Patents by Inventor Munetaka Tamaru

Munetaka Tamaru has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4550324
    Abstract: An ink transfer type of dot printer utilizes thermo-sensitive ink which is solid at normal temperatures, with selected portions of the ink being liquified by heating and transferred onto recording paper. Such a printer can be of contact or of non-contact (e.g. ink-jet) configuration, and eliminates the need to utilize disposable materials such as ink ribbons etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1985
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Company Limited
    Inventors: Munetaka Tamaru, Naomichi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 4407590
    Abstract: A battery unit for an electric timepiece is disclosed in which disclosed the battery compartment is formed in the member provided in the timepiece for supporting other parts of the device and wall means of the compartment is constructed to serve as a part of the container of the battery. The supporting member of the timepiece includes a watch case such as a middle, edge portion, back, and casing ring, and an inside supporting member such as a base, base plate, bridge, substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1980
    Date of Patent: October 4, 1983
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideshi Ohno, Kazunari Kume, Takatoshi Osaka, Katsuo Nishimura, Munetaka Tamaru, Sadao Ode
  • Patent number: 4297838
    Abstract: An electronic timepiece comprising a step-motor including a stator and rotor is disclosed. The timepiece is so constructed and arranged that a coil winding core of the stator is located between the stator and a dial of the timepiece and that said stator is disposed on said coil winding core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1978
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1981
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Minoru Watanabe, Kazunari Kume, Hideshi Ohno, Munetaka Tamaru
  • Patent number: 4283782
    Abstract: An alarm timepiece is disclosed having hand display means in which a plurality of alarm times may be set and the set times are displayed. A plurality of alarm time indexes are circumferentially arranged and rotatably provided for indicating the setting of the alarm time by angular position of the index. Further, alarm time memory means is provided to be co-operated with each index and alarm time detecting means is provided to be operated by the time measurement means of the timepiece. Each memory means, alarm time detecting means and an electric alarm device are connected by electric circuits to operate the alarm device when the alarm time detecting means operates to close the circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1979
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1981
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tamaru, Minoru Natori
  • Patent number: 4274153
    Abstract: A movement structure for an electronic timepiece, in which a wheel train of a time indicating mechanism is supported between a wheel train bridge and a base plate. The base plate carries thereon a stepping motor connected to the time indicating mechanism, and the wheel train bridge carries thereon an integrated circuit chip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1978
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1981
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Company Limited
    Inventors: Kazunari Kume, Minoru Watanabe, Hideshi Ohno, Munetaka Tamaru
  • Patent number: 4272836
    Abstract: An alarm timepiece is disclosed in which a plurality of alarm times may be set and the set alarm times may be displayed. The timepiece includes a plurality of alarm time memory means, alarm time display means connected to the alarm time memory means and control means for controlling the input signal for the alarm time memory means. The alarm time display means are circumferentially arranged in same manner as the time index of the watch dial, whereby set alarm time may be indicated in the display means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1979
    Date of Patent: June 9, 1981
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tamaru, Minoru Natori, Sizuo Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 4271493
    Abstract: A drive mechanism for an additional mechanism of an electronic timepiece having a time-keeping system driven by a reversible stepping motor, in which an auxiliary driving source is arranged to accumulate energy utilizing a drive power transmitted from a time-keeping system for driving additional mechanism, and locking means maintains the energy stored in the auxiliary driving source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1979
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1981
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tamaru, Toshikazu Hatuse
  • Patent number: 4232510
    Abstract: Timepiece comprising means for attaining the function of measuring the time, a time display means, at least part of which is mechanically formed, a means for changing the displayed content of the time display means in response to the operation of an external actuating member and a means for setting information for setting the condition of a timepiece function in accordance with the operation of the external actuating member, the time display means serving as the display of the information to be set upon the setting of the information whereby there may be easily effected the setting of functions except the time setting without increase of the complication of the display means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1977
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1980
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tamaru, Akira Tsuzuki, Shigeru Morokawa, Minoru Watanabe, Kazunari Kume, Hideshi Oono
  • Patent number: 4228644
    Abstract: A display device for calendar timepieces having a month display for the purpose of displaying the date indication in large size. To this end the device comprises a date dial and month dial, in which the month indication is displayed only at beginning of the month for informing the change of month. The month display may be performed by disclosing the month indication through an opening provided in the date dial through which the month indication is revealed or by utilizing a month indicating projection radially projected over the date dial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 1978
    Date of Patent: October 21, 1980
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Minoru Watanabe, Munetaka Tamaru
  • Patent number: 4212158
    Abstract: An electronic timepiece having an intermittent driving means for rotating the second hand step by step, in which the second hand may be driven in two or more ways, one of by a large step as driving the second hand at the rate of one step per second and the other is by a small step such as driving the second hand at the rate of ten steps per second. There is provided a large step driving pulse producing circuit, a small step driving pulse producing circuit, a transducer for transducing the pulse into the rotating motion, a large step transmitting means, a small step transmitting means, a train for transmitting the rotating motion to the second hand, and means for changing the pulses applied to the transducer and for changing the transmitting means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1978
    Date of Patent: July 15, 1980
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Munetaka Tamaru
  • Patent number: 4209970
