Abstract: Disclosed is a chronograph timepiece whose chronograph hands are electrically drive-controlled and mechanically zero-restoring-controlled, wherein it possible to perform a normal operation at the time of start operation and reset operation. After a mechanical control unit releases the setting of chronograph hands in response to the start operation of a start/stop button, a contact portion is placed in a start state, and an electrical control unit starts a time measurement operation to electrically hand-movement-drive the chronograph hands, and, after a contact portion is placed in a reset state in response to a reset operation of a reset button and the electrical control unit electrically resets the time measurement operation, the mechanical control unit mechanically zero-restores and sets the chronograph hands.

Abstract: Disclosed is a chronograph timepiece in which it is possible to prevent the battery reliability service life time from being exceeded even when the period of time that the chronograph function is used is short, making it possible to prevent failure generation in the chronograph timepiece due to liquid leakage. A 24-hour counter down-counts a period of time that has elapsed starting from 24 hours, and a chronograph counter down-counts the period of time that chronograph measurement operation is performed from a predetermined time; when the count values of the 24-hour counter and the chronograph counter become equal to each other, a processing unit consumes a battery for the residual period of time of the two counters by a battery power consuming unit.

Abstract: A motor drive device includes a charging detection and reverse current prevention portion and a pulse selection control portion. The charging detection and reverse current prevention portion detects a charging state of a secondary battery that is charged by an electromotive force of a solar battery, the charging state indicating whether the secondary battery is being charged. The pulse selection control portion causes a first drive pulse for driving a motor to be generated and, in a case where the charging state that is detected by the charging detection and reverse current prevention portion is different after the first drive pulse has been output from what it was before the first drive pulse was output, causes a second drive pulse for driving the motor to be generated.

Abstract: Disclosed is a chronograph timepiece in which it is possible to prevent the chronograph drive timing and the magnetic field detection timing from overlapping each other to unnecessarily effect driving with correction drive pulses. A processing unit controls drive circuits so as to drive a time indication motor and a chronograph indication motor with a predetermined timing based respectively on timekeeping information obtained and chronograph measurement information obtained, and effects control such that a magnetic field detecting unit detects a magnetic field with a predetermined timing; when the drive timing for the chronograph indication motor and the magnetic field detection timing for the magnetic field detecting unit overlap each other, the processing unit changes the magnetic field detection timing for the magnetic field detecting unit so that the drive timing for the chronograph indication motor and the magnetic field detection timing for the magnetic field detecting unit may not overlap each other.

Abstract: When it is judged that a chronograph second counter and a chronograph minute counter have measured a maximum measurement time, a maximum measurement control unit controls a drive pulse generation circuit so as to drive and stop a motor such that chronograph hand stops at predetermined positions. When, in this state, a restarting operation is performed on a start/stop button, a normal chronograph measurement operation is restarted. At this time, a mechanical structure has been restored to a reset state, so that even at the time of restarting after the measurement of the maximum measurement time, the load at the starting operation is the same as that of the normal operation, thus generating no sense of incongruity.

Abstract: A stepping motor for driving time hands, a stepping motor for driving a calendar, and a stepping motor for driving chronograph hands are all housed in a bottom plate of a movement of an analogue electronic timepiece. The stepping motor for driving chronograph hands is connected to a battery can via a battery pressing piece. The stepping motor for driving chronograph hands is arranged such that a larger amount of external magnetic field passes that stepping motor than the other stepping motors via the battery can and the battery pressing piece. The rotational drive of the stepping motor for driving chronograph hands can be made stable even under the presence of the external magnetic field by setting a drive force of the stepping motor for driving chronograph hands larger than the drive forces of the other stepping motors.

Abstract: Disclosed is a chronograph timepiece in which it is possible to prevent a non-rotation state at the time of first driving when chronograph measuring operation is reset during motor drive and restarting is effected. When a resetting operation is performed on a reset button during the driving of a motor and a rotation detection circuit detects non-rotation, a drive control unit controls a drive pulse generation circuit such that the control is completed without reversing the polarity of a motor drive pulse output from the drive pulse generation circuit, and that the motor is driven by a drive pulse of the same polarity as that at the time of the previous resetting in response to a starting operation performed on a start/stop button, driving the motor by the drive pulse of the same polarity at the time of restarting after the resetting.

Abstract: A stepping motor control circuit includes a rotation detecting means which detects an induced signal generated by rotation of a rotor of a stepping motor, and detects a rotation state of the stepping motor according to whether the induced signal exceeds a predetermined reference threshold voltage in a predetermined detection section, and a control means which controls driving of the stepping motor by using any one of a plurality of main driving pulses having energies different from each other or a correction driving pulse with energy higher than energy of each main driving pulse according to a detection result of the rotation detecting means. The detection section is divided into a first section immediately after driving by the main driving pulse, a second section after the first section and a third section after the second section.

Abstract: Provided is a photovoltaic panel in which a plurality of photovoltaic cells is electrically connected in series, and in which at least one of the photovoltaic cells is set as a non-use cell which is not electrically connected to the other photovoltaic cells and not used.

Abstract: An electronic device includes a primary power supply portion generating power by converting a first energy into electric energy as a second energy; a secondary power supply portion storing the electric energy obtained by the power generation; a charge detection portion detecting a state where the secondary power supply portion is not charged with the electric energy; a clocking portion clocking time and stopping display of clocked time when an operation input is detected; and a low power consumption state control portion which measures a time of a state where the operation input is detected and the charging is not performed, and stops the operation of the clocking portion when the measured time exceeds a preset time.

