JP2000009859A - Timepiece device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide timepiece device that enables display time to be easily and accurately recognized even if the surrounding is dark, consumes less power, and is rich in design. SOLUTION: The timepiece device is provided with an hour hand 22 and a minute hand 23 that can guide incidence light and emit guided light to the outside and a plurality of lighting means 32 that are arranged at the peripheral part of an electronic clock hand rotary shaft 24 where the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 are mounted and can apply light to the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 from an area where the electronic clock hand rotary shaft 24. Further, a lighting control device is provided for lighting at least one lighting means 32 for applying illumination light to the mounting end part side to the electronic clock hand rotary shaft 24 of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 being located at a specific position according to time out of a plurality of lighting means 32, thus composing the timepiece device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a timepiece device in which a pointer, a dial and the like are illuminated by light from a light source or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Even when the periphery of a watch body is dark,
In recent years, a clock device configured to illuminate a pointer, a dial, or the like so that the display time can be accurately visually recognized from the outside has been put to practical use in recent years. As this type of clock device,
It is generally well-known that a plurality of light sources are arranged in the periphery of a dial and the dial surface is illuminated with light from the light source. There is also a timepiece device in which the dial is formed of a light guide member to enhance the lighting effect on the dial face.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional timepiece device, in order to uniformly illuminate the entire dial face, it is necessary to use a light source that generates light with high luminance or to increase the number of light sources. There is. When the surroundings of the timepiece device are dark, it is necessary to continuously light all the light sources until the surroundings become bright to some extent.
For this reason, a large amount of power is consumed to illuminate the dial, and there have been many problems such as shortening of battery life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has as its object not only that a display time can be easily and accurately recognized even when the surroundings are dark, but also that the power consumption is low and the watch is rich in interest. It is to provide a device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a timepiece device according to the present invention comprises a pointer capable of guiding incident light and emitting guided light to the outside, and a pointer having the pointer attached thereto. A plurality of illuminating means arranged around the rotation axis and capable of entering illumination light into the pointer from near the mounting position of the pointer rotation axis, and among the plurality of illuminating means, at a predetermined position according to time. Lighting control means for turning on at least one illuminating means capable of illuminating with illumination light on the side of the end of the pointer which is attached to the pointer rotating shaft. Also, the above guidelines are:
An attachment portion to the pointer rotating shaft; and a needle portion having an end coupled to the attachment portion and extending from the end in a predetermined direction. A light condensing part for condensing light on the joint between the attachment part and the needle part is provided. The light-collecting portion may be formed with at least one light-reflecting surface that reflects the guided light incident into the waveguide region of the light-collecting portion toward the coupling portion between the mounting portion and the needle portion. desirable. Further, it is desirable to provide a light emitting portion for emitting the guided light guided to the tip portion to the front side of the timepiece main body at the tip portion of the needle portion.

Further, the timepiece device of the present invention has a hand position detecting means capable of detecting the position of the hands, and the lighting control means detects the detected position based on the detection result by the hands position detecting means. At least one illuminating means closest to the pointer position is turned on. Each of the pointers is composed of a short hand and a long hand, and each illuminating means which irradiates the long hand and the short hand with the illuminating light so that the brightness of the short hand and the long hand in a light emitting state by the guided light from the illuminating means becomes substantially equal. Light amount control means for controlling the light amount of any one of the above.

According to the timepiece apparatus of the present invention, at least one of the plurality of illuminating means, which is capable of making the illuminating light incident on the end of the pointer positioned at the predetermined position with respect to the pointer rotating shaft, Lights according to the time. Since all the illuminating means are arranged so that the illuminating light can be incident on the pointer from the vicinity of the attachment position of the pointer and the rotating shaft of the pointer, the illuminating light of the illuminating means in the lighting state is guided inside the pointer. Will be done. Since the focusing part is provided on the attachment part of the pointer to the rotating shaft of the pointer, the illuminating light of the illuminating means enters the waveguide region of the focusing part, and the light reflected on the focusing part is formed. The light is reflected by the surface toward the connecting portion between the mounting portion and the needle portion. As a result, the guided light is focused on the joint between the attachment part and the needle part. The collected guided light is guided while irregularly reflecting inside the needle portion toward the tip of the needle portion. A light emitting portion is provided near the distal end of the pointer, and the guided light guided to the distal end is reflected in the front direction of the watch main body by an inclined portion formed on the light emitting portion and serving as a light reflecting surface, for example. Will be emitted.

