JP2004077492A - Radio-controlled clock and method of controlling radio-controlled clock - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a radio-controlled timepiece and a control method of the radio-controlled timepiece, which can display an elapsed time after time correction.
SOLUTION: A current time information storage circuit 41 for inputting a reference clock and measuring the current time, a display section 5 for displaying the measured current time, and a receiving section 2 for receiving a standard radio wave including time information. A radio-controlled timepiece 1 having a current time correction circuit 42 for correcting the current time based on the time information received by the reception unit 2, a reception time storage circuit 43 for storing the time information received by the reception unit 2, By calculating the time difference between the reception time information stored in the reception time storage circuit 43 and the current time measured by the current time information storage circuit 43, the time elapsed since the reception unit 2 received the time information Is provided, and the elapsed time calculated by the elapsed time calculation circuit 44 is displayed on the display unit 5.
[Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a radio-controlled timepiece and a control method of the radio-controlled timepiece. In particular, the present invention relates to a radio-controlled timepiece capable of displaying an elapsed time after time correction and a control method of the radio-controlled timepiece.

2. Description of the Related Art A radio-controlled timepiece that receives a long-wave standard radio wave on which time information is superimposed and corrects the time is known. Such a radio-controlled timepiece receives time information at a set reception time and automatically corrects the time.
However, radio-controlled timepieces may not be able to correctly receive time information at the set reception time, and may not be able to perform time correction due to the surrounding electric field conditions, for example, the influence of magnetic fields and the difficulty of radio waves reaching inside the building. . Therefore, a radio-controlled timepiece that can display whether or not time information is normally received is known.

For example, in the analog type radio-controlled timepiece, when reception is normally performed at the latest (last time) set reception time by a user's external input operation, the second hand points to the “12” scale and the latest setting is performed. In the case where reception is not performed normally at the set reception time, there is a case where the second hand points to the scale of “6”. Thereby, the user can know whether or not the time information has been normally received.
In addition, when reception is normally performed at the latest set reception time, there is also a lamp that turns on a lamp.

However, in the above configuration, even if it is determined that reception has not been performed normally at the latest set reception time, it is determined how long the time information has not been received. Can not. Therefore, there is a problem that the user cannot judge how much the displayed time is shifted, and further, whether it is necessary to forcibly receive the time information and correct the time.

Incidentally, it is theoretically possible to store the time at which the previous reception was successful and display this time, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-212857. However, in order to display the time of the last successful reception in an analog manner, the hands (hour hand, minute hand) must be rotated many times. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not realistic when the display time and power consumption are considered. Furthermore, there is a problem in that only the reception time can be displayed only for a period within 12 hours.

An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problem and to provide a radio-controlled timepiece and a control method of the radio-controlled timepiece that can display the elapsed time since the time is corrected.

The radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 1 receives a reference clock and measures current time, current time display means for displaying the measured current time, and receives a standard time signal including time information. A time correction means for correcting the current time of the clocking means based on the time information received by the reception means, wherein the time information received by the reception means is stored. Time storage means, by calculating the time difference between the reception time information stored in the reception time storage means and the current time measured by the time measurement means, after receiving the time information in the reception means An elapsed time calculating means for calculating the elapsed time and an elapsed time displaying means for displaying the elapsed time calculated by the elapsed time calculating means are provided.

According to such a configuration, the time measuring means measures the current time by counting the reference clock. This current time is displayed by the current time display means. When a standard radio wave including time information is received, the current time measured by the clock means is corrected by the current time correction means based on the time information. On the other hand, the reception time storage means stores the date and time when the time information was received and the time was corrected by storing the time information received by the reception means. The elapsed time calculation means calculates a time difference between the date and time (reception time information) stored in the reception time storage means and the current time measured by the clock means. Then, it is possible to calculate the elapsed time from the time correction based on the time information to the present. The calculated elapsed time is displayed on the elapsed time display means, and the time from the time correction to the present, that is, the elapsed time during which the time is not corrected can be displayed.

In this way, the elapsed time without time adjustment can be displayed by the elapsed time calculation means. For example, if it is possible to roughly estimate that the clock is a radio-controlled timepiece having a crystal accuracy of 20 seconds per month, the time adjustment It is possible to judge how much error is included in the current time displayed in consideration of the elapsed time during which the operation is not performed. For example, if it is determined that the elapsed time is 5 days, the approximate error can be estimated to be 5 seconds. If it is possible to know the elapsed time after performing the time correction, it is possible to determine whether it is necessary to receive the time information and perform the time correction. For example, if the elapsed time is not so long, it can be determined that there is no need to bother adjusting the time. Conversely, if the elapsed time is long, it can be determined that it is necessary to receive the time information and correct the time. In general, it takes several minutes to receive the time information and correct the time, the power consumption is large, and the receiving place is limited. Considering this, it is very convenient to be able to judge whether or not to correct the time by displaying the elapsed time.

