Abstract: A timer for controlling an appliance includes a bell chime assembly having a striker, a torsion spring, and a bell. The striker is secured to the torsion spring. The timer further includes a cam follower operatively coupled to the torsion spring. The cam follower is operatively associated with a cam assembly which includes a first cam and a second cam. The first cam and the second cam are configured such that during manual setting of the timer, the torsion spring is prevented from deflecting by an amount sufficient to cause the striker to contact the bell whereby relatively quiet manual setting of the timer is enabled.

Abstract: An hour detection wheel and a minute detection wheel for detecting an alarm signaling time are provided in combination with an hour time wheel and a minute time wheel respectively. An alarm signaling time indicating block having a minute indication drum connected to an alarm signaling time setting member and marked with minute-scale alarm signaling time graduations and an hour indication drum marked with hour-scale alarm signaling time graduations and adapted to be turned intermittently by the minute indication drum is disposed outside a clock movement having the hour and the minute detection wheels and the minute indication drum interlocked by gear trains with the hour and the minute detection wheels.

Abstract: In an alarm electronic timepiece having a reference time generator, a normal hand stepping pulse generator for driving a stepping motor, an alarm coincidence circuit and an electric buzzer, it includes an alarm hand stepping pulse generator which produces an alarm hand stepping pulse to drive the stepping motor instead of the normal hand stepping pulse from the normal hand stepping pulse generator, in an alarm sound generating state. The alarm hand stepping pulse produces at the lowest alarm sound pressure of the electronic buzzer, whereby a highly reliable and acoustically excellent alarm electronic timepiece is provided.

Abstract: Since a button-type battery having the minimum capacity is used for wristwatch, the battery voltage is dropped when power is temporarily consumed. When a step motor consuming much power every second and a buzzer for alarm mechanism operate at the same time, current in quantities flows into these two loads. In result, the battery voltage is dropped and the wristwatch runs down. Therefore, this invention aims to shift the timings of those loads' operations.

Abstract: An electronic watch having a stepping motor and equipped with an alarm, in which the number of power transistors necessary for the control of the stepping motor and of the alarm transducer is reduced so as to permit the integration of all the electronics of the watch of a single chip and to reduce the number of terminals of the integrated circuit and the number of interconnections.A pair of the power transistors (5, 6) is common to the control of the motor coil (11) and of the alarm transducer coil (12) and the alarm control signal is inserted between the driving pulses.

Abstract: An electronic timepiece having time indicating hands and an alarm time indicating hand which can be set to an alarm time within a range of twelve hours. Alarm time setting can be performed such that an alarm warning is produced the first time that alarm time coincidence is detected, and at subsequent times separated by 24 hour intervals, or such that the alarm warning is produced the second time that alarm time coincidence is detected, and at subsequent times separated by 24 hour intervals. Greater resolution for alarm time setting is achieved than for a timepiece in which the alarm time is set within a 24 hour range.

Abstract: A stationary detecting means corresponding to a second time wheel rotating at a higher speed than the hour wheel generates signals at successive intervals of a fixed number of minutes to actuate a time signaling device. A first detecting means is also provided corresponding to the hour wheel. The phase of the first detecting means is set to determine or define an alarm or signaling time. When the phases of the hour wheel and the first detecting means are synchronized, a second signal is generated. The time signaling device is actuated when the time signals of the stationary detecting means and the second detecting means are generated simultaneously.

Abstract: An electronic analog wristwatch includes an alarm which is set by rapidly, electromechanically driving the watch hands forward proximate to the desired alarm time, slowly advancing the hands electromechanically to the exact alarm setting, and then rapidly returning, by electromechanically driving, the hands to the actual present time. A counter records the number of drive pulses required to advance the hands to the alarm setting, while another counter records the time elapsed, measured in pulses, in setting the alarm including advancement and return of the hands. The number of pulses required for hand advancement is stored in memory. The pulses required for hand return are counted until the sum of the hand returning pulses and the elapsed time pulses equals the number of pulses which were required for advancing the hands, as stored in memory.

Abstract: A time signal timepiece has a timekeeping portion and an electronic sound generating portion. The electronic sound generating portion comprises two counters, two oscillator circuits and a coincidence circuit. The hour signal from the timekeeping portion makes the first oscillator circuit oscillate. The first counter counts the number of hour signals. The second counter counts the number of signals from the first oscillator circuit which determines an interval of a time signal sound. The coincidence circuit has a function to stop an oscillation of the first oscillator circuit by detecting a coincidence of contents of the first counter with that of the second counter. The signal from the first oscillator circuit actuates the second oscillator circuit which determines the frequency of the time signal sound. The second oscillator circuit then generates the number of signals corresponding to the present time and having predetermined interval and frequency.

Abstract: In a timepiece having a case and having a minute hand and an hour hand for indicating time, an alarm signaling device generates an alarm by detecting the phase of two sets of gears. One set of gears comprises an hour hand gear and an hour detecting gear and the other set comprises a minute hand gear and a minute detecting gear. The two sets of gears are concentrically mounted for rotation and the minute detecting gear is positioned between the minute gear and the one set of gears. The minute detecting gear has a contacting sliding contact with the minute gear. The alarm signaling device further includes an alarm signaling time setting wheel having an axis of rotation parallel to that of the two sets of gears and a first gear and a second gear engaging the minute detecting gear and the hour detecting gear respectively.

Abstract: A horological device is provided with an alarm switch in the form of an alarm wheel having a conductive path extending from a topside of the wheel to a bottom side of the wheel. The alarm wheel is adapted to operate in an alarm circuit arranged to generate audible signals at a predetermined time. An alarm setting pinion is engaged with the alarm switch to prevent undesired movement of the alarm wheel in case of mechanical shock.