Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20100058976?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2015-04-21 12:02:44
Document Index: 109848327

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2']

Patent US20100058976 - Motor vehicle display instrument having an embracing indicator - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsThe invention provides a display instrument, particularly for a motor vehicle, having an indicator that is rotatable about a rotational axis, wherein the indicator has an inner first region that is radial with regard to the rotational axis and that is not visible to a user, and an outer second region...http://www.google.com/patents/US20100058976?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20100058976 - Motor vehicle display instrument having an embracing indicatorAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20100058976 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 12/525,759PCT numberPCT/EP2008/000819Publication dateMar 11, 2010Filing dateFeb 1, 2008Priority dateFeb 7, 2007Also published asDE102007032851A1, EP2115399A2, US8166907, WO2008095651A2, WO2008095651A3Publication number12525759, 525759, PCT/2008/819, PCT/EP/2008/000819, PCT/EP/2008/00819, PCT/EP/8/000819, PCT/EP/8/00819, PCT/EP2008/000819, PCT/EP2008/00819, PCT/EP2008000819, PCT/EP200800819, PCT/EP8/000819, PCT/EP8/00819, PCT/EP8000819, PCT/EP800819, US 2010/0058976 A1, US 2010/058976 A1, US 20100058976 A1, US 20100058976A1, US 2010058976 A1, US 2010058976A1, US-A1-20100058976, US-A1-2010058976, US2010/0058976A1, US2010/058976A1, US20100058976 A1, US20100058976A1, US2010058976 A1, US2010058976A1InventorsMartin Mayer, Kristian Engel, Manfred S�ssOriginal AssigneeJohnson Controls Automotive Electronics GmbhExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManReferenced by (4), Classifications (13), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMotor vehicle display instrument having an embracing indicator
US 20100058976 A1Abstract
1. A display instrument, in particular for a motor vehicle, having a pointer which can rotate about a rotational axle, wherein the pointer has a first region which is radially on the inside with respect to the rotational axle and cannot be seen by a user, and a second region which is radially on the outside with respect to the rotational axle and can be seen by a user, characterized in that, at a radial distance from the rotational axle, an additional mount of the pointer and/or a stop are provided for taking up tilting moments which are essentially perpendicular to the rotational axle.
9. The display instrument as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the pointer bears in a continuous sliding fashion on the additional mount and/or on the stop.
10. The display instrument as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the pointer is mounted in an easily moving fashion or bears in an easily moving fashion on the additional mount and/or on the stop by means of a lubricant or a friction-reducing coating, in particular a PTFE layer (Teflon layer).
11. The display instrument as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the pointer bears continuously on the additional mount and/or on the stop by means of a rolling body, in particular a roller or a ball.
12. The display instrument as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a rotational axle bearing which is remote from the drive block is provided as the additional mount.
13. The display instrument as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a washer and a counterpart are provided as the additional mount.
14. The display instrument as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that first limiting stops and/or second limiting stops are provided as the stop.
15. The display instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the pointer is a hook-type pointer.
In the first embodiment, in particular an additional holding angle piece is provided which is attached to or near to the drive housing, with the limb of the angle or of the holding angle piece which is parallel to the rotational axle being located in the circular sector over which the movement of the pointer does not pass. As a result it is possible for the pointer to be mounted or held at two different positions in the axial direction of the rotational axle of the pointer, with the two locations which are spaced apart in the axial direction of the rotational axle of the pointer being preferably located on the one side and the other side of the plane of movement or the cone of movement of the pointer. In a first subtype of this embodiment, a bearing bushing is provided in the angle piece in order to implement the additional mount, with the end of the drive shaft�which is also to be understood as a correspondingly constructed end piece of a pointer which is fitted (e.g. plugged) into a shaftless drive�which faces away from the drive side being mounted in the bearing bushing. This end piece can be embodied from the same material as the pointer material or can be formed from a material of higher strength. In a second subtype of this embodiment (which can be provided as an alternative or an addition to the first subtype), the holding angle piece is fitted with a ring which extends counter to the pointer and is configured with low sliding friction, at least at its potential contact surface with the pointer, specifically its end wall which is embodied as a flat contact track, this low friction being due to the selection of the ring material or to a coating, for example with nanoparticles or Teflon. On the opposite side of the pointer, an identical ring can be provided which is attached, for example, to the drive housing. As a result, a limiting stop, which counteracts swinging of the pointer through excitation of shocks or vibrations, is provided on both sides. This implements a stop for taking up tilting moments which are essentially perpendicular to the rotational axle. According to a further variant of a stop (which can be implemented alternatively or additionally to the other variants or embodiments) for taking up tilting moments which are essentially perpendicular to the rotational axle, a limiting stop or pair of limiting stops can also be arranged further away from the rotational axle, depending on the available installation space or the inherent resonant behavior of the pointer. A holding angle piece is not absolutely necessary for this.
