Dials and Clocks

Abstract

To provide a timepiece component and a decoration method of the timepiece component, which can express design with a sense of luxury by solving such a problem that the luxury-feeling design is difficult to express because of formation of characters and images simply by ink jet printing.SOLUTION: A timepiece component includes a base material having desired design which is expressed by forming a binarized pattern with dots in ink having metal nanoparticles on its surface. A decoration method of the timepiece component forms the binarized pattern on a surface of the base material in a hydrophilic or hydrophobic state with the dots in the ink having the metal nanoparticles, so as to express the desired design.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a timepiece component and a method for decorating a timepiece component. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a dial in which characters and images are formed by inkjet printing on a plated metal plate.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, a transparent ink-receiving layer is formed on the surface of a plated metal plate, eliminating the need to produce films or printing plates, making it possible to produce a wide variety of dials in small quantities in a short time and at low cost. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-111660 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In Patent Document 1, since characters and images are simply formed by inkjet printing, there is a problem in that it is difficult to express a design with a luxurious feel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The watch component disclosed herein is characterized by having a base material on whose surface a desired design is expressed by forming a binary pattern of dots using ink composed of metal nanoparticles.

[0007] The method of decorating watch parts disclosed herein is characterized by expressing a desired design by forming a binary pattern of dots using ink composed of metal nanoparticles on the surface of a substrate that has been made hydrophilic or hydrophobic. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a timepiece according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the dial of the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4A to 4C are diagrams showing a process of decorating the dial of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view showing an outline of the dial of the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing dots formed by ink composed of metal nanoparticles landing on the surface of a substrate. [Figure 6] 8A to 8C are diagrams showing a manufacturing process for the dial of the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a front view showing an outline of a dial according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] [First embodiment] A timepiece 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front view of the timepiece 1. In this embodiment, the timepiece 1 is configured as a wristwatch that is worn on the user's wrist. As shown in Fig. 1, timepiece 1 has a metal case 2. Inside case 2 are a disk-shaped dial 10, a second hand 3, a minute hand 4, an hour hand 5, a crown 7, button A 8, and button B 9. Note that dial 10 is an example of a timepiece component of the present disclosure.

[0010] [Dial] Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the dial 10. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the base material 30 of the dial 10 cut in the thickness direction. 2, the dial 10 is configured to include a base material 30. In this embodiment, the surface 31 of the base material 30 is not subjected to a water-repellent treatment. In other words, the surface 31 of the base material 30 is in a hydrophilic or hydrophobic state. In the present disclosure, the wettability is evaluated by defining a contact angle between the tangent of the contour curve of a water droplet and the surface of 40° or less as a hydrophilic state, a contact angle of about 40° to 90° as a hydrophobic state, and a contact angle of more than 90° as a water-repellent state.

[0011] In this embodiment, the base material 30 is made of any one of shells, resin, and metal, or a combination of these. This allows the texture of these materials to be expressed. For example, by forming the base material 30 by carving out mother of pearl, it is possible to express a design in which the color tone changes depending on the amount of light. Furthermore, by forming the base material 30 from a precious metal such as platinum, a luxurious feel can be obtained.

[0012] A plurality of recesses 32 are formed on the surface 31 of the base material 30. In this embodiment, the recesses 32 are formed by performing a streaking process on the surface 31 of the base material 30. More specifically, the surface 31 of the base material 30 is streaked so that the recesses 32 are formed radially from the center. In this manner, in this embodiment, the first pattern 40 is displayed on the surface 31 of the base material 30 by forming the recesses 32. The recess 32 is not limited to the above structure, and may be formed by, for example, cutting, laser processing, chemical removal, polishing, forging, casting, or the like.

[0013] Further, dots 33 are formed on the surface 31 of the substrate 30. In this embodiment, the dots 33 are formed by ink composed of metal nanoparticles landing on the surface 31 of the substrate 30 along the binary pattern. As a result, in this embodiment, the second pattern 50 is displayed on the surface 31 of the substrate 30 by the dots 33. More specifically, the second pattern 50 is displayed by printing ink composed of metal nanoparticles on the surface 31 of the substrate 30 by inkjet printing along the binary pattern in which dots are formed radially from the center. The second pattern 50 displayed by the dots 33 is an example of a desired design of the present disclosure.

[0014] Here, the ink composed of metal nanoparticles is a composition in which metal nanoparticles are dispersed in a dispersion medium. The metal nanoparticles refer to metal particles having a particle size in the range of 1 nm or more and 1 μm or less, and are preferably composed of any one of gold, silver, copper, and platinum. This allows the second pattern 50 to have a glossy appearance, and allows a design with a more luxurious feel to be expressed.

