JP2017146256A - Electronic clock - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of controlling additional functions to be able to prevent the stop of a clock system due to insufficient capacity of a battery and to extend the duration of the battery, in a clock with the additional functions.SOLUTION: An electronic clock according to this invention includes time counting means for counting the time, time display means for displaying the time, power storage means for storing generated power, battery voltage detection means for detecting a stored power voltage, additional function means for activating functions other than time counting, and voltage comparison and determination means for inhibiting the activation of the additional function means in response to a battery voltage smaller than a threshold voltage selected in accordance with additional functions. The additional function means includes a first additional function and a second additional function, and overlap periods and non-overlap periods are provided. The first additional function and the second additional function are activated in the overlap periods, and the first additional function or the second additional function is activated independently in the non-overlap periods, and a threshold voltage for the second additional function is higher in the overlap periods than in the non-overlap periods.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece having an additional function in addition to a time counting function.

  There are electronic timepieces equipped with a power generation means for generating photovoltaic power and a secondary battery, and not only displaying the time measured, but also with additional functions such as radio wave reception and alarms. In such an electronic timepiece, the additional function is limited according to the level of the remaining battery level of the secondary battery, and the timepiece circuit is prevented from being stopped due to exhaustion of the remaining battery level.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-64548 (FIG. 3)

  In the electronic timepiece having a plurality of additional functions shown in Patent Document 1, each additional function is programmed to operate at a predetermined time, and the operation is often started at noon. It may work redundantly. At this time, since the battery voltage is greatly reduced, when the stored voltage of the battery is low, the clock circuit temporarily reaches the operation stop voltage, which may cause the clock circuit to stop or cause abnormal operation.

  The present invention provides a timepiece having a plurality of additional functions, which can prevent a clock circuit from being stopped due to a significant drop in battery voltage and increase the battery duration even if the additional functions are scheduled to operate redundantly. An object is to provide an electronic timepiece having the method.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an electronic timepiece according to the present invention includes a time measuring means for measuring time,
Detected by time display means for displaying time, power storage means for storing power, battery voltage detection means for detecting the voltage of the power storage means, additional function means for operating functions other than timekeeping, and battery voltage detection means Voltage comparison determination means for prohibiting the operation of the additional function means when the battery voltage is lower than the threshold voltage selected in accordance with the additional function. The additional function means includes the first additional function and the second additional function. And an additional period in which the operation of the first additional function overlaps with the operation of the second additional function means, and the first additional function and the second additional function operate independently. An overlap period is provided, and the threshold voltage of the second additional function is characterized in that the overlap period is higher than the non-overlap period.

  According to the present invention, by controlling the threshold voltage for judging prohibition of duplicated additional functions, it is possible to prevent a clock circuit from being stopped due to a significant drop in battery voltage due to the implementation of the additional functions, and to be an important addition for the user. It is possible to improve the duration of the battery while operating the function.

1 is a plan view showing an external appearance of an electronic timepiece according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an electronic timepiece according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the threshold voltage which judges prohibition of the radio wave reception in a non-overlapping state and an overlapping state. It is the table | surface shown about the setting of the operation | movement in an additional function. It is the time chart which showed the operation control of the additional function in the overlapping state. It is the table | surface which showed the priority of the additional function in a duplication state. It is the flowchart which showed the flow which determines the 1st, 2nd additional function. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of control of the additional function in a duplication state. It is a figure which shows an example of a pointer | guide display when a battery voltage is less than a threshold voltage. It is a figure which shows an example of a pointer | guide display when a battery voltage is less than a threshold voltage. It is the table | surface which showed the priority and threshold voltage of the additional function in an overlapping state. It is the table | surface which showed the power consumption in an additional function, and the threshold voltage of a duplication state. It is the time chart which showed the modification in the operation control of the additional function in the overlapping state.

Hereinafter, an electronic timepiece 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of the appearance of the electronic timepiece 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the electronic timepiece 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic timepiece 1 displays an hour hand 2a, a minute hand 2b, a second hand 2c (time display means) for displaying time, a pointer 3 for displaying chronograph seconds, a chronograph second and a day of the week. Liquid crystal displays 4a and 4b, push buttons 5 and a crown 6 are provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic timepiece 1 includes a power generation mechanism 10, an operation unit 60, a time function unit 40, an additional function unit 30 (additional function unit), and a control unit 20 (control unit). Is done. The power generation mechanism 10 includes a solar cell 11 (power generation means), a power supply control unit 12, a secondary battery 13 (power storage means), and a voltage detection unit 14. The operation unit 60 corresponds to the push button 5 crown 6 shown in FIG. The control unit 20 includes a power generation detection unit 21 (power generation detection unit), a power saving determination unit 22, a threshold voltage storage unit 23, a threshold voltage switching unit 24, a voltage comparison determination unit 25 (voltage comparison determination unit), and a drive control unit 26. doing. The time function unit 40 that performs time display includes a pointer 41, a motor 42, and an LCD 44 that displays characters. The additional function unit 30 includes a radio wave reception 31, an alarm 32, a chronograph 33, a hand position detection 34, Illumination 35 is provided. Next, the operation of each block in FIG. 2 will be described in detail.

  The solar cell 11 is a power generation element that converts external light such as sunlight into electrical energy. The generated power is stored in the secondary battery 13 via the power control unit 12 that performs charge control, and the control unit 20 The time function unit 40, the additional function unit 30, the operation unit 60, the power supply control unit 12, and the voltage detection unit 14 are supplied and consumed for each operation.

