JPH02269993A - Analog chronograph crystal timepiece - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the size, thickness, and power consumption by forming stepping motors for a chronograph and a timepiece independently, arranging the both in a shift state, and decreasing the effective value of the driving signal for the chronograph. CONSTITUTION:This timepiece mechanism is a known analog crystal timepiece which uses a crystal oscillator for a time standard 21; and an external operation member 31 is operated to send an internal input signal 32, a signal which is in process of frequency division and obtained from a frequency divider 22 through a gate circuit 33 is shaped 27 into a motor driving waveform similarly to a normal timepiece and converted by a chronograph converter 28 into rotary motion to make an indication 30 of measured time through a chronograph train gear 29. At this time, the driving period of a converter 28 as a stepping motor is shorter than the period of a signal generated once in each second by an electromagnetic converter 24 for timepiece driving and read accuracy is therefore improved correspondingly. The power consumption, however, increases, but the stepping motors for the timepiece and chronograph are independent, the speed reduction rate of a chronograph train gear is made larger, and an output torque is made smaller to reduce the power consumption.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to an analog chronograph crystal watch.

Previously, mechanical watches had chronograph mechanisms, but the cam mechanisms were extremely complex and large, making them unsuitable for practical use. Also, JP-A-49-9
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5656, there was an idea to provide a quartz watch with 81 chronograph structures, but the specific structure was not disclosed and it was not available on the market.

An object of the present invention is to provide a small, thin, and low power consumption configuration when adding a chronograph mechanism to an analog crystal watch.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the present invention. A clock mechanism for normal time display uses a crystal oscillator as the time standard 21, for example. The oscillation signal of the crystal resonator is frequency-divided, for example, once every second by a frequency dividing circuit 22 consisting of a MOS/IC or the like as a high-density integrated circuit. This signal is shaped by the drive circuit 23 into a waveform for driving the motor.

The shaped signal is sent to the rotor, stator, and
It is input to a well-known step motor consisting of a coil. The electric signal generated once per second is turned into a rotational motion by the converter 24, and is passed through the front wheel train 25 to indicate the time at the indicating wheel train 26 of the hour, 9 minute, 1 second hand. Up to this point, this is a well-known analog crystal watch, and the second hand moves once every second. This is to reduce the influence of external disturbances. Next, by operating an external operating member 31 such as a winding stem or a button, a signal is input into the watch body, and the internal input signal 32 is transmitted from the frequency dividing circuit 22 that divides the signal to a normal watch. A gate circuit 33 is provided to obtain a signal during frequency division. The frequency-divided signal passing through this gate is shaped by a chronograph drive circuit 27 in the same way as a normal watch, converted into rotational motion by a chronograph converter 28, and transmitted through a chronograph wheel train 29 to change the time.

The measurement time can be indicated by the chronograph indicating wheel train 30, such as minutes and seconds.

The chronograph converter 28 is a step motor composed of a well-known rotor, stator, coil, etc., and the drive cycle of this step motor is shorter than the once-per-second signal used to drive a clock. For example, if the period is 1710 seconds, the chronograph second hand will move 10 times faster than a normal watch, and when operating the chronograph, it will be possible to read with an accuracy of 1710 seconds. Conversely, this simply requires 10 times as much current consumption to drive the step motor. However, in the present invention, the clock driving converter 2
The step motor 4 and the step motor 28 for driving the chronograph are constructed separately. The speed reduction ratio of the gear train is determined so that the clock second hand rotates 6° once per second via the rotor 6, which rotates 180D once per second, the number wheel 5, and the pinion 44, and the chronograph second hand 14a rotates by 6° per second. , once every 0.1 seconds 1
80 @ rotating rotor 18, chronograph wheel 17.1
6.15.14.13, the reduction ratio of the transport train is determined so that it rotates 10 times 6" per second, and the reduction ratio of the chronograph train is 10 times the reduction ratio of the watch seconds hand train. It has doubled.

