JP2001264465A - Clock - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure of a clock displaying a time of the clock by means of a laser beam and exhibiting effect in reduction of the size and power consumption. SOLUTION: This clock is provided with a laser beam source 1, a light condensing lens 5 forming laser beams into parallel beams, and a plurality of light transmitting means for deflecting the laser beam. At least one of the light transmitting means is arranged on an hour hand shaft 20, a minute hand shaft 30, and a second hand shaft 40 linked to a clock module 3 detecting a time, while the light transmitting means on the hour hand shaft, the minute hand shaft, and the second hand shaft and a dial plate 2a are arranged on the same plane and provided with a micromirror for scanning the laser beam two-dimensionally, a clock module detecting a time and a display driving circuit. The laser beam deflected by means of the micromirror irradiates the outside of the clock for indicating a time. Multiple diffraction gratings are arranged for diffracting the laser beam and displaying a desired pattern, and the laser beam is radiated to the outside of the clock via the diffraction gratings for displaying a time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wristwatch, a table clock, a wall clock and the like, and more particularly to an object of the present invention is to provide a timepiece having a novel structure for displaying time using a laser beam.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a timepiece using a laser beam as a pointer is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-154688. In this report, a reflecting mirror for the hour, minute and second hands is provided to make the light beam using laser light function as the hour hand, minute hand and second hand, and the laser beam is projected on this reflecting mirror to irradiate the dial face obliquely. A configuration to function as a clock is described.

However, in this configuration, the dial is irradiated with laser light from an oblique direction and the hour hand, minute hand,
In order to determine the length of the second hand, especially in a small clock having a short optical path or the like, the difference in the angle is small and control is difficult. Also, depending on the positional relationship of the mirrors, light is emitted obliquely, so that the light beam and other mirrors may interfere with each other, and there is a problem that the light cannot be emitted, that is, a time zone is created. .

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 57-29990 proposes a configuration in which at least one of the hands of a timepiece functions as a hand of a laser beam. However, in this example, it is described that the laser oscillation part, that is, the laser semiconductor itself is located at the center of the dial, but it does not describe how to supply power to the laser oscillator that continues to rotate. .

[0005] Conventionally, a laser beam has been scanned with a polygon mirror or a galvanometer mirror to draw characters or pictures or to be laser-engraved. However, considering the driving method, there is a limit to miniaturization of the galvanometer mirror and the polygon mirror, and the size of the current minimum size is several cm. In particular, when drawing by manipulating characters or light, two axes are required, so that it is difficult to store these devices inside the timepiece in the case of a clock or a watch having a thickness of several cm to several mm.

Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 64-42495 discloses that a polygon mirror is driven to irradiate a laser beam onto a liquid crystal display panel, and a liquid crystal display is performed by the heat. However, it is clear that this configuration is not feasible for the reasons described above.

[0007] The power source of a clock is battery-driven in a normal home or office clock or wristwatch, except for a large clock which is installed on the wall of a building. However, in the conventional configuration using a polygon mirror or a galvanometer mirror, the driving current is in the range of several W to several tens of W even if the driving current is small. The power supply used was required.

Therefore, for the reasons described above, it has not been possible to realize a time display means of a timepiece by combining such a semiconductor laser with a conventional scanning mirror system such as a galvanometer mirror.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a time display of a timepiece using a laser beam, and in particular, to realize downsizing and low power consumption which could not be achieved conventionally. The configuration is provided.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.

That is, the timepiece of the present invention has a laser light source, a condenser lens for converting the laser light into parallel light, and a plurality of light transmitting means for deflecting the laser light. At least one of the transmission means is mounted on an hour hand axis, a minute hand axis and a second hand axis interlocked with a clock module for detecting time, and the hour hand axis, the minute hand axis and the light transmission means on the second hand axis and the dial are provided. It is characterized by being arranged on the same plane.

A timepiece according to the present invention comprises a laser light source,
A condenser lens for converting the laser light into parallel light, a micromirror for scanning the laser light two-dimensionally, a clock module for detecting time, and a display driving circuit, wherein the display driving circuit is By scanning the micromirror and flashing the semiconductor laser in order to display the time information from the clock module in synchronization with the scanning, the laser light deflected by the micromirror irradiates the outside of the watch to display the time. It is characterized by making it.

