A watch module construction including a digital display device composed of a liquid crystal display cell and an analog display device composed of time indicating hands. A cell support frame is disposed on one side of each of a base plate and a circuit board aligned substantially on the same plane as the base plate. The cell support frame has a first recess in which the liquid crystal display cell is disposed, and a second recess in which the time indicating hands are disposed. An IC chip is mounted on the other side of the circuit board in substantially axial alignment with the display cell, and a wheel train mechanism is disposed on the other side of the base plate in substantially axial alignment with the time indicating hands. A single lamp is disposed at a substantially central portion of the watch module construction in the vicinity of an outer periphery of the liquid crystal display cell and an outer periphery of the analog display device to simultaneously illuminate both of the digital display device and the analog display device.
A timepiece includes a clock movement whose axis coincides with the central axis of the case, and a module for displaying the time which is constituted by a unit which is independent of the movement and of the case and whose axis is spaced from the central axis of the case. The elements for coupling the display module to the case are arranged symmetrically about the central axis of the case so as to enable the display module to be arranged in various possible eccentric positions around the central axis of the case.
A bidirectional multispeed indexing control system for a display unit which has an increment input and a decrement input so as to be controllable to sequentially index through an ordered list of discrete elements. The control system has a two-button user interface. The user presses one button to increment once, and holds that button to continuously index at a slow fixed speed. To increase the indexing speed, the user presses the second button while continuing to hold the first button. Indexing speed will continue to increase until either a maximum speed is reached or the user releases the second button, at which point the indexing speed decreases from the value reached while holding the second button. To stop indexing, both buttons are released. To increment in the opposite direction (i.e., decrement), the order in which the buttons are pressed is reversed.
A watch which comprises movable analog display members, a dial and a digital display cell surrounded by said dial. The watch is further provided with means that can be controlled by the user of the watch, for making the digital display device visible or invisible, as desired. The digital display cell is of the twist nematic type. A liquid crystal layer 60a is positioned between two polarizers 60b and 60c. Polarizer 60c can be rotated about an axis 12 perpendicular to its plane by actuating means 13a, 14, 15, 17 which is accessible from the outside of the casing of the watch. The cell can be made substantially invisible by rotating the movable polarizer 60b in order to position its polarizing plane either parallel or perpendicular to the polarizing plane of the other polarizer 60c, depending on whether the color of the dial around the cell is dark or light respectively. Other optical arrangements are disclosed for causing the display device to take selectively the color of the dial and a second color different from the dial's color.
In an electronic timepiece equipped with both an analog display section having time indicating hands and a digital display section, a time correction system is provided whereby correction of both the analog and digital time displays can be performed by rotation of a crown, with the directions of rotation of the crown for time data incrementation and decrementation being identical both for analog and digital display correction. Selection of either analog time correction or digital time correction is performed simply by pulling the crown out to either of two axial positions. Correction of both analog and digital time display information is thereby simplified and made more rapid, while the number of external operating members is reduced.
A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel and a backlight unit. A case top covers edges of the liquid crystal display panel. At least one resilient metallic member contacts a portion of the case top as well as an upper glass substrate of the liquid crystal display panel and a plastic support main on which the liquid crystal display panel is supported and into which the backlight unit is fit. The resilient metallic member grounds the liquid crystal display panel to the case top, thereby preventing static electricity from damaging the liquid crystal display panel.