JP2007017161A - Electronic timepiece, electronic timepiece control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display the hour with high expressive power when battery residual capacity is sufficient and to maintain clock motion and hour display motion as much as possible even when a battery residual capacity is small. <P>SOLUTION: A high-performance hour data generation part 52 generates image data of high expressive power for hour display by consuming electric power of the first kind from a battery 57 to cause a display part 51 to display an image corresponding thereto. A low-consumption electric power hour data generation part 53 generates image data of low expressive power for hour display by consuming electric power of the second kind from the battery 57 to cause the display part 51 to display thereon an image corresponding thereto. A power supply control part 54 executes power supply control for supplying power of the first kind from the battery 57 if a battery voltage detection part 55 determines that battery residual capacity is more than a definite quantity. The execution of the supply control is inhibited, if the residual charge is determined to be equal to or less than the prescribed definite quantity. This method can be applied to a wrist-watch type electronic timepiece. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece, an electronic timepiece control method, and a program. In particular, when the battery level is low, the time is displayed with high expressive power, and even when the battery level is low, The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece that can maintain a time display operation for as long as possible, a control method for the electronic timepiece, and a program.

  Conventionally, there are many electronic timepieces that can be digitally displayed. There are various forms. For example, Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose various types of electronic timepieces.

  As a time display method of such a conventional electronic timepiece, there are the following first display method and second display method.

  The first display method uses a liquid crystal as a display device and displays a time by displaying a part of a character element formed on the liquid crystal, or displays a point on a point formed in a grid. It is a method of displaying time by doing.

On the other hand, the second display method uses a color liquid crystal having expressive power as a display device, and is used in combination with a computer having a high numerical calculation capability, so that it has a higher expressive power than the first display method. It is a method of displaying the time with.
JP 2005-83979 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-265236 JP-A-2005-107615

  However, the first display method has a merit that power consumption for display is very small, but has a demerit that it is very difficult to express the time with high expressive power more than a number.

  On the other hand, as described above, the second display method has an advantage that the time can be displayed with higher expressive power than the first display method, but the power consumption is increased accordingly. There is a demerit that

  Therefore, the conventional electronic timepiece to which the second display method is applied has a problem that the usage time is shortened. In particular, this problem becomes significant when the electronic timepiece is realized in the form of a wristwatch. This is because the power supply capacity of the battery that can be mounted on the wristwatch is limited.

  That is, if the conventional wristwatch to which the second display method is applied continues to display the time with high expressive power even if the remaining battery level is low, the supply voltage from the battery will drop and the clock operation cannot be continued. As a result, the battery has to be recharged. However, after the recharge, the time needs to be adjusted again.

  Even if the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are applied as they are, it is difficult to solve this problem. This is because Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose the following methods for reducing power consumption (hereinafter referred to as “power reduction methods”), but the battery is displayed when displaying time with high expressive power. This is because there is no suggestion of how to reduce the power consumption when the remaining amount is reduced and to continue the time measuring operation and the time display operation as long as possible.

  The power reduction method disclosed in Patent Document 1 is simply a method of stopping the second hand of an analog timepiece. The power reduction method disclosed in Patent Document 2 is low on the condition that the time is not measured when the main power supply of the electronic device is off (when the clock means is not set for time counting). This is a method of operating in the power consumption mode. The power reduction method disclosed in Patent Document 3 is a method that normally uses a low-load processing CPU to perform time display with low expressive power (time display by the first display method), and if necessary, time This is a technique using a high-load processing CPU that does not perform display.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and when the remaining battery level is present, the time is displayed with high expressive power, and even when the remaining battery level is low, the clock operation and the time display operation are performed. Can be maintained for as long as possible.

  An electronic timepiece according to one aspect of the present invention is an electronic timepiece that includes display means for displaying an image for time display, and that operates with electric power supplied from a battery, and is the first of all electric power supplied from the battery. The first image generating means for controlling the display means to generate the first image data for time display and display the image corresponding to the first image data on the display means. Second power lower than the first power of the total power to be consumed is generated to generate second image data for time display, and an image corresponding to the second image data is displayed on the display means And a second image generation means for controlling the power supply, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied, power control is performed to supply the first power from the battery to the first image generation means, and the predetermined condition is Power supply control that prohibits execution of power supply control if not satisfied And the stage is provided.

  The predetermined condition may be that the remaining battery charge of the battery exceeds a predetermined amount.

