JP3643024B2 - Radio correction clock and its reception display method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a radio-controlled timepiece that obtains accurate time information by receiving a standard radio wave indicating Japan Standard Time and automatically corrects the display time at a time corresponding to the time information, and in particular, a radio wave reception state The present invention relates to a radio-controlled timepiece that can display a message and a reception display method thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
This type of radio-controlled watch automatically corrects the time based on the time information obtained by receiving radio waves, so it can reliably receive radio waves in places with poor reception such as in buildings. If it is not displayed whether or not it has been made, it may not be possible to determine whether the currently displayed time is a time before reception or an accurate time corrected after reception. Therefore, in the conventional radio-controlled timepiece, a display indicating whether or not radio waves have been received has been provided.
[0003]
The reception display indicating whether or not the radio wave has been received is to display the reception state by turning on or blinking an LED installed on the front face of the watch. That is, two LEDs having different emission colors are provided. For example, when there is no reception, a red LED is turned on, and when reception is completed, a green LED is turned on for display. In addition, when receiving, the LED blinks so that it lights once per second, when receiving is completed, blinks so that it lights once every two seconds, and when reception is not possible, turn it off. Some of them displayed the reception status.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In general, in consideration of environmental issues, in portable electronic devices and the like, it is becoming popular to reduce power consumption as much as possible to extend battery life or use a power source other than a battery such as a generator. . The same applies to radio-controlled timepieces, and it is required to suppress power consumption as much as possible. However, when a light-emitting display that displays an LED when it is always lit as in the above-described prior art is provided, power consumption increases, and improvement has been demanded.
[0005]
Also, even if the reception status is displayed by light emission display at night, many users are sleeping, so the display is useless, and some users feel that the blinking of light is noticeable. Many users wanted a method.
[0006]
Furthermore, while some users feel that the nighttime display is useless and awkward, there are also users who want to display the reception status even at night, especially more clearly than the reception display by blinking LEDs. There is also a request to see the moment when radio waves are received, and it has been required to develop a reception display that can respond to the user's request.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and suppresses unnecessary light emission display to reduce power consumption, and is a radio wave correction timepiece that is clearer than light emission display and easy to understand display change at reception, and its reception display method. Is to provide.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The reception correction display method of the radio-controlled timepiece according to the present invention has a time-of-day function and a mute function for stopping the time of reporting while displaying the time with the second hand, the minute hand and the hour hand based on the time information obtained by receiving the radio wave. In the radio-controlled timepiece, when the reporting time is stopped by the mute function, if the radio wave is being received, it is displayed that the step of the second hand is received by stepping at intervals longer than normal, and received. If the radio wave has not been received, the second hand step is stepped at regular intervals to indicate that it has not been received.
[0009]
In addition, the reception display method of the radio-controlled timepiece according to the present invention displays the time with the second hand, the minute hand, and the hour hand based on the time information obtained by receiving the radio wave, and the time delay function and the mute function for stopping the time. When the time signal is stopped by the mute function in the radio correction clock having the above, when the radio wave is being received, it is displayed that the step of the second hand is being stepped at intervals longer than usual. If the radio wave has not been received, the second hand is stopped at a predetermined position to indicate that the radio wave has not been received.
[0010]
Furthermore, the radio-controlled timepiece according to the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives radio waves and obtains time information, a time measuring unit that measures time based on the time information obtained by the receiving unit, and a pointer that drives the second hand, the minute hand, and the hour hand. A driving means, a reception determining means for determining the reception state of the receiving means, a time signal means for performing time reporting, a mute control means for stopping time reporting by the time reporting means, and a time when the time measuring means time counts And controlling the driving of the pointer driving means on the basis of this, and when the mute control means stops the time of reporting, if it is determined that the reception determining means is receiving, the step of the second hand is stepped at intervals longer than usual. Drive control means for displaying that it is received, and when the reception determining means determines that it has not been received, the step of the second hand is stepped at a normal interval to indicate that it has not been received, Those having.
[0011]
Still further, the radio-controlled timepiece according to the present invention drives a receiving unit that receives radio waves and obtains time information, a time measuring unit that measures time based on the time information obtained by the receiving unit, a second hand, a minute hand, and an hour hand. Pointer driving means, reception determining means for determining the reception state of the receiving means, timing means for reporting time, mute control means for stopping timing by the timing means, and time measured by the timing means And driving the pointer driving means based on the timing, and when the mute control means stops the time of reporting, if the reception determining means determines that it is receiving, the step of the second hand is stepped at a longer interval than usual. Drive control means for displaying the fact that the hand has been received and displaying that when the reception determining means has not received, the second hand is stopped at a predetermined position to indicate that it has not been received. It is.
