Timepiece

Abstract

To provide a timepiece capable of improving designability at low cost.SOLUTION: A timepiece (1) includes gears (13b to 13d) having a coloring layer on a resin base material, and a character plate (3) which is positioned on a side closer to a display surface side than that of the gears (13b to 13d). The character plate (3) has openings (3b to 3d). The gears (13b to 13d) are positioned so as to be overlapped with the openings (3b to 3d) in plan view when being viewed from the display surface side. The timepiece (1) may have a gear composed of a resin base material having no metal thin film, and the gear is positioned so as not to be overlapped with the openings (3b to 3d).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a watch. [Background technology]

[0002] In small portable timepieces such as wristwatches, the internal parts such as the gears that rotate the hands may be exposed for design reasons. In such cases, there is a technique for further processing and decorating the surface of the exposed internal parts. In Patent Document 1, multiple silicon layers are formed on one surface of the driving parts such as the barrel, wheel, escape wheel, anchor, and balance in a mechanical timepiece, improving color development. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-148651 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, forming an additional silicon layer on the silicon member poses the problem that the cost of the watch component increases significantly.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a watch that can be designed with improved design at a lower cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a timepiece according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a first gear having a colored layer on a resin base material; a plate-like member located closer to a display surface than the first gear; Equipped with The plate-like member has a cutout region, The first gear is positioned so as to overlap the cutout region in a plan view seen from the display surface side. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the design of a watch at a lower cost. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a front view of the timepiece of the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating gears. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional structure near a gear. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a timepiece 1 according to this embodiment.

[0010] The timepiece 1 comprises a case 2, a dial 3 (a plate-shaped member), hands 4 to 11, a rotating plate 12, push button switches B1 and B2, and a crown C1. This timepiece 1 is, for example, a wristwatch, and is an electronic timepiece in which the hands rotate due to the operation of a motor (stepping motor).

[0011] In addition to the above components, the housing 2 also houses a drive and control component for moving the hands 4 to 11 and the rotary plate 12 to appropriate positions, and a battery P (see FIG. 3). The housing 2 has a tubular, for example cylindrical, shape. On the display surface side (front side), the dial 3, the hands 4 to 11 that can rotate on the dial 3, and a crystal (not shown) that covers the upper part of the hands 4 to 11 are located. The crystal is light-transmitting and does not prevent the user from viewing the dial 3 and the hands 4 to 11. The back side of the housing 2 opposite the display surface side is sealed by a back cover (not shown). The side of the housing 2 has a through hole, and the push button switches B1, B2 and the crown C1 pass through the through hole to connect the inside and outside of the housing 2.

[0012] The push button switches B1 and B2 are located on the right side in a plan view of the display surface seen from above, that is, at the 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock positions, and the crown C1 is located at the 3 o'clock position.

[0013] The battery P supplies operating power to the timepiece 1. The battery P may be a primary battery such as a button battery, or it may be a secondary battery. At least in the case of a primary battery, the battery P is removable and replaceable.

[0014] Of the hands 4-11, hand 4 is the second hand, hand 5 is the minute hand, and hand 6 is the hour hand. These hands 4-6 are center hands that rotate around the center position O of the dial 3 as their axis of rotation. Hands 7-11 are small hands that each rotate on a part of the dial 3 around a position away from the center position O of the dial 3 as their axis of rotation.

[0015] Here, hand 7 has its rotating axis located at the 12 o'clock side and displays the time of the current location (home time) displayed by the center hands (hands 4 to 6) in 24-hour format. Hands 8 and 9 have their rotating axis located at the 9 o'clock side and are small hands related to the world time function that respectively display the hours and minutes of a specified region of the world (local time). In other words, hands 8 and 9 display the time of a specified local time. Hand 10 is a small hand that displays world time in 24-hour format and has its rotating axis located at the 8 o'clock side.

