Electronic timepiece, control method of electronic timepiece and program

Abstract

To display a measurement result of time lapsed, in an intuitively easy-to-understand manner.SOLUTION: An electronic timepiece includes: a plurality of indicators; a number plate having dial characters each corresponding to a just hour; and a control part capable of switching between a time display mode configured to display a current time by the plurality of indicators and a measured time display mode configured to display by the plurality of indicators a measurement result of time lapsed after making a prescribed start operation. The control part controls the plurality of indicators such that each of the plurality of indicators stops at a location indicating one of the dial characters when the measurement result is displayed at the measured time display mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece, a control method for an electronic timepiece, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are electronic watches that display the time in an analog manner using multiple hands and a dial. Some of these electronic watches are equipped with a stopwatch function that displays the measurement result of the elapsed time from a specified point using multiple hands (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3-211490 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when a dial with hour characters and scales for displaying time is used to display elapsed time, the meaning of the hour characters and scales indicated by each hand may differ from that when displaying the time, which creates the problem that it is not easy to accurately read the elapsed time at a glance from the position indicated by the hands.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to display the measurement result of elapsed time in an intuitive and easy-to-understand manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the electronic timepiece according to the present invention comprises: Multiple guidelines and a dial having hour characters corresponding to the hours on the hour; a control unit that can switch between a time display mode in which the plurality of hands display the current time and a measured time display mode in which the plurality of hands display the measurement result of the elapsed time since a predetermined start operation is performed; Equipped with When the control unit displays the measurement result in the measured time display mode, the control unit controls the plurality of hands so that each of the plurality of hands stops at a position pointing to one of the hour characters. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the measurement result of the elapsed time can be displayed in an intuitive and easy-to-understand manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an electronic timepiece. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the electronic timepiece. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the display unit operating in a time display mode. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display unit displaying the measurement result of elapsed time. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of a time unit table. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a stopwatch mode control process. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the operation of the electronic timepiece according to the first modification during measurement of elapsed time. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which an electronic timepiece according to a first modification displays the measurement result of elapsed time. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows the external appearance of an electronic timepiece 1. The electronic timepiece 1 comprises a housing 101 that houses a display unit 20 and a circuit board (not shown), and two bands 102 attached to the housing 101. The electronic timepiece 1 is a wristwatch that is worn on the user's wrist by wrapping the band 102 around the wrist. A number of operation buttons 31 are provided on the side of the housing 101 for receiving user operations.

[0010] 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the electronic watch 1. The electronic watch 1 comprises a CPU 11 (Central Processing Unit) (control unit, control means), a RAM 12 (Random Access Memory), a storage unit 13, a display unit 20, an operation unit 30, a timing unit 40, and an alarm unit 50. The various units of the electronic watch 1 are connected via a data transmission path such as a bus.

[0011] The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the operation of the electronic watch 1 by reading and executing the program 131 stored in the storage unit 13 and performing various arithmetic processing. The electronic watch 1 may have multiple processors (e.g., multiple CPUs), and the multiple processes performed by the CPU 11 of this embodiment may be executed by these multiple processors. In this case, the control unit is made up of the multiple processors. In this case, the multiple processors may be involved in a common process, or the multiple processors may independently execute different processes in parallel. The RAM 12 provides working memory space for the CPU 11 and stores temporary data.