  The voltage of the secondary battery 13 detected by the voltage detector 14 is compared with the threshold voltage selected according to the additional function by the threshold voltage switching unit 24 from the plurality of threshold voltages stored in the threshold voltage storage unit 23. The comparison is performed by the determination unit 25, and the comparison result is transmitted to the drive control unit 26. The drive control unit 26 measures the time by a time counting circuit (time posting means) including an oscillator and a frequency divider (not shown), and outputs a drive signal to the motor 42 to rotate the pointer 41, Information related to the clock time, the time determined by the radio wave reception 31, or the clock operation is displayed. Further, the drive control unit 26 can input a drive signal to the LCD 44 and display information related to the clock operation, such as time, calendar, measurement values of the chronograph 33, various settings, and the like.

  Hereinafter, in order to display the internal clock time, moving the hands according to the progress of the time is referred to as normal hand movement. A state in which the operation periods of the additional function of the electronic timepiece 1 are overlapped is referred to as an overlapping state, and a state in which the operation periods are not overlapping is referred to as a non-overlapping state.

  Further, the drive control unit 26 outputs an additional function control signal instructing operation or stop to the additional functions of the radio wave reception 31, the alarm 32, the chronograph 33, the pointer position detection 34, and the illumination 35.

  The power generation detection unit 21 periodically detects whether the solar cell 11 receives light and generates power, and transmits it to the power saving determination unit 22. At 22, it is determined that the user is not using the electronic timepiece 1, and an instruction is transmitted to the drive control unit 26 to shift from the normal state to the power saving state. Here, the power saving state refers to a state in which the electronic timepiece 1 has stopped the second hand 2c, for example, in order to save power, thereby suppressing consumption of power for driving the second hand 2c. The period until the timing function stops can be lengthened.

  The power saving state returns to normal hand movement when the operation unit 60 is operated or photovoltaic power generation is performed. The internal clocking of the drive control unit 26 continues even in the power saving state, and when the power saving state is canceled and the non-power saving state is restored, the drive control unit 26 displays the internal clocking time from the current pointer position where it has stopped. A drive signal up to the pointer position is output to the motor 42.

  The operation unit 60 is, for example, the push button 5 or the crown 6 shown in FIG. 1 and receives an operation by the user of the electronic timepiece 1 and outputs a signal generated by the operation to the drive control circuit 26. The drive control unit 26 executes various processes according to the operation input received by the operation unit 60.

  The power saving state returns to normal hand movement when the operation unit 60 is operated or photovoltaic power generation is performed. Even during the power saving state, the operation of the internal timing of the drive control unit 26 continues. When the power saving state is canceled and the normal state is restored, the pointer 41 is moved from the current pointer position where it has been stopped to the position where the internal timing time is displayed. In order to move, the drive control unit 26 outputs a motor drive signal to the motor 42. The user of the watch can select an additional function and set an operation by operating the push button 5 or the crown 6.

  Next, the operation of the additional function will be described.

  The radio wave receiver 31 receives a long wave standard radio wave with an antenna, amplifies, detects and demodulates the received signal, and converts it into time data. The time data included in the long wave standard radio wave is one set in 60 seconds, and includes data such as the total number of days from January 1 of the current year to the current day, the current hour and minute, and the like. A plurality of time data is compared for each data such as month, day, hour or minute, and when a certain number or more of coincidence is recognized, it is determined that the time data is reliable, and the motor 42 is driven to display the time. To correct.

  The radio wave reception 31 is performed once or several times a day (scheduled reception) every day to display the correct time, or the watch user pulls the crown and selects the radio wave reception mode from the operation modes. The radio wave reception 31 can be performed (forced reception) by pressing the push button 5. The current consumed at the time of radio wave reception is about several tens to 100 uA per second, and a current that is 100 times the current consumption during normal operation flows. Furthermore, since the radio wave reception 31 requires time in minutes, power consumption by one radio wave reception becomes large.

  Here, the reception of the long wave standard radio wave has been described as an example. However, the present embodiment may be applied to the reception of satellite signals such as GPS (registered trademark), the reception of near field communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), and the like. .

When the alarm time set in advance by the user matches the internal time, the alarm 32 vibrates the piezoelectric element according to the drive signal output from the drive control unit 26 and sounds an alarm sound. In addition, it can be linked with the countdown timer to sound when the remaining time of the timer runs out. At the time of alarm driving, a high current of mA level is intermittently applied to the piezoelectric element for several seconds to make a sound, so that a large amount of power is consumed. Further, if the alarm 32 is set to sound for several seconds at a fixed time every day, the power is surely consumed day by day, and if the backlight by the LED is blinked in response to the alarm 32, further power is consumed. It will be.

  The chronograph 33 is a function that allows the user to measure time by pressing the operation unit 60. The drive control unit 26 outputs a drive signal to the chronograph motor or the second hand motor to operate the pointer. .

  The pointer position detection 34 is a function of detecting the current pointer position by optical means and automatically rearranging the pointer to a position indicating a normal time in order to prevent a shift of the pointer position caused by an impact applied to the timepiece. It is. The pointer position detection 34 is driven by a drive signal from the drive control unit 26. As an example of the pointer position detection method, a transmission hole is provided in the hour hand wheel to which the hour hand 2a is attached and the minute hand wheel to which the minute hand 2b is attached, and a position where the transmission holes coincide with each other is detected by a photodiode or LED and a photo sensor. Yes. The position of the pointer relative to the transmission hole position of these gears is stored in advance, and the position of the pointer can be specified. Similarly, the second hand 2c is also provided with a transmission hole for position detection.