  The electronic timepiece is further provided with time information generating means for generating time information indicating the current time. Each of the first image generating means and the second image generating means is provided by the time information generating means. The first image data or the second image data for displaying the time indicated by the generated time information can be generated.

  The electronic timepiece is further provided with a remaining battery level detecting means for detecting the remaining battery level of the battery, and the power source control means performs power control based on the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detecting means. The time information generation means provides time information to the first image generation means when the battery remaining amount detected by the battery remaining amount detection means exceeds a predetermined amount, and the battery remaining amount detection When the remaining battery level detected by the means is less than a predetermined amount, time information can be provided to the second image generating means.

  The first control means is configured as at least part of the first hardware that operates with power supplied from the battery, and the second control means and the time information generating means are power supplied from the battery. The power control means is configured to execute control for supplying power from the battery to the first hardware as power control. Can do.

  The wristwatch display method or program according to one aspect of the present invention is directed to the following electronic timepiece. That is, an electronic timepiece having display means for displaying a time display image and operating with power supplied from a battery, consuming the first power out of all power supplied from the battery, First image generation means for generating first image data for display and controlling the display means to display an image corresponding to the first image data; and first of the total power supplied from the battery A second power that consumes a second power lower than the first power, generates second image data for time display, and controls to display an image corresponding to the second image data on the display means. An electronic timepiece including at least an image generation means is a target of a wristwatch display method or program according to one aspect of the present invention. In the wristwatch display method or program according to one aspect of the present invention for such an electronic timepiece, the power control for supplying the first power from the battery to the first image generation means when a predetermined condition is satisfied. And a power control step for prohibiting the execution of power control when the predetermined condition is not satisfied.

  In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic timepiece including display means for displaying an image for time display, including operation of the display means, and operating with power supplied from a battery, wherein the total power supplied from the battery First image generation means for controlling the display means to generate first image data for time display and display an image corresponding to the first image data on the display means. And second power lower than the first power out of the total power supplied from the battery is generated to generate second image data for time display, and an image corresponding to the second image data The following power supply control is performed on an electronic timepiece including at least a second image generation unit that controls display of the image on the display unit. That is, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, power control for supplying the first power from the battery to the first image generating unit is executed, and when the predetermined condition is not satisfied, execution of the power control is prohibited. Is done.

  As described above, according to one aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, for example, when there is a remaining battery level, the time is displayed with high expressive power, and even when the predetermined condition is not satisfied, for example, the battery Even when the remaining amount is low, the clock operation and the time display operation can be maintained as long as possible. Furthermore, by adopting various conditions, it is possible to execute various power supply controls, and as a result, the clock operation and the time display operation can be maintained as long as possible.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Correspondences between the configuration requirements of the present invention and the embodiments described in the detailed description of the present invention are exemplified as follows. This description is to confirm that the embodiments supporting the present invention are described in the detailed description of the invention. Accordingly, although there are embodiments that are described in the detailed description of the invention but are not described here as embodiments corresponding to the constituent elements of the present invention, It does not mean that the embodiment does not correspond to the configuration requirements. Conversely, even if an embodiment is described here as corresponding to a configuration requirement, that means that the embodiment does not correspond to a configuration requirement other than the configuration requirement. It's not something to do.

An electronic timepiece according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
An electronic timepiece (for example, having the functional configuration shown in FIG. 3 and having the functional configuration shown in FIG. And a wristwatch 1) having the hardware configuration of FIG.
First power of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed, first image data for time display is generated, and an image corresponding to the first image data is displayed on the display means. First image generation means (for example, high-performance time data generation unit 52 in FIG. 3) for controlling
Second power lower than the first power out of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed to generate second image data for time display, and corresponds to the second image data Second image generation means (for example, the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 in FIG. 3) for controlling display of the image to be displayed on the display means;
When the predetermined condition is satisfied, power control is performed to supply the first power from the battery to the first image generation unit. When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the power control Power control means for prohibiting execution (for example, the power control unit 54 in FIG. 3).

An electronic timepiece according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
There is further provided time information generating means (for example, the time control unit 56 in FIG. 3) for generating time information indicating the current time,
Each of the first image generation means and the second image generation means is configured to display the time indicated by the time information generated by the time information generation means, or the second image data. Image data is generated.