Current consumption is 1゜5μA for a step motor for a watch.
Both the front and rear batteries have been put into practical use with battery life of around 5 years. As a chronograph motor, there is no need for extra output torque to feed the calendar as is required for watches, and the coil can be small as it only needs to drive the chronograph's second hand, minute hand, and second hour hand. However, the current consumption is about 173, which is quite sufficient. Furthermore, 1/1 of a normal watch
In a chronograph gear train with a period of 0, the reduction ratio from the chronograph rotor to the second hand can be increased by 10 times, and the output torque will be 10 times that of a normal watch. It can be seen that there is no problem even if the chronograph step motor output is reduced. For example, if the current consumption for a chronograph used to be 10 times necessary to make the period 1/10, but it can be reduced to 1/3 because the output torque can be reduced, then 1 (1
7343, the power consumption will be 3 times as much. Deactivation of crystal oscillator circuit
Assuming that the R current is relatively small compared to the current for driving the motor, and assuming that a watch with a lifespan of 5 years is used to operate both the chronograph front and the normal watch, then 5 years/3.3+1 Valve 1
．． The battery life is one year. However, in reality, you should not use the chronograph all the time, or use a timer 60 that cuts off the chronograph drive signal after a certain period of time after the chronograph starts operating, or use it for one hour every day or after using the chronograph. Since the timer is configured to operate after one hour, the current consumption is 3.3 times as much as 3.3724)1'':0.1375, which is added to the current consumption l of a normal watch. I can do it.

The specific structure of the present invention will be explained with reference to a plan view in FIG. 2 and a sectional view in FIG. 3.

Signal generation circuit block 46 such as crystal oscillator or MOSIC
The configuration has been explained in detail in FIG. 1 and will be omitted here. In an ordinary watch, a signal from a circuit is input to a coil 41, and a rotor 6 consisting of a stator 42 and a magnet converts the signal into rotational motion. 44, and a calendar mechanism (not shown) is operated for hours, minutes, and seconds by, for example, stepping the hands once every second.

Next, coil 45. Stator 43. Rotor 18. 17, 16 as a chronograph wheel. 1
5. 14. 13, and further includes a number wheel 12 for indicating the minute hand.

When viewed from the dial side of a normal watch, the minute hand is located approximately at the center of the dial as shown in FIG. The chronograph second hand 14a is located near the center of the timepiece, and the chronograph minute hand 12a is located away from the center.

Although the chronograph hour hand is not shown, the minute hand can be slowed down and positioned away from the center like the minute hand. In other words, since the hands of a normal timepiece and a chronograph can be placed on the entire face of the dial, it is possible to give a powerful image similar to that of a mechanical chronograph. When using a chronograph, the second
In the figure, for example, by pressing an externally operated button 47, a lever 49 is displaced, and a portion 49a of the lever comes into contact with a contact pin 53 coming out of the circuit, giving a chronograph start signal to the circuit. To stop, by pressing the button 48, the lever 50 is displaced, and by selection of the well-known chronograph operating cam 51, when the lever 50 is displaced, the rear hand lever 52 is moved to the second hand wheel 14 and the minute hand wheel 12 of the chronograph. It engages with the fixed heart cam and returns to zero. I have described the general operation of a chronograph here, but unlike mechanical chronographs, a friction clutch mechanism is not used for the second hand position, and the clock train and chronograph wheel train are independent, so the wristwatch is flat. This prevents the watch from becoming thick like a mechanical chronograph.

In addition to the characteristic configuration described above, the chronograph mechanism of the present invention can exhibit further advantages as a crystal watch in the following points. That is, 1 per second as a normal clock function.
The seconds and minutes second hand moves in steps, but if the scale on the dial of the second hand of the chronograph mechanism is the same as the minute scale, then when the chronograph step motor has a 1/10 second cycle, the second hand moves in steps. The chronograph second hand rotates by dividing the scale into 10 equal parts, so at first glance the chronograph hand appears to move in a simple manner. For this reason, the movement of the second hand of a watch,
Since the movement of the second hand for the chronograph is completely different between step and sweep, it is possible to provide an analog chronograph timepiece that is visually distinctive as a timepiece.

Also, if the second hand of the chronograph mechanism has a period of 1000 seconds and the rotation angle of the second hand is 1 second scale per step of the motor, that is, the scale on the dial can be rotated by 10 seconds in 1 second, then 1/ To read laps in the 10 second range, the second scale directly corresponds to 1/10 seconds, so you can easily measure times in the 1/10 second range. This is a feature of a separate motor type that could not be easily achieved with conventional mechanical or tuning fork type chronograph watches, and the high precision characteristics of a crystal watch can also be demonstrated with a chronograph mechanism.

Again, the chronograph seconds hand rotates rapidly across the dial, making it clearly distinguishable from a regular seconds hand.

