JP2000193763A - Thermoelectric power generation watch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the balance of the size between a dial and an entire watch case, and at the same time, to miniaturize a watch while fully ensuring generation power due to a thermoelectric element. SOLUTION: An insulation drum 20 is sealed to a metal drum 10, and a rear lid 30 made of metal is glued and fixed onto the rear surface of the insulation drum 20 for composing a closed watch case. A dial 40, a movement 50, and a thermoelectric element 60 are accommodated into the watch case, one end face of the thermoelectric element 60 is brought into contact with the metal drum 10, and the other is brought into contact with the rear lid 30. Then, a pair of thermoelectric element accommodation parts 10e and 10e are formed at the metal drum 10 while they are inserted into a pair of band-mounting parts 10b projecting at an outer-periphery part from the inner-periphery part 10d, and a pair of the thermoelectric elements 60 are accommodated into the pair of thermoelectric element accommodation parts.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermoelectric wristwatch which is used as a power source for a movement by mounting a thermoelectric element composed of a large number of thermocouples in a watch case accommodating a movement for driving hands.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A thermoelectric element converts thermal energy into electric energy using a large number of thermocouples, and is a power generating element that generates a voltage by giving a temperature difference between both ends. Then, this thermoelectric element is mounted inside the watch case together with the movement that drives the hands, and used as a power source for the movement.The thermoelectric element converts the temperature difference between the case back and the metal case into electric energy. A wristwatch in which the movement is operated by the generated power (thermoelectromotive force) is a thermoelectric generation wristwatch.

FIG. 1 shows the internal structure of a conventional thermoelectric wristwatch.
This will be described with reference to a cross-sectional view shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

In this thermoelectric generation wristwatch 100, an insulating case 120 is fixed to a lower side (back side) of a metal case 110 to which a windshield 111 having a circular planar shape is fixed, and a metal back cover 130 is adhered to the back surface. The watch case is fixed. And, inside this watch case, the dial 40
And a movement 5 including hands (hour and minute hands) 51 and a step motor, a wheel train, a crystal oscillation circuit, etc. for driving them.
0 and the thermoelectric element 160 are housed.

As shown in the figure, a thermoelectric element 160 is mounted outside the dial 40 and the movement 50 and inside the insulating cylinder 120. The thermoelectric element 160 is housed such that one end surface thereof contacts the metal body 110 and the other end surface thereof contacts the metal back cover 130. In order to easily generate a temperature difference between the metal case 110 and the back cover 130, an insulating case 120 for thermally insulating the two is provided.

When the thermoelectric wristwatch 100 having such a configuration is worn on the arm, the back cover 130 in contact with the arm is heated by body temperature, and the metal body 110 on the opposite side is cooled by the outside air temperature. Therefore, a temperature difference between the body temperature and the outside air temperature is given to both ends of the thermoelectric element 160, and a thermoelectromotive force is generated by the temperature difference. Movement 5
0 is driven.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a thermoelectric element 160 mounted on the wristwatch. The thermoelectric element 160 has a size that can be mounted on the thermoelectric power generation wristwatch 100, and regularly arranges a large number of columnar p-type thermoelectric semiconductors 180 and n-type thermoelectric semiconductors 181. , 181 are filled with an insulating resin 182,
The whole is fixed integrally. In FIG. 12, only one end surface of the columnar p-type thermoelectric semiconductor 180 and the n-type thermoelectric semiconductor 181 is visible. For each of the p-type and n-type thermoelectric semiconductors 180 and 181, a semiconductor of a bismuth tellurium (BiTe) alloy is used.

Although not shown, both ends of each of the p-type thermoelectric semiconductors 180 and the n-type thermoelectric semiconductors 181 are connected to adjacent ones so that the whole is connected in series. An electrode film is provided. And
Adjacent p-type thermoelectric semiconductor 180 and n-type thermoelectric semiconductor 181
Form a pair of thermocouples, each of which generates a thermoelectromotive force according to the temperature difference. Since each thermocouple is connected in series by an electrode film, the entire thermoelectric element 160 generates a thermoelectromotive force according to the number of thermocouples included therein. In order to give a temperature difference between the thermocouples, one of the upper and lower end surfaces is provided on the metal body 110 and the other is provided on the back cover 1.
The thermoelectric watch 30 is mounted in the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 100 so as to make thermal contact with the watch 30.

The magnitude of the output (power) of the thermoelectric element 160 depends on the total sectional area of each of the P-type and N-type thermoelectric semiconductors 180 and 181 constituting the thermoelectric element 160 and the magnitude of the temperature difference given to both ends thereof. It is known to be decided.

