JPH0440677B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a method for checking the remaining time of a timer when a timer is attached to an analog electronic watch.

There are various ways to easily add a timer to an analog electronic watch. Although the set time of the timer may be displayed using a display element such as a liquid crystal, the structure for setting the time is complicated and it is not easy to use. Furthermore, the design is inferior due to the sense of incongruity between the display element such as a liquid crystal display and the dial plate.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an analog electronic watch in which a push-type external operating member 4 is used as a switch, and the number of times N of pressing the external operating member 4 is stored in a circuit.
When the setting is 1 minute, the timer is configured to function as a timer after N minutes.

However, this method has the drawback that there is no way to clearly check the remaining time on the timer from the outside.

The present invention aims to eliminate such drawbacks, and its purpose is to visually confirm the remaining time on the timer.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an analog electronic clock with a timer that is easy to use and has an excellent design.

The present invention will be explained in detail below based on Examples.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

Each component in FIG. 2 will be explained below.

Oscillation circuit 1, frequency dividing circuit 2, frequency dividing circuit 3, chattering prevention circuit 6, step motor drive pulse shaping circuit 8, step motor 9, wheel train 10, time
The minute/second hands 11 are well known in quartz analog watches that use a crystal oscillator as a time reference source, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

4 is a push-type external operating member, and when it is pushed, terminal a, which is normally pulled down to "LOW", becomes "HI". Reference numeral 5 is a reuse-type external operating member, which has three states: 1st stage, 2nd stage, and 3rd stage. In the 1st stage, both terminals b and c maintain "LOW", and in the 2nd stage, terminals B and C both maintain "LOW". In the third stage, terminal b becomes "Hi", and in the third stage, terminal c becomes "Hi". Further, the third stage is configured so that the hour and minute hands can be set.

The switch control circuit 7 outputs a signal that automatically becomes "Hi" when the external operating member 4 is pressed.
Sa', a signal Sb that is "LOW" when the external operating member 5 is in the first and third stages and "Hi" when it is in the second stage, and a signal Sb that is "HI" when the external operating member 5 is in the first and third stages. The signal Sb' becomes "Hi" momentarily when the external operating member 5 is operated on the second stage, and is "LOW" when the external operating member 5 is on the first and second stage, and becomes "Hi" when it is on the third stage. A signal Sc is output.

12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are timer units.

When the timer is started, the second counter 12 is a sexagesimal counter that counts the 1Hz signal _φ1 inputted from the Cp terminal, outputs the 1 minute signal φmin from the Ca terminal, and the signal Sb' inputted to the R terminal becomes “Hi”. ”, it will be reset.

The minute counter 13 receives a timer setting signal Se.
This is a sexagesimal up-down counter that is raised by 1 minute signal φmin and is lowered by 1 minute signal φmin, and is reset when signal Sb' becomes "Hi" and the state becomes 59.
When the state changes from 0 to 0, the up carry Uca momentarily becomes "Hi", and when the state changes from 0 to 59, the down carry Dca momentarily becomes "Hi".

The hour counter 14 is a binary up-down counter that is turned up by the up-carry Uca and down by the down-carry Dca of the minute counter 13, and is reset when the signal Sb' becomes "Hi".

The timer 0 detection circuit 15 includes a minute counter 13.
and a signal O _T ′ that changes from “LOW” to “HI” only at the moment when the states of the hour counter 14 both become 0.
When the state of both the minute counter 13 and the hour counter 14 is 0, a signal O _T is output which is "Hi" and "LOW" otherwise.

The buzzer ringing circuit 16 is configured to ring the buzzer 17 for one second from the moment the signal O _T ' becomes "Hi".

As the buzzer 17, a piezoelectric buzzer, an electromagnetic buzzer, etc. can be considered.

The second hand position counter 18 is a sexagesimal counter for storing the indicated position of the second hand, counts the motor drive signal φ _M , and is reset when the signal Sc becomes "Hi". Therefore, if the hour and minute hands are adjusted when the second hand is at the 0 position, the 0 position of the second hand and the 0 on the second hand position counter 18 will match.

The coincidence detection circuit 19 compares the states of the minute counter 13 and the second hand position counter 18, and outputs a coincidence signal Ye that is "Hi" when the contents match and "LOW" otherwise.

The internal time counter 20 is an 8192 binary counter for determining the actual time, counts the 1 Hz signal _φ1 , and is reset when the signal Sb' becomes "Hi".

The display time counter 21 has hour, minute, and second hands 11
This is an 819 binary counter for knowing the display position of the internal time counter 20. It counts the motor drive signal φ _M and is reset when the signal Sb' becomes "Hi".

The comparison circuit 22 compares the contents of the internal time counter 20 and the display time counter 21, and generates a signal that is normally "LOW" and becomes "Hi" when the state of the internal time counter 20 is greater than the state of the display time counter 21. When the state of the internal time counter 20 matches the state of the display time counter 21, a signal S _Y is output that becomes "Hi" and "LOW" otherwise.

