JP4767067B2 - Self-correcting clock - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic correction timepiece that receives broadcast radio waves such as radio broadcasts including time signal information around every hour and corrects the time based on the time signal information.

  For example, a standard time radio signal transmitted at a frequency of 60 kHz from a standard radio wave transmission station installed in Saga Prefecture, or a standard time radio signal transmitted at a frequency of 40 kHz from a standard radio wave transmission station installed in Fukushima Prefecture, A radio-controlled timepiece that corrects the time based on a standard time radio signal is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, since the standard radio wave transmission station described above is generally located at a location away from the city center and transmits a standard time radio wave signal with a relatively low transmission output of about 50 kW, for example, two standard radio wave transmission stations In a radio-controlled timepiece installed in an urban area away from the city, the reception time of the standard time radio signal is weak, so that the time may not be adjusted appropriately depending on the location.

  For example, when a standard time radio signal is received in Tokyo, a standard time radio signal is received from a transmitting station provided in Fukushima Prefecture, which is 200 km or more away. On the other hand, when receiving a standard time radio signal in Osaka, for example, from a standard time radio signal from a transmitter station located in Fukushima Prefecture, which is 600 km or more away, or from a transmitter station installed in Saga prefecture, which is 500 km or more away. Standard time radio signal is received, the reception strength is weak, and time adjustment may not be performed properly depending on the location.

Therefore, after receiving the standard time radio signal, or when the standard time radio signal cannot be received, it receives radio waves such as radio broadcasts including time signal information around every hour and corrects the time based on the time signal information. An automatic correction timepiece to be performed has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2002-267775 A JP 2006-38579 A

In an automatic timepiece that receives a broadcast radio wave and corrects the time, for example, time information of a radio broadcast basically uses information of NHK first broadcast and second broadcast.
AM radio time signal reception is divided into 8 blocks of frequencies between 493 kHz and 1807 kHz to cover all NHK 1st and 2nd broadcast frequencies nationwide, starting from the lowest frequency every hour on the hour. Sequentially receive the time signal in the frequency band of the block.
The frequency for each block is shown below.

First block: 493 kHz to 573 kHz (Sapporo 567 kHz),
Second block: 566 kHz to 662 kHz (Tokyo 594 kHz, Fukuoka 612 kHz),
Third block: 653 kHz to 785 kHz (Osaka 666 kHz, Nagoya 729 kHz),
Fourth block: 773 kHz to 951 kHz (Sendai 891 kHz),
5th block: 934 kHz to 1187 kHz
Sixth block: 1164 kHz to 1433 kHz
7th block: 1413 kHz to 1654 kHz
Eighth block: 1618kHz ~ 1807kHz

The frequency of the NHK first broadcast radio wave is 594 kHz in Tokyo and 666 kHz in Osaka, and the frequency of the NHK second broadcast radio wave is 693 kHz in Tokyo and 828 kHz in Osaka.
Therefore, for example, since the NHK first broadcast received in Tokyo is 594 kHz, it is the second second block.
Since Osaka receives the NHK first broadcast at 666 kHz, it becomes the third third block.

  In the automatic correction timepiece, in order to eliminate erroneous reception, the reception information of the time signal radio wave is performed twice, and when the information of the two times coincides, the reception is good.

However, before the time signal can be received, in the case of Tokyo, for example, the processing of {(first block × 2) + (Tokyo frequency band block (594 kHz) × 2)} is required. Reception is complete.
In Osaka, {(first block × 2) + (second block × 2) + (Tokyo frequency band block (666 kHz) × 2)} processing is required, and reception takes about 6 hours. Complete.
Thus, the reception of AM radio hourly radio waves has been disadvantageous in that it takes a long time of 4 hours at the earliest in Tokyo and 6 hours at the earliest in Osaka.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to automatically reduce the time for receiving broadcast information radio waves and to perform time adjustment with high reliability in a short time. To provide a modified watch.

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic timepiece according to a first aspect of the present invention receives an internal clock and a standard radio wave including first time information transmitted at a different frequency from a standard radio wave transmission station in a different region. and the standard radio wave receiving means for sequentially plurality of broadcast and a radio wave receiving unit, the broadcast radio waves lower frequency to receive every hour on the hour of receiving the broadcast radio wave including a second time information which is transmitted at a different frequency by region In this block, the area is identified from the frequency of the standard radio wave received by the standard radio wave receiving means, and includes the frequency of the broadcast radio wave that can be received in the urban area from the plurality of blocks corresponding to the identified reception area. sequentially scanning the block, and a control means for correcting the time information which the internal clock counts based on the broadcasting electric wave received earliest.

  According to the present invention, the reception time of broadcast information radio waves can be greatly shortened, and the time can be adjusted in a short time with high reliability.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Specifically, the radio-controlled timepiece (automatically corrected clock) according to the present embodiment includes a standard radio wave receiving unit that receives a standard radio wave including first time information, and a broadcast that receives a broadcast radio wave including second time information. Radio wave reception unit, which can receive standard radio waves and broadcast radio waves, and after receiving standard radio waves, or when standard radio waves cannot be received, It has a function of receiving broadcast radio waves and correcting the time based on time signal information.
The radio-controlled timepiece receives a standard time radio signal transmitted at a frequency of 60 kHz from a standard radio wave transmission station installed in Saga and a standard time radio signal transmitted at a frequency of 40 kHz from a standard radio wave transmission station installed in Fukushima Prefecture. To do.
The radio-controlled watch identifies the area from the frequency of the standard radio wave received by the standard radio wave receiver, and the broadcast radio wave receiver receives the broadcast radio wave from the broadcast station in the area close to the specified area. Alternatively, it has a function of correcting time information measured by the internal clock based on the standard radio wave.
In addition, the radio wave correction clock scans in order from the broadcast radio wave of the broadcasting station near the specified area when receiving the broadcast radio wave at the broadcast radio wave receiver, and based on the broadcast radio wave received first, the internal clock Correct the time information counted by.
If the standard radio wave receiver cannot receive the standard radio wave well, the radio-controlled timepiece switches to receiving radio waves from the radio wave reception means, scans in order from the broadcast radio waves from local stations set in advance, The time information measured by the internal clock is corrected based on the previously received broadcast wave.

