JPH0319095B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a message display lamp that is disposed at the rear of an automobile body and displays a message to vehicles behind.

[Conventional technology]

This type of message display lamp, which is placed near the rear window of an automobile at the driver's eye level and displays a message to following vehicles, is usually constructed as shown in Figs. 8 to 10. . That is, in these figures, 1 is a housing that is disposed at an appropriate location on the inner surface of the rear window 2 via a gasket 3 and whose front face, that is, the surface facing the rear window 2 on the rear side of the vehicle body, is open, and 4 is a set screw attached to the vehicle body 6. The vehicle body mounting bases 9A, 9B, and 9C, which are fixed by 7 and nuts 8 and on which the housing 1 is placed and fixed, are spaced appropriately within the housing 1 so as to close the front opening of the housing 1. A light guide plate 10 is arranged deep inside the housing 1 and is arranged in a layered manner in the light guide plates 9A, 9B,
Warning bulb that backlights 9C, 11
1 is a reflector that reflects the light from the bulb 10 forward;
2 is a holder; 13 is a message display bulb in which a total of 6 bulbs are housed in the holder 12, one pair for each light guide plate 9A, 9B, and 9C; and 14 is a diffuser made of many small convex lenses on its back surface. This is a step lens in which a lens 15 is formed and arranged behind the light guide plate 9C.

The light guide plate 9A is made of a resin with excellent translucency such as acrylic resin, and on the back side there are characters composed of a large number of stipples (small conical recesses) 16.
Display section consisting of symbols, etc., such as "GOOD BY"
A display section 17 is displayed. Further, a pair of left and right light entrance portions 18A, 18B formed in the shape of long grooves is provided on the lower end surface of the light guide plate 9A, and the message display bulb 13 is inserted into these light entrance portions 18A, 18B, respectively. ing. Valve 1
The light emitted from the light guide plate 9A enters the light guide plate 9A from each of the light incident parts 18A and 18B, and this incident light travels through the light guide plate 9A, hits the stipple marks 16, and is reflected forward, so that the display part 17 The letters "GOOD BY" are brightly illuminated. Therefore, the display section 17 can be read and functions as a message to following vehicles.

Similarly, the light guide plates 9B and 9C have display portions consisting of different characters, symbols, etc., such as “Please come first” and “Excuse me” etc., stippled at 20, 2 on the back side of the light guide plates 9B and 9C.
1, and these display sections are configured to be illuminated when message display bulbs 13 disposed corresponding to the light guide plates 9B and 9C are turned on. That is, the display portions of each of the light guide plates 9A, 9B, and 9C are displayed brightly by selectively lighting up the message display bulbs 13 disposed corresponding to the light guide plates by operating a switch. , which sends a message appropriate to the situation to the following vehicle. Note that a pair of left and right light entrance portions 23 and 24 (24 is not shown) are also provided on the lower end surfaces of the light guide plates 9B and 9C, respectively.

On the other hand, the warning display bulb 10 is turned on during braking to illuminate the light guide plates 9A, 9B, and 9C from behind in red or yellow, thereby issuing a stop warning (sign). At this time, the characters on the display portion of each light guide plate 9A, 9B, 9C are erased and cannot be read.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

By the way, such conventional message indicator light 28
Although it is possible to convey a message appropriate to the situation to the following vehicle, the driver does not know which message is currently being displayed among multiple displays, and therefore the number of messages is displayed near the driver's seat. An operation switch panel having the same number of changeover switches is provided, the contents of a message are displayed near each switch, and the message is illuminated by operating the switch.

However, in such a configuration, it is necessary to wire a number of cords corresponding to the number of displays from the message indicator light 28 to the operation switch panel, and an indicator is also provided inside the switch panel so that it can be seen which display is being displayed. In addition, the message characters on the operation switch panel must also be illuminated at night. As a result, the operation switch panel becomes large and requires a large space, and the number of wires and parts increases, which is a major cause of increased costs.

[Means for solving problems]

The message indicator light according to the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and includes a plurality of light guide plates each having a display section with a different message content, and illuminates the display section of each light guide plate. A housing containing a message display bulb and disposed inside the rear window is provided with an opening opening toward the front of the vehicle body, and light is emitted from the message display bulb and enters the light guide plate corresponding to the bulb. A part of the light is reflected from the display part of the light guide plate to the front side, and the remaining light is emitted to the back side by the display part or a separately provided reflection part, and is guided to the room mirror through the opening. It is.