The motor drive control circuit 23 receives a signal Sb, a signal O _T ,
Depending on the logic state of signal Ye, signal Large, and signal S _Y ,
A 1 Hz signal φ ₁ or a 16 Hz signal φ ₁₆ is output as a motor drive signal φ _M.

In addition, 24, 25, 37 are inverters, 26, 2
7 and 28 are AND gates.

This concludes the explanation of each component shown in FIG. 2, and next, a specific example of the structure of the motor drive control circuit 23 shown in FIG. 2 will be shown and explained in FIG.

In Fig. 3, 29, 30, 31 are inverters, 32, 33, 34, 35 are AND gates, 3
6 is an OR gate. Further, the terminal _I1 receives the signal Sb output from the switch control circuit 7, the terminal _I2 receives the signal Ye output from the coincidence detection circuit 19, and the terminal _I3 receives the signal output from the timer 0 detection circuit.
O _T is output, the signal Large output from the comparison circuit 22 is output to the terminal I ₄ , the signal S Y output from the comparison circuit 22 is output to the terminal I ₅ , and the signal S _Y is output from the frequency divider circuit 2 to the terminal I ₆ . A 16 Hz signal φ ₁₆ is input to the terminal I ₇ and a 1 Hz signal φ ₁ output from the frequency divider circuit 3 is input. Further, the terminal O ₁ for outputting the motor drive signal φ _M is connected to the second hand position counter 18 , the display time counter 21 , and the step motor drive pulse shaping circuit 8 .

The AND gate 32 selects the 16Hz signal _φ16 as the motor drive signal _φM when the signal Sb is “Hi” and the signal Ye is “LOW”.

The AND gate 33 selects the 16Hz signal _φ16 as the motor drive signal _φM when the signal Sb is “LOW”, the signal Ye is “LOW”, and the signal O _T is “LOW”.

The AND gate 34 is configured so that the signal Sb is "LOW", the signal O _T is "Hi", and the signal Large is "Hi".
When , the 16Hz signal _φ16 is selected as the motor drive signal _φM .

The AND gate 35 selects the 1 Hz signal φ ₁ as the motor drive signal φ _M when the signal Sb is “LOW”, the signal O _T is “Hi”, and the signal S _Y is “Hi”.

This concludes the explanation of FIG. 3, and next, the operation of the analog electronic timer with timer according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

During normal time display (the hour, minute, and second hands move at 1Hz and display the current time), the external operation member 5
When the is pulled out from the first stage to the second stage, the signal
Sb' becomes "Hi" momentarily, and the second counter 12, the minute counter 13, the hour counter 14, the internal time counter 20, and the table time counter 21.
is reset, and at the same time the signal Sb becomes "Hi" and enters the timer set mode.

At this time, since the minute counter 13 is reset, it no longer matches the second hand position counter 18, and the signal Ye output from the match detection circuit 19 becomes "LOW". Therefore, motor drive control circuit 2
3, the 16Hz signal φ ₁₆ is used as the motor drive signal φ _M by the AND gate 32 in FIG. 3 until the indicated position of the second hand (second hand position counter 18) matches the content of the minute counter 13 (0 minutes in this case). select.

During the timer set mode (Sb is "Hi"), when the external operating member 4 is pushed once, the signal Sa' becomes "Hi" momentarily, the set signal Se is output from the AND gate 28, and the minute counter 13 is set. It will be uploaded. At this time as well, the minute counter 13 and the second hand position counter 18 do not match, the signal Ye becomes "LOW", and the motor drive control circuit 23
The indicated position of the second hand (second hand position counter 18) is set to the minute counter 13 by the AND gate 32 shown in the figure.
16Hz addition signal _φ16 is selected as the motor drive signal _φM until it matches the contents of (in this case, until the second hand moves one step). That is, each time the external operating member 4 is pressed once and the minute counter 13 is raised, the second hand is also advanced by one step, and during the timer set mode, the second hand always indicates the position of the timer setting time. Become.

The timer setting time is determined by the hour counter 14.
When the _Q1 output of the
It's a minute.

After finishing setting the timer, press the external operating member 5.
is returned from the second stage to the first stage, and when the signal Sb becomes "LOW", the output of the AND gate 26 becomes "Hi", and the 1Hz signal φ ₁ passes through the AND gate 27 and is input to the second counter 12. The timer starts. The second counter 12 outputs a one-minute signal φmin every minute after the timer starts, and the minute counter 13 is turned down.

At this time, the minute counter 13 and second position counter 18 do not match, and the signal Ye becomes "LOW".
The motor drive control circuit 23 selects the 16 Hz signal φ ₁₆ as the motor drive signal φ _M by the AND gate 33 in FIG. 3 until the indicated position of the second hand (second hand position counter 18) matches the contents of the minute counter 13. Therefore, every time the remaining time on the timer decreases by one minute, the second hand is fast-forwarded by 59 steps at 16 Hz and again indicates the position of the remaining time on the timer. In other words, the second hand always indicates the remaining time on the timer, except when the watch is fast forwarding at 16Hz.

