JP2019207213A - Clocking device, clocking system, and clocking method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a time measuring device, a time measuring system, and a time measuring method capable of reducing failure in time synchronization. A time measuring device controls a reception section that receives a reference time signal including reference time information indicating a reference time of time measurement, and a reception timing of the reference time signal by the reception section based on a predetermined reception interval. The reception timing control unit 204, the elapsed time measurement unit 205 that measures the elapsed time since the reception unit last received the reference time signal, and the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measurement unit 205 is a predetermined time or more. In some cases, the reception interval changing unit 206 that changes the reception interval to a shorter interval, the correction unit 201 that corrects the clock data indicating the current time based on the reference time signal received by the reception unit, and the correction unit 201. And a transmitter for transmitting a correction time signal including correction time information indicating the corrected time data to another time measuring device. [Selection diagram] Fig. 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a timing device, a timing system, and a timing method.

  There is known a time measuring system in which a plurality of time measuring devices are arranged, time information is transmitted from a time measuring device as a parent device to a time measuring device as a child device, and the time of the time measuring device as a child device can be corrected. Yes. In such a timekeeping system, a network is constructed using wireless communication.

When constructing a network using wireless communication, a method of identifying each other's IP address, such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or two-way communication using short-range wireless communication, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). A pairing method is used. In such a method, the control is complicated and it takes time and effort for the user.
Further, when forming a mesh type network using Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE), it is necessary for all terminals to receive time information from a plurality of time measuring devices forming nodes. Therefore, in the mesh type network, transmission / reception timing control is complicated, and much power consumption is required.

A clocking system capable of correcting time of each timekeeping device by layering a plurality of timekeeping devices and sequentially transmitting time information from a timekeeping device in an upper hierarchy to a timekeeping device in a lower hierarchy in a relay manner. Are known. In such a timekeeping system, time information is transmitted from a parent device, which is a higher-level timing device, to a child device, which is a lower-level timing device, by one-way communication. For example, near field communication is used for the one-way communication. The slave unit refers to transmission timing information included in the transmission data together with time information, and determines automatic reception timing for receiving transmission data from the master unit thereafter.
In such a timekeeping system, a network can be easily constructed as compared with bidirectional communication in which timekeeping devices are paired. For example, a timing device that can automatically construct an appropriate link relationship between timing devices is known (Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-257484 A

  When the parent device connects to a smartphone using short-range wireless communication to acquire time information, there is a problem that if the frequency of reception is low, it takes time until the time of the parent device matches after the user returns home . That is, time synchronization may fail.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a timing device, a timing system, and a timing method that can reduce the failure of time synchronization.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and one aspect of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives a reference time signal including reference time information indicating a reference time for timekeeping, and a predetermined reception interval. Based on a reception timing control unit that controls the reception timing of the reference time signal by the reception unit, an elapsed time measurement unit that measures an elapsed time since the reception unit last received the reference time signal, When the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measuring unit is a predetermined time or more, based on the reception interval changing unit that changes the reception interval to a shorter interval and the reference time signal received by the receiving unit A correction unit that corrects timing data indicating the current time, and a transmission unit that transmits a correction time signal including correction time information indicating the timing data corrected by the correction unit to another timing device. It is a obtain timing device.

  Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, in the above timing device, the reception interval changing unit may change the reception interval to a shorter interval when the reception unit receives the reference time signal after changing the reception interval to a shorter interval. The changed reception interval is changed to a longer interval.

  Also, one aspect of the present invention is the above clocking device, the correction time signal is received from the clocking device, and the clock data of the own device is obtained based on the correction time information included in the received correction time signal. A timekeeping system including a child timekeeping device to be corrected.

  Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, a reception process of receiving a reference time signal including reference time information indicating a reference time of timekeeping, and a reception timing of the reference time signal by the reception process based on a predetermined reception interval. A reception timing control process for controlling, an elapsed time measurement process for measuring an elapsed time since the reference time signal was last received in the reception process, and an elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measurement process are predetermined. A reception interval changing process for changing the reception interval to a shorter interval when it is more than time; a correction process for correcting time measurement data indicating the current time based on the reference time signal received by the reception process; A transmission step of transmitting a correction time signal including correction time information indicating the time measurement data corrected by the correction step to another timing device. .

  According to the present invention, failure in time synchronization can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the time measuring system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen for pairing of the smart phone which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the correction time information and communication channel which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the time measuring device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the display of the display panel P of the display apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the control part which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the pre-processing for the time information reception which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the main | base station mode short-distance communication process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of the timing chart which receives the reference | standard time signal which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of the timing chart which receives the reference | standard time signal which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the short distance reception process in the subunit | mobile_unit mode which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the correction time signal transmission process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process for the time correction at the normal time in the subunit | mobile_unit mode which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the time measuring process of the normal time which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the control part which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the main | base station mode short-distance communication process which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a timing system S according to the present embodiment. The timing system S includes a plurality of timing devices C1 to C6, and the timing devices C1 to C6 constitute a tree-type network.
Hereinafter, one of the timing devices C1 to C6 may be referred to as a timing device C.

  In this network, there is a hierarchy indicated by layers. The clock device C in the highest layer acquires time information, and the time information is sequentially transmitted from the clock device C in the upper layer to the clock device C in the lower layer. Here, the time information acquired by the timing device C in the highest layer is information indicating a reference time included in the received signal received from the smartphone SM. When the time measuring device C of each layer receives the time information from the time measuring device C of the higher layer, the time measuring device C of the own layer corrects the time of its own device. Thereby, the time measuring devices C1 to C6 constituting the time measuring system S maintain accurate time.

The timing devices C1 to C6 provided in the timing system S are, for example, radio timepieces installed in a house, an office building, a factory, or the like. In the radio timepiece, there is a case where the reception signal cannot be received from the smartphone SM depending on the installation location.
Therefore, in the timing system S, the timing devices C1 to C6 are divided into a parent device that receives a reference time signal from the smartphone SM and a child device that receives a correction time signal from the parent device. Here, the reference time signal is a signal including reference time information indicating a reference time for timekeeping. The correction time signal is a signal including correction time information M that is time information for time correction.

It is preferable that the timing device C1 serving as the parent device is installed in a place where a reception signal is easily received from the smartphone SM. Here, the place where the reception signal is easily received from the smartphone SM differs depending on the life pattern of the user, but is a place where the user charges the smartphone SM or a place where the smartphone SM is carried for a long time. On the other hand, the timekeeping device C2 and the timekeeping device C3 that are slave units are installed in a place where the correction time signal can be received from the timekeeping device C1 that is the parent device. The timing device C2 and the timing device C3 that are slave units may be installed on the back side of a building, for example, as long as they can receive the correction time signal from the timing device C1 that is the master unit.
In the timing system S, the user sets whether the timing device C functions as a parent device or a child device.

  When reset in the master mode, the timing device C1 starts advertising. The timing device C1 transmits an advertisement packet to the smartphone SM in the advertising operation.