[0012] The storage unit 13 is a non-transitory recording medium readable by the CPU 11 as a computer, and stores a program 131 and various data. The storage unit 13 has a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. The program 131 is stored in the storage unit 13 in the form of a program code readable by the computer. Data stored in the storage unit 13 includes a time unit table 132, which will be described later.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 20 has an hour hand 21, a minute hand 22, and a second hand 23 (plural hands). Hereinafter, the hour hand 21, the minute hand 22, and the second hand 23 will be collectively referred to as hands 21 to 23. The display unit 20 also has a dial 27 disposed on the back side of the hands 21 to 23. The dial 27 has hour characters 271 corresponding to the hours (hour characters 271 corresponding to each of the hours from 1 to 12 o'clock) and a plurality of scales 272 disposed at positions dividing the space between adjacent hour characters 271 into five equal parts. Twelve hour characters 271 are disposed at positions dividing the circular outer periphery of the dial 27 into twelve equal parts. Each hour character 271 has a number 271a indicating one of "1" to "12" and a bar-shaped mark 271b indicating the position of the hour character 271. The number 271a is not limited to Arabic numerals and may be other numerals such as Roman numerals. Furthermore, symbols or figures representing numbers may be used instead of the numbers 271a. Furthermore, the numbers 271a may be omitted from the hour characters 271, and the hour characters 271 may have only the marks 271b. Furthermore, the marks 271b may be omitted from the hour characters 271, and the hour characters 271 may have only the numbers 271a. The marks 271b are not limited to being bar-shaped, and may be dot-shaped or the like. The hour characters 271 are also called "indexes" or "hour markers."

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2 , display unit 20 further includes gear train mechanisms 241, 242, and 243, which are multiple gear trains connected to hour hand 21, minute hand 22, and second hand 23, respectively; stepping motors 251, 252, and 253 that rotate gear train mechanisms 241, 242, and 243, respectively; and motor drive circuit 26 that drives stepping motors 251, 252, and 253. Hour hand 21 rotates by an angle corresponding to one second in response to the stepping motion of stepping motor 251 transmitted via gear train mechanism 241. Minute hand 22 rotates by an angle corresponding to one second in response to the stepping motion of stepping motor 252 transmitted via gear train mechanism 242. Second hand 23 rotates by an angle corresponding to one second in response to the stepping motion of stepping motor 253 transmitted via gear train mechanism 243. The rotation angle of the second hand 23 corresponding to one second is 6 degrees, the rotation angle of the minute hand 22 is 1 / 60 of the rotation angle of the second hand 23, and the rotation angle of the hour hand 21 is 1 / 12 of the rotation angle of the minute hand.

[0015] The stepping motors 251-253 are each step-driven based on the voltage waveform of a drive pulse input from the motor drive circuit 26, rotating the hands 21-23 in the forward direction (the direction in which the time advances) or the reverse direction (the direction in which the time advances) by the predetermined rotation angle described above. The stepping motors 251-253 are driven by a drive pulse of 1 pps (pulse per second) while displaying the time. The stepping motors 251-253 can also be driven by drive pulses of up to several tens to several hundred pps in the forward and reverse directions, allowing the hands 21-23 to rotate quickly forward or backward. The hour hand 21, minute hand 22, and second hand 23 are connected to separate wheel train mechanisms and stepping motors, and can therefore rotate independently of each other. The motor drive circuit 26 outputs drive voltage pulses with appropriate timing and pulse width to drive the stepping motors 251, 252, and 253 to perform stepwise movements in response to a control signal input from the CPU 11.

[0016] The method of moving the hands 21 to 23 is not limited to step movement using the stepping motors 251, 252, and 253, but may be sweep movement (continuous movement) using a sweep motor that rotates continuously at a constant speed.

[0017] The operation unit 30 has operation means such as the operation button 31 shown in FIG. 1 and a crown (not shown), and outputs to the CPU 11 an operation signal corresponding to an operation performed on the operation means.

[0018] The timekeeping unit 40 includes an oscillation circuit, a frequency dividing circuit, a timekeeping circuit, etc. The frequency dividing circuit divides the clock signal generated by the oscillation circuit, and the timekeeping circuit counts the divided signal, thereby counting and holding the current date and time.

[0019] The notification unit 50 includes a piezoelectric speaker and outputs a predetermined notification sound at a timing according to a control signal transmitted from the CPU 11. Note that the method of notification by the notification unit 50 is not limited to outputting the notification sound from a piezoelectric speaker. For example, the notification unit 50 may include a light-emitting unit and may be able to provide notification by emitting light from the light-emitting unit. Furthermore, the notification unit 50 may include a vibration unit and may be able to provide notification by vibrating the vibration unit.

