EP0221363B1 - Montre électronique analogique - Google Patents

Montre électronique analogique Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0221363B1
EP0221363B1 EP86113708A EP86113708A EP0221363B1 EP 0221363 B1 EP0221363 B1 EP 0221363B1 EP 86113708 A EP86113708 A EP 86113708A EP 86113708 A EP86113708 A EP 86113708A EP 0221363 B1 EP0221363 B1 EP 0221363B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
signal
circuit
motor
hand
logic level
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP86113708A
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0221363A1 (fr
Inventor
Claude-Eric Leuenberger
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere Suisse
Original Assignee
Eta SA Fabriques dEbauches
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Application filed by Eta SA Fabriques dEbauches filed Critical Eta SA Fabriques dEbauches
Publication of EP0221363A1 publication Critical patent/EP0221363A1/fr
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
    • G04G19/00—Electric power supply circuits specially adapted for use in electronic time-pieces
    • G04G19/12—Arrangements for reducing power consumption during storage
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04C—ELECTROMECHANICAL CLOCKS OR WATCHES
    • G04C3/00—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means
    • G04C3/14—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means incorporating a stepping motor
    • G04C3/146—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means incorporating a stepping motor incorporating two or more stepping motors or rotors

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an electronic watch with analog display by hands. It relates more particularly to a watch provided with two stepping motors, the first motor driving the hour and minute hands and the second motor the second hand, the latter being activated only when a logic detection signal, applied to the timepiece circuit, is at a determined logic level.
  • the detection signal is supplied by a two-position contact which can be manipulated from outside the watch case.
  • One of the contact positions corresponds to the normal running of the watch, for which the two motors are activated, while to the other position of the contact there corresponds an economical operating mode in which the drive motor of the second hand is stopped. In economic mode, however, the watch continues to indicate the most important hourly information, i.e. hours and minutes.
  • the consumption of the electronic circuit being low, that of the watch is mainly determined by the consumption of the seconds engine since it works 60 times more often than the other engine.
  • the economical mode of operation, in which the second hand is stopped, therefore considerably extends the life of the watch battery, without losing the time displayed by the other two hands.
  • a watch which comprises a single motor for driving the display, a button, arranged on the bottom of the case, controlling the starting or stopping of the motor depending on whether it is in contact or not with the arm of the watch wearer, and a counter allowing the watch to be reset automatically after a stop.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide a watch which does not have the drawback of the embodiments known from the prior art of not sufficiently saving energy.
  • the watch further comprises a memory circuit making it possible to synchronize the second hand with the minute hand when the watch switches from economic operating mode to normal operating mode.
  • An advantage of the watch according to the invention results from the fact that the second hand stops automatically when the incident light becomes weak, the reading of the hours and minutes however remaining possible thanks for example to luminescent hands, and that it starts again, also automatically, as soon as the light exceeds a certain threshold.
  • Another advantage of the present invention comes from the fact that the second hand is brought into phase, or synchronism, with the minute hand when the watch goes into normal mode.
  • the watch according to the invention essentially consists of an electronic circuit comprising an oscillator 1, a timepiece circuit 2 and a detection circuit 6, two stepping motors 3a and 3b, the first driving an hour hand 4a and a minute hand 4b and the second driving a second hand 4c, a photoelectric sensor 5 and finally a reset contact 23, controlled, for example, by a time-setting rod (not shown).
  • the oscillator 1 is formed by a quartz resonator 10 and a maintenance circuit 11 which delivers, at its output, a time base or reference signal having a frequency of 32,768 Hz, for example.
  • a first frequency divider 12 which receives the time base signal at its input. On the output Q of this divider, formed of 9 binary dividers, a 64 Hz signal appears which is applied to the input of a second divider 13, formed of 6 binary dividers. The latter provides on its output Q a signal Q13 having a frequency of 1 Hz.
  • the frequency of the signal Q13 is divided by 60 in a divider 14, which thus provides on its output Q a signal formed by one pulse per minute.
  • the latter is applied to the input of a first control circuit 15 which produces a control signal S15 for the first motor 3a in order to advance it by one step per minute.
  • This motor drives, via a gear train not shown, a minute hand 4b and an hour hand 4a, and possibly a calendar. Depending on the gear reduction ratio, the engine can take more than one step per minute.
