JP2016044982A - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic equipment such as an analog electronic timepiece, for which either of the normal rotation and the reverse rotation which is smaller in resource consumption made by motor rotation can be determined to be the rotational direction of the hands when the hands are to be moved to target positions.SOLUTION: An analog electronic timepiece 1 includes: hands; a ring array mechanism; a stepping motor causing the hands to make a normal rotation or a reverse rotation on a step-by-step basis via the ring array mechanism; a CPU 4; and an operation unit 90 specifying target positions of the hands, the CPU 4 having a hands rotation direction calculating unit, the calculating unit selecting a rotational direction which involves a smaller current amount as a smaller resource consumption amount, taking the backlash amount into consideration, when the target positions of the hands are specified.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device such as an analog electronic timepiece that displays information with hands.

An analog electronic timepiece is a timepiece that controls the operation of hands by a crystal oscillator. Recent analog electronic timepieces have a function of switching and displaying the time of the city of the living base and the time of another city, and a function of switching and displaying the presence or absence of daylight saving time. At this time, the analog electronic timepiece moves the time pointer to a position at a time different from the normal time position.
Some recent analog electronic watches have a function of displaying various information such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, altitude, and direction. In this analog electronic timepiece, if an independent pointer is provided as a display pointer for these various types of information, the timepiece may be increased in size and a wide display area may be required. In view of this, time pointers for displaying analog time are switched and displayed for displaying these various types of information. At this time, the analog electronic timepiece moves the time hand to a desired position different from the normal time position.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which a time pointer is moved to a position different from a normal time position for display. The purpose of the summary of Patent Document 1 is that, in an analog timepiece in which the minute hand and the hour hand are individually driven by two motors capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation, the use efficiency of the motor is improved as a multifunctional timepiece. It will be enhanced. " In the configuration of the summary of Patent Document 1, “the current time storage unit 61 that stores the time counted by the time counting unit 43 by counting the reference signal, and the content stored in the current time storage unit 61 is converted into the angle of the pointer. A conversion unit 45 and a target position storage unit 71 for storing the calculation result as a target value and a display position storage unit 75 for storing a display value indicating the display position of the pointer are provided, and the target value and the display value are matched. The calculation driving means 47 for outputting a step signal to the pointer driving pulse motor in the display means 90 is provided. "

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-93784

  Many analog electronic timepieces are equipped with a gear train mechanism for rotating the hands, and a pulse motor (stepping motor) drives the wheel train mechanism to rotate the hands. This gear train mechanism has a slight gap between the gears because the gears fit into each other and transmit the driving force. This gap is called Backlash. By this backlash, each gear can move freely. This backlash absorbs manufacturing errors, thermal expansion, and distortion of parts of the train wheel mechanism, and prevents damage to the train wheel mechanism due to external force.

When the pointer is driven by rotating the pulse motor to the forward rotation side and then the pulse motor is rotated to the reverse rotation side, the pointer is displaced by a predetermined position due to backlash. For this reason, the analog electronic timepiece operates to rotate the pulse motor to the reverse rotation side, and then turn it slightly more to correct the deviation due to backlash and to rotate it to the normal rotation side. As a result, deviation due to backlash (hereinafter referred to as “backlash amount”) is corrected.
No conventional analog electronic timepiece moves the hands to the target position in consideration of the resources consumed by the rotation of the pulse motor. Therefore, the pulse motor may consume a larger amount of current, and may require more rotation time.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, when the pointer is moved to the target position for the electronic device, the smaller of the resources consumed by the rotation of the motor between the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the pointer is determined as the rotation direction of the pointer. Is an issue.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides
A freely provided pointer,
A train wheel mechanism for rotating the pointer;
A motor for rotating the pointer forward or reverse step by step via the train wheel mechanism;
A control means for setting a target position at which the pointer moves, and for controlling driving of the motor;
With
The control means, when driving the pointer to the target position, considers the amount of backlash and selects a rotation direction with less resource value to be consumed.
This is an electronic device.

  According to the present invention, when the pointer is moved to a target position for the electronic device, the smaller one of the resources consumed by the rotation of the motor between the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the pointer is determined as the rotation direction of the pointer. Is possible.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the analog electronic timepiece in 1st Embodiment. It is a control block diagram of the analog electronic timepiece in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of forward rotation and reverse rotation of the hand of an analog electronic timepiece. It is a flowchart which shows the needle rotation process in 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the analog electronic timepiece in 2nd Embodiment. It is a control block diagram of the analog electronic timepiece in the second embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the needle rotation process in 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(Configuration of the first embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an analog electronic timepiece 1 according to the first embodiment.
The analog electronic timepiece 1 according to the first embodiment can drive the second hand 2a, the minute hand 2b, and the hour hand 2c by independent motors, respectively, and is not particularly limited. Is a wristwatch-type electronic timepiece. The analog electronic timepiece 1 includes, for example, a second hand 2a, a stepping motor 32a that rotationally drives the second hand 2a via a train wheel mechanism 31a, and a motor drive circuit 33a. Here, the minute hand 2b and the hour hand 2c are similarly configured. The second hand 2a, the minute hand 2b, and the hour hand 2c can rotate independently of each other. Hereinafter, when the second hand 2a, the minute hand 2b, and the hour hand 2c are not particularly distinguished, they are simply referred to as a pointer 2. When the train wheel mechanisms 31a to 31c are not particularly distinguished, they are simply referred to as the train wheel mechanism 31. When the stepping motors 32a to 32c are not particularly distinguished, they are simply referred to as stepping motors 32. When the motor drive circuits 33a to 33c are not particularly distinguished, they are simply referred to as a motor drive circuit 33.

