JP2008164315A - Led display watch and led display method of same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the readability of display information by manually or automatically responding to any held state of a watch. <P>SOLUTION: The watch includes both a display part D in which LEDs 26 are arranged in a dot-matrix state and a control part for displaying display information such as time etc. through the use of the LEDs in a state of rotation manually or automatically selected from among several states of rotation by a minimum unit of an angle of about 30° rotated on the center of the display part covered with windscreen glass 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an LED display portable watch such as an LED display wristwatch that displays a time, a date, a day of the week, a remaining battery level, and other information using a plurality of LEDs provided inside a windshield glass, and such an LED. The present invention relates to an LED display method for displaying information using LEDs in a display portable timepiece.

  Conventionally, a wristwatch usually displays time, month, day, and other display information with the 12 o'clock position in the analog display directly above. For example, when the display information is long, there is a case where the whole can be displayed by scrolling in a certain direction.

However, if the information display direction is fixed,
1) The display information was difficult to read unless the orientation was changed so that the display direction was up and down, such as when it was not worn. Especially in the case of images, marks, etc., it was difficult to grasp if they were not correctly oriented vertically.
2) Even when worn on the arm, the display information is slanted and difficult to read, for example, when holding the handle of a bicycle or motorcycle. Some bicycles and motorcycles have an information display that is slanted from the beginning. However, in such a watch, the display information is slanted in a normal state and is difficult to discern.
3) When showing it to someone else wearing it on the arm, the information display was reversed and the display was difficult for the other person to read.

  Among conventional technologies, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, the directivity is narrow due to the characteristics of being mounted on instruments, but the long-life liquid crystal is used, and the viewing direction is changed by changing the mounting angle. There is a dot matrix liquid crystal display device provided with an attachment mechanism that changes the direction of the display and a display direction conversion means that changes the display direction of characters, images, etc. on the dot matrix to an angle that is n times 90 degrees.

  However, in this apparatus, there is no need to rotate the display direction after the instrument is attached, and the change angle of the display direction is limited to n times 90 degrees. Unlike a wristwatch, there is no requirement to freely rotate the display direction whenever necessary, and it has also been difficult to easily rotate the display direction at an arbitrary angle.

  For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, some conventional wristwatches include a display drive circuit that can turn display information upside down, and can be worn on either the left or right arm by turning the display information upside down. Some of them make reading information easier to read.

JP 2001-13383 A JP 2002-148375 A

  However, in the wristwatch as described in Patent Document 2, the rotation angle in the display direction is fixed at 180 degrees, so that the display information is still slanted, for example, when a bicycle or a motorcycle handle is held. There was a problem that it was difficult to read.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to facilitate interpretation of display information manually or automatically when a portable timepiece is held in any state.

  In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 is an LED display portable timepiece such as an LED display wristwatch, wherein a display unit in which LEDs are arranged in a dot matrix state and an LED are used, and the display unit is provided around its center. And a control unit for displaying display information such as time in a rotational state selected manually or automatically from among several rotational states of about 30 degrees minimum.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the LED display portable timepiece according to the first aspect, when the LED is placed in a dot matrix state and the LED on the circuit board is covered and the LED is turned on And a dial that transmits the lit display, and an analog movement that displays an analog time by driving a pointer on the dial.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the LED display portable timepiece according to the first or second aspect, an external operation member such as a switch for manually selecting a rotation state of the display information is provided in a timepiece case, for example. It is characterized by.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the LED display portable timepiece according to the third aspect, the external operation member is a bezel that is attached to a timepiece case and is provided so as to be rotatable around a windshield glass. A mark indicating the display direction is attached by printing or engraving.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the LED display portable timepiece according to the first or second aspect, a gravity sensor or an acceleration sensor is mounted, and the display information is in a rotational state automatically selected based on a signal from the sensor. Is displayed.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the LED display portable timepiece according to the first or second aspect, at 12 o'clock, the display information is displayed with the position of the 12 o'clock position of the display unit directly above, and one hour has elapsed. The display information is rotated 30 degrees clockwise every time, and the display information is displayed in an automatically selected rotation state.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in the LED display method for a portable timepiece, the LED unit arranged in a dot matrix state is used to rotate the display unit around its center, and several rotational states of about 30 degrees minimum unit. The display information such as the time can be displayed in the rotation state selected manually or automatically from the inside.

