EP0217164A1 - Elektronisches Uhrwerk mit analoger Anzeige, die ein Sekunden anzeigendes Organ enthält - Google Patents

Elektronisches Uhrwerk mit analoger Anzeige, die ein Sekunden anzeigendes Organ enthält Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0217164A1
EP0217164A1 EP86112165A EP86112165A EP0217164A1 EP 0217164 A1 EP0217164 A1 EP 0217164A1 EP 86112165 A EP86112165 A EP 86112165A EP 86112165 A EP86112165 A EP 86112165A EP 0217164 A1 EP0217164 A1 EP 0217164A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
motor
rotor
timepiece
control circuit
hand
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Granted
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EP86112165A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0217164B1 (de
Inventor
Pierre-André Meister
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ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere Suisse
Ebauchesfabrik ETA AG
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Ebauchesfabrik ETA AG
Eta SA Fabriques dEbauches
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04C—ELECTROMECHANICAL CLOCKS OR WATCHES
    • G04C3/00—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means
    • G04C3/14—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means incorporating a stepping motor
    • G04C3/146—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means incorporating a stepping motor incorporating two or more stepping motors or rotors

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to electronic timepieces with analog display, in particular watches, which are provided with an indicator member for displaying the seconds.
  • the invention relates to timepieces of this kind which include at least two motors for actuating the various display members, one of these motors serving to drive the seconds indicator member, alone or not.
  • Watches are currently known in which a stepping motor actuates a second hand and a minute hand while another drives an hour hand and a date indicator.
  • Such an arrangement makes it possible both to equip a second hand watch with an electronic correction system, which has hitherto been impossible with a single motor, to quickly change time zones without risking lose the exact time and easily incorporate a chronograph function into the watch.
  • a first stepping motor drives the seconds, minutes and hours hands then that a second advances a date disc.
  • This solution has the same advantage as the previous one with regard to consumption. Furthermore, it is easy in this case to program the control circuit of the second motor so as to produce a perpetual or partially perpetual calendar.
  • the reliability of the watch is increased by the fact that a failure in the functioning of the seconds motor does not cause the stop of the minute and hour hands and if the motor reserved for the latter also drives a calendar mechanism here again achieves energy savings compared to a watch with a single motor.
  • the object of the present invention is to bring to watches and more generally to timepieces with seconds indicator member which are provided with at least two motors, a common improvement which makes the use of these two motors even more advantageous than 'it is currently.
  • a timepiece which comprises an oscillator, a frequency divider connected to this oscillator, a first indicating member to display the seconds and a second indicating member to display other information time, a first motor which comprises a rotor with a permanent magnet carried by an axis mechanically coupled to the first indicator member to drive the latter, a first control circuit connected to the divider of frequency for controlling the first motor, a second motor which operates step by step in response to voltage driving pulses to drive the second indicating member, a second control circuit also connected to the divider to produce these driving pulses and a correction device for allow the timepiece to pass from a normal operating mode to a correction mode and vice versa and to modify at least the time information displayed by the second indicating member when the timepiece is in correction mode , the first motor comprises at least two coils and that the first control circuit is designed to permanently apply to these coils variable voltages which make it possible to subject the rotor of this motor to a rotating magnetic field so
  • the time information displayed by the second indicating member can be the minutes, the hours or the date.
  • the timepiece according to the invention is also provided with a third indicating member for displaying the hours or the minutes respectively, which is preferably driven, in the first case, by the second. motor and in the second by the first motor but which could just as easily be actuated by a third stepping motor like the second.
  • the timepiece additionally includes a third and a fourth indicating member for displaying the minutes and hours, which can be driven either by the first motor or by an additional stepping motor, or even two.
  • the first motor is constantly supplied with voltages which make it possible to subject its rotor to a rotating magnetic field
  • the number of steps per revolution could be made infinite, that is to say to make the motor and, consequently, the second hand turn perfectly continuously.
  • the problem is that it would then have to be associated with a control circuit at least partly analog.
  • it is currently very difficult, not to say excluded, to use this kind of circuit in a watch.
  • this increase in the number of steps per revolution is not the only solution to increase the number of jumps per minute of the second hand which, in fact, has no reason either to be very tall.