  Specifically, the minute hand 2b starts the pointer position detection operation at the time when the detection hole approaches the light emitting position of the LED (for example, 55 minutes and 0 seconds), and continues to detect the presence or absence of transmitted light for a certain period (for example, 5 seconds). . At this time, if the transmitted light can be detected at the specified position, it is determined that the pointer position is normal. If the detected position cannot be detected, it is determined that the pointer is misaligned, the gear is rotated and the position where the transmitted light is detected is searched. Correct the position of the pointer based on. In this transmitted light detection, a current of several hundreds uA is consumed in several milliseconds due to light emission of the LED. Further, as described above, the detection time of the pointer position is not set by the user, but operates when the time set in advance in the clock is reached.

  As a result of the pointer position detection 34, when it is determined that the pointer position is deviated, the drive control unit 26 outputs a drive signal to the motor 42 and corrects the pointer 41 to the correct position. Accordingly, the motor 42 is continuously driven and consumes electric power. However, when the pointer 41 is corrected particularly when the pointer position is shifted in the advance direction, a current of several mA flows as a peak current. Power consumption is large.

  The illumination 35 is a backlight of the LCD 44 or an LED that illuminates the dial, and operates according to a drive signal from the drive control unit 26. Specifically, when a watch user operates an operation member such as a crown or a push button 5, an illumination element such as an LED emits light or synchronizes with a sound of an alarm 32 to illuminate a liquid crystal for a certain period of time. Then, the flash operation can be performed by repeatedly turning on and off the backlight.

  The threshold voltage storage unit 23 stores a threshold voltage for determining prohibition of operation for the additional function. For example, a plurality of threshold voltages for determining operation prohibition of an additional function according to a clock operation mode such as a normal state, a power saving state, an overlapping state in which operation times in the additional function overlap, and a use state of the chronograph 33 Is remembered.

The threshold voltage switching unit 24 selects a threshold voltage from the threshold voltage data stored in the threshold voltage storage unit 23 according to the operation mode of the timepiece, and the voltage comparison determination unit 25 detects the secondary voltage detected by the voltage detection unit 14. The battery voltage of the battery 13 is compared with this threshold voltage, and if the battery voltage is less than the threshold voltage, the operation of the additional function is prohibited, and if it is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage, the operation of the additional function is permitted.

  Next, a first embodiment will be described.

  In the clock circuit system, when the power supply voltage falls below the minimum operating voltage value, the circuit stops or becomes unstable, so that it cannot maintain a normal timing operation. Therefore, the power consumed by each additional function is grasped in advance, and each additional function operates alone and is slightly higher than the minimum operating voltage value so that it does not fall below the minimum operating voltage even if the battery voltage decreases. A voltage (for example, 0.2 V) is set as a threshold voltage, and the operation of the additional function is permitted when the power supply voltage is higher than the threshold voltage. However, since the additional functions can operate independently, the operation periods of multiple additional functions may overlap, and in this case, the power supply voltage is reduced by the sum of the power consumption. The clock circuit system may be stopped.

  In the present embodiment, when the operation period of the additional function overlaps, the threshold voltage for prohibiting the operation of one additional function is changed to be higher than the threshold voltage when the additional function operates alone. . As a result, when the battery voltage has a high storage voltage, both additional functions are operated, and when the battery voltage decreases, the operation of the additional function with a high threshold voltage is prohibited, and the other additional function is It can be operated. This will be described in detail below.

  Here, when the operation periods of two additional functions overlap, one will be described as a first additional function and the other as a second additional function. In addition, a state where the additional function operating period does not overlap is called a non-overlapping state, and a state where the additional function operating period overlaps is called an overlapping state. Furthermore, a period that is in an overlapping state is called an overlapping period, and a period that is in a non-overlapping state is called a non-overlapping period.

  FIG. 3 shows threshold voltages for determining prohibition of the first and second additional functions in the non-overlapping state and the overlapping state. The vertical axis indicates the battery voltage, and the voltage is high in the direction of the arrow. VA to VD indicated by chain lines are threshold voltages stored in the threshold voltage storage unit 23, and the magnitudes of the voltages have a relationship of VA> VB> VC> VD.

  In the non-overlapping state, the first and second additional functions are prohibited when the battery voltage is lower than the threshold voltage VD, and the first and second additional functions are permitted when the battery voltage is higher than the threshold voltage VD. In the overlapping state, the threshold voltage for the first additional function is the same as that in the non-overlapping state, but the threshold voltage for the second additional function is VC, and therefore the second additional function when the battery voltage is lower than the threshold voltage VC. Is prohibited, and the second additional function is permitted if the voltage is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage VC. Therefore, if the operation period of an additional function overlaps when the power supply voltage is lowered, the operation of one of the additional functions is prohibited, so that the battery voltage falls below the minimum operating voltage and the circuit system is inadvertently stopped. And the period during which the watch operates can be maintained longer.

  More specifically, the threshold voltage storage unit 23 stores, for example, VA = 2.85V, VB = 2.65V, VC = 2.45V, VD = 2.25V in increments of 0.2V as threshold voltages. In the overlapping state, VD is selected as the threshold voltage for prohibiting the second additional function. When the threshold voltage is shifted to the overlapping state, the threshold voltage is changed from VD to VC higher by 0.2V by the threshold voltage switching unit 24. In other words, in the non-overlapping state, the first and second additional functions are allowed until the power supply voltage drops to 2.25V, but in the overlapping state, the second additional function is activated when the power supply voltage drops to 2.45V. Prohibited and operating conditions are stricter.

