JP2011163857A - Analog wrist watch - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an analog wrist watch excellent in readability of a dial plate. <P>SOLUTION: When one kind of mode of two or more kinds of modes including a time mode and an electric wave mode is selected by a user or selected automatically, mode indicator portions 20A, 20B, and 20C corresponding to the one kind of mode selected by a user or selected automatically are lighted, and detailed information related to modes corresponding to the mode indicator portions 20A, 20B, and 20C lighted is indicated by an indicator needle 10a, which enables a user to determine which detailed display is to be read. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wristwatch, and more particularly to an analog wristwatch with improved dial reading.

In recent years, as an analog wristwatch, a plurality of types of indicators are displayed around the indicator hands of the dial, and, for example, when the mode is switched, the user reads necessary information by reading the information of the indicator portion indicated by the indicator hands. The ones that make it possible to obtain information are known.
Specific examples of this indicator include an indicator that shows a city code and a radio wave status in addition to time characters and cut scales (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-203134 A

By the way, in such an analog wristwatch, since a plurality of types of indicators are displayed with high density on a small dial, it is difficult to see the indicators themselves, and in addition, a plurality of types of indicators are displayed concentrically. There are many cases in which it is difficult to determine which indicator portion the indicator hand indicates even though the user has selected the desired mode. This is particularly true when the user selects a mode that he / she is familiar with, and even more so when he / she selects a mode that he / she normally does not use or uses only by chance.
An object of the present invention is to provide an analog wristwatch that is excellent in reading of a dial.

The invention of claim 1
A mode indicator for displaying which mode is currently selected from among a plurality of modes is provided, and detailed information related to the mode corresponding to the mode indicator is provided in or on the side of the mode indicator. A dial with
Illumination means configured to be able to light for each item a mode indicator corresponding to each of the plurality of modes,
An indicator needle configured to be rotatable about a predetermined axis for indicating the detailed information;
Indicator needle driving means for rotating the indicator needle;
When a first mode among the plurality of modes is selected by the user or automatically, the mode indicator unit is controlled to control the illumination unit and correspond to the first mode selected by the user or automatically. Control means for controlling the indicator needle driving means to instruct the detailed information related to the mode corresponding to the lighted mode indicator unit with the indicator needle,
It is an analog wristwatch characterized by comprising.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the analog wristwatch according to the first aspect, the control means drives the illumination means and the indicator hand when a mode of the plurality of modes is selected by the user or automatically. By controlling the means, the detailed information is turned on as the mode indicator corresponding to the selected mode, and one of the detailed information is instructed to the indicator needle.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the analog wristwatch according to the first or second aspect, the dial has a transparent portion where the mode indicator is provided, and the illumination means It is provided on the back side of the transparent part.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the analog wristwatch according to any one of the first to third aspects, the mode is a time mode, and the detailed information is constituted by one of a time character or a cut scale. It is characterized by being.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the analog wristwatch according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the mode is a world time mode, and the detailed information is constituted by a city code. To do.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the analog wristwatch according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the mode is a radio wave mode, and the detailed information is composed of characters or figures indicating a radio wave condition. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, when the mode is selected by the user or automatically, the mode indicator corresponding to the selected mode is turned on, and the predetermined detailed information related to the selected mode is indicated by the indicator. Since it is instructed by the needle, the user can immediately determine which detailed display should be read.

It is a front view of the main body of the analog wristwatch concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing at the time of seeing a part of analog wristwatch of FIG. 1 from the side. It is a circuit block diagram of the analog wristwatch of FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of the wristwatch body of FIG. 1 in a time mode. FIG. 2 is a front view of the wristwatch body of FIG. 1 in a radio wave mode. FIG. 2 is a front view of the wristwatch body of FIG. 1 in a world time mode.

[First Embodiment]
This analog wristwatch 100 includes a wristwatch case 1 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A watch glass 2 is attached to the upper part of the watch case 1. A watch module 3 is housed inside the watch case 1, and a back cover 4 is attached to the lower surface of the watch case 1 via a waterproof ring 4a. Further, first to fourth operation elements 5a to 5d (the operation element 5 is used when not specified) are attached to the side surfaces of the wristwatch case 1 at the 3 o'clock side and the 9 o'clock side. A dial 12 is provided inside the watch case 1. On the dial 12, an indicator hand 10a, a minute hand 10b and an hour hand 10c are provided.

  The dial 12 includes a dial main body 13, a first parting member 14, and a second parting member 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, on the dial main body 13, time letters 13a are displayed every hour along the circumference. Among these, the time character 13a indicating 12:00 constitutes detailed information in the time mode.

