JP2014235008A - Measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a measuring device that can dramatically improve the degree of freedom in design of the shape of a display unit.SOLUTION: A caliper 1 is a digital display type measuring device including a main scale 11 formed into a rectangular plate shape, and a square cylindrical slider 12 attached along the longitudinal direction of the main scale 11 in a freely slidable manner. The slider 12 includes a front-face display unit 13A provided on the front face, and a rear-face display unit 13B provided on the rear face. The front-face display unit 13A and rear-face display unit 13B display information by using a plastic liquid crystal display 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a measuring instrument including a display unit that displays information.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, measuring instruments having a display unit for displaying information are known. For example, a vernier caliper (measuring instrument) described in Patent Literature 1 includes a display unit that displays a displacement amount (information) of a slider with respect to a main scale. This display unit displays information by using a liquid crystal display.
A liquid crystal display is configured by sandwiching liquid crystal molecules between two glass substrates incorporating a transparent electrode. Since the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules changes when a voltage is applied to the electrodes, the state of light transmitted through the liquid crystal molecules is controlled using this property to display information as an image.

JP 2008-111706 A

  Here, the glass substrate which comprises the liquid crystal display is manufactured by cut | disconnecting one mother glass substrate. For this reason, there is a problem that the shape of the liquid crystal display is limited to a polygon such as a quadrangle and cannot be designed freely.

  The objective of this invention is providing the measuring device which can improve the design freedom of the shape of a display part dramatically.

  The measuring device of the present invention is a measuring device including a display unit that displays information, and the display unit displays information by using a flexible display.

  A flexible display is a display that uses a plastic substrate instead of a glass substrate, and includes a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, an electrophoretic electronic paper, and the like. Since this flexible display is composed of a plastic substrate, it has features that it is easy to process the shape, is lightweight, and is resistant to impacts, compared to a display composed of a glass substrate.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the measuring instrument includes a display unit, and the display unit displays information by using a flexible display that can easily process the shape, so that the design flexibility of the shape of the display unit is greatly increased. Can be improved.
Note that since the plastic substrate can be manufactured with a lower plate thickness at a lower cost than a glass substrate, the visibility of the display portion can be easily improved.

  In the present invention, the flexible display is preferably a plastic liquid crystal display.

According to such a configuration, since the plastic liquid crystal display is configured by sandwiching liquid crystal molecules between two plastic substrates, the design freedom of the shape of the display unit can be greatly improved. .
In addition, plastic liquid crystal displays have lower power consumption, longer life, and lower costs compared to other flexible displays such as organic EL displays and electrophoretic electronic paper. It is particularly suitable for small digital display type measuring instruments such as micrometers and dial gauges.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of display units are provided, and the plurality of display units display information by sharing one flexible display.

  According to such a configuration, the measuring instrument includes a plurality of display units, so that, for example, main information such as measurement values is displayed on the main display, and sub-units such as the remaining battery level and measurement value units are displayed. By displaying the following information on the sub display, the convenience of the measuring instrument can be improved. In addition, since the plurality of display units display information by sharing one flexible display, the manufacturing cost of the measuring instrument can be reduced compared to the case where information is displayed by using the plurality of displays. .

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of display units are provided on different surfaces, and the flexible display is arranged by being bent to display information on each of the plurality of display units.

  According to such a configuration, since the plurality of display units are provided on different surfaces, for example, by providing display units on both the front surface (scale-side surface) and the back surface of the caliper slider. Both right-handed and left-handed users can use the same caliper. In addition, since the flexible display is arranged by being bent, information can be displayed on each of a plurality of display units provided on different surfaces.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that a mechanical switch for operating the measuring instrument is provided, and the switch is exposed to the outside through a hole formed in the flexible display.

  According to such a configuration, the display area of the display unit can be increased as compared with the case where the display unit is provided avoiding the switch, so that the visibility of the display unit can be improved.

  In the present invention, the flexible display preferably displays switch information related to the function of the switch.

