JP2018054570A - Electronic timepiece - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic timepiece 100 which suppresses excessive load on a battery.SOLUTION: The electronic timepiece 100 comprises: a step motor 1a for a minute hand; a step motor 1b for an hour hand; a normal pulse output circuit 40a for a minute hand which outputs a normal pulse SPa for a minute hand configured by including a single pulse spa for a minute hand outputted intermittently for driving the step motor 1a for a minute hand; and a pulse output circuit 40b for an hour hand which outputs a normal pulse SPb for an hour hand configured by including a single pulse spb outputted intermittently for driving the step motor 1b for an hour hand. The single pulse spa and the single pulse spb are outputted in a quiescent interval of each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic timepiece having an analog display means is generally driven by a step motor (also referred to as a stepping motor or a pulse motor). This step motor includes a stator that is magnetized by a coil and a rotor that is a two-pole magnetized disk-shaped rotating body. In such an electronic timepiece, a fast-forward operation for moving the hands at high speed for time correction is generally performed together with a normal hand movement driven every second.

  An electronic timepiece having a plurality of hands is provided with a plurality of step motors for moving the hands. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for suppressing an excessive load on a battery by halving the output frequency of a normal pulse for a step motor and alternately outputting normal pulses to two stepping motors. It is disclosed.

  In the fast-forward operation, the normal pulse is supplied to the step motor in a short cycle. However, it is necessary to operate so as not to cause a rotation error of the step motor rotor in response to the short-cycle normal pulse for fast feed. . For this reason, a proposal has been made to detect the rotation state of the step motor, supply an appropriate normal pulse according to the rotation state, and stably perform the fast-forwarding operation (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Further, there is known a technique for correcting a rotation error of a step motor by outputting a correction pulse having a large driving force when it is determined that the step motor is not rotating. Further, a technique for outputting a reverse rotation pulse for rotating the pointer in the reverse direction to a step motor is known.

JP 60-162980 A Japanese Patent No. 3757421

  As described above, pulses output to the step motor include not only normal pulses but also correction pulses and reverse rotation pulses, and these pulses have different frequencies. When a plurality of types of pulses having different frequencies are output, the output timings of these pulses are duplicated, and an excessive load may be applied to the battery. Moreover, in order to end the rotational drive of each step motor early, it is preferable to output pulses to each step motor without delay, but in this case, the output timing of the pulses overlaps, and the battery is excessive. There is a risk of overloading.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this situation, The objective is to suppress that an excessive load is applied to a battery.

  The invention disclosed in the present application in order to solve the above problems has various aspects, and the outline of typical ones of these aspects is as follows.

  (1) A first pulse that outputs a first pulse that includes a first step motor, a second step motor, and a first single pulse that is intermittently output to drive the first step motor. An output circuit; and a second pulse output circuit that outputs a second pulse configured to include a second single pulse that is intermittently output to drive the second step motor. An electronic timepiece in which the single pulse and the second single pulse are output in a pause interval.

  (2) In (1), either the first single pulse or the second single pulse is a chopper pulse output from the start time of the single pulse section, and the first single pulse or the second single pulse One of the pulses is an electronic timepiece which is a chopper pulse whose output ends at the end of the single pulse interval.

  (3) In (1) or (2), there is provided a rotation detection circuit for determining whether or not the first step motor has rotated, and the first pulse is determined that the first step motor is not rotating. An electronic timepiece that is a first correction pulse output to drive the first step motor.

  (4) In (3), the apparatus further includes a detection pulse output circuit that outputs a detection pulse, and the rotation detection circuit determines whether the first step motor has rotated based on a detection signal generated by the detection pulse. An electronic watch that determines whether

  (5) In (3) or (4), the second pulse is a normal pulse output within a unit interval, and the first pulse has a correction pulse output interval whose length is an integral multiple of the unit interval. An electronic timepiece that is the first correction pulse output within the electronic timepiece.

  (6) The electronic timepiece according to (5), wherein the correction pulse is output within the correction pulse output section having a length set based on the detection signal.

  (7) The sub timepiece according to any one of (4) to (6), wherein the correction pulse is output at a timing set based on the electric detection signal.

  (8) In (7), the rotation detection circuit determines whether or not the second step motor has rotated, and the second pulse is determined when the second step motor is determined not to rotate. An electronic timepiece that is a second correction pulse output to drive the second step motor.

  (9) The electronic timepiece according to (8), wherein the first correction pulse and the second correction pulse are output at different timings within the correction pulse output section.

  (10) In (9), a first output terminal and a second output terminal for outputting a first pulse to the first step motor, and a second pulse to the second step motor. A first output terminal and a second output terminal. The first correction pulse output from the first output terminal and the second output from the second output terminal. An electronic timepiece in which a correction pulse is output at different timing within the correction pulse output section.

  (11) The electronic timepiece according to (4), wherein the normal pulse is output with a driving force set based on the detection signal.

  (12) The electronic timepiece according to (4), wherein the normal pulse is output at a frequency set based on the detection signal.

  (13) The electronic timepiece according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the second pulse is a reverse rotation pulse output to reversely rotate the second step motor.

  (14) The electronic timepiece according to (1) or (2), wherein the first pulse and the second pulse are normal pulses output during normal hand movement.

  (15) The electronic timepiece according to any one of (1) to (14), wherein the output of the first pulse is started without delay from the output of the second pulse.

  (16) In any one of (1) to (15), a third pulse that includes a third step motor and a third single pulse that is intermittently output to drive the third step motor. And a third pulse output circuit that outputs the first single pulse and the second single pulse during a pause interval of the first single pulse.

  According to the aspects (1) to (16) of the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic timepiece that suppresses an excessive load on the battery.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic timepiece according to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of a step motor. It is a wave form diagram which shows the waveform of a normal pulse, and the current waveform which flows into a coil. It is a figure explaining the detection operation of the rotation state of a step motor. It is a timing chart which shows an example of the output timing of each pulse output with respect to 1 step motor. It is a timing chart which shows the relative timing of the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves a minute hand and the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves an hour hand in 1st Embodiment. It is a wave form diagram which shows the waveform of the normal pulse in a unit area. It is a figure shown about the single pulse output in a single pulse area. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of FIG. 5, showing details of waveforms of a minute hand correction pulse and an hour hand normal pulse. It is a timing chart which shows the relative timing of the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves a minute hand and the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves an hour hand in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of FIG. 9 showing details of the waveforms of the minute hand correction pulse and the hour hand correction pulse. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of rotation detection in 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow when non-rotation determination is made in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow when rotation is determined in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the electric current induced in a coil, and the voltage waveform in an output terminal when rotation determination of a step motor is carried out. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the electric current induced in a coil, and the voltage waveform in an output terminal when rotation determination of a step motor is carried out. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the electric current induced in a coil, and the voltage waveform in an output terminal when rotation determination of a step motor is carried out. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the electric current induced in a coil, and the voltage waveform in an output terminal when rotation determination of a step motor is carried out. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the electric current induced in a coil, and the voltage waveform in an output terminal when rotation determination of a step motor is carried out. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the electric current induced in a coil, and the voltage waveform in an output terminal when it determines with a step motor not rotating. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the electric current induced in a coil, and the voltage waveform in an output terminal when it determines with a step motor not rotating. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of rotation detection in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the flow at the time of non-rotation determination in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the flow at the time of rotation determination in 3rd Embodiment. It is a timing chart which shows the relative timing of the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves a minute hand and the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves an hour hand in 3rd Embodiment. It is a system configuration figure showing a schematic structure of an electronic timepiece concerning a 4th embodiment. It is a timing chart which shows the relative timing of the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves a minute hand and the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves an hour hand in 4th Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing relative timings of pulses output to a step motor for moving the minute hand and pulses output to a step motor for moving the hour hand in the fourth embodiment. It is an enlarged view of FIG.26 and FIG.27, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the detail of the waveform of the correction pulse for minutes hand, and the reverse rotation pulse for hour hand. It is a timing chart which shows the relative timing of the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves a minute hand, and the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves an hour hand in 5th Embodiment. It is a timing chart which shows the relative timing of the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves a minute hand, and the pulse output with respect to the step motor which moves an hour hand in 5th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the pulse output with respect to the step motor for minute hands in 5th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the pulse output with respect to the hour hand step motor in 5th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the pulse output with respect to the step motor for minute hands in 5th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the pulse output with respect to the hour hand step motor in 5th Embodiment. It is a system configuration figure showing a schematic structure of an electronic timepiece concerning a 6th embodiment. In the sixth embodiment, a pulse output to the step motor that moves the minute hand, a pulse that is output to the step motor that moves the hour hand, and a pulse that is output to the step motor that moves the second hand It is a timing chart which shows the relative timing of.

[Schematic Configuration of Electronic Timepiece According to First Embodiment: FIG. 1]
With reference to FIG. 1, a schematic configuration of an electronic timepiece 100 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electronic timepiece according to the first embodiment. The electronic timepiece 100 is an analog display type timepiece that displays the time by the hands 2. In the following description, the subscript a attached to the reference numerals of the components indicates the configuration for the minute hand, and the subscript b indicates the configuration for the hour hand. In addition, when it is not necessary to distinguish and explain which one is used for the pointer, the suffix is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic timepiece 100 includes a power source (battery) 10, a reference signal source 20, a drive control circuit 30, a driver circuit 90, a step motor 1, and a pointer 2. In general, there are a second hand, a minute hand, and an hour hand as a pointer, but in the first embodiment, driving related to the minute hand 2a and the hour hand 2b will be described.

  As the power source 10, either a primary battery or a secondary battery with voltage fluctuation may be used. The reference signal source 20 includes a transmission circuit 21 that outputs a predetermined reference signal by a crystal resonator (not shown), and a frequency dividing circuit 22 that inputs the reference signal and outputs a timing signal to the drive control circuit 30. . Each pulse is output in the drive control circuit 30 based on this timing signal.

  The drive control circuit 30 includes a normal pulse output circuit 40, a correction pulse output circuit 50, a detection pulse output circuit 60, a pulse control circuit 70, and a rotation detection circuit 80 as main components.

  The normal pulse output circuit 40 includes a minute hand normal pulse output circuit 40a and an hour hand normal pulse output circuit 40b. The minute hand normal pulse output circuit 40a generates a minute hand normal pulse SPa for driving the minute hand step motor 1a, and outputs the minute hand normal pulse SPa to the minute hand step motor 1a. The hour hand normal pulse output circuit 40b generates an hour hand normal pulse SPb for driving the hour hand step motor 1b, and outputs the hour hand normal pulse SPb to the hour hand step motor 1b.

  The correction pulse output circuit 50 includes a minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a and an hour hand correction pulse output circuit 50b. The minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a generates a minute hand correction pulse FPa having a driving force larger than the minute hand normal pulse SPa, and outputs the minute hand correction pulse FPa to the minute hand step motor 1a. The hour hand correction pulse output circuit 50b generates an hour hand correction pulse FPb having a driving force larger than that of the hour hand normal pulse SPb, and outputs the hour hand correction pulse FPb to the hour hand step motor 1b. In the first embodiment, a configuration capable of outputting the correction pulse FP to both the minute hand step motor 1a and the hour hand step motor 1b will be described, but the correction pulse is applied to at least one of the step motors 1. A configuration capable of outputting FP may also be used.

