JPS62124491A - Electronic time device - Google Patents

Abstract

1. An electronic timepiece with analog display comprising : - an oscillator (1; 1') - a frequency divider (2; 2') connected to said oscillator ; - a first indicator member (6; 6') for displaying the seconds and a second indicator member (7; 8') for displaying another time information ; - a first motor (5; 5') comprising a rotor (27) with a permanent magnet (28) carried by a shaft mechanically coupled to the first indicator member for driving this last one ; - a first control circuit (4; 4') connected to the frequency divider to control the first motor ; - a second motor (12; 12') which functions step-by-step in response to voltage drive pulses for driving the second indicator member ; - a second control circuit (11; 11') also connected to the frequency divider to produce said voltage drive pulses and apply to the second motor ; and - a correction device (14-20; 14'-20', 23) allowing the timepiece to be changed from a normal functioning mode to a correction mode and vice versa and at least the time information displayed by the second indicator member to be modified, when the timepiece is in the correction mode, characterized by the fact that the first motor (5; 5') comprises at least two coils (38, 39; 38', 39') and that the first control circuit (4; 4') is designed to apply continuously to these coils variable voltages (V1 , V2 ) which allow the rotor (27) of this first motor to be subjected to a rotating magnetic field in such a way that said first indicator member (6; 6') moves forward by making at least five jumps per second, so long as said timepiece is in the normal functioning mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic time device, in particular a clock, having an analogue display and an indicator member for displaying seconds.

In particular, the invention includes at least two motors for operating different display members, one of which is mounted thereon. Alternatively, the present invention relates to a time device of this type that drives a second indicator member having other members.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Timepieces are currently known in which a stepwise motor drives the second and minute hands, and another motor drives the hour hand and date indicator. Such an arrangement makes it possible to realize a timepiece with an electronic correction system fixed to the second hand, which is not possible with conventional timepieces using a single motor. Furthermore, rapid changes of time zones are possible without losing track of the correct time, and the integration of chronograph functions into the watch is simple.

This configuration has one major advantage.

It means that the energy consumption is extremely low compared to if the watch had only one motor that was supplied with a fixed width drive/'e las 1, in fact it only drives the hands and therefore the load is low. A low-energy drive, oscillation, is sufficient for motors with only On the other hand, the motor that operates the calendar mechanism requires significantly higher energy but very low frequency pulses, for example 512 pulses per hour. This can therefore significantly extend battery life or to apply energy from the drive pulses to the motor load.

The size of existing systems requiring relatively complex circuitry can be reduced without using them.

In other known timepieces, a first step motor drives the minute and hour hands, and a second motor advances the date plate. This configuration has the same advantages with respect to energy consumption as the configuration described above. Furthermore, in this case it is easy to program the control circuit of the second motor to rotate a permanent or semi-permanent calendar.

It is also known to drive the seconds hand on the one hand and the minute and hour hands on the other hand of two stepwise motors.4 Similar to the first example, this third configuration also includes an electronic correction system; Additional functions can be added to the watch without increasing the number of indicator members. In fact, since the minute and hour hands can move quickly, they can be used on command to display things other than the current time, such as a memorized alarm time or the date, whereas the other two hands can be displayed at a given time by a specific movement.

Furthermore, the reliability of the watch is compared to a watch with only one motor, as stopping the second motor does not stop the minute and hour hands, and the motor used for these hands also drives the calendar mechanism. This is improved by the fact that the energy savings will be greater.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a timepiece, broadly speaking, a time device having a seconds indicator member and having at least two motors, the use of which is more advantageous than the existing ones. This improvement itself can be applied to the above-mentioned clock.

Means for Solving the Problems The time device of the present invention includes an oscillator, a frequency divider connected to the oscillator, a first indicator member for displaying one second time, and an εg2 indicator member for displaying other time information. It consists of A first motor includes a rotor having a permanent magnet supported on a shaft drivingly coupled to the first indicator member.

A first control circuit connects to the frequency divider to side-leg the Ml motor. The second motor performs a step function in response to a voltage drive pulse such that the second indicator member is driven.
The control circuit operates on a frequency divider to generate these driving noises, the correction device switches the timer between the normal function mode and the IC positive mode, and at least when the timer is in the correction mode. Change the time information displayed by the i2 indicator member. According to the present invention, the first motor has at least two coils, and the first control circuit continuously supplies variable voltages to these coils. In the functional mode, a rotating magnetic field is applied to the rotor of the motor such that the first indicator member advances at least five steps per second.

The time information displayed by the second indicator member is minute 1.
Can be a time or date.

When it is minutes or hours, the time device of the invention has a third indicator member for indicating the hour or minute, respectively, which is preferably activated by the second motor in the first case and in the second case. In the first case, the first motor is used to drive the second motor, but as in the second case, the third step type motor can also be used.

If it is a date, the time device further has third and fourth indicator members for indicating minutes and hours, which are driven by the first motor or an additional step motor or both. sell.

The first motor is continuously supplied with a voltage to provide a rotating magnetic field to its rotor.

First to this rotor, at any time in the desired position.

This means that it can be placed by making the value of the voltage applied to the motor correspond to its position.
Second, if it does not rotate or move into the correct position for some reason, such as a shock, an external magnetic field, or a temporary locking of the mechanism it drives, and it moves away from its intended position. This means that it will self-return to the correct position when the reason is no longer there, and thirdly, that it can make any number of sticks per revolution at a desired speed.

Theoretically, within the scope of the invention it is possible to have an infinite number of steps per revolution, ie to rotate the motor and the second hand completely continuously. In that case it would be necessary to connect to it a control circuit that is at least partially analog, but it is currently very difficult, if not impossible, to use such a circuit in a clock. be.

Furthermore, as will be discussed below, there are advantages to increasing the number of steps per revolution of the motor up to a certain point where it becomes practically pointless. Moreover, this increase in the number of steps of the motor is not the only reason for the increase in the number of steps per minute of the second hand, which in practice should be very small. As will be explained later, increasing the number of steps per revolution of the motor is not a matter of principle, but because the number of road elements (7 rigs, 70 tsuzu, gates, etc.) increases dramatically, the control circuit is required. This is an advantage since it makes it even more complex.

