JP3592493B2 - Dial structure of watch with EL - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a timepiece dial using a solar cell as a driving source and having a light emitting function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Solar cells using natural light as a light source are widely used as driving power supplies for watches. There is also known a timepiece in which a display surface emits light with a phosphor to facilitate time confirmation in a dark place.
[0003]
As a dial for a timepiece having a solar cell as a driving power source and a light emitting function of a phosphor in a display unit, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-54170. This has a structure in which a solar cell 2 is disposed on a movement 1 and a substrate 3, a luminous phosphor layer 4, an overcoat layer 5, and a time character 6 are disposed thereon in this order as shown in FIG. Has become. By providing the phosphorescent phosphor layer 4 in this manner, daytime light can be accumulated, and by causing the phosphorescent phosphor layer 4 to emit light at night, the visibility of the time character 6 in a dark place increases. Will be. In addition, since the phosphorescent phosphor layer 4 generally has a white color tone, there is an advantage that the deep purple color peculiar to the solar cell 2 disposed thereunder is not conspicuous and the appearance is improved.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the timepiece dial having the above structure, the provision of the luminous phosphor layer 4 has the effect of making the deep purple color unique to the solar cell 2 inconspicuous, but the luminous phosphor layer 4 has a white color. Because of this color tone, the light transmittance may be reduced, and the light receiving efficiency of the solar cell 2 may be reduced.
[0005]
Also, since the amount of light accumulated in the phosphorescent light naturally attenuates over time, it is not possible to emit light at a constant luminance for a long time, and sufficient light may not be obtained when necessary. In addition, since the light is always emitted even when it is not necessary to check the time, it may be annoying.
[0006]
Furthermore, since the dial is sequentially laminated with the solar cell 2, the substrate 3, the phosphorescent phosphor layer 4, and the overcoat layer 5, the timepiece as a whole tends to be thicker.
[0007]
Thus, the present invention provides an EL light emitting layer in place of a conventional phosphorescent phosphor layer to obtain light emission according to the function of a timepiece, and that a solar cell layer and an EL light emitting layer are formed on the same surface. It is an object of the present invention to provide a timepiece with an EL dial structure, which is configured to reduce the thickness of the entire timepiece and to efficiently perform both solar power generation and EL light emission display.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a dial structure with EL according to claim 1 of the present invention is a dial structure of a timepiece having a solar cell as a driving source and having an EL light emitting function, wherein a time character or the like is formed. A substrate is provided on the lower surface side of the light-transmitting dial provided, and a solar cell layer having an area of at least 15% with respect to the entire area of the light-transmitting dial is provided on the substrate. An EL light-emitting layer is provided on the same surface or substantially the same surface except for the portion where the layer is provided .
[0009]
In addition, in the dial structure with EL according to claim 2 of the present invention, the solar cell layer and the EL light-emitting layer may include the translucent dial and a substrate disposed on the lower surface side of the translucent dial. And is integrated with the substrate .
[0010]
In the dial structure with EL according to claim 3 of the present invention, the solar cell layer and the EL light emitting layer are provided between the translucent dial and the substrate, and the translucent dial and the substrate are provided. It is characterized by being integrated with .
[0011]
Also, in the dial structure with EL according to claim 4 of the present invention, the solar cell layer is provided integrally on the substrate, and the EL light emitting layer is provided integrally on the back surface of the translucent dial. It is characterized by having.
[0012]
Further, in the dial plate structure with EL according to claim 5 of the present invention, the solar cell layer is integrally provided on the substrate, and the EL light emitting layer is disposed between the translucent dial and the substrate. characterized in that it was.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a dial structure with an EL of a timepiece according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0014]
1 to 4 show the structure of a wristwatch and the structure of a dial with EL according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a structural view of a wristwatch according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an exploded view thereof. The structure of the wristwatch 10 according to the present embodiment is such that a transmissive structure in which a movement 14, a substrate 15 on which a solar cell layer 18 and an EL light emitting layer 19 are formed, a time character and the like are formed inside an outer case 12 having a back cover 11. A dial 16 is fixed via a support frame 13, and a cover glass 17 is fixed to the outer case 12 above the translucent dial 16. The substrate 15 and the translucent dial 16 have a structure in which projections 15a and 16b are formed on their outer peripheral portions, respectively, and are engaged with and fixed to recesses 13a and 13b formed in the support frame 13.
