Electronic equipment calendar and random daily message generator

• US 4,698,783 A
• Filed: 08/11/1986
• Issued: 10/06/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Hirata, Osamu, Miyakawa, Akira, Sekine, Kazumi, Fushimoto, Hideo, Nishimuro, Yoshiaki, Kano, Kuniomi
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jerry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jablon, Clark A.
• Application Number:
  US06/894,743
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 364/419, 364/705, 364/710, 364/715, 364/410, 368/10, 40/446, 40/447, 40/448, 40/510, D20/18, D20/19, D20/20
• US Class Current: 368/10
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 11/00 Producing optical signals at preselected times

Abstract

Electronic equipment comprises a store for storing messages, apparatus for processing time information and generating an output at the beginning of each predetermined time period. The messages and time information may be displayed and one of the messages can be selected at random at the start of each time period and displayed with time information in response to the output of the time information processing means, the same message being prevented from being displayed more than once in a time period that is longer than the first mentioned time period.

Claims

1. Electronic equipment, comprising:

means for processing time information and generating an output at the beginning of each occurrence of a first predetermined time period;

storage means for fixedly storing a plurality of messages;

means coupled to said storage means for displaying messages stored in said storage means and for displaying time information;

first control means responsive to the output from said time information processing means for randomly selecting one of the messages stored in said storage means at the beginning of each said first time period and providing the selected one of the messages to said display means for display, the selected message being displayed by said display means in association with displayed time information; and

second control means for preventing the same message from being selected more than once by said first control means within a second predetermined time period that is longer than said first time period, wherein said second control means includes means for storing data representative of the messages which have been displayed by said display means, and erases all of the stored data at the beginning of each second time period.

2. Electronic equipment according to claim 1, wherein said time information processing means generates said output with said first time period being one day.

3. Electronic equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said second predetermined time period is one month.

4. An electronic equipment according to claim 1, wherein said messages stored by said storage means are proverbs.

5. Electronic equipment, comprising:

storage means for storing a plurality of messages;

clock means for clocking time for producing time information and for generating an output signal at each occurrence of a first predetermined time period;

selection means for selecting one of the plurality of messages stored in said storage means in response to the output signal generated by said clock means at each occurrence of a first predetermined time period; and

display means including a first display region for displaying a message selected by said selection means, and a second display region different from said first display region for displaying time information produced by said clock means,

wherein said clock means clocks a second predetermined time period comprising a plurality of the first predetermined time periods and said selection means includes control means for preventing the same message from being selected more than once within the second predetermined time period and wherein said selection means includes means for storing data representative of the messages which have been displayed by said display means, and erases all of the stored data at the beginning of each second time period.

6. Electronic equipment according to claim 5, wherein said first predetermined time period is one day.

7. Electronic equipment according to claim 5, wherein said display means is a dot-matrix display device.

9. Electronic equipment according to claim 5 or 8 wherein said display means includes means for indicating year, month, day and clock time, said indicating means being displayed near said first display region.

10. Electronic equipment according to claim 5 or 8, wherein said display means is for simultaneously displaying the time information and a selected message.

8. Electronic equipment, comprising:

storage means for storing a plurality of messages;

clock means for clocking time for producing time information and for generating an output signal at each occurrence of a first predetermined time period;

selection means for selecting one of the plurality of messages stored in said storage means in response to the output signal generated by said clock means at each occurrence of a first predetermined time period; and

display means including a first display region for displaying a message selected by said selection means, and a second display region different from said first display region for displaying time information produced by said clock means,

wherein said selection means randomly selects one of the plurality of messages in response to the output signal generated by said clock means and wherein said selection means includes means for storing data representative of the messages which have been displayed by said display means, and erases all of the stored data at the beginning of each second time period.