(4) When calculating the time difference between the current time of the clock means and the date and time at which the time information was received, the power consumption is not increased because the elapsed time calculation means only needs to calculate the elapsed time when displaying the elapsed time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a radio-controlled timepiece configured to receive a reference clock, to measure a current time, to display the measured current time, and to receive a standard time signal including time information. Receiving means, and a current time correction means for correcting the current time of the timekeeping means based on the time information received by the receiving means, the radio-controlled timepiece from the time when the time information is received by the receiving means An elapsed time measuring means for measuring the elapsed time by using the reference clock and an elapsed time display means for displaying the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measuring means are provided.

According to such a configuration, the time measuring means measures the current time by counting the reference clock. This current time is displayed on the current time display means. When the standard radio wave including the time information is received by the receiving means, the current time measured by the clock means is corrected by the current time correcting means based on the time information. On the other hand, the elapsed time measuring means measures the elapsed time by setting the time point at which the time is corrected to zero and counting the reference clock from there. The measured elapsed time is displayed by the elapsed time display means, and the time from the time correction to the present, that is, the elapsed time while the time is not corrected can be displayed.

Even in such a configuration, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be obtained. In other words, by displaying the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measuring means, it is possible to provide information for determining whether or not to correct the time.
The measurement of the elapsed time by the elapsed time measuring means is simple because the same reference clock as that of the time measuring means may be counted.

The radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 3 is the radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the current time display means is performed by a pointer, and the elapsed time display means is controlled by one of the hands. The elapsed time is displayed by indicating a scale on the dial corresponding to the elapsed time.

According to such a configuration, the elapsed time display means can display the elapsed time using the hands as the current time display means, so that it is necessary to separately provide a display unit for displaying the elapsed time on the conventional radio-controlled timepiece. There is no. Since both seconds and minutes have up to 60 graduations, the elapsed time can be displayed up to 59 hours if displayed in units of time, and up to 59 days if displayed in units of days. Similarly, the hour hand can display up to 11 days.
In addition, for example, when the hands are driven by a plurality of motors, the second hand, the minute hand and the hour hand are relatively easy to drive, so displaying the elapsed time using the second hand, the minute hand or the hour hand is a simple operation of the current time display function. It can be achieved by various improvements. Therefore, a radio-controlled timepiece that displays elapsed time at a simple and low cost can be provided.

The radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 4 is the radio-controlled timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elapsed time display means, after one of the hands has once moved to a reference position, One is that the elapsed time is displayed by indicating a scale on the dial corresponding to the elapsed time.

A radio-controlled timepiece according to a fifth aspect is characterized in that, in the radio-controlled timepiece according to the fourth aspect, the reference position is a return-to-zero position of the hands.

According to such a configuration, it is easy to understand that the user has shifted from the current time display to the elapsed time display by the operation of temporarily moving to the reference position. Further, if the reference position is set to the zero position, the elapsed time can be indicated by a scale indicated after the second hand, the minute hand or the hour hand has returned to zero. Therefore, the elapsed time after the time is corrected can be represented by the scale indicated by the second hand, the minute hand, or the hour hand, and the user can easily read the elapsed time. For example, if the elapsed time is one day, the second hand, the minute hand, or the hour hand may point to “1” on the scale.

A radio-controlled timepiece according to a sixth aspect is the radio-controlled timepiece according to the first or second aspect, further comprising current time display means provided with a second hand for indicating a second of the current time, wherein the elapsed time display means comprises: The elapsed time display means is configured to include a second hand, and the elapsed time display means performs an elapsed time display drive different from the drive for displaying the current time at the elapsed time indicating position determined according to the elapsed time. The elapsed time is displayed.

A radio-controlled timepiece according to a seventh aspect is characterized in that, in the radio-controlled timepiece according to the sixth aspect, the drive for displaying the elapsed time different from the normal is to stop for a time set at the elapsed time display position. And

In such a configuration, if the second hand is driven according to the elapsed time, for example, if the elapsed time is one day, the elapsed time is displayed at 1 on the scale and different from the normal current time display, the elapsed time is displayed. Can be shown. As the elapsed time display drive, the elapsed time can be displayed by momentarily stopping the second hand at a position corresponding to the elapsed time.
The second hand is driven so as to make one revolution in 60 seconds even when driving to display the normal current time, and the normal driving of the current time is performed up to the position where the elapsed time is displayed. When the second hand reaches the position where the elapsed time is displayed, the second hand is temporarily stopped. Thereafter, by fast-forwarding and returning to the drive for normal display of the current time, the display of the elapsed time and the display of the current time can be performed simultaneously.
According to the present invention, the elapsed time can be simultaneously displayed while performing the normal current time.

9. The radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 8, wherein the radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the receiving means stores an automatic reception time at which the standard radio wave is automatically received. Is provided, and the elapsed time display means displays the elapsed time that is equal to or longer than the interval of the automatic reception time.

