JP3825301B2 - Electronic clock with communication function and communication function system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece having a receiving device. In particular, the electronic timepiece relates to a portable wristwatch.
[0002]
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a communication function system including an electronic timepiece having a receiving device.
[0003]
[Prior art]
With the advancement of digital technology, it has been a long time since a watch that was dedicated to time display has become multi-functional with an additional function that uses the time standard of the watch, such as an alarm or chronograph. In other words, these multi-function watches have transmission parts, logic circuit parts that process them, digital displays such as liquid crystals that display the processing results, display parts that display needle-type analog displays, batteries that are the power source for moving these parts, and these The technology to put together a wristwatch with good portability has been established, while having a number of buttons and operation members combined with a crown.
[0004]
In addition, the downsizing of sensor parts and the processing circuit of the sensor are also remarkable, and coupled with the increase in the density of ICs, there are wristwatches combined with new functions combined with various sensors such as a pulse meter, depth meter, and altimeter. As a result, wristwatches have become a part of the small (arm) portable device that is integrated with the watch.
[0005]
As an example of using an antenna as a sensor, an arm radio timepiece that receives a standard radio wave and displays a time or corrects the time has come into circulation.
[0006]
As described above, various functional watches as portable terminals have recently been proposed in the field of wireless communication. One example is a portable device that is equipped with a GPS receiver and receives radio waves such as position information transmitted from GPS satellites and displays the position information. An example can be seen in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-13867. .
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Even if the timepieces become more functional, electronic watches that are carried around the wrist are always required to be portable. That is, a compact and portable structure is required while aiming for a small size and a thin shape. On the other hand, a device having a wireless communication function requires an antenna for transmitting / receiving radio waves and a communication circuit for transmitting / receiving the antenna. Although the size of the antenna has progressed, the antenna component is a large component when viewed from the watch component. Also, the communication circuit generally has to perform both analog processing and digital processing, and has a relatively complicated configuration, which is difficult to be made into a single chip in a normal IC technology. The antenna and analog circuit used here are easily affected by noise, and a structure for electromagnetic shielding is also required.
[0008]
In an electronic timepiece with a communication function, in addition to a conventional electronic timepiece part, a functional part for processing the communication function as described above is required, and the structure tends to be a large form that impairs portability.
[0009]
The exemplified patent document has the same problem and proposes various arrangements in relation to the antenna component, the battery, and the display body as one solution. However, in this proposal, when the watch is attached to the wrist, one of the structures protrudes in the direction of the arm that is perpendicular to the band direction, which is a cause of restrictions on portability and design. It was.
[0010]
Thus, even a portable device having a communication function is required to improve portability as an electronic timepiece.
[0011]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic timepiece having a communication function and a system thereof having a highly portable structure that is easy to manufacture and is not easily affected by electromagnetic noise.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object , in the electronic timepiece with a communication function of the present invention , an antenna unit having a receiving antenna for receiving radio waves, and a receiving circuit unit for receiving a received signal of the antenna unit and processing the received signal a communication circuit unit having inputs the signal from the communication circuit unit, a main movement unit having a display unit for displaying the calculation result performs a predetermined arithmetic processing, the antenna unit and the communication circuit unit and a case for accommodating the main movement unit, wherein the main movement unit and the antenna unit and the communication circuit unit are separate, arranged said main movement unit at the center of the case, the main movement unit its said antenna unit to the position of both ends and the communication circuit unit Each arranged, characterized in that provided with a flexible connecting member for connecting the communication circuit unit and the antenna unit, arranging the electromagnetic shield between the main movement unit and said flexible connecting member And
The electronic timepiece with a communication function of the present invention includes a windshield that covers the display unit and is provided in the case, and a back cover that is provided in the case opposite to the windshield, and the display unit surface of the main movement unit. Is arranged in parallel with the windshield surface and the antenna substrate surface of the antenna unit and the communication circuit board surface of the communication circuit unit are arranged to be inclined to the opposite side of the windshield with respect to the main movement unit, The back cover facing the antenna board and the communication circuit board is substantially parallel to the antenna board surface and the communication circuit board surface, respectively .