A timepiece according to the present invention comprises a laser light source and a condenser lens for converting the laser light into parallel light, a plurality of light transmitting means for deflecting or splitting the laser light, and diffracting the laser light. A plurality of diffraction gratings for displaying a desired pattern, and the diffraction gratings are provided on the hour hand plate, minute hand plate and second hand plate, and are radiated on the hour hand plate, minute hand plate and second hand plate. It is installed on an hour hand axis, a minute hand axis and a second hand axis interlocked with a timepiece module for detecting a time, and irradiates the laser light to the outside of the timepiece via the diffraction grating to display time.

Further, the timepiece of the present invention is characterized in that the wavelength of the laser light is in a visible light range.

Further, the timepiece of the present invention includes a plate having a wavelength of the laser light in an infrared light region and containing phosphor particles which emit visible light in response to the infrared light in a part of the laser light path. It is characterized by having.

Further, the timepiece of the present invention is characterized in that the dial has a cross-sectional shape having a step in the thickness direction.

(Function) In the present invention, first, in the case of analog display, the dial face is not illuminated with a laser beam obliquely, but is radiated as a dial plate to scatter the laser beam so that the optical path can be seen. And the laser light is applied from the side. As a result, the hour hand, minute hand and second hand can be displayed without interfering with each other, and downsizing can be achieved.

Second, when the time is digitally displayed, the laser light is scanned by a micromirror.
Irradiate something outside the watch to display it. At this time, the laser light is turned on and off in accordance with the position information (deflection direction) of the micromirror.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A novel time display means of a timepiece, wherein a single-wavelength laser light emitted from a laser light source is converted into convergent light or parallel light by a converging lens or a collimating lens, and the light is transmitted by a light transmitting means. Is irradiated on a dial made of a light diffusing plate to make the laser light path function as an hour hand for displaying the time of a clock.

Alternatively, the present invention is also a novel time display means of a timepiece, in which a single wavelength laser light emitted from a laser light source is converted into convergent light or parallel light by a converging lens or a collimating lens, and is transmitted to a micromirror by using a light transmitting means. When illuminated, the micromirror is scanned in a two-dimensional direction, so that the illuminated light can indicate the time.

In recent years, unlike conventional polygon mirrors and galvanometer mirrors, ultra-small micromirrors manufactured using micromachining technology using anisotropic etching technology such as Si have been studied.

For example, the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers [No. 97-84 Seminar '97 -10.23,24 New flow of micromachine / mechanism design / manufacturing technology]. The driving principle of this element is to oscillate a piezo actuator to oscillate a mirror. By appropriately designing a beam and scanning it at both the X and Y axes, the correspondence between the position information of the laser beam and time information Can understand. An application example as an image sensor used for reading an image by utilizing this is also described.

Further, other micromirrors are reported in Nikkei Mechanical, September 1989, p. 73. In this report, it is suggested that a resonator made of quartz by etching is applied to a laser printer. (First Embodiment) The configuration and functions of a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The configuration of the present embodiment is such that a semiconductor laser element 1 as a laser light source and a condensing lens for converting laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser element into parallel light, here a collimating lens 5, are provided in a clock housing 12. Three laser mirrors (4a, 4b, 4c) serving as light transmitting means, a clock module 3 for detecting time, an hour hand shaft 20 arranged above the clock module and rotating in synchronization with time, a minute hand A shaft 30 and a second hand shaft 40 are provided. Each shaft is provided with an hour / minute / second hand laser mirror (4a) equipped with a hook, and a half on the same surface as the hour / minute / second hand laser mirror (4a). It has a dial 2a made of a transparent light diffusion plate.

The hour hand axis, minute hand axis, and second hand axis have a center part at the center of the second hand axis 40 and a minute hand axis 3 around the center part, similarly to a normal watch module.
0, the outermost axis is the hour hand axis 20 and the second hand axis is 60
This is a normal analog clock module that rotates once in seconds, the minute hand rotates once in 60 minutes, and the hour hand rotates once in 12 hours.

The semiconductor laser device 1 used in this embodiment uses AlGaInP as an active layer and has a wavelength of 6 nm.
70 nm red.

