Instrumentation

Abstract

To provide an instrumental device with a light control film that makes louvers less visible.SOLUTION: An instrumental device comprises: a light source; a light-transmissive display panel 1 disposed in front of the light source; and a light control film 61 obtained by arranging light shielding members 611b into a louver shape between the light source and the display panel 1. A semi-transmissive layer 713 is provided between the light source and the light control film 61. The semi-transmissive layer 713 has a color similar to that of a light shielding layer 13 formed in the display panel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an instrumentation system, and more particularly to an instrumentation system installed in a vehicle.

[0002] Instrument devices including a speedometer, a tachometer, etc. are arranged on the instrument panel of a vehicle. The illumination light of these instruments may be reflected on the windshield or side windows, interfering with the driver's visibility from the vehicle window, particularly at night. For this reason, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, in conventional instrument devices, a film having a structure in which fine louver-shaped light-shielding members are arranged in a row, called a light control film, is attached to the front of the display panel of the instrument device in order to provide visibility to the illumination light of the instrument device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-008592 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when a light control film is placed on the front surface of a display board, there is a problem in that the light-shielding louvers appear as black stripes (so-called louver visibility).

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to reduce the appearance of louvers in an instrument device equipped with a light control film. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The instrument device of the present invention comprises a light source 42, 43, a transparent display panel 1 arranged in front of the light source 42, 43, and a light control film 61, 62 consisting of a louver-shaped arrangement of shading members 611b, 621b arranged between the light source 42, 43 and the display panel 1, and is characterized in that it has a semi-transparent layer 713, 723 between the light source 42, 43 and the light control film 61, 62, and the semi-transparent layer 713, 723 is of a similar color to the shading layer 13 formed on the display panel 1. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of an instrument device illustrating an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Diagram 3] An enlarged view of part B in Figure 2. [Figure 4] 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the display panel and the louvers of the LCF as viewed from the arrow C in FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] An enlarged view of part D in FIG. [Figure 6] An enlarged view of part E in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship of the louvers of the LCF of the pointer as viewed from the arrow F in FIG. 2 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] The present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 7, taking as an example a case where the present disclosure is applied to a vehicle instrument (so-called meter) mounted on a vehicle instrument device. The present disclosure relates to a vehicle instrument device, and can be applied to a vehicle instrument device mounted on a moving body such as an automobile, a motorcycle, or an agricultural machine or a construction machine.

[0009] In the following description, the direction in which the driver seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle is viewed from the instrument device 100 (the display panel 1 side) is referred to as the "front" (front side) and the opposite side (the circuit board 4 side) is referred to as the "rear" (rear side), and these are indicated by the arrows "Fr." and "Re." in the drawings. In addition, "up," "down," "left," and "right" are appropriately explained as the arrows "To.", "Bo.", "L," and "R" in the drawings.

[0010] As shown in Fig. 1, instrument device 100 has a speedometer SP that indicates the vehicle's traveling speed by pointing an index portion 14 of a display panel 1 with a needle 2, and a tachometer TA that indicates the engine RPMs. Between the speedometer SP and the tachometer TA, instrument device 100 has an image display unit DP that displays various vehicle information such as mileage, fuel consumption, time, etc. on a liquid crystal display panel (display) 5. Instrument device 100 has a plurality of warning lights WA such as turn signals.

[0011] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the instrument device 100 is at least composed of a display panel 1, a pointer 2, a case 3, a circuit board 4, a liquid crystal display panel 5, a first LCF (light control film) 61, a second LCF (light control film) 62, a first transparent plate (separate component) 71, a second transparent plate (separate component) 72, and a diffusion plate 8.

[0012] The circuit board 4 is a flat rigid wiring board formed by providing a wiring pattern (not shown) on a flat glass epoxy base material such as FR-4 (Flame Retardant-4). The circuit board 4 has a first light source (light source) 41, a second light source 42, a third light source 43, and a pointer drive unit 44.

[0013] The first light source 41, the second light source 42, and the third light source 43 are made of chip-type, top-view type LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) that emit appropriate colors and are mounted on the front surface of the circuit board 4. The pointer drive unit 44 is made of a movable magnet type drive device, a stepping motor, etc., and its main part is mounted on the back surface of the circuit board 4, with a rotating shaft 441 protruding toward the display plate 1. The pointer drive unit 44 is electrically connected to the wiring pattern of the circuit board 4 by appropriate conductive means such as soldering. In the circuit board 4, control means (not shown) that outputs command signals for turning on the first light source 41, the second light source 42, and the third light source 43 and for driving and controlling the pointer drive unit 44 and the liquid crystal display panel 5, as well as various circuit components (not shown) such as resistors and capacitors are conductively connected to the wiring pattern.

