JPS6363872B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fast-forwarding multi-function analog watch with multiple electro-mechanical converters.

In recent years, the mainstream of watches has become crystal watches,
Analog watches are becoming ultra-thin and highly accurate, digital watches are becoming more multi-functional, and analog-digital (combined display) watches have emerged that have the advantages of both.

With the success of ultra-thin analog watches, there is a growing desire for analog watches to have multiple functions.

The multifunctionality of digital devices is largely due to the instantaneous responsiveness of liquid crystal display devices, which display arbitrary numbers at a response speed of about 100 msec depending on the drive circuit.
Switching between normal time and world clock, reading alarm time, etc. can be done instantly with a switch.

On the other hand, an analog display mechanism converts electrical energy into rotational energy using an electro-mechanical converter such as a step motor, which is then decelerated by a gear train and displays the time using the second, minute, hour, etc. hands. It is unsuitable for instantaneously changing and displaying the time, and the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand are sequentially linked and decelerated, so even if the second hand is rotated quickly, the minute hand and hour hand will change significantly. takes a considerable amount of time. Therefore, in order to make analog watches more multifunctional, for example, the second hand and minute hand,
Driving the hour hands with independent step motors is a very effective means of making large changes in the indicated time within a short period of time.

Conventionally, analog clocks with multiple electro-mechanical converters have been proposed, but none have been commercially successful and widely put into practical use.One reason for this is that it is difficult to use multiple electro-mechanical converters simultaneously. When driven, a large current flows, requiring a large-capacity and large-sized battery, making it difficult to put it into practical use in equipment with severe space constraints, such as analog watches. To drive at the same time, a large number of drive inverters are required.

In addition, when driving a plurality of electromechanical converters, the applicant has developed a special method in which a phase difference is provided between the first drive output and the second drive output so that the first drive output and the second drive output are interposed between each other and driven alternately. It was proposed as Kaisho 57-26776. In this method, although they are driven almost simultaneously, it is not suitable for driving at maximum speed, and it is necessary to provide time for creating a phase difference, resulting in a slow speed. Therefore, if the analog display mechanism is switched to time display, alarm time display, etc.
The disadvantage is that it is difficult for the user to know in which mode the drive mode is being switched.

In addition, for more details, as shown in Figures 1 and 2,
The figure is a waveform diagram showing the fast-forward pulse of the drive signal of a conventional analog watch with two electromechanical converters. In FIG. 1, the positive pulse and the negative pulse are output in exactly the same phase as 1 for the minute hand and hour hand. In this case, since only one of the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand may be driven, two pairs of drive inverters that output two drive signals, that is, four drive inverters are required.

Figure 2 is a waveform diagram showing the fast-forward pulse of the drive signal of a conventional analog watch with two electro-mechanical converters. , there is a time interval of t ₁ between the positive pulse and the negative pulse. FIG. 2 shows the minute and hour hands, which are different from 1 by a phase difference θ ₁ . In this case, one drive inverter that outputs two drive signals can be shared, and only three drive inverters are required.
In order to provide the phase difference θ ₁ , a time interval t ₁ is provided, and it takes more time to drive the second hand to a predetermined position than in FIG. 1.

As described above, the conventional systems have had many problems, such as requiring large batteries, large drive circuits, and difficulty in distinguishing between modes.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and proposes a multi-functional analog watch that can be put to practical use in devices with severe space restrictions, such as analog watches, and whose modes can be easily distinguished.

For the above purpose, the present invention includes a time reference source that outputs a time reference signal, a frequency divider circuit that divides the frequency of the time reference signal to a predetermined low frequency, and converts the waveform of the frequency divider circuit. a waveform conversion and drive circuit outputting two drive signals; a first electro-mechanical converter driven by the first drive signal; a second electro-mechanical converter driven by the second drive signal; The first pointer rotates in conjunction with the first electro-mechanical converter, the second pointer rotates in conjunction with the second electro-mechanical converter, the first pointer, and the second pointer. Multi-function analog display mechanism that switches and displays analog time, clock circuit that measures time, multi-function time clock circuit that measures multi-function time such as alarm time, current time position, 0 second position, alarm time position, etc. In a multi-function analog watch composed of an arithmetic circuit, when switching between a time display and a multi-function time display, a first drive signal is output as a fast-forward pulse, and a first electro-mechanical converter is driven in fast-forward; After the first pointer is driven to a predetermined position in rapid traverse, a second drive signal is outputted in a fast traverse pulse, and a second electro-mechanical converter is driven in rapid traverse to drive the second pointer to a predetermined position in rapid traverse. By providing a first pointer priority driving means that is driven to the position of
Since the first pointer is driven to the specified position the fastest, modes such as time mode and alarm mode can be easily distinguished.Moreover, the drive circuit can be simplified and a small battery is sufficient, resulting in high accuracy and reliability. To provide an easy-to-use, compact, multi-functional watch.

