World timepiece

• US 5,007,033 A
• Filed: 12/15/1988
• Issued: 04/09/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Seiko Clock, Inc. (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seikosha Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Aso, Hideo, Kubota, Maki
• Primary Examiner(s): Miska, Vit W.
• Application Number:
  US07/285,002
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• Field of Search: 368/21-24
• US Class Current: 368/21
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/0076 in which the time in another time-zone or in another city can be displayed at will

Abstract

A world timepiece for normally displaying the time of a home city and for selectively displaying the time of another city situated in another time zone. The world timepiece includes a plurality of selector switches corresponding to main cities located in different time-lag zones into which the world is divided. A display unit normally displays the time of the user'"'"'s home city and, upon actuation of one of the selector switches, the display unit displays the time of the selected city designated by the actuated selector switch. A city of an arbitrary time-lag zone can be stored in an assigned city storage circuit, and the time of the assigned city can be displayed by the display unit by actuating an optional switch.

Claims

1. A world timepiece, comprising:

actuatable selector switches corresponding respectively to main cities of desired zones out of a plurality of time-lag zones into which the world is divided, the number of said desired zones being less than the number of said time-lag zones;

an assigned city storage circuit for storing data representative of a city of an arbitrary zone selected from said time-lag zones including zones other than said desired zones as an option;

an assigned city setting circuit for setting said data into said assigned city storage circuit;

an optional switch actuatable to read out the content of said assigned city storage circuit; and

a display unit for selectively displaying the time of one of said each main city or said assigned city according to the actuation of one of said selector switches or said optional switch.

2. A world timepiece according to claim 1;

wherein said selector switches are fewer in number than the number of time-lag zones.

3. A world timepiece, comprising:

actuatable selector switches corresponding respectively to main cities of desired zones out of a plurality of time-lag zones into which the world is divided;

an assigned city storage circuit for storing data representative of a city of an arbitrary zone selected from said time-lag zones as an option;

an optional switch actuatable to read out the content of said assigned city storage circuit;

a home city storage circuit for storing data representative of a specific city out of said main cities as a home city;

a display unit for normally displaying the time of said home city and for temporarily displaying the time of one of said each main city or said assigned city selectively according to the actuation of one of said selector switches or said optional switch; and

a timer circuit for counting a period during which the time of a city other than said home city is displayed by said display unit and generating an output after counting a desired period, thereby enabling the display unit to display the time of said home city.

4. A world timepiece according to claim 3;

wherein said selector switches are fewer in number than the number of time-lag zones.