JP6327013B2 - Electronic clock hand position detection method and electronic clock - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece hand position detection method and an electronic timepiece.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a timepiece that displays time by driving a pointer, a configuration is known in which a current pointer position is detected using an optical sensor (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The electronic timepiece described in Patent Document 1 is driven by an hour / minute hand train consisting of a fifth wheel, third wheel, second wheel, minute wheel, and hour wheel by an hour / minute hand motor, and is fixed to the hour wheel. The hour hand and the minute hand fixed to the second wheel are driven. Further, a 24-hour intermediate wheel having a lower rotational speed than the hour wheel that is the first gear is provided, and an hour / minute hand light sensor that detects a detection hole formed in the hour wheel and a detection hole formed in the 24-hour intermediate wheel are provided. And a 24-hour hand light sensor for detection. Then, by operating the 24-hour hand light sensor every few steps and detecting the detection hole of the 24-hour intermediate wheel, the hour-minute hand light sensor is operated every step to detect the detection hole of the hour wheel. It was detected that the hour and minute hands were positioned at the reference position.

JP 2009-264885 A

By the way, since the 24-hour intermediate wheel rotates once when the hour / minute hand moves for 24 hours, it is necessary to drive the hour / minute hand for 24 hours at the maximum until the detection hole is detected by the 24-hour hand light sensor. For this reason, if the 24-hour hand light sensor is out of order, it cannot be determined that it is out of order unless the 24-hour intermediate wheel is rotated once by the hour / minute hand motor, that is, the hour / minute hand is driven for 24 hours. For this reason, there exists a problem that power consumption increases.
Furthermore, since the 24-hour intermediate wheel can only be provided with an electronic timepiece having a 24-hour hand, there is a problem that it cannot be applied to an electronic timepiece having a general layout that does not have a 24-hour hand.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic timepiece position detection method and an electronic timepiece that can suppress power consumption and can be applied to an electronic timepiece having a general layout.

  The electronic watch hand position detection method of the present embodiment includes a first vehicle having a first detection hole, and a second vehicle having a second detection hole in which the rotation of the first vehicle is transmitted at a reduced speed. A hand position of an electronic timepiece having a third wheel that rotates in conjunction with the first wheel or the second wheel and that has a shorter cycle than the second wheel and has a third detection hole. A first detection step for detecting that the third detection hole is located at the first reference position, and the third detection hole is located at the first reference position by the first detection step. A second detection step of detecting that the positions of the first detection hole and the second detection hole are positioned at the second reference position overlapping in a plan view when the electronic timepiece is viewed from the surface, It is characterized by having.

In this embodiment, first, the third detection hole of the third vehicle is detected in the first detection step. Since the detection hole of the third vehicle can be detected by an optical sensor or the like alone, the third vehicle can be detected by rotating at a high speed to some extent, and the processing time of the first detection process can be shortened.
And if the 3rd detection hole of a 3rd vehicle is detected, in the 2nd detection process, the state with which each detection hole of the 1st vehicle and the 2nd vehicle overlapped by planar view will be detected with an optical sensor. At this time, in order to detect a state in which the plurality of detection holes overlap in a plan view, the cycle and the rotation direction of each vehicle are different, and therefore it is necessary to suppress the rotation speed of each vehicle. Here, in the present invention, since the first to third vehicles rotate in conjunction with each other, the first detection hole and the second detection are detected while the first vehicle is rotated by a predetermined angle after detecting the third detection hole. It can be set so that the state where the holes overlap can be detected. Therefore, the processing time of the second detection step can be shortened, and it can be detected in a short time that the first car and the second car are located at the reference position.
Further, when the third wheel is not provided, it is necessary to detect the overlapping state of the detection holes while rotating the first wheel and the second wheel one step at a time. If the position is detected, it must be rotated for a maximum of 12 hours. For this reason, the number of operations of the optical sensor or the like increases and power consumption increases.
On the other hand, in this embodiment, after detecting the third detection hole of the third vehicle, the optical sensor or the like is activated only while there is a possibility that the first detection hole and the second detection hole can be detected. do it. For this reason, the frequency | count of operation | movement of an optical sensor etc. can be reduced and power consumption can also be reduced.
Furthermore, since the third vehicle has a shorter cycle than the first vehicle, the cycle in which the third detection hole can be detected is also short. Therefore, even when there is an abnormality in the optical sensor that detects the third detection hole, it can be detected at an early stage, and it is possible to prevent wasteful consumption of power.
In addition, since it is only necessary to provide a third car having a shorter cycle than the second car, the third car can be applied to an electronic timepiece having a general layout.

  In the electronic timepiece hand position detection method of this embodiment, the speed at which the first to third cars are rotated in the first detection step is the speed at which the first to third wheels are rotated in the second detection step. It is preferable that the speed is higher.

  According to this embodiment, the rotational speed of each vehicle in the first detection step and the rotational speed of each vehicle in the second detection step can be set separately, so that the detection hole of each vehicle can be detected within a range that can be detected. Can be rotated. For this reason, the processing time of each detection process can be shortened.

