JP7159691B2 - Band manufacturing method, band and watch - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a band manufacturing method, a band, and a watch provided with the band.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, bands provided for devices worn on the arm, such as wristwatches, are often made of various soft materials with relatively low hardness, such as silicon, in consideration of comfort.
The band made of a soft material such as silicone fits well on the skin and is excellent in wearability.

However, when a band made of a soft material is attached to a device case, there is a risk that the strength of the attached portion may not be maintained.
In addition, when the band is attached to the device and worn on the arm, the portion where the band is attached to the case tends to be rolled up, and a gap is likely to occur between the band and the case. As a result, the space between the band and the case is likely to be clogged with dust and the like, and the external appearance is also unfavorable.

Therefore, for example, it has been proposed to insert-mold a reinforcing plate having reinforcing plate ribs around a portion of a band formed of a soft material where the band is attached to the case (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In this way, when a reinforcing member such as a reinforcing plate is insert-molded around the portion where the band is attached to the case, the strength of the attached portion can be maintained and curling of the portion attached to the case can be suppressed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-275722

However, reinforcing members such as reinforcing plates are made of, for example, metal parts or hard plastics, and are completely different from the material forming the band itself. Therefore, when forming a band having a reinforcing member by insert molding, the reinforcing member must be manufactured as a separate part.
When inserting, it is necessary to position and set such parts in the mold in advance so that they do not move.
For this reason, there is a problem that the number of parts constituting the band and the number of processes increase.

Furthermore, in insert molding, in order to prevent the reinforcing member from appearing in the appearance of the band, after primary molding is performed to integrate the material forming the band main body and the reinforcing member, resin is added so as to cover the reinforcing member. In some cases, multiple steps may be required, such as pouring and secondary molding. In this case, the number of steps is further increased, and it takes time and effort to produce the band.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and manufactures a band that can achieve both wearability of the band and strength of the portion attached to the case without increasing the number of parts and the number of work processes. The object is to provide a method, a band and a watch with the band.

In order to solve the above problems, the band manufacturing method of the present invention comprises:
a first block containing a first material; a second block containing a second material of the same type as the first material and having a lower hardness than the first material ; and a preparation step of preparing a third block that has a longer band length in the longitudinal direction and includes a second material that is the same type of material as the first material and has a lower hardness than the first material; When,
A preforming step of arranging the third block so as to be laminated with the second block, arranging the third block so as to be laminated with the first block, and temporarily fixing them to form a preform. When,
A molding step of compression-molding the pre-formed body temporarily fixed in the pre-forming step using a mold to form a band;
is characterized by including

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a band, a band, and a watch equipped with a band, which can achieve both wearability of the band and strength of the portion attached to the case without increasing the number of parts and work processes. be able to.

1 is a plan view showing the appearance of a timepiece according to this embodiment; FIG. (a) is a plan view of the band according to the present embodiment as seen from the upper surface of the band, (b) is a side view of the band shown in (a), and (c) is a side cross-sectional view of the band. and (d) is a side cross-sectional view showing an example of a pre-formed body that is pre-formed when manufacturing the band according to the present embodiment. (a) is a cross-sectional view of the main part schematically showing the state in which the pre-formed body is arranged in the mold, and (b) is a process of molding the pre-formed body by pressing it from above and below with the mold. (c) is a cross-sectional view of the main part schematically showing a state in which the pre-formed body is formed in the shape of a band. (a) is a side sectional view showing an example of a conventional pre-formed body, (b) is a plan view showing an example of a band formed from the pre-formed body shown in (a), and (c) 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the band shown in (b); FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part schematically showing a state in which a modified example of a pre-molded body is arranged in a mold; (a) to (c) are enlarged cross-sectional views of main parts showing modified examples of a case attachment portion and an attachment-side end portion constituting the case attachment portion.

