JP6122261B2 - Electronic device with communication function and electronic watch - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device with a communication function and an electronic timepiece.

  For example, in many electronic timepieces as electronic devices with communication functions, a cover glass is fitted in an opening formed in a resin outer case through a packing. An electronic timepiece as an electronic device with a communication function is provided with an antenna coil for transmitting and receiving various information as signals. The antenna coil is formed in a loop shape, and communication is performed using magnetic flux passing through the opening of the antenna coil that is generated by supplying a current to the antenna coil.

  Here, for example, when an antenna coil is provided in a wristwatch or the like, since various metal conductive members are used in the wristwatch, a current is generated in the conductive member, thereby losing the magnetic flux of the antenna coil. As a result, communication accuracy and communication distance are reduced. For this reason, various techniques for preventing communication accuracy and communication distance from being lowered are disclosed.

For example, a conductive solar panel support substrate that reflects radio waves, a substantially annular conductive antenna electrode, and a solar panel support substrate and a cover glass are disposed between a time display movement and a cover glass. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
According to this, since the antenna coil is disposed in the vicinity of the cover glass, it can be made less susceptible to the influence of the metal conductive member as compared with the case where the antenna coil is built in the movement.

JP 2011-21929 A

By the way, in order to maintain the holding power of the outer case with respect to the cover glass or to ensure the airtightness between the cover glass and the outer case, the elasticity of the packing applied to the side surface of the cover glass and the side surface of the outer case. The reaction force based on compression needs to be increased to some extent.
For this reason, when forming an exterior case with resin, it is possible to insert-mold a metal reinforcement ring around the opening of the exterior case to increase the strength of the exterior case. With this configuration, even when the reaction force based on the elastic compression of the packing is increased to some extent, the reaction force can be reliably received by the reinforcing ring and the exterior case.

  However, in such a case, there exists a subject that the communication accuracy and communication distance of an antenna coil will fall under the influence of a reinforcement ring.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides an electronic device with a communication function and an electronic timepiece that can reliably prevent communication accuracy and communication distance of an antenna coil from being lowered. Is.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an electronic device with a communication function according to the present invention includes an outer case having a display unit on which characters and symbols are displayed, and is provided in the outer case so as to surround the display unit. A metal ring formed in an annular shape, an antenna coil provided inside the exterior case for communication, and arranged radially outside the metal ring and exposed from the exterior case, An electronic device with a communication function including a functional unit for executing a function, wherein the functional unit includes a substrate on which a wiring pattern is formed, and the antenna coil is formed on the substrate. It is characterized by being.
By comprising in this way, it can prevent that the communication precision and communication distance of an antenna coil fall reliably, performing reinforcement of an exterior case. Moreover, it is not necessary to separately prepare components for improving the communication accuracy and communication distance of the antenna coil, and an increase in product cost can be suppressed.

The electronic device with a communication function according to the present invention is characterized in that the antenna coil is formed on a surface of the substrate opposite to the surface on which the wiring pattern is formed.
By comprising in this way, both surfaces of a board | substrate can be used effectively and it can prevent that a board | substrate enlarges.

In the electronic device with a communication function according to the present invention, the substrate is a multilayer substrate, and the antenna coil is formed in each layer.
With this configuration, the number of turns of the antenna coil can be increased in a space-saving manner, and the communication function can be improved.

In the electronic device with a communication function according to the present invention, the exterior case is provided with an opening on the side opposite to the display unit, and a back cover for closing the opening is provided. And the back cover are arranged so as not to overlap each other in a normal direction perpendicular to the surface direction of the back cover.
By comprising in this way, it can suppress that the magnetic flux of the antenna coil by the side of a back cover will be lost. For this reason, the communication from the back cover side by an antenna coil is enabled, and a communication function can be improved further.

The electronic device with a communication function according to the present invention is characterized in that the function unit is a switch for switching contents displayed on the display unit.
Here, since the switch can form the wiring pattern formed on the substrate only on one side, the antenna coil can be reliably formed on the back side. For this reason, the enlargement of a board | substrate can be prevented reliably.

