JP5530014B2 - Radio wave watch - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a radio-controlled wristwatch that corrects time based on a signal received from a satellite.

  There is known a radio wristwatch that receives a radio wave including time information from an external time information supply source and corrects the time. Among these radio-controlled wristwatches, radio-controlled wristwatches that adjust the time by receiving standard radio waves are time points when these hands do not overlap the antenna so that the hands such as the hour hand and minute hand do not interfere with the reception of radio waves by the antenna. Discloses a technique for performing control such as radio wave reception (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-42064 A

  As a type of radio-controlled wrist watch, a radio-controlled wrist watch that corrects the time using a signal received from a satellite such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite has been studied. Since this type of radio-controlled wristwatch needs to receive a short-wavelength satellite signal unlike a standard radio wave, a patch antenna that occupies a certain area is used instead of a linear antenna. When such a patch antenna is arranged in a wristwatch, an area where the patch antenna overlaps with the dial plate increases, so that it is easily affected by the hour hand and the minute hand. Conventionally, the influence of the hour hand and minute hand on the patch antenna in a radio-controlled wristwatch that receives such a satellite signal has not been sufficiently studied.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and one of its purposes is to provide a radio-controlled wristwatch that can receive satellite signals while avoiding the influence of the hour hand and minute hand.

  The radio-controlled wristwatch according to the present invention is a radio-controlled wristwatch that displays the time by the position of the hour hand and the minute hand by rotating the hour hand and the minute hand on the dial, in a position overlapping with a part of the dial in a plan view. An antenna which is arranged and receives a satellite signal including time information from a satellite, time correction means for correcting an internal time using time information included in the received satellite signal, and when the antenna receives the satellite signal And a pointer control means for moving at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand to a position that does not overlap with the antenna in a plan view.

  In the above radio-controlled wristwatch, the pointer control means may remove at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand when at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand is present at a position overlapping the antenna in a plan view at the start of reception processing by the antenna. It is good also as moving.

  The radio-controlled wristwatch further includes means for acquiring environmental information related to the reception environment of the antenna, and the pointer control means moves at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand when the acquired environmental information satisfies a predetermined condition. It is also possible to make it.

  In the radio-controlled wristwatch, when the antenna receives the satellite signal, the pointer control means moves both the hour hand and the minute hand to a position different from a position where the satellite signal is not received. By doing so, the time may be displayed in a manner different from the state in which the satellite signal is not received.

  Further, in the radio-controlled wristwatch, the satellite signal is not received on the dial as a scale for displaying the time in a mode different from the state where the satellite signal is not received. A scale with an interval different from the scale for displaying the time may be displayed.

  In the radio-controlled wristwatch, the pointer control means may display that the movement is being performed when moving at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand.

  Specifically, the pointer control means moves at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand by reciprocating at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand within a predetermined range not overlapping the antenna. It may be displayed.

  Alternatively, the pointer control means rotates at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand within a predetermined range that does not overlap the antenna over a period in which the antenna receives the satellite signal. You may display that at least one movement is performed.

  The radio-controlled wristwatch may change the content of the reception process depending on whether or not at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand is in a position overlapping the antenna in plan view at the start of the reception process by the antenna. May be further included.

  Further, the radio-controlled wristwatch restricts execution of the reception process according to whether or not at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand is in a position overlapping the antenna in a plan view at the start of the reception process by the antenna. May be further included.

  According to the present invention, a radio wave wristwatch that receives a satellite signal and corrects the time can receive the satellite signal while avoiding the influence of the hour hand and the minute hand.

It is a top view which shows the external appearance of the radio wave wristwatch which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the radio-controlled wristwatch according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the satellite signal transmitted from a GPS satellite. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function which the radio wave wristwatch which concerns on embodiment of this invention implement | achieves. It is a figure which shows an example of the time display at the time of reception. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the satellite signal reception process which the radio wave wristwatch which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a pointer position determination process. It is a display transition diagram which shows an example of a display at the time of the satellite signal reception process being performed by the radio wristwatch according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the 1st modification of a time display at the time of reception. It is a figure which shows the 2nd modification of the time display at the time of reception. It is a figure which shows the 3rd modification of a time display at the time of reception. It is a figure which shows the example which displays that it is performing reception processing using an hour hand and a minute hand. It is a figure which shows another example which displays that it is performing reception processing using an hour hand and a minute hand. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a process in the case of changing the frequency | count of a reception process according to the position of an hour hand and a minute hand. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a process in the case of changing the data content received in a reception process according to the position of an hour hand and a minute hand.

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

  The radio-controlled wristwatch 1 according to the present embodiment receives a satellite signal including time information transmitted by a satellite, and corrects the time information using the received satellite signal. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the appearance of the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the radio-controlled wristwatch 1. As shown in these drawings, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 includes a trunk 2, an antenna 10, a receiving circuit 20, a control circuit 30, a power source 40, a solar cell 41, a power generation amount detection unit 43, and a driving mechanism. 50, a time display unit 51, and an operation unit 60.

  The body 2 is an exterior (watch case) of the radio-controlled wristwatch 1, and a dial 53 constituting the time display unit 51 is disposed therein as shown in FIG. Further, a windshield is attached to the trunk 2 so as to cover the front side of the dial 53 (the side where the pointer 52 is disposed), and a back cover is attached to the trunk 2 on the opposite side of the windshield. The material of the windshield is a transparent material such as glass, and is nonmagnetic and nonconductive. Moreover, although the material of the trunk | drum 2 and a back cover is not specifically limited, In this embodiment, it is a metal. In the following, in the thickness direction of the radio-controlled wristwatch 1, the side where the windshield is arranged (that is, the side on which the time is displayed) is the windshield side, and the side where the back cover is arranged (the opposite side of the windshield side) ) Is called the back cover side.

