Abstract: A timepiece module having a liquid crystal display cell, a housing for supporting the liquid crystal display cell, a printed circuit substrate carrying thereon an LSI chip and various electronic components, a battery cell and a cover plate in which said battery cell and LSI chip are disposed on the same side on said printed circuit board.

Abstract: A hatch locking mechanism is disclosed for a battery compartment having a mouth opening in the rear side of a wristwatch. The mechanism includes an inner cover adapted to be received within the battery compartment mouth and a central support shaft extending outwardly therefrom. An outer cover is slidably mounted around the support shaft and adapted to overlie the inner cover and battery compartment mouth. A first resilient seal member is disposed between the outer periphery of the inner cover and battery compartment mouth, and a second resilient seal member is disposed between the covers adjacent the support shaft. A lever pivotally connected to the support shaft is operable to bias the covers together and the seal members into sealing engagement when moved to a locking position to secure the hatch locking mechanism to the wristwatch and close the mouth of the battery compartment.

Abstract: A self-luminescent light source for a liquid crystal display watch characterized by comprising a fluorescent substance layer which has a light reflectivity and which contains a radioactive substance in at least a part thereof, a reflective layer which is disposed on one surface of the fluorescent substance layer and which serves to reflect and scatter fluorescence from the fluorescent substance layer, a case which is disposed on the side of the reflective layer remote from the fluorescent substance layer and which serves to perform shielding from radiation given out from the radioactive substance, and a cover which is disposed on the side of the fluorescent substance layer remote from the reflective layer and which serves to absorb the radiation given out from the radioactive substance and to transmit the light from the fluorescent substance layer.

Abstract: An electronic clock emitting half-hourly time signals corresponding to the strokes of ships' bells comprises an electromagnetic striker driven by a normally blocked astable multivibrator whenever the closure of contacts operated by an associated clockwork, stepped by a crystal-controlled square-wave generator, coincides with a half-circle of predetermined polarity of the generated square wave. The multivibrator has a period of approximately 3/4 the duration of a half-circle of the square wave whereby not more than two pulses energizing the striker mechanism can be emitted by it during an unblocking half-circle so that strokes occurring at the ends of a second, third and fourth hour of a four-hour watch will appear in distinct pairs while those on the preceding half-hours will form one or more pairs followed by a single stroke after a larger time interval.

Abstract: An electronic module for a timepiece and comprises a display cell and an electric control circuit including contact means for operation by at least one push-button. The contact means includes at least one contact and release spring in order to close a control circuit by acting on a circuit board forming part of said circuit. The contact spring is constituted by a single piece of a metallic frame of the display cell, the spring a cut-out of such frame which is electrically connected to one pole of a source of electrical energy.

Abstract: An electronic clock with a chime system has exclusively electronic processing for production of a variety of tone signal sequences consisting of known melodies or portions thereof and time-identifying sequences of strokes. The characteristic values of these tone signal sequences are loaded into a ROM memory and can be recalled, as required, by electronic control and release circuits at each quarter, half, three quarter or full hour. The amplitude of the audio output signals is automatically controlled in accordance with the time of day.

Abstract: An electronic timepiece with analog display by seconds, minutes, and hours hands driven by a bidirectional stepping motor, in which the seconds hand can be used to display information different from the seconds count, the time displayed by the minutes and hours hands being conserved and the passage from one information mode to the next being made by a rapid bidirectional catching up. The electronic circuit comprises means for comparison (10) comparing the information delivered by counting means (16, 18) synchronous with the seconds hand and the information to be displayed, delivered by selection means (5, 9, 12). The state of the output of the comparison means (10) acts by control means (FF6, 7) on the stepping motor, so that the seconds hand displays the desired information.

Abstract: An electronic timepiece having a rotatable operating member such as a crown, with switch and pulse generation means coupled to the operating member whereby a number of pulses can be produced each time the operating member is rotated, these pulses being used to modify time information displayed by the timepiece.

Abstract: An electromechanical calendar timepiece has a date display provided by two indicators carrying the "units" and tens data, respectively. The motor which drives these indicators can rotate at a normal speed or at a considerably higher speed. The units data comprise two consecutive figures "1" intended to display, respectively, the unit of the thirty-first of the months having thirty-one days and the first of each month, and one or the other of which displays the units of the eleventh and twenty-first of each month. The motor rotates at said higher speed on the one hand at the end of the months having less than thirty-one days and on the other hand twice each month, i.e. each time the "1" of the units data is displayed at the beginning of the second and the third decades.

Abstract: An electronic watch comprising a timepiece circuit consisting of a reference oscillation source, a frequency divider and a display driving circuit, a display device connected to an output of said timepiece circuit, a power supply driving said timepiece circuit, an external actuator operating said timepiece circuit from the exterior of the watch, an outer case consisting of a case and a band, and a flexible hinge making the case integral with the band whereby there may be provided a useful and functional watch which is small in size and thin, and have no shortcoming such as a tendency for disconnection and erroneous wiring.