A dedicated application is installed in the smartphone SM. When the smartphone SM receives the advertisement packet from the timing device C1 in a state where the application is activated, the smartphone SM displays the pairing start screen PI1 on the screen.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for pairing the smartphone SM. On the pairing start screen PI1, a message indicating that pairing with the timing device C1 is possible and a pairing button PB1 are displayed. Here, when the pairing button PB1 is tapped, the smartphone SM is connected to the timing device C1 for pairing and transmits time information to the timing device C1 using the time profile. When the smartphone SM is connected and paired with the timing device C1, the smartphone SM displays a pairing completion screen PI2 on the screen, and displays a message indicating that the pairing is completed on the pairing completion screen PI2.
Thereafter, the parent device periodically advertises every three hours and tries to connect to the smartphone SM, and if the smartphone SM is within the connection range, it connects to the smartphone SM and acquires time information.

  In FIG. 1, the parent device is only the timing device C1, but when a plurality of parent devices are within the connection range, the smartphone SM can be paired with the plurality of parent devices. When a plurality of parent devices are reset, the smartphone SM is paired with the plurality of parent devices by tapping the pairing button PB1 in FIG.

Here, if the user goes out or travels and continues to be unable to connect to the smartphone for a predetermined time (for example, 3 hours), the parent device changes the advertising interval from the predetermined time to 3 hours to 10 minutes. After that, when the user returns home and the smartphone SM is within the connection range, the time of the time measuring device C1 is corrected in time synchronization with the smartphone SM within 10 minutes at the maximum. The timing device C1 advertises again every 3 hours after time synchronization.
Since the transmission operation of the advertisement packet is performed in a very short time, even if advertising is performed at intervals of 10 minutes, the battery life of the time measuring device C1 is not greatly affected.

  In the timing system S, when the timing device C receives the received signal indicating the corrected time from the upper layer timing device C, the timing device C receives the received signal from the upper layer timing device C at a predetermined reception timing thereafter. .

  In the timekeeping system S, one-way communication in near field communication is used at the time of transmission. This short-range wireless communication is, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE). The transmission data includes layer information indicating the network hierarchy. The timing devices C2 to C6 add 1 to the value of the layer received at the time of initial reception to make the layer of its own device. Thereafter, the timing devices C2 to C6 acquire only transmission data having a layer value smaller than the layer value of the own device, and a tree-type network is constructed.

  In the timekeeping system S, by using one-way communication, troubles such as pairing in short-distance communication and IP address setting in a general network can be saved, and a parent-child clock system can be easily realized as compared with them.

  The time measuring device C1, which is the parent device, acquires time information from the smartphone SM by short-range wireless communication. Here, short-range wireless communication is BLE as an example.

  The timing device C1 corrects the timing data of the own device based on the acquired time information. The timing device C1 generates corrected time information M based on the corrected timing data. The timing device C1 transmits a correction time signal including the generated correction time information M to the lower layer timing device C2 and the timing device C3 through the transmission channel 0.

Here, with reference to FIG. 3, the correction time information M and the communication channel will be described.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correction time information M and the communication channel according to the present embodiment. The correction time information M includes layer information M1, transmission channel information M2, time information M3, time information source M4, and calendar information M5.

  The layer information M1 is information for specifying the layer where the timing device C that has transmitted the correction time signal is located. The layer information M1 has a range of 0 to 99, for example.

  The transmission channel information M2 is information for specifying a communication channel through which the correction time signal is transmitted. For example, when 60 communication channels are prepared, the transmission channel information M2 is set to, for example, a value corresponding to the communication channel from 0 to 59.

The time information M3 is information indicating time such as year, month, date, hour, minute, second, day of the week, and the like.
The time information source M4 is information indicating on which information source the time information M3 is corrected. The time information source M4 is information indicating a smartphone and another at the time of manual adjustment.
The calendar information M5 is information indicating a calendar.

Returning to FIG. 1, the description of the timing system S will be continued.
In the timekeeping system S, a time slot TS is provided every 10 seconds in order to prevent interference, and the transmission timing of the correction time signal is determined from the layer and the transmission CH to prevent the transmission timing from overlapping between a plurality of transmission apparatuses. . Here, the transmission CH means not a frequency but a time-slotted time slot, and is set at random from numbers 0 to 59. An example of the transmission timing is represented by Expression (1).

  Unlike BLE bidirectional communication, which prevents interference by frequency hopping, in BLE one-way communication, when a broadcaster as a transmission device transmits an advertisement packet as transmission data, three frequencies are sequentially switched and transmitted. If the timing overlaps, the possibility of interference will increase. In the timing system S, the transmission timing is prevented from overlapping by the equation (1).

  Furthermore, according to Expression (1), the transmission timing is delayed in proportion to the layer. Therefore, in the timing system S, each timing device C always transmits a transmission signal to the lower layer timing device C after receiving the received signal from the upper layer timing device C. Therefore, the timing system S can transmit highly accurate time information.

  The timing device C stores its own reception channel and layer based on the correction time information M included in the received signal received in the initial reception after the reset, and the upper level is synchronized with the transmission timing of the higher-level timing device C. A predetermined timing for starting a scan for receiving a reception signal from the timing device C of the layer is calculated.

  The timing device C2 having a layer value of 1 receives the correction time information M from the timing device C1 having a layer value of 0. The timing device C2 corrects the timing data of the own device based on the time information M3 included in the correction time information M. The timing device C2 generates corrected time information M based on the corrected timing data. The timing device C2 transmits the generated correction time information M to the timing device C4 whose layer value is 2. Here, the timing device C2 uses a transmission channel 3 different from the transmission channel 0 used by the upper layer timing device C1 for transmission.

  In the same manner, the timing device C of each layer receives the correction time signal from the timing device C of the layer whose layer value is smaller by 1, and based on the correction time information M included in the received correction time signal. Correct the timing data of the device. Here, the timing device C of each layer corrects the timing data of the own device based on the time information M3 included in the correction time information M. The timing device C generates corrected time information M based on the corrected timing data. The timing device C uses the transmission channel different from the transmission channel used by the timing device C of the higher layer whose layer value is smaller by 1, and includes the generated correction time information M in the correction time signal, Is transmitted to the timing device C in the lower layer, which is larger by one.

  In addition to the timing device C, a timing device that does not have the function of transmitting the correction time information M may be arranged in the timing system S as necessary.

Next, the configuration of the timing device C will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the timing device C according to the present embodiment. The timing device C includes a power supply circuit 2, a connector 3, a main device 4, and a display device 5. The configuration shown in FIG. 4 is common to the uppermost layer 0 timing device C1 that communicates with the smartphone SM and the other layer timing devices C2 to C6.

  The power supply circuit 2 includes an AC (alternating current) adapter connection plug 21 and a battery 22, and supplies direct current power from the AC adapter or the battery 22 to the main device 4 via the connector 3.