[0014] Display panel 1 is a thin plate-like member disposed in front of circuit board 4. Display panel 1 has a base material 11, a transmissive layer 12, and a light-shielding layer 13, as shown in FIG.

[0015] The substrate 11 is a thin plate-like substrate made of, for example, a transparent or semi-transparent light-transmitting polycarbonate resin, and the transmissive layer 12 is formed by printing a colorless light-transmitting ink containing colorless light-transmitting fine resin beads on the surface of the substrate 11. The light-shielding layer 13 is formed by printing a black light-shielding ink on the back surface of the substrate 11.

[0016] The display plate 1 has an indicator portion (transparent portion) 14 in which the light-shielding layer 13 is cut out and printed with a design that is the letters, numbers and scales of the speedometer SP and the tachometer TA, and an image opening portion (transparent portion) 15 in which the light-shielding layer 13 is cut out and printed with a rectangular design.

[0017] The display plate 1 has a through hole 16 at a position corresponding to the rotation axis 441. The indicator portion 14 is arranged in an arc shape around the pointer 2 (around the through hole 16). The indicator portion 14 emits light by the light of the second light source 42 and is visible to the driver. The image opening portion 15 is arranged at a position facing the liquid crystal display panel 5. The image opening portion 15 is visible to the driver through which image light from the liquid crystal display panel 5 passes.

[0018] Case 3 is made of a light-blocking white synthetic resin (e.g., polypropylene) and is disposed between display board 1 and circuit board 4. Display board 1 is placed on the front side of case 3, and circuit board 4 is fixed on the rear side with a locking piece such as a hook.

[0019] The case 3 has a first lighting chamber 31, a second lighting chamber 32, and a third lighting chamber 33.

[0020] The first lighting chamber 31 is formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the rotation shaft 441, and accommodates the rotation shaft 441 and the first light source 41 therein. The second lighting chamber 32 is formed in a bowl-shaped recessed shape functioning as a light reflector at a position facing the indicator portion 14 and at a position surrounding the first lighting chamber 31, and accommodates the second light source 42, the first LCF 61, and the first transmission plate 71 therein. The third lighting chamber 33 is formed at a position between the two second lighting chambers 32, and accommodates the third light source 43, the liquid crystal display panel 5, the second LCF 62, and the second transmission plate 72 therein. The second lighting chamber 32 is formed so as not to be exposed to light from the first light source 41 or the third light source 43.

[0021] The pointer 2 has a light-transmitting portion 21, a pointer cap portion 22, and a pointer LCF (light control film) 23. The light-transmitting portion 21 is made of a light-transmitting resin, and a base portion 211 at a position facing the rotation shaft 441 is formed in a boss shape, and this boss is inserted through the through hole 16 of the display plate 1 and attached to the rotation shaft 441. The light-transmitting portion 21 is formed to extend in a rectangular cross section from the base portion 211 in the planar direction of the display plate 1 in a direction (extension direction) from the rotation shaft 441 toward the indicator portion 14.

[0022] The pointer cap portion 22 is made of opaque resin, is formed in a circular shape when viewed from the front, and covers and conceals the base portion 211. The pointer cap portion 22 has a sheath portion 221 that covers the side surface of the indicator portion 212. The pointer LCF 23 is sandwiched between the light-transmitting portion 21 and the sheath portion 221, and is disposed in front of the indicator portion 212.

[0023] The pointer LCF 23 is a light control element, and is an LCF (light control film: light emission direction limiting layer) in which an upper louver layer 231, a lower louver layer 232, and front and rear PC layers (resin layers) 233 are laminated as shown in Fig. 6. The upper louver layer 231 has louvers (light-shielding members) 231b made of light-shielding rod-shaped polymer resin arranged at equal intervals in a transmission section 231a made of a transparent polymer resin. The lower louver layer 232 has louvers (light-shielding members) 232b made of light-shielding rod-shaped polymer resin arranged at equal intervals in a transmission section 232a made of a transparent polymer resin.

[0024] Front and rear PC layers 233 are made of PC (polycarbonate) and sandwich the front and rear surfaces formed by upper louver layer 231 and lower louver layer 232. As shown in Fig. 7, the directions in which louvers 231b and louvers 232b are arranged are perpendicular to each other. Louvers 231b are arranged in a direction approximately parallel to the extension direction.

