JP2004309475A - Clock with built-in antenna and manufacturing method of the clock - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a clock antenna with built-in equipped with a dial plate, having the same texture as a metal dial and will not shield radio waves, and to provide its measurement method. <P>SOLUTION: In this clock, the dial plate 16 is formed in such a manner that a metal film 22 is provided on the entire surface corresponding to a decorative face of a substrate 21, made of a nonconductive material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a timepiece with a built-in antenna and a method of manufacturing the timepiece.

  2. Description of the Related Art In a timepiece having an antenna such as a radio-controlled timepiece, there is known a timepiece in which a clock module and an antenna are arranged on the back side of a dial. In this type of watch with a built-in antenna, the dial is made of a non-conductive material such as plastic so that the radio wave is not blocked by the dial, so that the radio wave can pass through the dial and be received by the antenna. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2001-33571 (FIG. 1)

  However, a dial made of a non-conductive material has a problem that it is inferior in texture and luxury compared to a metal dial.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the conventional technology, and to provide a timepiece with a built-in antenna and a timepiece with an antenna having a texture similar to that of a metal dial and not blocking radio waves. It is intended to provide a manufacturing method.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a timepiece with a built-in antenna in which a timepiece module and an antenna are arranged on the back side of the timepiece, wherein the timepiece includes a substrate made of a non-conductive material, A metal body provided on the entire surface of the board corresponding to the decorative surface of the dial, and formed to a thickness such that radio waves can pass through and be received by the antenna. According to this configuration, the dial has the same texture as the metal dial and can transmit radio waves.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first aspect, the metal body is a metal film. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the second aspect, in the dial, the metal material has a concave and convex pattern formed by hot-pressing a mold having the concave and convex pattern. And

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a timepiece with a built-in antenna, in which a timepiece module and an antenna are arranged on the back side of the timepiece, wherein the faceplate has a thickness through which radio waves can be received by the antenna. The heat transfer film on which the formed metal film and the adhesive layer are laminated at least is superimposed on the thermoplastic decorative surface of the substrate made of a non-conductive material via the adhesive layer, and in this state, the uneven pattern is formed. It is characterized by being manufactured by hot pressing a mold material having the same onto the thermal transfer film, affixing it to the surface to be decorated, and transferring an uneven pattern. According to this configuration, it is possible to manufacture a timepiece that has a texture similar to that of a metal dial and has a dial that transmits radio waves.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a timepiece with a built-in antenna and a method of manufacturing the timepiece, which has a texture similar to that of a metal dial and does not block radio waves.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, as a timepiece with a built-in antenna, a long-wave standard radio wave (Japanese JJY: 40 kHz / 60 kHz, American WWVB: 60 kHz, German DCF 77: 77.5 kHz) is received, and the time is corrected based on the received signal. An example of a radio controlled watch will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a radio-controlled timepiece 1 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the radio-controlled timepiece 1, and FIG. FIG. The radio-controlled timepiece 1 includes a timepiece main body 10 for displaying time and a band 20 connected to the timepiece main body 10. In the present embodiment, as an example of the radio-controlled timepiece 1, an analog timepiece that displays time by an hour hand is illustrated, but a digital timepiece that digitally displays time by using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or an organic EL (Electro Luminescent). May be.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the timepiece main body 10 includes a timepiece module 11 that realizes a timekeeping function, an antenna 12 for receiving a long-wave standard radio wave, and a case (also referred to as a “body”) that houses the timepiece module 11 and the antenna 12. 13), a cover glass 14 covering the upper surface of the case 13, and a back cover 15 covering the bottom surface of the case 13. Further, the radio-controlled timepiece 1 has a configuration in which a dial 16 for displaying time is arranged between the timepiece module 11 and the cover glass 14. FIG. 2 shows a II section in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the antenna 12 includes an amorphous material formed by laminating several tens of metal foils or a core (bar) 12a made of a ferromagnetic material such as ferrite around a core (bar) 12a. This is a bar antenna formed by winding the lead wire 12b in a coil shape. The antenna 12 is connected to the coil-shaped lead wire 12b by electromagnetic induction according to the time variation of a long-wave standard radio wave (specifically, a magnetic field component of the long-wave standard radio wave) penetrating each of both end faces 12c and 12d of the core 12a. An induced electromotive force (induced electromotive voltage) is generated. Then, a change in the potential at both ends of the coil due to the induced electromotive force is detected as a received signal. Note that the antenna 12 may be an antenna other than the bar antenna.

