Time piece with power generation function

• US 20020109808A1
• Filed: 04/16/2002
• Published: 08/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Inventors: Akiba, Yuichi, Hoshino, Koichi, Akiyama, Takashi, Ide, Masafumi, Nakagawa, Koji, Kikuchi, Masami, Toida, Takashi, Sekiguchi, Kanetaka
• Granted Patent: US 6,937,301 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/96
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133536 Reflective polarizers G02F1/13362 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133545 Dielectric stack polarisers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13471 in which all the liquid crystal cells or layers remain transparent, e.g. FLC, ECB, DAP, HAN, TN, STN, SBE-LC cells G02F1/13475 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/0035 constructional
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/0082 by building-up characters using a combination of indicating elements and by selecting desired characters out of a number of characters or by selecting indicating elements the positions of which represents the time, i.e. combinations of G04G9/02 and G04G9/08

Abstract

A watch unit having a time-displaying section, including a reflection-type polarizing film 14 disposed on an upper portion or a lower portion of the time-displaying section or a portion comprising a part of the time-displaying section, an optical modulation section which varies the ratio of a transmission axis to a reflection axis of the reflection-type polarizing film 14, and a shutter function to shield a portion of or all of the watch unit having the time-display section by varying the reflection intensity and the transmission intensity in relation to the light incident direction using the reflection-type polarinzing film 14 and the optical modulation section, to enhance the appearance and to improve the versatility of the watch unit.

Claims

1. A timepiece having a time-display section, comprising:

a reflection-type polarizing film which reflects the light linearly polarized in the direction orthogonal to the transmission axis thereof, disposed on a front side or a back side at least a portion of said time-display section.

2. A timepiece having a time-display section, comprising:

a reflection-type polarizing film which reflects the light linearly polarized in the direction orthogonal to the transmission axis thereof, so that said polarizing film forms a portion of said time-display section and occupies at least a portion of the display surface.

3. A timepiece having a time-display section, comprising:

a reflection-type polarizing film which reflects the light linearly polarized in the direction orthogonal to the transmission axis thereof, disposed on a front side or a back side at least a portion of said time-display section or on a portion forming a part of said time-display section; and

an optical modulation section for varying the ratio of light incident on a transmission axis of said reflection-type polarizing film to the light incident on a reflection axis orthogonal therewith.

4. The timepiece according to claim 3, wherein said optical modulation section is a means for varying the reflection intensity and the transmission intensity of the incident light through said reflection-type polarizing film by varying the ratio of the light incident on the transmission axis of said reflection-type polarizing film to the light incident on the reflection axis orthogonal therewith.

5. The timepiece according to claim 4, wherein a shutter is structured to selectively perform transmission and reflection of the light incident on at least a portion of said time-display section by means of said reflection-type polarizing film and said optical modulation section.

6. The timepiece according to claim 5, wherein said time-display section is an analog-type time-display section showing time information such as hours, minutes, and seconds with hands.

7. The timepiece according to claim 5, wherein said time-display section is a digital-type time-display section showing time information such as hours, minutes, and seconds with numerals.

8. The timepiece according to claim 5, wherein said time-display section consists of an analog-type time-display section showing time information such as hours, minutes, and seconds with hands, and a digital-type time-display section showing the time information with numerals.

9. The timepiece according to claim 3, wherein said optical modulation section has a liquid crystal layer, electrodes to apply voltage on the liquid crystal layer, and any one of a second reflection-type polarizing film, an absorption-type polarizing film or a color polarizing film.

10. The timepiece according to claim 3, wherein said optical modulation section is provided with any one of an absorption-type polarizing film, a second reflection-type polarizing film, a color polarizing film, or a grid-type polarizing film in a rotatable manner so as to make an angle between respective transmission axes thereof variable in relation to said reflection-type polarizing film.

11. The timepiece according to claim 3, wherein said reflection-type polarizing film has an opening portion.

12. The timepiece according to claim 3, wherein said reflection-type polarizing film has a shielding portion.

13. The timepiece according to claim 3, further comprising;

a supplementary light source emitting light from a viewer side or from the opposite side thereof in relation to said reflection-type polarizing film.

14. The timepiece according to claim 5, further comprising;

a film which forms visible information on the opposite side from a viewer in relation to a reflection-type polarizing film and said optical modulation section forming said shutter.