  • this engine has two coils and, preferably, a stator which make it possible to create two component fields in different directions, for example perpendicular . These two fields do not need to be turning themselves but only to be able to change direction.
  • the resulting field rotation is then obtained by suitably varying their amplitudes through voltages applied to the coils.
  • the bidirectional motor which is the subject of US Patent 4,371,821 meets this definition and as, in addition, it is simple, compact and well developed since it is already used in the manufacture of certain watches, it is very interesting to use it as the first engine in a timepiece according to the invention, with however a reservation.
  • the motor has its stator which is shaped so as to intensify the torque ⁇ -periodic positioning to which its rotor is subjected simply because this stator has three poles while the permanent magnet of the rotor has only two.
  • the motor comprises additional positioning means which make it possible to ensure that its rotor has two opposite rest positions which are sufficiently stable and precise for this motor to operate in a safe manner and with good efficiency, which otherwise does not could not be guaranteed, at least in the case of a timepiece such as a watch or an alarm clock.
  • the problem can be solved in a much simpler way, by intervening only at the level of the integrated circuit of the watch. This is especially true when the rotor of the first motor makes one revolution per minute because, in this case, it is enough to apply to the coils of the latter the voltages which correspond to the zero position of the hand of the seconds in response to a signal produced by a manual control device, which is no more complicated than resetting a seconds counter in a digital display watch.
  • the second hand which jumps every second, advances in a jerky manner less pleasant to see than the almost continuous rotation of that of mechanical watches and which makes it less easy to see at first glance whether the watch works properly or not.
  • a watch according to the invention by advancing the seconds hand at the rate of five jumps per second, the movement of the second hand of most mechanical watches is reproduced and it is easy to pass the number of these jumps , for example, at 16 or 32 to give the impression that the needle is advancing really continuously. Going beyond would be useless because the user would no longer see the difference.
  • the timed times can only be known to the nearest second with each time a possibility of error of more or less one unit, which is a handicap compared to mechanical chronograph watches where the accuracy is generally one fifth of a second. Thanks to the invention, not only can this handicap be easily remedied by making five jumps per second with the second hand, but in addition it is possible, by opting for ten or more jumps instead of five, to reach the tenth of a second , limit which is imposed by the number of graduations that the dial of a watch can wear.
  • the stepping motors which are currently used for the manufacture of watches are motors whose rotor rotates in 180 ° steps.
  • the rotation of the rotor during each of these steps is very rapid and can be compared to a shock.
  • This shock causes in the various elements of the watch mechanical vibrations which unnecessarily dissipate part of the electrical energy supplied to the motor and for a watch with a seconds hand this happens sixty times per minute.
  • This drawback was somewhat mitigated in the case of motors with a hexapolar magnet which were also used in watches but which are no longer used for reasons of space and manufacturing difficulty.
  • all or part of this gain can be used to increase the operating safety of the engine (s) which drive the indicator members other than the seconds hand, for example by strengthening the positioning torque to which the rotor of the motor or motors in question is subjected or by supplying the latter or these with pulses of duration greater than that usually provided.
  • the watch shown in FIG. 1 includes a quartz oscillator 1 to produce a standard frequency signal of 32,768 Hz. This signal is applied to the CL input of a frequency divider 2 responsible for supplying all the periodic signals whose other parts of the watch circuit need to perform their function.
  • This frequency divider 2 has in particular six outputs a to f where signals, respectively, of 16,384 Hz, 8,192 Hz, 4,096 Hz, 2,048 Hz, 1,024 Hz and 512 Hz appear, and two other g and h by which it delivers respectively, a signal of 5 Hz and time pulses of 1/12 Hz. It also includes an input R which makes it possible to reset all of its outputs to zero when the logic level of a signal applied to this input goes for example from "0" to "1".
  • the output g of the divider is connected via an AND gate 3 to an input h of the control circuit 4 of a motor 5 responsible for driving directly, that is to say without intermediate gear, a needle seconds 6 which, when the watch is operating normally, advances at the rate of five jumps per second.
  • the circuit 4 also receives directly, by another input a , the output signal from the oscillator 1, by six more still b to g the signals that the frequency divider 2 provides at its outputs a to f and, finally, by a last i a signal whose source and usefulness will be indicated later.
  • FIG. 2 schematically shows how the motor 5 is produced.
  • a rotor 27 whose shaft, not visible in the figure, carries the seconds hand of the watch and a bipolar permanent magnet 28, in the shape of a cylinder and diametrically magnetized.
