JP7069003B2 - Electromechanical transducers and electronic clocks - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to electromechanical transducers and electronic clocks.

Electromechanical converters such as generators that generate electricity by electrostatic induction between a charged part that moves relative to each other and a counter electrode, and motors that obtain a driving force by the electrostatic force generated between a charged part and a counter electrode are known. ing.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a flat plate-shaped substrate, a rotating member that rotates facing the plane of the substrate, a pointer for indicating a time that is rotationally driven by the rotating member, and a rotating member that radiates from the center of rotation thereof. A first electrode having a radiating portion formed in, a second electrode having a radiating portion formed on a flat plate-shaped substrate so as to face the radiating portion of the first electrode, and a first electrode and a second electrode. A clock power generation device including a charge holder provided on one side of the above is described.

Patent Document 2 describes a housing, a first substrate fixed to the housing, a disk-shaped second substrate having a shaft rotatably supported by the housing, a charging film, a counter electrode, and a charging film. And an electrostatic induction type generator having an output unit for outputting the electric power generated between the counter electrodes is described. In this generator, the counter electrode is installed on the first facing surface of the first substrate, the charging film is installed on the second facing surface of the second substrate facing the first facing surface, and the second facing surface of the second substrate is installed. In, the charging film and the interval portion in which the charging film is not installed are alternately arranged at predetermined angles, and a set of power generation consisting of a first substrate, a charging film, a second substrate, a counter electrode, and an output portion. Multiple sets of parts are installed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-286428 JP-A-2017-069999

In order to realize a small electromechanical converter, it is desirable to arrange electronic components (circuit components) used for conversion between electric power and power on a substrate (opposing substrate) of a counter electrode facing the charged portion. For that purpose, it is necessary to form an insulating coating film (insulating film) on the opposing substrate by coating or the like, but since the insulating film cannot be applied to the surface of the facing substrate on the side where the counter electrode is located, the insulating film is opposed. It is formed on only one side opposite to the electrode. In this case, since the insulating film shrinks when it dries after coating, the opposing substrate tends to warp. In an electromechanical transducer that utilizes electrostatic interaction, it is necessary to bring the charged part and the rotating member on which the facing electrode is arranged close to the facing substrate and adjust the gap with high accuracy, and the warping of the facing substrate is required. If the gap between the rotating member and the rotating member deviates from the design value, the performance will be deteriorated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of warpage of the facing substrate of the electromechanical converter due to the formation of an insulating film for mounting electronic components, and the resulting deterioration in performance.

It is an electromechanical converter that converts between electric power and power by utilizing the electrostatic interaction between the charged part and the counter electrode. On the facing surface between the facing substrate arranged so as to face each other and the facing substrate of the rotating member, the charging portion arranged at a distance from each other in the rotation direction of the rotating member, and the facing surface of the rotating member of the facing substrate. It has a facing electrode arranged to face the rotating region of the rotating member and an insulating film formed on the opposite surface opposite to the facing surface of the facing substrate, and the insulating film is formed in the rotating region of the rotating member. Provided is an electromechanical converter characterized in that it is formed in a peripheral region that does not overlap in a plan view and is not formed on the entire surface of the opposite surface.

The facing substrate has electronic components used for conversion between power and power, and the electronic components are preferably located in the peripheral region on the opposite surface.

The facing substrate has a rectifying circuit that rectifies the alternating current generated by electrostatic induction between the charged portion and the facing electrode when the rotating member is rotated by a force acting from the outside, and the electronic component has a rectifying circuit. It is preferably a constituent diode.

It is an electromechanical converter that converts between electric power and power by utilizing the electrostatic interaction between the charged part and the counter electrode. On the facing surface of the facing substrate arranged to face each other and the facing board of the rotating member, the charging portion arranged at intervals in the rotation direction of the rotating member and the facing surface of the rotating member of the facing substrate. It has a counter electrode arranged facing the rotating region of the rotating member and an electronic component used for conversion between electric power and power arranged on the opposite surface opposite to the facing surface of the facing substrate. Provided is an electromechanical converter characterized in that the electronic component is arranged in a peripheral region that does not overlap the rotating region of the rotating member in a plan view.