[0015] In this embodiment, the dots 33 are formed so that the diameter D is 11 μm or more and 60 μm or less, and more preferably, the diameter D is 20 μm or more and 40 μm or less. Generally, even if a pattern is expressed by dots with a diameter of 10 μm or less, the diameter of the dots is too small, so that the pattern is difficult to visually recognize as being made up of dots. In this embodiment, by forming the dots 33 so that the diameter D is 11 μm or more and 60 μm or less, it is possible to express the second pattern 50 by the visible and minute dots 33.

[0016] [How to decorate the dial] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the process of decorating the dial 10, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, first, a surface 31 of a base material 30 is subjected to scoring and stamping to form recesses 32 and to display a first pattern 40.

[0017] Next, inkjet printing is performed on the surface 31 of the base material 30, which has been made in a hydrophilic or hydrophobic state, with ink composed of metal nanoparticles according to a binary pattern prepared in advance, forming dots 33 and displaying the second pattern 50. This allows the desired design to be expressed. Finally, in a lapping process, a transparent film is applied to the surface 31 of the base material 30 on which the dots 33 are formed, and the transparent film is polished. As a result, the transparent film applied to the surface 31 of the base material 30 is polished in a finishing process, which can further improve the design.

[0018] By decorating the dial 10 in this manner, a desired design can be expressed by the second pattern 50, as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, even if the same first pattern 40 is expressed on the base material 30, the second pattern can be easily changed by changing the binary pattern, so that a dial that gives an impression different from that of Figure 4 can be easily provided.

[0019] Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is possible to make visible both the first pattern 40 displayed on the substrate 30 and the second pattern 50 displayed by forming the binary pattern into dots, thereby making it possible to express complex and original designs. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second pattern 50 is formed as dots using ink composed of glossy metal nanoparticles on the surface 31 of the substrate 30, which has been made in a hydrophilic or hydrophobic state, resulting in a delicate, highly designed, and luxurious appearance.

[0020] In this embodiment, as described above, the first pattern 40 is displayed by forming the recesses 32 radially on the surface 31 of the base material 30, and the second pattern 50 is displayed by forming the dots 33 along the binary pattern in which the dots are formed radially. That is, in this embodiment, the first pattern 40 and the second pattern 50 are associated with each other. As a result, as shown in Fig. 4, the first pattern 40 is emphasized by the second pattern 50, and a design that gives the impression of highlighting the first pattern 40 can be expressed.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing dots 33 formed by ink composed of metal nanoparticles landing on surface 31 of substrate 30. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the dots 33 formed by the ink composed of metal nanoparticles landing on the surface 31 of the substrate 30 have a diameter D of approximately 20 μm. Thus, in this embodiment, the dots 33 are formed to be 11 μm or more and 60 μm or less, more preferably 20 μm or more and 40 μm or less. However, this does not apply to places where the ink lands overlap. In other words, in this embodiment, in places where the ink lands do not overlap, the dots 33 are formed to be 11 μm or more and 60 μm or less, more preferably 20 μm or more and 40 μm or less.

[0022] This is presumably because, in this embodiment, the ink is composed of metal nanoparticles with a very small particle size, and surface 31 of substrate 30 is not subjected to a water-repellent treatment, so that the ink that lands on surface 31 of substrate 30 spreads appropriately. That is, by depositing ink composed of metal nanoparticles with a very small particle size on surface 31 of substrate 30 in a hydrophilic or hydrophobic state, dots 33 can be formed with a diameter D of 11 μm or more and 60 μm or less. In this embodiment, by forming the dots 33 as described above, a fine and visible second pattern 50 can be expressed. Furthermore, by forming the dots 33 so that the diameter D is 20 μm or more and 40 μm or less, the variation in the diameter D of the dots 33 formed by the impact of the ink is reduced, making it possible to express a more delicate design.

[0023] [Effects of the first embodiment] According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. In this embodiment, a binary pattern is formed by dot formation using ink on the surface 31 of the substrate 30 that has been made into a hydrophilic or hydrophobic state. Furthermore, the formed dots 33 have a diameter D of 11 μm or more and 60 μm or less. This allows a design to be expressed by visible and minute dots 33. In this case, since the ink in this disclosure is composed of metal nanoparticles, it is possible to impart gloss to the dots formed according to the binary pattern. As a result, it is possible to obtain a delicate, highly designed, and luxurious appearance.

[0024] In this embodiment, the base material 30 is made of any one of shells, resin, and metal, or a combination of these, so that the texture of these materials can be expressed.

[0025] In this embodiment, the metal nanoparticles that form the dots of the second pattern 50 are composed of any one of gold, silver, copper, and platinum, so that a glossy second pattern 50 can be produced, resulting in a more luxurious design.