  • This magnet which has its axis coincident with the axis of rotation 27 a of the rotor is housed in the center of a cylindrical opening 29 provided in a stator 30.
  • the stator 30 has three pole parts 31, 32 and 33, of low magnetic reluctance which each have a pole face, respectively 31 a , 32 a and 33 a , opposite the magnet 28 and which are arranged so that two d them, those designated by reference numerals 32 and 33 are symmetrical in relation to a plane P which constitutes the median plane of the third and which naturally contains the axis of rotation 27 a of the rotor.
  • pole parts are joined together, on the side of their pole face, by three narrow parts or isthmus 34, 35, 36, of high reluctance, which finish delimiting the opening 29 and, on the side opposite this face, by a weak reluctance part 37, in the shape of a U, the two lateral branches 37 a and 37 b of which are connected respectively to the pole parts 32 and 33 and the base 37 c to the pole part 31.
  • the motor 5 also includes two coils 38 and 39 which are placed around the part 37 of the stator, on either side. of the pole portion 31, and which are connected to the motor control circuit.
  • stator 30 will not be produced in one but generally in two parts, one of which will carry the coils and the other of which will form the pole parts and the isthmus, these two parts being assembled by means suitable, for example screws.
  • the direction and the intensity of the fields B1 and B2 depend respectively on the direction and the value of the voltages which are applied to the coils.
  • FIG. 3 schematically shows these two fields in the opening 29, with a direction and an intensity chosen arbitrarily, as well as the field B r which results therefrom.
  • the rotor When this field B r is actually created, the rotor is subjected to a driving torque which causes it to turn and come to place itself, by the shortest path, in the position for which the magnetization axis NS of the magnet 28 has the same direction and the same direction that the field, provided of course that the rotor is not already in this position and that the motor torque in question is greater than the resisting torque due in particular to the load that the rotor must cause, to the friction of its shaft on the bearings between which it is mounted and the low positioning torque which, as already indicated, is due to the fact that the magnet 28 is bipolar while the stator 30 has three pole parts.
  • the rotor If the field B r already exists and suddenly changes direction, the rotor reacts in the same way. On the other hand, if the field turns in one direction or the other, it drives the rotor with it.
  • the rotor turns in the direction which makes it possible to advance the seconds hand, making 300 steps of 1.2 ° per minute, at constant speed, and that it can be placed on command in the position which corresponds to the zero position of the needle.
  • B1
  • sin ⁇ t and B2
  • is the constant intensity of the resulting field CR, ⁇ equal to 2 ⁇ / 60 and ⁇ a phase shift angle which depends on the angle formed by the directions of the fields B1 and B2 in the opening 29 of the stator.
  • FIG. 5 shows a possible embodiment of the motor control circuit 4 capable of supplying it with the quasi-sinusoidal voltages V1 and V2 which it needs in the case where the directions of the fields B1 and B2 effectively form an angle of 90 °.
  • control circuit 4 comprises two counters 50 and 51, two decoders 52 and 53, two selector circuits 54 and 55, two T-type flip-flops 56 and 57 and a formatter circuit 58 which supplies the coils 38 and 39 of the motor.
  • the counter 50 the counting capacity of which is equal to the number of steps that the rotor must take in fifteen seconds, that is to say 75, has a counting input CL and a reset input R connected respectively to the inputs h and i of the circuit.
  • the CL input can therefore receive via the AND gate 3 the 5 Hz signal from the output g of the frequency divider 2.
  • This counter also has seven outputs a to g which are each connected and in the order with seven entries a to g of the decoder 53.
  • the counter 51 which, for its part, has a counting capacity of four, has a counting input CL connected to the highest weight output g of the counter 50, a reset input R also connected to the input i of the circuit and two outputs connected to two inputs c and d of the training circuit 58.
  • the decoder 52 also has seven inputs a to g which are connected to the inputs a to g of the circuit and, consequently, one at the output of the oscillator l and the others at the outputs a to f of the divider 2.
  • the two decoders 52 and 53 each have 75 outputs s1 to s75 which are connected to both the selector 54 and the selector 55. More specifically, those of the decoder 52 are connected to 75 inputs a1 to a75 of the selector 54 and to 75 inputs a1 to a75 of selector 55 while those of decoder 55 are connected to 75 others inputs b1 to b75 of selector 54 and to 75 other inputs b1 to b75 of selector 55.
  • the first, 56 has its clock input CL connected via an inverter 59 to the input g of the circuit therefore to the output f of the frequency divider, its input reset R connected to the output p of the selector 54 and its output Q connected to a third input a of the trainer circuit 58 while the second, 57, has its input CL connected directly to the input g, its input R connected at the output p of the selector 55 and its output Q connected to a fourth input, b, of the forming circuit.