An electronic clock having any of the above electromechanical converters, which has a biased weight balance and rotates using a rotary weight driven by an external force and a rotating weight obtained by the rotation of the rotary weight. It also has a circuit board containing circuit parts for storing the power generated by electrostatic induction between the charged part and the counter electrode when the member is rotated, and measures the time using the stored power. However, the facing board and the circuit board are arranged so as to be overlapped with each other in the thickness direction of the electronic clock, and the electronic component and the circuit board are arranged so as to be offset from each other in the plane direction of the facing board and the circuit board. An electronic clock is provided.

In the above-mentioned electromechanical converter and an electronic timepiece having the same, warpage of the facing substrate due to forming an insulating film for mounting electronic components is unlikely to occur, and performance deterioration due to the formation is unlikely to occur.

It is sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of an electronic timepiece 1. It is a breaking perspective view which shows the internal structure of an electronic timepiece 1. It is an exploded perspective view of the electrostatic generator 2. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the circuit structure of the electrostatic generator 2. It is a top view which shows a part of the upper surface 30a and the lower surface 30b of the upper substrate 30. It is a side view which shows a part of the circuit board 14 and the upper board 30. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the circuit structure of the electrostatic motor 3.

Hereinafter, the electromechanical transducer and the electronic clock will be described with reference to the drawings. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the drawings or embodiments described below.

1 and 2 are a cross-sectional view and a broken perspective view showing the internal structure of the electronic clock 1. The electronic clock 1 has a rotary weight 11, a receiving plate 12, a support base 13, a circuit board 14, a support base 15, an electrostatic generator 2 and a main plate 16 in this order between the back cover and the dial. Of the main components of the electronic watch 1, the back cover, exterior case, dial, pointer, and windshield are not shown because they are not necessary for the following explanation, and in FIGS. 1 and 2, these are removed. It shows the clock 1. The upper side of each figure corresponds to the back cover side, and the lower side corresponds to the dial side.

The electrostatic generator 2 is a power generation device that extracts electric power from power by generating static electricity by electrostatic induction using the rotational energy of the rotary weight 11, and utilizes electrostatic interaction to generate electric power and power. This is an example of an electromechanical converter that performs conversion between (electrostatic conversion). The rotary weight 11 is a substantially semicircular plate material that covers about half of the plane of the electronic clock 1 having a disk shape, and is fixed to a rotary shaft 11C provided in the center of the electronic clock 1 and is a circular region of the electronic clock 1. The entire rotation area is defined as. The rotary weight 11 has a bias in the weight balance because the center of gravity is shifted to the outer peripheral side of the rotary shaft 11C. For example, the rotary weight 11 uses vibration generated by the user carrying the electronic clock 1 as a power source. Rotate clockwise or counterclockwise around the axis of rotation 11C. The receiving plate 12 is a member for supporting the rotary weight 11, and the support base 13 is a member for supporting the receiving plate 12.

The circuit board 14 has a circuit for storing electric power generated by the electrostatic generator 2 by the rotation of the rotary weight 11 and for driving a motor (not shown) for driving a pointer. The support base 15 is a member for supporting the circuit board 14. The movement (main body portion of the clock mechanism) of the electronic clock 1 is composed of the circuit board 14, the motor and the train wheel for driving the pointer, the circuit board 14, and the battery for supplying electric power to the motor. The electronic clock 1 measures the time using the electric power generated by the electrostatic generator 2 and rotates the pointer to display the time.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the electrostatic generator 2. The electrostatic generator 2 has a rotating shaft 20, a spacer 25, an upper substrate 30, a rotor 40, and a lower substrate 50.

The rotary shaft 20 is a shaft that is the center of rotation of the rotor 40, penetrates the upper substrate 30 and the lower substrate 50, and is pivotally supported by bearings 21 provided on the receiving plate 12 and the main plate 16. The rotary shaft 20 is provided with a kana 22 between the circuit board 14 and the upper board 30, and the kana 22 is connected to the gear 23. The gear 23 is connected to the rotating shaft 11C of the rotary weight 11 via a gear train (not shown).

