Instrumental device for vehicle

Field of invention

The present invention relates to an instrumental device, more particularly a vehicular parameters display device employed in a vehicle, such as a motorcycle.

Description of the prior art

Most motorcycle come with two basic transmission types, manual transmission that require that the rider change gears by first pressing a clutch lever and then shifting gears through a gear lever, the other type is automatic transmission, which generally uses continuous variable transmission in which the transmission ratio is varied automatically without control of the rider. Both the said system have their own advantages and limitation, but recently use of another type of transmission is increasing that offers the control over gear shifting, at the same time retaining the convenience of automatic transmission. This type of transmission is termed as the auto clutch manual transmission or a semi-automatic transmission.

In this type of transmission a primary and a secondary clutch is provided wherein, the primary clutch is a centrifugal clutch that prevents the engine stalling at low speeds as no manual clutch is provided whereas, the secondary clutch is adapted to disengage automatically during gear shifting. In this type of transmission the rider can change gear as per the requirements directly without pressing any clutch lever and also vehicle can run and stop at any gear by virtue of primary centrifugal clutch, this convenience often results in reluctance on part of the rider to shift gears especially at low speeds. However, to obtain optimum performance i.e. in terms of fuel consumption it is advisable to shift gear, as per the speed of the vehicle at any point of time. Thus, it is desirable to have an indicator pointing out the mismatch between the speed of the vehicle and the selected gear.

Brief description of the invention

Accordingly, ah object of the present invention is to make it easier, in an instrumental device for a vehicle by providing a gear position indicator collaterally placed with the speed indicator so that the mismatch between the speed of the vehicle and gear position is easily assessable. As a means to provide the said solution, an embodiment of the present invention provides an instrument panel including a board, a printed speed display part, a printed gear-position display part and a backlight. The board is made of a transparent material. The printed parts are provided on the board that display information on vehicle speed and gear position. The backlight emits light onto the board.

Preferred embodiment of the invention provides the printed speed display part and the printed gear-range display part disposed in a concentric fashion as well as on respective, circular arcs. In addition, the gear-range display part and the speed display printed part are arranged in this order from the outer side to the inner side in the radial direction of the circular arcs respectively. According to an embodiment of the invention, it is possible to ensure a high level of visibility for the information needed during normal driving with the following configuration. More specifically, in the instrumental device, the

information on the vehicle speed is set to be displayed on the inner circular arc printed on the board by a needle pointing at the speed at which the vehicle is running. Meanwhile, the information on the gear position is set to be displayed on the outer circular arc printed on the board. The outer arc displays the gear range corresponding to the ideal speed range. The gear position in which vehicle is running is indicated by glowing a lamp corresponding to the said gear position in the said gear range display. This makes it possible to judge instantaneously by fust looking at the speed pointed by needle and status of gear indicator corresponding to that speed disposed collaterally on the outer circular arc that vehicle is running in the correct gear or not.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 illustrates a two wheeled vehicle according to the present invention Figure 2 illustrates an instrument panel according to the present invention Figure 3, 4, 5 and 6 illustrates the indication of each gear according to the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention

With reference to Figures 1-6, a two-wheeled vehicle 01 equipped with an instrument panel 02 is illustrated.

The instrument panel 02 displays various kinds of vehicle information for the rider. Hereinafter, directions, such as above, below, right and left, used in the description correspond to directions with reference to the rider. The instrument panel 02 includes *a housing 03 and a speedometer 04 disposed in the left part of the housing 03. The instrumental panel 02 also includes a group of various indicator lamps and a fuel gauge 05A in a circular instrument section 05 disposed on the right part of the housing 03. The indicator lamps are disposed on both sides of the fuel gauge 05A. In addition, the circular instrument section 05 includes a neutral gear- position lamp 05B disposed on top of the fuel gauge 05A. The housing 03 further includes mount extensions 03A provided in a projecting manner on the rear portion of the housing 03.

The speedometer 04 and the circular instrument section 05 on the right are covered with outer lenses 06 having circular shape. The outer lens 06 is in a flat-plate shape, and is provided such that it is approximately orthogonal to the direction of the driver's view. The inside of the speedometer 04 and circular instrument section 05 is visible through the respective outer lens 06. The indicator lamps include a high beam lamp 05C and a left direction indicator lamp 05D disposed on the left of the fuel gauge 05A in the circular instrument section 05 and a right direction indicator lamp 05E is disposed on the right side of the fuel gauge 05A in the said circular instrument section 05.

