JPH07318666A - Electronic clock mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an electronic clock mechanism in which the pointing position can be detected with low power consumption through a normal moving operation without requiring any special optical semiconductor element. CONSTITUTION:Transmission of driving force from a first motor 101 is stopped at the rotational position of a first hand 110 and the load to be transmitted decreases. When a first load decrease detecting circuit 207 detects that state, the position of the hand can be detected and the auxiliary driving force from a second motor 102 prevents the hand from being stopped at the time of detecting the hand position. Transmission of the auxiliary driving force to the first hand 110 can also be stopped depending on the rotational position thereof and thereby a second hand 126 can be driven independently from the stop control of the first hand 110.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the construction of an electronic timepiece,
In particular, the present invention relates to an electronic timepiece mechanism having a pointer position detection function and a power consumption control pointer stop function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, a timepiece has been put into practical use, which receives an external radio wave containing time information and corrects the display time of hands according to the time information.

In such a time adjustment timepiece, when the timepiece is completely stopped, that is, in the state where the battery is not powered, the timepiece is automatically turned on after the power is turned on without the manual time adjustment. It is necessary to count the difference between the time displayed by the clock and the actual time.

In order to count the time difference, at least the reference position of the hands is held unless the hands themselves hold the stop position information of the hands indicating where the hands were displaying when the time was stopped. One must be able to detect.

Conventionally, in order to detect the position of the pointer, an optical means such as providing a slit or a portion having a reflectance different from that of the surroundings in a gear connected to the pointer and detecting the position with an element such as a photocoupler, Mechanical means such as providing mechanical contacts on the teeth of a gear and detecting electrical continuity at that point is used.

[0006]

However, considering that the mechanical contact has low reliability, the light emitting element generally has high power consumption of several mA, and the average current consumption of the timepiece is several μA, the power consumption is reduced. It's not a very good way to go.

An object of the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks, realize a low power consumption and highly reliable pointer position detecting function, and further control the power consumption of the electronic timepiece to stop the pointer of the electronic timepiece. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism of an electronic timepiece capable of having the same function on the same mechanism.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, the timepiece mechanism of the present invention employs the following means.

The electronic timepiece mechanism of the present invention drives the time display hands, the time counting means for counting the reference oscillation signal to obtain the reference time information, and the time display hands corresponding to the time information of the time counting means. The first driving source and the time display hands lose the transmission of the driving force from the first driving source at a predetermined rotational position during the movement of the hands, and the driving load on the first driving source side is lost. A first pointer drive gear train configured to cause a reduction;
Load detection circuit that detects a load decrease that occurs on the first drive source side of the second drive source, and a second drive source and a pointer auxiliary drive that auxiliary drive the time display hands when the transmission of the driving force is lost. A gear train is provided, and the rotational position of the time display hands can be detected without stopping the hand movement according to a change in the load detected by the load drop detection circuit.

[0010]

In the present invention, there are two drive sources for the pointer to be controlled. Then, the transmission of the driving force from one of the drive sources is stopped by the rotational position with the pointer, and the transmission load is reduced.

Therefore, if the load drop detection circuit detects the load drop state, the pointer position can be detected, and the auxiliary drive force from the other drive source prevents the pointer from being stopped when the pointer position is detected. be able to.

Further, in the present invention, since the transmission of the above-mentioned auxiliary driving force can be stopped, the second drive source can drive another pointer while controlling the stop of the hand movement.

Moreover, by realizing these control operations on the same mechanism, means for correcting the hands to the internal and external time information and stopping the hands for the purpose of reducing the power consumption of the entire timepiece. Is obtained.

Further, since the pointer position is detected by a normal hand movement operation, it is possible to perform processing with low power consumption without using an optical semiconductor element which has been conventionally required.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 illustrate the configuration of an electronic timepiece according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of an electronic timepiece according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an electronic timepiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a timepiece, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state when a toothless portion and a pointer position are detected, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a time when the pointer is stopped. FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram of a circuit showing a control circuit of the electronic timepiece according to the embodiment of the invention. 6 to 10 are drawings for explaining the detection operation of the load drop detection circuit, FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing the load drop detection portion, and FIG. 7 is a drive circuit at the time of driving and at the time of load drop detection. 8 to FIG. 10 are waveform diagrams showing waveforms of respective parts at the time of load drop detection, FIG. 8 shows a steady state, FIG. 9 shows a large load, and FIG. 10 shows the state at the time of load reduction.

First, the circuit configuration for controlling the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The electronic timepiece mechanism of the embodiment of the present invention is controlled by the control circuit shown in the block circuit diagram of FIG. First, the connection of the constituent elements of the control circuit will be described, and then each element of the control circuit will be described.

