JP2006153659A - Electronic clock - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic timepiece capable of reliably detecting a hand position and miniaturized.
A radio wave correction timepiece that is an electronic timepiece includes a fifth wheel 271 and a third wheel 272 that mesh with a rotor pinion 261A, and a detection hole provided in a second wheel 273, a fourth wheel 222, and an hour wheel 275. 271A, 272A, 273A, 222A, and 275A were used to detect the hour and minute hand positions. Therefore, even if the hour / minute hand motor 26 continuously steps, in the fifth wheel 271 and the third wheel 272 having a large rotation angle, there is no concern that the detection holes 271A and 272A continue to overlap each other, and the detection accuracy is improved. And the hour and minute hands can be correctly aligned with the reference position. Further, since the fifth wheel 271 and the third wheel 272 are arranged in a plane so as to overlap with the center second wheel 273 as well, the space efficiency can be improved, and the hour / minute hand wheel train. It is possible to promote downsizing by suppressing the 27 layout from expanding in the radial direction.
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece having a hand position detection function, such as a radio-controlled timepiece.

  In recent years, radio wave correction watches have been actively developed. Consumers want radio-controlled timepieces to be maintenance-free and accurate time display, but in the conventional maintenance-free aspect, there are cases where they disappoint consumer expectations. For example, the time display itself is performed very accurately based on the received time data. However, when the needle jumps when an impact is applied to the watch or when a motor error occurs in a strong magnetic field, the reference position of the hand Shifts, and as a result, different times are displayed. Further, even when the power supply voltage is once lowered below the operating voltage of the timepiece and then the voltage is increased to restore the normal function, it is necessary to correct the reference position of the hand according to a predetermined procedure.

  Therefore, a radio-controlled timepiece with a hand position detection function that automatically detects and adjusts the reference position of the hand has been developed (for example, Patent Document 1). In such a radio-controlled timepiece, a second wheel (minute hand wheel) to which a minute hand is attached, an hour wheel (hour hand wheel) to which an hour hand is attached, and a car meshing with the hour wheel (second third wheel) In addition, a detection hole for light transmission is provided in a car (first wheel No. 4) that is first driven by a motor for driving the minute hand, and light from the light emitting element is simultaneously transmitted to all the detection holes by the light receiving element. By receiving light, the position of the minute hand and hour hand in that state is determined as a reference position (usually a position just at 12 o'clock).

JP-A-2002-107465

In Patent Document 1, regarding the detection of the minute hand position, when light passes through the detection hole of the second wheel to which the minute hand is attached and the detection hole of the car that is first driven by the motor for driving the minute hand. , It is determined that the minute hand is at the reference position.
However, the rotation angle of the second wheel and the car that is first driven by the motor are greatly different in rotation angle in one step of the motor. That is, the rotation angle in one step is very large in the motor side vehicle, and very small in the second wheel. For this reason, even if the motor-side vehicle is in a light-transmitting state and the motor-side vehicle is in a light-transmitting state and the motor-side vehicle is in a light-transmitting state again, Since it does not rotate so much, the previous light transmission state is still maintained, and an accurate reference position may not be obtained.

  On the other hand, in order to obtain an accurate reference position, it is necessary to make the detection hole of the center wheel & pinion extremely small and surely deviate from the light transmission range even if it rotates slightly in one step of the motor. There is a limit to reducing the detection hole in view of the processing method and a decrease in sensitivity of the light receiving element due to the difficulty of light passing, and there is a problem that the detection hole cannot be made sufficiently small.

  Further, in Patent Document 1, a similar problem occurs with respect to detection of the hour hand position. That is, in detecting the position of the hour hand, it is determined that the hour hand is at the reference position when light passes through the detection hole of the hour wheel to which the hour hand is attached and the detection hole of the wheel meshing with the hour wheel. However, the rotation angle per step of the motor of the hour wheel is even smaller, and the rotation angle of the car meshing with this is never large. For this reason, even if the motor rotates several times, the detection holes may still overlap each other and light may pass therethrough.

  Of course, the detection hole of the hour wheel or the car meshing therewith may be made extremely small, but there are limitations as described above, which is not practical.

  Furthermore, watches with a hand position detection function tend to be larger than ordinary watches due to the complexity of their structure, but consumers are demanding smaller sizes, which will promote smaller sizes. Is desired.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic timepiece that can reliably detect the hand position and can be downsized.

The electronic timepiece of the present invention includes a motor, a train wheel driven by the motor, a light emitting element for light emission, and a light receiving element for light reception, and the train wheel meshes with a rotor pinion of the motor. Vehicle, a second vehicle to which a pointer is attached, and a third vehicle disposed between the first vehicle and the second vehicle, wherein the first to third vehicles include Further, a detection hole for transmitting light between the elements is provided in a region overlapping each other in a plane.
In the present invention, basically, based on the first car meshing with the rotor pinion and the third car leading to the second car, the needle position detection of the pointer by light transmission is performed, The second vehicle to which the pointer is attached may be provided with a detection hole to the extent that the light transmission is not hindered. At this time, since the first and third cars are cars closer to the motor, both the rotation angles with respect to one step of the motor are large, and the detection holes continue to overlap even if the motor continuously steps. And the detection accuracy is improved.
In addition, since the first to third vehicles are arranged so as to have a region that overlaps with each other in a plane, the space efficiency is good and the layout of the train wheel is prevented from expanding in the radial direction. Can promote downsizing.