  Here, since the antenna 12 is disposed on the back side of the dial 16, if the dial 16 is made of a metal material which is a conductive material, radio waves from the outside are blocked by the dial 16, and You can no longer receive radio waves from the side. In this case, if the dial 16 is made of a non-conductive material such as plastic, radio waves can pass through the dial 16 and reach the antenna 12, but the sense of quality is impaired as compared with a metal dial. I will.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the dial 16 is configured as follows. FIG. 4 is a side view of the dial 16. As shown in the figure, the dial 16 is configured such that a metal film 22 is provided on one surface side of a substrate 21 made of a non-conductive material such as plastic or glass. More specifically, the dial 16 is finished by printing numbers and characters (pad (octopus) printing) and implanting abbreviations (typesetting) on the metal film 22. Here, the metal material is generally treated as a member that does not transmit radio waves. However, since the metal film 22 is thin, it can transmit radio waves. Thus, the radio-controlled timepiece 1 is configured so that radio waves can pass through the dial 16 and be received by the antenna 12.

  The metal film 22 is adhered to the substrate 21 with an adhesive. When a complicated uneven pattern is applied to the dial 16 to give a three-dimensional effect, the dial 16 is manufactured by a method described below. Is preferred. Here, FIGS. 5A to 5E are process cross-sectional views schematically showing a method of forming a concavo-convex pattern.

  When manufacturing the dial 16, first, as shown in FIG. 5A, a thermoplastic resin layer (decorated surface) 21 a is formed on the surface of the substrate 21. For the thermoplastic resin layer 21a, a resin having a plastic temperature in a range of about 60 ° C. to about 200 ° C. is selected. For example, an epoxy resin, an acrylic resin, a polyurethane resin, an alkyd resin, a vinyl resin, an olefin resin Paints and inks such as resin are applied. The thickness of the thermoplastic resin layer 21a is set according to the roughness of the concavo-convex pattern, and is set to about 5 μm for a fine pattern, and to about 100 μm for a coarse pattern. In this embodiment, since a non-conductive material is used for the substrate 21, when the material of the substrate 21 satisfies the above conditions, it is not necessary to newly provide the thermoplastic resin layer 21 a.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, after the thermal transfer film 30 is overlaid on the surface of the thermoplastic resin layer 21a of the substrate 21, the surface is pressed by a heated roller 40 or the like. Here, the thermal transfer film 30 has a release processing layer 30b having a thickness of about 0.02 μm and a colored reflection layer 30c (corresponding to the metal film 22) on one side of a base film 30a having a thickness of about 12 μm to about 25 μm. ), An adhesive layer 30d having a thickness of about 2 μm is laminated, and these laminates are manufactured in a long form and supplied in a roll form, for example.

  The colored reflective layer 30c (corresponding to the metal film 22) has a multilayer structure of a TiN layer (titanium nitride layer) and an AL layer (aluminum layer) having a thickness of about 0.05 μm to about 0.5 μm, for example. Color tone. Here, the colored reflective layer 30c is set to a relatively thick value from about 0.05 μm to about 0.5 μm. However, if the colored reflective layer 30c is too thick, when transferring an uneven pattern described later, Since the uneven pattern does not fit into the colored reflective layer 30c and the fine uneven pattern is less likely to be faithfully transferred, the thickness is set to an optimum value according to the desired color tone, the material used, and the transferred uneven pattern. The colored reflective layer 30c is made of Zr (zirconium), Nb (niobium), Co (cobalt), Pt (platinum), Pd (palladium), In (indium), V (vanadium), in addition to Tin and Al. Metals such as Cr (chromium), Ag (silver), Au (gold), Si (silicon), and alloys or compounds thereof formed in a single layer or a multi-layer can be constituted. The selection is made according to the quality required for parts to be manufactured, such as strength, weather resistance, and manufacturing cost. The colored reflective layer 30c can be formed by an ion plating method, a sputtering method, or the like, in addition to the evaporation method.