  The display device 5 includes a segment-structured display panel P (for example, a liquid crystal display panel), and displays information such as time information and radio wave transmission / reception status.

Here, the display on the display panel P of the display device 5 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of display on the display panel P of the display device 5 according to the present embodiment. The display panel P includes a morning display segment P1, an afternoon display segment P2, a TL mark segment P3, a time display segment P4, a separator segment P5, a minute display segment P6, a second display segment P7, a master unit mode mark segment P8, and a BLE mark. A segment P10, an antenna mark segment P11, a reception level segment P12, a battery mark segment P13, a month display segment P14, a day display segment P15, and a day display segment P16 are provided.

The morning display segment P1 and the afternoon display segment P2 display the distinction between morning and afternoon when the time is displayed for 12 hours.
The TL mark segment P3 is a display segment for displaying that a correction time signal has been received from the timing device C of the upper layer. Further, by switching the display mode of this TL mark segment P3, it is displayed that it is being received, is being transmitted, and the like.
The time display segment P4, the separator segment P5, the minute display segment P6, and the second display segment P7 display the current time in the format of “hour: minute second”.

  The master unit mode mark segment P8 displays whether the timing device C is set to the master unit mode or the slave unit mode. When the timing device C is set to the master mode, the letter “P” in the master-slave mode mark segment P8 lights up. On the other hand, when the timing device C is set to the slave mode, the letter “C” in the master-slave mode mark segment P8 is lit.

The BLE mark segment P10 displays whether time information is received from the smartphone SM by short-range wireless communication such as BLE.
The antenna mark segment P11 and the reception level segment P12 are segments for displaying the strength of the received radio wave.
The battery mark segment P13 is a segment for displaying the voltage state of the battery 22.
The month display segment P14, the day display segment P15, and the day of the week display segment P16 are segments for displaying the month, day, and day of the week.

Returning to FIG. 4, the description of the configuration of the timing device C will be continued.
The main device 4 includes a voltage detector 6, a regulator 7, a switch group 8, a short-range wireless communication module 9, a communication module crystal resonator 10, a control unit crystal resonator 11, and a control unit 12.

The voltage detector 6 detects the output voltage of the power supply circuit 2 and supplies the detected value to the control unit 12.
The regulator 7 stabilizes the voltage supplied from the power supply circuit 2 and supplies it to the main device 4.

  The switch group 8 includes a plurality of switches such as a RESET switch, a RECV switch, and a MODE switch. The switch group 8 supplies various information and instructions to the control unit 12 according to the on / off of the switch by the user's operation, the length of the on time, and the like.

When the RESET switch is operated, the control unit 12 is in an initial state.
When the RECV switch is operated, a manual reception process for receiving a correction time signal for a predetermined time is executed.
When the MODE switch is operated, two modes are switched between a parent device mode for acquiring the reference time information from the smartphone SM by BLE reception and a child device mode for acquiring the correction time information M from the timing device C of the upper layer. .

  Under the control of the control unit 12, the short-range wireless communication module 9 receives a reference time signal, which is a reception signal including reference time information, from the smartphone SM as a reception signal. Further, the short-range wireless communication module 9 receives a correction time signal, which is a reception signal including the correction time information M transmitted from the upper layer timing device C, as a reception signal under the control of the control unit 12. The short-range wireless communication module 9 demodulates the received reception signal and outputs it to the control unit 12. Further, the short-range wireless communication module 9 transmits the correction time information M to the lower layer timing device C using a transmission channel different from the reception channel.

The communication module crystal resonator 10 oscillates at a predetermined oscillation frequency and supplies an oscillation signal to the short-range wireless communication module 9.
The control unit crystal unit 11 oscillates at a predetermined oscillation frequency and supplies an oscillation signal to the control unit 12.
The control unit 12 measures time with the control unit crystal resonator 11. On the other hand, the short-range wireless communication module 9 measures time with the communication module crystal unit 10. In the timing device C, the control unit 12 and the short-range wireless communication module 9 measure time independently.

  The control unit 12 controls the entire operation of the timing device C. The control unit 12 measures the time based on the oscillation signal of the control unit crystal resonator 11, changes the reception interval of the reference time signal received from the smartphone SM, and sets the time data based on the corrected time signal received from the time measuring device C in the upper layer. A correction operation, transmission of reference time information based on the corrected time data through the short-range wireless communication module 9, display control of various information on the display device 5, processing in response to an operation input of the switch group 8, and the like are performed.

Here, the configuration of the control unit 12 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the control unit 12 according to the present embodiment. The control unit 12 includes a processor 20, a time data acquisition unit 30, an encoder 40, a decoder 50, a key input unit 60, a voltage data input unit 70, and a register group 80.

The processor 20 includes a correction unit 201, a timing unit 202, a parent device mode control unit 203, a communication control unit 204, an elapsed time measurement unit 205, a reception interval change unit 206, and a display control unit 207. Prepare. The processor 20 includes a correction unit 201, a timing unit 202, a parent device mode control unit 203, a communication control unit 204, an elapsed time measurement unit 205, a reception interval change unit 206, and a display control unit 207. Each is processed.
The processor 20 is realized by a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like.

The correction unit 201 corrects the time measurement data based on the reference time information included in the reference time signal that is a reception signal received by the short-range wireless communication module 9. Further, the correction unit 201 corrects the time measurement data based on the correction time information M included in the correction time signal that is a reception signal received by the short-range wireless communication module 9.
The timer unit 202 measures time based on the time data corrected by the correction unit 201.
The base unit mode setting unit 203 stores base unit mode setting information stored in the base unit mode register 801 based on a signal for switching between the base mode and the slave mode supplied from the key input unit 60. To change.

The communication control unit 204 controls the reception timing of the reference time signal by the short-range wireless communication module 9 based on a predetermined reception interval.
The communication control unit 204 controls reception of a reception signal by the short-range wireless communication module 9 and transmission of a correction time signal by the short-range wireless communication module 9. The communication control unit 204 controls the reception timing of the correction time signal by the short-range wireless communication module 9 based on a predetermined reception interval.

The elapsed time measuring unit 205 measures the elapsed time since the short-range wireless communication module 9 last received the reference time signal.
The reception interval changing unit 206 changes the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal.
The display control unit 207 performs display control of various information on the display device 5.

  The time data acquisition unit 30 counts the oscillation signal from the control unit crystal resonator 11, acquires time data at regular time intervals, and outputs a time interrupt signal to the processor 20. Here, the fixed time is, for example, 100 ms.

The encoder 40 encodes the transmission target data supplied from the processor 20, for example, the correction time information M, generates a baseband signal, and supplies the baseband signal to the short-range wireless communication module 9.
The decoder 50 decodes a reception signal received by the short-range wireless communication module 9, demodulates, for example, a baseband signal of reference time information or correction time information M, and supplies the demodulated signal to the processor 20.

