JP2008211719A - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device in which an antenna is configured that has radiation strength in one of two opposite directions and does not have the radiation strength in the other direction, and information received via the antenna is displayed. <P>SOLUTION: A radio clock 10 includes: a conductive case 150 having a reference surface; a display window 100 of a transparent dielectric body including a counter surface opposed to the reference surface; a metal pattern 110A as a feeding conductor which is circulated while being spaced apart from the reference surface for a predetermined distance between the reference surface and the counter surface; an information processing unit 144 for acquiring predetermined information from a radio wave received by the metal pattern 110A; and a display driving unit 146 in which a display area is formed between the metal pattern 110A and the reference surface and the predetermined information is displayed on the relevant display area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device that receives radio waves and displays information.

  An antenna device that receives radio waves by attaching an antenna on a dielectric surface such as glass is known. Such an antenna is affixed to a windshield of an automobile as shown in Patent Document 1 below, and is connected to an in-vehicle radio to receive FM broadcasts. As is well known, since FM broadcasting is transmitted using a radio wave having a frequency in the ultra-short frequency band as a carrier wave, the directivity of propagation is strong. Therefore, an antenna mounted on a moving body such as an automobile is omnidirectional. The antenna which has is employ | adopted.

JP 2000-174528 A

  However, in the omnidirectional antenna as described above, in addition to FM broadcast radio waves incident from a predetermined side, noise radio waves such as spurious signals incident from the surroundings are also received. The electronic device incorporating such an antenna has been unable to obtain sufficient reception characteristics.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an electronic device according to the present invention includes a conductive substrate having a reference surface, a transparent dielectric substrate having a facing surface facing the reference surface, the reference surface, and the facing surface. A power supply conductor that circulates at a predetermined distance from the reference plane, an information acquisition unit that acquires predetermined information from radio waves incident on the power supply conductor, and between the power supply conductor and the reference plane A display area is provided, and a display unit that displays the predetermined information in the display area is provided.
According to the present invention, the radio wave that has passed through the reference plane of the conductive substrate and is incident on the power supply conductor is absorbed by the conductive substrate, is transmitted through the opposite surface of the dielectric substrate and is incident on the power supply conductor. The radio wave passes through the dielectric substrate and reaches the power supply conductor. Therefore, it has directivity with excellent reception characteristics for radio waves in the direction from the feed conductor to the opposite surface of the dielectric substrate, and it receives radio waves in the direction from the feed conductor to the reference plane of the conductive substrate. An antenna with no characteristics is configured inside the electronic device, and predetermined information is acquired from the radio waves received by this antenna, and is acquired in the display area formed between the feed conductor and the reference plane of the conductive substrate. An electronic device that displays the predetermined information can be realized.

In the electronic device of the present invention, the power supply conductor may be in close contact with the facing surface. In the electronic device according to the present invention, the power supply conductor is in close contact with the side facing the reference surface between the reference surface and the facing surface, so that the display region can be viewed from the side of the derivative substrate. It is preferable that an opaque second dielectric substrate having an opening is further provided between the reference surface and the dielectric substrate.
According to the present invention, since the second dielectric substrate is open, the display area can be visually recognized from the side of the derivative substrate, and the second dielectric substrate is opaque, so that it faces the reference plane. The power supply conductor in close contact with the side can be made invisible from the side of the dielectric substrate.
In the electronic device of the present invention, the power supply conductor may be formed on a transparent member. In the electronic device of the present invention, the power supply conductor may be spiral or annular. Further, the power supply conductor may have a split ring pattern.

  The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1A is a plan view of a radio timepiece 10 to which the electronic apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the radio timepiece 10. This radio timepiece 10 has a mode like a wristwatch, and has a function of receiving time signals transmitted by radio waves, acquiring time information, and displaying the acquired time information. In other words, the radio timepiece 10 transmits a long-wave standard wave transmitted from the ground base station, a very high-frequency band radio wave transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, or a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) modulated signal. The mobile phone receives the radio waves of the ultra-high frequency band mobile phone, extracts the time signal contained in these radio waves, and displays the accurate time.

