JP2018025459A - Satellite radio wave receiver, electronic timepiece, radio wave reception level judgment method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

A satellite radio wave receiver, an electronic timepiece, a radio wave reception level determination method, and a program are provided that are capable of outputting accurate date and time information while determining the quality of the reception state more appropriately. A radio wave reception processing unit having a receiving unit for receiving radio waves from a positioning satellite, and a signal processing unit for identifying the current date and time based on data transmitted from the positioning satellite included in the received radio waves, and a control unit. and the radio wave reception processing unit outputs a predetermined timing signal and output date and time information as current date and time information to the control unit, and the control unit acquires received radio wave information from the radio wave reception processing unit at a predetermined frequency. , the reception duration is counted, the reception level indicating the quality of reception of the radio waves from the positioning satellite by the receiving unit is determined based on the acquired received radio wave information, and a predetermined number or more of radio waves necessary for identifying the current date and time are determined. The acquisition of received radio wave information is stopped by the timing when the reception duration of is equal to or longer than the reference duration corresponding to the type of positioning satellite. [Selection drawing] Fig. 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a satellite radio wave receiver, an electronic timepiece, a radio wave reception level determination method, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a technique for receiving date and time information and position information by receiving radio waves from a positioning satellite of each positioning system according to GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Radio waves from positioning satellites can be received all over the world where positioning satellites are visible, and are widely used in various electronic devices such as electronic watches.

  When acquiring position information on the earth's surface, it is necessary to acquire timing (date and time) information and satellite position (orbit) information from at least three positioning satellites. In order to acquire three-dimensional position information, it is preferable to receive radio waves from four or more positioning satellites. Information transmitted from each positioning satellite is transmitted in accordance with a format defined by each positioning system. By receiving and acquiring information of a corresponding period according to the format, date information and position (orbit) Information is acquired. These radio wave reception, demodulation, processing related to calculation of the current position, and the like are usually performed by a configuration of a dedicated module or the like.

  However, in large cities with many high-rise buildings, mountainous hills, indoors surrounded by walls, etc., the radio waves transmitted from the positioning satellites are blocked and the received radio wave intensity is attenuated, or receivable positioning satellites When the number of devices decreases, there is a problem that time and electric power are wasted after a lapse of time without obtaining sufficient information for acquiring position information. On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, a reception state level (reception level) indicating whether the reception state is good or not is determined in a plurality of stages based on the number of positioning satellites received and the reception intensity of radio waves. A technique for displaying a reception state level is disclosed.

JP2013-213828A

  However, in an electronic device that receives satellite radio waves (satellite radio wave receiver), if it is desired to obtain information such as the number of received satellites and reception intensity from the configuration that receives satellite radio waves, and determine whether the reception state is good or bad. The problem is that the timing of receiving these information and the transmission timing of the current date and time when an attempt is made to output the acquired current date and time are overlapped, resulting in a problem of preventing the acquisition of correct date and time information There is.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a satellite radio wave receiver, an electronic timepiece, a radio wave reception level determination method, and a program capable of outputting accurate date and time information while more appropriately determining whether or not a reception state is good.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
A receiver for receiving radio waves from positioning satellites;
A signal processing unit for identifying the current date and time based on transmission data from a positioning satellite included in the received radio wave;
A radio wave reception processing unit having
A control unit;
With
The radio wave reception processing unit outputs a predetermined timing signal as current date and time information and output date and time information of the timing signal to the control unit,
The controller is
Obtaining received radio wave information related to the radio wave received by the receiving unit at a predetermined frequency from the radio wave reception processing unit, counting the reception duration time,
Based on the acquired received radio wave information, determine the reception level indicating the quality of the radio wave reception state from the positioning satellite by the receiving unit,
The acquisition of the received radio wave information is canceled by a timing at which the reception continuation time of a predetermined number or more of radio waves necessary for identification of the current date and time becomes a reference continuation time or more according to the type of the positioning satellite A radio wave receiver.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that the satellite radio wave receiving apparatus can output accurate date and time information while more appropriately determining whether the reception state is good or bad.

It is a block diagram explaining the functional structure of an electronic timepiece provided with the satellite radio wave receiver of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the format of the navigation message of the signal sent with the electromagnetic wave transmitted from a GPS satellite. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the positioning control process performed with the electronic timepiece of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the modification of a positioning control process.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an electronic timepiece 1 including a satellite radio wave receiver of the present invention.

  This electronic timepiece 1 (satellite radio wave receiving device) includes a microcomputer 40 (control unit, computer), a satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 (radio wave reception processing unit), an antenna A1, an operation receiving unit 61, and a display unit 62 (notification). Operation unit), a power supply unit 70, and the like.