[Effect]

In the present invention, it is possible to confirm which message is currently being displayed using the light that enters the rearview mirror from the message indicator light, so it is necessary to provide a large-scale operation switch panel for displaying the message near the driver's seat. The structure can be simplified.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a message indicator light according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of a message display bulb, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the inside of the vehicle body, and Fig. 4 is a light guide plate. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing main parts of the housing. Components and parts that are the same as those in FIGS. 8 to 10 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted. In this embodiment, a window frame 32 having an opening 31 which is bent in a substantially inverted L shape and opens toward the front of the vehicle body is integrally provided at the center of the upper surface of the housing 1, and at the upper end of each light guide plate 9A, 9B, and 9C. Extensions 33, 34, 3 extending within the window frame 32
5 are extended respectively, and each extension part 33, 3
4 and 35 are provided offset in the width direction of the light guide plates 9A, 9B, and 9C so as not to overlap with each other, as shown in FIG. Two partition walls 36a and 36b are provided, respectively located between 35 and 35.
The surfaces of each of the extensions 33, 34, and 35 constitute a reflection section that reflects the light guided by the extension toward the front of the vehicle body and guides it to the room mirror 43, and the back surface of each of the light guide plates 9A, 9B, and 9C Stipples 38, 39, and 40 are provided, respectively, to display the same message as the message content on the display sections 17, 20, and 21 provided in the display sections 17, 20, and 21 provided in the display sections 17, 20, and 21, respectively. However, these message characters are reduced in size. And each extension part 33,3
4, 35 is the rearview mirror 43 by the driver 42
(Figure 3).

A signal generating switch 44 shown in FIG.
When the motor is driven by sending light to each light guide plate 9,
Message display lamps 13A, 13B, and 13C that individually illuminate A, 9B, and 9C are sequentially turned on. Of course, the stepping motor 45 can be stopped at the position of the message desired to be displayed by operating a switch.

Message indicator light 28 having such a configuration
In this case, if the stepping motor 45 is driven by the operation of the signal generation switch 44 and, for example, the message display bulb 13A corresponding to the light guide plate 9A is turned on, the light emitted from the bulb 13A is incident on the light guide plate 9A. Parts 18A, 18B (10th
(see figure) and a part of it enters the inside of the stipple 16.
By being reflected toward the surface side, the display section 17
The letters "GOOD BY" are brightly illuminated. Further, the remaining light traveling inside the light guide plate 9A reaches the extension 33 of the light guide plate 9A, hits the dots 38 provided on the front side of the light guide plate, and is reflected to the back side, and this reflected light 50 is transmitted to the window frame. 32 and enters the rearview mirror 43. Therefore, driver 4
2 can confirm that a message is being displayed on the display section 17 of the light guide plate 9A by looking into the rearview mirror 43 and reading the message content by the stipples 38.

In this case, in the structure of this embodiment, only one wire is required from the message indicator light 28 to the signal generation switch 44 regardless of the number of messages, and one switch 44 only needs to be provided in the driver's seat. No need for an operation switch panel with display and indicator switch.
It has the advantage of having a simple structure and being able to be provided at low cost.

FIGS. 5a and 5b are sectional views of main parts showing another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure a, the opening 31 of the window frame 32 is closed with a filter 60 colored in an appropriate color, and a reflective part 61 is provided on the surface of the extension part 33 of the light guide plate 9A, and the reflective part 61 is shown in the figure. The light guiding plate 9A is composed of a slope with fine irregularities or stipples, and reflects the light guided from the light guide plate 9A to the extension part 33 in the direction of the room mirror. Similarly, in FIG. 1B, the surface of the extension portion 33 of the light guide plate 9A is sloped, and a reflective portion 63 is formed by applying paint 62 of an appropriate color.

The color of the filter 60 is different from each light guide plate 9A, 9B,
These are substitutes for the message characters displayed on the extensions 33, 34, and 35 of 9C, and are different for each light guide plate. Similarly, the paint 62 in FIG. 5b has a different color for each light guide plate 9A, 9B, and 9C.