In the electronic timepiece of the invention, a fourth wheel to which a hand different from the hand is attached is arranged coaxially with the second car, another wheel train including the fourth wheel, and the wheel And a needle position detection of a pointer attached to the fourth vehicle, the position of the pointer not overlapping with the second vehicle, and different from the light emitting element and the light receiving element. It is characterized by being performed using another light emitting element and light receiving element.
According to the present invention as described above, the pointer attached to the fourth vehicle and the pointer attached to the second vehicle are driven by separate wheel trains, so that each pointer is driven independently. It can be adjusted to the reference position, etc., and the alignment in a short time can be realized. Further, since the light emitting element and the light receiving element used for detecting the needle position of each pointer are also provided separately, the detection circuit can be simplified and the reliability is high.

In the electronic timepiece of the invention, the pointer attached to the second car is a minute hand, and is driven coaxially with the second car via a minute wheel that meshes with the second car. And an hour wheel to which the hour hand is attached is provided, and this hour wheel is also provided with a detection hole that overlaps with the detection holes of the first to third cars.
According to the present invention, in the 12-hour timepiece, since the hour wheel rotates at a cycle of 12 hours, the timing at which light is transmitted through the detection holes of the first to third vehicles and the hour wheel is determined. 12 hours, and a position of the display area can be used as the reference position of the minute hand and hour hand, such as the position at 12:00, and various controls based on the reference position can be facilitated.

In the electronic timepiece of the invention, the minute hand is moved in a cycle of 5 seconds or less.
A motor-driven quartz watch often has only a minute hand that is visible compared to a mechanical watch, for example because the motor output torque is low. Especially for sports watches, there are many watches that have a large and robust exterior part design, and a large minute hand that can be balanced with this appearance is desired.
However, when a large minute hand is attached, it is necessary to drive the second vehicle with a large torque, which is uneconomical because the battery life is significantly shortened.
Therefore, in a quartz watch having a structure in which the second is driven by another motor / wheel train, the minute hand is usually operated at a period of 10 seconds (or a period of 20, 30 seconds, etc.), but in this embodiment, the hand is operated at 5 seconds or less. Therefore, the gear ratio was increased by increasing the number of teeth in the train wheel. According to this, it is possible to make the second vehicle have twice as much torque (for example, in the case of 5-second hand movement) as compared with the case where a train wheel with 10-second hand movement is used, and attach a larger minute hand. Even with low power consumption, it is possible to move the hand reliably and improve the appearance.

In the electronic timepiece of the invention, the number of teeth of the rotor pinion meshing with the first wheel is eight or more.
The rotor is generally composed of two or more parts including a rotor magnet and a rotor pinion. In this case, in order to surely detect the needle position, it is required to match the phase in the rotational direction between the N pole or S pole of the rotor magnet and the rotor tooth profile. If the phase of the rotor pinion and rotor magnet do not match, the rotor's static stable position (phase position in the rotational direction where the rotor is stable when no motor pulse is applied to the coil) determined by the stator shape, Since the phase of the rotation direction of the rotor kana is determined, the amount of phase shift of the rotor kana is the maximum half pitch of the rotor kana tooth profile, and the detection hole of the first vehicle meshing with the rotor kana has a large phase. The needle position is not correctly detected because it stops at the shifted position. The normal rotor kana is not set to a very large outer diameter in order to reduce the moment of inertia for easy control, and has at most seven teeth.
However, in order to match the phase of the rotor magnet and the rotor pinion, it is necessary to manage the poles of the rotor magnet, and the rotational deviation when fixing each other is not allowed. It takes time and yield is poor.
Therefore, in the present invention, the number of teeth of the rotor pinion is set to 8 or more, preferably 10 or more, and even if the phase between the rotor magnet and the rotor pinion shifts to the maximum, the detection hole of the first vehicle that meshes with the rotor pinion. The effect of was made to not occur substantially. This makes it possible to easily manufacture parts and assemble without worrying about the phase of each other.

The electronic timepiece of the present invention includes a further train wheel different from the train wheel including the second car and / or the fourth car, and a further motor for driving the train wheel. A calendar display means is configured.
When driving the hour and minute and the calendar display means such as the calendar function with one wheel train and one motor, it is impossible to distinguish AM / PM and date by detecting the position of the hands in a 12-hour cycle. Therefore, a car provided with detection holes after the hour wheel is required (in the embodiment described later, for example, a date driving wheel 333). In this case, the structure of detecting the needle position by overlapping the detection holes of six or more cars for detecting the needle position of the hour / minute hand train wheel results in a very complicated train wheel structure. In this structure, the time required for detection is more than twice that of the conventional method, the size of the train wheel is increased (or increased) due to an increase in the train wheel necessary for detecting the needle position, and the assembly of the train wheel is complicated. There are problems such as.
In contrast, in the present invention, since the calendar display means is driven by a train wheel and a motor other than the hour / minute and second hands, the time for detecting the hand position is shortened, the timepiece is downsized, and the hand train wheel is simplified. realizable.