  The microcomputer 40 controls the overall operation of the electronic timepiece 1. The microcomputer 40 includes a CPU 41 (Central Processing Unit), a ROM 42 (Read Only Memory), a RAM 43 (Random Access Memory), an oscillation circuit 46, a frequency dividing circuit 47, a time measuring circuit 48 (time measuring unit), and the like.

The CPU 41 is a processor that performs various arithmetic processes, and performs control operations. The ROM 42 stores a program 421 for the CPU 41 to execute a control operation, initial setting data, and the like. The ROM 42 may include a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory capable of rewriting and updating data in addition to the mask ROM.
The program 421 includes a control program related to the positioning control process described later.
The RAM 43 provides a working memory space to the CPU 41 and stores temporary data. The RAM 43 defines a reception state storage unit 431 that stores the reception state of each positioning satellite when the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 receives satellite radio waves. This reception state storage unit 431 may be temporarily set only during a period in which the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 is instructing an operation command related to satellite radio wave reception.

  The oscillation circuit 46 generates and outputs a signal having a predetermined frequency. For example, a crystal oscillator is used to generate the signal. This crystal oscillator may be externally attached to the microcomputer 40.

The frequency dividing circuit 47 outputs a frequency-divided signal obtained by frequency-dividing the frequency signal input from the oscillation circuit 46 by a set frequency dividing ratio. The setting of the frequency division ratio may be changed by the CPU 41.
The time counting circuit 48 counts and holds the current date and time by counting the frequency-divided signal having a predetermined frequency input from the frequency dividing circuit 47. The current date and time counted by the timer circuit 48 can be corrected by a control signal from the CPU 41.

  The satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 receives and processes a transmission radio wave from a positioning satellite of a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System) in the United States, acquires date information and current position information, and outputs them to the CPU 41. The satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 includes a reception unit 51, a control unit 52 (signal processing unit), a storage unit 53, and the like.

  The receiving unit 51 tunes and amplifies the reception frequency of the satellite radio wave together with the antenna A1, and performs reverse spectrum spreading at each phase of pseudo-random noise (C / A code) determined for each positioning satellite. Captures and extracts signals transmitted by positioning satellites. The receiving unit 51 can capture radio waves from a plurality of positioning satellites at a time and output a plurality of signals extracted from the captured radio waves to the control unit 52 in parallel.

  The control unit 52 acquires necessary information based on the extracted signal, and performs identification of the current date and time and calculation of the current position (that is, positioning). The control unit 52 obtains at least a portion necessary for obtaining desired data from transmission data from each positioning satellite based on the format of the navigation message of each positioning satellite that can be received. From the GPS positioning satellite (hereinafter referred to as GPS satellite) (L1 band), date and time information (when the date can be identified from the date and time counted by the clock circuit 48, at least the weekly elapsed time (TOW) -Count)), its reception timing, and orbit information of each captured GPS satellite. The current position can be calculated based on the orbit information of each GPS satellite and the current date and time timing difference obtained from the GPS satellite. Further, the accuracy of the identified date and time is determined by the distance between each GPS satellite and the current position. The delay time from the correct date and time is obtained.

  The storage unit 53 stores reception control information 531 such as various setting data and reception information, and a program 532 related to control executed by the control unit 52 in the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50. The setting data includes, for example, navigation message format data for each positioning satellite, reference data for determining the reception level, a correspondence table between the current position and settings related to local time such as time zone and daylight saving time settings. Further, the received information includes, for example, predicted orbit information (almanac) of each positioning satellite that has been acquired, implementation advance information on leap seconds, and the like.

  The operation accepting unit 61 accepts an external input operation such as a user operation. The operation receiving unit 61 includes, for example, one or a plurality of push button switches, and outputs a signal corresponding to the pressing operation of the push button switch to the CPU 41.

  The display unit 62 displays various information based on the control of the CPU 41. The display unit 62 includes a display screen and a driving circuit thereof. As the display screen, for example, a liquid crystal display screen (LCD) is used, and the drive circuit performs a drive operation related to display on the liquid crystal display screen. The content displayed on the display unit 62 includes information related to the current date and time (at least the time).

  The power supply unit 70 supplies power required for the operation of each unit of the electronic timepiece 1 to each unit. The power supply unit 70 supplies the power output from the battery 71 with the operating voltage of each unit. When the operating voltage varies depending on the operating part, the power supply unit 70 performs voltage conversion using a regulator and outputs the result. The battery 71 may include a solar panel that generates power according to incident light, a secondary battery that stores the generated power, or a detachable battery such as a dry battery or a rechargeable battery.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the format of a navigation message of a signal sent by a radio wave transmitted from a GPS satellite.