  • the signal Q13 is applied, on the other hand, to the input of a circuit 16 formed by two monostable flip-flops. On the outputs Q 'and Q "of this circuit appear respectively the signals Q'16 and Q" 16 produced by each of the flip-flops.
  • the signal Q'16 has a frequency of 1 Hz and it is formed of fine pulses of duration to, of a few milliseconds, typically of 5 ms.
  • the signal Q "16 is similar to the signal Q'16, but the duration of its pulses is greater, for example by 2to.
  • the signals Q13, Q'16 and Q "16 are shown in FIG. 2, which shows that the rising edges of all the pulses are in synchronism.
  • the timepiece circuit 2 also includes a memory circuit 7, assumed for the moment not to be connected, an AND gate 20 with two inputs, the first of which receives the signal Q'16, an OR gate 21 with two inputs, the first of which is connected to the output of AND gate 20, and a second control circuit 22 connected to the output of OR gate 21 and producing a control signal S22 for the second motor 3b, in order to make it advance one step by second.
  • This motor drives the seconds hand 4c by means of a cog, not shown.
  • the needles 4a, 4b and 4c can be arranged so as to rotate around the same axis above a common dial.
  • the motor 3a normally advancing the hour hands 4a and minutes 4b, the signal Q'16 passes through the AND gates 20 and OR 21 to arrive at the input of the circuit 22 which, by producing the signal S22 motor control 3a, advances the second hand 4c at a rate of one step per second.
  • the watch therefore behaves, in this case, like a conventional watch, indicating the hours, minutes and seconds.
  • the second input of the AND gate 20 is at the low logic level, the signal Q'16 can no longer pass through it and the motor 3b remains at rest.
  • the logic level of the signal on the second input of this door therefore controls the starting or stopping of the motor 3b.
  • This logic signal is taken at the output of the detection circuit 6, which will now be described, and to which the photoelectric sensor 5 is connected.
  • This sensor is placed behind a window, not shown, made in the dial or the middle part of the box to receive and measure the intensity of the light reaching the watch. It can advantageously be produced in the form of a photodiode, a phototransistor or a photoresistor.
  • the circuit 6 includes an amplifier 17 to which the sensor 5 is connected, represented in the form of a photodiode.
  • This amplifier supplies on its output S an analog signal S17 whose amplitude is representative of the intensity of the light falling on the photodiode.
  • This signal is then compared to a constant reference signal Vo, coming from a conventional circuit not shown, in a comparator 18 which delivers a logic output signal S18.
  • the signal S18 will be found respectively, for example, at the low logic level or at the high logic level.
  • This signal S18 is applied to the input of a flip-flop 19 having an inverted clock input Ck sensitive to the falling edge of the signal Q'16, a main logic output Q and an inverted logic output Q. On the output Q appears a logic signal Q19 which constitutes the main output signal of the circuit 6. On its output Q appears a signal 019 opposite to the signal 019.
  • the flip-flop 19 thus stores for 1 second, on its output Q, the state of the signal S18 at the instant of appearance of the falling edge of a pulse of Q'16. If therefore the photoelectric sensor 5 receives a light whose intensity is less than or equal to a certain critical threshold to which the value Vo of the signal S17 corresponds, the signal 019 is at the low logic level. On the other hand, a light intensity su below this threshold, will cause a high logic level on this signal, which is applied to the second input of the AND gate 20.
  • Another object of the invention is therefore to allow the second hand to be brought quickly into synchronism with the minute hand, when the watch switches to normal mode, so that the second hand indicates 60 seconds when the minute hand indicates a full minute, this condition having been previously met at the time of setting the watch.
  • the memory circuit 7 achieves this objective.
  • the counter 30 includes a counter by 60, referenced 30, and three doors AND with two inputs, respectively referenced 31, 32 and 33.
  • the counter 30 has a counting input in front I, making it possible to increment it, one input counting backwards D, making it possible to decrement it, and a reset input R.
  • the input 1 of the counter is connected to the output of the AND gate 31 whose first input receives the signal Q'16 and the second input signal Q19.
  • Input D is connected, for its part, to the output of AND gate 33 and to the second input of OR gate 21.
  • the first input of AND gate 33 receives the signal of 64 Hz delivered by the frequency divider 12 while its second input is connected to the output of the AND gate 32.
  • the first input of the latter is connected to the second input of the AND gate 20 and to the Q output of the flip-flop 19 to receive the signal Q19.
  • the counter 30 has an output Q which delivers a logic signal Q30 to the second input of the AND gate 32
  • circuit 7 in conjunction with the other parts of the circuit shown in FIG. 1, is as follows. Let us first consider the case where the sensor 5 receives a high intensity light and where the content of the counter 30 is equal to zero. These conditions cause a high logic level on signal Q19 and a low level on signals 0 19 and Q30.
  • the signal Q'16 on the other hand, cannot reach the input 1 of counter 30 through AND gate 31 because it is made non-passable by signal Q19.
