US3756014A - Synchronized quartz crystal watch - Google Patents

Synchronized quartz crystal watch Download PDF

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Publication number
US3756014A
US3756014A US00144601A US3756014DA US3756014A US 3756014 A US3756014 A US 3756014A US 00144601 A US00144601 A US 00144601A US 3756014D A US3756014D A US 3756014DA US 3756014 A US3756014 A US 3756014A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
watch
balance wheel
pulses
oscillator
time base
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
US00144601A
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English (en)
Inventor
N Zatsky
L Wiesner
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Timex Group USA Inc
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Timex Corp
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Publication date
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Publication of US3756014A publication Critical patent/US3756014A/en
Assigned to CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, N.A., THE reassignment CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, N.A., THE SECURITY INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: FREDERIKSPLEIN HOLDING 1970 B.V., TIMEX CLOCK COMPANY, A DE CORP., TIMEX COMPUTERS LTD., A DE CORP., TIMEX CORPORATION, A DE CORP., TIMEX ENTERPRISES, INC., A BERMUDA CORP., TIMEX GROUP LTD., A BERMUDA CORP., TIMEX MEDICAL PRODUCTS LTD., A BERMUDA CORP., TIMEX N.V.
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04C—ELECTROMECHANICAL CLOCKS OR WATCHES
    • G04C11/00—Synchronisation of independently-driven clocks
    • G04C11/08—Synchronisation of independently-driven clocks using an electro-magnet or-motor for oscillation correction
    • G04C11/081—Synchronisation of independently-driven clocks using an electro-magnet or-motor for oscillation correction using an electro-magnet
    • G04C11/084—Synchronisation of independently-driven clocks using an electro-magnet or-motor for oscillation correction using an electro-magnet acting on the balance
    • 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
    • G04C3/04—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means wherein movement is regulated by a balance

