JPH05150055A - Electronic clock - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an electronic clock in which overcharge of a condenser charged by means of a solar cell is treated with a method except to release electric power as heat, and the solar cell is covered in case of no need of exposure to external light for improving appearance. CONSTITUTION:A solar cell 10 is provided in a window part formed on a dial plate, the window part is formed so as to open or close by rotating a shutter plate 19, and voltage of a condenser 11 charged by means of the solar cell 10 is detected with a voltage detecting means 12. When the condenser 11 is overcharged, a signal is sent to a motor drive circuit 16 so as to intercept irradiation of external light to the solar cell 10 by closing the window part with the shutter plate 19.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece using a solar cell.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic timepiece, that is, a solar charging electronic timepiece, in which a storage means is charged by a solar cell and each circuit portion or the like is driven by electric power from the storage means has been widely put into practical use.

[0003]

In the electronic timepiece as described above, since the solar cell is always exposed, it is conceivable that the electric storage means is further charged and overcharged even after the storage means is sufficiently charged. .. In order to deal with this, there is a load for preventing overcharge, and when overcharge is reached, the load is radiated as heat by this load. However, in such a method, heat is trapped inside the timepiece module, which adversely affects the operation of other circuit parts, and also exposes the solar cell when it is not needed, which impairs the appearance. There was a problem. The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and copes with a method other than the method of discharging electric power as heat upon overcharging, and when it is not necessary to expose the solar cell to outside light, An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic timepiece that can have a good cover appearance.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention installs a solar cell inside an opening formed in a dial plate, and the storage of electricity by the solar cell reaches overcharge. At this point, the opening was closed with a shutter plate so that the solar cell was covered with this shutter plate.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. Configuration FIG. 1 shows the circuit configuration of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment has a configuration in which each of the other circuit parts is connected to the CPU 1 as a center. The CPU 1 is a circuit that processes and processes the transmitted data, sends the data, sends a signal to each circuit unit, and controls them.

The oscillating circuit 2 is a circuit section that constantly sends a signal of a constant frequency. The frequency dividing circuit 3 is the oscillation circuit 2
Is a circuit unit that divides the signal from to obtain a 1 Hz signal, and sends this to the clock counting circuit 4 and the motor drive circuit 5. The total number of clock circuits 4 is 1 Hz from the frequency dividing circuit 3 described above.
This is a circuit that counts the signals to obtain the current time T and the date D and sends them to the CPU 1.

The motor driving circuit 5 receives 1H from the frequency dividing circuit 3.
A circuit for driving the step motor 6 by obtaining the z signal,
The step motor 6 is driven by the motor drive circuit 5 to rotate to give a rotational force to the pointer 8 via the train wheel mechanism 7 to move the pointer 8. RAM9 is controlled by CPU1
The data from 1 is stored, and the stored data is stored in C
It is a circuit unit for sending to PU1. The mode register M in the RAM 9 is a register for designating a mode,
When 0 is set, the opening of the dial 27, which will be described later, that is, the window is closed by the shutter plate 19, and the window 27 is closed.
The liquid crystal display panel 30 disposed below the WA is made invisible, and a time mode for indicating only the time display by the hands 8 is designated. On the other hand, when 1 is set, the time display by the hands 8 is performed. At the same time, the window portion of the dial is opened to specify the time / date display mode in which the date of the day is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 30. The shutter plate rotation position register S has a dial 2 centered around the rotation center of the pointer 8.
7 is a register for storing a value of 0 to 59 indicating the rotational position of the shutter plate 19 which rotates in parallel with 7. In addition,
The rotational position of the shutter plate 19 is 60, that is, 60.
The shutter plate rotation position register S is increased by 1 each time the shutter plate 19 is rotated 6 degrees, that is, one step to the right. The charge state flag FA is a flag that is set to 0 when the capacitor 11 to be charged by the solar cell 10 described later reaches overcharge, and is set to 1 when it has not reached overcharge, and the charge state flag FB indicates the above. This is a flag that stores the value of the charge state flag FA in order to detect whether the set value of the charge state flag FA has changed from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0.

