JP2000329590A - Instrument pointer structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a pointer structure of an instrument in which a hole is provided at a tip of a pointer cap to improve visibility of point light emission. SOLUTION: A pointer 1 which rotates on the front face of a dial 12 includes:
This is a pointer structure of an instrument that emits light by introducing light. The pointer 1 includes a light guide pointer member 2 and a pointer cap 3 that covers the light guide pointer member 2.
A slit 4 is formed on the front surface, and a hole 6 through which light emitted from the distal end of the light guide pointer member 2 passes is formed at the distal end. Light 9 emitted from the hole 6 emits point light.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pointer structure of an instrument, and more particularly, to a pointer structure of an instrument such as a combination meter for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a first pointer structure of this kind, a pointer made of an elongated light guide is used. Light from a light source is introduced from the base end of the light guide to illuminate the entire pointer and guide the light. There is a structure in which light is emitted outward from the tip of an optical body to emit point light (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-318801).

Further, as a second pointer structure, as shown in FIG. 6, the light guide pointer member 2 is covered with a pointer cap 3 so that light is emitted only from the slit 4 on the upper surface and light leakage from other parts is eliminated. A pointer structure for improving the brightness of the pointer and making the illumination uniform is also disclosed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-145415).

[0004] However, this structure has a problem that the amount of light at the distal end portion is insufficient due to being too thin, and the illumination of the pointer becomes uneven.

[0005]

However, in the first pointer structure, most of the pointer is exposed (only the base end of the pointer is covered with a cap (see the same publication, FIG. 2). Therefore, there is a problem that the amount of light leaking increases, and the amount of light emitted from the front end portion becomes insufficient, which causes a decrease in the visibility of point light emission.

On the other hand, in the second pointer structure,
Although light leakage can be eliminated, since the tip portion 3a of the pointer cap 3 is also closed, light is transmitted through the tip portion 3a.
Can not get out of For this reason, the illumination of the pointer 1 is only the light emitted from the slit 4, and there is a problem that it is not possible to emit light from the tip of the pointer 1 and perform point emission.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a pointer structure of an instrument in which a hole is provided at the tip of a pointer cap to improve the visibility of point light emission.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a pointer structure of an instrument which emits light by introducing light into a pointer rotating on the front surface of the dial. The pointer comprises a light guide pointer member and a pointer cap for covering the light guide pointer member, and the pointer cap has a slit on the front surface and light emitted from the front end of the light guide pointer member at the front end. A through hole is formed.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in addition to the normal pointer illumination using the light from the slit, the point emission can be performed with the light emitted from the hole.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the pointer structure of the meter according to the first aspect, wherein a colored portion is formed on a tip end surface of the light guide pointer member. is there.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the point emission is colored with an arbitrary color, and a display with high design is obtained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the pointer structure of the meter according to the second aspect, the colored portion includes a light-transmitting colored film disposed on a distal end surface of the light guide pointer member. It is characterized by having comprised.

For this reason, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the colored film is attached to the distal end face of the light guide pointer member or the pointer cap facing the distal end face, or the light guide pointer member and the pointer cap are combined. The colored portion can be easily configured by being sandwiched.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same members or those having the same functions as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 1, a pointer 1 is a light guide pointer member 2.
And a pointer cap 3 that covers the light guide pointer member 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2B, the light guide pointer member 2 has a tapered cylindrical main body 2a and a base 2c formed integrally with the rear end of the main body 2a. It is formed of a light guide made of.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, the pointer cap 3 is made of a light-shielding member, and has a slit 4 on its upper surface.
An opening 5 is formed on the lower surface, and a hole 6 is formed at the end, and the light guide pointer member 2 is covered with a portion excluding the slit 4 and the opening 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, light 7 from a light source (not shown) is introduced into the base 2c of the light guide pointer member 2, reflected by the tapered surface 2b, passes through the main body 2a, and passes through the hole 6 And emits point light with the emitted light 9.

By forming the colored portion 10 of a desired color at the tip of the main body 2a of the light guide pointer member 2, the emitted light 9 can be made any color different from the color of the light source. The colored portion 10 may be formed by color printing as shown in FIG. 2A, or a light-transmissive colored film 11 may be formed on the tip of the light guide pointer member 2 as shown in FIG. Surface, or to the pointer cap 3 facing the tip end face, or the back surface of the hole 6 of the pointer cap 3 and the main body 2a.
May be sandwiched between the front end surfaces of the two.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a part of an instrument A (combination meter) using the pointer 1, that is,
A speedometer 13 and a fuel gauge 14 are shown. The speedometer 13
The dial 12 has a graduation 15, and an arc-shaped reflection ring 16 is arranged around the graduation 15, and the tip of the pointer 1 moves to face the tapered surface 16 a of the reflection ring 16. ing. Similarly, the fuel gauge 14 also has a scale portion 17 and a reflection ring 18, and the tip of the pointer 1 moves to face the tapered surface 18 a of the reflection ring 18.

In this embodiment, the light 9 emitted from the hole 6 at the tip of the pointer 1 irradiates the tapered surfaces 16a and 18a to emit point light. At this time, as described above, by providing the colored portion 10 at the tip of the pointer 1, point emission of a desired color is projected on the tapered surfaces 16a and 18a, and point emission excellent in design is enabled.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the entire light guide pointer member 2 is covered with the pointer cap 3, the careless light leakage is eliminated so that the hole 6 formed in the distal end of the pointer cap 3 is eliminated. Can be increased, whereby point emission with improved visibility can be performed. Further, by providing the colored portion 10 at the tip of the pointer 1, point emission of a desired color can be obtained, and display with excellent design can be performed.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be applied to a self-luminous type pointer structure in which a light source dedicated to the pointer is built in the base end. .

[0024]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, since the entire light guide pointer member is covered with the pointer cap, the light guide pointer member is formed at the tip of the pointer cap without any careless light leakage. The amount of light emitted from the hole can be increased,
As a result, in addition to normal pointer illumination, point emission with improved visibility can be performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the colored portion is formed on the tip end surface of the light guide pointer member, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, the point light emitting portion has an arbitrary color. It is colored and emits light, and a display with high designability is obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the colored portion has the light-transmitting colored film disposed on the distal end surface of the light guide pointer member, in addition to the effects of the second aspect,
The coloring portion can be easily formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing an embodiment of a pointer structure of an instrument according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are exploded perspective views of the pointer, wherein FIG. 2A shows a pointer cap and FIG. 2B shows a light guide pointer member.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a main part front view of a combination meter to which the pointer structure of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional pointer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 pointer 2 light guide pointer member 3 pointer cap 4 slit 6 hole 9 light 10 colored section 11 colored film 12 dial

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2F074 AA04 DD03 EE03 FF01 FF10 GG03 2F078 FA06 FA07 FB25 FB28 FB46 FE23 FE36 FF01

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pointer structure of an instrument for introducing light into a pointer rotating on the front surface of a dial to emit light, wherein the pointer includes a light guide pointer member and the light guide pointer member. A pointer structure for an instrument, comprising a pointer cap for covering, wherein a slit is formed on the front face and a hole through which light emitted from the distal end of the light guide pointer member passes is formed at the distal end of the pointer cap. 2. A pointer structure for an instrument according to claim 1, wherein a colored portion is formed on a tip end surface of said light guide pointer member. 3. The pointer structure of an instrument according to claim 2, wherein said colored portion is constituted by disposing a light-transmitting colored film on a distal end surface of said light guide pointer member.