According to the refinements of the first embodiment of the attachment of the pointer 3 in the display instrument 10 according to the invention which are illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 7, variants of the stop of the pointer 3 are illustrated which contrast with a region 14 (in particular the dial) which is fixed (i.e. cannot move about the rotational axle 3′). In this context, the pointer 3 in FIG. 4 is guided in a region between the limiting stops 5, 6 which also lies comparatively far toward the outside in the radial direction, wherein the pointer 3 has for this purpose a guide section 3″ which is guided between the limiting stops 5, 6. In order to reduce the friction (in the case of a tilting moment, which acts on the pointer 3 and runs substantially perpendicularly to the rotational axle 3′, in such a way that the guide section 3″ comes to bear on one of the limiting stops 5, 6), one or more friction-reducing measures can be implemented on this guide section 3″ or at the locations of the limiting stops 5, 6 lying opposite, said measures being, for example, corresponding shaping with a small contact surface�for example by means of a ball indicated in FIG. 4 as the shape of the outermost end of the guide section 3″�or else a friction-reducing surface configuration or surface coating. In order to reduce the friction it is also alternatively possible to provide a rolling body 13, which is preferably arranged on the guide section 3″. In this context, the example of a rolling body 13�for example of a small roller�on the guide section 3″ is illustrated in FIG. 5 and in the righthand part of FIG. 7, with the rolling body 13 bearing either on the upper limiting stop 6 (when a corresponding tilting moment is present) or else on the lower limiting stop 5 and rolling in order to reduce the friction. The example of two rolling bodies 13 on a guide section 3″ which appears divided in two is illustrated in FIG. 6 and in the lefthand part of FIG. 7, with two rolling bodies 13 being present and rolling on the limiting stop 5 in order to reduce friction. In this context it is either possible to provide that the two rolling bodies 13 continuously bear on the limiting stop 5, i.e. in the sense of the invention the pointer is (continuously) supported on the limiting stop 5. Alternatively, the rolling bodies 13 can be provided spaced apart from the limiting stop 5, which improves the ease of movement of the pointer (but this is not illustrated in FIG. 6 or the lefthand part of FIG. 7).
The arrangement of a washer 1′ which encompasses the shaft of the pointer and has a counterpart 2′ which interacts with it is shown in FIG. 8 in a sectional illustration through a display instrument according to the invention, and the details of the sketch here are not necessarily to be understood as true to scale: the distance between the washer 1′ and the counterpart 2′ which can be clearly seen here can be made significantly smaller or negligibly small depending on the design. If the distance between the washer 1′ and the counterpart 2′ is greater than zero in a normal case (i.e. in a situation in which no dynamic tilting moments�i.e. due to an external force effect such as vibrations or the like�extending perpendicularly with respect to the rotational axle 3′ act on the pointer 3), that is to say where there is no continuous abutment between the washer 1′ and the counterpart 2′, the washer 1′ and the counterpart 2′ serve as a stop for taking up such tilting moments which are essentially perpendicularly to the rotational axle, with the stop being provided at a radial distance from the rotational axle 3′. If the distance between the washer 1′ and the counterpart 2′ is zero in a normal case, there being continuous abutment between the washer 1′ and the counterpart 2′, the washer 1′ and the counterpart 2′ then act as an additional mount which is provided at a radial distance from the rotational axle 3′.
Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS8219348Jan 21, 2010Jul 10, 2012Johnson Controls Technology CompanyMethod for calibrating and/or correcting a display device having a needle, the needle being able to move in rotation about an axis of rotationUS8550026 *Feb 26, 2008Oct 8, 2013Johnson Controls Automotive ElectronicsConically graduated display instrument for a motor vehicleUS8579448Jan 25, 2010Nov 12, 2013Johnson Controls Technology CompanyPointer structure of an instrument clusterUS20100326347 *Feb 28, 2008Dec 30, 2010Johnson Controls Automotive ElectronicsConically graduated display instrument for a motor vehicle* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification116/297, 116/332International ClassificationG01D11/16, G01D13/04Cooperative ClassificationG01D13/22, B60K2350/1064, G01D13/04, B60K2350/203, Y10S116/06, B60K37/02European ClassificationB60K37/02, G01D13/22, G01D13/04Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionNov 29, 2013ASAssignmentOwner name: JOHNSON CONTROLS TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, MICHIGANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:JOHNSON CONTROLS AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS GMBH;REEL/FRAME:031691/0647Effective date: 20131128Nov 6, 2009ASAssignmentOwner name: JOHNSON CONTROLS AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS,GERMANYFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:MAYER, MARTIN;ENGEL, KRISTIAN;SUSS, MANFRED;SIGNED BETWEEN 20090826 AND 20091026;US-ASSIGNMENT DATABASE UPDATED:20100311;REEL/FRAME:23480/209Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:MAYER, MARTIN;ENGEL, KRISTIAN;SUSS, MANFRED;SIGNING DATES FROM 20090826 TO 20091026;REEL/FRAME:023480/0209Owner name: JOHNSON CONTROLS AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS, GERMANYRotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services