An electronic timepiece according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
Further provided is a battery remaining amount detecting means (for example, a battery voltage detecting unit 55 in FIG. 3) for detecting the remaining amount of the battery.
The power control means performs the power control based on the battery remaining amount detected by the battery remaining amount detecting means,
The time information generation means provides the time information to the first image generation means when the battery remaining amount detected by the battery remaining amount detection means exceeds the predetermined amount. When the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detection unit is equal to or less than the predetermined amount, the time information is provided to the second image generation unit.

In the electronic timepiece of one aspect of the present invention,
The first control means is configured as at least a part of first hardware (for example, the system IC 13 of FIG. 2) that operates with power supplied from the battery,
The second control unit and the time information generation unit are configured as at least a part of second hardware (for example, the microcomputer 14 in FIG. 2) that operates with electric power supplied from the battery,
The power control means executes control for supplying power from the battery to the first hardware as the power control.

A display method or program for a wristwatch according to one aspect of the present invention is provided.
An electronic timepiece (for example, having the functional configuration shown in FIG. 3 and having the functional configuration shown in FIG. And a wristwatch 1) having the hardware configuration of FIG.
First power of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed, first image data for time display is generated, and an image corresponding to the first image data is displayed on the display means. First image generation means (for example, high-performance time data generation unit 52 in FIG. 3) for controlling
Second power lower than the first power out of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed to generate second image data for time display, and corresponds to the second image data A second image generation means (for example, the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 in FIG. 3) for controlling the display means to display the image to be displayed,
When the predetermined condition is satisfied, power control is performed to supply the first power from the battery to the first image generation unit. When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the power control The power control step for prohibiting execution (for example, the process S1-1 in FIG. 5 in the normal operation state S1 in FIG. 4, the process S2-1 in FIG. 6 in the operation switching state S2 in FIG. (Step consisting of S3-1 and the like in FIG. 7 in the operation state S3)
including.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the appearance of a wristwatch as an electronic timepiece to which the present invention is applied.

  In the example of FIG. 1, when the wristwatch 1 is put on the user's (human) arm, the user sees various information (commands) on the surface viewed by the user (the surface shown in FIG. 1 and hereinafter referred to as the surface). Etc.) tact switches 11-1 to 11-5 are provided. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish each of the tact switches 11-1 to 11-5 from each other, they are collectively referred to as a tact switch 11.

  A low temperature polysilicon TFT (Thin Film Transistor) type LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 12 is also provided on the surface of the wristwatch 1.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal hardware configuration of the wristwatch 1 having the external configuration shown in FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 2, in addition to the tact switch 11 and LCD 12 described above, the wristwatch 1 includes a system IC (Intermediate Center) 13, a microcomputer 14, an SD-RAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) 15, a Flash Memory 16, and a power source. A portion 17 is provided. The tact switch 11 is connected to the system IC 13 and the microcomputer 14. The system IC 13 is also connected with an LCD 12, a microcomputer 14, an SD-RAM 15, and a Flash Memory 16.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the system IC 13 is provided with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a 3DCG (3-Dimensional Computer Graphics) engine 22, and an LCD controller 23.

  The CPU 21 executes various processes according to various programs loaded from the flash memory 16 to the SD-RAM 15. Thereby, the operation of the entire wristwatch 1 is controlled. The SD-RAM 15 also appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 21 to execute various processes.

  The 3DCG engine 22 generates display data corresponding to a 3DCG image for time display, for example, based on the control (command) of the CPU 21.

  In the present embodiment, a 3D computer graphics (3DCG) technique using a curved surface architecture is applied to the 3DCG engine 22. In other words, the 3DCG engine 22 of the present embodiment is a hardware implementation of the curved surface architecture.

  The 3DCG method applied to the 3DCG engine 22 is a 3DCG method using a curved surface architecture (hereinafter referred to as a curved surface architecture method) in the present embodiment, but is not limited to this, and other 3DCG methods are used. Specifically, for example, a 3DCG method using polygons (hereinafter referred to as a polygon method) may be used.

  However, the curved surface architecture method has the feature that it is possible to display high-quality 3DCG images with an overwhelmingly small data size compared to the case where other 3DCG methods (for example, the polygon method) are applied. Have. Therefore, as the 3DCG method applied to the 3DCG engine 22, the curved surface architecture method is suitable as in the present embodiment.

  The LCD controller 23 controls the display on the LCD 12. That is, the LCD controller 23 converts display data generated by the 3DCG engine 22 into a form suitable for the LCD 12 as necessary, and transfers the converted data to the LCD 12. As a result, an image corresponding to the display data, for example, a 3DCG image for time display, is displayed on the LCD 12.

