0001 This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/619,368, filed Jul. 19, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/482,479, filed Jan. 12, 2000, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0002 I. Field of the Invention 0003 This invention relates to timekeeping and, more particularly, to the use of digital time displays for general purpose timekeeping, as most individuals typically undertake in going about their daily activities while watching and keeping track of the time. 0004 II. Description of the Prior Art 0005 Quadribalanced digital time displays are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,497, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Those displays comprise centrally positioned current hour digits flanked on the right by increasing minute digits which are displayed in upper and lower positions relative to the hour digits during the first and second quarter hours. Thereafter, incremented next hour digits are flanked on the left by decreasing minute digits which are displayed in lower and upper positions relative to the hour digits during the third and fourth quarter hours. In this way the four quarter hours are precisely defined, balanced and visually differentiated, while elapsed and future time are viewed during the respective first and second halves of each hour. 0006 III. Recognition of Problems in the Prior Art 0007 It has now been discovered that the previous quadribalanced displays have certain characteristics which are not the most desirable. In particular, as the respective quarter hours are displayed from the first through the fourth, the corresponding minute displays occupy only a limited portion of the total space surrounding the centrally positioned hours. Throughout the hour, most of this space remains completely empty, thus giving some viewers a sense of incompleteness and a contradictory or incorrect suggestion that these spaces are not functional in the overall display, at least while they remain blank. 0008 By way of contrast and example, most conventional dial watches and clocks are not characterized in the same way. They usually have from four to twelve hour digits, with or without intermediate minute hash marks, positioned around the periphery of the dial, thereby making the viewer visually conscious of the fact that the entire area swept around the dial by the hour and minute hands has a role in defining the time at one time or another during the course of an hour. The lack of similar symbolism and effects in the quadribalanced displays of U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,497 potentially detracts from their utility and appeal to consumers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0009 The present invention significantly improves the conventional quadribalanced displays discussed above. In the enhanced quadribalanced displays of the present invention, one or more of the quarter hour positions not occupied by digital minutes at any one time is/are provided with markers which serve to inform the viewer that such positions are functional parts of the overall display but not activated because the current time is defined by digital minutes being displayed in another part of the display. In this way, the emptiness of most of the space around the centrally positioned digital hours is eliminated. Instead, preferably, all four of the respective quarter hour minute positions are controlled to contain active digital displays comprising digital minutes in each of the respective first to fourth quarters and, for purposes of both differentiation and completeness, markers in the respective other three quarter hour positions which remind the viewer that those spaces are functional although not then involved in defining the current time. The enhancement of the previously described quadribalanced displays in this manner provides considerable improvement in the appeal and utility of such systems for general purpose timekeeping. Further, a single displaceable crown control is provided for facilitating the operation of timepieces embodying such enhanced displays. 0010 Other features and details of the invention will be evident from the subsequent specific description, taken in connection with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0011 FIG. 1 is a copy of FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,497 with added solid and dashed line circles around certain inboard corners of the digital minute elements (relative to the center of the display). 0012 FIG. 2 is a view of the corners included within the solid line circles of FIG. 2 on a magnified scale to facilitate visualization and comprehension. 0013 FIG. 3 is a view of the same circled corners reduced back to the scale of FIG. 1 and simultaneously activated to show the resulting markers that are used in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 0014 FIGS. 4-7 are views of representative time displays that are presented to the viewer during the four quarter hours in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 3. 0015 FIG. 8 is a view of the corners included within the dashed line circles of FIG. 1, again on a magnified scale, as in FIG. 2, showing an alternative embodiment of the invention. 