Definitions

  • ABSTRACT A highly accurate watch, comprising a quartz crystal time base and a movement controlled by an oscillator regulated to run slightly fast and being periodically connected to the quartz crystal time base.
  • a pulse counter totals the number of pulses put out by the watch oscillator during its normal operation and activates means to stop the oscillator when a sufficient number of pulses equal to a fixed time period has been reached.
  • a second counter totals the pulses from the quartz cyrstal time reference and reactivates the watch when the number pulses equals the fixed time period thereby wiping out accumulated time errors.
  • the output from a balance wheel oscillator and a divided down time base frequency are fed to a flip flop.
  • the output square wave increases in width due to the frequency difference between the balance wheel and time base and is integrated by an RC circuit.
  • a Schmitt trigger circuit and monostable multivibrator are coupled to the flip flop so that the trigger circuit is activated for a fixed short .time interval and stops the balance wheel through a solenoid. After elapse of the fixed time interval, the balance wheel starts again.
  • This invention comprises a low frequency oscillator such as a balance wheel which supplies pulses to a first counter.
  • a flip flop is triggered, activating a solenoid to stop the balance wheel of the timekeeping device which is normally regulated to run fast.
  • a quartz crystal oscillator tween the inputs.
  • the output voltage is integrated by an RC network and a Schmitt trigger circuit is activated when the capacitor reaches the circuits critical level.
  • a solenoid is then activated for a fixed short time interval determined by a monostable multivibrator to stop the balance wheel. After'elapse of the time interval, the
  • Another object of this invention is to provide a watch which is normally regulated to run fast and is synchronized at intervals to eliminate accumulated errors.
  • a further object of this invention is to provide a unique means for stopping the balance wheel of a watch for a fixed period of time and releasing the balance wheel for oscillation as determined by the quartz synchronizing frequency.
  • FIG. 1 is a shcematic diagram of a first embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates the wave forms at point A on the output of the flip flop in FIG. 2.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 pertains to a quartz crystal watch having a balance wheel 10 which is synchronized by a quartz crystal frequency standard 11. Since the details of such a watch, apart from the present invention, are conventional, they will not be discussed in detail herein. It is well-known, for example, that the balance wheel 10 is coupled to the drive train for the watch and causes movement of the watch hands. A synchronization of the watch in the interest of accuracy may, therefore, be achieved by regulating the movement of the blance wheel 10.
  • the invention includes a balance wheel 10 having a spring finger l2 mounted on the periphery and extending outwardly therefrom.
  • the balance wheel 10 normally oscillates at a low frequency which is fed to a first counter 13.
  • the balance wheel 10 will oscillate at a frequency of (3 e) H,, where 68 represents the fractional deviation of the balance wheel 10 from the precise frequency.
  • the counter 13 is designed to count up to N pulses which corresponds theoretically to a fixed time interval. The relationship between the number of pulses N and the deviation E is such that N Us.
  • the counter 13 is connected to a flip flop 14, the output of which is normally low but goes high when counter 13 reaches N pulses. This activates the solenoid 16 which forces movable member 17 forward into engagement with spring finger 12 to stop the balance wheel 10. Normally, the balance wheel 10 would be halted at or near its maximum excursion.
  • the high frequency output from the quartz crystal time base 11 is fed through divider 18 to a second counter 19.
  • the quartz frequency may be initially in the 60 KHz range and then divided down to 3.000 H2 by divider 18.
  • counter 19 reaches N pulses, the solenoid 16 is released and the watch starts immediately.
  • Both counters 13 and 19 are reset when solenoid 16 is deactivated.
  • the watch is designed to normally run fast so that any accumulated timing errors are erased when the balance wheel 10 is stopped. The stopping is momentary so that no problem arises when viewing the watch.
  • the counters l3 and 19 may be combined in a single updown counter.
  • pulses from the balance wheel 20 are fed to a flip flop 21.
  • the normal pulse rate from the low frequency balance wheel oscillator 20 is (3 2) Hz, where 6" represents the fractional deviation from the precise frequency due to the fact that the watch is regulated to run fast.
  • the quartz crystal oscillator 22 supplies high frequency pulses to a divider 23 where they are divided down to a precise output frequency of 3.000 H2.
  • the quartz oscillator pulses are also fed to the flip flop 21 and the output therefrom is shown in FIG. 3. It is to be noted that the width of the square wave pulses 24 increase from W to W, due to the frequency difference between the balance wheel 20 and crystal oscillator 22.
  • the output voltage from flip flop 21 is integrated by the combination of resistor 26 and capacitor 27.
  • the solenoid 29 is activated for a short fixed time interval T determined by the monostable multivibrator portion of circuit 28. Stop member 31 is driven into engagement with the spring finger 32 to halt the oscillation after the elapse of time T. While the value of T is not critical, it must be less than 1/6 second.
  • the solenoid 29 must be ac tivated to compensate for the number of seconds the watch is regulated to run in the fast direction.
  • the power comsumption of the invention is considered reasonable under these conditions since no continuous correction is used. For example, if the watch runs two minutes per day fast and the power consumption of the solenoid is 2 milliamperes at 1.5 volts, the current drain will be 24 milliamperehours/year.
  • the time delay between turn off and turn on is so small as to be imperceptible to the user.
  • the intermittent correction is, therefore, most advantageously employed.
  • the invention as described above can also be used with conventional contact watch designs or electronic watches wherein the driving amplifier is switched on and off. It is to be understood that the abovedescribed arrangements are merely illustrative examples of the application. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody theprinciples of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.
  • a synchronized watch comprising:
  • a low frequency oscillator for driving the watch, said oscillator being regulated to run normally fast
  • the low frequency oscillator comprises a balance wheel
  • the high frequency oscillator comprises a quartz oscillator.
  • the means for halting the low frequency oscillator comprises a flipflop receiving inputs from the first and second totaling means, a solenoid activated and deactivated by the flip flop, and means responsive to the solenoid to contact the balance wheel to stop said wheel.
  • the means for halting the balance wheel comprises switching means responsive to the first and second totaling means and solenoid means operated by the switching means to contact the balance wheel, and the balance wheel includes a spring finger mounted thereon to contact the solenoid means.
  • the first and second totaling means comprise an updown counter.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electric Clocks (AREA)
US00144601A 1971-05-18 1971-05-18 Synchronized quartz crystal watch Expired - Lifetime US3756014A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US14460171A 1971-05-18 1971-05-18

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3756014A true US3756014A (en) 1973-09-04

Family

ID=22509309

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00144601A Expired - Lifetime US3756014A (en) 1971-05-18 1971-05-18 Synchronized quartz crystal watch

Country Status (11)

