Patents Examined by Vit W. Miska
  • Patent number: 9217993
    Abstract: A timepiece that provides a wide variety of appearance. The timepiece includes: an ornamental body; a drive mechanism that moves the ornamental body; a restriction portion that restricts a movable range of the ornamental body; and an output portion capable of outputting a sound. The timepiece further includes a monitor operation portion; and a control portion that performs movement control for outputting a piece of theme music and moves the ornamental body from an initial position, depending on the operation of the monitor operation portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Clock Inc.
    Inventors: Motohiro Tako, Toyonori Muraji
  • Patent number: 9207649
    Abstract: An analog electronic timepiece including: a radiowave receiver that receives radiowaves from positioning satellites, acquires preassigned target data from the received radiowaves and outputs the acquired target data; a hand that is provided to be rotatable; a time calculator that calculates a turnaround time from input of a reception command for the radiowaves to the radiowave receiver to output of the acquired target data; and a notification controller that instructs the hand to carry out a predetermined notification movement during reception of the radiowaves and finish the notification movement at a timing when the turnaround time elapses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kosuke Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 9207641
    Abstract: The invention relates to a rotating oscillator for a timepiece comprising a support element designed to allow the oscillator to be assembled on a timepiece, a balance, a plurality of flexible blades connecting the support element to the balance and able to exert a return torque on the balance, and a felloe mounted secured to the balance. The plurality of flexible blades comprises at least two flexible blades, including a first blade positioned in a first plane perpendicular to the plane of the oscillator, and a second blade positioned in a second plane perpendicular to the plane of the oscillator and intersecting the first plane. The geometric oscillation axis of the oscillator is defined by the intersection of the first plane and the second plane, said geometric oscillation axis crossing the first and second blades at ?th of their respective lengths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: CSEM CENTRE SUISSE D'ELECTRONIQUE ET DE MICROTECHNIQUE SA—RECHERCHE ET DEVELOPPEMENT
    Inventors: Simon Henein, Ivar Kjelberg
  • Patent number: 9207645
    Abstract: The acoustic radiating membrane is provided to equip a musical watch or a striking watch. The dome-shaped membrane comprises an active central portion, a lateral wall and a peripheral edge portion for holding the membrane in a watch case. The central portion includes a central base connected by connecting elements to a peripheral ring, the central base, the connecting elements and the peripheral ring being of dimensions determined to amplify a first vibration mode of one or more notes in a frequency range from 500 Hz to 3.5 kHz.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: Montres Breguet S.A.
    Inventors: Polychronis Nakis Karapatis, Younes Kadmiri, Davide Sarchi
  • Patent number: 9201400
    Abstract: Method of regulating the frequency of a resonator mechanism around its natural frequency, this mechanism including an elastic return means with a balance spring or a torsion wire, wherein a regulator device acts on this resonator mechanism with a periodic motion, with a regulation frequency which is comprised between 0.9 times and 1.1 times the value of an integer multiple between 2 and 10 of this natural frequency, controlling a periodic variation in the real part and/or the imaginary part of the rigidity of this elastic return means, this method being applied to a timepiece movement comprising a resonator mechanism of this type and including a regulator device arranged to control a periodic variation in the rigidity of this elastic return means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Thierry Hessler, Davide Sarchi, Marc Stranczl
  • Patent number: 9195217
    Abstract: Watch cannon-pinion including a first bore for receiving a pivot-shank including, on either side of a recess, a first shoulder and a second shoulder. This cannon-pinion is made in two parts and includes, on the one hand, a body comprising internally the first bore and externally a support shoulder, and on the other hand, a shape memory alloy ring including a second bore, and, in the free state, the second bore has a larger diameter than that of the support shoulder when the ring is in a martensitic structure, and a smaller diameter than that of the support shoulder when the ring is in an austenitic structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Montres Breguet S.A.