[0020] Next, the operation of the electronic timepiece 1 will be described. The CPU 11 of this embodiment can switch the operation mode of the electronic timepiece 1 between a time display mode and a stopwatch mode (measured time display mode). The time display mode is an operation mode in which the hour hand 21, minute hand 22, and second hand 23 display the hours, minutes, and seconds, respectively, so that the display unit 20 displays the current time, as shown in FIG. 3. When a predetermined mode change operation is performed in the time display mode, the operation mode switches to the stopwatch mode. The mode change operation may be, for example, an operation of pressing an operation button 31 to which a mode change function is assigned, out of the multiple operation buttons 31. The stopwatch mode is an operation mode in which the hands 21 to 23 display the measurement result of the elapsed time since a predetermined measurement start operation (start operation) was performed.

[0021] When the mode is switched to the stopwatch mode, the CPU 11 rotates and stops the hands 21 to 23 to a position where the hour hand 271 points to "12." Hereinafter, this operation will be referred to as "resetting to zero." When a predetermined measurement start operation is performed, the CPU 11 measures (counts) the elapsed time from the measurement start operation based on the output signal from the frequency divider circuit of the timing unit 40. When a predetermined measurement end operation is performed, the CPU 11 ends the measurement of the elapsed time and displays the measurement result of the elapsed time from the measurement start operation to the measurement end operation on the display unit 20. The measurement start operation and the measurement end operation are performed by pressing an operation button 31 to which a measurement start function and a measurement end function are assigned, respectively, among the multiple operation buttons 31. The measurement start function and the measurement end function may be assigned to a single operation button 31.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the display unit 20 displaying the measurement result of the elapsed time. FIG. 4 illustrates the state of the display unit 20 when the measurement result of the elapsed time is "1 second 95." In this embodiment, when a measurement end operation is performed, the hands 21 to 23 move from the reset-to-zero position and stop at a position where each of them points to one of the hour symbols 271. At this time, the hands 21 to 23 stop at a position where each of them points to the hour symbol 271 corresponding to a different time unit value representing the measurement result. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the hour hand 21 is stopped at a position where it points to the hour symbol 271 corresponding to the value of "1 second" among the values ​​representing the measurement result, i.e., "1." The minute hand 22 is stopped at a position where it points to the hour symbol 271 corresponding to the value of "1 / 10 second" among the values ​​representing the measurement result, i.e., "9." The second hand 23 is stopped at a position where it points to the hour symbol 271 corresponding to the value of "1 / 100 second" among the values ​​representing the measurement result, i.e., "5." By arranging and combining the numbers 271a of the hour markers 271 indicated by the hour hand 21, minute hand 22, and second hand 23, namely "1," "9," and "5," in that order, the measurement result of "1 second 95" can be read.

[0023] The hour hand 21 indicates "0 seconds" to "11 seconds" by pointing to the hour characters 271 corresponding to "0" to "11." The minute hand 22 indicates "0.0 seconds" to "0.9 seconds" by pointing to the hour characters 271 corresponding to "0" to "9." The second hand 23 indicates "0.00 seconds" to "0.09 seconds" by pointing to the hour characters 271 corresponding to "0" to "9." Thus, the display unit 20 can display up to "11.99 seconds." To display a measurement result of 12 seconds or more, the hour hand 21 may be rotated more than once. For example, if the hour hand 21 stops in the state shown in FIG. 4 after making one rotation, the hour hand 21 indicates 12 seconds + 1 second = 13 seconds, and the measurement result can be read as "13.95 seconds." The number of rotations made by the hour hand 21 may be notified or displayed using a predetermined method. For example, the alarm unit 50 may output an alarm sound each time the hour hand 21 makes one revolution. The number of revolutions made by the hour hand 21 may also be indicated by a date indicator, function hand, or sub-hand (not shown). Here, the sub-hand may be a small sub-hour hand or sub-minute hand provided in the display unit 20 separately from the hands 21 to 23 for the purpose of displaying the local time in various cities around the world.