1 to 4(a) to 4(c), an embodiment of a band manufactured by a method for manufacturing a band according to the present invention and a watch equipped with the band will be described. Although the case where the band is a wristwatch (hereinafter simply referred to as "watch") band will be described below, embodiments to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to this.
In addition, various technically preferable limitations are attached to the embodiments described below in order to carry out the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a timepiece according to this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a watch 100 includes a case (hereinafter referred to as “body case 1”) and a band 2 attached to this body case 1. As shown in FIG.
The body case 1 is formed in the shape of a hollow short column that opens upward and downward in the thickness direction of the watch. blocked by An opening on the opposite side (back side) of the body case 1 to the viewing side is closed by a back cover member (not shown).
Below the windshield member 11 and inside the main body case 1, a display unit, a clock module, and the like (none of which are shown) are accommodated.
The display unit may be an analog type display unit including a dial and pointers (for example, hour hand, minute hand, second hand, etc.) arranged above the dial plate, or may be a digital display unit configured with, for example, a liquid crystal panel. may be a display unit. Furthermore, the display unit provided in the timepiece 100 may be a display unit having both analog and digital methods.
The display unit is connected to the clock module and displays various information such as the time.

The watch 100 also has an operation button 12 on the side of the body case 1 or the like.
The operation button 12 is connected at its insertion-side end to the timepiece module housed inside the main body case 1, and is configured so that various operations can be performed by pushing or rotating the operation button 12. there is
1, that is, the 12 o'clock side end and the 6 o'clock side end of the main body case 1, respectively, are provided with band mounting portions 15 to which the band 2 is mounted.
A parent band 2a of the band 2 formed by a method described later is attached to the band attachment portion 15 (15a) provided on the 12 o'clock side of the watch. Also, to the band attachment portion 15 (15b) provided on the 6 o'clock side of the timepiece, the tip band 2b of the band 2, which is similarly formed by a method to be described later, is attached.
In this embodiment, when simply referred to as "band 2", the parent band 2a and the tip band 2b are not particularly distinguished, and both are included.

FIG. 2(a) is a plan view of the band (parent band and sword tip band) according to the present embodiment as viewed from the visible side (surface side), which is the upper surface of the band, and FIG. ), FIG. 2C is a side sectional view of the band, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing an example of a pre-formed body to be formed;
In FIGS. 2(a) to 2(d), the parent band 2a is shown on the left side, and the tip band 2b is shown on the right side.

As shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c), each band 2 (parent band 2a and sword tip band 2b) in this embodiment includes a band main body 4 and an end portion of the band main body 4 (an extension of the band). and a case attachment portion 3 that is integrally connected to one end side of the direction).
The case attachment portion 3 includes an attachment-side end portion 21 of the band 2 that attaches the band 2 to the band attachment portion 15 of the main body case 1 .
In FIG. 2A and the like, the right end of the parent band 2a is the attachment-side end 21a, and the left end of the sword tip band 2b is the attachment-side end 21b.
A through-hole 211a extending in the width direction of the band is formed in the attachment-side end 21a of the parent band 2a. Similarly, a through hole 211b extending in the width direction of the band is formed in the attachment side end 21b of the sword tip band 2b. The band 2 (parent band 2a and sword tip band 2b) is formed by inserting a spring bar or the like (not shown) through the through holes 211a and 211b, respectively, and attaching the band mounting portion 15 (band mounting portions 15a and 15b) of the main body case 1 via the spring bar or the like. ).

The end portion of the parent band 2a on the side opposite to the end portion 21a on the mounting side serves as a buckle mounting portion 22. As shown in FIG. A mounting hole 221, which is a through hole extending in the width direction of the band, is formed in the buckle mounting portion 22. As shown in FIG. Although not shown, the buckle attachment portion 22 is provided with a umbrella (that is, a buckle frame) attached to the attachment hole 221 and a buckle provided with a hook rod.
Further, the tip band 2b is provided with a plurality of small holes 23 in which the hooks are engaged, arranged side by side in the extending direction of the tip band 2b.

Each band 2 (parent band 2a and tip band 2b) is made of thermoplastic resin such as fluororubber. In the present embodiment, the fluororubber is a material that includes a wide range of resins belonging to special synthetic rubbers made of polymers containing fluorine, and is excellent in heat resistance, oil resistance, weather resistance, chemical resistance, and the like. The material forming each band 2 may be a thermoplastic resin other than fluororubber, such as polyurethane.
Of each band 2, the end portions 21a and 21b on the mounting side are high hardness portions formed of a material with relatively high hardness (this is referred to as a "first material"), and other The portion is a low-hardness portion made of a material having a hardness lower than that of the first material forming the high-hardness portion (this will be referred to as a “second material”).
The first material and the second material are materials of the same type with different hardnesses. For example, the first material is a fluororubber with a hardness of A90, and the second material is a fluororubber with a hardness of A70. .

