This application claims priority from Japanese patent application JP 2017-047036 filed Mar. 13, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a sensor attachment structure for mounting a sensor on an information device and a wristwatch.
A pressure sensor for measuring the depth at the time of diving, the altitude at the time of climbing, or the like is mounted on a portable device such as a wristwatch, as described in JP-A-2005-181327. An information device described in JP-A-2005-181327 has a structure attaching the pressure sensor by providing a sensor accommodation portion including an opening portion which completely penetrates an annular portion of a case thereof in the annular portion thereof and incorporating the pressure sensor and a cap which covers the outside thereof in the sensor accommodation portion. In addition, in the information device of the related art, the cap and a fixed frame provided inside the case are coupled to each other and the pressure sensor is fixed between the cap and the fixed frame.
In the information device of the related art described above, it is necessary to provide an opening portion for accommodating and fixing the cap covering the pressure sensor in the annular portion of the case. Further, in the information device of the related art, it is necessary to provide a fixed frame for attaching the pressure sensor also on the inside of the annular portion of the case. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a space for accommodating the sensor of the case. In addition, in order to secure the sensor accommodation portion, restrictions are imposed on the design of an inside portion of the case.
An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a sensor attachment structure, an information device, and a wristwatch that can decrease a space required for mounting a sensor provided in a case.
An aspect of a sensor attachment structure according to the invention is a sensor attachment structure which attaches a pressure sensor to a case of a wristwatch, the structure includes: a housing that is attached to an outside surface of the case and has an accommodation portion which accommodates the pressure sensor; the pressure sensor that is accommodated in the accommodation portion; and a sensor cover that includes a communication portion causing outside air to communicate with the pressure sensor and closes the accommodation portion.
According to the aspect of the sensor attachment structure described above, since the housing that accommodates the sensor is attached to the outside surface of the case, a space required in the case for attaching the sensor is small.
In the aspect of the sensor attachment structure described above, it is preferable that a cover is provided between the sensor cover and the pressure sensor and the cover has a hole having an opening area smaller than an opening area of the communication portion.
According to the aspect with this configuration, since the foreign matter intrusion prevention cover has a hole having an area smaller than the opening area of the communication portion, it prevents dust from intruding into the sensor and prevents dust or the like from being directly in contact with the sensor through the communication portion of the sensor cover.
In the aspect of the sensor attachment structure described above, it is preferable that the communication portion is a groove provided on a surface of the sensor cover on a side of the accommodation portion.
According to the aspect with this configuration, since the communication portion provided in the sensor cover is formed as a groove provided on the inside surface which is the surface of the sensor cover on the case side, intrusion of dust into the sensor is unlikely to be generated.
In the aspect of the sensor attachment structure of the invention described above, it is preferable that a packing which seals a gap between the accommodation portion and the pressure sensor is provided.
According to the aspect with this configuration, since the packing seals the gap between the accommodation portion and the sensor, air and water tightness can be secured.
In the aspect of the sensor attachment structure of the invention described above, it is preferable that the packing has a annular protrusion portion corresponding to the position of the gap between the pressure sensor and the accommodation portion.
According to the aspect with this configuration, the packing in contact with the sensor from the outside is formed into a two-mountain structure having annular protrusion portions on the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side thereof. A first annular protrusion portion on the inner peripheral side of the packing is in contact with a surface (surface on opposite side of case) of the sensor in a direction of the cover portion of the sensor and on the other hand, a second annular protrusion portion on the outer peripheral side is in contact with a surface (surface on opposite side of case) of the housing in a direction of a portion of the cover. Therefore, leakage of a fluid such as air, water, or the like from between the inner peripheral surface of the accommodation portion for accommodating the sensor and the outer peripheral surface of the sensor in the housing is prevented and high air and water tightness is secured. In addition, since the first annular protrusion portion and the second annular protrusion portion exhibit independent stretchability, respectively and the first annular protrusion portion on the inner peripheral side is in contact with the outside surface of the sensor, a positioning function which regulates the position of the sensor in the inner and outer direction is exhibited.
In the aspect of the sensor attachment structure of the invention described above, it is preferable that the housing has a stepped recessed portion which is provided continuously on the accommodation portion and into which the packing is fitted.
According to the aspect with this configuration, by forming the stepped recessed portion which accommodates the packing in the housing, the sensor and the packing can be easily assembled into the housing.
An aspect of a wristwatch according to the invention is a wristwatch in which an atmospheric pressure sensor is mounted from the outside of a case, including, at 4 o'clock position: a sensor attachment structure including a housing which is attached to an outside surface of the case and has an accommodation portion that accommodates the atmospheric pressure sensor, the pressure sensor which is accommodated in the accommodation portion, and a sensor cover which includes a communication portion causing the outside air to communicate with the pressure sensor and closes the accommodation portion.
According to the aspect, it is possible to prevent the wristwatch from becoming larger. In addition, if the sensor is provided at the 4 o'clock position of the wristwatch, a sensor which does not need to be operated is provided at a position where operation at the wristwatch is not easy, and operation elements can be provided at a suitable position such as 2 o'clock, 8 o'clock, 10 o'clock position. In addition, the pressure sensor is unlikely to be hit the surface of the wrist.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.