A radio-controlled timepiece according to a ninth aspect is the radio-controlled timepiece according to the eighth aspect, wherein the elapsed time display means displays the elapsed time when the elapsed time becomes 27 hours or more. I do.

A radio-controlled timepiece according to a tenth aspect is the radio-controlled timepiece according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein the elapsed time display means displays the elapsed time in one of an hour unit and a day unit. It is characterized by.

Generally, the radio-controlled timepiece has a reception schedule for receiving time information and correcting the time. Therefore, the time interval of the set automatic reception time, for example, when reception once a day is set, the reception time does not fail for the elapsed time less than 24 hours, and the time is normally corrected. Means that Therefore, displaying the elapsed time within 24 hours is not meaningful. In addition, for example, the accuracy of a quartz watch has little error since the day difference is ± 1 second or less. If only the elapsed time that is longer than the set automatic reception time interval is displayed, not only the elapsed time without time correction but also the display of the elapsed time indicates that reception was not successful. Can be implied.
Even if the reception is not successful at the set automatic reception time, the reception operation may be repeated for several hours to receive the time information. Therefore, instead of one day (24 hours), if a margin is given to display a time after a lapse of a predetermined time from 24 hours, for example, an elapsed time of 27 hours or more, the reception time of this reception time is displayed. No shift is displayed.
The unit for displaying the elapsed time may be hourly or daily. If you always want to know the exact time, it is better to display the elapsed time in hours. In addition, if the time correction is required only once every few days or several weeks, the elapsed time may be displayed in days.

The radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 11 is the radio-controlled timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the elapsed time display means displays the elapsed time periodically according to a preset schedule. It is characterized by.

A radio-controlled timepiece according to a twelfth aspect is the radio-controlled timepiece according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, further comprising an external operation input unit configured to perform an external operation, and the elapsed time display unit being configured to control the external operation time. The elapsed time is displayed by operating the input unit.

(4) If the display of the elapsed time is performed according to a preset schedule, the elapsed time is automatically displayed even if the user does not perform any operation, which is convenient and convenient. If the elapsed time is displayed by operating the external operation input unit, the elapsed time can be displayed when it is desired to know the elapsed time.

A control method for a radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 13, wherein a timekeeping step of inputting a reference clock to measure the current time, a current time display step of displaying the measured current time, and a standard method including time information are provided. A method for controlling a radio-controlled timepiece, comprising: a receiving step of receiving a radio wave; and a current time correction step of correcting the current time of the clocking step based on the time information received in the receiving step. Receiving the time information in the receiving step by calculating a time difference between the receiving time information stored in the receiving time storing step and the current time measured in the clocking step; An elapsed time calculating step of calculating an elapsed time after the operation is performed, and an elapsed time displaying step of displaying a time difference calculated in the elapsed time calculating step are provided.

A control method of a radio-controlled timepiece according to claim 14, wherein a timekeeping step of clocking a current time by inputting a reference clock, a current time display step of displaying the clocked current time, and a standard method including time information A receiving step of receiving a radio wave, and a method of controlling a radio-controlled timepiece including a time correction step of correcting the current time of the clocking step based on the time information received in the receiving step, wherein the time information is obtained by the receiving step. An elapsed time measuring step of measuring an elapsed time from the time when the received time is received using the reference clock, and an elapsed time displaying step of displaying the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measuring step are provided. I do.

According to the thirteenth aspect, the same operation and effect as those of the first aspect can be obtained. According to the fourteenth aspect, the same operation and effect as those of the second aspect can be obtained. That is, the elapsed time in which the time is not adjusted in the elapsed time calculation step or the elapsed time measurement step can be displayed. Therefore, it is possible to determine how much error is included in the current time displayed in consideration of the elapsed time in which the time has not been adjusted, and to determine whether it is necessary to receive the time information and perform the time adjustment. You can also judge.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(1st Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a view showing a first embodiment of a radio-controlled timepiece according to the present invention.
The radio-controlled timepiece 1 is an analog display type, and has a receiving unit 2 as a receiving unit for receiving a standard radio wave including time information, a reference signal generating unit 3 for generating a reference clock, and a control for controlling the entire device. A circuit 4; a display unit 5 as current time display means for displaying time and the like; a drive control unit 6 for controlling driving of the display unit 5 in response to a command from the control circuit 4; An operation input unit 7 is provided.

The receiving unit 2 receives an antenna 21 that receives a standard radio wave including time information, a receiving circuit 22 that processes (amplifies, demodulates, etc.) the time information received by the antenna 21, and a time information based on the signal processed by the receiving circuit 22. And a reception power supply circuit 24 for supplying power to the reception circuit 22.

長 As a standard radio wave including time information, a long-wave standard radio wave (JJY) or the like can be used. The time code format of the long-wave standard radio wave includes, as items, a minute, an hour, a total day from January 1 of the current year, a year (last two digits of the Christian era), a day of the week, and a leap second. Time information of 0 seconds per minute is transmitted at one minute intervals. The value of each item is constituted by a combination of numerical values assigned every second. By the way, since the long-wave standard radio wave is based on the cesium atomic clock, a radio-controlled clock that receives this long-wave standard radio wave and corrects the time can obtain a very high accuracy of 1 second in 100,000 years. .

