JP3027700B2 - Multifunctional display clock - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for switching and displaying sensor information such as time, temperature, humidity, weather, calendar, and timekeeping information by indicating an index on a dial with a pointer. The above-mentioned index is changed to indicate the information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional multifunction display clocks include time information such as time, measurement time such as a stopwatch, calendar information such as date and day of the week, and temperature and humidity from sensors.
Some display barometric pressure and weather information. In addition, there has been a digital display in which the information is switched and displayed on one display device.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional multifunction display timepiece, a large number of indices of information are always present on the face of the dial, and it is instantaneous whether each information is indicated or the time is indicated. However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to identify the index, and it is difficult to read, and as the type of information to be displayed increases, the index on the dial face becomes crowded.
In addition, the digital display merely displays a numerical value or illuminates a segment or the like of the information, and it is difficult to provide a moving and interesting characteristic. Further, in the hand-held timepiece, as a moving configuration, there is a karakuri timepiece that operates a decorative body such as a doll. For example, a mechanical timepiece (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-249975, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-346469, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-71194, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. And Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-99390 and
No. 99391, a shutter mechanism for opening and closing the dial surface has been proposed, all of which are intended to make a decorative body or a pattern appear, and mainly have a dynamic taste. Was not provided to the user. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a multifunction display clock capable of avoiding congestion with an index of information other than time. It is another object of the present invention to provide a multi-function display clock in which the display of the time and the information other than the time can be clearly distinguished, and a multi-function display clock having a moving taste.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a multifunction display timepiece which displays information other than time with hands, and a mode selection switch for selecting and indicating display information. And a control circuit for causing the index of the selected information to appear in response to the selection instruction signal and indicating the index of the information based on the information data. In addition, when causing the index to appear, the pointer may be temporarily retracted to a specific position, and further, the mode selection switch detects a posture and causes a predetermined information indicator to appear corresponding to the posture, and In some cases, the information is indicated by a pointer.

[0005]

In the multifunction display timepiece of the present invention, an index dial plate of the selected information appears in the display area in response to the operation of the mode selection switch, and an instruction display is provided by the hands according to the data of the information. I do. Therefore, it is possible to display a large number of information by dividing the movable dial or arranging a plurality of dials in a superposed manner. Since the dial having the index of the selected information can be visually recognized in the display area by switching all or part of the time display, the time display and the information display other than the time can be clearly distinguished, Since the dial and the hands move in accordance with the operation of the mode selection switch, a multifunctional display clock having a taste can be obtained.

[0006]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a multifunction display timepiece according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are front views showing a first dial and a second dial shown in FIG. 1, respectively, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the multifunction display timepiece, and FIG. 5 is a front view when the display state is switched. Reference numeral 2 denotes a case, and a window 2a is provided at the center of the front of the case, and the inside of the window 2a is a display area 4 for displaying time and the like. In the display area 4, a first dial 6, a second dial 8, a pointer 10
Is provided.

[0007] As shown in FIG.
It is fixed to a wall 2 b in the case 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a first time index 6a indicating the time from 9:00 to 3:00 and weather information arranged at the position from 4:00 to 8:00 are displayed on the front of the first dial plate 6. A first information indicator 6b to be displayed is provided. First time index 6a in the present embodiment
And the first information index 6b are both arranged in the display area 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the second dial 8 has a first dial
It is arranged so as to be superposed in front of the dial 6, and is instructed to be movable up and down in the figure. As shown in FIG. 3, a rectangular window portion 8a is provided at substantially the center of the second dial 8 so as to fit the portion of the first dial 6 where the first time index 6a and the hands 10 are provided. Have been. In addition, a second time from 4:00 to 8:00 is displayed below the window 8a.
A time index 8b is provided. This second time index 8b
And the second information index 8c are arranged so as to match the positions from 4 o'clock to 8 o'clock and 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock in the display area 4, respectively.