The spacer 25 is a resin member formed so as to surround the periphery of the rotor 40 and fill the space between the upper substrate 30 and the lower substrate 50 except for the rotation region of the rotor 40. The spacer 25 preferably has a translucency to such an extent that the position of the rotor 40 can be visually confirmed from the side of the electrostatic generator 2 through the spacer 25, and more preferably transparent. The spacer 25 also has an effect of preventing the gap between the upper substrate 30 and the lower substrate 50 from becoming too small and keeping the gap constant, and an effect of preventing dust from entering the rotating region of the rotor 40 from the outside. be.

The upper substrate 30 is an example of a facing substrate, and is made of a well-known substrate material such as a glass epoxy substrate, and is arranged on the support base 15 side between the support base 15 and the main plate 16. On the lower surface 30b (see FIG. 5B) of the upper substrate 30 which is the surface facing the rotor 40, the facing electrodes 31 and 32 are formed in a circular region overlapping the rotor 40 in a plan view. Although the upper surface 30a of the upper substrate 30 is shown in FIG. 3, since the counter electrodes 31 and 32 are formed on the lower surface 30b of the upper substrate 30, they are shown by a broken line in FIG. The counter electrodes 31 and 32 each have a substantially trapezoidal shape and size, and are arranged alternately and radially in the circumferential direction with the through hole 30c through which the rotating shaft 20 passes as the center.

The rotor 40 is an example of a rotating member, which is a substantially disk-shaped member made of a metal such as aluminum or an alloy thereof, or a material such as glass or silicon, and is between the upper substrate 30 and the lower substrate 50. Is located in. The center of the rotor 40 is fixed to the rotation shaft 20, and the rotor 40 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise together with the rotation shaft 20. As shown in FIG. 3, in order to reduce the weight, substantially trapezoidal grooves 42 extending radially from the vicinity of the center of the rotor 40 are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. On the same circumference, the groove portion 42 and the portion other than the groove portion 42 have the same width.

A charging portion 41 is formed on the surface between the groove portions 42 on the upper surface and the lower surface of the rotor 40. Due to the presence of the groove portion 42, the charging portion 41 is arranged on the upper surface and the lower surface of the rotor 40, which are facing surfaces of the upper substrate 30 and the lower substrate 50, at intervals in the circumferential direction. The charged portion 41 is a thin film made of an electret material, retains an electrostatic charge, and is all charged with the same polarity (for example, negative). Examples of the electlet material include resin materials such as CYTOP (registered trademark), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and polyvinylidene fluoride. A polymer material such as fluoride (PVDF) or polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), or an inorganic material such as silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) or silicon nitride (SiN) is used.

The charging portion 41 may be formed only on the surface between the groove portions 42 on the upper surface and the lower surface of the rotor 40, or may be formed on the entire surface of the rotor 40 including the annular portion on the center side of the groove portion 42. good.

In FIG. 3, the rotor 40 has a wheel-like shape by connecting the outermost peripheral portions of the charging portions 41 to each other in the circumferential direction, whereas in FIG. 2, the connecting portions are connected to each other. It has a petal-like shape because the outer peripheral portion of the groove is opened. As described above, the shape of the rotor 40 does not match between the two figures, but it may be either the petal type of FIG. 2 or the wheel type of FIG. 3, and these differences affect the contents described below. do not.

The lower substrate 50 is made of a well-known substrate material like the upper substrate 30, and is arranged on the main plate 16 side between the support base 15 and the main plate 16. On the upper surface 50a of the lower substrate 50, which is the surface facing the rotor 40, facing electrodes 51 and 52 are formed in a circular region overlapping the rotor 40 in a plan view. The counter electrodes 51 and 52 each have a substantially trapezoidal shape and size, and are arranged alternately and radially in the circumferential direction with a through hole through which the rotating shaft 20 passes.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the electrostatic generator 2. The electrostatic generator 2 has a rectifier circuit C1 on the upper surface 30a of the upper substrate 30, and in FIG. 4, the facing electrodes 31 and 32 on the lower surface 30b of the upper substrate 30 and the facing electrodes 51 and 52 on the upper surface 50a of the lower substrate 50. , And the rectifier circuit C1. The counter electrodes 31 and 32 are electrically connected to the rectifier circuit C1 on the upper substrate 30, and the counter electrodes 51 and 52 are also connected to the rectifier circuit C1 via a spring (not shown) connecting the lower substrate 50 and the upper substrate 30. Is electrically connected to. The rectifier circuit C1 is a bridge-type circuit having a total of eight diodes 33, and the diode 33 is an example of a circuit component for power generation (an electronic component used for conversion between electric power and power).