In the control circuit of the electronic timepiece according to the present invention, the oscillation frequency divider 201 has the drive waveform generator 205 and the central processing unit 206.
Drive waveform generator 2
05 is connected to the first drive circuit 203 and the second drive circuit 204 to send a motor drive waveform, and the first drive circuit 20
3 is connected to the first motor 101 and the second drive circuit 204 is connected to the second motor 102 to convert the drive waveform into a mechanical drive force.

The first load drop detection circuit 207 is connected to the first motor 101, and the second load drop detection circuit 208 is connected to the second motor 102.

Then, the load states of the first motor 101 and the second motor 102 are detected, and the detection outputs of the first load drop detection circuit 207 and the second load drop detection circuit 208 are centrally processed. It connects to the device 206.

The central processing unit 206 judges the state of the electronic timepiece from the motor load state, and as a result sends a necessary command to the drive waveform generator 205.

Next, each element of the control circuit of the electronic timepiece according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The electronic timepiece of the invention is the first
Has a first motor 101 as a driving source and a second motor 102 as a second driving source.

The motors of the first motor 101 and the second motor 102 drive the train wheel of the electronic timepiece to drive the hands which are time display means.

Further, the electronic timepiece of the present invention oscillates a quartz oscillator as a time measuring means and divides the oscillation period by a power of 2, and an oscillation frequency divider 201, and a period obtained by the oscillation frequency divider 201. A drive waveform generator 205 that synthesizes a plurality of different signals to output two types of independent drive waveforms for driving the first motor 101 and for driving the second motor, and a current that flows to the step motor according to the drive waveform. A first drive circuit 203 and a second drive circuit 204 for turning on and off.

The first drive circuit 203 drives the first motor 101, and the second drive circuit 204 drives the second motor 102 independently.

Further, since the first motor 101 and the second motor 102 detect the load state applied to the motors,
The first load drop detection circuit 207 and the second load drop detection circuit 208 are independently connected.

The central processing unit 206 includes an oscillation frequency divider 201.
It operates by receiving one of the oscillation signals obtained by the above as an operation clock.

In addition, the first load drop detection circuit 207 and the second load drop detection circuit 207
The load state or operation of the step motor is obtained from the signal from the load reduction detection circuit 208 of No. 1, and the necessity of the compensating operation such as stopping the driving of the next step motor or changing the waveform is determined, and the compensating operation is performed. The command is sent to the drive waveform generator 205.

Further, the central processing unit 206 is a counter for counting and storing the timing of signals with the first load drop detection circuit 207, the second load drop detection circuit 208 and the oscillation frequency divider 201. It has 202 inside.

Next, the train wheel mechanism of the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

The first pointer driving gear train is a fifth wheel & pinion 105.
And the first gear 109.

The first guideline auxiliary drive gear train is the intermittent wheel 1
17, the free wheel 114, and the second gear 110.

The second pointer driving gear train is an intermittent wheel 117.
And a third wheel 122 and a second pointer wheel 125.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic timepiece according to the embodiment of the present invention has a dial 127, a base plate 128, and a train wheel receiver 129, and a gear train wheel is formed with the base plate 128 as a base.

Further, the train wheel receiver 129 supports the gear train and has a role of fixing these gear trains to the main plate 128.

The dial 127 is provided with a time display scale so that the time pointed by the hands can be identified.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the first motor 101 which is the first drive source of the present invention and the second motor 102 which is the second drive source are In order to transmit the driving force to another train wheel, the rotation shaft of the first motor 101 is provided with the first motor pinion 103, and the second motor 10
Each of the two rotation shafts is provided with a second motor pinion 104.

The first pointer wheel 108 is driven by the first motor pinion 103 and the fifth wheel 105, or by the second motor pinion 104 through the intermittent wheel 117 and the free wheel 114.
Alternatively, the first motor kana 103 and the second motor kana 1
Drive from both 04.

The rotation of the first pointer wheel 108 is the rotation of the first pointer 113 as it is, and the first pointer 113 displays the time.

Further, the second motor 102 includes an intermittent vehicle 1
The second pointer wheel 125 is connected via the 17 and 3rd wheel 122, and the rotation of the second pointer wheel 125 remains unchanged from the second pointer wheel 125.
The second hand 126, which is the time display hand, is rotated, and the second hand 126 also displays the time.

The first motor kana 103 is the fifth kana 10
A fifth wheel & pinion 10 configured by integrally combining the sixth and fifth gears 107
The fifth gear 107 and the fifth gear 107 are meshed and connected.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the fifth pinion 106 meshes with the first hand wheel 108, which is formed by integrating the first gear 109 and the second gear 110, with the first gear 109. It is connected.

The broken line provided on the first gear 109 in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 is used to illustrate the second gear 110 hidden under the first gear 109 and invisible. It is a thing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first gear 109 has a first tooth-missing portion in which a minimum number of teeth required for the fifth pinion 106 to be idle and not rotate at one position on the circumference is removed. 111
Have.