In this embodiment, the pointer 10 comprises an hour hand 10a and a minute hand 10b. As shown in FIG.
First from movement 12 housed inside case 2
It is attached to a pointer shaft 14 protruding through a central hole 6c of the dial 6. The hour hand 10a and the minute hand 10b in this embodiment are driven by separate motors so that a lot of information can be displayed. The circuit configuration for driving and controlling the pointer 10 will be described later.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 16 denotes a display changeover switch, which corresponds to a mode selection switch. In the present embodiment, an operation unit for sliding the second dial 8 up and down and a switch for switching the instruction state of the hands 10 are also used, and are set so as to be operated by sliding up and down in the figure. ing.

Next, the display switching operation of the first embodiment having the above configuration will be described. In this embodiment, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the time is displayed by positioning the second dial 8 upward. That is, when the second dial 8 is positioned above, the first time index 6a of the first dial 6 appears from the window 8a, and the second time index 8b is set to the first information index 6b of the first dial 6. It is located forward and covers it. Therefore, the first time index 6a of the first dial 6 and the second time index 8b of the second dial 8 are located in the display area 4, and only the time index is displayed. The hands display the time according to the time data. At this time, the second information index 8c of the second dial 8 is located inside the upper part of the window 2a of the case 2, that is, outside the display area 4, and cannot be seen from the front of the timepiece.

Here, when the switch 16 is slid downward in the figure, the second dial 8 is moved downward by a motor mechanism or a connecting lever (not shown) in conjunction with this operation.
For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5, the second time index 8b of the second dial 8 moves to the lower inside of the window 2a of the case 2, that is, to the outside of the display area 4, and instead, the second information Indicator 8c
Moves downward into the display area 4. Thereby, the first time index 6a of the first dial 6 is almost covered with the second information index 8c of the second dial 8, and the first information index 6b of the first dial 6 is changed to the second dial 8 From the window 8a. As a result, the first information index 6 of the first dial 6 is displayed in the display area 4.
b and the second information indicator 8c of the second dial 8 are located, and the pointer displays information data by a signal from the switch 16. In this embodiment,
The hour hand 10a whose driving state has been switched by the operation of the switch 16 indicates the forecasted weather by pointing to the mark indicating the weather of the first information indicator 6b, and the minute hand 10b indicates the temperature indicating the temperature of the second information indicator 8c. Point to to show the current temperature.

In the first embodiment, two pieces of information relating to weather and temperature are displayed.
Only one of them may be displayed. In addition, the display can be switched by sliding the second dial 8 right and left instead of up and down. In this case, the first information indicator 6b of the first dial 6 is arranged at the position from 1 o'clock to 5 o'clock or 7 o'clock to 11 o'clock, and the second time indicator 8b of the second dial 8 is Each of the information indicators 8c is 1
What is necessary is just to arrange | position at 5 o'clock from the time, and 7 o'clock to 11 o'clock.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a multifunction display timepiece according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 8 is a front view when a display state is switched, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view thereof. It is. Also in this embodiment, the inside of the window 22a of the case 22 is a display area 24 for displaying time and the like. In the display area 24, a first dial 26 provided with a time indicator 26a for displaying time on the surface thereof, and a pointer 30 attached to a pointer shaft 34 protruding from the movement 32 are provided. The first dial 26 is also fixed to the wall 22b of the case 22 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. Also,
The hands 30 also include an hour hand 30a and a minute hand 30b that are separately driven.

Outside the display area 24, that is, inside the lower part of the window 22a of the case 22, there is provided a second dial plate 28 having an information indicator 28a for displaying weather information on its surface. . The second dial 28 is instructed to be movable up and down in the figure, and the mode selection switch 36 is pressed via a lever 38 that moves like a seesaw in which the center is rotatably instructed by a shaft 40. Move up and down in conjunction with operation.

