Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Takehiko Sasaki

Hidetoshi Maeda

Hiroaki Fukuda

Tamotsu Koyama

Yuji Yashiro

Toshiyuki Masuda

Masaji Yonekawa

Hiroshi Mori

Tutomu Nakamura

Mitsuo Morihisa

Keizo Yamamoto

Tsutomu Nakamura

Compressible interconnection is removably provided between a liquid crystal panel and a circuit board or a semiconductor chip to provide exchangeability for the liquid crystal panel from the viewpoint of the limited operating life inherent in liquid crystal composites. A desired number of electrodes for electrical connection are provided on both the liquid crystal panel and the circuit board to confront each other. The compressible interconnection means comprises a stack including a multiplicity of compressible and resilient conductive regions made of, for example, conductive rubber and a multiplicity of compressible, resilient non-conductive regions made of, for example, rubber in alternate fashion. The conductive regions connect the electrodes provided on the liquid crystal panel with the electrodes provided on the circuit board. The section of the conductive region is selected smaller than the distance provided between two adjacent electrodes on the liquid crystal panel and the circuit board, and the distance between two adjacent conductive regions is selected shorter than the width of the electrodes provided on the liquid crystal panel and the circuit board, thereby facilitating the installation and exchanging of the liquid crystal panel.

Resilient interconnection for exchangeable liquid crystal panel

A charger, which is useful to power a variety of compact type electronic appliances such as an electronic wristwatch, includes one or more solar batteries as a primary battery, and a sealed type silver oxide battery as a secondary battery. Both the amount of charging current amplitude and of charging voltage are limited to protect the sealed silver oxide battery from its own expanse phenomenon.

Charger using one or more solar batteries

A mode selection switch is provided for selectively enabling a time information display, namely, a timepiece mode, and a calculator operation, namely, a calculator mode. Function keys for the calculator operation are adapted to select a desired time information section, for example, the date information section, the hour information section, and the minute information section during the timepiece mode, thereby resetting the time information stored in the selected information section to zero. Thereafter, a desired value is introduced into the selected information section through numeral keys for the calculator operation. If the timepiece mode is selected, a separate key selects either hours/minutes/seconds or days of the week. The days of the week are displayed on a decimal point indicator display. Another separate key will correct the indication on the decimal point indicator display to display the correct day of the week once the days of the week are selected by the above mentioned separate key. The decimal point indicator display may also function to display the numerical decimal point in the calculator mode.

Time and date information correction in a combination timepiece and

A thin-film transparent electrode is provided on the front glass of an electronic wristwatch to form a part of a switching mechanism cooperation with a metal frame provided at the back of the wristwatch. The metal frame is maintained in contact with the operator's wrist in an operative condition. When the operator touches the thin-film transparent electrode, the switching mechanism in its ON condition provides a signal for controlling an operation mode of the electronic wristwatch, for example, a display condition.

Switching mechanism for electronic wristwatch

Seven symbol lamps are aligned, in addition to a six-digit numeral display for displaying time information, in order to indicate any one of the days of the week printed on a calendar panel. A mode panel is disposed, parallel to the calendar panel, on which labels representative of a month information correction mode, a date information correction mode, a day of the week information correction mode, an hour information correction mode, a minute information correction mode, and other operation modes such as a stop-watch mode are provided at positions corresponding to the seven symbol lamps. The symbol lamps are continuously enabled when they indicate the days of the week information printed on the calendar panel, and the symbol lamps are controlled to flicker when they indicate any one of the operation modes represented by the mode panel.

Display panel for electronic timepiece

A checkerboard or a 'go' board is implemented with a liquid crystal display or an electrochromic display. A pair of a disc pattern electrode and a ring pattern electrode are provided for showing a black 'go' stone and a white 'go' stone, respectively. A plurality of the disc pattern elecrodes and the ring pattern electrodes are formed on a first transparent glass substrate to serve as segment electrodes. A common electrode is provided opposite to the pair of the disc pattern electrode and the ring pattern electrode. The common electrode is arranged on the opposing second transparent glass substrate. A plurality of checks are printed on, for example, the first transparent glass substrate. The common electrodes, the disc pattern electrodes, and the ring pattern electrodes are activated by a driver coupled to a memory. The memory is adapted to store arrangement information of the black and the white 'go' stones, and the blank indication.

Go board using liquid crystal display or electrochromic display

An electronic type music learning aid includes an input unit for the introduction of musical information such as duration and pitch of a tone, etc., in a digital fashion, a storage to and from which digital information can be written and read in sequence, a musical note display which provides a visual display of digital information read from the storage, and a sound generator which produces sounds in response to the digital information provided from the storage.

Electronic type music learning aids

A digital display type electronic watch having a stopwatch function and comprising a display adapted for selective indication by the common display of horological information in a normal operation mode and chronometrical information in a stopwatch mode, characterized in that a corner for counting the clock pulses for measuring time in the stopwatch mode is divided into two groups for the more and less significant digit portions of the chronometrical information, a gate is provided for selectively and sequentially applying the said more and less significant digit portions of the chronometrical information to the display in the stopwatch mode, and a control signal generator is provided such that a first and second operations of a switch defines initiation and termination of the counting operation by said counter, a further operation of the switch triggers a timer providing an output for a predetermined time period which output is applied to said gate, whereby the gate is switched such that the displayed portion of said more and less significant portions of said chronometrical information is changed, and a further operation of the switch only when the output is obtained from the timer generates a clear signal of the said counter, whereby chronometrical information of a larger value can be displayed to the order of hour without increasing the number of digit positions in the display, while repetitive operations of a single switch enable various operation states in the stopwatch mode.

Electronic watch having stopwatch function

Interconnection is removably provided between a liquid crystal panel and a circuit board or semiconductor chip which provides exchangeability for the liquid crystal panel which is advantageous because of the limited operating life inherent in liquid crystal composites. Contact areas of the circuit chip confront contact areas (or electrode areas) of the liquid crystal panel with interposition of compressible and resilient connector means which complete the circuit therebetween. In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the compressible connector means comprises a rod-like dielectric compressible resilient material such as, for example, rubber and a predetermined number of ring-shaped compressible, reslient electroconductive members such as, for example, conductive rubber. In another preferred form, the electroconductive members comprise discrete stratified conductive members embedded in the rod-like dielectric material in desired alignment with the opposed contact areas.

Exchangeable liquid crystal panel

Zero adjustment of second information in an electronic timepiece is carried out upon receiving a command from the operator. 'Increment one' is performed upon minute information when the second information is between 24 and 59 seconds when the zero adjustment command is generated. Minute information is not changed when the second information is between 0 and 23 seconds when the zero adjustment command is generated.

Zero adjustment in an electronic timepiece

A mode selection switch is provided for selectively enabling a time information display, namely, a timepiece mode, and a calculator operation, namely, a calculator mode. Function keys for the calculator operation are adapted to select a desired time information section, for example, the date information section, the hour information section, and the minute information section during the timepiece mode, thereby resetting the time information stored in the selected information section to zero. Thereafter, a desired value is introduced into the selected information section through numeral keys for the calculator operation.

Time information correction in combination timepiece and calculator

Transparent touch electrodes are formed on a front glass window of an electronic wristwatch at positions near, for example, the hour information digital display section and the minute information digital display section for correcting the time information in terms of hours and minutes, respectively. A safety lock system associated with the touch electrodes is provided to prevent the time information correction when it is not desired. The safety lock system counts an intermittent touch operation effected on the touch electrodes, thereby allowing the introduction of a time information correction command only when the touch operation is repeated over a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time period.

Touch switch controlled time information correction with safety lock in

In electronic wristwatches employing an array of light emitting diodes (LED) as digital display, an ornamental coating is provided over the rear surface of a front glass sheet except the viewing window region thereof through the use of painting, printing, etc., while a color filter corresponding to the color of the light emitting display is provided at least over the viewing window region. With such an arrangement, the visibility is enhanced with a simplified construction.

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Yamatokoriyama, Japan

Takehiko Sasaki