If the length of the thermoelectric semiconductors 180 and 181 is about 2 mm, the temperature difference generated inside the thermoelectric wristwatch 100 is about 1 ° C. on average. Now
Considering the material characteristics of the BiTe-based thermoelectric semiconductor, the thermoelectromotive voltage is 200 μV / K, and the specific resistance is about 1.
Since it is 2 × 10- ⁵ [Omega] m, considering that a length of about 2 mm, the maximum output per unit sectional area becomes 40μW / cm ^2.

However, the magnitude of this output is a value in the case where all the thermoelectric elements are made of thermoelectric semiconductors. In fact, like the thermoelectric element 160 shown, each of the p-type and n-type thermoelectric semiconductors 180 , 181 must be filled with an insulating resin 182 that does not contribute to power generation. Each p-type and n-type thermoelectric semiconductor 18
Assuming that the ratio of the occupied area occupied by the ends 0, 181 and the insulating resin 182 at the end faces is 1: 1, the area occupied by the thermoelectric semiconductors 180, 181 is only 1/4 of the area of the entire thermoelectric element. Therefore, the above output is 4
1/4 of 0μW / cm ^2, i.e. becomes 10μW / cm ^2.

On the other hand, the current power consumption of a wristwatch is about 1 μW. However, if the wristwatch is charged for driving so that it can be driven even when it is not worn on the wrist, the generated power required by the wristwatch is 10 μW. Doubling, that is, about 10 μW. Therefore, the thermoelectric element used in the thermoelectric wristwatch needs to be able to generate power of about 10 μW,
It has an end face area of about 1 cm ² . When the thermoelectric element having an area of 1 cm ² is to be mounted inside a wristwatch, the following problems arise.

In the case of a wristwatch, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, there is a movement in the center, so when the thermoelectric element has an area of 1 cm ² , for example, the length and length of the end face are 1 cm × 1 cm. It is very difficult to store one thermoelectric element of 1 cm as it is in terms of space.

In order to solve this, it is conceivable to change the outer shape of the thermoelectric element into a shape that can be easily accommodated. However, in view of the manufacturing method and structure, the thermoelectric element is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped as shown in FIG. However, it is very difficult to form a rounded shape by a curved surface or a curved line. Even if it can be formed in such a shape, there is a problem that a gap is easily generated when the thermoelectric semiconductor is housed in a timepiece case, and the filling efficiency of the thermoelectric semiconductor is rather deteriorated.

Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a rectangular parallelepiped thermoelectric element is divided into several parts so that the total area becomes 1 cm ² , which is distributed around the movement 50. The mounting method of arranging was adopted. In the example shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the thermoelectric element 160 is divided into four thermoelectric elements 160 and arranged at four locations along the inner periphery of the metal body 110 outside the movement 50 and the dial 40.

[0016]

However, most wristwatches have a substantially circular planar shape as shown in FIG. 11, and thus are not suitable for mounting a square thermoelectric element 160. By mounting the thermoelectric element, there has been a problem that the internal space efficiency is reduced and the whole becomes large.

In general, when a thermoelectric element is mounted on a thermoelectric generator wristwatch, the thermoelectromotive force must be used.
All three conditions must be met. The conditions are that one end surface of the thermoelectric element is in direct contact with the metal case, the other end surface is in contact with the back cover, and that the metal case and the back cover are thermally insulated.

For this reason, in the case of the thermoelectric wristwatch 100 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, each thermoelectric element 160 has one end surface in contact with the back cover 130 and the other end surface with the metal case 110.
In order to make contact, the metal cylinder 110 secures a storage space for the thermoelectric element 160 on the outside of the dial 40, and further, the insulating cylinder 120 must be arranged on the outside.

Therefore, this thermoelectric wristwatch 100
In the case, the area from the outer periphery of the dial 40 to the outer periphery of the metal case 110 is greatly widened, and the entire size of the watch case including the metal case 110 is larger than the size of the dial 40. Therefore, there has been a problem that the balance between the dial and the watch case is deteriorated.

As described above, the area occupied by the thermoelectric element is determined in order to obtain the generated power required for driving the movement by the thermoelectric element. Therefore, a certain amount of storage space is secured in the watch case. Must. Therefore, when trying to make the wristwatch smaller, the dial 40 must be made smaller. This is a major problem when making a small wristwatch for women, meaning that it is practically impossible to commercialize a thermoelectric wristwatch for women.