Furthermore, in the electronic timepiece with a communication function of the present invention, the case comprises a plurality of members,
At least the case facing the antenna unit is made of a material that does not obstruct radio wave reception .
Furthermore, in the electronic timepiece with a communication function of the present invention, the material that does not obstruct radio wave reception is made of plastic .
Furthermore, in the electronic timepiece with a communication function of the present invention, the case is made of a plurality of members, and at least the case facing the antenna unit is made of a plastic material .
The communication function system of the present invention provides the above-mentioned electronic timepiece with a communication function and the predetermined information calculated based on the signal from the communication satellite to the electronic timepiece with the communication function by receiving a signal from the communication satellite . And a communication interface device that outputs at a frequency lower than the radio signal of the communication satellite .
The communication interface device of the communication function system according to the present invention includes a GPS receiving antenna unit that receives a GPS signal, a GPS receiving circuit unit that amplifies and detects the GPS signal received by the GPS receiving antenna unit, and the GPS receiving unit. An arithmetic processing unit that inputs a signal from the circuit unit and processes position information and time information into a digital signal, and a transmission antenna unit that transmits the signal of the arithmetic processing unit toward the electronic timepiece with communication function, And
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an electronic timepiece with a GPS communication function and a communication system including the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing the function of an electronic timepiece according to the present invention . A radio wave received by a receiving antenna unit 1 for receiving radio waves emitted by a GPS satellite is amplified and detected by a receiving circuit unit 2 to extract a GPS signal. Then, a signal digitized as position information and time information based on this signal is sent to the arithmetic processing unit 3. The arithmetic processing unit 3 is a part that performs all the arithmetic processing that controls the timepiece, and includes a function of processing a conventional digital timepiece such as an oscillation unit that becomes a time standard with the one-chip microcomputer IC as a center. A program required for arithmetic processing that is controlled by an instruction from the input means 6 or exchanged with the storage unit 4 is incorporated in the one-chip microcomputer IC. Therefore, the arithmetic processing unit 3 not only performs arithmetic processing on the position information and time information sent from the receiving circuit unit 2, but also performs time processing as a clock and processing of normal additional functions such as a chronograph and an alarm. . This calculation result is sent to the display unit 5 such as a liquid crystal as in the case of the conventional electronic timepiece, and the contents are displayed. The input / output processing means 64 that is a component other than the receiving relationship includes the arithmetic processing section 3, the storage section 4, the display section 5, and the input means 6 .
[0015]
2 is a completed electronic timepiece according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2a is a front view, and FIG. 2b is a side view thereof. 10 is a case, 11 is in the center of the case 10, and is a liquid crystal display section covered with a windshield 12 surrounded by a bezel 13, 14 a to 14 d are operation buttons, 15 a is an upper band, 15 b is a lower band, and 19 is It is a case back.
[0016]
The liquid crystal display unit 11 is an example showing position display of time (12:34), north latitude (40 degrees 43 minutes 36 seconds), and east longitude (135 degrees 24 minutes 12 seconds). Select the mode, for example, display the date display and time display side by side, or select the distance mode to calculate the distance between two points indicated by GPS and calculate the accumulated travel distance and display it . In addition, functions such as chrono and alarms combined with conventional electronic watches can be installed and displayed.
[0017]
The case 10 includes an upper case 10a and a lower case 10b, and at least the upper case 10a is made of a material that does not hinder reception of radio waves such as plastic. The upper case 10a and the lower case 10b have an integrated structure by screwing or fitting.