  In the above, it is desirable that the first to fourth cars are made of a material such as a metal having good light-shielding properties. In addition, although it may be made of a synthetic resin from the viewpoint of cost, in this case, it is preferable to use a black material in consideration of light shielding properties.

  According to the electronic timepiece of the invention, there is an effect that the hand position can be reliably detected and the size can be reduced.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 are plan views of an electronic timepiece 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the electronic timepiece 1. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3, the electronic timepiece 1 is a radio wave correction watch with a hand position detection function that receives a standard radio wave as an external signal on which time information is superimposed and corrects the display time. For 12 hours. The electronic timepiece 1 includes a pointer 2 (FIG. 3) for displaying time, a pointer driving means 20 for driving the pointer 2, a date wheel 30 (FIG. 2) as a calendar display mechanism for displaying a date (calendar), Calendar motor 31 that drives the date wheel 30, a power storage unit 41 that stores the battery 40, an antenna 50 that receives standard radio waves, an external operation unit 5 that can be operated by the user from the outside, and a pointer drive unit 20 , A date wheel 30, a calendar motor 31, a power storage unit 41, and a ground plate 10 that supports and fixes the antenna 50. The base plate 10 is formed in a substantially circular planar shape, and each component of the electronic timepiece 1 is disposed on the base plate 10.
1 is a view of the electronic timepiece 1 as viewed from the side opposite to the time display side (the back cover side). In this figure, the upper direction is the 3 o'clock direction of the electronic timepiece 1, and the lower direction is the 9 o'clock direction. The right direction is the 12 o'clock direction, and the left direction is the 6 o'clock direction. FIG. 2 is a view of the electronic timepiece 1 as viewed from the time display side. In this figure, the upper direction is the 3 o'clock direction of the electronic timepiece 1, the lower direction is the 9 o'clock direction, the right direction is the 6 o'clock direction, and the left The direction is 12 o'clock.

The hands 2 are the second hand 2A, the minute hand 2B, and the hour hand 2C, and are provided so as to be coaxially rotatable about the substantially center of the main plate 10. The second hand 2A, the minute hand 2B, and the hour hand 2C are provided on the time display side, and display the time by pointing to characters on the dial plate 3 and the like.
The pointer driving means 20 includes a second hand motor 21 for driving the second hand 2A and an hour / minute hand motor 26 for driving the hour hand 2C and the minute hand 2B. Between the second hand 2A and the second hand motor 21, there is provided a second hand wheel train 22 for transmitting the driving force from the second hand motor 21 to the second hand 2A, and between the hour hand 2C and the minute hand 2B and the hour / minute hand motor 26. Is provided with an hour / minute hand train 27 for transmitting the driving force from the hour / minute hand motor 26 to the hour hand 2C and the minute hand 2B.

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of the pointer driving means 20 extracted. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 1 described above, the second hand motor 21 is composed of a stepping motor, and contacts a rotor 211 having a rotor magnet 211B, a stator 212 that rotatably holds the rotor 211, and the stator 212. A coil 213. The second hand motor 21 is disposed in the approximately 9 o'clock direction of the electronic timepiece 1, and the rotor 211 is disposed at the center side of the base plate 10 and the coil 213 is disposed at the outer peripheral side of the base plate 10.
The second hand wheel train 22 includes a second intermediate wheel 221 that meshes with a rotor pinion 211 </ b> A formed integrally with the rotor 211, and a second wheel 222 as a fourth wheel that meshes with the second intermediate wheel 221. A second hand 2A is fixed to the second wheel 222. When a motor pulse is passed through the coil 213, a magnetic path is formed in the stator 212 by electromagnetic induction, and the rotor 211 is rotated halfway by one pulse. This rotational motion is transmitted while being decelerated at an appropriate reduction ratio (speed increase ratio) in the order of the rotor kana 211A, the second intermediate wheel 221, and the fourth wheel 222, and the second hand 2A rotates at a predetermined speed of one pulse per second. To do.

The second intermediate wheel 221 is engaged with a second detection wheel 223 for detecting the 12 o'clock position of the second hand 2A. In the second intermediate wheel 221 and the second detection wheel 223, detection holes 221A and 223A are formed in areas overlapping each other, and the phase of the second intermediate wheel 221 and the second detection wheel 223 is the position at which the second hand 2A is at the 12 o'clock position. The positions of the detection holes 221A and 223A are set to coincide with each other. That is, the 12 o'clock position is the reference position of the second hand 2A. Here, since the second detection wheel 223 has the same diameter as the second wheel 222, the positions of the detection holes 221A and 223A coincide with each other once a minute.
A photosensor (not shown) is provided at a position where the detection holes 221A and 223A coincide. The photosensor includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and the light emitting element and the light receiving element are provided on both sides in the thickness direction of the second intermediate wheel 221 and the second detection wheel 223, and are disposed to face each other with these interposed therebetween. Yes. When the second intermediate wheel 221 and the second detection wheel 223 rotate and the detection holes 221A and 223A coincide with each other, light from the light emitting element of the photosensor passes through the detection holes 221A and 223A and is received by the light receiving element. It is detected that 2A is the 12 o'clock position. In this embodiment, the second wheel 222 and the second detection wheel 223 are made of metal, whereas the second intermediate wheel 221 is made of a synthetic resin that is more advantageous in terms of cost. Further, as a synthetic resin, a black resin is preferably used in consideration of the light shielding property with respect to the detection light at a portion other than the detection hole 221A.
Note that the second hand position detecting means for detecting the position of the second hand 2A is not limited to one using a transmissive photosensor, but may be one using a reflective photosensor, for example, and the detection holes 221A, The position of the second hand 2A may be detected by forming a magnetic pattern on the circumference of the second detection wheel 223 or the second intermediate wheel 221 and reading the magnetic pattern, for example. .