  The detection pulse output circuit 60 includes a minute hand detection pulse output circuit 60a and an hour hand detection pulse output circuit 60b. The minute hand detection pulse output circuit 60a and the hour hand detection pulse output circuit 60b generate and output two types of detection pulses, a first detection pulse DP1 and a second detection pulse DP2, respectively.

  Specifically, the minute hand detection pulse output circuit 60a is a counter electromotive force generated in the coil 13 described later when the minute hand step motor 1a is driven by the minute hand normal pulse SPa, and is different from the minute hand normal pulse SPa. The minute hand first detection pulse DP1a for detecting the counter electromotive force generated in (reverse polarity) is output. Further, the minute hand detection pulse output circuit 60a outputs a second minute hand detection pulse DP2a for detecting the counter electromotive force on the same side (same polarity) as the minute hand normal pulse SPa.

  Similarly, the hour hand detection pulse output circuit 60b is a counter electromotive force generated in the coil 13 described later when the hour hand step motor 1b is driven by the hour hand normal pulse SPb, and is different from the hour hand normal pulse SPb. The hour hand first detection pulse DP1b for detecting the counter electromotive force generated in (reverse polarity) is output. The hour hand detection pulse output circuit 60b outputs a second hour hand detection pulse DP2b for detecting a counter electromotive force on the same side (same polarity) as the hour hand normal pulse SPb.

  In the first embodiment, a configuration in which the detection pulse output circuit 60 can output two types of detection pulses, the first detection pulse DP1 and the second detection pulse DP2, in order to detect rotation with higher accuracy will be described. However, the configuration is not limited to this as long as the rotation and non-rotation of the step motor 1 can be determined, and a configuration capable of outputting only one type of detection pulse DP may be used.

  The rotation detection circuit 80 includes a minute hand rotation detection circuit 80a and an hour hand rotation detection circuit 80b.

  The minute hand rotation detection circuit 80a is generated by a first detection counter 80a1 for detecting the number of detected minutes of the first detection signal DS1a for the minute hand generated by the first detection pulse DP1a for the minute hand and a second detection pulse DP2a for the minute hand. And a second minute counter detection counter 80a2 for detecting the number of detections of the second minute hand detection signal DS2a to be detected. The hour hand rotation detection circuit 80b is generated by the hour hand first detection counter 80b1 for detecting the detection number of the hour hand first detection signal DS1b generated by the hour hand first detection pulse DP1b and the hour hand second detection pulse DP2b. The hour hand second detection counter 80b2 for detecting the number of detections of the hour hand second detection signal DS2b is provided. The plurality of detection counters count the number of detection pulses DP detected and also detect the detection position of each detected pulse DP.

  The rotation detection circuit 80 determines whether or not the step motor 1 has rotated according to the detected number of detection signals DS detected by the plurality of counters. Based on the determination result, the pulse control circuit 70 selects a specific frequency and driving force, and outputs the selected frequency and driving force to the drive control circuit 30. When the rotation detection circuit 80 determines that the step motor 1 is not rotating, the correction pulse output circuit 50 outputs a correction pulse FP to the step motor 1 determined to be non-rotating.

  The driver circuit 90 includes a buffer circuit (not shown), outputs the normal pulse SP or the correction pulse FP from the output terminals O1 and O2, and drives the step motor 1. In addition, the driver circuit 90 operates so that the two output terminals O1 and O2 are both open (high impedance) for the first detection pulse DP1 and the second detection pulse DP2 only during the short pulse width. . As a result, both ends of the coil of the step motor 1 are opened for a short period of time by the first detection pulse DP1 and the second detection pulse DP2, so that the counter electromotive force generated in the coil appears during the open period, and the pulse-like The counter electromotive force is input to the rotation detection circuit 80 as the first detection signal DS1 and the second detection signal DS2. That is, the first detection signal DS1 and the second detection signal DS2 are pulse signals that are generated at the same timing by the first detection pulse DP1 and the second detection pulse DP2.

[Description of Step Motor Configuration and Basic Operation: FIGS. 2A and 2B]
Next, the configuration and basic operation of the step motor 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a step motor. FIG. 2B is a waveform diagram showing a waveform of a normal pulse and a waveform of a current flowing through the coil. In the first embodiment, a description will be given of a configuration in which each step motor 1 includes a rotor 11, a coil 13, and the like. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each step motor 1 may share these components. Absent. Thereby, the normal pulse SP and the correction pulse FP output to each step motor 1 can be output in common, and the circuit scale can be reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the step motor 1 includes a rotor 11, a stator 12, a coil 13, and the like. The rotor 11 is a disk-shaped rotating body magnetized with two poles, and is magnetized with N and S poles in the radial direction. The stator 12 is made of a soft magnetic material, and semicircular portions 12a and 12b surrounding the rotor 11 are divided by slits. A single-phase coil 13 is wound around a base portion 12e to which the semicircular portions 12a and 12b are coupled. Single phase means that there is one coil and there are two input terminals C1 and C2 for inputting the normal pulse SP.

  In addition, concave notches 12h and 12i are formed at predetermined positions on the inner peripheral surfaces of the semicircular portions 12a and 12b of the stator 12 that face each other. Due to the notches 12h and 12i, the static stable point of the rotor 11 (indicated by the straight line A) is shifted from the electromagnetic stable point of the stator 12 (indicated by the straight line A). The angle difference due to the deviation is referred to as an initial phase angle θi, and the rotor 11 is brazed so as to easily rotate in a predetermined direction by the initial phase angle θi.

  Next, the basic operation of the step motor 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. In FIG. 2B, the horizontal axis is time, and the normal pulse SP is composed of a plurality of intermittently output single pulses as shown in the figure, and the pulse width (ie, duty) of the single pulse is varied. The normal pulse SP is alternately supplied to the input terminals C1 and C2 of the step motor 1, whereby the stator 12 is alternately reversed and magnetized to rotate the rotor 11. The rotational speed of the rotor 11 can be increased or decreased by changing the repetition period of the normal pulse SP, and the driving force (rotational force) of the step motor 1 can be changed by changing the driving force (duty ratio) of the normal pulse SP. ) Can be adjusted.

  Here, in FIG. 2A, when the normal pulse SP is supplied to the coil 13 of the step motor 1, the stator 12 is magnetized and the rotor 11 rotates 180 degrees from the static stable point B (left rotation in the drawing). It does not stop immediately at that position, but actually vibrates by overrunning the position of 180 degrees, and the amplitude gradually decreases and stops (indicated by a curved arrow C). At this time, the damped vibration of the rotor 11 changes the magnetic flux to the coil 13, and a back electromotive force is generated by electromagnetic induction, so that an induced current flows through the coil 13.

  A current waveform i1 in FIG. 2B is an example of an induced current that flows through the coil 13 when the rotor 11 is normally rotated 180 degrees by the normal pulse SP. Here, the current waveform i1 in the driving period T1 to which the normal pulse SP is supplied is a current waveform in which the driving current and the induced current due to the plurality of single pulse groups overlap, and in the decay period T2 after the end of the normal pulse SP, An induced current is generated by the damped vibration of the rotor 11.

  The curved arrow D in FIG. 2A shows a case where the rotor 11 cannot return to its original position because the step motor 1 is supplied with the normal pulse SP due to some influence such as an external magnetic field. Shows the trajectory. The current waveform i2 in FIG. 2B is an example of an induced current that flows through the coil 13 when the rotor 11 cannot rotate normally. Since the rotor 11 does not rotate, the current waveform i2 in the decay period T2 when the rotor 11 cannot be rotated has a smaller amplitude and a different period than the current waveform i1 described above.

[Description of basic operation of rotation detection of step motor (rotor): FIG. 3]
Next, the basic operation for detecting the rotational state of the stepping motor 1 (rotor 11) will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. 3 using the current waveform i1 in the case of normal rotation shown in FIG. 2A as an example. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of detecting the rotation state of the step motor.

  In FIG. 3, when the normal pulse SP is supplied to the stepping motor 1, the rotor 11 rotates 180 degrees as indicated by an arrow C, and thereafter damped and oscillated (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). The current waveform i1 in the decay period T2 after the end of the normal pulse SP will be described in detail. After the end of the drive period T1, the current is induced on the opposite side to the normal pulse SP (plus side with respect to GND) by the damping vibration of the rotor 11. A current flows, and the peak shape of this current is called “back mountain”.

  In addition, due to the damped vibration of the rotor 11, an induced current flows on the same side as the normal pulse SP (minus side with respect to GND), and the peak shape of this current is referred to as a “top peak”. In the first embodiment, the positions and periods of the back mountain and the front mountain are sampled by the first detection pulse DP1 and the second detection pulse DP2 including a plurality of detection sections, and detected in detail to thereby detect the rotor 11. The rotation state of the can be grasped with high accuracy.

  Here, as an example, the rotation detection by the first detection pulse DP1 for detecting the back mountain will be described. The first detection pulse DP1 in FIG. 3 indicates that three pulses (DP11 to DP13) are output in one detection interval. A section in which the first detection pulse DP1 is output is referred to as a first detection section G1.

  Here, as described above, the coil 13 is opened for a short period by the first detection pulse DP1, and the first detection signal DS1 is generated from the input terminals C1 and C2, but is generated by the first detection pulse DP11. The first detection signal DS11 is on the minus side of GND, and the back mountain is not detected.

  In addition, since the second and third first detection pulses DP12 and DP13 are output in the back mountain region of the current waveform i1, the first detection signal DS12 generated by the first detection pulses DP12 and DP13. DS13 is on the plus side of GND and exceeds Vth, so that it is determined that a back peak has been detected. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the back peaks are detected at the second and third shots of the first detection signal DS1 in the first detection section G1.

  As described above, the first detection section G1 for detecting the back mountain is set to a period during which the back mountain may occur (that is, a period during which the first detection signal DS1 can be detected). The detection of the current waveform i1 by the counter electromotive force generated from the step motor 1 is actually performed by converting the current waveform i1 into a voltage waveform inside the rotation detection circuit 80, and the voltage waveform is set to a preset Vth (FIG. 3). It is determined by whether or not the reference is exceeded.

  Although not shown here, details will be described later, but a second detection interval is set in a period during which a peak in the table may occur, and a predetermined second detection pulse DP2 is output to detect the peak in the table. .

  As described above, the first detection pulse DP1 and the second detection pulse DP2 are divided into predetermined detection intervals and output, and the driving interval (frequency) and duty ratio of the normal pulse SP are selected according to the detection result in the detection interval. In addition, it is possible to realize the fastest possible fast-forward operation of the step motor 1.

  Each detection section may be divided into smaller sections. For example, although not shown, the first detection section G1 for detecting the back mountain may be divided into the first half and the second half, and the driving interval of the normal pulse SP may be selected according to the detection result in the divided detection section. . Thereby, fine drive control according to the rotation state of the rotor 11 can be realized.

  Further, the repetition period t1 (see FIG. 3) of the detection pulse DP in each detection section may be arbitrarily selected according to the current waveform to be detected. If the period t1 is short, the current waveform can be sampled finely, and the period t1 If the length is increased, sampling of the current waveform becomes coarse. The pulse width of the detection pulse DP is not limited, but a pulse width necessary for generating the detection signal DS is set.

