JPH0656417B2 - Electronic clock input device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an input device for an electronic timepiece.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally, pushbutton switches, crowns, touch switches using transparent electrodes, and the like are mainly used as operation switches for electronic timepieces. Alternatively, it is placed on the upper surface or the like and always appears outside the watch case. Therefore, when the number of switches increases, not only the appearance and design of the timepiece are impaired, but also the switch malfunctions if the timepiece is accidentally dropped or touched while being carried.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in consideration of the circumstances as described above. The object of the present invention is that the switch does not always appear outside, but can appear outside as necessary. An object of the present invention is to provide an input device of an electronic timepiece that can reliably prevent erroneous operation of a switch, can easily understand the operation of the switch, and can reduce operation mistakes.

[Points of the Invention] A digital display unit having a plurality of switches and a digital display device on an upper surface is freely retractable in a unit housing portion of a watch case, and a part of the plurality of switches is pulled out at a first position where the switch is pulled out. The switch can be operated, and further, all the plurality of switches can be operated in the second position where the switch is pulled out, and the information of different functions is displayed in each of the first position and the second position, Moreover, the function displayed by the exposed switch of the plurality of switches can be controlled at each position.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 (A) to (C) show an electronic wrist watch. This electronic wrist watch 1 is provided with an analog clock section 2 and a digital clock section 3, and the analog clock section 2 is inside the analog storage section 4a inside the watch case 4, and the digital clock section 3 is inside the digital storage section 4b. Each is stored.

The watch case 4 is made of synthetic resin, and has watch bands 4c and 4c integrally formed at the front and rear ends thereof. A watch glass 5 is attached to the upper surface by a bezel 6, and an analog storage section 4a and an analog storage section 4a are provided inside. Digital storage parts 4b are formed side by side in front and back (up and down in FIG. 1 (B)), and a back cover 7 is attached to the back surface (right side in FIG. 1) by means of screws 7a. There is. In this case, the analog clock part 2 and the digital clock part 3 partially overlap each other, and the lower right corner of the watch glass 5 is cut out in a substantially triangular shape, and the cut lower right opening component 4d.
A part of the digital clock section 3 can be seen from. In addition, each storage portion 4a for storing each clock device 2 and 3,
4b is opened to the back side and is closed by the back cover 7. In this case, in particular, the above-mentioned lower right opening portion 4d and the side portion of the digital storage portion 4b are opened, and a part of the digital timepiece portion 3 can be retracted from the timepiece 4 from the opened side portion. It is designed to be pulled out to.

The analog timepiece unit 2 moves the hands 9 to indicate the time, and as shown in FIG. 1 (B), the analog block 10 is fixed in the analog storage unit 4a by the pressing ring 10a, and the upper surface thereof. Dial 11 on the left side of the figure
Is arranged, the pointer shaft 10b of the analog block 10 projects above the dial 11, and the projected pointer shaft 10b
A pointer 9 is attached to b so that it can be moved. in this case,
The dial 11 is larger than the analog storage portion 4a, and a part of the dial 11 is digital storage portion 4 as shown in FIGS.
It is arranged so as to overlap with b, and the pointer 9 moves the needle above it. A crown 12 is provided so as to project from the side surface of the analog storage portion 4a to the outside of the timepiece case 4, and the time of the analog timepiece portion 2 is corrected by this crown 12.

On the other hand, the digital timepiece unit 3 displays the time electro-optically, and as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, the case 13 is arranged in the digital storage unit 4b. The case 13 slides along the front and rear walls inside the digital storage section 4b,
The right side of the case 13 protrudes into and out of the watch case 4, and the upper part of the case 13 has a triangular part 13a corresponding to the lower right opening part 4d of the analog timepiece part 2 and the watch glass 5 substantially on the same plane. The height is so high as to be one, and the other portions are formed one step lower, and a protective glass 14 is provided on the upper surface of these portions in the direction of movement of the case 13. The protective glass 14 protects a liquid crystal display device 15 which will be described later, and has an opening 4 at the lower right.
The portion corresponding to d (the right side in FIG. 1C) is formed thick, and the other portion (the left side) is formed thin. Also,
A liquid crystal display device 15, a circuit board 16, a battery 17 and the like are arranged inside the protective glass 14. Liquid crystal display device 15
Indicates the time and the like, and is arranged corresponding to the inner surface of the protective glass 14 and electrically connected to the circuit board 16 by the interconnector 15a. The circuit board 16 not only supplies a drive signal to the liquid crystal display device 15 but also a drive signal to the analog block 10 of the analog timepiece unit 2, and a crystal oscillator 18, a trimmer / capacitor 19, an LSI 20 etc. The components are provided and are electrically connected to the analog block 10. The battery 17 supplies power to the circuit board 16, and both electrodes thereof are connected to the circuit board 16.