The electronic timepiece according to the present invention is characterized in that time is displayed on the display unit of the electronic device with communication function.
By comprising in this way, the electronic timepiece which can prevent reliably that the communication precision and communication distance of an antenna coil will fall can be provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can prevent that the communication precision and communication distance of an antenna coil fall reliably, performing reinforcement of an exterior case. Moreover, it is not necessary to separately prepare components for improving the communication accuracy and communication distance of the antenna coil, and an increase in product cost can be suppressed.

It is a top view of the electronic wristwatch in a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electronic wristwatch in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the relative positional relationship of the main board | substrate and front switch board | substrate in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the front switch board | substrate in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the electronic wristwatch in 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

(First embodiment)
(Electronic wristwatch with communication function)
Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 is a plan view of an electronic wristwatch with a communication function (hereinafter simply referred to as an electronic wristwatch), FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the electronic wristwatch. is there.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the communication function of the electronic wristwatch 1 includes a wireless communication function such as a personal computer communication function, a mobile phone function, and a non-contact IC card function.

The electronic wristwatch 1 includes an exterior case 2 including a case main body 3 and a back cover 4, and a movement 20 is accommodated inside the exterior case 2.
In the following description, the side on which the cover glass 6 is attached in FIG. 2 is the upper side, the side on which the back cover 4 is disposed is the lower side, and the vertical direction is perpendicular to the vertical direction. A direction along the surface direction of 6 is referred to as a horizontal direction.

  The case body 3 has a resin outer frame 5 which is opened and closed at the top and a movement housing portion 10 inside, and an upper opening 5 a formed on the upper side of the outer frame 5 with a resin packing 8 interposed therebetween. And a transparent cover glass 6 fixed and a conductive metal reinforcing ring 7 partially embedded in the outer frame 5. In this embodiment, the cover glass 6 constitutes a cover plate.

  The lower opening 5b formed on the lower side of the outer frame 5 is formed in most of the lower surface of the outer frame 5 so that the inner diameter is larger than the inner diameter of the movement storage unit 10. And the lower side opening part 5b is obstruct | occluded by the metal back cover 4 removably attached with the screw | thread (not shown).

  In addition, band attachment portions 9 and 9 for attaching bands to the 12 o'clock side and the 6 o'clock side are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the outer frame 5, and a plurality of pieces are provided at positions separated from the band attachment portions 9 and 9. The switch 11 is attached. Further, a switch button 71 constituting the front switch unit 12 is attached to the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion of the outer frame 5 at the 6 o'clock side. The switch 11 and the front switch unit 12 are for switching contents displayed on a liquid crystal display (hereinafter abbreviated as LCD) 25 described later.

The outer frame 5 is formed with an inner flange portion 13 that protrudes inward in the horizontal direction with respect to the upper opening portion 5a below the upper opening portion 5a. A reinforcing ring 7 is provided so that a part is placed on the inner flange portion 13.
The reinforcing ring 7 is formed in a substantially annular shape in plan view and in a substantially L-shaped cross section by pressing a metal plate material. That is, the reinforcing ring 7 is formed in a substantially annular shape so as to correspond to the inner flange portion 13, and is bent and extended upward in the vertical direction from the outer peripheral edge of the flat portion 41 and the flat portion 41 having a certain width in the horizontal direction. The rising part 42 to be taken out is integrally formed.

The inner diameter of the flat surface portion 41 is set smaller than the inner diameter of the inner flange portion 13, and the inner peripheral edge of the flat surface portion 41 protrudes radially inward from the inner flange portion 13. On the other hand, the outer diameter of the flat portion 41 is set to be larger than the diameter of the upper opening 5 a of the case body 3 and is embedded in the outer frame 5.
That is, the upright portion 42 that rises from the outer peripheral edge of the flat portion 41 is disposed so as to surround the outer periphery of the upper opening 5 a of the outer frame 5 in the radial direction and is embedded in the outer frame 5. . Thus, by providing the reinforcing ring 7, the rigidity around the upper opening 5a of the outer frame 5 is increased.
The reinforcing ring 7 is fixed to the outer frame 5 by inserting the reinforcing ring 7 in advance in a mold for forming the outer frame and injection molding the outer frame 5.