  The analog electronic timepiece 1 further includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 4, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 6, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 7, an oscillation circuit 82, a frequency dividing circuit 81, and a time counting circuit 83. The power supply unit 5, the operation unit 90, the atmospheric pressure measurement unit 91, the temperature measurement unit 92, the azimuth measurement unit 93, and the radio wave reception unit 94 are provided.

The second hand 2a, the minute hand 2b, and the hour hand 2c are provided so as to be rotatable with respect to a rotation axis on the dial. The train wheel mechanisms 31a to 31c rotate the second hand 2a, the minute hand 2b, and the hour hand 2c, respectively.
The second hand 2a can be rotated and moved in steps of 6 degrees, and makes a round on the dial face by movement of 60 steps. For example, the minute hand 2b can be rotated and moved in one step by each step drive of the stepping motor 32, and moves around the dial by 360 steps. Similarly, the hour hand 2c can be rotationally moved in steps of 1 degree, and makes a round on the dial by movement of 360 steps. Hereinafter, the number of step drives per round of each pointer 2 may be referred to as “maximum number of steps”. The ROM 6 described later holds this step drive number as a maximum step number 66.

  The motor drive circuit 33 outputs a drive voltage signal for driving the stepping motors 32a to 32c at an appropriate timing based on the control signal input from the CPU 4. The motor drive circuit 33 can adjust and output the drive voltage and drive voltage pulse width of the stepping motor 32 based on a setting signal from the CPU 4. The motor drive circuit 33 according to the first embodiment can output a drive voltage signal to the stepping motor 32 in the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction.

  The CPU 4 performs various arithmetic processes and controls the overall operation of the analog electronic timepiece 1. The CPU 4 reads out and executes the control program stored in the ROM 6, continuously causes each unit to perform an operation related to time display, and at a timing set in real time based on an input operation to the operation unit 90. Causes the requested action to be performed. The CPU 4 is a control unit that sets a target position where the pointer 2 moves and controls the driving of the stepping motor 32 via the motor drive circuit 33.

  The ROM 6 holds various control programs and initial setting data. For example, the forward pulse current consumption value 61, the reverse pulse current consumption value 62, and the forward pulse width of the second hand 2a, the minute hand 2b, and the hour hand 2c, respectively. The initial value 63, the reverse pulse width initial value 64, the backlash amount 65, and the maximum number of steps 66 are held. Various control programs (not shown) are read out and continuously executed by the CPU 4 when the analog electronic timepiece 1 is activated.

The forward rotation pulse consumption current value 61 is a current value of a pulse that rotates the stepping motor 32 by one step in the forward rotation direction. The normal rotation pulse width initial value 63 is an initial value of a pulse width for rotating the stepping motor 32 by one step in the normal rotation direction.
The reverse pulse consumption current value 62 is a current value of a pulse that rotates the stepping motor 32 by one step in the reverse rotation direction. The reverse pulse width initial value 64 is an initial value of a pulse width for rotating the stepping motor 32 by one step in the reverse direction.
The backlash amount 65 holds a value indicating the deviation due to the backlash of the pointer 2 and the gear train mechanism 31 by the number of steps. The maximum number of steps 66 holds the value of the maximum number of steps corresponding to one turn of the dial of each pointer 2. “5” is held in the backlash amount 65 of the minute hand 2b of the present embodiment. As described above, “360” is held in the maximum number of steps 66 of the minute hand 2b. The backlash amount 65 and the maximum number of steps 66 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The RAM 7 is a volatile memory such as SRAM and DRAM, and provides a working memory space for the CPU 4. For example, the forward rotation pulse consumption current amount 71 and the reverse rotation pulse consumption current amount 72 according to each pointer 2, and the forward rotation pulse The width setting value 73 and the reverse pulse width setting value 74, the normal rotation pulse width correction value 75, and the reverse rotation pulse width correction value 76 are stored.
The forward rotation pulse consumption current amount 71 is a current amount of a pulse that rotates the stepping motor 32 by one step in the forward rotation direction, and is calculated by multiplying the forward rotation pulse consumption current value 61 and the width of one pulse. The reverse pulse consumption current amount 72 is a current amount of a pulse that rotates the stepping motor 32 by one step in the reverse rotation direction, and is calculated by multiplying the reverse pulse consumption current value 62 and the width of one pulse. The battery life can be calculated from the forward pulse current consumption amount 71, the reverse pulse current consumption amount 72, and the battery capacity. The forward rotation pulse consumption current amount 71 and the reverse rotation pulse consumption current amount 72 are equal to the amount of electricity [C].
The normal rotation pulse width correction value 75 is information for correcting the normal rotation pulse width initial value 63. The reverse pulse width correction value 76 is information for correcting the reverse pulse width initial value 64.
The forward rotation pulse width setting value 73 is a pulse width value that actually rotates the stepping motor 32 by one step in the forward rotation direction. The reverse pulse width setting value 74 is a pulse width value that actually rotates the stepping motor 32 by one step in the reverse direction.
The RAM 7 can temporarily store user setting data set based on an input operation to the operation unit 90. A part of the RAM 7 may be a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory).

