JPH0550390U - Electronic clock with illumination lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To ensure time reading in a dark place and reduce battery consumption. [Structure] A light-storing material 12 is arranged at an hour position on an analog dial 10. An illumination lamp 13 that intermittently blinks is arranged below the analog dial 10 corresponding to the luminous material 12. When the lighting lamp 13 is turned on, the light-storing material 12 emits light and the time is read.
Since afterglow is emitted, even if the illumination lamp 13 is turned off, continuous light emission is possible and battery consumption can be suppressed.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece having a function of illuminating a dial.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 It is known that electronic timepieces have a function that enables the time to be checked in dark places such as underwater and at night. There are two types of conventional electronic timepieces having such a function, one having a luminous material printed on an analog dial and being arranged by painting, and the other having an illumination lamp for supplying light to an analog dial.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, the former electronic timepiece that uses a phosphorescent material has a problem that the dial cannot be read after a predetermined time because of the characteristic of the phosphorescent material that the emission time is limited. On the other hand, in the latter electronic timepieces equipped with lighting lamps, frequent or continuous lighting of the lighting lamps drains the battery inside the electronic timepieces, making it impossible to illuminate the dial in a short period of time. Not only that, but there was a problem that the clock module could not be supplied with power and the function as a clock was lost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to perform time confirmation in a dark place stably for a long period of time and also to suppress the consumption of a battery, and an electronic device with an illumination lamp. The purpose is to provide a watch.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a transparent analog dial plate on which a phosphorescent material is arranged, an illumination lamp arranged below the analog dial plate, and a driving means for intermittently lighting the illumination lamp. It is characterized by having. Further, the present invention comprises an analog dial in which the phosphorescent material is embedded in the hour position, an illumination lamp for supplying light to this analog dial, and a drive means for intermittently lighting this illumination lamp. It is also characterized by being.

[0006]

【Example】

 1 and 2 show a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electronic wrist watch, in which a watch module 3 and a battery (not shown) are provided in a watch case 2 having a watch glass 15 attached to an upper opening. The electronic timepiece 1 is configured. The timepiece module 3 includes a circuit board (not shown) that controls the overall functions of the electronic timepiece 1, and has a resin frame 3a whose periphery is held by the pressing ring 4, and a central portion of the frame 3a. It comprises a timepiece movement 3b which is arranged and which is not shown in the drawing, including a battery, a step motor and a train wheel mechanism. A back cover 5 is attached to the lower surface of the watch case 2. An hour hand 6, a minute hand 7 and a second hand 8 are attached to a pointer shaft 9 protruding from the timepiece movement 3b in the central portion of the timepiece module 3. An analog dial 10 is provided on the top of the timepiece module 3. The analog dial 10 is made of a transparent resin such as a transparent resin such as a polycarbonate resin or an acrylic resin or a transparent glass. The analog dial 10 has a top surface which is printed with makeup and a luminous material. In FIG. 2, 11 is a decorative printing portion, and 12 is a printing portion of the phosphorescent material. In the present embodiment, the latter printed portion 12 of the phosphorescent material is provided at the hour character position corresponding to the time, as shown in FIG.

Further, illumination lamps 13 and 13 are provided on the lower surface of the analog dial 10 and in the notches 3c and 3c at the upper end of the frame 3a. The illumination lamps 13 and 13 are respectively provided on the lower surface of the analog dial 10 corresponding to the printed portion 12 of the phosphorescent material and at the positions corresponding to the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions. The phosphorescent material on the dial 10 is irradiated to excite the same. As a result, the hour position portion emits light. In the figure, 14 is a crown switch arranged on the 3 o'clock side surface of the watch case 2, and is rotated when the time of the timepiece movement 3b is set. Further, in this embodiment, the crown switch 14 also serves as an illumination switch for turning on and off the illumination lamps 13 and 13, and the ON / OFF switching is performed by the pushing operation.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit for controlling the operation of this embodiment, in which a one-shot circuit 21, between a switch terminal 14 a which performs a switching operation by pushing the crown switch 14 also serving as a lighting switch and an illumination lamp 13, The binary flip-flop circuit 22, the AND circuit 23, and the driving unit 24 are connected in order. These are all incorporated in the circuit board of the timepiece module 3, and the one-shot circuit 21 outputs the one-shot pulse signal A to the input terminal T of the flip-flop circuit 22 every time the crown switch 14 is pushed once. To do. The flip-flop circuit 22 outputs the control signal B to one input terminal of the AND circuit 23, and this control signal B is alternately switched to the High and Low signals each time the pulse signal A is input from the one-shot circuit 21. It is designed to be used. The other input terminal of the AND circuit 23 is connected to the oscillation / frequency dividing circuit 25 formed in the circuit board. The oscillating / dividing circuit 25 measures the time and outputs a reference signal every 1 second to the step motor 26 in the movement 3b, and the rotation of the step motor 26 causes the second hand 8, The minute hand 7 and the hour hand 6 are moved. The oscillating / dividing circuit 25 outputs a pulse signal C every 10 seconds to the AND circuit 23 in addition to the reference signal. The drive unit 24 outputs a light emission signal D for controlling the lighting and extinction of the illumination lamp 13. When a High level signal is input from the AND circuit 23, the High level signal is output for a certain period of time, for example, 1 second. During that time, the illumination lamp 13 is turned on, and then the Low signal is output and the illumination lamp 13 is turned off until the next High signal is input from the AND circuit 23.