Furthermore, for a rotor of a motor which is subjected to one rotation of the magnetic field, it is sufficient that the motor has two coils and preferably a stator capable of generating, for example, two orthogonal magnetic field components. These two magnetic fields do not need to rotate themselves, but only need to be able to change their directions. Rotation of the resultant magnetic field is thus obtained by suitably varying their magnitude by means of the voltage applied to the coils.

The reversible motor included in U.S. Patent No. 4,371,821 corresponds to this definition, and is simple, compact, and has sufficient functions as it has already been used in watches. To be used as the first motor of a time device.

Although it is conditional, it is extremely advantageous.

Most of the embodiments in the above US patents have three stators.
The stator of the motor is adapted to increase the π period positioning torque experienced by the rotor simply because the permanent magnets of the rotor have two poles. In other words, this motor has an additional U [grip means, which means that the rotor of the motor is able to function reliably, which is not guaranteed at least in the case of time devices such as watches or alarm clocks. This ensures that it has two opposing stopping positions that are sufficiently stable and accurate.

On the other hand, the presence of such means requires that more energy be supplied to the motor so that its rotor can overcome the positioning torque acting on it. Thus, when the motor is normally forced to step the rotor through 180°, a small portion of the drive pulse energy it receives is used for that purpose only, and therefore the entire rotor is It becomes impossible to remain immobile between stop positions.

If the rotor of this motor rotates in small steps, say 10, it not only has to overcome the positioning torque for its movement, but also has to stay in a position between two steps, which This applies to all other positions except the stop position and the other two positions where the torque is zero. The energy consumption of this motor is therefore greater than it is performing the function for which it was designed.

What must now be done, therefore, is to eliminate the additional positioning means from the motor of the US 8J patent.

If you actually want to control the motor so that the position of the rotor can be controlled arbitrarily, these steps are no longer necessary. If you want to move the rotor to the correct position, which is normally the stop position, and then stop it, it is sufficient to apply a voltage corresponding to that position to the motor coils.

It is clear that following the above, the rotor remains subject to positioning torque.

This torque is sufficiently weak that no measures are required to reduce or eliminate it as much as possible.

There are many new advantages of having a clock or other similar time device with two or more motors according to the invention described above.

First, the gear mechanism is easy to make. Unless it is necessary to make the number of revolutions per minute of the second hand very large, the rotor of the first motor should be controlled to rotate exactly one revolution per minute, and it should be noted that the second hand is in the center of the dial. The second hand can be positioned inside the time device so that it can be fixed directly to the shaft of the rotor. This eliminates the need for a second hand gear and an intermediate gear that would be required if the motor were a step motor operating in the conventional manner. Due to this structural simplification.

The gear mechanism takes up less space and is cheaper. Additionally, the frictional forces and inertia that the motor must overcome are reduced and are essentially non-existent in the field driving only the seconds hand.

Energy consumption is therefore reduced.

Furthermore, if a user of a current electronic analog display watch wants to set the second hand to zero when needed to set the correct time, or if the watch has a chronograph function, electronic circuitry may be required. For example, a mechanism such as a detection means is required to notify the position of the second hand when it is commanded to return to the zero position, or to make it possible to stop the second hand at that point when passing through the zero position. According to the invention, this problem can be solved very simply by modification at the level of the integrated circuit of the watch. This is because when the first motor rotates once per minute, it is sufficient to apply a voltage corresponding to the zero position of the second hand to its coil in response to the signal generated by the manual control member.
As such is the case, this is not complicated compared to resetting the seconds counter to zero in a digital display time.

Furthermore, as previously mentioned, if the function of one motor is temporarily interrupted, the rotor will automatically return to its correct position. In this way, if the O-tor rotates once per minute and drives only the second hand, there is no need to set the correct time.2. If the motor also drives the minute hand at the same time, this problem is not eliminated, but to avoid losing track of the correct time, the disturbance must be over within one minute and the position can be determined by rotating the rotor in the correct direction. Since it needs to be restored, it is simply reduced.

For this purpose, the advantages arising from the fact that the rotor of the first motor can take any desired number of rotations Q per revolution should be utilized, and these advantages include the following.

First, in conventional electronic watches, the second hand that rotates one step per second is harder to see than the second hand in mechanical watches, which rotates continuously. do. In the watch of the present invention, the movement of the second hand of many mechanical watches is reproduced by making the second hand advance at a rate of 5 steps per second.

It is easy to increase the number of steps of this second hand, for example to 16 or 32 steps, to give the impression that its movement is continuous.

It would be meaningless to make it more than that because it would be impossible to tell the difference.

Second, if the conventional watch in question can also be used as a chronograph, the time measured will be in seconds, and the error rate will be around 1 unit per time measurement. However, this is a disadvantage for mechanical chronograph watches, which typically have an accuracy of one-fifth of a second.

According to the present invention, by setting the second hand to 5 steps per second, this drawback can not only be easily overcome, but also by increasing the number of steps to 10 steps or more, the number of scales that can be displayed on the dial of the watch can be increased. Accuracy up to the limit of 1/10 of a second can be achieved.

Finally, the rotor of the stepping motor currently used in the manufacture of watches has one step of 180 degrees. The rotation of the rotor in this step is very high speed and is like a shock. This shock causes mechanical vibrations in the various watch elements, which wastes a fraction of the electrical energy supplied to the motor, and which occurs in the second hand of the watch 60 times per minute. This drawback is slightly alleviated in the case of motors with six-pole magnets.

Such motors were used in watches, but are no longer used because they are large and difficult to manufacture. In the watch of the present invention, when the rotor of the first motor operates with a step of 1.2°'' or several orders of magnitude, this phenomenon of the previous type does not occur in that motor but only in other parts, so it can be avoided. This phenomenon can be greatly mitigated, ie, when the clock is operating normally, it only takes one or two steps per minute, hour, or day.

