DIGITAL ELECTRONIC TIMEPIECE WITH MULTIPLE DISPLAY

CHRONOMETRE ELECTRONIQUE NUMERIQUE A AFFICHAGE MULTIPLE

English Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A liquid crystal display device particularly for use in timepieces
in which more than one type of information is to be displayed and in which
information of one type is presented in a first primary appearance, whereas
information of the second type appears in a colour different from the first
appearance. The device includes a partial polarizing plate below the
liquid crystal which is of a colour transmission different from the main
polarizing plate which thus results in the different colour display when
the liquid crystal above the partial polarizing plate is actuated.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. In a liquid crystal display device having a display surface;
an upper polarizing plate; an upper panel glass; first electrode means on
said upper panel glass; a liquid crystal below said glass, a lower panel glass
below said liquid crystal; second electrode means on said lower panel glass;
a lower polarizing plate and a partial polarizing plate mounted adjacent said
lower polarizing plate and having a transmission different from said lower
polarizing plate; said lower polarizing plate and said partial polarizing
plate being mounted below said lower panel glass; and a reflection plate be-
low said lower polarizing and partial polarizing plates; said lower polarizing
plate having a transmission determining a first appearance for a first type
of information displayed by said liquid crystal and said partial polarizing
plate determining a second appearance of a different colour from said first
appearance for a second type of information displayed by said liquid crystal;
said first and second types of information being displayed over separate
portions of said display surface.


2. The display device of claim 1, wherein said first type of
information comprises indicia representing hours and minutes and said second
type of information comprises indicia representing seconds.


3. The display device of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said lower
polarizing plate extends beneath a major portion of the display surface and
said partial polarizing plate lies in a common plane with said lower polarizing
plate and extends beneath a minor portion of said display surface.

Description

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This invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel.
In conventional liquid crystal panels, actual time display
occupies most of the display surface so that the current hour and minute
- is prominent, while the subsidiary display of seconds, the month, and the
: day or the date is shown on the more limited dead space. An identifying
plate with an identifying print portion is thus required on an upper panel
glass all of which detracts from full utilization of the display surface.
If the identifying plate is omitted, it is necessary to designate the
information being displayed by produclng a letter or character through
electrical operation of the llquid crystal. This results in the necessity
for a larger and more complicated nesa electrode.
~ This disclosure meets the disadvantages, avoiding printing on the
; upper panel gla8s and simplifies the nesa electrode of the upper and lower
panel glasses, while still providing a structure of a display panel with a
prominent timepiece display function.
Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described
having reference to the accompanying drawings in which;
Figure 1 is a plan view of a display panel"
Figure 2 is a side view of the panel of Figure 1 and,
Figure 3 is a section along line A~A of Figure 1.
As seen in the drawings, an upper polarizing plate 1, lies over an
` upper panel glass 2 on the upper surface of which is provided a colon 11. ~ ` -
A separator 3 spaces panel glass 2 from a lower panel glass 5 forming
space 4 for receipt of a liquid crystal. On the lower surface of glass 2
are individual nesa electrodes (not illustrated) for the liquid crystal.
A common electrode (also a nesa electrode) is printed on the upper side
` of lower panel glass 5.
An input signal for the liquid crystal is fed between selected
indi~idual electrodes on upper panel glass 2 and the common electrode on
panel glass 5. A lower polarizing plate 7 is provided below glass 5
and a reflection plate 8 is mounted below plate 7.
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This structure so far described is known. However, it has been
found that if part of the polarizing plate 7 is replaced, in the region
where the different display such as month, day, seconds or the like is
to be displayed, by a partial polarizing plate 6 of a different colour
from the primary basic appearance or colour of the display caused by
plate 7, a portion 9 will then appear (Fig. 1) in which the partial plate 6
gives rise to a colour different from the primary appearance or colour of the
main actual time display. The main display may or may not be in any partic-
ular colour,being normally black on an essentially colourless background
or vice versa. Thus, when the liquid crystal electrically operates the
subsidiary display, it appears characterized by a colour which is different
from the primary appearance.
The action of the liquid crystal in con~unction with light passed
by the polarizing plates 1, 6 and 7 may be either to prevent or to enable
light transmission dependent upon the orientation of the polarizing planes -
of the polarizing plates in known manner. Thus, the electrical operation
of the liquid crystal will be to actuate the subsidiary display either in
the colour of the plate 6 against a dark background, or to display n dark
integers against a background in the colour of plate 6.
Thus, since month, day and seconds are displayed in accordance ;
with the colour of the partial polarizing plate, no identlfying print
portion, or plate, or electrical letter display or the llke by the liquid
crystal, are necessary. The arrangement thus enables the display surface
to be used to the full. Clearly, there is a wide range of choice of
colour for the partial polarizing plate 6 and if other identified displays
are desired, more than one plate 6 may be included for more than one
region to appear in the same or different colours.




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