JPS6231310B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electronic digital watch, and in particular, for example, an electronic digital watch.
The present invention relates to an electronic digital watch that can display not only current time information but also any programmable character information.

In conventional electronic digital wristwatches, the display pattern of the display is limited to, for example, a 7-segment date pattern, and therefore only limited character information such as numbers can be displayed. Therefore, without limiting the display pattern to numbers, it is possible to pre-program information such as alphanumeric characters, dates such as birthdays and anniversaries, personal names and telephone numbers, and information such as "FROM LOVE-ALICE". It would be convenient if it could display various information such as messages.

Further, the above-mentioned electronic digital wristwatch has an alarm function in which time information is set in advance and an alarm is sounded when the current time reaches the set time. However, such an alarm function merely sounds an alarm, but cannot notify the user of the meaning of the alarm. Therefore, it would be convenient if the meaning of the alarm could be displayed as alarm comment information when the alarm sounds.

An object of the present invention is to use a display means with a limited display area to display message information unrelated to alarms that exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed simultaneously, and to display message information that is not related to alarms, and to To provide an electronic digital clock capable of displaying alarm comment information that can be easily grasped.

FIG. 1 is an external view of an embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the display included in FIG. 1.

This electronic digital wristwatch 10 displays normal time information and has other additional functions. That is, as additional functions, it has a function of arbitrarily displaying message information, an alarm notification, a function of displaying comment information meant by the alarm when the alarm is notified, a date display, and a function as a stop watch. To switch between these functions and set the desired character,
Four switches Sf, Ss, Sa and Sl are provided.

The display 5 includes a display section 51 composed of a dot matrix of 30 rows in the horizontal direction and 7 rows in the vertical direction. This display section 51 displays current time information, preset alarm time information, message information, or alarm comment information. This display 5 also includes a display section 52 that displays a selection number when setting the day of the week position and alarm comment information.
A display section 53 for displaying the day of the week, and a display section 54 for displaying the morning (AM), comment information (M), etc. are provided.

Further, among the time information, message information, or alarm comment information displayed on the display section 51, each character is displayed in a dot matrix shape of, for example, 5 dots in the horizontal direction and 7 dots in the vertical direction. That is, up to five characters can be displayed simultaneously.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

In the structure, a crystal oscillator 1 generates clock pulses and provides the clock pulses to a frequency divider 2. The frequency divider 2 supplies the clock pulse to the control section 8, and also divides the frequency to 1 Hz and supplies the 1 Hz signal to the time counter 3 as time measuring means. Further, a clock pulse is applied from the control section 8 to the time counter 3 in order to fast-forward when correcting the time or date. The time counter 3 counts the 1 Hz signal, derives current time information of seconds, minutes, and hours, and date information of the day of the week, date, and month, and provides them to the decoder 4. Information such as morning, afternoon, and day of the week information is displayed on display sections 52, 53, and 54. Further, the month and day are displayed on the display unit 51 while being switched with the current time information.

The alarm counter 6 is preset with time information for an alarm and a selection number of alarm comment information to be displayed at that time. Of course, this can be set arbitrarily by the user.
Then, the coincidence detection circuit 7 compares the alarm time and the current time of the time counter 3.
When the coincidence detection circuit 7 determines that the current time and the alarm time match, it provides a coincidence signal to the control section 8 . The control section 8 operates the alarm sound generation section 9 based on the coincidence signal to generate an alarm sound through the speaker 12.

The control unit 8 also includes switches Ss, Sf, Sa, and Sl.
An input signal from is given via the input circuit 11.

The switch Sf is used to switch between normal time information display and other additional function displays, and to command fast forwarding in the reverse direction when reading out characters. The switch Ss switches between the current time display and the date display, switches the digit selection when setting the time, character, and alarm time, and commands start and stop when used as a stop watch. switch
Sa commands fast forwarding of characters in the forward direction when adjusting the time or setting the character, commands the display of any character that can be displayed simultaneously, and commands setting and resetting the alarm time in the alarm display. It is something to do.

Character information can then be easily programmed using switches Sf, Ss, and Sa.
That is, in this embodiment, desired message information or alarm comment information can be created by selecting and combining 26 alphanumeric characters, numbers 1 to 9, symbols, "-" and blank characters.

The control unit 8 also includes a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM) 81 for setting the character. This ROM81 is, for example, an Alphabet
Code information corresponding to 26 characters and numbers 0 to 9, etc. is stored. And Switch SF or
When Sa is operated, the code stored in ROM 81 is read out cyclically. At this time, when the switch Ss is operated, the control unit 8 stores the code read from the ROM 81 in the RAM 10.
This RAM 10 stores a plurality of combinations of code information read from the ROM 81 as code information representing message information or alarm comment information.