[0018]
The case 10 has three storage portions 16 to 18 opened on the back cover 19 side. Reference numeral 16 denotes a central storage portion, and the opposite side of the back cover opens to the windshield 12 located inside the bezel 13 and has a cavity similar to a general watch case, and stores a main movement unit to be described later. Reference numeral 17 denotes an upper storage part in the upper case 10a located between the central storage part 16 and the upper band 15a, which stores an antenna unit to be described later. Reference numeral 18 denotes a connection between the central storage part 16 and the lower band 15b. It is a lower storage part which is in the lower case 10b located between and stores a communication circuit unit which will be described later.
[0019]
The upper and lower cases 10a and 10b are oriented in the band direction with respect to the surface of the windshield 12 and have an angle with an inclination along the arm shape. Therefore, the shape of the back cover 19 in contact with the arm is also substantially along the shape of the arm so as to have a fit with the arm.
[0020]
FIG. 3 is a side view showing the movement structure of the electronic timepiece with GPS communication function housed in the case 10, wherein 20 is a main movement unit, 30 is a communication circuit unit, and 40 is an antenna unit.
[0021]
The main movement unit 20 includes an arithmetic processing unit 3, a storage unit 4, a display unit 5, indicated by a dotted line in FIG.
The movement body 21 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit 11, which is composed of functional parts related to the input means 6. The movement body 21 includes a battery serving as a power source, a crystal oscillator that generates a time reference, an IC that performs signal processing, a contact structure part related to an operation button that performs external instructions such as function selection, and the like. Including. The main board 22 is connected to a conventional multi-function watch except that a flexible connection sheet 33 for supplying power to the communication circuit unit 30 and receiving a signal for receiving information from the communication unit 30 is connected. Since it is composed of the same elements and fits in a normal watch case, its details are omitted.
[0022]
The communication circuit unit 30 is composed of functional parts related to the reception circuit unit 2 in FIG. 1, and a communication circuit part 32 for processing a reception signal which is an analog signal is mounted on the communication circuit board 31. Specifically, it is a combination of resistors and capacitors and IC components. The communication circuit board 31 is connected to the main movement unit 20 by the connection sheet 33 on the upper surface, and the antenna wire 43 is connected to the lower surface.
[0023]
The antenna unit 40 is composed of functional parts related to the receiving antenna unit 1 of FIG. 1, and includes an antenna substrate 41 and a receiving antenna 42 that receives GPS radio waves. A signal received by the receiving antenna 42 is connected to the communication circuit unit 30 by an antenna wire 43 of a flexible connecting member such as a feeder wire. An electromagnetic shielding plate 44 is provided between the antenna wire 43 and the main movement unit.
[0024]
In the drawing, the connection sheet 33, the antenna wire 43, and the electromagnetic shielding plate 44 are shown with sufficient thickness for easy explanation, but actually, a thin material of the order of 100 microns is used.
[0025]
FIG. 4 is a developed plan view of FIG. 3, and shows an arrangement example of the IC chip 34, the resistor component 35, the capacitor component 36, etc. constituting the communication circuit mounted on the communication circuit board 31. Other part numbers are the same as those in FIG.
[0026]
With this configuration, the GPS radio wave received by the receiving antenna 42 of the antenna unit 40 is sent to the communication circuit unit 30 via the flexible antenna line 43 and converted into a digital signal by the communication circuit component 32 here. The satellite information is sent to the main movement unit 20 via the connection sheet 33, is subjected to arithmetic processing in the main movement unit 20, and the result is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 11 .
[0027]
Divided clock movement into three units, the communication circuit unit 30 and the antenna unit 40 that is separated from the main movement unit 20, the components of the main movement unit 20 is substantially the same as the conventional electronic timepiece, cultivated conventional Structural technology can be easily incorporated. As a result, the main movement unit 20 can be easily reduced in size and thickness. Therefore, the main movement unit 20 housed in the central housing portion 16 can be compactly housed in the conventional structure.