  Although not shown, the microcomputer 14 incorporates, for example, an oscillation circuit, a counter, and the like. The microcomputer 14 keeps time based on the set time and displays information indicating the current time (hereinafter referred to as time information) as necessary. To the system IC 13.

  The microcomputer 14 has a built-in real time clock (not shown), generates, for example, simple time display image data based on the time information described above, and has a form suitable for the LCD 12 as necessary. After conversion, the data is transferred to the LCD 12. Thus, an image corresponding to the image data, that is, a simple time display image is displayed on the LCD 12. The "simple time display image" here refers to a time display image with high expressive power such as 3DCG (hence, an image that requires high power consumption for its generation) It means a simple (low expressive) image that can be generated with low power consumption.

  Furthermore, the microcomputer 14 includes an AD converter (not shown), for example, calculates the remaining battery level of the battery 41 based on the discharge characteristic table of the battery, and calculates the remaining battery level information based on the calculation result. The power supply regulator 42 can be controlled based on the generated battery remaining amount information.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the power supply unit 17 includes a battery 41 made of a lithium ion secondary battery and a power supply regulator 42, and a power supply (required) for each of the above-described blocks (each module) constituting the wristwatch 1. Power). In FIG. 2, various lines representing that the power supply unit 17 supplies power to each of the blocks are collectively shown as one white arrow because the drawing becomes complicated.

  The hardware configuration example of the wristwatch 1 has been described above with reference to FIG.

  However, the hardware configuration of the wristwatch 1 is not limited to the example of FIG. 2, and may be any hardware configuration as long as it has at least the functional configuration of FIG.

  That is, FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the wristwatch 1.

  The display unit 51 can accept display data from either the high-performance time data generation unit 52 or the low power consumption time data generation unit 53, and displays images corresponding to the display data. For example, the display unit 51 includes the LCD 12 when the wristwatch 1 has the hardware configuration shown in FIG.

  The high-performance time data generation unit 52 displays not only simple numerical values but also display data corresponding to high-performance images such as 3DCG, that is, display data for displaying time with high expressive power (hereinafter referred to as high expression time display). Data) is generated based on the time information from the time control unit 56 and provided to the display unit 51. However, the high-performance time data generation unit 52 has a feature that the power consumption is higher than that of the low power consumption time data generation unit 53.

  For example, when the wristwatch 1 has the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 2, the high-performance time data generation unit 52 includes at least a part of each of the system IC 13, the SD-RAM 15, and the Flash Memory.

  In this case, each of the SD-RAM 15 and the Flash Memory 16 functions as a work data storage unit and a program storage unit. The program storage unit referred to here is a block that stores various programs according to the name. The work data storage unit referred to here is a block in which various data necessary for executing a predetermined program are temporarily stored as the name suggests. Therefore, the system IC 13 including the CPU 21 and the like selects one or more of various programs stored in the Flash Memory 16 that is the program storage unit, loads the program to the SD-RAM 15 that is the work data storage unit, and executes it. be able to.

  Specifically, the high-performance time data generation unit 52 generates high expression time display data corresponding to the 3DCG image using the 3DCG engine 22 based on the time information from the time control unit 56, and displays it on the display unit 51. Forward.

  In contrast to such a high-performance time data generating unit 52, the low power consumption time data generating unit 53 displays the time in display data corresponding to an image such as a simple numerical value, that is, a low expression such as a simple numerical value. Display data (hereinafter referred to as low expression time display data) is generated based on the time information from the time control unit 56 and provided to the display unit 51. Therefore, the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 has a feature that the power consumption is lower than that of the high performance time data generation unit 52.

  For example, when the wristwatch 1 has the hardware configuration of FIG. 2, the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 is configured by at least a part of the microcomputer 14 (mainly the above-described real-time clock). .

  The power controller 54 supplies power to the high-performance time data generator 52. At that time, the power control unit 54 performs power supply control (power control) to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 based on the remaining battery level information provided from the battery voltage detection unit 55. For example, the power supply control unit 54 includes the power supply regulator 42 when the wristwatch 1 has the hardware configuration shown in FIG.

  The battery voltage detection unit 55 monitors the voltage of the battery 57, generates battery remaining amount information based on the monitoring result and information on the discharge characteristics of the battery held in the battery 57, and the power supply control unit 54. For example, when the wristwatch 1 has the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 2, the battery voltage detection unit 55 is included in the microcomputer 14 having the discharge characteristic table described above as information on the battery discharge characteristics. It is composed of at least a part (mainly the above-mentioned AD converter).

