JP2000098059A - Dial for timepiece and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technique for applying various patterns, especially, three- dimensional patterns, even to a thin and fragile decoration plate when the decoration plate is used for a dial for a timepiece. SOLUTION: A pattern mask 13 made of metal is stuck onto the surface of a decoration plate 12. Onto the surface of the decoration plate 12 where the pattern mask 13 is stuck, fine glass beads 15 are sprayed from a jet nozzle 14, the surface of the decoration plate 12 is scraped, and a groove part 12a is formed, thus improving the design property of a dial of timepiece by forming three-dimensional patterns, and at the same time increasing the degree of freedom of the design.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a timepiece dial and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a structure and a manufacturing technique suitable for a timepiece dial having a thin plate-shaped natural shell or precious stone stuck on a base material. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a timepiece dial has been constructed using a metal plate such as brass, nickel silver, stainless steel, or the like, and its surface is subjected to plating or painting, or is striped by polishing or the like. In many cases, a pear-skin pattern is formed on the surface. In addition, as a particularly highly decorative structure, a decorative plate made of a thin natural shell or precious stone may be stuck on the surface of the base material.

On the other hand, in general ornaments using natural shells and precious stones, a three-dimensional pattern may be formed on the surface of the natural shells and precious stones. In this case, it is manufactured by engraving manually by using a metal blade, or by processing the material by dividing it into a plurality of parts, and then bonding the parts.

[0004]

The decorative plate used for the timepiece dial is very brittle and thin due to the characteristics of the material, so that it is extremely difficult to form a three-dimensional pattern on the surface of the decorative plate. Therefore, it is usually used with a flat surface state. Therefore, the decorative property merely represents the cross-sectional pattern of the material, and there is a limitation that an artificial pattern or a surface mode having a three-dimensional appearance cannot be realized.

[0005] In addition, although it cannot be processed if it is made to have a thick shape like a general ornament, the thickness of the dial cannot be increased due to the restriction of the thickness of the dial in a normal watch structure. If the thickness is too thick, there is a problem that a new watch case needs to be produced and the watch itself becomes thick.

Further, in the case of processing by hand such as general ornaments, a skilled person is required, and there are problems in productivity, manufacturing cost and the like as industrial products. In addition, the method of bonding fine parts is also complicated when the bonding operation is complicated, and in the same manner as described above, there is a problem in productivity and manufacturing cost, and when there is a problem in appearance such as a visible bonded part. There is also.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to use a decorative plate for a timepiece dial, and to provide various patterns, even thin and brittle decorative plates.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique capable of giving a three-dimensional pattern.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a method in which a decorative plate is arranged on a base material, and the surface of the decorative plate is provided with a pattern formed by spraying. It is a timepiece dial characterized by the following.

According to this means, since the decorative plate arranged on the base material is provided with the pattern formed by the blasting process, a three-dimensional pattern can be formed. The design can be enhanced as well as the degree of freedom in design can be increased. Also, because the pattern is formed by injection processing,
Various surface modes can be formed depending on the processing mode (for example, the type and particle size of the abrasive grains, the mode of spraying the processing solvent, or the processing pressure thereof), and the design can be diversified. Here, it is preferable that the decorative plate is adhered on the base material. In addition, the pattern is not limited to a figure or a picture including a straight line or a curve, but may include characters, numbers, symbols, and various other displays.

[0010] In the first aspect, it is preferable that the decorative plate is made of a thin plate-shaped natural shell, stone or ceramic. Even with such a brittle material with high hardness,
By using the injection processing, it is hard to be limited by the processing contents, and various designs can be formed.

Next, as a method of manufacturing a timepiece dial,
A decorative plate is placed on a support material, a mask of a predetermined pattern is placed on the surface of the decorative plate, the surface of the decorative plate is processed by spraying from above the mask, and the decorative plate is placed on a clock character. It is characterized in that it is used as a surface material disposed on a substrate of a plate.

According to this means, even if a decorative plate made of a brittle material having a high hardness or a thin decorative plate is formed, the decorative plate is placed on the support material and subjected to the injection processing. It is possible to form a simple pattern.

