Electronic timepiece with calendar function and control method for same

• US 20050185513A1
• Filed: 02/22/2005
• Published: 08/25/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Tamura, Shuichi, Kawaguchi, Takashi, Kitahara, Joji
• Granted Patent: US 7,616,527 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 368/28
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 17/0066 electromagnetically driven, e.g. intermittently clocks incorporating a stepping motor G04C3/14
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 3/146 incorporating two or more stepping motors or rotors

Abstract

An electronic timepiece with a calendar display function that drives a piezo-electric actuator to drive a rotation of a piezo-electric rotor, and stops the drive of the piezo-electric actuator when the amount of the piezo-electric rotor advances is detected by a spring switch. Photoreflectors are used for day detection accomplished using gears having a small speed reduction ratio relative to the piezo-electric rotor, and spring switches are used in month detection and year detection.

Claims

1. An electronic timepiece comprising:

a calendar display mechanism having a calendar display function to display a calendar, said calendar display mechanism being configured to rotate one or a plurality of calendar display wheels by a rotational drive of a rotor through a gear train;

an actuator being configured to rotate said rotor; and

at least one gear in said gear train being provided with a mechanical switch being configured to operate in conjunction with the rotation of said gear, an amount of rotation of said rotor being detected by detecting operation of said mechanical switch, and a drive of said actuator being stopped based on a detection result.

2. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein said mechanical switch includes,

a spring contact provided on said gear, and

a continuity member that provides continuity through a spring contact in accordance with rotation of said gear.

3. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, wherein said gear is arranged in a reduction gear train.

4. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1, further comprising,

a plurality of detection wheels formed on said calendar display wheels or gears that rotate in linkage with said calendar display wheels;

wherein, among said plurality of detection wheels, a noncontact detector that performs noncontact-type detection of a rotation position are provided for at least some of said detection wheels having several detection patterns of said displayed calendar and/or detection wheels having a small speed reduction ratio relative to said rotor, and a contact detector that performs contact-type detection of a rotation position of said detection wheels are provided for a remainder of said detection wheels, and a date displayed by said calendar display wheel is detected based on detection results of said noncontact detector and said contact-type detector.

5. The electronic timepiece according to claim 4, wherein

said calendar display wheel includes a day wheel that displays the day and

said noncontact detector detects whether said displayed day conforms to at least any of the detection patterns including 31, 30, 29, or 1-28.

6. The electronic timepiece according to claim 4, wherein said contact-type detector includes,

a spring contact provided on a detection wheel, and

a continuity member that provides continuity through said spring contact in accordance with the rotation of the detection wheel,

wherein said noncontact detector reads an optical detection pattern or magnetic detection pattern provided on said calendar display wheel or gear by light detection or magnetic detection.

7. A control method for an electronic timepiece comprising:

providing a calendar display mechanism calendar with calendar display function to display a calendar by rotating one or a plurality of calendar display wheels by a rotational drive of a rotor through a gear train;

detecting an amount of rotation of said rotor by detecting an operation of a mechanical switch operating in conjunction with rotation of one gear in said gear train to provide a detection result; and

stopping a drive of an actuator being configured to rotate said rotor said detection result.

8. The control method for an electronic timepiece according to claim 7, further comprising,

detecting a date displayed by said plurality of calendar display wheel based on a detection result of a noncontact detector provided for noncontact-type detection of a rotation position for said detection wheels having several detection patterns of said displayed calendar and/or detection wheels having a small speed reduction ratio relative to said rotor, and detection results of a contact detector provided for contact-type detection of a rotation position of a remainder of said plurality of detection wheels, among said plurality of detection wheels formed of calendar display wheels or gears that rotate in linkage with said plurality of calendar display wheels.

9. An electronic timepiece with calendar display function comprising:

a calendar display being configured to display a plurality of calendar information;

a drive device being configured to drive said calendar display and to change said plurality of calendar information; and

a control being configured to detect one bit of said plurality of calendar information, said control being configured to determine whether said one bit conforms to set calendar information requiring end of the month correction, said control being configured to detect other calendar information only when said one bit has been determined to conform to said set calendar information, said control being configured to determine whether a date of detected calendar information is an existing day or nonexistent day, and said control being configured to control said drive device to display an existing day on said calendar display when a nonexistent day has been determined.

10. The electronic timepiece according to claim 9, wherein

said plurality of calendar information includes at least month and day, and

said control detects said month from among a plurality of calendar information, said control detects other calendar information including day only when said month has been determined to conform to said set calendar information in which said month is a month having fewer than 31 days, said control determines whether said date including said month and day is an existing day or nonexistent day, and said control controls said drive device to display an existing day on the calendar display when a nonexistent day is determined.

11. The electronic timepiece according to claim 9, wherein

said plurality of calendar information includes at least month and day, and

said control detects a day from among said plurality of calendar information displayed by said calendar display, said control detects other calendar information including month only when day has been determined to conform to said set calendar information in which said day is a day that does not exist in a month having fewer than 31 days, said control determines whether said date including said month and day is an existing day or nonexistent day, and said control controls said drive device to display an existing day on display calendar display when a nonexistent day is determined.