The key input unit 60 decodes an on / off signal input according to the operation of the switch group 8 and supplies the decoded signal to the processor 20.
The voltage data input unit 70 outputs the voltage value detected by the voltage detector 6 to the processor 20.

  The register group 80 includes a master-slave unit mode register 801, a timing data register 802, a reception channel register 803, a transmission channel register 804, a layer register 805, and an elapsed time register 806.

The master unit mode register 801 stores master unit mode setting information. The master unit mode setting information indicates whether the timing device C is set to the master unit mode or the slave unit mode.
The time data register 802 stores information indicating the current time being timed by the time measuring device C as time data. Here, the information indicating the current time is information indicating month / day / hour / minute / second / day of the week.

  The reception channel register 803 stores reception channel designation data (for example, any one of the above-described values 0 to 59), received data, and the like for designating a communication channel for receiving the reference time information from the time measuring device C in the upper layer. . Note that in the case of the timing device C1 having a layer value of 0 in which the upper layer timing device C does not exist, the reception channel register 803 stores information indicating the information source from which the time information is acquired. Here, the information indicating the information source from which the time information is acquired is information indicating the smart phone SM and the time of adjustment.

  The transmission channel register 804 stores transmission channel designation data (for example, any one of the above-described values 0 to 59) for designating a transmission channel for transmitting the reference time signal to the lower layer timing device C. The channel designation data stored in the transmission channel register 804 is transmitted as transmission channel information M2 in the correction time information M.

The layer register 805 stores layer data (for example, any value from 0 to 99 which is a range taken by the layer information M1 described above) indicating which layer of the plurality of layers the timing device C is located.
The elapsed time register 806 stores the elapsed time since the short-range wireless communication module 9 last received the reference time signal.

(Arrangement)
The user places a plurality of timing devices C constituting the timing system S in a distance range in which communication by the short-range wireless communication module 9 is possible, and turns on the power.

(Initial operation)
When the power is turned on, the timing device C starts preprocessing for receiving time information together with other initialization operations. This pre-processing is also started when the RESET switch of the switch group 8 is operated and the control unit 12 is in the initial state.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of preprocessing for time information reception according to the present embodiment.
Step S100: The master-slave device mode control unit 203 determines whether or not the timing device C is set to the master-device mode.

  The parent device mode control unit 203 acquires the parent device mode setting information from the parent device mode register 801. When the master unit mode control unit 203 determines that the acquired master unit mode setting information indicates the master mode (step S100; YES), the processor 20 executes the process of step S101.

  On the other hand, when the parent device mode control unit 203 determines that the acquired parent device mode setting information does not indicate the parent device mode (step S100; NO), the processor 20 closes the child device mode in step S102. The distance reception process is executed. The slave mode short distance reception process will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S <b> 100, the parent device mode control unit 203 supplies the parent device mode setting information to the display control unit 207. The display controller 207 uses the parent device mode mark segment P8 on the display device 5 in accordance with the parent device mode setting information supplied from the parent device mode controller 203, so that the time measuring device C is the parent device. Whether the mode is set or the slave mode is displayed.

Step S101: The processor 20 executes a master mode short-range communication process. The master mode short-range communication processing will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the parent device mode short-range communication processing according to the present embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 8 is a master mode short-range communication process in step S101 shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a timing chart for receiving a reference time signal according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a second example of a timing chart for receiving a reference time signal according to the present embodiment.

Step S200: The communication control unit 204 activates the short-range wireless communication module 9.
Step S202: The communication control unit 204 determines whether or not the time synchronization timing has come. Here, the time synchronization timing is a timing at which the short-range wireless communication module 9 performs time synchronization with the control unit 12 before a predetermined time when the reception timing arrives. As an example, the time synchronization timing is 4 minutes and 55 seconds before the reception timing.
When determining that the time synchronization timing has arrived (step S202: YES), the communication control unit 204 performs the process of step S204. On the other hand, when determining that the time synchronization timing has not arrived (step S202: NO), the communication control unit 204 repeats the process of step S202.

Step S204: The short-range wireless communication module 9 performs time synchronization with the control unit 12. Here, the short-range wireless communication module 9 performs time synchronization by acquiring time information from the communication control unit 204 of the control unit 12. As described above, the control unit 12 and the short-range wireless communication module 9 perform independent timekeeping operations using a crystal resonator. The time measured by the control unit 12 using the control unit crystal resonator 11 is higher in accuracy than the time measured by the short-range wireless communication module 9 using the communication module crystal unit 10.

In the example of FIG. 9, the short-range wireless communication module 9 acquires time information from the control unit 12 every 3 hours from 2:50:05 and performs time synchronization. The timing device C performs a receiving operation for 10 seconds from 2:55:00 to 2:55:10. The time synchronization timing before this reception operation is 2:50:05, 4: 5: 55 before 2:55:00. The short-range wireless communication module 9 performs time synchronization with the control unit 12 at 2:50:05 which is time synchronization timing.
In addition, the timing device C performs a receiving operation for 10 seconds from 5:55:00 to 5:55:10. The time synchronization timing before this reception operation is 5:50:05, 4: 5: 55 before 5:55:00. The short-range wireless communication module 9 performs time synchronization with the control unit 12 at 5:50:05 which is time synchronization timing.
In the example of FIG. 9, the short-range wireless communication module 9 transmits a correction time signal, which will be described later, to the slave unit at 3:00:05 and 6:00:05.

Step S210: The communication control unit 204 determines whether or not the reception timing for receiving the reference time signal from the smartphone SM has arrived. When determining that the reception timing has arrived (step S210: YES), the communication control unit 204 executes the process of step S220. On the other hand, when determining that the reception timing has not arrived (step S210: NO), the communication control unit 204 repeats the process of step S210.
Here, the reception interval is, for example, every 3 hours, and the reception timing is, for example, 2:55, 5:55, 8:55, 11:55, and the like.

Step S220: The communication control unit 204 causes the short-range wireless communication module 9 to receive the reference time signal from the smartphone SM for a predetermined time at the short-range communication wavelength. Here, the predetermined time is, for example, 10 seconds. The short-range wireless communication module 9 intermittently transmits an advertising signal to the smartphone SM for a predetermined time. Transmitting an advertising signal intermittently means, for example, transmitting an advertising signal every 200 milliseconds.

  The short-range wireless communication module 9 sequentially switches the three frequencies, and repeats the transmission of the advertising signal and the reception of the signal indicating the response to the advertising signal from the smartphone SM three times in a short time. When a signal indicating a response is received from the smartphone SM, the short-range wireless communication module 9 starts communication connection with the smartphone SM and can receive the reference time signal.

  When the short-range wireless communication module 9 starts the reception operation, the short-range wireless communication module 9 notifies the communication control unit 204 that the reception operation has started. Here, the reception operation is transmission of an advertising signal. When notified from the short-range wireless communication module 9 that the reception operation is started, the communication control unit 204 causes the display device 5 to blink the BLE mark segment P10 via the display control unit 207.