Considering the energy saved by using a stepping motor without positioning means for the rotor as the first motor, by making the rotation steps of the rotor sufficiently small, and by directly driving the second hand, these Without using all of the possibilities at the same time, it is possible to reach a point where one does not consume any more energy than a conventional stepping motor which is normally supplied continuously but is driven every second by current pulses. Moreover, even overall energy savings compared to a watch consisting only of a conventionally powered step motor are possible if the other motors are chosen and function correctly. In that case, all or part of this savings may be achieved by increasing the torque experienced by the rotor of the motor in question, for example, or by supplying this motor with wider pulses than before. Indicator member: It can be conveniently used to increase the reliability of the function of the driving motor.

Example The clock shown in Figure 1 uses a standard frequency signal of 3276sK)-1z? It has a crystal oscillator l which generates a large amount of power. This signal is connected to the input CL of frequency divider 2, which is designed to provide all the periodic signals necessary for the functioning of the other parts of this clock circuit.
added to.

This frequency divider has six outputs a-f at *t+f.

Those outputs include 16384H2, 8192H2, 409
6i-1z, 2048Hz, 1024H2 and 512
H2 signals are generated respectively. This frequency divider also outputs g
and h, through which the 5 Hz signal and 1/
)-1z time pulses are applied, respectively. This frequency divider further has an input R, and a logic level of a signal applied to this input, for example from 0 to 1, resets all of its outputs to zero.

The output g of the frequency divider is connected via an AND gate 3 to an input hK of a control circuit 4 for the motor 5. This motor is designed to drive the second hand 6 directly, i.e. without an intermediate gear mechanism, which advances it five steps per second when the watch is functioning normally.

Furthermore, one circuit 4 receives the output signal of the oscillator l directly from another input a, receives the output af of the frequency divider 2 from an input bg, and receives a signal to be described later from an input i.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the motor 5.

The motor 5 has a rotor 27 whose shaft (not shown) has a cylindrical shape similar to the second hand of a clock and supports a diagonally magnetized bipolar hydromagnet 28.

This magnet, whose @ coincides with the axis of rotation 27a of the rotor, is placed in the center of a cylindrical opening 29 in the stator 30.

The stator 30 has three pole parts 31, 32, . . . with low magnetic resistance.
33, and the pole faces 31a, 32a, 3 of each pole part
3a faces the magnet 28, two of them 32.
33 constitutes an intermediate surface of the other pole portion 31, and is arranged symmetrically with respect to a plane PK that includes the rotation axis 27a of the rotor.

These three poles form three isthmuses 34, 3 of high magnetic resistance.
5.36 are connected together on their polar faces to define the aperture 29 and on the opposite side by a U-shaped low reluctance part 37, the vertical part of this U-shaped part The bottom portions 37a and 37b are connected to the pole portions 32 and 33, respectively, and the bottom portion 37C is connected to the pole portion 31.

The motor 5 furthermore has two coils 38, 39 which are arranged around the stator section 37 on each side of the pole section 31.
The motor is connected to the motor control circuit.

In practice, the stator 30 is generally formed of two parts rather than one part, one supporting the coils, the other forming the poles and isthmus, and these two parts supporting the coils and forming the poles and isthmus.
The parts are assembled using suitable springs to form the stator 30, and this motor is compared with that of U.S. Pat. Since it is a perfect circle 7 cylinder shape, the attachment 7 for α-ta is
It is clear that this corresponds to the case where there is no Ja trt ttx mechanism.

Generally, when a voltage is applied to the coil 38, this coil generates a magnetic field B1, and the lines of magnetic force are as shown by the dotted line 40. These lines of magnetic force are located at a portion 37 where the coil 38 is located.
and the pole portion 32, intersects the opening 29 between the pole faces 32a and 318, and extends across the pole portion 31.

Similarly, when another voltage is applied to the coil 39, the dotted line 4
A second magnetic field B2 created with the magnetic field lines indicated by 1 is generated. Face P
These magnetic field lines, which are symmetrical with respect to the magnetic field lines 40 with respect to K, pass through the other half of the low reluctance section 37 and the pole section 33, intersect with the opening 29 between the pole faces 33a and 31a, and then cross the pole section 31. Kirishire jjiru.

Of course, the phase and strength of these magnetic fields B1 and 82 will depend, respectively, on the phase and value of the voltages applied to the coils.

FIG. 3 shows these two magnetic fields and the resultant magnetic field Br in the aperture 29 for arbitrarily chosen phases and strengths.

When the magnetic field Br is created, the rotor receives a driving torque, and this torque is a problem because the rotor has not yet reached a position where the magnetization axis N-3 of the a-stone 28 is in the same direction and phase as the magnetic field. When the driving torque is greater than the resistance torque.

The rotor is rotated to pass through the shortest path and reach the desired position. The above-mentioned resistance torque is particularly composed of the load to be driven by the rotor, the friction of the shaft against the bearing supporting the rotor shaft, and the weak positioning torque due to the fact that the magnet 28 has two polarities and the stator 30 has a three-pole structure as described above. It is something that

The rotor reacts similarly when the direction of the magnetic field Br changes suddenly. On the other hand, if this magnetic field rotates into one or the other phase, it will attract the rotor as such.

This word indicates what was mentioned above, that is, by applying the necessary voltage to the coil, the rotor can be operated as desired.

Since the rotor can rotate continuously in any direction and at any desired speed, it is equally possible to make it occupy successive different positions with arbitrary spacing according to a predetermined program. The effective torque given by the motor example can also be changed arbitrarily by changing the strength of the magnetic field Br during one rotation or for each rotation, but this is not possible when the rotor drives one or more pointers. Not as long.

In the case of the first factor, the rotor is usually rotated in such a phase that the second hand advances at a constant speed of 300 steps of 1.2 degrees each minute, and the rotor is rotated at a constant rate of 300 times per minute, and the zero position of the hand is adjusted on command. It is sufficient if you adjust the position accordingly.

If the rotor is to be rotated continuously at the same speed, it is necessary to change the magnetic field B1 and 82 gold hours sinusoidally as a function of the following relationship.

