JP2002341071A - Radio controlled watch for automobile and method for displaying its receiving condition - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio controlled watch for an automobile, capable of displaying a receiving condition without providing an exclusive receiving condition displaying part, and a method for displaying the receiving condition. SOLUTION: A colon displaying part 6b flickers at short intervals while receiving a radio wave, it flickers at long intervals once it succeeds in receiving the radio wave, and it is put in a continuously lighted condition if the radio wave can not be received. Such variable lighting conditions of the colon displaying part 6b are achieved by a lighting condition varying means 10. The lighting condition corresponding to the receiving condition is varied by controlling the lighting condition varying means 10 by a control means 4. If the receiving condition is displayed this way by the lighting condition of the colon displaying part 6b, it is not required to provide a display part exclusive for displaying the receiving condition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radio-controlled timepiece which corrects and displays time by receiving a standard radio signal including time information, and more particularly to a digitally-displayed radio-controlled timepiece used in automobiles. And a method of displaying the reception status.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A radio-controlled timepiece corrects and displays an accurate time by receiving a radio signal. If it is not possible to confirm whether or not reception has been performed reliably, the displayed time is displayed. Cannot be determined to be accurate.
Therefore, conventionally, in a radio-controlled timepiece, a reception mark imitating a radio wave tower is provided in a liquid crystal display device, or a light-emitting display including an LED is provided, and when reception is successful, the reception mark is turned on or the light-emitting display is performed at regular intervals. It blinked to indicate that the reception was successful.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned prior art, a dedicated reception mark or lighting display is provided to display a reception state. However, in the case of an automobile clock, only the time is displayed at present. It is mainstream, and it is necessary to develop a new display device to provide a dedicated reception state display. In particular, many automobile clocks display time using digital display using a fluorescent display tube, and changing the display requires a high development cost.

[0004] In the case of an automobile watch, there are many indicators and warning lights, etc., around the watch. When a reception status display such as a reception mark or a light emission display is provided, the display should be clearly distinguished from the display of the instrument. It was necessary to be able to recognize at a glance without affecting the visibility of the display of the instrument and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has a receiving state that can be recognized at a glance without providing a dedicated receiving state display and without affecting a time display and other displays. It is an object of the present invention to provide a radio wave timepiece for an automobile which displays the information and a reception state display method thereof.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an automobile radio timepiece which receives a radio signal including time information and displays the time on a display device, wherein the time is displayed on the display device. A display driving unit, a lighting state varying unit that varies a lighting state of a specific display unit of the display device, and a lighting state varying unit that controls the lighting state variable unit in accordance with a reception state of the radio signal, to thereby control a lighting state of the specific display unit. And control means for changing In addition, the display device in the automobile radio timepiece is provided with an hour / minute display unit for displaying hour and minute digits of time, respectively, and a colon display unit for separating the hour and minute digits. The display section comprises the colon display section. Further, the lighting state varying means in the automobile radio timepiece varies the lighting state by blinking the specific display section, and further varies the lighting state by varying the interval at which the specific display section blinks. It has become something. Further, the lighting state changing means in the automobile radio timepiece changes the lighting state by dimming the specific display unit, and further,
The lighting state is varied by varying the rate of dimming the specific display section.

On the other hand, a method of displaying a reception state of an automobile radio timepiece according to the present invention is an automobile radio timepiece that receives a radio signal including time information and displays the time on a display device. The reception state is displayed by changing the lighting state according to the reception state of the radio signal. In this method of displaying the reception state of a radio wave timepiece for an automobile, the lighting state is changed by blinking the specific display section, and the lighting state is changed by changing the interval at which the specific display section blinks. Has become. Further, in this method of displaying the reception state of a radio wave watch for an automobile, the lighting state is changed by dimming the specific display section, and further, the lighting state is changed by changing the ratio of dimming the specific display section. It is variable.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In a radio wave timepiece for an automobile according to the present invention, a reception state is changed by changing a lighting state of a colon display section for separating hour and minute digits of time without providing a dedicated reception state display. Is displayed. That is, in the present invention, the colon display section flashes quickly at short intervals during radio wave reception, flashes at longer intervals when reception is successful, and continues without flashing when reception is not possible. The lighting state is changed so that the lighting is performed.

