Electronic timepiece and electronic device

• US 9,557,718 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2015
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Honda, Katsuyuki, Tezuka, Chisato
• Primary Examiner(s): Kayes, Sean
• Application Number:
  US14/816,353
• Publication Number:
  US 20160041532A1
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 368/21
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G04B 19/22 Arrangements for indicating different local apparent times; Universal time pieces indicating by means of numbers or signs disposed on moving devices G04B19/20; illumination of dials or hands G04B19/30; combination with a terrestial globe in general G04B47/02; electronic time-zone watches G04G9/0076
• CPC Class Codes: G04R 20/02 the radio signal being sent by a satellite, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G04R 20/06 Decoding time data; Circuits therefor

Abstract

An electronic timepiece has a storage unit (flash ROM) that stores local time information related to positioning information and time difference information, and version information of the local time information; a version display unit (display device) capable of displaying the version information; and a display control unit that displays the version information on the version display unit.

Claims

1. An electronic timepiece comprising:

a time display unit having a plurality of hands;

a storage unit that stores local time information related to positioning information and time difference information, and version information of the local time information, wherein the version information identifies a version or edition of the local time information that changes when the content of the local time information changes;

a version display unit embodied by at least one of the plurality of hands and capable of displaying the version or edition of the version information; and

a display control unit that displays the version information on the version display unit.

2. The electronic timepiece described in claim 1, further comprising:

a satellite signal receiver unit that receives satellite signals transmitted from positioning information satellites;

a time information acquisition unit that acquires time information based on the satellite signal received by the satellite signal receiver unit;

a positioning information acquisition unit that acquires positioning information based on the satellite signal received by the satellite signal receiver unit;

a time difference information acquisition unit that acquires time difference information related to the positioning information from the local time information;

a time calculating unit that computes a display time based on the time difference information and the time information; and

a time display unit that displays the display time.

3. The electronic timepiece described in claim 1, further comprising:

an input unit that detects a manual operation and sets the positioning information;

a standard time signal receiver unit that receives standard time signals;

a time information acquisition unit that acquires time information based on the standard time signal received by the standard time signal receiver unit;

a positioning information acquisition unit that acquires the positioning information set by the input unit;

a time difference information acquisition unit that acquires time difference information related to the positioning information from the local time information;

a time calculating unit that computes a display time based on the time difference information and the time information; and

a time display unit that displays the display time.

4. The electronic timepiece described in claim 1, further comprising:

an operating unit that receives a display command operation for the version information;

wherein the display control unit displays the version information when the operating unit receives the display command operation.

5. The electronic timepiece described in claim 1, wherein:

the storage unit rewritably stores the local time information and the version information.

6. The electronic timepiece described in claim 1, wherein:

the local time information includes region information corresponding to the positioning information, and time zone information corresponding to the time difference information and indicating the time difference of the region information to UTC, and

includes relationally to the time difference information at least one of time zone change information indicating a scheduled time zone change, daylight saving time offset information, daylight saving time start information, daylight saving time end information, and daylight saving time change information indicating a scheduled change in daylight saving time.

7. The electronic timepiece described in claim 1, further comprising:

a time display unit having a plurality of hands that indicate the display time;

wherein the time display unit is used as the version display unit; and

the display control unit displays the version information on the time display unit by setting the hands to positions indicating the version information.

8. An electronic device comprising:

a time display unit having a plurality of hands;

a storage unit that stores local time information related to positioning information and time difference information, and version information of the local time information, wherein the version information identifies a version or edition of the local time information that changes when the content of the local time information changes;

a version display unit embodied by at least one of the plurality of hands and capable of displaying the version or edition of the version information; and

a display control unit that displays the version information on the version display unit.