JPH0252231B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention has an alarm function, that is, a function to issue an alarm by a sounding means when the time coincides with a time arbitrarily set by an operating member, and an electro-optical display such as a liquid crystal or a light emitting diode. It concerns an electronic watch with means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to enable a plurality of time adjustment switches to stop the sound generation means, thereby making it possible to quickly stop the sound generation.

Traditionally, alarm clocks have been widely used, especially table clocks, and are used by a large number of people due to their convenience, and have become indispensable in daily life, such as when waking up early in the morning or when going on a trip. . For that reason,
Small table clocks were developed for easy portability, and even mechanical wristwatches were developed. Recently, electronic clocks with electro-optical display means such as liquid crystals and light-emitting diodes have been developed for both table clocks and wristwatches, and clocks as a whole are moving toward electronicization, and the appearance of electronic clocks with alarm functions is not far off. . By adding an alarm function to an electronic clock, there are great advantages compared to conventional alarms.

The time standard of electronic watches uses a relatively high-vibration, highly stable crystal oscillator, which has high time accuracy, and when you set an arbitrary time, the alarm time is detected.Unlike mechanical contacts, the time is detected using an electronic circuit. Since the set time and time are matched, the alarm is issued with extremely high accuracy, with an error of less than 1 second, completely eradicating the image that traditional alarm clocks have of being inaccurate.

Furthermore, since the power source for the display and electronic circuit is a battery, it is possible to share the power source and use relatively loud sounding means such as a buzzer, thereby enhancing the alarm function.

However, in electronic watches, the time adjustment operation is more complicated than in conventional mechanical watches.

Multiple switches are required just for correction. In addition, a switch for changing the display and the like is required, and this poses a problem in that it is not clear which switch is the one for stopping the alarm sound.

In particular, I was often confused when I wanted to immediately stop the alarm sound, such as during a meeting or concert.

An electronic alarm clock according to the present invention eliminates the above-mentioned problems and makes it practical as a wristwatch, and will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an electronic alarm clock according to the present invention, which also has a time signal function.
1 and 2 are buttons, 3 is reuse, 4 is buzzer, 5
is a display panel, and the display panel 5 has morning and afternoon indications 6, o'clock 7, and dot 1 for the 12-hour system.
5, minutes 8, seconds 9, date 10, alarm symbol 11, and time signal symbol 12 are displayed. The area around the date 10 is colored so that it can be distinguished from other displays, making it easier to see.It is advantageous to provide identification means such as coloring not only for date displays but also for displays that you want to distinguish from others. . The identification means is not limited to a display panel, and the same effect can be obtained by using a reflector, a parting plate, or the like. A specific example of the operation of this watch will be explained below.

The display state shown in FIG. 1 will hereinafter be referred to as normal time display. When button 2 is operated, the display shown in Figure 2 is displayed, and the hour 13 is displayed in a 24-hour format, so that there is no mistake in setting the time, for example, 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and the dot 15 is displayed. It is always displayed without blinking, and the minute 14, alarm symbol 11, and hourly signal symbol 12 are displayed. The display state shown in FIG. 2 will hereinafter be referred to as a set time display. Therefore, the normal time display and the set time display can also be distinguished by the presence or absence of blinking dots. In the normal time display, button 1 is a lamp switch, and when operated, the lamp lights up and the time can be read even at night, and button 2
is a display changeover switch which, when operated, alternately displays the normal time display and the set time display. When correcting the time, the functions of the buttons 1 and 2 are switched by pulling out the watch 3 to the 3' position, and the second 9 starts flashing at a constant cycle to enter the correction state. Button 2 serves as a selection switch, selects a digit to be corrected, and displays that digit blinking. In other words, every time you press button 2, the correction digit changes from second → date → minute → hour →
Move in a loop of seconds.