That is, the RAM 10 has a storage area divided into five character characters that are arranged in a predetermined order and can be displayed simultaneously, and the characters of message information or alarm comment information are stored in the storage area in this RAM 10 as appropriate. are stored respectively.

Then, when the coincidence detection circuit 7 gives a coincidence signal to the control section 8 or when the switch Sf is arbitrarily operated, the character stored in the RAM 10 is read out and given to the decoder 4. Decoder 4
is the current time information given from the time counter 3,
The alarm time information given from the alarm counter 6 and the characters read from the RAM 10 are each converted into a dot matrix character pattern and displayed on the display section 51 of the display 5.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a state in which the code information stored in the ROM shown in FIG. 3 is converted into a character pattern and displayed, and FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a specific flow diagram for explaining the operation order and display form in the current time display mode, and FIG. 7 is an overall flow diagram for explaining the operation in the comment information display mode. It is a specific flow diagram for explaining the order and display form,
FIG. 8 is a specific flowchart for explaining the operation order and display format in character setting mode, and FIG. 9 is a specific flowchart for explaining the operation order and display format in arbitrary alarm mode. be.

First, the operation when correcting the current time and date information in the current time display mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

Note that this time adjustment etc. is almost the same as that of a conventional electronic digital wristwatch, so it will be briefly explained.
First, operate the switch Ss for a predetermined period of time or longer to set the time adjustment mode. At this time, the output of the time counter 3 is provided to the display section 51 via the decoder 4, and the current time is displayed on the display section 51. Then, when switch Sa is operated, the second digit of time counter 3 is reset to 0, and at the same time,
Return to current time display mode. Further, if the switch Ss is operated without operating the switch Sa in the time correction mode, the control unit 8 displays the date information of the time counter 3 instead of displaying the current time information. and,
When you operate switch Sa, the numerical value of the digit representing the month is fast-forwarded. Then, after the desired month has been reached, by operating the switch Ss, the digit displaying the date is selected as the digit to be fast-forwarded, and in this state, by operating the switch Sa, the date is fast-forwarded to the desired value.

Thereafter, each time you operate switch Ss, select the digit to fast-forward in sequence, and if you operate switch Sa while a predetermined digit is selected, the value of that digit will be fast-forwarded and set to the desired value. Ru. Then, after setting the minute digits, operate switch Ss to return to current time display mode. In this current time display mode, switching between the date display and the date display is performed by operating the switch Ss within a predetermined time.
The display automatically or forcibly returns to the time display by operating the Ss.

Note that after setting the day of the week, the time counter 3 starts counting the 1 Hz signal given from the frequency divider 2, and the current time information is displayed.

Next, the operation in the comment display mode will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7. Display section 51
If you operate switch SF while is displaying the current time, you can switch to comment display mode. That is, the message information is instructed to be displayed by operating this switch Sf.

In response to the operation of the switch Sf, the control unit 8
Characters stored in the RAM 10 are read out by sequentially specifying storage areas divided by the number of characters that can be displayed simultaneously according to a predetermined arrangement. For convenience, the information set and stored in the divided first to fourth storage areas will be referred to as first to fourth character setting information. Here, for example, "TO" is set and stored as the first character setting information, "LOVE-" is set and stored as the second character setting information, and "ALICE" is set and stored as the third character setting information. Then, according to the readout described above, the character setting information from each storage area is sequentially switched and supplied to the display 5, and "TO LOVE" is displayed.
―ALICE'' is automatically displayed continuously. Therefore, message information unrelated to alarms can be displayed by sequentially and continuously displaying the first to fourth character setting information.

Note that if the switch Sa is operated during this automatic display, a hold display is performed as shown in FIG. 7. That is, if the switch Sa is operated while the first character setting information is being displayed, that character setting information will be displayed continuously. Then, when you operate switch Sa again, 2
The first character setting information is displayed, and then the third, fourth, and so on, and then the first character setting information is displayed again.

As mentioned above, message information unrelated to alarms is stored across the first to fourth storage areas of the RAM 10, and by arbitrarily operating switch Sf, the first to fourth character setting information can be stored. Message information can be displayed automatically and cyclically. Furthermore, by arbitrarily operating the switch Sa at this time, it is also possible to hold and display the arbitrary character setting information.

Next, the operation in the character setting mode will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 8.