[0024] In the electronic timepiece 1 of this embodiment, the user can change the time unit settings corresponding to the hands 21 to 23. Possible settings are pre-registered in a time unit table 132 shown in FIG. 5 . In this embodiment, the user can select one of settings A to C. The change operation to change the time unit settings A to C may be, for example, a long press of a predetermined operation button 31. Each time the operation button 31 is long pressed, the settings may cycle through in the order "Setting A, Setting B, Setting C, Setting A..." The selected setting may be indicated by a date indicator, function hand, or auxiliary hand (not shown). Setting A is the time unit setting exemplified in FIG. 4, where the first time unit corresponding to the hour hand 21 is "1 second," the second time unit corresponding to the minute hand 22 is "1 / 10 second," and the third time unit corresponding to the second hand 23 is "1 / 100 second."

[0025] In setting B, the first time unit corresponding to the hour hand 21 is "10 seconds," the second time unit corresponding to the minute hand 22 is "1 second," and the third time unit corresponding to the second hand 23 is "1 / 10 second." When setting B is applied, the hour hand 21 points to the hour characters 271 corresponding to "0" to "11," thereby displaying "0 seconds" to "110 seconds." The minute hand 22 points to the hour characters 271 corresponding to "0" to "9," thereby displaying "0 seconds" to "9 seconds." The second hand 23 points to the hour characters 271 corresponding to "0" to "9," thereby displaying "0.0 seconds" to "0.9 seconds." Thus, the display unit 20 can display up to "119.9 seconds." For example, when setting B is applied and the display shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, the measurement result is "19.5 seconds."

[0026] In setting C, the first time unit corresponding to the hour hand 21 is "1 minute," the second time unit corresponding to the minute hand 22 is "10 seconds," and the third time unit corresponding to the second hand 23 is "1 second." When setting C is applied, the hour hand 21 points to the hour characters 271 corresponding to "0" to "11," thereby displaying "0 minutes" to "11 minutes." The minute hand 22 points to the hour characters 271 corresponding to "0" to "5," thereby displaying "0 seconds" to "50 seconds." The second hand 23 points to the hour characters 271 corresponding to "0" to "9," thereby displaying "0 seconds" to "9 seconds." Therefore, the display unit 20 can display up to "11 minutes 59."

[0027] Thus, in any of settings A to C, hour hand 21 corresponds to the first time unit, hour hand 21 corresponds to the second time unit that is the next largest (i.e., the time unit is one digit smaller), and second hand 23 corresponds to the value of the third time unit that is the next largest (i.e., the time unit is one digit smaller) after the second time unit. The time units corresponding to hands 21 to 23 may be interchanged. For example, hour hand 21 may represent the smallest time unit, and second hand 23 may represent the largest time unit. Furthermore, the time unit settings are not limited to settings A to C shown in FIG. 5, and may include settings in which each time unit is smaller than setting A, or settings in which each time unit is larger than setting C.

[0028] Next, the stopwatch mode control process executed by the CPU 11 to realize the above-mentioned stopwatch mode operation will be described. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the stopwatch mode control process. The stopwatch mode control process is started when an operation is performed in the time display mode to instruct switching to the stopwatch mode.

[0029] When the stopwatch mode control process is started, the CPU 11 sends a control signal to the motor drive circuit 26 to rotate the hands 21 to 23 and reset them to zero (step S101). The CPU 11 determines whether or not the above-mentioned change operation for changing the setting of the time unit corresponding to the hands 21 to 23 has been performed (step S102). If it is determined that a change operation has been performed ("YES" in step S102), the CPU 11 changes the setting of the time unit to one of settings A to C in accordance with the change operation (step S103).

[0030] When step S103 is completed or when it is determined that no change operation has been performed ("NO" in step S102), the CPU 11 determines whether or not a measurement start operation has been performed (step S104). When it is determined that no measurement start operation has been performed ("NO" in step S104), the CPU 11 determines whether or not a mode change operation to switch to the time display mode has been performed (step S105). When it is determined that no mode change operation has been performed ("NO" in step S105), the process returns to step S102.