Here, VC is assumed to be 2.45V, but the numerical value is merely an example. The threshold voltage step size is 0.2V. Among the battery voltage amounts that decrease when each additional function operates, the voltage drop amount with the largest decrease amount is determined as the threshold voltage step size. Also good. For example, in the additional function, when the voltage drop when the radio wave reception 31 operates is the largest and is 0.3V, the step size may be 0.3V, and VC = 2.55V and VD = 2.25V. By doing so, even when the operation of the radio wave reception 31 is permitted and a voltage drop occurs when the battery voltage is 2.56 V close to VC, the operation of the clock circuit does not fall below the minimum threshold voltage VD. Can be prevented from becoming unstable. In addition, a voltage amount serving as a margin may be added to the step width of the threshold voltage in consideration of variations in voltage measurement values.

  The threshold voltage for prohibiting the operation of the first and second additional functions in the non-overlapping state and the overlapping state is not limited to VD and VC, and the threshold voltage for prohibiting the operation of the second additional function in the overlapping state is The effect described above can be obtained if the threshold voltage is selected to be higher than that in the non-overlapping state. Here, the threshold voltage in the non-overlapping state of the additional function is the same as the threshold voltage set when the additional function operates independently.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the additional function has an operation time set according to the watch user's intention, a function that starts operation at a time predetermined by the system, or operates by both the watch user and the system. Divided into those that start. For example, for the radio wave reception 31, the time at which the scheduled reception is started is predetermined by the system, but on the other hand, the reception can be forcibly started by the user operating the operation member. The pointer position detection 34 cannot be set by the watch user, but only at the set time of the system. Since the alarm 32, the chronograph 33, and the illumination 35 are operated according to the user's intention, the operation time is not set by the system.

  When the operation times of the additional functions overlap, the additional function whose operation time is intentionally set by the watch user is the first additional function, the other additional function is the second additional function, and the second additional function By changing the threshold voltage to a threshold voltage higher than that in the non-overlapping state, it is possible to perform a clock operation in accordance with the user's desire. For example, if the operation time of the scheduled reception (reception at a fixed time set by the system) in the radio wave reception function and the operation time of the alarm 32 function overlap, the set time of the alarm 32 is intended by the user. 32 is a first additional function, and radio wave reception 31 is a second additional function.

  As a result, the threshold voltage when the first and second additional functions are in a non-overlapping state is VD, but at the time when the first and second additional functions operate in duplicate, the second additional function is used. If the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VD to VC and the power supply voltage is not less than VD and less than VC at this time, the scheduled reception as the second additional function is prohibited, and the alarm 32 of the first additional function is provided. Works. If the power supply voltage is less than VD, both the scheduled reception and the alarm 32 are prohibited. If the power supply voltage is equal to or higher than VC, both the scheduled reception and the alarm 32 are permitted to operate. After the alarm ends, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VC to VD. If the power supply voltage is VD or higher, the scheduled reception operation is permitted and the radio wave reception 31 is started. Further, after an arbitrary period from the end of the alarm, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 may be changed from VC to VD, and the radio wave reception operation may be permitted through a battery voltage recovery period.

  Next, a case where the pointer position detection 34 and the alarm 32 overlap will be described as an example.

    For example, the pointer position detection 34 of the minute hand 2b operates at the hour on the minute (the timing at which the minute display changes), but the alarm 32 also operates at the hour on the hour. Therefore, there is a possibility that the operation times of the pointer position detection 34 and the alarm 32 overlap. When the operation time of the pointer position detection function and the alarm 32 overlap, the alarm 32 is set as the first additional function because the set time of the alarm 32 is intentionally set by the user. 2 additional functions.

Although the threshold voltage of the first and second additional functions in the non-overlapping state is VD, the pointer position detection 34 that is the second additional function is performed at the time when the first and second additional functions operate redundantly. Is changed from VD to VC, and if the power supply voltage is not less than VD and less than VC at this time, the pointer position detection 34 as the second additional function is prohibited, and the alarm 32 of the first additional function is Executed. If the power supply voltage is less than VD, both the pointer position detection 34 and the alarm 32 are prohibited, and if the power supply voltage is equal to or higher than VC, the operations of both the pointer position detection 34 and the alarm 32 are permitted. After the alarm ends, the threshold voltage of the pointer position detection 34 is changed from VC to VD, and the pointer position detection 34 is started if the power supply voltage is VD or higher. After an arbitrary period from the end of the alarm, the threshold voltage of the pointer position detection 34 may be changed from VC to VD, and the operation of the pointer position detection 34 may be permitted through a battery voltage recovery period.

  FIG. 5 is a time chart showing the operation when the operation periods of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 overlap.

  The top waveform in FIG. 5 shows the transition of the battery voltage over time. The radio wave reception scheduled period below it is the time when the radio wave reception 31 is scheduled to operate, and the alarm operation scheduled period is the alarm 32. , The radio reception threshold voltage is a threshold voltage for determining whether or not the radio wave reception 31 is prohibited, the alarm threshold voltage is a threshold voltage or radio wave for determining whether or not the alarm 32 is prohibited The reception operation result indicates a period during which the radio wave reception 31 operates, and the alarm operation result indicates a period during which the alarm 32 operates. When the radio wave reception 31 or the alarm 32 is operated, power is consumed and the battery voltage decreases, but thereafter the voltage slowly recovers. However, if the amount of light applied to the watch is small and the amount of power generation is not sufficient, the stored power of the battery decreases with time. Therefore, in order to show the control for the additional function when the battery voltage is reduced from the state of having a high battery voltage, it corresponds to the early, middle, and late stages when the battery voltage is exhausted, The time chart of FIG. 5 is divided into periods (a), (b), and (c) from the left.