According to the timepiece device of the present invention, for example, the position of the short hand and the position of the long hand are detected by the pointer position detecting means, and based on the detection results, the illuminating means located closest to the short hand and the long hand, respectively. Are turned on in response to a lighting control signal from the lighting control means. Since all the illuminating devices are arranged at positions where the illuminating light can be incident on the respective hands from near the mounting positions of the respective hands and the rotating shaft of the hands, the illuminating light of the illuminating devices in the lighting state is a short hand. And it will be guided inside the long needle. Since the short hand and the long hand are attached to the pointer rotating shafts respectively, the light condensing parts are provided, so that the illumination light of the illuminating means is incident on the waveguide area of the light condensing parts and is formed on each light condensing part. The reflected light is reflected toward the joint between the mounting portion and the needle portion. As a result, the guided light is condensed on each coupling portion between the attachment portion and the needle portion. The collected guided light is guided while diffusely reflecting inside the needle portions toward the tip of the needle portions. A light emitting portion is provided in the vicinity of the tip of each pointer, and the guided light guided to the tip is reflected toward the front of the timepiece body by an inclined portion formed on the light emitting portion, for example, as a light reflecting surface. Is emitted. At this time, when light is emitted from the short hand and the long hand, respectively, so that the brightness of the short hand and the long hand becomes substantially equal.
For example, the light amount of the illuminating unit that illuminates the long hand is controlled by the light amount control unit. Thereby, the visibility of the pointer is improved and the decorative effect is also improved.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a timepiece device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a timepiece device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
It is principal part sectional drawing of the timepiece apparatus shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the timepiece device 1 of the present invention is provided with a timepiece portion 20 for displaying the current time in a housing 10, and an hour hand 22 and a minute hand 23, which will be described later, indicate the current time. Is illuminated with light emitted from a light-emitting diode 32 described later, so that the time can be accurately recognized. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the housing 10 has a configuration in which a lid-shaped housing back surface portion 13 is fitted into a housing side surface portion 12 into which a transparent plastic plate 11 is fitted.
Further, a partition plate 14 for partitioning the inside of the housing 10 into two compartments is fixed to the inner wall of the housing side portion 12.

The clock section 20 is fixed to the dial 21 attached to the front side of the dividing plate 14 and to the back side of the dividing plate 14, and drives the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 to rotate around the pointer rotating shaft 24. And a movement 25. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a CdS cell 31 as a light detecting unit for detecting the brightness around the timepiece device 1 is provided vertically below the pointer rotating shaft 24 in the drawing. The dial 21 is buried in the dial 21 so as to be exposed on the surface of the dial 21.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the peripheral portion of the rotary shaft of the hand when the hour hand and the minute hand are removed, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main portion near the peripheral portion of the rotary shaft of the timepiece shown in FIG. FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 3, eight light emitting diodes 3 are provided around the pointer rotating shaft 24 on the dial 21.
Numerals 2 are evenly arranged at equal intervals on a circle having a radius r around the pointer rotation shaft 24. At this time, the angle between the light emitting diodes 32 adjacent to each other about the pointer rotating shaft 24 is 45 °, and the light emitting diodes 32 are arranged uniformly at the 12 o'clock position.

As shown in FIG. 4, the dial 21 has all the light emitting diodes 3 evenly arranged.
A seat portion 21a is formed so as to surround the outer periphery of No. 2 at a predetermined depth around the pointer rotating shaft 24. The seat portion 21a formed on the dial 21 is provided with a mounting portion 22b and a mounting portion 22b of the hour hand 22, which will be described later, so that the lighting light of the light-emitting diode 32 does not leak in the front and side directions of the dial 21. A substantially closed space is formed with the flange 22f formed on the peripheral edge.

As shown in FIG. 4, a light emitting diode mounting hole 21b for burying and fixing each light emitting diode 32 is formed in the seat portion 21a.
By the light emitting diode mounting holes 21b, the light emitting diodes 32 are evenly arranged at accurate positions, and furthermore, the light emitting diodes 32 are firmly fixed to the dial 21 without any positional displacement. . In addition,
Each of the light emitting diodes 32 mounted in the light emitting diode mounting hole 21b is wired via a partition plate 14 to a circuit board (not shown) mounted on the rear side of the partition plate 14.

Here, based on FIG.
The arrangement of the two colors will be described. Pointer rotating shaft 2 shown in FIG.
When described in a clockwise direction from the light emitting diode 32a located vertically above the light emitting diode 4, the light emitting diode 32a is "white",
The light emitting diode 32b is "red" and the light emitting diode 32c
Is "blue", the light emitting diode 32d is "green", the light emitting diode 32e is "white", the light emitting diode 32f is "green",
The light emitting diode 32g is "blue" and the light emitting diode 32h
Is set to "red". As described above, in the present embodiment, at least the light emitting colors of the adjacent light emitting diodes 32 are different. The reason is that the light emitting diode 3
This is because the visibility of the display time is further improved by making the colors of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 illuminated by the second emitted light different with time. In order to make the colors of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 illuminated by the light emitting diodes 32 various, the colors of all the light emitting diodes 32 may be different.

The configuration of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 will be described. 5A is a front view of the hour hand used in the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of each light-collecting portion of the hour hand shown in FIG. 5A, and FIG. ) Is a cross-sectional view of the light emitting portion of the hour hand shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 6 is a front view of the minute hand used in the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a diagram when the hour hand and the minute hand overlap. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a state of a light collecting unit. Note that FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the light-collecting unit shown in FIG.
The sectional view of the light emitting portion shown in FIG.

The hour hand 22 has an attachment portion 22b attached to an hour hand pipe (not shown) serving as a rotation axis of the hour hand 22 through a through hole 22a, and an end connected to the attachment portion 22b. And the extended needle portion 22d. The mounting portion 22b and the needle portion 22d are each formed of a waveguide member in order to guide incident light from the light emitting diode 32 toward the tip of the needle portion 22d.

