JP2023147538A - Timepiece - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a timepiece capable of emitting light from both sides of a housing while reducing the cost and thinning the housing.SOLUTION: A timepiece comprises: a housing including a front case 20 and a rear case 30 provided to overlap the front case 20 in a front-rear direction; a second LED 62 provided in the housing; and a substantially plate-like light guide member 50 provided in the housing and guiding light from the second LED 62 to both sides in the front-rear direction. The front case 20 includes a front light emitting part 21 for emitting light by the light guided by the light guide member 50, provided at a position overlapping the light guide member 50 in the front-rear direction, and the rear case 30 includes a rear light emitting part 31 for emitting light by the light guided by the light guide member 50, provided at a position overlapping the light guide member 50 in the front-rear direction. The light guide member 50 is so configured that both plate surfaces respectively face the front light emitting part 21 side and the rear light emitting part side 31, and has incidence planes on side surfaces where light from the second LED 62 enters.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a watch.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, clocks have been known in which one side of a housing emits light from a light source. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a timepiece device that includes a light source, a light guide plate, and a dial plate mounted on a circuit board, and these are housed in a housing. In this timepiece device, the light guide plate is irradiated with light from the light source, and the light guide plate emits light from the dial provided on the front side of the casing.

JP2015-31548

For example, there are cases where it is desired to emit light not only on one side of the housing, but also on the other side, such as the front and rear surfaces of the housing. However, in the timepiece device of Patent Document 1, if you try to emit light not only from the front side of the casing but also from the rear side, it is necessary to separately provide a light source and a circuit board for emitting light from the rear side, which increases manufacturing costs. . Furthermore, if circuit boards are provided on both the front and back sides, the thickness of the casing increases, making it difficult to reduce the thickness of the casing.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a timepiece that can emit light from both sides of the casing while reducing costs and making the casing thinner.

The timepiece of the present invention includes a casing having a first case and a second case provided to overlap with the first case in a first direction, a light source provided within the casing, and a light source provided within the casing. , a substantially plate-shaped light guide member that guides light from the light source to both sides in the first direction, and the first case has the light guide member at a position overlapping with the light guide member in the first direction. The second case has a first light emitting part that emits light by the light guided by the light guide member, and the second case is arranged to emit light guided by the light guide member at a position overlapping with the light guide member in the first direction. The light guiding member has a second light emitting section that emits light from the light source, and the light guide member is provided with both plate surfaces facing the first light emitting section and the second light emitting section, respectively, and the light guide member has a side surface that emits light from the light source. has an incident surface on which the incident light is incident.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a timepiece that can emit light from both sides of the casing while reducing costs and making the casing thinner.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a timepiece according to an embodiment, viewed from the front side. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a timepiece according to an embodiment, viewed from the rear side. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the timepiece according to the embodiment, and P1 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the first LED. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a light guide member of a timepiece according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the arrangement of the circuit board and light guide member of the timepiece according to the embodiment, viewed from the front side. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the light guide member of the timepiece according to the embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a light guide plate provided on the front case of the timepiece according to the embodiment, viewed from the rear side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the light guide plate provided on the rear case of the timepiece according to the embodiment, viewed from the rear side.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a timepiece 1 according to the present embodiment includes a thin, horizontally elongated box-shaped casing 10. The housing 10 is provided with a display section 12 that digitally displays the time. In addition, coordinate axes are shown in each figure, and below, the X-axis direction in each figure is taken as the front-rear direction (first direction) of the watch 1 (the positive direction of the X-axis is taken as the front direction), and the Y-axis direction in each figure is The direction will be described as the left-right direction of the watch 1 (the positive Y-axis direction is the left direction), and the Z-axis direction in each figure is the vertical direction of the watch 1 (the positive Z-axis direction is the upward direction). The housing 10 is installed leaning against a base or the like (not shown) with the display section 12 facing forward.

The housing 10 includes a front case (first case) 20 provided on the front side and a rear case (second case) 30 provided on the rear side. By assembling both cases 20 and 30, a space is provided between both cases 20 and 30. The lower portion of the casing 10 is sloped so that the thickness decreases toward the bottom. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower portions of the front case 20 and the rear case 30 are sloped surfaces. The front case 20 has a generally shallow dish shape that opens to the rear, and the rear case 30 has a generally shallow dish shape that opens to the front.