[0028]
The main movement unit 20 is arranged in a central housing part 16 parallel to the windshield 12, the communication circuit unit 30 is in the lower housing part 17 located between the main movement unit 20 and the lower band 15b, and the antenna unit 40 is in the main movement unit. 20 is disposed in the upper accommodating portion 18 positioned between the upper band 15a on the opposite side of the arm 20, and the angle formed by the communication circuit unit 30 and the antenna unit 40 with respect to the main movement unit 20 is the angle of the arm. Arranged at approximately the same angle along the shape. In this way, since the angle in the band direction can be set to an angle that matches the roundness of the arm, a watch structure that becomes larger as a result of the increase in the number of components accompanying communication functions is as if part of the band. This makes it possible to realize an electronic timepiece with a smart design and good wearability.
[0029]
At this time, since the material of the upper case 10a for housing the antenna unit 40 is plastic or the like that does not become a radio wave barrier, radio waves are easily received. Since an electromagnetic shielding plate 44 is provided between the antenna wire 43 connecting the antenna unit 40 and the communication circuit unit 30 and the main movement unit 20 , noise generated by the movement can be shielded and a stable signal can be sent to the communication circuit unit 30. Comes out.
[0030]
By using a flexible shield wire for the antenna wire 43, the electromagnetic shielding plate can be omitted.
[0031]
Although the back cover 19 is illustrated as an integral body, it may be a separate body corresponding to each of the storage portions 16 , 17, and 18 , and the back cover material may be different.
[0032]
As shown in FIG. 3, the movement of the completed watch housed in the case is arranged with the three units 20, 30, 40 at an angle to each other. I can do it. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the arrangement relationship during the operation, and this is possible because a flexible connecting member is used for connection between the units 20, 30, and 40.
[0033]
That is, as shown in the figure, the antenna wire 43 and the connection sheet 33 are arranged in a relatively parallel position with good workability, and each storage portion is provided with an angle by using the flexibility of the connection member when stored in the case. This makes it possible to manufacture a highly productive movement.
[0034]
Up to this point, an electronic watch that directly receives radio waves from GPS satellites has been described as an example of this embodiment. However, in addition to weak GPS radio waves, position information can be extracted from four or more satellites simultaneously. However, it is necessary to carry out complicated calculations quickly. This complicates the communication circuit and increases power consumption. This or become Increasing be possible circuit components, a battery of a large capacity is desired, increasing the difficulty of structural design.
[0035]
In the electronic timepiece of the present invention, a system having an interface may be used to alleviate this. Next, an embodiment in that case will be described.
[0036]
FIG. 6 is a functional system diagram of the GPS interface. A radio wave from a GPS satellite received by the GPS receiving antenna unit 51 is amplified and detected by the GPS receiving circuit unit 52, and is digitally converted into a digital signal of position information and time information while exchanging with the storage unit 54 by the arithmetic processing unit 53. Process. The signal is transmitted to the transmission circuit unit 55, and a radio wave is transmitted from the transmission antenna 56 toward the electronic timepiece described above.
[0037]
The radio wave from the GPS satellite is a very high frequency wave of several gigahertz, but the radio wave emitted from the interface can be a radio wave in a lower frequency band that is relatively easy to handle as a portable receiver, for example, a radio wave in the vicinity of 300 MHz. Further, since the interface unit itself is not restricted to be carried on the wrist like a watch, it can be mounted with a sufficiently large power source and can transmit with strong power. From that amount, radio waves are easy receives the clock side Kunar, processing conditions of the watch-side antenna conditions and receiving circuit is reduced, it becomes easy to design structurally.
[0038]
Even in such a system using an interface, the feature of the timepiece structure in which the movement is divided into three units and distributed and stored in the band direction is still usable. As described above, the burden on the communication circuit is reduced, and the configuration of the circuit unit can be made simpler, and the battery of the main movement unit can be made smaller, so that the size and the portability are improved accordingly. .
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in an electronic timepiece equipped with an antenna and having a communication function, the movement is divided into three units: a main movement unit, a communication circuit unit, and an antenna unit. By arranging the communication circuit unit and the antenna unit at an angle substantially along the arm between the two, it is possible to provide a portable electronic timepiece.