  The antenna 10 receives a satellite signal transmitted from a satellite. In the present embodiment, the antenna 10 is a patch antenna that receives a radio wave having a frequency of about 1.6 GHz transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite. GPS is a kind of satellite positioning system, and is realized by a plurality of GPS satellites orbiting around the earth. Each of these GPS satellites is equipped with a high-accuracy atomic clock, and periodically transmits a satellite signal including time information measured by the atomic clock. Hereinafter, the time indicated by the time information included in the satellite signal is referred to as GPS time.

  The antenna 10 is disposed on the back cover side of the dial 53. Further, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1, the antenna 10 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view and is disposed so as to overlap a part of the dial 53. More specifically, the antenna 10 is arranged on one side (in this embodiment, with respect to the center position of the dial 53 so as not to overlap the center position of the dial 53 (the rotation center of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b). 6 o'clock direction side).

  The receiving circuit 20 decodes the satellite signal received by the antenna 10 and outputs a bit string (received data) indicating the contents of the satellite signal obtained as a result of the decoding. Specifically, the receiving circuit 20 includes a high frequency circuit (RF circuit) 21 and a decoding circuit 22.

  The high-frequency circuit 21 is an integrated circuit that operates at a high frequency, and amplifies and detects an analog signal received by the antenna 10 to convert it into a baseband signal. The decode circuit 22 is an integrated circuit that performs baseband processing, decodes the baseband signal output from the high-frequency circuit 21, generates a bit string indicating the content of data received from the GPS satellite, and Output.

  The control circuit 30 is a microcomputer or the like, and includes a calculation unit 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33, an RTC (Real Time Clock) 34, a motor drive circuit 35, It is comprised including.

  The calculation unit 31 performs various types of information processing according to programs stored in the ROM 32. Details of the processing executed by the calculation unit 31 in the present embodiment will be described later. The RAM 33 functions as a work memory of the calculation unit 31 and data to be processed by the calculation unit 31 is written. In particular, in this embodiment, a bit string (received data) representing the contents of the satellite signal received by the receiving circuit 20 is sequentially written in the buffer area in the RAM 33. The RTC 34 supplies a clock signal used for timing in the radio wristwatch 1. In the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 according to the present embodiment, the calculation unit 31 corrects the internal time measured by the signal supplied from the RTC 34 based on the satellite signal received by the reception circuit 20, and displays the time on the time display unit 51. The time to be displayed (display time) is determined. Further, the motor drive circuit 35 outputs a drive signal for driving a motor included in the drive mechanism 50 described later according to the determined display time. As a result, the display time generated by the control circuit 30 is displayed on the time display unit 51.

  The power source 40 is configured to include a power storage device such as a secondary battery, and stores the power generated by the solar cell 41. Then, the accumulated power is supplied to the receiving circuit 20 and the control circuit 30. In particular, a switch 42 is provided in the middle of the power supply path from the power supply 40 to the receiving circuit 20, and the on / off of the switch 42 is switched by a control signal output from the control circuit 30. That is, the control circuit 30 can control the operation timing of the receiving circuit 20 by switching the switch 42 on and off. The receiving circuit 20 operates only while power is supplied from the power supply 40 via the switch 42, and decodes the satellite signal received by the antenna 10 during that time.

  The solar battery 41 is disposed on the back cover side of the dial 53, generates power by external light such as sunlight incident on the radio wristwatch 1 from the windshield side, and supplies the generated power to the power supply 40. A switch 44 is disposed in the middle of the power supply path from the solar cell 41 to the power source 40. The switch 44 switches the connection destination of the solar battery 41 between the power supply 40 and the power generation amount detection unit 43 in accordance with a control signal from the control circuit 30. Normally, when the power source 40 is charged, the solar cell 41 and the power source 40 are connected via the switch 44. However, when the control circuit 30 detects the power generation amount of the solar cell 41, The switch 44 is switched to disconnect the solar cell 41 from the power source 40 and connect to the power generation amount detection unit 43. The power generation amount detection unit 43 includes, for example, a resistor. The control circuit 30 measures the power generation amount P of the solar cell 41 by a method such as measuring the current flowing from the solar cell 41 to the power generation amount detection unit 43.

  Here, the receiving surface of the antenna 10 is provided in parallel with the light receiving surface of the solar cell 41, and all face the windshield side. For this reason, the receiving surface of the antenna 10 and the light receiving surface of the solar cell 41 are both directly opposed to the back surface (surface on the back cover side) of the dial plate 53. In the present embodiment, the amount of power generated by the solar cell 41 is the amount of light received by the radio-controlled wristwatch 1. This received light amount is used as a criterion for determining whether or not the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 is outdoors and whether or not the receiving surface of the antenna 10 is facing upward.

  The drive mechanism 50 includes a step motor that operates in accordance with the drive signal output from the motor drive circuit 35 described above and a train wheel, and the train wheel transmits the rotation of the step motor, thereby indicating the pointer. 52 is rotated. The time display unit 51 includes a pointer 52 and a dial 53. The pointer 52 includes an hour hand 52a, a minute hand 52b, and a second hand 52c, and when the pointer 52 rotates on the dial 53, the current time is displayed. The hour hand 52a, the minute hand 52b, and the second hand 52c are all made of metal.