Further, packing is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the upper opening 5 a of the outer frame 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the cover glass 6, and between the upper surface of the flat portion 41 of the reinforcing ring 7 and the lower surface of the cover glass 6. 8 is sandwiched in an elastically compressed state. Thereby, the cover glass 6 is fixed to the outer frame 5. That is, the reaction force based on the elastic compression of the packing 8 acts on the outer peripheral surface of the cover glass 6 and the inner peripheral surface of the upper opening 5 a of the outer frame 5, whereby the cover glass 6 is held on the outer frame 5. And waterproofing between the packing 8, the cover glass 6, and the outer frame 5 is ensured.
Here, the front switch unit 12 is disposed outside the reinforcing ring 7 in the radial direction.

The movement 20 housed in the movement housing portion 10 of the outer frame 5 is disposed between the cover glass 6 and the back cover 4 and below the reinforcing ring 7. And it is fixed to the outer frame 5 with screws (not shown).
The movement 20 includes a drive unit 21 and a battery unit 22 that are stacked one above the other and connected by a battery retainer 23. The drive unit 21 is disposed on the upper side, that is, in the vicinity of the cover glass 6, and the battery unit 22 is disposed on the lower side, that is, in the vicinity of the back cover 4.

  The drive unit 21 includes an LCD holding frame 24 made of resin, and is fixed to a recess formed in the upper part of the LCD holding frame 24 in a state where the LCD 25 is accommodated. The LCD 25 digitally displays an image such as time, and is disposed so as to face the cover glass 6. That is, the user can see the image displayed on the LCD 25 through the cover glass 6. Furthermore, in other words, the upper opening 5a of the outer case 2 in which the cover glass 6 is fitted functions as a display unit for digitally displaying an image such as the time of the LCD 25.

  Here, the LCD 25 is a well-known technique and will not be described in detail. However, the glass substrates 25a and 25b disposed opposite to each other with the liquid crystal interposed therebetween, and polarizing filters 25c and 25d disposed outside the glass substrates 25a and 25b. It consists of and. A main board 26 a is attached to the lower side of the LCD holding frame 24.

(Main board)
As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the main board 26 a includes an oscillation circuit 102, a frequency dividing circuit 103, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 105, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 106. In addition, a communication circuit 107 and a CPU 101 that controls these are mounted.

  The oscillation circuit 102 outputs a signal having a predetermined frequency. The frequency dividing circuit 103 divides the output signal of the oscillation circuit 102 by a predetermined frequency dividing ratio and outputs a reference clock signal for the CPU 101 and a clock signal for timing. The ROM 105 stores a program executed by the CPU 101 in advance. The RAM 106 stores data used by each unit included in the electronic timepiece 100. The communication circuit 107 transmits information transmitted / received by an antenna coil 28 described later to the CPU 101 as a signal.

An LCD 25 is connected to the main board 26a. The LCD 25 is controlled by the CPU 101 of the main board 26a and digitally displays images such as time. The user can see the image displayed on the LCD 25 through the cover glass 6.
Further, a front switch board 26 b constituting the front switch unit 12 is connected to the main board 26 a via a flexible wiring board 75.

(Front switch board)
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a relative positional relationship between the main board and the front switch board.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the front switch board 26 b is for outputting the operation of the switch button 71 as a signal to the main board 26 a, so that the switch button 71 can receive the operation. It is arranged directly below the button 71 in the vertical direction. That is, the front switch board 26 b is disposed on the outer side in the radial direction of the reinforcing ring 7.

  A front switch pattern 72 for outputting a signal to the main board 26a based on the operation of the switch button 71 is formed on the upper surface of the front switch board 26b, that is, the face on the switch button 71 side. The terminal portions 72 a and 72 b of the front switch pattern 72 are drawn out toward the main board 26 a side along the flexible wiring board 75. And it is connected to the main board 26a via the switch terminals 73a and 73b.

  On the other hand, an antenna coil 28 is formed on the lower surface of the front switch board 26b, that is, the surface on the back cover 4 side. The antenna coil 28 is used for receiving radio waves from the outside or transmitting information acquired by the electronic wristwatch 1 to the outside as radio waves. By forming the antenna coil 28 in a loop shape, characteristics as an antenna can be obtained. It is like that. Thus, since the antenna coil 28 is formed in a loop shape, the antenna coil 28 has an opening 28c at the center.

