JP2001305249A - Solar battery watch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase a power supply amount from a solar battery to smoothly drive a watch without executing machining of a windproof glass requiring a special material for the purpose of increasing light inlet amount, though the solar battery is erectly disposed in the outermost periphery of a display area that is a dial to be used in the conventional dial. SOLUTION: This solar battery has the ring-like solar battery and a parting ring. The ring-like solar battery is disposed with a solar battery of a prescribed pattern on at least one surface of a cylindrical substrate, a light incidence direction of the ring-like solar battery is oriented to the watch center, and the ring-like solar battery is erectly disposed along the periphery of the dial or a liquid crystal panel displaying time of the watch. The parting ring us translucent and is disposed on the watch center side of the ring-like solar battery, out of the display area of the dial.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a solar cell timepiece having a photoelectric conversion solar cell and requiring no battery replacement for driving the timepiece. More specifically, the present invention relates to a solar cell watch having a function of guiding a part of light transmitted through a windshield to a solar cell and requiring no battery replacement.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A solar battery timepiece converts light energy into electric energy and uses it for driving the timepiece. Therefore, there is no fear that the drive is suddenly stopped due to the consumption of a battery built in a general quartz timepiece. In addition, since it is possible to continue power generation as long as there is light energy, there is no need to replace the built-in battery. Therefore, since a used waste battery is not generated, the solar battery timepiece has advantages such as a small environmental burden.

[0003] The structure of a solar cell clock that is usually used is to expose a solar cell on the dial to obtain a large power generation efficiency, or to place the solar cell on the back of the dial 5 as shown in FIG. Battery 30 was arranged. Since the dial 5 in this structure needs to be semi-permeable, there is a problem that the dial material is limited.

However, in view of these problems, J.
-42390, a solar cell clock (not shown) in which a ring-shaped solar cell device standing upright on the outermost peripheral portion of the dial is disposed in a gap between the windshield and the dial,
2 around the windshield 1 at 5038 (FIG. 6b).
A light guide ring 40 is provided, and a solar cell device attached to both sides of a ring-shaped flexible substrate that stands upright on a dial is fitted in a gap between the light guide rings 40 to effectively capture light incident from a windshield. A clock structure that can be used has been proposed.

[0005]

However, in order to use a dial which is not subject to design restrictions, even if a ring-shaped solar cell is arranged upright on the outer periphery of the dial, it is oblique to the windshield. Only the incident light can contribute to power generation,
There is a problem that the amount of power supplied to the secondary battery is too small.

Further, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-55038 (FIG. 6b)
When the means described in (1) is adopted, the windshield 1 requires a special structure, so that hard glass such as sapphire glass which is often used for the windshield cannot be used. Therefore, even if this structure is adopted, a sufficient power supply amount can be obtained, but there is a problem that a soft material must be used for the material of the windshield having the light guide means.

An object of the present invention is to propose a solar battery timepiece that can use a dial whose design is not restricted and can supply a sufficient power without increasing the number of parts of the timepiece.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, a solar battery timepiece of the present invention employs the following means.

That is, the solar cell timepiece of the present invention comprises a ring-shaped solar cell and a parting ring, wherein the ring-shaped solar cell is formed by arranging a solar cell of a predetermined shape on at least one surface of a cylindrical substrate. The light incident direction of the solar cell faces the center of the clock, and is arranged upright along the outer edge of the time display body that displays the time of the clock, and the parting ring has translucency. In addition, the ring-shaped solar cell is arranged outside the display area of the time display body on the clock center side.

The solar cell timepiece according to the present invention has a dimple shape or an embossed surface, either one of a lighting surface which is an end surface on the clock center side of the front parting ring and a light extraction surface which is an end surface facing the ring-shaped solar cell. Or pyramidal shape.

A solar battery timepiece according to the present invention is characterized in that a semipermeable film is formed on a light-collecting surface or a light-exiting surface of a front parting ring.

The solar cell timepiece of the present invention is characterized in that a wavelength conversion layer capable of converting ultraviolet light into visible light is formed on a light-collecting surface or a light-outgoing surface of a front parting ring.

A solar battery timepiece according to the present invention is characterized in that a metal thin film having a high light reflectance in the visible light region is formed on an end face of the front parting ring which is in contact with the time indicator.

The solar cell timepiece of the present invention is characterized in that both end faces of the front parting ring in contact with the time display and the end face facing the windshield are covered with a metal thin film having a high light reflectance even in the visible light range. Features.

The solar cell timepiece of the present invention is characterized in that fine particles having a higher refractive index than the member used for the front parting ring are dispersed in the parting ring.