  From the positioning satellite, transmission data is output in a transmission format corresponding to the type of each satellite positioning system (type of positioning satellite). In GPS, a total of 25 pages of 30-second frame data are transmitted from each GPS satellite, so that all data is output in a 12.5 minute cycle. In GPS, a unique C / A code is used for each GPS satellite, and 1023 codes (chips) are arranged at 1.023 MHz and transmitted at a cycle of 1 msec. The top of this chip is synchronized with the internal clock of the GPS satellite.

  Each frame data is composed of five subframes (6 seconds). Further, each subframe is composed of 10 words (each 0.6 seconds, in order WORD1 to WORD10). The data formats of WORD1 and WORD2 are the same in all subframes. In WORD1, following a preamble which is an 8-bit fixed code string, a 14-bit telemetry message (TLM Message) is transmitted, followed by a 1-bit Integrity status flag and a 1-bit spare bit, 6-bit parity data is arranged. WORD2 is a 17-bit TOW-Count (also referred to as a Z count), and an Alert flag and an Anti-spoof flag are indicated by 1 bit each. Then, subframe-ID indicating a subframe number (period number) is indicated by 3 bits, and 6-bit parity data is arranged with 2 bits for parity data matching interposed therebetween.

  Data after WORD3 varies depending on the subframe. In subframe 1, 10-bit WN (week number) and satellite health information (SV-Health) are included in WORD3, and satellite clock correction information is included in WORD8-10. Subframes 2 and 3 mainly include ephemeris (precision orbit information), and a part of subframe 4 and subframe 5 include almanac.

  To calculate the current position, TOW-Count and WN for acquiring the current date and time, and ephemeris data for acquiring the position of the positioning satellite are at least three units from the positioning satellite that is operating normally. In order to identify the position in the three-dimensional space without limiting the position on the surface of the earth, it is necessary to acquire four aircraft (hereinafter, the lower limit number of satellites; a predetermined number). Normally, a preamble is used to identify the position in the code string of the navigation message. Therefore, in order to acquire these code string portions, it takes at least 18 seconds (hereinafter referred to as the shortest reception duration) to receive data of 3 subframes from the beginning of subframe 1 to the end of subframe 3. If the timing at which data reception is started is the beginning timing of subframe 4, in order to obtain data up to the end of subframe 3, data reception of 5 subframes is required, and the required time is 30 seconds ( Hereinafter, the longest reception continuation time).

Next, the positioning operation in the electronic timepiece 1 of the present embodiment will be described.
In the electronic timepiece 1, the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 receives a radio wave from the positioning satellite based on a command from the CPU 41 (microcomputer 40) and calculates the current position. When the current position is obtained, the control unit 52 of the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 synchronizes with a predetermined synchronization timing (for example, a signal output timing with a period of 1 second) and a synchronization signal (predetermined timing signal), The current date and time (timing signal output date and time information) and the current position at the synchronization timing are output to the CPU 41, and the CPU 41 obtains an accurate current date and time based on the data of the synchronization signal and the current date and time, and the time counting circuit 48. Correct the date and time of counting. Note that the control unit 52 does not need to output a complete value of the current date and time as long as the information that can identify the current date and time at the synchronization timing is included, and the time counting circuit 48 previously acquired from the CPU 41 counts. The amount of deviation from the date and time may be used. If this deviation amount can be specified, instead of outputting numerical data separately from the timing signal, the timing signal itself, for example, the width of the pulse signal may indicate the deviation amount.

  As described above, the time until the positioning result is acquired is the sum of at least the signal acquisition (tracking time) of the shortest reception time and the acquisition time required to acquire the radio waves from the positioning satellites with the minimum number of satellites. . The acquisition time may be prolonged depending on the reception environment of satellite radio waves. Also, when the radio wave reception environment changes during signal acquisition, the captured satellite may be lost and signals may not be acquired normally. That is, the time required for obtaining the positioning result can be changed according to the reception state, the reception start timing, and the like.

  Therefore, the CPU 41 acquires radio wave capture information (received radio wave information) from the positioning satellite from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 periodically (for example, every other second; a predetermined frequency), and the remaining time until the positioning is completed. As an index, the reception level is determined. The acquisition information includes the number of positioning satellites for which acquisition and signal acquisition (tracking) are performed and the satellite identification information, and information related to the received radio wave intensity (reception intensity) from each tracking satellite being tracked (for example, C / N value).

  However, if transmission / reception of the above-described synchronization signal is delayed by an operation such as transmission / reception of another signal, there arises a problem that the date and time notified to the CPU 41 is shifted from an accurate timing. Therefore, in the electronic timepiece 1, in order to receive this synchronization signal without delay, the CPU 41 does not acquire other signals including captured information at a timing at which the synchronization signal can be input from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50.