When the rotary weight 11 is rotated by a force acting from the outside, the gear 23 and the cana 22 rotate through a gear train (not shown). Then, the rotor 40 rotates together with the rotating shaft 20, and the overlapping area between the charged portion 41 and the counter electrodes 31, 32, 51, 52 increases or decreases accordingly. For example, assuming that the negative charge is held in the charging unit 41, the positive charge attracted to the counter electrodes 31, 32, 51, and 52 increases or decreases as the rotor 40 rotates. In this way, an alternating current is generated between the counter electrodes 31 and 51 and the counter electrodes 32 and 52 by electrostatic induction, and the alternating current is rectified by the rectifier circuit C1 and output to the circuit board 14. As a result, the rechargeable and dischargeable battery in the electronic clock 1 is charged.

5 (A) and 5 (B) are plan views showing a part of the upper surface 30a and the lower surface 30b of the upper substrate 30, respectively. Although not shown hidden behind the upper substrate 30 in FIG. 5A, the facing electrodes 31 and 32 of the lower surface 30b and the rotor 40 below them are arranged on the back side of the upper surface 30a shown in FIG. 5A. .. The circular region inside the broken line in FIG. 5A corresponds to the region on the lower surface 30b where the counter electrodes 31 and 32 are arranged and directly above the rotation region of the rotor 40. Hereinafter, this circular region is referred to as a rotation region R1. Further, the entire outer side of the rotation region R1 on the upper surface 30a is referred to as a peripheral region R2. The peripheral region R2 is an end portion of the upper substrate 30, and is a region that does not overlap with the arrangement region of the counter electrodes 31 and 32 and the rotation region of the rotor 40 in a plan view.

The eight diodes 33 constituting the rectifier circuit C1 of FIG. 4 are collectively arranged only in the peripheral region R2 of the upper surface 30a, and are mounted on the upper surface 30a by soldering. That is, in the electrostatic generator 2, the diode 33 is arranged at a position that does not overlap with the rotation region of the rotor 40 and the counter electrodes 31 and 32 in a plane. It is difficult to arrange such electronic components on the lower surface 30b, which is the surface facing the rotor 40, in terms of space. It is not preferable because it may be hindered. Some electronic components may be arranged in the rotation region R1, but in order to avoid adverse effects on electrostatic induction and improve power generation performance, all the electronic components on the upper surface 30a are connected to the counter electrodes 31, 32. It is preferable to arrange it in the peripheral region R2 far from the. Further, it is preferable that a capacitor (not shown) connected to the tip of the rectifier circuit C1 is also arranged in the peripheral region R2.

In the upper substrate 30, a resin insulating coat 34 (resist or insulating film) for preventing solder flow is applied to a part of the periphery of the diode 33 in the peripheral region R2 of the upper surface 30a. In order to make the positional relationship easy to understand, the positions of the diode 33 and the insulating coat 34 on the upper surface 30a side are also shown by broken lines in FIG. 5B. Since the insulating coat 34 is applied only to the upper surface 30a, if it is applied to the entire surface thereof, the upper warp of the upper substrate 30 becomes large due to shrinkage during drying, and the performance of the electrostatic generator 2 may deteriorate. .. Therefore, most or all of the insulating coat 34 (although a part of the insulating coat 34 may straddle the rotation region R1) is formed in the peripheral region R2, and is not formed on the entire surface of the upper surface 30a. By minimizing the coating area of the insulating coat 34 in this way, the warp of the upper substrate 30 is reduced, and the counter electrodes 31 and 32 are parallel to the rotor 40, so that deterioration of power generation performance can be prevented. ..