The light emitted from the semiconductor laser element is condensed into parallel light through a collimating lens 5 and is passed through laser mirrors 4b and 4c to a laser mirror 4a for hour, minute and second hands.
And the laser beam is irradiated from the side of the dial 2a,
Since light is diffused on the extension line, the laser light path 11 can be visually recognized as the hour, minute and second hands from the glass 9 side, and the time can be displayed.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the timepiece of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the width of the hour, minute, and second hand laser mirror 4a is reduced in the order of the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand, and is therefore deflected. Since the width of the laser light is also equivalent to the width, the hour, minute and second hands can be identified and the time can be known.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration in this example is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but first, the cross-sectional shape and material of the dial 2b are different. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the timepiece module and the dial of the present embodiment, and the end of the dial has a shape having a step. In the present embodiment, the height of the laser mirror 4a for the hour, minute and second hand is designed to coincide with the center of the step. Therefore, the light emitted from each hour / minute / second hand laser mirror diffuses through the dial and forms an optical path until it reaches the end face. Further, since the light passes through the air beyond the end face, the optical path becomes invisible. Therefore, each optical path is
1, the minute hand 31 and the second hand 41 can be visually recognized.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of this timepiece. When the dial 2b is viewed from the glass surface, the hour and minute hands appear to have different lengths, and the length becomes shorter in the order of the second hand, the minute hand and the hour hand. The time is visible so that it can be seen.

Further, as a difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment, the emission wavelength of the semiconductor laser device 1 and the material of the dial are different. In the first embodiment, a red semiconductor laser and a translucent material are used to diffuse light to some extent in the illuminated dial and to use the optical path as a guide. A semiconductor laser using GaAs as an active layer and irradiating infrared light with a wavelength of 900 nm is used, and a dial made of a material containing phosphor particles is used as a dial plate material.

The phosphor particles are particles that generate visible light in response to infrared light, and are usually used as a material for observing the optical path of infrared laser light. High and sufficient luminance is obtained, and in this embodiment, the converted light can be visually recognized as a pointer. Further, the color can be converted into light of various colors such as green, blue, and orange depending on the type of phosphor particles.

In this embodiment, in order to display the hour hand, minute hand and second hand as orange light, phosphor particles for converting the wavelength of infrared light into orange are contained in the dial. Third Embodiment A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this configuration, a clock housing 12 includes a semiconductor laser element 1, a collimating lens 5, a micromirror 10, a clock module 3 for detecting time, and a display drive circuit 6.

As described in the embodiment, the micro mirror has a small mirror surface of 1 mm or less manufactured by using the Si micro machining technology, and is vibrated in the XY directions by the display drive circuit. Watch module 3
Is output to the display drive circuit 7 and sent to the laser drive circuit 6 for a blink signal synchronized with the vibration of the micromirror.

With the above configuration, the laser light output from the semiconductor laser element is converted into parallel light through the collimator lens 5 and is irradiated on the micro mirror surface. Since the micro mirror is vibrating in the X and Y directions, the micro mirror is irradiated to the outside through the light transmitting plate 13. At this time, the laser light is blinking in synchronism with the display drive circuit, and consequently, the time is displayed when the laser light is applied to the outside, for example, a wall.

The power consumption of the configuration of this embodiment is on the order of several milliwatts for the semiconductor laser element and the micromirror, and can be driven by a button battery or a dry battery. Can be reduced. (Fourth Embodiment) A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows a configuration of another timepiece that irradiates the outside of the timepiece and displays the time, similarly to the third embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the semiconductor laser element 1, the collimating lens 5, and the laser mirror 4 as the light transmitting means
b, a half mirror 4d, an hour hand plate 22 attached to the hour hand shaft 20 of the timepiece module 3, and a minute hand plate 32 attached to the minute hand shaft 30. A diffraction grating 8 is attached to the outermost periphery of the hour hand plate and the minute hand plate, respectively. In this embodiment, the hour hand plate 22 has 1 to 12
The 12 diffraction gratings for the numerals and the minute hand plate 32 have 60 diffraction gratings for numerals from 00 to 59 stuck in a clockwise order.

This diffraction grating is formed by injection molding of a plastic resin, and is designed so that when a laser beam is incident from one direction, it is condensed on the pattern of the numeral.

The hour hand plate and the minute hand plate rotate one time in 12 hours, and the minute hand plate makes one revolution in 60 minutes, like the hour hand axis and minute hand axis of a normal timepiece.