The reception circuit 22 starts the operation of receiving the time information by activating the reception power supply circuit 24 by the signal from the control circuit 4, and outputs the received time information to the decoding circuit 23. The receiving circuit 22 amplifies and demodulates the received time information.
The receiving unit 2 performs a receiving step.

The reference signal generation unit 3 includes an oscillation circuit 31 including a reference oscillator and the like, and a frequency division circuit 32 that divides a pulse from the oscillation circuit 31 to generate a reference clock (1 Hz or the like). . The generated reference clock is output to the control circuit 4.

The control circuit 4 includes a current time information storage circuit 41 as a time measuring means, a current time correction circuit 42 as a current time correction means, a reception time storage circuit 43 as a reception time storage means, and a elapsed time calculation means as an elapsed time calculation means. It comprises a time calculation circuit 44 and an automatic reception schedule storage circuit 45 as an automatic reception schedule storage means.
The current time information storage circuit 41 performs a clocking step of counting the reference clock generated by the reference signal generation unit 3 and measuring the current time. The current time measured by the current time information storage circuit unit 41 is output to the display unit 5 and displayed.

(4) When the time information received by the receiver 2 is input, the current time correction circuit 42 performs a time correction step of correcting the current time based on the time information. At this time, the current time correction circuit 42 determines whether the time information received by the receiving unit 2 is accurate. Whether or not the received time information is accurate is determined, for example, in the case of a long-wave standard radio wave by receiving two or more frames of time information transmitted at one-minute intervals and receiving the time information at one-minute intervals. Judge based on whether it is information. If it is determined that the received time information is accurate, and if the time information is different from the current time measured by the current time information storage circuit 41, the current time correction circuit 42 41 is overwritten and corrected.

(4) The reception time storage circuit 43 performs a reception time storage step of storing the time information received by the reception unit 2. By storing the time information received by the receiving unit 2 in this way, the time at which the current time information storage circuit 41 has corrected the time is stored. The reception time storage circuit 43 stores the latest (previous) time information received by the reception unit 2 and is overwritten when the reception unit 2 newly receives time information.

The elapsed time calculation circuit 44 performs an elapsed time calculation step of calculating a time difference between the current time counted by the current time information storage circuit 41 and the reception time stored in the reception time storage circuit 43. As described above, by calculating the time difference between the current time and the reception time, the elapsed time from the time correction to the present is calculated. The calculated elapsed time is displayed by the display unit 5 via the drive control unit 6, and a detailed display method will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and the like.
In the automatic reception schedule storage circuit 45, a schedule for receiving time information by the receiving unit 2 is set. The set schedule is set, for example, to start receiving at 2:00 am once a day. When the set reception time is reached, a signal is output from the control circuit 4 to the reception power supply circuit 25, and the reception circuit 22 receives the time information.

The display unit 5 is of an analog type, and includes a dial 51 having a scale, an hour hand 52, a minute hand 53, and a second hand 54. The hour hand 52, the minute hand 53, and the second hand 54 are driven by drive means such as a stepping motor, and are driven and controlled by a command from the control circuit 4 via the drive control unit 6. The display unit 5 constitutes a current time display unit. In the present embodiment, since the elapsed time is displayed by using the second hand 54, the elapsed time display means is constituted by the dial 51 and the second hand 54. The operation of the second hand 54 for displaying the elapsed time will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and the like.

The drive control unit 6 receives a command from the control circuit 4 and outputs a pulse signal for driving the hands (hour hand 52, minute hand 53, second hand 54) of the display unit 5; It comprises a hand position detecting circuit 62 for detecting the positions of the minute hand 53 and the second hand 54).
When displaying the current time in the current time information storage circuit 41, the drive control circuit 61 outputs a normal pulse signal for displaying the current time, and displays the elapsed time from the elapsed time calculation circuit 44. , The second hand 54 is driven by a special drive pulse different from the normal operation. The operation of the second hand 54 for displaying the elapsed time will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and the like.
The external operation input unit 7 includes a crown 71 and a button switch 72. For example, the crown 71 is configured so that the RM1 and RM2 are OPEN at the 0th stage, RM1 is ON at the 1st stage, and RM2 is ON at the 2nd stage. Calendar alignment (not shown), needle positioning in two stages. In addition, when the crown 71 is in the 0th stage, the current time is displayed normally, and when the crown 71 is in the 0th stage and the button switch 72 is turned on, the elapsed time is displayed.