Abstract: A countdown device such as a timer employing a digital display is provided ith a plurality of up/down counters, one for each digit column. A single control switch is provided which may be in the form of a push-button and the signal obtained therefrom acts on each counter until a predetermined count is reached and then on the succeeding counter. Thereby digital data may be rapidly introduced, precision of the representation diminishing however as the interval increases.

Abstract: Sixty strip-like phosphor display elements are formed on an insulated substrate to extend radially from its center at equiangular intervals, and inner and outer grids are disposed substantially concentrically with the radially extending phosphor display elements in opposing relation thereto. A thermo-electron emissive heater is disposed in opposing relation to the inner and outer grids on the opposite side from the phosphor display elements. A drive-display circuit provides, on a time-shared basis, a short hand display by selecting one of the phosphor display elements corresponding to an hours signal and applying a voltage to the inner grid alone, and provides a long hand display by selecting one of the phosphor display elements corresponding to a minutes signal and applying voltages to both the inner and outer grids.

Abstract: An actuating element for the manual adjustment of a clock comprises a rotating collar face which is arranged around the time indicating device of the clock. In a mechanical or electromechanical clock, the rotating movement of the rotating collar face is transmitted through gearing to the dial train of the clock. In an electronic clock pulse-producing elements are arranged on the collar and pulse-receiving elements are fixed in the clock to produce individual pulses or pulse trains which can be counted in according to the backward counting input of the time storage which is in operative connection with the indicating element of the clock.

Abstract: The segments of several 7-segment character displays are defined by elongated light distributors in the form of slots or a series of holes which are in a panel. A large area light source is located on the rear side of the panel. Rotatable opaque disks are interposed between the light source and characters. Each disk has an array of holes for transmitting light to predetermined ones of light pipes which lead to slot segments in one embodiment and which lead to the holes that define segments in another embodiment. When a disk is rotated, different groups of holes in the disks become aligned consecutively with the light pipes where they are used or with the panel holes to thereby illuminate selected character segments so they define a sequence of characters such as the numbers zero to nine. In a digital clock application, a synchronous motor drives a first disk in angular steps to define minutes at their rate of occurrence.

Abstract: A timepiece is described having an electromechanical analogue display for rtain information and an electronic digital display for other information. Synchronizing means for the displays may consist of a signal generator associated with the analogue display driving mechanism and arranged so that at predetermined periodic intervals the signal generator may be operated so as to provide a synchronizing signal to the digital display.

Abstract: In a battery powered alarm clock, an alarm switching device comprises at least one detecting wheel whose phase is set in accordance with the desired alarm time, at least one detecting switch which is closed when the phase of the time wheel of the clock corresponds to that of the detecting wheel and a printed circuit board having alarm circuitry mounted thereon with at least one land for connecting the alarm circuitry to one pole of the battery. The alarm switching device construction provides solderless connection by at least two battery contact plates for contacting the two poles of the battery. One of the plates provides three electrical contacts including a first contact with one pole of the battery, a second contact with the land on the printed circuit board and a third contact with the detecting switch, whereby the assembly and construction of the clock is greatly simplified.

Abstract: A signal-generating system for a striker clock comprises a clockwork-driven hour disk (12) having conductor tracks which coact with respective contact springs of an hour switch (13) whose pattern of energization changes from one quarter hour to the next, thereby calling forth different numerical values which are stored in a first read-only memory (18) and determine the number of strikes to be emitted in any 15-minute interval when a switch (8) coupled with the minute shaft of the clock is briefly closed. A flip-flop (23) set upon such closure starts a periodically pulsed binary counter (25) which works into a comparator (20) also receiving the numerical value read out from the first memory (18); when the count matches that value, the comparator resets the flip-flop and the counter. The reading of the counter is further transmitted to a decoder (30) addressing a second read-only memory (31) which actuates selected sound emitters (37a-37f) the requisite number of times.

Abstract: A digital display electronic alarm wristwatch which includes a watch case, a cover glass and a case back contains an electro-optical display device, electronic watch body and an alarm buzzer mounted in the watch case and case back not to overlap with the display device in plan view. The watch case is formed with buzzer cover holes on the display side of the case for releasing the alarm buzzer sound.

Abstract: A watch module construction including a digital display device composed of a liquid crystal display cell and an analog display device composed of time indicating hands. A cell support frame is disposed on one side of each of a base plate and a circuit board aligned substantially on the same plane as the base plate. The cell support frame has a first recess in which the liquid crystal display cell is disposed, and a second recess in which the time indicating hands are disposed. An IC chip is mounted on the other side of the circuit board in substantially axial alignment with the display cell, and a wheel train mechanism is disposed on the other side of the base plate in substantially axial alignment with the time indicating hands.

Abstract: An inspection circuit for use in an electronic timepiece is provided. The inspection circuit is characterized by the use of a gating circuit intermediate the timekeeping circuit of an electronic timepiece and certain counters that apply timekeeping signals to the digital display digits. The gating circuit is adapted to be selectively disposed into an inspection mode and thereby simultaneously apply to certain of the counters producing timekeeping signals a predetermined frequency inspection signal thereby reducing the time required to inspect the performance of the timepiece.