0016 FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the markers formed by the alternative embodiment of FIG. 8, on the same reduced scale of FIG. 1. 0017 FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of the invention. 0018 FIGS. 11A-11D are views of representative quarter hour time displays presented to the viewer with the embodiment of FIG. 10. 0019 FIGS. 12A-12D are views of another embodiment of the invention. 0020 FIGS. 13A-13D are views of quarter hour markers that are presented to the viewer with the embodiment of FIGS. 12A-12D. 0021 FIG. 14 is a chart which illustrates a preferred embodiment of a single displaceable crown adapted for controlling all of the setting functions of a timepiece that is programmed to display enhanced quadribalanced digital time pursuant to this invention, coupled with a programmable alarm.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 0022 Referring now to FIG. 1, digital display elements 10, 12 are at the center of the display and activatable to show hours of values one to twelve, as previously explained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,497. 0023 Flanking the hour elements 10, 12 on the right is a pair of 10-segmented digital display elements 14, 16 which are activatable to show increasing minutes of values zero to 30 during the first half hour, in relatively upper and lower positions generated by activating the uppermost 7 of the 10 segments during the first quarter hour and the lowermost 7 of the 10 segments during the second quarter hour, while the hour elements 10, 12 are displaying the current hour. Similarly, a second pair of 10-segmented digital display elements 18, 20 flanks the hour display elements 10, 12 on the left. This pair is activatable to show decreasing minutes of values 29 to zero during the second half hour, in relatively lower and upper positions generated by activating the lowermost 7 of the 10 segments during the third quarter hour and the uppermost 7 of the 10 segments during the fourth quarter hour, while the hour elements 10, 12 are displaying the next hour. 0024 Finally, digital display elements 22, 24 are located below the centrally positioned hour elements 10, 12 and are activatable to show incrementing digital seconds of values 0 to 59 during each minute of the first half hour and decrementing digital seconds of values 59 to 0 during each minute of the second half hour. 0025 The foregoing is a summary of the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,497, further details of which can be understood by reference to the patent document. 0026 Referring again to the digital display elements 16 and 20 of FIG. 1, it will be seen that the uppermost and lowermost inboard corners thereof are enclosed within solid line circles. The reason for this will be understood by reference to FIG. 2 in which the same corners are shown on a magnified scale. 0027 As illustrated, each corner includes the terminal ends of the two uppermost/lowermost horizontal and vertical elements most closely adjacent to each other on opposite sides of a very small 45 slanted gap analogous to a mitered joint. The same structure is shown in the analogous corners of the display elements 30b and 32a of FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,497. However, in FIG. 1 of this application, each of the above-referenced adjacent ends of the circled horizontal and vertical corner elements are severed and separated a second time from the remainder of the element, at the same 45 angle, to provide a pair of much smaller segments 26, 28 that can be separately activated to serve as markers, in accordance with the present invention. 0028 Such separate activation of all four pairs is portrayed in FIG. 3. As there seen, the severed display segments in the four corners form inclined double dashes, preferably at substantially 45 angles, and thus oriented in positions which tend to surround the central area occupied by the digital hour elements 10, 12. As a result, the viewer is given a sense of rotational motion by these markers, analogous to the sweep of the minute hand of a conventional dial watch, instead of the emptiness manifested in the display of the previously cited patent. 0029 The resulting overall effects of differentiation and completeness are shown by the representative quarter hour time displays of FIGS. 4 through 7. In FIG. 4 the current time is four minutes and 15 seconds past nine during the first quarter hour, produced by selective activation of the corresponding elements of the hour, minute and seconds display elements in FIG. 1. In addition, the remaining three lowermost and uppermost inboard corner segments of the digital minute elements 16 and 20 have been simultaneously activated to form the three sets of inclined double dash markers at the tops and bottom of the spaces where the forthcoming current minutes of time will be displayed during the second through fourth quarters of the same hour. 0030 It should be understood that the small marker segments 26, 28 will also be activated whenever necessary to display the full length of their particular elements as part of the digital minute value being displayed. Thus, in FIG. 4, vertical marker segment 28 is activated to provide the full length of the corresponding inboard vertical leg of the digital minute value 4. 