[0031] If it is determined in step S104 that a measurement start operation has been performed ("YES" in step S104), CPU 11 starts measuring (counting) the time that has elapsed since the measurement start operation was performed (step S106). Thereafter, CPU 11 repeatedly determines whether a measurement end operation has been performed (step S107). If it is determined that a measurement end operation has been performed ("YES" in step S107), CPU 11 ends the measurement of the elapsed time (step S108) and specifies the numerical values ​​of the first to third time units that represent the measurement results of the elapsed time according to the time unit setting (step S109). For example, if the time unit setting is "Setting A" and the measurement result is "1 second 95," CPU 11 specifies the numerical value of the first time unit as "1," the numerical value of the second time unit as "9," and the numerical value of the third time unit as "5."

[0032] The CPU 11 rotates the hands 21 to 23 so that they each point to the hour character 271 corresponding to the identified numerical value, and then stops them (step S110). That is, the CPU 11 sends a control signal to the motor drive circuit 26 to operate the stepping motors 251 to 253, and causes the hour hand 21, minute hand 22, and second hand 23 to independently rotate to the position of the determined hour character 271. Here, the CPU 11 rotates each of the hands 21 to 23 at a predetermined speed. Alternatively, the hands 21 to 23 may be rotated in either the forward direction or the reverse direction, whichever rotates the least.

[0033] The CPU 11 determines whether a predetermined reset operation has been performed (for example, pressing a predetermined operation button 31) (step S111). If it determines that a reset operation has been performed ("YES" in step S111), the process returns to step S101 and resets the hands 21 to 23 to zero. If it determines that a reset operation has not been performed ("NO" in step S111), the CPU 11 determines whether a mode change operation to switch to the time display mode has been performed (step S112). If it determines that a mode change operation has not been performed ("NO" in step S112), the CPU 11 returns to step S111. If it determines that a mode change operation has been performed ("YES" in step S112) or if the process branches to "YES" in the above-mentioned step S105, the CPU 11 switches the operating mode to the time display mode and causes the hands 21 to 23 to display the current time (step S113). When step S113 ends, the CPU 11 ends the stopwatch mode control process.

[0034] (Variation 1) Next, a first modification of the above embodiment will be described. Differences from the above embodiment will be described below. In the above embodiment, the CPU 11 stopped the hands 21 to 23 at the zero reset position while measuring elapsed time in stopwatch mode and rotated the hands 21 to 23 when displaying the measurement result of the elapsed time. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 7, the CPU 11 in this modification moves at least one of the hands 21 to 23 to display the elapsed time while measuring the elapsed time. For example, the CPU 11 moves one hand to indicate the elapsed time in the largest time unit among the first to third time units. In FIG. 7, the CPU 11 moves the hour hand 21 corresponding to the largest time unit in accordance with the elapsed time. At this time, the CPU 11 rotates the hour hand 21 at a speed that indicates the elapsed time in the set time unit. For example, when setting A is applied, the time unit corresponding to the hour hand 21 is "1 second," so the CPU 11 rotates the hour hand 21 at a speed at which the hour hand 21 points to the adjacent hour character 271 every second, that is, at a rotation speed of 30 degrees per second. Figure 7 shows a state where the elapsed time is approximately 2.5 seconds. Note that if the hour hand 21 cannot rotate at the above speed due to the structure of the gear train mechanism 241, the minute hand 22 or second hand 23, whichever is rotatable at the above speed, may be moved instead of the hour hand 21.

[0035] When a measurement end operation is performed, the CPU 11 rotates and stops the hands 21 to 23 so that they each point to the hour character 271 corresponding to the numerical value representing the measurement result, as in the above embodiment. For example, suppose that a measurement end operation is performed after the state shown in FIG. 7 and the measurement result is "2.69 seconds." In this case, the CPU 11 rotates the hour hand 21 backward from the position shown in FIG. 7 so that the hour hand 21 points to the hour character 271 "2." The CPU 11 also rotates and stops the minute hand 22 from the reset-to-zero position shown in FIG. 7 so that the minute hand 22 points to the hour character 271 "6." The CPU 11 also rotates and stops the second hand 23 from the reset-to-zero position shown in FIG. 7 so that the second hand 23 points to the hour character 271 "9." In FIG. 8, the second hand 23 is rotated in the forward direction, but since the amount of rotation is smaller in the reverse direction, it may also be rotated in the reverse direction.