The neutral lamp 05B is lit while the gear is in neutral position, the high-beam lamp 05C is lit while the headlamp provides the high beam, and the left and right direction indicator lamps 05D and 05E blink while the left and right direction indicators are on. The analog fuel gauge 05A displays the amount of fuel remaining in a known manner.

The speedometer 04 disposed in the housing 03 is for displaying the driving speed of the vehicle (the vehicle speed). The speedometer 04 includes a dial 04A, a pointer 04B, a control means, and back light. The dial 04A that has a flat-plate shape is provided parallel to the outer lens 06 having space in between. The pointer 04B moves rotationally about the centre of the dial 04A to point at the speed scale of the dial 04A and the like. The pointer 04B and the dial 04A comprise an analog display part. The control means is disposed below the dial 04A along with the backlight. The backlight irradiates the dial 04A from the backside thereof.

The dial is made on the base plate 04C that is made of clear, and transparent glass epoxy. On the entire backside of the base plate, a base semi- transparent in, for example, silver colour is printed. On top of the semi- transparent layer, a base non- transparent layer is printed in, for example, black colour at necessary positions, and thus defines a transparent region for the light emitted by the backlight.

Base plate 04C also includes a centre cut-out portion 07 in a rectangular shape that provides the place for displaying the total travel distance through a distance meter disposed below.

To the inner circumference side of the dial 04A, a speed display part 08, marked with a speed display in kph (kilometre per hour) is provided around the axis of rotational movement of the pointer 04B. The said speed display 08 includes numerical representation of speed in kph and a scale respectively disposed'on the inner circumference side and on the outer circumference side of the speed display part 08.

The speed display 08 is marked with numerals (vehicle speed) so that the numerals increase in the speed displays in a clockwise direction respectively from 0 kph marked on the bottom-left portion of the dial 04A. At the outer circumference side of the speed display part 08, a gear-range display part 09 marked with a gear range display (display of a suitable gear range to use in relation to vehicle speed) is provided around the same axis as that of the speed display part 08. The gear range display 09 is marked with numerals (the number of gears) so that the numerals increase in a clockwise direction similar to the speed displays. The displays are provided in a concentric fashion as well as on respective, circular arcs. The speed display 08 is formed of a non- transparent layer in, for example, a black colour, and is printed on the front side of the board 04C (i.e. the side facing the driver). The gear range display 09 is, on the other hand, formed of a semi- transparent layer printed on the backside of the board 04C. The gear range display 09 is provided with first gear to fourth gear lamps (09A, 09B, 09C and 09D) a lamp that corresponds to the current gear position of the gear is lit to indicate the gear position as shown in figures 3 through 6 for each gear.

In the speedometer 04 as described above, when the backlight is lit to irradiate the entire dial 04A from the inside of the housing 03, the emitted light passes by and through the base non- transparent layer and the base semi- transparent layer respectively, Thereby, the speed display parts 08 is made to glow. However, the gear range display 09 is isolated so that the gear position indicated by the corresponding gear lamp (09A, 09B, 09C and 09D) is clearly visible.

It should also be noted that the configuration according to the above- mentioned embodiment is an example of the present invention. The invention can also be employed in other kinds of vehicles than a motorcycle, and various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The speed range for a particular gear can be varied based on the vehicle design, further digital meters in appropriate combination can also be used.

Claims: We claim

1. An instrumental device for a vehicle comprising: a board made of a transparent material; a first and second printed part provided on the board, wherein said first printed part displaying, information relative to vehicle speed and the second printed part displays information on gear position, wherein the first, and second printed parts are disposed in a concentric fashion as well as on respective, circular arcs, and the first printed part, and the second printed part are arranged in this order from the inner side to the outer side in the radial direction of the circular arcs,

wherein the second printed indicia includes a plurality of gear-position lamp disposed within the housing for indicating a gear position condition

wherein the second printed part displays the gear range corresponding to the speed range of first printed part.

2. The instrumental device according to claim 1, wherein a board made of a transparent material; a first and second printed part provided on the board, wherein said first printed part displaying,

information relative to vehicle speed and the second printed part displays information on gear position, and a backlight for emitting light onto the board; and the first printed part is printed on a front side of the board while the second printed part is printed on a back side of the board.

3. The instrumental device according to claim 1, wherein the board is made of a clear, transparent and transmissive glass epoxy.

4. The instrumental device according to claim 1, wherein on the back side of the board a base semi-transmissive layer is printed.

5. The instrumental device according to claim 1, wherein on the top side of the board a base non-transmissive layer is printed.

6. A motorcycle having the instrumental device as claimed in claim 1.