JPH0216299Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a watch.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as a clock equipped with an illumination device to make it easier to see the time at night, there is a clock equipped with an electroluminescence (hereinafter referred to as "EL") panel on the inner surface of the front cover (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 55-116888). This EL panel has an EL layer at its center, with upper and lower EL electrodes provided before and after it. The EL panel provided on the entire front cover must be able to see through the dial, so the EL layer,
Naturally, both the upper and lower electrodes for EL are transparent.

[Problems to be Solved] The above conventional example had the following drawbacks.

Since the EL panel is transparent, half of the light emitted from the EL layer becomes illumination light that illuminates the dial, but the remaining half is directly directed to the front side without illuminating the dial. It becomes the light towards the other side. Therefore, only one-half of the amount of light is used for illumination, resulting in low irradiation efficiency. Also,
In addition to the illumination light that irradiates the dial, the user's eyes receive approximately the same amount of light directed directly to the front side as the illumination light, resulting in poor display contrast and difficulty in viewing the dial.

Since the EL layer provided on the entire surface of the front cover emits light, current consumption increases.

Since the EL layer needs to be transparent, it is not possible to use opaque dispersed EL, and thin film EL requires a thin film forming process such as sputtering.
must be used. Therefore, the manufacturing cost becomes high.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a watch that has an EL panel that has excellent lighting efficiency and display contrast, consumes little current, and is inexpensive.

[Means for solving the problem] The feature of the present invention is that the structure of the EL layer formed on the back surface of the front cover is changed to a striped EL layer.
A striped mirror electrode is provided on the front side of the mirror electrode, and a transparent electrode is provided on the back side of the mirror electrode.

[Function] In the present invention, since both the EL section and the mirror electrode on the front side thereof are provided in a striped shape, almost 100% of the EL light is effectively used to illuminate the dial.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the front cover 2 of the watch 1
An EL layer 3 is formed on the back surface of the dial, and this EL layer faces the dial 4 at a predetermined distance.

A watch mechanical body 5 is fixed to the back of the dial 4, and a minute hand 7 and an hour hand 8 are fixed to a pointer shaft 6 that protrudes from the mechanical body through the dial 4. , which is located between the EL layer 3 and the dial 4.

By the way, the structure of the EL layer 3 is generally striped (for example, lattice) as shown in the second and third figures.
Of course, the EL layer 10 is also striped, and around this, a striped mirror electrode 9 is formed on the front side, and a striped transparent electrode 11 is formed on the back side. , these are integrally formed and covered with a transparent moisture-proof sheet (not shown).

The striped EL layer 3 has a gap of 12
are uniformly dispersed.

Therefore, during the day, the hands 7, 8 and the dial 4 are illuminated by external light entering from the spacer 12.
The time display is bright and easy to read.

Also, at night, a voltage is applied between the mirror electrode 9 and the transparent electrode 11 to cause the EL part 10 to emit light, so this light is reflected by the mirror electrode, causing the hands 7, 8 and the dial 4 to be illuminated as a whole. Uniform and bright illumination provides an easy-to-read time display.

Since the mirror electrode 9 is located on the front side of the EL section 10 in this way, the light emitted from this EL section does not leak forward, and almost 100% of this light can efficiently illuminate the hands and dial on the back. It will be illuminated.

Also, since the EL section 10 is striped, the light emitting area of this EL section is small due to the space 12.
Therefore, current consumption is low.

Furthermore, by making the four faces of the dial a matte dark color, only the hands and time characters can stand out in the dark, making it ideal for automobile clocks, airplane clocks, etc.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
The EL layer 3B has 12 radial stripes, and these rays are formed in the direction corresponding to the line of the time scale, and the EL layer 3B is composed of the EL part 10B with a gap 12B. This is what is being done.

In this way, since the EL portion 10B also serves as a time scale, the time becomes easy to read. Other functions are the same as in the first embodiment described above.

[Effects] In the present invention, during the daytime, the time display section is viewed through the gap between the EL section formed in a stripe shape and the mirror electrode, so the display is bright and easy to see. In addition, at night, by installing a mirror electrode,
Almost 100% of the light emitted from the EL section illuminates the time display section, resulting in a bright and easy-to-read display with high illumination efficiency.
Since almost no light goes directly to the front side without illuminating the dial, only the illumination light illuminating the dial enters the user's eyes, increasing the display contrast and making the time display extremely easy to see.

Furthermore, since the EL section of the present invention only needs to be striped, the conventional thin film forming process is unnecessary, and therefore the manufacturing cost is low.

Furthermore, since the EL layer of the present invention is striped, power consumption can be reduced, and the striped EL layer serves as an accent to the design of the watch.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
The figures are a partially enlarged sectional view taken along the line of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the EL layer. 2...Front cover, 3,3B...Striped
EL layer, 4... dial, 7, 8... pointer, 9...
Mirror electrode, 10, 10B...EL part, 11...
Transparent electrode.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) Consisting of an electroluminescent layer formed on the back surface of the front cover and a time display section positioned at a predetermined distance from the electroluminescent layer, The electroluminescent layer includes a striped electroluminescent section, a striped mirror electrode formed on the front side of the electroluminescent section corresponding to the electroluminescent section, and an electroluminescent section. A watch characterized by comprising a transparent electrode formed on the back side of the part. (2) The timepiece according to claim 1 of the utility model registration, characterized in that the striped electroluminescent portion has a lattice shape. (3) The timepiece according to claim 1 of the utility model registration, characterized in that the striped electroluminescent portion is radial. (4) A timepiece according to claim 3 of the utility model registration, characterized in that the radial electroluminescent portion coincides with the time scale line.