Further, the digital clock section 3 has a mode changeover switch 21 and a key switch section 2 as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
Equipped with 2. Mode switch 21 is case 13
The mode of the digital timepiece unit 3 is switched according to the pulling out operation of the digital clock section 3, and as shown in FIG. 3, it is provided with three operators 21a, 21b and 21c and is provided on the side surface of the case 13. That is, the operators 21a, 21b, 21c
The inner ends are elastically urged by the leaf springs 23, respectively, and the inner end portions of the case 13 project in and out from the side wall of the case 13 according to the pulling-out operation of the case 13, as shown in FIG. 2 (A). When the digital timepiece unit 3 is stored in the digital storage unit 4b as described above, as shown in FIG. 3 (A), the tips of the operators 21a, 21b, and 21c are located in the case 1.
3 protrudes from the side wall to the outside, and the protruding tips are inserted into the recesses 4b ₁ , 4 ₂ , 4 ₃ formed in the wall surface of the digital storage portion 4b of the watch case 4, and the opposite inner end portion is inside the case 13. Contact electrodes 16a, 1 provided on the circuit board 16 of
6b and 16c are separated from each other, and three operators 21a and 21 are provided.
b and 21c are turned off. In this state, the mode changeover switch 21 is in the date-day of the week mode, and the mode is changed as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the liquid crystal display device 15 displays the day of the week and the date. In addition, as shown in FIG.
Pull out one step from inside the digital storage 4b
As the control elements 21a, 21b, 21c move in the same direction as the control element 3 moves, the tip of the right control element 21c is pushed by the wall surface in the digital storage section 4b as shown in FIG. 3 (B). , The opposite inner end is the contact electrode 1 on the right side of the circuit board 16.
6c is brought into conduction and turned on, and the other operators 21a, 21
In b, the respective tips are inserted into the adjacent recesses 4b ₂ and 4b ₃ , and the opposite inner ends are the contact electrodes 16a, 16 of the circuit board 16.
It is turned off by separating from b. In this state, the mode changeover switch 21 is in the alarm mode, and FIG.
As shown in, the liquid crystal display device 15 displays the alarm display and the alarm time. Further, as shown in FIG. 2 (C), when the digital timepiece unit 3 is pulled out from the digital storage unit 4b by two stages, the operators 21a, 21b and 21c are further moved as the case 13 moves, as described above. Move and third
As shown in FIG. 6B, the tips of the operators 21b and 21c on the right side are pushed by the wall surface inside the digital storage section 4b, and the opposite inner ends are the contact electrodes 16b on the right side of the circuit board 16,
Turned ON by conduction 16c, another operating element 21a is inserted its leading end in the recess 4b ₃ next, the inner end of the opposite turned OFF at a distance from the contact electrodes 16a of the circuit board 16. In this state, the mode change switch 21 is set to the stopwatch mode, and the start state at the stopwatch time is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 15 as shown in FIG. 2 (C).