As described above, according to the present invention, the step motor drive coil for a chronograph with a short drive cycle and low load is formed smaller than the step motor drive coil for a normal timepiece, and the two drive coils are shifted in a plane. We reduced power consumption by making the prototype smaller, by making the effective value of the chronograph drive signal smaller than the drive signal for the watch step motor, and by installing a timer that cuts off the chronograph drive signal after a predetermined period of time. It is something that

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the present invention. 6... Watch rotor 12a... Chronograph minute hand 14a... Chronograph second hand 21... Time standard 22... Frequency dividing circuit 23... ... Drive circuit 24 ... Converter 25 ... Front wheel train 26 ... Indication train 27 ... Chronograph drive circuit 28 ...
・Chronograph converter 29... Chronograph gear train 30... Chronograph indicator gear train 31...
- External operation member 32... Internal input signal 33... Gate circuit 41... Watch coil 42... Watch stator 44... Second hand wheel for watches 61...Hour hand for watches 62...Minute hand for watches and above Figure 1 procedural amendment (voluntary) April 19, 1990 Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office Yoshi 1) Mr. Moon Yi 1. Indication of the case Patent application dated March 22, 1990 (1) 2. Name of the invention Analog Chronograph Quartz Watch・3.1 Relationship with the Person Who Makes the Right Case Applicant 2-4 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo No. 1 (236) Seiko Epson Corporation Representative Director Tsuneya Nakamura 4, Agent 5, Number of inventions increased by amendment 06, Subject of amendment 1, Only flat drive battery claimed (40) and the time standard (21
) and a signal generation circuit block (46) comprising MOSIC
and a coil (41) with a core oriented parallel to the time board.
A step motor for the flea clock, which is driven by the first output signal of the signal generation circuit block, and a rotor (6) and a plate-shaped stator (42) arranged at a position apart from the coil, and a step motor for the flea clock, A clock mechanism consisting of a clock indicator wheel train (25° 26) that is driven by a step motor to operate a clock second hand (44), a clock minute hand (62), and a clock hour hand (61), and an external operating member. (31); a chronograph drive circuit (27) that is operated by a second output signal from the signal generation circuit block that is output based on the input signal generated by the circuit; and a coil having a core in a direction parallel to the watch board. (45), a rotor (18) and a plate-shaped stator (43) arranged at a position away from the coil.
a chronograph step motor (28) driven by the chronograph drive circuit;
Chronograph second hand (14a
), the rotational centers of the chronograph minute hand, the hour hand, and the chronograph second hand having a drive cycle of 1 second are on the same axis. , and the timepiece second hand, which is driven at a one-second cycle, is located away from the center of rotation, and the reduction ratio of the chronograph train is greater than the reduction ratio of the timepiece train; Furthermore, the analog chronograph crystal watch is characterized in that the drive energy of the step motor for the chronograph second hand is smaller than the drive energy of the step motor for the timepiece.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The only flat drive battery (40) and time standard (21)
) and a signal generation circuit block (46) comprising MOSIC
and a coil (41) with a core oriented parallel to the time board.
It consists of a rotor (6) and a plate-shaped stator (42) arranged at a position away from the coil, and is driven by the first output signal of the signal generation circuit block, and is driven by a step motor for a timepiece and a step motor for the timepiece. A clock mechanism consisting of a clock indicator wheel train (25, 26) that is driven by a step motor to operate a clock second hand (44), a clock minute hand (62), and a clock hour hand (61), and an external operating member. (31); a chronograph drive circuit (27) that is operated by a second output signal from the signal generation circuit block that is output based on the input signal generated by the circuit; and a coil having a core in a direction parallel to the watch board. (45), a rotor (18) and a plate-shaped stator (43) arranged at a position away from the coil.
a chronograph step motor (28) operated by the chronograph drive circuit; and a chronograph second hand (14a) which is driven by the chronograph step motor and has a drive cycle of 1 second or less. a chronograph configuration consisting of a graph indicator wheel train (29, 30), the rotation center of the watch minute hand, the watch hour hand, and the chronograph second hand having a drive cycle of 1 second or less are coaxial. Along with placing it in
The timepiece second hand, which is driven at a cycle of one second, is arranged at a position away from the rotation center, and the reduction ratio of the chronograph wheel train is made larger than the reduction ratio of the timepiece wheel train, and the chronograph second hand An analog chronograph crystal watch, characterized in that the drive energy of the step motor for the watch is smaller than the drive energy of the step motor for the watch.