As shown in FIG. 2(d), in this embodiment, as a preparatory stage for forming the band 2, the first material and the second material are cut out in amounts corresponding to the respective shapes after molding to form a plurality of blocks. are formed, and these blocks are arranged such that at least a portion thereof is laminated, and temporarily fixed to form a preformed body 20 (this is referred to as "preformed").
In the following, a block made of a first material is called a first block 30, and blocks made of a second material are called second blocks 41, 42, and 43. As shown in FIG.
When forming the preformed body 20 in this embodiment, one first block 30 constituting the end portion 21 on the attachment side is prepared, and three second blocks (second blocks 41, 42, 43) are prepared. Each block 30, 41, 42, 43 is formed in a plate shape with a thickness of about 3 mm. The thicknesses of the blocks 30, 41, 42, and 43 may not be the same, and are appropriately adjusted so that the finished band 2 has a substantially uniform thickness (for example, about 3 mm).
The size (thickness, etc.) and shape of each block 30, 41, 42, 43, the number of the blocks 30, 41, 42, and 43 are appropriately set according to the shape, size, etc. of the band 2 to be formed. It is not limited to the examples shown in the embodiments.

In the preformed body 20 of the present embodiment, the first block 30 made of the first material and the second blocks 41, 42, and 43 made of the second material are the attachment-side ends of the band 2 after compression molding. 21 is made of a first material, and is arranged such that the portion forming the upper surface of the band 2 is covered with a second material.
Further, the preformed body 20 is positioned downstream in the elongation direction with respect to the end 21 on the mounting side of the first block 30 made of the first material when elongated during compression molding. A second block of material is arranged.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2(d), in a preformed body 20 (illustrated on the left side in FIG. 2(d)), which is the base of the parent band 2a, the attachment-side end 21a of the parent band 2a and the The first block 30 is arranged at the right end (the right end in FIG. 2(d)), and is downstream in the extension direction (left direction in FIG. 2(d)) with reference to the end 21a on the attachment side. A second block 42 is placed at the position. Further, the second block 41 is arranged so as to cover the upper surfaces of the first block 30 and the second block 42 (viewing side, surface in the watch).
Furthermore, a second block 43 is arranged on the lower surface side of the second block 42 .
Similarly, in the preformed body 20 (illustrated on the right side in FIG. 2(d)), which is the base of the tip band 2b, the left end portion (the left end portion in FIG. ), and the second block 42 is positioned downstream in the extension direction (right direction in FIG. 2(d)) with respect to the mounting end 21b. Further, the second block 41 is arranged so as to cover the upper surfaces of the first block 30 and the second block 42 (viewing side, surface in the watch).
Furthermore, a second block 43 is arranged on the lower surface side of the second block 42 .
In the present embodiment, both the preformed body 20 from which the parent band 2a is formed and the preformed body 20 from which the tip band 2b is formed have a thickness at the central portion in the direction of elongation during compression molding. The arrangement amount of the second blocks 41, 42, 43 made of the second material is adjusted so that the second blocks 41, 42, 43 are thicker than the second block.

The preformed body 20, which is preformed with the blocks 30, 41, 42, and 43 arranged in this way, is placed in a mold and compression-molded to form the band 2 of the present embodiment.
The term "compression molding" as used herein refers to compression molding in which a material (in this embodiment, the pre-formed body 20 formed by temporarily fixing a block of material) is formed into a predetermined shape by applying pressure while heating.

Next, a method for manufacturing the band 2 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c).
FIG. 3(a) is a cross-sectional view of the main part schematically showing the state in which the pre-formed body is arranged in the mold, and FIG. FIG. 3(c) is a cross-sectional view of essential parts schematically showing the process of forming by pressing, and FIG.

