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US 4,597,674 AGranted
Multiplex digital clock
OwnerWilliam H. Thompson, IIIinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Different from a standard digital display utilizing separate digits for seconds, minutes and hours, an electronic timepiece which uses tow digits composed of triads of red, green and yellow L.E.D.s. Each L.E.D. color is synchronically sequenced and each period of display is for one-third of a second. Each color L.E.D. is dedicated to a particular element of time, i.e., red represents second, yellow represents minutes and green represents hours.
Claims5
An electronic timepiece apparatus for sequentially displaying seconds, minutes and hours, each in a different color code, on single display, comprising:
- a two-digit, numeric L.E.D. display, the elements of said display each being composed of a triad of three L.E.D.'s, of which each L.E.D. is of one of three colors, said L.E.D. display thereby being capable of displaying two digit numbers in one of three colors;
- a power supply;
- a display driver circuit connected to said L.E.D. display to selectively power L.E.D. elements of said first color, said second color and said third color, said driver circuit also being connected to said power supply;
- a time keeping circuit connected to said power supply for simultaneously supplying a train of first, faster clock pulses and a train of second, slower clock pulses;
- a multiplexer circuit connected to said time keeping circuit to receive both said first clock pulses and said second clock pulses, said multiplexer circuit providing output signals to said display driver circuit;
- a display select circuit connected to receive said multiplexer circuit output signals and connected to receive said first clock pulses and said second clock pulses from said time keeping circuit;
- and
- a display decode-drive circuit connected to said display select circuit output, said display decode-drive circuit having its output connected to said L.E.D. display.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.