JP2009250871A - Timepiece device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a timepiece device having a further rationalized structure, in exciting a fluorescence material disposed in a dial light emission section and a pointer light emission section. <P>SOLUTION: This timepiece device comprises a dial 100, pointers 210 and 220 arranged on the front surface of the dial, and a movement 300 for rotating the pointers. The dial has dial light emitting sections 110, 120 and 130 having fluorescence material, and the pointers have pointer light emission sections 211 and 221 having fluorescence material. A side section of the dial is provided with a light-emitting means 500 for irradiating a light for exciting the fluorescence material to the dial light emitting section and the pointer light emitting section. The dial is a member formed of a light guide body, and has an end surface 102 for making the light of the light-emitting means come into it, at a position corresponding to the light-emitting means. The light coming from the end surface is made to be incident to the dial light emitting section, the front side of the light-emitting means is provided with a reflecting surface 411 for reflecting the light of the light-emitting means, and the light reflected on the reflecting surface is made to come to the pointer light emitting section. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a timepiece device having a display function and a decorative property improved by using a fluorescent material.

  In general, as a method of illuminating a dial or a pointer, a method is known in which a fluorescent material is provided at a key point of the dial or the pointer to form a light emitting portion, and the light emitting portion is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from a light emitting means. The fluorescent material emits light by luminescence. That is, it is excited by light of a specific wavelength such as ultraviolet rays and emits visible light. Note that a normal fluorescent material has a short emission life in which emission of visible light stops immediately when excitation light is stopped. However, there are those that have a long emission lifetime, that is, those that emit light by storing light, and this is called a phosphorescent material.

By using a fluorescent material, it is possible to improve the time display function in a dark place. There is also an advantage that the decorativeness is improved. This type of timepiece is also disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 6.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-174866 JP-A-7-55958 JP-A-8-95509 JP-A-9-26484 JP-A-11-281864 JP 2000-292558 A

  In recent years, the functions and designs of watches have been diversified, and the above-described fluorescent materials are required to be further devised in order to use them more effectively. For example, when a fluorescent material is provided on a dial or a pointer, a coating material containing the fluorescent material is usually applied to the surface of those components, and the light irradiation efficiency of the light emitting means for the fluorescent material is a very important issue. It is said. In particular, in the case of a relatively large timepiece such as a wall clock or a table clock, the distance between the light emitting means and the fluorescent material becomes long, so that a structural device for securing a sufficient amount of light is required. As for the light emitting means, it is possible to provide a light emitting means for irradiating light to the fluorescent material of the dial and a light emitting means for irradiating light to the fluorescent material of the pointer, respectively, but in terms of reducing the number of parts It is desirable to share those light emitting means.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a timepiece device having a more rational structure when exciting a fluorescent material provided in a pointer light emitting portion of a pointer. is there.

  The invention described in claim 1 of the present application is a timepiece device including a dial, a pointer disposed in front of the dial, and a movement for rotating the pointer, wherein the dial is provided with a fluorescent material. And the pointer includes a pointer light-emitting unit provided with a fluorescent material, and light that excites the fluorescent material is emitted to the side portion of the dial plate and the pointer light-emitting unit and the pointer. A light emitting means for irradiating the light emitting portion is provided, and the dial is a member made of a light guide, and has an end face for entering light of the light emitting means at a position corresponding to the light emitting means, and the character The plate light emitting part is provided with light incident from the end face, and further, a reflective surface for reflecting the light of the light emitting means is provided on the front side of the light emitting means, and the pointer light emitting part has the reflection. So that the light reflected on the surface Configuration which is a timepiece device.

  The invention described in claim 2 of the present application is the timepiece device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the light emitting means are arranged at an equiangular pitch around the rotation axis of the pointer.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the casing of the timepiece device includes a transparent cover that covers the dial and the pointer, and the reflective surface is provided on the transparent cover. It is a clock device.