  As shown in FIG. 1, on the dial 53, in addition to a scale (index) used for normal time display, a semicircular shape used for time display during execution of reception processing by the antenna 10 is used. A scale (hereinafter referred to as reception index I1) is displayed. Details of the time display using the reception index I1 will be described later. In the vicinity of the center of the dial 53, a marker for displaying information related to the reception control of the satellite signal by the antenna 10 is arranged around the center position. This marker includes character strings such as “RX” indicating that a satellite signal is being received, and “1”, “2”, and “3” indicating the reception strength of the satellite signal by the antenna 10.

  The operation unit 60 is, for example, a crown or an operation button, and receives an operation by the user of the radio wave wristwatch 1 and outputs the operation content to the control circuit 30. The control circuit 30 executes processing such as reception of satellite signals in accordance with the contents of the operation input received by the operation unit 60.

  Here, the configuration of the satellite signal transmitted by the GPS satellite will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a satellite signal (navigation data) transmitted from a GPS satellite. As shown in the figure, each GPS satellite repeatedly transmits navigation data having a total of 25 frames (pages) as one set. Each frame includes a signal for 30 seconds, and the GPS satellite transmits a signal of 25 frames in a cycle of 12.5 minutes. Further, each frame is composed of five subframes. Since one frame is 30 seconds, one subframe corresponds to a signal for 6 seconds. Further, one subframe is composed of 10 words and includes information of 30 bits per word and 300 bits per one subframe.

  The head word (first word) of each subframe is called a TLM (TeLeMetry word), and the head portion (that is, the head portion of the entire subframe) includes a preamble indicating the start position of the subframe. . Further, the second word (second word) of each subframe is called HOW (HandOver Word), and the head portion thereof includes time information called TOW (Time Of Week). This TOW is time information indicating GPS time starting from the beginning of the week (Sunday 0:00 am). The radio-controlled wristwatch 1 receives the TOW data from one or a plurality of GPS satellites and can combine the information with the week number WN information to know the GPS time measured by the GPS satellites. The week number WN is information indicating the number of the week to which the time represented by TOW belongs, and is counted up once every week at 0:00 am on Sunday. Information of the week number WN is stored in the first subframe of each frame and transmitted from a GPS satellite.

  The GPS time obtained from the week number WN and TOW data has a difference of an integer number of seconds caused by the accumulation of leap seconds with respect to Coordinated Universal Time. Therefore, the leap second correction value LS information used to correct this deviation is also transmitted from the satellite. Specifically, the leap second correction value LS information is stored in the fourth subframe of the frame on the 18th page in the navigation data. The radio-controlled wristwatch 1 receives the leap second correction value LS information and corrects the GPS time by using the leap second correction value LS, thereby acquiring time information that conforms to the Coordinated Universal Time. The fourth subframe of the frame on the 18th page includes not only the leap second correction value LS but also information indicating the next leap second update scheduled date and time. The radio-controlled wristwatch 1 also receives information regarding the leap second update scheduled date and time along with the leap second correction value LS.

  Hereinafter, a specific example of processing executed by the calculation unit 31 of the control circuit 30 in the present embodiment will be described. The calculation unit 31 functionally implements a satellite signal reception unit 31a, a pointer control unit 31b, and a time adjustment unit 31c as shown in FIG. 4 by executing a program stored in the ROM 32. .

  The satellite signal receiving unit 31a receives the satellite signal transmitted from the GPS satellite, thereby acquiring the TOW, week number WN, and leap second correction value LS data included therein. The satellite signal receiving unit 31a may periodically execute such time information acquisition processing, or may execute these processing in response to an instruction operation on the operation unit 60 by the user.

  Furthermore, the satellite signal receiving unit 31a may acquire information on the radio wave reception environment of the radio wristwatch 1 (hereinafter referred to as environment information) and determine the timing for receiving the satellite signal based on the acquired environmental information. This environmental information is information about the environment around the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 that affects the reception intensity of the satellite signal by the antenna 10.

  Specifically, in the present embodiment, the satellite signal receiving unit 31a acquires information on the power generation amount P of the solar battery 41 as environment information. That is, the satellite signal receiving unit 31 a acquires information on the power generation amount P output from the power generation amount detection unit 43 by switching the switch 44 and connecting the solar cell 41 to the power generation amount detection unit 43. In general, the amount of power generated by solar cells varies greatly indoors and outdoors. Therefore, by determining whether or not the power generation amount P is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the satellite signal receiving unit 31a can determine whether or not the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 is outdoors. If the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 is outdoors, it can be expected that satellite signals can be received with a stronger reception intensity than in the case of indoors. Therefore, for example, the satellite signal receiving unit 31a periodically acquires information on the power generation amount P, and receives the satellite signal when the power generation amount P becomes a predetermined threshold value or more. The satellite signal receiving unit 31a may acquire information other than the power generation amount P as environmental information. For example, a satellite signal transmitted from each GPS satellite is phase-modulated with a code called a C / A code in order to identify the GPS satellite of the transmission source. Therefore, the satellite signal receiving unit 31a temporarily operates the high-frequency circuit 21, obtains a correlation between the C / A code indicating an arbitrary GPS satellite and the received radio wave, and acquires the obtained correlation value as environment information. Good.

  When the satellite signal receiving unit 31a receives a satellite signal, the pointer control unit 31b receives a notification of the start of the reception process from the satellite signal receiving unit 31a, and at least one of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b is an antenna in a plan view. Control to move so as not to overlap with 10. For example, the pointer control unit 31b determines whether or not at least one of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b is at a position overlapping the antenna 10 when reception of the satellite signal is started.

