Seiko Instruments Inc

Seiko Epson Corporation

Seiko Watch Kabushiki Kaisha

Masayuki Kawata

Shigeo Suzuki

Takayuki Satodate

Mitsuru Ishii

Kenichi Nakajima

Akihiko Inada

Yoshio Koyama

Eriko Takakuwa

Yuko Sasaki

Akihiro Matouge

Naoaki Yasukawa

Toshiyuki Fujiwara

Kazumi Sakumoto

Masao Kasuga

Katsuyuki Honda

Akira Takakura

Akira Shinbo

Eriko Noguchi

Katsuya Mugishima

Minako Suzuki

Tamotsu Ono

Yutaka Kondo

Fujio Ozawa

Kazuhiro Fujita

Yuya Tanaka

Ken Sato

Takako Shibayama

A timepiece includes a first motor having a rotor for rotating a hour hand, and a first train wheel group having a wheel gear rotating based on rotation of the rotor. The first train wheel group includes a third intermediate hour pinion, a first intermediate hour pinion, a twenty four hour wheel gear having a first reference load unit disposed to mesh with the third intermediate hour pinion so that a load received by the rotor fluctuates in a case where the twenty four hour wheel gear meshes with the third intermediate hour pinion, and rotating at a first reduction ratio with respect to the rotor, and a second intermediate hour wheel gear having a second reference load unit disposed to mesh with the first intermediate hour pinion so that the load received by the rotor fluctuates in a case where the second intermediate hour wheel gear meshes with the first intermediate hour pinion, and rotating at a second reduction ratio lower than the first reduction ratio with respect to the rotor.

Timepiece movement and timepiece

A timepiece movement includes a motor that has a rotor for rotating an indicating hand, a control unit that rotates the rotor by using a main drive pulse and an auxiliary drive pulse, and that determines a reference position of the indicating hand by detecting a rotation state of the rotor when the indicating hand is rotated using a detection drive pulse based on the main drive pulse, a train wheel that transmits a drive force of the motor to the indicating hand, and that has an indicating hand gear and a second intermediate pinion which mesh with each other, and an elastic portion that is disposed in the indicating hand gear, and that is elastically deformed by coming into contact with the second intermediate pinion when the indicating hand is located at the reference position.

A timepiece allowing accurate positioning of a display plate and a plate member is to be provided. A timepieceincludes: a main platehaving one or more positioning portionsand; a plate memberhaving one or more first positioning receiving portionsto be locked to the positioning portionsand arranged so as to overlap the main plate; and a display platehaving one or more second positioning receiving portionsto be locked to the positioning portionsand arranged so as to overlap the plate member

Timepiece

A switch structure has an elastic switch lever portion and a rigid support lever. The elastic switch lever portion has an elastic contact portion and an arm portion provided with a pressing force receiving portion from which the elastic contact portion extends. The rigid support lever is mounted for undergoing movement relative to the pressing force receiving portion. The rigid support lever has a rigid substrate portion and a rigid support wall portion that is connected to the rigid substrate portion and that supports the pressing force receiving portion so as to receive a pressing force from the pressing force receiving portion and to guide displacement of the pressing force receiving portion when a pressing force is applied to the pressing force receiving portion.

Switch structure, and chronograph mechanism and electronic timepiece using the same

A chronograph timepiece includes heart cams, a start-stop button, a reset-to-zero button, and a start-stop lever and a reset-to zero instruction lever operated by the start-stop button and the reset-to-zero button, respectively, for undergoing rotation around a common rotation center. A hammer operating lever rotates in a first direction when the start-stop lever rotates and rotates in a second direction when the reset-to-zero instruction lever rotates. When the hammer operating lever rotates in the second direction, a hammer lever causes the heart cams to be reset to zero by bringing hammer portions of the hammer lever into engagement with respective ones of the heart cams. When the hammer operating lever rotates in the first direction, the hammer lever causes the hammer portions to be disengaged from the heart cams.

Chronograph timepiece

A portable electronic apparatus has a thin film-type display member and a holding mechanism for holding the film-type display memberin a curved state. The holding mechanism has a first holding member having a recessed portion receiving the thin film-type display member and a second holding member engaged with the first holding member to hold the thin film-type display member in the recessed portion of the first holding member in a curved state. A case has a recessed portion and a locking member for locking the holding mechanism in the recessed portion of the case to hold the thin film-type display member in the curved state.