Similar to the second hand motor 21, the hour / minute hand motor 26 is configured by a stepping motor, and includes a rotor 261 having a rotor magnet 261 </ b> B, a stator 262 that rotatably holds the rotor 261, and a coil 263 that contacts the stator 262. The hour / minute hand motor 26 is disposed in the direction of approximately 3 o'clock of the electronic timepiece 1, and the rotor 261 is disposed at the center side of the main plate 10 and the coil 263 is disposed at the outer peripheral side of the main plate 10.
The hour / minute hand train 27 includes a fifth wheel 271 as a first wheel meshing with a rotor pinion 261A formed integrally with the rotor 261 and a third wheel as a second wheel meshing with a fifth wheel 271. A car 272, a second wheel 273 as a second car meshing with the third wheel 272, a minute wheel 274 meshing with the second wheel 273, and a hour wheel 275 meshing with the minute wheel 274 Prepare. The second wheel 273 and the hour wheel 275 are arranged coaxially with the second wheel 222, and the minute hand 2B is fixed to the second wheel 273, and the hour hand 2C is fixed to the hour wheel 275. When a motor pulse is passed through the coil 263 at a cycle of 5 seconds, a magnetic path is formed in the stator 262 by electromagnetic induction, and the rotor 261 rotates half a pulse. This rotational motion is transmitted while being decelerated at an appropriate reduction ratio (speed increase ratio) in the order of the rotor kana 261A, fifth wheel 271, third wheel 272, second wheel 273, and the second wheel 273 and the minute hand 2B are 1 It rotates at a speed that makes a round in time. In addition, the rotational movement of the center wheel & pinion 273 is transmitted while being decelerated at an appropriate reduction ratio (speed increase ratio) in the order of the minute wheel 274 and the hour wheel 275, and the hour wheel 275 and the hour hand 2C are 1 in 12 hours. It rotates at the speed of the circumference

  In the present embodiment, the number of teeth of the rotor kana 261A is 10 more than 7 in the case of a normal quartz watch. The rotor 261 is composed of two parts, a rotor magnet 261B and a rotor pinion 261A. As will be described later, in order to reliably detect the needle position of the pointer 2, normally, the rotor magnet 261B has N In this embodiment, the number of teeth of the rotor kana 261A is set to 10 so that the rotor magnet 261B and the rotor kana 261A have the same number of teeth. Even if the phase is shifted to the maximum, the detection hole 271A (FIG. 5) of the fifth wheel & pinion 271 meshing with the rotor pinion 261A is not substantially affected. The same applies to the rotor pinion 211A constituting the second hand motor 21.

In the fifth wheel 271, the third wheel 272, the second wheel 273, the fourth wheel 222, and the hour wheel 275, as shown in FIG. 5, the detection holes 271A, 272A, 273A, and 222A are respectively formed in the overlapping areas. , 275A are formed. When the hour hand 2C, the minute hand 2B, and the second hand 2A are arranged at the 12 o'clock position, the positions of the detection holes 271A, 272A, 273A, and 222A are set to coincide with each other. That is, in addition to the second hand 2A, the reference position of the hour hand 2C and the minute hand 2B is also the 12 o'clock position.
At positions where the detection holes 271A, 272A, 273A, 222A, 275A coincide, a transmission type photosensor similar to that provided in the second hand motor 21 is provided, and the detection holes 271A, 272A, 273A, 222A, When the positions of 275A coincide with each other, the light receiving element 7 receives and detects the light emitted from the light emitting element 6, so that the hour hand 2C, the minute hand 2B, and the second hand 2A are all in the 12 o'clock position, that is, in the state of the reference position. It is detected that there is. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the light emitting element 6 is mounted on the circuit block 6A disposed between the ground plane 10 and the solar panel 4, and the light receiving element 7 is mounted on the circuit block 7A covering the train wheel bridge 8. However, five cars 271, 272, 273, 222 and 275 are arranged between these elements 6 and 7. At this time, it goes without saying that the base plate 10 is also provided with a light transmitting hole 10A so as not to inhibit the light transmission. Further, in the hour / minute hand wheel train 27, the fifth wheel 271 and the third wheel 272 are made of synthetic resin, like the second intermediate wheel 221 described above.
In the electronic timepiece 1 of the present embodiment displaying 12 hours, the reference position of the hands 2 rotates at a cycle of 12 hours. Therefore, by providing a detection hole 275A in the hour wheel 275 that also rotates at a cycle of 12 hours, The reference position of the pointer 2 including 2C can be specified as one place at the 12 o'clock position in the 360 ° display area. Note that, as with the second hand position detecting means, an arbitrary detection method can be adopted as the pointer position detecting means for detecting that the pointer 2 is at the reference position. Further, the positional relationship between the elements 6 and 7 may be reversed.