  The release treatment layer 30b is a treatment layer applied to the base film 30a, and is formed for the purpose of enhancing the releasability of the base film 30a. The adhesive layer 30d has a temperature characteristic corresponding to the plastic temperature of the thermoplastic resin layer 21a.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the base film 30a of the thermal transfer film 30 is peeled off. As a result, a state in which the release processing layer 30b, the colored reflective layer 30c, and the adhesive layer 30d are transferred to the substrate 21 side is obtained.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5D, the thermal transfer film 30 from which the base film 30a has been peeled off is hot pressed with the mold 41. Here, the pressing surface 42 of the mold 41 is provided with a fine uneven pattern of about several μm (for example, 1 μm to 2 μm), so that after the mold 41 is pressed, the fine uneven pattern is colored. The image is transferred to the reflective layer 30c, the adhesive layer 30d, and the thermoplastic resin layer 21a. At this time, since the release treatment layer 30b is provided on the surface of the colored reflection layer 30c, the mold material 41 has good mold release properties. However, if the temperature of the mold material 41 during the hot pressing is too high, the release processing layer 30b may seize on the pressing surface 42 of the mold material 41. Set temperature conditions. As described above, since the thick base film 30a is peeled off before the thermal transfer film 30 is hot-pressed with the mold material 41, the thin thermal transfer film 30 is hot-pressed. It can be faithfully transferred.

  Thereafter, a finishing process such as engraving of a clock abbreviation (typesetting) is performed on the surface of the substrate 21 on which the fine concavo-convex pattern is formed, and the dial 16 is manufactured. This makes it possible to manufacture the dial 16 having a metallic texture and a fine three-dimensional pattern and a high-quality feel.

  Next, the configuration of the timepiece module 11 of the radio-controlled timepiece 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a view showing a hand movement mechanism which is a component of the timepiece module 11.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the hand movement mechanism is a mechanism that drives each of a second hand 71, a minute hand 72, and an hour hand 73. As shown in the figure, the second wheel 74, the second wheel 75, and the hour wheel 76 are driven. It has a train wheel configured to interlock with each other. One end of a second hand 71 is attached to the rotating shaft of the second wheel 74, and one end of a minute hand 72 is attached to the rotating shaft of the second wheel 75. Furthermore, one end of an hour hand 73 is attached to the rotation shaft of the hour wheel 76. The second wheel 74 is driven to rotate by a second motor 25 described later, and this rotation is transmitted to a second wheel 75 and an hour wheel 76, whereby each of the second hand 71, the minute hand 72, and the hour hand 73 is driven, and each of the time hands is set. Point.

On the surface of the second indicator 74, a magnetic body magnetized with a specific magnetic information pattern is attached along a circular orbit around the rotation axis of the second indicator 74. Further, in order to determine the position (rotation angle) of the second hand 71, a second hand detection element 741 that reads this magnetic information pattern is fixed so that the magnetic body on the surface of the second wheel 74 faces the detection surface. Similarly, a magnetic material is also attached to the second wheel & pinion 75 and the hour wheel 76, and the minute hand detecting element 751 is fixed to face the magnetic material attached to the second wheel & pinion 75, and attached to the hour wheel & pinion 76. The hour hand detection element 761 is fixed so as to face the magnetic material provided.
Each of the second hand detecting element 741, the minute hand detecting element 751, and the hour hand detecting element 761 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the read magnetic information pattern to an IC chip (not shown) of the timepiece module 11. The IC chip includes a circuit for determining the current pointer positions of the second hand 71, the minute hand 72, and the hour hand 73 based on the detection signals from the second hand detecting element 741, the minute hand detecting element 751, and the hour hand detecting element 761, respectively. And a circuit for performing various processes such as drive control of the mechanism and time correction based on the long-wave standard radio wave.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the timepiece module 11. In this figure, an oscillation unit 210, a reception processing unit 220, a control unit 23, and a drive unit 24 are circuits formed on the above-described IC chip. The oscillation unit 210 is connected to the crystal oscillator 211, generates a reference pulse having a predetermined frequency, divides the reference pulse to generate a divided pulse, and combines the divided pulse and the reference pulse. A pulse signal having different pulse widths and edge generation timings is generated and supplied to the control unit 23.

  The reception processing unit 220 obtains current time information included in the long-wave standard time signal from the analog reception signal from the antenna 12. More specifically, the reception processing unit 220 obtains a time code indicating the current time information from the analog reception signal from the antenna 12, and includes minute information indicating the current minute included in the time code and indicating the current time. The control unit 23 is notified of the time information and the day information indicating the current date (the total date from January 1 of the year). In addition, the reception processing unit 220 switches a tuning capacitor connected to the antenna 12 by an analog switch or the like based on a switching control signal from the control unit 23, and switches the reception frequency, so that a plurality of stations (for example, JJY Fukushima station) It is possible to select a receiving station from among 40 kHz, JJY Kyushu station 60 kHz, etc.).