This will be described with representative numerical values. Considering a normal wrist watch, the diameter of the dial is about 25 mm. A thermoelectric element is arranged around the periphery of the thermoelectric element. When the thermoelectric element is divided into four parts as shown in FIG. 11, for example, the area of one thermoelectric element is about 8 mm × 3.1 mm. Then, the annular portion on which the thermoelectric element 160 is mounted needs to have a width of about 5 mm. Furthermore, assuming that there is an insulating body 120 around it and its width is also about 5 mm, the diameter of the wristwatch including all of them is approximately 45 mm.
mm, which is very large. This size is too large for men.

As one means for solving the problem of the storage space when mounting such a thermoelectric element on a wristwatch, it is conceivable to arrange the thermoelectric element more finely so as to be divided into ten or twenty thermoelectric elements. However, it is not realistic considering that the load generated during the production and mounting of thermoelectric elements increases.

As another means for solving the above problem, a desired thermoelectromotive force can be obtained even if the size of the thermoelectric element is reduced, that is, the thermoelectromotive force per unit volume of the thermoelectric element ( It is conceivable to increase the thermoelectric power density). For that purpose, the temperature difference given to both ends of the thermoelectric element may be increased.

For this purpose, heat radiation from the metal body or absorption of body temperature from the back cover may be improved. Then, the temperature difference generated between the back cover and the metal body increases accordingly, so that the thermoelectromotive force density also increases, and a sufficient thermoelectromotive force can be obtained even with a thermoelectric element having a small area.

Therefore, in order to enhance the heat dissipation from the metal case, it is sufficient to increase the size of the metal case. However, this would go against the miniaturization of the wristwatch, and it would not be possible to realize the miniaturization of the thermoelectric wristwatch. Can not.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem. In a thermoelectric power generation wristwatch having a thermoelectric element mounted thereon, the dial and the entire watch case are secured while sufficiently securing the power generated by the thermoelectric element. It is an object of the present invention to improve the balance of the sizes of the wristwatches so that they can be downsized, thereby providing a thermoelectric power generation wristwatch that is small in size and excellent in design.

[0027]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, an insulating cylinder is fixed to a metal cylinder to which a windshield is fixed, and a metal back cover is fixedly attached to the back surface of the insulating cylinder. The watch case is closed, and a dial, a movement, and a thermoelectric element serving as a power source of the movement are housed in the watch case, one end of the thermoelectric element is brought into contact with the metal body, and the other end is covered with the back. The thermoelectric wristwatch that is brought into contact with the lid has the following configuration.

That is, a pair of band mounting portions project from an outer peripheral portion of the metal body, and a pair of thermoelectric element housing portions are formed on an inner peripheral portion thereof so as to enter the band mounting portions. The thermoelectric elements are housed in the respective sections. Further, it is preferable that a pair of protrusions corresponding to the band mounting portion of the metal body are provided on the insulating body, and a hole through which the thermoelectric element is inserted is provided in each of the protrusions.

Further, the back cover can be divided into a first back cover for sealing a movement accommodating area of the watch case and two second back covers for contacting the thermoelectric element. Preferably, the two second back lids are fixed to the back surfaces of the pair of protrusions of the insulating cylinder, respectively. In that case, only the first back cover can be detachably attached to the insulating cylinder.

Further, the thermoelectric wristwatch according to the present invention comprises:
In order to achieve the above object, the windshield may be made of a glass having a high thermal conductivity, and the windshield may be fixed to the metal body via a sealing material having a high thermal conductivity. The windshield is preferably made of sapphire glass,
The sealing material may be made of any one of a packing, an adhesive, and grease each containing high thermal conductive particles, or a combination thereof.

Alternatively, a pair of band mounting portions is protruded from the outer periphery of the metal cylinder, a metal band is connected to the band mounting portion, and a heat insulating band is provided on the back side of the metal band. Is also good. In that case, it is desirable to form a gap between the metal band and the heat insulating band.

[0032]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thermoelectric wristwatch according to the present invention.

[First Embodiment: FIGS. 1 to 3] First, a first embodiment of a thermoelectric wristwatch according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the thermoelectric wristwatch,
It is sectional drawing which follows a line. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the camera with the back cover removed, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of only the back cover. The same parts as those in the conventional thermoelectric wristwatch shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this thermoelectric wristwatch 1, an insulating case 20 is fixed to the lower side (back side) of the metal case 10, and a back cover 30 is fixed to the back surface of the insulating case 20 to form a watch case.
A movement 50 including a step motor for driving a dial 40 and hands (hour and minute hands) 51, a wheel train, a crystal oscillation circuit, and the like, and a movement 5 in the watch case.
The thermoelectric element 60 serving as a power supply of the power supply 0 is housed.