The broadcast radio waves according to the present embodiment are broadcast radio waves including time information such as AM radio broadcast radio waves, FM radio broadcast radio waves, television broadcast radio waves, satellite broadcast radio waves as described above. For example, this broadcast radio wave includes a time signal of a predetermined frequency for a specified time.
In the present embodiment, for example, AM radio broadcasting is adopted as the broadcast radio wave.

There are several advantages of using the time signal included in AM radio broadcasting.
1. There are multiple transmitter stations nationwide.
2. The transmission output of the AM radio broadcast radio wave is larger than the transmission output of the standard radio wave transmission station.

For example, an AM radio broadcasting station outputs an AM radio broadcast from a suburb of an urban area with a relatively large transmission output.
For example, AM radio broadcasting stations are installed in the suburbs of cities such as Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka as shown in Table 1. Radio broadcasting stations are established within 50 km from urban areas such as Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.
For example, AM radio broadcast radio waves are output from Tokyo-NHK first broadcast, frequency 594 kHz, transmission output 300 kW from Sakaimachi, Minamisaitama-gun, Saitama Prefecture. AM radio broadcast radio waves are being output from Tanjo, Miharacho, Minamikawachi-gun, Osaka Prefecture, at the first NHK NHK broadcast, a frequency of 666 kHz, and a transmission output of 100 kW.

3. Standards relating to noise in the frequency band in which radio broadcasting is conducted are defined.
Many electronic devices such as home appliances are designed to satisfy this standard, and therefore the noise intensity output from these electronic devices is small. For this reason, the reception environment of AM radio broadcasting is good.

In addition, AM radio broadcast radio waves are defined as 525 kHz to 1605 kHz in the medium wave broadcast band, and the frequency of standard radio waves is several tens of kHz. Each radio wave can be received using the same ferrite bar antenna. Can be shared. Also, since the modulation system is the same for AM modulation, part of the AM radio broadcast and the standard time radio signal demodulation unit can be shared.
The radio-controlled timepiece according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a radio-controlled timepiece employing an automatic timepiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a detailed functional block diagram of the radio-controlled timepiece shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the radio-controlled timepiece 1 according to this embodiment includes a radio wave receiving system 11, a switch group 12, an oscillation circuit 13, a control circuit 14, a drive circuit 15, a light emitting element 16, a buffer circuit 17, and a drive. Circuit 18, display unit 20, initial time information input unit 21, power supply control circuit 22, internal battery 23, external battery 24, display 30, second hand motor 121, hour / minute hand motor 131, light detection sensor unit 140, internal clock 1401 , Memory 1402, transistors Q1 and Q2, capacitors C1201, C1202, C2 and C3, and resistance elements R1 to R4.

In the present embodiment, when the time is displayed using an analog type hand, the display unit 20 includes a drive circuit 15, a light emitting element 16, a buffer circuit 17, a drive circuit 18, a display 30, a second hand motor 121, an hour / minute hand motor 131, Photodetection sensor unit 140, capacitors C2 and C3, transistors Q1 and Q2, and resistance elements R1 to R4 are provided.
Further, a digital time display device (display) 30 such as a liquid crystal may be used as the display unit 20.

The radio wave reception system 11 receives broadcast radio waves at a set reception frequency, for example, under the control of the control circuit 14. In addition, the radio wave reception system 11 performs demodulation processing transmitted from the broadcast station and outputs the signal to the control circuit 14 as a signal S1105.
Further, the radio wave reception system 11 receives a standard radio wave including time information under the control of the control circuit 14, for example, performs a predetermined process, and outputs it to the control circuit 14 as a signal S1106.
In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the control circuit 14 has a function of determining whether the received standard radio wave is 40 kHz or 60 kHz, and changes the broadcast radio wave cancel order according to the determination result. To receive broadcast radio waves.

  As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the radio wave receiving system 11 includes a broadcast radio wave receiving unit 1100, a standard radio wave (long wave) receiving circuit 1108, and antennas ANT1 and ANT2.

  The broadcast radio wave receiving unit 1100 receives a broadcast radio wave including time information, and outputs a signal S1105 indicating the reception result to the control circuit 14. For example, the time information includes a time signal included in every hour.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the broadcast radio wave receiving unit 1100 includes a tuning circuit 1101, a frequency conversion circuit 1102, a local oscillation circuit 1103, a frequency control circuit 1104, an intermediate frequency amplification circuit 1105, a detection circuit 1106, and a time signal detection circuit 1107. Have.

  The tuning circuit 1101 is composed of, for example, a capacitor, a coil, and the like, tunes to a frequency set by a signal S1104 from the frequency control circuit 1104, and generates a signal S1101 having a set tuning frequency from a broadcast radio wave received by the antenna ANT1. And output to the frequency conversion circuit 1102.

  The frequency conversion circuit 1102 subjects the signal S1101 output from the tuning circuit 1101 to frequency conversion processing based on the signal S1103a from the local oscillation circuit 1103, and outputs the result to the intermediate frequency amplification circuit 1105 as the intermediate frequency signal S1102.

  The local oscillation circuit 1103 oscillates at a frequency corresponding to the signal S1104 output from the frequency control circuit 1104, and outputs a signal S1103 having a predetermined frequency.

