| US 7,520,664 B2 | ||
| Timepiece apparatus | ||
| Kwong Yuen Wai, Aberdeen (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, The) | ||
| Assigned to National Electronics & Watch Co. Ltd., Aberdeen (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, The) | ||
| Filed on May 25, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/753,787. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 07101118.8 (HK), filed on Jan. 31, 2007. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0181059 A1, Jul. 31, 2008 | ||
| Int. Cl. G04B 27/02 (2006.01); G04B 29/00 (2006.01); G04B 37/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 368—190 [368/208; 368/321] | 13 Claims |
| 1. A timepiece apparatus comprising:
a casing having a cut-out portion defining a void in the casing along a portion of the peripheral edge of the casing and through
a top surface of the casing substantially towards a bottom surface of the casing;
an elongate rotatable shaft mounted across the cut-out portion to rotate relative to the casing, the shaft having a portion
of a first end held within the casing and a portion of a second end of the shaft opposite to the first end is held within
the casing;
a magnet having a length at least the diameter of the shaft and operatively connected to the shaft such that the magnetic
axis of the magnet is substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis and longitudinal axis of the shift, where manual
rotation of the shaft by the user causes the magnetic axis of the magnetic to rotate relative to the casing; and
a magnetic detection device to detect the magnetic fields of the magnet that is proximal to the magnetic detection device;
wherein if a predetermined sequence of magnetic fields is detected by the magnetic detection device, a predetermined operation
is performed; and
wherein the position of the magnet relative to the magnetic detection device is fixed such that there is a one-to-one relationship
between the magnet and the magnetic detection device.
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