In the second embodiment having the above structure,
Usually, only the first dial 26 is present in the display area 24, and only the time is clearly displayed by the time index 26a.
On the other hand, when the mode selection switch 36 is pressed, the second dial 28 is pushed up by the operation of the lever 38 and jumps out into the display area 24. Second dial 2 in this embodiment
8 moves upward from 8 o'clock of the time index 26a to 8
Overlap with the hour position. At this time, the hour hand 3 in the present embodiment
In a state where 0a and the minute hand 30b overlap each other, the predicted weather is clearly displayed by pointing to the mark indicating the weather of the information index 28a. A plurality of dials similar to the second dial 28 can be provided, and the information index 28a of the second dial 28 can be used as a plurality of information indices.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a multifunction display timepiece according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are front views showing a first dial and a second dial shown in FIG. 10, respectively. 1
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the multifunction display timepiece shown in FIG. The case 42 according to the third embodiment has a window 42a serving as a display area 44 substantially at the center thereof, and has an outer surface formed of a plurality of planes that can be placed on a plane such as a desk. FIG.
Is set such that all four outer surfaces 42b to 42e have a square front shape formed of a flat surface.

Further, the case 4 stored in the display area 44
On the surface of the first dial plate 46 fixed to the second wall portion 42f, a first time index 46 indicating 11:00 to 1:00 of the time is displayed.
a and information indices 46b to 46d respectively displaying information of weather, humidity and temperature are arranged in a circle. Further, a second time index 48a for displaying the time from 2 o'clock to 10 o'clock is provided on the surface of the second dial 48, which is accommodated in the display area 44 so as to overlap the front of the first dial 46. In addition, a cutout portion or a window portion 48b made of a transparent member is provided at a position from 11:00 to 1 o'clock. The first dial plate 46 and the second dial plate 48 are arranged so as to overlap with each other so that the pointer shaft 54 projecting from the movement 52 is centered, and the second dial plate 48 is fixed by the pointer shaft 54 or the case 42. It is rotatably supported. The second dial 48 in the present embodiment is set so as to rotate so that the window 48b is always positioned at the 12:00 position (upward) due to its own weight or the like when the posture of the timepiece is changed. .

In the multifunction display timepiece according to the third embodiment, mode setting switches 56b to 56e for switching the indicating state of the hands 50 are provided on each of the outer surfaces 42b to 42e of the case 42, one by one. When the watch is placed on a flat surface such as a desk with the outer surfaces 42b to 42e facing down, the mode selection switches 56b to 56e are turned on and the display data of the hands 50 is switched. I have.

Next, the operation of the multifunction display timepiece according to the third embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, a circular mark 58 is provided at the 12 o'clock position in the time display state to make it easier to determine a change in the attitude of the clock. First, as shown in FIG. 14, when the case 42 is placed on a desk or the like with the outer surface 42d facing down, the mode selection switch 56d provided on the outer surface 42d is turned on, and the hands 50 It becomes a state indicating the time. At this time, the second dial 48
Since the window 48b is stopped at the upper position, the first time index 46a of the first dial 46 can be seen from the window 48b, and together with the second time index 48a of the second dial 48. Only show the time clearly.

Here, as shown in FIG.
When the outer surface 42c is placed with the outer side surface 42c facing down, the mode selection switch 56c is turned on instead of the mode selection switch 56d on the outer side surface 42d, and the hands 50 switch to a state indicating the weather information. At this time, the second dial plate 48 rotates and stops so that the window portion 48b is positioned upward due to a change in the posture of the case 42. Further, at this time, the information index 46b for displaying the weather information located at the 3 o'clock position of the first dial 46 is in a state of being located upward. For this reason, the information indicator 46b for displaying the weather information can be seen from the window 48b of the second dial plate 48, and the pointer 50 indicates the weather to display the weather.