When the short-range wireless communication module 9 receives a reception signal from the smartphone SM, the decoder 50 decodes the reception signal received by the short-range wireless communication module 9 to extract reference time information, and supplies the reference time information to the correction unit 201.
When the short-range wireless communication module 9 receives a reception signal from the smartphone SM, the short-range wireless communication module 9 notifies the communication control unit 204 that the reference time signal has been successfully received. Further, the communication control unit 204 notifies the elapsed time measurement unit 205 that the reference time signal has been successfully received. The elapsed time measuring unit 205 resets the elapsed time stored in the elapsed time register 806 when notified from the communication control unit 204 that the reception of the reference time signal has been successful. Here, the elapsed time is the time that has elapsed since the last reception of the reference time signal.
The elapsed time measuring unit 205 causes the display device 5 to switch the BLE mark segment P10 from the blinking state to the lighting state via the display control unit 207.

On the other hand, if there is no response from the smartphone SM for 10 seconds, the short-range wireless communication module 9 times out and ends the receiving operation. The short-range wireless communication module 9 notifies the communication control unit 204 that reception of the reference time signal has failed. Furthermore, the communication control unit 204 notifies the elapsed time measurement unit 205 that reception of the reference time signal has failed.
The elapsed time measurement unit 205 turns on the BLE mark segment P10 of the display device 5 from the blinking state via the display control unit 207 when, for example, within 24 hours since the last reception of the reference time signal. Switch to state. The elapsed time measuring unit 205 turns off the BLE mark segment P10 when, for example, it exceeds 24 hours since the last reception of the reference time signal.

Step S230: The communication control unit 204 determines whether or not the short-range wireless communication module 9 has received a reception signal from the smartphone SM.
When determining that the short-range wireless communication module 9 has received a reception signal from the smartphone SM (step S230; YES), the communication control unit 204 executes the process of step S260.

  On the other hand, when it determines with the near field communication module 9 not receiving the received signal from smart phone SM (step S230; NO), the communication control part 204 performs the process of step S240.

Step S240: The elapsed time measuring unit 205 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the short-range wireless communication module 9 last received the reference time signal. Here, the predetermined time is, for example, 3 hours. In the example of FIG. 8, the predetermined time is the same three hours as the reception interval, but the predetermined time does not have to be the same as the reception interval.

When the elapsed time measuring unit 205 determines that a predetermined time has elapsed since the short-distance wireless communication module 9 last received the reference time signal (step S240; YES), the reception interval changing unit 206 performs step S250. Execute the process.
On the other hand, when the elapsed time measurement unit 205 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed since the short-range wireless communication module 9 last received the reference time signal (step S240; NO), the communication control unit 204 The process of step S202 is repeated.

Step S250: The reception interval changing unit 206 switches the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal from 3 hours to 10 minutes. That is, when the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measuring unit 205 is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, the reception interval changing unit 206 changes the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal to a shorter interval.
Thereafter, the communication control unit 204 repeats the process of step S202.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the short-range wireless communication module 9 starts reception processing at 2:55 and transmits an advertising signal to the smartphone SM for 10 seconds, but cannot connect to the smartphone SM in this 10 seconds. That is, the reception process of the short-range wireless communication module 9 times out.
However, in the example shown in FIG. 10, 3 hours have passed since the last reception of the reference time signal from the smartphone SM at 2:55. Therefore, in the process of step S250, the reception interval changing unit 206 switches the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal from 3 hours to 10 minutes. The short-range wireless communication module 9 performs reception processing every 10 minutes thereafter.
After 10 minutes at 2:55, it is 3:05. The short-range wireless communication module 9 performs reception processing at 3:05, but cannot connect to the smartphone SM for 10 seconds and times out.
In the processing of step S260 and step S270, the reception interval changing unit 206 changes the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal from 10 minutes to 3 hours.

Step S260: The reception interval changing unit 206 determines whether or not the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal is shorter than 3 hours. If the reception interval changing unit 206 determines that the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal is shorter than 3 hours, the reception interval changing unit 206 executes the process of step S270. On the other hand, if the reception interval changing unit 206 determines that the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal is not shorter than 3 hours, it executes the process of step S280.

Step S270: The reception interval changing unit 206 switches the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal to 3 hours. Here, the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal is 3 hours at the beginning, and in step S230, step S240, and step S250, if 3 hours have passed since the last reception of the reference time signal, the reception interval change unit After changing to 206 minutes by 206, it is changed again to 3 hours.

  In the example shown in FIG. 10, the short-range wireless communication module 9 performs reception processing at 3:15, which is after 3:05:10, and connects to the smartphone SM for 10 seconds and receives the reference time signal. . The reception interval changing unit 206 changes the reception interval from 10 minutes to 3 hours after receiving the reference time signal. Therefore, when the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal is changed to 3 hours, the next reception timing at 3:15 is 5:55, which is 3 hours after 2:55. That is, the reception timing returns to the reception timing every 3 hours before the reception interval is changed.

  In the present embodiment, when the reception interval changing unit 206 switches the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal from 10 minutes to 3 hours, the reception timing returns to the reception timing every 3 hours before the reception interval change. Not limited to this. When the reception interval changing unit 206 switches the reception interval for receiving the reference time signal from 10 minutes to 3 hours, the reception timing may be every 3 hours since the last reception of the reference time signal. In the example shown in FIG. 10, since the reference time signal is received at 3:15, subsequent reception timings are 6:15, 9:15, 12:15, and the like.

  Thus, when the short-range wireless communication module 9 receives the reference time signal after changing the reception interval to a shorter interval, the reception interval changing unit 206 changes the reception interval changed to the shorter interval to a longer interval. .

Step S280: The correction unit 201 corrects the time data in the time data register 802 based on the time information indicated by the reference time information included in the received reference time signal. That is, the correction unit 201 corrects the time measurement data indicating the current time based on the reference time signal received by the short-range wireless communication module 9.

Step S290: The processor 20 executes a near field communication initial setting process. Here, the communication control unit 204 sets information indicating the time received from the smartphone SM as the time type in the reception channel register 803. Further, the communication control unit 204 sets 0 as a layer value in the layer register 805.

In addition, the display control unit 207 causes the display device 5 to display time data stored in the time data register 802, information indicating the reception state, and the battery state. The display content of the display panel P of the display device 5 includes, for example, the morning / afternoon display by the morning display segment P1 and the afternoon display segment P2, the time display segment P4, the segment segment P5, the minute display segment P6, and the second display segment P7. , Month display segment P14, day display segment P15, day of the week display segment P16, year, month, day, hour, minute and second day of week display, BLE mark segment P10 display of time information acquisition from smartphone, short distance communication by reception level segment P12 This includes display of the reception status of radio waves, display of the power state based on the detection value of the voltage detector 6 taken in via the voltage data input unit 70, and the like.
After the processor 20 executes the near field communication initial setting process, the communication control unit 204 repeats the process of step S202.