The metal cylinder 10 is made of metal and has a substantially cylindrical shape.
A windshield 11 having a circular planar shape is fixed to the front end by bonding or fitting. An annular portion 10a having an appropriate width is provided outside the windshield 11, and a pair of band mounting portions 10b is protruded at symmetrical positions around the windshield 11 on the outer peripheral portion. Each of the band mounting portions 10b, 10b is provided with a pair of bearing portions 10c, 10c each having a shaft hole for mounting a shaft supporting the watch band.

The band mounting portion is basically a necessary part of a wristwatch, and is present not only in a thermoelectric generation wristwatch but also in any wristwatch. The band mounting portion has a shape close to a square protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the metal body even in a round wristwatch. Therefore, the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 1 includes a pair of thermoelectric element housings 10e, 10e, which are recessed in the inner peripheral portion 10d of the metal body 10 so as to enter the respective band mounting portions 10b, 10b.
10e are formed.

The insulating cylinder 20 is provided to easily generate a temperature difference between the metal cylinder 10 and the back cover 30. It is formed in a cylindrical shape. A pair of protruding portions 20b, 20b corresponding to the pair of band mounting portions 10b, 10b of the metal body 10 are provided on the outer peripheral portion thereof, and the inner peripheral portion 20d is recessed so as to enter the respective protruding portions 20b, 20b. Thermoelectric element storage sections 20e, 20e are formed.

The metal cylinder 10 and the insulating cylinder 20 are
And the upper end surface of the insulating cylinder 20 are overlapped and fixed so as to be joined. Then, the thermoelectric element storage section 10e of the metal body 10 and the thermoelectric element storage section 20 of the insulating body 20
e, a pair of thermoelectric element storage spaces are formed outside the inner peripheral surface of the watch case, and a pair of thermoelectric elements 6 are formed therein.
0,60 is stored.

The back cover 30 is, as shown in FIG.
0, a substantially circular portion 30a for sealing a movement housing area of the watch case, and the above-described thermoelectric element housing portions on both sides thereof are formed in a shape that can constitute a sealed watch case. A pair of rectangular portions 30b, 30b for sealing are integrally formed by a metal plate.

The back cover 30 is screwed to the insulating cylinder 20 through a screw hole (not shown) formed at a predetermined position in a state of being in close contact with the insulating cylinder 20 and one end surface of the thermoelectric element 60. The back cover 30 may be fixed by a fitting structure in which the back cover 30 is fitted to the insulating body 20.

Each of the two thermoelectric elements 60 is housed and mounted in a thermoelectric element housing section 10e formed so as to enter into the band mounting section 10b of the metal case 10 constituting the timepiece case. Each thermoelectric element 60 has its upper end surface in contact with the upper inner surface of the thermoelectric element storage portion 10 e of the metal body 10, its lower portion fits in the thermoelectric element storage portion 20 e of the insulating case 20, and its lower end surface has the back cover 30. Contacting the inner surface. Therefore, the two thermoelectric elements 60 are mounted so as to satisfy all the mounting conditions. In addition, this thermoelectric element 60
Only the size is different from the conventional thermoelectric element 160 shown in FIG. 12, and the description of the configuration is omitted.

As described above, the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 1 of this embodiment has the same basic configuration as the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 100 shown in FIGS. Are different from each other.

That is, in the conventional thermoelectric wristwatch 100, between the metal case 110 and the movement 50,
Although four thermoelectric elements are arranged and stored along the inner peripheral surface of the metal body 110, in the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 1 of this embodiment, a band mounting portion is provided outside the inner peripheral part 10d of the metal body 10. Two thermoelectric elements larger than conventional thermoelectric elements are accommodated in a pair of thermoelectric element accommodation sections 10e, 10e formed so as to enter the inside of 10b.

Therefore, in the case of the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 1 of this embodiment, it is not necessary to secure a space for disposing the thermoelectric element inside the inner peripheral portion 10d of the metal case 10, so that the annular portion 10a outside the windshield 11 is not required. It is not necessary to increase the size, and the use efficiency of the space inside the watch case is improved.

Therefore, the metal cylinder 10 and the insulating cylinder 20
The outer diameter of the watch can be made smaller than that of the conventional one, and the size of the entire watch case does not become unnecessarily large compared to the size of the dial 40. Will also be good.

Further, as shown in the figure, the band mounting portion 10b of the metal cylinder 10 and the protruding portion 20b of the insulating cylinder 20 have a substantially square shape, so that the thermoelectric element storage portions 10e, 20e are formed.
Can also be formed into a shape close to a square corresponding thereto, and a rectangular parallelepiped thermoelectric element can be easily stored, so that a thermoelectric element 60 larger than the conventional one can be stored.