Minute counter 13 and hour counter 14 are both 0
(When the remaining time of the timer reaches 0), the signal O _T output from the timer 0 detection circuit 15 becomes “Hi”.
Since the output of the AND gate 26 becomes "LOW", the AND gate 27 does not allow the 1 Hz signal φ ₁ to pass, and the timer stops. signal at the same time
O _T ′ becomes “Hi” momentarily, and the buzzer ringing circuit 1
6 causes the buzzer 17 to ring for one second to notify that the timer has ended.

When the timer ends ( _OT is "Hi"), if the internal time counter 20 has a larger value than the display time counter 21, the signal Large output from the comparator circuit 22 is "Hi", so the motor The drive control circuit 23 is an AND gate 34 in FIG.
As a result, the 16Hz signal φ ₁₆ is selected until the internal time counter 20 and the display time counter match and the signal Large becomes "LOW".

Also, when the timer ends, if the internal time counter 20 has a smaller value than the display time counter 21, both the signal Large and the signal S _Y are “LOW”.
Therefore, the motor drive control circuit 23 outputs the signal S _Y
The motor drive signal φ _M is not output until becomes “Hi”. Also, when the timer ends and the current time (internal time counter 20) and display time counter 21) match, the signal S _Y becomes "Hi" and the motor drive control circuit 23 is controlled at 1Hz by the AND gate 35 in FIG. Select signal φ ₁ as motor drive signal φ _M.

Therefore, when the timer ends, if the displayed time is later than the current time, the step motor 9 is driven at 16Hz until the two match, and if the displayed time is ahead of the current time, the step motor 9 is driven at 16Hz until the two match. If the display time is not driven and the display time matches the current time, the step motor 9 is driven at 1 Hz and the display returns to the normal time display.

When configured as shown in Figure 2 above, the timer set is an analog device with a timer where the second hand indicates the timer setting time, while the timer is operating, the second hand indicates the remaining time, and after the timer ends, the current time and displayed time match. Electronic clocks became possible.

This concludes the explanation of this embodiment.

In the present invention, when the timer is operating, a coincidence detection circuit controls the operation of the second hand, and the second hand is used to display the remaining time of the timer, and when the timer is not operating, the comparison circuit controls the operation of the second hand, and the second hand is displayed. It is configured to display the time. At that time, the hour and minute hands are displaying the time.

Therefore, since the current time and the remaining time on the timer can be checked at the same time, it is possible to provide an analog electronic timer with a timer that is extremely easy to see and use. Moreover, since it is not necessary to use a display element such as a liquid crystal, it is possible to create an analog electronic clock with a timer that is excellent in design, and is extremely effective in practical use.

In the embodiment of the present invention, an example has been described in which minute-by-minute settings are made by pressing the external operating member, but the timer settings can be set by pressing the external operating member for a long time (for example, 1 to 2 seconds or more). It is also possible to do this quickly and correspondingly fast-forward the pointer to display the set time.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, a 16Hz signal is used as a signal for fast forwarding of the step motor, but it is not limited to a 16Hz signal, and as long as one cycle is larger than the transient vibration period of the step motor, fast forwarding can be performed. Any frequency signal may be used as the signal.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the timer is finished and the time displayed on the display section is ahead of the current time, the step motor is not driven and the step motor is waited for the current time to catch up with the displayed time. However, as another method, the step motor may be reversed.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the second hand is configured to always display the remaining time of the timer after the timer starts, but there is another method, for example, when the external operation member 4 is displayed after the timer starts. It is also possible to have the remaining time displayed only when .

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, a reusable external operating member 5 is involved in resetting, setting, and starting the timer, but the configuration of the external operating member for resetting, setting, and starting the timer is free. be. For example, by combining the operating time of the push-type external operating member 4 and the state of the counter of the timer, it is possible to reset, set, and start the timer.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1: External view of an analog electronic timer with a timer using the present invention, Fig. 2: A block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3: The motor drive control circuit 23 of Fig. 2. Specific configuration example. 1... Oscillation circuit, 2, 3... Frequency dividing circuit, 4, 5
... External operation member, 6 ... Chattering prevention circuit, 7 ... Switch control circuit, 8 ... Step motor drive pulse forming circuit, 9 ... Step motor, 10 ... Wheel train, 11 ... Hour, minute, and second hands. , 12
...Second counter, 13...Minute counter, 14
...Hour counter, 15...Timer 0 detection circuit, 16...Buzzer ringing circuit, 17...Buzzer,
18... Second hand position counter, 19... Coincidence detection circuit, 20... Internal time counter, 21... Display time counter, 22... Comparison circuit, 23...
Motor drive control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A timer circuit unit having at least a second hand position counter and a timer counter that stores the indicated position of the second hand, and a timer circuit unit that compares the states of the second hand position counter and the timer counter and outputs a matching signal to a motor drive control circuit. Consisting of a coincidence detection circuit, an internal time counter that counts the time, a display time counter that counts the display position of the hand, and a comparison circuit that compares the contents of the internal time counter and the display time counter and sends a signal to the motor drive control circuit, An analog electronic timepiece with a timer, characterized in that when the timer is operating, the coincidence detection circuit controls the operation of the second hand, and when the timer is not operating, the comparison circuit controls the operation of the second hand.