HK1046444B

HK1046444B - Decorative plate, method of manufacturing a decorative plate, and decorative article and timepiece using the same

Info

Publication number: HK1046444B
Application number: HK02108008.1A
Authority: HK
Inventors: 中村勇一; 笠原幸雄
Original assignee: 精工爱普生株式会社
Priority date: 2000-10-18
Filing date: 2002-11-04
Publication date: 2006-07-21

Description

Decorative plate and its manufacturing method, and ornament and clock using the same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a decorative plate having an excellent appearance by cutting decorative grooves, a method for manufacturing the same, and a decorative article and a timepiece using the same.

Background

Conventionally, a dial for a wristwatch is manufactured from a thin plate material such as a brass plate having a thickness of 0.4mm as a raw material in order to suppress the thickness thereof.

Specifically, a sheet-like plate is punched or cut to form a sheet-like plate into a shape corresponding to a design drawing of a watch body, a center hole through which a drive shaft for driving hands is inserted is formed at the center of the sheet-like plate, and then legs for fixing a movement are welded to the back surface of the sheet-like plate to perform mounting.

Then grinding and polishing the surface of the dial plate which is finished by the previous process, forming patterns with decorative effects such as radiation, trace, lattice, vortex and the like on the ground and polished surface by punching and the like, then electroplating, coating a picture with paint containing pigment according to requirements after electroplating, and performing an intermediate process of removing the coated picture.

Finally, scales such as time and the like indicating the time are printed, and a metal simplified character as a separate component is joined to complete the dial.

Here, the spiral pattern as the pattern having the decorative effect is a drawn pattern formed by spirally cutting grooves having a pitch of about 0.012 to 0.05mm and a depth of about 0.05mm by moving a blade such as a superhard tip in a radial direction of a turn table while rotating a dial fixed to the turn table provided in a lathe.

The drawn pattern had a disk appearance with uniform pitch, and since the grooves were diffractive lattices, reflected light was changed in iridescence by visual observation, which was very beautiful.

The wire drawing pattern is not only used for the dial of a watch, but also can be used for luxurious decorative plates of furniture and electrical products, or decorative plates of small accessories such as necklaces, cuffs, tie pins and the like.

However, even if the existing decorative sheet is provided with the above-described drawn pattern, the three-dimensional appearance is poor because it is flat, and it is obvious that this is a result of manufacturing the decorative sheet using a thin sheet, and a heavy and expensive feeling cannot be given.

Here, it is also conceivable to form the decorative sheet into a shape of a convex lens, a concave lens, or a fresnel lens to reflect the three-dimensional effect, but since the decorative sheet is formed into a lens shape, the thickness is increased, and it is not easy to manufacture the decorative sheet from a thin sheet material.

In particular, if the thickness of the dial is increased, it is extremely difficult to realize a decorative plate used as a dial of a wristwatch due to restrictions in design and manufacture of the wristwatch.

Further, it is conceivable to three-dimensionally form a thick plate material with an NC (numerical control) engraving machine or the like in order to express a three-dimensional appearance, but as the thickness of the decorative plate increases, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a decorative sheet which can give a three-dimensional feeling and gives a heavy feeling and a high-priced feeling even when it is produced from a thin sheet, a method for producing the same, and an ornament and a wristwatch using the decorative sheet.

The invention of claim 1 is a decorative plate having a decorative portion formed by cutting a decorative groove extending spirally from an inner side to an outer side and having a V-shaped cross section, wherein the decorative groove has an unequal edge portion in which one of a pair of oblique sides forming a V-shape has a different inclination angle from the other, and the inclination angles of the pair of oblique sides gradually change equally as they approach from an inner side portion to an outer side portion of the spiral shape.

In the invention according to claim 1, when the oblique side on the inner side of the spiral is inclined more gently than the oblique side on the outer side of the pair of oblique sides of the V-shape in which the decorative groove is formed, the decorative portion has a raised appearance because the reflected light on the decorative portion surface which is flat macroscopically approximates the reflected light on the raised surface. Thus, even if the decorative sheet is made of a thin sheet, a three-dimensional effect can be imparted by the decorative portion, resulting in a heavy feeling and a high-priced feeling.

On the other hand, if the spiral inner oblique side is inclined at a steeper angle than the outer oblique side, the decorative part has a recessed appearance due to the behavior of reflected light on the surface of the decorative part which becomes a plane, which is similar to the reflected light of the concave surface, and therefore, even if the decorative plate is made of a thin plate, a three-dimensional effect can be imparted, resulting in a heavy feeling and a high-priced feeling.

The material used for the decorative plate can be brass, metal such as silver and aluminum, synthetic resin, glass, shells such as black and white butterfly, pyroxene, and composite materials obtained by bonding these materials into a thin plate.

In the above decorative plate, it is preferable that the decorative groove is formed so that the inclination angles of the pair of oblique sides gradually change equally as it approaches from the inner portion to the outer portion of the spiral shape.

Thus, when the inclination angles of the two inclined sides of the V-shaped are different greatly, the surface is in a steep appearance, and the inclination angles are gentle as the inclination angles of the two inclined sides of the V-shaped approach each other.

For example, when a decorative groove in which the inclined side of the spiral inner side has a gentler inclination than the inclined side of the spiral outer side and the inclination of the inclined side gradually changes equally as it approaches from the inner side portion to the outer side portion of the spiral is formed in a disc-shaped raw plate, a decorative plate in which the central portion is raised and the peripheral portion is flat can be obtained as shown in fig. 1.