Portable electronic apparatus having curved thin film-type display member

A portable information apparatus has a film liquid crystal device having a pair of flexible substrates spaced apart from one another to define therebetween a gap containing liquid crystal, first surface portions having a curved cross-section, engagement portions extending from respective ones of the first surface portions, and at least one second surface portion having a planar cross-section. An injection port is formed in the at least one second surface portion and through which the liquid crystal is injected into the gap. A sealing portion is disposed on the at least one second surface portion for sealing the injection port. A holding structure has a first holding member and a second holding member for holding the film liquid crystal device in a curved state while the at least one second surface portion of the film liquid crystal device remains planar in cross-section and while the first holding member engages the engagement portions of the liquid crystal device.

Portable information apparatus and film liquid crystal device

An arm portable information apparatus has a case and a film liquid crystal device disposed in the case and having a pair of opposite side edge portions. A pair of support members are connected to the case and support the film liquid crystal device. Each of the support members has at least one groove receiving a respective one of the side edge portion of the film liquid crystal device so that the film liquid crystal device does not contact any part of the arm portable information apparatus except for the contact between the support members and the side edge portions of the film liquid crystal device.

Arm portable information apparatus

Electronic timepiece

An electronic timepiece has a wheel train mounted for undergoing rotation and a transmission wheel for undergoing rotation in accordance with rotation of the wheel train. A contact point spring is connected to the transmission wheel for rotation therewith. The contact point spring extends substantially linearly through a rotational center of the transmission wheel. First and second detection patterns contact the contact point spring during rotation of the transmission wheel to generate a rotational position detecting signal corresponding to a rotational position of the transmission wheel. The first and second detection patterns are disposed at an angle of substantially 180 degree relative to the rotational center of the transmission wheel.

Electronic timepiece having transmission wheel rotational position detecting apparatus

A metal-made coil spring is accommodated in a conduction hole of a spacer. A metal-made pin passes through a circuit support base, circuit board and spacer. A connection board is placed on a conduction hole of the spacer and fixed by a holding plate and a metal-made fixing screw. The coil spring has a height set greater than a thickness of the spacer. If the connection board is attached by the fixing screw, the coil spring is brought into a compressed state by the action of the holding plate and circuit board. Due to this, because the coil spring is strongly urged onto the circuit board and connection board, electric conduction is provided from the sensor unit to the circuit board.

Small-sized electronic appliance with a sensor

A battery accommodation section is made attachable to and detachable from a lower portion of a timepiece main body thereby electrically connecting between the timepiece main body and the battery accommodation section through a connector section. A timepiece main body side terminal is connected to a timepiece module, while the battery accommodation section side terminal is connected to a primary battery. In the state that the battery accommodation section is provided with the timepiece main body, the primary battery and the timepiece module are brought into electrical connection through the connector section whereby electric power can be supplied from the primary battery to the timepiece module. In this manner, if the timepiece main body is mounted on the upper portion of the battery accommodation section, appearance is good and fixing on the arm is easy.

A calendar electronic timepiece comprises a signal generating circuit for generating a date signal, a driving circuit for outputting a driving signal in accordance with the date signal generated by the signal generating circuit, and an ultrasonic motor driven by the driving signal outputted by the driving circuit. The ultrasonic motor is comprised of a piezoelectric vibrator having an electrode pattern and being driven by the driving signal outputted from the driving circuit to undergo expansion and contraction movement, a vibrating member connected to the piezoelectric vibrator and vibrationally driven by expansion and contraction movement of the piezoelectric vibrator, and a date dial disposed on the vibrating member to be frictionally driven by expansion and contraction movement of the piezoelectric vibrator.

Calendar electronic timepiece

To provide an electronic timepiece enabling reliable detection of a state of rotation of an indication wheel such as a date dial. An ultrasonic motor 1130 has an ultrasonic rotor pinion 1134b. A date dial 1120 is disposed on a main plate 1102 in such a way as to rotate relative thereto. The ultrasonic rotor pinion 1134b is meshed with an intermediate date driving gear wheel 1142a. A date driving wheel 1150 is rotatably disposed on the main plate 1102. A date driving gear wheel 1150b is meshed with an intermediate date driving pinion 1142b. A date driving gear portion 1150b is meshed with a dial gear portion 1120a. A contact point spring 1160 is disposed on a spring guiding portion 1150d. The contact point spring 1160 rotates integrally with the date driving wheel 1150 through the rotation of the date driving wheel 1150. The state of rotation of the date driving wheel 1150 can be detected by contact of the contact point spring 1160 with the contact point pattern 1174.

A heat input means 54 for absorbing heat from a human body with which the timepiece is in contact, a thermally conductive elastic member 53 for conducting heat absorbed by the heat input means 54 to a thermal energy input side of a thermoelectric generator means 52, and a thermally conductive means 51 for conducting heat between a thermal energy output side of the thermoelectric generator means 52 and a heat output means 50. The heat output means 50 and the heat input means 54 are spaced widely from each other.

Growing community of inventors

Chiba, Japan

Masayuki Kawata