  • this forming circuit has three outputs, one of which, c, is connected to the first terminal of the coil 38, another, f, to the second terminal of this same coil and to the first terminal of the coil 39 and the last, g, at the second terminal of this coil 39.
  • the decoders 52 and 53 and the selectors 54 and 55 can be produced in the same way as those which are described in detail in the French application by simply using gates and inverters but in greater number.
  • the training circuit it can be exactly the same.
  • the presence of the number 15 is linked to the fact that the number of steps which the quasi-sinusoidal voltages applied to the coils must have fifteen per quarter quarter, this number also being that of the outputs of the decoder.
  • the term 90 ° comes from the fact that it is obviously enough to determine the levels of stages for only one of the tensions, in this case that in sinus, and the first quarter of period thereof.
  • the circuit of FIG. 5 makes it possible to supply the coils of the motor which it controls by voltages which vary each between + V o and -V o (see fig. 4), V0 being equal to half the voltage of the battery which equips the watch of which it is a part.
  • the counters 50 and 51 have respective reset to zero inputs R which do not exist in the Swiss patent application. These inputs R which are both connected to the input i of the circuit are provided to allow the motor rotor to be brought back at any time to the precise position for which the voltage V1 is substantially zero and the voltage V2 equal to + V o . Naturally, it is arranged so that this position of the rotor corresponds to the zero position of the second hand which it carries on its shaft.
  • the output h of the frequency divider 2 at which the time pulses of 1/12 Hz appear is connected through an AND gate 9 and an OR gate 10 to a circuit 11 used to control a bidirectional stepping motor 12 which, via a gear train 13, drives a minute hand 7 and an hour hand 8.
  • This second motor, 12, which is partially shown in FIG. 6, is more or less identical to motor 5.
  • the pole faces 32 ' a and 33' have pole parts 32 'and 33' of its stator 30 ', which correspond to the pole portions 32 and 33 of the stator of the motor 5, have respective notches 42 and 43, symmetrical with respect to the plane P' which is analogous to the plane of symmetry P of the latter (see fig. 2).
  • These notches are one solution among others for producing the additional positioning means which have already been mentioned and which make it possible to ensure that the rotor 27 'has two well defined and stable rest positions, for which its axis of magnetization NS is found in plane P '.
  • the first solution consists in applying at the same time to one of the coils a driving pulse of determined duration and polarity and to the other two successive shorter pulses, the first of the same polarity as the long pulse and the second of polarity opposite.
  • a driving pulse of determined duration and polarity to the other two successive shorter pulses, the first of the same polarity as the long pulse and the second of polarity opposite.
  • the second is to send a pulse to one of the coils, then, immediately after, a pulse of opposite polarity to the other coil.
  • the fields B'1 and B'2 act successively on the rotor to make it take a step.
  • the third solution has in common with the first that one applies to one of the coils two short pulses of opposite polarities and to the other a longer pulse which ends at the same time as the second short pulse. It is distinguished by the fact that the two short pulses are separated by a certain period of time approximately equal to their duration, that the long pulse does not start until the first short pulse ends and that this long pulse and this first short pulse have opposite polarities.
  • One thus uses here one of the fields B'1 and B'2, then the other, then the resultant of the two.
  • the fourth possibility consists in using a coil to turn the rotor in one direction and the other coil to drive the rotor in the other direction and to simply apply driving pulses of alternating polarity to them, one pulse per step.
  • This signal CS is produced by a correction system which comprises a rotary manual control rod with two axial positions, one neutral and the other correction.
  • This rod which is not shown in FIG. 1, actuates when it pivots two switches 14 and 15 which then generate two signals each formed by a series of pulses whose frequency is proportional to the speed of rotation of the rod and which are phase shifted with respect to each other, the sign of phase shift depending on the direction of this rotation.
  • These signals are transmitted via anti-rebound circuits 17 and 18 to inputs a and b of a correction signal generator circuit 20.
  • a third switch 16 actuated by the control rod when it is moved axially, provides a logic signal representative of the position occupied by this rod which is applied via an anti-rebound circuit 19 to a third input c of the correction signal generator circuit 20 and at the input i of the control circuit 4 of the first motor 5.
  • This signal which has the value "0" or the value "1” depending on whether the rod is respectively in neutral position or in the correction position is also sent to the input of an inverter 21, the output of which is connected to the input R of the frequency divider 2 and to the AND gates 3 and 9.
  • the correction signal generator circuit 20 which can be very easily produced using flip-flops and gates like that described in US Pat. No. 4,379,642 is designed to produce, in addition to the signal for controlling the direction of rotation CS of the second motor which it delivers on a first output d, a signal of correction pulses CP which it supplies on a second output e connected to the OR gate 10.