In addition, in FIG. 5, only one light guide plate 9A is shown, and the remaining two light guide plates 9B and 9C are omitted.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, openings 70, 71 are provided on the front and rear surfaces of the housing 1, the warning display bulbs are removed, and message display stipples 16, 20 are formed on the back surface of each light guide plate 9A, 9B, 9C. 21, the light from the message display bulb 13 that enters the light guide plate is reflected to the rear of the vehicle body to display a message, and at the same time is reflected to the front of the vehicle body and guided to the room mirror.

In other words, the light traveling inside the light guide plate is not all reflected toward the surface side due to the stippled reflection shape, the angle of incidence, etc.
The light A, which is almost parallel to the surface of the dot 20, hits the slope of the dot 20 and is reflected to the surface side of the light guide plate 9B, but the dot 20
The light B incident at a large angle of incidence on the slope of the stipple 20 is not a perfect mirror surface.
0, faces toward the front of the vehicle from the opening 71 of the housing 1, and is guided to the rearview mirror.
Therefore, by looking into the room mirror, it can be confirmed that the display section 20 of the light guide plate 9B is displayed.

In this case, the message letters, etc. are formed with dots 16, 20, and 21 so that they are a normal image when viewed from the following vehicle, so the image emitted to the interior side (front side of the vehicle body) is the opposite. is reversed by the rearview mirror, so the driver can also see the correct image.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the opening 71 of the housing 1
A light quantity controller 80 is attached to the aperture 72, and a light reducing film 8 is attached to the aperture 72.
This embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 in that 1 is provided respectively, but the other structures are the same.

The light amount controller 80 is designed to reduce the influence of external light and make it easier to read the message characters.The light amount controller 80 is designed to reduce the influence of external light and make it easier to read the message characters. It consists of a large number of lenses arranged parallel to the optical axis at predetermined intervals. Each light guide plate 9A, 9
Light A emitted toward the rear of the vehicle body from B and 9C passes between the strips 82 and exits to the outside, and external light C that enters at a large angle of incidence with respect to the optical axis L passes through the strips 82.
The light is reflected by the light and does not enter the housing 1.

There is no need for strong light to the rearview mirror, and the amount of light B reflected and emitted toward the front of the vehicle body is reduced by the attenuating film 81.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the message indicator light according to the present invention allows a part of the light emitted from the message display bulb and entered into the light guide plate to be emitted toward the rear of the vehicle body by the display section, and the remaining light is transmitted to the display section. Alternatively, the light can be emitted to the front of the vehicle using a separate reflective section and guided to the rear-view mirror, so that when the driver looks into the rear-view mirror, he or she can see at a glance which light guide plate is currently displaying the message. . Therefore, it is only necessary to dispose one valve changeover switch near the driver's seat, and the number of cord wires can be reduced to one regardless of the number of messages displayed, making wiring work easy. Also,
Since there is no need to provide a message display section near the driver's seat, the structure is simple and can be provided at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a message indicator light according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of a message display bulb, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the inside of the vehicle body, and Fig. 4 is a light guide plate. 5a and 5b are sectional views showing other embodiments of the extension of the light guide plate, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional message indicator light, FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the same indicator light, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a light guide plate. FIG. 1...Housing, 2...Rear window, 9
A, 9B, 9C...Light guide plate, 10...Warning display lamp, 13...Message display lamp, 1
6, 20, 21... Stipple, 17... Display section, 18
A, 18B, 23... Light entrance part, 31... Opening part,
33, 34, 35... Extension part, 38, 39, 40
...Stippling, 43...Room mirror, 61, 62...
...Reflector, 70, 71...Aperture.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A housing arranged inside the rear window and open to the rear of the vehicle body, and a housing that is stacked in the thickness direction and arranged inside the housing so that the front side faces the rear window, and the back side has letters, symbols, etc. stipped on each side. a plurality of light guide plates each having a display section and a light entrance section on one end surface;
a plurality of message display bulbs respectively disposed in the light entrance portion of each light guide plate and illuminating the display portion of the light guide plate when turned on; an opening opening toward the front side of the vehicle body is provided in the housing; A part of the light emitted from the message display bulb and incident on the light guide plate corresponding to the bulb is reflected to the front side by the display section, and the remaining light is reflected to the back side by the display section or a separately provided reflection section. A message display lamp characterized in that the light is emitted from the opening and guided to the room mirror through the opening.