  In this embodiment, the frequency conversion circuit 1102 mixes the signal S1101 and the signal S1103a to generate and output an intermediate frequency signal S1102 having a frequency of 455 Hz. The local oscillation circuit 1103 generates a signal S1103a having such a frequency as to generate the above-described intermediate frequency signal S1102 under the control of the control circuit 14.

  The frequency control circuit 1104 generates a signal S 1104 having a predetermined frequency based on the control signal CTL 141 from the control circuit 14 and outputs the signal S 1104 to the local oscillation circuit 1103.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a specific example of the radio wave reception system of the radio wave correction watch shown in FIG.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the frequency control circuit 1104 includes a reference frequency generation circuit 401, a first frequency division circuit 402, a second frequency division circuit 403, a phase comparator 404, and a control voltage generation circuit 405.

  The reference frequency generation circuit 401 includes an oscillation circuit including a crystal resonator, for example, and generates a reference frequency signal S 401 and outputs the signal S 401 to the first frequency divider circuit 402.

  The first frequency dividing circuit 402 divides the signal S401 output from the reference frequency generating circuit 401 and outputs it to the phase comparator 404 as the signal S402.

  For example, based on a control signal CTL 141 for setting a frequency division ratio output from the control circuit 14, the second frequency dividing circuit 403 generates a signal S 1103 b output from the local oscillation circuit 1103 with the set frequency division ratio. The frequency is divided and output to the phase comparator 404 as a signal S403.

  The phase comparator 404 compares the signal S402 output from the first frequency divider circuit 402 with the signal S403 output from the second frequency divider circuit 403, and outputs a signal S404 indicating the comparison result.

The control voltage generation circuit 405 outputs a signal S1104 to the local oscillation circuit 1103 based on the signal S404 output from the phase comparator 404.
The local oscillation circuit 1103 oscillates at a frequency corresponding to the signal S1104 output from the frequency control circuit 1104, and outputs signals S1103a and S1103b having predetermined frequencies.

For example, when the control circuit 14 directly controls the control voltage generation circuit 405 to control the oscillation frequency of the local oscillation circuit 1103, it is possible to maintain an accurate frequency due to a voltage change caused by a temperature change of each device or battery consumption. It may not be possible.
On the other hand, when the configuration in which the PLL loop is formed as described above is employed, the frequency of the signal S1103a that the local oscillation circuit 1103 oscillates even when there is a voltage change or the like due to temperature change or battery consumption. Variations can be reduced.

  That is, the control circuit 14 reduces the frequency fluctuation when the signal S1101 is converted into the intermediate frequency signal S1102 by the control signal CTL141 even when there is a voltage fluctuation due to a temperature change or battery consumption. can do.

As described above, the local oscillation circuit 1103 and the frequency control circuit 1104 can be configured to generate a local oscillation signal by, for example, a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) synthesizer method, but the PLL configuration is necessarily required. is not.
In the present embodiment, a high-accuracy sweep of 1 kHz is not always necessary, and a broadcast signal can always be captured during the sweep in units of an oscillation frequency range of about 1 kHz. Therefore, it is possible to adopt a configuration such as a so-called automatic channel selection system using a varicap.

  Here, the time signal included in the AM broadcast radio wave, which is a broadcast signal, will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of a time signal included in a general AM radio broadcast radio wave near every hour.
For example, an AM radio broadcast wave transmitted from a radio broadcast station includes a time signal d as shown in FIG. 4 near the hour (00:00). More specifically, for example, a notice signal (pulse signal) p having a frequency of 440 Hz is AM-modulated at 57 seconds, 58, 59 seconds, and a preset frequency, for example, an 880 Hz hour signal at every hour (00:00) (Attenuation signal) d is AM-modulated. For example, the rising times T57, T58, T59, and T00 of the pulse signal p and the attenuation signal d are synchronized in seconds.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the time signal (normal time signal) d includes a time signal D having a predetermined frequency (for example, 880 Hz) for a predetermined time Td (for example, about 1 to 3 seconds).

By the way, the transmission format of the hourly signal d indicating the hour (00:00) is defined for each broadcasting station. Generally, the frequency of the time signal is 880 Hz, but depending on other broadcasting stations, a time signal of frequency 522.3 Hz or 1047 Hz is also transmitted.
In addition, a warning signal (preliminary signal) is also defined for each broadcasting station. Some broadcasting stations transmit only the time signal d shown in FIG. 4 without transmitting the warning signal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a time signal received by the radio-controlled timepiece 1 shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents signal level.
The prescribed time Td of the time signal included in the broadcast radio wave is prescribed for each broadcasting station.
As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the level of the time signal d rises at noon (T00), attenuates in about 1 second in the case of the time signal d1, and about 2 seconds in the case of the time signal d2. In the case of the time signal d3, it attenuates in about 3 seconds. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the prescribed times Td1 to Td3 of the hourly signals d1 to d3 differ depending on the broadcasting station.

  The intermediate frequency amplifier circuit 1105 is configured by, for example, an automatic gain control circuit (AGC), amplifies the level of the signal S1102 output from the frequency conversion circuit 1102 to a set level, and serves as a signal S1105. Output to the detection circuit 1106.

Further, the intermediate frequency amplification circuit 1105 outputs, for example, a carrier level detection signal Sagc that serves as an index indicating the magnitude of the signal S1102 to the control circuit 14.
For example, the signal Sagc generates the carrier level detection signal Sagc based on the AGC control voltage when the intermediate frequency amplifier circuit 1105 amplifies the signal S1102 to have a set magnitude. That is, the signal Sagc indicates the degree of amplification by the automatic gain control circuit.

The detection circuit 1106 detects the signal S1105 output from the intermediate frequency amplification circuit 1105 and outputs the signal S1105 to the time signal detection circuit 1107 as the signal S1106.
For example, the detection circuit 1106 performs AM detection or FM detection on the signal S1105, and outputs the signal S1106 to the time signal detection circuit 1107. For example, AM detection of the detection circuit 1106 is detected by a commonly used detection method, for example, square detection, envelope detection, or the like.