[0015]
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a dial structure with EL according to this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a top view of a substrate according to this embodiment. On the lower surface side of the translucent dial 16 on which the hour character 16a is formed, a solar cell layer 18 and an EL light-emitting layer 19 are integrally formed on the same surface of a substrate 15 provided between the movement 14 and the translucent dial. It was done. The four solar cell layers 18 are formed in a quarter circle on the inner peripheral portion of the substrate 15, and the four EL light emitting layers 19 are formed in a fan shape on the outer peripheral portion outside the solar cell layer 18. It is.
[0016]
The solar cell layer 18 has a structure in which an insulating layer 18a, a lower electrode layer 18b, a solar cell 18c, and a transparent electrode layer 18d are laminated on a substrate 15 having a protrusion 15a on the outer periphery and a pointer insertion hole 15c formed at the center. The solar cell 18c receives the light incident through the uppermost transparent electrode layer 18d, and generates power necessary for clock driving.
[0017]
If the translucent dial on the solar cell layer 18 is a transparent dial having a light transmittance close to 100%, the solar cell layer 18 can be sufficiently driven by a clock with an area of at least 15% of the entire dial area. Power generation is obtained. In the case of a translucent dial having a light transmittance of 50%, a formation area of at least 30% with respect to the entire area of the dial is required. The solar cell layer 18 does not exhibit an aesthetically pleasing appearance because the color tone of the solar cell layer 18 itself is dark purple. For this reason, a translucent dial having a slightly lower light transmittance, such as a colored plastic plate or ceramic plate, is used to eliminate the color tone. Therefore, the formation area of the solar cell layer 18 may be appropriately designed according to the light transmittance of the translucent dial.
[0018]
Further, in the present embodiment, four solar cell layers 18 are uniformly formed in an inner peripheral portion of the substrate 15 in a 円 circle shape. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to the location and shape, and the outer peripheral portion is not limited. Alternatively, the shape may be circular or angular.
[0019]
The EL light-emitting layer 19 is formed on the substrate 15 in a location other than where the solar cell layer 18 is formed, similarly to the solar cell layer 18. The EL light emitting layer 19 is formed by laminating an insulating layer 19a, a back electrode layer 19b, an insulating reflection layer 19c, a light emitting layer 19d, and a transparent electrode layer 19e on the substrate 15 in this order, and a transparent moisture-proof sheet 19f covers the entire light emitting layer. It has a structure.
[0020]
In the present embodiment, four EL light emitting layers 19 are equally distributed in a fan shape in a portion directly below the hour character 16 a of the translucent dial 16, on the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 15 outside the solar cell layer 18. In this arrangement, the time character 16a can be easily recognized. The location where the EL light emitting layer is disposed is not limited to the present embodiment, and may be appropriately set at a position other than the location where the solar cell layer 18 is disposed and at a position where the translucent dial is to be irradiated.
[0021]
As the substrate 15, a conductive substrate such as a metal plate or a non-conductive substrate such as plastic can be used. When a non-conductive substrate is used, the insulating layer 18a of the solar cell layer 18 and the insulating layer 19a of the EL light emitting layer 19 can be omitted.
[0022]
Further, on the substrate 15, a conduction pattern for conducting with the solar cell layer 18 and the EL light emitting layer 19 provided on the substrate 15 is provided in a gap portion between the solar cell layer 18 and the EL light emitting layer 19 (FIG. Omitted). Then, conduction with the outside is established through this pattern.
[0023]
The solar cell layer 18 and the EL light emitting layer 19 provided on the substrate 15 are formed as follows. In the solar cell layer 18, the lowermost insulating film 18a is formed by sputtering silicon oxide. At this time, in the case of the present embodiment, a metal mask plate in which four quarter-circular openings are formed is superposed on the substrate 15 to form the shape of the present embodiment. The lower electrode layer 18b is formed on the insulating film 18a by the same sputtering method using aluminum containing about 1% by weight of silicon. The solar cell 18c forms a thin film made of non-single-crystal silicon using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition apparatus. The transparent electrode layer 18d is formed of indium tin oxide by a sputtering method. Each of them is formed by sequentially forming a laminate using a metal mask plate.
