Electronic timepiece

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9740171-B2
Application number	US-201615072688-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 17, 2016
Priority date	Apr 10, 2015
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

An electronic timepiece has a plurality of modes and includes a plurality of indicating hands including a first indicating hand as a mode hand that indicates each mode, an operation section that allows mode switching operation that instructs switching among the modes, and a display control section that moves the plurality of indicating hands to be moved on the basis of the mode switching operation in such a way that periods for which the plurality of indicating hands move in high-speed advance action do not overlap with one another. The display control section first moves the first indicating hand among the plurality of indicating hands.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic timepiece having a plurality of modes, the timepiece comprising:
a plurality of indicating hands including a mode hand that indicates one of the modes;
an operation section that allows mode switching operation that instructs switching among the modes;
a display control section that moves the plurality of indicating hands based on the mode switching operation; and
a plurality of motors that drive the plurality of indicating hands under the control of the display control section,
the display control section moving the plurality of indicating hands in high-speed advance action, in which the plurality of indicating hands moves at a higher speed than a speed at which the plurality of indicating hands moves in a normal time display mode, while switching among the modes, with periods for which the plurality of indicating hands move in the high-speed advance action being non-overlapped with one another,
the display control section first moving the mode hand among the plurality of indicating hands and then sequentially moving the other indicating hands in ascending order of motor drive pulses required for the plurality of indicating hands to go around while switching among the modes.

2. An electronic timepiece having a plurality of modes, the timepiece comprising:
a plurality of indicating hands including a mode hand that indicates one of the modes;
an operation section that allows mode switching operation that instructs switching among the modes;
a display control section that moves the plurality of indicating hands based on the mode switching operation, with periods for which the plurality of indicating hands move in high-speed advance action being non-overlapped with one another, the plurality of indicating hands moves at a higher speed in the high-speed advance action than a speed at which the plurality of indicating hands moves in a normal time display mode; and
a chronograph section that measures a time period,
the display control section first moving the mode hand among the plurality of indicating hands,
the plurality of indicating hands including a plurality of measurement indicating hands corresponding to a plurality of units of time, respectively, with the measurement indicating hands indicating the time period measured by the chronograph section, and
the display control section moving the mode hand based on chronograph switching operation that is performed through the operation section and instructs measurement of the time period, and the display control section, after moving the mode hand, first moving one of the measurement indicating hands that corresponds to a smallest unit of time among the plurality of units of time.

3. The electronic timepiece according to claim 2 ,
wherein when the chronograph section starts measuring the time period before the movement of the one of the measurement indicating hands is completed, the display control section moves the one of the measurement indicating hands in the high-speed advance action to a position representing the time period and then allows the one of the measurement indicating hands to normally operate.

4. An electronic timepiece having a plurality of modes, the timepiece comprising:
a plurality of indicating hands;
a plurality of motors that drive the plurality of indicating hands;
an operation section that allows mode switching operation that instructs switching among modes; and
a display control section that moves the plurality of indicating hands in high-speed advance action, in which the plurality of indicating hands moves at a higher speed than a speed at which the plurality of indicating hands moves in a normal time display mode, by using the plurality of motors based on the mode switching operation,
the display control section sequentially moving the plurality of indicating hands in ascending order of motor drive pulses required for the plurality of indicating hands to go around, with periods for which the indicating hands move in the high-speed advance action being non-overlapped with one another.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Nagahama Reiko

Classifications

• G04C3/14

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

• G04B19/04 Primary

  Hands; Discs with a single mark or the like {(moving indicating arrangements which have scales or numbers with stationary hands or reading means G04B19/20; optical projection of the position of the hands G04B19/34)} · CPC title

• G04F7/00

  Apparatus for measuring unknown time intervals by non-electric means (using fluidic means G04F13/06) · CPC title

• G04C3/146

  incorporating two or more stepping motors or rotors · CPC title

• G04G9/0064

  in which functions not related to time can be displayed (digital output to display devices of digital computers G06F3/14) · CPC title