    Abstract: An electronic timepiece in which a higher frequency signal from a frequency standard is divided down to a lower frequency drive signal by a frequency converter. The drive signal is applied through a driver circuit to an electro-mechanical transducer which actuates time-representing members to indicate time. A control means is coupled to intermediate stages of the frequency converter and produces higher frequency drive signals. At least one contact plate made of flexible, electrically conductive material is adapted to be depressed from outside the watch case through a recess formed therein whereby the control means is connected to the driver circuit to apply the higher frequency drive signals to the electro-mechanical transducer thereby rapidly advancing the time-representing members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1978
    Date of Patent: July 1, 1980
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazunari Kume, Minoru Watanabe, Hideshi Oono, Munetaka Tamaru
  • Patent number: 4198808
    Abstract: A calendar timepiece which does not require any manual date correction at the end of even months is disclosed. The timepiece comprises an even months date correction claw mounted on a date rotational wheel and displaced into a correction position when a claw driving coil is energized by a signal delivered from means for discriminating odd months from even months.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1978
    Date of Patent: April 22, 1980
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Munetaka Tamaru
  • Patent number: 4199699
    Abstract: An electronic timepiece including a battery, a drive motor, a drive, a display, and electronic circuits for driving said motor. The motor is a pulse motor and comprises a core, coil, yoke and rotor. The rotor includes a worm gear having worm teeth which engage with a gear wheel. The teeth on the worm gear are arranged and configured such that the initial and final portions of each tooth which engage with the gear wheel are parallel to the plane of rotation of the rotor thereby preventing torque applied to the gear wheel from being transmitted to the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1975
    Date of Patent: April 22, 1980
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazunari Kume, Minoru Watanabe, Hideshi Ohno, Munetaka Tamaru, Takayasu Machida, Seiichi Nakamura, Shigeru Morokawa
  • Patent number: 4182111
    Abstract: An electronic timepiece which is provided with a control circuit receiving as an input a time correction signal from a frequency divider circuit and delivering an output for driving an electro-mechanical converter so as to correct times of the timepiece. The control circuit is operated by an exteriorly operable switch means to select that signal by which the frequency divider circuit is reset when the timepiece is stopped and by which normal movement of hands and forward and backward rotation corrections of times are effected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1977
    Date of Patent: January 8, 1980
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Munetaka Tamaru
  • Patent number: 4175372
    Abstract: An electronic timepiece is disclosed which has at least one display function in addition to an ordinary time display function and comprises a sole electro-mechanical transducer for dividing a kept time and driving a first display function and a second display function separately.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 1977
    Date of Patent: November 27, 1979
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tamaru, Kazunari Kume, Minoru Watanabe, Hideshi Ohno, Minoru Natori
  • Patent number: 4092820
    Abstract: An electronic timepiece in which a higher frequency signal from a frequency standard is divided down to a lower frequency drive signal by a frequency converter. The drive signal is applied through a driver circuit to an electro-mechanical transducer which actuates time-representing members to indicate time. A control means is coupled to intermediate stages of the frequency converter and produces higher frequency drive signals. At least one contact plate made of flexible, electrically conductive material is adapted to be depressed from outside the watch case through a recess formed therein whereby the control means is connected to the driver circuit to apply the higher frequency drive signals to the electro-mechanical transducer thereby rapidly advancing the time-representing members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 1976
    Date of Patent: June 6, 1978
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Company Limited
    Inventors: Kazunari Kume, Minoru Watanabe, Hideshi Oono, Munetaka Tamaru
  • Patent number: 4079582
    Abstract: An electronic timepiece comprising a means for generating a base signal, an electromechanical transducer to convert the base signal into mechanical motion of a rotatable shaft, only a back side chain of wheels and a driving means whereby the back side chain of wheels is directly driven by the rotatable shaft. Furthermore, the driving means is coupled to the rotatable shaft such that idling rotation of the driving means occurs without rotation of the rotatable shaft when the timepiece is being set externally.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1976
    Date of Patent: March 21, 1978
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tamaru, Kazunari Kume, Minoru Watanabe, Hideshi Ohno
  • Patent number: 4058969
    Abstract: In a battery operated an electric timepiece operated by a battery of the type a time display, such as a second hand, when the voltage of the battery decreases below a predetermined value, the movement of the second hand is modified to give an alarm that the life of the battery has terminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1976
    Date of Patent: November 22, 1977
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tamaru, Kazunari Kume, Hideshi Oono, Minoru Watanabe, Hideo Sato, Shigeru Morokawa
  • Patent number: RE30588
    Abstract: In a battery operated electric timepiece operated by a battery of the type including a time display, such as a second hand, when the voltage of the battery decreases below a predetermined value, the movement of the second hand is modified to give an alarm that the life of the battery has terminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1978
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1981
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Munetaka Tamaru, Kazunari Kume, Hideshi Oono, Minoru Watanabe, Hideo Sato, Shigeru Morokawa
  • Patent number: RE30852
    Abstract: An electronic timepiece having an intermittent driving means for rotating the second hand step by step, in which the second hand may be driven in two or more ways, one of by a large step as driving the second hand at the rate of one step per second and the other is by a small step such as driving the second hand at the rate of ten steps per second. There is provided a large step driving pulse producing circuit, a small step driving pulse producing circuit, a transducer for transducing the pulse into the rotating motion, a large step transmitting means, a small step transmitting means, a train for transmitting the rotating motion to the second hand, and means for changing the pulses applied to the transducer and for changing the transmitting means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 1981
    Date of Patent: January 19, 1982
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Inc.
    Inventor: Munetaka Tamaru