  As described above, since acquisition of information necessary for positioning requires at least the shortest reception continuation time, that is, positioning is not completed until a signal having the shortest reception continuation time is acquired by the positioning satellites having the minimum number of satellites. Therefore, in this electronic timepiece 1, the CPU 41 counts the tracking time (reception duration) for each captured positioning satellite, and the number of positioning satellites whose tracking time reaches the shortest reception duration is the lower limit satellite number. Immediately before the acquisition, acquisition of captured information from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 is stopped.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure by the CPU 41 (microcomputer 40) of the positioning control process executed by the electronic timepiece 1 of the present embodiment.

This positioning control process is executed when a positioning command is acquired according to a predetermined input operation to the operation receiving unit 61 or the like.
When the positioning control process is started, the CPU 41 (microcomputer 40) activates the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 and transmits the operation setting (step S101). The operation setting includes a positioning command and current date / time information counted by the timing circuit 48.

  The CPU 41 requests capture information from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 (step S102). The CPU 41 adds “1” to the tracking time of a positioning satellite that is equal to or higher than a predetermined lower limit reception intensity in the acquisition information acquired from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 (step S103; counting step, counting means). This lower limit reception intensity is set by a C / N value or the like in which the probability that all code strings in a navigation message received in one second are identified without error is higher than a predetermined reference.

The CPU 41 determines the reception level indicating the quality of the reception state based on the number of positioning satellites that are equal to or higher than the lower limit reception intensity, the reception intensity (C / N value) of each positioning satellite, and the display unit 62 displays the determined reception level. Are displayed (predetermined notification operation) (step S104; determination step, determination means). The reception level is not particularly limited. For example, the reception level is indicated by a high, medium, or low (H, M, L) level or a numerical value level in five stages. Here, the criterion for determining the reception level is determined based on whether or not a navigation message with the number of satellites lower than the lower limit satellite can be read normally with a single reception, and there is a high possibility that re-reception is necessary (the reception intensity is the reference level). If the number of satellites is likely to be insufficient, or if there are few positioning satellites whose tracking time increases steadily according to the elapsed time from the start of acquisition, the reception level is set low. Displayed.
Note that, based on the elapsed time since the start of the positioning control and the determined reception level, the CPU 41 can cancel the reception on the way because the positioning has failed.

  The CPU 41 determines whether or not the number of positioning satellites whose tracking time exceeds a predetermined reference time (reference continuation time) is equal to or greater than the lower limit number of satellites (step S105). This reference time is a value shorter than the shortest reception duration (18 seconds for GPS satellites) and close to the shortest reception duration, for example, “15”.

If it is determined that the number of satellites is not equal to or greater than the lower limit number of satellites ("NO" in step S105), the CPU 41 determines whether one second has elapsed since the current acquisition information request was made (step S105). S106). When it is determined that one second has not elapsed (“NO” in step S106), the CPU 41 repeats the process of step S106. If it is determined that one second has elapsed (“YES” in step S106), the processing of the CPU 41 returns to step S102.
Steps S105 and S106 constitute an information acquisition stop step (information acquisition stop means).

If it is determined in step S105 that the number of satellites is equal to or greater than the lower limit number of satellites ("YES" in step S105), the CPU 41 determines whether positioning data has been acquired from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50. (Step S107). If it is determined that it has not been acquired (“NO” in step S107), the CPU 41 repeats the process of step S107. If it is determined that it has been acquired (“YES” in step S107), the CPU 41 turns off the operation and power supply of the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50, and processes the acquired positioning data according to the acquisition purpose ( Step S108). As the acquisition purpose, for example, the current position is displayed on the display unit 62, the notification operation according to the comparison result is performed in comparison with the preset target position and the movement progress position, or the time according to the current position. Identify and switch settings related to local time such as zones. Alternatively, the CPU 41 may reflect only the acquired current date and time in the date and time counted by the timing circuit 48 without using the positioning data.
Then, the CPU 41 ends the positioning control process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a modification of the positioning control process.
The positioning control process of this modified example is the same as that of the above-described positioning control process except that the processes of steps S111 to S115 are added. Is omitted.

  If it is determined in the determination process in step S105 that the number of positioning satellites for which the tracking time has been determined to exceed the reference time has exceeded the lower limit satellite number ("YES" in step S105), the CPU 41 “1” is set as the number N of acquired frames (step S111). Then, the process of the CPU 41 proceeds to step S107.

  If it is determined in the determination process in step S107 that the positioning data has not been acquired (“NO” in step S107), the CPU 41 determines whether or not it is the timing of one second interval (the timing has passed). It discriminate | determines (step S112). If it is determined that the timing is not 1 second (“NO” in step S112), the process of the CPU 41 returns to step S107. When it is determined that the timing is one second (“YES” in step S112), the CPU 41 determines the positioning satellite whose tracking time has exceeded the reference time at the timing branched to “YES” in step S105. “1” is added to the tracking time (step S113).