As shown in FIG. 1, a front light emitting section (first light emitting section) 21 that emits light from a second LED 62, which will be described later, is provided at the right end of the front case 20. The front light emitting section 21 has two front light emitting holes 21a that are opened in a substantially circular shape and emit the light from the second LED 62 to the front side. The front light exit holes 21a are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, a rear light emitting section (second light emitting section) 31 that similarly emits light from the second LED 62 is provided at the right end of the rear case 30. The rear light emitting section 31 has a rear light output hole 31a that is opened in a substantially circular shape at a position overlapping each front light output hole 21a in the front-rear direction and that emits the light from the second LED 62 to the rear side. are doing.

The inner surface (opening side) of the front case 20 is provided with three claw-shaped front upper end engaging portions 22 arranged at approximately equal intervals along the left-right direction on the upper edge side, and the lower edge side thereof. Three claw-shaped front lower end engaging portions 24 are provided at approximately equal intervals along the left-right direction (see FIG. 7). On the other hand, on the inner surface (opening side) of the rear case 30, three claw-shaped rear upper end engaging portions 32 are provided on the upper edge side thereof and are arranged at approximately equal intervals along the left-right direction. , three claw-shaped rear lower end engaging portions 34 are provided on the lower edge side thereof and are arranged at approximately equal intervals along the left-right direction (see FIG. 8). By sliding one side of the front case 20 and the rear case 30 in the left-right direction toward the other side, the front upper end engaging part 22 and the rear upper end engaging part 32, the front lower end engaging part 24 and the rear lower end The engaging portions 34 can be engaged with each other, and the front case 20 and the rear case 30 can be assembled.

As shown in FIG. 3, a control circuit board 40, a light guide member 50, and the like are housed in a space created between the front case 20 and the rear case 30 when they are assembled. The control circuit board 40 controls the display mode in the display section 12, the light emission mode in the front light emitting section 21 and the rear light emitting section 31, and the like. The control circuit board 40 is fixed by being screwed to the inner surface (opening side) of the front case 20 (see FIG. 7). Mounted on the control circuit board 40 are one first LED 61 supported by a first support wall 41 and one second LED (light source) 62 supported by a second support wall 42. (See enlarged view P1 in FIG. 3). The first LED 61 is supported by the first support wall 41 so as to emit light to the left side along the left-right direction, and the second LED 62 emits light downward (toward the light guide member 50 side) along the up-down direction. It is supported by the second support wall 42 in such a manner.

As shown in the enlarged view P1 of FIG. 3, on the left side of the first LED 61 on the control circuit board 40, a backlight 44 through which light from the first LED 61 enters is provided. A diffusion plate 45 is provided in front of the backlight 44. A liquid crystal panel 46 is provided on the front side of the diffusion plate 45. The backlight 44, the diffusion plate 45, and the liquid crystal panel 46 are provided at positions overlapping the display section 12 in the front-rear direction, and constitute a mechanism for displaying the time on the display section 12 with liquid crystal display. The front case 20 is provided with a display opening 12a into which a liquid crystal panel 46 is assembled.

Next, the configuration of the light guide member 50 will be explained in detail. The light guide member 50 is a substantially plate-shaped member, and is provided with both plate surfaces facing the front light emitting section 21 side and the rear light emitting section 31 side, respectively, in the front-rear direction. The light guide member 50 is arranged below the second LED 62 in close proximity to the light emitting surface 62a of the second LED 62 inside the housing 10 (see FIG. 5). The light guide member 50 is made of a material with excellent translucency (for example, acrylic resin), and guides the light emitted from the second LED 62 to the front light emitting section 21 side and the rear light emitting section 31 side, respectively. do.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the light guide member 50 includes a pair of light guide plates 51 and 52. Hereinafter, the light guide plate provided on the front side of the pair of light guide plates 51 and 52 will be referred to as the front light guide plate 51, and the light guide plate provided on the rear side will be referred to as the rear light guide plate 52. The front light guide plate 51 and the rear light guide plate 52 have the same shape, are reversed in the front and back, and are overlapped in the front-rear direction so that the rear surface of the front light guide plate 51 and the front surface of the rear light guide plate 52 are close to each other. The light guide member 50 as a whole has a substantially trapezoidal shape with rounded lower corners when viewed from the front side, and has a shape that is symmetrical from front to back and from left to right.

