An electronic time-piece is advanced by electronic pulses which are generd by a fixed frequency signal source. In order to correct the indication of the time-piece, a circuit is provided for adding or deleting pulses to thereby increment or decrement the indication. One push-button switch is provided for both adding or subtracting seconds from the indication displayed by the time-piece. Each depression of the push-button adds one second to the indication. When the user depresses the push-button and holds it depressed, one second is initially added to the indication, and then further transmission of electronic pulses is blocked so that the user may effectively subtract as many seconds as necessary from the displayed indication.
Disclosed is a circuit for generating in a pulse motor drive coil an initial pulse motor drive pulse in a unit length of time during which a second hand is driven by one step, after resetting for time correction has been released. The output of a divider chain for frequency-dividing a standard frequency signal from a quartz oscillator into a signal having a period equal to the unit length of time is delayed by a delay circuit, and by a logic gate responsive to the output of the delay circuit and the output of the divider chain there is produced an output pulse signal having a period equal to the unit length of time and a narrower width. The output of the logic gate is supplied to a binary counter. An output circuitry responsive to the output of the binary counter and the output of the logic gate generates drive pulses in the drive coil. The reset signal is applied to the delay circuit and at least a frequency divider stage producing the signal the period of which equals the unit length of time.
A circuit for adjusting the frequency of operation of an electronic time keeping device, which device includes a source of clock pulses. The circuit of this invention is preferably located between the source of clock pulses and the time keeping device counting circuitry, so that the clock pulses can be periodically interrupted for a programmed amount of time. Accordingly, the variable adjustment capacitor, typically employed in prior art time keeping devices, can be eliminated.
4261048 - Analog quartz timepiece - Owned by Citizen Watch Company Limited (Tokyo,JP) [*] Notice:The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to November 13, 1996 has been disclaimed.
An analog quartz timepiece having a manually operated external control member, and a correction signal generation circuit controlled by the external control member to generate low speed and high speed correction signals when the external control member is actuated for a short period of time and for a predetermined time interval, respectively, by which a stepping motor is driven at a selected speed to perform time correction. The timepiece also includes a click mechanism operative to shift an hours hand step-wise from any optional position without affecting a minutes hand and a seconds hand. The timepiece further includes a seconds zero-reset mechanism operative to reset the seconds hand to zero.
An electronic clock, particularly a quartz clock, with a timer signal transmitting stage, an indicator system which at least contains a minute counter and an hour counter, as well as a decoding stage and a digital indicator board, and an alarm system which at least contains a presettable counter associated with the minutes and a presettable counter associated with the hours, the outputs of which presettable counters are able to be locked on the indicator system, and a coincidence stage for comparison of the output signals of the counters of the indicator system with those of the alarm system. Each counter of the alarm system constitutes a forward-rearward-counter, and switches are provided for selection of the counting direction.
4209970 - Electronic timepiece - Owned by Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. (Tokyo,JP) [*] Notice:The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to June 6, 1995 has been disclaimed.
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.