Reflector holder and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

To provide a reflector holder superior in manufacturability and a manufacturing method thereof.SOLUTION: A concave mirror holder 30 according to the embodiment is formed by injection molding and supports a reflector. The concave mirror holder 30 includes a base face 41 and an adhesive face 42 which is formed of plural convex faces with respect to the base face 41 and to which the reflector is fixed. The base face 41 is a parting line PL of injection molding. The adhesive face 42 is disposed in plurality in a first direction in the adhesive face 42 and in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the base face 41 is located in an external periphery of the respective adhesive faces 42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a reflector holder and a method for manufacturing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, a display device such as a head-up display has a reflector for reflecting light emitted from a display unit. The reflector is supported by a reflector holder and supported rotatably around a rotation axis according to the display position of a display image, thereby making it possible to change the emission angle of the light. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2019 / 044322 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A reflector is required to reflect light in the direction as designed. When a reflector is supported by being attached to a reflector holder, the reflection accuracy of the reflector depends on the surface accuracy of the adhesive surface of the reflector holder to which it is attached. However, when the reflector holder is formed by injection molding, there is a risk of deformation such as sinking in the center and warping of both ends depending on the molding conditions, and there is a risk that adjustments to the mold, etc. will be required after the fact.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a reflector holder with excellent manufacturability and a method for manufacturing the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the reflector holder disclosed herein is a reflector holder formed by injection molding and supporting a reflector, and comprises a base surface and a fixing surface consisting of a plurality of convex surfaces relative to the base surface, to which the reflector is fixed, and the base surface is the parting line of the injection molding. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The reflector holder and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present disclosure are excellent in manufacturability. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a HUD according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a concave mirror holder of the concave mirror unit; [Diagram 3] An enlarged view of a portion of the concave mirror holder in Figure 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a mold for injection molding an adhesive surface and a main body formed by the mold. [Diagram 5] 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 3; [Figure 6] Cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Figure 3. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a mold for insert molding a body and a shaft, and a shaft placed in the mold, taken along a direction perpendicular to the axis of the shaft. FIG. [Figure 9] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a mold for insert molding a body and a shaft, and the shaft placed in the mold, taken along a direction parallel to the axis of the shaft. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An embodiment of the reflector holder and its manufacturing method of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings. The reflector holder and its manufacturing method of the present disclosure can be applied to a head-up display (HUD) mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile or motorcycle, a ship, an agricultural machine, or a construction machine. In this embodiment, an example in which the reflector holder and the reflector unit are mounted on a HUD will be described.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a HUD 1 on which a concave mirror holder 30 according to this embodiment is mounted.

[0011] The HUD 1 is mounted on an instrument panel 3 of a vehicle 2, and emits display light L from an opening 8 of the instrument panel 3. The HUD 1 projects and reflects the display light L from the rear of the vehicle onto a windshield 4 of the vehicle 2, which serves as a projection member. When a viewer 5 (e.g., the driver) who is an occupant of the vehicle 2 looks at the windshield 4 from the visible area DA, the viewer 5 can visually recognize a virtual image V based on the display light L in front of the vehicle relative to the windshield 4. The display light L represents vehicle information, such as the traveling speed of the vehicle 2, warning information for the vehicle 2, and route guidance information.

[0012] The HUD 1 mainly includes a display unit 11, a plane mirror unit 12, a concave mirror unit 13 (a reflecting mirror unit), a drive unit 14, a control unit 15, and a case 16 that houses these components.

[0013] The display unit 11 is a display device that displays an image, such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a rear-projection type projector, etc. The display unit 11 displays an image that represents vehicle information, and emits display light L that represents this image.

[0014] The plane mirror unit 12 reflects the display light L emitted from the display unit 11 toward the concave mirror unit 13. The concave mirror unit 13 reflects the light reflected by the plane mirror unit 12 toward the windshield 4. The detailed configuration of the concave mirror unit 13 will be described later.

[0015] The driving unit 14 is a driving mechanism that rotates the concave mirror unit 13 about a rotation axis AX. The driving unit 14 rotates the concave mirror unit 13 by, for example, rotation of a motor.

[0016] The control unit 15 is a control circuit board that controls the display unit 11 and the drive unit 14. The control unit 15 causes the display unit 11 to display an image showing vehicle information. The control unit 15 also controls the drive unit 14 to adjust the position of the visible area DA to match the eye height of the viewer 5. Specifically, the control unit 15 controls the drive unit 14 to rotate the concave mirror unit 13, thereby changing the position of the display light L projected onto the windshield 4 and moving the visible area DA up and down.