The side surface of the light guide member 50, that is, the upper end portion of the side surface of the front light guide plate 51 and the rear light guide plate 52, approximately at the center in the left-right direction, is cut out in a substantially arc shape so as to be convex downward when viewed from the front. It's dark. This substantially arc-shaped cutout portion faces the second LED 62 and serves as an entrance surface 50a into which the light emitted from the second LED 62 enters. The entrance surface 50a has a front entrance surface 51a provided on the front light guide plate 51 and a rear entrance surface 52a provided on the rear light guide plate 52. The light guide member 50 is provided inside the housing 10 so that the center portion of the incident surface 50a in the left-right direction faces the light output surface 62a of the second LED 62. Since the entrance surface 50a is provided in a substantially arc shape, the light incident on the entrance surface 50a is diffused into the light guide member 50 in a substantially fan-shaped manner in the left-right direction from the entrance surface 50a.

At approximately the center in the vertical direction on the front surface of the front light guide plate 51, front protrusions (first protrusions) 51b that protrude forward in a substantially cylindrical shape are provided on both left and right sides thereof. The tip of each front protrusion 51b has a substantially hemispherical shape. In addition, a fine uneven pattern is provided on the rear surface of the front light guide plate 51 at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction, at a position overlapping with each front protrusion 51b in the front-rear direction, so that the light that reaches the front protrusion 51b ( A front side diffuse reflection section (first diffuse reflection section) 51d that causes diffuse reflection on the front side) is provided (see FIGS. 6 and 7).

The rear light guide plate 52, which has the same shape as the front light guide plate 51, also has a substantially cylindrical shape protruding rearward at a portion corresponding to the front protrusion 51b and the front diffuse reflection part 51d provided on the front light guide plate 51. Two rear side protrusions (second protrusions) 52b and two rear side diffuse reflection parts (second diffuse reflection parts) that diffusely reflect the light that reaches the rear side protrusions 52b side (rear side) by being provided with a fine uneven pattern. ) 52d (see FIGS. 6 and 8). Each front side diffuse reflection part 51d provided on the front side light guide plate 51 and each rear side diffuse reflection part 52d provided on the rear side light guide plate 52 overlap in the front-back direction in close proximity to each other (see FIG. 6).

The lower portion of the front light guide plate 51 has a substantially central portion in the left-right direction protruding downward in a mountain shape. This protruding portion is provided with a front screw hole 51c that opens in a substantially circular shape and passes through the plate surface of the front light guide plate 51. The rear light guide plate 52 , which has the same shape as the front light guide plate 51 , also has a substantially circular opening at a position corresponding to the front screw hole 51 c provided in the front light guide plate 51 . A rear screw hole (not shown) is provided through the surface. In this manner, by providing the screw holes 51 in the protruding portions of each of the light guide plates 51 and 52 where light is difficult to be guided, light leakage from each screw hole 51 can be suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 7, the front light guide plate 51 is screwed to the inner surface of the front case 20 by a front screw S1 inserted into the front screw hole 51c, and is fixed to the front case 20. By fixing the front light guide plate 51 to the front case 20, the tip of the front protrusion 51b comes into contact with the open end of the front light exit hole 21a from the inner surface thereof (see FIG. 1). Further, around the front light guide plate 51, a front enclosing wall (enclosing wall portion) 20a is provided that extends rearward in a wall shape along the shape of the side surface of the front light guide plate 51. The front enclosing wall 20a stands up slightly to the rear side of the rear surface of the front light guide plate 51, and is located close to the side surface of the front light guide plate 51 at a portion of the side surface of the front light guide plate 51 excluding the vicinity of the front entrance surface 51a. surrounding.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 8, the rear light guide plate 52 is screwed to the inner surface of the rear case 30 by a rear screw S2 inserted into the rear screw hole, and is fixed to the rear case 30. . By fixing the rear light guide plate 52 to the rear case 30, the tip of the rear protrusion 52b comes into contact with the open end of the rear light exit hole 31a from the inner surface side (see FIG. 2). A rear enclosing wall (enclosing wall portion) 30a is provided around the rear light guide plate 52 and rises in the shape of a wall toward the front along the shape of the side surface of the rear light guide plate 52. The rear enclosing wall 30a stands up slightly to the front side of the front surface of the rear light guide plate 52, and is close to the side surface of the rear light guide plate 52 so that the rear side entrance surface 52a of the side surfaces of the rear light guide plate 52 is located close to the side surface of the rear light guide plate 52. It surrounds the parts except for the vicinity.