As shown in FIG. 16, when the case 42 is placed with the outer side surface 42b facing down, the mode selection switch 56b is turned on, and the pointer 50 is switched to a state for displaying humidity information. Be replaced. At this time, the second dial 4
8 rotates similarly to the above-described operation so that the window 48b faces upward. In addition, since the posture of the case 42 has changed, the information index 46c for displaying the humidity information is displayed.
Is located above. Therefore, this information index 4
6c becomes visible from the window 48b,
Humidity is indicated by indicating 0.

Further, as shown in FIG. 17, when the case 42 is placed with the outer surface 42e of the case 42 down, the mode selection switch 56e is turned on, and the pointer 50 is switched to a state for displaying temperature information. Be replaced. At this time, the second dial 4
Reference numeral 8 denotes an information indicator 46 which rotates so that the window 48b is located upward, and displays temperature information of the first dial 46.
c is located above. For this reason, the information index 46c becomes visible from the window 48b of the second dial 48, and the temperature is displayed by indicating the pointer 50 with the information index 46c.

In this embodiment, the first dial 46 is used.
Is fixed, and the second dial plate 48 is set to be rotatable. However, the first dial plate 46 is rotatably supported, and the second dial plate 4 is rotatably supported.
8 may be fixed. Further, the second dial plate 48 in the embodiment is rotated by its own weight, weight, or the like. However, the second dial plate 48 can be automatically operated by using a motor. Further, the mode selection switches 56b to 56e may be provided internally as gravity switches, or may be changed to dial type switches, and the second dial 46 may be configured to rotate according to the rotation of the switches.

As another mode, as shown in FIG. 18, the dial for displaying the time is divided, and by operating the switch 16, the motor and the wheel train mechanism provided on the back surface of the front frame shown by the broken line. It is also possible to provide an information indicator on the back surface of the divided dials 8e and 8f so as to rotate.
In this case, the hands are temporarily retracted to a predetermined position, for example, at 12:00 or 6 o'clock, in response to the operation of the switch 16, and the dial is smoothly rotated. After that, the information is displayed by the guideline. It should be noted that the conventional mechanism for opening / closing the clock face for opening / closing and changing the face of the dial can be used as it is, instead of using the decorative body or simply displaying information other than the time on the background, which can be easily implemented. .

Next, the configuration of a control circuit for controlling the driving of the hands in each of the above embodiments will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. Reference numerals 60 and 62 denote detection circuits provided in accordance with information to be detected, such as temperature and weather, and are composed of sensors 64 and 66, respectively, and conversion circuits 68 and 70 for appropriately converting output signals thereof into detection signals. . Reference numeral 72 denotes a reference signal generation circuit that outputs a signal for measuring time. Reference numeral 74 denotes a control circuit.
Are set positions 78 and 80 for converting the detection signals from the detection circuits 60 and 62 into values obtained by adding the displacement amount from the reference position to a numerical value corresponding to the display range and storing the converted values, The current time memory 76 for storing the current time based on the signal, the set position memories 78 and 80, and the contents stored in the current time memory 76 are input and the mode selection switch 82
A switching circuit 84 for switching and outputting in accordance with the operation of (1) and an angle conversion (in this embodiment, the pointer is 360 steps and one step is converted once) based on the signal from the switching circuit 84. A display position memory 86 for storing as a position to be displayed, and a pointer position memory 88 for storing as a pointer position from the display position memory 86 and a stepping signal of a motor or the like.
And a matching circuit 90 that compares the contents of the display position memory 86 and the pointer position memory 88 and outputs a step signal until they match.
And is composed of Reference numeral 92 denotes a pointer driving unit for driving the hands 96, which comprises a motor drive circuit, a plurality of or one step motors for hour and minute hands, and a motor 94 including a wheel train and the like.

In the drive control of the hands, for example, if the mode selection switch 82 is operated while the time is displayed by the hands 96, the stored contents of the information on the temperature and the like from the set position memories 78 and 80 operate the switching circuit. The data is supplied to the display position memory 86 via the memory. At this time, if the coincidence circuit does not match the contents of the pointer position memory 88, the stepping signal is output and the motor is driven until the pointer signal matches, thereby moving the pointer. As a result, the pointer 96 displays information such as temperature.