As can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4, the mounting portion 22b is provided to prevent light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 disposed in the seat portion 21a formed on the dial 21 from leaking to the outside. And a flat portion having an area slightly smaller than the opening area of the seat portion 21a. When the hour hand 22 is mounted on an hour hand pipe (not shown), the seat portion 21a, the mounting portion 22b, and the peripheral portion of the mounting portion 22b are provided. A substantially closed space surrounding all the light-emitting diodes 32 is formed by the flange portion 22f formed at the center. The collar 22
The outer peripheral surface of f is formed along the inner peripheral surface of the seat 21a.

As shown in FIG. 5 (a), in order to guide more light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 in the lighting state toward the tip of the needle portion 22d, the mounting portion 22b has A plurality of light condensing portions 22c for condensing the guided light at the coupling portion between the attachment portion 22b and the needle portion 22d are formed. As shown in FIG. 5B, the light collecting unit 22c includes a light collecting unit 22.
A light reflecting surface is formed to reflect the guided light that has entered the waveguide region c toward the joint between the attachment portion 22b and the needle portion 22d. In FIG. 5B, for reference, an example of a waveguide path of light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 is shown by a two-dot chain line. As shown in FIG. 7, assuming that the hour hand 22 is stopped in a state where the hour hand 22 indicates "3 o'clock", the arrangement position of the condensing unit 22c determines the emission light of the light emitting diodes 32 other than the light emitting diode 32g as the mounting unit 22b. Light can be collected at the joint with the needle 22d. In the above-described state, the light condensing portion 22c may be provided at a position corresponding to the position of the light emitting diode 32g. However, in the present embodiment, more light is emitted to the minute hand 23 having a longer light guide distance of the guided light than the hour hand 22. For the purpose of guiding the light emitted from the diode 32, the light collecting section 22c corresponding to the light emitting diode 32g is not provided as shown in FIG.

By arranging a plurality of light condensing portions 22c on the hour hand 22 in this manner, not only the light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 for illuminating the hour hand 22 but also the light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 for illuminating the minute hand 23 is provided. Can also be used to illuminate the hour hand 22, and the brightness of the hour hand 22 can be further improved. Further, in the present embodiment, at least the adjacent light-emitting diodes 32 are set to emit different colors, so that by providing a plurality of light-collecting portions 22c, the hour hand 22 can have various mixed colors. In addition, since their mixed colors change over time, the decorative effect is also improved.

Further, on the back side of the needle portion 22d, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5A and FIG.
Is the distance L from the tip of the needle portion 22d in the direction of the mounting portion 22b.
Is formed in the region of. The light emitting part 22e is provided as shown in FIG.
As can be seen from (c), the rear surface side of the tip of the needle portion 22d cut off in a tapered shape is cut into a saw-tooth shape having a plurality of inclined surfaces having a predetermined angle. The plurality of slopes described above allow the guided light in the needle portion 22d to be transmitted to the needle portion 22d.
d, so that the direction of the emitted light is limited to substantially one direction at the tip of the needle 22d, and as a result, the brightness of the tip of the needle 22d is improved. . FIG. 5 (c) shows the needle portion 22 for reference.
An example of the light guide path of the guided light inside e is shown by a two-dot chain line similarly to FIG. 5B.

The minute hand 22 has an attachment portion 23b attached to a minute hand pipe (not shown) serving as a rotation axis of the minute hand 22 through a through hole 23a, and an end portion connected to the attachment portion 23b. The extended needle portion 23d is provided. The attachment portion 23b and the needle portion 23d are each formed of a waveguide member in order to guide the incident light from the light emitting diode 32 toward the tip of the needle portion 23d.

As shown in FIG. 7, the mounting portion 23b overlaps with the mounting portion 22 and prevents light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 from leaking to the outside, similarly to the mounting portion 22b formed on the hour hand 22. It has a flat part.

As shown in FIG. 6, the light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 in the lighting state is applied to the needle 23d.
In order to guide more light toward the tip end of the
A plurality of light condensing portions 23c for condensing the guided light inside the light at a coupling portion between the attachment portion 23b and the needle portion 23d are formed. Light collector 2
As shown in FIG. 5 (b), the guided light incident into the waveguide region of the light condensing part 23c is attached to the mounting part 23b and the needle part 23d.
A light reflecting surface is formed on the side of the joint with the light reflecting surface. As shown in FIG. 7, the arrangement position of the light collecting portion 23c is
Assuming that he stopped at the state of "15 minutes",
Outgoing light from all of the light emitting diodes 32a to 32h can be condensed on the joint between the mounting part 23b and the needle part 23d.

By arranging a plurality of light condensing portions 23c on the minute hand 23, not only the light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 for illuminating the minute hand 23 but also the light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 for illuminating the hour hand 22 is provided. Can also be used for illumination of the minute hand 23, and the brightness of the minute hand 23 can be further improved. Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, at least the adjacent light-emitting diodes 32 are set to emit different colors, and thus, by providing a plurality of light-collecting portions 23c, as in the case of the hour hand 22, The minute hand 23 can also have various mixed colors, and since the mixed colors change with the passage of time, the decorative effect is also improved.

