Timepiece apparatus

• US 4,087,958 A
• Filed: 01/24/1977
• Issued: 05/09/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Inventors: Ebihara, Heihachiro, Uchino, Misao
• Primary Examiner(s): Jackmon, Edith S.
• Application Number:
  US05/761,957
• Time in Patent Office: 470 Days
• Field of Search: 58/24-26, 58/35 W, 58/50 R, 325/58, 358/93, 340/324 AD, 340/336
• US Class Current: 368/47
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/0011 using coded signals synchronisation combined with automatic setting at regular intervals, e.g. by coded signals G04G7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/0058 using a cathode ray tube as display device displaying supplementary informative, e.g. time on TV screen H04N5/445

Abstract

A novel timepiece apparatus for transmitting segment video signals to display time information etc. on a television set is described. The timepiece apparatus includes an oscillator generating a time base signal, a frequency divider dividing the frequency of said time base signal, a time counter counting an output from said frequency divider, a decoder decoding an output from said time counter, a segment video signal generator controlled by means of said decoder, a synchronizing signal generator delivering a synchronizing signal to said segment video signal generator, a modulator receiving a segment video signal from said segment video signal generator and a synchronizing signal from said synchronizing signal generator, a carrier wave generator delivering a carrier wave to be modulated by said modulator, and a transmitter transmitting a modulated carrier wave from said modulator whereby there can be obtained precise time information etc. on television sets.

Claims

1. A timepiece apparatus for transmitting segment video signal comprising:

(1) an oscillator generating a time base signal,

(2) a frequency divider dividing the frequency of said time base signal,

(3) a time counter counting an output from said frequency divider,

(4) a decoder decoding an output from said time counter,

(5) a segment video signal generator controlled by means of said decoder,

(6) a synchronizing signal generator delivering a synchronizing signal to said segment video signal generator,

(7) a modulator receiving a segment video signal from said segment video signal generator and a synchronizing signal from said synchronizing signal generator,

(8) a carrier wave generator delivering a carrier wave to be modulated by said modulator, and

(9) a transmitter transmitting a modulated carrier wave from said modulator.

2. The timepiece apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a transmitting antenna is provided at a transmission terminal of said transmitter.

3. The timepiece apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said segment video signal generator is composed of a position detecting circuit receiving said synchronizing signal from said synchronizing signal generator, a wave form shaping circuit receiving a detection signal from said position detecting circuit, and a gate circuit receiving each output from said wave form shaping circuit and said decoder so as to deliver said segment video signal to said modulator.

4. The timepiece apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said segment video signal generator comprises one shot multivibrators connected in cascade with the output from said synchronizing signal generator.

5. The timepiece apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said segment video signal generator comprises a counter connected to said synchronizing signal generator and a read only memory connected through said voltage comparing device to said counter.

6. The timepiece apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said position detector is composed of a saw tooth wave generator receiving said synchronizing signal, and a plurality of voltage comparing devices receiving the output signal from said saw tooth wave generator and having different voltage value.

7. The timepiece apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said wave form shaping circuit is composed of a differentiation circuit.

8. The timepiece apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said gate circuit comprises a plurality of AND gates and an OR gate receiving all the outputs from the AND gates.

9. The timepiece apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said modulator comprises a video signal synthesizer synthesizing each output from said segment video signal generator and said synchronizing signal generator.

10. The timepiece apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said segment video signal generator connected with said modulator delivers a mark video signal together with said segment video signal to said modulator and an externally actuated member provided at said segment video signal generator for controlling said segment video signal generator so as to determine whether or not a desired mark is displayed.