  • the low logic level of signal Q30 causes a signal identical to the output of AND gate 32, preventing the 64 Hz signal from reaching circuit 22 through AND gate 33 and OR gate 21.
  • the counter 30 receives no pulse on its input I, while the second signal Q'16, arriving alone at the input of the second control circuit 22, advances the second hand 4c to indicate the time exact with the help of the hour and minute hands 4a and 4b.
  • the second hand 4c is immobilized, while the counter 30 continues to be incremented by the pulses of the signal Q'16, the other hands of the watch naturally advancing normally.
  • the AND gate 33 allows the 64 Hz signal to pass and the AND gate 20 the Q'16 signal.
  • the 64 Hz signal is a rapid catch-up signal of the seconds lost by the hand 4c during the obscuration of the sensor 5.
  • the phase of this signal, with respect to the signal Q'16, is chosen so that its rising sides, triggering the movement of the motor 3b, are between two rising sides of the signal Q'16.
  • the duration of the control pulses S22 being less than the duration of a half-period of the signal of 64 Hz, the motor 3b will thus be able to react to the signals Q'16 and of 64 Hz if they arrive jointly on the circuit 22 through OR gate 21.
  • the 64 Hz signal arrives at the input of circuit 22 and at input D of counter 30. Each imputation of this signal therefore advances the motor 3b by one step and decrements the content of the counter 30 by one unit.
  • the second hand 4c then again indicates the exact time and the content of the counter is brought back to zero.
  • this state of the counter 30 corresponds to the low logic level of the signal Q30, which has the effect of rendering the AND gate 33 non-passing and blocking the 64 Hz signal.
  • circuits 17 and 18, which process analog signals, can be relatively high.
  • the output signal of circuit 18 is memorized every second in the flip-flop 19, it is sufficient to activate circuits 17 and 18 for a short time at the time of memorization.
  • the circuit 16 also produces a signal Q "16, shown in FIG. 2.
  • This signal is formed by pulses of duration 2to starting at the same instant as the pulses of duration to of the signal Q'16.
  • this latter signal is the clock signal applied to the input Ck of flip-flop 19, this input reacting to the falling edge of the pulses. As the falling edge is in the middle of the pulses of the signal Q "16, the latter can be used to make work circuits 17 and 18 periodically.
  • the signal Q "16 is introduced into these circuits where, by known means, it switches on the power supply during this time 2to and triggers it during the rest of the period. By taking 10 ms for 2to, consumption is reduced by 100 times.
  • the consumption of the detection circuit 6 is typically 0.05 pA, that of the oscillator 1 and of the timepiece circuit 2, about 0.1 ttA.
  • the consumption of the motor 3a is less than 0.05 pA, while that of the motor 3b is between 0.5 and 1 IlA.
  • the watch When the two motors are running, the watch therefore consumes between 0.7 and 1.2 p.A, and only 0.2 ⁇ A when the motor 3b is stopped.
  • This example highlights the advantage of the watch according to the invention from the point of view of the energy saving which it makes it possible to achieve since the seconds motor 3b is automatically stopped during the night and each time, during during the day, the sensor is not sufficiently illuminated.
  • the contact 23 is coupled, for example, to the time-setting rod (not shown), of the watch, so that this rod closes the contact when it is put in the position for correcting the 'hour.
  • the contact 23 then produces a signal which is applied to the reset inputs R of the dividers 13 and 14 and of the counter 30 in order to obtain the desired synchronization once the time-setting rod is returned to its position normal.
  • the output Q of the counter 30 produces a signal Q30 of particular shape, represented in FIG. 3.
  • An example of embodiment of a counter by means of known components making it possible to obtain such a signal is also represented in FIG. 4a.
  • the two 4-bit counters are connected so as to produce a counter by 60, referenced 40, having an increment input l ′, a decrementation input D ′, a reset input R ′, a downflow overshoot output Qb (also called underflow or borrow) and an overflow output towards the high Qh (also called overflow or carry).
  • the inputs l ', D', R ' correspond to the inputs I, D, R of the counter 30.
  • the outputs Qb and Qh respectively deliver the signals Qb40 and Qh40 which are represented in FIG. 4b as a function of the content N of the counter.
  • the Qh40 signal contains a short pulse each time the content of the counter goes from 0 to 1, and the signal Qb40 when this content goes from 1 to 0.
  • the watch could contain more than two motors, each motor driving one or more display members and the photoelectric sensor 5 controlling the operation of one or more motors.
  • one or more motors could advantageously be known motors with two directions of rotation of known type, the catching up being done in the direction which requires each motor to perform the smallest number of steps possible.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Electromechanical Clocks (AREA)
  • Medicinal Preparation (AREA)
EP86113708A 1985-10-11 1986-10-03 Montre électronique analogique Expired EP0221363B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CH4408/85 1985-10-11
CH440885A CH665081GA3 (nl) 1985-10-11 1985-10-11