When manufacturing each band 2, first, as described above, as preforming, the first material and the second material are cut out in amounts corresponding to the respective shapes after forming, and the first blocks 30 and The second blocks 41, 42, 43 are formed, and the preformed body 20 (see FIG. 2(d)) is formed from the respective blocks 30, 41, 42, 43 (preforming step).
Specifically, the first block 30 is arranged at the attachment-side end 21 of each band 2, and the second block 42 is arranged at a position downstream of the attachment-side end 21 in the extending direction. do. In addition, the second block 41 is arranged so as to cover the upper surfaces of the first block 30 and the second block 42 (viewing side, front surface in the watch), and the second block 43 is arranged on the lower surface side of the second block 42. . FIG. 2D shows an example in which the end of the second block 43 on the side of the first block 30 is positioned at the boundary between the first block 30 and the second block 42. The arrangement of the second block 43 is not limited to this. The second block 43 may have an end portion on the first block 30 side disposed on the lower surface of the first block 30 , or an end portion on the first block 30 side between the first block 30 and the second block 42 . It may be placed in a position that does not reach the boundary.
When the second block 41 is the first layer, the first block 30 and the second block 42 are the second layer, and the second block 43 is the third layer, as shown in FIG. By making the lengths of the three layers different, such as making them shorter than the first layer and the second layer, the thickness of the preform 20 can be partially changed.
After all the blocks 30, 41, 42, 43 are placed at predetermined positions, pressure is applied using a preforming machine (not shown) to temporarily fix and integrate the blocks 30, 41, 42, 43 for preforming. forming a body 20;

Next, the pre-formed body 20 temporarily fixed in the pre-forming step is compression-formed using a mold to form the band 2 (forming step).
Specifically, first, the preformed body 20 formed in the preforming step is set in a mold.
In this embodiment, the mold is composed of an upper mold 5 and a lower mold 6, as shown in FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c). A protrusion 51 is formed at a position corresponding to the small hole 23 in the band 2 on the inner surface of the upper mold 5 (the lower surface in FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c)). In addition, the mold upper surface 52 other than the convex portion 51 is formed so as to correspond to the shape of the upper surface of the band 2 (surface on the viewing side). A portion of the mold upper surface 52 of the upper mold 5 where the tip of the end portion 21 on the attachment side of the band 2 is positioned when the band 2 is formed serves as an upper surface end portion 521 .
The top edge portion 521 side of the mold top surface 52 of the upper mold 5 is an edge forming surface 522 , which is an inclined surface that gradually descends toward the top edge portion 521 in this embodiment.
The shape of the upper surface of the end portion 21 on the attachment side of the band 2 is formed along the shape of the end forming surface 522 .

Projections 61 are also formed on the lower mold 6 at positions corresponding to the small holes 23 in the band 2 and facing the projections 51 of the upper mold 5 . In addition, the inner surface of the lower mold 6 other than the convex portion 61 (the upper surface in FIGS. 3A to 3C) is a mold lower surface 62, and the shape of the lower surface (back surface) of the band 2 is formed to correspond to A portion of the mold lower surface 62 of the lower mold 6 where the tip of the end portion 21 on the mounting side of the band 2 is positioned when the band 2 is formed serves as a lower surface end portion 621 .
The bottom end portion 621 side of the mold bottom surface 62 of the lower mold 6 serves as an end forming surface 63 . In this embodiment, the edge forming surface 63 is formed so as to be recessed corresponding to the portion where the first block 30 made of the first material is arranged, and is shown in FIGS. ), when the lower mold 6 is viewed in cross section, it is substantially V-shaped or U-shaped. The shape of the lower surface of the end portion 21 on the attachment side of the band 2 is formed along the shape of the end forming surface 63 .

When setting the preform 20 in the mold, the ends of the upper mold 5 and the lower mold 6, more precisely, the upper surface end 521 of the upper mold 5 and the lower surface end of the lower mold 6 621 (indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 3(a)) so that the end of the preformed body 20 on the side where the first block 30 is arranged is positioned (arrangement process).
After the preform 20 is set in the mold, a low pressure is gradually applied from above and below without completely closing the mold. Note that the mold in which the preformed body 20 is set is heated, and pressurization is performed in the heated state. As a result, the mold upper surface 52 of the upper mold 5 is in contact with the upper surface of the second block 41 arranged above the preform 20, and the mold lower surface 62 of the lower mold 6 is placed under the preform 20. When in contact with the bottom surface of the arranged second block 43, the preform 20 is gradually crushed from the second block 41 and the second block 43 positioned at the thickest portion, and softens and flows.