  The control section 23 centrally controls each section of the timepiece module 11. The control section 23 includes a reception control circuit section 41, a drive control circuit section 42, a second counter circuit 43, and an hour / minute counter circuit 44. Further, the second counter circuit 43 includes a second position counter 431, a second time counter 432, and a second coincidence detection circuit 433. The hour / minute counter circuit 44 includes an hour / minute position counter 441, an hour / minute time counter 442, and an hour / minute coincidence. A detection circuit 443 is provided. The drive control circuit unit 42 is a circuit that generates a drive pulse signal that is a signal for moving the second hand, the minute hand, and the hour hand based on various pulse signals output from the oscillation unit 210. Normally, the drive control circuit unit 42 outputs a pulse signal for advancing the second hand in a one-second cycle, and outputs a pulse signal for advancing the minute hand in a one-minute cycle. On the other hand, when correcting the display time, the drive control circuit unit 42 outputs a pulse signal for fast-forwarding each pointer display position in a cycle shorter than usual.

The drive unit 24 includes a second drive circuit 31 and an hour / minute drive circuit 32. The second drive circuit 31 is a circuit that operates the second motor 25 that drives the second hand based on various drive pulses supplied from the drive control circuit unit 42 in the control unit 23. The hour / minute drive circuit 32 is a circuit that operates the hour / minute motor 26, which is a motor for driving the minute hand, based on various drive pulses supplied from the drive control circuit unit 42. Although only the second motor 25 is illustrated in the description with reference to FIG. 6, a description is given here of a configuration having two motors, the second motor 25 and the hour / minute motor 26. With the two-motor configuration, the second hand and the minute hand can be driven independently of each other, so that there is an advantage that the time required for moving the hand position for time correction can be shortened.
The second motor 25 and the hour / minute motor 26 are so-called stepping motors. The battery 27 supplies power to the timepiece module 11. The battery 27 is a coin-type primary battery such as a lithium battery or a silver battery. When power is generated by a solar panel or the like, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery is used as the battery 27 (see FIG. 3).

  Here, the correction operation of the display time based on the time code is performed by the reception control circuit unit 41, the second counter circuit 43, and the hour / minute counter circuit 44 under the control of the drive control circuit unit 42. More specifically, when the time code is supplied, the reception control circuit unit 41 generates two data, data corresponding to seconds and data corresponding to hours and minutes, based on the time code, and indicates the second. The data is set as the initial value of the second time counter 432 in the second counter circuit 43, and the data indicating the hour and minute is set as the initial value of the hour / minute time counter 442 of the hour / minute counter circuit 44.

  Then, the second time counter 432 increments the value set as the initial value in a one-second cycle in synchronization with the one-second cycle pulse from the oscillator 210, and counts the result as current second data indicating the current second. Output to the second coincidence detection circuit 433. Similarly, the hour-minute time counter 442 increments the value set as the initial value in one-minute cycles in synchronization with the one-minute pulse from the oscillator 210, and counts the count result to the current hour, minute, and current. The data is output to the hour / minute coincidence detection circuit 443 as data.

  Thereafter, the drive control circuit unit 42 obtains the time indicated by the second hand, the minute hand, and the hour hand by reading a magnetic information pattern (not shown) of the hand movement mechanism, and obtains data representing the second in the second counter circuit 43. As an initial value of the second position counter 431, data representing the hour and minute is set as an initial value of the hour / minute position counter 441 in the hour / minute counter circuit 44, respectively. The second position counter 431 in which the initial value is set increments the value in a one-second cycle, and outputs the value to the second coincidence detection circuit 433 as display second data indicating the second. Similarly, the hour / minute position counter 441 increments the value in one-minute cycles, and outputs the value to the hour / minute match detection circuit 443 as display hour / minute data indicating the hour / minute.

  Then, the drive control circuit unit 42 starts a current time return operation for adjusting the display time to the current time. First, the drive control circuit unit 42 performs an operation of sending a fast-forward pulse for second drive to the second drive circuit 31 and the second position counter 431 of the drive unit 24, and outputs a fast-forward pulse for hour and minute drive to the hour and minute drive circuit of the drive unit 24. The operation of sending the data to the H.32 and hour / minute position counter 441 is started. Accordingly, the second position counter 431 starts counting fast-forward pulses for second driving, and the hour-minute position counter 441 starts counting fast-forward pulses for hour and minute driving.