  • the signal CS remains at the same logic level, for example "0", except when the control rod is both in the correction position and subjected to rotation in the direction which is provided to enable the watch to be delayed.
  • the CP correction pulses they appear at the output e of the circuit each time the rod is turned to the correction position and their frequency is, like that of the signals produced by switches 14 and 15, proportional to the speed of rotation thereof.
  • control rod In normal operation, the control rod is in neutral position and the signal supplied by the switch 16 is at logic level "0".
  • the AND gates 3 and 9 are therefore open respectively to the 5 Hz signal and to the 1/12 Hz time pulses produced by the frequency divider 2.
  • the control circuit 4 then receives on its inputs the 5 Hz signal, the signals from the outputs a to f of the divider and the signal from oscillator 1 and it permanently applies to the coils of the first motor the two quasi-sinusoidal voltages V1 and V2 which allow the rotor thereof to take a step of 1 , 2 ° every fifth of a second and advance the second hand 6 in the same way.
  • control circuit 11 applies driving pulses every five seconds to the second motor 12 and since the direction of rotation control signal CS is at level "0" the rotor of this motor rotates in 180 ° steps in the direction which makes it possible to advance the minute hand 7 and the hour hand 8.
  • the control of the two motors is synchronized so that the jumps of the minute hand take place when the second hand passes through its zero position.
  • the watch represented in FIG. 7 belongs to the category of those which comprise a first motor for turning both a seconds hand and a minutes hand and a second for driving only an hour hand and which allow the user to set the time, i.e. change the indication of the minutes together with that of the hours and change the time zone by moving only the hour hand.
  • an oscillator 1 ' which produces a signal of 32 768 Hz and a frequency divider 2' with an input CL connected to the oscillator, a reset input R, seven outputs a to f and g by which it supplies periodic signals of 16,384 Hz, 8,192 Hz, 4,096 Hz, 2,048 Hz, 1,024 Hz, 512 Hz and 5 Hz respectively and an output h where time pulses appear whose period is not more than 5 s but 5 min.
  • the output g of the frequency divider 2 ' is connected via an AND gate 3' to an input h of the circuit control 4 'of the first motor 5' which is identical to the motor of FIG. 2 and which drives the second hand 6 'mounted directly on the axis of its rotor and the minute hand 7' via a cog, not shown.
  • the control circuit 4 ′ which is shown in FIG. 8 and which receives on other inputs a , b to g and i, respectively, the signal from the oscillator, the signals from the outputs a to f of the divider and a logic signal comprises a counter by 75 50 ', two decoders 52' and 53 ', two selectors 54' and 55 ', two flip-flops 56' and 57 ', an inverter 59' and a formatter circuit 58 'identical to those of circuit of Figure 5 and which are connected to each other, to the input terminals a to i of the circuit and to the two coils 38 'and 39' of the first motor in exactly the same way.
  • circuit 4 ' also includes a counter by four 51' with a reset input connected to input i and two outputs a and b connected to the formatter circuit but this time it is a bidirectional counter with a U / D input for counting direction control connected to another input j of the circuit and this counter has its clock input CL connected to the most significant output g of the counter by 75 no longer directly but by through an OR gate 60 also connected to a last input k of the circuit.
  • the output h of the frequency divider where the time pulses of 1/300 Hz appear is itself connected to an input a of a circuit 22, the output c of which is connected through d 'an AND gate 9' and an OR gate 10 'at an input a of the control circuit 11' of the second motor 12 'which is identical to the motor 11 of the watch in FIG. 1 and which drives the hour hand 8 'thanks to a 13' cog.
  • circuit 22 which has another input b intended to receive a logic signal, its role will be clarified below.
  • the watch of FIG. 7 also includes three switches 17 ′, 18 ′, 19 ′ which are actuated by a rotary control rod with two positions and connected by anti-rebound circuits 17 ′, 18 ', 19' with three inputs a , b and c of a correction signal generator circuit 20 'in the same manner as above.
  • the circuit 20 ′ Each time the rod is subjected to this particular movement in the neutral position, the circuit 20 ′, the design of which can be very easily deduced from that of the circuit which corresponds to it in US Pat. No. 4,398,831, produces a train of twelve correction pulses HCP, of fixed and relatively high frequency, for example 32 Hz, which appear at an output d connected to the OR gate 10 '.
  • the circuit 20 ′ when the rod is turned to the correction position, the circuit 20 ′ generates pulses of frequency proportional to the speed of rotation of the latter from the signals coming from the switches 14 ′ and 15 ′ and as and when as these pulses are produced it transforms each of them into a train of four MCP correction pulses whose frequency, fixed, can be equal to that of the HCP pulses and which are emitted by an output e of the circuit which is connected, d 'on the one hand, at the input k of the control circuit 4' of the first motor and, on the other hand, at the input CL of a counter by twenty reversible 23 whose output s is connected to the OR gate 10 ' .
