Citizen Holdings Company, Ltd.

Citizen Watch Company, Ltd.

Other

Akinari Takada

Takashi Ihara

Masaaki Namekawa

Kenji Fujita

Masahiro Sase

Shinya Yoshida

Kenichi Nemoto

Masahiro Tanoguchi

Minoru Kobayashi

Masami Fukuda

Tadashi Yasuoka

Akira Kato

Masao Sakuyama

Takushi Hagita

Takuji Ike

Shogo Kimura

Ienobu Ikeda

Shunichi Makuta

An electronic watch includes a power generating mechanism; a battery that is charged with power generated by the power generating mechanism; hands that include a second hand; a driving source that rotates the hands; a driving circuit that drives the driving source with power supplied by the battery; and a control circuit that controls the driving circuit. The control circuit executes a first stopping operation for stopping the driving circuit and the control circuit in a power saving mode for suppressing power consumption and when a first determination time elapses without any power being generated by the power generating mechanism. The control circuit executes a second stopping operation for stopping the driving circuit and the control circuit in the power saving mode and when a second determination time elapses while a voltage of the battery is at a level equal to or lower than a predetermined level.

Electronic watch

Provided is a satellite radio-controlled watch, which is capable of holding back a receiving operation when in a posture that does not allow normal reception of a satellite signal, and is capable of performing a receiving operation under conditions varied to suit the type of reference information to be obtained. The satellite radio-controlled watch includes: a reception circuit () for receiving a satellite signal; and a controller () for sequentially detecting a received light amount of the satellite radio-controlled watch, calculating a received light variation which is an amount of change of the received light amount, and controlling the reception circuit () to start an operation of receiving the satellite signal, based on the received light variation. Alternatively, the controller () stores a condition for activating the reception circuit in order to obtain the reference information, in association with each piece of the reference information, and determines, when each piece of the reference information is obtained, whether or not the activation condition stored in association with each piece of the reference information is satisfied, and then controls the reception circuit () to start an operation of receiving the satellite signal, based on a result of the determination.

Satellite radio-controlled watch

A radio-controlled timepiece includes an oscillator circuit of which an oscillation condition can be varied by an oscillation condition adjustment circuit that adjusts an oscillation frequency, a frequency divider circuit that divides the oscillation frequency and generates a time measurement reference timing signal, a frequency adjustment circuit that adjusts the period of time measurement reference timing signal, a local oscillator circuit that uses the oscillation frequency as a reference frequency and outputs a local oscillation frequency, and a control circuit. The control circuit, when the radio-controlled timepiece is performing reception operations, causes the oscillation condition adjustment circuit to operate whereby the oscillation frequency is adjust to an optimal frequency for the local oscillator circuit and the variation setting value of the frequency adjustment circuit is set such that time measurement reference timing signal has a fixed period for normal operations and for reception operations.

Radio-controlled timepiece

With the object of providing an electronic device having good radio signal receiving characteristics with a metal outer case housing therewithin an antenna section without restrictions imposed with regard to material or design, an electronic device minimally having an antenna section, an information processing meansfor processing information that is captured by the antenna section, and a metal outer case, which houses therewithin the antenna sectionand the information processing means, wherein the metal outer case is configured so that the antenna sectioncan receive magnetic flux from outside via the metal outer caseand can resonate, the metal outer caseminimally comprising a metal case body memberand a metal caseback member, and wherein a joining and fixing portionbetween the metal case body memberand the metal caseback memberis not provided at a location or in the vicinity of at least a location opposite the substantially center part of the antenna section

Electronic device having metal outer case and antenna therein

A radio controlled time pieceactively using a time-programmed receiving operation and a forced receiving operation with respect to a standard radio signal and having an object the enablement of highly accurate and efficient time correction by properly receiving time information or calendar information and the like by executing a minimum amount of receiving operations, having a receiving means, a timekeeping means, a display means, a control meansfor controlling the drive condition of the timekeeping means, an external input means, and a control information storage means, wherein when performing singularly or consecutively a time-programmed receiving operation that operates when a prescribed timekeeping value of the timekeeping means is reached, based on a first receiving method and a forced reception operation which operates by the operation of the external input means, based on a second receiving operation method, the first receiving method of time-programmed receiving operation and the second receiving method of forced receiving operation being established so as to be mutually different.

Radio controlled time piece and method of controlling same

A clocking unit () that clocks a time; a display unit () that displays a time based on clock information from the clocking unit (); a receiving unit () that receives standard radio waves from transmitting stations in at least two countries or regions; a second-synchronization detecting unit () that detects second-synchronization information (P) from a demodulated signal (P) obtained by the receiving unit (); a transmitting station determining unit () that analyzes the demodulated signal (P) based on the second-synchronization information (P) to determine a transmitting station in a country or a region; and a decoding unit () decodes information included in the standard radio wave from the transmitting station determined by the transmitting station determining unit () to obtain time information are included, and the clock information of the clocking unit () is corrected based on the time information obtained by the decoding unit ().