  The time control unit 56 keeps the time based on the set time, generates time information, and manages the update of the time information and the provision to others. For example, the time control unit 56 is configured by at least a part of the microcomputer 14 when the wristwatch 1 has the hardware configuration of FIG.

  The battery 57 includes blocks other than the high-performance time data generation unit 57, that is, a display unit 51, a low power consumption time data generation unit 53, a power supply control unit 54, a battery voltage detection unit 55, and a time control unit 56, respectively. Supply power directly to The battery 57 supplies power to the high-performance time data generation unit 57 via the power control unit 54. For example, the battery 57 includes the battery 41 when the wristwatch 1 has the hardware configuration shown in FIG.

  The functional configuration example of the wristwatch 1 has been described above with reference to FIG.

  In the present embodiment, each functional block shown in FIG. 3 is configured as described above on the assumption that the wristwatch 1 has the hardware configuration shown in FIG. However, each of the functional blocks shown in FIG. 3 may be configured as a single hardware or a single software according to the hardware configuration of an electronic timepiece (such as a wristwatch), Or you may comprise by the combination of hardware and software.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the system IC 13 in FIG. 2 includes the high-performance time data generation unit 52 and the like, whereas the microcomputer 14 in FIG. 2 includes the time control unit 56 and the low power consumption time data. A generation unit 53 and the like are included. Therefore, in this embodiment, the system IC 13 is a block with high power consumption, and the microcomputer 14 is a block with low power consumption. A function for keeping time is mounted on the microcomputer 14. Therefore, when the remaining battery level of the battery 41 in FIG. 2 (battery 57 in FIG. 3) is reduced, the wristwatch 1 turns off the power consumption of the system IC 13 with high power consumption and the microcomputer 14 with low power consumption. By performing an operation such as using, it is possible to continue displaying the current time, that is, to continue the time measuring operation and the time displaying operation.

  Hereinafter, a detailed example of the operation of the wristwatch 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of state transition of the wristwatch 1 having the functional configuration of FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the state of the wristwatch 1 is any one of a normal operation state S1, an operation switching state S2, and a low remaining amount operation state S3.

  When the state transition from any one of the normal operation state S1, the operation switching state S2, and the low remaining amount operation state S3 to another state satisfies a predetermined condition (hereinafter referred to as a state transition condition) Executed.

  In the example of FIG. 4, such a state transition condition is a transition from one state (any of the normal operation state S1, the operation switching state S2, and the low remaining amount operation state S3) to another state. Symbols C1 to C3 are attached to the arrows to represent.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the normal operation state S1 is a state in which the wristwatch 1 is performing a normal operation when the remaining battery level of the battery 57 exceeds a certain amount. The normal operation of the wristwatch 1 during the normal operation state S1 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Therefore, for example, in the present embodiment, when the remaining battery level of the battery 57 falls below a certain amount during the normal operation state S1, the state transition condition C1 is satisfied, and the state of the wristwatch 1 is changed from the normal operation state S1 to the operation switching state. Transition to S2.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the operation switching state S2 is a state in which the wristwatch 1 is performing an operation (hereinafter referred to as a switching operation) necessary for switching from the normal operation to the low remaining amount operation. The switching operation of the wristwatch 1 in the operation switching state S2 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  For example, in the present embodiment, when the switching operation is completed during the operation switching state S2, the state transition condition C2 is satisfied, and the state of the wristwatch 1 transitions from the operation switching state S2 to the low remaining amount operation state S3.

  For example, in the present embodiment, in the low remaining amount operation state S3, the wristwatch 1 performs the low remaining amount operation with lower power consumption than the normal operation when the remaining amount of the battery 57 is equal to or less than a certain amount. It is in a state. The low remaining amount operation of the wristwatch 1 in the low remaining amount operation state S3 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Therefore, for example, in the present embodiment, as a result of a new battery being used as, for example, the battery 57 (battery replacement is performed) or the battery 57 being charged, for example, during the low remaining amount operation state S3. When the remaining amount of the battery exceeds a certain amount again, the state transition condition C3 is satisfied, and the state of the wristwatch 1 is changed (returned) from the low remaining amount operation state S3 to the normal operation state S1.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the remaining battery level exceeds a certain amount, the normal operation state S1 is maintained. When the remaining battery level falls below the certain amount, the normal operation state S1 → the operation switching state S2 → low The state transitions to the remaining amount operation state S3. As described above, in the present embodiment, the state transition trigger (state transition condition C1) is assumed that the remaining battery level is less than a certain amount, but the trigger is not limited to the trigger of the present embodiment, and various triggers are possible. Can be adopted.