FIG. 4 shows a timing chart of lighting control of the illumination lamp 13 by the above circuit. When the crown switch 14 is pushed, the one-shot circuit 21 outputs the pulse signal A to the flip-flop circuit 22. As a result, the flip-flop circuit 22 continues to output a high control signal B to the AND circuit 23 until the crown switch 14 is pushed. In the above state, the light emission signal D of the drive unit 24 is Low, and the illumination lamp 24 is not turned on. However, the drive signal C having a cycle of 10 seconds is transmitted from the oscillation / frequency dividing circuit 25 to the AND circuit 23. When the pulse is output, the AND circuit 23 outputs a signal to the drive unit 24. As a result, the drive unit 24 outputs the high light emission signal D to the illumination lamp 13 for 1 second, so that the illumination lamp 13 is turned on. When the illumination lamp 13 is turned on, the phosphorescent material of the analog dial 10 is excited and emits light. Then, after 1 second, the lamp 13 is turned off, but the luminous material still emits light due to its light emitting property, so that the time on the analog dial 10 can be read.

In this embodiment, since the continuous luminous state of the phosphorescent material on the analog dial 10 can be maintained, the time can be read in a dark place. On the other hand, since the illumination lamp 13 is intermittently turned on, the battery consumption is reduced, the battery life is extended, and the battery can be used for a long time.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the same elements as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, a small hole is formed at the hour character position on the analog dial 10, and the phosphorescent material 12 is embedded in this small hole. Further, an illumination lamp 13 whose lighting is controlled by FIGS. 3 and 4 is provided on the lower surface of the analog dial plate 10 facing the light storage material 12. Therefore, also in this embodiment, the luminous material 12 can be continuously emitted without the need to continuously light the illumination lamp 13, but the analog dial plate 10 must be a transparent body. Since it does not exist, there is an advantage that the degree of freedom in material selection is expanded. In addition, in FIG. 5, a light-collecting resin may be used as the analog dial plate 10, which allows the phosphorescent material 12 to be effectively excited.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made. For example, the illumination time of the illumination lamp 13 is once every 10 seconds for 1 second, but it may be for example once every 30 seconds for 5 seconds, and the position of the lamp 13 may be set on the luminous material 12 of the analog dial 10. It may be provided at any position where light is supplied, and may be provided above the analog dial 10. In this case, for example, by forming a recess on the inner wall surface of the watch case 2 and inserting the illumination lamp 13 into the recess, the illumination lamp 13 cannot be seen from the outside and the appearance is not deteriorated. Further, the phosphorescent material 12 may be provided not only on the analog character plate but also on the hour hand or the inner wall surface of the timepiece case 2. Further, the present invention can be applied to other clocks other than wrist watches, such as table clocks and wall clocks as well.

[0013]

[Effect of the device]

 In the present invention, the phosphorescent material is arranged on the analog dial, and the lighting lamp that excites the phosphorescent material is intermittently turned on, so that the lighting material is continuously turned on without continuously turning on the lighting lamp. It is possible to emit various light. Therefore, it is possible to reliably read the time in a dark place and to suppress the consumption of the battery.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Electronic clock 10 Analog dial 12 Luminescent material 13 Lighting lamp

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A transparent analog dial on which a light-storing material is arranged, an illuminating lamp arranged below the analog dial, and a driving means for intermittently lighting the illuminating lamp. An electronic watch with a lighting lamp. 2. An analog dial in which the cover light material is embedded at the hour position, an illumination lamp for supplying light to the analog dial, and a driving means for intermittently lighting the illumination lamp. An electronic timepiece with an illumination lamp.