The time signal detection circuit 1107 detects a time signal based on the signal S1106 output from the detection circuit 1106, and outputs a signal S1107 indicating the detection result to the control circuit 14.
The time signal detection circuit 1107 detects, for example, a rising edge of the level of the time signal, and outputs the detection result to the control circuit 14 as a signal S1107.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the time signal detection circuit 1107 of the radio-controlled timepiece 1 shown in FIG.
The time signal detection circuit 1107 includes a filter 11071 and a signal processing circuit 11072 as shown in FIG. 6, for example.
The filter 11071 extracts a signal having a frequency corresponding to the time signal from the signal S1106, for example, a signal of 880 Hz, and outputs the signal S11071 to the signal processing circuit 11072.
The signal processing circuit 11072 receives the signal S11071, performs predetermined signal processing, and outputs a signal S1107 indicating the processing result to the control circuit 14.
Specifically, for example, the signal S11071 is received, a rising edge of the signal level is detected, and the detection result is output to the control circuit 14 as a signal S1107.

  For example, the standard radio wave (long wave) receiving circuit 1108 receives a standard time radio wave signal via the antenna ANT2 at the initial stage, and outputs the standard time radio wave signal to the control circuit 14 as a signal S1108. At the initial stage, the control circuit 14 corrects time information measured by the internal clock 1401 based on a signal S1108 indicating a standard time radio wave signal (also referred to as a time code) output from the standard radio wave (long wave) receiving circuit 1108.

  Specifically, the standard radio wave (long wave) receiving circuit 1108 includes, for example, an RF amplifier, a detection circuit, and a waveform shaping circuit (not shown), performs amplification processing, detection processing, and the like, and outputs a standard time signal as a processing result as a signal S1108. To do.

Japan's standard radio waves are operated under the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), a standard radio wave transmitter that transmits standard radio waves with a frequency of 40 kHz, and a frequency radio wave with a frequency of 60 kHz. There is a standard radio transmission station that transmits standard radio waves.
The standard time radio signal is modulated such that the level of the pulse is switched at least every second of the standard time, for example. The standard time radio signal is modulated based on a signal defined according to any of minute information, hour information, date information, leap second information, or summer time information in the standard time.

  For example, the standard radio wave received by the radio wave receiving system 11 is sent in a form as shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the time code is composed of three types of signal patterns of 1, 0, and P, and is distinguished by a 100% amplitude period width in one signal pattern of 1 sec. 1, 0 and P are 500 ms, 800 ms, and 200 ms, respectively. It has become. The modulation method is amplitude modulation with a maximum value of 100% and a minimum value of 10%.

  When the reception state is good, the radio wave reception system 11 outputs a signal S1108 to the control circuit 14 as a pulse signal corresponding to the standard radio wave signal, as shown in FIG.

  This signal S1108 is composed of, for example, a high level corresponding to the first level and a low level corresponding to the second level. The control circuit 14 performs reception state evaluation processing based on the high level, the low level, the falling edge ed1 from the high level to the low level, and the rising edge ed2 from the low level to the high level. When the edges ed1 and ed2 are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as edges ed.

Next, transmission data of the long wave standard radio wave will be described.
FIG. 8 shows an example of the time code of the standard time radio signal. FIG. 8A shows a format other than 15/45 minutes, and FIG. 8B shows a format of 15 minutes and 45 minutes.
The transmission information is the accumulated date from minutes, hours, and January 1st.
The time data is transmitted at 1 bit / sec. One frame is one frame, and information on the accumulated date from the above-mentioned minute / hour / January 1 is provided as a BCD code in this frame. In addition to the 0 · 1, the transmitted data includes a marker called P code. This P code has several locations in one frame, and the minute (0 seconds), 9 seconds, 19 seconds, 29 seconds, Appears at 39, 49, 59 seconds. This P code appears continuously only once at 59 seconds and 0 seconds in one frame, and the position where this P code appears continuously becomes the minute position. In other words, since time data such as minute / hour data is determined in the frame with reference to this minute position, time data cannot be extracted unless this minute position is detected.

The switch group 12 is a specific example of operation input means operated by an operator, for example.
The switch group 12 includes a standard radio wave forced reception switch 1201 and a broadcast radio wave forced reception switch 1202, for example, as shown in FIG.
The standard radio wave forced reception switch 1201 is operated, for example, when a standard time radio signal is received and the time is adjusted, and the signal S1201 is output to the control circuit 14 in accordance with the operation. When the signal S1201 is input from the standard radio wave forced reception switch 1201, the control circuit 14 sets the standard radio wave forced reception mode, causes the standard radio wave reception circuit 1108 to receive the standard radio wave, and based on the received standard radio wave signal. The time information measured by the internal clock 1401 is corrected.

  The broadcast radio wave forced reception switch 1202 is operated, for example, when a broadcast radio wave including a time signal is received to correct the time, and outputs a signal S1202 to the control circuit 14 in accordance with the operation. When the signal S1202 is input from the broadcast radio wave forced reception switch 1202, the control circuit 14 sets the broadcast radio wave forced reception mode to the tuning circuit 1101, the frequency conversion circuit 1102, the local oscillation circuit 1103, the frequency control circuit 1104, and the intermediate circuit. The frequency amplification circuit 1105, the detection circuit 1106, the time signal detection circuit 1107, etc. perform processing for receiving the time signal, and based on the received time signal, the time information measured by the internal clock 1401 is corrected.

  The oscillation circuit 13 includes a crystal oscillator CRY and capacitors C2 and C3, and supplies a basic clock having a predetermined frequency to the control circuit 14.