In claim 3, it is preferable to use the base material of a timepiece dial as the support material. By using the base material of the dial as the support material, the timepiece dial can be formed as it is, and thus the manufacturing process itself can be simplified.

The mask according to claim 3 or 4, wherein after forming a resist layer having a predetermined pattern of openings on the surface of the conductor, a metal pattern is formed in the openings by electroforming. The metal pattern is preferably formed by transferring the metal pattern onto the surface of the decorative plate. The metal pattern can reliably protect the decorative plate from the impact of abrasive grains and processing solvent during blasting, and the fine pattern can be easily formed by electroforming, thereby suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost. be able to.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, it is preferable to form a transfer sheet for holding the metal pattern and transferring the metal pattern onto the surface of the decorative plate. Once the metal pattern is in the form of a transfer sheet, storage and handling are facilitated and the transfer operation can be performed easily.

According to a fifth or sixth aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that a guide portion for positioning when transferring onto the surface of the decorative plate is formed as a part of the metal pattern. By forming the guide portion as a part of the metal pattern, positioning at the time of transfer can be performed using the guide portion, so that the positioning operation is facilitated. It is preferable that the guide portion has a planar shape having a guide hole inserted through a guide shaft provided in the transfer jig. Preferably, two or more guide portions are formed for each transfer unit.

In any one of the third to seventh aspects, the decorative plate is particularly effective when the decorative plate is made of a thin plate-shaped natural shell, stone or ceramic. In this case, it is particularly preferable to form the pattern on the decorative plate by spraying abrasive grains. At this time, it is desirable that the abrasive particle diameter is about 60 μm or less from the viewpoint of smoothly processing the processed surface. Further, the spray pressure of the abrasive grains is desirably ² to 5 kgf / cm ² from the viewpoint of stability of product quality and control of processing depth.

[0018]

Next, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a process cross-sectional view (a) to a main process of manufacturing the timepiece dial 10 of the present embodiment.
(D). First, as shown in FIG.
Base substrate 11 formed of metal or other material such as nickel silver
The decorative plate 12 made of natural shellfish or precious stone is bonded to the surface of the base plate with an adhesive or the like. As the material of the decorative plate 12, natural shellfish such as white pearl shell, black butterfly shell, yellow butterfly shell, abalone, agate, striped agate, onyx, opal, jade, lapis lazuli and other precious stones, and various other ceramics are used. be able to. Most of these materials are brittle materials, but are formed as thin as possible to make a wristwatch or the like thin. Usually, about 0.4 mm is the thinner limit value of the above materials.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, a metal pattern mask 13 is adhered on the surface of the decorative plate 12. The pattern mask 13 is formed of a metal part 1 such as nickel.
3a is provided with an adhesive layer 13b made of an adhesive or the like on the attachment surface 3a. The method of forming the pattern mask 13 will be described later.

Further, fine glass beads 15 are sprayed from a spray nozzle 14 onto the surface of the decorative plate 12 to which the pattern mask 13 is adhered, thereby shaving the surface of the decorative plate 12. For example, in the case of a decorative plate made of white butterfly, spherical glass beads 15 are used, the particle size is set to mesh No. 300 (particle size: about 44 to 53 μm), and the spray pressure is 2 kg.
When sprayed as f / cm ² for 20 to 30 seconds, 0.1
The groove 12a having a depth of about 0.15 mm can be formed. If the precious stone is sprayed under the same conditions, 5-6μ
The groove has a depth of about m.

If the glass bead diameter is not more than 60 μm, a smooth processed surface cannot be obtained, and the surface of the dug portion becomes rough. The spray pressure is 2-5kg
The range of f / cm ² is preferred. If it is higher than this range, the processing time becomes too short and it is difficult to control the depth of digging. If it is lower than this range, the stability of the sprayed state cannot be obtained, so that the product quality is not stable.
The time of the injection processing is preferably about 15 to 40 seconds.
If it is shorter than this time range, the above-mentioned 2 to 5 kgf / cm
^With a spray pressure in the range of ² , the depth of the groove is 0.03 or less and a sufficient three-dimensional feeling cannot be selected, and when the processing is performed longer than the above time range, the depth of the groove becomes 0.2 mm or more and the thickness of the decorative plate is increased. Since the thickness of the decorative plate is about half or more, a problem occurs in the mechanical strength of the decorative plate.