  The CPU 41 determines whether or not the number of positioning satellites whose tracking time exceeds “30 × N” (reference standby time) is equal to or greater than the lower limit number of satellites (step S114). That is, this reference waiting time is an integral multiple of the longest reception continuation time. If it is determined that the number is not greater than the lower limit number of satellites (“NO” in step S114), the process of the CPU 41 returns to step S107.

  If it is determined that the number of satellites is equal to or greater than the lower limit number of satellites (“YES” in step S114), the CPU 41 causes the display unit 62 to display the most recently determined reception level by one step. Further, the CPU 41 adds “1” to the number N of data acquisition frames (step S115). Then, the process of the CPU 41 returns to step S107.

As described above, the electronic timepiece 1 of the present embodiment includes the receiving unit 51 that receives radio waves from positioning satellites, and the control unit that identifies the current date and time based on transmission data from the positioning satellites included in the received radio waves. 52, and a microcomputer 40 (CPU 41). The satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 receives a predetermined synchronization signal as current date and time information and output date and time information of the synchronization signal as the microcomputer 40. The microcomputer 40 acquires the capture information related to the radio wave received by the reception unit 51 from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 at intervals of 1 second, counts the reception duration, and based on the acquired capture information The reception unit 51 determines the reception level indicating whether the reception state of radio waves from the positioning satellites is good or not, and continues to receive radio waves from a predetermined number (three or four) of positioning satellites necessary for identifying the current date and time. Time predetermined reference time according to the type of positioning satellite (navigation message) (here, 15 seconds) to stop the acquisition of the acquisition information to the timing of the above.
In this way, the acquisition result is acquired more appropriately in the range where the positioning result, that is, the accurate current date and time cannot be obtained, and the acquisition state is acquired more appropriately by not acquiring the acquisition information after the timing when the current date and time can be obtained. It is possible to prevent the delay of the output timing of the synchronizing signal and output the date / time information with high accuracy while judging whether the quality is good or bad.

  In addition, the predetermined reference time is less than the shortest reception continuation time necessary to acquire information for identifying the current date and time in the navigation message transmission format corresponding to the type of positioning satellite, that is, in the GPS satellite, It is set to less than 18 seconds necessary for receiving the frames 1 to 3. As a result, it is possible to reliably eliminate the possibility that the output of the synchronization signal and the output request of the captured information overlap to cause the output delay of the synchronization signal.

  In addition, the capture information includes information indicating the received intensity (C / N value, etc.) of the received radio wave. Therefore, it is possible to determine the reception level more appropriately than just whether satellite radio waves are captured.

  In addition, after canceling acquisition of captured information, the microcomputer 40 continues to count the reception continuation time for at least the reception continuation time of radio waves whose reception continuation time is equal to or longer than the reference time at the timing of the cessation. If the current date / time information is not acquired from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 before the counted reception duration becomes “30 × N” seconds (N is a natural number) or more, the reception level is lowered. In other words, if the current date and time is not acquired even if the current date and time is acquired based on the acquired acquisition information, the reception status may be deteriorated, so the acquisition information is acquired. Even if it is not done, it is possible to objectively and appropriately determine the decrease in the reception level.

  The reference waiting time is 30 seconds (one frame transmission) which is the longest reception continuation time required to acquire information for identifying the current date and time in the navigation message transmission format according to the type of positioning satellite. Time) or more. In other words, if the acquisition of navigation messages is continued normally, if the current date / time is not acquired even after the continuation time for acquiring the date / time information has elapsed, it can be safely said that some problem has occurred in radio wave reception. Therefore, it can be accurately determined that the reception level is lowered.

  Further, the microcomputer 40 determines whether or not to stop the process related to the identification of the current date and time by the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 according to the determined reception level. In other words, it is possible to make an appropriate determination at an appropriate timing so as not to increase the power consumption by continuing to receive more than necessary in a state where the satellite radio wave reception environment is bad.

  Moreover, the display part 62 which performs a predetermined display is provided, and the microcomputer 40 makes the display part 62 perform the display according to the judged reception level. As a result, the user can be informed of the status of the reception environment and the remaining time until the current date and time are acquired. That is, when there is no problem in the reception status, the current reception status and position are maintained, and reception Appropriate movements such as location and posture can be encouraged when the environment is bad.

  The electronic timepiece 1 also includes a clock circuit 48 that counts the current date and time, and a display unit 62 that displays at least the time based on the current date and time counted by the clock circuit 48. Thereby, the accurate current date and time can be acquired in the electronic timepiece 1.

  In particular, the microcomputer 40 corrects the date and time counted by the timing circuit 48 based on the current date and time information input from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50, so that the accurate date and time counting is automatically performed without the user's manual action. And the display can be maintained. In addition, the accurate current date and time can be acquired more appropriately and efficiently.