  In the invention described in claim 4 of the present application, in any one of claims 1 to 3, the pointer light emitting portion is mounted on the pointer with a plate-like member made of a light guide and is opposed to the dial. The fluorescent material is provided on the surface, and the light of the light emitting means is reflected on the reflective surface and incident on the fluorescent light material from the front surface of the pointer light emitting unit and is brought into the fluorescent material, The pointer light is incident on the inside of the pointer light emitting portion from the surface in the thickness direction of the pointer light emitting portion, and is brought into the fluorescent material. From the front of the pointer, the fluorescent material is emitted through the light guide. This is a timepiece device configured to allow visible light to be seen.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the pointer is provided with a hole for mounting the pointer light emitting portion, and the pointer light emitting portion is positioned on the front side of the pointer. From the front side of the pointer through the hole, the light of the light emitting means from the surface in the thickness direction of the pointer light emitting portion that protrudes from the hole to the dial side The timepiece device is configured to be incident on the inside of the pointer light emitting unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a timepiece device having a more rational structure when exciting the fluorescent material provided in the dial light emitting portion and the pointer light emitting portion.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The timepiece device 1 of this example is an analog radio wave correction clock that receives a standard time radio wave and corrects the display time based on information on the standard time radio wave. The timepiece device 1 includes a control means (not shown) that stores a required program for controlling the timepiece device 1, a dial plate 100, hands 210, 220, and 230 disposed on the front face of the dial plate 100. The movement 300 that rotates the hands 210, 220, and 230, and the housing 400 that houses them are provided. The dial plate 100 and the pointers 210, 220, and 230 are covered with a transparent cover 410 supported on the front surface of the housing 400. The time display unit includes a dial plate 100 and hands 210, 220, and 230. Reference numeral 10 in the figure denotes an antenna for receiving standard time radio waves.

  As the dial plate 100, a plate having a predetermined shape made of a light guide is adopted. The dial plate 100 includes dial light emitting portions 110, 120, and 130 provided with a fluorescent material. The dial light emitting portions 110, 120, and 130 are provided by applying a coating material containing a fluorescent material on the back surface of the dial plate 100.

  As hands, an hour hand 210, a minute hand 220, and a second hand 230 are provided. The hour hand 210 and the minute hand 220 are each provided with pointer light emitting portions 211 and 221 provided with a fluorescent material. The movement 300 is provided on the back portion of the dial plate 100, and is configured to rotate the hands 210, 220, and 230 at a predetermined speed via a pointer pipe 310 protruding to the front side of the dial 100. . In the center of the dial 100, a through hole 101 that penetrates the pointer pipe 310 is provided. The hour hand 210, the minute hand 220, and the second hand 230 rotate around a common rotation axis A.

  In addition, inside the look-back portion of the case 400, the light emitting means 500 for irradiating the dial light emitting portions 110, 120, and 130 and the pointer light emitting portions 211 and 221 with light that excites the fluorescent material on the side portion of the dial plate 100. Is provided. As the light emitting means 500, an LED that emits ultraviolet rays, so-called black light, is adopted, and the fluorescent material provided in each of the light emitting units 110, 120, 130, 211, and 221 is excited by ultraviolet rays and emits visible light. To do.

  A plurality of light emitting means 500 are arranged at equiangular pitches around the rotation axis A of the hands 210, 220, and 230. In the illustrated example, three black lights are arranged at intervals of 120 ° toward the center of the dial 100.

  The dial plate 100 is a member made of a light guide, and an end face 102 having a predetermined shape is provided at a position corresponding to each light emitting unit 500 so that light from the light emitting unit 500 is incident on the inside of the dial plate 100. Yes. On the back surface of the dial plate 100, a white sheet 103 is provided so as to cover the entire surface including the dial light emitting portions 110, 120, and 130. The dial light emitting portions 110, 120, and 130 are configured to receive light incident on the inside of the dial plate 100 from each end face 102.

  Further, an optical sensor 600 for detecting the brightness of the environment is provided on the back of the dial plate 100, and a translucent part 104 corresponding to the optical sensor 600 is provided at an important point of the dial plate 100. ing. The control means starts lighting the light emitting means 500 when the environment becomes dark, and ends the lighting when the environment becomes bright. For example, when the room is turned off at night, the light emitting means 500 is turned on and the dial light emitting portions 110, 120, and 130 are illuminated. The light emitting means 500 is turned off when the sun rises and becomes brighter.