  Note that the rotation detection operation described above is an example, and is not limited to this. In the first embodiment, it is sufficient if it can determine at least whether or not the step motor 1 has rotated.

[Description of basic operation of drive control circuit: FIG. 4]
With reference to FIG. 4, the outline of each pulse generated and output by the drive control circuit 30 will be described. FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing an example of the output timing of each pulse output to one step motor.

  During normal operation, the normal pulse output circuit 40 outputs a normal pulse SP with a frequency of 1 Hz. On the other hand, at the time of high-speed hand movement that moves the pointer 1 at high speed for time correction, the normal pulse output circuit 40 outputs a normal pulse SP with a frequency of, for example, 128 Hz. In the first embodiment, the normal pulse SP and the detection pulse DP have the same configuration during normal operation and during high-speed operation, but different configurations may be used. Here, the frequency is the number of times that the normal pulse SP is output per unit time. For example, the normal pulse SP with a frequency of 128 Hz is output about every 8.0 ms, and the normal pulse SP with a frequency of 16 Hz is It is output about every 64 ms. Further, the duty ratio of the normal pulse SP may be arbitrarily set, for example, 16/32, 18/32, 20/32, or 22/32. Here, the duty ratio indicates a rate at which the normal pulse SP or the like is output within a predetermined period.

  After the normal pulse SP is output, the detection pulse output circuit 60 outputs the detection pulse DP. Then, the rotation detection circuit 80 determines whether or not the step motor 1 has rotated based on the detected number of detection signals DS generated by the detection pulse DP.

  When it is determined that the step motor 1 is not rotating, the correction pulse output circuit 50 outputs a correction pulse FP having a large driving force so that the step motor 1 determined to be non-rotating can rotate reliably. Note that after the correction pulse FP is output, the normal pulse SP is output again.

[Detailed Description of Each Pulse Waveform: FIGS. 5 to 8]
Next, the details of the waveform of each pulse generated and output by the drive control circuit 30 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the relative timing of the pulse output to the step motor that moves the minute hand and the pulse that is output to the step motor that moves the hour hand in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing a waveform of a normal pulse in a unit section. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a single pulse output in a single pulse section. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of FIG. 5 and shows details of the waveforms of the minute hand correction pulse and the hour hand normal pulse.

  In the first embodiment, the unit interval U is an interval corresponding to the frequency of the normal pulse SP. The correction pulse output section H is a section corresponding to the frequency of the normal pulse SP when the frequency of the normal pulse SP is lowered in order to output the correction pulse FP. As will be described later, in the first embodiment, the frequency of the normal pulse SP during high-speed hand movement is 128 Hz (8.0 ms). However, when the step motor 1 is determined to be non-rotating, the frequency of the normal pulse SP, that is, The correction pulse output section H is 16 Hz (64 ms).

  The minute hand normal pulse output circuit 40a has the minute hand normal pulse SPa assigned to the unit interval U on each of the output terminal O1 side (first output terminal side) and the output terminal O2 side (second output terminal side). Output within the first interval u1. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the first section u1 is allocated in the unit section U so that the start time of the first section u1 starts from the start time of the unit section U. Then, the minute hand normal pulse output circuit 40a outputs the minute hand normal pulse SPa from the start time of the first section u1. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the length of the unit interval U is 8.0 ms, the length of the first interval u is 4.0 ms, and the pulse width of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is 2.0 ms. It was.

  On the other hand, the hour hand normal pulse output circuit 40b includes the hour hand normal pulse SPb in the unit interval U on each of the output terminal O1 side (first output terminal side) and the output terminal O2 side (second output terminal side). The data is output within the second section u2 assigned so as not to overlap with the first section u1. In the first embodiment, the second section u2 is allocated in the unit section U so that the end point of the second section u2 becomes the end point of the unit section U. The hour hand normal pulse output circuit 40b outputs the hour hand normal pulse SPb with a delay of 4.0 ms from the minute hand normal pulse SPa. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the length of the second section u2 is 4.0 ms, and the pulse width of the hour hand normal pulse SPb is 2.0 ms.

  As described above, since the first interval u1 and the second interval u2 do not overlap, the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are output at timings that do not overlap each other. Therefore, it is suppressed that an excessive load is applied to the battery.

  The frequencies and pulse widths of the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are not limited to the waveforms shown in FIG. For example, the minute hand normal pulse SPa is not limited to being output in a part of the first interval u1, and may have a pulse width of the same length as the first interval u1. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are assigned in the unit interval U and are output in the first interval u1 and the second interval u2 that do not overlap each other. If so, the start point and end point may be anywhere.

  Here, when one of the step motors 1 is determined to be non-rotating and the correction pulse FP is output, the relative output timings of the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are before and after the correction pulse FP output. May change. In this case, after the correction pulse FP is output, the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are output at the same timing, and as a result, an excessive load may be applied to the battery.

  FIG. 5 shows a waveform when the minute hand stepping motor 1a is determined not to rotate on the output terminal O1 side, and the minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a outputs the minute hand correction pulse FPa. The minute hand correction pulse FPa is output within the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha. In order to avoid the overlap of the output timings of the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb after the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output, in the first embodiment, the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is a unit. Starting from the end point of the section U, the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to an integral multiple of the length of the unit section U.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to 64 ms, which is eight times the length of the unit section U of 8 ms. In this way, by setting the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha to an integral multiple of the length of the unit section U, the relative output timing of the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb is set to the minute hand. It does not change before and after the correction pulse FPa is output. That is, even after the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output, the hour hand normal pulse SPb is output at a timing delayed by 4.0 ms from the minute hand normal pulse SPa, and the normal pulses are overlapped with each other. It is never output. By adopting the normal pulse SP and the correction pulse FP having the waveforms as described above, it is possible to suppress an excessive load on the battery.

  The waveform shown in FIG. 5 is an example, and the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha of the minute hand correction pulse FPa may be n times (integer multiple) the unit section U. The length shown in 5 is not limited.

  Here, since the hour hand normal pulse SPb is output in a short cycle (high frequency) during high-speed hand movement, the pulse width of the minute hand correction pulse FPa (the length from the start point to the end point of the minute hand correction pulse FP). ) Is longer than the period of the hour hand normal pulse SPb. Specifically, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the hour hand normal pulse SPb is output at a cycle of 8.0 ms (128 Hz), and from the start point to the end point of the minute hand correction pulse FPa. The length was 16 ms. Therefore, when it is determined that the minute hand step motor 1a is not rotating and the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output, the output timing of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb overlap. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the waveforms of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are configured as shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the minute hand correction pulse FPa is composed of a strong pulse fpa1 that is continuously output and has a strong driving force, and a weak pulse fpa2 that has a driving force smaller than that of the strong pulse fpa1 and is intermittently output. The minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a outputs a strong pulse fpa1 having a duty ratio of 32/32 within the minute hand strong pulse output section ha1 within the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha, and within the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha. A weak pulse fpa2 having a duty ratio of 8/32 is output in the minute hand weak pulse output section ha2. As described above, by including the weak pulse fpa2 in which the minute hand correction pulse FPa is intermittently output, it is possible to suppress the overshoot of the minute hand step motor 1a and to stabilize the hand movement operation.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the minute hand strong pulse output section ha1 is assigned within the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha, starting 32 ms after the start time and ending 36 ms after the start time. That is, the pulse width of the strong pulse fpa1 is set to 4.0 ms. Further, the minute hand weak pulse output section ha2 is assigned within the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha so as to continue immediately after the minute hand strong pulse output section ha1.

  On the other hand, each of the hour hand normal pulses SPb is composed of a plurality of intermittently outputted single pulses spb, and the duty ratio of the single pulse spb is 16/32.

  The minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a outputs the strong pulse fpa1 so that the output timing of the hour hand normal pulse SPb and the output timing of the strong pulse fpa1 do not overlap.

  Further, the single pulse spb of the hour hand normal pulse SPb and the weak pulse fpa2 of the minute hand correction pulse FPa are configured to be output in the pause interval. Specifically, the single pulse spb is output from the start time of the single pulse section s and is a chopper pulse having a duty ratio of 16/32 in the single pulse section s. Further, the weak pulse fpa2 is a chopper pulse having a duty ratio of 8/32 in the single pulse section s, the output of which ends at the end of the single pulse section s (minute hand weak pulse output section ha2).

  Note that the duty ratio is not limited to that shown in FIG. 8 as long as the single pulse spb and the weak pulse fpa2 can be output to each other in the pause period. For example, when the duty ratio in the single pulse section s of the weak pulse fpa2 is set to 8/32, the duty ratio in the single pulse section s of the single pulse spb can be set to 24/32 at the maximum.

  Further, the weak pulse fpa2 and the single pulse spb are not limited to the configuration in which the output starts at the start time of the single pulse section s and ends at the end time of the single pulse section s. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the weak pulse fpa2 and the single pulse spb may be output in the pause period of each other in the single pulse section s, and the output timing is not limited.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, even when the output timings of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb overlap, the strong pulse fpa1 and the weak pulse of the minute hand correction pulse FPa. Since the single pulse spb of the hour hand normal pulse SPb is not output at the timing when the fpa2 is output, it is possible to suppress an excessive load on the battery.

  It should be noted that the hour hand normal pulse SPb of the first embodiment described above corresponds to the second pulse of the present invention, the minute hand correction pulse FPa corresponds to the first pulse, and the single pulse spb is the second pulse. The configuration corresponds to a single pulse, and the weak pulse fpa2 corresponds to a first single pulse.

  Although FIGS. 5 to 8 show examples in which the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the hour hand correction pulse FPb may be output, and the weak pulse fpb2 of the hour hand correction pulse FPb and the single pulse spa of the minute hand normal pulse SPa may be output in the rest period.

[Second Embodiment: FIGS. 9 and 10]
Next, an electronic timepiece according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing the relative timing of the pulse output to the step motor that moves the minute hand and the pulse that is output to the step motor that moves the hour hand in the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of FIG. 9 and shows details of the waveforms of the minute hand correction pulse and the hour hand correction pulse. The basic configuration and operation of the electronic timepiece according to the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS.

  When the minute hand rotation detection circuit 80a determines that the minute hand step motor 1a is not rotating on the output terminal O1 side, the minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a outputs the minute hand correction pulse FPa. On the other hand, when the hour hand step motor 1b is not rotated on the output terminal O1 side by the hour hand rotation detection circuit 80b, the hour hand correction pulse output circuit 50b outputs the hour hand correction pulse FPb. If the non-rotation determination of each step motor 1 is made at a close timing, the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand correction pulse FPb are output at the overlapping timing, and an excessive load may be applied to the battery. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the waveforms of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand correction pulse FPb are shaped as described below to suppress an excessive load on the battery.