  The control unit 52 identifies the current position together with the current date and time, and the microcomputer 40 identifies the setting related to the local time at the current position based on the information related to the current position acquired from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50. The display unit 62 displays the current date and time in the local time. In other words, the electronic timepiece 1 can display the correct local time appropriately by judging the accurate time zone, daylight saving time implementation status, and the like without the user manually performing a switching operation.

Further, in the radio wave reception level determination method of the present embodiment, as described above, the acquisition information of the positioning satellite is appropriately acquired within a range in which the delay is not generated in the output timing of the synchronization signal output from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50. To determine the reception level of radio waves from positioning satellites.
Therefore, accurate date and time information can be output while determining the reception level more appropriately.

  Further, the reception level can be more appropriately determined by installing a program for acquiring accurate date and time information from the positioning satellite while determining the above-described radio wave reception level in a computer including the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50. Accurate date / time information can be output while

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made.
For example, in the above embodiment, the synchronization signal is output from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 every second, but the present invention is not limited to this. Other intervals may be used, and the interval may not be a single interval. If a value less than the second digit of the date and time is determined by the output timing of the output signal of the synchronization signal, the value less than the second digit need not be output as the current date and time information.

  In the above embodiment, the C / N value has been described as an example of the reception intensity, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, the number of lower limit satellites is the number of radio waves received from a GPS satellite whose tracking time exceeds 15 seconds after receiving the radio wave reception from the GPS satellite is over 30 seconds (1 frame) In this case, the reception level is lowered. However, only the reception duration time of the GPS satellite whose tracking time exceeds 15 seconds may be counted, and the magnitude compared with 30 seconds may be compared. In addition, when it is possible to acquire the approximate date and time obtained from one positioning satellite before the positioning and accurate date and time are finally acquired, transmission of each subframe based on the approximate date and time Assuming timing, the reception level may be lowered with a reference standby time shorter than 30 seconds after the assumed reception period of subframes 1 to 3 has elapsed.

  In the above embodiment, it is detected whether or not the tracking time equal to or greater than the lower limit number of satellites has reached 15 seconds or longer. It may be determined whether or not. Also, in this case, for radio waves from other positioning satellites whose tracking time is longer than 15 seconds, a condition such as whether the tracking time is 18 seconds or more or whether the acquisition state is continued is added. You may do it. In addition, a counting method that can determine that the tracking time of transmission radio waves from the positioning satellites with the lower limit number of satellites has become 15 seconds or more without counting the tracking times of all captured positioning satellites individually. The present invention can be applied.

  In the above-described embodiment, the reception level is displayed on the display unit 62. However, the reception level may be displayed by a predetermined notification operation other than display, for example, vibration by a vibration motor or generation of a beep sound by a sound generation unit. . In addition, the display unit 62 is not limited to a configuration that performs digital display, and may be an analog display unit that performs display by rotating a pointer or the like with a stepping motor.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the positioning is performed by capturing the radio wave of the GPS satellite has been described as an example, but the positioning may be performed by receiving the radio wave of another positioning satellite. In this case, a reference duration, a reference waiting time, and the like are determined according to the navigation message format of the positioning satellite. In addition, positioning satellites related to a plurality of satellite positioning systems may be mixed, and in this case, it is only necessary to determine whether or not the tracking time is longer than a reference time that differs for each positioning satellite.

  In the above embodiment, the electronic timepiece has been described as an example of the satellite radio wave reception device. However, any electronic device can be used as long as the date and time information is passed from the satellite radio wave reception processing unit 50 to the control unit. It is not limited to this. For example, an electronic pedometer may be used. Moreover, it does not have to be worn on an arm or the like, and the present invention can be preferably applied to portable electronic devices in general.

In the above description, the ROM 42 including a mask ROM, a nonvolatile memory, etc. is taken as an example as a computer-readable medium for the program 421 such as the positioning control process related to the processing operation of the CPU 41 (microcomputer 40) according to the present invention. Although described, it is not limited to this. As other computer-readable media, a portable recording medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a CD-ROM, or a DVD disk can be applied. A carrier wave is also applied to the present invention as a medium for providing program data according to the present invention via a communication line.
In addition, specific details such as the configuration, control contents, and procedures shown in the above embodiment can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Although several 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 equivalents thereof.
The invention described in the scope of claims attached to the application of this application will be added below. The item numbers of the claims described in the appendix are as set forth in the claims attached to the application of this application.