Of the detection holes 271A, 272A, 273A, 222A, and 275A, what is important for actual needle position detection is the detection hole 271A of the fifth wheel & pinion 271 that meshes with the rotor pinion 261A. This is the detection hole 272A of the third wheel & pinion 272. These wheels 271 and 272 have a rotational speed higher than those of the other wheels 273, 222 and 275, and the period in which the detection holes 271A and 272A overlap each other is equivalent to one pulse as a motor pulse. Therefore, the detection of the needle position using the detection holes 271A and 272A is compared with the case where the reference position is detected using only the detection holes 273A and 275A that may continue to overlap for the number of motor pulses. The pointer 2 can be accurately adjusted to the reference position. Accordingly, the hole diameters of the detection holes 271A and 272A need only be small as long as they can be processed, and the hole diameters of the detection holes 273A, 222A and 275A of the other wheels 273, 222 and 275 are the detection holes 271A and 272A. It may be large enough not to impede light transmission.
However, in the present embodiment, the detection hole 271A of the fifth wheel & pinion 271 is larger than the detection hole 272A of the third wheel & pinion 272 that meshes therewith, and is set to be the same as the detection hole 272 of the second wheel & pinion 273. Specifically, the detection holes 273A and 275A of the second wheel 273 and the hour wheel 275 have a diameter of 0.5 mm, and the detection holes 272A and 222A of the third wheel 272 and the fourth wheel 222 have a diameter of 0.4 mm. The hole diameter of the detection hole 271A of the fifth wheel & pinion 271 is as large as 0.5 mm.
This is because the number of teeth of the rotor kana 261A meshing with the fifth wheel & pinion 271 is set to 10 as described above, and the mutual phase alignment is eliminated. In other words, even if the phase is shifted, it is possible to absorb the shift amount by merely providing a larger detection hole 271A of the fifth wheel & pinion 271, and phase alignment becomes unnecessary. The same applies to the second intermediate wheel 221 side.

Furthermore, as in this embodiment, the hour / minute hand train wheel 27 having the hour / minute hands 2C and 2B and the second hand train wheel 22 having the second hand 2A are driven by separate motors 21 and 26, and the hour / minute hands 2C, Since the second detection wheel 223 is provided at a position that does not overlap with the second wheel 273 and the hour wheel 275 to which the 2B is attached, and the reference position of the second hand 2A is uniquely detected by the photosensor at this position, The second hand 2A and the hour / minute hands 2C and 2B can be rotated individually and efficiently to the reference position. Further, since the hour / minute hands 2C and 2B are driven by the single hour / minute hand motor 26, it is convenient for correcting the time difference, for example.
Since the detection hole 222A of the second wheel 222 overlaps the hour / minute hand position detection unit, there is an order in which two wheel trains are detected when actually detecting the hand position. First, the position of the hour / minute hand wheel train 27 is detected after the position of the second hand wheel train 22 is detected to adjust the detection hole 222A of the second wheel 222 to the normal phase.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the date dial 30 is provided to face the surface of the main plate 10 opposite to the side on which the pointer driving means 20 is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, a disk-shaped dial 3 is provided above the date wheel 30 (on the front side of the page in FIG. 2), and a part of the outer peripheral portion of the dial 3 is A window portion (not shown) for displaying the date is provided, and a part of the date wheel 30 can be visually recognized from the window portion. The dial plate 3 is made of a light-transmitting material such as glass, and a solar panel 4 is disposed between the dial plate 3 and the base plate 10 as power generation means for generating power by incident light. .
Returning to FIG. 2, the date wheel 30 is formed in a ring shape and is disposed between the solar panel 4 and the main plate 10, and an internal gear 32 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the date wheel 30. On the surface of the date dial 30 on the dial plate 3 side, characters “1” to “31” representing the date are displayed by printing or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the calendar motor 31 is formed of a stepping motor, like the second hand motor 21 and the hour / minute hand motor 26, and includes a rotor 311, a stator 312, and a coil 313. The calendar motor 31 is disposed in the approximately 5 o'clock direction of the electronic timepiece 1, and the rotor 311 is disposed on the center side of the main plate 10 and the coil 313 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the main plate 10.
Between the date wheel 30 and the calendar motor 31, a calendar wheel train 33 for transmitting the driving force from the calendar motor 31 to the date wheel 30 is provided. The calendar wheel train 33 includes a date turning first intermediate wheel 331 meshing with a rotor pinion 311A formed integrally with the rotor 311, a date turning second intermediate wheel 332 meshing with a date turning first intermediate wheel 331, A date indicator driving wheel 333 which meshes with the date indicator driving second intermediate wheel 332; The date indicator driving wheel 333 has a gear 333 </ b> A on the dial 3 side through the main plate 10, and the gear 333 </ b> A is meshed with the internal gear 32 of the date dial 30. Note that the position of the date indicator 30 in the planar direction is determined by the meshing of the gear 333A and the internal gear 32, and no jumper is conventionally provided for positioning the date indicator.

