1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device employed for a meter of a vehicle; for instance, an automobile.
2. Description of the Relate Art
A display device employed for a meter of a vehicle, such as an automobile, is for letting a user recognize information by displaying a variety of pieces of information on; for instance, a liquid crystal display portion. Since such a display device is frequently exposed to driver's eyes, superior decoration and design are often required of the display device. In the meantime, there has been proposed a display device intended for enabling a display in a display portion in colors, to thus enhance display quality (see; JP-A-2009-210302).
A display device employed for a meter of a vehicle, like an automobile, is generally designed so as to irradiate a display portion from behind with light emanating from a light source.
In contrast, the display device disclosed in connection with JP-A-2009-210302 has a liquid crystal display portion and a light source for illuminating the liquid crystal display portion by a light guiding body. The light source is made up of a first light source and a second light source that illuminate light in different colors. The light guiding body is split into a first light guiding body and a second light guiding body by a light shielding member that shields the light sources from each other. The first light guiding body includes an irradiation portion for guiding light from each of the first and second light sources to the liquid crystal display portion and an interposition portion that is continuous from the irradiation portion and interposed between the second light guiding body and an end of the light shielding member, and an entire back surface of the liquid crystal display portion. The first light source and the second light source are placed in the first light guiding body, and the first light source is placed in the second light guiding body (see FIG. 2 of JP-A-2009-210302).
By means of the above-mentioned configuration, the display device disclosed in connection with JP-A-2009-210302 uses either a mode for irradiating the first light guiding body with light from the first light source and also irradiating the second light guiding body with the light from the first light source or another mode for irradiating the first light guiding body with light from the second light source and irradiating the second light guiding body with the light from the first light source, in such a way that a right mode is selected in a right situation, thereby enabling switching a display in multiple colors.
However, the display device disclosed in connection with JP-A-2009-210302 is restricted to a display on a surface in multiple colors. In contrast, a display device capable of realizing a display further enhanced in decoration and design has recently been sought.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds