Abstract: Personalized wall clocks and kits for making the same are disclosed herein. A kit includes an image receiving medium to receive thereon a personalized digital printed image. The image receiving medium includes a digital ink/toner receiving layer or has a digital ink/toner receiving surface structure. The kit also includes a foldable material which includes a face portion having two opposed surfaces and at least four sides. One opposed surface is to receive the image receiving medium. The foldable material includes a foldable extension extending from each side of the face portion. Each foldable extension is to be folded no less than four times toward another of the opposed surfaces to form a three-dimensional supporting frame. The kit includes a hand-moving mechanism.

Abstract: An apparatus including a mobile timer unit for use in a sporting event is disclosed. The mobile timer unit includes a timer unit controller in communication with a remote master timer controller and an output device in communication with the timer unit controller. The mobile timer unit is operated wirelessly upon a moving object within the context of game play of the sporting event.

Abstract: A method for adjusting an oscillation frequency of a sprung balance assembly, in which a removal or a displacement of material is conducted on a component of this sprung balance assembly under an effect of a pulse of a laser source to conduct a micromachining or microfusion operation on the material of this component to vaporize or displace this material. This pulse is controlled by a controller configured to generate, sequence, interrupt any pulse and to control movements of a beam of this laser source, and the controller is automatically controlled by a measuring or comparing mechanism.

Abstract: Watch bezel for a musical watch, directly carrying a gong or forming a gong, this watch bezel including a toroid receiving a watch crystal, and a thin lug perpendicular to the plane of the toroid including an internal thread for securing to a structure, a case of the musical watch includes a case middle and carries this watch bezel indirectly bearing on a main surface of the case middle with a first O-ring sealing gasket, the case middle and the watch bezel are held securely to each other in a position where, in the free state of the watch bezel and with no excess pressure, the watch bezel is at a distance from the main surface having a value corresponding to a predetermined and non-zero play.

Abstract: The character display mechanism for a timepiece includes a first indicator member disposed underneath a mask and arranged to rotate in steps about an axis, the first indicator member bearing a series of intertwined figures distributed over a circular track, the mask including a display area having a plurality of first openings, the figures being intended to appear successively through the first openings during the rotation of the first indicator member, and the first openings being disposed such that only one figure at a time appears in the display area. The first indicator member is pierced with second openings, said second openings being arranged to stop directly underneath one of said first openings during the step-by-step rotation of the first indicator member. The display mechanism includes a second indicator member at least partially superposed on the first indicator member in the display area. The second indicator member bears a pattern comprising segments.

Abstract: The invention relates to a mechanism for driving a jumping element comprising a drive wheel (1), an indicator of a unit of time, a jumping element (6) integral with said indicator and coaxial to said drive wheel (1) to which said jumping element (6) is coupled by a spring (8), a cam (12) arranged to rock a pallet-lever (20) in an oscillating motion so as to release the jumping element (6) once per unit of time. According to the invention, the cam (12) and the jumping element (6) have distinct pivot arbors, said drive mechanism, further comprising an intermediate train kinematically connecting the drive wheel (1) to the cam (12), and the pallet-lever (20) has four distinct arms (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d), two (20a, 20b) of the four arms forming feelers arranged to cooperate with the cam (12) and the other two arms (20c, 20d) forming escapement arms arranged to successively block and release the jumping element (6) once per unit of time, alternately.

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.

Abstract: A portable object is provided including a case closed by a back cover and by a display, an electronic module arranged inside the case providing at least a first piece of information and a second piece of information, and a controller controlling the electronic module, the portable object being configured to operate in a first operating mode and in a second operating mode.

Abstract: A method for improving sound output level of a musical or striking timepiece including at least one vibration generator and vibrating at specific natural frequencies of the generator. The timepiece includes external parts which are modified by integration or addition of at least one acoustic radiator including at least one element vibrating-radiating at a natural frequency of the radiator tuned to at least one of the natural frequencies of the generator. The external parts include at least one acoustic radiator including at least one element vibrating at a natural frequency of the radiator tuned to at least one of the natural frequencies of the generator.

Abstract: A method of producing unitary formed silicon balance spring having an overcoil portion for regulation of a mechanical timepiece, said method including the steps of providing a silicon balance spring having a main body portion, and an outer portion for formation as an overcoil portion, wherein the outer portion extends radially outward from an outermost turn of the main body portion, and wherein said main body portion and said outer portion are integrally formed from a silicon based material and are formed in a co-planar configuration; moving said outer portion in a direction relative to and out of the plane of said main body portion, and in a direction towards over said main body portion and towards the plane of the main body portion; and providing a stress relaxation process to the balance spring so as to relieve internal stresses induced within the balance spring from step (ii); wherein upon movement of said outer portion into the plane of said main body portion, the outer portion is located in an overcoil

Abstract: A timepiece includes an exterior case having a protruding section, a case back, a dial receiving ring, a dial, a dial ring, and a casing ring disposed around the outer circumference of the dial receiving ring. The casing ring includes a casing-ring-side contact section that comes into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the exterior case, a front-surface-side contact section that comes into contact with the protruding section, a casing ring spring section that is formed to be elastically deformable in the thickness direction of the timepiece and comes into contact with the case back, and a support section that protrudes from the inner circumferential surface of the casing ring.

Abstract: A display section that displays, based on an hour display table, an hour image data and a minute image data representing numerals corresponding to an hour and a minute measured by a time measurement section is provided, and the hour display table contains information that identifies a position different from a predetermined standard position as a display position of a numeral specified by at least one of the hour image data and the minute image data in accordance with the hour and minute even for the same hour or minute.

Abstract: The present invention concerns an assembly for holding or supporting a timepiece balance spring including a balance spring stud and a stud-holder, wherein said stud-holder includes: a base (30, 300) comprising a first stop member (32, 320) extending along a longitudinal axis (L) of said base; means (7) of attaching said stud-holder to a balance-cock (5), characterized in that said stud-holder further includes elastic means (34, 340) provided with a second stop member (36, 360).

Abstract: An electronic device includes a communication unit that performs communication with an external apparatus; a timekeeping unit that performs timekeeping of time; and a control unit, after completion of a connection with the external apparatus using the communication unit, updates time of the timekeeping unit using time information when being in a state where time can be set by obtaining the time information from the external apparatus.

Abstract: A radio controlled timepiece includes a GPS reception processing unit that searches for and captures a signal included in radio waves from a positioning satellite, demodulates and decodes the captured signal to acquire the data corresponding to acquisition target information in data transmitted from the positioning satellite, acquires the acquisition target information using the acquired data, holds a failure history related to acquisition of the data with respect to each captured signal, suspends acquisition of the data from a signal having a reception level determined to be at least equal to a predetermined reference level based on the failure history, and ends acquisition of the data when the number of signals from which the data is to be acquired after search for the signal is ended under a predetermined condition becomes smaller than the number of signals necessary in acquiring the acquisition target information.

Abstract: Device (300; 200) for displaying the time, comprising a time-display member (A1, A2) and a switchover mechanism (100) allowing the time-display member to switch between a first time zone and a second time zone. This switchover mechanism comprises: a first heart piece (3) capable of rotating; a first lever (1) having a first end (1a) designed to collaborate with the first heart piece (3) with a view to causing the display member (A1, A2) to indicate the time in the first time zone; a second lever (2; 42) designed to cause the display member (A1, A2) to indicate the time of the second time zone; a two-position selector member (5) collaborating with the first lever (1), and a control member (P) allowing selection of the first or the second time zone for display. The two-position selector member (5) is designed to collaborate directly with a second end (1b) of the first lever (1).

Abstract: An automatic winding device for a spring of a watch movement including a weight fixed on a support via a bearing including a ring which drives, in only one direction of rotation called the winding direction, a transmission gear in order to wind the mainspring, this winding device wherein, on the one hand, the bearing is of the one-way type and blocks the rotation of the weight in the opposite direction to the winding direction, called the blocking direction and wherein, on the other hand, the device includes a means for decoupling the weight from said bearing in at least the blocking direction when the weight exerts on the bearing a torque higher than a desired value.

Abstract: Spring (30) for clock mechanism, the spring comprising a body (31) extending between a first end (32) of the spring and a second end (33) of the spring, the spring being intended to be mechanically connected to a housing at each of the first and second ends, the spring comprising, between the first and the second end, at least one member (37) intended to act by contact on an element of the clock mechanism.

Abstract: A timepiece with a rotary bezel includes a rotary bezel attached to a case body so as to be rotatable relative thereto and a spring member disposed between the case body and the rotary bezel. The rotary bezel includes clicking engagement sections and locking engagement sections provided along the direction in which the rotary bezel is rotated and is configured to be movable relative to the case body in a timepiece thickness direction, and the spring member includes an urging piece that urges the rotary bezel toward a timepiece front side.

Abstract: A timepiece includes a dial, a day dial disposed on the rear side of the dial, and a movement that rotates the day dial by a predetermined angle every day. Seven openings corresponding to the seven days of the week are formed in the order thereof in the dial, and a mark is formed on a surface of the day dial on the side facing the dial. Whenever the day dial rotates by the predetermined angle, the mark sequentially appears in the order of the days of the week through one of the seven openings when the dial is viewed from the front side.