  During the period in which the operation schedules of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 overlap, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VD to VC. In the period of FIG. 5A, the power supply voltage is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage VC of the radio wave reception 31 and is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage VD of the alarm 32, so that the operation of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 is permitted. When the operation of the alarm 32 ends, the overlap period of the additional function ends, and the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VC to VD. Here, after an arbitrary period from the end of the alarm, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 may be changed from VC to VD, and the operation of the radio wave reception 31 may be permitted through a battery voltage recovery period.

  In the period of FIG. 5B, since the power supply voltage is lower than the threshold voltage VC and is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage VD, the radio wave reception 31 is prohibited, but the operation of the alarm 32 is permitted. When the operation period of the alarm 32 ends, the overlap period of the additional function ends, and the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VC to VD. At this time, the battery voltage is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage VD. Works. Therefore, when the battery voltage decreases, the radio wave reception 31 operates after the alarm 32 is activated first, so that it is possible to prevent a drastic drop in the power supply voltage due to simultaneous operation of a plurality of functions, and to set the alarm 32 set by the user. It can be operated on time. Further, if the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 are executed at the same time, electromagnetic noise is released along with the operation of the alarm 32. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the reception signal is mixed and electromagnetic reception fails. Therefore, the power consumption is increased due to repeated reception. According to the present invention, when the battery voltage decreases, the alarm 32 does not operate during radio wave reception, so that reception failure due to noise can be prevented and power consumption can be suppressed.

  In the period of FIG. 5C, since the power supply voltage is lower than the threshold voltage VC and lower than the threshold voltage VD, the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 are prohibited. At the time when the scheduled alarm operation period has passed, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VC to VD. However, since the battery voltage is less than the threshold voltage VD, the radio wave reception 31 is continuously prohibited.

  In the above, a case has been described where one of the duplicated additional functions operates according to the user's intention and the other is a scheduled operation by the system. Next, both additional functions with overlapping operation periods are performed by the user. The case where operation is intended will be described. As described above, in the radio wave reception function, the watch user can forcibly start reception by operating the operation member such as the push button 5 or the like. While this forced reception is being performed by the user's operation, there is a possibility of overlapping with the set time of the alarm 32. In this case, both of the additional functions are operating according to the user's intention. . In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the priority of the additional function is determined and stored in advance, the alarm 32 having a higher priority is set as the first additional function, and the radio wave reception 31 having a lower priority than the alarm 32 is set to the second. This is an additional function. The threshold voltage of the first and second additional functions is VD in the non-overlapping state, but the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VD to VC in the overlapping state. Therefore, if the power supply voltage is equal to or higher than VD and lower than VC, the forced reception is stopped but the alarm 32 is executed. If the power supply voltage is equal to or lower than VD, both the forced reception and the alarm 32 are prohibited, and the power supply voltage is If it is equal to or greater than VC, both forced reception and alarm 32 operations are permitted.

  After the alarm 32 ends, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VC to VD, and if the power supply voltage is VD or higher, the scheduled reception operation is permitted and the radio wave reception 31 operates. Here, after an arbitrary period from the end of the alarm, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 may be changed from VC to VD, and the operation of the radio wave reception 31 may be permitted through a battery voltage recovery period. Therefore, when the battery voltage becomes low, the first additional function having a high priority intended by the user is performed. After that, if the power supply voltage is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage of the second additional function, the second additional function is performed. Additional functions can be implemented. In other words, if the operation period of the additional function overlaps when the power supply voltage is lowered, the additional function with a higher priority is implemented from among the plurality of additional functions scheduled to operate, and the priority of the operation period when the power supply voltage is low In order to prohibit additional functions with a low level, it is possible to select an additional function that operates according to the user's request, and it is possible to prevent the circuit system from being inadvertently stopped because the power supply voltage falls below the minimum operating voltage. Can be maintained for a longer period.

  Since the alarm 32 is set by the user at the time, if the control is performed so that the operation is not prohibited even if the power supply voltage decreases, the threshold voltage of the alarm 32 is set to 0 V or the threshold voltage and the power supply voltage are set. Regardless of the output result of the comparison circuit, the circuit may be set to permit the operation of the alarm 32.

  Both of the additional functions with overlapping operation periods are not intended to be set by the watch user, but when the operation is set by the clock circuit system, both additional functions with overlapping operation periods are used by the user. As in the case where the operation is intended, the additional function having a higher priority is set as the first additional function based on the priority in FIG. 6, and the additional function having a lower priority than the first additional function is set as the second additional function. This is an additional function. The operation is the same as the operation described in the case where both the additional functions having overlapping operation periods are intended to be operated by the user, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

  The procedure for determining the first and second additional functions described so far will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the operation periods of the additional functions overlap, it is detected whether the user has intentionally set the operation time for the additional functions A and B. When the operation of one of the additional functions A and B is based on the user's intention (S20: Y), the additional function that operates according to the user's intention is the first additional function, and the other additional function is the second additional function Function (S21). When the operation times of both the additional functions A and B are intended by the user or when the operation times of both the additional functions A and B are set by the system (S20: N), the priority table of FIG. Based on the above, the priorities of the additional functions A and B are compared, and the higher priority is set as the first additional function, and the lower priority is set as the second additional function (S22).

  The first and second additional functions may be selected as follows. For example, the additional function having the longer operation period is set as the first additional function, the shorter additional operation period is set as the second additional function, and the threshold voltage of the second additional function is changed from VD to VC. For example, while the standard radio wave reception period is several minutes, the pointer position detection 34 only takes a few seconds, so the radio wave reception 31 is a first additional function and the pointer position detection 34 is a second additional function. As a result, radio wave reception with a long operation period is not interrupted, and power consumption is not wasted. Specific operations will be described below.