Further, when this idle rotation occurs, the first gear 109 rotates, and the first gear 109 rotates, so that the tooth adjacent to the first toothless portion 111 hits the tooth of the fifth pinion 106,
It is configured so that the mesh can be restored.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4,
The first pointer wheel 108 is provided with a first pointer 113 which is a first time display pointer at the tip of the shaft. Then, the first pointer 108 displays the time.

On the other hand, the intermittent wheel 117 is constructed by integrating a continuous pinion 119 having ordinary teeth, a continuous gear 120, and an intermittent pinion 118 having toothless portions at equal intervals on the circumference. The motor pinion 104 is meshed with and connected to the intermittent wheel 117 and the continuous gear 120.

Further, the intermittent pinion 118 is a free wheel 114 in which the free gear 116 and the free wheel pinion 115 are integrally formed.
And a free gear 116.

However, here, the intermittent pinion 118 and the free gear 116, like the first gear 109 and the fifth pinion 106, have all the teeth of the free gear 116 of the intermittent pinion 118 even if the free wheel 114 rotates. The intermittent pinion missing tooth portions 121 existing in the circumference idle, and the driving force from the free wheel 114 causes the intermittent pinion 11 to move.
Not transmitted to 8.

On the contrary, depending on the rotation of the intermittent wheel 117, the tooth adjacent to the intermittent pinion missing tooth portion 121 may move to the free gear 116.
The driving force is transmitted to the free wheel 114 so that the driving force is transmitted to the free wheel 114.

Further, the free wheel pinion 115 meshes with and is connected to the second gear 110 of the first pointer wheel 108.

The second gear 110 is also the first gear 10
As with No. 9, the second number is the minimum number of teeth required for the free wheel pinion 115 to engage without slipping at one position on the circumference and to idle.
Has a toothless portion 112.

Further, when this idling occurs, the teeth of the first gear 109 adjacent to the second toothless portion 112 come into contact with the teeth of the free wheel pinion 115 due to the rotation of the first gear 109, and the meshing is achieved. It is configured to be able to return.

In the first indicator wheel 108, the first gear 109 and the second gear 110 are fixed to the shaft of the first indicator wheel 108.

At the positions of the toothless portions of the first gear 109 and the second gear 110, respectively, the first hand wheel 108 and the fifth wheel & pinion 105 are rotated and the fifth pinion 106 is at the first position. When the gear 109 and the first toothless portion 111 mesh with each other,
The second gear 110 is the free wheel can 1 of the free wheel 114 at the same time.
15 and the second toothless portion 112 are determined so as not to mesh with each other.

By fixing the first gear 109 and the second gear 110 to the first hand wheel 108 in this way,
The first hand wheel 108 prevents the transmission of the driving force from the two driving sources of the first motor 101 and the second motor 102 from being lost at the same time, so that the first gear 109 and the fifth wheel 10 can be prevented.
5, or at least one of the second gear 110 and the free wheel 114 is always meshed with teeth,
The pointer wheel 108 of the first motor 101 and the second motor 1
It is possible to receive the driving force of 02.

Further, although the first pointer wheel 108 rotates via the fifth wheel & pinion 105 by the step drive of the first motor 101, the second gear 110 of the first pointer wheel 108 is rotated.
In a certain step of one cycle of the first motor pinion 1 so that the second toothless portion 112 and the free wheel 114 just mesh with each other at the second toothless portion 112.
The tooth number ratio of 03, the fifth pinion 106, the fifth gear 107, and the first gear 109 is determined.

Further, in the electronic timepiece according to the embodiment of the present invention, the continuous pinion 119 of the intermittent wheel 117 is constructed by integrally integrating the third gear having normal teeth and the third pinion 123.
The number wheel 122 is meshed and connected by a third pinion 123.

A second pointer wheel 125 having ordinary teeth is meshed with and connected to the third gear 124, and a second time indicating pointer, which is a second pointer for time display, is attached to the tip of the shaft of the second pointer wheel 125. The pointer 126 is attached.

In the above description, the second motor 102 to the second pointer 126 are all meshed and connected by a gear having a normal tooth profile.

Therefore, every time the second motor 102 is driven, the second pointer 126 is always driven, and there is no driving force transmission in the opposite direction.

As described above, the first guideline 11
3 is driven and controlled by the first motor 101 and the second motor 102.
The pointer 113 is driven by the driving force of the first motor 101, the first pointer wheel 108 is rotating, and the first gear 109 meshes with the fifth pinion 106 and the first toothless portion 111. When the driving force of the first motor 101 is no longer transmitted to the first pointer wheel 108, the first pointer wheel 10
8 carries out the hand movement by the driving force of the second motor 102.

When the second motor 102 is driven, the second pointer 126 is moved simultaneously with the first pointer 113.