Further, the first parting member 14 is formed in an annular shape, and is installed so as to cover the surface of the outer portion of the time character 13a in the dial main body 13 as shown in FIG. The surface of the first parting member 14 is a slope, and has a downward slope toward the center of the dial main body 13. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a cut scale 14a is displayed on the surface of the first parting member 14, and characters 14b indicating a radio wave condition are displayed in the cut scale 14a. ing. Of these, the characters 14b constitute detailed information in the radio wave mode. The “radio wave mode” is a mode for notifying the user of the status of standard radio waves.
As this character 14b, characters "Y", "N", "R", "W", "ON", and "OFF" are displayed. Here, “Y” indicates successful reception of radio waves, “N” indicates reception failure of radio waves, “R” indicates preparation for reception of radio waves, “W” indicates reception of radio waves, “ON” indicates reception of radio waves, “OFF” indicates no reception of radio waves Indicates the reception status.

  Further, the second parting member 15 is formed in an annular shape and is installed so as to cover the surface of the outer portion of the cut scale 14a and the character 14b in the first parting member 14, as shown in FIG. The surface of the second parting member 15 is a slope, and has a downward slope toward the center of the dial main body 13. A plurality of city codes 15a are displayed on the surface of the second parting member 15 as shown in FIGS. The plurality of city codes 15a constitute detailed information in the world time mode. The “world time mode” is a mode for notifying the user of the time in each city in the world.

The dial 12 (that is, the dial main body 13, the first parting member 14, and the second parting member 15) is formed of a transparent material. The dial 12 is provided with first to third mode indicator portions 20A, 20B, and 20C. Note that the dial 12 may be transparent only at the locations where the first to third mode indicator portions 20A, 20B, and 20C are provided.

The first mode indicator portion 20A is provided on the dial body 13.
In other words, the EL sheet 20 a is installed on the lower side of the dial main body 13 at a position immediately inside the first parting member 14. The EL sheet 20a has an annular shape, and is provided over the entire circumference of the dial main body 13 so as to be located just below the time character 13a. The electrodes (not shown) of the EL sheet 20a are connected to a circuit board (not shown) of the timepiece module 8. The EL light emitting sheet 20a emits light by being excited when an organic material sandwiched between electrodes formed on a substrate conducts electricity. In the dial body 13, a portion that is turned on and made visible by the light emission of the EL light emitting sheet 20 a constitutes a first mode indicator portion 20 </ b> A.

Further, the second mode indicator portion 20B is provided on the first parting member 14.
That is, the EL sheet 20 b is installed below the first parting member 14. The EL sheet 20b has an annular shape, and is provided over the entire circumference of the first parting member 14 so as to be positioned immediately below the cut scale 14a and the characters 14b. The EL light emitting sheet 20b is excited and emits light when an organic material sandwiched between electrodes formed on a substrate conducts electricity. In the first parting member 14, a portion that is turned on and exposed by light emission of the EL light emitting sheet 20 b constitutes the second mode indicator portion 20 </ b> B.

Further, the third mode indicator portion 20 </ b> C is provided on the second parting member 15.
That is, the EL sheet 20 c is installed below the second parting member 15. The EL sea 20c has an annular shape, and is provided over the entire circumference of the second parting member 15 so as to be located immediately below the city code 15a. The EL light emitting sheet 20c is excited and emits light when an organic material sandwiched between electrodes formed on a substrate conducts electricity. In the second parting member 15, the portion that is turned on and made visible by the light emission of the EL light emitting sheet 20 c constitutes the third mode indicator portion 20 </ b> C.

Next, the circuit configuration of the analog wristwatch will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
This circuit configuration includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 35 that controls the entire circuit, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 36 that stores a predetermined program (including a mode processing program), and a RAM that stores processing data. (Random access memory) 37, an oscillation circuit 38 that generates a pulse for operating the CPU 35, and a frequency dividing circuit that converts the pulse generated by the oscillation circuit 38 to an appropriate frequency (appropriate frequency for operating the CPU 35) 39, a timepiece movement 8 for moving the hands (indicator hand 10a, minute hand 10b, hour hand 10c), and a gear position detector 13 for hand alignment. The timepiece movement 8 constitutes the indicator hand driving means described in the claims. Further, the CPU 35 and the program constitute a control unit described in the claims.

  Further, in addition to the above, this circuit configuration includes a power supply unit 40 such as a battery, an antenna 41 that receives standard time radio waves, a detection circuit 42 that detects the received standard time radio waves, and EL light emitting sheets 20a, 20b, and 20c. The illumination unit 43 includes an illumination drive circuit 44 for driving the illumination unit 43, a speaker 45 for reporting sound, and a buzzer circuit 46 for driving the speaker 45. Among these, the illumination part 43 and the illumination drive circuit 44 comprise the illumination means.

  Next, the operation of the analog wrist watch 100 will be described. The analog wristwatch 100 has at least a time mode, a radio wave mode, and a world wide time mode.