  According to the present invention, the display information can be displayed in the rotation state selected manually or automatically from among the several rotation states rotated around the center on the display unit. Even when the display information is held, the display information can be read easily by matching the vertical direction of the display information with the direction of the line of sight manually or automatically. In particular, it is possible to easily read images and marks that are difficult to grasp in an inclined state.

  And since LED is used for a display, there is no directivity like a liquid crystal and the visibility from which direction can be made favorable. Further, since a backlight for night display as in the case of liquid crystal is not required, the circuit configuration can be simplified. Furthermore, there is an advantage that the brightness, color, and current consumption of the display can be easily changed by changing to an LED having different characteristics.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, along with the analog time display, time, date, day of week, remaining battery level, and other display information can be displayed on the display unit, thereby increasing the commercial value. And since display information is displayed using LED, it can also be read at night.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, since the rotation state of the display information is manually selected by an external operation, the display information is displayed on the display unit in a desired rotation state by manually selecting only when necessary. Can do.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the rotation state of the display information is manually selected by rotating the bezel, the bezel is rotated only when necessary without providing an extra dedicated external operation member. Then, it can be manually selected and display information can be displayed on the display unit in a desired rotation state. By attaching a mark indicating the display direction of the display information to the bezel, the display direction of the display information can be intuitively grasped from the position of the mark.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, since the display information is displayed in the automatically selected rotation state based on the signal from the sensor, the rotation state is automatically selected on the display unit without troublesome external operation. Display information can be displayed. For example, the display information can be displayed in an easy-to-read state by simply pointing the watch at another person. When the watch is not attached, the watch is tilted and displayed according to the held state. By rotating the information, it is possible to display the display information in a state that is always easy to read.

  According to the invention of claim 6, at 12 o'clock, display information is displayed with the 12 o'clock position of the display unit directly above, and then rotated clockwise by 30 degrees every hour, Since the display information is displayed in the automatically selected rotation state, it is possible to know "hour" from the inclination of the display information, and if only "minute" is displayed as the display information, "hour and minute" can be known. . Thereby, when displaying the time, only two digits for displaying “minute” are required, and the number of display digits can be reduced to increase the display character, thereby making it easy to read. In addition, as a derived effect, it is possible to increase the design effect by expanding the variations of time display and diversifying the time display.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an analog wristwatch capable of displaying time, date, day of the week, remaining battery level, and other display information as an example of the LED display portable timepiece according to the present invention. (A) shows the front of the watch, and (B) shows the internal structure of the watch.

  Reference numeral 10 in the figure denotes a watch case that houses a module therein. A windshield glass 12 having a round outer shape is attached to the front side (front side) of the watch case 10, and an annular bezel 13 is attached around the windshield 12. A back cover 14 is attached to the back side. On the right side, a crown 15 is provided at the 3 o'clock position, a first switch 16 is provided around the 2 o'clock position, and a second switch 17 is provided around the 4 o'clock position.

  The watch case 10 has an analog movement 20. On the back side of the analog movement 20, a lithium battery 22 is disposed so as to be replaceable. On the other hand, a circuit board 23 is provided on the front side of the analog movement 20. On the circuit board 23, a microcomputer 24 and an electronic component 25 constituting a control unit are attached on the back side, and a plurality of LEDs 26 are attached on the front side. As shown in FIG. 1A, the plurality of LEDs 26 are arranged in a dot matrix state on the circuit board 23 to constitute the display unit D.