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0221363A1 EP0221363A1 (fr) 1987-05-13
EP0221363B1 true EP0221363B1 (fr) 1989-09-20

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ID=4275572

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP86113708A Expired EP0221363B1 (fr) 1985-10-11 1986-10-03 Montre électronique analogique

Country Status (5)

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US (1) US4744067A (nl)
EP (1) EP0221363B1 (nl)
JP (1) JPS6293686A (nl)
CH (1) CH665081GA3 (nl)
DE (1) DE3665783D1 (nl)

Families Citing this family (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3600515C1 (de) * 1986-01-10 1993-05-13 Fraunhofer Ges Forschung Elektronische Uhr
DE3941301C2 (de) * 1989-12-14 1994-03-31 Berndt Botond Uhr
JP2564739B2 (ja) * 1992-09-08 1996-12-18 株式会社精工舎 時 計
JP3313215B2 (ja) * 1993-12-10 2002-08-12 セイコーインスツルメンツ株式会社 電波修正型電子時計
JPH11218587A (ja) * 1997-11-25 1999-08-10 Seiko Instruments Inc 熱電素子付き電子時計
JP2900154B1 (ja) * 1998-02-12 1999-06-02 セイコーインスツルメンツ株式会社 オートカレンダ付電子時計
JP3551861B2 (ja) * 1998-12-11 2004-08-11 セイコーエプソン株式会社 計時装置及びその制御方法
WO2001079940A1 (fr) * 2000-04-12 2001-10-25 Seiko Instruments Inc. Piece d'horlogerie electronique analogique dotee d'un detecteur de position
CN103475281B (zh) * 2013-09-02 2016-04-27 徐州工业职业技术学院 一种基于plc的双电机同步控制装置

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1419489A (en) * 1971-12-14 1975-12-31 Martin J M B Clocks and watches
NL7508560A (nl) * 1974-07-19 1976-01-21 Ici Ltd Regelinrichting.
DE2650756A1 (de) * 1975-11-11 1977-05-12 Seiko Instr & Electronics Elektronische uhr
JPS5563781A (en) * 1978-11-06 1980-05-14 Seiko Instr & Electronics Ltd Analog electronic watch
EP0048217A1 (fr) * 1980-09-12 1982-03-24 Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A. Pièce d'horlogerie électronique
JPS57211579A (en) * 1981-06-23 1982-12-25 Citizen Watch Co Ltd Hand display type electronic watch

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Publication number Publication date
EP0221363A1 (fr) 1987-05-13
CH665081GA3 (nl) 1988-04-29
DE3665783D1 (en) 1989-10-26
US4744067A (en) 1988-05-10
JPS6293686A (ja) 1987-04-30

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