  In a conventional measuring instrument, switch information related to a switch function is displayed by printing on a panel, a cover, or the like. For this reason, there is a problem that when a measuring instrument having a different switch function is manufactured even if it is the same type of measuring instrument, a panel, a cover, and the like must be manufactured separately for each function.

  According to the present invention, the switch is exposed to the outside through the hole formed in the flexible display, and the flexible display displays the switch information related to the function of the switch. Therefore, the switch information to be displayed on the flexible display is displayed. By changing, it is possible to cope with the same type of measuring device having different functions of the switch, and the manufacturing cost of the measuring device can be reduced.

The front view and back view of a caliper according to the first embodiment of the present invention Top view and perspective view showing plastic liquid crystal display Front view and plan view of a caliper according to a second embodiment of the present invention Top view and perspective view showing plastic liquid crystal display Front view of a dial gauge according to a third embodiment of the present invention Top view and perspective view showing plastic liquid crystal display The front view of the dial gauge which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention

[First Embodiment]
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view and a rear view of a caliper according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 1A shows a front view, and FIG. 1B shows a rear view.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vernier caliper 1 includes a main scale 11 formed in a rectangular plate shape, and a square cylindrical slider 12 that is slidably attached along the longitudinal direction of the main scale 11. It is a display-type measuring instrument.

The main scale 11 includes an outer measurement jaw 11A (left side in FIG. 1A) formed at the end of the slider 12 in the longitudinal direction and an inner measurement jaw 11B (FIG. 1) formed on the opposite side of the outer measurement jaw 11A. (A) right side). A main scale is provided on the front of the main scale 11 (not shown).
The slider 12 includes an outer measurement jaw 12A provided corresponding to the outer measurement jaw 11A, and an inner measurement jaw 12B provided corresponding to the inner measurement jaw 11B.

Further, the slider 12 includes a front display unit 13A provided on the front surface and a back display unit 13B provided on the back surface. In other words, the slider 12 includes a plurality of display portions 13A and 13B provided on different surfaces. A plurality of mechanical switches 12C are provided around the front display portion 13A. In the present embodiment, the vernier caliper 1 includes the two display units 13A and 13B, but may include three or more display units.
The front display unit 13A and the back display unit 13B display information by using a plastic liquid crystal display 13 as a flexible display.

FIG. 2 is a plan view and a perspective view showing the plastic liquid crystal display 13. Specifically, FIG. 2A shows a plan view and FIG. 2B shows a perspective view.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the plastic liquid crystal display 13 includes a rectangular front display portion 13A (a lower portion on the paper surface) and a rear display portion 13B (an upper portion on the paper surface) having substantially the same shape as the front display portion 13A. ) And a connecting portion 13C for connecting the front display portion 13A and the rear display portion 13B.

The front display portion 13A is formed with two holes 13A1 for exposing two switches 12C provided on the inner measurement jaws 11B and 12B side among the plurality of switches 12C to the outside.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the plastic liquid crystal display 13 is housed inside the slider 12 by being bent and exposed to the outside of the slider 12 through a rectangular window formed on the slider 12. . Therefore, the front display unit 13A and the back display unit 13B display information by sharing one plastic liquid crystal display 13.

  The caliper 1 can measure the outer length of the object to be measured by sliding the slider 12 with respect to the main scale 11 and bringing the outer measuring jaws 11A and 12A into contact with the outside of the object to be measured. . The caliper 1 can measure the inner length of the object to be measured by bringing the inner measuring jaws 11B and 12B into contact with the inner side of the object to be measured. The vernier caliper 1 displays information such as measurement values obtained by measuring the object to be measured on each of the front display unit 13A and the rear display unit 13B.

According to such 1st Embodiment, there can exist the following effects.
(1) The caliper 1 includes display units 13A and 13B, and the display units 13A and 13B display information by using a plastic liquid crystal display 13 that is easy to process the shape. The degree of design freedom can be dramatically improved.
(2) The plastic liquid crystal display 13 has lower power consumption, longer life, and can be manufactured at lower cost compared to other flexible displays such as organic EL displays and electrophoretic electronic paper. It is particularly suitable for the caliper 1, which is a small digital display type measuring instrument.