  As shown in FIG. 9, as in the first embodiment, the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is 64 ms, and the length from the start of output of the minute hand correction pulse FPa to the end of output is 8.0 ms. . Similarly, the length of the hour hand correction pulse output section Hb is 64 ms, and the length from the start of output of the hour hand correction pulse FPb to the end of output is 8.0 ms. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the hour hand step motor 1b is determined to be non-rotated after a delay of 4.0 ms from the non-rotation determination of the minute hand step motor 1a. That is, an example in which 4.0 ms in the second half of the minute hand correction pulse FPa overlaps with 4.0 ms in the first half of the hour hand correction pulse FPb will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the minute hand correction pulse FPa is divided into a strong pulse fpa1 that is a chopper pulse having a duty ratio of 24/32 that is intermittently output, and a chopper that has a duty ratio of 8/32 that is intermittently output. It comprised with the weak pulse fpa2 which is a pulse. Further, the minute hand strong pulse output section ha1 is assigned to continue for 4.0 ms from the output start time of the minute hand correction pulse FPa, and immediately thereafter, the minute hand weak pulse output section ha2 is assigned to continue for 4.0 ms. .

  Similarly, the hour hand correction pulse FPb is intermittently output as a strong pulse fpb1 which is a chopper pulse having a duty ratio of 24/32 and a weak pulse which is intermittently output as a chopper pulse having a duty ratio of 8/32. It comprised with pulse fpb2. Also, the hour hand strong pulse output section hb1 is assigned to continue for 4.0 ms from the output start time of the hour hand correction pulse FPb, and immediately thereafter, the hour hand weak pulse output section hb2 is assigned to continue for 4.0 ms. .

  That is, the minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a and the hour hand correction pulse output circuit 50b are divided into the minute hand weak pulse output section ha2 of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the strong pulse output section hb1 of the hour hand correction pulse FPb. The minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand correction pulse FPb are output so as to overlap for 0 ms. Then, the weak pulse fpa2 of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the strong pulse fpb1 of the hour hand correction pulse FPb are in the pause period of each other in the single pulse section s (the minute hand weak pulse output section ha2 and the strong pulse output section hb1). Configured to output in

  The correction pulse FPb of the second embodiment corresponds to the first pulse of the present invention, the correction pulse FPa corresponds to the second pulse, and the strong pulse fpb1 corresponds to the first single pulse. The weak pulse fpa2 corresponds to the second single pulse.

  By adopting the above configuration, it is possible to suppress an excessive load on the battery even when the output timings of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand correction pulse FPb overlap.

  Note that the waveforms of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand correction pulse FPb may be such that the weak pulse fpa2 of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the strong pulse fpb1 of the hour hand correction pulse FPb are output in the rest period. Well, it is not limited to that shown in FIG. That is, FIG. 10 shows an example in which the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand correction pulse FPb overlap each other in a section of 4.0 ms, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the output timings of the correction pulses FP overlap by 1.0 ms, the strong pulse fp1 and the weak pulse fp2 may be output in the pause period in the overlap period.

  Further, the duty ratio of the strong pulse fp1 and the weak pulse fp2 is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the duty ratio of the weak pulse fpa2 is set to 8/32, the duty ratio of the strong pulse fpb1 is, for example, 16/32, 18/32, 20/32, 22/32, etc. It does not matter.

[Driving Force Change Flow Based on Detection Signal: FIGS. 11 to 13]
In the electronic timepiece described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the driving force of the normal pulse SP can be changed in addition to the determination of the rotation of the step motor 1 based on the detection number and detection timing of the detection signal DS. It is good. Hereinafter, the details will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of rotation detection in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a flow when the non-rotation determination is made in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a flow when rotation is determined in the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

  First, the outline of the change flow of the drive rank of the normal pulse SP will be described. During high-speed hand movement, it is necessary to output the normal pulse SP at a high frequency (for example, 128 Hz), and there is no time for outputting the correction pulse FP between the normal pulses SP. Therefore, when it is determined that the step motor 1 is not rotating, it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the output of the normal pulse SP, that is, to lower the frequency of the normal pulse SP. For example, by reducing the frequency of the normal pulse SP from 128 Hz to 16 Hz, it is possible to ensure a sufficient time for outputting the correction pulse FP.

  Further, when it is determined that the step motor 1 is not rotating, there is a possibility that the driving force of the normal pulse SP is insufficient, so that the driving rank of the normal pulse SP to be output next may be increased. In addition, if the detection end position of the second detection signal DS2 is earlier, the driving force of the normal pulse SP may be larger than necessary. Therefore, the driving rank of the normal pulse SP to be output next may be lowered. If the detection end position of the second detection signal DS2 is late, the step motor 1 is rotating, but the driving force of the normal pulse SP may not be sufficient. You should raise the drive rank.

  Note that a plurality of drive ranks of the normal pulse SP may be prepared as appropriate. For example, the maximum rank of the normal pulse SP may be a duty ratio 22/32 and the minimum rank may be a duty ratio 16/32.

  By adjusting the driving force of the normal pulse SP in this way, the step motor 1 is not rotated and the driving force is not output more than necessary, so that an excessive load is not applied to the battery. . Based on the above, the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the minute hand normal pulse output circuit 40a outputs the minute hand normal pulse SPa (step ST110a). The minute hand normal pulse SPa is output at a period of 8.0 ms (frequency 128 Hz). Thereafter, the minute hand detection pulse output circuit 60a starts outputting the first minute hand detection pulse DP1a (step ST111a). When the minute hand rotation detection circuit 80a detects the first minute hand detection signal DS1a three times or more (Yes in step ST112a), the minute hand detection pulse output circuit 60a continuously outputs the second minute hand detection pulse DP2a. (Step ST113a). When the second detection signal DS2a for minute hand is detected twice or more in the minute hand rotation detection circuit 80a (YES in step ST114a), the frequency of the normal pulse SPa for minute hand is maintained at 128 Hz (step ST115a), and the normal for minute hand The drive rank of the pulse SPa is changed (step ST116a, flowchart of FIG. 13).

  When the first detection signal DS1a for minute hand is not detected three times or more in step ST112a (NO in step ST112a), or when the second detection signal DS2a for minute hand is not detected twice or more in step ST114a ( NO in step ST114a), it is determined that the minute hand stepping motor 1a is not rotating (step ST117a). In this case, a minute hand correction pulse output section Ha for outputting the minute hand correction pulse FPa is provided. That is, the frequency of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is lowered to 16 Hz (step ST118a). Thereafter, the drive rank of the normal pulse SPa for minute hand is changed (step ST119a, flowchart of FIG. 12).

  On the other hand, the hour hand normal pulse output circuit 40b outputs the hour hand normal pulse SPb with a delay of 4.0 ms from the minute hand normal pulse SPa (step ST110b). The hour hand normal pulse SPb is output at a period of 8.0 ms (frequency 128 Hz). Thereafter, the hour hand detection pulse output circuit 60b outputs the first hour hand detection pulse DP1b (step ST111b). In the hour hand rotation detection circuit 80b, when the hour hand first detection signal DS1b is detected three or more times (Yes in step ST112b), the hour hand detection pulse output circuit 60b continues to output the hour hand detection pulse DP2b (step ST12b). ST113b). When the hour hand second detection signal DS2b is detected twice or more in the hour hand rotation detection circuit 80b (YES in step ST114b), the frequency of the hour hand normal pulse SPb is maintained at 128 Hz (step ST115b), and the hour hand normal detection signal DS2b is detected. The drive rank of the pulse SPb is changed (step ST116b, flowchart of FIG. 13).

  In Step ST112b, when the hour hand first detection signal DS1b is not detected three times or more (NO in Step ST112b), or in Step ST114b, the hour hand second detection signal DS2b is not detected twice or more ( It is determined that the hour hand step motor 1b is non-rotating (NO in step ST114b) (step ST117b). In that case, an hour hand correction pulse output section Hb for outputting the hour hand correction pulse FPb is provided. That is, the frequency of the hour hand normal pulse SPb is lowered to 16 Hz (step ST118b). Thereafter, the drive rank of the hour hand normal pulse SPb is changed (step ST119b, flowchart of FIG. 12).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 12, an operation flow when the step motor 1 is determined to be non-rotating will be described (step ST117a and step ST117b in FIG. 11). FIG. 12 shows a flowchart when it is determined that the step motor 1 is not rotating. Since this flow is common to the hour hand and the minute hand, they will be described without distinction. The same applies to FIG. 13 described later.

  First, when the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is the maximum (YES in step ST121), the drive rank is changed to the minimum (step ST122). This is to avoid continuing the non-rotation determination with an excessive driving force (see FIG. 20 described later). Thereafter, the correction pulse output circuit 50 outputs the correction pulse FP within the correction pulse output section H in order to reliably rotate the step motor 1 (step ST123).

  On the other hand, when the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is not the maximum (NO in step ST121), the drive rank is increased by one rank (step ST124). This is because the driving force of the normal pulse SP is considered insufficient. Thereafter, the correction pulse output circuit 50 outputs the correction pulse FP (step ST123).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 13, the flow of the operation when the step motor 1 is determined to rotate will be described (step ST116a and step ST116b in FIG. 11). When the step motor 1 is determined to rotate, the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is changed based on the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected (rotation detection end position). However, this is an example. For example, from the position at which the first detection signal DS was last detected or the position at which the first detection signal DS1 was last detected until the second detection signal DS2 was first detected. The drive rank of the normal pulse SP is changed based on the length of the period of time, the number of output of the first detection pulse DP1, the number of output of the second detection pulse DP2, or the combination thereof. It doesn't matter. The same applies to the case where the frequency of the normal pulse SP, the output timing of the correction pulse FP, and the like are changed based on the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected in other embodiments described later.

  When the rotation detection end position, that is, the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 3.375 ms after the start time of the unit interval U (YES in step ST131), the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is the smallest. If so, the drive rank is not changed (YES in step ST132). If the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is not minimum (NO in step ST132), the drive rank is lowered by one rank (step ST133). This is because the driving force of the normal pulse SP is considered to be too large because the rotation detection is completed quickly.

  When the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 3.625 ms to 4.125 ms from the start of the unit interval U (YES in step ST134), the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is not changed. If the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 4.375 ms after the start of the unit interval U (YES in step ST135), the drive rank is not changed if the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is maximum. (YES in step ST136). If the driving rank of the normal pulse SP is not the maximum (NO in step ST136), the driving force is increased by one rank (step ST137). This is because it is considered that the driving force of the normal pulse SP is insufficient because the end of rotation detection is slow.

  Thereafter, the process returns to step ST110a of FIG. 11 for the minute hand stepping motor 1a, and the first normal pulse output circuit 40a outputs the minute hand normal pulse SPa whose drive rank has been changed. For the hour hand step motor 1b, the process returns to step ST110b in FIG. 11, and the hour hand normal pulse output circuit 40b delays the hour hand normal pulse SPb whose driving rank has been changed by 4.0 ms from the minute hand normal pulse SPa. Will be output.

[Examples of waveforms when the stepping motor is determined to rotate: FIGS. 14 to 18]
14 to 18 are diagrams showing examples of the current waveform induced in the coil 13 and the voltage waveforms at the output terminals O1 and O2 when the step motor 1 is determined to rotate.