On the other hand, when a decorative groove in which the inclined edge of the spiral inner side has a steeper inclination angle than the inclined edge of the outer side and the inclination angle of the inclined edge gradually changes toward the same direction as the groove approaches from the spiral inner side portion to the outer side portion is provided in the disc-shaped raw plate member, as shown in fig. 2, a decorative plate in which the central portion is largely recessed and the peripheral portion is in a flat form can be obtained.

By forming such decorative grooves, even if the decorative sheet is made of a thin sheet, it is possible to obtain a thickness that is not as large as it can be thought that the actual thickness appears, and to give the decorative sheet a sufficient feeling of thickness and a feeling of high cost.

In the decorative plate, it is preferable that at least the decorative part is provided with a decorative plating film, and the plating step of forming the plating film on the decorative part is preferably performed after the cutting step of cutting the decorative groove.

Thus, even if the decorative plate is made of synthetic resin after the decorative plated film is provided on the decorative part, the decorative plate can provide a three-dimensional effect and provide a sufficient sense of thickness and a sense of high cost by providing the decorative part on the corresponding decorative plate.

When a noble metal film having excellent erosion resistance is used as the decorative plating film, even if a metal having poor erosion resistance such as brass and being easily subjected to cutting work is used as the material of the decorative plate, the decorative plate can be provided with excellent erosion resistance, and the decorative groove can be easily cut on the decorative plate while maintaining a beautiful appearance for a long period of time.

The decorative plating film may be silver, gold, rhodium, nickel, or the like.

In the decorative sheet, the decorative portion is provided with a colored coating film containing a pigment, and the coating step of forming the colored coating film containing a pigment on the decorative portion is preferably performed after the cutting step of cutting the decorative groove.

When the thickness of the colored coating film is small, the effect of the decorative groove is not impaired, and when a plurality of paints having different colors are prepared as the paint for forming the colored coating film, the decorative plate is more likely to be changed. Further, by using the colored coating film, the decorative part is protected, so that the weather resistance of the decorative part and the effect of maintaining the decorative groove for a long period of time can be improved.

The color of the portion appearing as a sink is thickened by using a clear paint in which a primer is visible as a paint for forming a colored coating film, and the three-dimensional effect created by the decorative groove can be further highlighted.

In the decorative sheet, it is preferable that a transparent coating film containing no pigment is provided at least in the decorative portion, and the clear coating step of forming a transparent coating film containing no pigment in the decorative portion is preferably performed after the cutting step of cutting the decorative groove.

The effect of the decorative groove is not impaired even if the transparent coating film is so thick that the decorative groove provided in the decorative portion is completely buried in the coating film.

Therefore, when the transparent coating film is formed, the whole surface of the decorative plate including the decorative part can be made into a planar form, so that the decorative plate can be easily printed and the recessed writing at the display time can be easily implanted.

Since the transparent coating film has strong weather resistance, even if the decorative sheet and the colored coating film are soft and brittle, the transparent coating film can protect the decorative sheet and the colored coating film, thereby improving the weather resistance of the decorative part and the effect of maintaining the decorative groove for a long period of time.

In this case, it is preferable to perform at least one of grinding and polishing on the surface of the clear coating film.

When the decorative part provided with the transparent coating film having such a thickness that the decorative groove of the decorative part is completely buried inside is subjected to such grinding and polishing, the surface of the decorative part can be completely formed into a complete plane by eliminating the unevenness, and thus the gloss and transparency of the decorative part can be enhanced, and the thickness and high-priced property of the decorative part can be highlighted.

The invention according to claim 2 is a method for producing the decorative sheet according to claim 1.

More specifically, the invention according to claim 2 provides a method of manufacturing a decorative part having a decorative groove extending spirally from an inner side to an outer side and having a V-shaped cross section by cutting a surface of a workpiece, wherein a cutting blade having a blade tip with a front surface in the shape of an isosceles triangle and a side surface in the shape of a right-angle triangle is used for cutting the decorative groove, and when the decorative groove is cut, one of the front surface and the side surface of the cutting blade is directed in a cutting direction, and the direction of cutting with respect to the cutting direction is gradually changed from one of the front surface and the side surface to the other thereof as the decorative groove is formed.

According to the invention of claim 2, the decorative groove can be cut so that one of the pair of oblique sides has a different inclination angle from the other, and the decorative groove can be cut so that the inclination angles of the oblique sides are gradually changed to be equal in the direction from one end to the other end, whereby the decorative pole of the invention of the above-mentioned invention 1 can be manufactured.

In the above decorative panel manufacturing method, it is preferable that the cutting blade is moved to cut along a straight line directed radially outward of a rotational axis that rotates the workpiece while the workpiece is rotated and brought into contact with the cutting blade.

In this way, when the cutting blade moved in the above-described manner is set to a point in the radial direction orthogonal to the movement path with one end of the movement path thereof disposed in the vicinity of the rotational axis, the side face of the cutting blade faces in the cutting direction at the one end, and the front face of the cutting blade substantially faces in the cutting direction at the other end of the movement path.

Thus, the decorative groove can be cut by linearly moving the cutting blade without rotating the cutting blade itself in order to change the direction of the decorative groove relative to the cutting direction, and the decorative groove can be easily cut.