  • the first of these signals, CS is applied to another input b of the circuit 11 'and is used to control the direction of rotation of the second motor 12'. It always remains at the same logic level, for example "0", except during the time when an HCP or MCP pulse train is supplied by the circuit and provided that this is produced in response to a pivoting of the rod in the direction which makes it possible to delay the watch.
  • the second signal, CSC is provided to control the direction of counting of the counter by four 51 'of the control circuit 4' of the first motor and that of the counter by twenty 23. It is therefore applied to an input j of the circuit 4 'and to a U / D input of counter 23 and it will be assumed that it remains at level "0" except during the time when a train of MCP pulses is produced in response to a rotation of the rod in the direction which makes it possible to make it go back the needles.
  • CPT it is the one which is applied to the input b of the circuit 22. It remains for example at level "1" except during the periods when trains of HCP pulses are generated by the circuit 20 ', regardless of the direction in which the rod was turned.
  • circuit 22 If the circuit 22 receives a time pulse from the frequency divider when the signal CPT is at "0" it must memorize it so that it can then be restored, immediately after this signal has returned to "1". On the other hand, as long as the CPT signal is at "1", this same circuit, a possible embodiment of which can be found in US patent 4,398,831, must be content to immediately transmit the time pulses which come from the divider to the door. AND 9 '.
  • the AND gate 3 ' transmits the signal from the output g of the divider to the control circuit 4' and, as the signal CSC is then at level "0", the content of the counter by four 51 ' (see figure 8) is always incremented by the signal coming from the output g of the counter 50 ', which makes that this circuit works exactly in the same way as in the case of the watch of figure 1.
  • the first engine thus makes advance the second hand at the rate of five jumps per second, as well as the minute hand whose jumps are themselves too small to be perceptible.
  • the time pulses are transmitted to the control circuit 11' as soon as they appear at the output h of the frequency divider and, since the signal CS is at "0", this circuit generates driving pulses which allow the second motor to advance the hour hand at the rate of one jump every five minutes, the jumps taking place when the minute hand faces an hour index on the dial and when the second hand passes through its zero position.
  • the correction signal generator circuit 20 ′ sends to the control circuit 11 ′ of the second motor a train of twelve HCP pulses which cause rapid movement of the hour hand.
  • the direction of rotation control signal CS remains at level "0" and the needle advances.
  • the signal CS goes to level "1" during the period when the pulse train is produced and the needle moves back.
  • the CPT signal goes to level "0" to remain there for the entire duration of the pulse train and if a time pulse appears at the output of the divider, the timing circuit 22 stores it and then restores it. which means that the watch is always advanced or delayed exactly one hour.
  • the correction signal generator circuit 20 produces one or more trains of four MCP pulses which is or are sent to the input CL of the counter 51' via the OR gate 60 (see FIG. 8 ) and at the CL input of the counter by twenty 23.
  • the counter 23 which also counts or counts the MCP pulses, emits no pulse and the position of the hour hand n 'is not modified.
  • the correction exceeds five minutes, it produces one each time, having already counted nineteen MCP pulses which made it possible to rotate the second and minute hands in the same direction, it receives the twentieth.
  • the signal CS is at level "0" when this pulse from the counter 23 is applied to the control circuit 11 '.
  • the motor 12 'therefore advances the hour hand by one step. Otherwise, the signal CS is still at "1" when the pulse is sent to the circuit 11 ', so that the hour hand moves back one step.
  • a watch and more generally a timepiece in accordance with the invention can take a multitude of forms.
  • the first engine was chosen that which is the subject of US Pat. No. 4,371,821 because it offers many advantages and in particular that of being already used almost in the same form in watches. It is however obvious that it could be replaced by another. Any motor with at least two coils, which could be controlled so as to make its rotor make the number of steps per revolution that it wants at a suitable speed and to be able to force it to occupy a determined position, would also be appropriate, provided of course that it has the requisite qualities, in particular as regards its cost, its volume and its consumption, to be incorporated into a timepiece.
  • the watch in FIG. 1 lends itself well to the addition of an "alarm clock" function, the hour and minute hands being able to be used to store and display on command one or more alarm hours or alarm. That of FIG. 7 is better suited to also fulfill the function of chronograph.
  • the two could include, in addition, display mechanisms and members driven by the second motor to indicate the date.
  • the invention is not limited to timepieces with two engines. They may have more. In general it can be said that the invention is applicable, with great chances of being advantageous, to any timepiece with analog display which has the role of indicating the time and which comprises at least two motors, one of which drives at least one seconds indicator.