12. The electronic timepiece according to claim 10, wherein

said plurality of calendar information includes a year, and

said control detects said year only when said detected month is February and said detected day is not a day between 1-28, said control determines whether said date representing said year, month, and day is an existing day or nonexistent day, and said control controls said drive device to display an existing day on said calendar display when a nonexistent day is determined.

13. The electronic timepiece according to claim 10, wherein

said calendar display includes a tens-column place value display to display a tens-column value of a day, and a ones-column place value display to display a ones-column value of said day to display said day by said tens-column display and said ones-column display, and

said control detects said tens-column value of said day, determines whether said tens-column value of said day conforms to a tens-column value of 1 or 0, and detects said ones-column value of said day only when the tens-column value is not 1 or 0.

14. The electronic timepiece according to claim 10, wherein said calendar display includes,

a tens-column place value display to display a tens-column value of a day, and a ones-column place value display to display a ones-column value of said day to display said day by respectively rotating said tens-column display and said ones-column display,

two first photoreflectors are arranged on a back side of said tens-column display separated by an open space on a common circle periphery in a rotation direction of said tens-column display,

a first light detection pattern having a reflective region and nonreflective region provided on a back surface of the tens-column display such that detection results of said two first photoreflectors are different when said day displayed on said tens-column display is any among 0-10, 20, and 30;

and

two second photoreflectors are arranged on a back side of said ones-column display separated by an open space on a common circle periphery in a rotation direction of said ones-column display, and

a second light detection pattern having a reflective region and nonreflective region provided on a back surface of said ones-column display such that detection results of said two second photoreflectors are different when said day displayed on said ones-column display is any among 2-8, 9, 0, and 1.

15. The electronic timepiece according to claim 14, wherein

said two second photoreflectors are arranged with the same spacing as the spacing of the days of the ones-column provided on the ones-column display, and

an optical detection pattern on the ones-column display includes a reflective region extending across an illumination range of said two second photoreflectors when a day displayed by the ones-column display is 0, and a nonreflective region extending across said illumination range of said two second photoreflectors outside said reflective region.

16. The electronic timepiece according to claim 10, further comprising,

a day display being included in said calendar display to display 1-31 days, and said day is displayed by rotating said day display, and

two photoreflectors arranged on a back side of said day display separated by an open space on a common circle periphery in a rotation direction of said day display, and a light detection pattern having a reflective region and nonreflective region provided on a back surface of said day display such that detection results of said two photoreflectors are different when said day displayed on said day display is any among 10-28, 29, 30, and 31.

17. The electronic timepiece according to claim 16, wherein

said two photoreflectors are arranged with the same spacing as the spacing of the days provided on said day display, and

said optical detection pattern on said day display includes a reflective region extending across said illumination range of said two photoreflectors when said day displayed by said day display is 30, and a nonreflective region extending across said illumination range of said two photoreflectors outside said reflective region.

18. A control method for an electronic timepiece comprising:

displaying a plurality of calendar information by a calendar display function of a calendar display;

driving said calendar display using a drive device;

changing said plurality of calendar information;

detecting one bit of calendar information among said plurality of calendar information;

determining whether said one bit of calendar information conforms to set calendar information requiring end of the month correction;

detecting other calendar information only when said one bit of calendar information has been determined to conform to said set calendar information;

determining whether a date of detected calendar information is an existing day or nonexistent day; and

controlling said drive device is controlled to display an existing day on said calendar display when a nonexistent day has been determined.

19. The control method for an electronic timepiece according to claim 18, wherein

said plurality of calendar information includes at least month and day;

and

said month is detected from among a plurality of calendar information displayed by said calendar display, other calendar information including said day is detected only when said month has been determined to conform to said set calendar information in which said month is a month having fewer than 31 days, whether said date including said month and day is an existing day or nonexistent day is determined, and said drive device is controlled to display an existing day on said calendar display means when a nonexistent day is determined.

20. The control method for an electronic timepiece according to claim 18, wherein

said plurality of calendar information includes at least a month and day, and

said day is detected from among said plurality of calendar information displayed by said calendar display, other calendar information including said month is detected only when said day has been determined to conform to said set calendar information in which said day is a day that does not exist in a month having fewer than 31 days, whether said date including said month and day is an existing day or nonexistent day is determined, and said drive device is controlled to display an existing day on said calendar display when a nonexistent day is determined.

21. The control method for an electronic timepiece according to claim 19, wherein

said plurality of calendar information includes a year, and

said year is detected only when said detected month is February and said detected day) is not day between 1-28, whether said date representing said year, month, and day is an existing day or nonexistent day is determined, and said drive device is controlled to display an existing day on said calendar display when a nonexistent day is determined.

22. The control method for an electronic timepiece according to claim 19, wherein

said calendar display includes a tens-column place value display to display a tens-column value of said day, and a ones-column place value display to display a ones-column value of said days to display said day by said tens-column display and said ones-column display, and

when detecting said day, said tens-column value of said day is detected, whether said tens-column value of said day conforms to a tens-column value of 1 or 0 is determined, and detects said ones-column value of said day only when said tens-column value is not 1 or 0.