The key switch unit 22 is composed of three types of switches, that is, a select switch 22a, a set switch 22b, and a correction switch 22c.
The switch 22a to 22c is hidden when the digital timepiece unit 3 is housed in the digital housing unit 4b as shown in FIG. 2A, as shown in FIG. As shown in (C), when the digital clock section 3 is pulled out from the digital storage section 4b by one stage, the switch 22
switch 22a when a and 22b are pulled out in two stages
~ 22c is exposed. The select switch 22a and the set switch 22b are the liquid crystal display device 1
It is for correcting the time data displayed in 5, and is used to set the alarm time in the state of FIG. 2 (B). The select switch 22a selects and designates a digit, blinks the designated digit, and the set switch 22b adds +1 to the blinked digit. That is, in the alarm mode (state of FIG. 2B) in which the digital clock unit 3 is pulled out by one stage, the select switch 22
As shown in FIG. 4, each time the button is pressed, the digit of the alarm time is sequentially advanced and the hour digit, minute digit, etc. are displayed in blinking, and the set switch 22b is displayed in the blinking digit every time it is pressed. +1 is sequentially added to correct the alarm time, and in the stopwatch mode (state of FIG. 2 (C)) in which the digital clock unit 3 is pulled out in two stages,
The select switch 22a is used to start / stop the stopwatch, and the set switch 22b is used to clear the measured value. When the correction switch 22c is pressed in the state shown in FIG. 2 (C) in which the digital clock unit 3 is pulled out by two stages, the current time is corrected (time, month) as in the alarm mode described above. Day,
Day of the week). Correction switch 22
c is for switching between the stopwatch mode and the time display mode for displaying the current time, and is exposed only when the digital clock unit 3 is in the stopwatch mode (FIG. 2 (C)) with two stages pulled out. Press once in this state to switch to the time display mode, display the current time, and press it again to switch to the stopwatch mode.

Next, the circuit configuration of the electronic wrist watch 1 as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

The oscillator circuit (OSC) 24 divides the oscillation signal by a frequency divider (DI
V) 25 and the frequency is divided by the frequency dividing circuit 25. Of the frequency-divided signals output from the frequency dividing circuit 25, a 1 Hz signal is given to the motor drive circuit 26 of the analog timepiece unit 2 to drive the analog block 10 to move the hands 9 and the digital timepiece unit 3 as well. It is also given to the time counting circuit 27. The time counting circuit 27 counts based on the 1 Hz signal from the frequency dividing circuit 25, and the time data is displayed by the display switching circuit 28.
And the match detection circuit 29. The display switching circuit 28 switches the display of the liquid crystal display device 15 to three types of day / date display, alarm display and stopwatch display based on the mode switching signal from the mode switching circuit 30.
The time display is switched by a time correction mode signal from the input control unit 31 described later. The mode changeover circuit 30 outputs 3 from the mode changeover switch 21 depending on the state in which the digital clock section 3 is pulled out from the digital storage section 4b.
A kind of signal is given, and based on this signal, a mode switching signal is given to the display switching circuit 28, and at the same time, the input control unit 3
A switching signal is also given to 1. The input control unit 31 receives a switching signal from the mode switching circuit 30 and also has a key switch unit 22 provided on the case 13 of the digital timepiece unit 3.
3 types of switch signals are provided from the time counting circuit 27 and the alarm time storage circuit 32 based on these signals.
In addition to outputting the digit select signal and the +1 set signal, the start / stop signal and the clear signal are output to the stopwatch circuit 33, and the time adjustment mode signal is output to the display switching circuit 28.

Then, the time counting circuit 27 normally outputs the time data to the display switching circuit 2 based on the 1 Hz signal from the frequency dividing circuit 25.
8 and the coincidence detection circuit 29, and FIG.
As shown in, while the digital clock unit 3 is stored in the digital storage unit 4b, the day of the week / date is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 15. That is, when the digital timepiece device 3 is housed in the digital housing portion 4b, the operators 21a, 21b, 21c of the mode changeover switch 21 are turned off, and the switch signal is given to the mode changeover circuit 30 and the mode changeover circuit 30. From the date / day of the week mode signal to the display switching circuit 28
Of the time data output to the display switching circuit 28, the day of the week / date is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 15.

The alarm time storage circuit 32 gives the stored alarm time data to the coincidence detection circuit 29 and the display switching circuit 28, and the alarm time data given to the coincidence detection circuit 29 is the time given by the time counting circuit 27. When the data coincides with the data, a coincidence signal is output from the coincidence detection circuit 29 to the buzzer drive circuit 34, and an alarm sound is emitted from the speaker 35. Further, the alarm time data given to the display switching circuit 28 is pulled out by one stage from the digital storage unit 4b of the digital clock unit 3 as shown in FIG. When the display switching circuit 28 switches to the alarm display, the alarm time is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 15. Moreover, in this state, the select switch 22 of the key switch unit 22
When a and the set switch 22b are operated, a digit select signal and a +1 set signal are output from the input control unit 31 to the alarm time storage circuit 32, and the alarm time storage circuit 32 outputs the stored alarm time based on these signals. The corrected alarm time data is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 15 via the display switching circuit 28.