Next, the detection operation of the load drop detection portion including the load drop detection circuit used in the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10.

The load drop detection circuit 303 shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to either the first load drop detection circuit 207 or the second load drop detection circuit 208 in FIG.
5 corresponds to either the first motor 201 or the second motor 202 in FIG. 5, and the drive circuit 304 in FIG. 6 corresponds to the first motor 201 in FIG.
Of the drive circuit 203 or the second drive circuit 204.

The load drop detecting circuit 303 shown in FIG. 6 has the same function as the detecting circuit portion included in the load compensating circuit for a step motor which is widely used in electronic timepieces at present.

The load compensation circuit detects the load state applied to the motor from the shape of the induced voltage waveform generated in the coil after driving the step motor, and when the motor does not rotate, applies a large drive waveform to the motor to load the load. It is intended to prevent the stop due to.

First, the configuration of the components of the load drop detecting portion shown in FIG. 6 will be described. First, connection of circuit components will be described, and then each component will be described. Furthermore, the connection of the drive circuit at the time of load reduction detection will be described with reference to FIG. 7, and then the detection operation of the load reduction detection portion will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, the drive waveform generator 205 is connected to the drive circuit 304 to send the motor drive waveform, and the drive circuit 304 connects the step motor 301. To convert the drive waveform into a mechanical drive force.

Further, the load reduction detection circuit 303 is connected to detect the load state of the motor, and the detection output of the load reduction detection circuit 303 is connected to the central processing unit 206. Determine the condition. As a result, the necessary commands are issued to the drive waveform generator 2
Send to 05.

Next, each element of the load drop detecting portion in FIG. 6 will be described. In FIG. 6, the drive waveform generator 205
Generates a waveform required to drive the step motor and sends the drive waveform to the drive circuit 304 including four transistor switches.

The drive circuit 304 is connected to the drive coil 302 of the step motor 301, and a current is supplied to the drive coil 302 by the drive waveform generated by the drive waveform generator 205 to drive the step motor 301.

A load drop detection circuit 303 composed of a first buffer 306 and a second buffer 307.
Supplies the voltage signal at the left end 308 of the drive coil to the first buffer 306 and the voltage signal at the right end 309 of the drive coil to the second buffer 306.
Buffer 307, amplifies and outputs it. This amplified output is sent to a device such as the central processing unit 206 that performs a judgment process.

Next, the connection state of the drive circuit at the time of load reduction detection shown in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to the circuit diagram of FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a drive circuit 30 for driving a step motor or detecting an induced voltage waveform.
4 is a circuit diagram showing the connection state of No. 4 when driving the step motor, as shown in FIG. 7A or FIG. 7B, the left end 308 of the drive coil and the right end 309 of the drive coil.
Is connected to the high potential side by a transistor switch forming the drive circuit 304 or is grounded.

When the induced voltage generated in the drive coil 302 is detected, either the drive coil left end 308 or the drive coil right end 309 is grounded as shown in FIG. 7 (c) or FIG. 7 (d). The opposite side, which is not grounded, is connected to the first buffer 307 or the second buffer 308, and these buffers amplify and output the induced voltage.

Next, the waveform diagrams of the detection waveform buffer output of the induced voltage waveform shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 will be described.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 show waveforms at the non-grounded end of the drive coil such as the left end 308 of the drive coil of FIG. 7A or the right end 309 of the drive coil of FIG. 7B. 8 (b) in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 is a side not grounded such as the second buffer output 311 of FIG. 7 (c) or the first buffer output 310 of FIG. 7 (d). 3 is a buffer output waveform diagram in FIG.

Next, the load drop detection operation of the load drop detection circuit used in the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10. Since the operation itself of the load drop detection circuit used in the present invention is basically the same as the operation of the load compensation circuit, the operation of load compensation will be described first, and then the operation of load drop detection will be described.

In FIG. 6, the drive circuit 304 supplies a current to the drive coil 302 according to the drive waveform from the drive waveform generator 205 to drive the step motor 301. The circuit connection state during the drive is shown in FIG. Alternatively, as shown in (b), one end of the drive coil 302 has a high potential and the other end is grounded, so a current flows from the high potential side to the ground side to the drive coil 302 to drive the step motor 301.

Immediately after driving the step motor 301, in a normal time when the rotor is not subjected to a load such as impact, free damping vibration is performed until the rotor of the step motor 301 stands still. Causes an induced voltage.

At this time, the connection state of the circuit of FIG. 6 is shown in FIG.
From FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C or from FIG. 7B to FIG.
As in (d), the end that was at high potential during driving is grounded, and the end that was grounding during driving is connected only to the buffer.

By making such a circuit connection, the induced voltage on the non-grounded side of the drive coil 302 is
Buffer 306 or the second buffer 307 of FIG.