The depth of the groove 12a can be adjusted by changing the spray pressure and spray time. As the abrasive particles to be sprayed, in addition to the above-mentioned glass beads, various abrasive particles having high hardness such as alumina can be used. As the spraying process of the abrasive grains used in the present embodiment, a method of spraying the abrasive grains with high-pressure air, such as a shot blast, a dry blast, a liquid holding tool, a method of spraying the abrasive grains with a liquid such as a high-pressure water flow, etc. May be. In the present invention, not only the above-described abrasive grain spraying processing but also various spraying processing can be used. For example, similar processing can be performed by water jet processing.

After the injection processing is performed in this manner, the adhesive layer 13b is dissolved with an organic solvent or the like to remove the pattern mask 13, thereby completing a dial. If possible, the pattern mask 13 may be used as a dial with the pattern mask 13 left as it is.

Next, a method of forming the pattern mask 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 2A, a surface of a conductive substrate 21 made of a highly conductive metal or other conductive material, or an insulating substrate having a conductive layer formed on the surface,
Use a roll coater or the like to remove the photoresist 22
2 m, and further, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), is exposed and developed in a predetermined pattern using a photolithography method or the like, and an opening (substrate exposed portion) 2 having a predetermined pattern is formed.
2a is formed.

Next, the conductive substrate 21 is immersed in an aqueous solution of potassium bichromate to form a release film on the surface. Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), a nickel film is deposited only on the opening 22a by electroforming, and the metal pattern 2 is formed.
Form 3 The thickness of the metal pattern 23 is about 50 μm. The thickness may be in the range of 30-80 μm,
The greater the thickness, the worse the accuracy of the pattern in the width direction.

The thus formed metal pattern 23
Is transferred to a flexible film 24 provided with an adhesive layer 24a as shown in FIG. At this time, by bending the conductive substrate 21 while pressing the flexible film 24 against the metal pattern 23, the metal pattern 23 can be peeled off from the conductive substrate 21 in a state of being attached to the adhesive layer 24a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, an adhesive is applied to the back surface (exposed surface) of the metal pattern 23 transferred to the flexible film 24 to form an adhesive layer 25. I do. At this time, for the adhesive layer 25, a pressure-sensitive adhesive prepared in advance is used so that the adhesive strength is higher than that of the adhesive layer 24a of the flexible film 24. The thickness of the adhesive layer 25 is usually 3
Those having a thickness of about 5 μm and soluble in organic solvents (thinner, acetone, ketones) are preferred. Further, a release paper 26 is attached to the back surface of the metal pattern 23 as necessary.

The metal pattern 23 formed as described above
The metal sheet 23 is transferred to the target object 27 as shown in FIG. 3B by peeling the release paper 26 and pressing the flexible film 24 against the target object 27.

In the above description, the metal pattern 23 and the adhesive layer 25 are given different names and reference numerals for convenience of explanation.
This corresponds to the metal portion 13a and the adhesive layer 13b of the pattern mask 13 in the description portion described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a part of the plane shapes of the metal pattern 23 and the flexible film 24 as an example. Here, the planar pattern of the metal pattern 23 can be formed into various shapes and patterns, but in this case, in a simplified manner, two large and small ring-shaped pattern portions 23a,
23b only. In addition, a pair of positioning guide portions 23c, which protrude outward and have guide holes, are integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion of the outer pattern portion 23b. The positioning guide portion 23c is for positioning in the planar direction when the metal pattern 23 is transferred, and may be formed in any shape as long as the positioning can be performed, or in a state separated from other pattern portions. May be formed.

In the above example, the flexible film 24
Are formed with a large number of metal patterns 23. Each of the metal patterns 23 corresponds to one timepiece dial. In the illustrated example, the stripe-shaped interval portion 2 on which the positioning guide portion 23c is formed is formed.
4b is removed, and the portions of the flexible film 24 carrying the individual metal patterns 23 are separated from each other and used.