Examples of the present invention will be described below. That is, Fig. 3 is a waveform diagram showing the fast-forward pulse of the drive signal of an analog watch with two electro-mechanical converters. - After the second hand is driven to a predetermined position by driving at the maximum response speed of the mechanical transducer, the driving signals for the minute and hour hands shown in ₂ are output at a time t2.

In this case, it is possible to share one drive inverter that outputs two drive signals, so only three drive inverters are required, and the second hand is driven at the maximum response speed, so it is the fastest in a watch that displays mode distinctions on the second hand. , it is possible to know the distinction between modes.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a cased analog watch with an alarm function showing an embodiment of the present invention.
A watch exterior case 1, an analog display mechanism 2, switches S ₁ 3, and switches S ₂ 4 are shown, and the analog display mechanism 2 includes a second hand 5, a minute hand 6, an hour hand 7, and a dial 8.
It consists of

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a clock system showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which a time reference source 9 consisting of an ultra-small crystal oscillator, an oscillation circuit, etc. generates a time reference signal of approximately 32 KHz or approximately 4 MHz at 2 to the n power. do.

The frequency dividing circuit 10 is a circuit that divides the time reference signal into a clock signal of a predetermined low frequency, and its output is input to the second clock circuit 11 and the control switching circuit (A) 12.
In addition, the frequency dividing circuit 10 is also connected to the waveform conversion and drive circuit 13.
A signal with a frequency somewhere in the middle is being input.

Although not shown in the drawings, clock pulses and the like are input to each circuit from the middle of the frequency dividing circuit 10 to adjust the timing of each circuit and increase the stability of frequency, operation, etc.

The second clock circuit 11 is a circuit that clocks 60 seconds, and its output is minute, clock circuit 14, and control switching circuit (B) 1.
5. 0 position calculation circuit 16, current time position calculation circuit (A)
17. The minute, hour, and clock circuit 14 clocks the minute and hour time and clocks 12 hours, and its output is input to the current time, alarm time position calculation circuit (B) 18, and coincidence detection circuit 19. The waveform conversion and drive circuit 13 converts the waveform of the frequency dividing circuit 10 and outputs a drive signal for driving the electro-mechanical converter (A) 20 and the electro-mechanical converter (B) 21.

Electrical-mechanical converter (A) 20, electric-mechanical converter (B)
21 is a converter that converts electrical energy such as a step motor into mechanical energy and provides forward and reverse rotational motion, and the gear train (A) 22,
The signals are transmitted to the gear train (B) 23 and rotate the second hand 5, minute hand 6, and hour hand 7, respectively. The alarm clock circuit 24 is a circuit that clocks the set time of the alarm.
The alarm time is set by an alarm set signal inputted from _S13 , passed through the control circuit 25, and sent from the set pulse generation circuit 26. The alarm on/off memory circuit 27 is a circuit that receives input from the switch _S24 , passes through the control circuit 25, and stores whether the alarm set is on or off. The alarm device 28 includes a sounding device such as an electromagnetic buzzer, an electromagnetic speaker, a piezoelectric buzzer, and a driving circuit thereof, and outputs an alarm sound.

The fast forward pulse generation circuit (A) 29 is a circuit that generates a fast forward pulse that drives the second hand 5 to the 0 position based on the calculation result of the 0 position calculation circuit 16, and its output is sent to the control switching circuit (A) 12. input.

The remaining pulse detection circuit (A) 30 detects the remaining pulses of the fast forward pulse generation circuit (A) 29, and outputs a detection signal when the remaining pulses become 0, and the detection signal is input to the pulse output control circuit 31.