The stopwatch circuit 29 is 1/1 times the frequency divider circuit 25.
A signal of 00 Hz is given, and the time counting information of the stopwatch is given to the display switching circuit 28 based on this signal, but normally it is not displayed on the liquid crystal display device 15, and the digital clock unit 3 is moved from the digital storage unit 4b. When the display switching circuit 28 is pulled out in two stages and the display switching circuit 28 is switched to the stopwatch display by the mode switching signal from the mode switching circuit 30, "00;00;00" is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 15. Further, when the digital clock section 3 is pulled out from the digital storage section 4b in two stages in this way, the mode switching circuit 30
A function switching signal to the input control section 31 to switch the functions of the select switch 22a and the set switch 22b of the key switch section 22.
The start / stop signal is output based on the operation a, and the clear signal is output based on the operation of the set switch 22b. In this state, the key switch unit 22
When the select switch 22a of is pressed once to turn it on,
A start signal is given from the input control section 31 to the stopwatch circuit 29, whereby the stopwatch circuit 2
9 starts counting, and the information is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 15 via the display switching circuit 28. Then, when the select switch 22a is pressed again and turned on, the stop signal from the input control unit 31 is sent to the stopwatch circuit 2 this time.
9, the stopwatch circuit 29 stops counting, and the liquid crystal display device 15 displays the counting result (measured value). In addition, the set switch 22 of the key switch unit 22
When b is pressed, a clear signal is given from the input control unit 31 to the stopwatch circuit 29, the counting result of the stopwatch circuit 29 is cleared, and the liquid crystal display device 15 displays the initial state of the stopwatch “00: 00; 00”. Is displayed. On the other hand, the correction switch 2 of the key switch unit 22
When 2c is pressed, the display switching circuit 28 enters the time adjustment mode in response to the time adjustment mode signal from the input control unit 31, and the liquid crystal display device 15 displays the time data such as the current time, month, day and day of the week. When the select switch 22a and the set switch 22b of the key switch unit 22 are operated, the digit select signal and the +1 set signal are given from the input control unit 31 to the time counting circuit 27, and the time can be adjusted. That is, when the select switch 22a and the set switch 22b are operated in this state, the time data such as the current time, the month and day, and the day of the week of the time counting circuit 27 is obtained based on the digit select signal and the +1 set signal from the input control section 31. The corrected time data is corrected and the display switching circuit 2
8 is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 15. After the time is adjusted, if the correction switch 22c is pressed again, the mode is switched to the stopwatch mode. In this state, if the digital clock section 3 is housed in the digital housing section 4b, the display switching circuit 28 switches to the date / day mode. Switching, liquid crystal display device 15
The date and day of the week are displayed on.

However, according to the electronic timepiece configured as described above,
The digital clock section 3 is placed in the digital storage section 4b of the clock case 4.
Since it is housed so that it can appear and disappear, the display mode (watch face), appearance shape, design, etc. of the entire timepiece changes, and it is possible to provide an electronic wristwatch with a new image that has never existed before. In particular, when the digital timepiece unit 3 is stored in the digital storage unit 4b of the timepiece case 4, only part of the digital timepiece unit 3 is exposed from the lower right opening 4d of the timepiece case 4, so The exposed portion of the digital timepiece unit 3 in is reduced, and a high-class feeling can be obtained as a combination watch. Moreover, since the analog timepiece unit 2 and the digital timepiece unit 3 partially overlap each other, the entire timepiece can be made compact, and the display portion of either one (the analog timepiece unit 2 in this embodiment) is enlarged. be able to. In addition, the digital timepiece unit 3 can be provided with a large number of switches such as the mode switching switch 21 and the key switch unit 22 and the like, so that the digital timepiece unit 3 can be provided with multiple functions. Also, when the digital clock unit 3 is stored in the digital storage unit 4b,
Since the various switches provided in the digital timepiece unit 3 are completely hidden without being exposed to the outside, it is possible to reduce the number of switches in appearance and to make the appearance of a simple timepiece. You can make a sense. Further, the number of display digits of the liquid crystal display device 15 of the digital timepiece unit 3 changes according to the pulling-out operation of the digital timepiece unit 3, and the mode information corresponding to the pulling-out state can be read satisfactorily and promptly.