FIG. 5 shows a process of attaching the metal pattern 23 to the surface of the timepiece dial 10 by using a transfer sheet including the metal pattern 23 and the flexible film 24 separated as described above. It shows. FIG. 5B is a plan view of a transfer sheet including the metal pattern 23 and the flexible film 24.

As shown in FIG.
The jig 30 shown in FIG. The jig 30 has a dial positioning shaft 32, which is inserted into a shaft hole formed in the center of the timepiece dial 10 and is positioned substantially at the center of the base 31 so as to position the timepiece dial 10. And
A pair of pattern positioning shafts 33 are formed so as to protrude on the outer peripheral side of the timepiece dial 10 positioned by the dial positioning shaft 32. As shown, the pattern positioning shaft 33 is inserted into a guide hole formed in the positioning guide portion 23c to position the metal pattern 23 in a plane.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the metal pattern 2
3 and the transfer sheet comprising the flexible film 24
0, approaching the dial from above, lowering it while inserting the pattern positioning shaft 33 into the guide hole of the positioning guide portion 23c, and then on the surface of the timepiece dial 10 positioned on the base 31. Contact and press. Next, the metal pattern 23 is attached to the timepiece dial 1 by slowly peeling off only the flexible film 24.
0 can be transferred to the surface.

The timepiece dial 10 on which the metal pattern 23 has been transferred onto the surface as described above is mounted on the base 3 as shown in the figure.
The injection processing shown in FIG. 1 (c) may be performed in a state where it is arranged on the zero.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to form a three-dimensional pattern by providing a pattern formed by spraying on the surface of a decorative plate disposed on a substrate. For this reason, the design of the timepiece dial can be enhanced, and the degree of freedom in design can be increased. Further, since the pattern is formed by the injection processing, various surface modes can be formed depending on the processing mode, and the design can be diversified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process cross-sectional view showing main processes for describing an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a timepiece dial according to the present invention;
(D).

2A to 2D are process cross-sectional views illustrating a method for forming a pattern mask according to the first embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are process cross-sectional views illustrating a method of forming a pattern mask in the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a planar shape of a transfer film for forming a pattern mask in the embodiment.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a step explanatory view showing a step of transferring a pattern mask in the same embodiment and a plan view of a transfer film before transfer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Timepiece dial 11 Base substrate 12 Decorative plate 12a Groove 13 Pattern mask 14 Injection nozzle 15 Glass bead 21 Conductive substrate 22 Resist layer 23 Metal pattern 23a, 23b Pattern part 23c Positioning guide part 24 Flexible film 24a Adhesive layer 25 Adhesion Layer 26 Release paper 27 Object

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A timepiece dial comprising a decorative plate arranged on a base material, and a pattern formed by spraying on the surface of the decorative plate. 2. The timepiece dial according to claim 1, wherein the decorative plate is made of a thin natural shell, stone, or ceramic. 3. A decorative plate is placed on a support material, a mask having a predetermined pattern is placed on the surface of the decorative plate, and the surface of the decorative plate is processed by spraying from above the mask. A method for manufacturing a timepiece dial, comprising using the plate as a surface material disposed on a base material of the timepiece dial. 4. The method of manufacturing a timepiece dial according to claim 3, wherein the base material of the timepiece dial is used as the support material. 5. The mask according to claim 3, wherein a metal pattern is formed in the opening by electroforming after forming a resist layer having an opening of a predetermined pattern on the surface of the conductor. And a method of manufacturing a timepiece dial, characterized by transferring the metal pattern onto the surface of the decorative plate. 6. The timepiece manufacturing method according to claim 5, wherein a transfer sheet for holding the metal pattern and transferring the metal pattern onto the surface of the decorative plate is formed. 7. The timepiece dial according to claim 5, wherein a guide portion for positioning when transferring onto the surface of the decorative plate is formed as a part of the metal pattern. Manufacturing method. 8. One of claims 3 to 7
In the paragraph, the decorative plate is made of a thin natural shell, a stone material, or ceramics, and is a method for manufacturing a timepiece dial.