(Time mode)
When a predetermined operator 5 is operated, the time mode is set.
In this time mode, the CPU 35 controls the illumination unit 43 and the illumination drive circuit 44 to emit the EL light emitting sheet 20a and turn on the first mode indicator unit 20A as shown in FIG. At the same time, the CPU 35 controls the timepiece movement 8 to stop the index hand 10a after rotating it to the 12 o'clock position as shown in FIG.
In the case shown in FIG. 4, the index hand 10a is at the 12 o'clock position, and only the first mode indicator portion 20A is lit, so that the user is currently in the time mode and the position indicated by the index hand 10a. Therefore, it can be recognized that it is 12 o'clock.

(Radio wave mode)
When a predetermined operator 5 is operated or when automatic reception is performed, the radio wave mode is automatically set.
In this radio wave mode, the CPU 35 controls the illumination unit 43 and the illumination drive circuit 44 to emit the EL light emitting sheet 20b and turn on the second mode indicator unit 20B as shown in FIG. Then, the CPU 35 controls the timepiece movement 8 to move the index hand 10a to any one of “Y”, “N”, “R”, “W”, “ON”, and “OFF” as shown in FIG. Rotate to position and stop.
In the case shown in FIG. 5, the index hand 10a is at the position “R” indicating that radio wave reception is being prepared, and only the second mode indicator 20B is lit, so that the user is currently preparing for radio wave reception. From the “R” indicated by the index hand 10a, it can be recognized that radio wave reception is being prepared.

(World time mode)
When a predetermined operator 5 is operated, the world time mode is set.
In this world time mode, the CPU 35 controls the illumination unit 43 and the illumination drive circuit 44 to emit the EL light emitting sheet 20b and turn on the third mode indicator 20C as shown in FIG. When a predetermined operation element 5 is operated in this state, the CPU 35 controls the timepiece movement 8 to rotate the index hand 10a, and each time the operation element 5 is operated, the index hand 10a adds one city code 13a. Instruct in order. If the predetermined operator 5 is operated at the place where the second hand 13a indicates the desired city code 13a, the time corresponding to the city code 13a is displayed.
In the case shown in FIG. 6, since the index hand 10a is at the position “SYDNEY (Sydney)” and only the third mode indicator 20C is lit, the user is currently in the world time mode, From the position indicated by the hand 10a, it can be recognized that the time is "SYDNEY (Sydney)".

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can be variously deformed in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

  In the above embodiment, in the time mode, the first mode indicator portion 20A over the entire circumference of the dial main body 13 is turned on.

  In the above embodiment, in the radio wave mode, the second mode indicator 20B is turned on over the entire circumference of the first parting member 14, but only the portion where the characters 14b are written is turned on. Also good. In this case, the cut scale 14a may be turned on in the time mode.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the detailed information is marked in the mode indicator portion. However, the fine information may be indicated beside the mode indicator portion.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Watch case 5, 5a-5d Manipulator 10a Indicator needle | hook 12 Dial 13 Dial main body 14 1st parting member 15 2nd parting member 20A 1st mode indicator part 20B 2nd mode indicator part 20C 3rd Mode indicator parts 20a to 20c EL light emitting sheet 43 Illumination part 44 Illumination drive circuit

Claims (6)

A mode indicator for displaying which mode is currently selected from among a plurality of modes is provided, and detailed information related to the mode corresponding to the mode indicator is provided in or on the side of the mode indicator. A dial with
Illumination means configured to be able to light for each item a mode indicator corresponding to each of the plurality of modes,
An indicator needle configured to be rotatable about a predetermined axis for indicating the detailed information;
Indicator needle driving means for rotating the indicator needle;
When a first mode among the plurality of modes is selected by the user or automatically, the mode indicator unit is controlled to control the illumination unit and correspond to the first mode selected by the user or automatically. Control means for controlling the indicator needle driving means to instruct the detailed information related to the mode corresponding to the lighted mode indicator unit with the indicator needle,
An analog wristwatch characterized by comprising:   The control means controls the illumination means and the indicator needle driving means when a mode among the plurality of modes is automatically selected by the user or the mode indicator section corresponding to the selected mode. 2. The analog wristwatch according to claim 1, wherein the detailed information is turned on and the indicator hand is instructed to indicate one of the detailed information.   3. The dial according to claim 1, wherein the dial is provided with a transparent portion where the mode indicator is provided, and the illumination unit is provided on the back side of the transparent portion. Analog watch as described in.   The analog wristwatch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mode is a time mode, and the detailed information is constituted by one of a time character or a cut scale.   The analog wristwatch according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mode is a world time mode, and the detailed information is configured by a city code.   The analog wristwatch according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the mode is a radio wave mode, and the detailed information includes characters or figures indicating a radio wave situation.

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