Ricoh Elemex Corporation

Kazuhisa Tohyama

Hiroyuki Satou

Toshiyuki Imai

Keiji Nakagawa

Kentarou Hayashi

Masahide Hasegawa

Provided is a watch capable of performing digital display as well as analog display. The watch can offer digital display without posing disadvantages peculiar to a liquid crystal panel. On the other hand, the watch can reduce the restrictions in design and make the digital display larger and easier to see. The watch includes a light-shielding plateon the rear side of the dial. In the light-shielding plate, light-transmitting holesare made piercing from a front of the light-shielding plate to a rear thereof. Thin chip LEDsare inserted in the light-transmitting holes, and mounted on a circuit board. The circuit board is placed on the rear side of the light-shielding plate. On the rear side of the circuit board, an analog movementis provided, and an LED drive circuitfor driving the LEDs is placed. Thus, the LEDsfor digital display are placed on the rear side of the dial. The dial is formed so as to have an optical transmittance such that the digital display with the LEDs can be visually identified through the dial only when the LEDs are ON.

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Aichi, Japan

Kazuhisa Tohyama