[0026] In this embodiment, the diameter D of the dots 33 formed on the surface 31 of the substrate 30 by the ink composed of metal nanoparticles is set to 20 μm or more and 40 μm or less, thereby reducing the variation in the diameter D of the dots 33, making it possible to express more delicate designs.

[0027] In this embodiment, the surface 31 of the base material 30 is polished in the finishing process, so that the design can be further improved.

[0028] In this embodiment, the first pattern 40 and the second pattern 50 are associated with each other, and the second pattern 50 is formed with dots so as to emphasize the first pattern 40, thereby creating a design that gives the impression of highlighting the first pattern 40.

[0029] [Second embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a first pattern 40A is displayed in a matte finish, and a second pattern 50A is displayed by forming dots 33A along a binarized pattern in which dots are formed in a lattice pattern. In the second embodiment, the same or similar configurations as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted or simplified.

[0030] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process for decorating the dial 10A of the second embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a front view showing an outline of the dial 10A. 6 and 7, in this embodiment, a matte first pattern 40A is displayed on a surface 31A of a substrate 30A. Furthermore, ink composed of metal nanoparticles is deposited along a lattice-like binary pattern on the surface 31A of the substrate 30A on which the first pattern 40A is displayed, thereby forming dots 33A and displaying a second pattern 50A. This makes it possible to express a complex design in which the matte first pattern 40A is blurred by the lattice-like second pattern 50A, as shown in FIG.

[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the dots 33A constituting the second pattern 50A are formed with varying shading, which allows the design to be expressed in which the lattice-like first pattern 40 has some areas that are slightly clear and some areas that are slightly unclear.

[0032] [Effects of the second embodiment] According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. In this embodiment, a matte first pattern 40A is displayed on the surface 31A of the substrate 30A, and a second pattern 50A is displayed by forming dots 33A along a lattice-like binary pattern, so that a complex design can be expressed in which the matte first pattern 40A is blurred by the lattice-like second pattern 50A.

[0033] In this embodiment, the dots 33A that make up the second pattern 50A are formed with varying shades, making it possible to create a design in which the matte-textured first pattern 40A has some areas that appear slightly clearer and some areas that appear slightly unclear.

[0034] [Variations] It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, etc. within the scope that can achieve the object of the present disclosure are included in the present disclosure.

[0035] In the above-described embodiments, the first pattern 40, 40A and the second pattern 50A are displayed on the base material of the base material 30, 30A formed by any one of shells, resin, and metal, or a combination of these, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the base material may be plated or painted with paint. This allows the luster and color of the base material to be freely expressed.

[0036] In the first embodiment described above, the first pattern 40 is displayed by forming the recesses 32 on the surface 31 of the base material 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first pattern may be displayed by printing or transferring onto the surface of the base material. Furthermore, the base material may be made of a transparent resin such as polycarbonate or glass, and the first pattern may be displayed on a movement or the like disposed on the back side of the dial, so that the first pattern can be displayed so as to be visible through the base material. This creates depth in the design expressed by the first and second patterns, making it possible to express a more complex and original design. In this case, the second pattern may first be displayed by depositing ink on the surface of the substrate to form dots, and then the first pattern may be displayed on a component placed on the back side of the substrate, and then the watch component disclosed herein may be assembled with the component placed on the back side of the substrate.

[0037] In each of the above-described embodiments, the design expressed by the first pattern 40, 40A and the second pattern 50, 50A may be configured to change according to the viewing angle. More specifically, the design may be configured to change according to the viewing angle by the shading of the dots 33, 33A that constitute the second pattern 50, 50A. In this way, the design expressed by the first pattern and the second pattern changes according to the viewing angle, so that a more complex and original design can be expressed.

[0038] In each of the above-described embodiments, a dark color may be added to the base material 30, 30A, and the second pattern 50, 50A may be displayed in ink having a metallic luster. In this way, the base material 30, 30A is colored in a dark color, so that the second pattern 50, 50A having a metallic luster can be made to stand out. In particular, by making the base material black and displaying the second pattern in ink containing gold or silver, a luxurious design such as gold leaf lacquerware can be expressed.

[0039] In the above-described embodiments, the first pattern 40 is displayed on the base material 30, 30A, but this is not limited to this. For example, the present disclosure also includes a case where the first pattern is not displayed on the base material.

[0040] In the above-mentioned embodiments, the timepiece part of the present disclosure is configured as the dial 10, 10A, but is not limited to this. For example, the timepiece part of the present disclosure may be configured as any one of the case, dial ring, bezel, movement and its main plate, hands, abbreviations, and oscillating weight.

