Electronic timepiece

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11119449-B2
Application number	US-201715789140-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 20, 2017
Priority date	Nov 1, 2016
Publication date	Sep 14, 2021
Grant date	Sep 14, 2021

Abstract

The electronic timepiece has a receiver that receives standard time signals; a detector that samples the received signal and detects the signal level; a calculator that computes, based on the detected signal level, the total signal width of a first level signal in 1-second, and the continuous time of the second level signal; and a code evaluator that determines the code transmitted in the signal based on the calculated total. The signal contains a first code and a second code in which the total signal width of the first level signal in 1 second is the same; the first code is a code that transmits the first level signal in 1 second; the second code is a code that transmits two first level signals separated by a second level signal in 1 second.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic timepiece comprising:
a receiver that receives a standard time signal having a first signal level and a second signal level in a 1 second interval, the standard time signal including a signal containing a first data bit and a second data bit in the 1 second interval, wherein the first data bit and the second data bit are represented by combinations of the first signal level and second signal level within the 1 second interval;
a detector that samples the standard time signal received by the receiver and detects the first signal level and the second signal level;
a calculator that, based on the first signal level and the second signal level detected by the detector, calculates a total signal width of one or more first portions of the standard time signal at the first signal level, and a continuous time of a second portion of the standard time signal at the second signal level in a predetermined evaluation period within the 1 second interval; and
a code evaluator that determines a code of the standard time signal indicated by the total signal width of the one or more first portions calculated by the calculator, wherein the code is determined from a plurality of codes, and wherein
the plurality of codes includes a first code and a second code in which the total signal width of the one or more first portions in the 1 second interval is the same,
the second code includes the first signal level in two of the one or more first portions separated by the second portion of the standard time signal at the second signal level, and
the detector stops sampling the standard time signal of 1 second when the continuous time is greater than or equal to a previously set reference time.

2. The electronic timepiece described in claim 1 , wherein:
the code evaluator detects a signal position indicating which second the standard time signal represents in a frame including a plurality of standard time signals for a 60-second period; and
the receiver stops receiving when the detected signal position indicates a signal position that does not contain predetermined targeted information.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Tanabe Takuya

Classifications

• G04R20/10 Primary

  Tuning or receiving; Circuits therefor · CPC title

• G04R20/12

  Decoding time data; Circuits therefor · CPC title

• G04R20/00 Primary

  Setting the time according to the time information carried or implied by the radio signal · CPC title