The control circuit 14 controls the entire apparatus, for example.
The control circuit 14 has an internal clock 1401 and a memory 1402 as shown in FIGS.
The internal clock 1401 includes, for example, a year information counter, a month information counter, a day information counter, a day information counter, a time counter that measures time information, a minute counter that measures minute information, and a second counter that measures second information.

The memory 1402 is used as a work space of the control circuit 14, for example. For example, the memory 1402 includes a RAM (Random access memory), a ROM (Random access memory), and the like.
The memory 1402 stores a predetermined program. The control circuit 14 executes this program.

The control circuit 14 specifies whether the area where the radio-controlled timepiece 1 is installed from the standard radio wave frequency 40 kHz or 60 kHz received by the standard radio wave receiver circuit, for example, East Japan including Tokyo or West Japan including Osaka. The receiving unit 1100 receives a broadcast radio wave from a broadcast station in the area close to the specified area, and corrects time information measured by the internal clock based on the received broadcast radio wave or standard radio wave.
When the broadcast radio wave reception unit 1100 receives a broadcast radio wave, the control circuit 14 scans in order from the broadcast radio wave of a broadcast station in the vicinity of the specified area, and the internal clock is based on the broadcast radio wave received first. Correct the time information to be timed.
When the standard radio wave reception unit cannot receive the standard radio wave well, the control circuit 14 switches to the reception of the broadcast radio wave of the broadcast radio wave reception unit 1100, scans in order from the broadcast radio wave from a preset broadcasting station, The time information measured by the internal clock is corrected based on the previously received broadcast wave.

In this embodiment, for example, time information of radio broadcast basically uses information of NHK first broadcast and second broadcast.
AM radio time signal reception is divided into 8 blocks of frequencies between 493 kHz and 1807 kHz to cover all NHK 1st and 2nd broadcast frequencies nationwide, starting from the lowest frequency every hour on the hour. Sequentially receive the time signal in the frequency band of the block.
The frequency for each block is shown below.

Basic block row first block: 493 kHz to 573 kHz (Sapporo 567 kHz),
Second block: 566 kHz to 662 kHz (Tokyo 594 kHz, Fukuoka 612 kHz),
Third block: 653 kHz to 785 kHz (Osaka 666 kHz, Nagoya 729 kHz),
Fourth block: 773 kHz to 951 kHz (Sendai 891 kHz),
5th block: 934 kHz to 1187 kHz
Sixth block: 1164 kHz to 1433 kHz
7th block: 1413 kHz to 1654 kHz
Eighth block: 1618kHz ~ 1807kHz

The frequency of the NHK first broadcast radio wave is 594 kHz in Tokyo and 666 kHz in Osaka, and the frequency of the NHK second broadcast radio wave is 693 kHz in Tokyo and 828 kHz in Osaka.
Therefore, for example, since the NHK first broadcast received in Tokyo is 594 kHz, it is the second second block.
Since Osaka receives the NHK first broadcast at 666 kHz, it becomes the third third block.

When the control circuit 14 receives the standard radio wave and determines that the frequency is 40 kHz, the control circuit 14 determines that the frequency is 40 kHz and that it is eastern Japan including Tokyo, not the first block of the basic block row described above, for example, the NHK first broadcast in Tokyo. When receiving the radio wave to the first number, performing a first scan by changing the order as follows. It is also possible to select another order for the second and subsequent orders at this time.

1st scan 2nd block → 3rd block → 4th block → 1st block → 5th block → 6th block → 7th block → 8th block

When the control circuit 14 receives the standard radio wave and determines that the frequency is 60 kHz, the control circuit 14 determines that the frequency is 60 kHz, not from the first block of the basic block row described above, but the NHK first broadcast in Osaka, for example. When the first radio wave is received , the second scan is performed with the order changed as follows. It is also possible to select another order for the second and subsequent orders at this time.

2nd scan 3rd block-> 2nd block-> 4th block-> 1st block-> 5th block-> 6th block-> 7th block-> 8th block

When the control circuit 14 performs the reception control of the standard radio wave and determines that both standard radio waves with the frequencies of 40 kHz and 60 kHz cannot be received, the control circuit 14 does not start from the first block of the basic block sequence described above, for example, NHK in Tokyo or Osaka. When the first broadcast radio wave is received first, the order is changed as follows and a third scan is performed. It is also possible to select another order for the second and subsequent orders at this time.

3rd scan 2nd block → 3rd block → 4th block → 1st block → 5th block → 6th block → 7th block → 8th block, or
3rd block-> 2nd block-> 4th block-> 1st block-> 5th block-> 6th block-> 7th block-> 8th block

As described above, even when the standard radio wave cannot be received, the region is identified as eastern Japan or western Japan, and the third scan similar to the first or second scan is performed in the above order.
In the present embodiment, consideration is given to scan the NHK first broadcast radio wave of Sendai third and scan the NHK first broadcast radio wave of Sapporo fourth.
By doing so, it is possible to receive broadcast radio waves in as short a time as possible even in an urban area different from Tokyo and Osaka.

  When the time of the internal clock 1401 is corrected, the control circuit 14 corrects the time of the display time on the display unit 20 or the display 30.

By the way, in this embodiment, as described above, the broadcast radio wave receiver 1100 receives the time signal d as time information. Since the hourly signal d is received in synchronism with every hour on the hour (00:00), it includes at least second information and minute information.
Specifically, when the time information measured by the internal clock 1401 is substantially accurate, for example, when the error between the time information measured by the internal clock 1401 and the standard time is about several minutes, the internal clock 1401 counts the time. In addition to the second information and the minute information, the time information can be determined based on the time information.
Further, the time information received by the standard radio wave receiving circuit 1108 according to the present embodiment includes second information, minute information, hour information, day information, leap second information, and summer time information as described above.
Based on the time information received by the standard radio wave receiving circuit 1108 and the time information received by the broadcast radio wave receiving unit 1100, the control circuit 14 complements the second information, minute information, time information, and date information as described above. The time information acquired by the internal clock 1401 is corrected based on the acquired information.