The oscillation circuit 82 generates a unique frequency signal and outputs it to the frequency dividing circuit 81. As the oscillation circuit 82, for example, a crystal oscillation circuit is used.
The frequency dividing circuit 81 divides the signal input from the oscillation circuit 82 into signals of various frequencies used by the CPU 4 and the time counting circuit 83 and outputs them.
The time counting circuit 83 is a counter circuit that counts the number of times of a predetermined frequency signal input from the frequency dividing circuit 81 and counts the current time by adding to the initial time. The current time counted by the time counting circuit 83 is read by the CPU 4 and used for time display. This time counting may be controlled by software.

  The power supply unit 5 has a configuration capable of operating the analog electronic timepiece 1 continuously and stably over a long period of time, and is, for example, a combination of a battery and a DC-DC converter. As a result, the output voltage of the power supply unit 5 during operation maintains a predetermined value.

  The operation unit 90 receives an input operation by the user, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs it to the CPU 4. The operation unit 90 of the first embodiment is, for example, a push button switch, and is provided on a casing that holds the dial of the analog electronic timepiece 1 and the side surfaces of the cover member.

  The atmospheric pressure measurement unit 91 is, for example, a semiconductor sensor that measures atmospheric pressure using a piezoelectric element. The analog electric signal corresponding to the atmospheric pressure measured by the semiconductor sensor is digitally converted by the CPU 4 to identify the atmospheric pressure. For example, when causing the analog electronic timepiece 1 to execute the atmospheric pressure measurement function, the CPU 4 moves the pointer 2 to display the measured atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric pressure measured by the atmospheric pressure measurement unit 91 and the CPU 4 is also used for calculating the altitude.

  The temperature measuring unit 92 is a temperature sensor that measures the temperature inside the casing of the analog electronic timepiece 1. As this temperature sensor, for example, a small and light semiconductor sensor is used. The analog electric signal corresponding to the temperature measured and output by the temperature sensor is digitally converted by the CPU 4 to identify the temperature. For example, when causing the analog electronic timepiece 1 to execute the temperature measurement function, the CPU 4 moves the pointer 2 to display the identified temperature.

  The direction measuring unit 93 includes a geomagnetic sensor that measures a geomagnetic field. An electrical signal corresponding to the geomagnetic field measured by the geomagnetic sensor is input to the CPU 4 in a predetermined format, is digitally converted at a predetermined sampling frequency, and the direction of magnetic north is identified by the direction identifying unit 47. For example, when the analog electronic timepiece 1 executes the azimuth magnetic needle function, the CPU 4 rotates the pointer 2 to display the direction of the identified magnetic north.

  The radio wave receiver 94 receives a standard radio wave including time information via an antenna and outputs a demodulated signal to the CPU 4. The demodulated signal is decoded by a time decoding unit 48 (see FIG. 2), whereby time information is acquired. Based on this time information, the current time counted by the time counting circuit 83 is corrected as necessary.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the analog electronic timepiece 1 according to the first embodiment.
Each control unit described in FIG. 2 is realized by the CPU 4 executing each control program stored in the ROM 6 or the like.
The atmospheric pressure measurement unit 91 and the temperature measurement unit 92 output the measured signals to the needle operation control unit 41. The needle operation control unit 41 identifies the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and direction from these signals.
The altitude conversion unit 46 converts the atmospheric pressure information measured by the atmospheric pressure measurement unit 91 into an altitude value using, for example, a conversion table between the atmospheric pressure and the altitude, and outputs the converted altitude value to the needle operation control unit 41.
The azimuth identifying unit 47 digitally converts and processes the electrical signal corresponding to the geomagnetic field measured by the geomagnetic sensor of the azimuth measuring unit 93 to identify the direction of magnetic north.
The time decoding unit 48 decodes the time from the standard radio wave signal received by the radio wave receiving unit 94, and outputs the decoded time information to the hand operation control unit 41.
When the operation unit 90 receives an operation instruction from the user, the operation unit 90 outputs information on the operation to the needle operation control unit 41. The operation unit 90 is a switching unit that switches any one of time, direction, altitude, temperature, and atmospheric pressure as indicated by the pointer 2.

  The target needle position setting unit 412 of the needle operation control unit 41 determines the target position of the pointer 2 based on the operation information. The hand movement control unit 41 selects any one of time, direction, altitude, temperature, and atmospheric pressure based on the operation information, and determines the target position of the pointer 2 related to the selected information. The operation unit 90 and the target needle position setting unit 412 constitute position specifying means for specifying the target position of the pointer 2. Here, the pointer 2 is any one of the second hand 2a, the minute hand 2b, and the hour hand 2c shown in FIG.

