US3744234A - Electronic timepiece with positionable rotor - Google Patents

Electronic timepiece with positionable rotor Download PDF

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Publication number
US3744234A
US3744234A US00232317A US3744234DA US3744234A US 3744234 A US3744234 A US 3744234A US 00232317 A US00232317 A US 00232317A US 3744234D A US3744234D A US 3744234DA US 3744234 A US3744234 A US 3744234A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
rotor
timepiece
stator
stem
pulses
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00232317A
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English (en)
Inventor
N Kamijo
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Suwa Seikosha KK
Original Assignee
Suwa Seikosha KK
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Suwa Seikosha KK filed Critical Suwa Seikosha KK
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3744234A publication Critical patent/US3744234A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04C—ELECTROMECHANICAL CLOCKS OR WATCHES
    • G04C3/00—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means
    • G04C3/14—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means incorporating a stepping motor
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04C—ELECTROMECHANICAL CLOCKS OR WATCHES
    • G04C13/00—Driving mechanisms for clocks by master-clocks
    • G04C13/08—Slave-clocks actuated intermittently
    • G04C13/10—Slave-clocks actuated intermittently by electromechanical step advancing mechanisms
    • G04C13/11—Slave-clocks actuated intermittently by electromechanical step advancing mechanisms with rotating armature

Definitions

  • An electronic timepiece has a rotor to which is affixed a cam for positioning the rotor in a pre-selected position.
  • the stator is polyfunctional in that it serves for driving the rotor in response to electrical circuitry which generates pulses in alternating directions, and in addition serves to support a positioning lever which can stop the rotor in any of a plurality of preselected positions and thereby stop the second-hand of the timepiece at a pre-selected position, preferably the zero position.
  • the timepiece can be restarted by moving the stem of the timepiece in an inward direction. In this manner, it is possible to synchronize the watch with an external signal to the nearest second.
  • stator of the timepiece for a plurality of functions makes it possible to reduce the over-all size of the timepiece and to reduce the number of parts, weight and cost of the timepiece, as well as making it more suitable for mass-production.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide an improved electronic timepiece in which the stator serves a plurality of functions.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved electronic timepiece which can readily be adjusted to the nearest second.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved electronic timepiece which is reduced in size, weight and cost over conventional timepieces.
  • Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved electronic timepiece which is suitable for mass-production.
  • the invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
  • FIG. 1 is a graph of pulses produced by the electronic circuitry of an electronic timepiece in accordance with the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a plan view of the drive and control portions of an electronic timepiece in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 2.
  • a stator 1 has a portion 18 around which is wrapped coil 17.
  • Coil 17 is pulsed by drive circuit 19 operating in combination with reset circuit 20.
  • Drive circuit 19 and reset circuit 20 together comprise the electronic circuitry indicated generally by 21.
  • the electronic circuitry supplies pulses to coil 17 in the form shown in FIG. 1.
  • poles 22 of stator l are south poles
  • poles 23 of stator l are north poles.
  • Rotor 3 is mounted on shaft 14 and, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, has three south poles and three north poles in alternating sequence.
  • the altemating pulses supplied by coil 17 reverse the polarity of poles 22 and poles 23 once per second, advancing rotor 3, 60 with each pulse.
  • Firmly affixed to shaft 14 is cam 4 which is three-lobed. Cam 4 can take either of two positions as indicated by the phantom lines and is given the reference numerals 4a and 4b.
  • Cam positioning lever 5 is movable between two positions indicated as 5a and 5b. For this movement, lever 5 is pivotedly mounted on stator l by means of pin 11. Lever arm 24 is urged by spring 6 toward position 5b. Stern 7 can be moved inwardly and outwardly from the exterior of the timepiece. When in the inward position, stem 7 holds positioning lever 5 in position 5a by engagement with pin 15, affixed to lever 5. Moving stem 7 in outward direction disengages stem 7 from pin 15 and allows positioning lever 5 to rotate clockwise until arm 24 makes contact with pin 9 in insulating sleeve 8 affixed to stator 1. Pin 9 and stator 1 are both electrically connected to reset circuit 20. The relationship between reset circuit 20 and drive circuit 19 is such that completing the external circuit of reset circuit 20 halts drive circuit 19 and stops the generation of current pulses. Simultaneously, reset lever 5 moves into contact with cam 4 and brings cam 4 into position 4a.
  • crown gear 10 makes contact with a back-gear train (not shown) by means of which the minute and the hour hand of the timepiece may be adjusted.
  • Shaft 14 carries pinion gear 26 which makes contact with gear 12, the number of teeth on gears 12 and 26 being such that gear 12 makes 1 revolution in 1 minute.
  • the second hand carried by gear 12 can be stopped at any even-numbered second, preferably zero.
  • the watch can then be restarted by pushing stem 7 inwardly in synchronization with an external signal, thereby adjusting the timepiece to the nearest second.
  • pushing the stem 7 inwardly displaces pin 15 downwardly and rotates positioning lever 5 to position 5a. This releases cam 4 and rotor 3. and simultaneously breaks contact between lever arm 24 and pin 9, thus starting the flow of current pulses from the electronic circuitry.
  • crown gear 10 By well-known methods, slip is provided between gear 12 on the shaft of which the second-hand is mounted and the remainder of the back-gear train so that the minute and hour hands can be adjusted while gear 12 is held in fixed position.
  • the movement of crown gear 10 into and out of mesh with the back-gear train involves the use of yoke 16 which, again, is conventional.
  • yoke 16 which, again, is conventional.
  • the use of the stator l for supporting the various components described makes it possible to position crown gear 10 very precisely with relation to the stator 1, so that the distance between them as indicated in FIG. 3 by 8 can be held to a very small value, thereby effecting a substantial reduction in the thickness of the timepiece.
  • the frequency of the pulses supplied by electronic circuitry 21 could be a multiple or a submultiple of the one-second frequency specified in the above description, without significant change in the invention disclosed herein.
  • Wat is claimed is:
  • An electronic timepiece comprising driving circuitry for generating pulses alternating in polarity at pre-selected intervals, a stator connected to said circuitry for receiving said pulses, a rotor within said stator and rotatable at a pre-selected rate by said stator in response to said pulses, a positioning cam mounted on said rotor for moving said rotor to and holding said rotor at a pre-selected position, a positioning lever for stopping said cam at a pre-selected position, said positioning lever being pivotedly mounted on said stator, a stem slidable exteriorly of said timepiece in an axial direction toward and from the interior of said timepiece, and spring means urging said positioning lever toward said positioning cam, said positioning lever being so related to said stem and said driving circuitry, that movement of said stem from the interior of said timepiece allows said spring means to move said positioning lever into contact with said cam, halting said rotor in a preselected position and simultaneously disconnecting said circuitry and stopping the production of driving pulses, and moving said
  • An electronic timepiece as defined in claim 1 comprising driving circuitry for generating pulses alternating in polarity at pre-selected intervals, a stator connected to said circuitry for receiving said pulses, a rotor within said stator and rotatable at a pre-selected rate by said stator in response to said pulses, said stator serving as base means for the support of other components of said timepiece.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromechanical Clocks (AREA)
US00232317A 1971-03-03 1972-02-25 Electronic timepiece with positionable rotor Expired - Lifetime US3744234A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP1078971 1971-03-03