[Appendix]
<Claim 1>
A receiver for receiving radio waves from positioning satellites;
A signal processing unit for identifying the current date and time based on transmission data from a positioning satellite included in the received radio wave;
A radio wave reception processing unit having
A control unit;
With
The radio wave reception processing unit outputs a predetermined timing signal as current date and time information and output date and time information of the timing signal to the control unit,
The controller is
Obtaining received radio wave information related to the radio wave received by the receiving unit at a predetermined frequency from the radio wave reception processing unit, counting the reception duration time,
Based on the acquired received radio wave information, determine the reception level indicating the quality of the radio wave reception state from the positioning satellite by the receiving unit,
The acquisition of the received radio wave information is canceled by a timing at which the reception continuation time of a predetermined number or more of radio waves necessary for identification of the current date and time becomes a reference continuation time or more according to the type of the positioning satellite Radio wave receiver.
<Claim 2>
The reference duration is determined to be less than the shortest reception duration required to acquire information for identifying the current date and time in the transmission format of the transmission data according to the type of the positioning satellite. The satellite radio wave receiver according to claim 1.
<Claim 3>
3. The satellite radio wave receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the received radio wave information includes information indicating reception strengths of received radio waves.
<Claim 4>
After the acquisition of the received radio wave information is stopped, the control unit continues receiving the radio wave whose reception duration is equal to or longer than the reference duration at the timing of the cancellation, at least with the minimum reception duration. The time is continuously counted, and when the current date and time information is not acquired from the radio wave reception processing unit until the counted reception continuation time exceeds a predetermined reference waiting time, the reception level is lowered. The satellite radio wave receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
<Claim 5>
The predetermined reference waiting time is set to be equal to or longer than the longest reception duration required to acquire information for identifying the current date and time in the transmission format of the transmission data according to the type of the positioning satellite. The satellite radio wave receiver according to claim 4.
<Claim 6>
The said control part discriminate | determines whether the process which concerns on the identification of the present date by the said radio wave reception process part according to the judged said reception level is stopped. The satellite radio wave receiver described.
<Claim 7>
A notification operation unit for performing a predetermined notification operation;
The satellite radio wave receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit causes the notification operation unit to perform a notification operation according to the determined reception level.
<Claim 8>
The satellite radio wave receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A timekeeping section that counts the current date and time,
A display unit that displays at least the time based on the current date and time counted by the timer unit;
An electronic timepiece characterized by comprising:
<Claim 9>
9. The electronic timepiece according to claim 8, wherein the control unit corrects the date and time counted by the time measuring unit based on current date and time information input from the radio wave reception processing unit.
<Claim 10>
The signal processing unit identifies the current position along with the current date and time,
The control unit identifies a setting related to the local time at the current position based on the information related to the current position acquired from the radio wave reception processing unit, and causes the display unit to display the current date and time at the local time. The electronic timepiece according to claim 8 or 9, wherein
<Claim 11>
A radio wave reception processing unit having a reception unit for receiving radio waves from positioning satellites and a signal processing unit for identifying the current date and time based on transmission data from the positioning satellites included in the received radio waves. The processing unit is a radio wave reception level determination method of a satellite radio wave receiver that outputs a predetermined timing signal and output date information of the timing signal from the radio wave reception processing unit as current date and time information,
A counting step of acquiring reception radio wave information related to the radio wave received by the reception unit from the radio wave reception processing unit at a predetermined frequency and counting a reception duration;
A determination step of determining a reception level indicating whether or not a reception state of a radio wave from the positioning satellite by the reception unit based on the acquired reception radio wave information;
An information acquisition stop step of stopping acquisition of the received radio wave information by a timing at which the reception continuation time of a predetermined number or more of radio waves necessary for identification of the current date and time is equal to or longer than a reference duration according to the type of the positioning satellite;
A method for determining a radio wave reception level, comprising:
<Claim 12>
A radio wave reception processing unit having a reception unit for receiving radio waves from positioning satellites and a signal processing unit for identifying the current date and time based on transmission data from the positioning satellites included in the received radio waves, and current date and time information As a computer of a satellite radio wave receiving device to which a predetermined timing signal and output date / time information of the timing signal are input from the radio wave reception processing unit,
Counting means for obtaining received radio wave information related to the radio wave received by the receiving unit at a predetermined frequency from the radio wave receiving processing unit, and counting the reception duration time;
Judgment means for judging a reception level indicating whether the reception state of the radio wave from the positioning satellite by the receiving unit is good or bad based on the acquired received radio wave information,
Information acquisition stopping means for stopping acquisition of the received radio wave information by a timing at which the reception duration time of a predetermined number or more of radio waves necessary for identification of the current date and time is equal to or longer than a reference duration time according to the type of the positioning satellite;
A program characterized by functioning as