[0016] The hand 11 is a function hand that indicates the day of the week or the display mode, and its rotation axis is located on the 6 o'clock side.

[0017] A rotating plate 12 is located below the dial 3 and is rotatable within a plane parallel to the dial 3. Marks are arranged in a ring shape on the rotating plate 12. An opening 3a is located on the 3 o'clock side of the dial 3 at a position corresponding to the ring-shaped marks. Therefore, one of the marks is exposed from the opening 3a depending on the rotation of the rotating plate 12. The mark here is a mark indicating the date. That is, the rotating plate 12 is a date wheel having numeral marks "1" to "31" and the like. Furthermore, the dial 3 is partially provided with through holes through which shafts for connecting the hands 4 to 11 to the gears pass, and openings 3b to 3d (cutout areas; the cutouts referred to here include closed areas).

[0018] The hands 4 to 11 and the rotating plate 12 are each rotated by a gear train located below the dial 3. Some of these (e.g., the hands 4 to 6) are rotated independently in response to the rotation of a rotary motor (stepping motor). Other than the above, multiple hands / rotating plates (e.g., hands 8, 9) rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the rotary motor. In other words, the number of rotary motors is less than the total number of the hands 4 to 11 and the rotating plates 12.

[0019] Between the rotary motor and the hands 4 to 11, multiple gears with appropriate gear ratios are combined as a gear train (wheel train mechanism), so that each of the hands 4 to 11 and the rotating plate 12 rotates a certain angle for each rotation angle (e.g., 90 degrees) of the rotary motor. For example, the hand 4 rotates 6 degrees with one rotation. The hands 8 and 9 rotate 1 degree with one rotation. The hands 8 and 9 rotate in conjunction with each other with one rotation, with the hand 8 rotating 1 degree and the hand 9 rotating 1 / 12 degree.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining gears. FIG. 2(a) is a front view of the dial 3 and its lower part. As described above, the dial 3 has through holes through which the rotation shafts of the hands 4 to 11 pass. Openings 3b to 3d are located around the hands 7 to 10. The gears 13b to 13d are visible through these openings 3b to 3d. The other gear 13e is hidden by overlapping with the dial 3. For the sake of explanation, only a part of each of the gear 13e, the rotary motor R, and the screw W is shown here. The meshing parts of the gear 13e and the gears 13b to 13d are all located outside the through holes in a plan view. The rotary motor R and the screw W are also located below the dial 3. These rotary motor R and the screw W are also located outside the through holes so that they cannot be seen from above through the through holes.

[0021] These gears can be manufactured in large numbers at low cost because the main body (base material) is made of resin. Resins that can be used for the gear 13 may be, for example, polyacetal resin, polyetherimide resin, or liquid crystal polymer resin. On the other hand, gears made of resin are inorganic in design, and are particularly unlikely to give off a sense of luxury. As shown in FIG. 2(b), in the watch 1 of this embodiment, the above-mentioned visible gears 13b-13d (plurality of first gears), for example, the gear 13b, has a metal thin film M (colored layer) on the upper surface side of the main body S. Such gears 13b-13d are exposed by being positioned overlapping with the above-mentioned openings 3b-3d in a plan view, and are used in the design of the watch 1. "Positioned overlapping" here means that at least a part of the gears 13b-13d is included in a part of the range of the openings 3b-3d. Therefore, it is not necessary for the entire gears 13b-13d to be included in the range of the openings 3b-3d in a plan view. In addition, the plan view range of the openings 3b to 3d may include parts other than the gears 13b to 13d. The components of the metal thin film M may be formed on the surface of the resin and may provide an appropriate colored layer. For example, the metal thin film M may be chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), tin (Sn), indium (In), etc., but is not limited to these. In addition, the components may be determined so that the metal thin film M of different colors can be obtained among the multiple gears depending on the design. In addition, the metal thin film M may not be a single color. It may have a pattern or gradation within a range that does not significantly change the effort and cost during manufacturing. In addition, multiple metal thin film layers may be laminated as necessary. There may be a base layer between the metal thin film M and the main body. The other gears (second gears) that do not have a metal thin film are hidden by the dial 3, avoiding the openings 3b to 3d, so that they do not affect the design.