  As a specific example, the pointer control unit 31b determines whether or not the display time at the start of satellite signal reception is included in a predetermined time range. This time range is a range including a time at which one of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10, and information on the time range is stored in the ROM 32 in advance. The pointer control unit 31b determines whether the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlap the antenna 10 using the information on the time range and the information on the current display time. Alternatively, the pointer control unit 31b may determine whether or not the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are in a position overlapping the antenna 10 in hardware. In this case, in order to detect the current position of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 uses a sensor such as a photosensor for detecting the position of the pointer 52 or the state of the driving mechanism 50 that drives the pointer 52. Prepare inside. Then, the pointer control unit 31b determines whether or not the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are at a position overlapping the antenna 10 using the detection result of the sensor.

  When the pointer control unit 31b determines that at least one of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlaps with the antenna 10, the pointer 52 determined to overlap with the antenna 10 (one or both of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b). Rotate the antenna 10 to a position where it does not overlap. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the antenna 10 is disposed in the 6 o'clock direction as viewed from the center position of the dial 53, and ranges from the 4 o'clock direction through the 6 o'clock direction to the 8 o'clock direction. When the hour hand 52a or the minute hand 52b points within the range (hereinafter, referred to as an overlapping range R1) in FIG. 5 described later, the hour hand 52a or the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10 in plan view. Become. In such a state, since these pointers 52 may adversely affect the reception sensitivity of the antenna 10, the pointer control unit 31b moves the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b to outside the overlapping range R1.

  Furthermore, the pointer control unit 31b not only simply moves the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b to the outside of the overlapping range R1 when receiving the satellite signal, but also within the 360-degree range surrounding the center position of the dial 53. Time display by the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b may be performed within a range excluding R1 (that is, a range where the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b do not overlap with the antenna 10). In this case, the pointer control unit 31b is in a position different from a state where the satellite signal is not received by the antenna 10 (normal state) in a state where the satellite signal is received by the antenna 10 (reception state). By moving the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b, the time is displayed in a manner different from the normal state. This will be specifically described below.

  In the normal state, the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b perform rotational movement over 360 degrees around the center position of the dial 53, and display the current time according to the direction indicated. That is, in the normal state, one hour is represented by rotation of the hour hand 52a by 30 °, and one minute is represented by rotation of the minute hand 52b by 6 °. Hereinafter, such time display in the normal state is referred to as normal time display. On the dial 53, scales (indexes) such as numbers and dots are displayed at positions corresponding to the rotation amounts of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b. Specifically, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, bars for time display in a normal state are arranged every 30 °.

  On the other hand, in the reception state, the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b indicate the current time by indicating one of the directions within a predetermined range (hereinafter referred to as a reception display range R2) that does not overlap the overlapping range R1. indicate. Hereinafter, the time display in the reception display range R2 in the reception state is referred to as reception time display. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time display at the time of reception. In the present embodiment, the reception display range R2 is a range from the 3 o'clock direction to the 9 o'clock direction through the 12 o'clock direction, as indicated by the two-dot chain line arrow in FIG. Here, even when only one of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10, the pointer control unit 31b moves both the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b from the position of the normal time display in order to realize the reception time display. Let Even when neither the hour hand 52a nor the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10, the pointer control unit 31b always moves the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b from the position of the normal time display when receiving the satellite signal by the antenna 10. Time and time display may be performed.

  The reception index I1 described above is a scale used for displaying the reception time, and is arranged in the reception display range R2. Since the reception display range R2 occupies a semicircular range (that is, a range of half of 360 °), the interval of each number included in the reception index I1 is also half of the scale for normal time display ( (15 ° intervals). That is, the 90 ° range from the 12 o'clock direction to the 3 o'clock direction in the reception time display is reduced by half to the 180 ° range from the 12 o'clock direction through the 3 o'clock direction to the 6 o'clock direction in the normal time display. The 90 ° range from the 12 o'clock direction to the 9 o'clock direction in the reception time display is a 180 ° range from the 12 o'clock direction through the 9 o'clock direction to the 6 o'clock direction in the normal time display. Corresponds to a range reduced by half. Therefore, FIG. 5 shows a state in which 6:20 is displayed by the reception time display. In this reception time display, the direction at 12 o'clock does not change between the normal time display and the reception time display. Therefore, the angle formed between the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b with respect to the reference direction with this direction as the reference direction. Indicates a position that is ½ of the angle at the time of normal time display.

  The time correction unit 31c corrects the internal time measured inside the radio wristwatch 1 using information received from the GPS satellite by the satellite signal reception unit 31a. Specifically, the time correction unit 31c first calculates GPS time from the data of the week numbers WN and TOW, and calculates time information based on the Coordinated Universal Time by adding the leap second correction value LS to the GPS time. Then, the internal time measured in the control circuit 30 is corrected so as to coincide with the coordinated universal time.

  Hereinafter, an example of the flow of satellite signal reception processing executed by the calculation unit 31 in the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7 and the display transition diagram of FIG.

  First, the satellite signal receiving unit 31a determines to receive a satellite signal by receiving a user instruction or detecting that environmental information satisfies a predetermined condition (S1). Then, in response to the notification of reception start, the pointer control unit 31b executes a pointer position determination process for determining whether or not the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are in a position overlapping the antenna 10 (S2). In this pointer position determination process, each of the first flag F1 indicating whether or not the hour hand 52a is at a position overlapping the antenna 10 and the second flag F2 indicating whether or not the minute hand 52b is at a position overlapping the antenna 10 is provided. Value is set.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, first, the pointer control unit 31b initializes both the first flag F1 and the second flag F2 with 0 (S21). Next, the pointer control unit 31b determines whether or not the current display time is included in the first time range (S22). Here, the first time range is a time range in which the hour hand 52a exists in the overlapping range R1, specifically, 4 am to 8 am and 4 pm to 8 pm. When the current time is included in these time ranges, the pointer control unit 31b updates the value of the first flag F1 to 1 (S23). On the other hand, when the current time is not included in the first time range, the pointer control unit 31b executes the subsequent process without updating the value of the first flag F1.

