Abstract:
An electronic watch having a multiple of modes includes mode selection means operable from the outside and a plurality of external operating buttons for modifying the contents of indication of the watch or for issuing an operational command in each mode. Auxiliary indication means is provided directly with the mode selection means. Alternatively, the auxiliary indication means may be provided separately from the mode selection means but in an interlocked fashion with it. The indication surface of the auxiliary indication means carries at a position corresponding to each of the external operating buttons a symbol or characters which represent the function of said each of the external operating buttons in each selected mode.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a mode switching device in an electronic timepiece having a multitude of modes, and more particularly, it is intended to simplify the operation of each external operating switch-button in each mode whenever it is desired to switch over from one mode to another mode. 
     In recent years, multi-mode electronic timepieces having not only the time-indicating function, but also many other functions such as calendar, alarm, timer and stopwatch functions, have been introduced into the market. Heretofore, however, many external operating switch-buttons have been provided and many functions allocated to those buttons, so the user is required to remember each predetermined function of each button for operating the timepiece, which is very troublesome in operation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention aims at providing a device free from the above-mentioned drawbacks and capable of performing the operation of the aforesaid buttons in a simple manner. 
     According to this invention, the above object is attained by constructing the multi-mode timepiece so that second indication means for indicating the contents of operation of the aforesaid buttons is interlocked with a mode selection member which performs a mode switching operation, with marks put on the second indication means being visible from indication windows, so that the external operating buttons are provided in corresponding relation to each indication window thereby indicating the function of each external operating switch-button in each mode. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mode switching device according to an embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the interior thereof; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the interior thereof; 
     FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a partial operational view of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 8 is a plan view of a mode switching device according to another embodiment of this invention; and 
     FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view thereof. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of this invention will be described in detail hereinunder with reference to FIGS. 1 through 7. 
     An upper case 1 and a lower case 2 both constituting a housing of a timepiece are each formed of a plastic material, with the upper case 1 having a main indication window for a liquid crystal display panel 3 and three sub-indication windows 1b for an indication drum 4 as will be described later. An inner plate 5 formed of a plastic material is provided at an intermediate portion thereof with three resilient arms 5a for urging the liquid crystal display panel 3 to the upper case 1, and further provided with three first guide portions 5b for guiding three first, second and third external operating push buttons 6a, 6b, 6c in a vertically movable manner, a second guide portion 5c for guiding an alarm button 7 so as to be movable right and left and pivotable about itself, and two U-shaped grooves 5d for supporting both ends of a selector shaft 9 which has a knob at its rightmost end, the selector shaft 9 extending through the indication drum 4. 
     On the lower surface of the inner plate 5 there are disposed a first contact plate 10 and a rubber switch 18, which are fixed in place by being held between a printed board 12 and the inner plate 5 when both are connected together with screws 21. The combination of the inner plate 5 and the printed board 12 is in turn held in place by being held between the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 when both are joined together with screws 13. 
     The printed board 12 carries thereon an IC 14 including an oscillation circuit, a frequency divider circuit, etc. and though not shown, a quartz oscillator familiar in electronic watches, capacitors, etc., which are electrically wired together, whereby in this embodiment a basic watch mode, a calendar mode, an alarm mode, a timer mode and a stopwatch mode are obtained. 
     The IC 14 is provided with many functional terminals such as those shown in Table 1, which are connected to eleven patterns P1 to P11 and to liquid crystal drive terminals PL1, PL2, . . . PLn both on the printed board 12 in such a combination as in each line in the same table. 
     
                       TABLE 1______________________________________                         First Contact            Printed Board                         PlateIC Terminals     Patterns     Terminals______________________________________Liquid Crystal Drive            PL1, PL2, . . .Terminal         PLnBasic Time Mode Terminal            P1           S1Calendar Mode Terminal            P2           S2Alarm Mode Terminal            P3           S3Timer Mode Terminal            P4           S4Stopwatch Mode Terminal            P5           S5Lock/Unlock Terminal            P6           S6Alarm Set Terminal            P7           S7Snooze Terminal  P8           S8First External Operating            P9Button TerminalSecond External Operating            P10Button TerminalThird External Operating            P11Button Terminal______________________________________ 
    
     Among the above printed board patterns, the liquid crystal drive terminals PL1, PL2, . . . PLn are electrically connected through a zebra connector 15 to a clear electrode (not shown) formed on the liquid crystal display panel 3. 
     The first contact plate 10 has eight terminals including a first terminal S1, a second terminal S2, . . . an eighth terminal S8 with the terminals S1 to S8 corresponding to the printed board patterns P1 to P8 respectively in such a combination as in each line in Table 1 to form normally open switches. 