B, =l CRI S I n co tB2 =l
CRI CO5 (ωt + φ) where IcRI is the constant strength of the magnetic field CR), ω is equal to 2″/6o, and φ is the angle formed by the direction of the magnetic fields B1 and 82 in the stator opening 29. is the phase difference angle.

Since the magnetic fields, and 82 are proportional to the currents in coils 38 and 39, respectively, and therefore the voltages applied thereto, these voltages are given by:

V’, = Vos in ωt V2=■oCO5(ωt+φノ If you have to move the rotor forward.

The voltage to be applied to these coils is not the sine wave itself, but the corresponding sine wave voltages v1 and ■2 p
That is, the voltage changes stepwise as shown in FIG. 4, following the changes in voltages v1' and v2' very closely.

Furthermore, if the motor of U.S. Pat.
It is between 90° and 90'.

In this way, in particular, the resultant magnetic field of the same strength can be placed in a plane corresponding to the plane P in the figure or at right angles to that plane. According to the invention, the choice of this value for the angle φ in the equation for the magnetic field B2 has the advantage of simplifying the motor control circuit, with the voltage y4 being zero. The curve in FIG. 4 corresponds to this case.

It is clear that these curves are incorrect in terms of the number of steps shown for each of the voltages v1 and v2. Theoretically, if the rotor were to control the motor to make 300 steps in 91 minutes by applying a voltage to the coil as close as possible to a true sinusoidal voltage, this would be 75, or one quarter period. There are only 15 steps. In order to simplify the control circuit and not have a visible movement of the second hand to indicate this effect, it is possible to reduce the number to a smaller number.
What about these two books while clearly explaining all the steps without giving up? It is essentially impossible to represent a in one single aspect.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the motor control circuit 4, which means that the directions of the magnetic fields B1 and 82 are 90 degrees between them.
It is possible to supply the motor with the sine wave-shaped stela gummy pressures (1) and (v2) required to create an angle of 0°.

This figure also shows the motor coils 38, 39 and the first
Oscillator 1. In this embodiment, in which a frequency divider 2 and an AND gate 3 are shown, the control circuit 4 includes two counters 50, 51 . Decoders 52, 53. selector circuit 54,
55. Nozzle shaping circuit 58 for power supply to T-7 rig 70 tube 56.57 and motor coil 38.39
It roars.

A counting volume equal to the number of steps taken by the motor in 15 seconds, i.e. 75! Counter 50 with E has a counting input C
L and reset human power Rv, these are the inputs of the circuit and i
Connect to each.

The human power CL is passed through the AND gate 3 to the output 9 of the frequency divider 2.
Receives 5H2 signal from. This counter further has seven outputs a-g, which are connected in that order to the inputs a-g of the decoder 53, respectively.

A counter 51 with a counting capacity 4 has a counting power C connected to the output having the largest weight of the counting capacity 4, a reset power R connected to the input i of the circuit, and a pulse shaping circuit 58.
The decoder 52 has seven inputs a-g, which are the inputs of this circuit a gs and thus the output of the profit and loss 1 and the divider 2.
Connect the output a-fVC.

Each of the decoders 52 and 53 has a 75-bit output 51S.
75' and both are connected to selectors 55 and 54. Specifically, the output of decoder 52 is connected to selector 54 at 75'.
The 5 inputs a1 to a75 are connected to the 75 inputs aj to a75 of the selector 55, and the seven inputs of the decoder 53 are connected to the other 75 inputs b1 to b75 of the selector 54 and the selector 5.
5 input b1b75.

For the flip-flop, a first 70-lip 56 has a clock input CL- connected to the input g of this circuit via an input/input 59 and to the output t of the frequency divider; Its reset input R is connected to the output P of the selector 54, and its output Q is connected to the third input aK of the pulse shaping circuit.

The input C of the second flip-flop 57 is directly connected to the input g, the input R is connected to the output P of the selector 55, and the output Q is connected to the input 84 of the pulse shaping circuit. It has three outputs, one of which is C
When rl: is connected to the first terminal of the coil 38, f is connected to the second terminal of the coil and the first terminal of the coil 39, and g is connected to the second terminal of the coil 39, oscillation occurs? French Utility Model Application No. 8600743, which controls the motor by rotating the rotor once per minute at a constant speed. Comparing the contents of the specification, they are essentially the same, that is, they contain the same elements and are connected in the same way.The only difference is the counter 50.
has a total counting capacity five times that of the corresponding counter of the French application mentioned above, and that the number of inputs and outputs of the decoder and selector are not the same. This is because in the French application mentioned above, the rotor of the motor is not 300 but 600 per revolution.
This is due to the fact that the steps are being taken.

On the other hand, the decoder 52.53 and the selector 54.55 could be constructed in the same way as described in the above-mentioned French application, only with an increase in the number of gates and inverters.Therefore, the detailed description of FIG. I will omit it here.

First, in the above-mentioned French application, the decoder corresponding to the decoder 52 is configured such that 15 numbers E are the nearest integers to the number FK calculated by the following formula, and these numbers E are calculated by all of the outputs of the decoder. is equal to the different time T that separates the time when the outputs go from 1 to O from the next time when these outputs then return to 1, divided by half the period of the oscillator output signal, which is about 15.2 μs. The number 15 in the wax equation relates to the fact that the number of sinusoidal step voltage steps applied to the coil is 15 per quarter period, and this number is also the number of decoder outputs. . The 90° comes from the fact that it is clear that it is sufficient to determine the step level and its first quarter period for one of these voltages, namely the square voltage. .

1 in (2!-1)/2 is an integer from 1 to 15,
This peak means that each step level is given the value that a true sinusoidal voltage has, corresponding to a point in the middle of the period that limits it, and that the normal pressure applied to the coil is true sinusoidal. Another requirement is peace of mind when it is necessary to be as close to the wave voltage as possible. Finally, the number 64 is chosen in order to be able to obtain different values for the number E.

In the case of the circuit of FIG. 5, the number F is given by the following equation.

In that case, the value of E is as follows.