In the case of timekeeping information in the case of a calendar or the like, a calendar memory may be used in which the timekeeping signal is appropriately frequency-divided and stepped in instead of the detection circuit 60, and a predetermined time pointer is retracted. A delay circuit may be provided which stores a specific value in the position memory, selects the memory in response to the mode selection switch 82, and outputs a signal of the mode selection switch to the switching circuit 84 after a predetermined time. At this time, a limit switch or the like may be provided on the display dial to provide a delay circuit that outputs the signal of the mode selection switch 82 in accordance with the switch signal. When the dial is driven by a motor, the motor may be driven by a signal from the mode selection switch 82.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A multi-function display clock that displays information other than the time with hands, a mode selection switch for selecting and indicating display information;
Since the index of the selected information appears in response to the selection instruction signal, a large number of information can be displayed,
In the case of time display, the time index dial is visually recognized in the display area, and in the case of other information, all or part of the time index is switched so that the dial having the selected information index is visually recognized in the display area. The time display can be clearly distinguished from the information display other than the time, and the dial and hands move with the operation of the mode selection switch. Can be. In addition, in causing the index to appear, once,
By retracting the hands to a specific position, it is possible to provide an information display board which is easy to see with a single time dial, instead of a structure in which a plurality of dials are overlapped and arranged, and more variations are possible. Further, by linking the mode selection switch with the posture of the timepiece, it is possible to make it easier to visually recognize the information data to be displayed and to provide an interesting multifunctional display timepiece.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a multifunction display timepiece according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the first dial shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a second dial shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the multifunction display timepiece shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front view when the display state of the multifunction display timepiece shown in FIG. 1 is switched.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a multifunction display timepiece according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the multifunction display timepiece shown in FIG. 6;

8 is a front view when the display state of the multifunction display clock shown in FIG. 6 is switched.

9 is a cross-sectional view of the multi-function display timepiece shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a multifunction display timepiece according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing the first dial shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a front view showing the second dial shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the multifunction display timepiece shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a front view when the display state of the multifunction display clock shown in FIG. 10 is switched.

FIG. 15 is a front view when the display state of the multifunction display clock shown in FIG. 10 is switched.

FIG. 16 is a front view when the display state of the multifunction display clock shown in FIG. 10 is switched.

FIG. 17 is a front view when the display state of the multifunction display clock shown in FIG. 10 is switched.

FIG. 18 is a front view showing another embodiment and showing the schematic configuration when normal time is displayed.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a control circuit that controls driving of a pointer in each embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

4, 24, 44 Display area 6, 26, 46 First dial 8, 28, 48 Second dial 10, 30, 50 Hands 6a, 46a First time index 6b, First information index 8b, 48b Second time Index 8c Second information index 26a Time index 28a, 46b, 46c, 46d Information index 16, 36, 56b, 56c, 56d, 56c, 82
Mode selection switch 74 Control circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G04C 3/00 G04B 19/00 G04B 19/06 G04B 19/16

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A multi-function timepiece that displays information other than time using a pointer, a mode selection switch for selecting and instructing display information, and an index of information selected by operating the mode selection switch. A multifunction display timepiece comprising: a dial driving means; and a control circuit for responding to a signal from the mode selection switch to display a pointer at an index position of the information based on the information data. 2. A multi-function timepiece that displays information other than time using a pointer, a mode selection switch for selecting and instructing display information, and an index of information selected by operating the mode selection switch. A dial driving means, a pointer is retracted to a predetermined position in response to a signal from the mode selection switch, and an end signal indicating that the dial has been moved to the predetermined position from the dial driving means or from the mode selection switch. And a control circuit for instructing display of the pointer at an index position of the information based on the information data after a predetermined time from the generation of the signal. 3. The multifunction display timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the mode selection switch is selected in accordance with the posture of the outer case frame.