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 5C, a light emitting portion 23e is provided on the back side of the needle portion 23d in the direction from the tip end of the needle portion 23d to the mounting portion 23b. It is formed in the area of the distance L. Note that the light emitting unit 23
About the shape and configuration of e, the hand portion 22b of the hour hand 22
Since it is the same as that of the light emitting portion 22e formed in FIG.

The movement 25 is provided with a time code plate (not shown) configured to rotate according to the rotation of an hour wheel (not shown) and make one rotation in 12 hours. The time code plate has a configuration similar to that of the time code plate described in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 2-12632, "Time Electronic Timepiece", and a 4-bit time code (not shown) formed on the time code plate. And a time code contact 34 described later
The four contacts are brought into contact or non-contact with each other by the rotation of the time code plate, so that a 4-bit time code signal is output. By detecting the time code signal, the current time can be recognized. Has become.

The time code plate described above recognizes only "hour", but "minute" indicates that when the time changes,
Recognition can be made by extracting a count signal from a timer circuit in the lighting control device 30 described later, which starts a counting operation simultaneously with a change in the time code signal. In addition,
The time code plate of the present embodiment is attached to an hour hand rotating shaft (not shown) for rotating the hour wheel, but is not attached to the hour hand rotating shaft if it is configured to rotate at the same speed as the hour wheel. Is also good.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining the structure of the lighting control device of the light emitting diode of the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 9 explains the structure inside the light amount control device of the timepiece device shown in FIG. FIG.

The lighting control device 30, as shown in FIG.
As an external input terminal, an hour signal input terminal i1 connected to an hour contact 33 that is turned on when the hour signal is input.
And a time code input terminal i2 connected to a time code contact for detecting a time code (not shown) formed on the time code plate, and a monitor switch 35 used for checking operation of the timepiece device 1 and the like. Monitor input terminal i
3, a reset input terminal i4 connected to a reset switch 36 for resetting the operation state of the timepiece device 1, and an input terminal to which a detection signal from the CdS cell 31 embedded in the dial 21 of the timepiece device 1 is input. i5.
In addition, as an output terminal to the outside of the lighting control device 30,
As shown in FIG. 8, the light emitting diodes 32 connected to the light amount control device 40 and determined by the lighting control device 30 respectively.
Output terminals j1 to j8 for outputting a lighting signal for turning on. Note that each light emitting diode 32 is connected to the lighting control device 30 via the light amount control device 40.

That is, the lighting control device 30 receives the detection signal from the CdS cell 31 and determines the brightness around the timepiece device 1. When the surroundings are dark, the input state of the time code input terminal i2 and the state shown in FIG. The current time is calculated from the output signal of the counter of the timer circuit not to be used, and the current positions of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 are detected. When the position detection of each hand is completed, the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 2 are set based on the detection result.
3, at least one light emitting diode 32 closest to each of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 in the present embodiment.
To determine. When the light emitting diode 32 for illuminating the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 is determined, the output terminals j1 to j
A lighting signal for lighting the determined light emitting diode 32 is output from one of the output terminals 8.

In this embodiment, as described above, at least one light emitting diode 32 closest to each of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 emits light. Mounting part 22
As long as the light emitting diode 32 is located at a position where the illumination light can be condensed on the joints of the needles b and 23b and the needles 22d and 23d, the light may be turned on even if it is not closest to each hand. For example, in FIG. 7, it is apparent that the light emitting diode 32c is closest to the hour hand 22 and that the highest amount of emitted light can enter the hour hand 22. However, for example, other than the light condensing unit 22c corresponding to the light emitting diode 32h Condensing part 2
If 2c does not exist, the light emitting diode 32h
May be turned on to illuminate the hour hand 22.

As shown in FIG. 8, the light quantity control device 40
Light amount controller 41 for controlling the light amount of each light emitting diode 32
To 48. The light amount control device 40 is provided to prevent adverse effects such as a decrease in visibility and a deterioration in decorativeness due to a difference in luminance between the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 illuminated by the light emitting diode 32. The light emitting diode 32 illuminating the minute hand 23 is set to “bright” so that the luminance of the minute hand 23 is substantially uniform.
It is configured to emit light at any one of three levels of “normal” and “dark”. That is, each of the light quantity control units 41 to 48 includes the light emitting diode 3
The light amounts 2a to 32h are controlled.

The configuration of the light amount control unit 41 will be described with reference to FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 9, the lighting control device 3
The 0 lighting signal output terminal j1 is a selection unit that selects whether the light emitting diode 32a emits light with a large light amount “bright”, emits light with a standard light amount “normal”, or emits light with a small light amount “dark”. 41a. The selection unit 41a is connected to the resistors R1, R2, and R3, respectively, and the resistors R1, R2, and R3 are NPN transistors Tr.
1, Tr2 and Tr3, respectively, and the light emitting diode 32a is connected to the transistors Tr1 and Tr3.
2 and Tr3, respectively. In addition, the light amount control unit 41 changes the resistance values of the resistors R1, R2, and R3 so that the light emitting diode 32
a, and as a result, the light emitting diode 32
The configuration is such that the amount of light a is controlled. Therefore, the relationship between the resistance values is set to R1 <R2 <R3.