The material (fluororubber in this embodiment) forming the pre-formed body 20 contains gas generated by contained impurities and the like. For this reason, unless the gas is sufficiently removed to release the volatile matter in the material, the gas is enclosed in the band 2 after molding, and "blister" and the like are likely to occur.
In this respect, as described above, by partially varying the thickness of the preform 20 and gradually softening and flowing from the thickest portion of the preform 20, the gas in the material is released, and the material The gas released from the mold passes through the part where the preform 20 and the mold are not yet in close contact with each other, and passes through the gap between the dividing surfaces of the mold (that is, the gap between the upper mold 5 and the lower mold 6). Emitted outside the mold. Thereby, degassing can be appropriately performed.

As pressure is further applied to the mold, the entire preformed body 20 is softened, and the blocks 30, 41, 42, and 43 are fused and integrated with each other, and are made of a second material having a low hardness. The second blocks 41 , 42 , 43 that have been formed flow and are pushed out into the mold.
In particular, the second block 41 flows along the mold upper surface 52 of the upper mold 5 as it is pressurized, and spreads so as to cover the first block 30 and the second block 42 .
On the other hand, the first block 30 made of the first material having a relatively high hardness does not flow and stretch so much, and the end portion forming surface 522 of the upper mold 5 allows the first block 30 along with the second block 41 to move. When the lower surface of the first block 30 hits the edge forming surface 63 of the lower mold 6, the block 30 is pushed and expanded into the recess formed by the edge forming surface 63 and stays there. That is, the flow of the first block 30 is suppressed.
Further, in the present embodiment, in the extension direction (indicated by black arrows in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b)) with reference to the end 21 on the attachment side of the first block 30, the , a second block 42 is arranged. Therefore, the second block 42 serves as a flow stop for the first block 30, and the position of the first block 30 is almost defined.
At the same time, the first block 30 serves as a flow stop for the second blocks 42 and 43 and prevents the second blocks 42 and 43 from flowing toward the end forming surface 63 . Therefore, the second blocks 42 and 43 flow and extend toward the downstream side in the extension direction indicated by the black arrows in FIGS. It is filled without gaps up to the part.
In addition, the second blocks 42 and 43 may extend slightly upstream in the extension direction and wrap around the lower surface side of the first block 30 .

By closing the mold completely and heating and pressurizing for a predetermined time, a pre-molded body made of materials with different hardnesses, namely, a first block 30 made of the first material and second blocks 41, 42, 43 made of the second material. 20 is molded into the desired shape along the mold and cured. This completes the prototype of the band 2 .
Finally, burrs formed on the outer circumference of the band 2 and inside the small holes 23 due to the material that has flowed into the dividing surface of the mold are removed, and the band 2 is completed through finishing processes such as cleaning and wiping.
In the completed band 2, the position where the upper surface end 521 of the upper mold 5 and the lower surface end 621 of the lower mold 6 match when the molds are completely closed is the first position in the case mounting portion 3. It coincides with the boundary between the mounting end 21 made of material and the upper surface (surface) of the band 2 covered with the second material.

The band 2 completed through these processes includes a case attachment portion 3 including an attachment-side end portion 21, which is a high-hardness portion made of a high-hardness first material, and a case-attachment portion 3 having a hardness higher than that of the first material. It consists of a band body 4 composed of a low-hardness portion made of a second material having a low hardness, and an attachment-side end portion 21 made of the first material and other portions made of the second material. are integrated by fusing materials to each other. Moreover, at least the upper surface (surface), which is the side visible from the outside when the band 2 is worn, is covered with a second material.

Generally, when forming a band by simply arranging materials with different hardness and integrally molding them, for example, as shown in FIG. A preform 20c is formed by adjoining a second block 40c formed of a second material having a lower hardness than the material of (1), and this is compression molded to form a band 2c.
FIG. 4(b) is a plan view of a band formed by such a method (the illustrated example is a sword tip band) viewed from the visible side (surface side), which is the upper surface of the band, and FIG. 4B is a side sectional view of the band shown in FIG. 4(b); FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 4(b) and 4(c), when the band 2c is integrally molded by simply arranging materials with different hardness, when a tensile load is applied in the extending direction of the band 2c, the low hardness Due to the difference in elongation between the material and the high-hardness material, the boundary between the materials (that is, the boundary between the high-hardness portion 3c formed by the first block 30c and the low-hardness portion 4c formed by the second block 40c) Boundary lines emerge. Also, subtle color differences between materials may occur.
If such a material boundary is visible, the appearance of the band 2c is spoiled, which is not preferable.