  14 to 18 and FIGS. 19 and 20 described later, for example, V3.125 indicates a detection pulse DP output at a position 3.125 ms after the start time of the unit interval U. The length of the detection pulse DP indicates the magnitude of the voltage, and the detection signal DS is detected at a position where a voltage greater than a predetermined threshold Vth is generated on the same polarity side of the normal pulse SP. It becomes. Further, c1 in FIGS. 14 to 18 and FIGS. 19 and 20 to be described later indicates a current waveform i1 in the driving period T1 shown in FIG. 3, c2 and c4 indicate peaks of the table shown in FIG. c3 and c5 indicate the back peaks shown in FIG. The waveform on the output terminal O1 side and the waveform on the output terminal O2 side are switched alternately, and the sign of the current value induced in the coil 13 is inverted accordingly. In the waveforms shown in FIGS. 14 to 18, the detection of the second detection signal DS2 is started when the first detection signal DS1 is detected three times. The number of detections of the first detection signal DS1 until the detection of the detection signal DS2 is started may be appropriately changed.

  In FIG. 14, after the first detection pulse DP1 is output three times and the first detection signal DS1 is detected three times, the second detection pulse DP2 is output three times and the second detection signal DS2 is detected twice. The waveform when the position where the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 3.625 ms after the start time of the unit interval U is shown. That is, the waveform is shown when step ST112a in FIG. 11 is YES, step ST114a in FIG. 11 is YES, and step ST134 in FIG. 13 is YES. If such a waveform is obtained, it is determined that the step motor 1 is rotating, and the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is not changed. Thus, it can be said that it is desirable to output the normal pulse SP of the driving force that can obtain the current waveform shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 15, after the first detection pulse DP1 is output three times and the first detection signal DS1 is detected three times, the second detection pulse DP2 is output twice and the second detection signal DS is detected twice. The waveform when the position where the second detection signal DS was last detected is 3.375 ms after the start time of the unit interval U is shown. That is, the waveform is shown when step ST112a in FIG. 11 is YES, step ST114a in FIG. 11 is YES, and step ST131 in FIG. 13 is YES. If such a waveform is obtained, it is determined that the step motor 1 is rotating. If the driving rank of the normal pulse SP is not the minimum, the driving force is lowered by one rank. This is because the position at which the second detection signal DS2 is finally detected is early, and it is determined that the driving force of the normal pulse SP is larger than necessary.

  In FIG. 16, after the first detection pulse DP1 is output four times and the first detection signal DS1 is detected three times, the second detection pulse DP2 is output four times and the second detection signal DS2 is detected twice. The waveform when the position where the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 4.125 ms after the start time of the unit interval U is shown. That is, the waveform is shown when step ST112a in FIG. 11 is YES, step ST114a in FIG. 11 is YES, and step ST134 in FIG. 13 is YES. If such a waveform is obtained, it is determined that the step motor 1 is rotating, and the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is not changed. Thus, it can be said that the state in which the normal pulse SP having the driving force such that the current waveform shown in FIG. 16 is obtained is desirable as in FIG.

  In FIG. 17, after the first detection pulse DP1 is output seven times and the first detection signal DS1 is detected three times, the second detection pulse DP2 is output four times and the second detection signal DS2 is detected twice. The waveform when the position where the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 4.875 ms after the start time of the unit interval U is shown. That is, the waveform is shown when step ST112a in FIG. 11 is YES, step ST114a in FIG. 11 is YES, and step ST135 in FIG. 13 is YES. If such a waveform is obtained, it is determined that the step motor 1 is rotating. If the driving rank of the normal pulse SP is not the maximum, the driving force is increased by one rank. This is because it is determined that the position where the second detection signal DS2 is finally detected is late and the driving force of the normal pulse SP is insufficient.

  In FIG. 18, after the first detection pulse DP1 is output ten times and the first detection signal DS1 is detected three times, the second detection pulse DP2 is output four times and the second detection signal DS2 is detected twice. The waveform when the position where the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 5.625 ms after the start time of the unit interval U is shown. That is, the waveform is shown when step ST112a in FIG. 11 is YES, step ST114a in FIG. 11 is YES, and step ST135 in FIG. 13 is YES. If such a waveform is obtained, it is determined that the step motor 1 is rotating. If the driving rank of the normal pulse SP is not the maximum, the driving force is increased by one rank. This is because, similarly to the waveform shown in FIG. 17, it is determined that the position at which the second detection signal DS2 is finally detected is late and the driving force of the normal pulse SP is insufficient.

[Example of waveform when step motor is determined not to rotate: FIGS. 19 and 20]
19 and 20 are diagrams showing examples of the current waveform induced in the coil 13 and the voltage waveforms at the output terminals O1 and O2 when the step motor 1 is determined to be non-rotating.

  In FIG. 19, after the first detection pulse DP1 is output five times and the first detection signal DS1 is detected three times, the second detection pulse DP2 is output six times and the second detection signal DS2 is not detected. The waveform in the case of That is, a waveform is shown when step ST112a in FIG. 11 is YES and step ST114a in FIG. 11 is NO. When such a waveform is obtained, it is determined that the step motor 1 is not rotating, the frequency of the normal pulse SP is lowered, and the correction pulse FP is output. If the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is not the maximum (NO in step ST121 in FIG. 12), the correction pulse FP is output after raising the drive rank by one rank. As described above, even when the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is increased by one rank, when the step motor 1 is still determined to be non-rotating, the driving force for appropriately rotating the step motor 1 is set as shown in FIG. ~ The flow described in Fig. 13 is repeated.

  In FIG. 20, after the first detection pulse DP is output eight times and the first detection signal DS1 is detected three times, the second detection pulse DP2 is output six times and the second detection signal DS2 is not detected. The waveform in the case of That is, a waveform is shown when step ST112a in FIG. 11 is YES and step ST114a in FIG. 11 is NO. This waveform is actually an example of the case where the stepping motor 1 is rotating but an excessive driving force is output, so that the rotation detection cannot follow the current waveform and is determined to be non-rotating. It is. When the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is the maximum, such a waveform is highly likely to be obtained. When such a waveform is obtained, if the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is maximum, the correction pulse FP is output after the drive rank is once minimized (step ST122 in FIG. 12). This is to avoid continuing non-rotation determination with an excessive driving force. In addition, the shape of the normal pulse SP and the correction pulse FP, the detection position of the detection signal DS based on the rotation determination and the drive rank change, the number of detections, etc. are set separately for each step motor without departing from the present invention. Also good. The same applies to other embodiments described later.

[Third Embodiment: FIGS. 21 to 24]
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a rotation detection flow in the third embodiment. FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining the flow in the case where the non-rotation determination is made in the third embodiment. FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a flow when rotation is determined in the third embodiment.

  In the third embodiment, there are a plurality of patterns of the length of the correction pulse output section H and the output timing of the correction pulse FP, and which one is selected is determined based on the position at which the second detection signal DS2 is detected last. decide.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the minute hand normal pulse output circuit 40a outputs the minute hand normal pulse SPa (step ST210a). The minute hand normal pulse SPa is output at a period of 8.0 ms (frequency 128 Hz). Thereafter, the minute hand detection pulse output circuit 60a starts outputting the first minute hand detection pulse DP1a (step ST211a). When the minute hand rotation detection circuit 80a detects the first minute hand detection signal DS1a three times or more (Yes in step ST212a), the minute hand detection pulse output circuit 60a continues to output the second minute hand detection pulse DP2a. (Step ST213a). When the minute hand second detection signal DS2a is detected twice or more in the minute hand rotation detection circuit 80a (YES in step ST214a), the frequency and drive rank of the minute hand normal pulse SPa are changed (step ST215a, FIG. 23). flowchart).

  In step ST212a, when the minute hand first detection signal DS1a is not detected three times or more (NO in step ST212a), or in step ST214a, the second hand detection signal DS2a is not detected twice or more ( NO in step ST214a), it is determined that the minute hand stepping motor 1a is not rotating (step ST216a). In that case, the frequency of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is changed, and then the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output (step ST217a, flowchart of FIG. 22).

  On the other hand, the hour hand normal pulse output circuit 40b outputs the hour hand normal pulse SPb with a delay of 4.0 ms from the minute hand normal pulse SPa (step ST210b). The hour hand normal pulse SPb is output at a period of 8.0 ms (frequency 128 Hz). Thereafter, the hour hand detection pulse output circuit 60b outputs the first hour hand detection pulse DP1b (step ST211b). In the hour hand rotation detection circuit 80b, when the hour hand first detection signal DS1b is detected three times or more (Yes in step ST212b), the hour hand detection pulse output circuit 60b continues to output the hour hand detection pulse DP2b (step ST21b). ST213b). When the hour hand second detection signal DS2b is detected twice or more in the hour hand rotation detection circuit 80b (YES in step ST214b), the frequency and drive rank of the hour hand normal pulse SPb are changed (step ST215b, FIG. 23). flowchart).

  In Step ST212b, when the hour hand first detection signal DS1b is not detected three times or more (NO in Step ST212b), or in Step ST214b, the hour hand second detection signal DS2b is not detected twice or more ( It is determined that the hour hand step motor 1b is not rotating (NO in step ST214b) (step ST216b). In that case, after changing the frequency of the hour hand normal pulse SPb, the hour hand correction pulse FPb is output (step ST217b, flowchart of FIG. 22).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 22, the flow of operation when it is determined that the step motor 1 is not rotating will be described (steps ST217a and ST217b in FIG. 21). FIG. 22 shows a flowchart when it is determined that the step motor 1 is not rotating. Since this flow is common to the hour hand and the minute hand, they will be described without distinction. The same applies to FIG. 23 described later.

  When the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 4.375 ms after the start time of the unit interval U (YES in step ST220), the frequency of the normal pulse SP is changed to 32 Hz (32 ms) (step ST221). Further, the output timing of the correction pulse FP is set 8.0 ms after the start time of the correction pulse output section H (step ST222). If the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is the maximum (YES in step ST223), the drive rank is lowered to the minimum (step ST224). Thereafter, the correction pulse FP is output. When the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is not the maximum (NO in step ST223), the drive rank is increased by one rank, and then the correction pulse FP is output (step ST225).

  When the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 4.625 ms to 6.375 ms after the start time of the unit interval U (YES in step ST227), the frequency of the normal pulse SP is set to 16 Hz (64 ms). Change (step ST228). Further, the output timing of the correction pulse FP is set 32 ms after the start time of the correction pulse output section H (step ST229). If the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is the maximum (YES in step ST223), the drive rank is lowered to the minimum (step ST224). Thereafter, the correction pulse FP is output. When the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is not the maximum (NO in step ST223), the drive rank is increased by one rank, and then the correction pulse FP is output (step ST225).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 23, an operation flow when the stepping motor 1 is determined to rotate will be described (YES in steps ST215a and ST215b in FIG. 21).

  When the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 3.375 ms after the start time of the unit interval U (YES in step ST231), the frequency of the normal pulse SP is maintained at 128 Hz (step ST232). If the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is minimum, the drive rank is not changed (YES in step ST233). If not, the drive rank is lowered by one rank (step ST234). This is because the driving force of the normal pulse SP is considered to be too large because the rotation detection is completed quickly.

  When the position where the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 3.625 ms to 4.125 ms from the start time of the unit section U (YES in step ST235), the frequency of the normal pulse SP is maintained at 128 Hz ( Step ST236), the drive rank is not changed.

  When the position where the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 4.375 ms to 5.375 ms from the start time of the unit interval U (YES in step ST237), the frequency of the normal pulse SP is maintained at 128 Hz (step). ST238). If the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is maximum, the drive rank is not changed (in the case of YES in step ST239), and if it is not maximum, the drive rank is increased by one rank (step ST240). This is because it is considered that the driving force of the normal pulse SP is insufficient because the end of rotation detection is slow.