In the above decorative plate manufacturing method, the cutting step of cutting the decorative groove is a cutting process of rotating a flat plate-like original plate member to perform a cutting process, the original plate member is provided with a decorative plate portion serving as the decorative plate and a supported portion for supporting the original plate member in the cutting process, the decorative plate portion and the supported portion are excessively cut off with a little remaining of a connecting portion connecting the decorative plate portion and the supported portion, a preparation step of forming a position determining portion for determining a position of the original plate member with respect to the cutting process is performed on the supported portion before the cutting step, and a separation step of separating the decorative plate portion from the supported portion of the original plate member is performed after the cutting step.

Thus, even if the original plate is supported by the cutting machine, since the supported portion is engaged with the cutting machine and fixed to the cutting machine, the entire surface of the decorative plate portion can be exposed without contacting the cutting machine, and therefore, the decorative groove can be cut on the entire surface of the decorative plate portion.

The decorative plate portion and the supported portion are cut off by slightly leaving the connecting portion before the cutting step. Therefore, the connecting portion is cut after the cutting step, the separating step can be easily performed with a small force, and the decorative plate portion is not damaged even if it is thin because a large force is not applied to the decorative plate portion at the time of separation.

In the above decorative plate manufacturing method, it is preferable that the surface of the connecting portion is provided at a position recessed inward from the surface of the decorative plate portion.

Thus, even if the decorative groove is cut on the entire surface of the decorative plate portion, the cutting blade does not contact the connecting portion and cut the decorative plate portion during cutting, and the cutting position is prevented from moving due to the cutting of the connecting portion, and therefore, even if the decorative plate portion is cut off from the supported portion before cutting, the decorative plate portion can be reliably cut.

In the decorative sheet manufacturing method described above, the decorative groove cut out work may be used as a female molding die, the decorative groove provided in the female molding die may be transferred to a synthetic resin molded article, and the molded article may be used as a decorative sheet.

In this way, by using a synthetic resin molding process which is superior in processing efficiency to cutting, it is possible to produce a large number of molded articles in which the decorative groove is formed in a short time, and also, since a decorative plate having substantially the same appearance as a metallic decorative plate can be obtained by plating a large number of molded articles simultaneously, mass production of decorative plates becomes possible.

In this case, the molded article with the decorative groove transferred thereto can be used as a female die for electroforming, and after a conductive film having conductivity is formed on the surface of the female die for electroforming, a plated article made of the above metal is formed on the surface of the conductive film by plating a thick metal on the surface of the conductive film, whereby the electroformed article can be used as a decorative plate of a product.

Thus, the decorative plate can be produced in large scale, and the decorative plate made by cutting is also made of metal, so that the decorative plate with the same quality as the decorative plate made by cutting noble metal can be produced in large scale.

The invention of claim 3 is a decorative article characterized by being provided with the decorative sheet of the invention of claim 1.

According to the invention of claim 3, since the behavior of the reflected light on the surface of the decorative plate is similar to the reflected light on the protruding surface, the decorative plate has a protruding appearance in the central portion thereof, and therefore, even if the decorative plate is made of a thin plate, the decorative plate can be given a three-dimensional feeling, and if the decorative plate is used as a decoration as it is by being adhered to the decoration, a decoration which can give a heavy feeling and a high-priced feeling to people can be obtained.

The invention according to claim 4 is a wristwatch equipped with the decorative plate according to claim 1 as a dial.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the reflected light on the flat dial surface is similar to the reflected light on the embossed surface, and the central part of the dial has an embossed appearance, the dial can be given a three-dimensional feeling even if the dial is made of a thin plate, and a timepiece having a thick feeling and a high-priced feeling can be obtained.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 is a video diagram for explaining the effects of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is another image diagram for explaining the effect of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a timepiece according to embodiment 1 of the invention.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a main part of embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a dial plate according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a cutting machine according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a cutting insert head for cutting machining according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing an explanation of the moving path of the cutting blade according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a plan view for explaining the manufacturing process according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view showing an explanation of the manufacturing process according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view showing a dial plate according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a plan view for explaining the moving path of the cutting blade according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a plan view showing a timepiece according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a plan view for explaining the manufacturing process of embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a plan view for explaining the manufacturing process of embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view for explaining the production process of embodiment 5 of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a plan view illustrating a modification of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1

Fig. 3 shows a timepiece 1 according to embodiment 1 of the invention. This timepiece 1 is equipped with a dial 2 as a decorative plate of the invention.

The dial 2 has a through hole 5 at the center for passing the driving shafts of the hour hand 3 and the minute 4, the hour hand 3 for indicating the time, and a plurality of time display portions 6 composed of printed numerals at the peripheral portion of the dial.

As shown in fig. 4, the dial 2 has a decorative groove 7 formed by cutting a part of the entire surface extending in a spiral shape from the inside to the outside, thereby forming a decorative part on the entire surface.

The decorative groove 7 has a V-shaped cross section as shown in fig. 5.

The unequal side portion 8 is formed by a pair of oblique sides forming a V-shape on the inner side portion of the scroll of the decorative groove 7, the inclination angle of the inner oblique side 7A being a gentle inclination and the inclination angle of the outer oblique side 7B being a steep inclination.

The decorative groove 7 here gradually tends to change the inclination angles of the oblique sides 7A, 7B equally as it approaches from the spiral inner side portion to the outer side portion. In other words, the inclination angle of the sloping side 7A gradually changes to a steep inclination and the inclination of the sloping side 7B gradually changes to a gentle inclination.

An equilateral portion 9 having substantially the same inclination angle between the inside oblique side 7A and the outside oblique side 7B is provided on the outer portion of the scroll of the decorative groove 7.