The solar cell timepiece of the present invention is characterized in that fine particles having a wavelength conversion function capable of converting ultraviolet light into visible light are dispersed in the front parting ring.

The time display may be either a clock dial or a liquid crystal display panel.

(Operation) A solar battery timepiece employing the present invention uses a parting ring used in a conventional timepiece as a translucent member, and collects sufficient light by condensing and guiding. Even if the ring-shaped solar cell stands upright outside the display area of the information display body, sufficient power can be supplied to drive the clock.

Further, according to the present invention, there is no restriction on the material and design used for the dial of the timepiece, and it is possible to provide a timepiece that does not differ from the appearance of a battery-replaceable timepiece without increasing the number of parts of the timepiece.

[0020]

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of a solar battery timepiece according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a sectional view showing an optimal embodiment of a solar battery timepiece according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a plan view thereof. FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of a cross section of the translucent parting ring 3 and the ring-shaped solar cell 2, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the solar cell formed on the flexible printed circuit board 10.

1 is a windshield, 2 is a ring-shaped solar cell whose light incident side is directed toward the center of the clock, 3 is a parting ring, 4 is a pointer for displaying clock time, 5 is a dial, and 6 is a movement for driving the pointer. , 7 indicate a watch case.

The light directly entering through the windshield 1 (FIG. 2a) and the light reflected on the dial 5 surface (FIG. 2a)
And each of the light (FIG. 2a) that has been repeatedly reflected between the dial 5 and the windshield 1 enters the parting ring 3,
Light can be guided to the ring-shaped solar cell 2 arranged outside the parting ring 3. The light obtained therefrom can be photoelectrically converted and supplied as a current to a secondary battery arranged in the movement 6.

The amount of light required to generate the power required to drive the timepiece and maintain accurate timekeeping depends on the conversion efficiency of the ring-shaped solar cell 2 used. It is necessary to design the parting ring 3 and the ring-shaped solar cell 2 in accordance with the required light quantity. In this embodiment, a solar cell having a conversion efficiency of about 15% under a white fluorescent lamp of 500 lux was used. The case will be described.

The solar cell used here is shown in FIG.
b), as shown in FIG.
Form a solar cell on top of 0, cut it out into strips,
A structure that is rolled up and incorporated into a watch as a ring-shaped solar cell 2 is adopted.

In consideration of the fact that light transmitted through the dial of a conventional solar cell clock as shown in FIG. 1 was designed so that about 20% of the visible light incident on 1 was guided to the parting ring 3 and incident on the ring-shaped solar cell 2.

The area of a general solar cell 30 in the conventional system is about 4 cm 2. Therefore, the apparent area of the daylighting surface, which is the end face of the parting ring 3 on the center side of the timepiece required for driving the timepiece and maintaining accurate timekeeping, is set to 1 cm2 because it can be 20% of the area of the dial 5. Further, since the diameter of the commonly used parting ring 3 is about 3 cm, the width of the daylighting surface needs to be 1.1 mm or more. However, reflection loss and scattering light at the daylighting surface of the parting ring 3 and the like are required. In consideration of utilization efficiency, the width of the lighting surface is set to 1.4 mm.

The solar cell timepiece of the present invention can be obtained by incorporating the ring-shaped solar cell 2 and the parting ring 3 of the above dimensions into a timepiece as shown in FIG.

A means for efficiently collecting light transmitted through the windshield 1 by the parting ring 3 or a ring-shaped solar cell 2
Means for improving the amount of light irradiation on the substrate will be described below.

First, the first method will be described with reference to FIG. By processing the daylighting surface, which is the clockwise end surface of the parting ring 3, light can be efficiently guided. In other words, a dimple structure for confining light in the parting ring 3, an embossed structure for providing a function as a condensing lens, or a pyramidal structure having condensing and light confining functions is adopted.
The direct reflection of the light hitting the daylighting surface of the parting ring 3 is suppressed, and a large amount of light is efficiently guided, so that the power supply amount of the solar cell can be improved. FIG. 3A shows, as an example, a cross-sectional view of the parting ring 3 having a pyramidal structure on the daylighting surface. Further, the light output surface of the end surface facing the ring-shaped solar cell 2 or both end surfaces thereof may be processed to improve the power supply amount.

As described above, the material of the parting ring 3 may be glass, but since workability is required, it is preferable that either acrylic resin or polycarbonate resin be used. Further, the cross-sectional shape of the parting ring 3 may be any shape as long as it can collect light, but in this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape is made of a resin material which is transparent and has excellent workability, and the cross-sectional shape is a right triangle. A parting ring having the function of a prism was adopted.