     On the other hand, the indication drum 4, as shown in FIG. 6, comprises three cylindrical indicating portions 4a 1 , 4a 2 , 4a 3 , first to fifth cams 4b 1 , 4b 2 , . . . 4b 5  which are different in phase and are disposed in five equally divided portions in the rotational direction, a star wheel 4c mounted at the leftmost end and provided throughout its circumference with five equally spaced groove portions, and further a centrally formed oval hole 4d. 
     The selector shaft 9 is provided at an intermediate portion thereof with an oval shaft portion 9a which fits loosely in the oval hole 4d of the indication drum 4, and also with a click cam 9b between the oval shaft portion 9a and the knob 8. Both end portions of the selector shaft 9, as previously noted, are supported by the U-shaped grooves 5d of the inner plate 5 rotatably and axially movable. 
     Furthermore, the leftmost end of the selector shaft 9 is engaged with the sixth terminal S6 of the first contact plate, which terminal, when the selector shaft 9 moves to the right, connects to the sixth pattern P6 of the printed board thereby making valid the closing of the ninth to eleventh terminals P9, P10, P11. 
     Numeral 16 designates a presser plate affixed to the upper surface of the inner plate 5 with screws 17. The presser plate 16 is provided with a first arm 16a which engages the star wheel 4c of the indication drum 4 for imparting five equally divided click actions to the indication drum 4 when the latter is rotated, a second arm 16b which engages the click cam 9b of the selector shaft 9 for imparting a click action to the selector shaft 9 when the latter moves to the right or to the left, and third and fourth arms 16c, 16d which are in corresponding relation to the seventh and eighth terminals S7, S8 respectively, of the first contact plate. 
     The first to fifth cams 4b 1 , 4b 2 , . . . 4b 5  of the indication drum 4 are engaged with the first terminal S1 to the fifth terminal S5 respectively, of the first contact plate, and the indication drum 4, as previously noted, is indexed into five equal parts throughout its circumference, so that, according to stop positions, the terminals S1 to S5 are connected to the printed board patterns P1 to P5 by the cams 4b 1  to 4b 5 , and thus the different time modes are selected as shown in Table 1. 
     At the same time, mode indicating words shown by dotted lines at the lower portion of the liquid crystal display panel 3 in FIG. 1 are lit one by one to indicate the selected mode. 
     On the three cylindrical indication surfaces 4a 1 , 4a 2 , 4a 3  of the indication drum 4, there are printed such characters as shown in Table 2 according to the selected mode, which characters are visible to the user through the sub-indication windows 1b of the upper case. 
     
                       TABLE 2______________________________________      Indication    Indication                              IndicationMode       Surface 4a.sub.1                    Surface 4a.sub.2                              Surface 4a.sub.3______________________________________Basic Time Mode      HOUR          10 MIN    1 MINCalendar Mode      MONTH         DATE      DAYAlarm Mode HOUR          10 MIN    1 MINTimer Mode START/CLEAR   10 MIN    1 MINStopwatch Mode      START/STOP    LAP       RESET______________________________________ 
    
     The first, second and third depressible push buttons 6a, 6b, 6c are disposed in corresponding relation to the subindication windows 1b of the upper case, and under each of the buttons 6a, 6b, 6c there is disposed a rubber switch 18, on the lower surface of which there is formed an electrically conductive portion 18a in corresponding relation to each of the buttons 6a, 6b, 6c. Consequently, when any of the buttons 6a, 6b, 6c is depressed, the electrically conductive portion 18a of the rubber switch 18 comes into contact with the corresponding terminal of the ninth to eleventh terminals P9, P10, P11 on the printed board and at the same time it contacts a ⊕ electrode pattern P+ formed on the printed board thereby connecting the two electrically. As a result, if the knob 8 is moved to the right and the sixth terminal S6 of the first contact plate is thereby connected to the sixth pattern P6 of the printed board, the operation of the buttons 6a, 6b, 6c becomes valid; for example, in the basic watch mode, if the first button 6a is depressed, the hour unit indication is modified by one hour, if the second button 6b is depressed, the 10 minute unit is advanced by 10 minutes, and if the third button 6c is depressed, the 1 minute unit is advanced by 1 minute. 
     In the calendar and alarm modes, the buttons 6a, 6b, 6c when depressed modify the time, or month, date and day as shown in Table 2 according to the selected mode. 
     In the timer mode, unlike the foregoing cases, a logic circuit is constituted so that the operation of the above buttons always becomes valid regardless of whether the selector shaft 9 is positioned to the right or the left. And with respect to the timer interval, the second button 6b effects an addition setting of the 10 minutes unit and the third button 6c effects an addition setting of the 1 minute unit. By the first depression of the first button 6a the timer starts, and this button when depressed a second time serves as a clear button. That is, in case it is desired to change the timer interval or stop the use of the timer after starting the timer, or in case it is desired to stop ringing of an alarm buzzer 20 upon termination of the timer interval after starting the timer, this may be done by a second depression of the first button 6a whereby the indications and the contents of the counter are all cleared and the ringing of the alarm buzzer 20 can be stopped. 