In the electronic watch hand position detection method of this embodiment, the first detection step determines whether the third detection hole is positioned at the first reference position each time the third wheel is rotated by a first set angle. The first setting angle is determined by the third detection hole when the third setting hole is rotated by the first setting angle. It is preferable that the third detection hole is set so as to overlap with a part of the region where the third detection hole is arranged before the rotation.
According to this embodiment, when the third vehicle is rotated by the first set angle, the third detection hole partially overlaps the region where the third detection hole before rotation is disposed. Can be reliably detected.

In the electronic timepiece hand position detection method of the present embodiment, the second detection step is performed only during a period from when the third detection hole is detected in the first detection step to when the first wheel is rotated by a second set angle. Preferably, it is done.
According to this form, since the period which performs a 2nd detection process is limited, the power consumption at the time of execution of a 2nd detection process can be reduced.

The electronic timepiece of the present embodiment includes a first vehicle having a first detection hole, a second vehicle having a second detection hole in which rotation of the first vehicle is transmitted at a reduced speed, and the first vehicle. A third vehicle having a third detection hole that rotates in conjunction with the vehicle or the second vehicle and has a shorter cycle than the second vehicle, and overlaps the third vehicle in plan view, A first detection device including a first light emitting portion and a first light receiving portion arranged at a first reference position that does not overlap the first vehicle and the second vehicle in plan view; and the first vehicle and the second vehicle And a second detection device including a second light emitting unit and a second light receiving unit that are arranged at a second reference position that overlap in plan view.
According to the electronic timepiece of the present embodiment, it is possible to achieve the same operational effects as the hand position detection method of the electronic timepiece.

In the electronic timepiece of this embodiment, it is preferable that a minute hand is attached to the first wheel and an hour hand is attached to the second wheel.
According to this embodiment, it is possible to detect the position of the hour hand and the minute hand. In particular, in a general timepiece in which the hour hand and the minute hand are driven by one motor, the hour and minute hand positions need to be detected for a maximum of 12 hours. However, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to shorten the needle position detection processing time and reduce power consumption.

In the electronic timepiece of this embodiment, it is preferable that the third car is a minute wheel.
According to this embodiment, the minute wheel is a vehicle that is generally provided to link the second wheel and the hour wheel, and this minute wheel is used as a third vehicle for detecting the needle position. This eliminates the need to add new parts. Therefore, the present invention can be widely applied to electronic watches having a general layout.

In the electronic timepiece of this embodiment, a driving device that rotates the first car, the second car, and the third car, a rotation control means that controls the driving device, the first detection device, and the second detection And a detection control means for controlling the rotation control means, and the detection control means operates the first detection device each time the third vehicle rotates at a first set angle, thereby the third detection. Preferably, after detecting the hole and detecting the third detection hole by the first detection device, the second detection device is operated to detect a state in which the first detection hole and the second detection hole overlap in plan view. .
According to this embodiment, after the third detection hole of the third vehicle is detected by the first detection device, the second detection device can detect a state in which the first detection hole and the second detection hole overlap in plan view. Therefore, in particular, the number of operations of the second detection device can be reduced and power consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, since the third vehicle has a shorter cycle than the first vehicle, even if there is an abnormality in the first detection device, it can be detected at an early stage, and wasteful power consumption can be prevented.

In the electronic timepiece of this embodiment, the detection control means sets the rotation speed of the driving device to the first speed by the rotation control means while the first detection device is operated to detect the third detection hole. During the process of setting the rotation speed and operating the second detection device to detect the state where the first detection hole and the second detection hole overlap in plan view, the rotation control means rotates the rotation speed of the drive device. Is preferably set to a second rotational speed that is slower than the first rotational speed.
According to this embodiment, the rotational speed of each car while the first detection device is operating and the rotational speed of each car while the second detection device is operating can be set separately. The detection hole of each car can be rotated at high speed within the detectable range. For this reason, the processing time by each detection apparatus can be shortened.

The front view which shows the electronic timepiece which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The disassembled perspective view which shows the hour / minute hand drive mechanism of the electronic timepiece. The disassembled perspective view which shows the hour / minute hand drive mechanism of the electronic timepiece. The block diagram which shows the hand position detection apparatus of the said electronic timepiece. The figure explaining the rotation angle of the minute wheel of the electronic timepiece. The figure which shows the wheel train for hour and minute hands when the instruction | indication time of the said electronic timepiece is 0: 0. The figure which shows the train wheel for hour and minute hands when the instruction | indication time of the said electronic timepiece is 1:30. The figure which shows the wheel train for hour and minute hands when the instruction | indication time of the said electronic timepiece is 3: 0. The figure which shows the train wheel for hour and minute hands when the instruction | indication time of the said electronic timepiece is 4:30. The figure which shows the wheel train for hour and minute hands when the instruction | indication time of the said electronic timepiece is 6:00. The figure which shows the wheel train for hour and minute hands when the instruction | indication time of the said electronic timepiece is 7:30. The figure which shows the wheel train for hour and minute hands when the instruction | indication time of the said electronic timepiece is 9:00. The figure which shows the train wheel for hour and minute hands when the instruction | indication time of the said electronic timepiece is 10:30. The flowchart which shows the hand position detection process of the said electronic timepiece.