Next, the second means will be described with reference to FIG. The wavelength conversion film 21 having a function of absorbing ultraviolet light and converting it into visible light is formed on the daylighting surface of the ring 3. By employing this means, not only visible light but also ultraviolet light can be used for photoelectric conversion, so that the power generation of the ring-shaped solar cell 2 can be further improved. The thin film material capable of wavelength conversion of ultraviolet light can be realized by, for example, attaching zinc sulfide, calcium boron sulfide additive, zinc manganese sulfide nanocrystal, rhodamine B, 6G thin film, or the like to the light-collecting surface of the ring. Further, the wavelength conversion film 21 may be formed on the light guide surface of the parting ring 3 or may be used in combination with the processing method of the end surface of the parting ring 3 formed by the first means.

A semi-permeable film 21 such as a metal thin film or an optical interference film is formed on the daylighting surface of the parting ring 3. The appearance of the parting ring 3 can be improved by forming the semi-permeable film 22. The semi-permeable film 22 may be formed on the light guide surface of the parting ring 3 or may be used in combination with the processing method of the end surface of the parting ring 3 formed by the first means.

The third means will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2A, a metal thin film such as aluminum, silver, platinum, gold, or the like having a high reflectance with respect to light in a visible light region is provided on the bottom surface of the parting ring 3, that is, an end surface in contact with the dial 5. The light collected by the ring 3 can be more efficiently incident on the ring-shaped solar cell 2. Also,
Other metals such as titanium, chromium, tungsten, and tantalum, which have a low reflectivity but are advantageous in manufacturing cost, may be used.

As shown in FIG. 4B, both end faces of the parting ring 3 having an end face in contact with the dial 5 and an end face facing the windshield 1 are connected to a metal thin film 23 having a high light reflectance. , The light incident into the parting ring can be efficiently reflected, and the amount of light incident can be further improved. Further, the third means may be employed in combination with the first and second means.

Although the time display has been described assuming the dial 5 of an analog clock, a liquid crystal display panel capable of digitally displaying the time may be used.

Next, the ring-shaped solar cell 2 according to the present invention
The method of forming the layer will be described with reference to FIGS.

To charge a secondary battery mounted on the movement 6, for example, a lithium ion battery, a considerable voltage is required. Therefore, in this embodiment, a four-stage series-connected solar cell structure is employed.

First, a metal electrode film such as an aluminum thin film is formed by a thin film forming means such as a reactive sputtering method using a heat-resistant and transparent flexible printed circuit board 10 such as polycarbonate as a substrate for forming an element. This is divided into four in a predetermined pattern by a photolithography process, an etching process, and the like to form a first electrode 11.

Next, the photoelectric conversion layer 12 of an amorphous silicon thin film is formed by a thin film forming means such as a plasma CVD method, and a transparent conductive film such as indium tin oxide, tin oxide or zinc oxide is formed by a thin film forming means such as a reactive sputtering method. The films are stacked, and the second electrode 13 and the photoelectric conversion layer 12 are divided into four in a predetermined pattern by a photolithography process, an etching process, or the like. One of the first electrodes and the other of the second electrodes, which are adjacent elements divided by using a conductive material 15 such as carbon paste, are connected so that the obtained solar cells are connected in series in four stages. By connecting and covering with a transparent protective film 14 in a predetermined pattern, a solar cell can be formed.

As another method, without dividing the element,
A secondary battery may be charged by boosting the voltage using an integrated circuit or the like, or a multi-layer solar cell may be used.

The case where light is incident from the transparent protective film 14 side has been described above. However, when light is incident from the transparent flexible printed circuit board 10 side, the first electrode 11 is used.
A solar cell having a transparent conductive film and a metal film for the second electrode 13 may be used. Further, a solar cell may be directly formed on the outer peripheral end surface of the parting ring 3.

The solar cell thus formed on the flexible printed circuit board 10 is 1.4 mm wide and 10 cm wide.
, And cut into a rectangular shape, and then rounded into a cylindrical shape to form a ring-shaped solar cell 2.

In the above description, the case where the photoelectric conversion layer 12 is formed on a polycarbonate substrate, formed into a strip shape, and then rounded to form the ring-shaped solar cell 2 has been described. 2 may be formed, a solar cell may be formed inside a cylindrical substrate, and may be sliced at a predetermined thickness to form a ring-shaped solar cell 2, or inside or outside a light-transmitting cylindrical substrate, or on both sides. Ring-shaped solar cell 2 in which a photoelectric conversion layer 12 is formed.

The ring-shaped solar cell 2 formed as described above is arranged on the outer periphery of the display area of the watch as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and the parting ring 3 is fixed to the center of the watch. The solar cell clock of the present invention is completed. In order to prevent light reflection loss at the interface between the solar cell 2 and the parting ring 3 arranged here, the solar cell 2 is made of a material having substantially the same refractive index.
It is effective to bond the parting ring 3 with the above.

