JPS58221688A - Band for wrist watch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To give a wrist watch band a pattern with much novelty by irradiating the surface of a band member for a wrist watch with laser light and providing regular ruggedness. CONSTITUTION:The laser light is scanned on the top surface of a band blank material 21 to sublime, remove, and fuse a part of the material with laser light energy, forming a finely rugged part. The frequency of the scanning, the amount of energy, and a spot diameter are controlled to design a constant fine ruggedness pattern 12. The position and range of the laser light irradiation are under the control of a microcomputer; and the higher the output, the finer to a specular surface the rugged surface because the reflectivity of the laser light is greatly different according to the surface consition of the irradiated material.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The invention relates to the patterning of watch bands.

The present invention relates to a novel method for patterning a watch band using laser light.

Bands used for wristwatches are used to secure the wristwatch case into which the watch body is inserted, but recently bands have become popular for decorative purposes as well as for functional purposes. In order to meet this demand, the materials used for watch bands have changed from traditional leather to metals, plastics, ceramics, etc.

The main method for making watch bands using leather is to use the beauty of leather as it is, but other metals,
Since it is difficult to use plastics, ceramics, etc. as expected, some kind of ingenuity is required. One example is a mesh pant for wristwatches, which is made into a band made by weaving metal material processed into a wire shape, and a wristwatch block, which is made of small rectangular metal, plastic, or ceramic blocks connected with bottles, screws, etc. band,
There are integrated watch bands made of flexible plastic.

When making a mesh band for a wristwatch using the conventional method, see Figure 1. Schematic process diagram for a mesh band for a wristwatch (A) to (C).
First, as shown in (a), α3~I
21α8 metal wire is knitted to form a band material 1, then both sides of the band material 1 are crushed by a roller (not shown) to form a band raw material 2), and a pattern 3 is further applied to the surface of the band material 20. Attachment is step (c), and if necessary, surface treatment such as plating and painting can be added to complete the mesh band for wristwatches.

In addition, when making a block band for a wristwatch, as shown in Figure 2, a schematic process diagram of a block band for a wristwatch (A) to (C), the first step is to use gold as shown in (A). (e.g. stainless steel, Inconel@) materials, plastic materials,
After making the blocks 11 made of ceramics, each block 11 is attached to a fastener 12 using a bottle or screw, etc.
The assembly process (b) involves connecting the bands together to form the band raw material 13, and the patterning process (c) involves applying a pattern 14 to the surface of the band raw material 13. If necessary, surface treatments such as plating and painting are added to complete the watch. The block band can be completed.

In a manufacturing process like Jin, the patterns on watch bands are processed by transcription using coining tools, grinding patterns using sandpaper or other grinding tools, and engraving patterns using engraving tools. This is the main method.

However, when patterning is carried out by such a method, (1) dimensional changes of the workpiece occur due to the processing pressure of the coining tool. In particular, in the case of mesh bands as shown in Figure 1 (c), the processing limit for use as a band is determined by the material and wire diameter of the workpiece; It becomes difficult.

(2) Since the coining tool needs to be manufactured for each design, not only does it take a long time to manufacture the coining tool, but it also requires production costs. In this case, there is no particular problem when making a large number of bands with the same design, but when only a few to several dozen bands are processed, the depreciation cost of the coining tool becomes high.

(3) Coining patterns using a coining tool, grinding patterns using a grinding tool, and engraved patterns using a carving tool have problems such as the difficulty of creating innovative designs that arouse consumers' desire to purchase. Ta. .

The present invention has solved all of these problems, and its purpose is to enable a highly novel design and to simplify and speed up the manufacturing process for wristwatch bands. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on Examples.

Needless to say, laser light has already been put into practical use in other fields, and its characteristics include the ability to provide high energy,
The area of energy can be narrowed down easily, and by adding a microcomputer and operating a reflecting mirror or table, it will be possible to accurately irradiate any position.

Using this kind of laser light, we can create images in Figures 1 (c) and 2 (
When making the pattern shown in c), please refer to Fig. 1 (b).
Steps (a) and (b) in Figure 2 are performed using the conventional method. After manufacturing, as shown in the cross-sectional view of the watch band in Figure 3, a laser beam is applied to the upper surface of the band raw material 21 from the direction of the arrow. irradiate. When creating the coined pattern 22 on the surface of the band raw material 21 using a laser beam, the laser source spot diameter is set to 10
Narrow down to μm and output from 5W to 3! IW, the laser beam is scanned with a pitch between spots of about 5 to 10 μm, and the band raw material 21 in the laser beam irradiated part is melted and sublimated to remove the four parts and the other parts to become convex parts as a result. A coining pattern 22 can be made on the surface of the band. Furthermore, if we look at the conventional coining pattern from a microscopic perspective, the root of the coining pattern is the arrangement (arrangement) of concave and convex parts, which expresses the C multi-pattern, and of course the pattern is created using laser light. In this case, it is understood that it is sufficient to reproduce the entire uneven arrangement similar to that used when processing with a coining tool. The range of these patterns will be set using the microcomputer.

When adjusting the output, the reflectance of the laser beam varies greatly depending on the surface condition of the irradiated material, so in order to obtain the same pattern regardless of the surface condition of the irradiated material, the rough surface should be set at a low power and approach a mirror surface. We have to make it a powerful thing. In addition, methods for reducing reflection from the surface include coating the entire band material 21 or only the surface portion with a thin film to prevent (absorbing) the reflection of the laser beam, such as black N1 plating, coloring by thermal oxidation, etc., before irradiating the band material 21 with the laser beam. Patterns can be easily created by applying a black coating, irradiating it with laser light, and later removing the thin film layer.