When a motor pulse is passed through the coil 313, a magnetic path is formed in the stator 312 by electromagnetic induction, and the rotor 311 rotates. This rotation is transmitted in the order of the rotor kana 311A, the date turning first intermediate wheel 331, the date turning second intermediate wheel 332, and the date turning wheel 333, and the date indicator 30 is rotated by the rotation of the date turning wheel 333 and displayed. The date is changed.
Here, the calendar motor 31 is arranged on the outer peripheral side (outside) of the main plate 10 with respect to the pointer driving means 20. Accordingly, the distance from the rotation center of the rotor 311 of the calendar motor 31 to the rotation center of the pointer 2 is such that the rotation center of the rotors 211 and 261 of the pointer drive means 20 (second hand motor 21 and hour / minute hand motor 26) It is larger than each distance to the rotation center.
The date indicator 30, the calendar motor 31, and the calendar wheel train constitute a calendar display means according to the present invention.

A battery 40 is stored in the power storage unit 41. The battery 40 is a secondary battery, and the electromotive force generated in the solar panel 4 is charged in the battery 40. The power storage unit 41 is disposed in the approximately 1 o'clock direction of the electronic timepiece 1 and is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the main plate 10.
Here, the power storage unit 41 is arranged on the outer peripheral side (outside) of the main plate 10 with respect to the pointer driving means 20. Therefore, the distance from the approximate center of the power storage unit 41 (the center of the circular battery 40) to the rotation center of the pointer 2 is the distance between the rotors 211 and 261 of the pointer drive means 20 (second hand motor 21 and hour / minute hand motor 26). The distance from the center of rotation to the center of rotation of the pointer 2 is larger than each distance.

The antenna 50 includes an antenna core 51, a core housing part 52 that houses the antenna core 51, and a coil 53 that is wound around a part of the core housing part 52.
The antenna core 51 is formed by laminating a plurality of amorphous thin plates, and has a substantially rectangular straight portion 511 formed at a substantially center, and a substantially arc shape along the outer edge of the ground plate 10 at both ends of the straight portion 511. And a bending portion 512 formed by bending.
The core housing portion 52 is made of an insulating material, and is curved in a substantially arc shape along the outer edge of the ground plane 10 on both ends of the straight portion 521 and the straight portion 521 formed at substantially the center in the same manner as the antenna core 51. And a curved portion 522 to be formed. A concave portion is formed on the surface of the core storage portion 52 that faces the base plate 10, and the antenna core 51 is stored in the concave portion. The antenna 50 is fixed to the ground plane 10 by screwing the core storage portion 52 to the ground plane 10.
The coil 53 is wound around the straight portion 521 of the core housing portion 52. Flange portions 523 are formed at both ends of the linear portion 521 of the core storage portion 52, and the winding of the coil 53 is prevented by the flange portion 523, and the coil 53 having a predetermined number of turns is uniformly formed.

A circuit board 54 to which an end portion of the coil 53 is connected is fixed to one curved portion 522 of the core housing portion 52. The circuit board 54 is formed of a flexible board made of an insulating material, and a plurality of capacitors 541 as electrical elements for adjusting the tuning frequency of the antenna 50 are mounted on the circuit board 54. The circuit board 54 is electrically connected to the circuit block 7 </ b> A (FIG. 5) on the back cover side at the end of the core housing portion 52.
In addition to the light receiving element 7 described above, this circuit block 7A is not shown in the figure, but a timing crystal oscillator that oscillates a reference clock, a CPU, and a bandpass filter crystal oscillator that allows only a standard radio wave signal to pass therethrough. And a receiving IC (receiving circuit) for processing a standard radio wave received by the antenna 50. The CPU divides the frequency from the clock crystal unit to generate a reference clock, counts the reference clock to count the time, and guides based on the signal from the timing circuit. And a control circuit for controlling the driving means 20 and the calendar motor 31. The receiving IC includes a demodulation circuit that demodulates the standard radio wave received by the antenna 50, an amplification circuit that amplifies the received signal, and the like.

The external operation means 5 includes a winding stem 5A disposed in the approximately 3 o'clock direction of the electronic timepiece 1 and buttons (not shown) respectively disposed in the approximately 2 o'clock direction and the approximately 4 o'clock direction of the timepiece. The winding stem 5A has a switching function that can be switched to a plurality of modes depending on the amount of withdrawal. For example, when the winding stem 5A is pulled out one step, the date indicator 30 is manually corrected, and the date indicator 30 is rotated by pressing a button. It becomes possible. For example, when the winding stem 5A is pulled out two steps, the time adjustment mode is set, and the pointer 2 can be rotated by pressing a button.
The information can be displayed by pressing the button. For example, when the button is pressed without pulling out the winding stem 5A, the previous reception result (success / failure of reception) of the standard radio wave is displayed. ing. The display of the reception result is set so that, for example, the second hand 2A indicates 10 seconds when reception is successful, and the second hand 2A indicates 20 seconds when reception fails. The reception result is displayed for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). After the predetermined time has elapsed, the second hand 2A returns to the original position and displays the current time. When the standard radio wave is forcibly received by the operation of the button, whether the environment is such that the standard radio wave can be received may be displayed according to the position of the second hand 2A together with the operation of the button.