15. The timepiece according to claim 3, further comprising;

a power-generating element.

16. The timepiece according to claim 15, wherein at least a portion of said power-generating element serves as a sensor to detect the amount of power generation and said optical modulation section has a function to vary the ratio of light incident on a transmission axis of said reflection-type polarizing film to the light incident on a reflection axis orthogonal therewith based on a signal output by the sensor.

17. The timepiece according to claim 16, wherein said power-generating element is a thermoelectric power-generating element which generates power by means of difference in temperature.

18. The timepiece according to claim 16, wherein said power-generating element is a mechanical power-generating element to convert kinetic energy into electric energy.

19. The timepiece according to claim 16, wherein said power-generating element is a power-generating element to convert optical energy into electric energy.

20. The timepiece according to claim 15,

wherein said timepiece has a sensor to detect a signal operated by a user;

and

wherein said optical modulation section has a function to vary the ratio of light incident on a transmission axis of said reflection-type polarizing film to the light incident on a reflection axis orthogonal therewith in accordance with a detected signal from said sensor.

21. The timepiece according to claim 15,

wherein said timepiece has a sensor to detect applied circumstances;

and

wherein said optical modulation section has a function to vary the ratio of light incident on a transmission axis of said reflection-type polarizing film to the light incident on a reflection axis orthogonal therewith in accordance with a detected signal from said sensor.

22. The timepiece according to claim 15,

wherein said timepiece has a sensor to detect the condition of the time displaying by said time-display section;

and

wherein said optical modulation section has a function to vary ratio of light incident on a transmission axis of said reflection-type polarizing film to the light incident on a reflection axis orthogonal therewith in accordance with a detected signal from said sensor.

23. The timepiece according to claim 15,

wherein said timepiece has a sensor to detect a radio wave signal having a specific frequency;

and

wherein said optical modulation section has a function to vary the ratio of light incident on a transmission axis of said reflection-type polarizing film to the light incident on a reflection axis orthogonal therewith in accordance with a detected signal from said sensor.

24. The timepiece according to claim 5, wherein said optical modulation section is provided with in order from the side visible by a viewer, a first polarizing film, a liquid crystal cell which fills a liquid crystal layer between two sheets of transparent substrates each having an electrode on the facing inner surface thereof, and a second polarizing film;

and

wherein at least any one of the first polarizing film or the second polarizing film is a reflection-type polarizing film.

25. The timepiece according to claim 24, further comprising:

an analog-type time-display section to display time information with hands, at the back of a shutter formed with said reflection-type polarizing film and said optical modulation section, and

wherein the optical characteristic of the liquid crystal layer is changed by applying voltage between electrodes of the liquid crystal cell which forms said optical modulation section so that areas of a visible portion and an invisible portion of said time-displaying section are controlled, and the section of the shutter corresponding to the invisible portion of said time-displaying section has a reflecting characteristic.

26. The timepiece according to claim 24, further comprising;

a digital-type time-display section displaying time information with characters at the back of a shutter formed with said reflection-type polarizing film and said optical modulation section, and

wherein the optical characteristic of the liquid crystal layer is changed by applying voltage between electrodes of the liquid crystal cell, so that areas of a visible portion and an invisible portion of said time-displaying section are controlled, and the section of the shutter corresponding to the invisible portion of said time-displaying section has a reflecting characteristic.

27. The timepiece according to claim 24, further comprising;

an analog-type time-display section to display time information with hands, and a digital-type time-display section to display time information with characters, at the back of a shutter formed with said reflection-type polarizing film and said optical modulation section,

wherein the optical characteristic of the liquid crystal layer is changed by applying voltage between electrodes of the liquid crystal cell, so that areas of a visible portion and an invisible portion of both time-displaying sections are controlled, and the section of the shutter corresponding to the invisible portion of said time-displaying section has a reflecting characteristic.

28. The timepiece according to claim 25, wherein

a shutter formed with said reflection-type polarizing film and said optical modulation section is provided with an opening which the hands shaft of said analog-type time-display section, may pass through.

29. The timepiece according to claim 28, wherein

a shielding member to shield at least the peripheral portion of the opening is provided between said analog-type time-display section and the shutter.

30. The timepiece according to claim 3, wherein

a shielding member is provided at least on one surface of the reflection-type polarizing film in the outer periphery of said reflection-type polarizing film.