  This radio timepiece 10 is a so-called analog timepiece, and a clock hand 120 that is visible through the display window 100 circulates and indicates a time position on the dial 130. The mode of the radio timepiece 10 is not limited to an analog timepiece, and may be a digital timepiece that indicates time information in numerical values. The clock hand 120 includes an hour hand 120a, a minute hand 120b, and a second hand 120c, and is fixed to a predetermined rotating shaft 141 of the movement 140 that displays time information in a rotation angle. The case 150 is the base of the radio timepiece 10 and is made by processing a metal such as stainless steel or titanium. The dial 130 is made by processing a conductive metal such as an alloy of copper and zinc (brass), and a plurality of number-shaped members 132 indicating the time are pasted at predetermined positions on one surface. Is done. The case 150 and the dial 130 are connected so as to be electrically conductive. In the first embodiment, the dial 130 serves as a reference plane. A movement 140 is arranged in the inner space surrounded by these, and the movement 140 is operated via a crown 180 protruding in the direction of 3 o'clock. The display window 100 is a transparent dielectric such as plastic or glass. The display window 100 is attached to the case 150 by a glass holding ring (not shown), and a clock hand 120 is disposed in an internal space surrounded by the display window 100 and the dial 130.

  On the inner surface of the display window 100, that is, on the outer peripheral portion of one opposing surface facing the dial 130, a spiral metal pattern 110 </ b> A that circulates like a spiral along the one opposing surface is the one opposing surface. It is affixed to touch. In this case, the spiral metal pattern 110 </ b> A may be directly attached to the inner surface of the display window 100, or may be formed on a transparent film member, and this film member may be attached to the inner surface of the display window 100. . The spiral metal pattern 110A is a feeding conductor of an antenna that receives radio waves, and the surface thereof is plated with gold or copper. The outermost end of the spiral metal pattern 110A functions as a power feeding unit, and is electrically connected to the radio-controlled timepiece receiving unit 142 (FIG. 2) of the movement 140 via a power feeding line (not shown). . From the above configuration, the movement 140 provides a display area between the spiral metal pattern 110A and the dial 130, and displays time information in this display area.

  In the first embodiment, the spiral metal pattern 110 </ b> A is attached so as to go around the metal around the number-shaped member 132 of the dial 130 as viewed from the display window 100. The length of the pattern 110A depends on the frequency of the radio wave to be received, and is designed so that the reception characteristics are optimized. Further, the spiral metal pattern 110 </ b> A is formed of a thin line, and is disposed at a position where the decorativeness of the radio timepiece 10 and the visibility of time are not deteriorated. Furthermore, the separation distance between the spiral metal pattern 110A attached to the display window 100 and the dial 130 is determined in consideration of the radio wave to be received, the shape of the spiral metal pattern 110A, and the like.

  In the above-described configuration, the dielectric display window 100, the spiral metal pattern 110A functioning as a power supply conductor, and the dial 130 grounded to the case 150 are suspended lines (Suspended Line) which is one of distributed constant circuits. ) Function as an antenna. In this case, since one side of the antenna is shielded by the metal case 150 among the two surface directions formed by the spiral metal pattern 110A, the antenna faces the other side, that is, the display window 100. Has directivity.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the function of the movement 140. The movement 140 includes a radio clock receiver 142, an information processing unit 144, a display driving unit 146, and an operation unit 148. The movement 140 receives radio waves including time information from the metal pattern 110 at a predetermined timing. The radio clock receiver 142 amplifies and detects the radio wave incident on the metal pattern 110, and selects and outputs a radio signal including time information. The information processing unit 144 acquires time information from the radio wave signal output from the radio clock receiver 142 and sends a drive instruction to the display driving unit 146 according to the acquired time information. The display drive unit 146 rotates the rotation shaft 141 corresponding to each clock hand 120 in accordance with the drive instruction. As a result, the current accurate time is displayed by the clock hand 120. The operation unit 148 receives, for example, operation information such as a reset or alarm for the information processing unit 144 via the crown 180 or the like.

  The movement 140 in the first embodiment is driven by power supplied from a built-in battery, but may be driven by power supplied from a built-in solar cell panel (not shown). good. In this case, although the solar cell panel is formed on the dial 130, the spiral metal pattern 110A is a thin line, so that light incident on the display window 100 reaches the solar cell panel with almost no shielding. To do.