The difference between the brightness of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 is as follows.
It is caused by a difference in the length of the pointer, a difference in the wavelength of the light emission color of the light emitting diode 32, and the like. Therefore, at least the adjacent light emitting diodes 3 as in the present embodiment are used.
In the case where the two emission colors are different, when the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 move with the passage of time, the state of the difference in their luminance also changes every moment. Therefore, the selection unit 41a is configured to select any stage of the light amount of the minute hand 23 from a table in which the light emission amount is determined in advance based on a change in time.

That is, when the "bright" stage in which the light emitting diode 32a emits a large amount of light is selected, the lighting signal output from the lighting control device 30 flows into the base electrode of the transistor Tr1 via the resistor R1. As a result, the transistor Tr1 becomes conductive, and the light emitting diode 3
2a, the amplified large current flows, and the light emitting diode 3
2a emits light. Also, when the "Normal" stage is selected,
The lighting signal output from the lighting control device 30 flows into the base electrode of the transistor Tr2 via the resistor R2. As a result, the transistor Tr2 becomes conductive, a large amplified current flows through the light emitting diode 32a, and the light emitting diode 32a emits light. However, the resistors R1 and R2
Has a relationship of R1 <R2, the current flowing into the base electrode of the transistor Tr2 is smaller than the current of the transistor Tr1. For this reason, the current flowing through the light emitting diode 32a is also smaller than the amplified current in the transistor Tr1.
As a result, the amount of light a decreases. When the “dark” stage is selected, the lighting signal output from the lighting control device 30 flows into the base electrode of the transistor Tr3 via the resistor R3. As a result, the transistor Tr3 becomes conductive, a large amplified current flows through the light emitting diode 32a, and the light emitting diode 32a emits light. However, since the resistances of the resistors R2 and R3 have a relationship of R2 <R3, the light amount of the light emitting diode 32a further decreases as in the case described above.

In the present embodiment, the light quantity of the light emitting diode 32 illuminating the minute hand 23 is controlled. However, the light quantity of the light emitting diode 32 illuminating the hour hand 22 instead of the minute hand 23 may be controlled. . Also, the number of light quantity control steps does not need to be limited to the three steps described above.

In the light quantity control device 40 of the present embodiment, the light quantity is controlled by changing the resistance values of the resistors R1, R2 and R3 in three stages, but the method of light quantity control is not limited to this. That is, the light amount control method described below may be adopted. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of another light amount control device. As shown in FIG. 10, the light emitting diode 32a is connected to the lighting control device 30 via the resistor R, and the light emitting signal of the light emitting diode 32a output from the output terminal j1 of the lighting control device 30 is supplied to the light emitting diode via the resistor R. 32a is inputted to the cathode side. At this time, the light quantity control device 40 includes only the resistor R, and the lighting signal of the light emitting diode 32a is variably controlled in the lighting control device 30.

As a first light amount control method, as shown in FIG. 11, the pulse width s of the pulse signal applied to the light emitting diode 32a may be varied. For example,
The duty ratio in the “normal” state shown in FIG.
%, The duty ratio in the “bright” state shown in FIG. 11A is set to 80%, and the duty ratio in the “dark” state shown in FIG. 11C is set to 25%, the pulse width s changes. Accordingly, the effective voltage of the light emitting diode 32a changes accordingly. In other words, when the pulse width s becomes longer, the time for applying the effective voltage to the light emitting diode 32a becomes longer, so that the light emitting amount of the light emitting diode 32a increases, and the light emitting diode 32a becomes in a “bright” state. Conversely, when the pulse width s becomes short, the light quantity decreases and the state becomes “dark”.

As a second light amount control method, as shown in FIG. 12, the frequency of the pulse signal applied to the light emitting diode 32a may be varied. FIG. 12 (a)
As shown in FIG. 12, if the frequency is set higher than that in the case of FIG. 12B, the light emitting diode 32a is repeatedly turned on and off in a short time and at a high speed, thereby increasing the light amount of the light emitting diode 32a. Therefore, the light emitting diode 32a is in the “bright” state. As shown in FIG.
If the frequency is lower than in the case of (b), the ON / OFF interval of the light emitting diode 32a is widened, and the state becomes “dark”.

As a third light quantity control method, as shown in FIG. 13, the voltage value u of the pulse signal applied to the light emitting diode 32a may be varied. FIG.
As shown in (a), when the voltage value u increases, the effective voltage of the light emitting diode 32a naturally increases, so that the luminance of the light emitting diode 32a increases, and the light emitting diode 32a becomes “bright”.
State. As shown in FIGS. 13B and 13C, when the voltage value u is reduced, the voltage value supplied to the light-emitting diode 32a is reduced, so that the brightness is reduced and a “dark” state is obtained.

Next, the operation of turning on the light emitting diode 32 and controlling the amount of light in the timepiece device 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining a lighting control method of the light emitting diode of the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a change in the lighting position of the light emitting diode over time.