The lighting state of the colon display is varied by lighting state varying means. Further, the lighting state is varied according to the reception state by controlling the lighting state varying means by the control means.

As described above, if the reception state is displayed by the lighting state of the colon display section, it is not necessary to provide a display section dedicated to the reception state display. In addition, as for the variable lighting state of the colon display, not only its blinking or its speed but also the dimming blinking by dimming is used, so that the receiving state can be further subdivided and displayed in an easy-to-understand manner. can do.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of an automobile radio timepiece according to one embodiment of the present invention. The main part of the radio wave timepiece for a vehicle in this embodiment can be constituted by a combination of a microcomputer and an electronic circuit, or can be constituted only by an electronic circuit.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a receiving means, which comprises a long-wave receiving circuit or the like. The receiving means 2 receives a standard radio signal including time information.

Reference numeral 4 denotes control means, which comprises a microcomputer or a control circuit. The control means 4 corrects the time based on the received time information and controls the display state based on the reception state. The radio signal reception operation is automatically performed several times at a preset time, automatically received 24 times a day, forcibly received by the user operating a button, and affected by noise from the engine. It is set to receive when the engine key is turned off so as not to receive it, and the control means 4 also controls this receiving operation.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a display device, which in this embodiment performs digital display using a fluorescent display tube. The display device 6 has an hour / minute display section 6a for displaying the hour and minute digits of the time, respectively, and a colon display arranged between the hour / minute display section 6a to separate the hour and minute digits. A portion 6b is provided. In FIG. 1, the colon display section 6b is shown separately from the hour / minute display section 6a in order to clearly show the colon display section 6b.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a time display driving means, which comprises one function of a microcomputer and a driving circuit. The time display driving unit 8 drives the hour / minute display unit 6a of the display device 6 based on a signal from the control unit 4, and displays an accurate time based on the received time information on the hour / minute display unit 6a. It is to let.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a lighting state varying means, which comprises one function of a microcomputer, a driving circuit, and the like. The lighting state changing means 10 variably drives the colon display section 6b of the display device 6 according to a signal from the control means 4 according to the reception state. The lighting state changing means 10 in the present embodiment includes a colon display section 6b and a constant lighting driving section 12 for constantly lighting, a first blinking driving section 14 for blinking the colon display section 6b at a first cycle such as a one second cycle. A second blinking driving means 16 for blinking the colon display section 6b at a second cycle such as blinking twice per second, and a constant lighting driving means 12,
A switching means for switching and outputting drive signals from the first flashing drive means and the second flashing drive means in response to a signal indicating the reception state output from the control means.

Next, the operation of the automobile radio timepiece having the above configuration will be described. First, the receiving means 2 receives a radio signal, and if the reception is reliably performed, the control means 4 corrects the time based on the received time information. Then, the control unit 4 operates the time display driving unit 8 based on the corrected time to display the time on the hour / minute display unit 6a of the display device 6.

While the above-described receiving operation is being performed,
The control unit 4 outputs a signal to the switching unit 18 to switch to a state in which the drive signal from the second blinking driving unit 16 is supplied to the colon display unit 6b. Thereby, the colon display section 6b
Becomes a fast blinking state, for example, blinking twice per second, and indicates that the receiving operation is currently being performed. This fast blinking state is maintained until the receiving operation ends.

Thereafter, when the reception is successful as described above,
The control unit 4 outputs a signal to the switching unit 18 to switch to a state in which the driving signal from the first blinking driving unit 14 is supplied to the colon display unit 6b to indicate that the reception is successful. As a result, the colon display section 6b blinks, for example, in a one-second cycle (lights on for 0.5 seconds and turns off for 0.5 seconds). Thus, the user can know from the lighting state of the colon display section 6b that the reception has been successful. In addition, the display state indicating the successful reception is 1 in 24 hours.
This is performed when reception is successful more than once.