For example, the band attaching portion 10b and the projecting portion 20
The width w shown in FIG. 2B is 2 in the case of an ordinary male wristwatch.
cm, so that a relatively large thermoelectric element 60 can be accommodated. Therefore, there is no need to divide the thermoelectric element into small ones and store it as in a conventional thermoelectric wristwatch.

In the thermoelectric wristwatch 1 of this embodiment, 2
The thermoelectric elements 60 are mounted. However, depending on the shape of the band attachment part of the metal body, the area is 1 cm ² ,
For example, it is also possible to store only one thermoelectric element 60 having a length and width of 2 cm × 0.5 cm in the thermoelectric element storage section in one of the band mounting sections.

When the thermoelectric wristwatch 1 of this embodiment is worn on the arm, the back cover 30 in contact with the arm is warmed by body temperature, and the metal body 10 on the opposite side is cooled by the outside air temperature. Thereby, a temperature difference between the body temperature and the outside air temperature is given to both end surfaces of the thermoelectric element 60, and a thermoelectromotive force is generated by the temperature difference. The movement 50 is driven by this thermoelectromotive force.

Here, an example of the size of the thermoelectric watch 1 will be described. The thermoelectric wristwatch 1 uses a dial 40 having a diameter of about 25 mm. The outer periphery of the dial 40 includes the insulating cylinder 20 and the metal cylinder 10. In consideration of the attachment of the back cover 30, the width in the meridian direction required for this is set to about 5 mm. From these values, the diameter of the arc portion of the thermoelectric watch 1 is about 35 mm,
The diameter is about the same as a wristwatch that does not use ordinary thermoelectric elements.

The thermoelectric element 60 has an end face having a size of 1
6 mm x 3.1 mm. Width W of band mounting portion 10b
Is 2.4 mm, and the diameter passing through the center including the band mounting portion 10b is about 35.1 mm. As described above, the size is the same as that of a normal wristwatch even when the band mounting portion is included, and the structure is such that the two thermoelectric elements 60 are sufficiently accommodated.

[Second Embodiment: FIGS. 4 to 6] Next, a second embodiment of a thermoelectric wristwatch according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the thermoelectric watch,
It is sectional drawing which follows a line. FIG. 5 is a rear view of the camera with the back cover removed, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of only the back cover. In these figures, parts corresponding to those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The thermoelectric generator wristwatch 2 is different from the thermoelectric generator wristwatch 1 in the first embodiment in that the shape of the insulating case 25 and the back cover 35 is different from that of the first embodiment.
0 and the back cover 30 are the same in common. Therefore,
Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described, and the description of the common points will be omitted or simplified.

The insulating cylinder 25 has a pair of protrusions 25b, 25b corresponding to the band mounting portions 10b of the metal cylinder 10,
Each of the protrusions 25b, 25b is provided with a hole 25e through which the thermoelectric element 60 is inserted. As shown in FIG.
25c are formed in parallel.

As shown in FIG. 6, the back cover 35 is composed of a first back cover 35a and a pair of second back covers 35b, 35b. The first back cover 35a is formed in an oval shape that can seal a portion of the back surface of the insulating body 25 except for the protruding portion 85, that is, a storage area of the movement 50 of the watch case. Also, the second back cover 35b,
35b respectively contact the thermoelectric element 60,
It is formed in a rectangular shape that can seal the protrusion 25.

The insulating case 25 and the metal case 10 are fixed to each other, and a first back cover 35a forming a back cover 35 and a pair of second back covers 35
The watch case is formed by closely contacting b and 35b. Inside the watch case, as in the first embodiment, a metal case 10 is provided.
A thermoelectric element housing portion 10e is formed so as to enter the band mounting portion 10b from the annular portion 10a.

The pair of thermoelectric elements 60, 60 are housed in thermoelectric element housings 10e, each of which is recessed so as to enter the band mounting portion 10b from the inner peripheral portion 10d of the metal body 10. , Hole 2 of insulating cylinder 25
5e. Then, the upper end surface is in contact with the upper inner surface of the thermoelectric element storage portion 10e of the metal body 10, and the lower end surface is the second inner surface.
Contacts the inner surface of the back cover 35b. Since there is a gap between the partition wall portion 25c of the insulating cylinder 25 and the dial 40, there is no problem in providing a lead wire or the like for connecting each thermoelectric element 60 to the movement 50.