Next, processing relating to the time signal d by the control circuit 14 will be described.
For example, the control circuit 14 sets the reception frequencies of the tuning circuit 1101 and the frequency conversion circuit 1102 corresponding to a specific example of the broadcast radio wave reception means within a predetermined time in which the time signal d is included in the broadcast radio wave. When the time signal detection circuit 1107 determines that the time signal d is specified, the reception frequency information of the broadcast radio wave including the time signal d is stored in the memory 1402 and the reception frequency information stored in the memory 1402 is stored. The time information timed by the internal clock 1401 is corrected based on the time signal d included in the broadcast radio wave received at the corresponding reception frequency.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of specifying the time signal d by the control circuit 14 of the radio-controlled timepiece 1 shown in FIG.
The control circuit 14 controls the reception frequency of the tuning circuit 1101 and the frequency conversion circuit 1102 within a predetermined reception frequency range within a specified time in which the time signal d is included in the broadcast radio wave, and the time signal detection circuit 1107 extracts. When it is determined that the signal level V is equal to or higher than the threshold value Vth, the reception frequency information is stored in the memory 1402, and the tuning circuit 1101 and the frequency conversion circuit are received at the reception time corresponding to the reception frequency information stored in the memory 1402 at the set time. Based on the time signal d received by 1102, the time information measured by the internal clock 1401 is corrected.

  Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the control circuit 14 specifies the signal as the time signal d when the levels V1 and V2 of the signal extracted by the time signal detection circuit 1107 are equal to or higher than the threshold value Vth, When the signal level V3 is smaller than the threshold value Vth, it is determined that the signal is not the time signal d.

  The processing for specifying the time signal d is not limited to the above-described form. For example, when the ratio between the peak value of the signal level and the normal signal level V0 is larger than a predetermined value, the peak may be specified as the time signal d.

  In addition, the control circuit 14 extracts a signal having a level equal to or higher than the threshold value a set number of times while the tuning circuit 1101 and the frequency conversion circuit 1102 are set to the same reception frequency at a plurality of different set times. In addition, a time signal included in the broadcast radio wave corresponding to the reception frequency is specified, and the time information measured by the internal clock 1401 is corrected based on the time signal.

Further, the control circuit 14 controls the reception frequency of the tuning circuit 1101 and the frequency conversion circuit 1102 within the first reception frequency range within a specified time, and the level of the signal extracted by the time signal detection circuit 1107 is smaller than the threshold value. When it is determined, the reception frequency of the tuning circuit 1101 or the frequency conversion circuit 1102 is controlled within a second reception frequency range different from the first reception frequency range, and processing for specifying a time signal included in the broadcast radio wave is performed. Do.
For example, when the time signal d cannot be specified as a result of the search in the reception frequency range R1 shown in FIG. 9, the time signal falls within any other reception frequency range, for example, any one of the reception frequency ranges R2 to R8. Processing for specifying the signal d is performed.

Further, the control circuit 14 stores the time signal detection circuit 1107 in the memory 1402 when the time signal detection circuit 1107 cannot extract the time signal having a level equal to or higher than the threshold value with the broadcast radio wave receiving means set to the same reception frequency at different set times. The received reception frequency information is discarded, and a process for newly specifying the reception frequency of the broadcast radio wave including the time signal is performed.
Specifically, for example, even when the signal level exceeds the threshold value due to the influence of noise in the time signal detection circuit 1107 during the first scan, when the signal level higher than the threshold value cannot be extracted after the second time. Then, it is determined that the first signal is a false detection due to the influence of noise, the received frequency information is discarded, and a process for newly specifying the time signal d is performed.

Further, the control circuit 14 receives broadcast radio waves including a time signal that can be received by the tuning circuit 1101 and the frequency conversion circuit 1102 based on the signal Sagc indicating the degree of amplification by the intermediate frequency amplification circuit 1105 corresponding to automatic gain control means. At a set time, a reception frequency corresponding to the specified broadcast radio wave is set, and a time signal included in the broadcast radio wave received by the tuning circuit 1101 or the frequency conversion circuit 1102 is received.
Specifically, broadcast radio waves are specified in advance based on the signal Sagc by the AGC function, reception frequency information corresponding to the specified broadcast radio waves is stored in the memory 1402, and reception frequency information stored in the memory 1402 at the set time. The tuning circuit 1101 and the frequency conversion circuit 1102 are set to the reception frequency corresponding to the time signal, and the time signal included in the broadcast radio wave is received.

Further, the control circuit 14 corrects the time information by the internal clock 1401 based on the standard time radio wave signal received by the standard radio wave receiving circuit 1108 at the initial stage, and the tuning circuit 1101, the frequency conversion circuit 1102,. The time information of the internal clock 1401 is corrected based on the time signal received by 1107.
Specifically, the control circuit 14 includes year information, month information, day information, day of week, which is time information that the internal clock 1401 measures based on the standard time radio wave signal received by the standard radio wave (long wave) receiving circuit 1108 at the initial stage. The information, hour information, minute information, and second information are corrected, and the display time is corrected based on the time information measured by the internal clock 1401.

  In addition, when the standard time signal can be effectively extracted from the standard time radio signal received by the standard radio wave reception circuit 1108 in the standard radio wave forced reception mode, the control circuit 14 of the internal clock 1401 is based on the standard time signal. The time signal received by the tuning circuit 1101, the frequency conversion circuit 1102,..., The time signal detection circuit 1107 when the time information is corrected and the standard time signal cannot be extracted effectively from the standard time signal received by the standard time signal reception circuit 1108. Based on this, the time information timed by the internal clock 1401 is corrected.

  In addition, the control circuit 14 corrects the display time of the display unit 20 or the display 30 based on the time information by the internal clock 1401 when the time is corrected.