  A dial plate 27 is provided on the front side covering the LEDs 26 arranged in a dot matrix state. The dial plate 27 is configured such that only when the LED 26 is lit, the lit display can be seen and viewed from the front side. FIG. 1A shows the arrangement state of the LEDs 26, but the LEDs 26 are actually hidden by the dial 27 so that they cannot be seen. On the front side of the dial plate 27, although not shown, hands such as an hour hand, a minute hand and a second hand are provided.

  The analog movement 20 drives the hands on the dial 27 to display analog time, and selectively lights up the plurality of LEDs 27 to display information. That is, during normal times, the display unit is turned off, and when the first switch 16 is pushed, the display unit displays the time, date, day of the week, the remaining battery level of the lithium battery 22 and other information as a lighting state. Is selectively performed as appropriate. As shown in FIG. 2 (A), the display information is normally displayed with the 12 o'clock position of the dial 27 positioned directly above, and when the data to be displayed is long, it is automatically or appropriately operated from right to left. Scroll to enable full display.

  Now, when the second switch 17 is pushed once in the illustrated timepiece, the display information is displayed rotated about 30 degrees to the right (clockwise) as shown in FIG. 2B. When the push operation is performed twice, as shown in FIG. 2C, the image is rotated about 60 degrees to the right and displayed. When the push operation is performed three times, as shown in FIG. 2D, the image is rotated about 90 degrees to the right and displayed.

  That is, by pushing the second switch 17 as an external operation member, the LED 27 is used to display the time and the like in a rotation state selected from several rotation states rotated around its center on the display unit. Information can be displayed. The rotation angle of the display information is preferably about 30 degrees as a minimum unit.

  In the above example, the second switch 17 is used as the external operation member for manually selecting the rotation state of the display information. However, the bezel 13 attached to the watch case 10 is provided around the windshield 12 so as to be externally operated. It may be used as a member. As shown in FIG. 3A, the bezel 13 is provided with a mark 18 indicating the display direction of the display information.

  When the bezel 13 is rotated 90 degrees to the right, the mark 18 becomes the 3 o'clock position of the dial 27 as shown in FIG. 3 (B), and the 3 o'clock position is turned up and the 9 o'clock position is turned down. Display information can be displayed in the state. When the bezel 13 is rotated 120 degrees to the right, as shown in FIG. 3 (C), the mark 18 becomes the 4 o'clock position of the dial 27, and the 4 o'clock position is up and the 10 o'clock position is down. Display information can be displayed. When the bezel 13 is rotated 300 degrees to the right, as shown in FIG. 3 (D), the mark 18 becomes the 10 o'clock position of the dial 27, and conversely, the 10 o'clock position is turned up and the 4 o'clock position is lowered. Display information can be displayed in the state.

  In this way, by rotating the bezel 13 and manually selecting the rotation state of the display information, the bezel 13 can be manually rotated only when necessary without providing an extra dedicated external operation member. The display information can be displayed on the display unit D in a desired rotation state. By attaching the mark 18 indicating the display direction of the display information to the bezel 13, it is possible to intuitively grasp the display direction of the display information from the position of the mark 18.

  By the way, in the above example, the display information is displayed on the display unit in the manually selected rotation state. However, when displayed in the automatically selected rotation state, the rotation state is automatically selected and displayed without troublesome external operation. Display information can be displayed in part D. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a gravity sensor 28 is attached to the back side of the circuit board 23 together with the microcomputer 24 and the electronic component 25. Then, display information is displayed on the display unit D in a rotation state automatically selected based on a signal from the gravity sensor 28.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), when the watch is tilted 45 degrees to the left (counterclockwise), the display information is rotated 45 degrees to the right and displayed in a direction that is rotated in the vertical direction. Is done. As shown in FIG. 5B, when the watch is tilted 90 degrees to the left, the display information is displayed with the direction rotated 45 degrees to the right and rotated in the vertical direction.