  The threshold voltage when the first and second additional functions are in the non-overlapping state is VD, but the threshold voltage of the pointer position detection 34 that is the second additional function is changed from VD to VC in the overlapping state. When the voltage is less than VC, the pointer position detection 34 is stopped. When the battery voltage is equal to or higher than VD, the operation of the radio wave reception 31 as the first additional function is permitted, and the threshold voltage of the pointer position detection 34 is changed from VC to VD after the radio wave reception is completed. If the voltage is equal to or higher than VD, the operation of the pointer position detection 34 is permitted. After an arbitrary period from the end of the radio wave reception 31, the threshold voltage of the pointer position detection 34 may be changed from VC to VD, and the operation of the pointer position detection 34 may be permitted through a battery voltage recovery period.

  If the operation period of the additional function overlaps with the power supply voltage lowered in this way, the additional function with the longer operation period is activated and the additional function with the shorter operation period is prohibited, so that the additional function that operates for a long time is added. The function is not interrupted and restarted, the power supply voltage falls below the minimum operating voltage, and the circuit system can be prevented from being inadvertently stopped, and the time period during which the clock operates can be maintained longer.

  In the above, the additional function having the longer operation period is the first additional function and the shorter additional function is the second additional function. However, the operation interval, that is, the longer time interval from the previous operation to the current operation is longer. The first additional function may be used as the first additional function, the one with the shorter operation time interval as the second additional function, and the threshold voltage of the second additional function may be changed from VD to VC in the overlap state. For example, the operation interval for scheduled reception is once every three days, whereas the operation time interval of the pointer position detection 34 varies depending on the detected pointer, but is about one hour at the longest. Therefore, the radio wave reception 31 may be the first additional function, the pointer position detection 34 may be the second additional function, and the threshold voltage of the second additional function may be changed from VD to VC in the overlap state. If there is no time since the additional function has been implemented in the past, it is highly likely that the timekeeping normality is maintained, and even if the additional function with a short operation time interval is prohibited when the battery voltage drops, , No immediate problems occur.

  Also, the additional function with the lower power consumption is the first additional function, the additional function with the higher power consumption is the second additional function, and the threshold voltage of the second additional function is changed from VD to VC in the overlap state. May be. Taking the case where the operation times of the radio wave reception 31 and the pointer position detection 34 overlap as an example, the radio wave reception 31 consumes several times as much power as the pointer position detection 34. The pointer position detection 34 is a first additional function. Therefore, if the operation period of the additional function overlaps in a state where the power supply voltage is lowered, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 that is the additional function with high power consumption is changed to a high value, for example, VD to VC, and the power supply voltage is lower than VC. In this case, radio wave reception 31 is prohibited. Thereby, even after the first additional function is implemented, the amount of power supply voltage drop is small and the battery voltage recovery time is short, so that the possibility of operating the second additional function is increased and the scheduled execution time is much shorter. The second additional function can be operated without delay. Furthermore, since the additional function is operated repeatedly, the battery voltage can be prevented from dropping below the minimum operating voltage, and the circuit system can be prevented from being inadvertently stopped, and the time period during which the timepiece operates can be maintained longer.

  Next, the flow of the additional function control process when the electronic timepiece 1 is shifted from the non-overlapping state to the overlapping state will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

    In the non-overlapping state, the threshold voltage of all the additional functions is set to VD, and when the operating time of the first additional function and the second additional function overlaps, the state shifts to the overlapping state. In the overlap state, the threshold voltage of the second additional function is changed from VD to VC (S1), and when the operation time of the first and second additional functions is reached (S2), the battery voltage is detected and the threshold voltage VC is detected. If it is larger (S3: Y), the operation of the first and second additional functions is permitted (S4), and when the operation of either the first or second additional function ends (S12: Y), the second The threshold voltage of the additional function is changed from VC to VD (S13), and the overlapping state is canceled. Although not shown in the flow here, after an arbitrary period from the end of the first additional function, the threshold voltage of the second additional function is changed from VC to VD, and the battery voltage recovery period passes. The operation of the second additional function may be permitted.

  If the detected battery voltage is equal to or lower than the threshold voltage VC (S3: N) and greater than the threshold voltage VD (S5: Y), the operation of the first additional function is permitted and the operation of the second additional function is prohibited (S6). . When the operation of the first additional function is completed (S7: Y), the fact that the operation of the second additional function is prohibited because the battery voltage has decreased is displayed by the pointer 41, the LCD 44, or the like.

  For example, in the state where the operation period of the additional function overlaps, when the battery voltage is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage of any additional function, the second hand 2c stops at the 00 second position. If either or both of the threshold voltages are not met, the second hand 2c may stop at the 30-second position, or a dedicated display indicating that the additional function is limited is provided on the dial, and the position is indicated. You may stop. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, a dedicated display (DOWN) indicating that the power supply voltage is insufficient may be provided on the dial, and the pointer 41 may be stopped and displayed at that position, or a level meter indicating the battery capacity may be provided. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 10, the low remaining amount (E) may be indicated by the small second hand 70 of the level meter. 9 and 10, 71 is a radio wave reception failure indication, 72 is a radio wave reception success indication, 73 is a battery voltage FULL indication, 74 is a battery voltage EMPTY indication, 75 is a remaining battery level indication, and 70 is a small second hand. It is.