The operation of the radio-controlled timepiece 1 having such a configuration will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the operation of receiving the time information and correcting the time will be described with reference to FIG.
In ST1, when the set reception time is reached, power is supplied from the reception power supply circuit 24, and the reception circuit 22 starts the reception operation (ST2). Then, the time information received by the antenna 21 is processed by the receiving circuit 22, decoded by the decoding circuit 23, and output to the current time correction circuit 42. At this time, the current time correction circuit 42 determines whether the time information is normally received (ST3). If it is determined in ST3 that the time information is normally received (successful reception), the receiving circuit 22 is stopped in ST4, and the time information is output to the reception time storage circuit 43. The reception time storage circuit 43 stores the received time information (ST5). The current time correction circuit 42 determines whether the received time information is different from the current time in the current time information storage circuit 41 (ST6), and if so, corrects the current time in the current time information storage circuit 41. At the same time, the time display on the display unit 5 is corrected (ST7). This is because when the time displayed on the display unit 5 is detected by the hand position detection circuit 62 and the current time information storage circuit 41 and the time displayed on the display unit 5 do not match, a pointer is set so that they match. Drive.

If the reception is not performed normally in ST3, the reception circuit 22 is stopped in ST8, and the time correction is ended as it is. If the received time information matches the current time in the current time information storage circuit 41 in ST6, the process ends without performing time correction.

Next, an operation of displaying the elapsed time after receiving the time information will be described with reference to FIG.
First, in ST21, the user issues a command to display the elapsed time by operating the external operation input unit 7. For example, there is a case where the crown 71 is turned on at the 0th stage and the button switch 72 is turned on. Then, in ST22, the second hand 54 temporarily returns to the zero position, which is the reference position. Next, in ST23, the elapsed time after receiving the time information is calculated. The elapsed time calculation circuit 44 calculates the time difference between the time information stored in the reception time storage circuit 43 and the current time in the current time information storage circuit 41. Elapsed time is calculated on a daily basis and rounded down. A signal is output from the elapsed time calculation circuit 44 to the drive control circuit 61 in accordance with the calculated elapsed time, and the pulse signal from the drive control circuit 61 drives the second hand 54 to the elapsed time indication position indicating the elapsed time in ST24. Is done. Here, the elapsed time indication position is, for example, the scale “1” of the dial 51 if the elapsed time is one day or more and two days or less, which will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In ST25, the second hand 54 is stopped for 4 seconds at the position where the elapsed time is displayed. When four seconds have elapsed, in ST26, the second hand 54 is driven to fast-forward, and the second hand 54 displays the current time.

The elapsed time indication position in driving the second hand 54 in ST24 of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
The elapsed time indication position is determined according to the elapsed time calculated by the elapsed time calculation circuit 44. In the present embodiment, the elapsed time is calculated in days. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given.
In ST31, if the elapsed time is within one day, the elapsed time calculated by the elapsed time calculation circuit 44 is 0, so the second hand 54 returns to zero (ST22 in FIG. 3) and then stops for 4 seconds (FIG. 3). (ST25 of 3) to end the display of the elapsed time. Here, after the end of FIG. 4, the process continues to ST25 of FIG. If the elapsed time is one day or more and less than two days in ST32, the calculated elapsed time is 1, and the second hand 54 is driven to one second (ST33). In ST34, if the elapsed time is two days or more and less than three days, the calculated elapsed time is 2, so the second hand 54 is driven to two seconds (ST35). If the elapsed time is between 58 days and 59 days, the calculated elapsed time is 58, and the second hand 54 is driven to 58 seconds (ST37). When the elapsed time exceeds 59 days, the second hand 54 is driven to 59 seconds regardless of the calculated elapsed time.

The effect of the radio-controlled timepiece 1 having such a configuration will be described.
Since the elapsed time calculation circuit 44 is provided and the calculated elapsed time can be indicated by the position indicated by the second hand 54, the elapsed time without time correction can be displayed. Therefore, it is possible to estimate how much the displayed time is shifted in consideration of the time during which the time is not adjusted. If the elapsed time is short, it can be determined that the time information need not be received and the time adjustment need not be performed. Conversely, if the elapsed time is long, it can be determined that the time adjustment is required.

The elapsed time is calculated on a daily basis, and the elapsed time is displayed using the second hand 54 having a scale of up to 60, so that the elapsed time up to 59 days can be displayed.
Since the display of the elapsed time is performed by driving the second hand 54 which is easy to control, the display is simple and the elapsed time can be quickly displayed from the display of the current time. Also, after the elapsed time is displayed, the second hand 54 can be quickly advanced to quickly return from the elapsed time display to the normal current time display.

The elapsed time calculation circuit 44 only needs to operate when instructed by the external operation input unit 7 to display the elapsed time, and does not increase power consumption.
Since the elapsed time is displayed by also using the second hand 54 for displaying the time, there is no need to separately provide a display unit for displaying the elapsed time, and the radio-controlled timepiece 1 does not need to be enlarged.
Since the second hand 54 is temporarily returned to zero, it is easy for the user to understand that the display has shifted to the elapsed time display.