[0022] Furthermore, the openings 3b-3d may expose only a part of the gears 13b-13d, rather than the entire gears 13b-13d. For example, the area where the gears 13b-13d overlap with a part (specific part) that is not suitable for exposure in terms of design, such as a screw W, may be outside the openings 3b-3d. Such specific parts may include, for example, a motor such as the above-mentioned rotary motor R.

[0023] The thin metal film M may be formed only on the upper surfaces of the gears 13b to 13d that are exposed. Even if the thin metal film is formed on the unexposed parts, for example, on the back side (the side that does not face the plate-like member such as the dial 3), it has no decorative meaning. The thin metal film M is obtained, for example, by vapor deposition on a resin surface. Therefore, the thin metal film M may peel off from the resin surface due to strong friction. On the side surfaces of the gears, that is, the parts that contact the adjacent gears, the thin metal film is easily peeled off and decomposed due to the contact between the gears. As a result, the finely peeled remains of the thin metal film may become clogged between the gears as garbage and inhibit the rotation. Therefore, the gears 13b to 13d do not have a thin metal film on their side surfaces, so that the stable rotation of the gears is maintained.

[0024] The gears 13b to 13d to be exposed can be determined taking into consideration the position of the markers on the dial 3, the design, and the like. For example, the gears 13b to 13d may be gears that are directly connected to the hands 7 to 11, which are small hands, and / or that are in contact with the rotating plate 12. On the other hand, the gear of the center hand is likely to overlap with a hand that is relatively larger than the small hand near the center position O and be hidden by the hand. Therefore, it is not exposed here. The gears 13b to 13d may be large-sized gears in the gear train that is connected to the hand that is rotated. If they are too small, the rotation of the gears is likely to be inconspicuous. The gears 13b to 13d may also be gears that are connected to a hand that is easily moved forward quickly. This makes it easier to visually recognize the state in which the gears are rotating. The gears 13b to 13d may be the same size, or at least some of them may be different. If they are the same size, the gears 13b to 13d may be the largest size of all the gears of the timepiece 1. In conjunction with this, some or all of the markings, such as the hour characters on the dial 3, may have thin metal film M on the side that is similarly visible (top surface). Alternatively, some or all of the hands corresponding to the gears having thin metal film M may have thin metal film M. This provides a sense of unity in the design of the timepiece 1. In this case, the material of the thin metal film M may be the same between the gears and the markings and / or hands, or different materials that provide an appropriate contrast may be used.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional structure in the vicinity of the gear 13b. Gear 13b is positioned on support member 21 together with gear 13e (second gear) that meshes with it so as to be rotatable relative to dial 3. Gear 13b's rotation axis extends through dial 3, which is positioned on the display surface side (upper) than gear 13b, as well as other plate-like members, such as date dial holder 22 and sub-board holder 23. A hand is connected to the display surface side of dial 3 near the tip of the rotation axis. A flat washer 24 is positioned between gear 13b and the plate-like member, here sub-board holder 23, on the display surface side. Flat washer 24 prevents gear 13b from floating above dial 3, which could cause the hand to come into contact with other hands or the windshield, or the rotation axis to deviate from its specified position.

[0026] As described above, a separate opening 3b is positioned along the edge of gear 13b, i.e., along the position that overlaps with the teeth in a plan view. This opening 3b avoids the area that overlaps with flat washer 24 in a plan view. Plate-like members such as date dial holder 22 and sub-board holder 23 also have openings in accordance with the position of opening 3b. Therefore, when gear 13b rotates, the position of the teeth also moves, which can be seen from the display surface side.