  Subsequently, the pointer control unit 31b determines whether or not the current display time is included in the second time range (S24). Here, the second time range is a time range in which the minute hand 52b exists in the overlapping range R1, and specifically, is 20 minutes to 40 minutes per hour. When the current time is included in this time range, the pointer control unit 31b updates the value of the second flag F2 to 1 (S25). Conversely, if the current time is not included in the second time range, the pointer control unit 31b ends the pointer position determination process without updating the value of the second flag F2. For example, in FIG. 8A, 6:20 is displayed in the normal time display, and this time is included in both the first time range and the second time range. Accordingly, both the first flag F1 and the second flag F2 are set to 1.

  Returning to FIG. 6, when the pointer position determination process of S <b> 2 ends, the pointer control unit 31 b refers to the processing result and determines whether or not the hour hand 52 a and the minute hand 52 b need to be moved. Specifically, the pointer control unit 31b first determines whether at least one of the first flag F1 and the second flag F2 is 1 (S3). That is, it is determined whether or not the conditional expression F1 = 1 OR F2 = 1 is satisfied. If it is determined that this conditional expression is not satisfied, neither the hour hand 52a nor the minute hand 52b overlaps with the antenna 10, so the pointer control unit 31b determines that it is not necessary to move the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b. Then, the process proceeds to S6.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S3 that the conditional expression is satisfied, the pointer control unit 31b acquires environmental information at the current time point of the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 (S4). Then, based on the acquired environment information, it is determined whether or not the reception intensity of the antenna 10 is sufficient (S5). Here, the pointer control unit 31b acquires information on the power generation amount P of the solar battery 41, and compares the acquired power generation amount P with the first threshold value Th1 and the second threshold value Th2 (Th1> Th2). It is determined which of the three levels is intensity. That is, if the power generation amount P> Th1, the reception strength “3” (strong), if Th1 ≧ P> Th2, the reception strength “2” (medium), and if P ≦ Th2, the reception strength “1” ( Weak)). If it is determined that the reception intensity is sufficient (here, it is determined that the reception intensity is “3”), the pointer control unit 31b determines that it is not necessary to move the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b, and the process proceeds to S6. .

  If it is determined in S3 or S5 that the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b do not need to be moved, the pointer control unit 31b keeps the normal time display state without moving the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b, and the second hand 52c. Only the mobile phone is moved to display that reception is in progress (S6). Specifically, the second hand 52c is moved to a position indicating “RX” among the markers related to the reception control of the satellite signal arranged near the center of the dial 53, and then stopped. This indicates to the user that satellite signals are being received. FIG. 8B shows a state in which the second hand 52c indicates “RX” in this way.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S5 that the reception intensity is not sufficient, the pointer control unit 31b moves the second hand 52c to display the reception intensity of the antenna 10 (S7). Specifically, according to the determination result of S5, the second hand to the position indicating either the reception intensity “2” or “1” among the markers related to the reception control of the satellite signal arranged near the center of the dial 53. 52c is rotated. As a specific example, FIG. 8C shows a state in which the second hand 52c points to “2”. Further, the pointer control unit 31b moves the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b into the reception time display range R2 to display the reception time (S8). FIG. 8D shows a state in which such reception time display is performed when the display time is 6:20.

  When the process of S6 or S8 is executed, the satellite signal reception unit 31a starts the satellite signal reception process (S9), and the pointer control unit 31b waits for the end of the satellite signal reception process (S10). When it is determined that the reception process has been completed, the pointer control unit 31b sets the hour hand 52a, the minute hand 52b, and the second hand 52c if the reception time is displayed, and if not, only the second hand 52c is set to the normal time. The display is moved to the display position to return to the original normal time display state as shown in FIG. 8A (S11).

  By the above processing, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 can execute the satellite signal reception processing by the antenna 10 while avoiding the state where the antenna 10 overlaps the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b and continuing the time display itself.

  Further, in the above flow, while the reception process is being executed, the second hand 52c is moved to indicate that the reception process is being executed. However, the normal time display is continued and the reception time display is shown. The position of the second hand 52c is changed with the transition. That is, in the example of the above flow, when the normal time display is continued (when the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are not saved from the overlapping range R1), the second hand 52c is moved to the position indicating “RX”, and the reception time When the display is performed (when the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are retracted from the overlapping range R1), the second hand 52c is moved to a position indicating “2” or “1”. Accordingly, the user can determine whether the normal time display is currently performed or the reception time display is performed by confirming the position of the second hand 52c. Further, regardless of whether the normal time display is continued or the display is shifted to the reception time display, the position of the second hand 52c indicating that the reception is in progress is outside the overlapping range R1. For this reason, the second hand 2c does not overlap the antenna 10 during the satellite signal reception process.

  Further, in the above flow, environmental information related to the reception intensity of the antenna 10 is acquired, and it is determined whether or not to move the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b based on the result. Thereby, even if the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlap with the antenna 10, when it is assumed that sufficient reception intensity can be obtained, reception can be performed while the normal time display is continued. The pointer control unit 31b may display the reception time whenever the hour hand 52a or the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10 without performing acquisition and determination of such environmental information.

  Further, in the above flow, if neither the hour hand 52a nor the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10 in the first place, the reception process is performed while the normal time display is continued without acquiring and determining the environmental information. Thereby, it is possible to prevent unnecessary acquisition of environment information that requires time and power. However, when the satellite signal is received by the antenna 10, the pointer control unit 31b always displays the reception time without performing the determination process regarding the positions of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b as described above. It is good.