Country Link
US (1) US3756014A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (1) JPS5226472B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
AU (1) AU456330B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
BE (1) BE783649A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CA (1) CA970862A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CH (1) CH551038A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE2222936A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2138117B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1344769A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
IT (1) IT957908B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
NL (1) NL7206659A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3884034A (en) * 1972-10-11 1975-05-20 Establissements Leon Hatot Sa Quartz synchronised clockwork
US3916612A (en) * 1972-10-02 1975-11-04 Citizen Watch Co Ltd Electronic timepiece
US3967442A (en) * 1973-02-01 1976-07-06 Berney Jean Claude Electric watch having an electromechanical movement including a correction mechanism for small errors
US4068462A (en) * 1976-05-17 1978-01-17 Fairchild Camera And Instrument Corporation Frequency adjustment circuit
US4085577A (en) * 1975-07-02 1978-04-25 Citizen Watch Co. Ltd. Electronic timepiece
US4401977A (en) * 1980-01-07 1983-08-30 Mastiff Security Systems Limited Radio transmitter for repeated bursts of oscillations
EP3130966A1 (fr) * 2015-08-11 2017-02-15 ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse Mouvement d'horlogerie mecanique muni d'un systeme de retroaction du mouvement

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4106280A (en) * 1975-03-27 1978-08-15 Hansrichard Schulz Method and apparatus for synchronizing a mechanical oscillating system to the accuracy of a quartz standard
FR2521741A1 (fr) * 1982-02-17 1983-08-19 Gorgy Timing Horloge secondaire a aiguille seconde
CH665082GA3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1986-03-26 1988-04-29
US4799003A (en) * 1987-05-28 1989-01-17 Tu Xuan M Mechanical-to-electrical energy converter

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3451210A (en) * 1966-07-01 1969-06-24 Benrus Corp System for maintaining oscillations in an electric timing mechanism having an oscillatory element
US3512351A (en) * 1966-09-09 1970-05-19 Smiths Industries Ltd Electrical oscillation generators
US3553957A (en) * 1966-02-10 1971-01-12 Peter Dome Electronic timepiece
US3564829A (en) * 1967-10-19 1971-02-23 Kiyohiro Tsuzuki Apparatus and method for spinning yarn

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS42801Y1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1964-04-21 1967-01-18
JPH069145Y2 (ja) * 1988-07-19 1994-03-09 鐘淵化学工業株式会社 建築物の断熱壁構造

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3553957A (en) * 1966-02-10 1971-01-12 Peter Dome Electronic timepiece
US3451210A (en) * 1966-07-01 1969-06-24 Benrus Corp System for maintaining oscillations in an electric timing mechanism having an oscillatory element
US3512351A (en) * 1966-09-09 1970-05-19 Smiths Industries Ltd Electrical oscillation generators
US3564829A (en) * 1967-10-19 1971-02-23 Kiyohiro Tsuzuki Apparatus and method for spinning yarn

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3916612A (en) * 1972-10-02 1975-11-04 Citizen Watch Co Ltd Electronic timepiece
US3884034A (en) * 1972-10-11 1975-05-20 Establissements Leon Hatot Sa Quartz synchronised clockwork
US3967442A (en) * 1973-02-01 1976-07-06 Berney Jean Claude Electric watch having an electromechanical movement including a correction mechanism for small errors
US4085577A (en) * 1975-07-02 1978-04-25 Citizen Watch Co. Ltd. Electronic timepiece
US4068462A (en) * 1976-05-17 1978-01-17 Fairchild Camera And Instrument Corporation Frequency adjustment circuit
US4401977A (en) * 1980-01-07 1983-08-30 Mastiff Security Systems Limited Radio transmitter for repeated bursts of oscillations
EP3130966A1 (fr) * 2015-08-11 2017-02-15 ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse Mouvement d'horlogerie mecanique muni d'un systeme de retroaction du mouvement
US20170045861A1 (en) * 2015-08-11 2017-02-16 Eta Sa Manufacture Horlogere Suisse Mechanical timepiece movement provided with a feedback system for the movement
US9971309B2 (en) * 2015-08-11 2018-05-15 Eta Sa Manufacture Horlogere Suisse Mechanical timepiece movement provided with a feedback system for the movement
RU2718348C2 (ru) * 2015-08-11 2020-04-02 Эта Са Мануфактюр Орложэр Сюис Механический часовой механизм с системой обратной связи

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR2138117A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1972-12-29
CH723872A4 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1973-12-28
FR2138117B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-12-27
NL7206659A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1972-11-21
IT957908B (it) 1973-10-20
BE783649A (fr) 1972-09-18
AU456330B2 (en) 1974-12-12
GB1344769A (en) 1974-01-23
AU4222772A (en) 1973-11-15
CA970862A (en) 1975-07-08
CH551038A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-06-28
JPS5226472B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1977-07-14
DE2222936A1 (de) 1972-11-30

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AS Assignment

Owner name: CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, N.A., THE

Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:TIMEX CORPORATION, A DE CORP.;TIMEX COMPUTERS LTD., A DE CORP.;TIMEX CLOCK COMPANY, A DE CORP.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:004181/0596

Effective date: 19830331