The first back cover 35a is detachably mounted on the back surface of the arc-shaped portion 25d and the protruding portion 25b of the insulating cylinder 25 by screwing, and the second back cover 35b, 3
5b is adhered and fixed to the back surface of the protruding portion 25b of the insulating cylinder 25, respectively. The reason why the back cover 35 is divided into three, the first back cover 35a is fixed by screwing, and the second back covers 35b, 35b are fixed by bonding is as follows. .

Since the first back cover 35a seals the storage area of the movement 50 together with the dial 40, it is preferable that the first back cover 35a is fixed by detachable screws in consideration of maintenance later.

On the other hand, the second back lids 35b, 35b
Since it seals a portion for accommodating the thermoelectric element 60, there is almost no need to consider later maintenance, and it plays a role of transmitting body temperature from the outside in contact with the thermoelectric element 60. It is not particularly necessary to make it detachable.
When the screws are used, it is necessary to secure an extra space for forming a screw hole, and the efficiency of space utilization is deteriorated.

Further, even if the size of the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 2 is reduced, the thermoelectric element 60 cannot be reduced so much.
It is necessary to reduce the width of c. Then, since it is difficult to perform screwing and fitting, it is more reliable to bond them.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the back cover 35 is
By dividing into two parts and fixing them by means corresponding to their respective functions, the structure is made convenient without deteriorating the use efficiency of the internal space, and at the time of later maintenance. Note that the first back cover 35a and the insulating cylinder 2
5 may be fitted and fixed.

By the way, the use efficiency of the space when fixing the case back with the screw when fixing the back cover and the convenience of maintenance of the movement 50 and the like are to be improved with respect to the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 1 of the first embodiment. The same is true for Therefore, instead of the integrated back cover 30 in the thermoelectric wristwatch 1, a three-part back cover may be used in the same manner as the thermoelectric wristwatch 2 of the second embodiment. Therefore, the space utilization efficiency does not decrease and the maintenance can be performed later.

However, in the thermoelectric wristwatch 1, FIG.
When the back cover 35 divided into three as shown in FIG. 3 is used, it is easy for water to enter from a joint portion between the first back cover 35a and the second back cover 35b, so that it is necessary to provide a waterproof function. is there. In this regard, in the case of the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 2 of the second embodiment, since the insulating body 25 is provided with the partition wall 25c, it is fixed to the partition wall 25c and the first back cover 35a and the second back cover 35a. The back cover 35b can be joined, and waterproofing can be reliably performed.

[Third Embodiment: FIGS. 7 to 9] Next, a third embodiment of a thermoelectric wristwatch according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 shows the third
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the thermoelectric wristwatch main body of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which a watch band is attached to the thermoelectric watch, and FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a part of the watch band. FIG. Note that, for convenience of illustration, the dimensional ratio of the thermoelectric watch body 3 in FIGS. 7 and 8 is slightly different. 7 and 8, the same reference numerals are given to the portions corresponding to FIG.

The thermoelectric wristwatch main body 3 shown in FIG.
3 has almost the same structure as the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 1 in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 3, but the shape of the bearing portion 10f provided on the band mounting portion 10b of the metal body 10 is the same as that of the bearing portion 10c shown in FIG. Slightly different from the shape. The windshield 16 of the thermoelectric watch body 3 is made of glass having high thermal conductivity, preferably sapphire glass.

Then, the windshield 16 is sealed with the sealing material 1.
7, the sealing member 17 is formed in an L-shaped cross section having an annular shape along the periphery of the windshield 16, as shown in FIG. It is wrapped downward from the end face of the part so that it is in close contact with no gap. As the sealing material 17, a sealing material having high thermal conductivity is used so as not to impair the heat transfer between the metal shell 10 and the windshield 16. For example, it can be formed by a packing containing a filler (particles) having high thermal conductivity, an adhesive, grease, or a combination thereof.

The other structure of the thermoelectric wristwatch main body 3 is the same as that of the thermoelectric wristwatch 1 according to the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and therefore the description thereof is omitted. By configuring the thermoelectric generation watch main body 3 in this way, not only the metal shell 10 but also the windshield 16 can be effectively used as a heat radiating member. By increasing the temperature difference between both ends, the thermoelectromotive force can be increased. Therefore, sufficient power can be obtained even if the size of the thermoelectric element 60 is reduced.

The watch band 90 shown in FIG. 8 has a double structure comprising a pair of connectable metal bands 91 having good heat conductivity and a heat insulating band 92 having heat insulation. One end of each metal band 91 is connected to a pair of band mounting portions 10b, 10b protruding from the metal case 10 of the thermoelectric watch body 3 by a shaft (pin) 80 supported by a bearing 10f. It is rotatably connected.

