JPH06300869A - Clock module and electronic timepiece equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] A magnetic sensor can be incorporated in a watch case without being affected by magnetism due to watch parts, and an azimuth can be accurately measured. [Structure] A circuit board 24, a magnetic sensor 31 mounted on a sensor mounting portion 30 provided laterally protruding from the circuit board 24, a first electronic component 42 mounted on the circuit board 24, and a circuit board. The second electronic component 4 attached to the second electronic component 4 and more easily magnetized than the first electronic component 42.
3 and the second electronic component 43 is attached to the magnetic sensor 31 at a position farther than the first electronic component 42.
Therefore, the magnetic sensor 31 is hardly affected by the magnetic field by the electronic components 42 and 43, and the azimuth can be accurately measured.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a timepiece module and an electronic timepiece having the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic wristwatch is provided with a compass using a magnet at the bottom of a watch case, and is usually used as a wristwatch, and is rotated so as to raise the watch case with respect to a watch band. There is one that makes it possible to know the azimuth by exposing the azimuth meter. But,
In an electronic wristwatch equipped with such an azimuth meter, there is a problem that the entire timepiece becomes thick and large, and it is not preferable in appearance. Therefore, recently, it has been proposed to use an azimuth meter that uses a magnetic sensor that electronically detects geomagnetism.

[0003]

However, such a magnetic sensor is one of the components incorporated in an electronic wrist watch, which has a strong magnetic field (for example, an electronic component such as a battery) or a component which is easily magnetized (for example, a metal component). ) Is easily affected by magnetism. Therefore, if the magnetic sensor is simply incorporated in the watch case, the azimuth cannot be accurately measured, and an electronic wristwatch in which the magnetic sensor is incorporated in the watch case or the watch module has not yet been put into practical use. Is the current situation. The present invention was made by investigating electronic parts, metal members, and their mounting methods in detail based on the above circumstances, and researching materials to be used. It is possible to put into practical use a timepiece module and an electronic timepiece that can incorporate a magnetic sensor into a timepiece case without being affected by, and can measure the direction with high accuracy.

[0004]

A timepiece module according to the present invention includes a circuit board, a magnetic sensor mounted on the circuit board, a first electronic component mounted on the circuit board, and a first electronic component mounted on the circuit board. A second electronic component that is more easily magnetized than the first electronic component, and the second electronic component is attached to a position farther from the magnetic sensor than the first electronic component. For example, the first electronic component is a transistor, a chip resistor, a capacitor, etc., and the second electronic component is a battery, a crystal oscillator, etc. In this case, at least the first sensor arranged near the magnetic sensor
It is desirable that the electrode of the circuit board to which the electronic component of (1) is attached has a structure in which a copper foil is solder-plated. Further, it is desirable that the base plate fixing the circuit board to the housing and the metal member such as the diaphragm of the alarm means for generating the alarm sound are made of a non-magnetic material.
Further, it is preferable that the sensor mounting portion is formed on the circuit board so as to project laterally, and the magnetic sensor is mounted on the sensor mounting portion.

The electronic timepiece according to the present invention further comprises a timepiece case body for accommodating a timepiece module having a magnetic sensor.
It is composed of a watch case, watch glass and a back cover, and the watch case and the back cover are made of a non-magnetic material. In this case, of the plurality of push button switches provided in the watch case, it is desirable that at least one push button switch located in the vicinity of the magnetic sensor has a structure that is hard to magnetize, and a structure other than the push button switch having a structure that does not easily magnetize. It is desirable to provide the push button switch of (1) at a position far from the magnetic sensor.

[0006]

According to the timepiece module of the present invention, the second electronic component, which is more easily magnetized than the first electronic component, is mounted at a position farther from the first electronic component than the magnetic sensor. Even if the magnetic sensor is mounted on the circuit board, the magnetic sensor is hardly affected by the magnetic field by the electronic component, and the azimuth can be accurately measured. In this case, as described in claim 3, at least the electrode of the circuit board to which the first electronic component arranged near the magnetic sensor is attached has a structure in which the copper foil is solder-plated to make it difficult to magnetize, As described in claim 4, a metal member such as a ground plate and a vibration plate of the alarm means is made of a non-magnetic material, or as described in claim 5, the sensor mounting is formed so as to project laterally from the circuit board. If a magnetic sensor is attached to the part, the magnetic sensor is less affected by magnetism due to the parts and members of the timepiece module as much as possible, and it is possible to measure the azimuth more accurately.