The pulse width setting unit 421 corrects the normal rotation pulse width initial value 63, which is the initial value of the pulse width for each normal rotation pulse, with the normal rotation pulse width correction value 75, temperature information, etc. Is output to the pulse width storage unit 422. The stepping motor 32 is set to operate normally at a wide pulse level at a room temperature level of 20 ° C. to 30 ° C., that is, the pulse width can be set in a wide range, but it is limited in a high temperature environment or a low temperature environment. Normal operation can only be performed with a pulse level within a specified range, in particular, with a drive pulse having a long pulse width. Therefore, the pulse width setting unit 421 calculates a pulse width that allows normal operation.
The pulse width setting unit 421 further corrects the reverse pulse width initial value 64, which is the initial value of the pulse width for each reverse pulse, with the reverse pulse width correction value 76, temperature information, and the like, so that the current value of one reverse pulse is obtained. Is output to the pulse width storage unit 422.
The pulse width storage unit 422 stores the forward / reverse rotation pulse width calculated by the pulse width setting unit 421 in the forward rotation pulse width setting value 73 and the reverse rotation pulse width setting value 74 of the RAM 7 (see FIG. 1). An operation pulse output unit 414 described later refers to the forward rotation pulse width setting value 73 and the reverse rotation pulse width setting value 74 when outputting the pulse signal.

The needle consumption current holding unit 43 holds a forward rotation pulse consumption current value 61 that is a current value that flows in one forward rotation pulse, and a reverse rotation pulse consumption current value 62 that is a current that flows in one reverse rotation pulse. The stepping motor 32 of the present embodiment has different current consumption values between forward rotation and reverse rotation. The forward rotation pulse consumption current value 61 holds a value different from the reverse rotation pulse consumption current value 62.
The needle consumption current amount calculation unit 44 refers to the pulse width storage unit 422 and the needle consumption current holding unit 43, and the forward rotation pulse consumption current amount 71 and the reverse rotation are the consumption current amounts for each forward / reverse pulse. A pulse current consumption amount 72 is calculated and stored in the RAM 7 (see FIG. 1). The amount of current consumed for each pulse of forward / reverse rotation is the amount of current consumed for forward / reverse rotation of the pointer 2 by one step, and is calculated by multiplying the current consumption value by the pulse width. .
A needle rotation direction calculation unit 413, which will be described later, consumes when the pointer 2 is rotated to the target position in the forward / reverse direction with reference to the forward rotation pulse consumption current amount 71 and the reverse rotation pulse consumption current amount 72. Calculate the current consumption.

  The operations of the pulse width setting unit 421, the pulse width storage unit 422, and the hand consumption current amount calculation unit 44 described above are executed for each of the second hand 2a, the minute hand 2b, and the hour hand 2c shown in FIG.

The needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 (needle rotation direction calculation means) calculates (determines) the rotation direction of the pointer 2 based on the target position of the pointer 2 and the current needle position 411. Here, the current needle position 411 indicates the current position of the pointer 2 by a step number. The needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 includes a current consumption amount when the pointer 2 is rotated to the forward rotation side to indicate the target position, and a current consumption amount when the pointer 2 is rotated to the reverse rotation side to indicate the target position. And the rotation direction of the pointer 2 is calculated (determined). As a result, the CPU 4 can select a rotation direction with a small amount of current consumption in consideration of the backlash amount when driving the pointer 2 to the target position.
The operation pulse output unit 414 (needle drive means) outputs an operation pulse to the motor drive circuit 33 (see FIG. 1) to drive the stepping motor 32, thereby rotating the pointer 2.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the operation of the pointer 2 of the analog electronic timepiece 1 during normal rotation and reverse rotation.
FIG. 3A shows the operation of the analog electronic timepiece 1 when the pointer 2 is rotating forward. Here, FIGS. 1 and 2 will be referred to as appropriate in the description of the operation.
The dial 21 is provided with a scale for time display, and a second hand 2a, a minute hand 2b, and an hour hand 2c are rotatably provided on a rotation shaft provided at substantially the same position. The dial 21 and the upper portions of the second hand 2a, the minute hand 2b, and the hour hand 2c are covered with a cover member made of a transparent material so that they are visible. In addition to the current position of the minute hand 2b, the target position 2b1 is indicated by a broken line arrow. In FIG. 3A, for the purpose of explanation, numerical values indicating step numbers from step # 0 to step # 359 are shown around the dial 21 once. The current position of the minute hand 2b is step # 0. The target position 2b1 is step # 185. At this time, “0” is set in the current needle position 411.
An arrow M10 indicates an operation during forward rotation from the current position of the minute hand 2b to the target position 2b1. The number of forward rotation steps at this time can be calculated by the following equation (1).