7t 7 67 126t 3
3 3 7 3
For the maximum value of 1281 E) 1 has the same value for some i, i.e. there is a step in which this voltage has the same value in the maximum and minimum range of the voltage 1, and it is no longer 5 minutes of 1 second. Not only 1/5, but also 2.5/3 or 4/5. However, for the initial value of i, the values of E are quite different from each other, which means that when the voltage 1 is the same, the voltage v2 changes by a step voltage of 1/5 of 1 second and reaches different levels. It means that. This is the same for the magnetic fields B1 and 82, and the opposite is true for the values of the voltage 2 in the maximum range and the minimum range. Therefore, it is not a problem for the operation of the rotor that the voltages 1 and 2 do not have 75 different values per quarter cycle as described above.

If you actually want to give 75 separate steps, you should replace 128'e2048 in the formula for F, but this would make the decoder configuration very complicated, and the number of steps per rotation of the rotor. It is clear that increasing from 60 to 300 only significantly increases the number of gates and interfaces, and even more transistors to form the decoders and selectors.

This is due to the increase in the number of elements that the side leg circuit of the motor should have as the number of steps per rotation of the rotor increases. This indicates that a reduction gear of 1 is required.

The second point that must be clarified is that, as in the French application, the circuit in Figure 5 connects the motor coils to + o and one.
o (see Figure 4) This means that the J voltage is equal to half the voltage of the watch battery.Finally, in the circuit of Figure 5, the counter 5
0.51, each of which is connected to the input i of the 5 circuit which has a French patent reset input R, these inputs R are such that the voltage 1 is approximately 0 and the voltage 2 is equal to +o. Of course, this would be to enable the rotor to be returned to the exact position at any point in time. Returning to main I, the output of the frequency divider 2 where the time pulse of 1/12H2 occurs is the AND gate 9 and the OR gate toi.
It is connected to the control (2) circuit 11 through the circuit tt.
IIi reversible stepping motor 12 is controlled, and this motor drives the minute hand 7 and hour hand 8 through the entire painting mechanism 13.

This second motor 12, also shown in FIG.
The pole faces 32a' and 33a' of the motor 5 and 33' have notches 42 and 43, respectively.
It is symmetrical about a plane P' which is equivalent to the plane of symmetry P (FIG. 2).

These cutouts are one way to provide additional locating means. This additional positioning means is provided by the rotor 27, as previously described.
' has two properly defined and stable stopping positions with its magnetic axis N-5 lying within the plane P'. These notches are, for example, substantially perpendicular to the plane P' and are given by the pole face 31a' of the other pole part 31' of the stator, with the inner surface of the narrow part being diagonal to the opening 29 into which the rotor magnet 28' enters. You can exchange the drink at the flat part that is now facing the .

There are two ways to supply power to the two coils of a reversible motor such as motor 12 in order to operate it normally, i.e. with 1800 steps even in the 1st phase. The method is to simultaneously apply one drive pulse with the same width and polarity to one side of the coil and two consecutive short pulses to the other side, the polarity of the first of these short pulses being the same as above. The drive pulse applied to one coil is the same, and the polarity of the next pulse is opposite. In this way, the combination of magnetic fields B1 and 82' of the same strength generated by the coils rotates in one or the other phase, thereby driving the rotor in the same phase.

A second method would be to apply one pulse to one of these coils, followed immediately by a full pulse of opposite polarity to the other coil. In this case, the magnetic fields 131r and 82' act on the rotor one after the other. Let's make progress on that.

The third method differs from the first in that it gives two short pulses of opposite polarity to one coil and one long pulse to the other so that the long pulse and the second short pulse end at the same time. It is similar to

The difference is that the two short pulses are separated by a time approximately equal to their width, that the long pulse begins when the first short pulse ends, and that this long pulse and the first short pulse are opposite to each other. In this way, one of the magnetic fields B 1 / and 82' is used first, then the other, and then their combined magnetic field.

A fourth method involves setting one coil to rotate the rotor in one phase and the other coil to drive in the other phase, and then alternating the polarity at a rate of 91 per step. This provides a driving pulse that

The first of these four methods is described in U.S. Pat. No. 437
'1821 and three other methods are described in U.S. Pat.
Although the first method is preferred as it has been proven to be the most advantageous to date, the structure of the timepiece shown in FIG. It is clear that any of these methods can be used, and the design method of the control circuit 11 is determined depending on which method is selected. This is one of the reasons why circuit 11 was not described in detail. The other reason is the first
method or one of the other three methods, a circuit already in the watch comprising a reversible motor similar to that shown in FIG. 6 or U.S. Pat. No. 45,146
It is possible to actually use one of the circuits shown in the specification of No. 76. ! In order to explain the function, it must be made clear that in addition to the '/12 HZ time pulse or the correction pulses applied to the human power a as explained below and the various synchronous pulses from the frequency divider 2, The circuit 11 receives a rotation direction control signal C5 at its input, which causes the motor 12 to rotate in one direction or the other according to its logic level.

Signal C5 is generated by a correction system having a manual rotary control with two axial positions: a neutral position and a correction position. When this device, not shown in FIG. 1, rotates, the fidget actuates two switches 14 and 15, each of which is formed by a series of noises with a frequency proportional to the speed of rotation of the device. generates two signals, and they are out of phase with each other,
The sign of the phase difference is determined by the phase of this rotation.

These signals are passed through anti-rebound circuits 17 and 18 to a correction signal generation circuit 200A. :Transmitted to b.

A third switch 16 actuated by the axial displacement of the control device β supplies a logic signal representative of the position occupied by the device, which, via an anti-splash circuit 19, is activated by the third switch 16 of the correction signal generating circuit 20. 3 is applied to the human power C and the input i of the control circuit 4 of the first motor 5. This signal, which has the value O or 1 depending on whether the control is exactly in the neutral position or in the correction position, is connected to the input R of the frequency divider 2 and the output of the inverter connected to the AND gates 3 and 9. The correction signal generating circuit 20, which can be easily constructed from seven lip-flops and gates as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,642, is also sent to the first output d. Second motor rotation direction controllable signal C3K7J
In addition, the correction pulse signal CPv is generated at the second output e connected to the OR gate 10. The signal C5 is rotated when the control UP device is in the correction position and in the phase in order to return the watch money. For example, it is 0 and becomes 1 at the same logic level, except when

As for the correction pulses CP, they occur at the output e of the circuit each time the control is turned into the correction position, and their frequency depends on the rotational speed of the control as well as that of the signals generated by switch 14 and tsVc. is proportional to.