  Note that the processing from step S200 to step S280 shown in FIG. 8 ends when the timing device C is powered off.

(Operation of the slave unit)
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a short-distance reception process in the slave mode according to the present embodiment. The short-distance reception processing shown in FIG. 11 is common to the timing device C2 and timing device C3 of layer 1, the timing device C4, timing device C5, and timing device C6 of layer 2.

Step S300: The communication control unit 204 activates the short-range wireless communication module 9. Here, in order to reduce power consumption, the communication control unit 204 starts scanning two seconds before the transmission timing of the upper layer timing device C during normal automatic reception, and the scanning continues for a maximum of four seconds.

Step S310: The communication control unit 204 determines whether or not the short-range wireless communication module 9 has received a short-range time signal. When the communication control unit 204 determines that the short-range wireless communication module 9 has received a short-range time signal (step S310; YES), the correction time information M is acquired from the decoder 50. Thereafter, the processor 20 executes the process of step S320.
On the other hand, when the communication control unit 204 determines that the short-range wireless communication module 9 has not received the short-distance time signal (step S310; NO), the processor 20 executes the process of step S330.

Step S320: The correction unit 201 corrects the time measurement data. The correction unit 201 acquires the correction time information M from the communication control unit 204. The correction unit 201 corrects the time data stored in the time data register 802 based on the time information included in the acquired correction time information M.

Step S330: The communication control unit 204 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the short-range wireless communication module 9 was activated. Here, the predetermined time is, for example, 24 hours. However, the predetermined time may be changed depending on the number of layers of the timing system S.
If the communication control unit 204 determines that a predetermined time has elapsed since the short-range wireless communication module 9 was activated (step S330; YES), the communication control unit 204 executes the process of step S340. On the other hand, if the communication control unit 204 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed since the short-range wireless communication module 9 was activated (step S330; NO), the process of step S310 is repeated.

Step S340: The communication control unit 204 executes a timeout process. The communication control unit 204 supplies a signal indicating that reception of the received signal has failed to the display control unit 207.
Based on the signal supplied from the communication control unit 204, the display control unit 207 uses the antenna mark segment P11 and the reception level segment P12 to display on the display device 5 that reception of the received signal has failed. Here, for example, the display device 5 blinks the antenna mark segment P11 and turns off the reception level segment P12. The user may change the position of the timing device C and install it again in response to the timing device C failing to receive the received signal.
Thereafter, the communication control unit 204 repeats the process of step S310.

(Main unit operation)
The upper layer timing device C generates correction time information M, and transmits the generated correction time information M included in the correction time signal. The correction time information M indicates time measurement data corrected by the correction unit 201, and includes time information for the lower layer time measuring device C to correct the time measurement data.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correction time signal transmission process according to the present embodiment. The processing shown in FIG. 12 is common to the highest layer 0 timing device C1, the layer 1 timing device C2, and the timing device C3.

Step S410: The communication control unit 204 determines whether or not the current time is the transmission timing of the correction time signal.
Here, the communication control unit 204 calculates the transmission timing from the above-described equation (1) based on the layer value of its own device stored in the layer register 805 and the transmission channel stored in the transmission channel register 804. To do. The transmission timing is a transmission timing at which the upper layer timing device C transmits a correction time signal to the lower layer timing device C.

  If the communication control unit 204 determines that the current time is the transmission timing of the correction time signal (step S410; YES), the communication control unit 204 executes the process of step S420. On the other hand, when the communication control unit 204 determines that the current time is not the transmission timing of the correction time signal (step S410; NO), the communication control unit 204 ends the correction time signal transmission process.

Step S420: The time measuring unit 202 generates correction time information M. The time measuring unit 202 includes a layer value indicated by the layer information stored in the layer register 805, a transmission channel indicated by the transmission channel designation data stored in the transmission channel register 804, and a time indicated by the time measuring data stored in the time data register 802. Based on the information and information indicating the information source of the time information stored in the reception channel register 803, the correction time information M is generated.
The time measuring unit 202 supplies the generated correction time information M to the communication control unit 204.

Step S430: The communication control unit 204 causes the short-range wireless communication module 9 to transmit a correction time signal. Here, the communication control unit 204 causes the encoder 40 to encode the correction time information M supplied from the time measuring unit 202 and supplies the encoded information to the short-range wireless communication module 9.
Therefore, the short-range wireless communication module 9 transmits a correction time signal including the correction time information M indicating the time data corrected by the correction unit 201 to the other time measuring device C.
Thereafter, the processor 20 ends the reference time signal transmission process.

(Time correction operation of the slave unit in normal time)
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing for correcting the time at normal time in the slave mode according to the present embodiment.
Step S500: The communication control unit 204 determines whether or not the reroute condition is satisfied. Here, the reroute condition is, for example, that the correction time signal cannot be received from the time measuring device C of the higher layer for a predetermined time or more. Here, the predetermined time is, for example, 24 hours. The case where the signal cannot be received from the upper layer timing device C for a predetermined time or more is, for example, a case where a failure such as a failure or a battery exhaustion occurs in the upper layer timing device C.
It should be noted that the reroute condition may be that the reception of the correction time signal from the upper layer timing device C fails a predetermined number of times. Here, the predetermined number of times is, for example, eight times.

  When determining that the reroute condition is satisfied (step S500; YES), the communication control unit 204 executes the process of step S570. On the other hand, when determining that the reroute condition is not satisfied (step S500; NO), the communication control unit 204 executes the process of step S510.

Step S510: The communication control unit 204 determines whether or not the current time is the reception timing of the correction time signal.
Here, the communication control unit 204 calculates the reception timing from the above-described equation (1) based on the layer value of its own device stored in the layer register 805 and the reception channel stored in the reception channel register 803. To do. The reception timing is the transmission timing of the time measuring device C in the upper layer.

  The communication control unit 204 acquires time data stored in the time data register 802. The communication control unit 204 compares the calculated reception timing with the current time indicated by the acquired timing data, and determines whether or not the current time is a predetermined time before the reception timing. Here, the predetermined time is, for example, 2 seconds.

  If the communication control unit 204 determines that the current time is the reception timing of the correction time signal (step S510; YES), the communication control unit 204 executes the process of step S520. On the other hand, when the communication control unit 204 determines that the current time is not the reception timing of the correction time signal (step S510; NO), the communication control unit 204 executes the process of step S540.

Step S520: The communication control unit 204 causes the short-range wireless communication module 9 to receive the correction time signal. Here, the communication control unit 204 causes the short-range wireless communication module 9 to receive the correction time signal, for example, for a maximum of 4 seconds.
The communication control unit 204 acquires the correction time information M from the decoder 50.

Step S530: The correction unit 201 updates the time measurement data stored in the time measurement data register 802 based on the correction time information M supplied from the communication control unit 204.