Further, according to the electronic timepiece of the invention, the timepiece main body for accommodating the timepiece module having the magnetic sensor is constituted by the timepiece case, the timepiece glass and the back cover, and the timepiece case and the back cover are made of a non-magnetic material. Since it is formed, even if the timepiece module is incorporated in the timepiece case body, the magnetic sensor is not affected by the magnetic field by the timepiece case or the back cover, and the direction can be accurately measured. In this case, as described in claim 7, among the plurality of push button switches provided on the watch case, at least the push button switch located in the vicinity of the magnetic sensor is structured so as not to be easily magnetized. Not affected by. Further, as described in claim 8, if a push button switch having a structure other than a structure which is hard to magnetize is provided at a position far from the magnetic sensor, a general push button structure that is easily magnetized is used. In addition, the magnetic sensor is less likely to be affected by the magnetic field due to the push button switch, the cost can be reduced, and the azimuth can be accurately measured.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 show an electronic wrist watch. This electronic wrist watch includes a watch case body 1.
The watch case body 1 is made of a synthetic resin, which is a non-magnetic material, a watch case 2, a watch glass 3 attached to the upper part of the watch case 2, and a non-magnetic stainless steel attached to the lower part of the watch case 2 (for example, SUS304G) case back 4
It consists of and. In this case, a register ring 5 made of synthetic resin is rotatably attached to the upper part of the watch case 2 on the outer circumference of the watch glass 3. The azimuth is displayed on the upper surface of the register ring 5. Further, a projection 6 is formed to project laterally in the vicinity of the 9 o'clock position of the watch glass 2, and a ring retainer 7 is provided on the upper surface of the projection 6.

A push button switch 9 is provided near the 3 o'clock position of the watch case 2 via a decorative member 8 which also functions as a ring retainer. The push button switch 9 includes a shaft portion 10 slidably provided in the through hole 2a of the watch case 2, and a retaining E ring 11 attached to an inner end portion of the shaft portion 10 protruding into the watch case 2. The button portion 12 made of synthetic resin, which is attached to the outer end portion of the shaft portion 9 and moves in the concave portion 8a of the decorative member 8, and the O provided in the through hole 2a of the watch case 2.
The coil spring 14 is arranged between the ring 13 and the button portion 12 on the outer periphery of the shaft portion 10. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, two push button switches 15 and 16 having the same structure are provided in the timepiece case 2 located at both sides of the push button switch 9. A push button switch 17 is also provided near the 10 o'clock position of the watch case 2. Unlike the structure of the three push button switches 9, 15 and 16 described above, the push button switch 17 does not use the coil spring 14, but the shaft portion 10 is formed of a non-magnetic material such as brass, and the E ring 11 and the O ring. 1
3 is made of a non-magnetic material such as synthetic resin, and has a non-magnetic structure that increases the contraction force of the O-ring 13 and operates by the spring force of a plate-shaped switch spring 28 described later.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a watch module 20 is housed in the watch case body 1. This timepiece module 20, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
An upper housing 21 made of synthetic resin and a lower housing 22 made of synthetic resin are provided. A liquid crystal display device 23 is mounted on the upper surface of the upper housing 21 as shown in FIG. 3, and a circuit board 24 is disposed between the upper housing 21 and the lower housing 22 as shown in FIG.
A bottom plate 25 is arranged on the lower surface of 2. Then, the upper housing 21 and the lower housing 22 are integrated by the hook portion 26 of the main plate 25 being locked by the locking projection 27 provided on the side surface of the upper housing 21. In this case, the base plate 25 is a thin plate material made of non-magnetic stainless steel (for example, Daido special steel DSN6) that is hard to magnetize.
As shown in FIG. 3, plate-shaped switch springs 28 are provided on the main plate 25 so as to correspond to the push button switches 9, 15, 16 and 17, and a ground electrode portion 29 is provided as shown in FIG. It is provided.