This button 1 acts as a correction switch, and each time it is operated, the correction digits excluding the seconds are added by 1, allowing you to correct the desired time.The seconds are configured to start immediately from 0 seconds, making it easy to set the seconds. has been done. When the time adjustment is complete, press Reuse 3 to 3'
However, even if you forget and it remains in the corrected state, if you leave it for a certain period of time after operating buttons 1 or 2 or after operating Reuse 3, the functions of buttons 1 and 2 will change to the electronic state. It is switched by a circuit and becomes the same state as when the reuse 3 is pushed from 3' to 3, and is configured to prevent erroneous correction due to careless pressure or the like. To correct the set time, operate button 2 to call up the set time display and pull out reuse 3 to position 3', then set by operating buttons 1 and 2 in the same way as when displaying the normal time. You can adjust the time.

At this time, if the alarm symbol 11 has been set since the normal time display, it will be displayed as is, and if it has not been set, it will be automatically set and the alarm symbol will be displayed. This prevents people from oversleeping because they forget to set the alarm and the alarm does not ring in the morning.

In addition, a method of setting the alarm function by simply calling up the set time display, that is, by operating Button 2 and displaying the set time, is a very effective and possible method for people who always use an alarm for a certain amount of time, for example, every day. It is.

In order to make it easier to adjust the set time, we have adopted an independent adjustment method that divides the minute digit into 1 minute and 10 minute digits, which previously required nearly 60 operations. Corrections can be made in up to 16 operations, approximately 1/4 of the time, making it very convenient and reliable.
To set and reset the alarm and time signal functions, press the reset button 3 to wake up.Time signal set→Time signal set→Alarm set→Neutral→Wake up.The alarm set and reset are alternated in the loop of time signal set. At times, an alarm symbol 11 is displayed, and when the time signal is set, a time signal symbol 12 is displayed.Set and reset can be identified by marks and functions can be selected arbitrarily.

The configuration allows additional functions to be selected in either the normal time display or the set time display, providing convenience to consumers.

When the alarm is set in this manner and the set time and time match, the buzzer 4 issues an alarm, and the display of the alarm symbol 11 changes in accordance with the intermittent tone. At this time, the alarm may be not only an intermittent sound, but also a different intonation, pitch, quality, and tone color.

Figure 3 shows an example of this, in which a small bird shakes its head and strikes a bell in response to the intermittent beeps and chimes of a buzzer, creating an interesting and unique feature not found in conventional alarm clocks. This makes the entire watch unique.

The same thing can be done with time signals, as shown in the example in Figure 4, where a small bird in the house flashes in time with the intermittent sound, providing a unique product that adds even more fun and interest. are doing. The buzzer 4 is commonly used for all alarm means such as alarms and time signals. The alarm buzzer sound is configured to stop after a certain period of time based on an internal clock count, but if you want to stop it immediately, press Reuse to stop the buzzer. At this time, Reuse 3 is controlled by the electric signal that sounds the buzzer and functions as a buzzer stop switch, and the displayed additional functions remain the same, and the buzzer can be stopped with a simple operation without adding a button to stop the buzzer. I can do it. Also, all the operating members, namely buttons 1 and 2,
It is also possible to configure all of the reuses 3 to function as a buzzer stop switch.

In this way, by using Reuse 3 and Buttons 1 and 2 to stop the buzzer, there is no need to increase the number of buttons for stopping the buzzer, and the buzzer can be stopped by pressing any button. No more confusion when you want to stop.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the attachment part of the buzzer 4, in which a protective lid 18 having an adjustment plate 16 and a guide frame 17 is screwed to a bottom lid 20 via a waterproof gasket 19, and the buzzer 4 is is screwed to the protective lid 18 via a waterproof gasket 22.

At this time, one or both of the buzzer 4 and the protective lid 18 is provided with a recessed portion for guiding the waterproof gasket 22 and improving waterproofness. Buzzer 4
One input terminal connects spring 2 through the buzzer case.
3, and one terminal is connected to the insulating bush 2.
1, it is led out by a spring 24 via a lead pin 25 which is insulated from the buzzer case.