Step S540: The communication control unit 204 determines whether or not the current time is the transmission timing of the correction time signal.
Here, the communication control unit 204 calculates the transmission timing from the above-described equation (1) based on the layer value of its own device stored in the layer register 805 and the transmission channel stored in the transmission channel register 804. To do. The communication control unit 204 acquires time data stored in the time data register 802. The communication control unit 204 compares the calculated transmission timing with the current time indicated by the acquired timing data, and determines whether or not the current time is the transmission timing of the correction time signal.

  If the communication control unit 204 determines that the current time is the transmission timing of the correction time signal (step S540; YES), the communication control unit 204 executes the process of step S550. On the other hand, when the communication control unit 204 determines that the current time is not the transmission timing of the correction time signal (step S540; NO), the processor 20 ends the process.

Step S550: The timer unit 202 generates the correction time information M. The time measuring unit 202 includes a layer value indicated by the layer information stored in the layer register 805, a transmission channel indicated by the transmission channel designation data stored in the transmission channel register 804, and a time indicated by the time measuring data stored in the time data register 802. Based on the information and information indicating the information source of the time information stored in the reception channel register 803, the correction time information M is generated.
The time measuring unit 202 supplies the generated correction time information M to the communication control unit 204.

Step S560: The communication control unit 204 causes the short-range wireless communication module 9 to transmit a correction time signal. Here, the communication control unit 204 causes the encoder 40 to encode the correction time information M supplied from the time measuring unit 202 and supplies the encoded information to the short-range wireless communication module 9.

Step S570: The processor 20 executes a reroute process. The reroute processing is a timing device C for receiving a correction time signal when a connection with the timing device C of the upper layer is interrupted, and newly receiving a received signal and transmitting the received signal. This is a process for newly determining that there is. A specific example of the reroute process is the same as the short distance reception process in the slave mode described in FIG.
When executing the reroute process, the processor 20 executes the process of step S510.

(Normal timekeeping operation)
During a normal operation, the time measurement data acquisition unit 30 of the control unit 12 uses the oscillation signal of the control unit crystal resonator 11 to measure a time for updating a time measurement every time a certain time (for example, 50 ms) is measured. An interrupt signal is supplied to the processor 20. In response to this timing signal, the processor 20 starts the process shown in FIG.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a normal time measurement process according to the present embodiment.

Step S600: The time measuring unit 202 corrects the time data stored in the time data register 802.
Therefore, the time measuring system S receives the correction time signal from the time measuring device C1 and the time measuring device C1, and corrects the time measuring data of the own device based on the correction time information M included in the received correction time signal ( A time measuring device C2 to a time measuring device C6).
Step S610: The time measuring unit 202 causes the display control unit 207 to execute processing such as updating display information of the display device 5.

As described above, the timing device C1 according to the present embodiment includes the reception unit (short-range wireless communication module 9), the reception timing control unit (communication control unit 204), the elapsed time measurement unit 205, and the reception interval. A change unit 206, a correction unit 201, and a transmission unit (short-range wireless communication module 9) are provided.
The receiving unit (near field communication module 9) receives a reference time signal including reference time information indicating a reference time for timekeeping.
The reception timing control unit (communication control unit 204) controls the reception timing of the reference time signal by the reception unit (near field communication module 9) based on a predetermined reception interval.
The elapsed time measuring unit 205 measures the elapsed time since the receiving unit (short-range wireless communication module 9) last received the reference time signal.
The reception interval changing unit 206 changes the reception interval to a shorter interval when the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measuring unit 205 is equal to or longer than a predetermined time.
The correction unit 201 corrects the time measurement data indicating the current time based on the reference time signal received by the reception unit (near field communication module 9).
The transmission unit (short-range wireless communication module 9) transmits a correction time signal including correction time information M indicating the time measurement data corrected by the correction unit 201 to another time measuring device C.

  With this configuration, the timing device C1 according to the present embodiment can change the reception interval to a shorter interval when the elapsed time since the last reception of the reference time signal is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. It can reduce failure.

  The positional relationship between the smartphone SM and the timing device C1 always varies. For example, it is conceivable that the user moves from the living room to the bedroom in a general home, or the administrator moves in the office or goes out for a meal in the office. For this reason, there is a possibility that the time cannot be synchronized by advertising for 10 seconds once every 3 hours. In the time measuring device C1 according to the present embodiment, when the automatic reception of the reference time signal from the smartphone SM fails, the advertising interval is switched to 10 minutes, so that the time synchronization failure can be reduced.

In the timing device C1 according to the present embodiment, the reception interval changing unit 206 changes the reception interval to a shorter interval and then receives the reference time signal after the reception unit (near field communication module 9) receives the reference time signal. Change the reception interval changed to to a longer interval.
With this configuration, in the timing device C1 according to the present embodiment, the reception interval changed to a short interval can be changed to a longer interval. Therefore, compared with the case where the reception interval is changed to a short interval, the reception operation is accompanied. Power consumption can be reduced.

  In addition, the timing system S according to the present embodiment includes the above-described timing device C1 and the child timing devices (the timing device C2 to the timing device C6). The child time measuring device (time measuring device C2 to time measuring device C6) receives the correction time signal from the time measuring device C1, and corrects the time measuring data of the own device based on the correction time information M included in the received correction time signal.

  With this configuration, the timekeeping system S according to the present embodiment can easily construct a network as compared with a system that transmits time information by bidirectional communication. In a system that transmits time information through two-way communication, the timing devices included in the system are required to store each other's ID, for example. In the timing system S according to the present embodiment, since the time information is transmitted and received by one-way communication except that the timing device C1 performs bidirectional communication with the smartphone SM, the timing devices C1 to C6 are mutually connected. There is no need to memorize the ID. Therefore, in the timing system S according to the present embodiment, the number of slave units included in the system can be increased without being limited by at least the storage capacity for storing IDs.

  As described in FIG. 4, the configuration of the timing device C is common to the timing device C1 of the highest layer 0 that communicates with the smartphone SM and the timing devices C2 to C6 of the other layers. Therefore, in the timing device C according to the present embodiment, the reception of the reference time signal from the smartphone SM and the reception of the correction time signal from the timing device C in the upper layer can be performed by the common short-range wireless communication module 9. it can.

  Conventionally, a time measuring device of a parent-child clock system has a long wave receiving module for receiving a standard radio wave separately from the short-range wireless communication module. Further, since the slave unit does not require a long wave receiving module, it is necessary to manufacture the slave unit in a configuration different from that of the master unit in order to reduce the cost of the slave unit. On the other hand, the time measuring device C according to the present embodiment can reduce the cost as compared with the time measuring device of the conventional parent-child clock system.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In the first embodiment described above, the uppermost timing device changes the reference time signal reception interval to a shorter interval based on the elapsed time since the last reception of the reference time signal from the smartphone. Did. In the present embodiment, the uppermost timing device will describe a case in which the reception interval of the reference time signal is changed to a shorter interval based on the number of times the reception of the reference time signal from the smartphone has failed.
The timing system according to the present embodiment is referred to as a timing system Sa, and the timing device is referred to as a timing device C1a. The timing system Sa is the same as the timing system S of FIG. 1 except that the timing device C1 is replaced with the timing device C1a in the timing system S of FIG. In the following description of the second embodiment, the description will focus on parts that are different from the first embodiment.