With this decorative groove 7, the dial 2 is shown in fig. 1 as having a raised shape in the central portion.

Returning to fig. 5, a decorative plating film 11 is directly formed on the surface of the dial 2, which is the decorative part, and a colored coating film 12 containing a pigment is provided on the decorative plating film 11. A transparent coating film 13 containing no pigment is further provided on the colored coating film 12. The decorative coating film 11 here is a gold plating film.

Among these films, the colored coating film 12 is formed of a clear paint in which the primer is visible, and the color of the flat portion at the peripheral portion becomes a color gradation which gradually increases toward the central portion. The colored coating film 12 enhances the stereoscopic effect of the decorative groove 7.

The transparent coating film 13 can be subjected to grinding processing on its surface and then to polishing processing thereon, thereby making the surface of the dial 2a smooth flat surface.

Fig. 6 shows a cutting machine 20 for cutting the decorative groove 7 in the original plate material to be the dial 2. The cutting machine 20 is a lathe that performs cutting while rotating a workpiece, i.e., an original plate. The cutting machine 20 is provided with a rotatable turntable 21 for mounting a base member, a cutting tool 22 having a diamond blade 22A at the tip, a device 23 for supporting the cutting tool 22, and a driving device 24 for moving the supporting device 23 in the Y direction (front-rear direction in the figure).

The turntable 21 is driven by a motor not shown in the figure, and its rotation axis is in a 2-axis direction (up and down direction in the figure), and the original plate member is fixed on a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis. Further, the turntable 21 is provided with a projection 21A for determining the position of the original plate and a hole 21B through which a post 36 described later is inserted, on a plane surface on which the original plate is fixed.

The support device 23 has a three-dimensional position adjustment function of adjusting each position of the cutting tool 22 in the X, Y, Z axis direction and a lifting function of lifting and lowering the cutting tool 22. By the position adjusting function of the supporting device 23, the cutting start position of the diamond cutter 22A with respect to the original plate member can be arbitrarily set in each direction of the X, Y, Z-axis direction. Further, the rotation driving of the turret 21 is started in a state where the cutting tool 22 is raised by the raising and lowering function of the support device 23, and the cutting tool 22 is lowered to start cutting after the turret 21 reaches a predetermined rotation speed.

The driving device 24 retracts the support device 23 in the Y-axis direction while the cutting tool 22 descends to reach the cutting start position. The speed of the backward movement of the driving device 24 may be set arbitrarily during the stop, but the supporting device 23 is moved backward at a constant speed after the start of the driving.

When the cutting is completed, the cutting tool 22 is automatically or manually raised, and in this state, the support device 23 is returned to the original position.

As shown in fig. 7, the diamond cutting blade 22A has a front face (a face orthogonal to the X axis) 22B shaped like an isosceles triangle and a side face (a face orthogonal to the Y axis) 22C shaped like a right triangle.

The moving path S of the diamond cutting blade 22A during cutting is set to a straight path along the radial direction outward of the through hole 5 at a position coaxial with the rotation axis of the turn table 21, as shown in fig. 8. The starting point, which is one end of the moving path S, is in the vicinity of the through hole 5 at a position coaxial with the rotational axis, and is set at a point P in the radial direction orthogonal to the moving path S. The other end of the movement path S, i.e., the end point, is provided at an intersection point P between the periphery of the dial 2 and the movement path S.

In this way, the diamond cutting blade 22A forms a right triangle near the start point P and cuts from the side surface, while cutting from the front surface forming an isosceles triangle near the end point Q.

Next, the steps of manufacturing the dial 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 9 and 10.

First, a substantially flat metal plate is punched out into a substantially square shape in a predetermined size to form an original plate 30 to be the dial 2. The material plate 30 may be made of, for example, a brass plate having a square planar shape with one side having a length of 40mm and a thickness of 0.4 mm.

At this time, as shown in fig. 9(a) and 10(a), a guide hole 31 for a positioning portion is opened near the periphery of the original plate 30, specifically, near the corner.

As shown in fig. 9(B) and 10(B), the original plate 30 is provided with an arc-shaped slit 32, and is divided into a decorative plate portion 33 serving as the dial 2 and a supported portion 34 for supporting the original plate 30 on the cutting machine 20.

At this time, the decorative plate portion 33 and the supported portion 34 are not completely cut off, and the connecting portion 35 connecting the decorative plate portion 33 and the supported portion 34 is slightly left. The surface of the connecting portion 35 is provided at a position recessed inward from the surface of the decorative plate portion 33.

In addition, the through hole 5 is opened in the center of the decorative plate portion 3 at the same time as the slit 32 is formed. Before and after this, a rod-like stay 36 for fixing a device having a timepiece function is fixed to the back surface 30A of the original plate 30 by welding. The guide hole 31 can be used as a positioning means of a welding device at the time of welding the pillar 36.

Then, the base plate 30 is fixed to the turntable 21 of the cutting machine 20, and the groove 7 for the device is cut over the entire surface of the decorative plate 33 as shown in fig. 9(C) and 10 (C). Here, when the original plate member 30 is fixed to the turntable 21, the projection 2/a (see fig. 6) on the turntable 21 is inserted through the guide hole 31 to determine the position of the original plate member 30 in the turntable 21.

After the cutting process is completed, the original 30 is removed from the turntable 21 of the cutting machine 20, and after the decorative plating film 11 is provided on the entire surface of the original 30 as shown in fig. 10(D), the colored coating film 12 and the clear coating film 13 are sequentially provided on the entire surface of the original 30 as shown in fig. 10 (E).