Unlike the illustrated embodiment, the rectifier circuit C1 (that is, the diode 33) may be arranged on the lower substrate 50. In this case, the eight diodes 33 are weighted in plan view on the arrangement region of the facing electrodes 51 and 52 and the rotation region of the rotor 40 on the lower surface of the lower substrate 50 (the surface opposite to the facing electrodes 51 and 52). It is preferable to place it in the peripheral area where it does not become. In this case, the insulating coat is formed on a part of the periphery of the diode 33 in the peripheral region on the lower surface of the lower substrate 50. Alternatively, the rectifier circuit C1 may be arranged on both the upper substrate 30 and the lower substrate 50. In this case, the four diodes 33 may be separately arranged in the peripheral region R2 of the upper surface 30a of the upper substrate 30, and the remaining four diodes 33 may be arranged separately in the peripheral region on the lower surface of the lower substrate 50.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a part of the circuit board 14 and the upper board 30. The circuit board 14 and the upper board 30 are arranged so as to be overlapped with each other in the thickness direction inside the electronic clock 1, and as shown in FIG. 6, the circuit board 14C on the circuit board 14 and the diode on the upper board 30 are arranged. 33 is arranged so as to be offset in the plane direction of the circuit board 14 and the upper board 30. Since the peripheral region R2 where the diode 33 is located is the end portion of the upper substrate 30, the circuit component 14C is arranged on the circuit board 14 on the center side of the electronic clock 1 rather than directly above the peripheral region R2. The circuit component 14C is, for example, a component such as a capacitor constituting a circuit for driving a pointer. By shifting the circuit component 14C of the circuit board 14 and the electronic component of the upper substrate 30 in the plane direction of the electronic clock 1 (not overlapping in a plan view), both components are arranged in a straight line in the thickness direction. In comparison, the thickness of the electronic clock 1 can be reduced by the amount indicated by the arrow d in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the electrostatic motor 3. The electrostatic motor 3 differs from the electrostatic generator 2 in that the rectifying circuit C1 is replaced with the drive circuit C2, and has the same rotating shaft 20, upper substrate 30, rotor 40 and lower as those of the electrostatic generator 2. It has a side substrate 50. FIG. 7 shows the facing electrodes 31 and 32 on the lower surface 30b of the upper substrate 30, the facing electrodes 51 and 52 on the upper surface 50a of the lower substrate 50, and the drive circuit C2. The electrostatic motor 3 is a drive device that extracts power from electric power by rotating a rotor 40 by utilizing an electrostatic force generated in response to an electric signal input to the drive circuit C2, and is an example of an electromechanical converter. be. The electronic clock 1 may have an electrostatic motor 3 in place of or in addition to the electrostatic generator 2.

The drive circuit C2 is a circuit for driving the rotor 40, and has a clock CLK and two comparators 35. As shown in FIG. 7, the output of the clock CLK is connected to the inputs of the two comparators 35, the output of one comparator 35 is to the counter electrodes 31 and 51, and the output of the other comparator 35 is the counter electrode 32. , 52 are electrically connected to each other. The two comparators 35 compare the potential of the input signal from the clock CLK and the ground potential, respectively, and output signals having opposite signs to each other as two values. When the input signal from the clock CLK is H, the counter electrodes 31 and 51 have a potential of + V, the counter electrodes 32 and 52 have a potential of −V, and when the input signal is L, the counter electrodes 31 and 51 have a potential of −V and the counter electrode. 32 and 52 have a potential of + V.