A case 2 of the wristwatch 1 has an annular portion 2a and a transparent cover glass 2b provided on a surface portion of the case 2. A back cover (not illustrated) is attached to a back surface of the case 2. Band attachment portions 2c and 2c for connecting bands (not illustrated) are provided at both ends of the annular portion 2a. An electronic circuit (not illustrated) and a power supply (not illustrated) for displaying the time and the measurement value obtained from the detection signal by the sensor are accommodated in the case 2. Operation elements 3 for operating by a user are attached to the case 2.
In
As illustrated in
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In addition, a sensor support portion 6d for supporting the pressure sensor 5 from the case side is formed on the protrusion portion 6a of the housing 6 so as to protrude inward the circular accommodation portion 6b in the radial direction. The housing 6 has through-holes 6e provided on both sides of the accommodation portion 6b, and the through-holes 6e are for inserting the attachment screw 9. The housing 6 has a protrusion edge 6f formed so as to protrude outward from a surface 6g in contact with the sensor cover. The sensor cover 8 and the foreign matter intrusion prevention cover 10 are fitted in the region surrounded by the protrusion edge 6f and positioned.
The material of the packings 7 and 11 is, for example, a fluorine-based rubber or the like and has elasticity.
As illustrated in
The pressure sensor 5 of this embodiment is attached to the case 2 with the structure illustrated in
The attachment screw 9 is inserted through the through-hole 8b of the sensor cover 8, the through-hole 10b of the foreign matter intrusion prevention cover 10, and the through-hole 6e of the housing 6, and is threadedly engaged with the screw hole 2g provided to the attachment surface portion 2d of the case 2. Accordingly, the pressure sensor 5 is attached to the case 2 together with the housing 6, the packing 11, the foreign matter intrusion prevention cover 10 and the sensor cover 8. In addition, the packings 7 and 11 are compressed by fastening the housing 6 or the like with the attachment screw 9. The assembling order of these members can be variously changed, and the electrical connection between the electronic circuit and the pressure sensor 5 in the case 2 is performed via a connection line (not illustrated).
In a state where the pressure sensor 5 is attached to the case 2 together with the housing 6, as illustrated in
As described above, in this embodiment, since the housing 6 accommodating the pressure sensor 5 is attached to the attachment surface portion 2d provided on the outside surface of the case 2, the sensor accommodation portion which is provided to the case 2 in order to attach the sensor is small in scale.
In addition, the foreign matter intrusion prevention cover 10 interposed between the sensor cover 8 and the housing 6 is provided, and the foreign matter intrusion prevention cover 10 includes a plurality of small holes 10a each of which has an area smaller than the opening area of the communication portion 8a provided to the sensor cover 8 and thus it prevents dust from intruding into the pressure sensor 5 and prevents direct contact of dust or the like to the pressure sensor 5 through the communication portion 8a of the sensor cover 8.
In addition, in this embodiment, the pressure sensor 5 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 6b having the sensor support portion 6d supporting the inside of the pressure sensor 5, and the packing 11 provided outside the pressure sensor 5 has a two mountain structure including a first annular protrusion portion 11a which is in contact with the outside surface of the pressure sensor 5 and a second annular protrusion portion 11b which is positioned on the outer peripheral side of the first annular protrusion portion 11a and is in contact with a surface of the housing 6 around the sensor. Therefore, these annular protrusion portions 11a and 11b individually contact the outside surface portion 5b of the pressure sensor 5 and the stepped recessed portion 6c, respectively, and even if there is a positional deviation between the annular protrusion portions 11a and 11b and the outside surface portion 5b of the pressure sensor 5 and the stepped recessed portion 6c, respectively, the annular protrusion portions 11a and 11b are compressed corresponding to the positional deviation, and excellent air and water tightness is obtained.
In addition, the first annular protrusion portion 11a on the inner peripheral side is in contact with the outside surface portion 5b of the pressure sensor 5, thereby a function of positioning so as to regulate the position in the inner and outer direction of the sensor is exhibited. In addition, in this embodiment, since there is provided a structure in which the protrusion portion 5a of the pressure sensor 5 is fitted by the first annular protrusion portion 11a, the first annular protrusion portion 11a also functions to position the pressure sensor 5 in the radial direction.
In addition, in this embodiment, since the stepped recessed portion 6c for accommodating the packing 11 is provided around the accommodation portion 6b of the pressure sensor 5 provided in the housing 6, the pressure sensor 5 and the packing 11 are likely to be incorporated into the housing 6.
In this way, in the example of
In this embodiment, as illustrated in
In the embodiment described above, although the case 2 and the pressure sensor 5 are formed in a circular shape, the case 2 and the pressure sensor 5 may be formed in a polygonal shape such as a quadrangular shape or the like.
In addition, the invention is not constituted as a wristwatch and may be configured by being combined with a device dedicated to a depth meter or an altimeter, or a mechanism having other functions than the timepiece. In addition, the sensor attached to the case 2 may be other than a pressure sensor.
In addition, the invention is applicable not only to a wristwatch, but also to an information device for displaying information to a user and an information device for transmitting and receiving information to/from other devices. In particular, if the invention is applied to a wearable device, since it is preferable that the wearable device is small in view of attachment to the body, it exhibits an important effect of suppressing an increase in the size of the case when the sensor is provided.
Besides, in a case of implementing the invention, it is possible to make various changes and additions to constituent members and combinations thereof without departing from the gist of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2017-047036 | Mar 2017 | JP | national |