0031 FIG. 5 displays a representative second quarter hour current time of twenty six minutes and twenty one seconds past the ninth hour, with the inclined double dash marks preferably simultaneously activated in the remaining three spaces where current minutes are normally shown during the first, third and fourth quarter hours. Both inboard marker segments 26, 28 are also activated to provide the full lengths of the corresponding lowermost horizontal and vertical legs of the digital minute value 6. 0032 FIG. 6 displays a representative third quarter hour current time of eighteen minutes and five seconds before the tenth hour. Simultaneously, inclined double dash markers are preferably activated in the spaces where current minutes are normally shown during the first, second and fourth quarter hours. As in FIG. 4, the inboard vertical marker segment 28 is also simultaneously activated to provide the full length of the corresponding lowermost vertical leg of the digital minute value 1 in the tens of minutes position. 0033 FIG. 7 completes the cycle by displaying a representative fourth quarter time of eight minutes and twenty seven seconds before the tenth hour. Simultaneously-activated inclined double dash markers preferably appear in the spaces where current minutes were earlier normally displayed during the previous three quarter hours. Also, both inboard marker segments 26, 28 are simultaneously activated to provide the full lengths of the corresponding horizontal and vertical legs of the digital minute value 0 in the tens of minutes position. Thus, by contributing differentiation and completeness of active and inactive quarter hour areas of the overall display, the newly marked displays exemplified in FIGS. 4-7 demonstrate the enhancement achieved by the present invention compared to the previous quadribalanced displays of U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,497. 0034 FIGS. 8 and 9 portray an alternative embodiment of this invention. In particular, FIG. 8 shows on a magnified scale, the even more inwardly located inboard corners of the digital minute elements 14, 18 which are enclosed within the dashed line circles of FIG. 1. These corners are also severed and separated in the manner described for FIG. 2. However, whereas the severed corners of FIG. 2 result in the inclined double dash markers of FIG. 3 having sequences of alternate negative (slanting down from left to right) and positive (slanting up from left to right) slopes during the respective four quarter hours, the opposite sequence of positive-negative-positive-negative slopes are formed in FIGS. 8 and 9 due to the correspondingly opposite orientations of the corners respectively circled in the solid and dashed lines of FIG. 1. The end result is that the alternative markers of FIG. 9 create a spot lighting or highlighting effect to the central area of the display, in contrast to the surrounding or rotationally sweeping sense of motion generated by the markers of FIG. 3 around the center of the display. 0035 Another preferred embodiment of digital display elements for practicing this invention is illustrated in FIG. 10 which includes all of the display elements of FIG. 1 in a modified form. Therefore, corresponding elements in FIG. 10 have been given the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1, preceded with a 100 prefix, e.g., element 10 in FIG. 1 is referenced as 110 in FIG. 10, and so forth. In addition, FIG. 10 includes display elements 130 which are useful for displaying abbreviated first-two-letter names of the days of each week. The additional elements 132 are also included for displaying the dates of the days of each month. 0036 A principal difference between FIGS. 1 and 10 is that all of the display elements of the latter have sharp pointed ends, shaped substantially as symmetrical arrowheads or spear points, with enclosed angles of substantially 90. These pointed ends are spaced and nested together as closely as possible, such that the spaces between them are aligned preferably at substantially 45 of inclination. As a result, all of the time values displayed by the elements 110-124 of FIG. 10 gain enhanced symmetry of sizes and shapes. In addition, the severed inboard corners of elements 116 and 120 in FIG. 10 (markers 126, 128), analogous to those shown within solid circles in FIG. 1, have a different shape than the corresponding corner elements 26, 28 in FIG. 2. The latter comprise four pairs of markers, each element of which is shaped substantially as a parallelogram with two pairs of parallel opposite sides. In FIG. 10, the analogous markers comprise element pairs each of which is trapezoidal in shape with only one pair of parallel opposite sides. 0037 As a result, each of the FIG. 10 markers extends toward the quarter hour space it marks with diverging slanted edges at its near ends and with squared off straight edges at its opposite far ends. This creates a distinctive shape that expands and enlarges toward the empty quarter hour space and at the same time closes off the space with an opposite straight-edged boundary that marks the uppermost or lowermost extent of the space. This contrasts from the sharp points that define the near and far ends of the markers of FIG. 1 due to the fact that they are shaped as pairs of parallelograms that lack squared off, right angled corners as in FIG. 10. 