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  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromechanical Clocks (AREA)
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  • Measurement Of Unknown Time Intervals (AREA)
EP86112165A 1985-09-11 1986-09-03 Elektronisches Uhrwerk mit analoger Anzeige, die ein Sekunden anzeigendes Organ enthält Expired EP0217164B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CH3920/85 1985-09-11
CH392085A CH661835GA3 (de) 1985-09-11 1985-09-11

Publications (2)

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EP0217164A1 true EP0217164A1 (de) 1987-04-08
EP0217164B1 EP0217164B1 (de) 1989-08-09

Family

ID=4266335

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP86112165A Expired EP0217164B1 (de) 1985-09-11 1986-09-03 Elektronisches Uhrwerk mit analoger Anzeige, die ein Sekunden anzeigendes Organ enthält

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0217164B1 (de)
JP (1) JPS62124491A (de)
CH (1) CH661835GA3 (de)
DE (1) DE3664967D1 (de)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0319304A2 (de) * 1987-12-02 1989-06-07 Seiko Instruments Inc. Uhrwerk
EP0698957A1 (de) * 1994-08-26 1996-02-28 Eta SA Fabriques d'Ebauches Electromechanischer Wandler mit zwei Rotoren
FR2724271A1 (fr) * 1994-09-02 1996-03-08 Ebauchesfabrik Eta Ag Transducteur electromecanique comportant deux rotors
EP0782242A1 (de) * 1995-12-28 1997-07-02 Eta SA Fabriques d'Ebauches Elektromechanischer Wandler mit mehreren Rotoren und Steuerverfahren dafür
US5734215A (en) * 1994-08-26 1998-03-31 Eta Sa Fabriques D'ebauches Electromechanical transducer comprising two rotors