As will be described later, the solar cell 10 has a window portion 27WB of a dial 27 which is opened and closed by rotation of a shutter plate 19.
It is arranged underneath and generates electromotive force by receiving light irradiation,
It is a battery that charges the capacitor 11. Capacitor 11
Is a circuit unit that charges the solar cell 10 and supplies electric power to each circuit unit of the electronic timepiece. The voltage detection circuit 12 is a circuit unit that detects the voltage of the capacitor 11 and sends the detected voltage value to the CPU 1. The switch unit 13 is a circuit unit that includes various switches such as a mode switch SA and sends a corresponding key input to the CPU 1 when any of these switches is operated. The alarm device 20 is a circuit unit that receives a signal from the CPU 1 and generates a predetermined alarm sound.

The motor drive circuit 16 is a circuit for driving the step motor 17 in response to a control signal from the CPU 1. The rotational force of the step motor 17 is given to the shutter plate 19 via the gear 18, and the shutter plate 19 is driven. Supplied for rotation. The display drive circuit 14 receives the display start signal DS from the CPU 1, drives the digital display unit 15 to display the date data from the CPU 1 on the digital display unit 15, and receives the display end signal DE from the CPU 1. , A circuit section for stopping the display on the digital display section 15. The digital display unit 15 is composed of a liquid crystal display panel 30 disposed in a window portion 27WA of a dial 27 which is opened and closed by a shutter plate 19, and is driven by a display drive circuit 14 to display the date of the day.

FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the above embodiment. That is, a pointer display portion 23 covered with a watch glass 22 is arranged on the front surface of the watch case 21, and an hour hand 24, a minute hand 25, a second hand 26 and a dial 27 are provided on the pointer display portion 23. There is. Further, the dial plate 27 is formed with two window portions 27WA and 27WB each having a wide arc shape with a center angle of about 90 ° around the rotation center of the pointer. Respectively have the same shape as the windows 27WA and 27WB (that is, a wide arc shape having a central angle of about 90 °), and as described later,
Under a certain condition, a liquid crystal display panel 30 and a solar cell 10 (not shown) which can see the entire surface through windows 27WA and 27WB are arranged. It should be noted that numbers 5, 6, and 7 indicating 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 7 o'clock are not printed and displayed on the dial 27, and the window portion 27WB is formed at a position where these numbers should be displayed. ing. Further, at a position behind the dial plate 27 and in front of the liquid crystal display panel 30 and the solar cell 10, there is provided a substantially disc-shaped shutter plate 19 that rotates around the rotation center of the pointer. When the shutter plate 19 is rotated, the liquid crystal display panel 3 overlaps with the windows 27WA and 27WB.
0, the opening and the like described below that exposes the solar cell 10, and 5
Numbers 5, 6, and 7 indicating hours, 6 o'clock, and 7 o'clock, respectively, are printed and displayed. The display is visible through the window 27WB, and a mask portion that covers the solar cell 10 is formed. ing.

On the side surface of the watch case 21, a mode switch SA, other push button switches SB to SD, and a band mounting portion 31 are provided. The surface of the shutter plate 19 has the same color tone as the surface of the dial plate 27, and as shown in FIG. 2, when the shutter plate 19 closes the window 27WA and the like, the presence of the window 27WA and the like exists. Is not made to be recognized at all.

FIG. 3 shows in detail the shape of the shutter plate 19 and the relationship between the shutter plate 19, the liquid crystal display panel 30, the solar cell 10 and the like.
It is a front view excluding the minute hand 25, the second hand 26 and the dial 27. That is, the shutter plate 19 is composed of four fan-shaped portions each having a central angle of about 90 °, and one of them has a wide arc-shaped notch 29b having a width extending from the outer peripheral portion to the vicinity of the center, and on the right side thereof. Near the center of the fan-shaped portion, a wide arc-shaped opening 29a having a central angle of about 90 °.
Is formed, and a mask portion 29d is formed in the vicinity of the outer periphery thereof, and the numbers 5, 6, and 7 are printed and displayed at intervals of 30 °. Further, the mask portion 29f is formed on the fan-shaped portion on the left side of the fan-shaped portion where the cutout portion 29b is formed.
Are formed, and the numbers 5, 6, and 7 are printed and displayed at intervals of 30 ° in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the mask portion 29d similarly to the above-mentioned mask portion 29d. Further, in the fan-shaped portion facing the fan-shaped portion in which the cutout portion 29b is formed, a wide arc-shaped cutout portion 29c having a central angle of about 90 ° is formed near the outer periphery, and a mask portion 29e is formed near the center. ing.

