Electrolumiscent Display Structure for Motor Vehicle Window

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to improvements in or relating to a marking display structure for a window such as, for example, rear quarter window of a motor vehicle, the marking display structure being arranged to produce a display representing the type, model or the like of the motor vehicle.

2. Description of the Prior Art

There has conventionally been proposed a marking display structure such as shown in FIG. 1, wherein a marking 2 representing the type, model or the like of a motor vehicle is provided on part of a glass membrane for a rear quarter window of the motor vehicle.

In such a conventional structure, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rear quarter window glass membrane 1 is securely supported by a peripheral molding 6 which is fastened by screw 5 to a flange 4 of rear pillar outer panel 3. The rear quarter window glass membrane 1 is also bonded to the rear pillar outer panel flange 4 by a bonding agent 7. To hide the screw 5 and bonding agent 7 a black masking paint coating film 8 is applied to the periphery of the inner side of the rear quarter window glass membrane 1. The marking 2 is printed on the inner side of the lower portion of the window glass 1 before the masking coating 8 is applied. In FIG. 2, a seal rubber 9 is provided for sealing the gap between the peripheral molding 6 and the rear pillar outer panel 3, and a nut 10 and a spring washer 11 are employed for tightening the screw 5.

However, the aforementioned conventional structure is disadvantageous in that the marking 2 can be recognized only during day time, that is, it cannot be recognized at night since the structure is arranged such that the marking is viewed with external light.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved marking display structure for a motor vehicle window, which is so designed as to overcome the foregoing drawbacks of the prior-art structure.

Briefly, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a marking display structure for a motor vehicle window which includes means for illuminating, from inside, a marking display unit so that the marking, which represents the type, model or the like of the motor vehicle, can be recognized not only during day time but also at night.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the conventional marking display structure for a motor vehicle window.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II--II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the marking display structure for a motor vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the construction of a luminescent lamp usable in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the marking display structure for a motor vehicle window according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are sectional views showing modifications to means according top the present invention for holding a DC-AC converter which may be provided for energizing the luminescent lamp, respectively.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, there is shown the marking display structure for a motor vehicle window according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein marking display element 20 is provided on a lower portion of the inner surface of a rear quarter window glass membrane 1, and a luminescent lamp 21 is provided in facing relationship with the inner surface of the marking display element 20.

The marking display element 20 is of a pattern representing the type, model or the like of the motor vehicle. It may be formed in a punched-out fashion in part of a mask coating 8 applied onto the peripheral portion of the inner surface of the rear quarter window glass membrane 1. This pattern forms a light-permeable pattern 22.

The luminescent lamp 21 may comprise, for example, an Electro-Luminescent Lamp of Type LX or LT (tradename) available from Fukuda Kinzoku Hakufun Kogyo Co., Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer. The luminescent lamp, as shown in FIG. 5, consists of a light emitting layer or luminescent layer 23, a light-permeable electrode layer 24 laminated on the outer side of the light emitting layer 23, a dielectric layer 25 on the inner side of the light emitting layer 23, a rear electrode layer 26 on the inner side of the dielectric layer 25, and humidity-proof, transparent films 27, 28 containing all these layers in a humidity-tight manner. The light-permeable electrode layer 24 and the rear electrode layer 26 are each connected to the output terminals of a DC-AC converter, or an invertor 31 through leads 29, 30, and the input terminals of the invertor are in turn connected to terminals 32, 33 leading to the lighting harness.

The luminescent lamp 21 is bonded to a recessed portion 36 of a resin cover 35 by double-faced adhesive tape 37. A flange 34 provided around the periphery of the cover 35 is bonded to the inner surface of the rear quarter window glass membrane 1 by using a quantity of bonding agent 38 so that the light-permeable electrode layer 24 is placed in facing relationship with the rear quarter window glass membrane 1.

The resin cover 35 is provided with a support portion 39 formed integrally therewith to support the DC-AC invertor 31 and is hidden by a trim 40 from inside the window.

Since with this construction the luminescent lamp 21 is disposed inside the light-permeable pattern 22 of the marking display element 20, when one looks during day time at the rear quarter window glass 1 from outside the color of the luminescent lamp 21 is seen through the light-permeating pattern 22, so that he can recognize the marking through the window. At night, a switch (not shown) is turned on to convert a direct current supplied from a battery (not shown) into an alternating current by means of the DC-AC invertor 31 and the alternating current thus obtained is then supplied to the electrode layers 24, 26 of the luminescent lamp 21, thus causing the luminescent layer 23 to emit light. The light from the luminescent layer 23 passes through the light-permeating pattern 22 so as to make the marking on the window clearly recognizable to anyone looking at the rear quarter window. Any desired color can be chosen for the luminescent layer 23 such as green white, red, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a second embodiment of the present invention. Basically, the construction of the second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment except that a light-permeating colored film 41 is provided on the inner surface of the marking display element 20 in such a manner as to cover the light-permeating pattern 22, by means of vapor deposition, for example.

With the marking display structure according to the second embodiment, when viewed from outside the rear quarter window during day time, the marking display element 20 is viewed with the color of the film 41 through the light-permeating pattern with the surface color of the luminescent lamp 21 hidden, so that the marking is recognized with the color of the film 41. Thus, by using a metallic-colored film as the colored film 41, for example, it is possible to make the marking of the element 20 look gorgeous when viewed during day time. It is also possible, by using as the colored film 41 a film of the same color as that of the luminescence available from the lamp 21, for example, to make the marking of the element 20 appear no different between during day or night. In this way, it is possible to make the marking appear as desired, by suitably selecting the color for the film 41.

While in the above embodiments the marking display element 20 comprises the light-permeable pattern 22 punched out in a part of the mask coating film 8, it is not limited to this construction and may be formed of light-permeable and non-light-permeable films laminated together. The marking display element 20 need not necessarily be attached to the rear quarter window glass 1 but may be provided on the surface of the luminescent lamp 21. It is also possible to make the marking display element 20 integral with the luminescent lamp 21. In this case, the marking display element 20 may be made integral with the light-permeable electrode layer 24 and humidity-proof film 27 which are disposed closer to the rear quarter window glass membrane 1 than the light-emitting layer 23. While in the above embodiments the lamp 21 comprises an electro-luminescent lamp, it is not limited thereto but may take any other form of lamp as long as it is of a planar construction. Further, it is possible to use other support means for holding the DC-AC invertor 31. For example, the support 39 may be formed integrally with an interior trim 40 as shown in FIG. 7 or may be formed of a bracket 42 which may be spot-welded to the flange 4 of the rear pillar outer panel 3 as shown in FIG. 8. The DC-AC invertor 31 is not required when the luminescent lamp 21 is adapted to be energized by a DC power source. It is to be understood that this invention is applicable not only to a rear quarter window but also any other window such as the rear window or rear partition window of the motor vehicle.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the present invention is by no means limited thereto and covers all changes and modifications which will become possible within the scope of the appended claims.