The clock described above operates as follows.

During normal operation, the control is in the neutral position, switch 16
The signal provided by is a logic O. AND gate 3
and 9 are therefore open to the 5 Hz signal and the '/12 Hz time-opening nocellus generated by frequency divider 2. In this case, the control circuit 4 receives at its inputs a 5 Hz signal, the 4N signal from the outputs a-f of the frequency divider and the signal of the oscillator 1, and the coil of the first motor receives a signal of 1.5 Hz every 1/5 second.
Two sinusoidal voltages v1 and v2 are continuously applied that can move the rotor of the first motor in the direction of the second hand 6 in steps of 2°.

At the same time, the split circuit 11 applies a drive nose to the second motor 12 every 5 seconds, and a rotation direction III control signal C8.
When is at O level, the rotor of this motor rotates in steps of 180° in that phase, which advances the minute hand 7 and hour hand 8. Of course, the ? 1li
The l+ control is synchronized so that a step of the minute hand occurs when the second hand passes through its zero position vR.

When the control is placed in the correct position, the logic signal provided by switch 16 becomes 9AND.
The gates 3 and 9 are closed, and the counters 50 and 51 (Fig. 5) of the control circuit 4 of the first motor become zero. When the counters reach zero, the overturning circuit 4 connects the oscillator and frequency divider to the human power a-g. However, at this point, if the second hand moves toward its zero position and the counter 50 no longer receives the 5H2 signal, it will remain in that state as long as the control device (F) remains in the normal position. Furthermore, from the moment the control device is in this position, and if it is not rotated, the minute and hour hands will not move forward, since the pulse of 1712H2 does not enter the control circuit 11 of the second motor. On the other hand,
When the control device is rotated, a correction pulse CP is generated by the correction signal generation circuit 20 and applied to the circuit 11 via the OR gate 10. When the slant device rotates in one direction, signal C5 remains at logic level O, and circuit 11 provides a drive pulse to motor 12 to rotate its rotor in a direction that advances the minute and hour hands. When the control is rotated in the opposite direction, the signal C5 becomes a level and the modified note CP
occurs, and circuit 11 controls motor 12 to drive these hands in the opposite direction.

When the control u-ze is returned to the neutral position, the logic signal from the switch 16 will change from 1 to OK, and all of the outputs of the P unit 2 will be reset to zero. 1@I input b- of decoder 52 of circuit 4
Since g resets and gates 3 and 9 open again, the clock returns to normal operation.

The seventh clock has a first motor for the second hand and the minute hand, and a second motor for the hour hand, and allows the user to adjust the clock, that is, change the public money time and change the entire time zone by moving only the hour hand. It belongs to the category of watches that have been made to hang.

As before, this clock has an oscillator 51' generating a signal of 32768 Hz and a branch 32', the frequency divider having an input CL connected to the oscillator, a reset power R, and 7 outputs a.
−f and g, and outputs Je−, and outputs a−f,
g to 16384Hz.

8192Hz, 4096H2, 2048Hz, 1024
A periodic signal of 512 Hz and 5 Hz is obtained, respectively, and a time pulse with a period of 5 minutes instead of 5 seconds is produced at the output.

The output of the frequency divider 2' is also connected to the input of the control circuit 4' of the first motor 5' via the giltAND gate 3'.

This motor is the same as the motor of FIG. 2 and drives the second hand 6', which is mounted directly on its rotor shaft, and also drives the minute hand 7' through a gear (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 8, the control circuit 4' which connects the oscillator signals, the frequency divider output signals a to f, and the logic signals to the human inputs a, b-g, and i, respectively, is divided into one 75-digit unit. '
, two decoders 52' and 53', two sectors 54
' and 55', two 7 lip-flops 56' and 57',
It consists of an input terminal 59' and a pulse shaping circuit 58', which are the same as shown in FIG. ' and 39', 7 further connects circuit 4' to 4
A dividing counter 51'' is connected, its reset input is connected to input i, and its outputs a and b are connected to a pulse shaping circuit, but in this case, the counter is reversible and its counting direction input UD is connected to input j of the circuit. and its clock input C
L'd OR gate 6 connected to the best input k of this circuit
0 to the maximum load output g of the 75 division counter.

Returning to FIG. 7, the output ht- of the frequency divider, which produces a pulse of 1/3ooH1, is connected to the input a of the circuit 22, and its output C is passed through the AND gate 9' and the OR gate 10' to the second
It is connected to the input a of the Mfll(2) circuit 11' of the motor 12'. The motor 12' is the same as the first M motor 11, and drives the hour hand 8' by means of a gear 13'.

w. For the same reason that the control circuit 11 of FIG. 1 was not described in detail, the circuit 11' will not be described in detail.

Role 1 of the circuit 22 with another input for receiving logic signals! -Described next.

The clock of FIG. 7 further includes three switches 14'.

t s', 16', which are actuated by a control device with second position ti and an anti-rebound circuit 17'.
, 18', t9'e through the correction signal generation circuit 20.
Similarly, connect to inputs a, b, and c of '.

Further, similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,831, this can be timed by rotating it at any speed when the controller is in the correction position to bring it into the neutral position; Similarly, it is designed so that the time zone can be changed by performing a specific rotational movement by an angle greater than or equal to the predetermined minimum angle during an interval shorter than a predetermined time. Ru.

Each time the damping device performs this particular rotational movement in the neutral position, the circuit 20', which can be easily constructed from U.S. Pat. A pulse group consisting of pulses HCP is generated, which appears at an output d which is connected to an OR gate 10'.