  When the position where the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 5.625 ms to 6.375 ms from the start time of the unit interval U (YES in step ST241), the frequency of the normal pulse SP is lowered to 64 Hz (step ST242). ). If the drive rank of the normal pulse SP is maximum, the drive rank is not changed (in the case of YES in step ST239), and if it is not maximum, the drive rank is increased by one rank (step ST240). This is because it is considered that the driving force of the normal pulse SP is insufficient because the end of rotation detection is slow.

  As described above with reference to the flowcharts, in the third embodiment, the frequency of the normal pulse SP is changed according to the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected even when the rotation is determined. Adopted step. Even in the case of determining the rotation, when the driving force of the step motor 1 decreases, the current waveforms c3 and c4 move backward as shown in FIGS. 16 to 18. However, when the driving force decreases, the rotation of the step motor 1 does not converge easily. Means. Thus, when the convergence of the rotation of the step motor 1 is delayed, the damping vibration of the step motor 1 may overlap with the output timing of the normal pulse SP of the next step. In such a case, an abnormal operation may occur such that the rotation of the step motor 1 (rotor 11) is reversed. However, in the third embodiment, since the frequency of the normal pulse SP is changed according to the position where the detection signal DS is detected, high-speed driving with high robustness is realized such that normal rotation can be determined and abnormal operation is difficult. it can. In addition, since the frequency of the normal pulse SP to be changed is an integral multiple of the length of the unit section U, it is avoided that the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are output redundantly, and the battery is excessive. It can suppress that load is applied.

  In the third embodiment, even when the non-rotation determination is made, the frequency of the normal pulse SP is set to either 32 Hz or 16 Hz according to the position where the second detection signal DS2 is detected last. Adopted step. That is, the length of the correction pulse output section H is set to either 32 ms or 64 ms. The output timing of the correction pulse FP is set according to the set frequency of the normal pulse SP. When the rotation detection ends early, the output timing of the correction pulse FP is advanced and the generation timing of the next normal pulse SP is advanced (step ST221 and step ST222 in FIG. 22), so that the high-speed hand movement is ended early. Is possible.

  In the third embodiment, only the case where the drive rank is increased or decreased by one rank has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the position at which the second detection signal DS2 was last detected is 4.625 ms to 6.375 ms from the start time of the unit section U, it is considered that the driving force is weak and the possibility of non-rotation is high. The drive rank may be increased by two ranks.

  Further, an example of a waveform diagram in the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 24 is a timing chart showing the relative timing of the pulse output to the step motor that moves the minute hand and the pulse that is output to the step motor that moves the hour hand in the third embodiment.

  In FIG. 24, a minute hand normal pulse SPa having a frequency of 128 Hz (8.0 ms) is output, and after temporarily reducing the frequency of the minute hand normal pulse SPa to 64 Hz (16 ms) (see step ST242 in FIG. 23), the minute hand The waveform when the correction pulse FPa for output is output twice is shown.

  As described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 23, even when the rotation of the minute hand step motor 1a is determined, if the detection timing of the second detection signal DSa2 for the minute hand is late, the frequency of the normal pulse SPa for the minute hand (See step ST242 in FIG. 23). Specifically, when the detection timing of the second minute hand detection signal DSa2 is late, the frequency of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is lowered from 128 Hz to 64 Hz. That is, the unit interval U is changed from 8.0 ms to 16 ms. At this time, if the driving rank of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is not the maximum, the driving rank is increased by one (step ST240 in FIG. 23). In the third embodiment, even if the unit interval U is changed, the first interval u1 in which the minute hand normal pulse SPa is output and the second interval u2 in which the hour hand normal pulse SPb is output are the unit interval. Allotted so as not to overlap each other in U.

  In FIG. 24, the minute hand correction pulse FPa output for the first time is 4.625 ms to 6.375 ms from the start time of the unit interval U at the position where the second minute hand detection signal DS2a was last detected. In this case (YES in step ST227 in FIG. 22). That is, the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to 64 ms (in other words, the frequency of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is 16 Hz), and the minute hand correction pulse is 32 ms after the start of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha. FPa output is started.

  The minute hand correction pulse FPa output for the second time is when the position where the second minute hand detection signal DS2a was last detected is 4.375 ms from the start of the unit interval U (YES in step ST220 of FIG. 22). ) And output. That is, the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to 32 ms (in other words, the frequency of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is 32 Hz), and the minute hand correction pulse FPa is 8.0 ms after the start of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha. Starts to output.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, the frequency of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha and the minute hand normal pulse SP can be set according to the position at which the second minute hand detection signal DS2a is last detected. The configuration. Even if the frequency of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is changed, that is, the length of the unit interval U is changed, the first interval u1 is output so that the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are output at timings that do not overlap each other. And the second section u2 is assigned within the unit section U. In addition, the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is an integral multiple of the length of the unit section U. Specifically, in the third embodiment, the length of the correction pulse output interval Ha for the minute hand is 64 ms, which is eight times the length of the unit interval U of 8.0 ms, and the length of the unit interval U is 8 32 ms, which is four times 0.0 ms, was adopted. By setting the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha in this way, the relative output timing of the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb does not change before and after the output of the minute hand correction pulse FPa. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb from being output in an overlapping manner, and to suppress an excessive load on the battery.

  It should be noted that, by changing the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha, the position, length, and the like where the output timings of the minute hand correction pulse FPa, the hour hand normal pulse SPb, and the hour hand correction pulse FPb overlap are different. It becomes. In the third embodiment, detailed waveforms are not shown, but, as in the first and second embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 10, the weak pulse fpa2 of the minute hand correction pulse FPa, A configuration may be adopted in which the output timings of the single pulse spb of the hour hand normal pulse SPb and the strong pulse fpb1 of the hour hand correction pulse FPb are output to each other in the pause period in the single pulse section s.

  In the third embodiment, the hour hand normal pulse SPb or the hour hand correction pulse FPb corresponds to the first pulse of the present invention, and the minute hand correction pulse FPa corresponds to the second pulse.

[Fourth Embodiment: FIGS. 25 to 28]
Next, an electronic timepiece 200 according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 25 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic timepiece according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 26 is a timing chart showing the relative timing of the pulse output to the step motor that moves the minute hand and the pulse that is output to the step motor that moves the hour hand in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 27 is a timing chart showing relative timings of pulses output to the step motor that moves the minute hand and pulses output to the step motor that moves the hour hand in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 28 is an enlarged view of FIGS. 26 and 27, and shows details of the waveforms of the minute hand correction pulse and the hour hand reverse rotation pulse.

  A technique for rotating the step motor 1 in the reverse rotation direction (counterclockwise direction) of the normal hand movement direction for adjusting the position of the pointer 2 is known. As shown in FIG. 25, the electronic timepiece 200 includes a reverse rotation pulse output circuit 110 in addition to the configuration of the electronic timepiece 100 described in the first embodiment and the like. The same components as those of the electronic timepiece 100 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The reverse rotation pulse output circuit 110 includes a minute hand reverse rotation pulse output circuit 110a and an hour hand reverse rotation pulse output circuit 110b. The minute hand reverse rotation output circuit 110a generates a minute hand reverse rotation pulse GPa for reversely rotating the minute hand step motor 1a, and outputs the minute hand reverse rotation pulse GPa to the minute hand step motor 1a. The hour hand reverse rotation output circuit 110 generates an hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb for reversely rotating the hour hand step motor 1b, and outputs an hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb to the hour hand step motor 1b.

  FIG. 26 shows a waveform diagram when it is determined that the minute hand step motor 1a is not rotating on the output terminal O1 side of the minute hand step motor 1a, and the minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a outputs the minute hand correction pulse FPa. . Specifically, the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to 56 ms (the frequency of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is 18.29 Hz), and the minute hand correction pulse FPa having a pulse width of 8.0 ms is output as the minute hand correction pulse. The waveform diagram in the case of being output 24 ms after the start time of the section Ha is shown.

  FIG. 27 is a waveform diagram when the minute hand step motor 1a is determined to be non-rotating on the output terminal O2 side of the minute hand step motor 1a, and the minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a outputs the minute hand correction pulse FPa. Indicates. Specifically, the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to 56 ms (the frequency of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is 18.29 Hz), and the minute hand correction pulse FPa having a pulse width of 8.0 ms is output as the minute hand correction pulse. The waveform diagram in the case of being output after 32 ms from the start time of the section Ha is shown. As shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, in the minute hand stepping motor 1a of the fourth embodiment, the minute hand correction pulse FPa output on the output terminal O1 side and the minute hand correction output on the output terminal O2 side. The pulse FPa is output at a different timing.

  On the other hand, in both FIG. 26 and FIG. 27, when the hour hand reverse rotation pulse output circuit 110b outputs the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb for rotating the hour hand step motor 1b in the hour hand step motor 1b. A waveform diagram is shown. The output of the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb is delayed by 4.0 ms from the minute hand normal pulse SPa. The hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb is output at a frequency of 32 Hz (32 ms) and has a pulse width of 8.0 ms. As will be described in detail later, the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb has a complicated and long pulse width waveform in which a pulse is output in a plurality of sections, and the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the minute hand correction pulse FPa. It is difficult to output so that there is no overlap. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, the waveform shown in FIG. 28 is adopted.

  FIG. 28 shows a waveform when the first half of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and 4.0 ms of the second half of the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb are output at overlapping timings. The minute hand correction pulse FPa is composed of a strong pulse fpa1 and a weak pulse fpa2 as described in the second embodiment. Specifically, the minute hand correction pulse FPa is divided into a strong pulse fpa1 which is a chopper pulse having a duty ratio output intermittently of 24/32 and a chopper pulse having a duty ratio of intermittent output of 8/32. It comprised with a certain weak pulse fpa2. Further, as shown in FIG. 28, the minute hand strong pulse output section ha1 is assigned to continue for 4.0 ms from the output start time of the minute hand correction pulse FPa, and immediately after that, the minute hand weak pulse output section ha2 is set to 4. Allocation was performed continuously for 0 ms.

  Here, the principle of reverse rotation of the step motor 1b by the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb will be described with reference to FIG. The hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb is output on the output terminal O1 side in the first section gb1 having a length of 1.0 ms, and on the output terminal O2 side in the second section gb2 having a length of 1.5 ms. In the third reverse rotation pulse gpb2 output at the output terminal O1 side in the third interval gb3 having a length of 1.5 ms, and in the fourth interval gb4 having a length of 0.25 ms. It is comprised with the 4th reverse rotation pulse gpb4 output by the output terminal O1 side. The fourth section gb was continuously arranged for 4.0 ms.

  First, when the first reverse rotation pulse gpb1 is output on the output terminal O1 side, the hour hand step motor 1b slightly rotates in the forward rotation direction. The hour hand step motor 1b slightly rotated in the forward direction tries to return to the original position. In this state, when the second reverse rotation pulse gpb2 is output on the output terminal O2 side, the hour hand step motor 1b starts to rotate in the reverse rotation direction. In this state, the third reverse rotation pulse gpb3 is further output on the output terminal O1 side, so that the driving force in the reverse rotation direction is strengthened, and the hour hand step motor 1b is driven in reverse rotation. Further, after the output of the third reverse pulse gpb3, the fourth reverse pulse gpb4 that is a chopper pulse is output on the output terminal O1 side. The fourth reverse pulse gpb4 serves as a so-called braking pulse for braking the drive of the step motor 1b (rotor 11).