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH08149034A (ja) * 1994-11-24 1996-06-07 Saitama Nippon Denki Kk 無線機

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2209251A1 (de) * 1972-12-04 1974-06-28 Citizen Watch Co Ltd
GB2087601A (en) * 1980-07-18 1982-05-26 Citizen Watch Co Ltd Analog display electronic timepiece with multi-mode display capability
GB2110846A (en) * 1981-10-27 1983-06-22 Citizen Watch Co Ltd Electronic timepiece
EP0087387A1 (de) * 1982-02-15 1983-08-31 Eta SA Fabriques d'Ebauches Verfahren und Einrichtung zum Steuern eines umsteuerbaren Schrittmotors

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JPS5117057B1 (de) * 1970-09-12 1976-05-29
JPS5077812A (de) * 1973-11-15 1975-06-25
CH643427B (fr) * 1981-03-05 Ebauchesfabrik Eta Ag Montre electronique.
JPS5917188A (ja) * 1982-07-20 1984-01-28 Citizen Watch Co Ltd 電子時計

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2209251A1 (de) * 1972-12-04 1974-06-28 Citizen Watch Co Ltd
GB2087601A (en) * 1980-07-18 1982-05-26 Citizen Watch Co Ltd Analog display electronic timepiece with multi-mode display capability
GB2110846A (en) * 1981-10-27 1983-06-22 Citizen Watch Co Ltd Electronic timepiece
EP0087387A1 (de) * 1982-02-15 1983-08-31 Eta SA Fabriques d'Ebauches Verfahren und Einrichtung zum Steuern eines umsteuerbaren Schrittmotors

Non-Patent Citations (3)

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Title
BULLETIN ANNUEL DE LA SOCIETE SUISSE DE CHRONOMETRIE, vol. 11, no. 1, 1982, pages 147-151, Neuchâtel, CH; R. GRANDJEAN: "Moteur biphasé pour montre à quartz" *
ELEKTRONIK, vol. 29, no. 26, décembre 1980, pages 43-46, Munich, DE; H. GUGG et al.: "Schrittmotoren optimal angesteuert" *
ELEKTRONIK, vol. 33, no. 1, janvier 1983, pages 37-39, Munich, DE; T. WITTCHEN: "Minischritt-Steuerung für 2-Phasen-Schrittmotoren mit geschalteten Stromreglern" *

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0319304A2 (de) * 1987-12-02 1989-06-07 Seiko Instruments Inc. Uhrwerk
EP0319304A3 (en) * 1987-12-02 1989-07-19 Seiko Instruments Inc. Timepiece movement
EP0698957A1 (de) * 1994-08-26 1996-02-28 Eta SA Fabriques d'Ebauches Electromechanischer Wandler mit zwei Rotoren
US5734215A (en) * 1994-08-26 1998-03-31 Eta Sa Fabriques D'ebauches Electromechanical transducer comprising two rotors
FR2724271A1 (fr) * 1994-09-02 1996-03-08 Ebauchesfabrik Eta Ag Transducteur electromecanique comportant deux rotors
EP0782242A1 (de) * 1995-12-28 1997-07-02 Eta SA Fabriques d'Ebauches Elektromechanischer Wandler mit mehreren Rotoren und Steuerverfahren dafür
FR2743216A1 (fr) * 1995-12-28 1997-07-04 Ebauchesfabrik Eta Ag Transducteur electromecanique multirotor
US5739647A (en) * 1995-12-28 1998-04-14 Eta Sa Fabriques D'ebauches Multi-rotor electromechanical transducer and method for controlling such a transducer

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS62124491A (ja) 1987-06-05
DE3664967D1 (en) 1989-09-14
CH661835GA3 (de) 1987-08-31
EP0217164B1 (de) 1989-08-09

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