  For example, it is possible to make a state transition from the normal operation state S1 to the operation switching state S2 to the low remaining amount operation state S3 by using the user's explicit setting as a trigger. For example, when the user forgets the charger and goes out (goes on a trip etc.), various settings aimed at explicitly extending the usage time of the device are referred to as “user explicit settings” Is an example.

  In addition, for example, when there is no user action for a certain period of time or more due to the explicit setting of the user, specifically, for example, the tact switch 11 (FIGS. 1 and 2) or something not explicitly shown in the figure It is also possible to make the state transition from normal operation state S1 → operation switching state S2 → low-remaining operation state S3, triggered by a user action using an input device (for example, a sensor) that has not occurred for a certain period of time. . This trigger is beneficial for users who want to make the battery last longer.

  To summarize the above, after all, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the normal operation state S1 is maintained, and when the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the normal operation state S1 → the operation switching state S2 → the low remaining amount operation state S3. A predetermined condition may be set so that the state transitions. This predetermined condition is not particularly limited. That is, as an example of the predetermined condition, “the battery remaining amount exceeds a certain amount” is adopted in the present embodiment, and, as described above, “user explicit setting” is present. And conversely, “there is no user action over a certain time due to the explicit setting of the user”.

  It should be noted that the “predetermined condition” and the “state transition condition C1” mentioned here have an inverse relationship. That is, when the “predetermined condition” is satisfied, the “state transition condition C1” is not satisfied, and as a result, the state remains in the normal operation state S1, and when the “predetermined condition” is not satisfied, the “state transition condition C1” is reversed. “C1” is satisfied, and as a result, the normal operation state S1 transitions to the operation switching state S2.

  Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, the normal operation of the wristwatch 1 in the normal operation state S1, the switching operation of the wristwatch 1 in the operation switching state S2, and the wristwatch 1 in the low remaining amount operation state S3. Each of the low remaining amount operations will be described sequentially in that order.

  As the normal operation of the wristwatch 1 in the normal operation state S1, processes S1-1 to S1-3 shown in FIG. 5 are mainly performed.

  The process S1-1 refers to the following process executed by the battery voltage detection unit 55. That is, the battery voltage detection unit 55 monitors the battery voltage of the battery 57 and determines whether or not the remaining battery level has become a certain amount or less based on the monitoring result. When the battery voltage detection unit 55 determines that the remaining battery capacity exceeds a certain amount, the battery voltage detection unit 55 starts or continues power control (control for supplying power) to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 of the power control unit 54. The time control unit 56 is notified that such control is started or continued.

  The process S1-2 is that the power control for the high-performance time data generation unit 52 is started or continued by the process S1-1, that is, the power supply from the power control unit 54 to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 is performed. The following process is executed by the time control unit 56 when it is notified that it has started or continued. That is, the time control unit 56 provides time information to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 at the designated time with the time being counted.

  The process S1-3 is a high-performance time data generator when power is supplied from the power controller 54 by the process S1-1 and time information is supplied from the time controller 56 by the process S1-2. The following processing is executed by 52. That is, the high-performance time data generation unit 52 generates high-representation time display data using the 3DCG engine 22 (FIG. 2) based on the time information from the time control unit 56 and transfers it to the display unit 51. Then, the display content of the display unit 51 is updated. That is, in the normal operation state S1, the display content (update target) of the display unit 51 is an image indicating the current time, and is an image corresponding to the high expression time display data.

  Note that the process S1-1 is always executed independently of the processes S1-2 and S1-3, and when it is determined that the remaining battery level is equal to or less than a certain amount, the state transition condition C1 (FIG. 4) Is satisfied, and the state of the wristwatch 1 transitions from the normal operation state S1 to the operation switching state S2.

  When transitioning to the operation switching state S2, processes S2-1 and S2-2 shown in FIG. 6 are mainly performed as a switching operation of the wristwatch 1.