  In the fourth embodiment, the fourth reverse rotation pulse gpb4 output in the fourth section gb4 is a chopper pulse having a duty ratio of 8/32. Then, the strong pulse fpa1 of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the fourth reverse rotation pulse gpb4 of the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb are mutually in the single pulse section s (the minute hand strong pulse output section ha1 and the fourth section gb4). It was configured to output in the pause interval.

  Note that the minute hand correction pulse FPa of the fourth embodiment corresponds to the first pulse of the present invention, the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb corresponds to the second pulse, and the strong pulse fpa1 is the first single pulse. The fourth counter rotation pulse gpb4 corresponds to the second single pulse.

  By adopting the above configuration, it is possible to suppress an excessive load on the battery even when the output timings of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb overlap.

  As for the waveforms of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb, the strong pulse fpa1 of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the fourth reverse rotation pulse gpb4 of the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb are output in the pause period. As long as it is, it is not limited to that shown in FIG. That is, although FIG. 28 shows an example in which the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb overlap in the section of 4.0 ms, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the output timings of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand reverse rotation pulse GPb overlap by 1.0 ms, the strong pulse fpa1 and the fourth reverse rotation pulse gpb4 are output in the pause interval in the overlap interval. That's fine.

  Further, the duty ratios of the strong pulse fpa1 and the fourth reverse rotation pulse gpb4 are not limited to those shown in FIG. For example, when the duty ratio of the fourth reverse rotation pulse gpb4 is set to 8/32 as shown in FIG. 28, the duty ratio of the strong pulse fpa1 is, for example, 16/32, 18/32, 20/32, 22 / It may be 32 or the like.

  Although detailed illustration is omitted here, in a section where the timings of the reverse rotation pulse GP and the normal pulse SP overlap, the fourth reverse rotation pulse gpb4 of the reverse rotation pulse GP and the normal pulse SP in the unit section s. It is preferable that the single pulse sp is output in the pause period. Thereby, it can suppress that an excessive load is applied to a battery.

[Fifth Embodiment: FIGS. 29 to 34]
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 29 to 34. FIGS. 29 and 30 are timing charts showing relative timings of pulses output to the step motor that moves the minute hand and pulses output to the step motor that moves the hour hand in the fifth embodiment. It is. FIG. 31 and FIG. 33 are diagrams illustrating examples of waveforms of pulses output to the minute hand stepping motor in the fifth embodiment. FIG.32 and FIG.34 is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the pulse output with respect to the step motor for hour hands in 5th Embodiment.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the case has been described in which the hour hand normal pulse SPb is output with a delay of 4.0 ms from the minute hand normal pulse SPa, and the output timings thereof do not overlap. The present invention can also be applied to the case where the output timings of the normal pulse SP overlap each other. That is, the first section u1 and the second section u described in the first embodiment and the like may be assigned so as to overlap in the unit section U. In the fifth embodiment, since the respective normal pulses SP are output simultaneously without delay, the driving of each step motor 1 can be terminated earlier than in the configuration of the other embodiments.

  The configuration of the fifth embodiment can be applied not only during high-speed hand movement but also during normal hand movement in which the pointer 2 is driven by the normal pulse SP having a frequency of 1 Hz. This will be specifically described below.

  In the fifth embodiment, in the same manner as described in the first embodiment, the first detection pulse DP1a for minute hand and the second detection pulse DP2a for minute hand are output, and the step motor 1a for minute hand is determined to be non-rotating. In this case, the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output (see FIGS. 31 and 33). Similarly, when the hour hand first detection pulse DP1b and the hour hand second detection pulse DP2b are output and the hour hand step motor 1b is determined to be non-rotating, the hour hand correction pulse FPb is output (FIG. 32, FIG. 32). 34). 31 to 34, for example, B2.5 indicates that the first detection pulse DP1 is output at a position 2.5 ms after the output start time of the normal pulse SP, and F2.625 indicates the second This indicates that the detection pulse DP2 is output after 2.625 from the output start time of the normal pulse SP.

  In the fifth embodiment, the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are output at the same timing. In the example of FIGS. 29 and 30, the minute hand normal pulse SPa output on the output terminal O1 side of the minute hand step motor 1a and the hour hand normal pulse SPb output on the output terminal O2 side of the hour hand step motor 1b. Are output at the same timing and output at the output terminal O2 side of the minute hand step motor 1a, and the hour hand normal pulse SPb output at the output terminal O1 side of the hour hand step motor 1b. Shows the waveform output at the timing when.

  In the example of FIG. 29, the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output on the output terminal O1 side of the minute hand step motor 1a, and the hour hand correction pulse FPb is output on the output terminal O2 side of the hour hand step motor 1b. The waveform is shown. In FIG. 29, the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to 56 ms (18.29 Hz), and the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output 28 ms after the start of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha. In FIG. 29, the hour hand correction pulse output section Hb is 56 ms (18.29 Hz), and the hour hand correction pulse FPb is output 20 ms after the start of the hour hand correction pulse output section Hb. The minute hand correction pulse output section Ha and the hour hand correction pulse output section Hb have the same timing. Then, the minute hand correction pulse FPa output on the output terminal O1 side of the minute hand step motor 1a and the hour hand correction pulse FPb on the output terminal O2 side of the hour hand step motor 1b are output at different timings. .

  In the example of FIG. 30, when the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output on the output terminal O2 side of the minute hand step motor 1a and the hour hand correction pulse FPb is output on the output terminal O1 side of the hour hand step motor 1b. The waveform is shown. In FIG. 30, the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to 56 ms (18.29 Hz), and the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output 20 ms after the start of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha. In FIG. 30, the hour hand correction pulse output section Hb is 56 ms (18.29 Hz), and the hour hand correction pulse FPb is output 28 ms after the start of the hour hand correction pulse output section Hb. The minute hand correction pulse output section Ha and the hour hand correction pulse output section Hb have the same timing. The minute hand correction pulse FPa output on the output terminal O2 side of the minute hand step motor 1a and the hour hand correction pulse FPb on the output terminal O1 side of the hour hand step motor 1b are output at different timings. .

  In the waveforms shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, the relative output timings of the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb do not change before and after the output of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and hour hand correction pulse FPb. That is, even after the output of the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand correction pulse FPb, the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are output at overlapping timings. The output timing of the correction pulse FP shown in FIGS. 29 and 30 is an example, and is not limited to this.

  Therefore, in the fifth embodiment, the minute hand normal pulse SPa is composed of a single pulse spa that is intermittently output, and the hour hand normal pulse SPb is composed of a single pulse spb that is intermittently output. And the single pulse spb are output in the rest period of each other.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 31 and 33, the single pulse spa is a chopper pulse output from the start time of the single pulse section sa1 or the single pulse section sa2. In the fifth embodiment, the single pulse spa1 output in the single pulse section sa1 has a duty ratio of 24/32, and the single pulse spa2 output in the single pulse section sa2 has a duty ratio of 8/32.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 32 and 34, the single pulse spb is a chopper pulse whose output ends at the end of the single pulse interval sb1 or the single pulse interval sb2. In the fifth embodiment, the single pulse spb1 output in the single pulse section sb1 has a duty ratio of 8/32, and the single pulse spb2 output in the single pulse section sb2 has a duty ratio of 24/32.

  31 and 32, the single pulse section sa1 and the single pulse section sa2 are alternately arranged, the single pulse section sb1 and the single pulse section sb2 are alternately arranged, and the single pulse section sa1 and the single pulse section. An example in which sb1 overlaps and single pulse interval sa2 and single pulse interval sb2 overlap will be described.

  In FIG. 33 and FIG. 34, four single pulse sections sa1 are arranged side by side, then four single pulse sections sa2 are arranged side by side, and four single pulse sections sb1 are arranged side by side. After that, the four single pulse sections sb2 are arranged side by side, and the single pulse section sa1 and the single pulse section sb1 overlap, and the single pulse section sa2 and the single pulse section sb2 overlap. An example is shown.

  By adopting the minute hand normal pulse SPa and hour hand normal pulse SPb having the waveforms shown in FIG. 31 and FIG. 32 or FIG. 33 and FIG. 34, even when these normal pulses SP are output at overlapping timings. It is possible to suppress an excessive load on the battery.

  It should be noted that the waveforms of the minute hand normal pulse SPa and the hour hand normal pulse SPb are such that the single pulse spa of the minute hand normal pulse SP and the single pulse spb of the hour hand normal pulse SPb are output in a pause period. Well, it is not limited to those shown in FIGS. For example, even when the arrangement of the single pulse interval sa1 and the single pulse interval sa2 is irregularly arranged, the single pulse spb may be output in the pause interval of the single pulse spa accordingly. Further, the duty ratios of the single pulse spa and the single pulse spb are not limited to those shown in FIGS. For example, as shown in FIG. 32, when the duty ratio of the single pulse spb1 output in the single pulse section sb1 is 8/32, the duty ratio of the single pulse spa1 output in the single pulse section sa1 is, for example, 16 / 32, 18/32, 20/32, etc.

  Further, when the output timings of the strong pulses fpa1 and fpb1 do not overlap with other pulses like the minute hand correction pulse FPa and the hour hand correction pulse FPb shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, the duty of the strong pulses fpa1 and fpb1 The correction pulse FP with a large driving force may be output by increasing the ratio. The duty ratio of the strong pulses fpa1 and fpb1 may be 32/32, for example.

[Sixth Embodiment: FIGS. 35 and 36]
Next, an electronic timepiece according to a sixth embodiment will be described. In the first to fifth embodiments, the electronic timepiece that simultaneously moves the minute hand 2a and the hour hand 2b has been described. However, in the sixth embodiment, the second hand 2c is further provided as a pointer, and the minute hand 2a, the hour hand 2b, and the second hand 2c. A configuration for simultaneously moving the hands will be described. Although the frequency and duty ratio of the normal pulse SP need to be changed as appropriate, the configuration in which the three pointers described in the sixth embodiment are moved simultaneously applies to any of the first to sixth embodiments. It is possible.

  A schematic configuration of an electronic timepiece 300 according to the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 35 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic timepiece according to the sixth embodiment. The electronic timepiece 300 is an analog display type timepiece that displays time with hands. In the following description, the subscript a attached to the reference numerals of the respective components indicates the configuration for the minute hand, the subscript b indicates the configuration for the hour hand, and the subscript c indicates the configuration for the second hand. In addition, when it is not necessary to distinguish and explain which one is used for the pointer, the suffix is omitted. Also, the description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

  The electronic timepiece 300 includes a normal pulse output circuit 40, a correction pulse output circuit 50, a detection pulse output circuit 60, and a rotation detection circuit 80, as shown in FIG.

  The normal pulse output circuit 40 includes a second hand normal pulse output circuit 40c. The second hand normal pulse output circuit 40c generates a second hand normal pulse SPc for driving the second hand step motor 1c, and outputs the second hand normal pulse SPc to the second hand step motor 1c.