FIG. 8A shows the induced voltage waveform of the drive coil 302, and FIG. 8B shows the output waveform of the buffer connected to the side not grounded.

On the other hand, when a large load due to impact or vibration is applied to the rotor, the rotor does not rotate, so that no induced voltage waveform is generated as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b).

The load compensating operation detects the occurrence of this induced voltage every time the motor is driven, and when there is an induced voltage,
That is, when the load is large, the drive circuit 304 applies a drive waveform larger than usual to the step motor to increase the drive current.

When the step motor obtains this large driving force, the step motor operates stably without stopping due to impact or vibration.

Particularly in the embodiment of the present invention, the central processing unit 2
Using a determination device such as 06, the load drop detection circuit 303 detects that no induced voltage is generated in the drive coil 302 when the rotor is not rotated due to impact or vibration, and the central processing is performed. If the device 206 can instruct the drive waveform generator 205 to output a large drive waveform for correction to the drive circuit 304, the central processing unit 2
06, load drop detection circuit 303, and drive waveform generator 205
A conventional load compensating circuit can be configured with.

Next, the detection operation of the load drop detection circuit used in the present invention will be described. In the wheel train structure of the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention, the connection of the gears is the meshing of the teeth, but the connection is changed to the connection by the toothless portion, and the gear idles at the portion of the toothless portion.

Therefore, the number of gears connected to the pinion of the rotor of the motor on the drive source side is substantially reduced, and the load applied to the motor is reduced accordingly.

When the load is reduced, the rotation of the rotor is faster than in the normal state, and as shown in FIG. 10, the induced voltage waveform (a) and the buffer output waveform (b) due to the free damping vibration also change with time. Occur quickly.

Therefore, if the induced voltage from after the rotor is driven to when the rotor is stationary is detected and it is determined whether the temporal position corresponds to the normal load or earlier than the normal load, it is determined whether the load has decreased. Can be detected.

Moreover, this judgment can be easily made by a judgment device such as the central processing unit 206.

As described above, the load drop detection circuit 3 shown in FIG.
03 itself can be present in a conventional load compensation circuit and is therefore easy to implement.

Moreover, since the load compensation function itself is not impaired, the motor can be stably driven even if the load compensation and the load drop detection are simultaneously operated in the same step.

Further, similarly to the load compensating circuit, the load drop detection does not require an amplifier with large power consumption such as an operational amplifier, so almost no power consumption is required, and the load drop detection operation can always be performed.

Next, the entire operation when the embodiment of the present invention is applied to an electronic timepiece using a step motor as a motor will be described by alternately using FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. . First, the operation at the time of starting will be described.

When this mechanism is started, the central processing unit 206 starts the internal counter 202 as shown in FIG. 5, and simultaneously operates the first load drop detection circuit 207.

Further, the first drive circuit 203 drives the first motor 101 step by step, and the central processing unit 206 increments the counter 202 at each step.

As a result, the fifth wheel 10 as shown in FIG.
While 5 is not connected by the first toothless portion 111 of the first gear 109, the first pointer 113 keeps the first motor 101
Receiving the driving force of.

During hand movement, the free wheel 114 is also driven by driving the first pointer wheel 108, but since the free wheel 114 idles at the intermittent wheel pinion missing portion 121,
The wheel train that the motor 101 of FIG. 1 has to drive is only the fifth wheel & pinion 105 and the first hand wheel 108, the load of the first motor 101 is small, and the first drive circuit 203 transfers the first motor 101 to the first motor 101. There is no need to supply much current.

However, after a certain step, as shown in FIG. 3, the fifth wheel & pinion 105 once becomes the first pointer wheel 108's first wheel 108.
When the toothless portion 111 is connected, the driving force is not transmitted from the first motor 101 to the first indicator wheel 108.

Therefore, when the first motor 101 is operated in the next step, the fifth wheel & pinion 105 will idle.
At this time, the number of gears that are loads on the first motor 101 is decreasing. Therefore, the first load drop detection circuit 2
07 can detect this condition.

The load drop information detected by the first load drop detection circuit 207 is sent to the central processing unit 206.

However, the load drop information is such that the first tooth-missing portion 111 is only one position on the circumference with respect to the fifth wheel & pinion 105, and therefore the rotational position of the first pointer wheel 108, that is, the first Is equal to the information that the pointer 113 is displaying a certain time.

The central processing unit 206 resets and restarts the internal counter 202 based on this information.

Immediately after the load reduction is detected, the second drive circuit 204 drives the second motor 102 once by one step until the next step.

This driving force rotates the second pointer 126 via the third wheel & pinion 122 and the second pointer wheel 125.

However, at the same time, the intermittent vehicle 113 and the free vehicle 11
Since the first pointer wheel 108 is driven through No. 4, the hand movement of the first pointer 113 is performed without delay, and the first toothless portion 111 of the first pointer wheel 108 is still moved to cause normal meshing. Returns.