  That is, the process S2-1 refers to the following process executed by the battery voltage detection unit 55. That is, the battery voltage detection unit 55 monitors the battery voltage of the battery 57 similarly to the process S1-1, and determines whether or not the remaining battery level has become a certain amount or less based on the monitoring result. However, in process S2-2, the battery voltage detection unit 55 determines that the remaining battery level is equal to or less than a certain amount. Therefore, the battery voltage detection unit 55 prohibits power control for the high-performance time data generation unit 52 of the power control unit 54. That is, the battery voltage detection unit 55 controls the power supply from the power supply control unit 54 to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 to be cut off. Then, the battery voltage detection unit 55 notifies the time control unit 56 that the power supply control is prohibited, that is, the power supply to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 is cut off.

  The process S2-2 refers to the following process executed by the time control unit 56. That is, the time control unit 56 provides time information to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 when it is notified that the power supply to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 is cut off by the process S2-1. (Execution of processing S1-2) is prohibited.

  When such processing S2-2 is completed, the state transition condition C2 (FIG. 4) is satisfied, and the state of the wristwatch 1 transitions from the operation switching state S2 to the low remaining amount operation state S3.

  When transitioning to the low remaining amount operation state S3, the processes S3-1 to S3-3 shown in FIG. 7 are mainly performed as the low remaining amount operation of the wristwatch 1.

  The process S3-1 refers to the following process executed by the battery voltage detection unit 55. That is, the battery voltage detection unit 55 monitors the battery voltage of the battery 57 similarly to the process S1-1, and determines whether or not the remaining battery amount exceeds a certain amount based on the monitoring result. If the battery voltage detection unit 55 determines that the remaining battery level remains below a certain level, the battery voltage detection unit 55 continues to prohibit power supply control for the high-performance time data generation unit 52 of the power supply control unit 54. That is, the battery voltage detection unit 55 performs control so that the interruption of the power supply from the power control unit 54 to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 is continued. Then, the battery voltage detection unit 55 notifies the time control unit 56 that the prohibition of the power control is continued, that is, the interruption of the power supply to the high-performance time data generation unit 52 is continued.

  Process S3-2 is executed by the time control unit 56 when it is notified by the process S3-1 that the power supply control unit 54 continues to shut off the power supply to the high-performance time data generation unit 52. Say the following process. In other words, the time control unit 56 provides time information to the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 at the designated time in time.

  Process S3-3 means that the power supply from the power controller 54 to the high-performance time data generator 52 is continuously shut off by the process S3-1, and the time information is supplied from the time controller 56 by the process S3-2. In this case, the following processing executed by the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 is referred to. That is, the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 generates the low expression time display data based on the time information from the time control unit 56 and transfers it to the display unit 51, so that the display content of the display unit 51 is displayed. Update. That is, in the low remaining amount operation state S3, the display content (update target) of the display unit 51 is an image indicating the current time, and is an image corresponding to the low expression time display data.

  Note that the process S3-1 is always performed independently of the processes S3-2 and S3-3, and when a new battery is attached as the battery 57 or the battery 57 is charged, the remaining battery level And the state transition condition C3 (FIG. 4) is satisfied, and the state of the wristwatch 1 is changed (returned) from the low remaining amount operation state S3 to the normal operation state S1.

  As described above, the wristwatch 1 to which the present invention is applied is a high expression generated by the high-performance time data generation unit 52 as long as the remaining battery level exceeds a certain amount (in the normal operation state S1). The time can be displayed using the time display data. In addition, the wristwatch 1 uses the low expression time display data generated by the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 when the remaining battery level is equal to or less than a certain amount (when the low battery level operation state S3). The time can be displayed.

  That is, when the wristwatch 1 detects that the remaining battery level is low (below a certain amount), the block with high power consumption (in this embodiment, the high-performance time data generator 52 in FIG. 3 and the like). The system IC 13 in FIG. 2 having the power supply is turned off, and the power consumption is low and the time-continuing block (in this embodiment, the time control unit 56, the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 in FIG. The current time can be continuously displayed by the microcomputer 14).

  That is, the wristwatch 1 can display the time while maintaining the clock operation even when the remaining battery level is low. As a result, it is possible to display the time for a long time while preventing the resetting of the time due to the battery running out.

  In the above-described example, when the remaining battery level is equal to or less than a certain amount, the entire high-performance time data generation unit 52 (the entire system IC 13) is turned off. Is turned off, and the transfer portion is generated by the low power consumption time data generation unit 53 with the power supply to the display portion 51 turned off (hereinafter referred to as the transfer portion). The wristwatch 1 may be configured to transfer the low expression time display data to the display unit 51.

  By the way, the series of processes described above may be executed by software as described above, or may be executed by hardware.