[0012]
The radio-controlled timepiece has a reception display unit that turns on and displays the reception state according to the reception state determined by the reception determination unit, and turns off when the mute control unit stops reporting.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The radio-controlled timepiece according to the present invention displays the time based on the received time information by driving the second hand, the hour hand, and the minute hand, respectively. In this radio-controlled timepiece, when the reporting time is stopped by the mute function, it is determined whether the radio wave reception status is the unreceived status or the reception complete status. A reception display method is used in which step movement is performed at intervals and step movement is performed at normal intervals when the reception is not performed. For this reason, the reception display can be performed without using the light emitting display, the power consumption is reduced, and the display by the second hand does not increase the power consumption.
[0014]
In the present invention, as described above, when the sound is muted, the reception state is discriminated and displayed, and in general, the time when the time signal is stopped is performed when the set time at night or when the clock is dark. Thus, instead of useless and noticeable light-emitting display at night, there is no extra power consumption and it is not conspicuous, and the reception state can be surely confirmed. At that time, if the reception is completed, the second hand moves the step at a longer interval than the normal step, so that the noise associated with driving the second hand at bedtime can be reduced.
[0015]
Further, in a radio-controlled timepiece having a function of stopping the second hand at night, the power consumption is further reduced by stopping the second hand when not receiving.
[0016]
Further, in the radio-controlled timepiece having a function based on the above reception display method, when the reporting time is stopped by the mute control unit as described above, it is driven based on the reception state determined by the reception determination unit that determines the reception state. The control means switches the step operation state of the second hand. At this time, in the case of the reception completion state, it is displayed that the second hand is moved by 10 steps once every 10 seconds so that it can be recognized at a glance, for example, In the case of no reception, a normal hand movement, that is, the second hand is moved one step at a time every one step or stopped at 12 o'clock position to indicate that it has not been received. And when the stop at the time of reporting by the mute control means is released, the state moves to a normal hand movement state.
[0017]
【Example】
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a radio-controlled timepiece according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the radio-controlled timepiece.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 2, the circuit configuration of the radio-controlled timepiece according to the present embodiment is centered on the CPU 2, the crystal oscillation circuit 4, the receiving circuit 10 including the antenna 6 and the reception control means 8, and the motors 12 and 14 for driving the hands. The wheel trains 16 and 18 and the second hand 20 and the hour hand / minute hand 22 driven by the motors 12 and 14, respectively, the motor drive buffer 24 for driving the motors 12 and 14, the mute setting switch 26 and the time setting switch 28 are included. ROM 32 and RAM 34 for storing information related to the external operation member 30, information necessary for reporting and silencing, etc., information relating to input time, hand movement state, etc., and time set by CPU 2 and set time (such as normal time) A coincidence detection circuit 36 for detecting a coincidence of light, a reception display unit 38 made of an LED or a liquid crystal for displaying a reception state by light emission or lighting, and a coincidence detection circuit 36 The alarm sound generating circuit 40 that is driven upon detection of an alarm, the speaker 42 that generates an alarm sound by a signal from the alarm sound generating circuit 40, and a sensor 44 that includes CdS or the like that detects the light and darkness around the clock. ing.
[0019]
The radio-controlled timepiece according to this embodiment having the above circuit configuration has a functional configuration as shown in FIG. That is, 46 is a receiving means for receiving a standard signal and includes the receiving circuit 10.
[0020]
48 is a time measuring means for measuring time, which includes the function of the CPU 2 and the function of the crystal oscillation circuit 4. In the present embodiment, it is always accurate based on the time information obtained from the standard signal received by the receiving means 46. The time is corrected to the correct time.
[0021]
Reference numeral 50 denotes a pointer driving means for driving the second hand 20 and the hour / minute hand 22, and includes functions of a motor driving buffer 24, motors 12 and 14, and wheel trains 16 and 18 driven by them.
[0022]
Reference numeral 52 denotes drive control means for controlling the driving state of the pointer, and is configured by the function of the CPU 2. The drive control means 52 includes a normal hand movement means 54 that performs drive control such as normal hand movement, for example, moving the second hand one step at a time once a second, and a second hand when the reception is completed. In accordance with the detection state of the light-and-darkness detection means 58 comprising the reception hand-operating means 56 for controlling the movement so that the hand is moved stepwise at long intervals, for example, 10 steps once every 10 seconds, and the light / darkness detecting means 58 comprising the sensor 44, A hand movement stop means 60 for stopping at the position and a hand movement switching means 62 for switching the hand movement state are provided.