Number of forward rotation steps = target position 2b1-current needle position 411
= 185 steps (1)

The analog electronic timepiece 1 (see FIG. 1) can move the minute hand 2b to the target position 2b1 by driving the stepping motor 32b to the forward rotation side by 185 steps.
When the step number of the target position 2b1 is larger than the step number of the current needle position 411, the maximum number of steps 66 is further added after subtracting the step number of the current needle position 411 from the step number of the target position 2b1. Then, the number of forward rotation steps can be obtained.
Next, in order to rotate the pointer 2 to the forward rotation side, the amount of current consumed when the stepping motor 32b is rotated to the forward rotation side is obtained. This process is executed by the needle consumption current amount calculation unit 44 (see FIG. 2).
A normal rotation pulse current consumption amount 71 indicating a current consumption amount per one normal rotation pulse is calculated by multiplying a normal rotation pulse current consumption value 61 by a normal rotation pulse width setting value 73 which is a pulse width thereof. This is shown in the following formula (2).

Normal pulse current consumption amount 71 = Normal pulse current consumption value 61
X Forward rotation pulse width setting value 73 (2)

The voltage value of the pulse is determined by the output voltage of the power supply unit 5, and is the same when the stepping motor 32b is rotating forward / reversely. Therefore, the forward rotation pulse consumption current amount 71 is proportional to the power consumption per forward rotation pulse.
The current consumption value and the initial width of the pulse during forward rotation vary depending on the type of the stepping motor 32b or the type of the gear train mechanism 31b. For this reason, the ROM 6 is configured so that the normal rotation pulse consumption current value 61 and the normal rotation pulse width initial value 63 are held so that rewriting for each product model is easy.

  Further, the pulse width during forward rotation of the stepping motor 32b is set by the pulse width setting unit 421 so as to be a minimum value that can be driven by one step. The set value is stored in the normal rotation pulse width setting value 73 of the RAM 7. As a result, a forward rotation pulse is output with a minimum width that can be driven in one step regardless of individual differences of the stepping motor 32b, individual differences of the gear train mechanism 31b, and load variations due to temperature, and the current consumption is reduced. It can reduce the battery life.

Similarly, the pulse width at the time of reverse rotation of the stepping motor 32 b is also corrected by the pulse width setting unit 421 so as to be a minimum value that can be driven by one step and stored in the reverse pulse width setting value 74 of the RAM 7.
The reverse pulse consumption current amount 72 is calculated by multiplying the reverse pulse consumption current value 62 by the reverse pulse width setting value 74 which is the pulse width.
The amount of current consumption when the pointer 2 rotates to the forward rotation side is obtained by multiplying the number of forward rotation steps obtained previously by the forward rotation pulse current consumption amount 71. This is shown in the following formula (3).

Current consumption amount of forward rotation = forward rotation step × forward rotation pulse current consumption 71 (3)

FIG. 3B shows the operation when the pointer 2 of the analog electronic timepiece 1 is reversed.
As in FIG. 3A, the dial 21 shows the current position of the minute hand 2b and the target position 2b1. The current position of the minute hand 2b is step # 0. The target position 2b1 is step # 185. At this time, “0” is set in the current needle position 411.
The analog electronic timepiece 1 can move the minute hand 2b to the target position 2b1 by rotating the stepping motor 32b to the reverse side and then rotating to the normal side.
An arrow M20 indicates an operation during reverse rotation from the current needle position 411 to the target position 2b1. The number of reverse steps at this time can be calculated by the following equation (4).

Number of reverse steps = Maximum number of steps 66− (target position 2b1−current needle position 411)
= 175 steps (4)

If the step number of the current needle position 411 is larger than the step number of the target position 2b1, the number of reverse steps can be obtained by subtracting the step number of the target position 2b1 from the step number of the current needle position 411. it can.
In the case of the arrow M20, that is, the current consumption when the stepping motor 32b is rotated in the reverse direction can be calculated by the following equation (5).

Consumption current amount of arrow M20 = reverse rotation pulse consumption current amount 72 × reverse step number (5)

Here, since the pointer 2 is rotated in the reverse direction, the stepping motor 32b must return to the forward rotation side after proceeding further to the reverse rotation side by the backlash amount 65 following the above.
An arrow M21 indicates an operation in which the stepping motor 32b advances from the target position 2b1 to the reverse side by the backlash amount 65. An arrow M22 indicates an operation in which the stepping motor 32b returns to the normal rotation side by the backlash amount 65 and reaches the target position 2b1 after the operation of the arrow M21. Here, the backlash amount 65 is, for example, 5 steps. The amount of current consumption during backlash is calculated by multiplying the amount of backlash 65 by the sum of the forward pulse current consumption amount 71 and the reverse pulse current consumption amount 72. This is shown in the following formula (6).

Current consumption during backlash = backlash amount
× (Forward rotation pulse consumption current amount 71 + Reverse rotation pulse consumption current amount 72) (6)

Therefore, the amount of current consumption when the pointer 2 rotates in the reverse direction is expressed by the following equation (7).

Current consumption of reverse rotation = current consumption of arrow M20
+ Current consumption during backlash ... (7)

  The needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 compares the current consumption amount when the pointer 2 rotates to the forward rotation side with the current consumption amount when the pointer 2 rotates to the reverse rotation side, so that the current consumption amount is smaller. It can operate by selecting the direction of rotation. Thereby, battery life can be increased.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the needle rotation processing in the first embodiment.
When the operation unit 90 receives an operation instruction from the user, the operation unit 90 outputs the operation information to the needle operation control unit 41, and performs a needle rotation process after the process S10. Here, the operation information is for selecting any one of time, direction, altitude, temperature, and atmospheric pressure, for example.