The shutter plate 19 formed as described above
The projecting portion 35b of the main plate 35 is inserted into the through hole 19a in the central portion, and is rotatable around the projecting portion 35b. An internal gear 19b is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the shutter plate 19, and the internal gear 19b meshes with the gear 36. When the above-mentioned step motor 17 rotates, this rotation includes a gear train 37, a gear 36, etc. (a gear train 18 in FIG. 1).
After being transmitted to the internal gear 19b, the shutter plate 19 is rotated.

Also, behind the shutter plate 19, the main plate 35
Above the liquid crystal display panel 30 and the solar cell 10 are disposed near the center of the 12 o'clock position and near the outer peripheral portion of the 6 o'clock position, respectively. By the above rotation, when it overlaps with the opening 29a or the cutout 29b, the entire surface can be seen through the window 27WA, and the solar cell 10 has a window when it overlaps with the cutout 29b or the cutout 29c. Part 2
It is exposed from 7WB.

When measuring the rotation angle of the rotation of the shutter plate 19, the mask portion 29f is at the 12 o'clock position and the mask portion 29f covers the solar cell 10 as a reference. It is assumed that the number of steps is 0, and the number of steps is increased by 1 every time the state is rotated 6 ° to the right from this state (in the present embodiment, the shutter plate 19 only rotates to the right and rotates to the left). Absent).

Operation Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a general flow chart showing an outline of the operation of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 shows the switch processing of step S2 of FIG. 4 in detail.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing opening / closing of windows 27WA and 27WB, which are performed in accordance with the charged state of solar cell 10 and the like.

In step S1 of FIG. 4, first, it is determined whether or not there is a switch input, and if there is a switch input, the process proceeds to step S2 to execute the corresponding switch processing, and then to step S3, the switch input. If there is not, the process directly proceeds from step S1 to step S3. In step S3, the detection result from the voltage detection circuit 12, that is, the charging voltage of the capacitor 11 is fetched, and in the next step S4, the voltage is equal to or higher than a predetermined constant value, and the capacitor 11 is in an overcharged state. Find out if it has arrived. When the capacitor 11 is in the overcharged state, the process proceeds to step S5, and the charge state flag FA is set to 0. On the other hand, when the capacitor 11 is not in the overcharged state, the process proceeds to step S6. Set 1 to the flag FA. After the operation of step S5 or S6 is completed, the process proceeds to step S7 to check whether the set value of the charge state flag FA and the set value of the charge state flag FB are equal, and when they are equal, that is, the charge state of the capacitor 11 is changed. If there is not, the process proceeds to the display process of step S27 and the liquid crystal display panel 30
The date of the current day is displayed on, and then the process returns to step S1,
When they are not equal to each other, that is, when the state of charge is changed and overcharge is reached or when overcharge is stopped, step S7
To step S8. In step S8, the set value of the charge state flag FA is set in the charge state flag FB, and the set values of the charge state flags FA and FB are made equal to each other. Then, in step S10, whether the value of the mode register M is 0, that is, Determine if it is in clock mode. If it is in clock mode, step S1
If the set value of the charge state flag FB is 0 in 1, that is, whether the change of the charge state this time is the transition to the overcharge state, and if it is the transition to the overcharge state, step S1
2 sends a signal to the motor drive circuit 16 and the shutter plate 19
Is rotated right by one step, the value of the shutter plate rotational position register S is increased by 1 in order to store the above rotation in step S13, and the value of the shutter plate rotational position register S reaches 60 in step S14. After confirming that there is none, the process returns to step S12. The steps S12, S13 and S14 are repeated until the value of the shutter plate rotational position register S reaches 60. When the value of the shutter plate rotational position register S reaches 60, it is detected in step S14. , And proceeds to step S15 to reset the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S to zero. By the above operation, as shown in FIG. 6A, the window portions 27WA and 27WB are formed.
Is closed by the shutter plate 19, so that the solar cell 10 below the window 27WB is not irradiated with light and the condenser 1
1 is not charged further. Then step S27
After that, the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, the above step S11
When the value of the charge state flag FB is 1 instead of 0, and it is determined that the change in the charge state this time is a departure from the overcharge state, the shutter plate 19 is rotated right by one step in step S16, and In step S17, the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S is increased by 1, and in step S23, it is determined that the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S has not reached 15. Then, the process returns to step S16. .. Hereinafter, the same as above, steps S16 to S
18 operations are repeated to release the shutter plate rotation position register S.
When the value of has reached 15, this is detected in step S18, and the process returns to step S1 via step S27. As a result of the above operation, the window portions 27WA and 27WB have the mask portion 29e and the cutout portion 29b of the shutter plate 19, respectively.
6B, the window portion 27WA is closed, the window portion 27WB is opened, and the solar cell 10 is exposed.
Since the solar cell 10 is exposed, charging of the capacitor 11 by the solar cell 10 is started again.