(Embodiment 2) As a second embodiment, FIG. 5 shows a case where a parting ring 3 in which fine particles capable of scattering light are uniformly distributed is used in a solar cell watch of the present invention. Will be explained.

Light enters the parting ring 3 through the daylighting surface of the parting ring, and is scattered by the fine particles 24 having a higher refractive index than the ring material. Then, the scattered incident light is extracted from the light guide surface, which is the outer peripheral end surface of the parting ring 3, and is guided to the ring-shaped solar cell 2, whereby the photoelectric conversion can be performed more efficiently.

When glass, acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin or the like is used for the parting ring 3, the fine particles 24 dispersed inside the parting ring 3 are made of titanium oxide or strontium titanium having a higher refractive index than glass or the above resin material. An oxide or the like may be used. In addition, the use of zinc sulfide, calcium sulfide boron additive, zinc manganese sulfide nanocrystals, rhodamine B, 6G, etc., which have the function of absorbing ultraviolet light and converting it to visible light, reduces the amount of power generated by the solar cell. May be improved. The diameter of the fine particles 24 is preferably about 0.1 to 10 μm, which is a size suitable for efficiently scattering visible light, but particles having a larger diameter may be used in combination. In addition, when the dispersion density of the fine particles 24 is increased, the amount of light scattering increases, and the parting ring 3 appears white in appearance, so that the appearance quality can be improved.

A similar effect can be obtained by using a parting ring 3 in which silica particles are uniformly dispersed in a transparent resin such as polycarbonate, polyether sulfone, cyclic amorphous polyolefin, or acrylic resin. .

In any case, in order to efficiently extract the scattered light from the light exit surface of the ring 3,
The end face of the parting ring 3 may be subjected to dimple processing, emboss processing, or pyramidal processing.

[0051]

As is apparent from the above description, by adopting the present structure, it is possible to provide a solar cell timepiece excellent in aesthetics which is not affected by the design limitation of the dial, which is the greatest disadvantage of the solar cell timepiece. Was completed. In addition, this solar battery timepiece can obtain a sufficient amount of charge for the secondary battery, and does not require any special processing on the parts, and does not need to increase the number of parts of the conventional timepiece.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view and a plan view of a solar battery timepiece according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a parting ring and a ring-shaped solar cell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a parting ring according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a parting ring according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a parting ring according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a solar cell timepiece according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Windshield 2 Ring-shaped solar cell 3 Parting ring 4 Hand 5 Dial 6 Movement 7 Watch case 10 Flexible printed board 11 First electrode 12 Photovoltaic layer 13 Second electrode 14 Protective film 21 Wavelength conversion film 22 Semi-transmissive Film 23 metal thin film 24 fine particles 30 solar cell 40 light guide ring

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A ring-shaped solar cell comprising a ring-shaped solar cell and a parting ring, wherein the solar cell having a predetermined shape is disposed on at least one surface of a cylindrical substrate, and a light incident direction of the ring-shaped solar cell is changed. It faces the center of the clock, and is arranged upright along the outer edge of the time display body that displays the time of the clock, the parting ring has translucency, and A solar battery timepiece which is arranged outside a display area of a time display body on a center side of the timepiece. 2. A dimming shape, an embossing shape, or a pyramidal shape, wherein one of a light-collecting surface, which is an end surface on the clock center side of the front parting ring, and a light-guiding surface, which is an end surface facing the ring-shaped solar cell, is formed. The solar cell timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the solar cell timepiece has a structure as described above. 3. The solar cell timepiece according to claim 1, wherein a semi-transmissive film is formed on a daylighting surface or a light extraction surface of the front parting ring. 4. The sun according to claim 1, wherein a wavelength conversion layer capable of converting ultraviolet light into visible light is formed on a light-collecting surface or a light-outgoing surface of the front parting ring. Battery clock. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a metal thin film having a high light reflectance in a visible light region is formed on an end face of the front parting ring which is in contact with the time indicator. A solar clock as described. 6. An end face of the front parting ring which is in contact with the time display body and both end faces of the end face facing the windshield are covered with a metal thin film having a high light reflectivity even in a visible light region. The solar cell clock according to any one of the range 1 to 5. 7. The sun according to claim 1, wherein fine particles having a higher refractive index than the member used for the front parting ring are dispersed in the parting ring. Battery clock. 8. The solar cell according to claim 1, wherein fine particles having a wavelength conversion function capable of converting ultraviolet light into visible light are dispersed in the front parting ring. Battery clock. 9. A time display body comprising a timepiece dial or a liquid crystal display panel.
The solar cell clock according to any one of the above items.