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an electronic timepiece 1 according to an embodiment. The electronic timepiece 1 is an electronic timepiece with a hand position detection function for correcting a display time by receiving a satellite signal transmitted from a position information satellite such as a GPS satellite or a radio wave capable of acquiring time information such as a standard radio wave. . The electronic timepiece 1 has a plurality of 1/5 second CG (chronograph) display, minute CG display, and hour CG display that perform a date display, stopwatch function, in addition to a normal 12 hour display with hour, minute, and second hands. It has a display function.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic timepiece 1 has an hour hand 2, a minute hand 3, a small second hand 4, a 1/5 second CG hand 5, a minute CG hand 6, an hour CG hand 7, and a date. A date indicator 8 for display is provided.
The hour hand 2, the minute hand 3 and the 1/5 second CG hand 5 are provided coaxially and rotatably in the approximate center of the dial 9 of the electronic timepiece 1.
The small second hand 4 is rotatably provided on an axis independent of the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 on the 10 o'clock side from the center of the dial plate 9.
The minute CG hand 6 is rotatably provided on an axis independent of the 1/5 second CG hand 5 at 2 o'clock from the center of the dial 9.
The hour CG hand 7 is rotatably provided on an axis independent of the 1/5 second CG hand 5 and the minute CG hand 6 at 6 o'clock from the center of the dial plate 9.

The electronic timepiece 1 includes an hour / minute hand driving mechanism 10 for driving the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 shown in FIGS. Although not shown, the electronic timepiece 1 further drives a second hand driving mechanism for driving the small second hand 4, a 1/5 second CG hand driving mechanism for driving the 1/5 second CG hand 5, and a minute CG hand 6. Accordingly, a CG hand driving mechanism for driving the hour CG hand 7, a calendar driving mechanism for driving the date indicator 8, and a calendar driving mechanism for driving the date indicator 8 are provided.
The electronic timepiece 1 includes a crown 91 and buttons 92 to 95, and includes an external operation unit 90 that can be operated by a user. Furthermore, although not shown, the electronic timepiece 1 has a secondary battery that drives each driving mechanism, an antenna that receives radio waves, and a ground plate or a wheel that supports each driving mechanism, secondary battery, antenna, and the like described above. It has train holders and circuit blocks.

[Hour / minute hand drive mechanism]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hour / minute hand driving mechanism 10 includes an hour / minute motor 20 that is a driving device, an hour / minute hand wheel train 30 that transmits a driving force from the hour / minute motor 20, and an hour / minute motor 20. Rotation control means 61 (see FIG. 4) for controlling the driving of the motor. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the hour / minute hand drive mechanism 10 viewed from the back side of the electronic timepiece 1, and FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the hour / minute hand drive mechanism 10 of FIG. It is a perspective view.

The hour / minute motor 20 is formed of a general stepping motor having a rotor 21.
The hour / minute hand train 30 includes a fifth wheel 31 that meshes with a rotor pinion 211 integrally formed with the rotor 21 of the hour / minute motor 20, a third wheel 32 that meshes with a pinion 311 of the fifth wheel 31, A second wheel 33 that meshes with the pinion 321 of the third wheel 32, a minute wheel 34 that meshes with the pinion 331 of the second wheel 33, and an hour wheel 35 that meshes with the pinion 341 of the minute wheel 34. .
The center wheel 33 and the hour wheel 35 are arranged coaxially with a 1/5 second CG wheel (not shown) to which the 1/5 second CG hand 5 is attached. The minute hand 3 is fixed to the center wheel 33 and the hour hand 2 is fixed to the hour wheel 35.

The rotation control means 61 controls the rotational drive of the hour / minute motor 20 by outputting a drive pulse to the hour / minute motor 20. The rotation control means 61 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to switch the drive pulse frequency in at least three stages.
Here, the reduction ratio of the hour / minute hand wheel train 30 of the present embodiment is set so that when one pulse is input to the hour / minute motor 20, the minute hand 3 moves by 1/12 minutes. For this reason, at the time of normal hand movement, since the hand is moved by 12 pulses for 1 minute (60 seconds), the rotation control means 61 sets the frequency of the drive pulse to 1/5 Hz.
On the other hand, at the time of detecting the needle position, the rotation control means 61 sets the frequency of the drive pulse to the first frequency (for example, 85.3 Hz) and the second frequency (for example, lower than the first frequency) so that two-stage fast-forwarding is possible. 20 Hz).
That is, the rotor 21 of the hour / minute motor 20 is driven at the first rotational speed when the frequency of the drive pulse is set to the first frequency, and when the frequency of the drive pulse is set to the second frequency, Drive at a second rotational speed that is slower than the first rotational speed.