[0041] [Summary of this disclosure] The watch component disclosed herein is characterized by having a base material on whose surface a desired design is expressed by forming a binary pattern of dots using ink composed of metal nanoparticles. In the present disclosure, a binary pattern is formed on a surface using ink as dots, making it possible to express a design using fine dots. In this case, since the ink in the present disclosure is made of metal nanoparticles, the dots formed according to the binary pattern can be made glossy. This allows for a delicate, highly designed, and luxurious appearance to be obtained.

[0042] In the watch component of the present disclosure, the diameter of the dots formed on the surface by the ink composed of the metal nanoparticles landing thereon may be 11 μm or more and 60 μm or less. This allows dots with diameters between 11 μm and 60 μm to be formed on the surface, making it possible to express designs with visible and minute dots, resulting in a delicate, highly designed and luxurious appearance.

[0043] In the watch component of the present disclosure, the surface of the base material may be in a hydrophilic or hydrophobic state. This allows a binary pattern to be formed as dots using ink on a surface that has been made hydrophilic or hydrophobic, making it possible to express a design using visible and minute dots.

[0044] In the watch component of the present disclosure, the base material may be formed from any one of seashell, resin, and metal, or a combination of these. As a result, the base material is formed from any one of shells, resin, and metal, or a combination of these, and the texture of these materials can be expressed.

[0045] In the timepiece component of the present disclosure, the base material may be plated or painted with paint. This allows the base material to be plated or painted with paint, so that the gloss and color of the base material can be freely expressed.

[0046] In the watch component of the present disclosure, the metal nanoparticles may be comprised of any one of gold, silver, copper, and platinum. As a result, the metal nanoparticles forming the dots of the second pattern are composed of any one of gold, silver, copper, and platinum, so that a glossy second pattern can be expressed, resulting in a more luxurious design.

[0047] In the watch component of the present disclosure, the diameter of the dots formed on the surface by the ink composed of the metal nanoparticles landing thereon may be 20 μm or more and 40 μm or less. This reduces variation in the diameter of the dots formed by the impact of ink, making it possible to express more delicate designs.

[0048] In the watch component of the present disclosure, a dark color may be added to the base material, and a desired design may be expressed with the ink having a metallic luster. This gives the base material a dark color, making the metallic glossy dots stand out, and creating a luxurious design like gold leaf lacquerware.

[0049] The method of decorating watch parts disclosed herein is characterized by expressing a desired design by forming a binary pattern of dots using ink composed of metal nanoparticles on the surface of a substrate that has been made hydrophilic or hydrophobic. In the present disclosure, a binary pattern is formed by dot formation using ink on a surface that is in a hydrophilic or hydrophobic state, and a design can be expressed by visible and minute dots. In this case, in the present disclosure, the ink is composed of metal nanoparticles, so the dots formed according to the binary pattern can be made glossy. As a result, a delicate, highly designed, and luxurious appearance can be obtained.

[0050] The method for decorating watch components of the present disclosure may include a lapping process step of coating the surface of the base material on which the dots are formed with a transparent film and polishing the transparent film. This allows the transparent film applied to the surface of the base material to be polished as a finishing step, thereby improving the design. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1...clock, 2...case, 3...second hand, 4...minute hand, 5...hour hand, 7...crown, 8...button A, 9...button B, 10,10A...dial, 30,30A...base material, 31,31A...surface, 32...recess, 33,33A...dot, 40,40A...first pattern, 50,50A...second pattern.

Claims

1. The product comprises a metal substrate having a surface painted in a dark color, on which a desired design is expressed by forming dots according to a binary pattern by inkjet printing using an ink composed of metal nanoparticles; The metal nanoparticles include silver, The ink has a metallic luster, a first pattern is displayed on a surface of the base material by forming recesses in a radial pattern from a center of the base material to a peripheral edge of the base material; A second pattern is displayed on the surface of the substrate on which the first pattern is formed, the second pattern being formed radially from the center to the periphery of the substrate by printing with the ink composed of the metal nanoparticles containing silver. A dial characterized by

2. In the dial of claim 1, The second pattern formed by the ink dots composed of the metal nanoparticles containing silver is printed directly on the surface of the base material. A dial characterized by

3. In the dial according to claim 1 or claim 2, The ink jet recording medium further includes a transparent film formed on the surface of the substrate on which the ink has landed. A dial characterized by

4. In the dial according to claim 1 or claim 2, The surface of the substrate on which the ink lands is made hydrophilic or hydrophobic. A dial characterized by

5. A dial according to claim 1 or claim 2, A case for accommodating the dial. A watch characterized by

Images