[0017] The case 16 is a black resin case made of polycarbonate or the like. The case 16 has a lower case 17 and an upper case 18. The case 16 houses the display unit 11, the plane mirror unit 12, the concave mirror unit 13, the drive unit 14, and the control unit 15 in a housing section, which is a space covered by the lower case 17 and the upper case 18. The upper case 18 has an opening 19 for emitting the display light L to the outside of the case 16. The upper case 18 has a light-transmitting sheet 20 that covers the opening 19.

[0018] Next, the configuration of the concave mirror unit 13 will be described in detail.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the concave mirror holder 30 of the concave mirror unit 13. As shown in FIG.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the concave mirror holder 30 of FIG.

[0021] In the following description, “front”, “rear”, “upper”, “lower”, “right” and “left” follow the definitions of “Fr.”, “Re.”, “To.”, “Bo.”, “R” and “L” in FIGS.

[0022] The concave mirror unit 13 in this embodiment is supported rotatably around a rotation axis AX (a predetermined axis) with respect to a support member (not shown) for supporting the concave mirror unit 13 provided in the lower case 17. The concave mirror unit 13 mainly has a concave mirror holder (reflecting mirror holder) 30 and a concave mirror 31 (FIG. 1).

[0023] The concave mirror holder 30 supports the concave mirror 31. The concave mirror 31 is fixed to and supported by the concave mirror holder 30.

[0024] The concave mirror holder 30 has a main body 40 and a pair of shafts 50 .

[0025] The main body 40 is made of resin such as polybutylene terephthalate, and is formed by injection molding from the viewpoints of weight reduction and cost reduction. The main body 40 has a generally rectangular shape that is long in the left-right direction along the rotation axis AX and is shorter in the up-down direction than in the left-right direction, and has a concave shape from the front to the rear. The main body 40 has a front surface 40a facing forward and a back surface 40b (FIG. 5) facing rearward. The front surface 40a is the surface on the side to which the concave mirror 31 is fixed.

[0026] The front surface 40a has a base surface 41 and an adhesive surface (fixing surface) 42. The base surface 41 is located on the outer edge of each adhesive surface 42, and is a surface that becomes a parting line PL (FIG. 4) during injection molding.

[0027] The adhesive surfaces 42 are multiple convex surfaces that protrude forward a predetermined amount (for example, 1 mm) relative to the base surface 41. The adhesive surfaces 42 are surfaces to which the concave mirror 31 is fixed with double-sided tape, adhesive, or the like. Multiple adhesive surfaces 42 are arranged in the left-right direction (first direction) and up-down direction (second direction perpendicular to the first direction) within the base surface 41. In Fig. 2, five adhesive surfaces 42 are arranged in the left-right direction and two in the up-down direction.

[0028] Here, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a mold 60 for injection molding the adhesive surface 42 and the main body 40 formed by the mold 60.

[0029] The mold 60 has a mother mold consisting of a cavity 61 and a core 62, and a plurality of nests 63 for the mother mold. The plurality of nests 63 are used to form the bonding surfaces 42, and for example, the number of nests 63 corresponds to the number of bonding surfaces 42. Alternatively, the plurality of nests 63 are a plurality of nests 63 that simultaneously form a plurality of bonding surfaces 42 (for example, two).

[0030] The pair of shafts 50 are fixed to the main body 40 along the rotation axis AX at the left and right ends of the main body 40. Each shaft 50 is supported by a support member formed of a structure of the lower case 17. Each shaft 50 is made of metal. The pair of shafts 50 are formed integrally with the main body 40 by being insert molded into the main body 40.

[0031] One possible method of attaching the shaft 50 to the main body 40 is to press the shaft 50 into the main body 40 that is formed to have an insertion port for the shaft 50. However, if the main body 40 is made of resin, there is a risk that cracks will occur due to stress during the press-in, or that the shaft 50 will be inserted while being misaligned in the axial direction. Therefore, in the concave mirror holder 30 of this embodiment, the shaft 50 is formed integrally with the main body 40 by insert molding. This allows the concave mirror holder 30 to maintain manufacturability even when the main body 40 is made of a material, such as resin, that has a lower rigidity than metal.

[0032] Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the shaft 50.

[0033] Each shaft (each pair of shafts) 50 has a support member side end 51 and a body side end 52. The support member side end 51 protrudes from the body 40 and is supported by the support member. The body side end 52 is the end opposite the support member side end 51. Each shaft 50 has a buried portion 53 and an exposed portion 54 between the support member side end 51 and the body side end 52. The buried portion 53 is a portion that is covered by the body 40 and buried in the body 40 and is not visible. The exposed portion 54 is a portion closer to the body side end 52 than the buried portion 53, and is at least partially exposed from the body 40.