  In the case of this example, the dial light emitting part of the dial 100 is provided with a concentric first ring part 110 and second ring part 120 centered on the rotation axis A, and a time indicator part 130. . The first ring unit 110 and the second ring unit 120 are devised to improve the time display function in a dark place.

  As a premise of this example, the hour hand 210 and the minute hand 220 have a dimension L2 from the rotation axis A to the tip of the minute hand 220 longer than the dimension L1 from the rotation axis A to the tip of the hour hand 210. The dimension of the second hand 230 is not particularly limited, but is such that it can be easily determined that the width is narrower than the hour hand 210 and the minute hand 220.

  The radius R1 of the inner periphery of the first ring portion 110 is set smaller than the dimension L1 from the rotation axis A to the tip of the hour hand 210, and the radius R2 of the inner periphery of the second ring portion 120 is set from the rotation axis A. It is set to be larger than the dimension L1 to the tip of the hour hand 210 and smaller than the dimension L2 from the rotation axis A to the tip of the minute hand 220.

  According to such a configuration, even when it is impossible to visually check the entire hands 210, 220, and 230 in a dark place, their positions can be easily recognized. That is, when the first ring part 110 and the second ring part 120 are viewed in a dark place, the first ring part 110 has a portion blocked by the hour hand 210 and the minute hand 220. The second ring part 120 has a portion blocked by the minute hand 220. Therefore, even if the entire hour hand 210 and the minute hand 220 are not visible, it is possible to recognize them while discriminating their positions at a glance. In terms of ease of viewing, it is more effective to make the fluorescent colors of the first ring part 110 and the second ring part 120 different. Further, the first ring part 110 and the second ring part 120 may be formed by a regular pattern.

  Next, the 1st pointer light emission part 211 and the 2nd pointer light emission part 221 are demonstrated. These pointer light emitting portions 211 and 221 are provided by applying a paint containing a fluorescent material on the front surface of the members constituting the hour hand 210 and the minute hand 220. In the case of this example, a reflective surface 411 that reflects the light of the light emitting means 500 is provided on the front side of the light emitting means 500, and the light reflected on the reflective surface 411 is reflected on these pointer light emitting portions 211 and 221. It is the resulting configuration.

  The transparent cover 410 is a parabolic type whose center bulges forward, and the reflective surface 411 is provided by printing or vapor deposition on the back side surface or the front side surface of the transparent cover. The shape of the reflective surface 411 is a ring shape surrounding the dial 100 and the hands 210, 220, and 230. The directivity characteristics of the light emitting unit 500 and the position and angle of the reflecting surface 411 are set so that a sufficient amount of light is provided to the movement range of the pointer light emitting units 211 and 221. The transparent cover 410 is provided with an ultraviolet ray preventing film that cuts ultraviolet rays. The ultraviolet rays emitted from the light emitting means 500 hardly leak to the outside.

  The light intensity of the light emitting means 500 distributed to the dial light emitting portions 110, 120, 130 and the pointer light emitting portions 211, 221 can be finely adjusted by shifting the arrangement position of the light emitting means 500 in the thickness direction of the dial plate 100. Is possible.

  According to the timepiece device of the present example described above, the dial light emitting units 110, 120, and 130 and the pointer light emitting units 211 and 221 can be efficiently illuminated by the common light emitting means 500 even in a relatively large timepiece. It should be noted that the configuration of each part in the present example can be appropriately changed in design within the technical scope described in the claims, and is of course not limited to that illustrated in the drawings.

  For example, the shape of the end face 102 of the dial plate 100 can be appropriately set as shown in FIG. The end surface 102 shown in the figure is a half of that shown in FIG. 3, and the light amount provided to the pointer light emitting units 211 and 221 is thereby relatively large.