  In the above flow, when the reception process is performed while the normal time display is continued, the second hand 52c is moved to a position indicating “RX”. However, when the reception intensity is determined to be “3”, “ The second hand 52c may be moved to a position indicating "3". In any case, by moving the second hand 52c to a different position between the case where the reception process is performed while displaying the normal time and the case where the reception process is performed while displaying the reception time, in either mode It can be shown to the user whether the time is displayed. Further, when the normal time display is continued, the second hand 52c is also controlled to move as in the case where the reception process is not executed (that is, rotated by 6 ° every second), and the reception time display is displayed. When performing, the second hand 52c may be controlled to move in a state different from the normal time display, such as stopping the second hand 52c at any position or moving the second hand 52 seconds. Also in this case, the user can discriminate whether the normal time display is performed with the second hand 52c or the reception time display is performed.

  When displaying the reception time as described above, depending on the start timing of the satellite signal reception process, the pointer control unit 31b moves the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b to update the display time during the execution of the reception process. Need to be done. In addition, environmental information is continuously monitored during the execution of the reception process, and when the reception intensity changes, the reception intensity (any one of “1”, “2”, and “3”) indicated by the second hand 52c changes. Sometimes you want to. However, if such a hand movement of each pointer 52 is executed during the reception process, a reception error may occur due to the influence of noise caused by this movement. Therefore, the pointer control unit 31b may receive information on the type of data currently being received from the satellite signal receiving unit 31a, and may control whether or not to move the hand based on this information. In this embodiment, the information required by the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 is information related to the preamble, TOW, week number WN, and leap second among various types of information included in the satellite signal, as described above. Therefore, at the timing when the information to be acquired is received, the pointer control unit 31b restricts the movement of the pointer 52 and information that is not the acquisition target (for example, GPS satellites such as ephemeris data and almanac data). The hand movement control for changing the position of the pointer 52 is performed after the timing for receiving the position information). On the contrary, when the hand movement timing of the pointer 52 and the reception timing of the information to be acquired conflict, reception of the information may be restricted. In this case, the pointer control unit 31b notifies the satellite signal receiving unit 31a of the timing when the pointer 52 is moved. The satellite signal receiving unit 31a uses the information received at the timing when the timing at which the pointer 52 is moved and the reception timing of the information on the preamble, TOW, week number WN, or leap second overlap. Without trying to receive the information to be acquired again at the next timing.

  According to the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 according to the present embodiment described above, it is possible to move at least one of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b to a position that does not overlap the antenna 10 when receiving a satellite signal. The reception process by the antenna 10 can be executed while not being affected by the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b at the timing. Therefore, even when information such as leap second correction value LS transmitted from a GPS satellite at a specific timing is received or when a satellite signal is received at a timing when environmental information satisfies a predetermined condition, the hour hand 52a The reception process can be executed while avoiding the influence of the minute hand 52b. In the above description, the antenna 10 is arranged in the 6 o'clock direction with respect to the center position of the dial 53, but the position of the antenna 10 is not limited to this. For example, the antenna 10 may be disposed in the 12 o'clock direction. In this case, the overlapping range R1 is vertically symmetric with respect to the above description, and ranges from the 10 o'clock direction to the 2 o'clock direction via the 12 o'clock direction. In this example, the reception display range R2 is also vertically symmetrical with the above description (that is, the range from 3 o'clock to 6 o'clock through 9 o'clock), and the reception index I1 is included in this range. May be arranged.

[Modification]
Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to those described above. Hereinafter, modifications of the radio-controlled wristwatch according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  First, various modifications of the reception time display will be described. The reception time display mode is not limited to that using the reception time index I1 shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a first modification of the reception time display. In this first modification, the reception time is displayed by the reception index I2. This reception index I2 occupies the same range as the reception index I1, but corresponds to 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock in the normal time display at 12:00 and 12:00 in the normal time display at 6 o'clock respectively. doing. In FIG. 9, 6:20 is displayed. Also in this first modification, the position of the antenna 10 is not limited to the 6 o'clock direction, for example, the antenna 10 is arranged in the 12 o'clock direction, and the reception index I2 is also arranged in a vertically symmetrical position with respect to FIG. Also good.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second modification of the reception time display. In the second modification, unlike FIG. 1, the antenna 10 is arranged in the 9 o'clock direction with respect to the center position of the dial 53. Accordingly, the reception time index I3 in the second modification is displayed in a range from the 12 o'clock direction to the 6 o'clock direction through the 3 o'clock direction in the normal time display. The reception index I3 is obtained by rotating the reception index I2 by 90 ° clockwise. In FIG. 10, 9:05 is displayed. Also in this second modification, the antenna 10 is arranged in the 3 o'clock direction instead of the 9 o'clock direction, for example, and the reception index I3 is arranged in the range from the 12 o'clock direction through the 9 o'clock direction to the 6 o'clock direction. Also good.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a third modification of the time display at the time of reception. In FIG. 11 as well, the antenna 10 is arranged in the 9 o'clock direction as in the example of FIG. In the third modified example, unlike the conventional ones, the time display is performed by using two indexes of reception indexes I4a and I4b. Specifically, the reception index I4a is displayed in a range from 1 o'clock to 12 o'clock via the 12 o'clock direction, and the hour hand 52a points to any position within this range, (Hour) is displayed. On the other hand, the reception index I4b is displayed in the range from the 5 o'clock direction to the 7 o'clock direction, and the minute hand 52b indicates any position within this range, so that the minute is displayed. In FIG. 11, 9:05 is displayed as in FIG. In this third modification, even if the antenna 10 is arranged in the 3 o'clock direction, the reception time is set so that it does not overlap with the antenna 10 using the reception indexes I4a and I4b arranged at the same positions as in FIG. Display can be realized. When the antenna 10 is arranged in the 12 o'clock direction or 6 o'clock direction, the reception indexes I4a and I4b are rotated by 90 ° from those shown in FIG. 11 and arranged in the 3 o'clock direction and the 6 o'clock direction. Good.