  The correction pulse output circuit 50 includes a second hand correction pulse output circuit 50c. The second hand correction pulse output circuit 50c generates a second hand correction pulse FPc having a driving force larger than that of the second hand normal pulse SPc, and outputs the second hand correction pulse FPc to the second hand step motor 1c.

  The detection pulse output circuit 60 includes a second hand detection pulse output circuit 60c. The second hand detection pulse output circuit 60c generates and outputs two types of detection pulses, a first detection pulse DP1c for the second hand and a second detection pulse DP2c for the second hand. Specifically, the second hand detection pulse output circuit 60c is a counter electromotive force generated when the minute hand step motor 1c is driven by the second hand normal pulse SPc, and is on the side (reverse polarity) different from the second hand normal pulse SPc. A first detection pulse DP1c for second hand for detecting the generated back peak is output. The second hand detection pulse output circuit 60c outputs a second detection pulse DP2c for second hand that detects a back peak on the same side (same polarity) as the second hand normal pulse SPc.

  The rotation detection circuit 80 includes a second hand rotation detection circuit 80c. The second hand rotation detection circuit 80c is generated by a first detection counter 80c1 for detecting a second hand first detection signal DS1c generated by a first detection pulse DP1c for second hand and a second detection pulse DP2c for second hand. And a second detection counter for second hand 80c2 for detecting the number of detected second hand detection signals DS2c.

  The second hand rotation detection circuit 80c determines whether or not the second hand step motor 1c has rotated according to the number of detection signals DS detected by the plurality of counters. Based on the determination result, the pulse control circuit 70 selects a specific frequency and driving force, and outputs the selected frequency and driving force to the drive control circuit 30. When the second hand rotation detection circuit 80c determines that the second hand step motor 1c is not rotating, the second hand correction pulse output circuit 50c outputs a second hand correction pulse to the second hand step motor 1c determined to be non-rotating. FPc is output.

  FIG. 36 shows a pulse output to the step motor for moving the minute hand, a pulse output to the step motor for moving the hour hand, and an output to the step motor for moving the second hand in the sixth embodiment. It is a timing chart which shows the relative timing of a pulse to be performed.

  The minute hand normal pulse output circuit 40a outputs the minute hand normal pulse SPa within the first section u1 assigned within the unit section U. In the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 36, the first section u1 is allocated in the unit section U so that the start time of the first section u1 starts from the start time of the unit section U. Then, the minute hand normal pulse output circuit 40a outputs the minute hand normal pulse SPa from the start time of the first section u1. In the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 36, the length of the unit section U is 16 ms, the length of the first section u is 4.0 ms, and the pulse width of the minute hand normal pulse SPa is 2.0 ms. .

  The hour hand normal pulse output circuit 40b outputs the hour hand normal pulse SPb within the second section u2 assigned so as not to overlap the first section u1 within the unit section U. In the seventh embodiment, the second section u2 is allocated in the unit section U so that the start time of the second section u2 starts from the end time of the first section u1. The hour hand normal pulse output circuit 40b outputs the hour hand normal pulse SPb with a delay of 4.0 ms from the minute hand normal pulse SPa. In the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 36, the length of the second section u2 is 4.0 ms, and the pulse width of the hour hand normal pulse SPb is 2.0 ms.

  The second-hand normal pulse output circuit 40c outputs the second-hand normal pulse SPc within the third section u3 which is assigned so as not to overlap the first section u1 and the second section u2 within the unit section U. In the sixth embodiment, the third section u3 is allocated in the unit section U so that the start time of the third section u3 starts from the end time of the second section u2. The second hand normal pulse output circuit 40c outputs the second hand normal pulse SPc with a delay of 4.0 ms from the hour hand normal pulse SPb. In the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 36, the length of the third section u3 is 8.0 ms, and the pulse width of the second hand normal pulse SPc is 2.0 ms.

  As described above, since the first interval u1, the second interval u2, and the third interval u3 do not overlap each other, the minute hand normal pulse SPa, the hour hand normal pulse SPb, and the second hand normal pulse SPc do not overlap each other. Is output. Therefore, it is suppressed that an excessive load is applied to the battery.

  FIG. 36 shows a waveform when it is determined that the minute hand step motor 1a is not rotating and the minute hand correction pulse output circuit 50a outputs the minute hand correction pulse FPa. The minute hand correction pulse FPa is output within the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha. In order to avoid overlapping the output timings of the minute hand normal pulse SPa, the hour hand normal pulse SPb, and the second hand normal pulse SPc after the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output, in the sixth embodiment, for the minute hand The correction pulse output section Ha is started from the end of the unit section U, and the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to an integral multiple of the length of the unit section U.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 36, the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha is set to 64 ms, which is four times the length of the unit section U of 16 ms. In this way, by setting the length of the minute hand correction pulse output section Ha to an integral multiple of the length of the unit section U, the minute hand normal pulse SPa, the hour hand normal pulse SPb, and the second hand normal pulse SPc are relative to each other. The correct output timing does not change before and after the output of the minute hand correction pulse FPa. That is, even after the minute hand correction pulse FPa is output, the hour hand normal pulse SPb is output at a timing delayed by 4.0 ms from the minute hand normal pulse SPa, and the second hand normal pulse SPc is output at the hour hand normal pulse SPb. Is output at a timing delayed by 4.0 ms. Therefore, these normal pulses are not output at the timing when they are overlapped with each other.

  As shown in FIG. 36, the hour hand normal pulse SPb and the second hand normal pulse SPc are output while the minute hand correction pulse FPa is being output. Therefore, as described with reference to FIG. 8 in the first embodiment, the minute hand correction pulse FPa is composed of the strong pulse fpa1 and the weak pulse fpa2, and the hour hand normal pulse SPb is composed of the single pulse spb. It is good to set it as the structure by which they are output to a rest period. Further, although not shown in the figure, the second hand normal pulse SPc is constituted by a single pulse that is intermittently output, and the single pulse and the weak pulse fpa2 of the minute hand correction pulse FPa are output in the pause interval. You may comprise.

  The waveforms shown in FIG. 36 are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to this. The minute hand normal pulse SPa, the hour hand normal pulse SPb, and the second hand normal pulse SPc are waveforms that are output at overlapping timings. May be. In that case, as described in the fifth embodiment, each normal pulse SP is constituted by a single pulse sp that is intermittently output, and the single pulse sp of each normal pulse SP is outputted in a pause period of each other. Good. Further, the electronic timepiece 300 according to the sixth embodiment also includes the reverse rotation pulse output circuit 110 described in the fourth embodiment, and can output the reverse rotation pulse GP to each of the step motors 1a, 1b, and 1c. It is good.

  Note that the second hand step motor 1c of the sixth embodiment corresponds to the third step motor of the present invention.

  As shown in the present embodiment, by increasing the length of the unit section U, a plurality of step motors 1 can be operated simultaneously. Of course, the length of the unit section U may be shortened if the movement of one of the stepping motors 1 is completed early and the number of stepping motors simultaneously moving decreases. For example, in the sixth embodiment, the number of stepping motors 1 that simultaneously move is three and the length of the unit section U is 16 ms. However, if the number of stepping motors that move simultaneously in the middle becomes two, as in the first embodiment Alternatively, the length of the unit section U may be switched to 8 ms in the middle. Furthermore, when it becomes the hand movement of the step motor 1 independently, you may shorten the unit area U in the possible range. In this way, by switching the length of the unit section U according to the step motor that moves the hands simultaneously, it becomes possible to end the high-speed movement of the electronic timepiece at an early stage.

  In the configurations of the first to sixth embodiments described above, normal operation of driving the pointer 2 with the normal pulse SP having the frequency of 1 Hz as well as high-speed operation of rotating the pointer 2 with the normal pulse SP of frequency of 128 Hz or the like. It is also applicable at times.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment concerning this invention was described, the specific structure shown in this embodiment was shown as an example, and it is not intending limiting the technical scope of this invention to this. Those skilled in the art may appropriately modify these disclosed embodiments, and it should be understood that the technical scope of the invention disclosed herein includes such modifications.

  1 step motor, 2 pointers, 10 power supply, 11 rotor, 12 stator, 13 coil, 20 reference signal source, 21 oscillation circuit, 22 frequency divider circuit, 30 drive control circuit, 40 normal pulse output circuit, 50 correction pulse output circuit, 60 detection pulse output circuit, 70 pulse control circuit, 80 rotation detection circuit, 90 driver, 110 reverse rotation pulse output circuit, 100, 200 electronic timepiece, SP normal pulse, FP correction pulse, DP detection pulse, GP reverse rotation pulse, DS Detection signal, U unit interval, u1 first interval, u2 second interval, H correction pulse output interval, ha strong pulse output interval, hb weak pulse output interval, s single pulse interval.

Claims (16)

A first step motor;
A second step motor;
A first pulse output circuit that outputs a first pulse that includes a first single pulse that is intermittently output to drive the first step motor;
A second pulse output circuit that outputs a second pulse including a second single pulse that is intermittently output to drive the second step motor;
Have
The electronic timepiece in which the first single pulse and the second single pulse are output in a pause interval. Either one of the first single pulse or the second single pulse is a chopper pulse output from the start time of the single pulse section,
2. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein one of the first single pulse and the second single pulse is a chopper pulse that ends output at the end of the single pulse interval. A rotation detection circuit for determining whether or not the first step motor has rotated;
3. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the first pulse is a first correction pulse that is output to drive the first step motor when it is determined that the first step motor is not rotating. 4. . A detection pulse output circuit that outputs a detection pulse;
The electronic timepiece according to claim 3, wherein the rotation detection circuit determines whether the first step motor has rotated based on a detection signal generated by the detection pulse. The second pulse is a normal pulse output within a unit interval,
5. The electronic timepiece according to claim 3, wherein the first pulse is the first correction pulse output in a correction pulse output section whose length is an integral multiple of the unit section.   The electronic timepiece according to claim 5, wherein the first correction pulse is output within the correction pulse output section having a length set based on the detection signal.   The electronic timepiece according to claim 4, wherein the first correction pulse is output at a timing set based on the detection signal. The rotation detection circuit determines whether the second step motor has rotated,
The electronic timepiece according to claim 7, wherein the second pulse is a second correction pulse that is output to drive the second step motor when it is determined that the second step motor is not rotating.   The electronic timepiece according to claim 8, wherein the first correction pulse and the second correction pulse are output at different timings within the correction pulse output section. A first output terminal and a second output terminal for outputting a first pulse to the first step motor; a first output terminal and a second output terminal for outputting a second pulse to the second step motor; Each having a driver circuit having an output terminal;
The first correction pulse output on the first output terminal side and the second correction pulse output on the second output terminal side are output at different timings within the correction pulse output section. 9. An electronic timepiece according to 9.   The electronic timepiece according to claim 4, wherein the normal pulse is output with a driving force set based on the detection signal.   The electronic timepiece according to claim 4, wherein the normal pulse is output at a frequency set based on the detection signal.   4. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the second pulse is a reverse rotation pulse output to reversely rotate the second step motor. 5.   The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the first pulse and the second pulse are normal pulses output during normal hand movement.   The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the output of the first pulse is started without delay from the output of the second pulse. A third step motor;
A third pulse output circuit that outputs a third pulse including a third single pulse that is intermittently output to drive the third step motor;
Have
16. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the third single pulse is output in a pause period of the first single pulse and the second single pulse.

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