In the drive circuit C2, a voltage having the same sign as the static charge of the charging unit 41 is applied to the counter electrodes 31 and 51, and a voltage having a code different from the static charge of the charging unit 41 is applied to the counter electrodes 32 and 52. , The signs of those voltages are alternately inverted. Then, an attractive force or a repulsive force is generated between the charging unit 41 and the counter electrodes 31, 32, 51, 52 due to the interaction between the electric field generated by the charging unit 41 and the electric field generated by the counter electrodes 31, 32, 51, 52. .. The drive circuit C2 applies a voltage at which the polarities are alternately switched to the counter electrodes 31, 32, 51, 52, and the rotor 40 is generated by the electrostatic force generated between the charging unit 41 and the counter electrodes 31, 32, 51, 52. To rotate. As a result, the rotating shaft 20, the kana 22, and the gear 23 rotate, so that the pointer of the electronic clock 1 can be driven via a gear train (not shown).

In the electrostatic motor 3, the comparator 35 is an example of a circuit component for a motor (an electronic component used for conversion between electric power and power). Similar to the electrostatic generator 2, the electrostatic motor 3 has, for example, a drive circuit C2 on the upper surface 30a of the upper substrate 30. On the upper surface 30a, two comparators 35 are arranged in the peripheral region R2 of FIG. 5A, and an insulating coat is formed on a part of the periphery thereof in the peripheral region R2. As a result, the influence of the electronic components of the drive circuit C2 on the electrostatic interaction between the charging portion 41 and the counter electrodes 31 and 32, and the performance of the electrostatic motor 3 due to the warp of the upper substrate 30 due to the insulating coating. The decline can be avoided.

1 Electronic clock 2 Electrostatic motor 3 Electrostatic motor 11 Rotating weight 14 Circuit board 14C Circuit parts 20 Rotating shaft 30 Upper board 31, 32, 51, 52 Opposite electrode 33 Diode 34 Insulation coat 40 Rotor 41 Charging part 50 Lower board

Claims (5)

It is an electromechanical converter that converts between electric power and power by utilizing the electrostatic interaction between the charged part and the counter electrode.
A rotating member that rotates around the axis of rotation, and
With the facing substrate arranged to face the rotating member,
A charging unit arranged on the surface of the rotating member facing the facing substrate at a distance from each other in the rotation direction of the rotating member.
On the surface of the facing substrate facing the rotating member, a facing electrode arranged to face the rotating region of the rotating member and a counter electrode.
It has an insulating film formed on the opposite surface of the facing substrate, which is opposite to the facing surface.
The insulating film is formed in a peripheral region that does not overlap the rotating region of the rotating member in a plan view, and is not formed on the entire surface of the opposite surface.
An electromechanical transducer characterized by that. The facing substrate has electronic components used for conversion between power and power.
The electromechanical converter according to claim 1, wherein the electronic component is arranged in the peripheral region on the opposite surface. The facing substrate has a rectifying circuit that rectifies an alternating current generated by electrostatic induction between the charged portion and the facing electrode when the rotating member is rotated by an external force.
The electromechanical converter according to claim 2, wherein the electronic component is a diode constituting the rectifier circuit. It is an electromechanical converter that converts between electric power and power by utilizing the electrostatic interaction between the charged part and the counter electrode.
A rotating member that rotates around the axis of rotation, and
With the facing substrate arranged to face the rotating member,
A charging unit arranged on the surface of the rotating member facing the facing substrate at a distance from each other in the rotation direction of the rotating member.
On the surface of the facing substrate facing the rotating member, a facing electrode arranged to face the rotating region of the rotating member and a counter electrode.
It has an electronic component used for conversion between electric power and power, which is arranged on the opposite surface of the opposite substrate to the opposite surface.
The electronic component is arranged in a peripheral region that does not overlap the rotating region of the rotating member in a plan view.
An electromechanical transducer characterized by that. An electronic timepiece having the electromechanical converter according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
There is a bias in the weight balance, and the rotary weight that is driven by the force acting from the outside and rotates,
A circuit board including circuit components for storing electric power generated by electrostatic induction between the charged portion and the counter electrode when the rotating member is rotated by using the power obtained by the rotation of the rotary weight. And have more,
Time is measured using the stored electric power,
The facing substrate and the circuit board are arranged so as to be overlapped with each other in the thickness direction of the electronic clock.
The electronic component and the circuit component are arranged so as to be offset from each other in the plane direction of the facing board and the circuit board.
An electronic clock characterized by that.

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