Thereafter, grinding and polishing are sequentially performed on the surface of the transparent coating film 13, and as shown in fig. 10(F), the surface of the original plate 30 is made perfectly flat.

After the polishing step is completed, the connecting portion 35 is cut, and as shown in fig. 10G of fig. 9D, the decorative plate portion 33 is separated from the supported portion 34, and the time display portion 6 is printed on the peripheral portion, thereby completing the dial 2.

According to this embodiment 1, the following effects can be obtained.

Specifically, a decorative groove 7 extending spirally from the inside to the outside and having a V-shaped cross section is cut in the dial 2, and of a pair of oblique sides of the V forming the decorative groove 7, the oblique side 7A on the inside is formed at a gentle inclination and the oblique side 7B on the outside is formed at a steep inclination, and since unequal sides 8 having different inclinations of the oblique sides 7A and 7B are formed, the behavior of reflected light in the surface of the dial 2 formed in a flat shape is approximated to reflected light on the embossed surface in a macroscopic view, and thus the central portion of the dial 2 has an embossed appearance, so that the dial 2 looks like a three-dimensional form even if the dial 2 is made of a thin plate member, and the dial 2 can be given a sense of weight and high cost.

When the timepiece 1 having such a dial 2 is displayed in a showcase, reflection of light is often seen, and therefore, the timepiece is noticeable.

Further, since the decorative groove 7 is provided so that the inclination angles gradually change equally as approaching the sloping sides 7A and 7B from the inner part to the outer part of the spiral shape, and the equal-side part 9 is provided on the outer side of the unequal-side part 8 provided on the inner side, the central part of the dial 2 is formed in a bulged shape and the peripheral part is formed in a flat shape, even if the dial 2 is made of a thin plate material, a feeling of thickness that cannot be imagined by actual thinness can be given to the timepiece 1, and a sufficient feeling of weight and a high level of cost can be given to the timepiece 1 without increasing the thickness of the timepiece 1.

Since the decorative plating film 11 is provided on the entire surface of the dial 2, the decorative plate can be given a sufficient sense of thickness and a sense of nobility. Since the decorative plating film 11 is made of a noble metal film having excellent corrosion resistance, the dial 2 can have excellent corrosion resistance even if made of brass, and can maintain its beautiful appearance for a long period of time. Meanwhile, the dial 2 is made of brass which is easy to process, and the decorative groove is easy to cut.

Since the colored coating film 12 is provided on the decorative plating film 11 and the colored coating film 12 is formed of a clear paint in which the primer is visible while the color is gradually thickened from the central portion of the raised appearance toward the peripheral portion, it appears that the recessed peripheral portion is like a shadow region, so that the stereoscopic impression created by the decorative groove 7 is more prominent. When a plurality of paints of different colors are prepared for the paint for forming the colored coating film, the colored coating film 12 can be made to have different colors, and thus the change of the dial 2 is easily increased.

Since the transparent coating film 13 is provided on the colored coating film 12 so thick as to completely bury the decorative groove 7 without impairing the effect of the groove 7, the entire surface of the dial 2 can be made substantially flat by polishing or the like, and the dial 2 can be easily printed and written at the time of display.

The surface of the transparent coating film 13 can be subjected to both grinding and polishing to make the surface of the dial 2 substantially flat without any unevenness, thereby enhancing the glossy and transparent feeling of the dial 2, and further making it possible to highlight the thickness and noble feeling of the dial 2.

When cutting the decorative groove 7, a path S of the diamond cutting blade 22A is set along a straight line extending outward in the radial direction from the rotation axis of the turntable 21. By providing the starting point, which is one end of the movement path S, at the point P on the radius orthogonal to the movement path S in the vicinity of the rotation axis, it is possible to cut the decorative groove 7 by only moving the diamond cutting blade 22A linearly without rotating the diamond cutting blade 22A itself, and thus, it is possible to easily perform the cutting operation of the decorative groove 7, and it is possible to cut the decorative groove 7 without using an NC (numerical control) cutting machine that cuts the workpiece while moving the cutting tool and the workpiece by numerical control, even in a general cutting machine 20.

When the dial 2 is manufactured, the original plate 30 having the decorative plate portion 33 which becomes the dial 2 and the supported portion 34 for supporting the cutting machine 20 is prepared, the original plate 30 in which the decorative plate portion 33 and the supported portion 34 are connected is fixed to the turntable 21 of the cutting machine 20 as it is, and the decorative groove 7 can be cut on the entire decorative plate portion 33 by fixing the original plate 30 so as to expose the entire surface of the decorative plate portion 33 in a state where the cutting machine 20 is not in contact with the surface of the decorative plate portion 33 at all.

Since the connecting portion 35 is slightly left before the cutting step to cut off the decorative plate portion 33 and the supported portion 34, the connecting portion 35 is cut off after the cutting step is completed, and the decorative plate portion 33 and the supported portion 34 can be separated with a small force, and a large force is not applied to the decorative plate portion 33 at the time of separation, so that damage to the thin decorative plate portion 33 can be prevented.

Further, since the surface of the connecting portion 35 is provided at a position recessed more inward than the surface of the decorative plate portion 33, even when the decorative groove 7 is cut over the entire surface of the decorative plate portion 33, the diamond cutting blade 22A during cutting does not contact the connecting portion 35 and cut it, and a cutting position shift caused by cutting of the connecting portion 35 can be prevented, and even if the decorative plate portion 33 and the supported portion 34 are cut by providing the slit 32 before cutting, the decorative plate portion 33 can be reliably cut.