Such an electronic timepiece 1 operates as follows.
The oscillation signal that is output when a voltage is applied to the timing crystal unit is divided by the CPU frequency dividing circuit to generate a reference signal. Based on this reference signal, the time is measured by the time measuring circuit in the CPU. While counting time, the second hand motor 21 and the hour / minute hand motor 26 are driven. The rotational movements of the second hand motor 21 and the hour / minute hand motor 26 are transmitted to the second hand 2A, the minute hand 2B, and the hour hand 2C through the second hand train wheel 22 and the hour / minute hand train wheel 27, respectively, and the hands 2 rotate. As a result, the time is displayed on the dial 3 of the electronic timepiece 1.
When the standard radio wave carrying the time information is received by the antenna 50, the receiving IC extracts the time information from the standard radio wave and outputs it to the CPU. Based on this time information, the CPU corrects the time measured by the clock circuit, and drives the second hand motor 21 and the hour / minute hand motor 26 to correct the display time of the hands 2.

When 24 hours are counted by the timing circuit in the CPU, the CPU drives the calendar motor 31 to drive the date wheel 30 for one day.
The reference position of the pointer 2 is automatically set by the pointer position detection function.

  Then, when assembling the electronic timepiece 1, as shown in FIG. 5, first, the base plate 10 is set on the assembly jig 700. At this time, the light transmitting hole 10 </ b> A of the base plate 10 is inserted into the positioning pin 600 (two-dot chain line) provided in the jig 700. Then, the second wheel 273, the third wheel 272, the fifth wheel 271, and the fourth wheel 222 are arranged with respect to the main plate 10. Also at this time, the respective detection holes 273A, 272A, 271A, 222A are fitted into the positioning pins 600. Further, although the illustration is saved, the minute wheel 274 is disposed while fitting a positioning hole 274A (FIG. 4) provided in the minute wheel 274 into a predetermined positioning pin. Similarly, the second intermediate wheel 221 and the second detection wheel 223 are also arranged while fitting the detection holes 221A and 223A provided therein to predetermined positioning pins. Then, using the positioning pin 600 and other positioning pins, the hour hand 2C, the minute hand 2B, and the second hand 2A are at the 12 o'clock position in a state where the arrangement of all the wheels 271, 272, 273, 222 is completed. Perform those installations. As a result, in a state where light is transmitted through the detection holes 271A, 272A, 273A, 222A, 221A, and 223A, the pointer 2 is aligned with the 12 o'clock position, which is the reference position. Since the hour wheel 275 is disposed on the dial plate 3 side with respect to the main plate 10, the movement during assembly is removed from the positioning pin 600 and then disposed using another positioning means or the like. Actually, when assembling the hour wheel 275, the detection hole 273A of the hour wheel 275 is incorporated at a position where the hour wheel 275 of the second wheel 273 is clearly overlapped.

According to this embodiment, there are the following effects.
(1) That is, in the electronic timepiece 1 having a hand position detecting function, the detection holes 271A provided in the fifth wheel 271 and the third wheel 272 which mesh with the rotor pinion 261A, particularly on the hour / minute hand wheel train 27 side. Since the hand positions of the hour / minute hands 2C and 2B are detected using 272A, even if the hour / minute hand motor 26 continuously steps, the fifth wheel 271 and the third wheel 272 having a large rotation angle have a detection hole in particular. There is no concern that 271A and 272A continue to overlap each other, the detection accuracy can be improved, and the pointer 2 can be correctly aligned with the reference position.

(2) In addition, the fifth wheel 271 and the third wheel 272 are arranged in a centrally overlapping position with respect to the second wheel 273 arranged in the center, so that space efficiency can be improved. The size of the electronic timepiece 1 can be reduced by suppressing the layout of the hour / minute hand train 27 from expanding in the radial direction.

(3) The second hand 2A attached to the fourth wheel 222 and the hour / minute hands 2C and 2B attached to the hour wheel 275 and the second wheel 273 are driven by separate wheel trains 22 and 27, respectively. The hour / minute hands 2C and 2B and the second hand 2A can be driven separately to match the reference position and the like, thereby realizing a short time alignment. Further, since the light emitting element 6 and the light receiving element 7 used for detecting the hand positions of the hour / minute hands 2C and 2B and the second hand 2A are also provided separately, the detection circuit can be simplified and the reliability is high.

(4) In the electronic timepiece 1 displaying 12 hours, since the hour wheel 275 rotates in a cycle of 12 hours, in this embodiment in which the hour wheel 275 is incorporated in the hand position detection, five wheels 271, 272, 273, 222, 275 The light can be transmitted through each of the detection holes 271A, 272A, 273A, 222A, 275A at a cycle of 12 hours. Two reference positions can be set, and various controls based on the reference position can be facilitated.

(5) Furthermore, since the number of teeth of the rotor kana 211A, 261A is ten more than that of a normal quartz watch, even if the phases of the rotor magnets 211B, 261B and the rotor kana 211A, 261A are shifted to the maximum, The influence on the detection holes 221A and 271A of the second intermediate wheel 221 and the fifth wheel & pinion 271 meshing with the rotor kana 211A and 261A can be prevented from occurring practically. Assembly can be performed easily.