Another method is to use non-metallic materials such as opaque crow, sapphire, agate, impurity-containing crystal, trametite, etc. as the whole or part of the constituent material of the wristwatch band 31, as shown in the external view of the wristwatch band in Figure 4. By irradiating the surface of the non-metallic material with a laser beam and rapidly heating the surface of the wrist band 51, a fine rack pattern 32 or internal thermal stress is generated in the surface layer, and the above-mentioned 2 Tsuku pattern 32. Or the original refraction in the area where internal stress occurs,
Create a pattern by causing the original scattering. Naturally, the original output, irradiation time, spot diameter, and irradiation interval of Uni Reniza are wave power 1
1.It varies depending on the material, surface condition, and required pattern, but generally the output is 5~50W, α01~0.5 crown, 10~
With a spot diameter of 30 μm! #) Can be made possible.

Still another method is to form a thin film layer 4 of a different material on the surface of the band raw material 41, as shown in FIG. 5, a sectional view of a watch band.
After forming a plurality of layers #2 and #45, the thin films #42 and #43 are removed by irradiating laser light from the direction of the arrow. In this case, depending on the strength of the output of the laser beam, it is possible to select whether to form a single thin film layer 43 on the outermost surface or a plurality of thin film layers 42.45. Therefore, when several thin film layers of different colors are provided, it is possible to pattern the surface of the band raw material 41 in a plurality of colors by adjusting the output of the laser beam irradiated to the relevant portion.

Compared to conventional methods, this method of creating patterns on the surface of a watch band using laser light is a novel method that goes beyond the framework of conventional methods, as the pattern is formed using a collection of microscopic dots. design became possible.

■ Any pattern can be easily and quickly applied to any part of the surface of the watch band.The period from deciding the design to completing the product is extremely short, compared to conventional IX~'
y (o days (the time required for actual processing is at least half a day).

■ Since special patterns for each design do not require jigs, tools, or auxiliary tools, it is possible to save costs, and as a result, the cost of watch bands can be reduced. Especially when the number of processed bands of the same specifications is small, the cost reduction effect is particularly excellent, and the cost can be manufactured at 30% to 50% of the cost when patterning is done by conventional methods.

■ Even if there are some undulations, irregularities, grooves, etc. on the surface, the pattern can be realized within the range that can be directly irradiated with laser light.

■ Design changes can be made extremely easily by adjusting the laser light output, speed, spot diameter, etc. This modification work can be completed in about 10 minutes, compared to the 2 to 3 hours required for conventional machining, and is highly flexible.

As described above, the surface patterning of a wristwatch band using laser light has been described, and the laser light suitable for such use is YAG laser light with a wavelength of 1.06 μm. The wavelength of YAG laser light is particularly transparent (not absorbed) by transparent glass, so the handling, structure, and maintenance of the optical system of the laser device is easy, and the multilayer thin film layer shown in Figure 5 is easy to use. If a transparent glass layer is used as the thin film layer 43 corresponding to the outermost surface layer, energy can be absorbed by the other thin film layers 42 without any effect on the layer. In this method, if a metal plated layer such as ar, Ni, Ou, etc. is used as the thin film layer 42, a pattern can be created between the glass layer and the base wood of the band, creating a new design. It can be said that laser light has extremely useful properties that can improve the corrosion resistance of watch bands.

A typical example of a laser device used for this maintenance purpose is the Laser Mate 50 manufactured by Fuji Electric Manufacture -K. , 9 It is possible to quickly irradiate any position in the
This is a useful device that can be used for a wide range of applications.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1: Schematic process diagram of a conventional mesh band for wristwatches ((
b), (b), (c)). 1...Band-shaped material 2...Band raw material 3...Pattern Fig. 2, general process diagram of a conventional watch block band ((
b), (b), (c)). 11 Block 12... Stopper 13... Band raw material 14... Pattern FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the watch band of the present invention. 21...Band raw material 22...Coining pattern Fig. 4,
FIG. 1 is an external view of a wristwatch band according to the present invention. 31... Wrist watch band 52... Crank pattern FIG. 5, sectional view of the wrist watch band of the present invention. 41...Band raw material 42.43...Thin film layer. Applicant Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Mogami Mutsumi No. 11 Toto No. 21'B Maruta 41st Son No. 513

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A punt for a wristwatch, characterized in that the surface of the member is irradiated with laser light to provide regular irregularities on the surface of the member. (2) A wrist watch band characterized in that the surface of the member is irradiated with laser light to cause thermal stress in the surface layer of the member. (3) After forming a thin film layer on the surface of the member in advance,
1. A wristwatch band characterized in that the film layer portion is irradiated with laser light, and the thin film layer in the laser light irradiated portion is melted or removed. (4) After forming multiple thin film layers on the surface of the member in advance,
A wristwatch band characterized in that the thin film layer portion is irradiated with laser light to melt or remove one or more of the thin film layers in the laser light irradiated portion. 1- (5) The punt for a wristwatch according to claims p and 1 to 4, characterized in that a harmonic laser beam is used. (6) Laser beam spot diameter 10μm to 50μm
Claims 1 to 1 are characterized in that:
The watch band described in item 5.