  When the above-described series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed in a computer (including the wristwatch 1) incorporated in dedicated hardware or various programs are installed. The computer may be installed from a network or a recording medium on a computer capable of executing various functions, for example, a general-purpose personal computer.

  This recording medium is distributed to provide a program to the user separately from the main body of the apparatus, and includes a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk) on which the program is recorded, an optical disk (CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) )), A program provided not only to a magneto-optical disk (including MD (Mini-Disk)) or a removable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory but also provided to the user in a state of being pre-installed in the apparatus main body. 2 is recorded, a memory (not shown) in the microcomputer 14, and a hard disk (not shown).

  Further, in the present specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium is not limited to the processing performed in chronological order according to the described order, but is not necessarily performed in chronological order. It also includes processes that are executed individually.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the external appearance of the wristwatch to which this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example of the wristwatch of FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional structural example of the wristwatch of FIG. FIG. 4 is a state transition diagram illustrating an example of state transition of the wristwatch of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of normal operation performed by the wristwatch of FIG. 3 during the normal operation state of FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a switching operation performed by the wristwatch of FIG. 3 during the operation switching state of FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a low remaining amount operation performed by the wristwatch of FIG. 3 during the low remaining amount operation state of FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Watch, 11 Tactile switch, 12 LCD, 13 System IC, 14 Microcomputer, 15 SD-RAM, 16 Flash Memory, 17 Power supply part, 21 CPU, 22 3DCG engine, 23 LCD controller, 41 Battery, 42 Power supply regulator, 51 Display unit, 52 High-performance time data generation unit, 53 Low power consumption time data generation unit, 54 Power supply control unit, 55 Battery voltage detection unit, 56 Time control unit, 57 Battery

Claims (7)

An electronic timepiece having display means for displaying an image for time display, and operating with power supplied from a battery,
First power of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed, first image data for time display is generated, and an image corresponding to the first image data is displayed on the display means. First image generating means for controlling
Second power lower than the first power out of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed to generate second image data for time display, and corresponds to the second image data Second image generating means for controlling display of the image to be displayed on the display means;
When the predetermined condition is satisfied, power control is performed to supply the first power from the battery to the first image generation unit. When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the power control is performed. An electronic timepiece comprising power control means for prohibiting power. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that a battery remaining amount of the battery exceeds a predetermined amount. It further comprises time information generating means for generating time information indicating the current time,
Each of the first image generation means and the second image generation means is configured to display the time indicated by the time information generated by the time information generation means, or the second image data. The electronic timepiece according to claim 2, wherein the image data is generated. Battery further detecting means for detecting the battery remaining amount of the battery,
The power control means performs the power control based on the battery remaining amount detected by the battery remaining amount detecting means,
The time information generation means provides the time information to the first image generation means when the battery remaining amount detected by the battery remaining amount detection means exceeds the predetermined amount. The electronic timepiece according to claim 3, wherein when the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detection unit is equal to or less than the predetermined amount, the time information is provided to the second image generation unit. The first control means is configured as at least a part of first hardware that operates with electric power supplied from the battery,
The second control unit and the time information generation unit are configured as at least a part of second hardware that operates with electric power supplied from the battery,
The electronic timepiece according to claim 3, wherein the power supply control unit executes control for supplying power from the battery to the first hardware as the power supply control. An electronic timepiece having display means for displaying an image for time display, and operating with power supplied from a battery,
First power of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed, first image data for time display is generated, and an image corresponding to the first image data is displayed on the display means. First image generating means for controlling
Second power lower than the first power out of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed to generate second image data for time display, and corresponds to the second image data A method for controlling the electronic timepiece, comprising: at least second image generation means for controlling display of an image to be displayed on the display means,
When the predetermined condition is satisfied, power control is performed to supply the first power from the battery to the first image generation unit. When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the power control A method for controlling an electronic timepiece including a power control step for prohibiting execution. An electronic timepiece having display means for displaying an image for time display, and operating with power supplied from a battery,
First power of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed, first image data for time display is generated, and an image corresponding to the first image data is displayed on the display means. First image generating means for controlling
Second power lower than the first power out of the total power supplied from the battery is consumed to generate second image data for time display, and corresponds to the second image data A program for causing a computer that controls the electronic timepiece to include a second image generation unit that controls display of an image to be displayed on the display unit,
When the predetermined condition is satisfied, power control is performed to supply the first power from the battery to the first image generation unit. When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the power control A program that includes a power control step that prohibits execution.

Images