Then, the back side of the metal band 91,
That is, the heat insulating band 92 is attached to the side of the thermoelectric generation wristwatch which comes into contact with the arm of the wearer. In addition, as shown in FIG.
And a gap 93 may be formed between the metal band 91 and the metal band 91. Then, due to the air space in the gap 93,
The heat insulating effect between the metal band 91 and the heat insulating band 92 can be enhanced.

The thermoelectric power-generating wristwatch constructed as described above can be mounted on an arm such that the heat-insulating band 92 of the watch band 90 contacts the arm and the metal band 91 contacts the outside air. At this time, the back cover 30 of the thermoelectric watch body 3 comes into contact with the arm and the metal body 10
Is in contact with the outside air, so that the temperature difference between the body temperature and the outside air temperature is similar to that of the thermoelectric generator wristwatch 1 of the first embodiment.
To generate a thermoelectromotive force. The movement 50 is driven by the electric power.

Then, the watch band 90 is connected to the heat insulating band 9.
2 and a two-layer structure of the metal band 91,
The following functions and effects are provided. That is, the body temperature of the wearer is transmitted to the back cover 30,
1 is hardly transmitted to the metal body 10 through the metal band 91 because the heat transmission is blocked by the heat insulating band 92.

On the contrary, the heat of the metal cylinder 10 is transferred to the metal band 91.
The temperature of the metal body 10 can be reduced and the temperature difference given to the thermoelectric element 60 can be increased. Therefore, the thermoelectric element 6
It is possible to increase the thermoelectromotive force by increasing the temperature difference between both ends of 0, and it is possible to obtain sufficient power even if the size of the thermoelectric element 60 is reduced.

As shown in FIG. 7, the thermoelectric generator wristwatch main body 3 is formed by simply forming the windshield 16 from a high heat conductive glass such as sapphire glass and fixing the windshield 16 to the metal body 10 by the high heat conductive sealing material 17. As a result, the thermoelectromotive force of the thermoelectric element 60 can be increased. Also, the watch band 90 may have a double structure of the metal band 91 and the heat insulating band 92, so that the thermoelectromotive force of the thermoelectric element 60 can be increased.

Therefore, if both are implemented as in this embodiment, even if thermoelectric elements 60 of the same size are used, a larger thermoelectromotive force can be obtained. Therefore, when the same thermoelectromotive force as that of the thermoelectric generation wristwatch 1 is required, the size of the thermoelectric element 60 can be reduced. When the size of the thermoelectric element 60 is reduced, the size of the thermoelectric element housing portion 13 can be reduced, so that the thermoelectric power generation wristwatch main body 3 can be reduced in size, and in terms of design from the viewpoint of the entire wristwatch. Can be better balanced.

It is to be noted that the metal band of the watch band 90 may be formed integrally with a bent lock portion, and the heat insulating band 92 may be formed in an annular shape with an elastic material such as rubber. Then, when you put on the thermoelectric watch,
The heat-insulating band 92 is tightly locked to the wearer's arm, and the metal band 91 is worn with a little room above it. Even in this case, the metal band 91
A gap can be provided between the heat insulating band 92 and the heat insulating band 92 to form an air layer.

In each of the above embodiments, a thermoelectric generation wristwatch in which the plane shape of the windshield and the metal body is substantially circular has been described as an example, but the thermoelectric generation wristwatch according to the present invention is not limited to this shape. Instead, the present invention can be applied to the case where the plane shape is an ellipse or a square.

[0078]

As described above, in the thermoelectric generation wristwatch according to the present invention, the band attachment portion is provided on the metal body, and the thermoelectric element housing portion is inserted into the band attachment portion from the inner periphery of the metal case. Has formed. Therefore, there is no need to secure a storage space for the thermoelectric element inside the inner periphery of the metal body, and even when the size of the watch case is about the same as that of a general wristwatch, the thermoelectric element for obtaining the necessary power is stored. In addition, it is possible to improve the design balance of the entire wristwatch.

Since the thermoelectric elements to be housed can be larger than conventional ones, the number of necessary thermoelectric elements can be reduced, and the burden on manufacturing and mounting is smaller than in the conventional case. Less.

Further, when the back cover is divided into three parts, a first back cover and a pair of second back covers, each can be fixed separately, thereby impairing the maintainability of the movement and the like. Without this, miniaturization becomes possible.

When a high heat conductive glass is used for the windshield and a high heat conductive material is used for the sealing material for fixing the glass to the metal body, the heat radiation from the metal body is enhanced, and the thermoelectric element is used. By increasing the temperature difference to be given, the thermoelectromotive force can be increased. Even in this case, it is possible to reduce the size of the thermoelectric element and obtain the same effect as described above.