However, at the time of this restoration, an excessive impact is applied to the tooth portions of the fifth wheel 105, the first gear 109, and the free wheel 114, so that the second motor 102 is driven in order to avoid damage to the teeth. If the first motor 101 is driven together, the meshing between the first gear 109 and the fifth wheel & pinion 105 can be restored smoothly.

At this time, the first motor 101 is appropriately set to the timing of the driving waveform and the driving of the second motor 102 so that the fifth wheel 105 and the first gear 109 are in contact with each other. Drive not to stop.

In order to avoid damage to the teeth, it is preferable to take measures such as gear material and shape having sufficient strength, for example, reinforcing with a disc.

After the engagement between the fifth wheel & pinion 105 and the first gear 109 is restored, the central processing unit 206 is further operated.
The operation at startup is completed by continuing the counting by and the step driving of the first motor 101.

Next, the normal operation of the electronic timepiece according to the embodiment of the present invention and the correcting operation of the first hands 113 will be described with reference to FIGS.

If the first motor 101 is further continuously step-driven as shown in FIG. 1 from the above-described start-up operation, the fifth wheel & pinion 105 and the first gear 1 are again returned as shown in FIG.
Since the first toothless portion 111 of No. 09 is in a connected state, the returning operation of the first toothless portion 111 at the time of starting is performed in the same manner.

Further, the value of the counter 202 at this time,
The first motor 1 required for the first pointer 113 to make one revolution
The central processing unit 206 is made to compare and calculate the number of steps of 01.

If there is no difference as a result of the comparison calculation, it is determined that the hand movement is normal, the counter 202 is reset, and the step drive of the first motor 101 and the counter 20 are again performed.
Continue counting 2.

If there is a difference as a result of the comparison operation,
If the hand movement is not normally performed due to load or impact, and the value of the counter 202 is larger, the driving of the first motor 101 is delayed by a step corresponding to that, and conversely the counter 2
When the value of 02 is small, the corresponding drive waveform is output from the first drive circuit 203, the first motor 101 is driven, and the first pointer 113 is corrected.

When the correction is completed, the counter 202 is immediately reset again and the step driving of the first motor 101 and the counting of the central processing unit 206 are continued.

By repeating the above operation, the normal hand movement and the correction of the first pointer 113 becomes possible.

Next, the operation of stopping the first hands 113 of the electronic timepiece according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

In the normal hand movement state as described above, the first
When stopping the pointer 113 of No. 5, the fifth wheel 105 and the first
How many steps are necessary from the point that the gear 109 of the above is connected by the first toothless portion 111 to the point that the free wheel 114 and the second gear 110 are connected by the second toothless portion 112. It is determined by the relative position of the first toothless portion 111 and the second toothless portion 112 in the first hand wheel 108.

Therefore, the fifth wheel & pinion 105 and the first toothless portion 1
After the first motor 101 is driven by the number of steps required until the free wheel 114 and the second toothless portion 112 are connected after the connection of 11 is restored, that is, when the state of FIG. The motor 101 is stopped.

However, even after the first motor 101 is stopped, the count of steps continues virtually inside the central processing unit 206, and the information when returning to the normal hand movement is maintained.

Now, after the first motor 101 is stopped while the free wheel 114 and the second toothless portion 112 are connected,
The second motor 102 may be driven to drive the pointer 126 of the first pointer wheel 10. However, this driving force causes the free wheel 114 to idle at the second toothless portion 112, so that the first pointer wheel 10 is driven.
8 is not affected.

Therefore, the first hand wheel 108 can be kept in a stopped state, and the power consumption of the entire electronic timepiece can be remarkably reduced because the first motor 101 does not have to be driven step by step. .

At this time, the free wheel 114 and the second toothless portion 11
If the first motor 101 is stopped in the state where 2 is correctly connected, when driving the second pointer 126, the first pointer wheel 108 and the fifth wheel & pinion 105 are loaded by the second motor 102. However, the load on the second motor 102 is reduced. Therefore, this can be detected by the second load drop detection circuit 208.

When the decrease in the load on the second motor 102 is detected, the central processing unit 206 determines that the first pointer wheel 108 is accurately in the stopped state, and the first pointer 113 is stopped. Continue the state.

However, conversely, the second motor 102
There may be a case where the second load reduction detection circuit 208 cannot detect the load reduction by the second motor 102 immediately after driving.

This phenomenon is firstly caused by load, shock and vibration.
When the pointer wheel 108 of the second wheel is illegally rotated and the first motor 101 is stopped, the free wheel 114 and the second gear 1
10 and 10 are in a state of being connected to each other except the second toothless portion 112.

As a result, this occurs because the second motor 102 loads all the train wheels including the first motor 101.

