Abstract: A watchglass fixing structure in which a watchglass fixing member is provided with an annular groove having a groove width approximately equal to the combined thicknesses of the outer diametric portion of a watchglass and the outer circumferential portion of a backing ring, a flange at the upper portion of said annular groove, the inner diameter of the flange being smaller than the outer diameter of said watchglass, and with an inner circumferential surface at the lower portion of said annular groove, the diameter of the inner circumferential surface being larger than the outer diameter of said watchglass. The watchglass is fitted into an upper half of said annular groove of said watchglass fixing member through a waterproof packing, while the outer circumferential portion of said backing ring is inserted into a lower half of said annular groove.

Abstract: Electronic timepiece delivering an acoustic signal to signalize to the user a particular state of working mode. The invention applies more particularly to timepieces with a digital display for indicating the time and the date, the same display being used to indicate the time of alarm. In such a timpiece, it is necessary to be able to make corrections of the time and the date in the watch correcting mode as well as corrections of the time of alarm in the alarm correcting mode. It is this alarm correcting mode which, in the described example, is signalized by an acoustical signal.The timepiece includes an oscillator, a frequency divider, at least one display unit, an alarm device, a memory and a comparator for the time of alarm, a control logic circuit and a first and a second control means.

Abstract: An electronic metronome comprises a displaying means controlled by a down-beat signal and an up beat signal. And the displaying time of the down-beat signal is different from that of the up beat signal so that the down-beat signal is distinguished clearly from the up beat signal.

Abstract: A watch, and more particularly a wristwatch is disclosed in which the hours are only displayed in an analog manner and the minutes are only displayed in a digital manner. In the suggested display concept, the time of day is not illustrated in multiple fashion, but rather in a partially analog and partially digital manner. An analog hour display immediately provides a first overview completely sufficing in many cases, whereas a precise display for minutes and, if necessary, for seconds in digital form supplements the feeling for time provided by the hour display with effortless precision. The analog display is advantageously formed by chronologically, consecutively actuated, luminescence elements normally grouped in the shape of a wreath ("quasi-analog display").

Abstract: An electrical pendulum clock comprising a clock movement having a driven shaft and a dummy pendulum driven from the shaft independently of the timekeeping function of the clock. The pendulum comprises a torsion spring with a vertical axis of twist and a pendulum body suspended at the lower end of the torsion spring. The torsion spring has a radial projection which undergoes pendulous travel with the pendulum under the drive from the shaft of the clock movement. For this purpose a first toothed element is driven in rotation by the shaft of the clock movement and a turnable element is loosely suspended for pendulum movement on the shaft. The turnable element loosely carries a second toothed element on a shaft extending parallel to the shaft of the clock movement, the second toothed element being in mesh with the first toothed element.

Abstract: A touch sensitive device for controlling a function of a timepiece is formed with a condenser having a capacity independent of the area of the device touched. A conductive stem is fixed in a timepiece case and is electrically insulated from the case by a mounting member. A head is fixed on an end of the stem adjacent the outside of the timepiece to form one of the condenser electrodes. A thin layer of insulating material covers the outside of the head and forms the condenser dielectric. A layer of conductive material is fixed on a side of the dielectric material opposite the head and forms the second condenser electrode. When the second electrode is energized by the touch of the user, the entire second electrode is energized independent of the area touched by the user, giving the condenser a capacity independent of the area of the second electrode touched.

Abstract: A watch movement construction, in which a circuit board is mounted on one surface of a base plate and has a cutout formed at a position near an outer circumference of the movement construction to accommodate a battery in a position such that a circumferential periphery of the battery is partially aligned with the outer circumference of the movement construction whereas a calendar display member is disposed between another surface of the base plate and a time dial at a position displaced from a central portion of the base plate so that a line passing through a center of the battery, a center of the base plate and a center of the calendar display member makes an obtuse angle whereby the calendar display member and the battery are substantially not in an overlapping state thereby to reduce the thickness of the movement construction.

Abstract: A connection terminal construction for connecting a driving coil terminal of an electro-mechanical converter such as a step motor or the like of electronic timepieces to an output terminal of a wiring circuit is disclosed. The construction comprises a terminal base formed of a flexible print substrate and provided at least one of upper and lower surfaces thereof with connection patterns. The terminal base is extended toward a circuit substrate substantially in alignment therewith and secured thereto by means of a screw.

Abstract: In a two-piece, round or shaped fluid-tight watch case, a combined caseband-and-bezel is fixed to the wall of a domed back by means of a snap-fitting or of gripping. A gasket is accommodated in an outer peripheral undercut situated along the top edge of the wall of the domed back and is pressed obliquely by an inclined surface exhibited by the caseband-bezel at the periphery of the undersurface of a flange. Since the undersurface of the glass is plane, the thickness of the flange determines the height of the space left for the hands.

Abstract: An alarm watch has an electro-acoustic transducer with a sound releasing cavity containing a vibrating plate for releasing an audible alarm sound. The surface of the vibrating plate exposed to the open air is treated with a water-repellant material having the property to shed or repel water so that when water enters into the sound releasing cavity and wets the vibrating plate, the vibrating plate readily throws off the water thereby obtaining rapid recovery of the alarm sounding function.