The configuration of the timing device C1a is the same as the configuration of the timing device C of FIG. 4 except that the control unit 12a is provided instead of the control unit 12 in the configuration of the timing device C of FIG.
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the control unit 12a according to the present embodiment. The control unit 12a includes a processor 20a, a time data acquisition unit 30, an encoder 40, a decoder 50, a key input unit 60, a voltage data input unit 70, and a register group 80a.

The processor 20a includes a correction unit 201, a timing unit 202, a parent device mode control unit 203, a communication control unit 204, a reception interval change unit 206, a reception interval change unit 206, a display control unit 207, And a continuous reception failure frequency counting unit 208.
The continuous reception failure count section 208 counts the continuous reception failure count, which is the number of times that the short-range wireless communication module 9 has failed to receive the reference time signal continuously.

The register group 80a includes a master unit mode register 801, a time data register 802, a reception channel register 803, a transmission channel register 804, a layer register 805, and a continuous reception failure number register 807.
The continuous reception failure frequency register 807 stores the continuous reception failure frequency.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the master mode short-range communication processing according to the present embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 16 corresponds to the master mode short-range communication process in step S101 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
In addition, since each process of step S700-step S730 and step S750-step S790 is the same as each process of step S200-step S230 in FIG. 7, and step S250-step S290, description is abbreviate | omitted.

Step S732: The continuous reception failure frequency count unit 208 increases the value of the continuous reception failure frequency stored in the continuous reception failure frequency register 807 by one.
Step S740: The continuous reception failure frequency counting unit 208 determines whether or not the continuous reception failure frequency stored in the continuous reception failure frequency register 807 is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. Here, the predetermined number of times is, for example, twice.

  The predetermined number of times may be determined based on the reception interval and the predetermined time. For example, the predetermined number of times may be determined based on a condition that the time indicated by the product of the reception interval and the predetermined number of times is equal to or longer than the predetermined time. In this case, for example, when the reception interval is 3 hours and the predetermined time is 3 hours, the predetermined number of times may be one.

When the continuous reception failure frequency counting unit 208 determines that the continuous reception failure frequency stored in the continuous reception failure frequency register 807 is greater than or equal to a predetermined number (step S740; YES), the reception interval changing unit 206 performs the process of step S750. Execute.
On the other hand, when the continuous reception failure frequency counting unit 208 determines that the continuous reception failure frequency stored in the continuous reception failure frequency register 807 is not equal to or greater than a predetermined number (step S740; NO), the communication control unit 204 determines that the number of continuous reception failure times is not the same as that in step S702. Repeat the process.

Note that some of the timing devices C1 to C6 and the timing device C1a in the above-described embodiment, for example, the correction unit 201, the timing unit 202, the parent device mode control unit 203, the communication control unit 204, and the elapsed time measurement unit 205. The reception interval changing unit 206, the display control unit 207, and the continuous reception failure frequency counting unit 208 may be realized by a computer. In that case, a program for realizing the control function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed. The “computer system” here is a computer system built in the timing devices C1 to C6 and the timing device C1a and includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” is a medium that dynamically holds a program for a short time, such as a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, In this case, a volatile memory inside a computer system that serves as a server or a client may be included that holds a program for a certain period of time. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.
In addition, a part or all of the timing devices C1 to C6 and the timing device C1a in the above-described embodiments may be realized as an integrated circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration). Each functional block of the timing devices C1 to C6 and the timing device C1a may be individually made into a processor, or a part or all of them may be integrated into a processor. Further, the method of circuit integration is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. In addition, when an integrated circuit technology that replaces LSI appears due to the advancement of semiconductor technology, an integrated circuit based on the technology may be used.

  As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to that described above, and various design changes and the like can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is possible to

S, Sa ... timing system, C, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 ... timing device, SM ... smart phone, 2 ... power circuit, 21 ... AC (alternating current) adapter connection plug, 22 ... battery, 3 ... connector DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 ... Main apparatus, 5 ... Display apparatus, 6 ... Voltage detector, 7 ... Regulator, 8 ... Switch group, 9 ... Short-range wireless communication module, 10 ... Communication module crystal oscillator, 11 ... Control part crystal oscillator, 12 , 12a ... control unit 20, 20a ... processor, 201 ... correction unit, 202 ... timing unit, 203 ... master unit mode control unit, 204 ... communication control unit, 205 ... elapsed time measurement unit, 206 ... change in reception interval 207: Display control unit, 208 ... Continuous reception failure count unit, 30 ... Timekeeping data acquisition unit, 40 ... Encoder, 50 ... Decoder, 60 ... Key input unit, 70 ... Voltage data Input unit, 80, 80a, register group, 801, parent device mode register, 802, timing data register, 803 ... reception channel register, 804 ... transmission channel register, 805 ... layer register, 806 ... elapsed time register, 807 ... Continuous reception failure count register, P ... Display panel

Claims (4)

A receiving unit for receiving a reference time signal including reference time information indicating a reference time for timekeeping;
A reception timing control unit that controls reception timing of the reference time signal by the reception unit based on a predetermined reception interval;
An elapsed time measuring unit that measures an elapsed time since the receiving unit last received the reference time signal; and
A reception interval changing unit that changes the reception interval to a shorter interval when the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measurement unit is a predetermined time or more;
Based on the reference time signal received by the reception unit, a correction unit for correcting time data indicating the current time;
A transmission unit for transmitting a correction time signal including correction time information indicating the time data corrected by the correction unit to another time measuring device;
A timing device. The reception interval changing unit changes the reception interval changed to the shorter interval to a longer interval when the reception unit receives the reference time signal after changing the reception interval to a shorter interval. The timing device described in 1. A timing device according to claim 1 or 2,
A timekeeping system comprising: a slave timekeeping device that receives the correction time signal from the timekeeping device and corrects the timekeeping data of the own device based on the correction time information included in the received correction time signal. A reception process for receiving a reference time signal including reference time information indicating a reference time for timekeeping;
A reception timing control process for controlling the reception timing of the reference time signal according to the reception process based on a predetermined reception interval;
An elapsed time measurement process for measuring an elapsed time since the reference time signal was last received in the reception process;
A reception interval changing step of changing the reception interval to a shorter interval when the elapsed time measured by the elapsed time measurement step is a predetermined time or more;
Based on the reference time signal received by the reception process, a correction process for correcting time data indicating the current time;
A transmission process of transmitting a correction time signal including correction time information indicating the time data corrected by the correction process to another timing device;
A timekeeping method.

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