The circuit board 24, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, has a sensor mounting portion 30 provided at the 9 o'clock position on the left side.
Is laterally projected from the upper and lower housings 21 and 22, and the protruding sensor mounting portion 30 is arranged in the protruding portion 6 of the timepiece case 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A magnetic sensor 31 is mounted on the sensor mounting portion 30. The magnetic sensor 31, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a magnetoresistive element 32 and a holder 33 made of synthetic resin for holding the magnetoresistive element 32. As shown in FIG. 6, the magnetoresistive element 32 is formed by depositing a nickel alloy film on the upper surface of a ceramic substrate 34 and forming a thin film pattern 35 for magnetoresistance by etching. As shown in FIG. 5, in the holder 33 made of synthetic resin, four support columns 36 are connected in a square shape by a connecting piece 37, and a bias coil (not shown) is orthogonal to the magnetoresistive element 32. The connection terminals 39 are wound in the direction in which the connection terminals 39 are wound, and the connection terminals 39 are projected from the outer surface in the middle of each support column 36. As shown in FIG. 3, in the magnetic sensor 31, the boulder 33 is inserted into the rectangular mounting hole 38 provided in the sensor mounting portion 30 of the circuit board 24, and the magnetoresistive element 32.
Are mounted on the sensor mounting portion 30 in a state in which they are arranged at substantially the same height as the plane of the circuit board 24.

On the other hand, in the center of the upper surface of the circuit board 24, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the LSI 40 is attached, the connection terminals 41 connected to the liquid crystal display device 23 are formed near the upper and lower ends thereof, and the first electronic component such as the chip capacitor C is provided near the left and right of the LSI 40. 42 is attached. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, a second electronic component 43 that is easily magnetized is attached to the lower surface of the circuit board 24 at a position farther from the magnetic sensor 31 than the first electronic component 42. Here, as a result of detailed examination of the magnetism of each electronic component 42, 43, each electronic component 42, 43
It was found that the minimum distance at which the magnetic field does not affect the magnetic sensor 31 is as shown in Table 1.

[Table 1] If the electronic components are roughly classified into two from Table 1, the first electronic components 42 are transistors TR3, TR6, chip resistors R, capacitors TC, CT, C, etc. It is attached at a position separated by 7 mm or more. The second electronic component 43 is a volume BO
L, a crystal oscillator X, a battery BATT, and the like, and are attached at a position separated from the magnetoresistive element 32 by at least 10 to 20 mm or more. Although not shown, the battery is electrically connected to the circuit board 24 by a thin electrode plate made of non-magnetic stainless steel (for example, Daido special steel DSN6). Further, the battery is covered with an insulating sheet or the like after being assembled.

Further, on the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board 24, two kinds of electrodes 44 and 45 to which the electronic components 42 and 43 are connected and a wiring pattern (not shown) covered with an insulating film are provided. Of the two types of electrodes 44, 45, the first electrode 44 has a general structure in which a copper plating is plated with nickel as a base plating to secure the connection reliability and then a gold plating is performed. , Magnetoresistive element 32 to 14m
It is provided at a position separated by m or more. This is because the nickel plating is apt to be magnetized, so that the magnetic sensor 31 is magnetically affected when it is located within 14 mm from the magnetoresistive element 32. The second electrode 45 has a structure in which nickel plating is not applied as a base plating but solder plating is applied on a copper foil so that it is hard to magnetize, and as shown by hatching in FIG. 7 and FIG. From 14 mm
It is provided within the position. Further, on the outer peripheral edge of the circuit board 24, two types of contact electrodes 46 and 47 for contacting and separating the plate-shaped switch spring 28 of the main plate 25 are provided corresponding to the push button switches 9, 15 to 17, respectively. There is. Also in this case, since the first electrode 46 shown by hatching in FIGS. 7 and 8 is located in the vicinity of the magnetic sensor 31, the copper foil was solder-plated as with the second electrode 45. Since the second electrode 47 other than this has a structure that is hard to magnetize and is located far away from the magnetic sensor 31, gold plating is performed on the copper foil through nickel plating, like the first electrode 44. It has a general structure.

