US 7,583,565 B2
Electronic timepiece
Kenji Ogasawara, Chiba (Japan); and Yoshihiro Shibuya, Chiba (Japan)
Assigned to Seiko Instruments, Inc., (Japan)
Filed on Feb. 06, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/703,014.
Claims priority of application No. 2006-039478 (JP), filed on Feb. 16, 2006.
Prior Publication US 2007/0189125 A1, Aug. 16, 2007
Int. Cl. G06F 1/04 (2006.01); H03B 5/32 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 368—159  [331/158] 4 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electronic timepiece comprising:
oscillating means having a capacitor for protecting from a current leakage in an oscillation circuit loop for outputting a signal of a predetermined frequency;
dividing means for dividing the output signal from the oscillating means and outputting a timepiece signal constituting a reference of a time counting operation;
driving means for outputting a drive signal based on the timepiece signal outputted from the dividing means;
displaying means driven by the drive signal for displaying current time;
drive power supplying means for supplying a drive power at least to the oscillating means; and
controlling means for controlling the drive voltage outputted from the drive power supplying means;
wherein the oscillating means includes switching means; and
wherein the controlling means controls the switching means to short-circuit the capacitor in order to generate noise constituting a trigger in starting to oscillate the oscillating means and electrically insert the capacitor into the oscillation circuit loop after an elapse of a predetermined time period, and the controlling means controls the drive power supplying means to supply a power source voltage to the oscillating means as the drive voltage in starting to oscillate the oscillating means, and to supply a voltage within a predetermined range lower than the power source voltage and a voltage pulsating by a predetermined period from the drive power supplying means to the oscillating means by intermittently controlling to drive the drive power supplying means by the predetermined period after an elapse of a predetermined time period from starting to oscillate the oscillating means.