Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Timepiece including a mechanical movement whose operation is controlled by an electronic device
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Application No.: US16572996Application Date: 2019-09-17
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Publication No.: US11619910B2Publication Date: 2023-04-04
- Inventor: Lionel Tombez , Laurent Nagy , Alexandre Haemmerli
- Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
- Applicant Address: CH Marin
- Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
- Current Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
- Current Assignee Address: CH Marin
- Agency: Oblon, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P.
- Priority: EP18197529 20180928
- Main IPC: G04B17/06
- IPC: G04B17/06 ; G04B17/22 ; G04C3/04

Abstract:
A timepiece includes a mechanical oscillator, formed by a balance and a piezoelectric balance spring, and a control device for controlling the frequency of the mechanical oscillator. This control device is arranged to be capable of generating time-separated control pulses, each including a momentary decrease in an electrical resistance applied by the control device between two electrodes of the piezoelectric balance spring relative to a nominal electrical resistance. The control device is arranged to be capable of applying a plurality of control pulses during each time of a series of distinct correction times or without interruption in a continuous time window, in order to respectively synchronize the mechanical oscillator at a correction frequency whose value depends on a detected positive or negative temporal drift or at a desired frequency for the mechanical oscillator.
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