  The gravity sensor 28 is not particularly specified, and the one proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-260204 is used. An acceleration sensor can be used instead of the gravity sensor.

  The display information can also be displayed in a rotation state automatically selected based on the time information. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, at 12 o'clock, the display information is displayed with the 12 o'clock position of the display unit D positioned directly above. Then, as shown in FIGS. 6B, 6C, and 6D, the display information is displayed in the automatically selected rotation state by rotating 30 degrees clockwise as shown in FIGS.

  In this way, it is possible to know “hour” from the inclination of the display information, and “hour” can be known if only “minute” is displayed as the display information. Thereby, when displaying the time, only two digits for displaying “minute” are required, and the number of display digits can be reduced to increase the display character, thereby making it easy to read.

  For example, in FIG. 6A, it is known from the inclination of the display information that the time is “12 o'clock”, the display information is known as “10 minutes”, and the time is eventually “12:10”. I can know that. Similarly, in FIG. 6B, it is known that it is “1:10”, in FIG. 6C it is known that it is “2:10”, and in FIG. You can know that it is "10 minutes".

  As described above, according to the present invention, the display information can be displayed in the rotation state selected manually or automatically from the several rotation states rotated around the center thereof on the display unit D. When held in any state, the display information can be read easily by matching the vertical direction of the display information with the direction of the line of sight, manually or automatically. In particular, it is possible to easily read images and marks that are difficult to grasp in an inclined state.

As an example of the LED display portable timepiece according to the present invention, an analog wristwatch capable of displaying display information on a display unit is shown, (A) is a front view, and (B) is an internal configuration diagram. (A) is a normal display, (B) thru | or (D) is a front view which shows the display state when operating the 1st switch once, operating twice, and operating three times. (A) is a normal display of another example, and (B) to (D) are front views showing display states when the bezel is rotated 90 degrees, 120 degrees, and 300 degrees to the right. It is an internal block diagram of the analog wristwatch when a gravity sensor of still another example is mounted. (A) is a front view showing a display state when the watch is tilted 45 degrees to the left and (B) is tilted 90 degrees. Still another example, (A) is 12:10, (B) is 1:10, (C) is 2:10, and (D) is a front view showing a display state at 3:10. is there.

Explanation of symbols

10 watch case 12 windshield 13 bezel 14 back cover 15 crown 16 first switch 17 second switch (external operation member)
18 mark 20 analog movement 22 lithium battery 23 circuit board 24 microcomputer (control unit)
25 Electronic components 26 LED
27 Dial 28 Gravity sensor D Display

Claims (7)

  Display unit that arranges LEDs in a dot matrix state, and display information in a rotation state selected manually or automatically from among several rotation states rotated around the center of the display unit using the LED. An LED display portable timepiece comprising a control unit for displaying.   A circuit board in which the LEDs are arranged in a dot matrix state, the LED on the circuit board is provided, and a dial that transmits the lighted display only when the LED is lit, and on the dial 2. The LED display portable timepiece according to claim 1, further comprising an analog movement for driving the hands to display an analog time.   The LED display portable timepiece according to claim 1, further comprising an external operation member that manually selects a rotation state of the display information.   The external operation member is a bezel attached to a watch case and rotatably provided around a windshield glass, and a mark indicating a display direction of the display information is attached to the bezel. LED display portable clock of description.   The LED display portable timepiece according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a gravity sensor or an acceleration sensor is mounted and the display information is displayed in a rotation state automatically selected based on a signal from the sensor. .   At 12 o'clock, the display information is displayed with the 12 o'clock position of the display section directly above, and the display information is rotated in the clockwise direction by 30 degrees every hour, and the display information is automatically rotated. The LED display portable timepiece according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by being displayed.   Using LEDs arranged in a dot matrix state, display information can be displayed in a rotation state selected manually or automatically from several rotation states rotated around its center on the display unit. LED display method for portable watch.

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