JP2002156251A - Gauge for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gauge for a vehicle imparting novel visibility by putting stress on the constitution of a front panel by noticing that areas low in display frequency and areas high in display frequency area are provided to the display part provided on a gauge panel in a mixed state. SOLUTION: Respective decorative display parts 81a and 81b are irregularly formed on the backside 81 of the front panel 80 at the positions corresponding to the respective warning display marks 51-53 and 61-63 of the gauge panel 110.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instrument for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a vehicle instrument,
As shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-17419, a scale pattern is formed by printing a display pattern composed of white characters and scales on the back surface of a transparent plate, and light enters the transparent plate from the side. In some cases, the display pattern is displayed.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned meter, since the display pattern is printed on the back surface of the transparent plate of the scale as described above, the information to be displayed is located on the back side of the display pattern. However, this display information is shielded from light by the display pattern and cannot be seen from the front side of the dial. Therefore, it is not possible to give a novel and interesting appearance to the visibility of the dial.

In view of the above, the present invention focuses on the fact that a display unit provided on an instrument panel includes both a display unit having a low display frequency and a display unit having a high display frequency. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle instrument that gives a novel visibility by devising the configuration of the vehicle.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the vehicle instrument according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display area having no display or a display section having a low display frequency (51 to 5).
3, 61 to 63, 71 to 74) and a display panel (11, 21, 31, 41) having a high display frequency are provided with a front panel (80) on the front side of an instrument panel (110).

[0006] In the vehicular instrument, display portions (81a, 81b) having uneven shapes are formed in a region where no display is provided or a portion corresponding to a display portion with a low display frequency on the back surface (81) of the front panel. .

Thus, when the display unit having a low display frequency is in the non-display state, the display unit having the uneven shape can be visually recognized through the front panel. For this reason, novel visibility can be given to the vehicle instrument by using the front panel having the display unit having the uneven shape.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the front panel is illuminated such that light is incident from a portion corresponding to a display portion of an uneven shape in an outer peripheral end of the front panel. The front panel illuminates a display unit having an uneven shape with the incident light. Thereby, claim 1
The effect of the invention described in (1) can be further improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the light source is turned on when the display unit having a low display frequency is not displayed, and is turned off when the display unit having the low display frequency is displayed. Control means (1) for controlling the light source
70). Thereby, the function and effect of the invention described in claim 2 can be further improved.

[0010] The reference numerals in parentheses of the above means indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiment described later.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example in which the present invention is applied to a passenger car instrument, and the instrument is provided as a combination meter on an instrument panel in a passenger compartment of the passenger car.

The meters include a tachometer 10, a speedometer 20, a water temperature fuel gauge 30, and an odometer 40.
The tachometer 10, the speedometer 20, the water temperature fuel gauge 30, the odometer 40, and the concentration indicator 5 are provided.
Reference numerals 0 to 70 denote a front panel 80 and an annular return plate 9.
0 (see FIG. 3) and a housing 100 (see FIG. 3), which are assembled via a common instrument panel 110, a light-shielding annular wall 120, and a wiring board 130.

The instrument panel 110 is formed by printing a scale plate and various warning display marks described later on the surface of a transparent substrate. Portions other than the corresponding portion with respect to the liquid crystal panel are subjected to black printing as a background portion. It should be noted that the instrument panel 110 has an annular wall 120 and an annular wall 120 seated on the outer peripheral portion of the wiring board 130 at its outer peripheral portion.
Is sandwiched between. The wiring board 130 is supported on the inner wall step of the opening 111 of the casing 100 at the outer peripheral portion.

The tachometer 10 includes a translucent scale plate 11 provided at the center of the instrument panel 110 as shown in FIG. 1, a pointer 12 rotating along the surface of the scale plate 11, and a scale plate in the casing 100. And a tachometer rotation inner unit (not shown) that is housed at a position corresponding to 11 and rotates the hands 12. Thereby, the tachometer 10
Based on the rotation of the rotating inner unit, the number of rotations of the engine of the passenger car is indicated and indicated on the scale 11 by the hands 12. However, for this indication display, the scale plate 11 is illuminated by a light source (not shown) located on the back side thereof. The rotating inner machine is supported on the back surface of the wiring board 130 by the inner machine main body.