[0025] The pointer 2 rotates around the rotation axis 441 by the pointer drive unit 44, and points to the index unit 14. The pointer 2 emits light at the indicator unit 212 by light from the first light source 41. The light from the first light source 41 enters the light-transmitting unit 21 from the base 211 and is guided to the indicator unit 212. The light guided to the indicator unit 212 is reflected forward by the back surface 212a of the indicator unit 212, passes through the pointer LCF 23, and is visually recognized by the driver. The light that passes through the pointer LCF 23 is shielded in the extension direction and in a direction perpendicular to this direction by the louvers 231b and 232b, and becomes light that has directionality in the normal direction of the pointer LCF 23. This directional light is visually recognized by the driver.

[0026] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the first LCF 61, the first transmissive plate 71, and the diffusion plate 8 are disposed between the display plate 1 and the second light source 42, and are stacked with a small gap between them in the order of the first LCF 61, the first transmissive plate 71, and the diffusion plate 8 from the side closest to the display plate 1.

[0027] The diffusion plate 8 is a thin plate-like member made of, for example, semi-transparent PC resin containing a diffusion material. The diffusion plate 8 diffuses the light of the second light source 42 and irradiates the light to the first transmission plate 71.

[0028] The first transmitting plate 71 has a base material 711, a transmitting layer 712, and a smoke layer (colored transmitting layer) 713. The base material 711 is a thin plate-like base material made of, for example, a transparent or semi-transparent light-transmitting polycarbonate resin or the like.

[0029] The transmissive layer 712 is made by printing a colorless, translucent ink containing colorless, translucent fine resin beads or the like on the surface of the base material 711. The smoke layer 713 is made by printing a black ink (black smoke ink) of a similar color to the light-shielding layer 13 of the display plate 1, which has a relatively low transmittance (for example, 30 to 50% transmittance), on the back surface of the base material 711. The first transmissive plate 71 transmits light from the diffusion plate 8 and irradiates this light to the first LCF 61.

[0030] The first LCF 61 is a light control element, and is an LCF (light control film: layer restricting the direction of light emission) formed by laminating a louver layer 611 and front and rear PC layers (resin layers) 612. The louver layer 611 has louvers (light-shielding members) 611b made of rod-shaped light-shielding polymer resin arranged at equal intervals in a transmitting portion 611a made of a transparent polymer resin.

[0031] The front and rear PC layers 612 are made of PC (polycarbonate) and sandwich the front and rear surfaces formed by the louver layer 611. As shown in FIG. 4, the louvers 611b are arranged in a direction that is approximately parallel to the up-down direction. The first LCF 61 transmits light from the first transmitting plate 71 and irradiates this light to the indicator portion 14 of the display plate 1. The light that transmits through the first LCF 61 becomes directional light with the light in the left-right direction blocked by the louvers 611b. This directional light transmits through the indicator portion 14 and is visually recognized by the driver. The front surface of the first LCF 61 facing the indicator portion 14 does not have a colored layer formed of a colored transparent ink.

[0032] As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the second LCF 62, the second transmissive plate 72, and the liquid crystal display panel 51 are disposed between the display panel 1 and the third light source 43, and are stacked with a small gap in between in the order of the second LCF 62, the second transmissive plate 72, and the liquid crystal display panel 51 from the side closest to the display panel 1.

[0033] The liquid crystal display panel 5 is a flat TFT-type color LCD cell with polarizing members attached to the front and rear surfaces, and displays vehicle information such as mileage, fuel consumption, time, cumulative mileage, etc., as an image. The liquid crystal display panel 5 irradiates the light of the third light source 43 onto the second transmitting plate 72 as image light.

[0034] The second transmitting plate 72 has a base material 721, a transmitting layer 722, and a smoke layer (semi-transmitting layer) 723. The base material 721 is a thin plate-like base material made of, for example, a transparent or semi-transparent light-transmitting polycarbonate resin or the like.

[0035] The transmissive layer 722 is made by printing a colorless, translucent ink containing colorless, translucent fine resin beads or the like on the surface of the base material 721. The smoke layer 723 is made by printing a black ink (black smoke ink) of a similar color to the light-shielding layer 13 of the display plate 1, which has a relatively low transmittance (for example, 30 to 50% transmittance), on the back surface of the base material 721. The second transmissive plate 72 transmits the image light from the liquid crystal display panel 5 and irradiates this image light to the second LCF 62.

[0036] The second LCF 62 is a light control element, and is an LCF (light control film: light emission direction limiting layer) in which a louver layer 621 and front and rear PC layers (resin layers) 622 are laminated. The louver layer 621 has louvers (light blocking members) 621b made of light blocking rod-shaped polymer resin arranged at equal intervals in a transmitting portion 621a made of a transparent polymer resin.