The fast-forward pulse generation circuit (B) 32 is a circuit that generates a fast-forward pulse that drives the second hand 5 from the 0 position to the current second position based on the calculation result of the current time position calculation circuit (A) 17, and its output is is control switching circuit (A) 12
Enter. The remaining pulse detection circuit (B) 33 detects the remaining pulses of the fast forward pulse generation circuit (B) 32, and outputs a detection signal when the remaining pulses become 0, and the detection signal is input to the pulse output control circuit 31.

The fast forward pulse generation circuit (C) 34 calculates the current time based on the calculation results of the alarm time position calculation circuit (B) 18.
This is a circuit that generates a fast-forward pulse that drives the minute hand 6 and hour hand 7 to the current time position when switching from alarm mode to time mode, and drives the alarm time position when switching from time mode to alarm mode, and its output is controlled by switching control. Input to circuit (B) 15.

Next, the roles of the remaining pulse detection circuit (A) 30, the remaining pulse detection circuit (B) 33, and the pulse output control circuit 31 will be described.

The switch _S13 is reused and in the normal push-in position, the normal time display and the analog display mechanism 2.
displays hours, minutes, and seconds.

The time reference signal generated from the time reference source 9 is frequency-divided by a frequency dividing circuit, becomes a 1 Hz signal, for example, and is inputted to the waveform conversion and drive circuit 13 through the control switching circuit (A) 12, so that the drive output is 1 Hz and the electric current is Mechanical converter (A) 2
0, and the second hand 5 is decelerated by the gear train (A) 22 and becomes 1.
The second hand rotates at a rate of one rotation per minute. The 1Hz signal is input to the second clock circuit 11, and the second clock circuit 11
Timing for 60 seconds.

A certain output signal of the second clock circuit 11 is outputted once every 20 seconds, for example, and is inputted to the control switching circuit (B) 15 and the minute and clock circuit 14.
The signal passed through 5 is input to a waveform conversion and drive circuit 13, and a drive output is outputted once every 20 seconds.
This drive output is generated by the 1 Hz electro-mechanical converter (A) mentioned above.
A phase difference is provided so as not to overlap with the drive output to 20, and the output is delayed by about 50 msec, for example.

The electro-mechanical converter (B) 21 is driven once every 20 seconds, and the minute hand 6 rotates clockwise at 20-second intervals to display the minute time. The gear train (B) 23 further decelerates the vehicle, and the hour hand 7 displays the hour.

When the switch _S13 is pulled down to the first step, the alarm mode is entered, and the analog display mechanism 2 displays an alarm guide. For example, when the second timing circuit 11 measures 15 seconds, the 0 position calculation circuit 16 calculates -15 seconds,
The fast-forward pulse generating circuit (A) 29 generates 15 fast-forward pulses for reverse rotation, and drives the second hand 5 to the 0 second position. minute, the clock circuit 14 measures 12:00,
When the alarm timing circuit 24 measures 1:00, the current time and alarm time position calculation circuit (B) 18 calculates +1 hour, and the fast forward pulse generation circuit (C) 34
generates 60 x 3 = 180 fast forward pulses for forward rotation.

The remaining pulse detection circuit (A) 30 detects the remaining pulses of the fast-forward pulse generation circuit (A) 29, and when the remaining pulses become 0, that is, when the second hand 5 is driven to the 0 second position, it outputs a detection signal, input to the pulse output control circuit 31 and open the gate of the pulse output control circuit 31, then the fast forward pulse generation circuit (C) 34
180 fast forward pulses for forward rotation control switching circuit
(B) It is output to 15 and drives the minute hand 6 and hour hand 7 to the 1 o'clock position.

The second hand 5 is first driven to the 0 second position by the remaining pulse detection circuit (A) 30 and the pulse output control circuit 31 to indicate the alarm mode, and then the minute hand 6,
The hour hand 7 is driven to indicate the alarm time.

Similarly, when the switch S ₁ 3 is pulled back to the first position and returned to its original position, the time mode is entered and the analog display mechanism 2 displays the time.