On the other hand, if the receiving means 2 performs the receiving operation but fails to read the time information completely and fails to receive, the control means 4 does not correct the time, and
A signal is output to the switching means 18 to switch to a state in which the driving signal from the constant lighting driving means 12 is supplied to the colon display section 6b. As a result, the colon display section 6b enters a continuous lighting state, and indicates that reception has failed. After that, when the reception operation is performed again and the reception is successful, as described above, the control unit 4 outputs a signal to the switching unit 18 and sends the drive signal from the first blinking drive unit 14 to the colon display unit 6b. Switch to the supply state and set the colon display 6b to 1
It blinks in the first cycle such as the second cycle.

In the above embodiment, the switching means 18
The drive signal from each drive means is displayed using the colon display section 6b.
The control means 4 outputs a signal to each of the driving means 12 to 16 without providing the switching means 18, and in response to the signal, each driving means outputs the respective driving signal. It can also be configured to supply to the colon display section 6b.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a partially modified example of the lighting state changing means 10. In this lighting state changing means 10, a dimming blinking driving means 20 is further added to each of the driving means 12 to 16 described above. The dimming blinking driving means 20 outputs a driving signal that repeats lighting and dimming at, for example, a one-second cycle. When the driving signal is supplied to the colon display unit 6b via the switching means 18, The colon display section 6b enters a dimming blinking state in which lighting and dimming are repeated.

By performing such dimming blinking, it is possible to create a dimming blinking state in addition to the above-described lighting, the first period blinking, and the second period blinking, and to further subdivide the reception state display. It is possible to display it in the form. For example, as described above, when reception fails, the colon display section 6b is set to a continuous lighting state by a drive signal from the constant lighting drive means 12, and during reception, by a drive signal from the second blinking drive means 16. The colon display section 6b is set to a fast blinking state such as twice per second. Then, if the reception is successful in the reception operation at the time closest to the current time, the colon display section 6b flashes at a cycle of one second or the like by the driving signal from the first flashing driving means 14, and the latest reception is performed. If the reception has failed but has been successful within 24 hours, the colon display section 6b
Flashes dimmed. As described above, by adding the dimming blinking, it is possible to display the reception state in more detail.

It should be noted that many reception states can be displayed by variously changing or combining the number and cycle of blinking of the colon display section 6b, but it is sometimes difficult to read the number and cycle of blinking from the display. In many cases, it is difficult to recognize the blinking state and the reception state in association with each other when the display is subdivided, and it is difficult to recognize the display and it is difficult to recognize the display instantly. In particular, in a watch for an automobile, it is not possible to stare at the watch or the like while driving, and it is necessary to be able to read at a glance. In this regard, in the case of dimmed blinking, it is possible to identify continuous lighting or complete blinking at a glance, and it is possible to display many reception states in an easy-to-understand manner.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another modified example of the lighting state changing means 10. This lighting state changing means 1
0 indicates a constant lighting drive means 12, a pulse drive means 22 capable of outputting drive signals having different pulse widths, and a pulse drive means which generates pulses having different pulse widths in response to a signal from the control means 4. The pulse generator 24 includes a pulse generator 24 to be supplied to the control unit 22 and a switching unit 18 for switching and outputting a drive signal from the constant lighting driving unit 12 and the pulse driving unit 22 in accordance with a signal from the control unit 4. Pulse generation means 2
Numeral 4 outputs a pulse signal having three types of duty ratios as shown in FIG. 4 and a signal in which no pulse is generated, according to a signal from the control means 24. Based on the pulse supplied from the pulse generator 24, the pulse driver 22 drives the colon display section 6b with 75% dimming and lighting, a driving signal with 50% dimming and lighting,
A drive signal for turning off the light by 5% is output, and a state in which no drive signal is output is set. In addition, the switching means 18 in the lighting state changing means 10
Is to switch and hold the signals from the constant lighting drive unit 12 and the pulse drive unit 22 in response to the signal from the control unit 4, or to switch repeatedly at a fixed cycle (such as a 0.5 second cycle). I have.

The lighting state changing means 10 makes it possible to display a more detailed reception state with a clear and simple configuration. That is, if the reception is successful within one hour from the current time,
The pulse generator 24 does not generate a pulse according to the signal from the controller 4 (FIG. 4D), and the pulse driver 22 does not output a drive signal. At this time, the switching means 18 is in a state in which the signals from the constant lighting driving means 12 and the pulse driving means are switched at a constant cycle by the signal from the control means 4 and supplied to the colon display section 6b. As a result, the lighting signal is intermittently supplied to the colon display section 6b, and a complete blinking state in which the lighting and the turning off are repeated.