As shown in FIG. 14, for example, when the driving power is turned on after a battery is installed, before the operation of the timepiece 1 is started, the operation of the hands based on a command from the lighting control device 30 is started. Initialization of the state and the control circuit system is performed (S
101). After the completion of the initial setting, the brightness around the timepiece 1 is detected by the CdS cell 31 attached to the front side of the dial 21.

A minute voltage is applied to the CdS cell 31 from the beginning, and when the amount of incident light on the CdS cell 31 is large, the resistance value in the CdS cell 31 decreases, so
The voltage applied to the S cell 31 increases, and the periphery of the timepiece device 1 is determined to be “bright”. Further, when the amount of light incident on the CdS cell 31 is small, the resistance value in the CdS cell 31 increases, so that the periphery of the timepiece device 1 is determined to be “dark”.

The surroundings of the timepiece device 1 are "bright" by the lighting control device 30 which has received the detection signal from the CdS cell 31.
Is determined (S102 “YES” selection), if there is a light emitting diode 32 that is lit, the lighting control device 3
The output of the lighting signal from 0 is stopped (S103). C
When the lighting control device 30 that has received the “dark” detection signal from the dS cell 31 determines that the periphery of the timepiece device 1 is “dark” (S102 “NO” selection), the lighting signal is output to each light emitting diode 32. The setting is performed, and each light emitting diode 32 enters a lighting signal standby state (S104).

After the output setting of the light emitting diode 32 is completed, the positions of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 are detected (S10).
5). Regarding the position of the hour hand 22, the lighting control device 3
Since 0 is sequentially detected by the four time code contacts, the time code formed on the time code plate (not shown) can be easily detected. The position of the minute hand 23 can be similarly easily detected by reading an output signal of a count operation performed by a timer circuit (not shown) provided in the lighting control device 30. Thus, the positions of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 have been detected.

After the positions of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 are detected, the surrounding brightness of the timepiece device 1 is detected again using the CdS cell 31. If it is determined that the image is “bright” at this stage (“YES” in S106), the above-described lighting standby state of the light emitting diode 32 is canceled (S103), and the flow of the lighting control of the light emitting diode 32 is bypassed. That is, the light emitting diode 32 is connected to the CdS cell 31.
Will not emit light until the “dark” detection signal is output to the lighting control device 30.

When it is determined that the surroundings of the timepiece device 1 are dark ("NO" in S106), the hour hand 2
Based on the detection results of the second and minute hands 23, which of the light emitting diodes 32 is to be lit is determined in the lighting control device 30 according to the table shown in FIG. 15 (S107).
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the current time displayed on the timepiece device 1 is 4:00, reading the light emitting diode 32 corresponding to the position of each hand from FIG. Illuminated by 32d, minute hand 2
3 will be illuminated by the white light emitting diode 32a. Therefore, the lighting control device 30 outputs a lighting signal from the output terminals j4 and j1 shown in FIG. In the following, description will be given assuming that the current time is 4:00.

The lighting signals output from the output terminals j4 and j1 are input to selectors 41a and 44a provided in light intensity controllers 41 and 44 in the light intensity controller 40. In addition,
In the present embodiment, since only the light amount of the light emitting diode 32 that illuminates the minute hand 23 is controlled,
In this case, only the light amount of the light emitting diode 32a is selected by the selecting unit 41a from among “bright”, “normal”, and “dark”. Therefore, the light emitting diode 32
d means that light is emitted with the amount of light at the “normal” position.

In the selection section 41a, the green light emitting diode 3
The light amount of the white light emitting diode 32a for 2d is selected from a light amount selection table (not shown). After the selection is completed, a lighting signal is output to a circuit having a resistance value based on the result of selection by the selection unit 41a. When the current time is 4:00, the minute hand 23 illuminated in white is clearly higher in visibility than the hour hand 22 illuminated in green. Is dropped from the “normal” stage to the “dark” stage, and the hour hand 22
And the brightness adjustment of the minute hand 23 is performed. As described above, when the determination of the light emitting diode 32 to be turned on and the step selection of the light emission amount of the light emitting diode 32 are completed, the light emitting diodes 32a and 32d are turned on, whereby the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 are respectively illuminated.

Here, taking the hour hand 22 as an example, a waveguide path of the mounting portion 22b and the hand portion 22d of the emitted light emitted from the light emitting diode 32d will be described. The light emitted from the light emitting diode 32d first enters the waveguide region of the light condensing part 22c. This incident light is transmitted to the mounting portion 22b by the light reflecting surface formed on the light collecting portion 22c.
The light is reflected on the side of the joint between the needle 22d and the needle 22d (in the direction indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5B). As a result, light emitted from the light emitting diode 32d is transmitted to the mounting portion 22b formed of the waveguide member.
The light is guided inside as guided light.

The guided light propagating in the mounting portion 22b is:
The light is condensed at the joint between the attachment part 22b and the needle part 22d, enters the needle part 22d formed of a waveguide member like the attachment part 22b, and is guided. The guided light that has entered the needle part 22d is
The light is further guided toward the distal end of the needle portion 22d while repeating irregular reflection therein, and reaches the light emitting portion 22e formed on the back surface near the distal end portion of the needle portion 22d.