  Further, the pointer light emitting units 211 and 221 are irradiated with light reflected by the reflecting surface 411 obliquely from the front. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, an angle θ may be appropriately set on the constituent members of the pointers 210 and 220 in order to increase the amount of light emitted to the pointer light emitting units 211 and 221.

  In addition, LEDs that emit ultraviolet light and visible light are used as the light emitting means, and the back surface of the dial light emitting part and the pointer light emitting part is provided with printing and fine irregularities so that the visible light of the light emitting means is irradiated to the light emitting means. May be. That is, the dial light emitting part and the pointer light emitting part may be configured to emit light by luminescence light and reflected light.

  In particular, the timepiece device 1 of this example is a radio-controlled timepiece, and automatically receives standard time radio waves at night when the reception environment improves. While receiving the standard time radio wave, the light emitting means 500 is turned off to avoid the influence of noise. Here, in the case of only a normal fluorescent material having a short light emission lifetime, the lights of the dial light emitting units 110, 120, and 130 and the pointer light emitting units 211 and 221 are lost, and the time cannot be confirmed. Thus, by using a fluorescent material containing an appropriate amount of phosphorescent material, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the light from the dial light emitting units 110, 120, 130 and the pointer light emitting units 211, 221 is completely lost. The dial light emitting units 110, 120, and 130 and the pointer light emitting units 211 and 221 emit phosphorescence for a certain period of time even when the light of the light emitting means 500 is cut off, and reception of standard time radio waves is performed during that time. According to such a configuration, a time display function can be ensured even at the time of reception, which is extremely rational.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The pointer light emitting units 211 and 221 of this example are formed by mounting a plate-like member made of a light guide on the pointers 210 and 220 and providing a fluorescent material on the surface facing the dial 100. The light of the light emitting means 500 enters the pointer light emitting portions 211 and 221 from the surface in the thickness direction of the pointer light emitting portions 211 and 221 and is brought to the fluorescent material. From the front of the pointers 210 and 220, visible light emitted from the fluorescent material can be seen through the light guide.

  A hole for attaching the pointer pipe 310, that is, a pointer pipe mounting portion 210a, and a hole for mounting the first pointer light emitting portion 211, that is, a pointer light emitting portion mounting portion 210b, are provided at the main points of the hour hand 210. Similarly, the minute hand 220 of this example has a hole for attaching the pointer pipe 310, that is, a pointer pipe mounting portion 220a, and a hole for mounting the second pointer light emitting portion 221, ie, a pointer light emitting portion mounting portion. 220b is provided.

  The illustrated first pointer light emitting part 211 is attached by penetrating from the front side of the hour hand 210 to the pointer light emitting part attaching part 210b. The first pointer light emitting unit 211 includes a main body 211a having a predetermined thickness and a collar 211b positioned on the front side of the hour hand 210, and a fluorescent material is applied to the face of the main body 211a on the dial 100 side. The coating material 211c containing is applied. The main body portion 211a is fixed to the pointer light emitting portion mounting portion 210b by press-fitting, hooking, welding, or adhesion.

  The light from the pointer light emitting unit 500 is projected from the side surface of the main body 211a protruding from the pointer light emitting unit mounting part 210b to the dial plate 100 side, that is, from the surface in the thickness direction of the first pointer light emitting unit 211. It is incident on the inside and brought to the fluorescent material. Even if the hour hand 210 is rotating, the surface of the first pointer light emitting portion 211 in the thickness direction is always sufficiently irradiated with light from the light emitting means 500. When the fluorescent material is excited, when the hour hand 210 is viewed from the front, the first pointer light emitting portion 211 appears to shine. On the surface of the paint 211c, light reflecting means may be further provided by printing or vapor deposition. By providing such a reflection means, it is possible to prevent light leaking to the dial 100 side, and it is possible to reduce the loss of light quantity.

  A white arrow “a” in FIG. 9 indicates the direction of light reflected by the reflecting surface 411 and brought to the first pointer light emitting unit 211. A white arrow b indicates the direction of light that is directly reflected from the light emitting unit 500 to the first pointer light emitting unit 211 without being reflected by the reflecting surface 411. The white arrow c indicates the direction of visible light emitted from the fluorescent material through the light guide. The configuration of the second pointer light emitting unit 221 is the same as the configuration of the first pointer light emitting unit 211. Therefore, illustration is abbreviate | omitted.