In this way, by fixing the front light guide plate 51 to the front case 20 and fixing the rear light guide plate 52 to the rear case 30, the front case 20 and the rear case 30 can be assembled by sliding each other in the left and right direction. By attaching the front light guide plate 51 and the rear light guide plate 52 to each other, the front light guide plate 51 and the rear light guide plate 52 are closely overlapped in the front-rear direction, and the light guide member 50 is configured inside the housing 10 . Note that when the front case 20 and the rear case 30 are assembled, there is almost no gap between the rising tip of the front surrounding wall 20a and the rising tip of the rear surrounding wall 30a.

Next, the optical path of the light that is emitted from the light exit surface 62a of the second LED 62 and enters the entrance surface 50a of the light guide member 50 will be described. Most of the light incident on the entrance surface 50a enters the front entrance surface 51a and the rear entrance surface 52a, and a portion enters the gap between the front light guide plate 51 and the rear light guide plate 52. The light incident on the front entrance surface 51a and the rear entrance surface 52a is diffused in a substantially fan shape in the left-right direction and guided within each light guide plate 51, 52. Of the light guided within each light guide plate 51, 52, the light that reaches each front diffuse reflection part 51d is diffusely reflected by each front diffuse reflection part 51d toward each front protrusion 51b, and reaches each rear diffuse reflection part 52d. The light is diffusely reflected toward each rear protrusion 52b by each rear diffuse reflection section 52d.

The light diffusely reflected toward each front protrusion 51b is emitted from the tip of each front protrusion 51b to the front of the front case 20 through each front light exit hole 21a. As a result, the front light emitting section 21 emits light. Similarly, the light diffusely reflected toward each rear protrusion 52b is emitted from the tip of each rear protrusion 52b to the rear of the rear case 30 through each rear light exit hole 31a. As a result, the rear light emitting section 31 emits light. In this way, the front light emitting section 21 and the rear light emitting section 31 each emit light using the light emitted from the second LED 62 and guided by the light guide member 50.

As described above, the watch 1 according to the present embodiment includes a case 10 having a front case 20 and a rear case 30 that overlaps the front case 20 in the front-rear direction, and a case 10 provided inside the case 10. It includes a second LED 62 and a substantially plate-shaped light guide member 50 that is provided in the housing 10 and guides the light from the second LED 62 to both sides in the front-rear direction. The front case 20 has a front light emitting part 21 that emits light by the light guided by the light guide member 50 at a position overlapping with the light guide member 50 in the front and rear direction, and the rear case 30 has a front light emitting part 21 that emits light by the light guided by the light guide member 50. The light guide member 50 has a rear light emitting part 31 that emits light by the light guided by the light guide member 50 at a position overlapping with the light member 50, and the light guide member 50 has both plate surfaces facing the front light emitting part 21 side and the rear light emitting part 21 side, respectively. It is provided to face the part 31 side, and has an entrance surface 50a on the side surface through which light from the second LED 62 enters.

In the watch 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the one second LED 62 provided inside the housing 10 lights up the front and rear sides of the housing 10 (the front light emitting section 21 side and the rear light emitting section). The sides 31) can each be made to emit light. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a circuit board and a light source on both the front and rear sides of the interior of the housing 10, and it is possible to reduce costs and make the housing thinner. In this manner, the timepiece 1 according to the present embodiment can emit light from both sides of the housing 10 while reducing costs and making the housing thinner.

In the watch 1, the light guide member 50 also includes a front protrusion 51b provided at a position overlapping with the front light emitting part 21 in the front-rear direction and protruding toward the front light emitting part 21, and a front protrusion 51b that overlaps with the rear light emitting part 31 in the front-rear direction. It has a rear protrusion 52b that is provided at a position and protrudes toward the rear light emitting part 31 side. As a result, part of the light from the second LED 62 that has entered the incident surface 50a of the light guiding member 50 is guided by the front protrusion 51b and reaches the front light emitting part 21, and the other part is transmitted to the rear. The light is guided by the side protrusion 51b and reaches the rear light emitting section 31. Therefore, the light incident on the light guiding member 50 can be effectively guided to the front light emitting section 21 side and the rear light emitting section 31 side.

Furthermore, in the timepiece 1, the front end portions of the front protrusion 51b and the rear protrusion 52b have substantially hemispherical shapes. This spreads the light emitted from the tips of the front protrusion 51b and the rear protrusion 52b, so that the front light emitting section 21 and the rear light emitting section 31 can emit light over a wide range. Furthermore, the design of the front end portions of the front protrusion 51b and the rear protrusion 52b exposed to the outside from the front light exit hole 21a and the rear light exit hole 31a can be improved.