In process S10, the target needle position setting unit 412 changes the target position of the pointer 2 according to the operation information. The target needle position setting unit 412 changes the target position of the pointer 2 according to the direction identified by the direction identification unit 47, for example, if the operation information is an instruction related to the display of the direction.
If the operation information is an instruction related to the display of the atmospheric pressure, the atmospheric pressure is measured based on the signal of the atmospheric pressure measurement unit 91, and the target position of the pointer 2 is changed according to the measured atmospheric pressure. If the operation information is an instruction related to temperature display, the temperature is measured based on the signal from the temperature measurement unit 92, and the target position of the pointer 2 is changed according to the measured temperature. If the operation information is an instruction related to the display of the altitude, the target position of the pointer 2 is changed according to the altitude converted by the altitude converting unit 46. If the operation information is an instruction related to the display of time, the target position of the pointer 2 is changed according to the time identified by the time decoding unit 48.

In process S11, the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 determines whether or not the target position of the pointer 2 is different from the current needle position 411. If the current needle position 411 of the pointer 2 is different from the target position (Yes), the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 proceeds to step S12 and subsequent steps, and determines the rotation direction toward the target position. If the current needle position 411 and the target position of the pointer 2 are the same (No), the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 ends the process of FIG.
Consider a case where the target needle position setting unit 412 changes the target position of the pointer 2 according to, for example, the direction. At this time, the target position of the pointer 2 is different from the current needle position 411, and the process often proceeds to step S12 and thereafter.
In process S12, the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 calculates the number of rotation steps in forward / reverse rotation from the current needle position 411 to the target position. Specifically, in the case shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the number of rotation steps during forward rotation is 185. The number of rotation steps at the time of reverse rotation is 175.

In step S13, the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 calculates the amount of current consumed by the stepping motor 32 during the forward rotation of the pointer 2 from the number of rotation steps during the normal rotation and the like based on the equations (1) to (3). To do.
In step S14, the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 adds the backlash amount 65 to the number of rotation steps at the time of reverse rotation, and uses the stepping motor 32 at the time of reverse rotation of the pointer 2 based on the equations (4) to (7). Calculate the current consumption. Thereby, even when the gear train mechanism 31 has a backlash, it is possible to accurately calculate the amount of current consumption due to the rotation of the pointer 2 during the reverse rotation.
In process S15, the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 determines whether or not the amount of current consumption is smaller during forward rotation than during reverse rotation of the pointer 2. If the amount of current consumed by the stepping motor 32 at the time of forward rotation of the pointer 2 is less than that at the time of reverse rotation (Yes), the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 proceeds to processing S16 and consumes current by the stepping motor 32 at the time of forward rotation of the pointer 2 If the amount is greater than or equal to the time of reverse rotation (No), the process proceeds to step S17.

  In process S16, the operation pulse output unit 414 outputs a pulse to the motor drive circuit 33 so that the pointer 2 rotates in the forward direction to the target position. The operation pulse output unit 414 ends the process of FIG. 4 when the process S16 ends.

In process S17, the operation pulse output unit 414 outputs a pulse to the motor drive circuit 33 so that the pointer 2 rotates in the reverse direction to the target position.
In step S18, the operation pulse output unit 414 outputs a pulse to the motor drive circuit 33 so that the stepping motor 32 is reversed by the backlash amount 65.
In process S19, the operation pulse output unit 414 outputs a pulse to the motor drive circuit 33 so that the stepping motor 32 rotates forward by the backlash amount 65. By doing so, the operation pulse output unit 414 can be rotationally driven so that the pointer 2 accurately indicates the target position, regardless of the backlash deviation of the gear train mechanism 31. The operation pulse output unit 414 ends the process of FIG. 4 when the process S19 ends.

  4, when the analog electronic timepiece 1 (electronic device) moves the hands 2 to the target position, the amount of current (resource) consumed by the rotation of the stepping motor 32 between the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the hands 2. The smaller one can be determined as the rotation direction of the pointer 2. Thereby, battery life can be increased.

