Multi-alarm electronic watch
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Suwa Seikosha
InventorsShuji Maezawa, Masami Murata
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A multi-alarm watch includes a liquid crystal display means for providing both conventional time displays and an alarm time schedule display indicating simultaneously a plurality of times of day scheduled for an alarm signal. Separated or overlapped displays are used. The displays are driven by AC multiplexed voltage signals with each display having a different duty cycle. A random access memory stores data for the scheduled alarm circuitry and display. For greater visibility the scheduled display shows alarm times for twelve hours at one time and an address decoder converts timekeeping signals into a memory address code for the alarm schedule. A conventional alarm is also provided, and distinctive audible signals identify different functional outputs.
Claims21
In a multi-alarm electronic watch having an oscillator generating a high frequency time standard signal, a divider circuit dividing down said high frequency standard signal, timekeeping means accumulating said divided signals in a plurality of time units, liquid crystal display means for display of said accumulated timekeeping signals, the improvement therein comprising:
- an alarm circuit, said alarm circuit capable of being simultaneously and selectively set for a plurality of alarm times;
- means for actuating said alarm circuit at each time corresponding to a set alarm time;
- liquid crystal display means for simultaneous display of said plurality of set alarm times, signals from said alarm circuit causing said simultaneous display, said display means for simultaneous display providing a visible time schedule of said plurality of set times in the form of a grid matrix,
- said time schedule display means including a first group of electrodes, said first group of electrodes being divided into rows, and a second group of electrodes, said second group of electrodes being divided into columns, said rows and columns being transverse one to the other, the overlapped portions of said transverse electrodes forming picture elements in said grid matrix,
- said columns representing hours and said transverse rows representing portions of an hour in minutes, each selectable alarm time having a unique fixed location on said grid matrix, selected alarm times being indicated by an ON condition of said display at said respective fixed locations, non-selected alarm times being in an OFF condition at said respective fixed locations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.