1 Electronic clock 40 Microcomputer 41 CPU
42 ROM
421 program 43 RAM
431 Reception state storage unit 46 Oscillation circuit 47 Frequency division circuit 48 Timing circuit 50 Satellite radio wave reception processing unit 51 Reception unit 52 Control unit 53 Storage unit 531 Reception control information 532 Program 61 Operation reception unit 62 Display unit 63 Storage unit 70 Power supply unit 71 Battery A1 Antenna

Claims (12)

A receiver for receiving radio waves from positioning satellites;
A signal processing unit for identifying the current date and time based on transmission data from a positioning satellite included in the received radio wave;
A radio wave reception processing unit having
A control unit;
With
The radio wave reception processing unit outputs a predetermined timing signal as current date and time information and output date and time information of the timing signal to the control unit,
The controller is
Obtaining received radio wave information related to the radio wave received by the receiving unit at a predetermined frequency from the radio wave reception processing unit, counting the reception duration time,
Based on the acquired received radio wave information, determine the reception level indicating the quality of the radio wave reception state from the positioning satellite by the receiving unit,
The acquisition of the received radio wave information is canceled by a timing at which the reception continuation time of a predetermined number or more of radio waves necessary for identification of the current date and time becomes a reference continuation time or more according to the type of the positioning satellite Radio wave receiver.   The reference duration is determined to be less than the shortest reception duration required to acquire information for identifying the current date and time in the transmission format of the transmission data according to the type of the positioning satellite. The satellite radio wave receiver according to claim 1.   3. The satellite radio wave receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the received radio wave information includes information indicating reception strengths of received radio waves.   After the acquisition of the received radio wave information is stopped, the control unit continues receiving the radio wave whose reception duration is equal to or longer than the reference duration at the timing of the cancellation, at least with the minimum reception duration. The time is continuously counted, and when the current date and time information is not acquired from the radio wave reception processing unit until the counted reception continuation time exceeds a predetermined reference waiting time, the reception level is lowered. The satellite radio wave receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The predetermined reference waiting time is set to be equal to or longer than the longest reception duration required to acquire information for identifying the current date and time in the transmission format of the transmission data according to the type of the positioning satellite. The satellite radio wave receiver according to claim 4.   The said control part discriminate | determines whether the process which concerns on the identification of the present date by the said radio wave reception process part according to the judged said reception level is stopped. The satellite radio wave receiver described. A notification operation unit for performing a predetermined notification operation;
The satellite radio wave receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit causes the notification operation unit to perform a notification operation according to the determined reception level. The satellite radio wave receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A timekeeping section that counts the current date and time,
A display unit that displays at least the time based on the current date and time counted by the timer unit;
An electronic timepiece characterized by comprising:   9. The electronic timepiece according to claim 8, wherein the control unit corrects the date and time counted by the time measuring unit based on current date and time information input from the radio wave reception processing unit. The signal processing unit identifies the current position along with the current date and time,
The control unit identifies a setting related to the local time at the current position based on the information related to the current position acquired from the radio wave reception processing unit, and causes the display unit to display the current date and time at the local time. The electronic timepiece according to claim 8 or 9, wherein A radio wave reception processing unit having a reception unit for receiving radio waves from positioning satellites and a signal processing unit for identifying the current date and time based on transmission data from the positioning satellites included in the received radio waves. The processing unit is a radio wave reception level determination method of a satellite radio wave receiver that outputs a predetermined timing signal as current date and time information and output date and time information of the timing signal,
A counting step of acquiring reception radio wave information related to the radio wave received by the reception unit from the radio wave reception processing unit at a predetermined frequency and counting a reception duration;
A determination step of determining a reception level indicating whether or not a reception state of a radio wave from the positioning satellite by the reception unit based on the acquired reception radio wave information;
An information acquisition stop step of stopping acquisition of the received radio wave information by a timing at which the reception continuation time of a predetermined number or more of radio waves necessary for identification of the current date and time is equal to or longer than a reference duration according to the type of the positioning satellite;
A method for determining a radio wave reception level, comprising: A radio wave reception processing unit having a reception unit for receiving radio waves from positioning satellites and a signal processing unit for identifying the current date and time based on transmission data from the positioning satellites included in the received radio waves, and current date and time information As a computer of a satellite radio wave receiving device to which a predetermined timing signal and output date / time information of the timing signal are input from the radio wave reception processing unit,
Counting means for obtaining received radio wave information related to the radio wave received by the receiving unit at a predetermined frequency from the radio wave receiving processing unit, and counting the reception duration time;
Judgment means for judging a reception level indicating whether the reception state of the radio wave from the positioning satellite by the receiving unit is good or bad based on the acquired received radio wave information,
Information acquisition stopping means for stopping acquisition of the received radio wave information by a timing at which the reception duration time of a predetermined number or more of radio waves necessary for identification of the current date and time is equal to or longer than a reference duration time according to the type of the positioning satellite;
A program characterized by functioning as

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