[0023]
Reference numeral 64 denotes a reception discriminating unit that discriminates the completion of reception from the reception state of the receiving unit 46, and is constituted by the function of the CPU 2. In this embodiment, the reception determination unit 64 determines that “reception is completed” when the reception unit 46 receives the standard signal within 24 hours, and the reception unit 46 does not receive the standard signal within 24 hours. In this case, it is set to be determined as “not received”. This receiving means 60 gives the judgment result to the hand movement switching means 62 and determines the switching state of the hand movement.
[0024]
Reference numeral 66 denotes a mute control means, which is composed of the functions of the CPU 2 and the like. This mute control means includes a mute setting means including a time setting switch 28 when the light / dark detection means 58 detects a dark state, or during a preset mute time period (for example, PM11: 0 to AM5: 00). In accordance with the conditions such as the time set in 67, the reporting time of the reporting means described later is stopped. Further, the hand movement switching means 62 switches the hand movement state in accordance with the stoppage at the time of reporting by the mute control means 66.
[0025]
Reference numeral 68 denotes a reporting means, which has the following functional configuration. The time setting means 70 presets and stores the time (such as every hour) at which the time is set, and an input from the time setting input means 78 including the time setting switch 28 turns on / off of the time and information. It is also possible to select the time sound and set the alarm notification time, and includes the functions of the CPU 2 and the functions of the ROM 32 and RAM 34. The coincidence detecting means 72 includes the function of the CPU 2 and detects coincidence between the time measured by the time measuring means 48 and the time set in the time setting means 70. The reporting time control means 74 includes the function of the CPU 2 and the function of the reporting time sound generation circuit 40, and the sound generation means 76 includes the function of the speaker 42. When the coincidence detection means 72 detects coincidence, the alarm time control means 74 controls the sound generation means 76 to generate an alarm sound.
[0026]
Reference numeral 80 denotes reception display means including the reception display unit 38. The reception display means 80 displays the reception state when not in the mute state.
[0027]
Next, the operation of the radio-controlled timepiece according to this embodiment having the above-described functional configuration will be described based on the flowchart of the display operation shown in FIG. 3 and the explanatory diagram showing the second hand operation shown in FIG. First, in step ST1, whether the light / darkness detecting means 58 detects a dark state, or a predetermined sound deadening time zone is reached, or the sound deadening control means 66 is timed according to the conditions set by the sound deadening setting means 67. If 68 is set to the mute state, it is determined in step ST2 that the mute state has been entered, and the hand movement switching means 62 is brought into a state of switching the second hand movement. At this time, in step ST3, the display by the reception display means 80 is turned off. If the reception determination means 64 determines that the reception of the radio wave has been completed in step ST4, the hand movement switching means 62 switches to the hand movement by the reception hand movement means 56 in step ST5. As a result, the second hand is moved by 10 steps once every 10 seconds, indicating that reception has been completed. Then, when the light / dark detection means 58 detects the bright state, passes the preset silence time period, or the silence control means 66 cancels the silence state according to the condition set by the silence setting means 67, step ST2 In step ST6, it is determined that the mute state has been released. In step ST6, the hand movement switching means 62 switches to the hand movement by the normal hand movement means 54, and the normal one second step movement is restored.
[0028]
The operation of the second hand is as shown in FIG. That is, when PM 11:00 (or dark state) is reached, the mute control means 66 turns the time signal means 68 into the mute state, and at this point, the second hand moves to the 10-second step. This 10-second step is then continued until AM 5:00 (or bright state) is reached and the mute state is released. When the mute state is released, the second hand movement returns to the 1 second step.
[0029]
Further, when the reception display is set to be performed by the hand movement stop means 60 by setting by an external operation or the like, in step ST4, the hand movement switching means 62 is switched to the hand movement stop by the hand movement stop means 60, and in step ST5. The second hand is stopped at the 12 o'clock position. In this case as well, as in the case of the 10-second step, when the mute state is released, the normal 1-second step is restored.
[0030]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST4 that the reception determination means 64 has not received, the hand movement switching means 62 continues the hand movement by the normal hand movement means 54 in step ST7. And if it is an unreceived state as it is, a hand movement is performed in a normal state. FIG. 4 (b) shows the hand movement state at this time. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the hand movement stop means 60 also functions to stop the movement according to the detection of the dark state from the light / dark detection means 58, the hand movement is stopped when the dark state is reached. .
