Real time clock and method for recording data in real time clock

• US 8,458,506 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2012
• Issued: 06/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Shirotori, Toru, Usuda, Toshiya
• Primary Examiner(s): Abbaszadeh, Jaweed A
• Application Number:
  US13/410,784
• Publication Number:
  US 20120166138A1
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 713/500, 713/502, 714/48, 714/55, 714/723
• US Class Current: 713/500
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/14 Time supervision arrangements, e.g. real time clock
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/00 Registering or indicating the condition or the working of machines or other apparatus, other than vehicles

Abstract

A real time clock for outputting data indicating a time of day includes: an event detection circuit for detecting that an event detection signal has been inputted from outside; a timing circuit for generating the time-of-day data according to a signal outputted from an oscillator circuit; a memory; and a control circuit for, if the event detection circuit detects input of the event detection signal, recording event data in the memory, the event data including additional data indicating an operating state of the real time clock and the time-of-day data generated by the timing circuit.

Claims

1. A real time clock for outputting data indicating a time-of-day, comprising:

an event detection circuit that is configured to detect an event detection signal;

a timing circuit that is configured to generate the time-of-day data according to a signal outputted from an oscillator circuit;

a memory; and

a control circuit that is configured to record event data in the memory regardless of whether a reduction in an applied voltage has been detected, if the event detection circuit detects input of the event detection signal, wherein

the event data includes additional data indicating an operating state of the real time clock and the time-of-day data generated by the timing circuit, and

the control circuit uses the determination of whether the reduction in the applied voltage has been detected to then determine a correctness of the determination of whether the occurrence of the event has been detected.

2. The real time clock according to claim 1, further comprising a voltage reduction detection circuit for detecting the reduction in the applied voltage, wherein the additional data includes voltage reduction information indicating the reduction in the applied voltage detected by the voltage reduction detection circuit.

3. The real time clock according to claim 2, wherein the voltage reduction detection circuit includes a first voltage comparison unit for detecting that the applied voltage is lower than a first threshold, and the voltage reduction information includes information indicating whether, when the event detection circuit detects input of the event detection signal, the first voltage comparison unit of the voltage reduction detection circuit has detected that the applied voltage is lower than the first threshold.

4. The real time clock according to claim 3, wherein the voltage reduction detection circuit further includes a second voltage comparison unit for detecting that the applied voltage is lower than a second threshold, the second threshold being set to a value lower than the first threshold, wherein the voltage reduction information includes information indicating whether the second voltage comparison unit of the voltage reduction detection circuit detects that the applied voltage is lower than the second threshold.

5. The real time clock according to claim 1, further comprising an oscillation stop detection circuit for detecting that the oscillator circuit has stopped oscillating, wherein the additional data includes oscillation stop information indicating whether the oscillation stop detection circuit detects the oscillation stop.

6. The real time clock according to claim 2, further comprising a setting register in which any one of rising edge detection mode and falling edge detection mode is set, the rising edge detection mode detecting a rising edge of a voltage waveform of the event detection signal, and the falling edge detection mode detecting a falling edge of the voltage waveform of the event detection signal, wherein the additional data includes detection information indicating which of the rising edge detection mode and the falling edge detection mode has previously been set in the setting register when the event detection circuit detects input of the event detection signal.

7. The real time clock according to claim 2, further comprising a plurality of terminals for receiving the event detection signal, wherein if the event detection circuit detects input of the event detection signal, the control circuit records the event data in the memory, the event data including the additional data, the time-of-day data, and a port number of one of the terminals, the one of the terminals having received the event detection signal.

8. A method for recording data in a real time clock having a function of recording data indicating a time of day of occurrence of an event in a memory, the method comprising:

determining whether a reduction in an applied voltage has been detected;

determining whether the occurrence of the event has been detected;

using the determination of whether the reduction in the applied voltage has been detected to determine a correctness of the determination of whether the occurrence of the event has been detected; and

recording the data as event data, wherein

the data includes the time of day data and additional data, the additional data including a determination about an operating state of the real time clock at the time of occurrence of the event.

9. The method for recording data in a real time clock according to claim 8, wherein the additional data includes information indicating a determination whether the applied voltage is lower than a threshold.

10. The method for recording data in a real time clock according to claim 8, wherein the additional data includes information indicating a determination within which of a plurality of voltage ranges the applied voltage falls.

11. The method for recording data in a real time clock according to claim 8, wherein the additional data includes information indicating whether a stop of oscillation of an oscillator circuit of the real time clock has been detected.

12. A real time clock for outputting data indicating a time-of-day, comprising:

an event detection circuit that is configured to detect an event detection signal;

a timing circuit that is configured to generate the time-of-day data according to a signal outputted from an oscillator circuit;

a memory; and

a control circuit that is configured to record event data in the memory if the event detection circuit detects input of the event detection signal, the event data including additional data indicating an operating state of the real time clock and the time of day data generated by the timing circuit, wherein

the control circuit uses a determination of whether a reduction in applied voltage has been detected to then determine a correctness of a determination of whether an occurrence of the event has been detected.