0038 FIGS. 11A-11D illustrate representative time/day/date displays obtained during respective first through fourth quarter hours by activation of the corresponding elements of FIG. 10. The differences in the symmetries of element sizes and shapes, as well as the different shapes of these markers, can be seen by comparison with the representative displays of FIGS. 4-7 derived from FIG. 1. 0039 FIGS. 12A-12D illustrate a variation of markers derived from FIG. 10 which provides a more stylized and streamlined sequence of quarter hour markers 226, 228 compared to FIGS. 11A-11D. In FIGS. 12A-12D only the analogous inboard severed corners of the FIG. 10 minute elements that generate such markers are shown on a somewhat enlarged scale to facilitate comprehension. As can be seen, the second sets of severance lines in each of these pairs extend from the sharp points at the ends of the elements, at an acute angle across each element until the inner horizontal and vertical edges thereof are reached and severed. Therefore, the resulting triangular sections of these ends of the minute elements can be separately activated to generate quarter hour markers having the shapes shown in FIGS. 13A-13D. Like the markers in FIGS. 11A-11D, the markers in FIGS. 13A-13D point toward the minute positions being marked with diverging inner edges at their relatively near ends, but extend back to sharp points at their opposite relatively far ends. Such shapes more closely resemble the shapes of the digital minutes displayed during the respective quarter hours and therefore may be more preferred as reminiscent markers which inform the viewer that such marked positions will be used to tell time at the appropriate intervals of each hour. 0040 The marker shapes illustrated in FIGS. 13A-13D are based on second severance lines oriented at angles and having lengths which create markers shaped substantially as isosceles triangles. However, other angles, lengths and orientations of such severance lines can obviously be adopted to create generally analogous but specifically different shapes and sizes of such markers. 0041 Moreover, the marker shapes in FIGS. 13A-13D, having an overall appearance of arrowheads, create symbolic suggestions that enhance the graphic effects produced by such markers. In particular, during the first half hour, the midpoint of such period is in between the first and second quarter hours. FIGS. 13A and 13B correspondingly display divergence and convergence of the backs of the arrowheads, angled to open toward and close away from quarter hour positions, thus symbolizing expansion and contraction of these respective quarter hour intervals. Also, the second marker, FIG. 13B, points toward the direction that the remaining third and fourth quarter hours will be displayed. 0042 Similarly, the markers of FIGS. 13C and 13D provide analogous advantages. The backs of these markers also diverge and converge in angled positions toward and away from both quarter hour positions to symbolize expansion and contraction of these time periods. Also, the FIG. 13D marker points toward the top of the fourth, i.e. last, quarter hour position, which symbolizes the approaching end of the present hour and the simultaneous commencement of the displayed next hour. 0043 Accordingly, the markers of FIGS. 13A-13D, when incorporated in quadribalanced time displays, e.g. as illustrated representatively in FIGS. 11A-11D, provide an optimum time display protocol in which the progress of each quarter hour is visually differentiated from the others and the exact time within each is instantly digitally defined, with complete visual and numerical balance between both the halves and the quarters of every hour. 0044 The above-described alternative embodiments demonstrate that many other choices can be made to form design markers of various shapes that may be more or less appealing to the preferences of different viewers. Use of conventional dot matrix display elements or other high resolution elements in embodying the teachings of this invention will enable the markers to be configured in the shapes of one or more dots, dashes, asterisks, stars, arrowheads, ramps, triangles, squares, rectangles or other symbols that will perform the functions described for the exemplary embodiments discussed above. 0045 It will be appreciated that, preferably, the spaces between the elements 26, 28, 126 and 128, including the corresponding spaces in FIGS. 12A-12D, and their respective horizontal and vertical elements, in all cases, should be as narrow as possible to enable separate electronic energizing of these elements while maintaining their closest feasible visual continuity. 0046 Also, while in the preferred embodiment all four quarter hour areas are simultaneously activated with the current time and the three non-time-telling markers throughout the entire hour, other sequences can be used. For example, the quarter hour showing the current time can be accompanied by one marker in either the next or previous quarter hour space, or by a pair of markers in both the next and previous quarter hour spaces. 