Embodiment 2

Fig. 11 shows a dial 2A according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. In this embodiment 2, the dial 2 having a protruding central portion is used as the dial 2A having a central portion which appears to be recessed.

Specifically, the decorative groove 7 of the dial 2A has a V-shaped cross section as shown in fig. 11. In the inner portion of the scroll of the decorative groove 7, the unequal portion 8A is formed by steeply inclining the inclination angle of the inner oblique side 7A and gently inclining the inclination angle of the outer oblique side 7B out of the pair of oblique sides forming the V-shape.

The decorative groove 7 gradually changes the inclination angles of both the inclined sides 7A and 7B to be equal as approaching from the inner portion to the outer portion of the spiral shape, in other words, the inclination angle of the inclined side 7A gradually changes to a gentle slope and the inclination angle of the inclined side 7B gradually changes to a steep slope.

An equilateral portion 9 is provided on the outer portion of the scroll of the decorative groove 7, the inclination angles of the inner oblique side 7A and the outer oblique side 7B being substantially equal to each other.

With this decorative groove 7, the dial 2A is recessed in the central portion as shown in fig. 2.

When cutting the decorative groove 7 of the dial 2A, the moving path T of the diamond cutter 22A during cutting is set to a straight line extending from the radial direction of the through hole 5 at a position coaxial with the rotation axis of the turn table 21, as in the foregoing embodiment 1. However, as shown in fig. 12, the moving path T is provided at a position opposite to the moving path S in the foregoing embodiment 1 with a diameter parallel to the Y axis interposed therebetween.

The start point of the movement path T is in the vicinity of the through hole 5 at a position coaxial with the rotation axis and is set at a point U on a radius orthogonal to the movement path T, and the end point of the movement path T is set at an intersection point V with the periphery of the dial 2A.

On the surface of the dial 2A, as in the case of embodiment 1, at least one of the decorative plating film 11, the colored coating film 12 and the clear coating film 13 (not shown) is provided as necessary.

The operation and effect similar to those of embodiment 1 can be obtained also in embodiment 2.

Embodiment 3

Fig. 13 shows a timepiece 1A according to embodiment 3 of the invention. In embodiment 3, the dial 2 is formed by cutting a decorative groove 7 over the entire surface of the dial 2 in embodiment 1 to use the entire surface as a decorative part, and the dial 2B is formed by partially cutting a decorative groove to provide a plurality of decorative parts 41 to 43.

Specifically, the timepiece 1A is a multi-axis timepiece including an hour hand 3 and a minute hand 4 driven by a center drive shaft, and small hands 44 to 46 that are not coaxial with the drive shaft of the hour hand 3 and the minute hand 4, in other words, a stopwatch, a timer, a perpetual calendar, and the like.

The dial 2B of the timepiece 1A is provided with circular decorative parts 41-43 centering on the driving shafts of the small hands 44-46. The decorative grooves 7 are cut in each of the decorative portions 41 to 43.

Next, a manufacturing process of the dial 2B of the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 14.

The original plate member 30 is first formed by punching out an approximately square plate of a predetermined size from an approximately flat metal plate. At this time, as shown in fig. 14(a), a guide hole 31 for positioning part is dug out in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the original plate 30, specifically, in the vicinity of the corner.

As shown in fig. 14(B), the original plate 30 is provided with an arc-shaped slit 32 and divided into a decorative plate portion 32 to be the dial 2 and a supported portion 34 for supporting the original plate 30 on the cutting machine 20.

At this time, the decorative plate portion 33 and the supported portion 34 are not completely separated from each other, and only the connecting portion 35 connecting them is left between them, and the surface of the connecting portion 35 is recessed inward from the surface of the decorative plate portion 33.

A through hole 5 is formed in the center of the decorative plate 33 along with the formation of the slit 32, and through holes 51 to 53 through which the respective drive shafts of the small needles 44 to 46 pass are formed.

Before and after this, a rod-like stay 36 for fixing a device having a timepiece function is fixed to the back surface 30A of the original plate 30 by welding.

Then, the cutting is performed by the cutting machine 20, and at this time, the original plate 30 is fixed to the turntable 21 by making the rotation axis of the turntable 21 coaxial with the through hole 51 of the original plate 30, and the decorative groove 7 is cut in the portion to be the decorative portion 41 in the same manner as in the foregoing embodiments 1 and 2.

After the cutting operation of the decorative part 41 is completed, the position of the thick plate member 30 with respect to the turntable 21 is changed, and the decorative grooves 7 are cut in sequence in the portions to be the decorative parts 42 and 43, and as shown in fig. 14(C), the decorative parts 41 to 43 are completed.

The whole surface of the original plate 30 is sequentially provided with the decorative plating film 11, the colored coating film 12 and the transparent coating film 13, and then the surface of the transparent coating film 13 is sequentially ground and polished to make the surface of the original plate 30a substantially complete plane. After the polishing step, the connecting portion 35 is cut, and as shown in fig. 14(D), the supported portion 34 is separated from the decorative plate portion 33, and the dial 2B is completed by printing scales or the like.

The same operation and effect as those of the above-described embodiments 1 and 2 can be obtained also in embodiment 3.

Embodiment 4

Embodiment 4 of the present invention is a dial obtained by replacing the dial 2 obtained by cutting brass in embodiment 1 with a synthetic resin and molding the synthetic resin. The dial of this 4 th embodiment is the same as the dial 2 of the 1 st embodiment in terms of its structure (see fig. 5), and the description of its structure is omitted, and its manufacturing method will be described in detail below.