Here, when the hour / minute motor 20 is driven, the rotor 21 rotates, and this rotational motion is transmitted while being decelerated at an appropriate reduction ratio in the order of the rotor kana 211, fifth wheel 31, third wheel 32, second wheel 33. The When the hour / minute motor 20 is driven at a frequency during normal hand movement, the center wheel 33 and the minute hand 3 rotate at a cycle (speed) that makes one round in one hour. The rotational movement of the center wheel & pinion 33 is transmitted while being decelerated at an appropriate reduction ratio in the order of the minute wheel 34 and the hour wheel 35 in order, and the hour wheel 2 and the hour hand 2 have a cycle (speed) that makes one round in 12 hours. ).
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the minute wheel 34 rotates at a cycle (speed) that makes a round in one and a half hours.
Here, in the present embodiment, the first car is the second wheel 33, the second car is the hour wheel 35, and the third car is the minute wheel 34. That is, the rotational movement of the hour / minute motor 20 is transmitted to the second car 33 which is the first car through the rotor 21, the fifth wheel 31 and the third wheel 32, and the second wheel which is the first car. The rotation of 33 is decelerated and transmitted to the hour wheel 35 as the second vehicle via the minute wheel 34. In addition, the minute wheel 34 that is the third car is transmitted with the rotation of the second wheel 33 that is the first car decelerated, so the second wheel 33 that is the first car and the second wheel 33 It rotates in conjunction with the hour wheel 35 that is a car. Furthermore, the cycle (1.5 hours) of the minute wheel 34 that is the third vehicle is shorter than the cycle (12 hours) of the hour wheel 35 that is the second vehicle.

[Needle position detection mechanism]
Next, the needle position detection mechanism of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, an hour / minute hand light sensor 40, a minute wheel light sensor 50, and a detection control means 62 are provided as a hand position detection mechanism.
Each of the optical sensors 40 and 50 includes light emitting elements 41 and 51 and light receiving elements 42 and 52, respectively, and is controlled by the detection control means 62.

The hour / minute hand light sensor 40 indicates that the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 driven by the hour / minute motor 20 and the hour / minute hand wheel train 30 are in a reference position, specifically, a 12 o'clock position (0: 0 or 12: 0). Position).
The minute wheel light sensor 50 detects a state in which the rotation angle of the minute wheel 34 becomes a predetermined angle.

Hereinafter, each optical sensor will be described in detail.
[Hour / minute hand light sensor]
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the fifth wheel 31, the third wheel 32, the second wheel 33, and the hour wheel 35 have detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A used for detection by the hour / minute hand light sensor 40. Is formed. Therefore, the detection hole 33A formed in the second wheel 33 which is the first car is the first detection hole of the present invention, and the detection hole 35A formed in the hour wheel 35 which is the second car is the present invention. This is the second detection hole. Further, the planar shape of each of the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A is circular.
When the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 are arranged at the 12 o'clock position, the positions of the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A coincide with the second reference position in a plan view when the electronic timepiece 1 is viewed from the front side. In other words, the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A are set to overlap each other at the second reference position. For this reason, the reference position of the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is the 12 o'clock position.

  At the second reference position where the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A coincide with each other, a transmission type hour / minute hand light sensor 40 as a second detection device is provided. The hour / minute hand light sensor 40 includes a light emitting element 41 (second light emitting part) and a light receiving element 42 (second light receiving part). These light emitting element 41 and light receiving element 42 are a fifth wheel 31 and a third wheel 32. The second wheel 33, the minute wheel 34, and the hour wheel 35 are provided on both sides in the thickness direction, and are disposed to face each other with these interposed therebetween.

Although not shown, the light emitting element 41 is mounted on a circuit block arranged on the front side of the ground plane. The light receiving element 42 is mounted on a circuit block arranged on the back cover side of the ground plane. Five cars 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35 are arranged between the light emitting element 41 and the light receiving element.
In the case where a ground plate or a train wheel bridge is disposed between the light emitting element 41 and the light receiving element 42, the ground plate and the train wheel bridge are also transparent so as not to hinder the light transmission of the hour / minute hand light sensor 40. A light hole is provided.

The detection control means 62 operates the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 every time the hour / minute motor 20 is driven one step in the second detection step, as will be described later. Then, with the fifth wheel 31, third wheel 32, second wheel 33, and hour wheel 35 rotating and the detection holes 31 </ b> A, 32 </ b> A, 33 </ b> A, 35 </ b> A being aligned, When the detection light is emitted, it passes through the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A and is received by the light receiving element. For this reason, it is detected that the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 are at the 12 o'clock position, that is, the reference position.
The operation of the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 is from the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 being detected by the minute wheel light sensor 50 to the time when the hour / minute motor 20 is driven 180 steps, as will be described later. It is performed only during a period, that is, a period until the center wheel & pinion 33 is rotated by the second set angle (90 degrees). Thereafter, the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 is stopped, and when the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 is detected again by the minute wheel light sensor 50, the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 is also activated again.