In this configuration, the light emitted from the semiconductor laser element 1 is collimated by the collimating lens 5,
After being split into two beams by the half mirror 4d, it is also deflected by the laser mirror 4b. The two branched laser beams pass through one diffraction grating 8 on the minute hand plate 32 and one diffraction grating 8 on the hour hand plate, and are further radiated to the outside through the light transmitting plate 13, for example, radiated to a wall. Display the time when it is done.

At this time, since the laser light is collimated light, it is possible to read the time at any position without any deviation of the pin regardless of the position of the object. (Other Embodiments) In the second embodiment, the configuration in which the dial contains phosphor particles has been described. As an application of this, for example, a substrate having phosphor particles is placed in the middle of a laser beam path, and the substrate is transmitted through the substrate. It is also possible to display the time using the light whose wavelength has changed.

Although a single phosphor particle is contained in the dial in FIG. 3, if the dial is formed such that the type of phosphor particles is different at the step portion of the dial, the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand can be used. Can be displayed in different colors.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a clock is shown. However, the semiconductor laser element and the micromirror or the diffraction grating can be formed in a size of several mm to 1 mm or less. Is also possible.

Further, according to the third and fourth embodiments, not only the time display but also the display of characters and pictures is possible, and the present invention can be applied as a display element for a portable terminal.

As described above, in the timepiece of the present invention, laser light can be used for time display of the timepiece, and a new timepiece capable of displaying a very fantastic display especially at night can be provided.

There is no problem if the micromirror is not only a piezo-driven element but also an element of an electrostatic or magnetic driving method.

In the timepiece of the type in which the time is displayed by irradiating the timepiece to the outside of the timepiece shown in the third and fourth embodiments, there is a danger that the emitted laser light is irradiated to human eyes. However, in the present configuration, there is no problem even if the laser beam is applied to the eyes of everybody so that the laser beam is not concentrated on one point, the light amount per unit area is at a level that does not cause a problem in safety.

[0047]

According to the present invention, a new display effect can be given to a timepiece by providing a laser beam as a means for indicating the time of the timepiece, and the present invention is effective in reducing the size and power consumption of the timepiece. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional projection view showing a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing the configuration of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional projection view illustrating a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view illustrating a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional projection view showing a configuration of a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional projection view showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Semiconductor laser element 2a, 2b Dial 3 Clock module 4a Laser mirror for hour / minute / second hand 4b, 4c Laser mirror 4d Half mirror 5 Collimating lens 6 Laser driving circuit 7 Display driving circuit 8 Diffraction grating 9 Glass 10 Micro mirror 11 Laser optical path 12 Clock housing 13 Translucent plate 20 Hour hand axis 21 Hour hand 22 Hour hand plate 30 Minute hand shaft 31 Minute hand 31 Minute hand plate 40 Second hand shaft 41 Second hand

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A laser light source, a condensing lens for converting laser light into parallel light, and a plurality of light transmitting means for deflecting the laser light, wherein at least one of the light transmitting means is provided. One has on the hour hand axis, minute hand axis or second hand axis interlocked with the timepiece module that detects the time, and the light transmitting means and the dial having the hour hand, minute hand axis or second hand axis are on the same plane. A clock characterized by the following. 2. A laser light source, a condenser lens for converting laser light into parallel light, a micromirror for two-dimensionally scanning laser light, a clock module for detecting time, and a display driving circuit. A clock characterized by the following. 3. A laser light source and a condensing lens for converting the laser light into parallel light, a plurality of light transmitting means for deflecting or splitting the laser light, and diffracting the laser light to display a desired pattern. It has a number of diffraction gratings, the diffraction grating has on the hour hand plate, the minute hand plate or the second hand plate on the radiation, and the hour hand plate, the minute hand plate or the second hand plate is used in a timepiece module for detecting time. A timepiece having on a linked hour hand axis, minute hand axis or second hand axis. 4. The laser light according to claim 1, wherein a wavelength of the laser light is in a visible light region.
The clock described in. 5. The laser light according to claim 1, wherein a wavelength of the laser light is in an infrared light region, and a plate containing phosphor particles is provided in a part of the laser light path. Item 7. The watch according to Item 3. 6. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the dial has a step in a thickness direction.