If it is determined in step S10 that the value of the mode register M is not 0 but 1 and that the time / date display mode is set, the process proceeds to step S20 and the charge state flag FB is 0. That is, it is checked whether the change in the charging state of the capacitor 11 this time is a transition to the overcharge state, and if it is a transition to the overcharge state,
The operations of steps S21 to S23 will be repeated. That is, in steps S21 to S23, the shutter plate 1 is rotated until the shutter plate rotation position register S reaches 30.
Each time 9 is rotated right by one step, the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S is incremented by 1 each time, and when the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S reaches 30, from step S23, The process returns to step S1 through step S27. In this case, windows 27WA, 27W
B is the shutter plate 1 as shown in FIG.
The liquid crystal display panel 30 is exposed by overlapping the opening 29a of 9 and the mask portion 29f, the solar cell 10 is covered, and the capacitor 11 is not charged by the solar cell 10.

When it is determined in step S20 that the charge state flag FB is 1 instead of 0 and the change in the charge state of the capacitor 11 this time is a departure from the overcharge state, steps S24 to S26 are performed. Proceed to the operation of repeating the process. That is, in steps S24 to S26, the shutter plate 19 is rotated right by one step until the value of the shutter plate rotational position register S reaches 45, and the value of the shutter plate rotational position register S is increased by one. Repeatedly, when the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S reaches 45, it is detected in step S26, and the process returns to step S1 via step S27. By the operation as described above, the windows 27WA and 27WB are provided with the cutout portion 29b and the cutout portion 29 of the shutter plate 19, respectively.
6c, the liquid crystal display panel 3
0 and the solar cell 10 are exposed, and the exposure of the solar cell 10 restarts the charging of the capacitor 11 by the solar cell 10.

Next, the operation when the mode switch SA is operated to switch the mode will be described. in this case,
The operation is detected in step S1 of FIG.
The second switch process, that is, the flow chart of FIG. Then, in step S30, it is detected that the mode switch SA is operated, and then the value of the mode register M is inverted in step S31 (0 when 1 and 1 when 0).
Then, the mode is switched, and in step S32, it is determined whether the value of the mode register M has become 0, that is, whether the mode has been switched to the clock mode. When the mode is switched to the clock mode, the value of the charge state flag FB is 0, that is, since the capacitor 11 is currently in the overcharge state, the window 27WB is closed by the shutter plate 19 and the solar cell 10 is irradiated with light. It is determined whether or not it is in the state not to be performed, and if it is in the state, the process proceeds to the operation of repeating the processes of steps S34 to S36. That is, steps S34 to S3
6, the shutter plate 19 is rotated right by one step until the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S reaches 60, and the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S is increased by 1 each time. When the value of the position register S reaches 60, it is detected in step S36 and the process proceeds to step S37. Eventually, the windows 27WA and 27WB are closed by the rotation of the shutter plate 19 as shown in FIG. 6 (a). And step S
In 37, the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S is reset to 0, and in the next step S38, the display operation by the liquid crystal display panel 30 already covered with the shutter plate 19 is stopped.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S33 that the charge state flag FB is not 0 but 1 and the capacitor 11 is not in the overcharge state, step S39.
The process proceeds to the operation of repeating S41 to S41. Then, in steps S39 to S41, the shutter plate 19 is rotated right by one step until the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S reaches 15, and the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S is increased by 1 each time. Further, when the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S reaches 15, it is detected in step S41 and the step S3
Proceed to the process of 8. With the above operation, the window portion 27W
A is closed by the mask portion 29e of the shutter plate 19, and the window portion 27WB is opened by overlapping with the cutout portion 29b of the shutter plate 19, so that the solar cell 10 is exposed.
It becomes like (b).