     Also in the stopwatch mode, the buttons 6a, 6b, 6c are constructed so that their operation becomes valid irrespective of the position of the selector shaft 9. That is, the first depression of the first button 6a allows counting to start, and by the first depression of the second button 6b the lap function starts operating and indication once stops. Then, the second depression of the second button 6b cancels the lap function and allows indication to return to the indication of the counter. And the second depression of the first button 6a effects suspension of the counter itself and stops indication and the counter&#39;s operation. 
     Further, the third button 6c functions effectively only while the counter stops operation, and its depression resets the counter and the contents of indication. 
     Thus, different clock functions at every selected mode are indicated in the indicator windows which are disposed in corresponding relation to the external operating buttons, so that the user can be easily aware of the function of each button. 
     This embodiment will be further explained here with respect to its construction. The alarm button 7 has a knurled portion on its upper surface so as to permit its easy operation from the exterior and also has on its lower surface a support portion 7a which engages the second guide portion 5c of the inner plate 5. Thus, the alarm button 7 is supported by the inner plate 5 from below and by the upper case 1 from above, and between the two, as previously noted, the alarm button 7 is movable right and left in FIG. 1 and is rotatable up and down in FIG. 7. 
     Furthermore, the alarm button 7 is provided on its lower surface with a projection 7b and a cam 7c, the cam 7c having a slant face 7d. When the alarm button 7 is moved from left to right, the slant face 7d depresses a bent portion of the third arm 16c of the presser plate, and the tip end of this bent portion connects the seventh terminal S7 of the first contact plate to the seventh pattern P7 of the printed board whereby the alarm buzzer 20 can operate upon arrival of a preset alarm time. 
     The projection 7b of the alarm button 7 is engaged with the fourth arm 16d of the presser plate and is thereby given an upwardly biasing force at all times. The alarm button 7 undergoes a click action by getting over a click projection 16e formed on the surface of the fourth arm 16d. 
     When the alarm button 7 is depressed by the user, as previously noted, the projection 7b of the alarm button forces down the fourth arm 16d against the biasing force of the latter; as a result, the bent portion of the fourth arm 16d connects the eighth terminal S8 of the first contact plate to the eighth pattern P8 of the printed board. The terminal S8 is a snooze function terminal familiar in watch structure, and by connecting it to the eighth pattern P8 of the printed board when the alarm buzzer begins ringing, it is made possible to stop the operation of the buzzer 20 and allow it to ring again after approximately five minutes. 
     A second embodiment of this invention will be described hereinunder with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, but the explanation will be given only about portions different from the foregoing first embodiment. 
     An indication drum 104 is different from the indication drum used in the first embodiment only in that it is further provided with a mode-indicating portion 104e. 
     On the surface of the mode indicating portion 104e are inscribed characters or marks for indicating the contents of a selected mode when a selector shaft 109 rotates for the selection of a mode. 
     The reference numeral 101 designates an upper case. The upper case 101 is different from the upper case used in the first embodiment only in that it is further provided with a second sub-indication window 101c. In an opposed position to the second sub-indication window 101c there is disposed the mode indicating portion 104e of the indication drum so that the contents of modes can be seen from the second sub-indication window 101c as the selector shaft 109 rotates. 
     In the foregoing first embodiment, a selected mode is indicated by lighting mode-indicating characters which are of small size and disposed at the lower portion of the liquid crystal display panel 3, and actually the size of those characters becomes very small because of a limited space of their arrangement for indicating modes. In addition, their design must be made small in view of their relation to the time-indicating portion, and because of these limitations the selected mode is difficult to be seen. In this second embodiment, however, a selected mode is indicated in a separate indication window and this indication can be made mechanically, so it is very easy to see the selected mode. 
     In the foregoing description of the embodiments, the indication drum 4 or 104 is formed in the shape of a drum, however, even if it is formed of a disk and the operational contents of the external operating buttons are inscribed on its surface, there can be attained the same effect. 
     In the foregoing embodiments, the cams for actuating the mode selecting switches are formed integrally with the indication drum 4 or 104, but they may be integral with the selector shaft 9 or 109 whereby the same effect can be attained. 
     According to this invention, as set forth hereinabove, not only the foregoing object is attainable, but also the function of each external switch-button can be made definite while reducing the number of those buttons, so that this invention is advantageous in the aspects of space and cost and it can be designed in a very simple form.