[0027] Gear 13e does not have a metal thin film. Gear 13e overlaps with dial 3 and the like in a plan view, and is not visible from the display surface side. Other components inside the housing, such as battery P, are appropriately hidden by dial 3 and support member 21, and gears 13b to 13d are selectively exposed.

[0028] As described above, the timepiece 1 of this embodiment is equipped with gears 13b-13d that have a colored layer such as a thin metal film M on a resin body S, and dial 3 that is located closer to the display surface than gears 13b-13d. Dial 3 has openings 3b-3d. Gears 13b-13d are positioned to overlap openings 3b-3d in a plan view seen from the display surface side. This allows the colored parts of the gears 13b-13d to be partially visible from the display surface side through the openings 3b-3d. Therefore, this timepiece 1 can use the colored parts of the gears 13b-13d in the timepiece design. In particular, even if the gears 13b-13d are made of resin and there are many design restrictions as they are, it is possible to expose the colored parts without exposing the resin parts. This allows the timepiece 1 to improve its design while suppressing increases in costs. In particular, a metallic atmosphere can be created by metal deposition, making it easy to achieve a sense of luxury.

[0029] The timepiece 1 may also have a gear 13e made of a resin body S that has no colored layer. The gear 13e is in a position that does not overlap with the openings 3b to 3d. That is to say, none of the gears in the timepiece 1 are visible. Gears that are not visible are made of simple resin that has no colored layer. Therefore, by not using gears with colored layers more than necessary, the timepiece 1 is able to reduce costs and improve its design.

[0030] Furthermore, the dial 3 does not have to have the openings 3b-3d in areas that overlap with or are located near specific components in a plan view. In other words, the design of the timepiece 1 is improved by determining the openings 3b-3d so that unnecessary components are not visible at the same time as the colored layer.

[0031] The specific parts may also include the screw W or the rotary motor R. By excluding the screw W and the rotary motor R from the field of view of the user, the timepiece 1 can focus the content visible to the user on the rotating motion of the gears 13b to 13d, making this look beautiful.

[0032] Furthermore, gears 13b to 13d do not need to have thin metal film M on the sides of resin body S that do not face dial 3. This reduces the effort required to form thin metal film M on surfaces that are not visible to the user, and therefore reduces the costs of timepiece 1 without affecting its design.

[0033] Additionally, gears 13b to 13d may be larger than gear 13e. In a timepiece 1 that originally has many small gears, by displaying as large a gear as possible in a visibly recognizable manner, the user can easily visually recognize the rotation of the gears.

[0034] Timepiece 1 also has hands 7-10 that are located on the display surface side of dial 3 and rotate in response to the rotation of gears 13b-13d. Hands 7-10 may be small hands whose rotation axis is offset from the center of the display surface. The gears that rotate the center hand are concentrated near the center of the display surface (the rotation axis of the center hand), and there is a lot of overlap with the hands, other gears, and parts, making it difficult to make them effectively visible. Therefore, by making the gears that rotate the small hands visible, timepiece 1 can more effectively incorporate gears into its timepiece design.

[0035] Furthermore, the gears 13b to 13d of the timepiece 1 may be the same size, allowing the design of the timepiece 1 to be well-balanced.

[0036] Alternatively, the size of some of the multiple gears 13b to 13d of the timepiece 1 may be different from the size of the other visible gears. By making gears of various sizes visible, the design of the timepiece 1 can be diversified.

[0037] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be modified in various ways. For example, in the above embodiment, a single gear is visibly exposed in each of the openings 3b to 3d, but this is not limited thereto. A plurality of gears, for example, meshing portions of adjacent gears, may be visible through the openings. In this case, all of the visible gears have the metal thin film M.