As a result, the fast-forward of the second hand, minute hand and hour hand is advanced, and the displayed second data gradually approaches the value of the current second data, and the displayed hour and minute data gradually approaches the current hour and minute data. Then, the coincidence between the value of the displayed second data and the value of the current second data is detected by the second coincidence detecting circuit 433, and the coincidence between the value of the displayed hour and minute data and the value of the current hour and minute data is detected by the hour and minute coincidence detecting circuit 443. Upon detection, the drive control circuit unit 42 stops outputting fast-forward pulses for second drive and hour and minute drive, outputs normal drive pulses, and completes the time correction operation based on the time code.
FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the thickness of the metal film 22 and the deterioration in reception sensitivity. This graph was created by using the radio-controlled timepiece 1 of the above embodiment, using a dial made of only the substrate 21 of a non-conductive material, and measuring the radio wave reception sensitivity, and using this as a reference value. Next, in forming the metal film 22 on the surface of the substrate 21, a dial having a different thickness of the metal film 22 is prepared, and the reception sensitivity of the antenna 12 is measured in the same manner as described above and compared with the reference value. Thereby, the sensitivity degradation [dB] was calculated. As a result, the relationship between the thickness of the metal film 22 and the sensitivity degradation was confirmed. The metal films 22 in this evaluation are all Cu (copper), and are formed on the surface of the substrate 21 by transfer as in the above embodiment. As a result, when the thickness of the metal film 22 was 5 μm or less, the sensitivity degradation was 1 [dB] or less, and when the thickness was 2.5 μm or less, the sensitivity degradation was hardly observed. Therefore, it is understood that when the metal film 22 has a thickness of 2.5 μm or less, the reception performance of the radio timepiece does not deteriorate at all.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the metal plate 22 is provided on the dial 16 by providing the metal film 22 on the entire surface corresponding to the decorative surface of the substrate 21 made of a non-conductive material. It is possible to provide a dial having the same texture as that of the dial and capable of transmitting radio waves. Thus, in the radio-controlled timepiece 1 according to the present embodiment, the dial 16 has the same texture as the metal dial, so that the sense of quality is improved and the dial 16 transmits radio waves. The sensitivity does not decrease.

  The above-described embodiments merely show one aspect of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the dial 16 is formed by providing the metal film 22 on the substrate 21 has been described. The formed metal body may be provided.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as an example of a clock with a built-in antenna, a radio clock that receives a long-wave standard radio wave is illustrated. However, the present invention can be applied to any clock or the like as long as the clock has a built-in antenna. it can. For example, a clock that receives a radio wave in the 125 kHz band to realize an RF-ID (Radio Frequency Identification) function, a clock that receives a radio wave in the 457 kHz band to realize a beacon function, a clock that realizes an AM radio function, or The present invention can be widely applied to electronic devices incorporating a clock.

It is a figure showing the appearance composition of the radio controlled timepiece concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the same radio timepiece. It is a figure showing the state where the timepiece body of the same radio timepiece removed the back lid. It is a side view of the dial of the same radio timepiece. (A) thru | or (e) are process sectional drawing which shows typically the uneven | corrugated pattern formation method of the dial of this radio timepiece. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hand movement mechanism that is a component of a timepiece module of the radio timepiece. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the timepiece module of the same radio timepiece. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the thickness of a metal film and the deterioration of reception sensitivity.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Radio clock, 10 ... Clock body, 11 ... Clock module, 12 ... Antenna, 13 ... Case, 14 ... Cover glass, 15 ... Back cover, 16 ... Dial, 21 ... Substrate, 22 ... Metal film

Claims (4)

In a watch with a built-in antenna where a clock module and an antenna are arranged on the back side of the dial,
The dial is a substrate made of a non-conductive material and a metal body provided on the entire surface of the substrate corresponding to the decorative surface of the dial, and formed to a thickness through which radio waves can be received by the antenna. And a clock with a built-in antenna.   The timepiece with a built-in antenna according to claim 1, wherein the metal body is a metal film.   3. The timepiece with a built-in antenna according to claim 2, wherein the dial has a concave-convex pattern formed by hot-pressing a mold material having a concave-convex pattern on the metal film. 4. In a method of manufacturing a watch with a built-in antenna in which a watch module and an antenna are arranged on the back side of a dial,
The dial is a heat-transfer film on which at least a metal film and an adhesive layer formed so that a radio wave can pass and can be received by the antenna are coated with a non-conductive material. Are laminated via the adhesive layer, and in this state, the mold material having the concavo-convex pattern is hot-pressed on the thermal transfer film, attached to the surface to be decorated, and transferred by transferring the concavo-convex pattern. Manufacturing method of a watch with a built-in antenna.

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