Abstract: A pulse generating means is adapted to be rotated in either direction by a manual operation and to produce a plurality of trains of pulse signals the frequencies of which are varied in accordance with the speed of rotation. The pulse trains have different phase differentials which are inverted when the direction of the rotation of the pulse generating means is reversed. Either the up counting mode or the down counting mode of an up-and-down counter is selected in accordance with the output from the pulse generating means, so as to correct the contents of the counter by an addition or a subtraction.

Abstract: An electronic watch is set to the proper time by correction of the content of counters of the watch through the actuation of one or both of two switches. The actuation of the first one of the switches selects whether the content of the counters is to be incremented or decremented at a first speed. The subsequent actuation of the other switch performs the correction at a second higher speed in the sense selected by actuation of the first switch.

Abstract: An electro-mechanical watch for advancing the uncorrected watch indicating members to their correct time indicating positions, after a correction period during which one of the indicating members is adjusted and the advancement of the uncorrected members is interrupted. In regular operation, a pulsed signal at a normal frequency from a watch frequency divider drives a stepping motor to advance the indicating members. At the beginning of the correction period, the pulsed signal is switched from the stepping motor to a pulse counter which counts the pulses occurring during the correction period. After the correction period, the pulsed signal is switched back to the stepping motor and a number of signal pulses at a higher than normal frequency, equal to the count of the pulse counter are applied to the stepping motor to advance rapidly the uncorrected indicating members to their correct time indicating positions.

Abstract: A programmable metronome includes two variable rate time pulse generators (10 and 12) which are alternatively used, audible and visible transducers including separate visible transducers (MM and Downbeat), and a tone transducer (55) capable of emitting different sounds for beats and downbeats.A divider circuit (40) receives pulses from the generators. Selectors (61 and 62) connected between the divider and the transducers pass different numbers of pulses per measure from the active generator to the transducers according to manual selection of desired beats/measure. A downbeat emphasis circuit (56, 57) adds emphasis to each downbeat in a measure of beats. Each generator can be preset individually to a different metronome beat desired, and these are shown in numerical dipslays (66 and 67). The tone output of the audible transducer can be modified, and external output connections are provided for remote audible and visible transducers.

Abstract: A time generator circuit comprises a reference signal generator and frequency divider circuits to divide the reference signal to generate a first signal at an audio frequency, an hour signal, and a plurality of third signals of different predetermined frequencies. The third signals are applied to a selecting circuit which selects one of these signals. An output generating circuit receives the first signal as an output time signal in response to the second signal during a time period determined by the selected one of the third signals.

Abstract: An electronic clock radio using a clock integrated circuit and a radio integrated circuit. A first energizing potential when applied to the NAP/SLEEP input connection of the clock circuit, causes the clock circuit to switch from a first electric state to a second electric state. After a selected interval of time, not greater than 60 minutes, the clock circuit switches from the second electric state to the first electric state. The radio, normally in an OFF state is placed in an ON state only upon receiving a second energizing potential applied to its input connection. A control circuit, having a manually operable switch with NAP and SLEEP positions and being responsive to the electric states of the clock circuit, connects this second energizing potential to the radio input only when:(i) the manually operable switch is in the NAP position and the clock circuit is the first electric state, or(ii) the manually operable switch is in the SLEEP position and the clock circuit is in the second electric state.

Abstract: A digital time display system in which one hour is represented by 10,000 times a time interval which is equal to 0.36 second in the currently prevailing clock time display system which is based on the scale of 60. Each time interval is effective to step a numeral on the clock time display.

Abstract: The following specification describes a self-generating electrical pickup to be applied to percussion type musical instruments with vibrating elements of steel or containing ferromagnetic material. The pickup is used in conjunction with an amplifier and loudspeaker to amplify the instrument sound. The pickup makes use of a plurality of pick off coils, one of each is used in proximity to each vibrating element of the musical instrument. Each pick off coil consists of a coil of many turns of fine wire within which is placed an iron core to which is bonded a ceramic permanent magnet. The large surface area of the ceramic magnet adjacent to the musical instrument vibrating element causes large magnetic flux changes in the coil and consequently a large signal voltage which is amplified to drive the loudspeaker. The large signal available, in this design, reduces the effect of 60 Hz hum induced by stray electromagnetic fields. The use of a ceramic magnet provides for a cost effective design.

Abstract: A magnetic pickup assembly for use with a musical instrument having a plurality of strings, each in magnetic relation with at least one polepiece of a magnetic pickup. The assembly includes means for selectively adjusting the reluctance between a polepiece and its associated string, either of a plurality of polepieces as a unit, or of an individual polepiece relative to its string. The assembly is housed in a casing having acoustic absorptive material surrounding the major portions of the assembly, to provide acoustic isolation from the environment including mechanical vibration of the instrument itself.

Abstract: An arrangement for resetting a coin operated parking meter is disclosed. By the use of a sensor to monitor a parking space, it can be determined when a vehicle leaves the parking space with parking time remaining. A resetting device within the meter clears the meter of remaining parking time. The resetting device includes an electric motor, a cam disk affixed to the motor shaft and a coupling member arranged between the cam disk and time indicating portion of the meter. The coupling member returns an indicator of the time indicating portion to a defined initial angle position. The resetting device is responsive to an electrical signal received from the sensor.