[0040]
Further, it is possible to provide a movement with high workability and good assemblability by connecting the antenna unit and the communication circuit unit and between the communication circuit unit and the main movement unit with a flexible connecting means.
[0041]
Furthermore, by providing a shielding plate between the movement and the antenna wire, a structure with a communication function that is resistant to noise generated by the movement is possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
Fig. 1 Functional system diagram of an electronic watch Fig. 2 (a) Front view of a completed electronic watch, (b) Side view of the completed electronic watch Fig. 3 Side view of the structure of a movement Fig. 4 Plane development of the movement Fig. 5 is a side view showing the arrangement relationship during work. Fig. 6 is a functional system diagram of the GPS interface unit.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reception antenna part 2 Reception circuit part 3 Arithmetic processing part 4 Memory | storage part 5 Display part 6 Input means 10 Case 11 Liquid crystal display part 12 Windshield 13 Bezel 14 Operation button 15a Upper band 15b Lower band 16 Central accommodating part 17 Upper accommodating part 18 Lower Storage unit 19 Back cover 20 Main movement unit 21 Movement body 22 Main substrate 30 Communication circuit unit 31 Communication circuit substrate 32 Communication circuit component 33 Connection sheet 34 IC chip 35 Resistor component 36 Capacitor component 40 Antenna unit 41 Antenna substrate 42 Receiving antenna 43 Antenna Wire 44 Electromagnetic shielding plate 51 GPS reception antenna unit 52 GPS reception circuit unit 53 Operation processing unit 54 Storage unit 55 Transmission circuit unit 56 Transmission antenna unit

Claims (6)

An antenna unit having a receiving antenna for receiving radio waves ;
A communication circuit unit having a reception circuit unit that receives a reception signal of the antenna unit and processes the reception signal ;
A main movement unit having a display unit for inputting a signal from the communication circuit unit, performing predetermined arithmetic processing and displaying the arithmetic processing result ;
A case for housing the antenna unit, the communication circuit unit, and a main movement unit ;
Wherein the main movement unit and the antenna unit and the communication circuit unit are separate,
Said main and movement unit is disposed in the center of the case, the antenna unit and the said communication circuit unit is disposed at a position at both ends of the main movement unit,
A flexible connection member for connecting the antenna unit and the communication circuit unit is provided, and an electromagnetic shielding plate is disposed between the flexible connection member and the main movement unit . clock. A windshield covering the display and provided in the case;
A back cover provided in the case on the side facing the windshield,
The display unit surface of the main movement unit is disposed in parallel with the windshield surface, and the antenna substrate surface of the antenna unit and the communication circuit board surface of the communication circuit unit are opposite to the windshield with respect to the main movement unit. Arranged to tilt
The electronic timepiece with communication function according to claim 1 , wherein the back cover facing the antenna substrate and the communication circuit substrate is substantially parallel to the antenna substrate surface and the communication circuit substrate surface, respectively. . The case is composed of a plurality of members,
At least said the case facing the antenna unit electronic timepiece with a communication function according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it consists of a material which does not inhibit the electric wave reception. The material that does not obstruct radio wave reception is made of plastic.
The electronic timepiece with a communication function according to claim 3 . 5. The electronic timepiece with a communication function according to claim 1, and predetermined information calculated based on the signal from the communication satellite by receiving a signal from the communication satellite. And a communication interface device that outputs at a frequency lower than the radio wave signal of the communication satellite . The communication interface device includes:
A GPS receiving antenna for receiving GPS signals;
A GPS receiving circuit unit for amplifying and detecting a GPS signal received by the GPS receiving antenna unit;
An arithmetic processing unit that inputs a signal from the GPS receiving circuit unit and processes position information and time information into a digital signal;
The communication function system according to claim 5, further comprising: a transmission antenna unit that transmits a signal of the arithmetic processing unit toward the electronic timepiece with communication function.

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