[0036] In FIG. 7, only the hour hand 21 moves while measuring elapsed time, but the minute hand 22 and even the second hand 23 may also move. However, depending on the time unit setting, the required rotation speed of the minute hand 22 and / or the second hand 23 may exceed the upper limit of the rotation speed. In this case, it is sufficient to move only the hands that can rotate at the speed that represents the corresponding time unit. Furthermore, since the minute hand 22 and the second hand 23 point to a limited number of hour characters 271 depending on the time unit setting, they skip the range of hour characters 271 that they do not point to by rotating at high speed. For example, in setting B, the minute hand 22 displays from "1 second" to "9 seconds." Therefore, after pointing to the "9" hour character 271, it skips the "10" and "11" hour characters 271 and rotates at high speed until it points to the "12" hour character 271.

[0037] (Variation 2) Next, Modification 2 of the above embodiment will be described. Differences from the above embodiment will be described below. Modification 2 may be combined with Modification 1. In the above embodiment, the time unit setting was selected from among Settings A to C in response to a user change operation. Alternatively, the CPU 11 may determine the time unit setting in response to the length of the measured elapsed time. That is, the CPU 11 sets the time unit corresponding to each of the hands 21 to 23 in response to the length of the measured elapsed time so that the elapsed time measurement result can be displayed by the hands 21 to 23. For example, when Setting A is applied, if the elapsed time exceeds 11.99 seconds, the CPU 11 automatically changes from Setting A to Setting B. Also, if the elapsed time exceeds 119.9 seconds, the CPU 11 automatically changes from Setting B to Setting C. Then, when a measurement end operation is performed, the time character 271 indicated by each of the hands 21 to 23 is determined based on the time unit setting at that time.

[0038] The notification unit 50 may issue a notification (for example, output a notification sound) each time the time unit setting is changed so that the user can recognize that the time unit setting has been changed. The current time unit setting may also be displayed using a date indicator, function hand, or sub-indicator (not shown). By combining this with Modification 1, the user can intuitively grasp the current time unit setting from the speed at which the hour hand 21 moves during measurement.

[0039] As described above, the electronic timepiece 1 according to this embodiment includes the hands 21-23, the dial 27 having hour characters 271 corresponding to the hours, and the CPU 11. The CPU 11 can switch between a time display mode in which the hands 21-23 display the current time and a stopwatch mode in which the hands 21-23 display the measurement result of the elapsed time since a predetermined measurement start operation was performed. When displaying the measurement result in the stopwatch mode, the CPU 11 controls the hands 21-23 so that each stops at a position where it points to one of the hour characters 271. This allows the user to intuitively read the measurement result by combining the numbers 271a of the hour characters 271 that the hour hand 21, minute hand 22, and second hand 23 are pointing to. This method eliminates the user's awareness that the dial 27 can display values ​​in base 12 or base 60, allowing the user to easily read the decimal values ​​of the measurement result, even if they are less than one second. In this way, the electronic timepiece 1 of this embodiment can display the measurement result of the elapsed time in an intuitive and easy-to-understand manner.

[0040] Furthermore, when displaying a measurement result in stopwatch mode, the CPU 11 controls the hands 21 to 23 so that the hands 21 to 23 point to hour characters 271 corresponding to the numerical values ​​in different time units that represent the measurement result. This allows the measurement result consisting of multiple digits to be displayed by combining the numbers 271a of the hour characters 271 that the hands 21 to 23 are pointing to.

[0041] Furthermore, when a change operation is performed to change the time unit setting corresponding to each of the hands 21 to 23, the CPU 11 changes the time unit setting according to the content of the change operation, thereby allowing the user to change the time unit setting so that the measurement result of the desired elapsed time can be displayed by the hands 21 to 23.

[0042] Furthermore, the CPU 11 according to the second modification sets the time units corresponding to the hands 21 to 23 in accordance with the length of the measured elapsed time so that the measurement result of the elapsed time can be displayed by the hands 21 to 23. This allows the time unit setting to be automatically adjusted and the measurement result of the elapsed time to be displayed by the hands 21 to 23 without the user having to perform any particular operation.