  Further, when the LCD 44 has a display, the LCD 44 may display that the power supply voltage is insufficient. In addition, when an additional function with a result such as success or failure such as radio wave reception 31 is prohibited, the reception failure may be indicated as shown in FIG. It is easy for the user to understand that the function was not implemented due to lack of The display indicating the power supply voltage shortage and the operation result is canceled when the operation member such as the push button 5 is operated (S8).

  If the detected battery voltage is equal to or lower than the threshold voltage VD (S5: N), the operation of the first additional function and the second additional function is prohibited (S10), and since the battery voltage has decreased, the first and second The fact that the operation of the additional function is prohibited is displayed by the pointer 41, the LCD 44 or the like (S11). The specific notation of power supply voltage shortage and the like are the same as described above, and will be omitted.

  For the additional function such as the pointer position detection 34 in which the user cannot set the operation time, even if the operation is prohibited due to insufficient battery voltage, the above-described notation of insufficient power supply voltage does not have to be performed. After the operation of the first additional function is completed (S7: Y) or after the operation of the first and second additional functions is prohibited, the threshold voltage of the second additional function is changed from VC to VD. . Further, after an arbitrary period from the end of the first additional function, the threshold voltage of the second additional function is changed from VC to VD, and the operation of the first additional function is performed after the battery voltage recovery period. It may be allowed.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 11 shows the priority and threshold voltage when the additional functions overlap. Here, the highest priority is 1, and the higher the number, the lower the priority. The threshold voltages in the overlapping state are higher in the order of VD, VC, VB, and VA. In the overlapping state where the operation periods of the additional functions overlap, the priority order of the additional functions to be preferentially operated is determined in advance, and the threshold voltage in the overlapping state is set lower for the additional function with higher priority. For example, the alarm 32 is a VD having a priority of 1 and the lowest threshold voltage in order to operate as much as possible, and the pointer position detection 34 is a basic function for preventing the deviation of the pointer 41, and therefore has a priority of 2 and a threshold voltage. VC, the radio wave reception 31 has a priority of 3 and a threshold of VB, LED 35, etc. because of the importance compared with the pointer position detection 34 and the LED 35, etc. Therefore, VA has a priority of 4 and the highest threshold voltage.

  The threshold voltage of each additional function in the normal state is VD, but when the operation period of the additional function overlaps, the threshold voltage of the additional function with the lower priority is changed to the threshold voltage of the overlapping state shown in FIG. The threshold voltage of the other additional function is not changed. An example will be described below.

  For example, when the operation times of the alarm 32 and the radio wave reception 31 overlap, the priority of the radio wave reception 31 is “3”, which is lower than the alarm 32 “1”. The threshold voltage of the reception 31 is changed from VD to VB. Accordingly, when the battery voltage is higher than VB, the operation of the alarm 32 and the radio wave reception 31 is permitted, but when the battery voltage is lower than VB, the radio wave reception 31 is prohibited, and when the battery voltage is lower than VD, the alarm is activated. Prohibit operation. In other words, when the operation time of the additional function overlaps, the additional function with a lower priority is prohibited from operating if the power supply voltage is lowered even a little, but the additional function with a higher priority drops the power supply voltage to the lowest operating voltage. Operation is permitted until Therefore, the power consumption of the battery can be suppressed, and the operating period of the watch can be extended.

  FIG. 12 shows the power consumption and threshold voltage of each additional function when the additional functions overlap. Here, the magnitude of the power consumption is relative between the additional functions, and the threshold voltage in the overlapping state is higher in the order of VD, VC, VB, and VA. Here, the higher the power consumption, the higher the threshold voltage.

  In the normal state, the threshold voltage of each additional function is VD, but when the operation period of the additional function overlaps, the additional function with the larger power consumption is changed to the threshold voltage in the overlapping state, and the other additional function The threshold voltage is not changed. A specific example will be described below.

  For example, when the operation time of the alarm 32 and the radio wave reception 31 overlaps, the power consumption of the radio wave reception 31 is “large” and is larger than the “small” of the alarm 32. Change to VB. Therefore, when the battery voltage is higher than VB, the operation of the alarm 32 and the radio wave reception 31 is permitted. However, when the battery voltage is lower than VB, the radio wave reception 31 is prohibited, and when the battery voltage is higher than VD, the alarm 32. Allow operation.

  In other words, an additional function with large power consumption when the operation time of the additional function overlaps prohibits the operation if the power supply voltage is lowered as much as possible, but an additional function with low power consumption does not reach the threshold voltage with the lowest power supply voltage. Operation is allowed as long as it does not drop. Therefore, the power consumption of the battery can be suppressed, and the operating period of the watch can be extended.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described.

When an additional function is duplicated, the threshold voltage for prohibiting one additional function is changed, but by setting the threshold voltage to increase stepwise according to the continuous overlap period of the additional function, power consumption Can be suppressed. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a time chart showing the operation when the battery voltage elapsed time and the additional function overlap. The vertical items in FIG. 13 are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 13, the time chart is divided into the periods (d), (e), and (f) from the left in correspondence with the first, second, and third overlaps when the additional functions are overlapped. The waveform is shown.

  FIG. 13 differs from FIG. 5 in that the radio wave reception threshold is changed from VD to VC for the first overlap (d) and the second overlap (e), and is changed to VA for the third overlap (f). Yes.

  Hereinafter, a case where the operation times of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 overlap will be described as an example.

  If the alarm 32 is set so that it rings every day during the time when the radio wave reception 31 performs regular reception, the operation time of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 overlaps many times. Therefore, in the first time (d) when the operation times of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 overlap, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VD to VC, and the threshold voltage of the alarm 32 is VD. Since the power supply voltage at this time is equal to or higher than VC, the operation of both the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 is permitted.