(Second Embodiment)
As with the analog electronic timepiece 1 of the first embodiment, the analog electronic timepiece 1A of the second embodiment calculates the rotation time of the hands 2 in consideration of backlash in addition to the forward direction and the reverse direction. Judgment. The process based on the rotation time of the second embodiment is the same as the process based on the current consumption amount of the first embodiment except that the amount of resources to be determined is different.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an analog electronic timepiece 1A according to the second embodiment. The same elements as those of the analog electronic timepiece 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Unlike the first embodiment, the analog electronic timepiece 1A in the second embodiment holds a forward rotation 1 step time 67 and a reverse rotation 1 step time 68 in the ROM 6. The rest is the same as the analog electronic timepiece 1 of the first embodiment.
The normal rotation one step time 67 is a time required for rotating the stepping motor 32 by one step in the normal rotation direction.
The reverse one-step time 68 is a time required to rotate the stepping motor 32 by one step in the reverse direction. The time required for the stepping motor 32 of this embodiment to be rotated by one step differs between forward rotation and reverse rotation. The forward rotation 1 step time 67 holds a value different from the reverse rotation 1 step time 68.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the analog electronic timepiece 1A in the second embodiment. The same elements as those in the control block of the analog electronic timepiece 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Unlike the first embodiment, the analog electronic timepiece 1A according to the second embodiment includes a hand driving time holding unit 49. The needle driving time holding unit 49 holds a forward rotation 1 step time 67 and a reverse rotation 1 step time 68. Other than that, it is the same as the control block of the analog electronic timepiece 1 of the first embodiment. Accordingly, the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 can calculate the rotation time when the pointer 2 is rotating forward and the rotation time when the pointer 2 is rotating backward.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the needle rotation processing in the second embodiment. The same elements as those in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
When the operation unit 90 receives an operation instruction from the user, the operation unit 90 outputs the operation information to the needle operation control unit 41, and performs a needle rotation process after the process S10.
Processes S10 to S12 are the same as processes S10 to S12 shown in FIG.

In the process S13A, the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 calculates the time for the rotation of the pointer 2 during the normal rotation from the number of rotation steps during the normal rotation of the stepping motor 32. At this time, the time required for rotation of the pointer 2 during normal rotation can be calculated by multiplying the number of rotation steps during normal rotation of the stepping motor 32 by the normal rotation one step time 67. This is shown in the following formula (8).

Time due to rotation during normal rotation = number of rotation steps during normal rotation x one step time for normal rotation 67 (8)

In the process S14A, the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 calculates the time for the rotation of the pointer 2 during the reverse rotation by adding the backlash amount 65 to the number of rotation steps when the stepping motor 32 is reverse. The time required for the rotation of the pointer 2 during the reverse rotation is obtained by multiplying the number of rotation steps during the reverse rotation of the stepping motor 32 by the reverse rotation 1 step time 68, and the sum of the forward rotation 1 step time 67 and the reverse rotation 1 step time 68 and backlash. It can be calculated by adding the product of the quantity 65. This is shown in the following formula (8).

Time due to rotation at the time of reverse rotation = number of rotation steps at the time of reverse rotation × reverse rotation 1 step time 68
+ (Forward rotation 1 step time 67 + Reverse rotation 1 step time 68)
× Backlash 65… (9)

Thereby, even when the gear train mechanism 31 has a backlash, the time required for the rotation of the pointer 2 during the reverse rotation can be accurately calculated.
In process S15A, the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 determines whether or not the rotation time of the pointer 2 is smaller at the time of forward rotation than at the time of reverse rotation. If the rotation time of the pointer 2 during normal rotation is less than the reverse rotation (Yes), the needle rotation direction calculation unit 413 proceeds to step S16, and if the rotation time of the pointer 2 during normal rotation is greater than or equal to the reverse rotation (No). The process proceeds to step S17. Thereby, when driving the pointer 2 to the target position, the CPU 4 can select the rotation direction in which the required time is short in consideration of the backlash amount.
Processes S16 to S19 are the same as processes S16 to S19 shown in FIG.
7, when the analog electronic timepiece 1A (electronic device) moves the hands 2 to the target position, the time (resource) consumed by the rotation of the stepping motor 32 between the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the hands 2 is reduced. The smaller one can be determined as the rotation direction of the pointer 2. Thereby, various information can be quickly displayed by the pointer 2 without waiting for the user.

(Modification)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, there are the following (a) to (g).
(A) If the operation unit 90 is switched to indicate the time with the hands 2, the hand movement control unit 41 determines the target position of the hands 2 according to the driving time from the current position of the hands 2 to the target position. May be corrected.

(B) In the above embodiment, the minute hand 2b is rotationally driven to an arbitrary target position. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the hour hand 2c, the second hand 2a, and the like may be rotated to an arbitrary target position, and is not limited.

(C) In the above embodiment, an example of the analog electronic timepiece 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various information is displayed at an angle of the pointer 2, and the pointer 2 is rotationally driven by the train wheel mechanism 31. And the train wheel mechanism 31 should just be an electronic device which has the shift | offset | difference by backlash.