The back cover 4 in the watch case body 1
As shown in FIG. 2, an alarm member 50 is provided on the inner surface of the. The alarm member 50 is made of non-magnetic stainless steel provided on the back cover 4 (for example, Daido special steel DSN6).
And a piezoelectric element 52 provided on the upper surface of the vibrating plate 51, and is electrically connected to the circuit board 24 by a coil spring (not shown).

In such a timepiece module 20, the sensor mounting portion 3 provided so as to project laterally from the circuit board 24.
0 is provided with a magnetic sensor 31, and the first magnetic sensor 31 is provided at a position on the circuit board 24 far away from the magnetic resistance element 32 of the magnetic sensor 31.
Second electronic component 43 that is easier to magnetize than the electronic component 42 of
Since the magnetic sensor 31 is attached, even if the magnetic sensor 31 is attached to the circuit board 24, the magnetic sensor 31 is hardly affected by the magnetism of the electronic components 42 and 43, and the azimuth can be accurately measured. In this case, of the electrodes 44 and 45 provided on the circuit board 24, the electrode 45 located within a radius of 14 mm from the magnetoresistive element 32 of the magnetic sensor 31 is used.
Since the nickel plating is not used as the base plating and the copper foil is solder-plated so that it is hard to magnetize, the magnetic sensor 31 is not affected by magnetism by the electrode 45, and this also enables accurate orientation. Can be measured. In addition, a base plate 25 for sandwiching and fixing the circuit board 24 between the upper housing 21 and the lower housing 22, an electrode plate (not shown) for electrically connecting the circuit board 24 and the battery, and an alarm member 46. Since the metal member such as the vibration plate 48 is made of a non-magnetic thin plate material made of stainless steel which is hard to be magnetized, the magnetic sensor 31 is also provided.
Is not affected by the magnetism of the metal member, and the azimuth can be accurately measured even when the magnetic sensor 31 is assembled to the timepiece module 20.

Further, in the electronic wrist watch in which the timepiece module 20 is incorporated, the timepiece case 2 is made of a synthetic resin which is a non-magnetic material, and the back cover 4 is made of non-magnetic stainless steel. Even when incorporated in the main body 1, the magnetic sensor 31 assembled in the timepiece module 20 is not affected by magnetism by the timepiece case 2 and the back cover 3, and the azimuth can be accurately measured. In this case, of the push button switches 9, 15 to 17 provided on the watch case 2, the push button switch 17 has a non-magnetic structure that does not use the coil spring 14. Therefore, the push button switch 17 is arranged near the magnetic sensor 31. Also,
The push button switch 17 prevents the magnetic sensor 31 from being affected by magnetism, and the azimuth can be accurately measured. Further, by disposing the magnetic sensor 31 of the timepiece module 20 in the protruding portion 6 of the timepiece case 2, a plurality of push button switches 9, 15 to 17 provided on the timepiece case 2 are provided.
Of these, three push button switches 9, 15 and 16 are provided at locations far away from the magnetic sensor 31, so that these push button switches 9, 15, and 16 are connected to the coil spring 14 respectively.
The magnetic sensor 31 having a general structure using
Is hardly affected by magnetism by the push button switches 9, 15 and 16, and the azimuth can be accurately measured and a low-priced one can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the magnetic sensor 3
The electrodes 45 and 46 on the circuit board 24 located within a radius of 14 mm from the magnetoresistive element 32 of No. 1 have a structure in which solder plating is applied on a copper foil, but the structure is not limited to this and, for example, a circuit board other than this. The electrodes 44 and 47 of 24 may have the same structure as described above. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the push button switch 17 located near the magnetic sensor 31.
Has a non-magnetic structure that does not use the coil spring 14, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other push button switches 9, 15,
16 may also have the same non-magnetic structure as the push button switch 17. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the electronic wristwatch is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied to electronic timepieces such as table clocks and travel watches.