(3) The caliper 1 includes a plurality of display units 13A and 13B, and the plurality of display units 13A and 13B display information by sharing one plastic liquid crystal display 13, so that by using a plurality of displays The manufacturing cost of the vernier caliper 1 can be reduced compared with the case where information is displayed.
(4) Since the plurality of display portions 13A and 13B are provided on both the front and back surfaces of the slider 12 of the caliper 1, both the right-handed user and the left-handed user should use the same caliper 1. Can do.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, parts that have already been described are assigned the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 3 is a front view and a plan view of a caliper according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 3A shows a front view, and FIG. 3B shows a plan view.
In the first embodiment, the caliper 1 includes a plurality of display units 13A and 13B that display information by using the plastic liquid crystal display 13, and the plurality of display units 13A and 13B include a front surface, a rear surface, and a back surface of the caliper 1. It was provided on both sides.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the caliper 1A includes a plurality of display units 14A and 14B for displaying information by using a plastic liquid crystal display 14, as shown in FIG. 3, and the plurality of display units 14A and 14B. Are different from each other in that they are provided on the two surfaces of the front and upper surfaces of the caliper 1A. In the present embodiment, the vernier caliper 1A includes two display units 14A and 14B, but may include three or more display units. For example, the plurality of display units include a front surface of the vernier caliper, You may be provided in three surfaces, an upper surface and a back surface.

FIG. 4 is a plan view and a perspective view showing the plastic liquid crystal display 14. Specifically, FIG. 4A shows a plan view, and FIG. 4B shows a perspective view.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the plastic liquid crystal display 14 includes a rectangular front display portion 14A (a lower portion on the paper surface) and a rectangular upper surface display portion 14B (paper surface) having a smaller area than the front display portion 13A. Upper part).

The front display portion 14A is formed with two holes 14A1 for exposing two switches 12C provided on the inner measurement jaws 11B and 12B side among the plurality of switches 12C to the outside.
As shown in FIG. 4B, the plastic liquid crystal display 14 is housed inside the slider 12 by being folded and exposed to the outside of the slider 12 through a rectangular window formed in the slider 12. . Therefore, the front display unit 14A and the upper display unit 14B display information by sharing one plastic liquid crystal display 14.

In this embodiment as well, the same actions and effects as (1) to (3) in the first embodiment can be obtained, and the following actions and effects can be obtained.
(5) Since the plurality of display units 14A and 14B are provided on the two surfaces of the slider 12 of the caliper 1A and the upper surface, the user measures the object to be measured present at a low position. Even so, the upper surface display portion 14B provided on the upper surface can be easily visually recognized without taking a painful posture.

[Third Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 5 is a front view of a dial gauge according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 5, the dial gauge 2 is a digital display-type measuring instrument including a disk-shaped main body 21 and a spindle 22 provided so as to penetrate the main body 21 in the vertical direction.

The main body portion 21 includes a main display portion 23A provided in the approximate center of the front and a sub display portion 23B provided above the main display portion 23A. In other words, the main body unit 21 includes a plurality of display units 23A and 23B. A plurality of mechanical switches 21A are provided below the main display portion 23A. In this embodiment, the dial gauge 2 includes two display units 23A and 23B, but may include three or more display units.
The main display unit 23 </ b> A and the sub display unit 23 </ b> B display information by using the plastic liquid crystal display 23.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the plastic liquid crystal display 23.
As shown in FIG. 6, the plastic liquid crystal display 23 includes a substantially rectangular main display portion 23A (a lower portion on the paper surface) and a rectangular sub display portion 23B (an upper portion on the paper surface) having a smaller area than the main display portion 23A. Part). The plastic liquid crystal display 23 is exposed to the outside of the main body 21 through a rectangular window formed in the main body 21. Therefore, the main display unit 23A and the sub display unit 23B display information by sharing one plastic liquid crystal display 23.