In this way, the second load drop detection circuit 208
Does not correctly detect the load reduction, the stop operation of the first pointer 113 has failed. Therefore, the stop failure state is temporarily returned to the normal hand movement state, and the first pointer 113 is returned again.
The procedure of trying to stop the pointer 113 is taken.

First, in response to this increase in load, the central processing unit 2
06 activates the load compensation function for the second motor 102.

Further, since the central processing unit 206 can reduce the load on the second motor 102 by driving the first motor 101 at the same time as this load compensation operation, the second pointer 126 is driven without delay. To be done.

Here, after driving the first motor 101 for the purpose of reducing the load on the second motor 102, the central processing unit 206 counts in the same way as in the normal state, and the first motor 101 is step-driven. Then, the first guideline 11
Although the display of 3 is not accurate, it is possible to temporarily return to the normal hand movement state.

If the first pointer 113 can be corrected as described above if it is temporarily returned to the normal hand movement state, this correction is performed and the above-mentioned first needle 113 is again made.
The series of operations until the motor 101 is stopped is performed again.

According to the procedure described above, the first guideline 1
The stopping operation of 13 can be performed accurately.

Next, the returning operation of the first hands 113 of the electronic timepiece according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

When the first hands 113 are stopped as shown in FIG. 4, when returning to normal hand movement, the virtual count value counted by the central processing unit 206 while the first motor 101 is stopped is When it becomes equal to the display when the pointer 113 of No. 1 is stopped, if the first motor 101 is started to be step driven, it is possible to return to normal hand movement.

The correct timing of this return operation can be obtained by the same procedure as the pointer correction operation.

In the above description, the first load drop detection circuit 207 is always operated during the movement of the hands, but the first load drop detection circuit 207 is stopped when it is not necessary except during the start-up to the normal time. It is also possible.

It is also possible to construct a timepiece in which a receiver for external radio waves containing time information is built into an electronic timepiece and the time is adjusted using this time information as a reference time.

In addition to the above, in the above description of the embodiment, the first hands 113 for controlling the position detection and stop of the hands are the only ones in the electronic timepiece, but the same mechanism is connected in plural and the control is performed. It is also possible to increase the guidelines to be taken.

Further, the central processing unit 206 in the above example
Is not limited to this, and can be configured by a logic circuit that can perform similar processing such as an up / down counter.

Especially, the first hand 113 is used as the second hand,
By selecting the second hands 126 as the minute hands respectively, it is possible to configure an electronic timepiece capable of stopping the second hand and detecting the position.

[0146]

As is apparent from the above description, in the electronic timepiece mechanism of the invention, operations such as starting, stopping the movement of the first pointer, returning and correcting are selectively performed according to changes in the operating environment. As a result, it is possible to reduce the overall power consumption.