Further, the terminal portions 28 a and 28 b of the antenna coil 28 are drawn out toward the main board 26 a side along the flexible wiring board 75. And it is connected to the main board 26a via the antenna terminals 74a and 74b.
In FIG. 1, the main board 26a and the front switch board 26b are shown by solid lines for easy understanding of their shapes.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the battery unit 22 includes a button-type battery 30, a resin battery case 31 that houses the battery 30, and a negative electrode terminal 32 attached to the battery case 31. . The negative electrode terminal 32 can contact the negative electrode of the battery 30 and is connected to a negative electrode input terminal (not shown) of the main board 26a via a conductor (not shown).

The battery 30 accommodated in the battery case 31 is held by a battery retainer 23 that connects the drive unit 21 and the battery unit 22. The battery retainer 23 includes a terminal portion 23 a that contacts the positive terminal of the battery 30, a battery case 31, and a plurality of arms 23 b extending along the side surface of the LCD holding frame 24, and the tip of each arm 23 b is the LCD holding frame. The drive unit 21 and the battery unit 22 are connected to each other by being engaged with the side portions of 24.
The battery retainer 23 is connected to a positive electrode input terminal (not shown) of the main board 26a through a conductor (not shown). That is, the battery retainer 23 functions as an anode terminal and functions as a connecting member that connects and integrates the drive unit 21 and the battery unit 22.

  Under such a configuration, when communication is performed between the electronic wristwatch 1 and the outside, a current is supplied to the antenna coil 28. Then, a magnetic flux J passing through the opening 28c of the antenna coil 28 is generated (see FIG. 2). That is, since the antenna coil 28 is formed in a loop shape on the front switch board 26b, a magnetic flux J along the thickness direction of the front switch board 26b, that is, the vertical direction is generated. Then, communication is performed between the electronic wristwatch 1 and the outside using the magnetic flux J.

  Therefore, according to the first embodiment described above, since the antenna coil 28 is formed on the front switch board 26b disposed on the radially outer side of the reinforcing ring 7, the antenna coil 28 is affected by the reinforcing ring 7. It is possible to prevent the formed magnetic flux J from being lost. For this reason, it can prevent reliably that the communication precision and communication distance of the antenna coil 28 fall, reinforcing the exterior case 2 with the reinforcement ring 7. FIG. Further, it is not necessary to separately prepare parts for improving the communication accuracy and communication distance of the antenna coil 28, and the increase in product cost can be suppressed.

  Further, the front switch pattern 72 is formed on the upper surface of the front switch board 26b, while the antenna coil 28 is formed on the lower surface of the front switch board 26b. Thus, since the antenna coil 28 is provided so as to effectively utilize both surfaces of the front switch board 26b, it is possible to prevent the front switch board 26b from becoming large.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same aspects as those in the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals (the same applies to the following embodiments).
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the front switch board in the second embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, the electronic wristwatch 1 includes an exterior case 2 including a case body 3 and a back cover 4, and a movement 20 is accommodated in the exterior case 2. The resin outer frame 5 whose upper and lower sides are opened and the inside is the movement storage unit 10 and the upper opening 5a formed on the upper side of the outer frame 5 are fixed via a resin packing 8. A transparent cover glass 6 and a conductive metal reinforcing ring 7 partially embedded in the outer frame 5 are provided. The upper surface of the outer peripheral portion of the outer frame 5 has a front at 6 o'clock. The basic configuration such as the switch unit 12 being provided and the front switch board 226b being arranged on the radially outer side of the reinforcing ring 7 is the same as in the first embodiment described above ( For the following embodiments Even the same).

Here, the difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment described above is that the structure of the front switch board 26b of the first embodiment and the front switch board 226b of the second embodiment are different.
That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the front switch board 226b of the second embodiment is a multilayer board in which a plurality of (for example, four in the second embodiment) boards 227 are stacked. An antenna coil 28 is formed on the substrate 227 of each layer. These antenna coils 28 are connected to each other through, for example, through holes (not shown). The front switch pattern 72 is formed on the uppermost substrate 227 (the uppermost substrate 227 in FIG. 5).