[0024]
Next, in the EL light-emitting layer 19, the lowermost insulating layer 19a is formed for the purpose of insulating the substrate 15 from the non-conductive resin such as an epoxy resin, a polyester resin, and a fluororesin. Formed by screen printing. The back electrode layer 19b is formed by screen printing a conductive paste made of a conductive powder such as carbon or silver. The insulating reflection layer 19c is formed by screen printing with a coating material in which barium titanate is dispersed. The insulating reflection layer 19b has a purpose of protecting the light emitting layer 19d from electrical insulation breakdown and a purpose of reflecting light. The light emitting layer 19d is formed by adding a trace amount of an activator of a metal or a halogen element to a phosphor of zinc sulfide (ZnS), forming a paint, and screen printing. In this case, the emission color of the light-emitting layer 19d can be changed to various colors by changing the type of activator added to zinc sulfide as the fluorescent base or by changing the mixing ratio. The transparent electrode layer 19e is formed by mixing ITO powder obtained by doping indium oxide with tin with a transparent resin to form a paint, and screen printing. After the printing is formed in a laminated manner as described above, the entire light emitting layer is covered with a transparent moisture-proof sheet 19f such as a polyester film having good light transmittance, and the EL light emitting layer 19 is formed. In the EL light emitting layer 19 thus formed, when a voltage is applied from the outside via a conduction pattern formed on the substrate 15, the light emitting layer 19 d emits light and illuminates the upper translucent dial 16.
[0025]
The translucent dial 16 is provided above the solar cell layer 18 and the EL light emitting layer 19 formed on the substrate 15. The translucent dial 16 has a pointer insertion hole at its center and a projection 16b at its outer periphery for engaging and fixing with the support frame 13. In addition, the translucent dial 16 is also formed with a time character 16a and the like, and has decorativeness as a dial. As a material of the translucent dial 16, a transparent plastic plate, a thin ceramic plate, or the like can be used. It should be noted that the translucent dial 16 is not completely colorless and transparent, but is colored to the extent that light transmittance can be ensured, so that the dark purple color peculiar to the solar cell is not clearly seen through the translucent dial 16. Some are more aesthetically pleasing.
[0026]
In the above-described dial structure with EL, the solar cell layer 18 converts light energy of sunlight or artificial light transmitted through the translucent dial 16 into electric energy, and the electric energy is attached to the module 14. The battery is stored in the storage battery and acts as a drive source for the clock. On the other hand, the DC voltage obtained from the storage battery is converted into an AC voltage via an inverter provided in the module 14 and supplied to the EL light emitting layer 19 to emit light. The light emitting operation of the EL light emitting layer is performed by applying a voltage to the EL light emitting layer by operating a push button attached to the outer case 12.
[0027]
FIG. 5 shows the structure of a dial with EL according to a second embodiment of the present invention. For the sake of simplicity, the same parts as those in the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals. The same applies to the following embodiments.
[0028]
The structure of the EL-equipped dial according to the second embodiment is aimed at improving the assembling workability and the like, and the solar cell layer 18 is provided between the substrate 15 and the translucent dial on which the hour character 16a and the like are formed. And the EL light emitting layer 19 are integrally provided, and are arranged above the movement 14.
[0029]
The solar cell layer 18 and the EL light emitting layer 19 are formed at the same height on the substrate 15 in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above, and are adhered and fixed to the lower surface of the translucent dial 16 via a transparent adhesive. It was done. In this case, since the translucent dial 16 and the substrate 15 are integrated, the engagement with the support frame may be fixed to either the translucent dial 16 or the substrate 15.
[0030]
In such a timepiece having a dial structure with EL, since the dial, the solar cell layer, and the EL light emitting layer are integrally formed, the assembling work, the part replacement work, and the like can be performed in a very short time.
[0031]
FIG. 6 shows the structure of a dial with EL according to a third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment aims to reduce the thickness of the EL-equipped dial, in which a solar cell layer 18 and an EL light-emitting layer 19 are provided integrally on the back surface of the translucent dial 16, The layer 18 and the EL light-emitting layer 19 are provided at exactly the same positions and in the same shape as in the first embodiment.
[0032]
The solar cell layer 18 in this case has a structure in which a transparent electrode layer 18d, a solar cell 18c, and a lower electrode layer 18b are stacked in this order from the top. The EL light-emitting layer 19 has a structure in which a transparent electrode layer 19e, a light-emitting layer 19d, an insulating reflection layer 19c, and a back electrode layer 19b are laminated in order from the top, and a transparent moisture-proof sheet 19f covers the entire light-emitting layer. .
[0033]
In this case, the solar cell layer 18 and the EL light-emitting layer 19 can be formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, in order from the upper layer.
[0034]
In the translucent dial 16 in this embodiment, a conduction pattern for conducting with the outside is formed on the lower surface where the solar cell layer 18 and the EL light emitting layer 19 are not formed.
[0035]
FIG. 7 is a structural view of a dial with EL according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment aims at improving the luminous efficiency of the EL light emitting layer and making the solar cell layer hard to see, and the solar cell layer 18 is provided integrally on the substrate 15 and the EL light emitting layer 19 is transparent. It has a structure integrally provided on the back surface of the optical dial 16. The positions and shapes of the solar cell layer 18 and the EL light-emitting layer 19 in this embodiment are exactly the same as those in the first embodiment.