  Next, a modification in which the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 does not display the reception time will be described. In the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the satellite signal is received with the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlapping with the antenna 10, the hour hand 52a and the minute hand are simply displayed without displaying the reception time. 52b may be moved to a position that does not overlap the antenna 10. In this case, the time cannot be confirmed, but the satellite signal reception process can be performed while avoiding the state where the antenna 10 overlaps the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b. In this case, it is desirable that the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 is receiving a satellite signal and displays by some means that the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are moved from the positions in the normal time display. Otherwise, the user cannot determine whether the normal time display is being performed or whether the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b have been moved to avoid overlapping with the antenna 10 and the time display has not been performed. Because.

  Specifically, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 is a pointer for displaying a display means for indicating to the user that the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are moving, such as a digital display unit or a state display hand different from the hand 52. You may prepare for. Alternatively, by moving the second hand 52c to a predetermined position and stopping it, or rotating the second hand 52c at a speed different from the normal time display, the user is informed that the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are moving. Also good.

  In addition, the radio wave wristwatch 1 is receiving satellite signals by moving the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b outside the overlapping range R1 and controlling the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b to be in a state different from the normal time display. You may display it to the user. Specifically, for example, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 may display that the satellite signal is being received by reciprocating at least one of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b within a predetermined range. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of such a display mode. In the example of this figure, as indicated by the arrows, the minute hand 52b reciprocates in the range from 2 o'clock to 12 o'clock through 12 o'clock. At this time, if the minute hand 52b is moved at a speed faster than the rotation speed in the normal time display, the user can immediately grasp that the time display is not performed and the satellite signal is being received.

  The radio-controlled wristwatch 1 may rotate the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b at a speed corresponding to the time required for the reception process. Specifically, the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are controlled so as to rotate and move outside the overlapping range R1 over a time period assumed to be required for the reception process. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of such a display mode. In the example of this figure, as indicated by the arrows, both the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b start at the 8 o'clock direction at the start of the reception process, and reach the 4 o'clock direction at the end of the reception process. Rotate the dial 53 clockwise. Also in this case, the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b perform rotational movement at a speed faster than the rotational speed in the normal time display. Thereby, it can be clearly shown to the user that the time display is performed while preventing the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b from overlapping the antenna 10 during the reception process. Here, although both the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are rotated, only the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b that are determined to overlap with the antenna 10 at the start of reception may be rotated. Good. In this case, which pointer 52 is to be moved can be determined by referring to the first flag F1 and the second flag F2 obtained as a result of the pointer position determination processing according to the flow of FIG.

  The radio-controlled wristwatch 1 has an hour hand 52a and a minute hand 52b at a position that is outside the overlapping range R1 and cannot exist in the normal time display state (that is, a position that does not display any time) when the reception process is executed. May be moved. Alternatively, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 may move the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b to a position that displays a time that is outside the overlapping range R1 and greatly different from the actual current time when the reception process is executed. Specifically, for example, the hour hand 52a is moved to a position for displaying a time 6 hours ahead of the current time. Also by such a method, the user can easily grasp that the current time is not displayed and the reception process is being executed.

  Next, as a modification of the processing content, an example will be described in which the content of the reception processing is changed depending on whether the position of the hour hand 52a or the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10. In this modification, the calculation unit 31 executes the pointer position determination process according to the flow of FIG. 7 described above, and changes the contents of the satellite signal reception process based on the result.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the modification. In the process of this figure, first, the calculation unit 31 determines to receive a satellite signal by receiving an instruction from a user or detecting that environmental information satisfies a predetermined condition (S31). Then, the pointer position determination process shown in FIG. 7 is executed (S32).

  The subsequent processing branches to four patterns of processing depending on the combination of the values of the first flag F1 and the second flag F2 obtained as a result of S32 (S33). Specifically, the computing unit 31 determines the number of retries for the reception process according to the result of S32. That is, when F1 = 1 and F2 = 1, both the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlap the antenna 10, and the reception condition is relatively bad, so the number of retries is set to a small value (here, once). (S34). When F1 = 0 and F2 = 1 (when only the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10), the number of retries is set to 2 (S35). Conversely, when F1 = 1 and F2 = 0 (when only the hour hand 52a overlaps the antenna 10), the number of retries is set to 3 (S36). Note that the number of retries when the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10 is less than the number of retries when the hour hand 52a overlaps the antenna 10, because the minute hand 52b is longer than the hour hand 52a, This is because the influence on the antenna 10 is great. Further, when F1 = 0 and F2 = 0 (when both the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b do not overlap with the antenna 10), a successful reception can be expected, so the number of retries is set to a large value (four times) ( S37). Thereafter, the computing unit 31 operates the receiving circuit 20 to start the receiving process (S38). When the reception process is completed, it is determined whether the reception is successful (S39). If the reception is successful, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if reception fails, the value of the number of retries is reduced by 1 (S40), and it is determined whether or not the number of retries has become 0 (S41). While the number of retries is not 0, the process returns to S38 to retry the reception process. When the number of retries is 0, it is determined that reception at the current time is difficult, and the process ends.

  According to the processing described above, the influence of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b on the antenna 10 is taken into consideration by changing the contents of the reception processing according to the positional relationship between the current position of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b and the antenna 10. The reception process can be executed with the contents. In the above example, the number of retries is reduced as the reception success cannot be expected, thereby avoiding a situation where power is consumed by repeating the reception process with a low probability of success. However, when a reliable reception process is required, the number of retries is increased as the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are assumed to affect the reception sensitivity of the antenna 10, and the reception process is attempted. May be repeated.

  As another example of changing the content of the reception process according to the position of the hour hand 52a or the minute hand 52b, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 may change the data content to be received according to the position of the hour hand 52a or the minute hand 52b. This modification will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the process of FIG. 15, first, the calculation unit 31 executes a pointer position determination process (S52) when it is determined to receive a satellite signal (S51), as in the case of FIG.

  Subsequent processing branches to processing of three patterns depending on the values of the first flag F1 and the second flag F2 obtained as a result of S42 (S53). Specifically, when F2 = 1, the calculation unit 31 has the minute hand 52b longer than the hour hand 52a overlapped with the antenna 10, and the reception condition is relatively bad. Therefore, among the information regarding the time included in the satellite signal, Only the TOW data is received (S54). As described above, TOW data is included in all subframes, and is likely to be received once every 6 seconds. On the other hand, when F1 = 1 and F2 = 0 (when only the hour hand 52a overlaps the antenna 10), in addition to the TOW data, the week number WN data transmitted from the GPS satellite once every 30 seconds is received. (S55). Furthermore, when F1 = 0 and F2 = 0 (when both the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b do not overlap with the antenna 10), the reception condition is relatively good, so in addition to the TOW and week number WN data, 12 The data of leap second correction value LS transmitted from the GPS satellite once every 5 minutes is also received (S56).

  According to such processing, the higher the possibility of successful reception, the more data can be acquired from the GPS satellite, and the possibility of reception failure can be reduced.

  In addition, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention may limit the execution of the reception process depending on whether or not at least one of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b is at a position overlapping the antenna 10. Specifically, for example, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 determines that both the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlap the antenna 10, or determines that at least one of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlaps the antenna 10. In this case, the satellite signal reception process may be stopped. In this way, when there is a possibility that reception may fail due to the influence of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b, useless power consumption can be avoided by stopping the reception process. The radio-controlled wristwatch 1 not only determines whether or not the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlap the antenna 10, but also acquires environmental information and determines whether or not to limit the reception process by combining the contents. Good.

  Further, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 may execute a combination of the control for limiting the reception process and the control for changing the content of the reception process illustrated in FIGS. As a specific example, for example, the radio-controlled wristwatch 1 stops the satellite signal reception process when both the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlap with the antenna 10, and in other cases, which of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b is the antenna. 10 may be changed, or the number of retries of the reception process may be changed or the content of the received data may be changed according to the determination result of whether or not the antenna 10 overlaps the antenna 10. The radio-controlled wristwatch 1 executes the reception process by moving the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b to a position where they do not overlap the antenna 10 if both the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b are overlapped. The reception processing is executed without moving the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b, and further, in this case, which of the hour hand 52a and the minute hand 52b overlaps with the antenna 10 or the determination result of whether neither of them overlaps with the antenna 10 The content of the reception process may be changed depending on

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Radio wave wristwatch, 2 body, 10 Antenna, 20 Reception circuit, 21 High frequency circuit, 22 Decoding circuit, 30 Control circuit, 31 Operation part, 31a Satellite signal reception part, 31b Pointer control part, 31c Time correction part, 32 ROM, 33 RAM, 34 RTC, 35 Motor drive circuit, 40 power supply, 41 solar cell, 42, 44 switch, 43 power generation amount detection unit, 50 drive mechanism, 51 time display unit, 52 pointer, 52a hour hand, 52b minute hand, 52c second hand, 53 Dial, 60 operation unit.

Claims (7)

A radio-controlled wristwatch that rotates the hour and minute hands on the dial and displays the time according to the position of the hour and minute hands,
An antenna for receiving a satellite signal including time information from a satellite, disposed in a position overlapping with a part of the dial in plan view;
Time correction means for correcting the internal time using the time information included in the received satellite signal;
A reception control means for changing the content of the reception process according to whether or not at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand is in a position overlapping the antenna in plan view at the start of the reception process by the antenna;
Radio wave watch characterized by including. The radio-controlled wristwatch according to claim 1,
When the antenna receives the satellite signal, it further comprises pointer control means for moving at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand to a position not overlapping the antenna in plan view,
The radio-controlled wristwatch, wherein the pointer control means determines whether or not to move the hour hand and minute hand according to the degree of overlap between the hour hand and minute hand and the antenna. In the radio-controlled wristwatch according to claim 1 or 2,
The radio-controlled wristwatch characterized in that the reception control means determines the number of retries for the reception process in accordance with the overlapping state of the hour and minute hands and the antenna. In the radio-controlled wristwatch according to claim 3,
The radio wave wristwatch characterized in that the reception control means decreases the number of retries as the number of pointers overlapping the antenna increases. The radio-controlled wristwatch according to claim 4,
The radio wave wristwatch characterized in that the reception control means makes the number of retries when the minute hand overlaps the antenna less than the number of retries when the hour hand overlaps the antenna. In the radio-controlled wristwatch according to claim 3,
The radio wave wristwatch characterized in that the reception control means increases the number of retries as the number of pointers overlapping the antenna increases. In the radio-controlled wristwatch according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The reception control means restricts execution of the reception processing at the start of reception processing by the antenna depending on whether or not at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand is in a position overlapping the antenna in a plan view. Features a radio-controlled wristwatch.

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