  Therefore, according to the second embodiment described above, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above, the number of turns of the antenna coil 28 can be increased in a space-saving manner, and the communication function of the electronic wristwatch 1 is improved. be able to.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electronic wrist watch according to the third embodiment, and corresponds to FIG.
Here, the difference between the third embodiment and the first embodiment described above is that the shape of the lower portion of the outer case 2 of the first embodiment and the shape of the lower portion of the outer case 202 of the third embodiment are different. In the point.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, a lower opening 205b is formed below the outer frame 205 in the exterior case 202 of the third embodiment. The inner diameter of the lower opening 205b is the movement. The inner diameter of the storage unit 10 is set to be approximately the same size. And the metal back cover 204 is provided so that the lower side opening part 205b formed in this way may be obstruct | occluded.

  Here, since the inner diameter of the lower opening 205b is set to be approximately the same as the inner diameter of the movement storage unit 10, the outer diameter of the back cover 204 is also compared with that of the first embodiment. And set small. For this reason, the front switch board 26b on which the antenna coil 28 is formed and the back cover 204 do not overlap in the normal direction perpendicular to the surface direction of the back cover 204.

  Therefore, according to the fourth embodiment described above, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above, the magnetic flux J (see FIG. 2) formed by the antenna coil 28 is lost by the back cover 204. Can be suppressed. For this reason, communication from the back cover 204 side by the antenna coil 28 is enabled, and the communication function can be further improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the cover plate is made of glass, but the cover plate can be formed of other materials such as hard resin.
In the above-described embodiment, the electronic wristwatch 1 has been described as the electronic device with a communication function. However, the electronic wristwatch 1 is not limited to this, and various types of communication that do not have a clock function and a clock that is larger than the electronic wristwatch 1. The present invention can be applied to an electronic device with a function.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the front switch unit 12 for switching the content displayed on the LCD 25 is provided on the 6 o'clock side of the outer frames 5, 205 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to provide devices having various functions in place of the front switch unit 12 on the 6 o'clock side of the outer frames 5 and 205. For example, instead of the front switch unit 12, a UV sensor for measuring the amount of ultraviolet rays, an atmospheric pressure sensor for measuring atmospheric pressure, a temperature sensor for measuring air temperature, an acceleration sensor, and the like may be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, particularly, in the electronic wristwatch 1 in which the exterior case 2 is provided with the metal reinforcing ring 7, the case where the communication accuracy and the communication distance of the antenna coil 28 can be prevented from being reduced will be described. did. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can also be suitably used in an electronic wristwatch in which a metal bezel is provided on the exterior case 2. In this case, a function for executing a predetermined function such as the front switch unit 12 is provided outside the bezel in the radial direction.

1 Electronic watch (electronic watch)
2,202 Exterior case 3 Case body 4,204 Back cover 5,205 Outer frame 5a Upper opening (display)
5b, 205b Lower opening (opening)
7 Reinforcement ring (metal ring)
12 Front switch unit (switch)
26a Main board 26b Front switch board (board)
28 Antenna coil 71 Switch button 72 Front switch pattern (wiring pattern)
226b Front switch board (multilayer board)
227 substrate

Claims (6)

An exterior case having a display portion on which characters or symbols are displayed;
A metal ring provided in the outer case and formed around the display unit;
A switch provided operatively with respect to the outer case by a gap between the outer case and the outer case ;
A substrate on which a wiring pattern for transmitting a signal by executing the function of the switch is formed on a radially outer side of the metal ring;
Electronic equipment with a communication function, characterized in that it comprises provided in the substrate, and an antenna coil that is provided directly below the switch.   The electronic device with communication function according to claim 1, wherein the antenna coil is formed on a surface of the substrate opposite to a surface on which the wiring pattern is formed.   The electronic device with a communication function according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a multilayer substrate, and the antenna coil is formed in each layer. The exterior case has an opening formed on the side opposite to the display unit, and a back cover that closes the opening is provided.
The said board | substrate and the said back cover are each arrange | positioned so that it may not overlap in the normal line direction orthogonal to the surface direction of this back cover, The any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Electronic devices with communication functions.   The electronic device with a communication function according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the switch is a switch for switching contents displayed on the display unit.   An electronic timepiece characterized in that time is displayed on the display unit of the electronic device with communication function according to claim 1.

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