If reception is successful in the reception operation performed within six hours from the current time, the pulse of FIG. As a result, the pulse drive means 22 outputs a drive signal that reduces the light intensity by 75%. Also at this time, the switching means 18
The signals from the constant lighting drive means 12 and the pulse drive means 22 are switched at a constant cycle by a signal from the control means 4 and supplied to the colon display section 6b. As a result, the lighting signal and the lighting signal for 75% dimming are supplied to the colon display section 6b, so that the lighting and the 75% dimming are repeated, resulting in a dimming blinking state close to complete blinking. .

Further, in the case where the reception succeeds in the reception operation performed within 12 hours or 24 hours from the current time, similarly, the pulse generation means 24 similarly outputs the pulses shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, respectively. Is output, and in response to this, a driving signal 25% dimmed from the pulse driving means 22 and 25
A drive signal that reduces the brightness by% is output. And switching means 1
8, the colon display section 6b is periodically switched and output with the drive signal from the constant lighting drive means 12, so that the colony display section 6b flashes lightly and repeats lighting and 50% dimming. A dimming blinking state is obtained in which the light flickers slightly by repeating the 25% dimming.

Further, if the reception has not been successful for one day or more, the switching means 18 is in a state of constantly outputting and holding the drive signal from the lighting drive means 12 by the signal from the control means 4, and the colon display section 6b is turned on continuously.

As described above, by subdividing the rate of dimming the colon display section 6b, the reception state can be subdivided and displayed.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the reception state can be displayed by changing the lighting state of the colon display section provided in the display device, so that a dedicated display can be provided or a new display device can be provided. There is no need to develop and manufacture For this reason, it is possible to provide an automobile radio timepiece that displays a reception state at low cost.

Further, since the reception state is displayed by lighting, blinking, and dimming and blinking the colon display section, the reception state can be known from the lighting state at a glance.

Further, since not only the blinking but also the dimming blinking for dimming the display is used, it is possible to display more reception states in an easily understandable manner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of an automobile radio timepiece according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a partially modified example of the lighting state changing means shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another partially modified example of the lighting state changing means shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing pulses output by the pulse generation means shown in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Receiving means 4 Control means 6 Display device 8 Time display driving means 10 Lighting state variable means 12 Constant lighting driving means 14 First blinking driving means 16 Second blinking driving means 18 Switching means 20 Dimming blinking driving means 22 Pulse driving means 24 Pulse generation means

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An automobile radio timepiece that receives a radio signal including time information and displays the time on a display device, wherein: a time display driving means for displaying the time on the display device; and a specific display unit of the display device. Lighting state varying means for varying the lighting state; andcontrol means for controlling the lighting state varying means in accordance with the reception state of the radio signal to vary the lighting state of the specific display section. Mobile radio clock. 2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising: an hour / minute display unit for displaying an hour digit and a minute digit of a time, and a colon display unit for separating the hour digit and the minute digit. 2. The radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 1, comprising the colon display. 3. The radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the lighting state changing unit changes the lighting state by blinking the specific display unit. 4. The radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 3, wherein the lighting state changing means changes the lighting state by changing an interval at which the specific display section is turned on and off. 5. The radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the lighting state changing unit changes the lighting state by dimming the specific display unit. 6. The automobile radio timepiece according to claim 5, wherein said lighting state changing means changes the lighting state by changing a ratio of dimming the specific display section. 7. An automobile radio timepiece that receives a radio signal including time information and displays the time on a display device, wherein a lighting state of a specific display section of the display device is changed according to a reception state of the radio signal. A method for displaying a reception state of a radio wave clock for an automobile, wherein the reception state is displayed by: 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein a lighting state is varied by blinking the specific display section. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the lighting state is changed by changing an interval at which the specific display section blinks. 10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the lighting state is changed by dimming the specific display section. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the lighting state is varied by varying a rate of dimming the specific display unit.