US3756013A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Solid state watch
Assignee: HMW Industries Inc
•
Filing: 1972-04-20
•
Granted: 1973-09-04
•
Expires: 1992-04-20
Abstract
Abstract Disclosed is a solid state watch which requires no moving parts for timekeeping and display. The watch comprises a crystal controlled oscillator connected through an intergrated circuit binary frequency divider to an electro-optical display in the form of light emitting diodes. The display is energized only on demand and the level of the light output is controlled in accordance with ambient light conditions. The watch is energized from a rechargeable battery.
Inventors
- 👤 J Bergey
- 👤 R Walton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 12:49
CPC Classifications
G; G04; G04G; G04G17/00; G04G17/02; G04G5/00; G04G5/04; G04G9/00; G04G9/0017; G04G9/08; G04G9/10; G04G9/107
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
107 words
A wristwatch comprising a source of frequency controlled electrical timing signals, a first divider coupled to said source for lowering the frequency of the timing signals to a frequency greater than 1 Hz, a resettable divider coupled to saiD first divider for lowering the frequency of said timing signals to 1 Hz, seconds, minutes and hours counters coupled to said resettable divider for producing electrical time display signals, an electro-optical digital time display coupled to said counters, minutes setting means coupled to said minutes counter, and means coupling said minutes setting means to said resettable divider for resetting said divider when said minutes setting means is actuated.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
107 words
A wristwatch comprising a source of frequency controlled electrical timing signals, a first divider coupled to said source for lowering the frequency of the timing signals to a frequency greater than 1 Hz, a resettable divider coupled to saiD first divider for lowering the frequency of said timing signals to 1 Hz, seconds, minutes and hours counters coupled to said resettable divider for producing electrical time display signals, an electro-optical digital time display coupled to said counters, minutes setting means coupled to said minutes counter, and means coupling said minutes setting means to said resettable divider for resetting said divider when said minutes setting means is actuated.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
35 words
A wristwatch according to claim 1 wherein said seconds counter is resettable, and means coupling said minutes setting means to said seconds counter for resetting said seconds counter when said minutes setting means is actuated.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
80 words
A wristwatch according to claim 2 wherein said minutes setting means comprises a switch, a restart switch, means coupling said minutes setting switch to said resettable divider and said seconds counter for disabling said resettable divider and said seconds counter in response to actuation of said minutes setting switch, and means coupling said restart switch to said resettable divider and said seconds counter for re-enabling said resettable divider and said seconds counter in response to actuation of said restart switch.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
A wristwatch according to claim 3 wherein said restart switch comprises a display demand switch.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
A wristwatch according to claim 3 including a set-hold circuit coupling said minutes setting switch and said restart switch to said resettable divider and said seconds counter.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
43 words
A wristwatch according to claim 3 including a minute set circuit coupling said minutes setting switch to said minutes counter for applying a signal greater in frequency than 1 Hz to said minutes counter in response to actuation of said minutes setting switch.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
A wristwatch according to claim 6 wherein said greater frequency signal is applied to said minutes counter as long as said minutes setting switch is actuated.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
205 words
A wristwatch comprising a source of frequency controlled electrical timing signals, a first multi-stage binary chain divider coupled to said source for lowering the frequency of the timing signals to a frequency greater than 1 Hz, a resettable divider coupled to said first divider for lowering the frequency of said timing signals to 1 Hz, a divide by 60 seconds counter, a divide by 60 minutes counter and a divide by 12 hours counter all coupled to said resettable divider for producing electrical time display signals, said counters being formed as binary chains to produce time display signals in binary coded decimal form, a decimal electro-optical time display coupled to said counters, a minute set switch coupled to said minutes counter for advancing said minutes counter in response to operation of said minute set switch, means coupling said minute set switch to said resettable divider and said seconds counter for resetting and holding the reset state of said resettable divider and said seconds counter in response to actuation of said minute set switch, a restart switch, and means coupling said restart switch to said resettable divider and said seconds counter for releasing them from said reset state in response to actuation of said restart switch.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
205 words
A wristwatch comprising a source of frequency controlled electrical timing signals, a first multi-stage binary chain divider coupled to said source for lowering the frequency of the timing signals to a frequency greater than 1 Hz, a resettable divider coupled to said first divider for lowering the frequency of said timing signals to 1 Hz, a divide by 60 seconds counter, a divide by 60 minutes counter and a divide by 12 hours counter all coupled to said resettable divider for producing electrical time display signals, said counters being formed as binary chains to produce time display signals in binary coded decimal form, a decimal electro-optical time display coupled to said counters, a minute set switch coupled to said minutes counter for advancing said minutes counter in response to operation of said minute set switch, means coupling said minute set switch to said resettable divider and said seconds counter for resetting and holding the reset state of said resettable divider and said seconds counter in response to actuation of said minute set switch, a restart switch, and means coupling said restart switch to said resettable divider and said seconds counter for releasing them from said reset state in response to actuation of said restart switch.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
36 words
A wristwatch according to claim 8 including an hour set switch, and means coupling said hour set switch to said hours counter for advancing said hours counter in response to actuation of said hour set switch.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
A wristwatch according to claim 8 wherein said resettable divider comprises a three stage binary dividing chain.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
A wristwatch according to claim 8 including means for applying a 2 Hz advancing signal to said minutes counter as long as said minute set switch is actuated.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
37 words
A wristwatch according to claim 8 wherein said electro-optical display comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes forming seconds, minutes and hours display stations, and a bi-polar driver transistor coupling said counters to said light emitting diodes.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
A Wristwatch according to claim 12 including a complementary MOS inverter coupling said counters to said bi-polar driver transistor.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3304415A
Cited
US3485033A
Cited
US3505804A
Cited
US3596462A
Cited
US3576099A
Cited
US3579976A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-09-03 | 1977-03-05 | 1977-09-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-09-03 | 1981-03-05 | 1981-09-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-09-03 | 1985-03-05 | 1985-09-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |