Electronic clock having an electric power generating element

An Electronic clock having an electric power generating element which is operable even in a state where the voltage of the electric power generating element is low. The electronic clock includes an electric power generating element, a low-voltage oscillating circuit which can oscillate even with a low voltage with the electromotive force developed by the electric power generating element as a power supply, an electronic clock movement having signal generating means, a voltage detecting circuit that detects an output voltage of a charging circuit, a selecting circuit that selects any one of the output signal of the low-voltage oscillating circuit and the output signal of the signal generating means on the basis of the voltage detection result to output it, and a step-up circuit that inputs an output signal of the selecting circuit and a voltage from the electric power generating element for stepping it up to output a stepped-up voltage to the charging circuit.

BACKGROUD OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention relates to an electronic clock having an electric
 power generating element, and particularly to an electronic clock which
 can be driven even when the electromotive force of the electric power
 generating element is small. More particularly, the present invention
 relates to an electric clock in which an improvement of an electronic
 clock to reduce a current consumption of the peripheral circuit of the
 electric power generating element is performed.
 2. Description of the Related Art
 Up to now, it has been known that an electric power generating element
 consisting of a thermoelectric element or a solar battery has been
 employed as an electric power generating element of an electronic clock.
 FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a conventional electronic clock having an
 electric power generating element. This is an example in which the
 thermoelectric element is employed as the electric power generating
 element. A charging circuit 204 charges by an electromotive force
 (voltage) obtained by a thermoelectric element 201. An electronic clock
 movement 202 is made up of an oscillating circuit 202a, a dividing circuit
 202b and time display means 202c at the least as structural elements and
 driven by the voltage charged in the charging circuit 204. A step-up
 circuit 203 inputs the voltage output by the charging circuit 204 and
 outputs a voltage stepped up by a clock oscillated by the oscillating
 circuit 202a to a circuit such as the time display means 202c, which
 requires a higher drive voltage than that required by the oscillating
 circuit or the dividing circuit.
 The above-described conventional electronic clock having the electric power
 generating element requires, as the electromotive force of the electric
 power generating element, a voltage sufficient for making the circuits of
 the electronic clock acting as loads operative. This necessary voltage is
 normally about 0.6 to 1 V. Also, in order to maintain the operation of the
 electronic clock even when the electronic clock is located in an
 environment where the electric power generating element cannot generate an
 electric power, the electromotive force of the electric power generating
 element is charged in the charging circuit.
 However, since the above-described conventional electronic clock having the
 electric power generating element requires about 0.6 to 1 V or more as the
 electromotive force of the electric power generating element, a large
 number of electric power generating elements must be connected in series
 in order to obtain the electromotive force. This leads to an increase in
 its area and volume, resulting in a problem when the large number of
 electric power generating elements are mounted on a small-sized electronic
 device (for example, an electronic clock).
 Also, the clock could not be driven until an output voltage of the charging
 circuit such as a capacitor or a secondary battery is charged up to a
 voltage at which the clock can be driven. The electric power generating
 element converts an external energy such as a light or heat into an
 electric energy. However, if little difference in luminance, temperature
 or the like is obtained, it takes time to charge the charging circuit. For
 that reason, when the charging circuit is allowed to be charged from a
 state where there is no capacitance (voltage) in the charging circuit, it
 takes a long time until the clock starts to operate (hereinafter called as
 "oscillation start time").
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 In order to solve the above problems, an electronic clock according to a
 first aspect of the present invention is designed to include a low-voltage
 oscillating circuit which can oscillate even when an electromotive force
 developed by an electric power generating element is of a low voltage, a
 step-up circuit which inputs an output signal of the low-voltage
 oscillating circuit for stepping up the output signal, and a charging
 circuit for charging a stepped-up voltage, in which the electronic clock
 is driven by the voltage charged in the charging circuit.
 Also, in an electronic clock according to a second aspect of the present
 invention, a voltage detecting circuit detects the electromotive force
 (voltage) charged in the charging circuit, and when the voltage detecting
 circuit detects a voltage equal to or higher than a voltage at which an
 oscillating circuit within an electronic clock movement oscillates, the
 drive of the low-voltage oscillating circuit stops, to thereby reduce the
 current consumption of the low-voltage oscillating circuit.
 Simultaneously, a selecting circuit changes over from an input clock of
 the step-up circuit to a clock of signal generating means (for example,
 the oscillating circuit, a dividing circuit or the like) within the
 electronic clock movement (in particular, a clock IC) so that the
 electromotive force (voltage) developed by the electric power generating
 element is stepped up and charged in the charging circuit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERED EMBODIMENT
 (First Embodiment Mode)
 An electronic clock having an electric power generating element in
 accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention will be
 described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing that electronic clock.
 The electronic clock is made up of an electric power generating element 101
 that generates an electric power by light, heat, etc.; an electronic clock
 movement 103 including a low-voltage oscillating circuit 102 that
 oscillates by a low-voltage output of the electric power generating
 element 101, signal generating means 103a having an oscillating circuit
 103aa and dividing means 103ab, and time display means 103b that displays
 time on the basis of an output signal of the signal generating means 103a;
 a step-up circuit 104 that inputs an output voltage of the electric power
 generating element 101 and an output signal of the low-voltage oscillating
 circuit 102 for stepping up the output voltage of the electric power
 generating element 101 to a predetermined voltage to output a step-up
 voltage to a charging circuit 105; and the charging circuit 105 such as a
 capacitor or a secondary battery which charges an electromotive force
 therein to output an output voltage to the electronic clock movement 103.
 As the electric power generating element 101, there is used a
 thermo-element including a plurality of n-type semiconductors and p-type
 semiconductors connected in series to each other, endothermic-side
 insulators fixed on every two nodes of the n-type semiconductors and the
 p-type semiconductors, and heat-radiating-side insulators fixed on other
 every other two nodes of the n-type semiconductors and the p-type
 semiconductors as shown in FIG. 3. The electric power generating element
 101 may be comprised of a thermo-element including at least a pair of
 n-type semiconductor and p-type semiconductor elements connected in
 series.
 Also, the electric power generating element 101 may be comprised of another
 electric power generating element such as a solar battery other than the
 above-described thermo-element.
 (Second Embodiment Mode)
 Subsequently, an electronic clock having an electric power generating
 element in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention
 will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing that electronic
 clock.
 The electronic clock is made up of an electric power generating element 101
 that generates an electric power by a light, a heat or the like; an
 electronic clock movement 103 including a low-voltage oscillating circuit
 102 that oscillates by a low-voltage output of the electric power
 generating element 101, signal generating means 103a having an oscillating
 circuit 103aa and dividing means 103ab, and time display means 103b that
 displays a time on the basis of an output signal of the signal generating
 means 103a; a step-up circuit 104 that inputs an output voltage of the
 electric power generating element 101 and an output signal of a selecting
 circuit 107 for stepping up the output voltage of the electric power
 generating element 101 up to a predetermined voltage to output a step-up
 voltage to a charging circuit 105; a charging circuit 105 such as a
 capacitor or a secondary battery which charges an electromotive force
 therein to output an output voltage to the electric clock movement 103 and
 the voltage detecting circuit 106; the voltage detecting circuit 106 which
 inputs an output voltage of the charging circuit 105 for detecting any
 voltage value to output a detection signal to the low-voltage oscillating
 circuit 102 and the selecting circuit 107; and the selecting circuit 107
 that selects any one of the output signal of the low-voltage oscillating
 circuit 102 and the output signal of the signal generating means 103a in
 accordance with the output signal of the voltage detecting circuit 106 to
 output an output signal to the step-up circuit 104.
 As the electric power generating element 101, there is used a
 thermo-element including a plurality of n-type semiconductors and p-type
 semiconductors connected in series to each other, endothermic-side
 insulators fixed on every two nodes of the n-type semiconductors and the
 p-type semiconductors, and heat-radiating-side insulators fixed on every
 other two nodes of the n-type semiconductors and the p-type semiconductors
 as shown in FIG. 3. The electric power generating element 101 may be
 comprised of a thermo-element including at least a pair of n-type
 semiconductor and p-type semiconductor connected in series.
 Also, the electric power generating element 101 may be comprised of another
 type of electric power generating element such as a solar battery other
 than the above-described thermo-element.
 (First Embodiment)
 Now, a description will be given of a first embodiment in which an electric
 power generating element is formed of a thermo-element, and the electronic
 clock movement is formed of an analog movement in an electronic clock in
 accordance with the above first embodiment mode. FIG. 4 is a block diagram
 showing the first embodiment.
 The structure of FIG. 4 will be described. A thermo-element 401 outputs an
 output voltage to a low-voltage oscillating circuit 402 and a step-up
 circuit 404. A low-voltage oscillating circuit 402 inputs an output
 voltage of the thermo-element 401 to output an output signal to the
 step-up circuit 404. A dividing circuit 403b inputs an output signal of an
 oscillating circuit 403a to output an output signal to a pulse
 synthesizing circuit 403c. A driving circuit 403d inputs an output signal
 of the pulse synthesizing circuit 403c to output an output signal to a
 step motor 403e. An analog movement 403 is made up of the oscillating
 circuit 403a, the dividing circuit 403b, the pulse synthesizing circuit
 403c, the driving circuit 403d and the step motor 403e. The step-up
 circuit 404 inputs the output voltage of the thermo-element 401 and the
 output signal of the low-voltage oscillating circuit 402 to output a
 step-up output to the charging circuit 405. The charging circuit 405
 inputs a step-up output of the step-up circuit 404 to output an output
 voltage to the analog movement 403.
 Now, the electric power generating principle of the thermo-element 401 will
 be described with reference to FIG. 3. Assuming that first insulators 301
 are at an endothermic side, and second insulators 302 are at a heat
 radiating side, in the case where a difference in temperature is given in
 such a manner that the endothermic side temperature is made higher than a
 heat-radiating side temperature, a heat is transmitted from the first
 insulators 301 toward the second insulators 302. In this situation,
 electrons move toward the heat-radiating side insulators 302 in the
 respective n-type semiconductors 303. In the respective p-type
 semiconductors 304, holes move toward the heat-radiating side insulators
 302. Because the n-type semiconductors 303 and the p-type semiconductors
 304 are electrically connected in series to each other through nodes 305,
 the transmission of heat is converted into electrical current, thereby
 being capable of obtaining an electromotive force from both-end output
 terminal portions 306. For example, when about 1000 semiconductors made of
 Bismuth tellurium are connected in series to each other, a difference in
 temperature between the endothermic side and heat-radiating side is one
 degree, to thereby develop an electromotive force of about 0.2 V.
 The low-voltage oscillating circuit 402 is comprised of a ring oscillator
 circuit in which an odd number of invertors formed of C-MOS transistors
 are connected in series, and an output signal of an output-stage invertor
 serves as an input signal of an initial-stage invertor, and an
 electromotive force obtained by the thermo-element 401 is employed as a
 power supply.
 FIG. 5 shows an example in which a ring oscillator circuit in which three
 invertors are connected in series is used as the low-voltage oscillating
 circuit 402. An output of a first invertor 501 is connected to an input of
 a second invertor 502. Also, an output of the second invertor 502 is
 connected to an input of a third invertor 503. An output of the third
 invertor 503 is connected to an input of the first invertor 501, and a
 node between the output of the third invertor 503 and the input of the
 first invertor 501 forms an output of the low-voltage oscillating circuit
 402. One power supply terminals of the first, the second and the third
 invertors are connected to the output of the thermo-element 401. Those
 invertors operates with the electromotive force (voltage) obtained by the
 thermo-element as a power supply. The other power supply terminals of the
 respective invertors are grounded.
 The first invertor 501, the second invertor 502 and the third invertor 503
 are made up of C-MOS transistor, respectively. A threshold voltage (Vth)
 of the invertors is about 0.2 V, and in this situation, the low-voltage
 oscillating circuit 402 starts oscillation operation when a power supply
 voltage is about 0.3 V. The oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator
 circuit can be adjusted by the number (odd number) of invertors connected
 in series, or by the connection of capacitors between the nodes of the
 respective invertors and ground. The low-voltage oscillating circuit 402
 may be structured by an oscillating circuit that oscillates with a low
 voltage (electromotive force developed by the electric power generating
 element) other than the ring oscillator circuit.
 The oscillating circuit 403a generates a reference signal (clock) of the
 clock by quartz oscillation (in case of clock oscillation, generally 32
 kHz), CR oscillation or the like due to a resistor R and a capacitor C.
 The dividing circuit 403b divides the output signal of the oscillating
 circuit 403a. In the case where a signal of 1 Hz (a period is 1 second) is
 produced by quartz 32 kHz in frequency, 15 T-flip flops are connected to
 each other. The pulse synthesizing circuit 403c synthesizes a drive pulse,
 a correction pulse or the like by the output of the dividing circuit 403b
 to selectively output it. The drive circuit 403d inputs the output signal
 of the pulse synthesizing circuit 403c to drive the step motor 403e
 consisting of a stator, a rotor and a coil. The analog movement 403
 includes the oscillating circuit 403a, the dividing circuit 403b, the
 pulse synthesizing circuit 403c, the drive circuit 403d and the step motor
 403e as the least structural elements.
 The step-up circuit 404 is of the switched capacitor system that inputs the
 output clock of the low-voltage oscillating circuit 402 with the
 electromotive force (voltage) developed by the thermo-element 401 as an
 input voltage and steps it up. Also, the step-up circuit 404 may be a
 step-up circuit that steps up three times or more because of the relation
 between the electromotive force obtained by the thermo-element 401 and the
 drive voltage of the analog movement 403. The charging circuit 405 is
 formed of a chargeable/dischargeable capacitor, an electric two-layer
 capacitor, a secondary battery or the like. The threshold voltage (Vth) of
 the n-MOS transistor and the p-MOS transistor which structure the step-up
 circuit 404 is set at a value that can satisfy the amplitude range of the
 output signal of the low-voltage oscillating circuit 402, that is, a
 threshold voltage (Vth) value that can distinguish "H" and "L" which are
 output signals of the low-voltage oscillating circuit 402.
 The electronic clock shown in FIG. 4 is an embodiment in the case where the
 analog movement is applied as the electronic clock movement.
 Alternatively, the present invention can be realized likewise even in a
 digital movement including the least structural elements consisting of a
 time arithmetic operation counter, display means such as an LCD or an LED,
 a display drive circuit and a display constant-voltage circuit as the time
 display means, or a combination movement where the analog movement and the
 digital movement are combined.
 (Second Embodiment)
 Subsequently, a description will be given of a second embodiment in which
 an electric power generating element is formed of a thermo-element, and
 the electronic clock movement is formed of an analog movement in an
 electronic clock in accordance with the above second embodiment mode. FIG.
 7 is a block diagram showing the second embodiment.
 The structure of FIG. 7 will be described. A thermo-element 701 outputs an
 output voltage to a low-voltage oscillating circuit 702 and a step-up
 circuit 704. A low-voltage oscillating circuit 702 inputs an output
 voltage of the thermo-element 701 and an output signal of a voltage
 detecting circuit 706 to output an output signal to a selecting circuit
 707. A dividing circuit 703b inputs an output signal of an oscillating
 circuit 703a to output an output signal to a pulse synthesizing circuit
 703c. A driving circuit 703d inputs an output signal of the pulse
 synthesizing circuit 703c to output an output signal to a step motor 703e.
 An analog movement 703 is made up of the oscillating circuit 703a, the
 dividing circuit 703b, the pulse synthesizing circuit 703c, the driving
 circuit 703d and the step motor 703e. The step-up circuit 704 inputs the
 output voltage of the thermo-element 701 and the output signal of the
 selecting circuit 707 to output a step-up voltage to the charging circuit
 705. The charging circuit 705 inputs a step-up voltage of the step-up
 circuit 704 to output an output voltage to the voltage detecting circuit
 706 and the analog movement 703. The voltage detecting circuit 706 inputs
 the output voltage of the charging circuit 705 to output an output signal
 to the low-voltage oscillating circuit 702 and the selecting circuit 707.
 The selecting circuit 707 inputs the output signal of the low-voltage
 oscillating circuit 702, the output signal of the oscillating circuit 703a
 and the output signal of the voltage detecting circuit 706 to output an
 output signal to the step-up circuit 704.
 The low-voltage oscillating circuit 702 is composed of a ring oscillator
 circuit in which an odd number of invertors formed of C-MOS transistors
 are connected in series, and an output signal of an output-stage invertor
 serves as an input signal of an initial-stage invertor, and an
 electromotive force obtained by the thermo-element 701 is employed as a
 power supply. Also, the power supply can be turned on/off according to the
 output signal of the voltage detecting circuit 706.
 FIG. 8 shows an example in which a ring oscillator circuit in which three
 invertors are connected in series is used as the low-voltage oscillating
 circuit 702. An output of a first invertor 801 is connected to an input of
 a second invertor 802. Also, an output of the second invertor 802 is
 connected to an input of a third invertor 803. An output of the third
 invertor 803 is connected to an input of the first invertor 801, and a
 node between the output of the third invertor 803 and the input of the
 first invertor 801 forms an output of the low-voltage oscillating circuit
 702. One input terminal of a two-input AND circuit 804 inputs the output
 voltage (electromotive force) of the thermo-element 701. The other input
 terminal of the two-input AND circuit 804 inputs the output signal of the
 voltage detecting circuit 706 through the invertor 805. The output of the
 two-input AND circuit 804 is connected to one power supply terminal of the
 first, the second and the third invertors.
 In the low-voltage oscillating circuit 702 thus structured, when the output
 signal of the voltage detecting circuit 706 is "L", the output of the
 thermo-element 701 becomes an output of the two-input AND circuit 804 so
 that a power is applied to the first, the second and the third invertors
 to produce oscillation. When the output signal of the voltage detecting
 circuit 706 is "H", the output of the two-input AND circuit 804 becomes
 "L" so that the first, the second and the third invertors turn "OFF". In
 this example, the power supply of the two-input AND circuit 804 is an
 electromotive force obtained by the thermo-element 701. Also, the other
 power supply terminals of the respective invertors are grounded.
 The first invertor 801, the second invertor 802 and the third invertor 803
 are made up of C-MOS transistors, respectively. A threshold voltage (Vth)
 of the invertors is about 0.2 V, and in this situation, the low-voltage
 oscillating circuit 702 starts oscillation when a power supply voltage is
 about 0.3 V. The oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator circuit can
 be adjusted by the number (odd number) of invertors connected in series,
 or by the connection of capacitors between the nodes of the respective
 invertors and ground. The low-voltage oscillating circuit 702 may be
 structured by an oscillating circuit that oscillates with a low voltage
 (electromotive force developed by the electric power generating element)
 other than the ring oscillator circuit.
 The oscillating circuit 703a generates a reference signal of the clock by
 quartz oscillation (in case of clock oscillation, generally 32 kHz), or CR
 oscillation or the like due to a resistor R and a capacitor C. The
 dividing circuit 703b divides the output signal of the oscillating circuit
 703a. In the case where a signal of 1 Hz (a period is 1 second) is
 produced by quartz 32 kHz in frequency, 15 T-flip flops are connected to
 each other. The pulse synthesizing circuit 703c synthesizes a drive pulse,
 a correction pulse or the like by the output of the dividing circuit 703b
 to selectively output it. The drive circuit 703d inputs the output signal
 of the pulse synthesizing circuit 703c to drive the step motor 703e
 consisting of a stator, a rotor and a coil. The analog movement 703
 includes the oscillating circuit 703a, the dividing circuit 703b, the
 pulse synthesizing circuit 703c, the drive circuit 703d and the step motor
 703e as the minimum structural elements.
 The step-up circuit 704 is of the switched capacitor system that inputs any
 one of the clock signals from the low-voltage oscillating circuit 702 and
 the oscillating circuit 703a selected by the selecting circuit 707 with
 the electromotive force (voltage) developed by the thermo-element 701 as
 an input voltage and steps it up. Also, the step-up circuit 704 may be a
 step-up circuit that steps up three times or more because of the relation
 between the electromotive force obtained by the thermo-element 701 and the
 least drive voltage of the analog movement 703. The charging circuit 705
 is formed of a chargeable/dischargeable capacitor, an electric two-layer
 capacitor, a secondary battery or the like.
 The voltage detecting circuit 706 includes a reference voltage generating
 circuit and a comparator circuit as the minimum structural element and
 compares the electromotive force charged in the charging circuit 705 with
 a reference voltage. The comparator circuit outputs "L" when the
 electromotive force charged in the charging circuit 705 is lower than the
 reference voltage, and outputs "H" when the electromotive force charged in
 the charging circuit 705 is equal to or higher than the reference voltage.
 The selecting circuit 707 outputs the output signal of the low-voltage
 oscillating circuit 702 to the step-up circuit 704 when the output of the
 voltage detecting circuit 706 is "L", and outputs the output signal of the
 oscillating circuit 703a to the step-up circuit 704 when the output of the
 voltage detecting circuit 706 is "H".
 FIG. 9 shows an example of the selecting circuit 707. The selecting circuit
 707 is made up of two AND circuits (902, 903), one OR circuit (904) and
 one invertor (901). The output signal of the voltage detecting circuit 706
 is connected to one input terminal of the two-input AND circuit 902
 through the invertor 901. Also, the output signal of the voltage detecting
 circuit 706 is connected to one input terminal of the two-input AND
 circuit 903. The output signal of the low-voltage oscillating circuit 702
 is connected to the other input terminal of the two-input AND circuit 902,
 and the output signal of the oscillating circuit 703a is connected to the
 other input terminal of the two-input AND circuit 903. The two-input OR
 circuit 904 inputs the output signal of the two-input AND circuit 902 and
 the output signal of the two-input AND circuit 903 to output these signals
 to the step-up circuit 704. In this example, the threshold voltage (Vth)
 of the n-MOS transistor and the p-MOS transistor which structure the
 step-up circuit 704 and the selecting circuit 707 is set at a value that
 can satisfy both of the amplitude range of the output signal of the
 low-voltage oscillating circuit 702 and the amplitude range of the output
 signal of the oscillating circuit 703a, that is, a threshold voltage (Vth)
 value that can output "H" and "L" which are output signals of the
 low-voltage oscillating circuit 702, and "H" and "L" which are output
 signals of the oscillating circuit 703a to the step-up circuit 704 without
 any detection errors.
 The electronic clock shown in FIG. 7 is an embodiment in the case where the
 analog movement is applied as the electronic clock movement.
 Alternatively, the present invention can be realized likewise even in a
 digital movement including the minimum structural elements consisting of a
 time arithmetic operation counter, display means such as an LCD or an LED,
 a display drive circuit and a display constant-voltage circuit as the time
 display means, or a combination movement where the analog movement and the
 digital movement are combined.
 Also, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the input signal of the selecting
 circuit 707 from the analog movement 703 side serves as the output signal
 of the oscillating circuit 703a. Alternatively, the present invention can
 be realized likewise even in the case where the output signal of the
 dividing circuit 703b or the pulse synthesizing circuit 703c that
 synthesizes the output signal of the dividing circuit 703b serves as the
 input signal of the selecting circuit 707.
 The electronic clock according to the present invention is arranged in such
 a manner that the low-voltage oscillating circuit that can oscillate even
 when a power supply voltage is low is provided, and charging is made by an
 oscillation signal of the oscillating circuit. For that reason, even when
 the electromotive force obtained by the electric power generating element
 is a low voltage, since the electronic clock can be operated, a large
 number of electric power generating elements need not to be connected in
 series, thereby being capable of realizing the downsizing of the
 electronic clock.
 Also, under circumstances where the electromotive force obtained by the
 electric power generating element is small when the electronic clock is
 used, for example, under the circumstances such as the inside an office
 where illumination is relatively low when a solar battery is employed as
 the electric power generating element, or under the circumstances of
 midsummer where a difference in temperature between an external air
 temperature and a human body temperature is difficult to obtain when a
 thermo-element is applied, the oscillation starting time (a time until the
 clock starts to operate) can be reduced even in a state where there is no
 charging capacitance of the charging circuit, and the electronic clock can
 be used soon when the user wants to use it.
 Further, the electronic clock according to the present invention provides
 the voltage detecting circuit and the selecting circuit in addition to the
 above structure. In this structure, a voltage value higher than the
 voltage value with which the oscillation of the signal generating means
 can be maintained is set on the reference voltage of the voltage detecting
 circuit, and when the electromotive force more than the reference voltage
 value is charged, the operation of the low-voltage oscillating circuit is
 allowed to stop. As a result, the current consumption including current
 leakage can be reduced, and the electromotive force obtained by the
 electric power generating element can be charged in the charging circuit
 as much.