emits light, the display panel 1 and the pointer body 10 can be simultaneously brightened. Light can be emitted, and by providing a light-transmitting pointer body 10 with low transmittance, the pointer body 10 emits light dimly against the background of the display panel 1 to display in a silhouette. You can also.

 In the same manner, by selecting the color of the transparent material of the pointer main body 10 with respect to the emission color of the display panel 1 in an appropriate combination, for example, in a relationship between similar colors and complementary colors, the display panel 1 and the pointer main body 10 can be selected. It is also possible to make the pointer body 10 emit light dimly with respect to the display panel 1 that emits light brightly at the same time as the display panel 1 that emits light brightly, thereby displaying in a silette tone.

 In the present embodiment, the pointer main body 10 has a chromatic color different from the emission color of the display panel 1 in order to emit light with the contrast of the pointer being higher than the background of the display panel 1 which emits light. The pointer body 10 is formed of a translucent material, and the light of the display panel 1 is received and transmitted through the pointer body 10 so that the pointer body 10 emits light by the color of the transparent material of the pointer body 10. However, if you want to lower the contrast of the pointer body 10 against the background of the display panel 1 that emits light and emit light, select the pointer body 10 made of a transparent material similar in color to the emission color of the display panel 1. The lighting system may be configured to give a soft impression as a whole.

 In addition, in order to improve the lighting effect, the pointer body 8 may be compounded with a fluorescent pigment or may be made of a light-scattering resin. In some cases, the surface or the back surface of the pointer body 10 may be diffused. May be applied.

 In addition, the surface of the chromatic translucent pointer body 10 is subjected to aluminum vapor deposition to reflect and emit silver light by external light in the daytime, and the display panel 1 emits light when the light source is lit, such as at night. The pointer body 10 may be transmitted and emitted in a chromatic color of a transparent material by receiving the light of 1 and transmitting the light to the front side.

When the ground layer having high brightness formed on the display panel 1 is provided on the translucent substrate, the ground color layer may be provided on the front surface, or may be provided on the back surface. May be used. Industrial applicability As described above, the luminous pointer and the luminous pointer illuminating device according to the present invention emit the pointer over substantially the entire length including the pointer fixing part and the pointing part, and do not generate a shadow of the pointer, and have a simple and slim visibility. It is effective to provide a good light emission guideline.

Claims

The scope of the claims 1. A light-emitting indicator which is disposed in front of a display panel having an indicator section representing a predetermined physical quantity and which indicates the indicator section of the display panel while receiving and irradiating light, the indicator section of the display panel And a pointer fixing part that can be fixed to the rotating shaft of the instrument body is provided integrally, and can receive and transmit light over substantially the entire length including the pointer fixing part and the pointing part. A luminescent pointer characterized by being formed of a pointer body made of a transparent material.  2. The light emitting pointer according to claim 1, wherein the pointer main body is made of a chromatic translucent material other than black.  3. The light emitting pointer according to claim 1, wherein the pointer main body has a light receiving portion having a flat surface that receives light on a surface facing the display plate in a cross-sectional shape thereof.  4. The light emitting pointer according to claim 1, wherein the pointer main body is formed such that a thickness and a width thereof are gradually reduced in a length direction from the pointer fixing portion as a base point.  5. The light receiving unit according to claim 3, wherein the pointer fixing unit and the bottom surface of the pointing unit are on the same plane, and are formed of a flat surface provided in parallel with the display panel. Luminescence guide.  6. The light emitting pointer according to claim 2, wherein the pointer main body is made of a plurality of kinds of chromatic translucent materials having different colors or transmittances.  7. A display plate having a ground color surface with high brightness and formed with an indicator that indicates a predetermined physical quantity, and a rod-shaped indicator that indicates the indicator of the display plate are provided and can be fixed to the rotating shaft of the instrument body. A pointer main body formed of a fixed portion, the pointer main body is formed of a transparent material capable of receiving and transmitting light from the display panel over substantially the entire length thereof, and having the cross-sectional shape thereof, A light-emitting indicator illuminating device, characterized in that a light-receiving portion composed of a flat surface is formed on a surface facing the light-emitting device.  8. The display panel is characterized in that substantially the entire surface of at least the rotation range of the pointer main body is made of a color brighter than the color of the pointer main body. A luminous pointer lighting device according to item 7.