In embodiment 4, the work decorative plate portion 33 of embodiment 1, from which the decorative groove 7 is cut, is used as a forming die.

Specifically, in embodiment 4, in order to secure the strength of the molding die, for example, the decorative plate portion 33 (made of brass) having a thickness of 5mm and a diameter of 60mm may be used, and as the workpiece to be molded, for example, a plate member 60 made of polycarbonate having a thickness of 0.4mm and a diameter of 60mm may be used.

As a molding apparatus for molding synthetic resin, for example, a molding apparatus 63 shown in fig. 15(a) is used, which has a hot plate 61 serving also as a holding jig for holding a female mold for molding and a hot plate 62 disposed opposite to the hot plate and receiving a plate 60, and the hot plates 61 and 62 are movable toward and away from each other, and the hot plate 61 is movable relative to the hot plate 62.

The decorative groove 7 has a pair of oblique sides whose respective inclination angles are not substantially equal, and the decorative groove 7 in fig. 15 is represented for convenience of drawing that the inclination angles of the pair of oblique sides forming a V-shape are equal.

In manufacturing the dial of embodiment 4, first, as shown in fig. 15(a), the decorative plate portion 33 as a molding cavity is provided on the hot plate 61, and the plate 60 is provided on the hot plate 62.

Then, the heating plates 61 and 62 were heated to 150 ℃ and, in a state of being maintained at this temperature, as shown in FIG. 15(B), the heating plate 61 was moved forward toward the heating plate 62 to press the decorative plate portion 33 against the plate member 60, and the plate member 60 was pressurized at a pressure of about 500kPa for 5 minutes to transfer the decorative grooves 7 of the decorative plate portion 33 to the plate member 60.

Subsequently, the plate member 60 is sufficiently cooled, and as shown in fig. 15(C), the plate member 60 is removed from the heating plate 62, and the decorative plating film 11, the colored coating film 12, and the clear coating film 13 are formed in this order with respect to the plate member 60 replicated with the decorative grooves 7, thereby completing the decorative panel.

In embodiment 4, not only the decorative plate portion 33 of embodiment 1 but also the decorative plate portion formed with the decorative grooves 7 in embodiment 2 may be used as the molding die.

Further, when a luminescent watch in which the dial is disposed on an Electroluminescence (EL) element is manufactured by omitting the decorative plating film 11, the coloring coating film 12, and the transparent coating film 13 from the board 60 and using the transparent board 60 as it is, the luminous contrast changes from the inside to the outside, and a three-dimensional decorative watch can be manufactured.

In addition to the same operation and effect as in the above-described embodiments 1 and 2, in the embodiment 4, since the sheet member 60 for forming the decorative groove 3 can be mass-produced in a short time by molding the synthetic resin with a processing efficiency superior to that of cutting, a decorative sheet having substantially the same appearance as a metallic decorative sheet can be obtained by plating a plurality of sheet members 60 thus produced at the same time, and a decorative sheet can be mass-produced.

Embodiment 5

Embodiment 5 of the present invention is a noble metal dial manufactured by replacing dial 2 obtained by cutting brass in embodiment 1 with a precious metal dial manufactured by electroforming. Since the dial of embodiment 5 has the same structure as the dial 2 of embodiment 1 (see fig. 5), the description of the structure thereof will be omitted and the manufacturing method thereof will be described in detail.

In embodiment 5, as shown in fig. 16(a), the work plate 60 to which the decorative groove 7 is transferred in embodiment 4 is used as a female die for electroforming.

The decorative groove 7 has a pair of oblique sides whose respective inclination angles are not substantially equal, but the decorative groove 7 in fig. 16 is made such that the respective inclination angles of the pair of oblique sides forming a V-shape are rendered equal for the convenience of drawing.

In order to manufacture the dial plate of embodiment 5, first, as shown in fig. 16(B), a conductive film 64 having conductivity may be formed on the surface of the plate 60 by vacuum deposition.

Then, on the surface of the conductive film 64 formed on the plate member 60, as shown in fig. 16(C), an electroformed member 65 composed of the above-mentioned noble metal is formed on the surface of the conductive film 64 by electroplating a thick layer of the noble metal, and when the thickness of the electroformed member 65 becomes a predetermined size or more, the electroformed member 65 is removed from the electroforming female plate member 60, as shown in fig. 16(D), the back surface 65A of the electroformed member 65 is polished, whereby the electroformed member 65 serving as a decorative plate is completed.

In addition, in embodiment 5, not only the electroformed product of the noble metal but also an electroformed product made of a metal other than the noble metal can be manufactured. When an electroformed product is produced from a metal other than a noble metal, it is preferable to form the decorative plating film 11, the colored coating film 12, and the clear coating film 13 in the embodiment 1 on the electroformed product having the decorative grooves 7 formed therein in this order.

In addition to the same operation and effect as in embodiments 1, 2 and 4, in embodiment 5, the decorative plate is produced by electroforming which is superior in production efficiency to cutting, so that the decorative plate can be mass-produced, and the decorative plate produced is made of metal as in the case of the cutting, so that the decorative plate having the same quality as that of the decorative plate obtained by cutting a noble metal can be mass-produced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and includes modifications and variations within a range in which the object of the present invention can be achieved.

For example, the decorative sheet obtained by cutting is not limited to the form in which all of the decorative plating film, the colored coating film, and the clear coating film are provided, and any of the decorative plating film, the colored coating film, and the clear coating film may be provided.