According to Embodiment 1 described above, there exist the following effects.
(1) The metal pattern 110 is disposed at a position where the decorativeness of the radio timepiece 10 and the visibility of the time are not deteriorated. The metal pattern 110, the display window 100, and the dial 130 Since the antenna having directivity can be formed on the outside, it is possible to realize the radio timepiece 10 that can receive a weak time signal without impairing the function and appearance of the timepiece.
(2) Since the metal pattern 110 is affixed to the outer periphery of the radio timepiece 10, the antenna element can be greatly stretched with respect to the radio wave transmission space, so that the efficiency of the antenna is increased.
(3) Since the metal pattern 110 is mounted in the time display space of the radio timepiece 10 and there is no need to mount an antenna component such as a chip component in the housing of the radio timepiece 10, the radio timepiece 10 is reduced in size and thickness. Can be planned.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). 3A and 3B are plan views of the radio-controlled timepiece 10 to which the electronic device according to the second embodiment is applied. In the following description, the same parts as those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
In the first embodiment, the spiral metal pattern 110A is employed as the metal pattern 110 that functions as the power feeding conductor of the antenna. However, in the second embodiment, the annular metal patterns 110B and 110C that circulate in a ring shape are employed. That is, FIG. 3A employs a single annular metal pattern 110B, and FIG. 3B employs a multiple annular metal pattern 110C.
According to the second embodiment, the same effects as described in the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). 4A and 4B are plan views of the radio-controlled timepiece 10 to which the electronic device according to the third embodiment is applied. In the first embodiment, the spiral metal pattern 110A is employed as the metal pattern 110 that functions as the power feeding conductor of the antenna. However, in the third embodiment, the metal patterns 110D and 110E having the split ring pattern are employed. That is, FIG. 4A adopts a metal pattern 110D having a single split ring pattern provided with a lumped constant capacitor element 115A, and FIG. 4B shows lumped constant capacitor elements 115A, 115B, and 115C, respectively. A metal pattern 110E having a plurality of split ring patterns is employed. An antenna having such multiple split ring patterns is known to improve reception characteristics because the resonance characteristics of the respective split ring patterns can be superimposed.
According to the third embodiment, the same effects as those described in the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A is a plan view of the radio timepiece 10 to which the electronic device according to the fourth embodiment is applied, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the radio timepiece 10. In the first embodiment, the spiral metal pattern 110A that functions as a power feeding conductor of the antenna is attached in close contact with the inner surface of the display window 100. However, in the fourth embodiment, the spiral metal pattern 110A faces the dial 130 and is colored. A decorative plate 190 made of an opaque dielectric such as acrylic or plastic is arranged between the dial plate 130 and the display window 100, and the spiral metal pattern 110A is opposed to the dial plate 130 of the decorative plate 190. It is affixed to the surface. Here, since the decorative plate 190 has a donut shape in which an area around which the clock hand 120 circulates is opened, an area for displaying time information is not narrowed when viewed from the display window 100 side.
According to the fourth embodiment, the same effects as those described in the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Embodiment 5)
Next, Embodiment 5 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. In the first embodiment, the electronic device is applied to the radio timepiece 10, but in the fifth embodiment, the electronic device is applied to the portable digital television 20. FIG. 6A is a plan view of the portable digital television 20 to which the electronic device according to the fifth embodiment is applied, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the portable digital television 20. The portable digital television 20 receives a terrestrial digital broadcast signal transmitted by a radio wave in a UHF (Ultra High Frequency) band from a broadcasting station, acquires a broadcast image from the received signal, and acquires the acquired broadcast image. It has a function of displaying on the display screen 250.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the metal pattern of the power supply conductor is circular, but in the fifth embodiment, multiple rectangular metal patterns 110F are employed. The multiple rectangular metal patterns 110F are adhered to the inner surface of the display window 100 in close contact. The metal pattern 110 is not limited to the multiple rectangular metal patterns 110F, and may be circular metal patterns (110A to 110E) employed in the first to fourth embodiments.

  Case 150 has a flat surface inside. In the fifth embodiment, this plane serves as a reference plane, and the dielectric display window 100, the multiple rectangular metal patterns 110F that function as power supply conductors, and the case 150 function as an antenna that constitutes a suspended line. A liquid crystal display 200 as a display unit is disposed on the reference plane. The liquid crystal display 200 is a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) color liquid crystal display composed of a backlight 210, a transparent electrode 220A, a liquid crystal layer 230, a transparent electrode 220B, a color filter 240, and the like, and has a rectangular metal that is multiplexed with a reference surface. A display screen 250 is formed in a space between the pattern 110F. An appropriate metal plate inside the liquid crystal display 200 may be electrically connected to the case 150, and this metal plate may be used as the reference plane of the antenna. Further, the liquid crystal display 200 is not limited to the TFT color liquid crystal display, and a liquid crystal display by another driving method can also be adopted. Furthermore, the display unit is not limited to the liquid crystal display 200, and may be a display using various display methods. Further, an operation unit 148 including a start switch, a channel switching button, and the like is disposed at a lower portion of the display screen 250 in a plan view.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an outline of functions of the portable digital TV 20. The portable digital TV 20 includes a tuner unit 260, an information processing unit 144, and a display driving unit 146. The radio wave of terrestrial digital broadcasting is transmitted through the display window 100 and enters the metal pattern 110 of the portable digital TV 20. Here, when the portable digital television 20 is activated, the tuner unit 260 selects and outputs the terrestrial digital broadcast radio wave designated by the operation unit 148 from the incident radio waves. The information processing unit 144 is configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like (not shown). After the broadcast signal is extracted by demodulation, the broadcast image is restored by performing error correction, interleave processing, or the like. Furthermore, the information processing unit 144 sends a drive instruction to the display drive unit 146 according to the restored broadcast image. The display drive unit 146 sends a display signal to the liquid crystal display 200 in accordance with the drive instruction. As a result, an image of terrestrial digital broadcasting is displayed on the liquid crystal display 200.