In this respect, as in the present embodiment, when the band 2 is formed by forming the preform 20 by arranging the low hardness material so as to cover at least the upper surface side of the portion where the materials with different hardness are arranged, , the boundary between materials is not visually recognized, and a beautifully finished band can be formed.

In the band 2 formed by such a method, the case mounting portion 3 including the end portion 21 on the mounting side, which is a high-hardness portion, has sufficient strength and is not easily deformed. 1, it is less likely to roll up and a gap is less likely to occur between the body case 1 and the band 2.例文帳に追加
Therefore, the timepiece 100 as a whole can have an excellent appearance.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the first block 30 made of the first material and the second block 30 made of the same type of material as the first material and having a lower hardness than the first material The second blocks 41, 42, and 43 made of material are arranged such that at least a portion thereof is laminated, and temporarily fixed to form a preformed body 20, and this preformed body 20 is molded using a mold. and compression molding to form the band 2 .
Therefore, there is no need to separately manufacture a reinforcing member such as a metal necessary for insert molding or the like, and an increase in the number of parts and labor for manufacturing the parts can be eliminated. In addition, it is possible to omit the trouble of setting the reinforcing component in a predetermined position, and the band can be easily formed by one compression molding.
Further, by devising the arrangement of the first block 30 and the second blocks 41, 42, 43 that constitute the preformed body 20, it is possible to form the band 2 having partially different hardness. As a result, the band main body 4, which is the part to be wrapped around the arm, is made of a second material with low hardness and is soft and low hardness, and the case mounting part 3 is made of the first material and has strength. By forming the high-hardness portion, it is possible to achieve both the wearability of the band 2 and the strength of the attachment portion to the main body case 1 .
Furthermore, since the first material and the second material are of the same type with only a difference in hardness, they blend well when joined together, and even if the hardness is partially different, the overall finish does not feel uncomfortable. can be band 2 of

Further, in the present embodiment, in the pre-formed body 20, the first block 30 made of the first material and the second blocks 41, 42, 43 made of the second material are provided on the attachment side of the band 2 after compression molding. It is arranged such that the end portion 21 is made of the first material and the portion forming the upper surface of the band 2 is covered with the second material.
For this reason, the case attachment part 3 is provided with sufficient strength to make it difficult to deform, and even when it is attached to the main body case 1 of the timepiece 100 and used, it is difficult to turn over, and there is a gap between the main body case 1 and the band 2. can be made difficult to occur.
Further, by covering the entire upper surface of the band 2 with the second material of low hardness, the boundary between the high hardness portion and the low hardness portion is not visible from the outside, so that the band 2 with a beautiful appearance can be realized.

Further, in the present embodiment, the preformed body 20 is positioned downstream in the elongation direction with reference to the end portion 21 on the attachment side of the first block 30 made of the first material when elongated during compression molding. A second block (in this embodiment, the second block 42) made of a second material is placed in.
As a result, the second block 42 suppresses the flow of the first block 30 to the downstream side in the extension direction during compression molding, and the position of the high hardness portion formed by the first block 30 can be regulated to a desired position. can. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the band from becoming inflexible due to high hardness in unintended portions.
In addition, in this embodiment, the first block 30 is pushed together with the second block 41 by the end forming surface 522 of the upper mold 5 during compression molding, and the lower surface of the first block 30 is the end forming surface of the lower mold 6. 63, the first block 30 is pushed and spread into the recess formed by the end forming surface 63 and stays in place, thereby suppressing the first block 30 from flowing upstream in the extending direction. Therefore, the position of the high hardness portion formed by the first block 30 can be restricted to a desired position.

In addition, in this embodiment, the preform 20 is made of the second blocks 41, 42, 43 made of the second material so that the thickness of the central portion in the elongation direction during compression molding is greater than the thickness of the end portions. Placement amount is adjusted.
As a result, when gas escapes during compression molding, a gas escape route can be secured, and gas can be removed sufficiently.