The guided light reaching the light emitting portion 22e is caused by a plurality of inclined surfaces formed in the light emitting portion 22e as shown in FIG.
The light is reflected in the direction indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The light emitting portion 22 is located at the tip of the needle portion 22d.
Since the emission direction of the irregularly reflected light is limited only to the front direction of the timepiece device 1 by e, the light amount of the emitted light increases near the tip of the hand portion 22d and the light is emitted brighter. As a result, even when the surroundings are dark, the hour hand 22 receives light from the light emitting diode 32d and becomes visible from the outside.

With the passage of time, the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 move in a so-called clockwise direction, and accordingly, the light-emitting diode 32 for illuminating each hand needs to change its lighting location according to the table in FIG. . for that reason,
For example, it is determined whether the lighting position of the light emitting diode 32 needs to be changed every second (S109).

If it is not necessary to change the lighting position of the light emitting diode 32 ("NO" is selected in S110), it is determined whether or not the lighting position of the light emitting diode 32 needs to be changed again after waiting for the next one second. S109). When the lighting position of the light emitting diode 32 needs to be changed (S110 “YE
The selection position of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 is detected again (S105), and after determining the brightness, the lighting position of the light emitting diode 32 is changed based on the table of FIG. In this process, the surroundings of the timepiece device 1 are determined again (S106), so that it is possible to escape from the above-described series of loops when the surroundings become brighter at dawn, for example. At this time, the output of the lighting signal to the light emitting diode 32 in the lighting state is stopped, and the light emitting diode 32 is turned off. The operation described above is an operation flow of lighting control and light amount control of the light emitting diode 32 of the timepiece device 1.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 capable of guiding incident light and emitting guided light to the outside, and the radius r centered on the pointer rotating shaft 24. The light emitting diode 32, which is arranged on the circumference of the circle and can enter the illumination light from the vicinity of the attachment position of the pointer rotating shaft 24 to the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23, and the positions of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 are detected. The lighting control device 30 for lighting at least one light emitting diode 32 capable of making illumination light incident is provided on the mounting end side of each pointer based on the above, so that, for example, in the case of 2:27, as can be seen from FIG. For example, at most four light emitting diodes 32 out of eight light emitting diodes 32 are turned on. That is, the number of light-emitting diodes 32 to be turned on only varies between 1 and 4, and the minimum number of light-emitting diodes 32 is always turned on at any time. Therefore, power consumption when the light emitting diode 32 is turned on can be minimized. As a result, it is possible to provide the timepiece device 1 with low power consumption.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 are respectively attached to the pointer rotating shaft 24 by the mounting portion 2.
2b, 23b and the needle portion 22 connected to the ends of the mounting portions 22b, 23b and extending from the ends in one predetermined direction.
d, 23d, and the illumination light of the light emitting diode 32 is attached to the mounting portions 22b, 23b.
Since the light condensing portions 22c and 23c for condensing light at the coupling portion between b and the needle portions 22d and 23d are provided, the light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 can be efficiently guided toward the tips of the needle portions 22d and 23d. Can be. Further, since the mounting portions 22b and 23b are provided with the plurality of light collecting portions 22c and 23c, even when the plurality of light emitting diodes 32 are lit, the emitted light can be more efficiently collected. it can. For this reason, the light quantity of the guided light guided toward the tips of the hands 22d and 23d increases, and as a result, the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 are clearly illuminated even in the dark. Become.

Further, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
a, 32e are "white", light emitting diodes 32b, 32h
Is "red", and the light emitting diodes 32d and 32f are "green".
That is, at least the adjacent light emitting diodes 32
Are arranged so as to have different emission colors. As a result, the color of the light emitted from the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 changes variously with the passage of time, so that the hour hand 22
In addition, it is possible to recognize the current time substantially accurately only by visually checking the light emitted from the minute hand 23. Further, as described above, the plurality of light emitting diodes 3 are mounted on the mounting portions 22b and 23b.
Since a plurality of light condensing portions 22c and 23c for guiding the light emitted from the light emitting device 2 toward the tips of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 are provided in accordance with the arrangement position of the light emitting diode 32, the hour hand 2
The 2 and minute hands 23 will be illuminated with various mixed colors. Therefore, it is possible to provide the timepiece device 1 having excellent time visibility and a high decorative effect.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the light amount control device 40 for controlling the light amount of the light emitting diode 32 illuminating the minute hand 23 in three stages of “bright”, “normal” and “dark” is provided. The imbalance in luminance due to the difference in the wavelength of the illumination light of the hour hand 22 and the difference in the length of the hand of the minute hand 23 can be eliminated. As a result, the visibility of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 is further improved, and the decorative effect can be further enhanced.

Further, according to the present embodiment, dial 2
C for detecting the brightness of the periphery of the clock device 1
Since the dS cell 31 is provided, fine lighting control of the light emitting diode 32 can be performed according to the brightness of the surroundings, and power consumption when the light emitting diode 32 is turned on can be further suppressed.