The speedometer 20 has a liquid crystal panel 21. The liquid crystal panel 21 is fitted in a lower portion of the scale board 11 in FIG. Here, the liquid crystal panel 21 digitally displays the vehicle speed of the passenger car in a seven-segment pattern of a plurality of digits. In addition, the liquid crystal panel 21 receives and displays the light of the backlight.

The water temperature fuel gauge 30 is connected to the liquid crystal panel 3.
1 and the liquid crystal panel 31 has an instrument panel 110
1 is fitted in the central portion in the vertical direction on the left side in FIG. The liquid crystal panel 31 displays a bar graph of the water temperature of the engine cooling system of the passenger car and the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank.

The odometer 40 has a liquid crystal panel 41, which is fitted in a central portion of the instrument panel 110 in the vertical direction on the right side in FIG. The liquid crystal panel 41 digitally displays the traveling distance of the passenger car in a 7-segment pattern of a plurality of digits.

The concentration indicator 50 has three warning display marks 51 to 53. These warning display marks 51 to 53 are formed by printing on the upper left side of the transparent substrate of the instrument panel 110 in FIG. Have been. The concentration indicator 50 has respective light sources for illuminating the respective warning display marks 51 to 53, and these respective light sources are disposed in the casing at positions corresponding to the respective warning display marks 51 to 53. I have. Thereby, the concentration indicator 5
0 indicates each warning display mark 51 through the transparent substrate by lighting of each light source corresponding to each warning display mark 51 to 53.
Light is incident on the light source through 53 to display a warning.

The concentration indicator 60 has three warning display marks 61 to 63. These warning display marks 61 to 63 are formed by printing on the upper right side of the transparent substrate of the instrument panel 110 in FIG. Have been. The concentration indicator 60 has respective light sources that illuminate the respective warning display marks 61 to 63. These respective light sources are disposed in the casing at positions corresponding to the respective warning display marks 61 to 63. I have. Thereby, the concentration indicator 6
0 indicates that each of the warning display marks 61 to 63 passes through the transparent substrate when the respective light sources are turned on.
Light is incident on the optical discs 63 through 63 to display a warning.

The concentration indicator 70 has four warning display marks 71 to 74. These warning display marks 71 to 74 are formed by printing on the lower right side of the transparent substrate of the instrument panel 110 in FIG. Have been. The concentration indicator 70 has respective light sources that illuminate the respective warning display marks 71 to 74, and these respective light sources are disposed in the casing at positions corresponding to the respective warning display marks 71 to 74. I have. Thereby, the concentration indicator 7
0 indicates that each of the warning display marks 71 to 74 passes through the transparent substrate by turning on the corresponding light source.
Light is incident on the optical discs 74 through 74 to display a warning.

The front panel 80 is formed of a colorless and transparent resin material.
0 at the open end. On the right side of the front panel 80 shown in FIG.
Decorative display section 81 consisting of a plurality of characters "COME"
a is engraved in an uneven shape as shown in FIGS. In addition, a decorative display portion 81b composed of a plurality of characters "WEL" is engraved on the rear upper surface 81 of the front panel 80 on the left side in FIG. In addition, the depth of the concave portion of each character of each of the decorative display portions 81a and 81b is a value within the range of 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm, but the depth of each concave portion is not necessarily these values. Not limited.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A light guide member 140 for illuminating the decorative display unit 81a and a plurality of light sources 150 (only one light source 150 is shown in FIG. 3) are provided. The light guide member 140 has an arc plate shape, and the light guide member 140 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the open end 111 of the casing 100 and the annular wall 90.
It is attached so as to correspond to each character of 1a. As a result, the light guide member 140 guides light incident from the base end surface thereof, as described later, and enters the outer peripheral end surface of the front panel 80 from the distal end surface thereof so that the uneven shape of the decorative display portion 81a is parallel to the back surface 81. Light up.

Each light source 150 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the open end 111 of the casing 100 and the dial plate 120 on the step of the open end 111 so as to correspond to the base end of the light guide member 140. Each of these light sources 150 is incident on the light guide member 140 from its base end face by lighting.

