Analogue display timepiece exhibiting at least one universal time display mode

• US 5,497,358 A
• Filed: 09/15/1994
• Issued: 03/05/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ETA SA Fabriques d'Ebauches
• Original Assignee: ETA SA Fabriques d'Ebauches
• Inventors: Koch, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Roskoski, Bernard
• Application Number:
  US08/305,295
• Time in Patent Office: 537 Days
• Field of Search: 368/21, 368/28, 368/187
• US Class Current: 368/21
• CPC Class Codes: G04B 19/22 Arrangements for indicating different local apparent times; Universal time pieces indicating by means of numbers or signs disposed on moving devices G04B19/20; illumination of dials or hands G04B19/30; combination with a terrestial globe in general G04B47/02; electronic time-zone watches G04G9/0076
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 3/146 incorporating two or more stepping motors or rotors

Abstract

The invention concerns an analogue display timepeice exhibiting at least one universal time display mode. The timepice comprises:

time display means constituted in the form of an hour hand and a minute hand,

time zone display means comprising at least one analogue indicating organ of said time zones and able to provide data relating to the geographical position of said time zones by reference to the earth,

motor means able to drive said analogue display organs facing indications of respectively time and place,

electronic control means arranged to drive said display means, this invention being characterized in that said analogue organ enabling the time zones to be indicated is comprised of at least one of the two time display hands, for example the hour hand, brought by electronic control means into a particular position in conjunction with the other hand, notably the minute hand.

Claims

1. An analogue display universal timepiece comprising an hour display member, a minute display member, said hour display means and said minute display member forming a time-zone selection member, and means for controlling said hour display, said minute display and said time-zone selection member;

said control means being responsive to a manual control signal to drive said selection member so as to select a time zone;

wherein said control means superpose said display members in responding to said manual control signal, and wherein said selection member is formed by said superposed display members said control means further being responsive to a time-base signal, and to a signal which is representative of the selected time zone, to drive said minute and said hour display member so that they display time-related information relative to the selected time zone;

wherein said control means respond to said manual control signal to drive said selection member to a selected angular position selected from a plurality of twenty-four distinct angular positions, each corresponding to a different time zone.

2. The timepiece according to claim 1, further comprising a stem which is manipulatable by a user to generate said manual control signal.

3. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein said control means comprise a first motor for driving said hour display member, and a second motor for driving said minute display member.

4. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein said control means comprise means for storing said selected angular position and generating said signal representative of the selected time zone.

5. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein said control means comprise means for storing time-related data for each time zone.

6. The timepiece according to claim 1, further comprising a representation of the earth having twenty-four time zones.

7. A timepiece according to claim 6, wherein said timepiece comprises a dial carrying said representation of the earth.

8. The timepiece according to claim 7, wherein said representation of the earth shows the earth from the north pole.