  The dial gauge 2 can measure the object to be measured by bringing a measuring element provided at the tip of the spindle 22 (the lower end of the paper surface) into contact with the object to be measured. Then, the dial gauge 2 displays main information such as a measured value (amount of displacement of the spindle 22) obtained by measuring the object to be measured on the main display unit 23A, a remaining battery level, a unit of the measured value, and the like. Is displayed on the sub display unit 23B.

In this embodiment as well, the same actions and effects as (1) to (3) in the first embodiment can be obtained, and the following actions and effects can be obtained.
(6) The dial gauge 2 may display main information such as a measurement value on the main display unit 23A, and display secondary information such as a remaining battery level and a unit of the measurement value on the sub display unit 23B. Therefore, the convenience of the dial gauge 2 can be improved. Moreover, since the dial gauge 2 can display secondary information on the sub display unit 23B, main information such as measured values can be displayed largely on the main display unit 23A.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 7 is a front view of a dial gauge according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
In the third embodiment, the dial gauge 2 includes the plastic liquid crystal display 23, and the plastic liquid crystal display 23 is exposed to the outside of the main body 21 through a rectangular window formed in the main body 21.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the dial gauge 2A includes a plastic liquid crystal display 24 as a display unit as shown in FIG. 7, and the plastic liquid crystal display 24 covers the entire area in front of the main body unit 21. It differs in the point provided. Further, the switch 21A is exposed to the outside through a hole formed in the plastic liquid crystal display 24.
This plastic liquid crystal display 24 is used for the function of the switch 21A in addition to main information such as measurement values obtained by measuring the object to be measured, and secondary information such as the remaining battery level and the unit of measurement values. The switch information 24A is displayed.

Also in this embodiment, in addition to the same operations and effects as (1) and (2) in the first embodiment, the following operations and effects can be achieved.
(7) According to the dial gauge 2A, since the display area of the display unit can be enlarged as compared with the case where the display unit is provided avoiding the switch 21A, the visibility of the display unit can be improved.

(8) The switch 21A is exposed to the outside through a hole formed in the plastic liquid crystal display 24, and the plastic liquid crystal display 24 displays switch information 24A related to the function of the switch 21A. By changing the switch information 24A to be displayed, it is possible to deal with the same kind of dial gauge having different functions of the switch 21A, and the manufacturing cost of the dial gauge can be reduced.

[Modification of Embodiment]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, and the like within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.
For example, in each of the above embodiments, the calipers 1 and 1A and the dial gauges 2 and 2A are exemplified as the measuring devices, but other measuring devices such as a micrometer may be used. In short, the measuring instrument of the present invention only needs to include a display unit for displaying information.
In each of the above embodiments, the plastic liquid crystal displays 13, 14, 23, and 24 are used as the flexible display. However, other flexible displays such as an organic EL display and an electrophoretic electronic paper may be used.

  As described above, the present invention can be suitably used for a measuring instrument including a display unit that displays information.

1,1A caliper (measuring instrument)
2,2A dial gauge (measuring instrument)
11 Main scale 12 Slider 12C Switch 13 Plastic liquid crystal display (flexible display)
13A Front display unit 13B Rear display unit 14 Plastic liquid crystal display (flexible display)
14A Front display unit 14B Upper surface display unit 21 Body unit 21A Switch 22 Spindle 23 Plastic liquid crystal display (flexible display)
23A Main display unit 23B Sub display unit 24 Plastic liquid crystal display (display unit, flexible display)
24A switch information

Claims (6)

A measuring instrument comprising a display unit for displaying information,
The display unit displays information by using a flexible display. The measuring instrument according to claim 1, wherein
The measuring instrument, wherein the flexible display is a plastic liquid crystal display. The measuring instrument according to claim 1 or 2,
A plurality of the display units;
The plurality of display units display information by sharing one flexible display. The measuring instrument according to claim 3, wherein
The plurality of display units are provided on different surfaces,
The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible display displays information on each of the plurality of display units by being bent. The measuring instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A mechanical switch for operating the measuring instrument;
The measuring device, wherein the switch is exposed to the outside through a hole formed in the flexible display. The measuring instrument according to claim 5, wherein
The flexible display displays switch information related to the function of the switch.

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