Moreover, the operational stability of the electronic timepiece is not lost. Further, the position of the first pointer can also be detected with low power consumption during a series of hand movements. The effect of the low power consumption is very large in the above-mentioned rechargeable timepiece, and is a factor that guarantees long-term operation of the electronic timepiece and eventually high reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of an electronic timepiece mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing detection of a toothless portion and a pointer position of the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the hands of the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention when the hands are stopped.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a circuit showing a control circuit of the electronic timepiece mechanism in the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a load drop detection circuit of an electronic timepiece mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram illustrating a connection state of the drive circuit of the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a waveform diagram showing a normal load detection waveform of the load drop detection circuit of the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a waveform diagram showing a large load detection waveform of the load drop detection circuit of the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a waveform diagram showing a load drop detection waveform of the load drop detection circuit of the electronic timepiece mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 1st motor 102 2nd motor 111 1st toothless part 112 2nd toothless part 113 1st pointer 126 2nd pointer 121 Intermittent kana toothless part 206 Central processing unit 207 1st load reduction Detection circuit 208 Second load drop detection circuit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A time display pointer, a clocking means for counting reference oscillation signals to obtain reference time information, and a drive source for driving the time display pointer corresponding to the time information of the clocking means. A pointer drive gear train configured to lose the transmission of the driving force from the drive source at a predetermined rotational position when the time display hands are moving hands and to reduce the drive load on the drive source side,
It is equipped with a load drop detection circuit that detects a load drop that occurs on the drive source side.
An electronic timepiece mechanism characterized by detecting the rotational position of a time display hand. 2. A time display pointer, a clock means for counting the reference oscillation signal to obtain reference time information, and a first means for driving the time display pointer corresponding to the time information of this clock means.
The drive source and the time display hands lose the transmission of the drive force from the first drive source at a predetermined rotational position when the hands are moved, and the drive load on the side of the first drive source is reduced. A first gear train for driving a pointer, a load drop detection circuit for detecting a load drop occurring on the first drive source side, and an auxiliary drive for a time display hand when transmission of driving force is lost. Second
It is equipped with a drive source and an auxiliary drive gear train for the pointer, and changes in the load detected by the load drop detection circuit
An electronic timepiece mechanism that detects the rotational position of the time display hands without stopping the hand movement. 3. A time display pointer, a time measuring means for counting reference oscillation signals to obtain reference time information, and a first means for driving the time display pointer corresponding to the time information of the time measuring means.
The drive source and the time display hands lose the transmission of the drive force from the first drive source at a predetermined rotation position when the hands are moved, and the drive load on the first drive source side is reduced. First
Second hand drive gear train, a load drop detection circuit for detecting a load drop occurring on the first drive source side, and a second for auxiliary driving of the time display hand when the transmission of the driving force is lost.
Drive source and pointer auxiliary drive gear train, and a central processing unit for comparing and calculating the reference oscillation signal and the position information of the time display pointer obtained from the load drop detection circuit, and the load detected by the load drop detection circuit Changes in
The rotation position of the time display hands is detected without stopping the hand movement, the central processing unit counts the difference between the reference time information and the display time of the first time display hands, and controls the first drive source. An electronic timepiece mechanism characterized by adjusting the display time of the time display hands. 4. A first time display pointer, a time measuring means for counting reference oscillation signals to obtain reference time information, and a first time display pointer driven corresponding to the time information of this time measuring means. For driving the first drive source and the first time display pointer loses the transmission of the driving force from the first drive source at a predetermined rotational position when the hands are moved, and the drive load on the first drive source side is lost. Pointer drive gear train configured to reduce the load, a first load drop detection circuit that detects a load drop that occurs on the first drive source side, and a first load drop detection circuit that detects when the drive force is lost. The first time display hands are driven by auxiliary driving the first time display hands.
A second drive source and a first pointer auxiliary drive gear train configured to not receive an auxiliary drive force at a predetermined rotational position, and a second drive source configured to always drive when the second drive source operates. Of the second drive source side that the time display hands and the second hand drive gear train and the first time display hands are not receiving the auxiliary driving force of the second drive source. A second load drop detection circuit that detects a load drop; and a central processing unit that receives a load drop signal from the second drive source and stops and controls the first drive source. The circuit detects that the first time display hands are not receiving the driving force from the second driving source, and in this state, the central processing unit stops the first driving source, The first time without being influenced by the driving of the second time display hands of the driving source of An electronic timepiece mechanism characterized in that it is possible to stop the hour-displaying hands. 5. The electronic timepiece mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the central processing unit is capable of returning the stopped first time display hands in accordance with the reference time information. 6. A first time display pointer, a time measuring means for counting reference oscillation signals to obtain reference time information, and a first time display pointer driven corresponding to the time information of the time measuring means. For driving the first drive source and the first time display pointer loses the transmission of the driving force from the first drive source at a predetermined rotational position when the hands are moved, and the drive load on the first drive source side is lost. Pointer drive gear train configured to reduce the load, a first load drop detection circuit that detects a load drop that occurs on the first drive source side, and a first load drop detection circuit that detects when the drive force is lost. A second drive source and a first pointer auxiliary which are configured to drive the first time indicating hands auxiliary and not to receive the auxiliary driving force at the predetermined rotation position of the first time indicating hands. A drive gear train and a second time display configured to be constantly driven when the second drive source is operating. The load on the side of the second drive source is reduced when the second hand and the second hand drive gear train and the first time display hand are not receiving the auxiliary driving force of the second drive source. A second load drop detection circuit for detecting by
And a central processing unit for stopping and controlling the first drive source in response to a load reduction signal from the second drive source, and changing the load detected by the first load reduction detection circuit The rotation position is detected without stopping the hand movement, the central processing unit counts the difference between the reference time information and the display time of the first time display hands, and the first drive source is controlled to control the first time. Correct the display time of the display pointer,
Alternatively, the second load drop detection circuit detects that the first time display hands are not receiving the driving force from the second drive source, and in this state, the central processing unit selects the first drive source. By stopping the first time display hands without being influenced by the drive of the second time display hands of the second drive source, the first processing unit stops the first time display hands.
An electronic timepiece mechanism characterized in that the time display hands can be returned to match the reference time information. 7. The electronic timepiece mechanism according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, claim 4, or claim 6, wherein the drive source is a step motor. 8. The electronic timepiece mechanism according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6, wherein the reference oscillation signal is an oscillation signal generated by crystal oscillation. 9. The reference oscillation signal is a time information signal obtained by receiving an external radio wave containing time information, claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, claim 4, or claim 6. Electronic timepiece mechanism described in. 10. The time measuring means is a frequency dividing circuit and a driving circuit which are composed of complementary field effect transistor integrated circuit circuits, and claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, claim 4, or. The electronic timepiece mechanism according to claim 6.