[Sunlight light sensor]
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a detection hole 34 </ b> A that is the third detection hole of the present invention is formed in the sun wheel 34. This detection hole 34A is used for positioning at the time of assembly, and is set to be positioned at the initial position P0 (FIG. 5) when the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 are at the reference position, that is, the 12 o'clock position. As shown in FIG. 6, the initial position P0 is set to a position that does not overlap with the fifth wheel 31, third wheel 32, second wheel 33, and hour wheel 35 other than the minute wheel 34 in a plan view. Yes.

In this embodiment, the minute wheel 34 is set to rotate 15 degrees (360 degrees / 24) as the first set angle when a 45-pulse drive signal is input to the hour / minute motor 20. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the first set angle is such that the detection hole 34 </ b> A when the minute wheel 34 that is the third vehicle is rotated by the first set angle (15 degrees) It is set so as to overlap a part of the region where the detection hole 34 </ b> A is disposed before the vehicle 34 is rotated. Specifically, the first set angle is such that the movement distance of the center point of the detection hole 34A is equal to or less than the diameter of the detection hole 34A when the minute wheel 34 is rotated by the first set angle (15 degrees). It is set to become. For this reason, the region of the detection hole 34A before and after the minute wheel 34 rotates at the first set angle is set so that a part thereof overlaps. The planar shape of the detection hole 34A is also circular.
In the present embodiment, the position P1 slightly before the initial position P0 in the rotation direction of the minute wheel 34 is set as the first reference position P1. That is, the minute wheel 34 is set so that the detection hole 34A is positioned at the initial position P0 when the detection hole 34A is rotated by the first set angle (15 degrees) from the state where the detection hole 34A is positioned at the first reference position P1. .

The first reference position P1 is provided with a transmissive sun behind light sensor 50 as a first detection device. Similar to the hour / minute hand light sensor 40, the minute wheel light sensor 50 includes a light emitting element 51 (first light emitting unit) and a light receiving element 52 (first light receiving unit). Are arranged opposite to each other across the minute wheel 34.
As will be described later, the detection control means 62 activates the minute vehicle light sensor 50 each time a 45-pulse drive signal is input to the hour / minute motor 20 in the first detection step.

  Here, since the minute wheel 34 rotates once in one and a half hours, there are eight patterns of FIGS. 6 to 13 in which the detection hole 34A is positioned at the initial position P0. Specifically, the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 0: 0 (12: 0), 1:30, 3: 0, 4:30, 6: 0, 7:00 In the case of 30 minutes, 9:00:00, and 10:30, the detection hole 34A is located at the initial position P0. When the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 indicates 3.75 minutes before these times, the detection hole 34A is positioned at the first reference position P1.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the state of the hour / minute hand train 30 when the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 0: 0 (12 o'clock position). In this case, the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A overlap each other at the second reference position in a plan view when the electronic timepiece 1 is viewed from the surface. The detection hole 34A is located at the initial position P0.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the state of the hour / minute hand train 30 when the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 1:30. In this case, the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A do not overlap each other in plan view. For example, the detection hole 35A of the hour wheel 35 rotates 1/8 (45 degrees) from the second reference position, and the detection hole 33A of the center wheel 33 rotates 1.5 times (540 degrees). Further, the detection hole 34A is rotated once and located at the initial position P0.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the state of the hour / minute hand train 30 when the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 3:00:00. In this case, the detection holes 31A and 33A overlap each other at the second reference position in plan view, but the detection holes 32A and 35A do not overlap with the other detection holes 31A and 33A in plan view. The detection hole 34A is located at the initial position P0.
FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the state of the hour / minute hand train wheel 30 when the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 4:30. In this case, the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A do not overlap each other in plan view. The detection hole 34A is located at the initial position P0.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state of the hour / minute hand train 30 when the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 6:00:00. In this case, the detection holes 31A, 32A, and 33A overlap each other at the second reference position in plan view, but the detection holes 35A do not overlap with other detection holes in plan view. The detection hole 34A is located at the initial position P0.
FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the state of the hour / minute hand train 30 when the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 7:30. In this case, the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A do not overlap each other in plan view. The detection hole 34A is located at the initial position P0.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the state of the hour / minute hand train 30 when the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 9:00. In this case, the detection holes 31A and 33A overlap each other at the second reference position in plan view, but the detection holes 32A and 35A do not overlap with other detection holes in plan view. The detection hole 34A is located at the initial position P0.
FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the state of the hour / minute hand train 30 when the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 10:30. In this case, the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A do not overlap each other in plan view. The detection hole 34A is located at the initial position P0.

For this reason, when the minute wheel 34 rotates at every first set angle and the detection hole 34A moves to the first reference position P1, the detection light from the light emitting element 51 of the minute wheel light sensor 50 is detected. The light is received by the light receiving element 52 through the hole 34A.
Therefore, the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is currently 12:01:00, 1:30, 3:00:00, 4:30, 6:00:00, 7:30, 9:00:00 It can be detected that the time is slightly before 10:30 (3.75 minutes before).
For this reason, if detection by the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 is started when the minute wheel light sensor 50 detects the detection hole 34A, the hour hand 2 has a probability of 1/8 after the movement of 3.75 minutes. It can be detected that the minute hand 3 is at the reference position (12 o'clock position).

  The above-described optical sensors 40 and 50 are not limited to transmissive optical sensors, but may be reflective optical sensors, for example.

[Needle position detection operation]
Next, the needle position detection operation will be described. The hand position detection operation includes a first detection mode that is performed during normal hand movement, a second detection mode that is performed when the pointer is corrected when the electronic timepiece 1 is not correctly detected during assembly and manufacturing, system reset, or steady hand movement. There is.

[First detection mode]
In the first detection mode, the detection control means 62 operates the optical sensors 40 and 50 in conjunction with the operation of the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 by the rotation control means 61.
That is, the rotation control means 61 drives the hour / minute motor 20 in conjunction with the internal timepiece which is timed by counting the reference signal output from the quartz oscillator provided in the electronic timepiece 1. . For this reason, the detection control means 62 operates the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 at the timing (every 12 hours) when the hour / minute counter of the internal clock becomes 0:00 (midnight) and 12:00 (midnight). 2 and the minute hand 3 are confirmed to be located at the reference position (12 o'clock position).
As described above, it can be confirmed that there is no deviation in the indications of the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 during normal hand movement.

[Second detection mode]
The second detection mode is a process of assembling the electronic timepiece 1 at the factory, and when the gears are moved to the reference position in order to attach the pointers to the respective wheel trains, or when a strong impact or external magnetic field affects the timepiece. This is executed when the system is reset by the control of the detection control means 62 or the user's operation because the reference position is shifted. In this case, since the rotational angle positions of the respective gears are not known, the detection control means 62 detects the hand positions of the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 according to the procedure described in the flowchart of FIG.

When the hour / minute hand position detection process in the second detection mode is started, the detection control means 62 initializes a variable N indicating the number of hour / minute hand position detections to 0 (S1).
Next, the rotation control means 61 drives the hour / minute motor 20 by outputting one pulse of the drive signal to the hour / minute motor 20 (S2). Thereby, the polarity of the rotor 21 of the hour / minute motor 20 can be adjusted to a predetermined direction.

Next, the detection control means 62 actuates the minute wheel light sensor 50, and performs the detection process (first detection step) of the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 (S3). That is, the detection control means 62 operates the light emitting element 51 to output detection light.
Then, the detection control means 62 determines whether or not the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 has been detected based on the output from the light receiving element 52 of the minute wheel light sensor 50 (S4).
Here, when the detection hole 34A cannot be detected (in the case of “NO” in S4), the detection control means 62 sends 45 pulses of the first frequency drive signal to the hour / minute motor 20 via the rotation control means 61. Then, the hour / minute motor 20 is driven to move the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 for 3.75 minutes (S5). Since the drive signal has the first frequency, the hour / minute motor 20 is also driven at a high speed, and the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 are also fast-forwarded.
And the detection control means 62 performs the process of S3 again when 45 pulses of drive signals are output.

When the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 moves to the first reference position P1, the minute wheel light sensor 50 detects the detection hole 34A. In this case (in the case of “YES” in S4), the detection control means 62 operates the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 to detect the positions of the detection holes 33A and 35A of the center wheel 33 and hour wheel 35, and the hour hand 2 And the detection process (2nd detection process) of whether the minute hand 3 is located in the 12:00 position (reference | standard position) is performed (S6). That is, the detection control means 62 operates the light emitting element 41 to output detection light.
Then, the detection control means 62 determines whether or not the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, 35A of the respective cars 31, 32, 33, 35 have been detected based on the output from the light receiving element 42 of the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 (S7). ).

When the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 cannot detect the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A (in the case of “NO” in S7), the detection control means 62 rotates after the detection hole 34A can be detected in S4. It is determined whether or not the drive signal output to the hour / minute motor 20 by the control means 61 is within 180 pulses, that is, whether or not the movement of the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 by the rotation control means 61 is within 15 minutes (S8).
Here, when the drive signal output to the hour / minute motor 20 by the rotation control means 61 is within 180 pulses (in the case of “YES” in S8), the rotation control means 61 sends the second frequency to the hour / minute motor 20. The drive signal of 1 is output to drive the hour / minute motor 20 to move the hour hand 2 and minute hand 3 by 1/12 minutes (S9). Since the drive signal has the second frequency, the hour / minute motor 20 is also faster than the normal hand movement, but slower than the hand movement speed in the first detection step.
And the detection control means 62 performs the process of S6 whenever a drive signal outputs 1 pulse. That is, the processes of S6 to S9 are repeatedly executed until it is determined to be YES in S7, except for the case where NO is determined in S8.
Here, when the detection hole 34 </ b> A is detected in S <b> 4, when the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is a time just before 12 o'clock (3.75 minutes before), the processing of S <b> 6 to S <b> 9 is performed. By being repeatedly executed, the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 become the reference position (12 o'clock position), so that the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A located at the second reference position can be detected by the hour / minute hand light sensor 40.
When the detection hole 34A is detected in S4, the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is 1:30, 3: 0, 4:30, 6: 0, 7:30, When the time is 9 o'clock, 10:30, or slightly before (3.75 minutes), the rotation control means 61 moves the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 by 15 minutes (180 pulses). However, the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 do not become the reference position (12 o'clock position), and YES is not determined in S7. For this reason, when the 180-pulse hand movement is performed, NO is determined in S8.

If "NO" is determined in S8, the detection control means 62 determines whether or not the variable N is 7 or less (S10).
When the variable N is 7 or less (in the case of “YES” in S10), the number of detections of the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 by the minute wheel light sensor 50 is seven or less. In order to detect that the time indicated by the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is the time immediately before 12:00, it is necessary to detect the detection hole 34A eight times at the maximum as described above. For this reason, when the variable N is 7 or less, the detection control means 62 adds “1” to the variable N in order to continue the detection (S11), and the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 in S3. The detection process is performed again.

  When the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A can be detected by the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 (in the case of “YES” in S7), the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 are positioned at the reference position (12 o'clock position). Since it can be confirmed, the detection control means 62 ends the needle position detection.

Also, when the variable N becomes 8 while NO in S7 (in the case of "NO" in S10), the detection control means 62 ends the needle position detection. That is, when the variable N is 8, the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 is detected eight times. In this case, even if the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 are moved for 12 hours, the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A cannot be detected by the hour / minute hand light sensor 40. In this case, it is assumed that the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 is out of order, or the position of the 1/5 second CG hand 5 coaxial with the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is deviated. This is a case where the detection light of the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 is blocked by the second CG wheel and the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A cannot be detected. For this reason, there is a high possibility that the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, and 35A cannot be detected even if the detection process by the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 is continued, so the detection control means 62 ends the needle position detection.
In this case, for example, the position of the 1/5 second CG hand 5 may be separately detected, or it may be confirmed whether the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 is operating normally.

[Effects of Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, the first detection step is first executed, and the hourglass motor 20 is fast-forwarded at the first frequency to rotate the minute wheel 34 by 15 degrees. Since 34A is detected, the detection processing time of the detection hole 34A can be shortened.
When the detection hole 34A is detected, the second detection step is executed, and the hour / minute hand light sensor 40 detects each of the cars 31, 32, 33, and 35 while moving the hour / minute motor 20 at every second pulse at the second frequency. It is detected that the holes 31A, 32A, 33A, 35A overlap and coincide with the second reference position, that is, the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 are located at the 12 o'clock position. This second detection step is performed while the hour / minute motor 20 is moved every pulse, but since it is executed only during a period until the maximum of 180 pulses are moved, it can be performed in a short time. Therefore, when the first detection process and the second detection process are repeated and the hand position detection process of the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 is performed, the process can be performed in a short time and the power consumption can be reduced.

  Further, since the minute wheel 34 has a shorter period than the hour wheel 35, the period in which the detection hole 34A can be detected can be shortened as compared with, for example, one rotation of the 24-hour intermediate wheel. Therefore, abnormality of the minute side light sensor 50 can be detected at an early stage, and power consumption can be prevented from being wasted.

  In the first detection step, the hour / minute motor 20 is driven at the first frequency, and in the second detection step, the hour / minute motor 20 is driven at the second frequency, so that the detection hole 34A and the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, 35A are detected. The hour / minute motor 20 can be driven at high speed within a possible range. For this reason, the processing time of each detection process can be shortened to the maximum.

  Since the minute wheel 34 is used as the third car, it is not necessary to add new parts, and it can be easily realized in an electronic timepiece having a general layout.

[Modification]
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, and the like within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the minute wheel 34 is used as the third vehicle, but other vehicles may be used. In other words, any vehicle having a shorter cycle than the second vehicle (the hour wheel 35 in the embodiment) may be used. Therefore, a detection vehicle having the same cycle as the minute wheel 34 may be provided, or a detection vehicle having a different cycle from that of the minute wheel 34 may be provided. However, if the minute wheel 34 is used, there is an advantage that existing parts can be used and there is no need to add a new wheel train part.

  In the above-described embodiment, when detecting the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 with the minute wheel light sensor 50 and when detecting the detection holes 31A, 32A, 33A, 35A with the hour / minute hand light sensor 40, Although the motor 20 is driven by the drive pulse of different frequency for the hour, it may be driven by the drive pulse of the same frequency.

  In the above-described embodiment, the minute side light sensor 50 is disposed at a position overlapping the first reference position P1 in plan view. However, if the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 can be detected, the initial position P0 is used. And may be arranged at a position overlapping in plan view. That is, in the embodiment, when the detection hole 34A of the minute wheel 34 is located at the first reference position P1, a part of the detection hole 34A overlaps the position of the initial position P0. For this reason, even if the minute vehicle light sensor 50 is disposed at the initial position P0, the detection hole 34A located at the first reference position P1 can be detected.

  In the above embodiment, if the detection hole 34A cannot be detected in step S4 even if the minute wheel 34 rotates once, the needle position detection process may be terminated. That is, every time the minute wheel 34 is driven by 45 pulses, detection S3 of the detection hole 34A is performed, and if it is not determined YES in step S4 even if it is repeated a maximum of 24 times, the minute wheel light sensor 50 has failed. Therefore, the needle position detection process in FIG.

In the above-described embodiment, the hand positions of the hour hand 2 and the minute hand 3 are detected. However, the detection target of the hand position may be another pointer, and may further detect the angular position of each vehicle. This is particularly effective when it is necessary to detect a state in which detection holes provided in a plurality of cars overlap in plan view.
Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although detection hole 31A, 32A, 33A, 34A, 35A provided in each car 31-35 was circular, the planar shape does not need to be circular. For example, the planar shape may be a shape formed by arcs and chords such as a semicircular shape, a long hole, or the like, as long as the position of each vehicle can be detected.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic timepiece, 2 ... Hour hand, 3 ... Minute hand, 10 ... Hour / minute hand drive mechanism, 20 ... Hour / minute motor, 21 ... Rotor, 30 ... Hour wheel for hour / minute hand, 31 ... Fifth wheel, 32 ... Third wheel, 33 ... Second wheel, 34 ... Sunlight wheel, 35 ... Hour wheel, 40 ... Hour and minute hand light sensor, 41 ... Light emitting element, 42 ... Light receiving element, 50 ... Sunlight light sensor, 51 ... Light emitting element, 52 ... light receiving element, 61 ... rotation control means, 62 ... detection control means, 31A ... detection hole, 32A ... detection hole, 33A ... detection hole, 34A ... detection hole, 35A ... detection hole, P0 ... initial position, P1 ... first Reference position.

Claims (9)

A first vehicle having a first detection hole;
A second vehicle in which rotation of the first vehicle is decelerated and transmitted, and has a second detection hole;
A hand position detection of an electronic timepiece having a third wheel that rotates in conjunction with the first wheel or the second wheel and that has a shorter cycle than the second wheel and has a third detection hole. A method,
A first detection step of detecting that the third detection hole is located at a first reference position;
When the first detection step detects that the third detection hole is located at the first reference position, the positions of the first detection hole and the second detection hole are planes when the electronic timepiece is viewed from the surface. A second detection step of detecting that the second reference position is overlapped with the eye;
A method for detecting the hand position of an electronic timepiece, comprising: The electronic timepiece hand position detecting method according to claim 1,
The speed of rotating the first to third cars in the first detection step is
A method for detecting the hand position of an electronic timepiece, wherein the speed is higher than a speed at which the first to third wheels are rotated in the second detection step. The electronic timepiece hand position detecting method according to claim 1 or 2,
The first detection step executes a detection process for detecting whether or not the third detection hole is located at the first reference position every time the third vehicle is rotated by a first set angle.
The first set angle is determined by the third detection hole before the third detection hole rotates the first set angle when the third vehicle rotates the first set angle. It is set so that it may overlap a part of area | region where it was arrange | positioned. The hand position detection method of the electronic timepiece characterized by the above-mentioned. In the method of detecting the position of an electronic timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The second detection step is performed only for a period from when the third detection hole is detected in the first detection step to when the first wheel is rotated by a second set angle. Position detection method. A first vehicle having a first detection hole;
A second vehicle in which rotation of the first vehicle is decelerated and transmitted, and has a second detection hole;
A third car that rotates in conjunction with the first car or the second car and has a shorter period than the second car and has a third detection hole;
A first detection comprising a first light emitting portion and a first light receiving portion arranged at a first reference position that overlaps the third vehicle in plan view and does not overlap the first vehicle and the second vehicle in plan view. Equipment,
A second detection device comprising a second light emitting part and a second light receiving part arranged at a second reference position where the first car and the second car overlap in plan view;
An electronic timepiece characterized by comprising: The electronic timepiece according to claim 5,
A minute hand is attached to the first car,
An electronic timepiece having an hour hand attached to the second wheel. The electronic timepiece according to claim 5 or 6,
The electronic timepiece characterized in that the third car is a minute wheel. The electronic timepiece according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
A driving device for rotating the first car, the second car, and the third car;
Rotation control means for controlling the drive device;
A detection control means for controlling the first detection device, the second detection device and the rotation control means;
The detection control means operates the first detection device to detect the third detection hole every time the third vehicle rotates by a first set angle,
After detecting the third detection hole with the first detection device, the second detection device is operated to detect a state in which the first detection hole and the second detection hole overlap in a plan view. . The electronic timepiece according to claim 8, wherein
The detection control means includes
While performing the process of operating the first detection device and detecting the third detection hole, the rotation speed of the drive device is set to the first rotation speed by the rotation control means,
While performing the process of operating the second detection device and detecting the state where the first detection hole and the second detection hole overlap in a plan view, the rotation speed of the drive device is set to the first rotation speed by the rotation control means. An electronic timepiece characterized in that it is set to a second rotation speed that is slower than that of.

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