(2nd Embodiment)
FIG. 5 shows a radio-controlled timepiece 11 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Although the second embodiment has the same basic components as the first embodiment, the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the control circuit 4, and in particular, the calculation of the elapsed time. There is a characteristic.
The control circuit 4 of the radio-controlled timepiece 11 includes a current time information storage circuit 41, a current time correction circuit 42, an elapsed time measurement circuit 46 as elapsed time measurement means, and an automatic reception schedule storage circuit 45. ing.

The current time information storage circuit 41, the current time correction circuit 42, and the automatic reception schedule storage circuit 45 are the same as in the first embodiment.
When the reception unit 2 and the control circuit 4 successfully receive the time information, the elapsed time measurement circuit 46 performs an elapsed time measurement step of counting the time elapsed from the time when the time information is received as zero. The elapsed time measurement circuit 46 measures the elapsed time by counting the reference clock generated by the reference signal generator 3. Here, the elapsed time to be measured is in days.

FIG. 6 shows the operation of the radio-controlled timepiece 11 having such a configuration.
The basic operation is the same as that of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 2. The difference from the first embodiment is that if the reception is successful in ST43, the receiving circuit 22 is stopped (ST44), and the elapsed time is detected in ST46. The point is that the measurement circuit 46 starts measuring the elapsed time.

According to such a configuration, the elapsed time after the reception unit 2 receives the time information is measured by the elapsed time measurement circuit 46. The measured elapsed time is displayed on the display unit 5 when a command is issued by operating the external operation input unit 7. The method of displaying the elapsed time is the same as that of the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. After the second hand 54 is once reset to zero, the second hand 54 is driven to the elapsed time indication position according to the measured elapsed time. And the elapsed time is indicated.
According to such a radio-controlled timepiece 11, in addition to the same effects as in the first embodiment, the elapsed time measurement circuit 46 can count the same reference clock as the current time information storage circuit 41, so that a simple configuration is provided. , The elapsed time can be measured.

(Modification 1)
Modification 1 of the present invention is shown in FIGS. The modification 1 is different from the first embodiment in the driving of the second hand 54 in the display of the elapsed time.
The modification 1 is characterized in that the elapsed time obtained by the elapsed time calculation circuit 44 or the elapsed time measurement circuit 46 is always displayed automatically instead of a command by the operation of the external operation input unit 7.
First, the driving of the second hand 54 will be described with reference to FIG.
In ST52, the elapsed time is obtained. This may be the elapsed time calculated by the elapsed time calculation circuit 44 described in the first embodiment, or may be the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measurement circuit 46 described in the second embodiment. In ST53, the second hand 54 is driven according to the elapsed time. In this operation, the second hand 54 drives to display the normal current time. If the elapsed time is one day or more and two days or less, for example, the second hand 54 stops at the elapsed time indicating position indicating the scale "1" of the dial 51. The elapsed time is indicated by the position where the second hand 54 stops. Details will be described with reference to FIG. When four seconds have elapsed after the second hand 54 has stopped in ST54, the normal current time is continuously displayed by rapidly moving the second hand 54 in ST55.
By repeating such an operation every minute, normal current time display and elapsed time display are performed.

With reference to FIG. 8, a description will be given of the elapsed time indicating position and the driving of the second hand 54 in the first modification.
The driving of the second hand 54 according to the elapsed time is characterized in that the second hand 54 is stopped at a position indicating the elapsed time during the driving of the second hand 54 for displaying the normal current time. That is, in ST61, if the elapsed time is within one day, the required elapsed time is 0, so that the second hand 54 does not stop and the normal current time display is performed. In this case, the process continues to the end of FIG. In ST62, if the elapsed time is one day or more and two days or less, the required elapsed time is 1, so the second hand 54 is driven normally until one second and stopped at the one-second position (ST63). In ST63, after the second hand 54 is stopped for 4 seconds (ST54 in FIG. 7), fast-forward driving is performed in ST55 in FIG. 7 and the display returns to the normal current time display. Returning to the normal current time display by fast-forward driving after the stop of the second hand 54 is the same in the following description. In ST64, if the elapsed time is 2 days or more and within 3 days, the required elapsed time is 2, so that the second hand 54 is driven normally until 2 seconds and stopped at the position of 2 seconds (ST65). Hereinafter, the same applies when the elapsed time is within 4 days, within 5 days, and so on. In ST66, if the elapsed time is between 53 days and 54 days, the required elapsed time is 53, so that the second hand 54 is driven normally until 53 seconds and stopped at the position of 53 seconds (ST67). In ST66, when the elapsed time exceeds 54 days, the second hand 54 is driven normally until 54 seconds regardless of the required elapsed time, and stopped at the position of 54 seconds.

According to the first modification, the following effects can be obtained.
If the elapsed time is set to be displayed, the elapsed time is always displayed, so that there is no troublesome operation on the external operation input unit 7. For example, it may be set so that the elapsed time is always displayed when the crown 71 is set to 0 or 1 stage.
Since the elapsed time is displayed during the display of the current time, both the current time and the elapsed time can be displayed.
Since the maximum value indicating the elapsed time is set to 54, zero seconds per minute can be indicated by performing fast-forward driving after stopping for 4 seconds.