At this time, the spring 23 receives not only spring pressure from the side surface of the buzzer case, but also vertical pressure from the protrusion of the buzzer case, thereby improving reliability as a contact point.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 5, and shows the protective cover 1.
8 is provided with a notch for screwing into the back cover 20, and the exposed surface of the adjustment plate 16 is also provided with small irregularities for easy operation. To adjust the volume, just rotate the adjustment plate 16, and the volume is adjusted by the size of the area of the sound emission hole made up of the adjustment plate 16 and the protective cover 18. Even when it is at its minimum, the center sound emission hole Because of this, you can easily adjust the volume to high or low. The state is shown in FIG. The protective lid 18 is constructed integrally with the adjustment plate 16 and the guide frame 17, and its construction will be described in detail with a parts diagram shown in FIG. 8. Insert the guide frame 17 with the protrusion using the recess of the protective cover 18 as a guide, and then insert the adjustment plate 16
from the side of the protective lid 18, align the sound emitting hole of the adjustment plate 16 and the protective lid 18, and then insert the guide frame 1.
The concave portion 7 and the arm portion of the adjustment plate 16 are aligned, and both end portions of the adjustment plate 16 are bent into a predetermined shape to form an integral structure. When rotating, the guide frame 1 rotates using the protrusion of the guide frame 17 and the outer periphery of the protective cover 18 as a guide.
7 closes the hole on the side of the protective lid 18 to prevent sound from leaking. Therefore, relatively hard rubber or the like is suitable for the guide frame 17.

Therefore, the present invention includes a sounding means that generates an alarm sound when the normal time and the set time match;
An electronic timepiece having a plurality of operation members for adjusting the normal time or a set time at which the alarm sound is generated, wherein the plurality of operation members have a function of stopping the alarm sound generated at the alarm setting time. By using a clock as a configuration, the following effects can be obtained.

(a) In electronic watches, one or more operating members are used to input or adjust the normal time or alarm time, but after the time is set, these operating members are released from their original functions and are no longer used. There is a problem unique to watches that is not. However, if a function to stop the alarm from sounding is added to these devices, it would be very effective to provide the function to an operating member that is rarely used after setting the time.

(b) Furthermore, after setting the normal time or alarm time, these operating members have no specific function unless special operations are performed, and are in a completely open state, so the basic functions of the watch cannot be performed. It can be used exclusively to stop the alarm from ringing without causing any adverse effects.

(c) Since there is no need to provide a special button or switch to stop the alarm, the alarm clock can be constructed without complicating the mechanism and operation method, and is easy to handle.

(d) If the alarm is configured to stop sounding using only a specific sound stop button, the mounting position and shape will differ depending on the model, and it may be confusing when you want to stop the alarm urgently in the event of an emergency. Although this is often the case, if all of the plurality of time adjustment operation members provided on a watch are equipped with an alarm stopping function as in the present invention, the alarm can be reliably stopped immediately even in the event of an emergency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an electronic alarm clock according to the present invention, in which the display is a normal time display. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the state of the set time display when the display is switched by the operation unit in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram of an embodiment showing the relationship between the alarm sound and the display when the alarm function is activated. FIG. 4 is a diagram of an embodiment showing the relationship between the alarm sound and the display when the time signal function is being performed. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of a buzzer mounting portion having a volume adjustment means. Figure 6 shows
FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a plan view when the adjustment plate is operated. FIG. 8 is a parts diagram of the protective cover, adjustment plate, and guide frame. 1...Button, 2...Button, 3...Reuse, 4...
Buzzer, 5...Display panel, 6...AM/PM display,
7...Hour, 8...Minute, 9...Second, 10...Date, 11...Alarm symbol, 12...Time signal symbol, 13...Hour, 14...
minute, 15...dot, 16...adjustment plate, 17...guide frame, 18...protective cover, 19...waterproof gasket, 20
...Back button, 21...Insulating bushing, 22...Waterproof packing, 23...Spring, 24...Spring, 25...Lead pin.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electronic timepiece having a sound generating means for generating an alarm sound when a normal time and a set time match, and a plurality of operating members for correcting the normal time or the set time for generating the alarm sound, wherein the plurality of operating members are An electronic timepiece characterized by having a function of stopping the alarm sound generated at the alarm setting time.