[0018]

As described above, according to the timepiece module of the present invention, the second electronic component that is more easily magnetized than the first electronic component is located farther from the magnetic sensor than the first electronic component. Since the magnetic sensor is mounted on the circuit board, even if the magnetic sensor is mounted on the circuit board, the magnetic sensor is hardly affected by the magnetic field of the electronic component, and the azimuth can be accurately measured. In this case, at least the electrode of the circuit board to which the first electronic component arranged near the magnetic sensor is attached has a non-magnetic structure in which copper foil is solder-plated, or the ground plate, electrode plate, and alarm means If a metal member such as a vibrating plate is made of a non-magnetic material, or if a sensor mounting part is provided on the circuit board so that it protrudes to the side and a magnetic sensor is mounted on this sensor mounting part, the magnetic sensor becomes The influence of magnetism due to parts and members is minimized, and the direction can be measured with higher accuracy.

Further, according to the electronic timepiece of the invention, the timepiece main body for accommodating the timepiece module having the magnetic sensor is constituted by the timepiece case, the timepiece glass and the back cover, and the timepiece case and the back cover are made of a non-magnetic material. Since it is formed, even if the timepiece module is incorporated in the timepiece body, the magnetic sensor is not affected by the magnetic field generated by the timepiece case or the back cover, and the direction can be accurately measured. in this case,
If multiple pushbutton switches provided in the watch case are structured so that they are hard to magnetize, the magnetic sensor will not be affected by the magnetic field of the pushbutton switches, and a pushbutton switch that is hard to magnetize will be placed near the magnetic sensor. However, if a push button switch having a structure other than this is provided at a location far away from the magnetic sensor, the magnetic sensor may be affected by the magnetic field generated by the push button switch even if a general push button switch with a structure that is easily magnetized is used. It is possible to obtain a low-priced product while reducing the bearing number, enabling accurate azimuth measurement.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electronic wrist watch to which the invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the timepiece module of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a main part of FIG.

5 is an exploded perspective view of the magnetic sensor of FIG.

6 is an enlarged plan view of the magnetoresistive element of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a circuit board.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the circuit board.

[Explanation of reference signs] 1 watch case body 2 watch case 3 watch glass 4 back cover 9, 15-17 push button switch 20 watch module 24 circuit board 25 base plate 30 sensor mounting portion 31 magnetic sensor 42 first electronic component 43 second Electronic parts 44-47 Electrodes

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A circuit board, a magnetic sensor mounted on the circuit board, and a first mounted on the circuit board.
Electronic components and attached to the circuit board, the first
Second electronic component that is more easily magnetized than the electronic component of the first electronic component, wherein the second electronic component is the first electronic component with respect to the magnetic sensor.
The timepiece module is installed at a position farther than the electronic components of. 2. The timepiece module according to claim 1, wherein the first electronic component is a transistor, a chip resistor, a capacitor, or the like, and the second electronic component is a battery, a crystal oscillator, or the like. 3. The electrode of the circuit board to which the first electronic component is attached, which is arranged at least in the vicinity of the magnetic sensor, has a structure in which a copper foil is plated with solder. The timepiece module according to 1 or 2. 4. A metal member such as a base plate for fixing the circuit board to the housing and a diaphragm of an alarm means for generating an alarm sound is made of a non-magnetic material. The listed clock module. 5. The timepiece module according to claim 1, wherein a sensor mounting portion is formed on the circuit board so as to project laterally, and the magnetic sensor is mounted on the sensor mounting portion. 6. The watch case main body for accommodating the watch module comprises a watch case, watch glass and a back cover, and the watch case and the back cover are made of a non-magnetic material. An electronic timepiece described in any one of 1 to 5. 7. The watch case is provided with a plurality of push button switches, and at least one of the push button switches located near the magnetic sensor has a structure that is hard to magnetize. The electronic timepiece according to claim 6. 8. The push button switch having a structure other than the push button switch having a structure that is hard to magnetize among the plurality of push button switches is provided at a position far from the magnetic sensor. Electronic clock as described.