[0038] In addition, the above description has been given of the watch 1 having a structure in which the screw W and the rotary motor R are not visible, but this is not limited to the above. Other internal configurations / structures, such as the screw W, may be visible. Furthermore, the position, shape, and size of the opening may be determined so that specific parts other than the screw W and the rotary motor R are not visible, depending on the design, etc. Furthermore, the opening does not have to be an arc shape that follows the edge of the gear. If the above-mentioned parts that are not to be visible can be excluded, parts that overlap with parts other than the gear in a plan view may also be opened and made visible. The shape of the opening may be determined arbitrarily accordingly. Conversely, it is not necessary to determine parts that should be considered not to be visible other than the gear that does not have a metal thin film.

[0039] In the above description, the gear has been described as having a metal thin film only on its top surface, but this is not limited thereto. The gear may have a metal thin film on both surfaces.

[0040] The size of the visible gears may be any size, and some may be larger than the size of the gears in the other, non-visible positions, and some may be smaller.

[0041] In the above description, the gear that is directly connected to the small hand and rotates it is made visible, but this is not limited to this. It may be an intermediate wheel in a gear train, or a gear that belongs to the gear train of the center hand or the rotating plate 12. Alternatively, the visible gear does not have to be a gear that rotates the pointer.

[0042] In the above, the date dial holder 22 and the sub-substrate holder 23 also have openings corresponding to the openings 3b-3d of the dial 3. Depending on the position of the gears that are to be visible and the structure of the timepiece 1, a plate-like member having an opening other than the dial 3 may be appropriately determined.

[0043] Furthermore, so long as the timepiece 1 includes at least one visible gear, the number of gears that the timepiece 1 has and the ratio of visible gears to all gears may be determined arbitrarily.

[0044] In the above embodiment, the thin metal film M is deposited on the gear by vapor deposition, but the method for producing the thin metal film M is not limited to this. The thin metal film M may be obtained by any method.

[0045] Furthermore, the colored layers of the gears 13b to 13d are not limited to the thin metal film M. For example, the colored layers may be made of paint applied to the surfaces of the gears 13b to 13d.

[0046] In the above, the timepiece 1 is an electronic wristwatch, but is not limited to this. It may be a mechanical timepiece. On the other hand, the electronic timepiece may have a digital display portion as long as it has a train wheel mechanism that rotates the hands. The timepiece 1 according to the present disclosure may also be a small timepiece such as a pocket watch, which is particularly desired for its decorativeness. In addition, the specific configurations, structures, positional relationships, materials, and the like shown in the above embodiments can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1. Watch 2. Chassis 3 Dial 3a~3d aperture 4~11 Guidelines 12 Rotating plate 13b~13e Gears 21 Support member 22 Day Car Holder 23 Sub-board holder 24 Flat washer B1, B2 push button switches M Metal thin film R Rotary Motor S body W Screw

Claims

1. a first gear having a colored layer on a resin base material; a plate-like member located closer to a display surface than the first gear; Equipped with The plate-like member has a cutout region, The first gear is positioned so as to overlap the cutout region in a plan view seen from the display surface side. clock.

2. a second gear having a resin base material not having the colored layer, The second gear is located at a position that does not overlap with the cutout area.

2. The watch according to claim 1.

3. The timepiece according to claim 1 , wherein the plate-shaped member does not have the cutout area in an area where a specific component is located in the plan view.

4. The timepiece according to claim 3 , wherein the specific parts include a screw or a motor.

5. 2. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the first gear does not have the colored layer on the side of the resin base material that does not face the plate-like member.

6. 3. The timepiece of claim 2, wherein said first wheel is larger than said second wheel.

7. a pointer located on the display surface side of the plate-like member and rotating in response to rotation of the first gear, 2. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the pointer is a small hand whose axis of rotation is offset from the center position of the display surface.

8. A plurality of the first gears are provided, The first gears are of equal size.

2. The watch according to claim 1.

9. A plurality of the first gears are provided, At least a portion of the plurality of first gears has a size different from other first gears other than the at least a portion of the first gears.

2. The watch according to claim 1.

Images