[0034] Each shaft 50 has an uneven shape on the surface of the buried portion 53 to prevent it from coming off the main body 40. The uneven shape is, for example, two notches 55a and 55b as shown in FIG. 7. The notches 55a are concave portions formed continuously along the circumferential direction on the support member side end 51 side and the main body side end 52 side. The notches 55b are concave portions formed along the axial direction so as to connect the notches 55a. The uneven shape may be formed in various shapes and positions by flat knurling, twill knurling, cutting, or the like.

[0035] In addition, in relation to each shaft 50, the main body 40 has a reinforcing rib 45 at the exposed portion 54 of each shaft 50. The reinforcing rib 45 is a rib that extends along the axial direction on the surface of each shaft 50 and supports it in the radial direction, and is specifically arranged at 90 degree intervals on the surface of each shaft 50 in the circumferential direction. The main body 40 also has a reinforcing surface 46 (FIG. 5) at the main body side end 52 of each shaft 50. The reinforcing surface 46 is a surface that is perpendicular to the reinforcing rib 45 and supports each shaft 50 in the axial direction at an end surface 57 of the main body side end 52. Since the main body 40 is made of resin and has the exposed portion 54, there is a risk that the rigidity will be reduced and vibration resistance will be impaired during use, compared to when the main body 40 is made of a metal such as a magnesium alloy. Furthermore, when a bearing is attached to the shaft 50 by press-fitting, a strong force is applied to the shaft 50, and this force may also affect the main body 40, causing buckling or the like. In contrast, concave mirror holder 30 in this embodiment has reinforcing ribs 45 and reinforcing surfaces 46 on exposed portion 54 and end face 57 of main body side end 52. This allows concave mirror holder 30 to have the required rigidity regardless of the material of main body 40. In other words, reinforcing ribs 45 and reinforcing surfaces 46 of concave mirror holder 30 improve vibration resistance during use and reduce the impact on main body 40 when a bearing is pressed in.

[0036] Fig. 8 shows a mold 60 for insert-molding the main body 40 and the shaft 50, and the shaft 50 placed in the mold 60, in a cross-sectional view taken along a direction perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 50. Fig. 9 shows a mold 60 for insert-molding the main body 40 and the shaft 50, and the shaft 50 placed in the mold 60, in a cross-sectional view taken along a direction parallel to the axis of the shaft 50.

[0037] By having the exposed portion 54, each shaft 50 can have a region 58 that is directly placed in the mold 60 and pairs with the support member side end portion 51 during insert molding. This makes it easier to place each shaft 50 in the mold 60 during insert molding, and improves workability during molding.

[0038] Here, the adhesive surface 42 of the main body 40 is a portion that is required to support the concave mirror 31 with high precision in order to make the concave mirror 31 reflect the display light L as designed. For this reason, the concave mirror holder 30 in this embodiment is designed to improve the manufacturability of the adhesive surface 42 by forming the adhesive surface 42 with the insert 63 rather than with a matrix. In other words, when surface precision cannot be obtained by injection molding and adjustment of the mold 60 becomes necessary afterwards, it is possible to adjust only the insert 63 at the necessary location rather than the entire matrix. For this reason, the concave mirror holder 30 in this embodiment has excellent manufacturability.

[0039] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Head-up display (HUD) 2 Vehicles 3. Instrument Panel 4 Windshield 5. Viewer 8 Openings 11 Display section 12 Plane mirror unit 13 Concave mirror unit 14 Drive unit 15 Control section 16 cases 17 Lower case 18 Upper case 19 Opening 20 Translucent sheet 30 Concave mirror holder (reflector holder) 31 Concave mirror (reflector) 40 Main unit 40a front 40b back 41 Base 42 Adhesive surface (fixed surface) 45 Reinforcing rib 46 Reinforcement Surface 50 Shaft 51 Support member side end 52 Body side end 53 Buried part 54 Exposed part 55a, 55b Notch 57 End face 60 Mold 61 Cavity 62 cores 63 Nesting AX Rotation Axis DA visible area L display light PL parting line V Virtual Image

Claims

1. A reflector holder formed by injection molding for supporting a reflector, A base surface and a fixing surface to which a reflecting mirror is fixed, the fixing surface being made up of a plurality of convex surfaces relative to the base surface; A reflector holder, wherein the base surface is a parting line of the injection molding.

2. The plurality of fixing surfaces are arranged in a first direction in the fixing surface and in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, 2. The reflector holder according to claim 1, wherein the base surface is located at an outer edge of each of the fixing surfaces.

3. A method for manufacturing the reflector holder according to claim 1 or 2, comprising the steps of: The manufacturing method includes forming the plurality of fixing surfaces by a plurality of nests relative to a master mold.

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