[0043] Furthermore, the hands 21-23 include an hour hand 21, a minute hand 22, and a second hand 23, and when displaying a measurement result in stopwatch mode, the CPU 11 controls the hands 21-23 so that the hour hand 21 points to an hour character 271 corresponding to the numerical value of a first time unit, the minute hand 22 points to an hour character 271 corresponding to the numerical value of a second time unit that is the next largest time unit, and the second hand 23 points to an hour character 271 corresponding to the numerical value of a third time unit that is the next largest time unit. This allows the hour hand 21 to indicate the largest time unit and the second hand 23 to indicate the smallest time unit, just as when displaying the time, so that the measurement result can be displayed in an intuitively easy-to-understand manner.

[0044] Furthermore, in the stopwatch mode, the CPU 11 stops the hands 21 to 23 while measuring the elapsed time. As a result, when the measurement result is displayed, the hands 21 to 23 rotate in unison to point to the hour marker 271, allowing the user to intuitively recognize that the measurement result is being displayed. Furthermore, by stopping the movement of the hands during measurement, power consumption can be reduced.

[0045] Furthermore, in the stopwatch mode, the CPU 11 according to the first modification moves at least one of the hands 21 to 23 to display the elapsed time while measuring the elapsed time. By moving at least one hand during measurement in this manner, the user can intuitively recognize that the elapsed time is being measured. Furthermore, the user can roughly confirm the measured time from the movement of the hour hand 21 while measuring. Furthermore, when combined with the second modification, the user can intuitively grasp the time unit setting at that time from the speed at which the moving hand moves.

[0046] The hour characters corresponding to the full hour are the hour characters corresponding to each hour from 1 o'clock to 12 o'clock. As a result, the hour characters 271 corresponding to each hour from 1 o'clock to 11 o'clock can represent the numbers from "1" to "11," and the hour character 271 corresponding to 12 o'clock can represent the number "0."

[0047] Furthermore, the control method for the electronic timepiece 1 according to this embodiment can switch between a time display mode in which the hands 21 to 23 display the current time, and a stopwatch mode in which the hands 21 to 23 display the measurement result of the elapsed time since a predetermined measurement start operation was received, and when the measurement result is displayed in the stopwatch mode, the hands 21 to 23 are controlled so that each of the hands 21 to 23 stops at a position pointing to one of the hour characters 271. This allows the measurement result of the elapsed time to be displayed in an intuitive and easy-to-understand manner.

[0048] Furthermore, the program 131 according to this embodiment causes the CPU 11 to function as control means capable of switching between a time display mode in which the hands 21 to 23 display the current time, and a stopwatch mode in which the hands 21 to 23 display the measurement result of the elapsed time since a predetermined measurement start operation was accepted, and when the measurement result is displayed in the stopwatch mode, the control means controls the hands 21 to 23 so that each of the hands 21 to 23 stops at a position pointing to one of the hour characters 271. This allows the measurement result of the elapsed time to be displayed in an intuitive and easy-to-understand manner.

[0049] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, the display of the measurement result of the elapsed time may be performed when the measurement end operation is performed, or when past measurement results (such as lap times) stored in the RAM 12 or the storage unit 13 are called up and displayed.

[0050] Furthermore, although the hour hand 21, minute hand 22, and second hand 23 are shown as examples of multiple hands, the second hand 23 may be omitted, and the measurement result of the elapsed time may be displayed by the hour hand 21 and minute hand 22.

[0051] Furthermore, if the electronic timepiece 1 has other hands besides the hands 21 to 23, such as a sub-hour hand, a sub-minute hand, and a function hand, the number of digits of the measurement result that can be displayed may be increased by displaying values ​​using these other hands in addition to the hands 21 to 23. In this case, hour characters 271 corresponding to the other hands may be provided on the dial 27.

[0052] Furthermore, although the stopwatch mode has been exemplified as the measurement time display mode, it is not limited to this and any other mode that measures the elapsed time from when the measurement start operation is performed and displays the measurement result may be used.