(Modification 2)
FIG. 9 shows a second modification of the present invention. Modification 2 differs from the first embodiment in the unit of time for display. In the first embodiment, the elapsed time is displayed in units of days, but in Modification 2, it is displayed in units of hours. Further, the driving of the second hand 54 is the same as in the first modification.
As a premise of the second modification, a reception schedule is set in the automatic reception schedule storage circuit 45 so that time information is received twice a day (2 o'clock, 4 o'clock).

The display of the elapsed time of the second modification will be described with reference to FIG.
In ST71, if the elapsed time is within 26 hours, the second hand 54 performs normal current time display without displaying the elapsed time. In ST72, if the elapsed time is between 26 hours and 27 hours, the second hand 54 is driven normally until 27 seconds, and stopped at the position of 27 seconds (ST73). In ST73, after the second hand 54 is stopped for 4 seconds, for example, fast-forward driving is performed in ST26 in FIG. 3 to return to the normal current time display. Returning to the normal current time display by fast-forward driving after the stop of the second hand 54 is the same in the following description. If the elapsed time is not less than 27 hours and not more than 28 hours in ST74, the second hand 54 is driven normally until 28 seconds, and stopped at the position of 28 seconds (ST75). Hereinafter, the same applies to the case where the elapsed time is within 29 hours, within 30 hours, and so on. In ST76, if the elapsed time is between 52 hours and 53 hours, the second hand 54 is driven normally until 53 seconds and stopped at the position of 53 seconds. In ST76, if the elapsed time is 53 hours or more, regardless of the calculated elapsed time, the second hand 54 is driven normally until 54 seconds and stopped at the position of 54 seconds.

According to the second modification, when the elapsed time is within 26 hours, the elapsed time is not displayed. This is because the automatic reception set in the automatic reception schedule storage circuit 45 can be received twice a day (2:00, 4:00) at 2:00, cannot be received at 4:00, and cannot be received at 2:00 of the next day. If it is received at 4:00, the elapsed time is 26 hours. Therefore, displaying the elapsed time after 27 hours with some allowance is sufficient to indicate that the automatic reception has not been successful.

Note that the radio-controlled timepiece of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
The elapsed time may be displayed by, for example, driving the minute hand 53, instead of driving the second hand 54.
The control circuit 4 is constituted by a computer (microcomputer) such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and includes a current time information storage circuit 41, a current time correction circuit 42, a reception time storage circuit 43, an elapsed time calculation circuit 44, and an automatic reception schedule storage circuit. 45, it may be made to function as the elapsed time measuring circuit 46. According to such a configuration, for example, setting such as changing the unit for obtaining the elapsed time from the day unit to the hour unit can be easily performed.

For example, a CPU and a memory are arranged in the radio-controlled timepieces 1 and 11 so as to function as a computer, and a predetermined control program and data can be stored in the memory in communication means such as the Internet, a CD-ROM, a memory card, or the like. May be installed via the recording medium described above, and the installed program may be used to operate a CPU or the like to realize each unit.
The predetermined programs and the like may be installed in the radio-controlled timepieces 1 and 11 by directly inserting a memory card, a CD-ROM, or the like, or by externally connecting a device that reads these storage media. Is also good. Furthermore, the program or the like may be supplied and installed by communication by connecting to a LAN cable, a telephone line, or the like, or the program may be supplied and installed by wireless since the antenna 21 is provided.

If the control programs and the like provided by such a recording medium and communication means such as the Internet are incorporated in the radio-controlled timepieces 1 and 11, the functions of the inventions described above can be realized only by changing the programs. Can select and incorporate a desired control program. In this case, various radio-controlled timepieces 1 and 11 having different control formats can be manufactured only by changing the program, so that parts can be used in common, and the manufacturing cost when developing variations can be greatly reduced.

The driving of the second hand 54 at the elapsed time indication position (elapsed time display driving) is not limited to stoppage, but may be, for example, vibration.
The time at which the second hand 54 stops at the elapsed time indicating position is not limited to 4 seconds, and may be longer or shorter than 4 seconds. Alternatively, after the second hand 54 stops at the elapsed time indicating position, the second hand 54 may be kept stopped until a command is issued by operating the external operation input unit 7.
The display of the elapsed time may be set so as to be automatically displayed periodically without depending on the instruction by the operation of the external operation input unit 7.
It is needless to say that various appropriate combinations of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the first modification, and the second modification are included in the present invention. For example, Modification 1 is combined with the first embodiment. Modification 1 and Modification 2 are combined with the first embodiment. Modification 2 is combined with the first embodiment. The first embodiment is combined with the second embodiment. The second embodiment and the second modification are combined with the first embodiment. The second embodiment, the first modification, and the second modification are combined.