  In the same time zone of the next day, the second overlap (e) is reached, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VD to VC as in the first overlap, the threshold voltage of the alarm 32 is VD, and the battery voltage is VC Since the above voltage is maintained, the operation of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 is permitted.

  When the operation time of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 continues three times in succession (f), the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VD to the maximum threshold voltage VA, and the threshold voltage of the alarm 32 is VD. To do. In FIG. 13, since the battery voltage at this time is less than VA, the radio wave reception 31 is prohibited and the operation of the alarm 32 is permitted. When the operation of the alarm 32 is completed, the overlapping state is canceled, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VA to VD, and in FIG. 13, the battery voltage is maintained at a voltage equal to or higher than VD. Is done. Here, after an arbitrary period from the end of the alarm 32, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 may be changed from VA to VD, and the radio wave reception operation may be permitted through a battery voltage recovery period.

  When the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is set to VC and the threshold voltage of the alarm 32 is set to VD, both of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 are the same if the battery has a high remaining capacity (for example, a voltage equal to or higher than VB). Although it is implemented at the time, electromagnetic noise is released with the operation of the alarm 32. Therefore, the electromagnetic noise is likely to be mixed into the reception signal in the radio wave reception 31, and the possibility of failure in reception increases. Will do. Although the battery voltage temporarily drops due to the operation of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32, the battery voltage gradually recovers with the passage of time, so that the battery voltage is higher than the threshold voltage at the next operation time of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32. The overlapping operation of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 continues many times.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the operation period of the additional function continues continuously, the threshold voltage for prohibiting the operation for one additional function is selected as the maximum value or a high threshold voltage corresponding to the threshold voltage. Thus, the battery voltage is likely to be lower than the threshold voltage, and the additional function operation in the overlapping state is prohibited. In this way, parallel operation between the additional functions can be suppressed and the operation can be performed in series. For example, the reception is repeated many times with a low reception success rate due to the influence of electromagnetic noise caused by the alarm 32. This makes it possible to reduce power consumption.

  The overlapping of the operation periods of the additional functions means that the additional functions A and B operate after the operation periods of the additional functions A and B overlap each other operation period of the additional function A having the longer scheduled operation period. The operation period of B overlaps, and if the operation scheduled period of the additional function B does not overlap with the operation scheduled period of the additional function A, the overlap is interrupted.

  In the above description, when the operation time of the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 continues three times in succession, the threshold voltage of the radio wave reception 31 is changed from VD to the maximum threshold voltage VA. Depending on the storage capacity or the amount of power generation, the number of consecutive repetitions may be determined, for example, selected from 2 to 10 times.

  In the above description, the radio wave reception 31 and the alarm 32 are used for explanation, but this is an example, and the same effect can be obtained with other additional functions. In addition, although the initial setting value of the threshold voltage for the alarm 32 is set to VD, if the control is performed so that the operation is not prohibited even if the power supply voltage is lowered, the threshold voltage of the alarm 32 is set to 0 V or the threshold voltage is set. And the comparison with the power supply voltage may be eliminated.

  The VA to VD and voltage values used in the description so far are examples of absolute values and voltage magnitude relationships, and the voltage values can be changed under conditions such as battery capacity.

Furthermore, the present embodiment can be similarly applied even when operation periods of three or more functions overlap. Further, in FIG. 2, it has been described that it is determined whether or not the additional function is prohibited by comparing the storage voltage of the secondary battery 13 and the threshold voltage by the voltage comparison determination unit 25. The determination may be made by comparing the generated voltage generated by the generator with the threshold voltage. Further, the present embodiment is not limited to the secondary battery, and the same effect can be obtained even when applied to a timepiece using the primary battery as a power source.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic timepiece 5 Push button 6 Crown 11 Solar cell 12 Power supply control part 13 Secondary battery 14 Voltage detection part 20 Control part 21 Power generation detection part 22 Power saving determination part 23 Threshold voltage storage part 24 Threshold voltage switching part 25 Voltage comparison determination part 26 Drive control unit 30 Additional function unit 31 Radio wave reception 32 Alarm 33 Chronograph 34 Pointer position detection 35 Illumination 40 Time function unit 41 Pointer 42 Motor 43 Character display 44 LCD
60 Operation unit

Claims (10)

A time keeping means for keeping time, and
Time display means for displaying the time;
Power storage means for storing power;
Battery voltage detection means for detecting the voltage of the power storage means;
Additional function means for operating functions other than the timekeeping, and
Voltage comparison determination means for prohibiting the operation of the additional function means when the battery voltage detected by the battery voltage detection means is smaller than a threshold voltage selected according to the additional function,
The additional function means includes a first additional function and a second additional function,
An overlapping period in which the operation of the first additional function and the operation of the second additional function overlap;
Providing a non-overlapping period in which each of the first additional function and the second additional function operates independently;
An electronic timepiece characterized in that a threshold voltage of the second additional function is higher in the overlap period than in the non-overlap period. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the first additional function has an operation time set by a user. 2. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the second additional function has an operation period shorter than that of the first additional function. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the second additional function has an operation time interval shorter than that of the first additional function. 2. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the second additional function consumes more power than the first additional function. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the second additional function has a lower priority than the first additional function. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the threshold voltage of the second additional function is set higher as the priority of the second additional function becomes lower. 6. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the threshold voltage of the second additional function is set higher as the power consumption of the second additional function becomes larger. The operation result of the first additional function or the second additional function is displayed in the overlap period when the operation of the first additional function or the second additional function is prohibited. The electronic watch described. The electronic timepiece according to claim 9, wherein the result of the operation is displayed together with the fact that the remaining battery level is low.

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