Abstract: A power consumption control device includes a power consumption control unit that receives the output potential of a photovoltaic cell generating an electromotive force, receives the output potential of a secondary battery charged by the electromotive force of the photovoltaic cell, causes a timepiece device to transition to a power saving state where a clock operation of measuring time is stopped when the output potential difference of the secondary battery is not greater than a predetermined threshold value, and the secondary battery is in a non-charging state indicating a state where the output potential difference of the photovoltaic cell is not greater than the output potential difference of the secondary battery.

Abstract: There are provided an operation input unit that pulls down or pulls up a signal input from an operating unit, a control unit that executes a predetermined operation according to the signal input through the operation input unit, and a power control unit that controls the control unit so as not to execute the predetermined operation and also controls the input unit so as not to pull down or pull up the signal according to a state of supplied electric power.

Abstract: The invention is intended to allow a motor to be driven normally even when an output voltage of a primary power source unit varies. A motor drive control unit configured to attenuate a charge of a secondary cell by an electromotive force of a solar cell to a level lower than the charge at that moment before driving the motor, and then intensify the charge of a level higher than the charge at that moment after having driven the motor is provided.

Abstract: The invention is intended to achieve detection of a source voltage without providing a voltage detection circuit and allow a drive stop while holding correct drive pulse information when the source voltage is lowered to a predetermined level or below. A detection segment for detecting the state of rotation of a stepping motor is divided into a plurality of segments and, when a pattern of an induced signal detected in the respective segments is a pattern which indicates that the voltage of a secondary battery is lowered to the predetermined voltage or below, the control circuit memorizes a polarity of the drive pulse used in the last driving in a polarity memory and stops the driving of the stepping motor. When the voltage of the secondary battery is restored to the predetermined voltage or higher, the driving is restarted by a main drive pulse having a polarity opposite from the polarity memorized in the polarity memory.

Abstract: The present invention aims to prevent a nonrotation state from being brought about even when a drive allowance is changed by variations in a stepping motor or the like. A pulse down counter circuit outputs pulse down control signal for subjecting main drive pulse to control pulse down when time is counted for a predetermined time period. When a detecting signal exceeding a reference threshold voltage detected by a rotation detecting circuit is detected at a first detection section at start of a rotation detecting time period, a control circuit resets the pulse down counter circuit. Thereby, a main drive pulse generating circuit is not subjected to control pulse down by the pulse down counter circuit, and therefore, it is prevented that the main drive pulse is subjected to pulse down unnecessarily.

Abstract: A detection interval in which the rotation status of a stepping motor is divided into a first interval immediately after driving executed by a main driving pulse, a second interval later than the first interval, and a third interval later than the second interval. The driving is executed by a correction driving pulse and the main driving pulse is increased, when a control circuit drives the stepping motor in a driving way different from a driving way at the time of exceeding a predetermined voltage in a case where the voltage of a secondary battery is lowered to be equal to or less than the predetermined voltage and when a rotation detection circuit and a detection time comparison determination circuit detect an induced signal exceeding a first reference threshold voltage in the first interval and the second interval and do not detect the induced signal exceeding a second reference threshold voltage lower than the first reference threshold voltage in the third interval.

Abstract: The present invention can rotationally drive a motor with main drive pulses corresponding to loads with the simple constitution without using a counter circuit. A control circuit, in driving a motor with a second main drive pulse, when a rotation detection signal which is indicative of the rotation of the motor is detected by a rotation detection circuit after a predetermined reference time elapses, continues rotational driving of the motor with the second main drive pulse, when the rotation detection signal is detected before the predetermined reference time elapses, changes the rotational driving of the motor with a first main drive pulse having a shorter pulse width than the second main drive pulse, and when the rotation detection signal is not detected, forcibly rotationally drives the motor with a correction drive pulse having a largest pulse width and, thereafter, rotationally drives the motor with the first main drive pulse.

Abstract: For a chronograph timepiece that chronograph hands are mechanically reset to zero and electrically driven, the chronograph hands are prevented from being electrically driven while being mechanically locked. A chronograph timepiece that is mechanically reset to zero includes a chronograph motor for driving a chronograph hand, a drive unit configured to drive the chronograph motor according a time measurement operation in response to a starting operation by an operating section, and a control unit configured to control the drive unit. The control unit has a rotation detecting circuit for detecting a rotation status of the chronograph motor. When the rotation detecting circuit detects that the chronograph motor is not rotated after the chronograph motor has been rotated a predetermined time period, driving the chronograph motor by the drive unit is stopped for resetting the time measurement operation.

Abstract: It is configured to include: a secondary battery as a power supply that supplies power at least to a stepping motor; a rotation detection portion that detects a rotation state of the stepping motor; a control portion that drives the stepping motor by selecting a drive pulse having energy corresponding to the rotation state of the stepping motor from a plurality of drive pulses; and a solar battery that charges the secondary battery. Upon determination that it is possible to rotate the stepping motor by an overcharge indicating drive pulse having predetermined energy, the control portion drives the stepping motor by changing a current drive pulse to an overconsuming drive pulse having larger energy than the overcharge indicating drive pulse. It thus becomes possible to suppress deterioration of a secondary battery caused by overcharge without having to provide a dedicated voltage detection circuit, such as a comparator circuit.

Abstract: An electronic timepiece can reduce a burden imposed on a user who performs a manipulation for correcting the positional displacement of a pointer when a position of the pointer is displaced due to the demonstration of the pointer movement. The electronic timepiece includes: a pointer which is rotated in a first direction based on a manipulation signal corresponding to a manipulation from the outside; and a control part which performs the demonstration of the pointer movement in which the pointer is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction and the first direction, wherein the pointer is positioned at a position where a rotational angle in the first direction from a preset reference position is smaller than a rotational angle in a second direction from the reference position.