In step S32, the mode register M
Is 1 instead of 0, and when it is determined that the time / date display mode is already set, the value of the charge state flag FB is 0 in step S45, that is, the capacitor 11 is overcharged. To determine if Then, when the capacitor 11 is in the overcharged state, the operation of repeating the processes of steps S46 to S48 is started. In steps S46 to S48, the shutter plate 19 is rotated right by one step until the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S reaches 30, and the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S is increased by 1 each time. Go Then, when the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S reaches 30, it is detected in step S48, and in the next step S49, the display of the date on the liquid crystal display panel 30 is started. By the operation as described above, the window portion 27WA overlaps the opening portion 29a of the shutter plate 19 and is opened to expose the liquid crystal display panel 30, and the window portion 27WB is closed by the mask portion 29e of the shutter plate 19, as shown in FIG. ).

In step S45, the value of the charge state flag FB is 1 instead of 0, and the capacitor 1
When it is determined that the vehicle is not in the overcharged state, 1 starts the operation of repeating the processing of steps S50 to S52. In steps S50 to S52, the shutter plate 19 is rotated right by one step until the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S reaches 45, and the value of the shutter plate rotation position register S is increased by 1 each time. .. When the value of the shutter plate rotational position register S reaches 45, it is detected in step S52, and in the next step S49, the display of the date on the liquid crystal display panel 30 is started. By the operation as described above, the window 27WA overlaps the notch 29b of the shutter plate 19 and is opened to expose the liquid crystal display panel 30, and the window 27W is opened as shown in FIG. 6D.
B is overlapped with the notch 29c and is opened to expose the solar cell 10, and the capacitor 11 is continuously charged.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be applied without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0025]

As described in detail above, the present invention installs a solar cell inside an opening formed in a dial plate, and when the solar cell is overcharged to the power storage means, the opening is provided. This is an electronic timepiece that is closed by a shutter plate and covers the solar cell with this shutter plate.Therefore, it is necessary to deal with methods other than the method of discharging electric power as heat when overcharging and to expose the solar cell to external light. If not, it will be possible to provide an electronic timepiece that can be covered with this and have a good appearance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a positional relationship among a shutter plate, a liquid crystal display panel, and a solar cell.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing in detail the switch processing in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the opened / closed state of the window portion of the dial in various states.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 solar cell 11 capacitor 12 voltage detection circuit 19 shutter plate 27WA, 27WB window part 29a opening part 29b, 29c cutout part 29d, 29e, 29f mask part 30 liquid crystal display panel 31 band mounting part M mode register S shutter plate rotation position register FA , FB charge status flag

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pointer display device for displaying the time by rotating a pointer on a dial by a step motor, a solar cell arranged below an opening formed in the dial, the dial and the dial. A shutter plate that is provided between the solar cell and opens and closes the opening of the dial plate, a storage unit that is charged by the electromotive force of the solar cell, a detection unit that detects the voltage of the storage unit, and this detection unit. When the opening of the dial is opened when it is detected that the voltage of the storage means becomes a certain value or more, the shutter board movement control means for moving the shutter board to close the opening is provided. An electronic watch characterized by being provided.