In the above embodiment, the display unit 5 is of an analog display type provided with hands indicating time, but may be of a digital display type. Even if the display unit 5 is a digital display type, the elapsed time obtained by the elapsed time calculation circuit 43 or the elapsed time measurement circuit 45 can be digitally displayed. The elapsed time may be displayed by starting the elapsed time display instead of the current time display by operating the external operation input unit 7 and canceling the elapsed time display by operating the external operation input unit 7. Alternatively, it may be set so that the elapsed time is displayed for only a few seconds while the current time is displayed. Alternatively, the current time and the elapsed time may be displayed simultaneously in parallel.

Other aspects of the present invention are described below.
A first aspect is a clocking means for inputting a reference clock to time the current time, a current time display means for displaying the clocked current time, a receiving means for receiving a standard radio wave including time information, A computer is incorporated in a radio-controlled timepiece having a current time correction unit that corrects the current time of the clock unit based on the time information received by the reception unit. Receiving time information stored in the reception time storage means, and calculating the time difference between the reception time information stored in the reception time storage means and the current time measured by the clocking means; Control of a radio-controlled timepiece for functioning as elapsed time calculating means for calculating an elapsed time since the time has elapsed, and as elapsed time displaying means for displaying the elapsed time calculated by the elapsed time calculating means. Is a program.

A second aspect is a clocking means for inputting a reference clock to time the current time, a current time display means for displaying the clocked current time, a receiving means for receiving a standard radio wave including time information, A computer is incorporated in a radio-controlled timepiece having a current time correction unit that corrects the current time of the clock unit based on the time information received by the reception unit. Receiving time information stored in the reception time storage means, and calculating the time difference between the reception time information stored in the reception time storage means and the current time measured by the clocking means; And a radio-controlled timepiece for functioning as elapsed time display means for displaying the elapsed time calculated by the elapsed time calculation means. A readable recording medium according to recording a computer program.

A third aspect is a clocking means for inputting a reference clock to time the current time, a current time display means for displaying the clocked current time, a receiving means for receiving a standard radio wave including time information, A computer is incorporated in a radio-controlled timepiece including a current time correction unit that corrects the current time of the clock unit based on the time information received by the reception unit, and the computer receives the time information by the reception unit. A control program for a radio-controlled timepiece for functioning as an elapsed time measuring means for measuring the elapsed time from the time using the reference clock and an elapsed time display means for displaying the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measuring means. is there.

A fourth aspect is a clocking means for inputting a reference clock to time the current time, a current time display means for displaying the clocked current time, a receiving means for receiving a standard radio wave including time information, A computer is incorporated in a radio-controlled timepiece including a current time correction unit that corrects the current time of the clock unit based on the time information received by the reception unit, and the computer receives the time information by the reception unit. Elapsed time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from time using the reference clock, and a control program for a radio-controlled clock for functioning as an elapsed time display means for displaying the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measuring means. It is a computer-readable recording medium on which the recording is performed.

As described above, according to the radio-controlled timepiece and the method of controlling the radio-controlled timepiece of the present invention, an excellent effect that the elapsed time since the time is corrected can be displayed.

It is a figure showing composition of a 1st embodiment concerning a radio controlled timepiece of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of a time correction in the said 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows drive of the second hand which shows elapsed time in the said 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which determines the elapsed time indication position indicated by the second hand according to the elapsed time in the first embodiment. It is a figure showing composition of a 2nd embodiment concerning a radio-controlled timepiece of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the time correction of the said 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification 1 of drive of the second hand which shows elapsed time. 9 is a flowchart for determining an elapsed time indication position indicated by a second hand according to the elapsed time of Modification Example 1. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a second modification of the determination of the elapsed time indication position and the second hand drive.

Explanation of reference numerals

1, 11: radio-controlled timepiece, 2: reception unit (reception unit), 5: display unit (current time display unit, elapsed time display unit), 7: external operation input unit, 41 ..Current time information storage circuit (clocking means), 42... Current time correction circuit (current time correction means), 43... Reception time storage circuit (reception time storage means), 44.. (Elapsed time calculation means), 45: Automatic reception schedule storage circuit (Automatic reception schedule storage means), 46: Elapsed time measurement circuit (Elapsed time measurement means), 52: Hour hand, 53: Minute hand , 54 ... second hand

Claims (1)

A clock means for inputting a reference clock to time the current time, a current time display means for displaying the current time thus measured, a receiving means for receiving a standard radio wave including time information, and a signal received by the receiving means A radio-controlled timepiece having a current time correction means for correcting the current time of the timekeeping means based on time information, a computer incorporated in the radio-controlled timepiece, and a reception time storage means for storing the time information received by the reception means; And calculating the time difference between the reception time information stored in the reception time storage means and the current time measured by the time measurement means, so that the time elapsed since reception of the time information by the reception means is calculated. A control program for a radio-controlled timepiece for functioning as elapsed time calculating means for calculating, and an elapsed time displaying means for displaying the elapsed time calculated by the elapsed time calculating means.

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