[0031]
Further, even if it is determined in step ST4 that the reception determination unit 64 has not received, in step ST8, if the reception unit 46 performs automatic reception at night and reception of radio waves is completed, In step ST9, the reception discriminating means 64 determines that the reception is completed, and in step ST5, the hand movement switching means 62 switches to 10-second step movement by the reception hand moving means 56 in response to the completion of reception in the mute state. As shown in FIG. 4 (d) or (e), even if the normal hand movement or the hand movement stop in the normal state is being performed at this time, if the operation is switched to the 10-second step movement, It is possible to confirm that automatic reception has been performed.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, when the sound is muted at night or the like, the reception state of the radio wave is displayed by the movement of the second hand, so that the light emission display can be stopped and the reception state can be displayed with the pointer, thereby reducing the power consumption. Can be suppressed.
[0033]
In addition, the second hand movement is stepped at a longer interval than the normal hand movement during reception, and is performed when the hand movement is silenced at night, so there is no extra power consumption and it is not noticeable. The reception state can be confirmed with certainty, and the noise caused by driving the second hand at bedtime can be reduced.
[0034]
Further, by using the reception display by switching the second hand movement together with the night second hand stop function, useless reception display during sleeping can be omitted, and power consumption can be further reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional explanatory diagram showing a functional configuration of a radio-controlled timepiece according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a functional explanatory diagram showing a circuit configuration of a radio wave correction timepiece according to one embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart showing a reception display operation of the radio-controlled timepiece shown in FIG.
4 is an explanatory diagram showing a hand movement state of the radio-controlled timepiece shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 CPU
4 Crystal oscillation circuit 10 Reception circuit 12, 14 Motor 16, 18 Train wheel 20 Second hand 22 Hour / minute hand 26 Mute setting switch 28 Alarm setting switch 32 ROM
34 RAM
44 sensor 46 receiving means 48 timing means 50 pointer driving means 52 drive control means 64 reception determining means 66 mute control means 67 mute setting means 68 time information means

Claims (5)

In a radio-controlled timepiece that has a time-of-day function and a mute function that stops the time of the report, while displaying the time with the second hand, minute hand and hour hand based on the time information obtained by receiving the radio wave,
When the time signal is stopped by the mute function, when the radio wave is received, it is displayed that the step of the second hand is received at a longer interval than usual, and is received.
A method of receiving and displaying a radio-controlled timepiece, wherein, when the radio wave is not received, the second hand step is moved step by step at a normal interval to indicate that the radio wave is not received. In a radio-controlled timepiece that has a time-of-day function and a mute function that stops the time of the report, while displaying the time with the second hand, minute hand and hour hand based on the time information obtained by receiving the radio wave,
When the time signal is stopped by the mute function, when the radio wave is received, it is displayed that the step of the second hand is received at a longer interval than usual, and is received.
A reception display method for a radio-controlled timepiece, wherein when the radio wave is not received, the second hand is stopped at a predetermined position to indicate that the radio wave is not received. Receiving means for receiving radio waves and obtaining time information;
Clocking means for clocking time based on the time information obtained by the receiving means;
Pointer driving means for driving the second, minute and hour hands;
Reception determination means for determining the reception state of the reception means;
A reporting means for reporting, and
Mute control means for stopping the reporting time by the reporting means;
Based on the time measured by the time measuring means, the pointer driving means is driven and controlled, and when the mute control means stops the timing, if the reception determining means determines that it is receiving, the second hand step is performed. When the reception determination means determines that the signal has been received by step movement at an interval longer than normal, and when the reception determination means determines that the signal has not been received, the step movement of the second hand is performed at a normal interval to indicate that the signal has not been received. Drive control means for causing
A radio-controlled timepiece characterized by comprising: Receiving means for receiving radio waves and obtaining time information;
Clocking means for clocking time based on the time information obtained by the receiving means;
Pointer driving means for driving the second, minute and hour hands;
Reception determination means for determining the reception state of the reception means;
A reporting means for reporting, and
Mute control means for stopping the reporting time by the reporting means;
Based on the time measured by the time measuring means, the pointer driving means is driven and controlled, and when the mute control means stops the timing, if the reception determining means determines that it is receiving, the second hand step is performed. Driving to display that the signal is received by stepping at intervals longer than normal, and when the reception determining means determines that the signal has not been received, the second hand is stopped at a predetermined position to indicate that the signal has not been received. Control means;
A radio-controlled timepiece characterized by comprising: 5. The reception display unit according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising: a reception display unit that lights up and displays the reception state according to the reception state determined by the reception determination unit, and that turns off when the mute control unit stops reporting. Radio correction clock.

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