  According to this example, the light irradiation efficiency with respect to the pointer light emitting unit can be further improved by the light from the reflecting surface and the light directly provided from the light emitting unit. That is, when a paint containing a fluorescent material is applied to the surface of the pointer, it is impossible or difficult to directly apply light from the light emitting means provided on the side of the dial. Since light is also incident on the inside of the pointer light emitting portion from the surface in the thickness direction of the pointer light emitting portion made of a body, there is an advantage that the light irradiation efficiency is surely improved.

  The clock device of the present invention can be suitably used as a wall clock or table clock having a time display function at night.

1 is a front view showing a timepiece device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view showing a timepiece device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows a dial plate. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the timepiece apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. It is a front view which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows a dial plate. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the timepiece apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the timepiece apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. (A) is a front view of the hour hand, (b) is a side sectional view of the hour hand, (c) is a front view of the minute hand, and (d) is a side sectional view of the minute hand according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the hour hand which concerns on the Example of this invention and equipped with the pointer light emission part. FIG. 10 is an exploded view of FIG. 9 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Radio wave correction clock 10 Antenna 100 Dial 101 Through-hole 102 End surface 103 Sheet 104 Translucent part 110 1st ring part (Dial board light emission part)
120 Second ring part (dial plate light emitting part)
130 Time indicator (dial light emitting part)
210 Hour hand (pointer)
210a Pointer pipe mounting portion 210b Pointer light emitting portion mounting portion 211 First pointer light emitting portion 211a Main body portion 211b Hook portion 211c Paint 220 Minute hand (pointer)
220a Pointer pipe mounting portion 220b Pointer light emitting portion mounting portion 221 Second pointer light emitting portion 230 Second hand (pointer)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 300 Movement 310 Pointer pipe 400 Case 410 Transparent cover 411 Reflecting surface 500 Light emission means 600 Optical sensor A Rotating shaft

Claims (5)

In a timepiece device comprising a dial, a pointer disposed in front of the dial, and a movement for rotating the pointer,
The dial includes a dial light emitting unit provided with a fluorescent material, and the pointer includes a pointer light emitting unit provided with a fluorescent material,
The side of the dial is provided with light emitting means for irradiating the dial light emitting unit and the pointer light emitting unit with light that excites a fluorescent material,
The dial is a member made of a light guide, and includes an end face for entering the light of the light emitting means at a position corresponding to the light emitting means, and the dial light emitting portion is incident from the end face. Light,
Furthermore, a reflective surface for reflecting the light of the light emitting means is provided on the front side of the light emitting means, and the pointer light emitting portion is provided with the light reflected on the reflective surface. apparatus.   2. The timepiece device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the light emitting means are arranged at an equiangular pitch around the rotation axis of the pointer. The timepiece case includes a transparent cover that covers the dial and the hands,
The timepiece device according to claim 1, wherein the reflection surface is provided on the transparent cover. The pointer light emitting unit is configured by mounting a plate-shaped member made of a light guide on the pointer and providing the fluorescent material on a surface facing the dial,
The light of the light emitting means is reflected on the reflecting surface and enters the pointer light emitting portion from the front surface of the pointer light emitting portion to be brought into the fluorescent material, and at the same time, the surface in the thickness direction of the pointer light emitting portion. Is incident on the inside of the pointer light emitting part and brought to the fluorescent material,
4. The timepiece device according to claim 1, wherein visible light emitted from the fluorescent material can be seen through the light guide from the front of the pointer. 5. The pointer is provided with a hole for mounting the pointer light emitting unit,
The pointer light emitting portion includes a collar portion positioned on the front side of the pointer, and is inserted through the hole from the front side of the pointer,
The light emitted from the light emitting means is incident on the inside of the pointer light emitting portion from a surface in a thickness direction of the pointer light emitting portion that protrudes from the hole portion toward the dial. 4. The timepiece device according to 4.

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