A method and related system for presenting time on an appliance. The method includes connecting at least a first and second appliance to each other with a network, establishing a time of day, presenting the time of day on a display of the first appliance, and deactivating a display of the second appliance such that the time of day is not presented on the display of the second appliance.

A wireless parking meter with an improved antenna location is described. The antenna may be located within a covering protruding from the top of the parking meter, allowing radio frequency (RF) signals to be transmitted through a portion of the parking meter with high permittivity to the RF signals. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna may be located within the parking meter housing above a lower parking meter mechanism housing so that RF signals can be transmitted through the dome covering of the parking meter, which may have a high permittivity to the RF signals.

A control device 2 includes a preset time determinator 22 for determining a preset time to be set to a first real-time clock of a terminal device 3 based on a second real-time clock. The terminal device 3 includes a latency time timer 34 for clocking a lapse of a latency time which is a period of time from the terminal device 3 acquiring the preset time until the preset time being set to the first real-time clock and is calculated in a clocking accuracy having the number of effective figures greater than that of the first real-time clock, and a time setter 32 for setting the preset time to the first real-time clock when the latency time is lapsed.

A control device 2 includes a preset time determinator 22 for determining a preset time to be set to a first real-time clock of a terminal device 3 based on a second real-time clock. The terminal device 3 includes a latency time timer 34 for clocking a lapse of a latency time which is a period of time from the terminal device 3 acquiring the preset time until the preset time being set to the first real-time clock and is calculated in a clocking accuracy having the number of effective figures greater than that of the first real-time clock, and a time setter 32 for setting the preset time to the first real-time clock when the latency time is lapsed.

An electronic timepiece enables a simple construction, and an electronic device has the electronic timepiece. A wristwatch has a button or external operating member; a controller that sets the operating mode of the wristwatch based on an input operation of the button. Based on the continuous input time that the button is operated continuously, the controller changes the operating mode between a timekeeping mode that receives a satellite signal from one or more GPS satellites and adjusts the internal time information based on time information contained in the received satellite signal; and a positioning mode that receives satellite signals from three or more GPS satellites and adjusts the internal time information based on time information and positioning information contained in the received satellite signals.

An electronic timepiece enables a simple construction, and an electronic device has the electronic timepiece. A wristwatch has a button or external operating member; a controller that sets the operating mode of the wristwatch based on an input operation of the button. Based on the continuous input time that the button is operated continuously, the controller changes the operating mode between a timekeeping mode that receives a satellite signal from one or more GPS satellites and adjusts the internal time information based on time information contained in the received satellite signal; and a positioning mode that receives satellite signals from three or more GPS satellites and adjusts the internal time information based on time information and positioning information contained in the received satellite signals.

A communication apparatus comprises a communicator that receives a standard time from an external apparatus, a manipulation receiver that receives a time correction action from a user, and a controller that performs a timing processing for clocking time and a time correction processing for correcting the time clocked by the timing processing, on the basis of the standard time received by the communicator, or on the basis of the time correction action received by the manipulation receiver. The controller changes processing contents of the time correction processing until a prescribed time interval has elapsed, when the time clocked by the timing processing is corrected on the basis of the time correction action received by the manipulation receiver.

An electronic timepiece includes a timer that clocks a current time, a receiver that receives radio waves, a switch that receives an operation from a user, and a processor. The processor acquires, in accordance with the operation received by the switch, a determination result indicating whether the radio waves are receivable by the receiver, and selects and executes one of a first processing and at least one second processing that differs from the first processing. The first processing is processing to correct the current time clocked by the timer on the basis of the radio waves received by the receiver. The processor does not select the first processing when the determination results indicate that the radio waves are not receivable by the receiver.

A method is described for providing a universal time in a control unit. The universal time is generated by a timer of the control unit or is received via a communication link from at least one external unit, the universal time being transmitted directly or as at least two time stamps to at least one component for ascertaining time deviations. Furthermore, a control unit, a computer program and a machine-readable storage medium are also described.

[Problem] To synchronize timings of transmitting and receiving a pulse signal (1 PPS signal) at a constant interval between communication apparatuses even in a case where an optical fiber connecting the communication apparatuses fluctuates in an optical characteristic and an optical fiber length. [Solution] The time synchronization system 20 transmits and receives a pulse signal at a constant interval between a local apparatus L (apparatus L) and a remote apparatus R (apparatus R) connected through the two-core bidirectional optical fibers F1 and F2 to synchronize time. A propagation delay amount τ1 in the fiber F1 is calculated, from a proportional relationship between T1 and T2 and a proportional relationship of τud and τ1, where T1 represents a propagation delay time difference between a pulse signals P1 and P4 of an identical wavelength λ.sub.1 returned after transmitting a pulse signal P1 of wavelength λ.sub.1 and a pulse signal P2 of wavelength λ.sub.2 different from λ.sub.1 to the remote apparatus R, T2 represents a propagation delay time difference between the pulse signal P1 of wavelength λ.sub.1 and a pulse signal P3 of wavelength λ.sub.2, and τud represents the round-trip delay time between the apparatuses L and R. The pulse signals P1 and P2 are transmitted with a time difference td corresponding to a difference between the current and last calculated propagation delay amounts τ1 being set so that the difference is zero.