The control circuit 14 performs reception timing control when receiving the AM radio broadcast radio wave.
More specifically, the control circuit 14 receives AM radio broadcast waves from a predetermined time including every hour, for example, several tens of seconds before every hour, based on time information measured by the internal clock 1401, for example, as reception timing control. Let
Generally, the accuracy of the internal clock 1401 based on the oscillation signal from the crystal oscillator is an accuracy of 10 seconds per month, so that it is possible to reliably receive the time signal as long as the reception of the radio broadcast wave is started as described above. .

  Hereinafter, for example, as the display unit 20, a so-called analog timepiece constituted by drive motors 121 and 131 and a train wheel composed of a hand wheel to which a plurality of gears and hands are attached and driven by the drive motor. The function of the control circuit 14 when employed will be briefly described.

For example, a pointer wheel such as an hour / minute wheel or a second hand wheel is formed with a light transmitting portion and a light shielding portion. Further, the pointer wheel is disposed between the light emitting element 142 and the light detection sensor unit 140.
The control circuit 14 corrects the display time based on the light on / off pattern in which the light output from the light emitting element 142 is received by the light receiving element 144 by the light shielding portion and the light transmitting portion provided in the hour / minute hand wheel. I do.

  The control circuit 14 samples a standard time radio signal (for example, 32 Hz) for a predetermined time, for example, 8 seconds in this embodiment, and determines the reception state based on the sampling result.

  Specifically, the control circuit 14 samples the signal S1108 input from the radio wave reception system 11 (for example, 32 Hz), detects the edge ed, and determines the reception state based on the presence or absence and the number of the edge ed. .

  The control circuit 14 counts various counters of the internal clock 1401 based on the basic clock by the oscillation circuit 13 when the time can be set based on the standard radio time signal received at the set reception frequency. Take control.

  When the reception state is not within the reference range, the control circuit 14 outputs the drive signal DR1 to the drive circuit 15 without outputting the control signal CTL1, and causes the light emitting element 16 as the notification means to emit light to the user. Notify that the standard radio wave signal is hardly received.

  The control circuit 14 compares the time measured by the various time counters of the internal clock 1401 with the standard time information based on the standard time radio signal received by the radio wave reception system 11, and if an error has occurred. Corrects the time counter according to the error, inputs the pulse signal P for correction to the motor 131 as the control signal CTL2 according to the correction, performs fast-forward driving, etc., and corrects the time display by the pointer. Do.

The emitter of the transistor Q2 of the drive circuit 18 is connected to the supply line of the power supply voltage Vcc, and the base is connected to the output line of the drive signal DR2 via the resistance element R3.
That is, the light emitting element 142 is connected to the drive circuit 18 so as to emit light when the low level drive signal DR2 is output from the control circuit 14.

  The initial time information input unit 21 is configured by an operation input device such as a keyboard or an operation switch, for example, and inputs time information timed by the internal clock 1401 at the initial time.

The power supply control circuit 22 converts a power supply voltage supplied from, for example, the internal battery 23 or the external battery 24 into a predetermined voltage, and supplies the voltage to each component of the radio-controlled timepiece 1.
Further, the power supply control circuit 22 outputs a signal indicating that the external battery 24 is attached to the radio-controlled timepiece 1 and supplying power or a signal indicating that the external battery 24 is not attached to the control circuit 14. .

The internal battery 23 always supplies power to the radio correction timepiece 1 to components such as the control circuit 14 and the memory 1402.
For example, the external battery 24 is not attached to the battery case 141 of the radio wave correction watch 1 at the time of shipment, but is attached to the battery case 141 of the radio wave correction watch 1 by the user at the time of product purchase, and the components such as the control circuit 14 and the memory 1402 To supply power.

The light detection sensor unit 140 is formed of, for example, a light emitting element 142 made of a light emitting diode and a light receiving element 144 made of a phototransistor.
The anode of the light emitting element 142 is connected to the other end of the resistance element R4 in the drive circuit 18 having one end connected to the collector of the pnp transistor Q2, and the cathode is grounded and connected to the emitter of the light receiving element 144. Yes.
The collector of the light receiving element 144 is connected to the control circuit 14. The connection line with the control circuit 14 is an output line to the control circuit 14 for the detection signal DT1.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the overall operation of the radio-controlled timepiece shown in FIG. With reference to FIG. 10, the operation of specifying the area of the radio-controlled timepiece 1 and receiving the broadcast radio wave will be described focusing on the operation of the control circuit 14.

In step ST1, initial setting processing and reset processing are performed.
Specifically, for example, the control circuit 14 sets each component, for example, a variable value in the memory 1402 to an initial state at the initial stage.
Further, the control circuit 14 sets time information measured by the internal clock 1401 based on the signal S21 indicating the initial time information input by the initial time information input unit 21.

In step ST2, the control circuit 14 selects a receiving means.
For example, the control circuit 14 selects the broadcast radio wave receiver 1100 or the standard radio wave receiver circuit 1108 based on the time information measured by the internal clock 1401 and the reception state of the standard radio wave receiver circuit 1108.
At the initial stage, the standard radio wave receiving circuit 1108 is selected.
At this time, if the control circuit 14 receives signals S1201 and S1202 indicating that these switches have been operated, for example, from the standard radio wave forced reception switch 1201 or the broadcast radio wave forced reception switch 1202 of the switch group 12, The receiving means may be selected based on the signals S1201 and 1202.

In step ST3, the control circuit 14 determines whether or not the standard radio wave has been received.
If it is determined that the signal has been received, it is determined in step ST4 whether the frequency of the standard radio wave received is 40 kHz or 60 kHz.
If it is determined that the frequency is 40 kHz, the region is identified as being eastern Japan including Tokyo, and the first NHK broadcast wave from Tokyo, for example, is received first, not from the first block in the basic block row described above. When, performing the first scan by changing the order as follows (step ST5, ST6).