[0036]
The solar cell layer 18 in this embodiment has a structure in which an insulating layer 18a, a lower electrode layer 18b, a solar cell 18c, and a transparent electrode layer 18d are stacked on a substrate 15, as in the first embodiment. . In the EL light emitting layer 19, a transparent electrode layer 19e, a light emitting layer 19d, an insulating reflective layer 19c, and a back electrode layer 19b are laminated on the back surface of the translucent dial 16 in the same manner as in the third embodiment. The structure is such that the moisture-proof sheet 19f covers the entire light emitting layer.
[0037]
FIG. 8 shows a structural view of a dial plate with EL according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the present embodiment is such that when either the solar cell layer or the EL light emitting layer fails, only the failed one can be replaced, and between the translucent dial 16 and the movement 14. , A substrate 15 having a solar cell layer 18 on its surface, and a transparent substrate 20 having an EL light emitting layer 19 on its lower surface.
[0038]
The transparent substrate 20 of this embodiment is formed in a ring shape from a transparent thin plastic plate, and has two projections (not shown) formed on the outer periphery thereof. Fixed. On the lower surface of the transparent substrate 20, a transparent electrode layer 19e, a light-emitting layer 19d, an insulating reflection layer 19c, and a back electrode layer 19b are sequentially laminated and provided, and the entire light-emitting layer is covered with a transparent moisture-proof sheet 19f. Is what it is.
[0039]
In this embodiment, the EL light emitting layer 19 is provided integrally on the lower surface of the transparent substrate 20. However, the EL light emitting layer 19 may be provided integrally on the upper surface of the transparent substrate 20. In this case, the substrate does not have to be transparent, and may be a metal plate.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the dial structure with EL of the timepiece according to the present invention, the substrate is provided on the lower surface side of the translucent dial, and the entire area of the translucent dial ( By providing a solar cell layer having an area of at least 15% of the area of the upper surface, and further providing the solar cell layer provided on the substrate and the EL light emitting layer on the same surface , the overall timepiece can be made thinner. Can be realized. In addition, since the EL light emitting layer can be made up to 85% of the total area of the translucent dial at the maximum, the time character of the translucent dial can be more visually recognized. In addition, the workability of assembling the solar cell layer and the dial with the EL light emitting layer on the timepiece becomes easy. In addition, when the solar cell layer or the EL light emitting layer is replaced due to a failure, it can be easily performed in a short time.
[0041]
In addition, since the EL light emitting layer is used as a light emitting source, the light emission does not become sustained due to spontaneous attenuation as in the case of a phosphorescent phosphor. You can check the time.
[0042]
Further, only when necessary, the display panel on which the time character is formed can be illuminated and displayed by the operation buttons or the like, so that the luminescence does not become annoying.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a basic structure of a wristwatch according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing the structure of the dial with EL according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a top view of the substrate in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the structure of a dial with EL according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view showing a structure of a dial with EL according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view showing the structure of a dial with EL according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing the structure of a dial with EL according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a structure of a solar cell driven dial having a light emitting function according to a conventional technique.
[Explanation of symbols]
15 Substrate 16 Translucent dial 16a Time character 18 Solar cell layer 19 EL light emitting layer

Claims (5)

The solar cell as a drive source, and a dial structure of the timepiece equipped with EL light-emitting function, when characters or the like is disposed the substrate to the lower surface side of the formed light-transmitting dial, on the substrate, Toru A solar cell layer having an area of at least 15% of the entire area of the optical dial is provided, and an EL light emitting layer is provided on the same surface or substantially the same surface other than the portion where the solar cell layer is provided. A dial structure with EL of a timepiece. The solar cell layer and the EL light-emitting layer are provided between the translucent dial and a substrate disposed on the lower surface side of the translucent dial, and are integrated with the substrate. The dial structure with EL of the timepiece according to claim 1. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the solar cell layer and the EL light emitting layer are provided between the translucent dial and the substrate, and are integrated with the translucent dial and the substrate. EL-equipped dial structure. 2. The watch according to claim 1, wherein the solar cell layer is provided integrally on the substrate, and the EL light emitting layer is provided integrally on a back surface of the translucent dial . Dial structure. The character with an EL of a watch according to claim 1, wherein the solar cell layer is provided integrally on the substrate, and the EL light emitting layer is provided between the translucent dial and the substrate . Board structure.

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