[0037] The front and rear PC layers 622 are made of PC (polycarbonate) and sandwich the front and rear surfaces formed by the louver layer 621. The louvers 621b are arranged in a direction that is approximately parallel to the up-down direction. The second LCF 62 transmits the image light from the second transmitting plate 72 and irradiates this image light to the image opening 15 of the display board 1. The light that transmits through the second LCF 62 becomes directional light with the light in the left-right direction blocked by the louvers 621b. This directional light transmits through the image opening 15 and is visually recognized by the driver.

[0038] In the present disclosure, by forming a smoke layer 713 behind the first LCF 61, the color difference between the transmissive portion 611a and the louvers 611b is reduced, making it possible to provide an instrument device 100 in which the visibility of the louvers 611b in the indicator portions 14 of the speedometer SP and tachometer TA is reduced.

[0039] In the present disclosure, by forming a smoke layer 723 behind the second LCF 62, it is possible to provide an instrument device 100 in which the visibility of the louver 621b at the image opening 15 of the image display unit DP is reduced by reducing the color difference between the transmissive portion 621a and the louver 621b.

[0040] In the present disclosure, the louver layers of the LCF 23 for the pointer are made up of two layers, an upper louver layer 231 and a lower louver layer 232, in which the louvers are arranged in mutually perpendicular directions, thereby making it possible to provide an instrument device 100 in which the pointer 2 is thinner and lighter than when two LCFs each having one layer are stacked together in the conventional method.

[0041] Although the instrumentation device of the present disclosure has been described using the configuration of the above-mentioned embodiment as an example, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and it goes without saying that various improvements and design changes are possible in other configurations as well, without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0042] For example, the smoke layer 713 is formed on the rear surface of the first transmitting plate 71, but may be formed on the front surface of the first transmitting plate 71. In addition, the smoke layer 713 may be formed on the rear surface of the first LCF 61. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 100 Instrumentation 1 Display board 11 Base material 12 Transparent layer 13 Light blocking layer 14 Index section (transparent section) 15 Image aperture (transparent part) 16 Through hole 2 Guidelines 21 Translucent part 211 Base 212 Instruction section 22 Pointer cap 221 Scabbard part 23 LCF (Light Control Film) for needles 231 Upper louver layer 231a Transparent part 231b Louver (light blocking material) 232 Lower louver layer 232a Transparent part 232b Louver (light blocking material) 233 Front and rear PC layers (resin layers) 3 Cases 31 First Lighting Room 32 Second Lighting Room 33 Third Lighting Room 4 Circuit Board 41 First light source (light source) 42 Second Light Source 43 The Third Light Source 44 Pointer drive 441 Rotational axis 5 Liquid crystal display panel (display) 61 First LCF (Light Control Film) 611 Louver layer 611a Transparent part 611b Louver (light blocking material) 612 Front and rear PC layer (resin layer) 62 Second LCF (Light Control Film) 621 Louver layer 621a Transparent part 621b Louver (light blocking material) 622 Front and rear PC layers (resin layers) 71 First transmitting plate (separate member) 711 Base material 712 Transparent layer 713 Smoke layer (colored transparent layer) 72 Second transmission plate (separate material) 721 Base material 722 Transparent layer 723 Smoke layer (semi-transparent layer) 8 Diffuser SP Speedometer TA Tachometer DP image display section WA warning light

Claims

1. A light source; a transparent display panel disposed in front of the light source; a light control element having a light blocking member arranged in a louver shape and disposed between the light source and the display panel; a semi-transmissive layer between the light source and the light control element; The instrument device, wherein the semi-transmissive layer is of a similar color to the light-shielding layer formed on the display panel.

2. 2. The instrument device according to claim 1, wherein the semi-transmissive layer is formed as a separate member disposed between the light source and the light control element.

3. 2. The instrument device according to claim 1, wherein the semi-transmissive layer is formed on a rear surface side of the light control element.

4. An instrument device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the optical control element does not have a colored layer on the front surface of the portion facing the indicator portion of the display panel.

5. the display panel has an indicator portion formed by the light-shielding layer, A pointer that rotates around a rotation axis and points to the indicator portion, 2. The instrument device according to claim 1, wherein the pointer has a light control element having two louver layers.

6. 2. The instrument device according to claim 1, further comprising a display for displaying an image between said semi-transmissive layer and said light source.

7. 2. The instrument device according to claim 1, wherein the light control element is formed by applying a light control film in which a louver layer for restricting the direction of light emission and resin layers are laminated on the front and rear of the louver layer.

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