Moreover, the band 2 manufactured by such a manufacturing method has both the strength of the case mounting portion 3 and the flexibility of the band main body 4 which is the portion to be wrapped around the arm, and is excellent in appearance.

In this embodiment, the case attachment portion 3 made of the first material with high hardness is integrally connected to the end portion of the band main body 4 made of the second material with relatively low hardness. is set. Therefore, the strength of the case mounting portion 3 and the flexibility of the band main body 4 are compatible, and at the same time, the appearance of the band 2 is neatly finished, and the beautiful band 2 can be obtained.

In addition, the band 2 of this embodiment is attached to the main body case 1 of the timepiece 100 for use because the case attachment portion 3 including the end portion 21 on the attachment side, which is a high-hardness portion, has sufficient strength and is not easily deformed. Even in such a case, the mounting portion is less likely to turn over, and a gap is less likely to occur between the body case 1 and the band 2.例文帳に追加
Therefore, the overall appearance of the timepiece 100 can be kept beautiful. In addition, since the band main body 4 has flexibility, it is possible to realize the timepiece 100 that is comfortable to wear and use.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, the case where the preformed body 20 is composed of three layers was illustrated, but the preformed body 20 is such that at least a portion of each of the blocks 30, 41, 42, and 43 is laminated. Any arrangement may be used, and the number of layers is not limited to three.
For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the preform 20 may be composed of two layers, with the second block 41 as the first layer and the first block 30 and the second block 42 as the second layer.
How many layers the preformed body 20 is composed of can be appropriately set according to the shape of the band 2 such as its outer shape and thickness. may be configured.
Regardless of how many layers the preform 20 is composed of, the thickness of the preform 20 is partially varied by varying the length of each layer, thereby facilitating the escape of gas from the material and providing a gas escape route. It is preferable to ensure

Further, the shape of the case attachment portion 3 and the shape of the attachment-side end portion 21 constituting the case attachment portion 3 are not limited to those illustrated in FIGS.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 6( a ) to 6 ( c ), not only the upper surface (viewing side surface, surface) but also the lower surface (back surface) of the attachment-side end 21 formed of the first material may be coated with a second material having a lower hardness than the first material.
Moreover, the shape of the end portion 21 on the attachment side may be rectangular as shown in FIG. etc. may be formed.
The shape of the attachment-side end 21 can be adjusted by adjusting the shape and arrangement of the first block 30 that constitutes the attachment-side end 21 and the shape and arrangement of the second block surrounding it. can.

Further, in this embodiment, the band 2 is attached to the case (body case 1) of the timepiece 100, but the band 2 is not limited to being applied to the timepiece.
For example, the band may be attached to the case of various devices such as a pedometer, heart rate monitor, altimeter, and barometer.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be formed by combining each element of each embodiment. The scope of the invention recited in the scope includes the scope of equivalents thereof.
The invention described in the scope of claims originally attached to the application form of this application is additionally described below. The claim numbers in the appendix are as in the claims originally attached to the filing of this application.

[Appendix]
<Claim 1>
A first material and a second material of the same type as the first material but lower in hardness than the first material are cut out in amounts corresponding to the shape after molding to form a plurality of blocks. a preforming step of forming at least a part of the blocks so as to be stacked and temporarily fixed to form a preformed body;
A molding step of compression-molding the pre-formed body temporarily fixed in the pre-forming step using a mold to form a band;
A method of manufacturing a band, comprising:
<Claim 2>
the block of the first material of the preform forms an attachment-side end of the compression-molded band;
In the molding step, during the compression molding, the block is pushed by the end forming surface of the upper mold of the mold and comes into contact with the end forming surface of the lower mold of the mold to prevent flow. 2. A method of manufacturing a band according to claim 1, wherein the band is restrained.
<Claim 3>
2. The molding step includes an arrangement step of arranging an end portion of the mold and an end portion of the block made of the first material of the pre-molded body in correspondence with each other. Item 3. A method for producing the band according to item 2.
<Claim 4>
The thickness of the pre-molded body is formed to be greater than the thickness of the band after the compression molding, and the length of the pre-molded body in the extension direction during the compression molding is formed to be shorter than the length of the mold. The manufacturing method of the band according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:
<Claim 5>
In the pre-formed body, the block made of the first material and the block made of the second material are such that the attachment-side end of the band after compression molding is made of the first material. 5. The method of manufacturing a band according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a portion constituting the upper surface of the band is arranged so as to be covered with the second material.
<Claim 6>
When the preformed body is elongated during the compression molding, the preformed body is positioned downstream of the block made of the first material in the direction of elongation with reference to the end portion on the mounting side of the second material. 6. A method of manufacturing a band according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the blocks of material are arranged.
<Claim 7>
The preform is characterized in that the arrangement amount of the blocks made of the second material is adjusted so that the thickness of the central portion in the elongation direction during the compression molding is thicker than the thickness of the end portions. The manufacturing method of the band according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
<Claim 8>
A band manufactured by the method for manufacturing a band according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
<Claim 9>
A band body and a case mounting portion integrally connected to an end of the band body,
9. The band according to claim 8, wherein said case attachment portion is made of said first material, and said band main body is made of said second material.
<Claim 10>
A band according to claim 8 or claim 9;
a case having a band attachment portion to which the band is attached;
A clock characterized by comprising:

