Electronic timepiece and indicator position detection method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11803159-B2
Application number	US-201916601646-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 15, 2019
Priority date	Oct 16, 2018
Publication date	Oct 31, 2023
Grant date	Oct 31, 2023

Abstract

An electronic timepiece that shortens the time from starting to completing indicator position detection. The electronic timepiece 1 an indicator 11 ; an actuator 12 that drives the indicator 11 ; a light emitter 21 ; a photodetector 22 that detects light emitted from the light emitter 21 selectively when when the indicator 11 is at a reference position; and a control circuit 35 that executes a first mode to drive the indicator 11 continuously in one direction until the indicator 11 is detected while the light emitter 21 is emitting, and a second mode to alternately drive the indicator 11 and drive the light emitter 21 to emit to detect the indicator 11 at the reference position after the photodetector 22 detects light in the first mode and the indicator 11 has past the reference position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic timepiece comprising:
an indicator configured to rotate in a first direction and a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, around an indicator axis;
a stepper motor configured to drive the indicator by one step at a time;
a light emitter configured to emit light;
a photodetector configured to selectively detect the light emitted from the light emitter when the indicator is at a reference position, the reference position corresponding to a specific one step position of the stepper motor; and
a control circuit configured to control the stepper motor and the light emitter so as to:
perform a first mode, while the light emitter is continuously emitting the light, to drive the indicator continuously in the first direction for consecutive steps of the stepper motor until the photodetector detects the light;
turn the light emitter off after the photodetector detects the light;
cause the stepper motor to turn off to stop the driving of the indicator at a stop position after the light emitter is turned off, wherein the indicator has passed the reference position when the indicator stops;
cause the stepper motor to drive the indicator for a specific number of steps in the second direction from the stop position, wherein the indicator passes the reference position again during the driving for the specific number of steps in the second direction; and
perform a second mode, after the indicator has passed the reference position again during the driving for the specific number of steps in the second direction, to perform an alternate operation between driving of the indicator by one step at a time in the first direction by the stepper motor and emitting of the light from the light emitter to determine whether the photodetector receives the light again so as to detect the indicator at the reference position.

2. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control circuit is configured to perform the first mode and the second mode as an initialization operation during a system reset.

3. The electronic timepiece according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control circuit is configured to perform the first mode by driving the stepper motor by constant current control.

4. An electronic timepiece comprising:
an indicator configured to rotate in a first direction and a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, around an indicator axis;
a stepper motor configured to drive the indicator by one step at a time;
a wheel configured to transfer power from the stepper motor to the indicator, the wheel having a through-hole passing through the wheel in an axial direction;
a light emitter configured to emit light toward the wheel;
a photodetector configured to selectively detect the light emitted from the light emitter and passing through the through-hole when the indicator is at a reference position, the reference position corresponding to a specific one step position of the stepper motor; and
a control circuit configured to control the stepper motor and the light emitter so as to:
perform a first mode, while the light emitter is continuously emitting the light, to drive the indicator continuously in the first direction for consecutive steps of the stepper motor until the photodetector detects the light;
turn the light emitter off after the photodetector detects the light;
cause the stepper motor to turn off to stop the driving of the indicator at a stop position after the light emitter is turned off, wherein the indicator has passed the reference position when the indicator stops;
cause the stepper motor to drive the indicator for a specific number of steps in the second direction from the stop position, wherein the indicator passes the reference position again during the driving for the specific number of steps in the second direction; and
perform a second mode, after the indicator has passed the reference position again during the driving for the specific number of steps in the second direction, to perform an alternate operation between driving of the indicator by one step at a time in the first direction by the stepper motor and emitting of the light from the light emitter to determine whether the photodetector receives the light again so as to detect the indicator at the reference position.

5. The electronic timepiece according to claim 4 ,
wherein the control circuit is configured to perform the first mode and the second mode as an initialization operation during a system reset.

6. The electronic timepiece according to claim 4 ,
wherein the control circuit is configured to perform the first mode by driving the stepper motor by constant current control.

7. An indicator position detection method for causing a control circuit to execute a process, the indicator position detection method comprising executing on the control circuit the steps of:
rotating an indicator in a first direction and a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, around an indicator axis via a stepper motor, the stepper motor being configured to drive the indicator by one step at a time;
controlling a light emitter, the light emitter being configured to emit light;
causing a photodetector to selectively detect the light emitted from the light emitter when the indicator is at a reference position, the reference position corresponding to a specific one step position of the stepper motor;
performing a first mode, while the light emitter is continuously emitting the light, to drive the indicator continuously in the first direction for consecutive steps of the stepper motor until the photodetector detects the light;
turning the light emitter off after the photodetector detects the light;
causing the stepper motor to turn off to stop the driving of the indicator at a stop position after the light emitter is turned off, wherein the indicator has passed the reference position when the Indicator stops;
causing the stepper motor to drive the indicator for a specific number of steps in the second direction from the stop position, wherein the indicator passes the reference position again during the driving for the specific number of steps in the second direction; and
performing a second mode, after the indicator has passed the reference position again during the driving for the specific number of steps in the second direction, to perform an alternate operation between driving of the indicator by one step at a time in the first direction by the stepper motor and emitting of the light from the light emitter to determine whether the photodetector receives the light again so as to detect the indicator at the reference position.

8. The indicator position detection method according to claim 7 ,
wherein the control circuit is configured to perform the first mode and the second mode as an initialization operation during a system reset.

9. The indicator position detection method according to claim 7 ,
wherein the control circuit is configured to perform the first mode by driving the stepper motor by constant current control.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Kobayashi Naohiro

Classifications

• G04C9/08 Primary

  by electric drive · CPC title

• G04C3/14 Primary

  incorporating a stepping motor (G04C3/02 - G04C3/12 take precedence {; generating commutating pulses in primary clocks G04C13/0463}) · CPC title

• G04C3/146 Primary

  incorporating two or more stepping motors or rotors · CPC title

• G04D7/003

  for electric or electronic clocks · CPC title