During the above comment display mode, switch Ss
When you operate , a type of character setting information that is being displayed is erased, "------" is displayed on the display section 51, the first digit "-" blinks, and 1
Indicates that the character of the digit can be set. Here, the number of the corresponding storage area is displayed on the lower display sections 521 to 524 of the display section 53 that displays the day of the week. That is, when the first character setting information can be set, the control unit 8
In the second case, the display 521 blinks, and in the second case, the display 522 blinks. Thereafter, in the same manner, the display up to the fourth display 524 is made to blink sequentially.

Here, when switch Sf is operated, the control section 8
Character code information stored in the ROM 81 is sequentially read out and given to the decoder 4. The decoder 4 converts the code information into a character pattern and displays it on the first digit of the display section 51. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, characters A, B, C
...Y, Z...9, 8...1, 0... are displayed cyclically. Then, as shown in Fig. 8, when the desired character, for example "T", is displayed in the first digit, fast forwarding is stopped, and then when switch Ss is operated, the character "T" is displayed in the first digit. ,
At the same time, the second digit "-" on the display section 51 flashes to indicate that the second digit character can be set. Further, when the switch Sf is operated, the above-mentioned characters are displayed cyclically in the second digit display area.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the characters are being read out cyclically, if it is faster to read them in the opposite direction, by operating the switch Sa, the characters can be changed to 0, 1, 2...8, etc. 9...Z,Y
It is also possible to cycle in the opposite direction and display it. In this case, the addresses given to the ROM 81 are sequentially subtracted. Then, when the desired character is displayed, the operation of the switch Sa is stopped, and then the character, for example "E", is set to the second digit by operating the switch Ss. At this time, the control unit 8 controls the display unit 51
Code information corresponding to the characters displayed in each digit is stored in the RAM 10.

When the setting of the five character characters, that is, the first character setting information "TEL-0" is completed as described above, the mode returns to the comment display mode by operating the switch Ss. Then, when displaying other character setting information, if the switch Ss is operated again, the character setting mode is entered and the corresponding character setting information can be set. Then, in the same way as explained above,
By operating the switch Ss, characters for the next five characters of character setting information are set. In this way, it is possible to set four types of character setting information, that is, characters for 20 characters.

Here, as the first to fourth character setting information corresponding to the arrangement of the first to fourth storage areas of the RAM 10, in this order, across the first to fourth storage areas, For example, as mentioned above, if you set a character like "TO LOVE-ALICE", the message information of the desired number of characters that can be displayed simultaneously will be displayed in RAM10.
is memorized.

Alternatively, the information may be only character setting information corresponding to any one of the first to fourth storage areas of the RAM 10. This can be used as alarm comment information as described later.

Next, the operation of the arbitrary alarm mode will be explained with reference to FIG.

In the first alarm display mode, set alarm time information and one character setting information are displayed alternately. Then, when the switch Ss is operated in the arbitrary alarm display mode, the mode shifts to the arbitrary alarm time setting mode.

At this time, when the switch Sa is operated, the days of the week on the display section 53 are lit cyclically. When the desired day of the week arrives, operating the switch Ss sets that day of the week, and subsequently operating the switch Sa causes the time display on the display section 51 to be fast-forwarded. When the desired time arrives, operate switch Ss and
When you operate Sa, the minutes are displayed in fast forward motion.

When the desired minute arrives, operating the switch Ss shifts to a comment selection mode for selecting alarm comment information to be displayed when the set alarm time arrives. Here, when the switch Sa is operated, code information corresponding to the first character setting information, for example "PARTY" among the character setting information described above stored in each storage area of the RAM 10, is given to the decoder 4 and displayed. section 51. Next, when you operate Switch Sa, the second character setting information "KAIGI"
is displayed, and thereafter, in the same manner, each time the switch Sa is operated, the code information corresponding to the four types of character setting information stored in the RAM 10 is sequentially read out, and each character setting information is displayed on the display section 51. Ru. Then, when desired character setting information is displayed as alarm comment information, when the switch Ss is operated, the storage area of the corresponding display is selected and the corresponding selection number is stored in the alarm counter 6. At the same time, the mode returns to the arbitrary alarm display mode, and the alarm time and the selected alarm comment information corresponding thereto are alternately displayed.

Note that the automatic alarm mode is operated in the same manner as the above-mentioned arbitrary alarm mode. The difference between this arbitrary alarm mode and auto alarm mode is that when set to auto alarm mode, the alarm will sound every day when the alarm time arrives, whereas in arbitrary alarm mode, the alarm will sound only on the day you set it. can sound. As described above, when the setting of the alarm time and the selection of alarm comment information are completed in the arbitrary alarm mode or the automatic alarm mode, if the switch Sf is operated, the mode shifts to the normal current time display mode.