1 Body Case 2 Band 3 Case Mounting Portion 4 Band Body 5 Upper Mold 6 Lower Mold 15 Band Mounting Portion 20 Preformed Body 21 Mounting End 30 First Block 41 Second Block 42 Second Block 43 Second Block 100 watches

Claims (11)

a first block containing a first material; a second block containing a second material of the same type as the first material and having a lower hardness than the first material ; and a preparation step of preparing a third block that has a longer band length in the longitudinal direction and includes a second material that is the same type of material as the first material and has a lower hardness than the first material; When,
A preforming step of arranging the third block so as to be laminated with the second block, arranging the third block so as to be laminated with the first block, and temporarily fixing them to form a preform. When,
A molding step of compression-molding the pre-formed body temporarily fixed in the pre-forming step using a mold to form a band;
A method of manufacturing a band, comprising: 2. A plurality of blocks according to claim 1, characterized in that in the preparation step, the first block, the second block, and the third block are cut out in amounts corresponding to respective shapes after molding to form a plurality of blocks. band manufacturing method. The first block of the preform forms an attachment-side end of the compression-molded band,
In the molding step, the first block is pushed by the end forming surface of the upper mold of the mold and comes into contact with the end forming surface of the lower mold during the compression molding. 3. The method of manufacturing a band according to claim 1, wherein flow is suppressed. 4. The molding step according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the molding step includes an arrangement step of arranging an end portion of the mold and an end portion of the first block of the preform so as to correspond to each other. 1. A method for manufacturing a band according to claim 1 . The thickness of the pre-molded body is formed to be greater than the thickness of the band after the compression molding, and the length of the pre-molded body in the extension direction during the compression molding is formed to be shorter than the length of the mold. The manufacturing method of the band according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that: In the preformed body, the first block , the second block , and the third block are formed of the first material at the ends on the attachment side of the band after the compression molding, and 6. The method of manufacturing a band according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the portion forming the upper surface is arranged so as to be covered with the second material. When the pre-formed body is elongated during the compression molding, the second block and the third block are positioned downstream of the first block in the direction of elongation with reference to the mounting end of the first block. 7. A method for manufacturing a band according to claim 3 or 6, characterized in that blocks are arranged. In the pre-formed body, the arrangement amount of the second block and the third block is adjusted so that the thickness of the central portion in the elongation direction during the compression molding is thicker than the thickness of the end portions. 8. A method for manufacturing a band according to claim 5 or 7 . a first block containing a first material;
a second block containing a second material of the same type as the first material and having a lower hardness than the first material;
a third block having a longer longitudinal length than the second block and containing a second material of the same type as the first material but having a lower hardness than the first material;
with
A band , wherein the third block is arranged so as to be laminated with the second block, and the third block is arranged so as to be laminated with the first block . the band body,
a case mounting portion integrally connected to an end portion of the band main body;
with
10. The band according to claim 9 , wherein said case attachment portion is made of said first material, and said band main body is made of said second material. A band according to claim 9 or claim 10 ;
a case having a band attachment portion to which the band is attached;
A clock characterized by comprising:

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