On the other hand, when the fftllllll device is turned in the correction position, the circuit 20' generates from the signals from the switches 14' and 15' pulses with a frequency tone proportional to the rotational speed of the control device, and when these pulses occur, Each consists of four modified pulses MCP. The frequency of the pulse MCP is constant and is equal to CP and is output from the output e of the circuit. This output e is connected to the input k of the control circuit 4' of the first motor.
and to the input CL of a reversible divide-by-20 counter 23, whose output S is connected to an OR gate 10'.

For these two modified noises generated by the circuit 20', three logic signals C3, C, which appear at its output, f, g.
5C and CPT are added.

Signal C5 is applied to the input of circuit 11' to control the direction of rotation of second motor 12'. This follows the same logic as always except during periods when a pulse group HCP or MCP is generated from this circuit, and as long as it is generated in response to rotation of the collateral device in the direction of retarding the clock. Stay on level.

The signal C8C supports the counting direction of the 4-division counter 51' and the 20-division counter 23 of the control circuit 4' of the first motor, and is connected to the input j of the circuit 4' and the input U of the counter 23.
/D and in the direction in which the pulse train MCP returns the needle? lt+I N+equipment #Stays at O level except for the time that occurs when making a full rotation.

Signal CPT is applied to the input of circuit 22.

The pulse group HC is independent of the direction in which the 1-stroke device is rotated.
The circuit 22 receives the time pulse from the frequency divider and receives the time pulse from the frequency divider and outputs the signal CP.
If T is 0, it is stored for immediate reading immediately after this signal returns to 1. Alternatively, as long as the signal CPT is 1, it may be as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,831. Considering the time required for the formation of the pulse group, at that point only one time noise can occur.To summarize the operation of this second clock used as a column, the bounce protection associated with switch 16' The output of the circuit 19' is the control circuit 4' of the first motor.
Input ivC directly and input 21'i7 to reset the frequency divider R and AND gates 31 and 9'
and the reset manual power R of the 20-division counter 23, respectively.

During normal operation, i.e. when the control device is in the neutral position and does not carry out a specific rotational operation characterized only by the correction of the hour display, the AND gate 3' transfers the signal of the output g of the frequency divider to the control circuit 4'. and at that time, when the signal C6C becomes a level, the contents of the 4-division counter 51' (Fig. 8) are constantly added to the signal of the output g of the counter 50', that is, in the case of the clock shown in Fig. works exactly the same.

In this manner, the first motor advances the second hand at a rate of five steps per second, and advances the minute hand in steps too small to be fully visible.

Furthermore, when the output signal of the Inno 2-Y 21' and the signal CPT both become level, the two output signals of the frequency divider immediately enter the control circuit 11', and since the signal C5 is at the O level, this circuit receives the drive pulse. This driving nose causes the second motor to move the hour hand at a speed of one step every five seconds, and this step is such that the minute hand opposes one hour mark on the dial and the second hand completely traces its zero position. When the control device, which sometimes occurs, rotates as described above in the neutral state, the correction signal generating circuit 20' transmits a pulse train consisting of 12 pulses HCP to the control circuit of the second motor. 11
', and when the control device causing normal speed movement of the watch is rotated in one direction by these pulses, the rotational direction control signal C5 remains at the 0 level and the hands move forward. When turned in the opposite direction, the signal C5 becomes lebel, during which this pulse train is generated, and the needle moves in the backward direction, in these cases the signal CRT becomes 0 and remains that way for the duration of that pulse train, setting When a time noise occurs at the output of the frequency divider, the delay circuit 22 remembers it for later reading, so that the clock will always be advanced or retarded by exactly one hour, changing the display by a few hours. You only need to repeat this action several times.

During this type of correction, the seconds and minutes hands continue to move forward;
Signal C8C remains O and AND gate 3' remains open to the signal from the frequency divider.

When the sterilization device is in the modified position, the logic signal from switch 16' goes to 1, resulting in AND gates 3' and 9'
is closed, and counters 50' and 51' of control circuit 4' are reset. At this time, the rotor of the first motor moves to a position corresponding to the zero position of the second hand, which moves the minute hand slightly so that it aligns with the nearest minute mark.The 53 hand does not touch the control device at this time. It remains immovable for as long as possible.

When this is rotated, the correction signal generating circuit 20' generates a train of nodes each consisting of one or more 4-norse MCPs, which is input to the counter 51' via an OR gate 60 (FIG. 8). CL and to the input CL of the 20-division counter 23. When the control is turned in such a direction that the signal C8C remains O, the nozzles in this nozzle train will be the contents of the counter 51'. If we understand the functions of the 7 circuits 4' and the motor 5', we can see that the second hand makes a quarter turn in the direction of rotation to return to the initial zero position. It is easy to make the minute hand advance by one minute without all the two rapid successive steps.

In the opposite case, the pulse train is
If signal C5C becomes 1 when applied to If the correction is to be made less than 5 minutes before the reset, the counter 23 that adds or subtracts the pulse MCP will not give a nocel and the position of the hour hand will not change.On the other hand, if the correction exceeds 5 minutes, the counter 23 will , all 19 MCP pulses that allow the second and minute hands to rotate in the same direction. Calibration causes the minute hand to move forward all the way. If so, the signal C5 becomes 0 level when it enters the pulse suppression circuit 11' from the counter 23. Motor 12' thus advances the hour hand by one step. In the opposite case, when no pulse is sent to the circuit 11', the key C5 is still 1, which causes the hour hand to move back one step.

All zero V of the divider output to be set to zero
There is no need to return the control if to the corrected position for restarting gates 3' and 9'i and for returning the clock to normal operation when the control device is returned to the neutral position. .

However, if the watch is indeed set at the correct time, returning the control 11 device to its neutral position will ensure that the counter 23 is reset to zero.

(Effects of Strikes) The timepiece of the invention, broadly defined as a time device, can take many forms. Apart from all of the uses and modification circuits that can be associated with them, many other forms are possible.

If the number of steps per rotation performed by the minute or hour hands of these watches is too large due to energy consumption or other reasons, it is easy to reduce it to as much as 60.

Also, the number of steps per second by the second hand can be increased to 16 or 32 for the user to see true continuous motion, but as mentioned above a gear is required between the motor and the hand.