Radio controlled timepiece, electronic device and time correction method

A radio correcting timepiece that can reduce the influence of a radio wave situation of the standard radio wave having time information according to an area, and can make a correction to the exact time in a shorter time is provided. The radio correcting timepiece comprises a signal receiving means () for receiving a standard radio wave and a timepiece means () for correcting and displaying time on the basis of the time information outputted from the signal receiving means. The signal receiving means () can receive plural standard radio waves and includes memory means (I) which is able to store signal receiving order of the plural standard radio waves. Since the plural standard radio waves can be received, the influence of a radio wave situation according to an area can be reduced and a correction to the exact time can be made in a shorter time by using the standard radio wave transmitted every minute.

Radio corrected clock

A radio-controlled timepiece includes a regional-information storage unit that stores information on a target time region, a receiving circuit that receives a standard frequency that contains UTC time information, and that outputs a received signal, a regional-time calculating unit that calculates a current time of the target time region based on the information on the target time region and the received signal, a display unit that displays the current time calculated, a display-time correcting unit that corrects the current time to be displayed in DST or in standard time in timing determined based on the current time when information on a DST switching day is included in the received signal.

Radio-controlled timepiece, electronic device, time correcting method and computer product

The invention is directed to obtaining a radio controlled timepiece that, in a case when the user who uses it moves from one country or one region to another where the time difference is different, has simplified an operation of correcting the time difference between the countries or regions and an operation of correcting the time difference due to daylight saving time's being executed. To this end, the invention provides a radio controlled timepiecethat, in addition to the radio controlled timepiecein the prior art, it further includes offset time difference information storage meansthat stores an offset time difference between a country where reference time information is formed and a country where a standard radio wave has been received and daylight saving time information storage meansthat has stored therein for future use information on whether daylight saving time is being executed in the region where the standard radio wave has been received, and local standard time information forming meansthat, with respect to the reference time information of the standard radio wave that has been received in a particular region, executes calculation processing by using at least either one of offset time difference information with respect to the reference time information corresponding to the particular region and daylight saving time information in the particular region, to thereby form local standard time information in the particular region.

Radio controlled timepiece and method of controlling the same

The receiver receives the standard frequency signal that includes a time code. A sampling unit samples one bit of the received signal at 32 positions. A smoothing unit smoothens the result of sampling by dividing the 32 positions in two to four intervals and determines a value of the received signal in each interval. A waveform determining unit determines waveform of each bit of the received signal based on the value obtained in the smoothing unit. The decoding unit extracts the time code based on the determined waveform. A time unit correct the time based on the extracted time code.

Radio-controlled timepiece, standard frequency reception method, and electronic device

A time information repeating installation in a radio clock system, which receives advance notice information, distinguishes advance notice content by detecting means sets a transmission start time by addition setting means in accordance with the content, sets an additional period by change period setting means and stores the content into transmission start time storage means When the stored time agrees with the time of a main counter transmission starts. Therefore, even when a sudden time change occurs, the repeating installation can perform transmission at the reception timing of a subsidiary device. The subsidiary device can effectively update time data for summer or daylight savings time.

Time information repeating installation and time information control system

A time signal repeater, capable of selectively relaying standard time radio signals having different modulation frequencies and correcting the time based on the plurality of standard time radio signals without changing a radio correction clock side, including an antenna portion capable of receiving a standard time radio signal by a set resonance frequency, an oscillating circuit outputting a signal having a frequency of the received standard time radio signal in synchronization with the standard time radio signal received by the antenna portion, at least one frequency conversion circuit converting the frequency of the output signal of the oscillating circuit, a receiving circuit receiving as input the standard time radio signal received by the antenna portion and correcting a time of an internal clock according to a time code included in the received radio signal, a transmission circuit generating a time radio signal including a time code based on the internal clock based on the output signal of the oscillating circuit or the signal converted in frequency by the frequency conversion circuit at the time of transmission, and a selecting circuit receiving as input the output signal of the oscillating circuit or the signal converted in frequency by the frequency conversion circuit to the transmission system circuit, and a time correction system using the same.

Time signal repeater and time correction system using the same

A time signal repeater enabling a radio correction clock to receive a relayed radio signal without regard as to the position of arrangement and without complicated trouble, including a reception circuit for receiving a standard time radio signal and correcting an internal clock to a time according to the time code included in the received radio signal and a transmission circuit for generating and transmitting time radio signals which have different intensities and include time codes based on the internal clock at a plurality of predetermined times, and a time correction system using the same.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Akinari Takada