The light guide member (having the same configuration as the light guide member 140) for illuminating the decorative display portion 81b and the plurality of light sources (corresponding to the plurality of light sources 150) are also provided.
In substantially the same manner as the light source 150 and the plurality of light sources 150, the inner peripheral surface of the open end 111 of the casing 100, the return plate 90, and the annular wall 120 are provided at positions corresponding to the decorative display portion 81 b.
And is provided between them.

Next, the electric circuit configuration of the meter will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The sensor group 160 includes the engine speed, the vehicle speed of the passenger car, the water temperature of the engine cooling system, and the temperature in the fuel tank. The remaining fuel amount and each information required to display a warning with each of the concentration indicators 50 to 70 (hereinafter referred to as respective warning information) are detected.

The control circuit 170 receives the power from the battery B via the ignition switch IG of the passenger car, and outputs the rotational speed detection output and the vehicle speed detection output of the sensor group 160.
On the basis of the water temperature detection output, the fuel remaining amount detection output and the output of each detection information, the rotating inner unit of the tachometer 20
0, a driving circuit 190 connected to the liquid crystal panel 31 of the water temperature fuel gauge 30, a driving circuit 200 connected to the liquid crystal panel 41 of the odometer 40, each light source 150, and each concentration indicator 50 to 70. Of each light source is controlled.

In this embodiment configured as described above, it is assumed that the passenger car is brought into a running state by starting the engine by turning on the ignition switch IG.

In such a state, the control circuit 17
0 is a tachometer 10, a speedometer 20, a water temperature fuel gauge 30, an odometer 40, and each concentration based on each detection output including a rotation speed detection output, a vehicle speed detection output, a water temperature detection output, and a fuel remaining amount detection output of the sensor group 160. The display control of the indicators 50 to 70 and the turning on / off control of each light source 150 are performed as follows.

Here, each concentration indicator 50 to 70
If at least one of the above displays a warning display, the control circuit 170 performs display control of the meter as illustrated in FIG.

That is, the tachometer 10 instructs and displays the engine speed on the scale 11 by rotating the pointer 12 with the rotating internal machine. The speedometer 20
The liquid crystal panel 21 is driven by the drive circuit 180 to digitally display the vehicle speed of the passenger car. The water temperature fuel gauge 30 is driven by the drive circuit 190 on the liquid crystal panel 31, and displays a bar graph of the water temperature and the remaining amount of fuel. The odometer 40 is driven by the drive circuit 200 on the liquid crystal panel 41 to digitally display the traveling distance of the passenger car.

When the sensor group 160 detects at least one of the above warning information, for example, that the door of the passenger car is not completely closed, abnormality of the battery, and abnormality of the brake system, the control circuit 170 The lighting control of the light source corresponding to the warning display mark 62 of the concentration indicator 60, the light source corresponding to the warning mark 53 of the concentration indicator 50, and the light source corresponding to the warning mark 72 of the concentration indicator 70 are both controlled. At this time, the control circuit 170 controls the illumination light sources 150 and the decorative display unit 81 of the decorative display unit 81a.
The lighting control of all the illumination light sources of b is performed.

Then, when the light source corresponding to the warning display mark 62 is turned on, the concentration indicator 60 illuminates the warning display mark 62 with the light through the transparent substrate. When the light source corresponding to the warning display mark 53 is turned on, the concentration indicator 50 illuminates the warning display mark 53 with the light through the transparent substrate, and the concentration indicator 70 corresponds to the warning display mark 72. By turning on the light source, the warning display mark 72 is illuminated with the light through the transparent substrate.

At this time, as described above, the decoration display section 81
Since all of the illumination light sources 150 and the illumination light sources of the decorative display unit 81b are turned off, the decorative display units 81a,
81b is not illuminated. The front panel 80 is colorless and transparent, and furthermore, each of the decorative display sections 81a,
Since 81b is formed on the back surface 81 of the front panel 80, the driver can easily visually recognize the decorative display portions 81a and 81b from the front side of the front panel 80 even when the passenger car is running in the daytime. Hateful. Therefore, the driver can satisfactorily visually recognize the warning display of each of the concentration indicators 50 to 70 together with other display contents through the front panel 80 without being affected by the decoration display portions 81a and 81b.

When none of the concentration indicators 50 to 70 gives a warning display, the control circuit 170 operates in a state where all the light sources of the concentration indicators 50 to 70 are turned off. Is performed as illustrated in FIG.