[0053] Furthermore, although an example of an electronic clock 1 having hour characters 271 corresponding to each hour from 1 o'clock to 12 o'clock has been given, an electronic clock 1 that does not have hour characters 271 corresponding to some of the hours from 1 o'clock to 12 o'clock may also display the measurement result of the elapsed time using the remaining hour characters 271.

[0054] Furthermore, the electronic clock 1 is not limited to a wristwatch, but may be a table clock, a wall clock, or the like.

[0055] In the above description, an example has been disclosed in which a flash memory in the storage unit 13 is used as a computer-readable medium for the program according to the present invention, but this is not limiting. Other computer-readable media may include information recording media such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), and a CD-ROM. Furthermore, a carrier wave may also be used as a medium for providing data for the program according to the present invention via a communication line.

[0056] Furthermore, it goes without saying that the detailed configuration and detailed operation of each component of the electronic timepiece 1 in the above embodiment can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0057] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1...electronic clock, 11...CPU (control unit, control means), 21...hour hand (hand), 22...minute hand (hand), 23...second hand (hand), 27...dial, 271...hour characters, 271a...numbers, 271b...marks

Claims

1. Multiple guidelines and a dial having hour characters corresponding to the hours on the hour; a control unit that can switch between a time display mode in which the plurality of hands display the current time and a measured time display mode in which the plurality of hands display the measurement result of the elapsed time since a predetermined start operation is performed; Equipped with the control unit controls the plurality of hands so that each of the plurality of hands stops at a position pointing to one of the hour characters when the measurement result is displayed in the measurement time display mode. Electronic clock.

2. When the control unit displays the measurement result in the measurement time display mode, the control unit controls the plurality of hands so that the plurality of hands point to the time characters corresponding to the numerical values ​​in different time units that represent the measurement result.

2. The electronic watch according to claim 1.

3. when a change operation is performed to change the setting of the time unit corresponding to each of the plurality of hands, the control unit changes the setting of the time unit in accordance with the content of the change operation.

3. The electronic watch according to claim 2.

4. the control unit sets the time units corresponding to the plurality of hands, respectively, in accordance with the length of the measured elapsed time so that the measurement result of the elapsed time can be displayed by the plurality of hands.

3. The electronic watch according to claim 2.

5. the plurality of hands include an hour hand, a minute hand, and a second hand; When the control unit displays the measurement result in the measured time display mode, the control unit controls the plurality of hands so that the hour hand points to the hour character corresponding to the numerical value of a first time unit, the minute hand points to the hour character corresponding to the numerical value of a second time unit that is the next largest in magnitude to the first time unit, and the second hand points to the hour character corresponding to the numerical value of a third time unit that is the next largest in magnitude to the second time unit.

3. The electronic watch according to claim 2.

6. the control unit stops the plurality of hands during measurement of the elapsed time in the measured time display mode.

3. The electronic watch according to claim 2.

7. the control unit, in the measured time display mode, moves at least one hand among the plurality of hands so as to display the elapsed time while measuring the elapsed time.

3. The electronic watch according to claim 2.

8. The hour characters corresponding to the hours on the hour are hour characters corresponding to the hours from 1 o'clock to 12 o'clock.

2. The electronic watch according to claim 1.

9. A control method for an electronic timepiece equipped with a plurality of hands and a dial having hour characters corresponding to the hours on the hour, comprising the steps of: The display mode can be switched between a time display mode in which the plurality of hands display the current time and a measured time display mode in which the plurality of hands display the measurement result of the elapsed time since a predetermined start operation was received, When the measurement result is displayed in the measurement time display mode, the plurality of hands are controlled so that each of the plurality of hands stops at a position pointing to one of the hour characters. How to control an electronic clock.

10. An electronic timepiece computer having a plurality of hands and a dial having hour characters corresponding to the hours on the hour, a control means for switching between a time display mode in which the plurality of hands display the current time and a measured time display mode in which the plurality of hands display the measurement result of the elapsed time since a predetermined start operation was received; It functions as the control means controls the plurality of hands so that each of the plurality of hands stops at a position pointing to one of the hour characters when the measurement result is displayed in the measurement time display mode. program.

Images