1st scan 2nd block → 3rd block → 4th block → 1st block → 5th block → 6th block → 7th block → 8th block

  In step ST7, the time measured by the internal clock 1401 is corrected based on the time signal information of the broadcast radio wave received first.

If it is determined in step ST4 that the frequency is 60 kHz, the region is identified as being West Japan including Osaka, and the first NHK first broadcast radio wave in Osaka is used instead of the first block in the basic block sequence described above. Upon receiving the turn, a second scan to change the order as follows (step ST8, ST9).

2nd scan 3rd block-> 2nd block-> 4th block-> 1st block-> 5th block-> 6th block-> 7th block-> 8th block

  In step ST7, the time measured by the internal clock 1401 is corrected based on the time signal information of the broadcast radio wave received first.

When the control circuit 14 performs the reception control of the standard radio wave in step ST3 and determines that both standard radio waves with the frequencies of 40 kHz and 60 kHz cannot be received, the control circuit 14 does not start from the first block of the basic block row described above, for example, Tokyo When the NHK first broadcast radio wave is received first, the order is changed as follows and a third scan is performed (step ST10).

3rd scan 2nd block → 3rd block → 4th block → 1st block → 5th block → 6th block → 7th block → 8th block or 3rd block → 2nd block → 4th block → 1st block → 5th block → 6th block → 7th block → 8th block

  In step ST7, the time measured by the internal clock 1401 is corrected based on the time signal information of the broadcast radio wave received first.

As described above, even when the standard radio wave cannot be received, the region is identified as eastern Japan or western Japan, and the third scan similar to the first or second scan is performed in the above order.
In the present embodiment, consideration is given to scan the NHK first broadcast radio wave of Sendai third and scan the NHK first broadcast radio wave of Sapporo fourth.
By doing so, it is possible to receive broadcast radio waves in as short a time as possible even in an urban area different from Tokyo and Osaka.

  As described above, the internal clock 1401, the standard radio wave receiving circuit 1108 that receives the standard radio wave including the first time information, the broadcast radio wave receiving unit 1100 that receives the broadcast radio wave including the second time information, In the broadcast radio wave receiving unit 1100, the area where the radio-controlled timepiece 1 is installed is identified from the standard radio wave frequency 40 kHz or 60 kHz received by the standard radio wave receiving circuit 1108, for example, East Japan including Tokyo or West Japan including Osaka. And a control unit 14 that receives a broadcast radio wave from a broadcast station in the area close to the specified area and corrects time information measured by the internal clock based on the received broadcast radio wave or a standard radio wave. The reception time of radio waves can be greatly shortened, and the time can be adjusted in a short time with high reliability.

  In addition, when the standard radio wave reception circuit cannot receive the standard radio wave satisfactorily, the control circuit 14 switches to the reception of the broadcast radio wave of the broadcast radio wave receiving unit 1100 and scans in order from the broadcast radio wave from a preset broadcasting station in the area. Because it corrects the time information that the internal clock measures based on the first received broadcast radio wave, it is possible to receive broadcast radio waves in as short a time as possible even in urban areas different from Tokyo and Osaka Become.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and various suitable modifications can be made.

For example, in this embodiment, the time is corrected based on the time information included in the standard radio wave and the broadcast radio wave, but the present invention is not limited to this mode.
Further, the set time for receiving the broadcast radio wave including the time signal and adjusting the time is not limited to the above-described form.

1 is a functional block diagram of a radio-controlled timepiece that employs an automatic correction timepiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a detailed functional block diagram of the radio wave correction watch shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a specific example of a radio wave reception system of the radio wave correction watch illustrated in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows one specific example of the time signal included in the vicinity of every hour on the general AM radio broadcast electric wave. It is a figure for demonstrating the time signal which the radio wave correction timepiece 1 shown in FIG. 1 receives. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of a time signal detection circuit 1107 of the radio-controlled timepiece 1 shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the electromagnetic wave reception state in the control circuit which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the time code of a standard time radio signal. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement which pinpoints the time signal d by the control circuit of the radio-controlled timepiece shown in FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the overall operation of the radio-controlled timepiece shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Radio wave correction clock, 11 ... Radio wave receiving system, 12 ... Switch group, 13 ... Oscillator circuit, 14 ... Control circuit, 15 ... Drive circuit, 16 ... Light emitting element, 17 ... Buffer circuit, 18 ... Drive circuit, 20 ... Display 121, second hand motor (first drive source), 131 ... hour and minute hand motor (second drive source), 140 ... light detection sensor, 142 ... light emitting element, 144 ... light receiving element, 1100 ... broadcast radio wave receiver, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1101 ... Tuning circuit, 1102 ... Frequency conversion circuit, 1103 ... Local oscillation circuit, 1104 ... Frequency control circuit, 1105 ... Intermediate frequency amplification circuit, 1106 ... Detection circuit, 1107 ... Time signal detection circuit, 1108 ... Standard radio wave (long wave) reception circuit 1401 ... Internal clock, 1402 ... Memory.

Claims (1)

An internal clock,
Standard radio wave receiving means for receiving standard radio waves including first time information transmitted at different frequencies from standard radio wave transmitting stations in different regions;
And a broadcast wave receiving means for receiving a broadcast radio wave including a second time information to be transmitted at different frequencies by region,
The broadcast radio wave received every hour is divided into a plurality of blocks sequentially from a low frequency, an area is identified from the standard radio wave frequency received by the standard radio wave receiving means, and the plurality of blocks corresponding to the identified reception area are automatic and a control means for sequentially scanning the blocks including the frequency of the broadcast waves can be received in urban areas, corrects the time information which the internal clock counts based on the broadcasting electric wave received earliest from within Correction clock.

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