When the second timing circuit 11 measures 27 seconds, the current time position calculation circuit (A) 17 calculates +27 seconds, and the fast forward pulse generation (B) 32 generates a fast forward pulse for forward rotation by 27 seconds.
A pulse is generated and the second hand 5 is driven to the 27 second position.
When the clock time circuit 14 measures 12:15, the alarm time circuit 24 measures 1:00, so the current time and alarm time position calculation circuit (B)
18 calculates -45 minutes, fast forward pulse generation circuit (C)
34 generates 45×3=135 fast forward pulses for reverse rotation. The remaining pulse detection circuit (B) 33 detects the remaining pulses of the fast forward pulse generation circuit (B) 32, and when the remaining pulses become 0, that is, when the second hand 5 is driven to the 27 second position and is completed, it outputs a detection signal, When input to the pulse output control circuit 31 and opening the gate of the pulse output control circuit 31, 135 fast-forward pulses for reversing the fast-forward pulse generation circuit (C) 34 are output to the control switching circuit (B) 15, and the minute hand 6. Hour hand 7
Drive to the 12:15 position.

The second hand 5 is first driven to the 27 second position by the remaining pulse detection circuit (B) 33 and the pulse output control circuit 31 to indicate the time mode, and then the minute hand 6 and time 7 are driven to indicate the time.

As described above, in this example, the remaining pulse detection circuit
By providing (A) 30, remaining pulse detection circuit (B) 33, and pulse output control circuit 31, the distinction between alarm mode and time mode can be immediately determined by the position of the second hand 5, and the electro-mechanical converter (A) 20 and the electromechanical converter (B) 21 are not driven at the same time, it is possible to share one drive inverter that outputs the two drive signals of the waveform conversion and drive circuit 13, and the IC can be made smaller with only three. It also improves reliability.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention, which differs from FIG. 5 in that instead of providing a remaining pulse detection circuit (A) 30, a remaining pulse detection circuit (B) 33, and a pulse output control circuit 31, A timer circuit 35 is provided. The timer circuit 35 of this embodiment is a 0.5-second timer circuit, and an output signal is output 0.5 seconds after the fast-forward pulse generation circuit (A) 29 or the fast-forward pulse generation circuit (B) 32 starts outputting the fast-forward pulse. The fast-forward pulse generation circuit (C) 34 starts outputting fast-forward pulses.

This takes advantage of the fact that when switching between time mode and alarm mode, the second hand 5 is fast forwarded using a 64Hz drive signal, so it will be driven to the 0 second position or the current second time position after 0.5 seconds at most. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, by providing a timer circuit 35, the alarm mode and time mode can be immediately distinguished from the position of the second hand 5, and moreover, the electric-mechanical converter (A) 20 and the electric- mechanical converter
(B) 21 is not driven at the same time, it is possible to share one drive inverter that outputs the two drive signals of the waveform conversion and drive circuit 13, and only three drive inverters are needed, making the IC smaller and improving reliability. improves.

In the embodiment, a case has been described in which the function other than the time is an alarm, but the present invention can also be implemented in a case where the function is a stopwatch function.

In the embodiment, an example was shown in which the second hand 5 is driven preferentially, and then the minute hand 6 and hour hand 7 are driven, but the preferential driving means is not limited to the second hand 5, and other hands may be used.

A time reference source that outputs a time reference signal, a frequency divider circuit that divides the time reference signal to a predetermined low frequency and outputs a time signal, converts the waveform of the frequency divider circuit, and converts the first and second drive signals. A waveform conversion and drive circuit to output, a first electro-mechanical converter driven by a first drive signal, a second electro-mechanical converter driven by a second drive signal, a first electro-mechanical converter. The first pointer rotates in conjunction with the converter, the second pointer rotates in conjunction with the second electrical-mechanical converter, the first pointer, and the second pointer switch the time and multi-function time. Analog display mechanism for analog display
In a multifunctional analog watch, which is composed of a timekeeping circuit that measures the time, a multifunction timekeeping circuit that measures multifunctional times such as alarm time, and a position calculation circuit for the current time position, 0 second position, alarm time position, etc.
When switching between the time display and the multi-function time display, the first drive signal is output as a fast-forward pulse, the first electro-mechanical converter is driven in fast-forward, and the first pointer is driven in fast-forward to a predetermined position. A second drive signal is output with a fast forward pulse, and a second electric
By providing a first pointer priority drive means in which the mechanical transducer is driven in rapid traverse and the second pointer is driven to a predetermined position in rapid traverse, the drive circuit can be simplified, and the time display and multi-function time display can be simplified. The effect of the present invention is great because the difference between the two is immediately obvious.