0047 Referring now to FIG. 14, illustrated there is a chart which depicts the functional attributes of a single displaceable crown control, of the type described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,823, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This crown control is adapted to operate, in a preferred manner, all of the setting functions of an enhanced quadribalanced timepiece that is also provided with a programmable alarm. 0048 At the top, the crown is depicted in solid and dashed outline which symbolizes that it may be displaced between alternate positions that are crown in (solid outline) and crown out (dashed outline) relative to a wristwatch case, for example. These positions are abbreviated in the remaining lower portion of the chart as CR-I and CR-O, respectively. 0049 This displaceable crown is also illustrated at the top of the chart as being rotatable in a forward direction labeled Turn Crown Forward (clockwise arrow) and in an opposite backward direction labeled Turn Crown Back (counterclockwise arrow), preferably for approximately a quarter turn of one full revolution in either direction, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,823. These turning motions are abbreviated in the remaining lower portion of the chart as TR-FO and TR-BA, respectively. 0050 The displaceable crown is connected vertically to a lower horizontal line in FIG. 14 that has headings comprising Show Equad-T Time, Set Time, Light Display and Set Alarm Time. Two of the functional sequences below the headings, Light Display and Set Alarm Time, can be entered without performing a CR-O operation, signifying that these sequences are available with the crown in the CR-I position. Thus, under the Light Display heading with the crown in CR-I, repeated TR-FO turns are programmed to alternately turn on and off a light, that correspondingly does and does not illuminate the display to enable viewing the displayed time in the dark. Accordingly, alternating TR-FO motions of the crown in the CR-I position are dedicated to performing this sole function of lighting and not lighting the display. 0051 Next, under the Set Alarm Time heading and with the crown still in the CR-I position, repeated TR-BA turns are programmed to turn on and off, and thereby activate and deactivate, both an alarm symbol in the display and an audible alarm which will be heard at a pre-selected time. Thus, alternating TR-BA turns of the crown in CR-I position are dedicated to the sole function of activating and deactivating the audible alarm and its symbol in the display. 0052 Referring next to the heading Show Equad-Time, Set Time, Equad-T is an abbreviation for the enhanced quadribalanced time displays of this invention, as previously described above. Thus, with the crown in the CR-I position, this is the type of time display that is provided to the viewer. Alternatively, when the crown is displaced to its CR-O position, as indicated in the first step below the heading,1 the display is programmed to automatically switch to a display of conventional digital time (abbreviated Elap-T) comprising the centrally located hour flanked on the right by elapsed minutes in the upper right position, with flashing elapsed seconds below the hour. These time values are maintained throughout the entire course of an hour while the crown is in the CR-O position to distinguish the time setting mode from the enhanced quadribalanced real time mode which is restored when the crown is returned back into the CR-I position, after setting or resetting of the time has been completed, pursuant to the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,733, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, this contrast is increased by eliminating the markers ordinarily included in the second, third and fourth quarter hour minute positions of enhanced quadribalanced time, thereby reinforcing the viewer's ability to recognize and comprehend that the display is in the time setting mode initiated by displacing the crown to its CR-O position. 1 All CR-O steps and functions are indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 14. 0053 Continuing with the time setting functions depicted in the left column of the FIG. 14 chart, it will be understood that each successive function is selected and flashed by a TR-BA turn of the crown, and thereafter each such function is set by a TR-FO turn of the crown until the correct value has been reached in the display. In addition, the display can be returned to real time at any chosen interval of the time setting sequence by returning the crown back to its CR-I position, with automatic restoration of Equad-T time, as signified by the arrows labeled CR-I on the right of each function, again in a manner similar to the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,733. Thus, during the setting process, all TR-BA turns are dedicated to flashing selected functions for setting, and all TR-FO turns are dedicated to setting the flashing function. 