Configuring the clock circuit, and in particular the antibacterial circuit of the first motor, so that when the clock is set correctly, the second hand does not return to zero automatically, but only on command, or not at all. You can also do it. 1st
In the case of the clock shown in the figure, the position before the control device is moved to the corrected position can be maintained until the control device is returned to the neutral position.In the case of the clock shown in Figure 7, the minute hand can be moved. Although the second hand would have to rotate when doing so, it could be done from the position before the control was moved to the corrected position and then returned to that same position or as far as the user desires.Furthermore, the first motor is US Pat. No. 4,371,821 MIS
This motor has many advantages, especially as it is already used in watches in almost the same form. Any motor with two coils that can be controlled so that the rotor takes all the desired steps per revolution at a suitable speed +2 and that the rotor occupies a predetermined position can be used as well, but with the required components, In particular, it should be possible to incorporate it into a time device in terms of cost, size and energy consumption.

The same is true for the second motor, which is a reversible stepping motor and is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 44,608.
The disadvantage of unidirectional motors is that they provide slower corrective action than bidirectional ones, which may be one with a single coil as in the '59 patent, or a conventional directional motor of the rabbet type. On the other hand, its collateral circuits would be considerably simpler.Furthermore, an advantage of the motor of the above patent having no additional positioning means for the rotor is that the first motor should not have any such. No. 5 For example, is it possible to power a motor that makes the second hand tick once or two motors? Such positioning means are useful, especially in watches designed to be turned off at night or for relatively long periods of non-use, the increased energy consumption being compensated by the fact that the motor does not operate continuously. can.

Other change columns based on the two types of clocks mentioned above have functions other than displaying time. The clock of FIG. 1 is particularly suitable for full alarm functionality; the hour and minute hands can be used to store one or more alarm times on command. The clock in Figure 7 is suitable for fulfilling the function of chronograph. On the other hand, both are for displaying the date.

The display system may include a display mechanism and a member driven by a second motor.

The invention is not limited to time devices having two motors, but may have more motors.

Generally uninvented is an analog display device for displaying timeff
i'fW L can be applied with great advantage to time devices having at least two motors, one of which drives at least the seconds indicator member.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a block diagram of the electronic timepiece of the present invention, and Figure 2 is the block diagram of the electronic timepiece of the present invention.
Figure 3 shows the magnetic field acting on the magnet belonging to the rotor of this motor. Figure 1 shows the voltage waveform applied to the coil of this motor during normal operation of the watch. Figure 5 shows the voltage waveform applied to the coil of this motor during normal operation of the watch. is a block diagram of the control circuit of this motor, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the second motor of this watch, FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the embodiment of FIG. 7. 1st of
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the motor's j1711H circuit. 1... Crystal oscillator, 2... Frequency divider, 4... Side tilt circuit, 6... Second hand, 5... Motor, 7... Minute hand, 8
...Hour hand, 11...Side leg circuit, 12...Motor,
13... Gear mechanism, 17, 18. 19... Rebound prevention circuit, 20... Correction signal generation circuit, 27... Rotor, 28... Two-pole Hyaku magnet, 30... Stator,
31, 32° 33...extreme part, 31a, 32a, 33a
... Polar plane, 38°39... Coil, 50.51...
・Counter, 52°53...Decoder, 54.55・
-Selector circuit, 56.57...Flip-flop, 58...Pulse shaping circuit, 59'...Inno-
Tahabe ・3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An oscillator, a frequency divider connected to the oscillator, a first indicator member for displaying seconds, a second indicator member for displaying other time information, and a second indicator member for displaying other time information. a first motor having at least two coils and a rotor having a permanent magnet supported by a shaft drivingly coupled to one indicator member; and a first motor connected to said frequency divider and continuously supplying said coil with a variable voltage. and controlling the first motor such that the rotor of the first motor is influenced by a rotating magnetic field such that the first indicator member advances at least five steps per second in a normal functioning mode. a second motor for stepping a second indicator member in response to voltage drive pulses;
a second control circuit for the motor; a modification device for switching the operating mode between a normal functioning mode and a modification mode and for changing time information displayed by at least the second indicator member when in the modification mode; An analog display type electronic time device characterized by comprising: 2. The second indicator member is adapted to display minutes and hours, and further includes a third indicator member driven by a second motor for displaying hours and hours. Electronic time device. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the second indicator member is adapted to display hours and hours, and further includes a third indicator member driven by the first motor to display minutes and hours. Target time device. 4. The electronic time device according to claim 1, wherein the first indicator member is directly fixed to the shaft of the rotor of the first motor. 5. The electronic electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first control circuit and the correction device are adapted to automatically move the first indicator member to the zero display position when the time device changes from the normal functioning mode to the correction mode. time device. 6. The first motor has pole faces in the form of cylinders at least partially surrounding the magnets of the rotor and each having a center on the axis of rotation of the rotor facing said magnet; 2 includes a stator with three pole portions symmetrical to a plane that includes the axis of rotation of the rotor and constitutes an intermediate plane of a third of the stators, the stator further comprising: These pole parts are connected on the side opposite to their pole faces, and around the pole parts are connected the above-mentioned first and second parts, respectively.
a further part with two coils disposed between one of the pole parts and said third pole part, the magnet having two
having a magnetization axis that is polar and substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the rotor, such that the magnetization axis continuously occupies one of two opposing positions in the rotor, such that the magnetization axis is substantially in the plane; 2. An electronic time device as claimed in claim 1, adapted to provide a positioning torque which tends to cause the time to change. 7. In the normal functioning mode of the first motor, the voltages applied to the coils both have sinusoidal waveforms of the same period and amplitude, and change in stages with a phase difference of one-quarter period. Electronic time device 8 according to claim 6, wherein the second motor is identical to the first motor except that it has additional positioning means for increasing the magnitude of the positioning torque. The electronic time device according to item 6. 9. The electronic time device according to claim 8, wherein the additional positioning means comprises two cutouts on each pole face side of the first and second pole portions of the stator.