Further, by forming the watch band attached to the thermoelectric generation watch main body into a two-layer structure including a metal band and a heat insulating band, the heat radiation from the metal body is enhanced, and the same effect as described above is obtained. It is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2 showing the structure of a first embodiment of a thermoelectric wristwatch according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the thermoelectric wristwatch with its back cover removed.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a back cover of the thermoelectric watch shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 5 showing the structure of a second embodiment of the thermoelectric watch according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the thermoelectric power watch, with the back cover removed.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing each part of the back cover of the thermoelectric power generation watch shown in FIG. 4 separately.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 1, showing the structure of a thermoelectric watch in a third embodiment of the thermoelectric watch according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which a watch band is attached to the thermoelectric generation wristwatch main body shown in FIG. 7;

9 is an enlarged side view showing a part of the watch band shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 shows a structural example of a conventional thermoelectric wristwatch.
It is sectional drawing which follows the CC line of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a rear view of the thermoelectric wristwatch with the back cover removed.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a thermoelectric element mounted thereon in a thermoelectric generation wristwatch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2: thermoelectric power watch 3: thermoelectric power watch main body 10: metal body 10a: annular portion 10b, 10: band mounting portion 10c: bearing portion 10d: inner peripheral portion 10e: thermoelectric element housing portion 11, 16: windshield 17: Sealing material 20, 25: Insulating body 20b, 25b: Projecting part 20d: Inner peripheral part 20e: Thermoelectric element storage part 25c: Partition part 25d: Arc-shaped part 25e: Hole part for inserting thermoelectric element 30, 35: Back Lid 35a: first back lid 35b: second back lid 40: dial 50: movement 51: pointer 60: thermoelectric element 90: watch band 91: metal band 92: heat insulating band 92a: protrusion 93: gap

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A watch case in which an insulating case is fixed to a metal case to which a windshield is fixed, and a back case made of metal is tightly fixed to the back surface of the insulating case to form a sealed watch case. And a thermoelectric generator wristwatch, which houses a movement and a thermoelectric element serving as a power source of the movement, and has one end of the thermoelectric element in contact with the metal body and the other end in contact with the back cover. A pair of band mounting portions are protruded from the portion, and a pair of thermoelectric element storage portions are formed on the inner peripheral portion so as to enter the band mounting portion, and the thermoelectric elements are stored in the respective thermoelectric element storage portions. A thermoelectric watch. 2. The thermoelectric generation wristwatch according to claim 1, wherein the insulating body has a pair of protrusions corresponding to the band mounting part of the metal body, and holes for inserting the thermoelectric elements into the respective protrusions. Thermoelectric wristwatch with a section. 3. The thermoelectric watch according to claim 1, wherein the back cover seals a movement storage area of the watch case, and a second back cover that contacts the thermoelectric element. Thermoelectric watch. 4. The thermoelectric watch according to claim 2, wherein the back cover seals a movement storage area of the watch case, and a second back cover that contacts the thermoelectric element. Wherein the second back cover is respectively fixed to the back surfaces of the pair of protrusions of the insulating body. 5. A watch case in which an insulating case is fixed to a metal case to which a windshield is fixed, and a back cover made of metal is tightly fixed to the back surface of the insulating case to form a sealed watch case. And a thermoelectric generator wristwatch housing a movement and a thermoelectric element serving as a power source for the movement, having one end of the thermoelectric element in contact with the metal body and the other end in contact with the back cover. A thermoelectric wristwatch made of conductive glass, wherein the windshield is fixed to the metal body via a highly heat-conductive sealing material. 6. The thermoelectric wristwatch according to claim 5, wherein the windshield is made of sapphire glass. 7. The thermoelectric wristwatch according to claim 5, wherein the seal member is made of any one of a packing, an adhesive, and grease each containing high thermal conductive particles, or a combination thereof. 8. A watch case in which an insulating case is fixed to a metal case to which a windshield is fixed, and a metal back cover is tightly fixed to the back surface of the insulating case to form a sealed watch case. And a thermoelectric generator wristwatch, which houses a movement and a thermoelectric element serving as a power source of the movement, and has one end of the thermoelectric element in contact with the metal body and the other end in contact with the back cover. A thermoelectric generation wristwatch, comprising: a pair of band mounting portions protruding from a portion thereof; a metal band connected to the band mounting portion; and a heat insulating band provided on the back side of the metal band. 9. The thermoelectric wristwatch according to claim 8, wherein a gap is formed between the metal band and the heat insulating band.