0054 Referring lastly to the heading Set Alarm Time, as previously noted while the crown is in the CR-I position, repeated TR-BA turns of the crown will activate and deactivate the alarm symbol and function. Therefore, as the chart shows, in order to prepare to select and set a chosen alarm time, the activated alarm symbol/function is first established in the display by a TR-BA turn of the crown. Next the crown is displaced to its CR-O position which is programmed to restore in the display the last previously set alarm time in Equad-T time, meaning the corresponding enhanced quadribalanced time, including preferably the corresponding markers in the three quarter positions not occupied by the minutes of the alarm time shown in the relevant fourth quarter position, and preferably without any display of seconds which would be superfluous for setting any alarm time. Moreover, the hour and minutes of the last previously set alarm time are preferably not initially flashed, since there is no need to synchronize such time values with an announced accurate real time source. Thus, by enabling the setting of alarm times in terms of such enhanced quadribalanced displays, the viewer will be provided with an immediate contrast from the conventional Elap-T time that is used for the setting or resetting of the display to real time, as previously described. 0055 The selection and setting of an alarm time are set forth in the remaining sequences depicted in the chart below the Set Alarm Time heading. Again, all TR-BA turns of the crown select and flash a function for setting, and all TR-FO turns set the selected function. At any chosen interval, the display can be returned to Equad-T time by displacing the crown to its CR-I position. Preferably, the alarm symbol is kept activated in the display whenever there is a return to real time from an alarm setting operation to assure the viewer that the alarm will sound at that set time. Thereafter, a TR-BA turn will be programmed to turn off both the audible alarm and its symbol, until the same alarm time is reactivated by another TR-BA turn to restore the alarm and its symbol in the display, or until a new alarm time is chosen and set by the above-described procedure. 0056 The preferred embodiment of a displaceable crown control illustrated in FIG. 14 and described hereinabove provides substantial advantages due to the singularities of logic and procedure embodied in its operation. Notably, with the crown in the CR-I position, all repeated forward turns of it will light and extinguish the lit display, whereas all repeated backward turns will activate and deactivate the alarm and its symbol. These singularities are easily remembered and distinguished from each other. 0057 All setting of the display is achieved by displacing the crown to it CR-O position, another singularity that is easily remembered (and also reminiscent of how conventional dial watches are customarily set). If a CR-O displacement is performed without activation of an alarm symbol in the display, the display will enter into a setting mode for real time in terms of a conventional digital display. Conversely, if CR-O is preceded by an activated alarm symbol, the display will enter into a contrasting enhanced quadribalanced setting mode, again providing easily remembered singularities and distinctions between these two types of setting functions. Finally, during either type of setting, each function is selected and flashed for setting by TR-BA turns, and such respective selected functions are set by TR-FO turns. Such opposite motions are easily remembered and distinguished for the distinct operations that each performs. 0058 The use of smaller sized digital zeros with representative digital unit minutes is shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 of this application. Further details on the implementation and advantages of such displays during the first and last nine minutes of each hour are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,534, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Also, the uppermost six horizontal elements of the 10-segmented display elements 18, 20 in FIG. 1 of this application can be flashed during the last minute of each hour in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,730, the disclosure of which is also incorporated herein by reference. Furthermore, during the interval from the thirtieth to thirty-first minutes, preferably an initial digital minute of value 30 together with digital seconds of values 0 to 30 are displayed during the first half of the interval, followed by a digital minute of value 29 together with digital seconds of values 29 to 0 during the second half of the interval, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,737, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. 0059 In conclusion, the present invention has been described above in terms of its general principles and specific embodiments. Many variations of such disclosure will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it should be understood that the ensuing claims are intended to cover all changes and modifications of the specific illustrative embodiments which fall within the literal scope of the claims and all equivalents thereof.