In addition, the mode switch 21 and the key switch unit 2
As described above, since various switches such as 2 are hidden in the digital storage portion 4b of the watch case 4 so as to be able to appear and disappear, it is possible to surely prevent erroneous operation of the switch without accidentally operating the switch while carrying. . In particular, since the mode changeover switch 21 is automatically changed over in accordance with the pulling out operation of the digital timepiece section 3, the operation can be easily and surely switched over. Further, only the necessary switches of the key switch unit 22 are exposed according to the pull-out state (mode) of the digital timepiece unit 3, so that the operability is good, there are few operation mistakes, and erroneous input can be prevented.

In the above-described embodiment, the digital clock unit 3 is pulled out from the digital storage unit 4b, so that
Although the key switch unit 22 for controlling the clock is displayed, the switch for controlling the analog clock unit 2 may be displayed.

Further, although the key switch unit 22 is made to appear by pulling out the digital timepiece unit 3, the analog timepiece unit 2 is constructed so that it can be pulled out and the analog timepiece unit 2 is provided with the above-mentioned key switch unit, whereby The key switch unit may appear in response to the pulling operation of the unit 2.

Further, not limited to the digital timepiece unit 3 and the analog timepiece unit 2, a moving plate that goes in and out from the inside is provided in the timepiece case 4, and a key switch unit is provided on this moving plate so that the moving plate can be pulled out. The key switch units may appear in sequence.

The input switch is not limited to the key switch as described above, and may be a touch switch, a handwriting input switch, or the like.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the combination watch as described above, and both of them are an analog clock section,
Both may be provided with a digital timepiece unit or three or more timepiece devices, and are not limited to wristwatches,
It can be widely applied to other watches such as pendant watches.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the input device of the electronic timepiece of the invention, since the moving body is provided in the timepiece main body and the switches are made to sequentially appear according to the movement of the moving body, Since the switch does not appear outside, it is simple in appearance and design, it can give a high-class feeling, and since the switch can be exposed to the outside when necessary, erroneous operation of the switch It is possible to surely prevent it, the switch operation is easy to understand, the operation procedure is easy, and the operation error can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electronic wrist watch. FIG. 1 (A) is an external plan view thereof, FIG. 1 (B) is an AA sectional view, and FIG. 1 (C) is BB cross-sectional view, FIG. 2 shows the use state, FIG. 2 (A) is an external plan view of the state in which the digital timepiece unit is stored, and FIG. 2 (B) shows the digital timepiece unit pulled out one step. Fig. 2 (C), which is a plan view of the main part of the state
Is a plan view of the main part with the digital clock section pulled out two steps,
FIG. 3 shows a mode selector switch, FIG. 3 (A) is a sectional view in the date / day of the week mode, FIG. 3 (B) is a sectional view in the alarm mode, and FIG. C) is a cross-sectional view in the state of the stopwatch mode, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing operation specifications of the digital timepiece unit, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration. 1 ... Electronic wristwatch, 2 ... Analog clock section, 3 ... Digital clock section, 4 ... Watch case, 4a ... Analog storage section, 4b ... Digital storage section, 22 ... Key switch section, 22a ... Select Switch, 22b ... Set switch, 22c ... Correction switch.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location H01H 15/16 B 9059-5G

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A timepiece case in which a dial is arranged on the upper surface and a side surface is opened to form a unit accommodating portion, and an analog timepiece portion arranged inside the timepiece case for moving a pointer on the dial. A first position which is provided with a plurality of switches and a digital display device on an upper surface and is housed in the unit housing part of the watch case and is pulled out from the unit housing part so that a part of the plurality of switches can be operated. And this first
Display unit that can be pulled out to a second position in which all of the plurality of switches can be operated by further pulling out from the position, and information of different functions at the first position and the second position is digitally displayed. Display switching control means for switching and displaying on the device, and a function of displaying information on the digital display device at the first position and the second position can be controlled by an exposed switch of the plurality of switches. An input device for an electronic timepiece, comprising: