Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B19/00—Indicating the time by visual means
  • G04B19/06—Dials
  • G04B19/10—Ornamental shape of the graduations or the surface of the dial; Attachment of the graduations to the dial
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B19/00—Indicating the time by visual means
  • G04B19/06—Dials
  • G04B19/10—Ornamental shape of the graduations or the surface of the dial; Attachment of the graduations to the dial
  • G04B19/103—Ornamental shape of the graduations or the surface of the dial; Attachment of the graduations to the dial attached or inlaid numbers
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B19/00—Indicating the time by visual means
  • G04B19/06—Dials
  • G04B19/12—Selection of materials for dials or graduations markings
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B45/00—Time pieces of which the indicating means or cases provoke special effects, e.g. aesthetic effects
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04C—ELECTROMECHANICAL CLOCKS OR WATCHES
  • G04C17/00—Indicating the time optically by electric means
  • G04C17/0091—Combined electro-optical and electro-mechanical displays
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
  • G04G9/00—Visual time or date indication means
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
  • G04G9/00—Visual time or date indication means
  • G04G9/0082—Visual time or date indication means 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
  • G04G9/0088—Visual time or date indication means 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 by controlling light sources, e.g. electroluminescent diodes
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
  • G04G9/00—Visual time or date indication means
  • G04G9/02—Visual time or date indication means by selecting desired characters out of a number of characters or by selecting indicating elements the position of which represent the time, e.g. by using multiplexing techniques
  • G04G9/04—Visual time or date indication means by selecting desired characters out of a number of characters or by selecting indicating elements the position of which represent the time, e.g. by using multiplexing techniques by controlling light sources, e.g. electroluminescent diodes
  • G04G9/047—Visual time or date indication means by selecting desired characters out of a number of characters or by selecting indicating elements the position of which represent the time, e.g. by using multiplexing techniques by controlling light sources, e.g. electroluminescent diodes provided with means for displaying at will a time indication or a date or a part thereof
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
  • G04G9/00—Visual time or date indication means
  • G04G9/08—Visual time or date indication means by building-up characters using a combination of indicating elements, e.g. by using multiplexing techniques
  • G04G9/10—Visual time or date indication means by building-up characters using a combination of indicating elements, e.g. by using multiplexing techniques by controlling light sources, e.g. electroluminescent diodes
  • G04G9/107—Visual time or date indication means by building-up characters using a combination of indicating elements, e.g. by using multiplexing techniques by controlling light sources, e.g. electroluminescent diodes provided with means for displaying at will a time indication or a date or a part thereof
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
  • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
  • G09F9/00—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements
  • G09F9/30—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements
  • G09F9/33—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
  • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
  • G09F9/00—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements
  • G09F9/30—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements
  • G09F9/35—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements being liquid crystals

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a display assembly comprising a display having a light source and a semitransparent element for displaying the display only when the latter is activated.
• the dial of this watch is a plastic or metal dial.
• This dial has an opening so that the display can be seen by the user.
• the LCD display will be pasted on the underside of the dial to be attached to it.
• a display assembly 1 which consists in arranging the display 4 and its electronic circuit 3 under the dial 2, the latter having no opening.
• a semitransparent dial is required for an electronic display hidden under a dial.
• Such a semi-transparent dial allows in a first mode of use to camouflage the movement so that only the dial and its decoration are perceptible when the display is off, and in a second mode of use, to allow reading through the dial of the electronic display when this last is engaged.
• a dial that will absorb the light or diffuse it so that the user can not see through the dial.
• a piece of fine mother-of-pearl between 0.01 and 1 mm thick. This piece of fine mother-of-pearl is aesthetically interesting and translucent; it transmits light while diffusing it. This diffusion property makes it possible to hide the display and the movement; the larger the diffusion, the clearer the dial will look.
• the dial is as transparent as possible in order to transmit a higher luminance of the display to promote the contrast necessary for a good reading.
• An example of a parameter that can be modified is the thickness of the mother-of-pearl that makes it possible to adapt the diffusion property in order to make the nacre clearer. If it is too light, that is to say, too thin, the electronic display can be visible when it is off and the mother of pearl appears dark as shown in Figure 1 b. In return, if the thickness of mother of pearl is too large as shown in Figure 1a, the dial is prettier because the mother of pearl appears brighter but the image of the display will be too deformed. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to have a mother-of-pearl dial under which a display can be placed without disturbing the aesthetics and readability of the information of the display.
• the invention proposes to solve the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a display assembly in which an electronic display is hidden under a dial when said display is off but allowing the information provided by said display device. be perfectly legible and accurate when the display is on.
• the invention relates to a display assembly comprising a display module provided with a light source for displaying at least one information and a dial module making it possible to display said information of the display only when it is activated, characterized in that that the dial module comprises a dial made of a translucent or semi-transparent material under which is disposed a semi-reflective element for reflecting a portion of the light and transmit another proportion of the light by preventing the deflection of light rays by diffusion, said display module being disposed under said semi-reflective element.
• the semi-reflective element comprises a metal layer directly deposited on said dial.
• the semi-reflective element comprises a metal layer deposited on a flexible film.
• the semi-reflective element comprises a dielectric mirror in the form of a film.
• the semi-reflecting element comprises a dielectric mirror directly made on said dial, a film being glued over to stiffen said dial.
• said dielectric mirror is composed of a plurality of layers of stacked dielectric materials having refractive indices and different thicknesses.
• said dielectric mirror is composed of a plurality of layers of birefringent dielectric materials.
• the film is a flexible film.
• the film is a rigid film.
• the thickness of the dial module is between 0.3 and 0.5 mm.
• the thickness of the dial is between 0.01 and 0.4mm.
• the display assembly further comprises an opaque film located between the display module and the dial module.
• the dial is made of a material included in the list comprising: mother-of-pearl, amber, meteorites, horn, bone, leather, skin, coral, cartilage, semi-transparent minerals (silica, calcite), semi-transparent or tinted glasses, ceramics (oxides, carbides, nitrides, borides) or wood.
• the present invention also relates to a timepiece which comprises a display assembly according to one of the advantageous embodiments of the invention.
• FIGS 1a and 1b show schematically the display assembly according to the prior art.
• FIG. 2 diagrammatically represents the display assembly according to the invention.
• Fig. 2 shows a display assembly 10 according to the present invention.
• This display assembly 10 is arranged in a housing of a portable object such as a watch. It can also be imagined that this display assembly is arranged in a jewelery article such as a bracelet.
• the display assembly 10 comprises a dial module 20 and a display module 30.
• the display module 30 comprises an electronic display 31 carried by a plate.
• This electronic display 31 is a display or digital screen.
• This display 31 can use LCD technology, or LED, or OLED. LED or OLED technologies have the advantage of being their own source of light for having emitting displays.
• LCD technology a backlight is used.
• a LED electronic display 31 it comprises a substrate serving as circuit 32 on which the LEDs are soldered and a separator 33 to improve the distinction of the details of the information displayed by the LEDs.
• This electronic display 31 is placed under the dial portion 20.
• the dial module 20 then comprises a dial 21 in a translucent or semi-transparent material.
• This translucent or semi-transparent material may be mother-of-pearl, amber, meteorites, horn, bone, leather, skin (such as snakeskin or crocodile skin), coral, cartilage, semi-transparent minerals (silica, calcite), semi-transparent or tinted glasses, ceramics (oxides, carbides, nitrides, borides) or wood. Indeed, these materials are translucent or semi-transparent when they are in thin plate. In the rest of the description, mother of pearl will be used.
• the dial module 20 further comprises a semi-reflective element 22.
• This semi-reflective element 22 is used to have a white mother-of-pearl dial 21 and an electronic display 31 camouflaged when it is off and, when electronic display 31 is lit, have the information of the latter which are well visible and well detailed.
• the semi-reflecting element 22 is combined with a dial 21 having a given thickness.
• the thickness of the nacre is a parameter that adjusts the diffusion properties to make the nacre clearer. A compromise must be found because if the nacre is too light, the electronic display 31 off can be visible and the mother of pearl appears dark. On the contrary, if mother-of-pearl is too thick, it appears more clear but the details of the information of the electronic display 31 will be distorted by the broadcast.
• the mother-of-pearl dial 21 will have a thickness of between 0.01 and 0.4 mm with preferred values at 0.1 mm and 0.15 mm. This range of thickness of the mother of pearl makes it possible to have a translucent dial 21 which transmits the light while diffusing it.
• the total thickness of the dial module 20 is, meanwhile, between 0.3 and 0.5mm.
• the total diffusion of the dial module 20 is the diffusion of the dial 21 in mother-of-pearl.
• a mother-of-pearl dial 21 of slight thickness results in a weak diffusion which makes it possible to keep the fineness of the details of the electronic display 31 when the latter is lit. So we combine the advantage in terms of diffusion of a fine mother-of-pearl with the advantage in terms of whiteness of a thick mother-of-pearl.
• the semi-reflective element 22 is a semi-reflective mirror.
• a semi-reflective mirror is made of a metal layer.
• This metal layer can be made of Chrome or Silver or Aluminum or any other metal or alloy allowing the realization of such a mirror.
• This metal layer has a thickness of between 1 and 50 nm.
• This metal layer can be deposited directly on the mother-of-pearl dial 21 at its surface which is not visible to the user or else via a substrate. For this, a transparent substrate of plastic or other is covered by this layer of metal to be then glued to the dial 21 mother of pearl. The presence of this substrate makes it possible to have an additional layer which will stiffen the dial module 20 and allow it to have greater mechanical rigidity. The dial module 20 will therefore be easier to handle.
• a second embodiment is that the semi-reflective element 22 comprises a dielectric mirror.
• a dielectric mirror is composed of a plurality of layers of dielectric materials deposited successively. Manufacturing techniques for dielectric mirrors are based for example on thin film deposition methods. Common techniques are molecular beam epitaxy, ion beam deposition, vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, and sputtering. These layers of dielectric materials have refractive indices and different thicknesses. As a result, by a phenomenon of constructive interferences, the reflection rate of the light can be considerably increased.
• the simplest dielectric mirrors 22 are generally colored so that they can be used to color the mother-of-pearl and thus bring a plus in terms of aesthetics.
• the dielectric mirror of the semi-reflecting element 22 is made using birefringent dielectric layers.
• This use of birefringent dielectric layers causes the appearance of a phenomenon of polarized constructive interferences which offers the advantage of having a more neutral color making the nacre whiter.
• Such a mirror consisting of birefringent dielectric layers is called reflective polarizer and allows to transmit a polarization while it reflects another.
• These reflective polarizers or dielectric mirrors may be in the form of a film, that is to say a thin layer of material such as a sheet.
• the fact of being in the form of a film makes it possible, when these reflective polarizers or dielectric mirrors are associated with the mother-of-pearl dial, to have greater mechanical rigidity.
• the dial part 20 will therefore be easier to handle.
• This film can be flexible or rigid and be made of plastic or a material such as glass or any other usable material.
• this variant has the advantage of being commercially available in the form of a plastic film. It becomes possible to laminate the film on mother-of-pearl thus avoiding the use of complex and expensive thin film deposition processes.
• the semi-reflecting element 22 is represented in the form of a film or substrate carrying either a semi-reflecting mirror or a dielectric mirror, the version of the semi-reflecting element 22 directly made on the dial 21 is not shown.
• the display assembly further comprises an opaque film 40 placed between the electronic display 31 and the dial module 20 comprising the mother-of-pearl dial 21 and the semi-reflective element. 22.
• the dial 21 it is preferable to have a movement whose color is uniform, otherwise there will be disparities in the tones of the mother-of-pearl dial.
• the film 40 thus serves to hide screws and other reflective pieces that are in the movement. This prevents them from being visible to the user.
• This opaque film 40 has an opening at the location opposite the electronic display 31 so that the information of the electronic display 31 can be visible to the user. The black color is chosen to highlight the mother of pearl and get a very uniform background.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Crystallography & Structural Chemistry (AREA)
• Electric Clocks (AREA)
• Illuminated Signs And Luminous Advertising (AREA)
• Electroluminescent Light Sources (AREA)
• Devices For Indicating Variable Information By Combining Individual Elements (AREA)
• Optical Elements Other Than Lenses (AREA)
• Polarising Elements (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=49666959

Family Applications (2)

Family Applications Before (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (14)

Family Cites Families (13)

• 2013
  • 2013-11-15 EP EP20130193176 patent/EP2874024A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2014
  • 2014-11-13 WO PCT/EP2014/074526 patent/WO2015071376A2/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2014-11-13 US US15/035,031 patent/US9915924B2/en active Active
  • 2014-11-13 CN CN201480062354.7A patent/CN105745583B/zh active Active
  • 2014-11-13 JP JP2016530140A patent/JP6209281B2/ja active Active
  • 2014-11-13 EP EP14798847.1A patent/EP3069199B1/de active Active

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