According to the fifth embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The metal pattern 110 </ b> F is disposed at a position that does not deteriorate the visibility of the image displayed on the portable digital television 20, and the metal pattern 110 </ b> F, the display window 100, and the case 150, Since the antenna having directivity can be formed on the outside, the portable digital television 20 that can receive a weak broadcast signal with the antenna having directivity can be realized.
(2) Since the metal pattern 110F is affixed to the outer periphery of the portable digital television 20, the antenna element can be stretched greatly with respect to the radio wave transmission space, so that the efficiency of the antenna is increased.
(3) Since the metal pattern 110 </ b> F is mounted in the screen display space of the portable digital TV 20, an antenna component such as a chip component is mounted in the casing of the portable digital TV 20 or protrudes from the portable digital TV 20. Since it is not necessary to attach an antenna to the outside of the portable digital TV 20, the portable digital TV 20 can be reduced in size and thickness.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on Embodiment 1-5 which illustrated, this invention is not limited to these embodiment, The deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. in the range which can achieve the objective of this invention are demonstrated. It is included in the present invention.
For example, the electronic device of the present invention is not limited to a device that receives radio waves, but includes a radio wave reception unit and a transmission unit, such as a portable information terminal that uses a wireless network, from an antenna that receives radio waves. The present invention can also be applied to electronic devices that transmit and receive various kinds of information by transmitting radio waves.

(A) shows the radio timepiece which applied the electronic device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, (b) is a figure which shows the cross section of a radio timepiece. The block diagram which shows the outline of the function of a movement. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the radio timepiece which applied the electronic device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the radio timepiece to which the electronic apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention is applied. (A) shows the radio timepiece which applied the electronic device which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention, (b) is a figure which shows the cross section of a radio timepiece. (A) shows the portable digital television to which the electronic apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention is applied, (b) is a figure which shows the cross section of a portable digital television. The block diagram which shows the outline of the function of a portable digital television.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Radio clock, 20 ... Portable digital television, 100 ... Display window, 110 ... Metal pattern, 110A ... Spiral metal pattern, 110B ... Single annular metal pattern, 110C ... Multiple annular metal pattern, 110D ... Single split Metal pattern having a ring pattern, 110E ... Metal pattern having multiple split ring patterns, 110F ... Multiple rectangular metal patterns, 115A, 115B, 115C ... Lumped constant capacitance elements, 120 ... Clock hands, 120a ... Hour hands, 120b ... Minute hand, 120c ... second hand, 130 ... dial, 132 ... numeral shaped member, 140 ... movement, 141 ... rotation shaft, 142 ... radio clock receiving unit, 144 ... information processing unit, 146 ... display drive unit, 148 ... operation unit, 150 ... Case, 180 ... Crown, 190 ... Decorative plate, 200 A liquid crystal display, 210 ... backlight, 220A, 220B ... transparent electrode, 230 ... liquid crystal layer, 240 ... color filter, 250 ... screen, 260 ... tuner.

Claims (7)

A conductive substrate having a reference surface;
A transparent dielectric substrate having a facing surface facing the reference surface;
A power supply conductor that lies between the reference surface and the facing surface and circulates a predetermined distance away from the reference surface;
An information acquisition unit for acquiring predetermined information from radio waves incident on the power supply conductor;
An electronic apparatus comprising: a display area provided between the power supply conductor and the reference plane; and a display unit that displays the predetermined information in the display area. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The electronic device, wherein the power supply conductor is in close contact with the facing surface. The electronic device according to claim 1,
Between the reference surface and the facing surface, the feeding conductor is in close contact with the side facing the reference surface,
An electronic apparatus, further comprising an opaque second dielectric substrate having an opening that allows the display region to be viewed from the derivative substrate side, between the reference surface and the dielectric substrate. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The electronic device, wherein the power supply conductor is formed on a transparent member. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The electronic device is characterized in that the power supply conductor has a spiral shape. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The electronic device, wherein the power supply conductor is annular. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The electronic device, wherein the power supply conductor has a split ring pattern.

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