In the watch 1, the light guide member 50 also includes a front diffuse reflection section 51d that is provided at a position overlapping the front protrusion 51b in the front-rear direction and diffusely reflects the light from the second LED 62 toward the front protrusion 51b, and a front diffuse reflection section 51d in the front-rear direction. It has a rear diffused reflection section 52d that is provided at a position overlapping with the rear projection 52b and diffusely reflects the light from the second LED 62 toward the rear projection 52b. Thereby, the light guided within the light guiding member 50 is effectively guided to the front protrusion 51b side by the front diffuse reflection part 51d, and is effectively guided to the rear protrusion part 52b by the rear diffuse reflection part 52d. be illuminated. Therefore, the light incident on the light guide member 50 can be guided to the front light emitting section 21 side and the rear light emitting section 31 side more effectively.

Further, in the watch 1, the front case 20 has a front enclosing wall 20a provided to surround the side surface of the front light guide plate 51 except for the front incident surface 51a, and the rear case 30 has a A rear enclosing wall 30a is provided to surround the side surface of the light plate 52 except for the rear entrance surface 52a. Therefore, light leakage from the side surfaces of the light guide member 50 (front light guide plate 51 and rear light guide plate 52) can be prevented or suppressed by the front surrounding wall 20a and the rear surrounding wall 30a.

Further, in the watch 1, the light guide member 50 is composed of a pair of light guide plates 51 and 52 that are stacked one on top of the other with the plate surfaces close to each other, and one of the pair of light guide plates 51 and 52 (the front light guide plate 51) is The light guide plate 52 is provided on the front case 20 side, and the other (rear light guide plate 52) is provided on the rear case 30 side. Thereby, by assembling the front case 20 and the rear case 30, the light guide member 50 is configured inside the housing 10. Therefore, when the front case 20 and the rear case 30 are slid relative to each other in the horizontal direction, one of the cases does not interfere with the light guide member 50, and the front case 20 and the rear case 30 are assembled by sliding. It is possible to realize a configuration that can be attached.

Note that the embodiments described above are presented as examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and gist of the invention, as well as within the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

1 Clock 10 Housing 12 Display section 12a Display opening 20 Housing 20a Front enclosing wall 21 Front light emitting section 21a Front light exit hole 22 Front upper end engaging section 24 Front lower end engaging section 30 Rear case 30a Rear enclosing wall 31 Rear light emitting part 31a Rear light exit hole 32 Rear upper end engaging part 34 Rear lower end engaging part 40 Control circuit board 41 First support wall 42 Second support wall 44 Backlight 45 Diffusion plate 46 Liquid crystal panel 50 Light guide Member 50a Incident surface 51 Front light guide plate 51a Front incident surface 51b Front protrusion 51c Front screw hole 51d Front diffusely reflecting part 52 Rear light guide plate 52a Rear incident surface 52b Rear protruding part 52d Rear diffusely reflecting part 61 First LED
62 Second LED 62a Light exit surface S1 Front screw S2 Rear screw

Claims (6)

a casing having a first case and a second case provided to overlap the first case in a first direction;
a light source provided within the housing;
a substantially plate-shaped light guiding member provided in the housing and guiding light from the light source to both sides in the first direction;
The first case has a first light emitting part that emits light by light guided by the light guide member at a position overlapping with the light guide member in the first direction,
The second case has a second light emitting part that emits light by light guided by the light guide member at a position overlapping the light guide member in the first direction,
The light guiding member is provided with both plate surfaces facing toward the first light emitting section and the second light emitting section, respectively, and has an incident surface on a side surface through which light from the light source enters.
A watch characterized by: The light guide member includes a first protrusion that is provided at a position overlapping with the first light emitting part in the first direction and protrudes toward the first light emitting part, and overlaps with the second light emitting part in the first direction. The timepiece according to claim 1, further comprising a second protrusion that is provided at a position and protrudes toward the second light emitting section. 3. The timepiece according to claim 2, wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion each have a substantially hemispherical tip. The light guiding member includes a first diffuse reflection section that is provided at a position overlapping with the first protrusion in the first direction and diffusely reflects the light from the light source toward the first protrusion, and 4. The timepiece according to claim 2, further comprising a second diffuse reflection section that is provided at a position overlapping with the second protrusion and diffusely reflects the light from the light source toward the second protrusion. The timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a wall portion provided to surround at least a portion of a side surface of the light guide member excluding the incident surface. The light guide member is composed of a pair of light guide plates overlapped with their plate surfaces close to each other,
The timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein one of the pair of light guide plates is provided on the first case side and the other is provided on the second case side.

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