Next, the operation at the alarm time will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Now, assume that in the arbitrary alarm mode as described above, an alarm time has been set in advance, and one piece of alarm comment information corresponding to this alarm time has been selected and set.

In the current time display mode, the clock counter 3
The coincidence detection circuit 7 detects that the current time matches the alarm time set in the alarm counter 6.
When the matching signal is determined, the matching signal is given to the control section 8.

In response, the control section 8 reads out the alarm time from the alarm counter 6. Further, the control unit 8 reads out the selection number of the storage area set in the alarm counter 6, specifies one of the storage areas stored in the RAM 10 based on the number, and selects the corresponding alarm comment from the storage area. Read code information as information. Then, the control section 8 alternately supplies the read alarm time and alarm comment information to the decoder 4, and the display section 51 displays the alarm time "12, 34" and the alarm comment information "KAIGI" as shown in FIG. are displayed alternately. The display interval of the alarm time and alarm comment information is, for example, one second. By operating the switch Ss during this alternating display period, it is possible to forcefully return to the original current time display mode. If you do not operate the switch Ss, it will automatically return to the current time display mode after one minute.

In the above-described embodiment, the display section 51 for displaying message information or alarm comment information is configured with a dot matrix of 30 horizontal columns and 7 vertical lines. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any display device capable of displaying alphanumeric characters etc. may be used.

Further, in the above embodiment, a plurality of codes corresponding to one character character are stored in the ROM 81, and character setting information is set by combining these codes. A plurality of code information corresponding to the setting information may be stored, and desired code information may be selected from among the code information and stored in the RAM 10.

Further, in the above embodiment, the ROM 81 is provided as the first storage means, but an up-down counter is provided in place of the ROM 81, and the contents of the up-down counter, that is, the code as the counted value, is converted into a character pattern by a decoder. However, it may be displayed and also stored in the RAM 10.

As described above, the present invention uses a display means with a limited display area, and can display message information in excess of the number of characters unrelated to alarms that can be displayed simultaneously, as well as alarm comment information at the alarm time. Since the time is displayed alternately with the alarm comment information of the number of characters that can be displayed simultaneously and the alarm time, it is possible to provide a digital electronic clock in which it is easy to grasp the correspondence between the alarm time and the alarm comment information.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the display included in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the code information stored in the ROM of FIG. 3 is converted into a character pattern and displayed. FIG. 5 is an overall flow diagram for explaining the general operation of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a specific flowchart for explaining the operation order and display format in the current time display mode. FIG. 7 is a flowchart in the same comment display mode.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart in the character setting mode as well. FIG. 9 is a flowchart in the arbitrary alarm mode as well. In the figure, 1 is a crystal oscillator, 2 is a frequency divider, and 3
is a time counter, 4 is a decoder, 5 is a display, 5
1 is a dot matrix display section, 6 is an alarm counter, 7 is a coincidence detection circuit, 8 is a control section, 81 is a read-only memory, 9 is an alarm sound generation section, 10
indicates random access memory, and Ss, Sf, and Sa indicate switches.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Display means for displaying the current time, alarm time, comment information at the alarm time, and message information unrelated to the alarm; and characters arranged in a predetermined order and capable of being displayed simultaneously on the display means. a character storage means having a storage capacity equal to or greater than the number of characters that can be displayed simultaneously; a character setting means for setting and storing characters in the character storage means; and an external operation means. message display instructing means for instructing the display of messages unrelated to the alarm; and in response to instructions from the message display instructing means, storage areas for each number of characters that can be simultaneously displayed are sequentially designated in accordance with a predetermined arrangement. ,
Message reading means for reading the character for each storage area from the character storage means; and message supplying means for receiving the output of the message reading means and sequentially switching and supplying the read character for each storage area to the display means. means, an alarm time setting means for setting at least one alarm time, and selecting any one of the divided storage areas of the character storage means in correspondence with the alarm time setting of the alarm time setting means. storage area setting means for setting a number according to the alarm time; and in response to a signal from the detection means indicating that a set alarm time has arrived, the storage area setting means selects and sets the selected storage area number corresponding to the alarm time. an alarm comment reading means for reading out a character of the storage area from the character storage means by specifying its storage area number; Alarm time reading means for reading out the alarm time; and alternating between the character of the specified storage area read out in response to the output of the alarm comment reading means and the alarm time read out in response to the output of the alarm time reading means. An electronic digital clock comprising: alarm comment supply means for switching to and supplying alarm comments to the display means.