That is, the tachometer 10 and the speedometer 2
0, the display of the water temperature fuel gauge 30 and the odometer 40 are the same as in the case of FIG. 4, but the respective light sources 150 for illuminating the decorative display section 81a and the respective light sources for illuminating the decorative display section 81b are turned on by the control circuit 170. Controlled. Thereby, when each light source 150 is turned on, each of these light sources 150
Light enters the light guide member 140 from the base end face thereof.

Accordingly, the light guide member 140 guides the incident light and enters the outer peripheral end surface of the front panel 80 from the front end surface. Thus, the light incident on the front panel 80 travels through the concave and convex portions forming each character of the decorative display portion 81a. This means that the decoration display section 81a is illuminated by each character. Also, the decoration display section 81
b is similarly illuminated. For this reason, the front panel 80
When viewed from the front side, each character “WEL” on the decorative display portion 81a and each character “COME” on the decorative display portion 81b
Appears to glow.

As described above, in the present embodiment, each decorative display is provided on the back surface 81 of the front panel 80 at a position corresponding to each warning display mark of each of the concentration indicators 50 and 60 of the instrument panel 110 with a low display frequency. Parts 81a, 81
b, and when the warning display by each of the concentration indicators 40 to 70 is unnecessary, the decoration display portions 81a and 81b
Is illuminated, so that the front panel 80 can be used to provide novel and interesting visibility in the instrument. Further, as described above, each character of each decoration display section 81a, 81b is printed on the back surface 8 of the front panel 80.
Since these characters are engraved on the front panel 80, when these characters are illuminated as described above, a three-dimensional effect can be provided when viewed from the front side of the front panel 80. As a result, more novel visibility can be provided. .

In the practice of the present invention, when the front panel 80 is made of a colored transparent material,
Both decorative display portions 81a and 81b can be visually recognized from the front side of the front panel 80 by external light. Therefore, it is not necessary to illuminate both the decorative display sections 81a and 81b with the illumination light source. Here, when each of the concentration indicators 50 and 60 displays a warning, both decoration display portions 81a and 81b are also visible, but both decoration display portions 81a and 81b are bothersome because of the brightness of the warning mark. Never.

In the nighttime, since outside light cannot be expected, it is desirable to illuminate both decorative display sections 81a and 81b with the illumination light source when none of the concentration indicators 50 to 70 displays a warning.

In implementing the present invention, the light guide member 1
Each light source 150 may be arranged at a position corresponding to the distal end surface of the light guide 40, and the light guide member 140 may be omitted.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the ignition switch IG is turned on, the both decorative display sections 81a, 81a,
The time difference illumination may be performed by delaying the illumination 81b to another display start such as the liquid crystal panel 21.

In implementing the present invention, the decorative display sections 81a and 81b are not limited to characters, but may be various patterns.

In practicing the present invention, the present invention may be generally applied to a vehicle instrument without being limited to a passenger car instrument.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a passenger car meter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an electric circuit configuration diagram of the meter.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a display example when one of the concentration indicators 50 to 70 displays a warning.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary display diagram when none of the concentration indicators 50 to 70 displays a warning.

[Explanation of symbols]

11: scale plate, 21, 31, 41: liquid crystal panel, 51
53, 61 to 63, 71 to 74: warning display mark, 80: front panel, 81a, 81b: decorative display section, 110: instrument panel, 150: light source, 170: control circuit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An instrument provided with a display area with no display or a display unit with a low display frequency (51 to 53, 61 to 63, 71 to 74) and a display unit with a high display frequency (11, 21, 31, 41). In a vehicle instrument comprising a front panel (80) provided on a front surface side of a plate (110), unevenness is formed on a portion of the rear surface (81) of the front panel corresponding to a region where no display is provided or a display portion with low display frequency. An instrument for a vehicle, wherein a display section (81a, 81b) is formed by a shape. 2. A light source (150), which is illuminated so that light is incident from a portion corresponding to a display portion of the uneven shape in an outer peripheral end portion of the front panel, wherein the front panel has a light incident surface. The vehicle instrument according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is illuminated with light by the uneven shape. 3. A control means (17) for controlling the light source so that the light source is turned on when the display unit with a low display frequency is not displayed and turned off when the display unit with a low display frequency is not displayed.
The vehicle instrument according to claim 2, wherein 0) is provided.