If the first pointer is the second hand, a three-hand alarm clock can be put into practical use and has a great effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a fast-forward pulse waveform diagram of a drive signal of a conventional analog clock having two electro-mechanical converters. FIG. 2 is another conventional fast-forward pulse waveform diagram with a time interval of t ₁ and a phase difference θ ₁ . FIG. 3 is a fast-forward pulse waveform diagram provided with a priority drive means showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a cased analog watch with an alarm function showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of another embodiment of FIG. 2...Analog display mechanism, 5...Second hand, 6...
Minute hand, 7... Hour hand, 9... Time reference source, 10...
Frequency dividing circuit, 11...Second clock circuit, 13...Waveform conversion and drive circuit, 14...Minute clock time circuit, 16
... 0 position calculation circuit, 17 ... Current time position calculation circuit (A), 18 ... Current time, alarm time position calculation circuit (B), 13 ... Remaining pulse detection circuit (A), 31 ...
Pulse output control circuit, 33... remaining pulse detection circuit (B), 35... timer circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A time reference source that outputs a time reference signal, a frequency dividing circuit that divides the frequency of the time reference signal output from the time reference source to a predetermined low frequency and outputs the frequency, and a waveform conversion and drive circuit that converts a waveform and outputs a first and second drive signal; a first electro-mechanical converter that is driven by the first drive signal; and a first electromechanical converter that is driven by the second drive signal. The second electricity to be
A time display consisting of a mechanical converter, a second hand that rotates in conjunction with the first electro-mechanical converter, a minute hand and hour hand that rotates in conjunction with the second electro-mechanical converter, and the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand. and an analog display mechanism that switches and displays the alarm time display; a second clock circuit that inputs the output signal of the frequency dividing circuit to measure the current second time; a minute and clock circuit for measuring the minutes and hours of the time; and an alarm clock circuit for measuring the alarm setting time based on the output signal of the set pulse generation circuit outputted via the control circuit by the operation of an external operating member; A 0 position arithmetic circuit that performs calculations to drive the second hand from the current time to the zero second position when switching from time display to alarm display; a current time position calculation circuit (A) that performs calculations to drive the minute and hour hands from the alarm setting time to the current time when switching from alarm display to time display; and an alarm time and position calculation circuit (B) that performs calculations for driving the minute hand and hour hand from the current time to the alarm setting time when the time display is switched to the alarm display; It is equipped with a coincidence detection circuit that outputs a signal to the alarm device when the time measurement contents of the clock time circuit and the alarm clock circuit match, and an alarm on/off memory circuit that memorizes the on/off status of the alarm setting. In the hand fast-forwarding multi-function analog watch in which the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand are driven to a predetermined position in fast forward motion when the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand are switched to a predetermined position, the switching circuit controls the calculation contents of the zero position calculation circuit.
A fast-forward pulse generating circuit (A) that outputs a fast-forward pulse to the waveform conversion and drive circuit via (A) to drive the second hand from the current time to the zero second position when switching from time display to alarm display; , the calculation contents of the current time position calculation circuit (A) are transferred to the control switching circuit.
(A) A fast-forward generation circuit (B) that outputs a fast-forward pulse to the waveform conversion and drive circuit to drive the second hand from the zero second position to the current time when switching from alarm display to time display. and a remaining pulse detection circuit (A) that outputs a detection signal to a pulse output control circuit when the calculation content of the fast-forward pulse generation circuit (A) becomes zero, and the fast-forward pulse generation circuit (B).
a remaining pulse detection circuit (B) that outputs a detection signal to the pulse output control circuit when the calculation content of becomes zero;
Then, based on the output signal of the pulse output control circuit, the calculation contents of the current time and alarm time position calculation circuit (B) are outputted to the waveform conversion and drive circuit via the control switching circuit (B) to change the minute hand and hour hand. Fast-forward pulse generation circuit (C) that generates a fast-forward pulse to drive from the alarm setting time to the alarm setting time when switching from the time display to the alarm display. A pointer fast-forward multi-function, characterized in that when switching between time display and alarm display, the second hand is driven to a predetermined position in fast forward motion, and then the minute hand and hour hand are driven to a predetermined position in fast forward motion. analog clock. 2 Remaining pulse detection circuit (A) and remaining pulse detection circuit
The fast-forwarding pointer multifunctional analog timepiece according to claim 1, wherein (B) and the pulse output control circuit are formed into a timer circuit.