DE2362970A1 - ELECTRONIC CLOCK - Google Patents

Description

73 / 8734-

Kabushiki Kaisha Suwa Seikosha Tokyo, Japan

Electronic clock

The invention relates to an electronic clock with a battery, a sound signal source, a logic circuit, a control circuit and a display device.

In recent years, the great advances in electronics have made electronic watches more and more advanced and have become more and more widespread. Instead of the usual analogue display, there is an imitation this development the digital display by means of an electric digital time display element · These solid-state electronic clocks contain a Battery used whose capacity is limited because the battery must be housed in the limited tree of a wrist watch. The display element has the largest total energy consumption

'- 2 -

409826/1020

2 3 6 2 ° i 7 O

Proportion of. There is therefore "a need to reduce this proportion.

The invention is based on the object of an electronic Clock of the type mentioned in the introduction or in the case of an electronic clock in which the time is stored electronically using several to be displayed is indicated by the display Reduce the required energy consumption, so that either the battery required for the energy supply is made smaller or their service life can be increased.

The object is achieved according to the invention in that the respective Display units for hours, minutes or seconds, the respective digits or the respective digit segments are not can be controlled simultaneously but sequentially. The period of the expensive signal s is preferably chosen so that the human Eye cannot see the flickering of the display. It is also advantageous if the respective display unit alternately lights up for the hours, minutes or seconds is held to be read by the human eye.

The electronic watch according to the invention has a display device with a clearly visible time display where the

409826/1020

individual display units for hours, minutes or seconds, the individual display digits or the individual display segments are controlled one after the other so that they can be read at the same time, or that the display units can be read one after the other either from the hour to the seconds display or from the seconds to the hour display. This allows the power consumption required for display can be reduced considerably.

With the previously common display of hours, minutes and seconds, a relatively high current is required, due to the voltage drop caused by the internal resistance of the battery, the Switching or the display element has the consequence. These deficiencies are also eliminated in the solution according to the invention, because the current intensity is smaller with sequential control than with simultaneous control.

With the simultaneous digital display of hours and minutes or of hours, minutes and seconds from well-known electronic ones Wristwatches have been limited to a very short period of time in order to reduce energy consumption. This leads to an indistinct display. However, if the display time is made long, then the energy consumption and the

4 0 9 8 2 6 / Ί 0 2

2 3 6/3 7 Q

Battery life is greatly reduced. In the inventive Electronic watch can by taking advantage of the inertia of the human eye, according to which an impression of light is not instantaneous disappears, the power consumption can be significantly reduced that the display elements are not simultaneously, but are made to glow one after the other. The result is an electronic watch where the time is easy to read, and whose display requires a low energy consumption.

The invention is explained in more detail by means of exemplary embodiments with the aid of five figures. Show it

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a clock with digital time display

FIG. 2 shows the clock control device shown in FIG. 1
generated digit signals

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a clock in which the time by means of Segments is displayed

FIG. M shows the signals supplied by the clock control device shown in FIG. 3

5 shows the signals for the hours, minutes and seconds units the embodiment according to FIG. 3.

example 1

The electronic watch shown in Fig. 1 includes a normal signal generator A, a logic circuit B, a drive circuit 0 and a display device D. It is a time display provided in hours, minutes and seconds. For this purpose,

- 5 - 409826/1020 OWQINAL INSPECTED

the display device holds six digits from seven-segment display elements, those made from g-allium-arsenide-phosphide light emitting diodes are constructed. The time display in six digits is effected so that six-digit signals are (their pulse width in the present case 1/256 seconds), which are the six digits are specified by the in .Fig. Eight coded signals shown in FIG. 2, which are supplied by the logic circuit so that the display is digit after digit. As a result of this, the power consumption in this display method is only half or even less than with one Display method in which all digits are lit up at the same time.

Example 2

In the electronic watch shown in Fig. 3, in which the time is displayed by means of seven-segment digits, the clock controller supplies seven kinds of segment code signals a and six kinds of digit code signals b, that is, 13 kinds of coded signals shown in E ¹ Ig. 4- are shown. The pulses of the segment code signals and the digit code signals are supplied by the divider B and have a repetition frequency of 2048 Hertz and 2 ^ 6 Hertz, respectively. 1-second signals supplied by the divider are used in a counting / decoding device

- 6 409826 / 102Q

9 7Π

counted and 'in signals for digits consisting of seven segments converted, which are used to display seconds, minutes and hours. The signals obtained are through the segment signals (Fig. 4a) and the digit signals (£ "ig. 4b) modulated, which are supplied by the clock controller, and it is possible to choose the pulse width of the working phase so that they are the same or less than 1/42. In this pail, each segment of the display can be at a different time than the others Segments are put into the light state.

In this way, an electronic watch is obtained in which the maximum number of lights shines at any given moment Segments is one and is therefore compared to the usual procedure in which all digits are simultaneously in the light state can be shifted, the energy required for the display only 1/3 to 1/4. Will the display frequency on 32 Hertz or more is set, then, in addition, due to the sluggishness of the human eye, a flicker-free one becomes clear Receive time display. Thus, there can be obtained an electronic timepiece with excellent operational characteristics, which at can be operated at low temperature, or the one continuous Display allows.

Example 3

In the known digital time display, for a display

409826/1020

of hours, minutes and seconds six digits and for one Four digits are provided for hours and minutes. If you want to read the time, you can see the total display in the Usually not grasped at a glance and it is difficult to read them off.

In order to avoid this disadvantage, it is provided according to a development of the invention that the display units for the Hours, for which the minutes and for the seconds are not controlled simultaneously, but one after the other. Amounts in this notification procedure the time delay t is 1/16 second or more, then the display units light up one after the other and a clear and easy-to-read time display is obtained. With this type of time display, the energy consumption is also decreased. It can be further reduced if the measures described for Examples 1 and 2 are provided.

As already mentioned, the invention makes use of the inertia of the human eye, i.e. the ability of the eye to to let an image impression have an effect, and the current-light emission characteristic of light emitting diodes, so that an electronic watch is obtained, their energy consumption compared to known electronic watches and decreased

409826 / 'IO 2o

Vf TE NT A NVVA LT E BI.UMBACI- .. WESEIV. BERGEN «KRAMER, B MUNICH to Fl OS ^ i MANrJ ST R. -

whose display is clear and which can be easily constructed using integrated circuit technology.

- 9 -

409826 / * i 0 2 ο

Claims (2)

[IHIMBACII, VVES: ER. BERLENä KRAMER, E MUNICH fcO. FLOSSM ANN STR1 S5 claims 1. Electronic clock with one battery, one original signal source, a logic circuit, a control circuit and a display device, characterized in that that the respective display units for hours, minutes or seconds, the respective digits or the respective digit segments are not controlled simultaneously, but sequentially. 2. Electronic clock, "in which the time is electronically using several digits coming to be displayed is displayed, characterized in that the display digits or display segments that form these digits are not excited simultaneously, but one after the other be, the period of the drive signal in such Area is that the human eye can flicker the display, and the respective display unit for the hours, minutes and seconds alternately is kept in the luminous state so long that it can be read by the human eye. 409826/1020