Miniaturized battery-operated tuning-fork timepiece

Claim 1

An electronic timepiece movement comprising: A. a pillar plate, B. a tuning fork mounted on one side of the plate, said fork being constituted by a pair of tines having a bow-legged formation to define a circular zone whose periphery is demarcated by the pair of tines, the tines of said fork being spaced inwardly from the opposing edges of the pillar plate to define two module zones, C. an electronic drive circuit coupled to transducers associated with said fork to sustain said fork in vibration, said transducers being constituted by magnetic elements attached to said tines and stationary drive and sensing coils associated with said elements, said coils being supported on respective modules occupying said two module zones and secured to said pillar plate, D. a battery cell for energizing said circuit, said cell having a round, button-like shape and being seated in a well formed in said pillar plate concentrically within said zone, the diameter of said cell being slightly smaller than that of said zone whereby said tines are free to vibrate, the available space in said zone being otherwise fully utilized, and E. means to convert the vibratory motion of said fork into rotary motion for operating the hands of said timepiece.