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3744234A true US3744234A (en) 1973-07-10

Family

ID=11760093

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00232317A Expired - Lifetime US3744234A (en) 1971-03-03 1972-02-25 Electronic timepiece with positionable rotor

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US3744234A (ja)
CH (2) CH307572A4 (ja)
GB (2) GB1377429A (ja)
HK (2) HK43076A (ja)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4022013A (en) * 1972-03-02 1977-05-10 Kabushiki Kaisha Suwa Seikosha Regulating device for electric timepieces
US4050234A (en) * 1973-08-30 1977-09-27 Kabushiki Kaisha Suwa Seikosha Electronic timepiece hand-return mechanism
US4126796A (en) * 1975-10-16 1978-11-21 Kabushiki Kaisha Daini Seikosha Miniature reversible motor
US4295215A (en) * 1978-03-01 1981-10-13 Seiko Koki Kabushiki Kaisha Second hand correction device for use in timepieces

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3432699A (en) * 1966-01-21 1969-03-11 Gen Electric Permanent magnetic synchronous motor and starting mechanism therefor
US3614492A (en) * 1970-06-10 1971-10-19 Controls Co Of America Bidirectional motor

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3432699A (en) * 1966-01-21 1969-03-11 Gen Electric Permanent magnetic synchronous motor and starting mechanism therefor
US3614492A (en) * 1970-06-10 1971-10-19 Controls Co Of America Bidirectional motor

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4022013A (en) * 1972-03-02 1977-05-10 Kabushiki Kaisha Suwa Seikosha Regulating device for electric timepieces
US4050234A (en) * 1973-08-30 1977-09-27 Kabushiki Kaisha Suwa Seikosha Electronic timepiece hand-return mechanism
US4126796A (en) * 1975-10-16 1978-11-21 Kabushiki Kaisha Daini Seikosha Miniature reversible motor
US4295215A (en) * 1978-03-01 1981-10-13 Seiko Koki Kabushiki Kaisha Second hand correction device for use in timepieces

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CH596597B5 (ja) 1978-03-15
HK43076A (en) 1976-07-16
HK42976A (en) 1976-07-16
GB1377430A (en) 1974-12-18
GB1377429A (en) 1974-12-18
CH307572A4 (ja) 1977-02-28

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