    Inventors: Stephane Beugin, Gaetan Villard, Lucien Germond, Polychronis Nakis Karapatis
  • Patent number: 9197183
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of fabricating a single-piece micromechanical component including at least two distinct functional levels. According to the invention, the method includes a LIGA process on a single level combined with the machining of the LIGA deposition directly on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Nivarox-FAR S.A.
    Inventors: Alexandre Fussinger, Marc Stranczl
  • Patent number: 9195220
    Abstract: A clock comprises an alarm clock housing having a front face, a clock display occupying at least a portion of the front face, a control on the housing for activating a shade positioning function, and a processor within the housing. The processor is responsive to the control for generating at least one shade positioning command to be transmitted to at least one motorized window shade, so as to cause the motorized window shade to move to one or more position at one or more corresponding predetermined interval relative to an alarm time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: LUTRON ELECTRONICS CO., INC.
    Inventors: Erica Patton, Daniel Raneri
  • Patent number: 9182744
    Abstract: A disc-vibration plate assembly for a musical or striking timepiece, including at least one disc rotating about an axis and provided with pins projecting substantially parallel to this axis, and arranged to cooperate with strips comprised in at least one vibration plate of this assembly, each pin including an actuation surface arranged to cooperate with a complementary receiving surface of a corresponding strip and the section of these strips of the vibration plate gradually increases from the shortest strip which is the highest pitched, to the longest strip which is the lowest pitched. The complementary receiving surface includes an end edge, which, at the end of actuation of the strip, is on the same radius as a complementary end edge comprised in the pin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: Montres Breguet SA
    Inventors: Polychronis Nakis Karapatis, Younes Kadmiri, Davide Sarchi
  • Patent number: 9182743
    Abstract: Timepiece movement driving at least one output wheel set, from a means of generating a time magnitude, or a means of detecting the magnitude of the state of a control member of this movement, or a device for measuring a physical magnitude, the position of this output wheel set being linked to an instantaneous value of this magnitude, displayed on a swiveling display base and including a display wheel set cooperating with this output wheel set, this display wheel set being permanently coupled to this output wheel set and this movement including a supplementary wheel set pivoting synchronously or in an integer pivoting velocity ratio relative to supplementary wheel set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: BLANCPAIN SA
    Inventors: Marco Rochat, Marc-Alexander Hayek
  • Patent number: 9176475
    Abstract: An assembly for holding or supporting a timepiece balance spring includes a balance spring stud and a stud-holder. The stud-holder includes a device to secure the stud-holder to an escapement mechanism. The balance spring stud includes a lateral bearing surface defining a direction of holding or supporting the balance spring. The stud-holder is in two parts, and includes a rigid structure carrying the securing device, and a strip spring pressed against this rigid structure and including at least one elastic lip defining, with this structure, a chamber for receiving this stud and cooperating with this lateral bearing surface of this stud to hold this stud in an indexed locking position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere Suisse
    Inventor: Raphael Courvoisier
  • Patent number: 9176478
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system of assembling a member, made of a first material, in the aperture of a part made of a second material having no plastic domain, using an intermediate portion made of a third material, mounted between said member and said part, According to the invention, the intermediate portion is accommodated against a shoulder of the part and is laterally locked in a resilient manner by at least one resilient locking device of the part to secure together the unit comprising the member-intermediate portion-part. The invention concerns the field of timepieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: Nivarox-FAR S.A.
    Inventors: Pierre Cusin, Marc Stranczl, Daniel Mallet, Emmanuel Graf
  • Patent number: 9170567
    Abstract: In a satellite radio-controlled wristwatch, a time to be spent on acquisition and tracking is reduced and also a reception success probability is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignees: CITIZEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., CITIZEN WATCH CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Akira Kato
  • Patent number: 9164493
    Abstract: A timing device for indicating a passage of a duration of time is disclosed. The timing device in accordance with the embodiments of the invention has a grid array architecture. The grid array architecture includes an electrode structure with an anode layer, a cathode layer and a thermistor layer. The anode layer and the thermistor layer are electrically coupled through a plurality of cathode trace structures. In operation the timing device is actuated through a suitable mechanism to initiate depletion of the anode layer and, thereby, indicate a passage of a duration time. As the anode layer depletes, sequential cathode trace structures are exposed and the thermistor layer acts as a temperature dependent resistor through a plurality of exposed cathode trace structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Vision Works IP Corporation
    Inventor: Alfred S. Braunberger
  • Patent number: 9164485
    Abstract: An oscillating body made of a copper alloy such as a copper-beryllium alloy or a tungsten-copper alloy for mechanical oscillating systems of wristwatches, having several mass weights arranged at regular angle distances around an oscillating body middle axis that respectively can rotate or swivel on the oscillating body on an axis parallel to the oscillating body axis and have a mass center of gravity that is radially offset to their axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Damasko GmbH
    Inventor: Petra Damasko
  • Patent number: 9164484
    Abstract: A timepiece assembly including a balance spring stud fixed to a plate, and a balance spring wound into coils between an inner end fixed to a collet and an outer end fixed to the balance spring stud. The balance spring stud and/or the collet includes a braking mechanism cooperating with a first coil during accelerations by contraction or expansion of the balance spring higher than set values, to modify a resulting rigidity of the balance spring when the first coil is locally coupled to the braking mechanism, arranged on a first inner lip and a second outer lip included in the balance spring stud and/or in the collet, which includes a first inner lip and a second outer lip each including the braking mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Nivarox-FAR S.A.
    Inventors: Marc Stranczl, Marco Verardo
  • Patent number: 9164487
    Abstract: A striking watch including a watch case delimiting an internal chamber, as well as the insert partition defining an acoustic sound emission membrane, the insert partition divides the internal chamber into an acoustic cavity and a tight housing which receives a timepiece movement and a gong provided to vibrate after having received an impact from a striking mechanism associated with the timepiece movement, and the acoustic cavity is delimited at least by the insert partition and by a back cover, and the insert partition bears the gong.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Société anonyme de la Manufacture d'horlogerie Audemars Piguet & Cie
    Inventors: Lucas Raggi, Jean-Daniel Lüthi, José Manuel Fernandez
  • Patent number: 9158283
    Abstract: A reverser for a timepiece including a first input moving part having a first receiving toothing and integral with a first transmission toothing, a second input moving part having a second receiving toothing and integral with a second transmission toothing, a first satellite cooperating with the first transmission toothing configured to rotate in a single direction, a second satellite cooperating with the second transmission toothing configured to rotate in a single direction, the satellite being freely rotatable relative to the first satellite, a satellite carrier carrying the second satellite and an output moving part integral with the satellite carrier in which the first satellite is carried by the satellite carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: Audemars Piguet (Renaud et Papi) SA
    Inventors: Sylvain Cornibé, Michel Belot, Jérôme Kirchhof
  • Patent number: 9158284
    Abstract: Display device for a timepiece includes: a first indication organ kinematically linked to a wheel rotatable by a timepiece movement; a second indication organ, coaxial to the first indication organ; a control device including a control organ to be activated by a user; the device arranged to drive the indication organs in superposition to indicate a first item of information, and, in response to an activation of the control organ, to displace one of the indication organs relative to the other to indicate a second item of information; a first and second cam, representing respectively the first and second item of information; a rack having a first and second probe intended to interact respectively with the first and second cam; wherein: in an inactive position of the control organ, the indication organs are superposed; and in an active position, the second indication organ indicates the second item of information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: LA MONTRE HERMES SA
    Inventor: Frederic Crettex
  • Patent number: 9150978
    Abstract: An element including a body including at least one recess forming the pattern cavity for a decoration, the at least one recess being entirely filled by a galvanic deposition in order to form an element inlaid with at least one metallic decoration with improved visual quality. The element includes a device for fixedly securing the at least one metallic decoration communicating with the at least one recess in order to improve the securing of the at least one decoration against said element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: Omega S.A.
    Inventors: Alexandre Netuschill, Thomas Froelicher