The material of the cut decorative plate raw plate is not limited to brass, but metals such as copper, bronze, german silver and aluminum, synthetic resins, glass, shells such as black and white butterflies, pyroxene, and thin plate-like composite materials obtained by bonding them can be used.

The material for the decorative plating film is also limited to gold, and silver, rhodium, and nickel may be used.

The molded article to be formed into a decorative sheet by molding is not limited to polycarbonate, and may be formed of other synthetic resins such as polyacetal, propylene, polypropylene, and ABS.

The decorative sheet molded by molding is not limited to the form in which the decorative plating film, the colored coating film and the clear coating film are provided, and the decorative plating film, the colored coating film and the clear coating film may be omitted completely. For example, a decorative plate made of a transparent synthetic resin by molding and completely omitting a decorative plating film, a coloring coating film, and a transparent coating film can be used as a dial provided with a solar cell on the back side.

Further, the decorative portion is not limited to the one provided on the dial of the timepiece, and may be a decorative portion provided on the bottom surface (surface to be contacted by the installer) of the case or the back cover, and for example, as shown in fig. 17, a pressing plate 71, 72, 73 pressing the quartz resonator, the gear train, and the electronic circuit may be used as the decorative portion on the surface of the movement 70 of the timepiece on the back cover side. In this case, it is preferable that the decorative groove is cut by integrating the pressing plates 71, 72, and 73 with a point which becomes the center of the movement 70 as a rotation center. Further, the surface of the button cell is preferably used as a decorative part.

Further, the decorative plate can be used not only for the dial of a timepiece but also for the dial of a measuring instrument, a knob for furniture and electric appliances, and accessories such as a necklace, a cuff, and a tie pin.

Claims

1. A decorative plate having a decorative portion formed by cutting a decorative groove extending spirally from the inside to the outside and having a V-shaped cross section, wherein the decorative groove has a non-uniform side portion in which one of a pair of oblique sides forming a V-shape has a different inclination angle from the other, and the inclination angles of the pair of oblique sides gradually change equally as the decorative groove approaches from the inside to the outside of the spiral portion.

2. The decorative panel of claim 1, wherein a decorative plating film is provided at least in the decorative portion.

3. The decorative panel according to claim 1, wherein a colored coating film containing a pigment is provided at least in the decorative portion.

4. The decorative panel according to claim 1, wherein a transparent coating film containing no pigment is provided at least in the decorative portion.

5. The decorative panel according to claim 4, wherein at least one of a grinding process and a polishing process is performed on the surface of the clear coating film.

6. A method for manufacturing a decorative plate having a decorative portion formed by cutting the surface of a work to form a decorative groove extending in a spiral shape from the inside to the outside and having a V-shaped cross section, characterized in that a cutting blade having a blade tip with a front face shaped like an isosceles triangle and a side face shaped like a right triangle is used for cutting the decorative groove; when the decorative groove is formed, the direction of the cutting blade with respect to the cutting direction is gradually changed from one of the front surface and the side surface to the other thereof as the decorative groove is formed.

7. The method for manufacturing a decorative panel according to claim 6, wherein the workpiece is contacted with the cutting blade while rotating, and the cutting blade is moved in a straight line radially outward of the rotation axis for rotating the workpiece to perform cutting.

8. The method of manufacturing a decorative plate according to claim 6, wherein a plating step of forming a decorative plating film on at least the decorative part is further performed after the cutting step of cutting the decorative groove.

9. The method of manufacturing a decorative plate according to claim 6, wherein a coating step of forming a pigment-containing colored coating film on at least the decorative part is further performed after the cutting step of cutting the decorative groove.

10. The method of manufacturing a decorative plate according to claim 6, wherein a clear coating film step of forming a clear coating film containing no pigment on at least the decorative part is further performed after the cutting step of cutting the decorative groove.

11. The method for producing a decorative sheet according to claim 10, wherein a processing step of at least one of grinding and polishing the surface of the transparent coating film is provided.

12. The method of manufacturing a decorative plate according to claim 6, wherein a cutting machine for cutting by rotating a flat plate-like raw plate member is used in the cutting step for cutting the decorative groove; a decorative plate portion to be the decorative plate and a supported portion to support the original plate member on the cutting machine are set on the original plate member; a preparation step of cutting the decorative plate portion and the supported portion from the original plate member with a small amount of remaining connecting portions between the decorative plate portion and the supported portion, and forming a positioning portion for positioning the original plate member with respect to the cutting machine on the supported portion before the cutting step; and a separation step of separating the decorative plate portion from the supported portion of the original plate member after the cutting step.

13. The method of manufacturing a decorative panel according to claim 12, wherein a surface of the connecting portion is provided at a position recessed inward from a surface of the decorative panel portion.

14. A method for manufacturing a decorative plate according to claim 6, wherein the workpiece on which the decorative groove has been cut is used as a female molding die, and the decorative groove provided in the female molding die is transferred to a synthetic resin molded article.

15. The method for producing a decorative plate according to claim 14, wherein the molded article having the decorative groove transferred thereto is used as a female die for electroforming, a conductive film having conductivity is formed on a surface of the female die for electroforming, and then a metal is plated on a surface of the conductive film in a thick layer to form an electroformed product formed of the metal on the surface of the conductive film.

16. A decorative article characterized by comprising the decorative sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

17. A timepiece having the decorative plate according to any one of claims 1 to 5 as a dial.