Information and History of the Digital Clock
Have you ever been curious about how digital clocks work? Or would you just like to know more about digital clocks to help you make a future purchase? Let’s take a look into the world of digital clocks and learn a bit about them.
The first pocket style watch that was considered “digital” was introduced in 1883, it used what was called a jump-hour mechanism. This invention was created by Josef Pallweber which the jump-hour featured two windows in an enameled dial. Through the two windows, you can see the hours and minutes on rotating discs – the second hand had remained conventional in nature.
Next came Plato clocks, which had a similar idea to Josef Pallweber but used a different layout structure. Spring-wound pieces use a glass cylinder with a column inside, which was then attached to small digital cards with numbers printed on them – flipping as time went on. The Plato clock was patented in 1903 and introduced in 1904 by Ansonia clock company.
D.E. Protzmann and his associates submitted the first patent for a digital alarm clock in 1956 and later patented another digital clock in 1970 which was supposed to involve a minimal amount of moving parts.
The first digital watch that included an LED display called the Pulsar, was mass-produced in 1970 by the Hamilton Watch Company. Over the many years since, many various types of digital watches, clocks, alarm clocks have been developed.
Digital clocks typically run off of an electrical power supply such as a 100-240 volt AC power cord to the wall. However, most digital clocks have battery backup in case of a power outage. An electronic time base that ticks away at an accurate rate, and digital clocks generally handle gearing with a component called a counter. The display on a digital clock either consists of LEDs or LCD lights.
Unlike analog clocks which are based on 12 hours, digital clocks have two options. You can either use a 12-hour clock, often with an AM for morning and PM for afternoon and evening or; a 24 hour clock. Even though the clocks are useful, some digital clocks have to be changed manually when the time changes. Some of the newer model digital clocks are now able to have their time synchronized automatically by a radio signal or the internet.
Digital clocks are generally smaller and can be easier to use and read than analog clocks. Digital clocks can also be made much larger. Because of the inexpensive design and size flexibility, digital clocks are often used in cars, microwave ovens, radios, and computers.
Digital clocks help to make our lives a little bit easier – sometimes without us realizing it. The digital clock helps in our everyday lives.