(D) The target position of the pointer 2 may be directly specified by the user, and is not limited.
(E) The information instructed by the operation unit 90 may be switching information between the time of the city of the living base and the time of another city. With this instruction information, the display time of the analog electronic timepiece 1 can be switched between the time of the city of the living base and the time of another city.
(F) The information instructed by the operation unit 90 may be switching information on the presence / absence of summer time. Based on this instruction information, the display time of the analog electronic timepiece 1 can be switched between the presence / absence of summer time.
(G) The resource consumed by the rotation of the stepping motor 32 may be the amount of power. As a result, even when the drive voltage varies, the power consumption (resource) can be calculated correctly.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and is included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof. Hereinafter, the invention described in the scope of claims of the present application will be appended.
[Appendix]
<Claim 1>
A freely provided pointer,
A train wheel mechanism for rotating the pointer;
A motor for rotating the pointer forward or reverse step by step via the train wheel mechanism;
A control means for setting a target position at which the pointer moves, and for controlling driving of the motor;
With
The control means, when driving the pointer to the target position, considers the amount of backlash and selects a rotation direction with less resource value to be consumed.
An electronic device characterized by that.
<Claim 2>
The motor consumes different resource values for normal rotation and reverse rotation.
The electronic device according to claim 1.
<Claim 3>
The control means includes
When driving the pointer to the target position, consider the amount of backlash and select the direction of rotation with less current consumption.
The electronic device according to claim 1.
<Claim 4>
The control means includes
When driving the pointer to the target position, consider the amount of backlash, and select a rotation direction that requires a short time.
The electronic device according to claim 1.
<Claim 5>
The resource value consumed for each step of forward or reverse rotation of the motor,
The backlash amount of the train wheel mechanism according to the pointer;
The maximum number of steps of the guideline;
Storage means for holding
The electronic device according to claim 1.
<Claim 6>
The resource value is a combination of the pulse width and current consumption amount for each step of forward rotation or reverse rotation of the motor, or a combination of these combinations corrected by individual differences.
The electronic device according to claim 4.
<Claim 7>
The resource value is each time consumed for each step of normal rotation or reverse rotation of the motor.
The electronic device according to claim 4.
<Claim 8>
The control means includes
A switching unit that switches between time, direction, altitude, temperature, and atmospheric pressure as indicated by the pointer.
The electronic device according to claim 1.
<Claim 9>
The control means includes
If the pointer is switched to indicate the time, the target position of the pointer is corrected according to the driving time from the current position of the pointer to the target position.
The electronic device according to claim 8.
<Claim 10>
The amount of backlash varies depending on the type of the train wheel mechanism.
The electronic device according to claim 1.

1,1A analog electronic watch (electronic device)
2 Pointer 2a Second hand 2b Minute hand 2c Hour hand 21 Dial 31a-31c Wheel train mechanism 32a-32c Stepping motor (motor)
33a to 33c Motor drive circuit 4 CPU (control means)
41 Needle operation control unit 411 Current needle position 412 Target needle position setting unit (position specifying means)
413 Needle rotation direction calculation unit (needle rotation direction calculation means)
414 Operation pulse output unit (needle drive means)
421 Pulse width setting unit 422 Pulse width storage unit 43 Needle consumption current holding unit 44 Needle consumption current amount calculation unit 45 Memory holding unit 46 Altitude conversion unit 47 Direction identification unit 48 Time decoding unit 49 Needle driving time holding unit 5 Power supply unit 6 ROM (Memory means)
61 Forward rotation pulse current consumption value 62 Reverse rotation pulse current consumption value 63 Forward rotation pulse width initial value 64 Reverse rotation pulse width initial value 65 Backlash amount 66 Maximum number of steps 67 Forward rotation 1 step time 68 Reverse rotation 1 step time 7 RAM (Storage means )
71 Forward rotation pulse current consumption amount 72 Reverse rotation pulse current consumption amount 73 Forward rotation pulse width setting value 74 Reverse rotation pulse width setting value 75 Forward rotation pulse width correction value 76 Reverse rotation pulse width correction value 81 Dividing circuit 82 Oscillation circuit 83 Time counting circuit 90 operation unit (position designation means)
91 Barometric pressure measuring unit 92 Temperature measuring unit 93 Direction measuring unit 94 Radio wave receiving unit

Claims (10)

A freely provided pointer,
A train wheel mechanism for rotating the pointer;
A motor for rotating the pointer forward or reverse step by step via the train wheel mechanism;
A control means for setting a target position at which the pointer moves, and for controlling driving of the motor;
With
The control means, when driving the pointer to the target position, considers the amount of backlash and selects a rotation direction with less resource value to be consumed.
An electronic device characterized by that. The motor consumes different resource values for normal rotation and reverse rotation.
The electronic device according to claim 1. The control means includes
When driving the pointer to the target position, consider the amount of backlash and select the direction of rotation with less current consumption.
The electronic device according to claim 1. The control means includes
When driving the pointer to the target position, consider the amount of backlash, and select a rotation direction that requires a short time.
The electronic device according to claim 1. The resource value consumed for each step of forward or reverse rotation of the motor,
The backlash amount of the train wheel mechanism according to the pointer;
The maximum number of steps of the guideline;
Storage means for holding
The electronic device according to claim 1. The resource value is a combination of the pulse width and current consumption amount for each step of forward rotation or reverse rotation of the motor, or a combination of these combinations corrected by individual differences.
The electronic device according to claim 4. The resource value is each time consumed for each step of normal rotation or reverse rotation of the motor.
The electronic device according to claim 4. The control means includes
A switching unit that switches between time, direction, altitude, temperature, and atmospheric pressure as indicated by the pointer.
The electronic device according to claim 1. The control means includes
If the pointer is switched to indicate the time, the target position of the pointer is corrected according to the driving time from the current position of the pointer to the target position.
The electronic device according to claim 8. The amount of backlash varies depending on the type of the train wheel mechanism.
The electronic device according to claim 1.

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