(6) In addition, in this embodiment, the minute hand 2B is operated for 5 seconds, and by using the fifth wheel 271 and the third wheel 272, the number of teeth in the hour / minute hand wheel train 27 is increased, and the reduction ratio Was bigger. For this reason, compared with the case where a train wheel with a 10-second hand movement is used, the second wheel & pinion 273 can have twice as much torque, and even if a larger minute hand 2B is attached, the hand can be reliably operated with less power consumption. It can also look good. In the present embodiment in which the secondary battery 40 is charged with the power obtained by solar power generation, such a configuration that consumes less power is beneficial.
Moreover, in order to increase the reduction ratio, the fifth wheel 271 and the third wheel 272 are used, and the size in the plane direction can be reduced as compared with the case where either one of the vehicles is enlarged and used. Can be made compact.

(7) Since the electronic timepiece 1 is driven by the power generated by solar power generation, it is not necessary to replace the battery, the reference alignment necessary when replacing the battery can be eliminated, and maintenance-free can be realized.

(8) Since the date wheel 30 is independently driven via the calendar wheel train 33 by the calendar motor 31 different from the second hand motor 21 and the hour / minute hand motor 26, the hand position detection time is shortened. The downsizing of the watch and the simplification of the train wheels 22 and 27 can be realized.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, and the like within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the electronic timepiece 1 having the radio wave correction function has been described. However, the timepiece of the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, functions such as a stopwatch, a chronograph, an alarm, and world time are provided. A watch may be used, and in short, any hand position detection function is included in the present invention.

  Moreover, as the power source of the watch, in addition to the electric power obtained by solar power generation, an automatic winding mechanism using a rotating weight and a generator driven by this, or a generator driven by mechanical energy stored in the mainspring May be the electric power generated by these generators, and of course, it may be a primary battery.

  In the above embodiment, since the light receiving element is arranged on the back cover side, when the back cover is made of a material that transmits external light such as glass, external light is emitted from a hole portion of the circuit block or the circuit holding member. It may enter and the light receiving element may react. In this case, since the detection of the needle position is erroneously detected, in order to prevent this, it is desirable to provide a light shielding means on the glass back cover, and the most commonly used light shielding means is an LED. What shields the used infrared rays is preferable.

In the above-described embodiment, the minute hand 2B is moved at a cycle of 5 seconds. However, in order to increase the retained torque, the hand may be moved at a cycle shorter than 5 seconds, such as a 2-second cycle.
Further, when it is not necessary to increase the retained torque, the conventional 10-second, 20-second, or 30-second cycle may be used. In this case, the invention of claim 4 is not included in the invention of claim 4, but is included in the invention of another claim not quoting claim 4.

Although the best configuration, method and the like for carrying out the present invention have been disclosed in the above description, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the invention has been illustrated and described primarily with respect to particular embodiments, but may be configured for the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art in terms of materials, quantity, and other detailed configurations.
Therefore, the description limited to the shape, material, etc. disclosed above is an example for easy understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. The description by the name of the member which remove | excluded the limitation of one part or all of such restrictions is included in this invention.

The top view which shows the timepiece concerning one Embodiment of this invention. The top view which shows the said timepiece. A side sectional view showing the timepiece. The plane enlarged view which shows the principal part of the said timepiece. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a main part of the timepiece.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic timepiece, 2 ... Hand, 2A ... Second hand, 2B ... Minute hand, 2C ... Hour hand, 6 ... Light emitting element, 7 ... Light receiving element, 21 ... Second hand motor, 22 ... Second wheel train, 26 ... Hour / minute hand motor, 27 ... wheel train for hour / minute hands, 31 ... calendar motor, 33 ... calendar train, 211A, 261A ... rotor, 222 ... second wheel (fourth car), 271 ... fifth wheel (first car), 271A , 272A, 273A, 221A, 222A, 223A, 275A ... detection hole, 272 ... third car (third car), 273 ... second car (second car), 274 ... sun behind car, 275 ... cylinder car.

Claims (6)

A motor,
A train wheel driven by a motor;
A light emitting element for light emission;
A light receiving element for light reception,
The wheel train includes a first car meshing with a rotor pinion of the motor, a second car to which a pointer is attached, and a third car arranged between the first car and the second car. Comprising and including
The electronic timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first to third wheels are provided with detection holes for transmitting light between the elements at positions overlapping each other in a plane. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1,
A fourth wheel to which a pointer different from the pointer is attached is arranged coaxially with the second wheel;
Another wheel train containing this fourth car,
With another motor that drives this train wheel,
The detection of the needle position of the pointer attached to the fourth vehicle is performed using a light emitting element and a light receiving element that are different from the light emitting element and the light receiving element at a position that does not overlap with the second car in plan view. An electronic watch characterized by The electronic timepiece according to claim 1 or 2,
The pointer attached to the second vehicle is a minute hand,
On the same axis as the second car, there is provided an hour wheel that is driven through a minute wheel meshing with the second car and to which an hour hand is attached,
An electronic timepiece characterized in that the hour wheel is also provided with a detection hole overlapping with the detection holes of the first to third cars. The electronic timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The electronic timepiece characterized in that the minute hand is moved in a cycle of 5 seconds or less. The electronic timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An electronic timepiece characterized in that the rotor pinion meshing with the first wheel has eight or more teeth. The electronic timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The calendar display means is configured to include a further train wheel different from the train wheel including the second vehicle and / or the fourth vehicle, and a further motor for driving the another train wheel. An electronic watch characterized by

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