In this embodiment, the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 2
The plurality of light collectors 22c, 23 are attached to the third mounting portions 22c, 23c.
By forming c, the luminance of the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23 and the decorative effect by the mixed color illumination are improved, but the light emitting color of the light emitting diode 32 is a single color, and the light emitting diode 32 is turned on. If the light leakage at the time can be ignored, as shown in FIG.
The light-collecting portions 22c and 23c that can receive only the light emitted from one light-emitting diode 32 may be provided in each of c and 23c.

In this embodiment, the pointer rotating shaft 24
, Eight light emitting diodes 32 are provided, but it goes without saying that the number of light emitting diodes 32 may be any number,
For example, the light emitting diodes 32 may be arranged at each hour position. Furthermore, as a light source for illuminating the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 23, for example, a light bulb or the like may be used instead of the light emitting diode 32. When a light bulb is used, it is easy to color the entire light emitting area of the light bulb to a desired color, so that it is possible to create a large number of light emitting colors, and thereby it is possible to create a more diverse mixed color. Become. In addition, as described above, when the light sources are arranged at the respective hour positions, if the light emission color of each light source is changed, the display time can be easily recognized only by the light emission color.

[0063]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a timepiece device that can easily and accurately recognize the display time even when the surroundings are dark, consumes less power, and is more interesting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a timepiece device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the timepiece device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining around a pointer rotation axis when an hour hand and a minute hand are removed.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part around a rotation axis of a pointer of the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1;

5A is a front view of an hour hand used in the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of each light-collecting portion of the hour hand shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the light emission part of the hour hand shown.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a minute hand used in the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a state of a light collecting unit when an hour hand and a minute hand overlap each other.

8 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a light-emitting diode lighting control device of the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining an internal configuration of a light amount control device of the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of another light amount control device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state of a waveform when a pulse width of a pulse signal to a light emitting diode is changed.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a state of a waveform when a frequency of a pulse signal to a light emitting diode is changed.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state of a waveform when a voltage value of a pulse signal to a light emitting diode is varied.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a lighting control method of the light emitting diode of the timepiece device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a change in a lighting position of a light emitting diode over time.

FIG. 16 is a front view of a main part of a peripheral portion around a pointer rotating shaft of a timepiece device using an hour hand and a minute hand each having one light collecting portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Clock device 10 ... Case 11 ... Transparent plastic plate 12 ... Case side part 13 ... Case back surface part 14 ... Separating plate 20 ... Clock part 21 ... Dial 21a ... Seat 21b ... Light emitting diode mounting holes 22, 122 ... hour hand 22a ... through hole 22b ... mounting part 22c ... light collecting part 22d ... needle part 22e ... light emitting part 22f ... collar part 23, 123 ... minute hand 23a ... through hole 23b ... mounting part 23c ... light collecting part 23d ... needle part 23e: Light emitting unit 24: Pointer rotating shaft 25: Movement 30: Lighting control device 31: CdS cell 32: Light emitting diode 33: Hour contact 34: Time code contact 35: Monitor switch 36: Reset switch 40: Light amount control device 41 To 48: light amount control unit 41a to 48a: selection unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A pointer capable of guiding incident light and capable of emitting guided light to the outside, and a pointer arranged around a rotary axis of the pointer to which the pointer is attached. A plurality of illuminating means that can be incident from the vicinity of the mounting position, and illuminating light is incident on the end of the plurality of illuminating means which is attached to the pointer rotating shaft of the pointer located at a predetermined position according to time. A lighting control means for lighting at least one possible lighting means. 2. The pointer has an attachment portion to the pointer rotation shaft, and a needle portion having an end coupled to the attachment portion and extending in one predetermined direction from the end. The timepiece device according to claim 1, wherein the unit is provided with a condensing unit that condenses the illumination light of the illuminating unit to a joint between the attachment unit and the needle unit. 3. The light-collecting portion has at least one light-reflecting surface for reflecting guided light incident into the waveguide region of the light-collecting portion toward the coupling portion between the mounting portion and the needle portion. The timepiece device according to claim 2, wherein 4. A timepiece according to claim 2, wherein a light emitting portion for emitting the guided light guided to the tip portion to the front side of the timepiece body is provided at a tip portion of the hand portion. Clock device. 5. A timepiece according to claim 1, wherein said illuminating means are arranged at equal intervals on a circumference having a predetermined radius centered on said pointer rotation axis. apparatus. 6. A pointer position detecting means capable of detecting a position of the pointer, the lighting control means based on a detection result by the pointer position detecting means, at least a pointer closest to the detected pointer position. A lighting device for lighting one of the lighting means.
The timepiece device according to any one of 3, 4, and 5. 7. The pointer comprises a short hand and a long hand. Illumination light is incident on the long hand and the short hand so that the luminance of the short hand and the long hand in a light emitting state is substantially equal by the guided light from the illuminating means. 7. The timepiece device according to claim 1, further comprising light amount control means for controlling the light amount of any one of the illuminating means. 8. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of illuminating means are arranged such that emission colors of illuminating light are different at least between adjacent illuminating means. A clock device according to any one of the claims.