United States Patent
`
`[19]
`
`Renner et al.
`
`[11]
`
`[451
`
`4,114,366
`
`Sep. 19, 1978
`
`[54] DIGITAL BRIGHTNESS CONTROL SYSTEM
`
`<
`
`[75]
`
`Inventors: Karl H. Renner, Dallas; Clark Russell
`Williams, Plano, both of Tex.
`
`3,941,926
`
`3/1976
`
`Slobadzian ......................... .. 340/335
`
`Primary Examiner—Edith S. Jackmon
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Rene'E. Grossman; Stephen
`S. Sadacca
`
`[73] Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated,
`Dallas, Tex.
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACI‘
`
`[21] App1_ No_, 710,524
`I221
`Fi1ed=
`A-is-2,1976
`[51]
`Int. CL2 ..................... .. G04B 19/30; G04C 3/00;
`H0513 37/02; H0513 39/04
`[52] U.S. Cl. ................................. .. 58/50 R; 58/23 R;
`315/156; 340/335
`[58] Field of Search ........................... .. 58/23 R, 50 R;
`250/214 AL; 340/335, 336, 366 B; 315/ 156,
`159
`
`[56]
`
`3,027,491
`3,573,788
`3,866,406
`
`.
`References Cited
`U-S- PATENT DOCUMENTS
`3/1952
`Seidler ........................ .. 250/214 AL
`
`4/1971 Molnaz . .. . .
`.. . . . . .. 340/335
`2/1975 Roberts .................................. .. 58/58
`
`A digital light-sensing iontroclsyistlem tfolrl use in light
`?§Z§I,§,I,ii§§§‘§}‘i?;‘i;iiiséiieiil2.332a‘§h1f§T;§§i
`tor, a digital brightness detector, and brightness control
`logic. The light sensor means produces analog signals
`which vary with ambient light intensity. The digital
`brightness detector selectively digitizes the analog sig-
`nals to generate digital brightness signals. The bright-
`ness control logic generates system control signals in
`response to the digital brightness signals. Several em-
`bodiments of the digital brightness detector and the
`bri
`.
`.
`.
`.
`ghtness control logic are disclosed. Each embodi-
`ment is capable of being integrated on a single semicon-
`d“°t°F S“bS‘T3t°-
`
`19 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures
`
`BRIGHTNESS
`DIGITAL
`CONTROL
`BRIGHTNESS
`//
`
`
`DETECTOR LOGIC
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`8 I
`
`Exhibit 1003
`Page 1
` _
`
`Kinetic
`
`Technologies,
`
`Inc.
`
`Page 1
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sept. 19, i978
`
`Sheet 101-‘4
`
`4,114,366
`
`F/'g,/
`
`
`
`BRIGHTNESS
`CONTROL
`
`LOGIC
`
`
`
`DIGITAL
`BRIGHTNESS
`DETECTOR
`
`Page 2
`
`Page 2
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent» Sept. 19, 1978
`
`Sheet 2 of4
`
`4,114,366
`
`noox
`
`Iox
`
`IK
`
`
`
`PHOTO-RESISTANCE(OHS)
`
`I00
`.ou
`
`.1
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`l.0
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`no
`
`zoo
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`-
`
`'
`uooo
`
`MOONLIGHT-f
`
`cum LIT uvme AREA-
`
`f
`
`PRIVATE ornca
`
`I
`
`HOMEIJVINGAREA
`
`F/g,3
`
`|nmoEcAa
`SHADEDOUTASIDE
`
`mummmon (F_T-C)
`
`AMBIENT LIGHT
`
`.
`
`
`
`mmsm PIN :2 VOLTAGE
`BRIGHT
`LESS TI-IAN1VOLT'
`
`
`
`BETWEENIANDZVOLTS F, 4
`GREATERTI-U§N'2VOLTS
`lg"
`
`
`
`
`m
`
`
`
`Page 3
`
`Page 3
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sept. 19, 1978
`
`Sheet 3 of4
`
`4,114,366
`
`Page 4
`
`
`Page 4
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sept. 19, 1978
`
`Sheet 4 of4
`
`4,114,366
`
`Page 5
`
`Page 5
`
`

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`1
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`4,114,366
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`DIGITAL BRIGHTNESS CONTROL SYSTEM
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates to light-sensing control systems
`for use in light sensitive equipment, and more particu-
`larly to‘ improved digital light-sensing control means
`capable of being fabricated on an integrated circuit.
`The field of application for light-sensing control sys-
`tems is quite extensive. Such systems are used, for exam-
`ple, in electronic digital watches to automatically set
`the intensity of the LED display in proportion to ambi-
`ent light intensity, thereby making the LED display
`easy to read under a variety of lighting conditions, and
`saving on battery power in medium and dim ambient
`light. They are also used, for example, in cameras to
`automatically set shutter speed and/or opening in pro-
`portion to surrounding light intensity, thereby eliminat-
`ing manual settings and the possibility of human error.
`In the past, analog light-sensing control systems, op-
`erating on R-C time constant principles, were used. In
`such analog systems, at a selected time, an R-C network
`is initialized by discharging a timing capacitor; and at a
`subsequent time, the R-C network is activated by charg-
`ing the timing capacitor through a timing resistor and a
`discrete photo resistor. As the ambient light intensity
`increases, the photo resistor decreases. Therefore, the
`charging rate of the R-C circuit is a measure of ambient
`light intensity. Control logic senses the charging rate
`and, in response, generates system control signals.
`An undesirable aspect of analog light-sensing control
`systems is that in order to provide the required slow
`charging rate, the timing capacitor and the timing resis-
`tor, in addition to the light sensitive resistor, must be
`implemented with discrete components. This is because
`the slow charging rate requires a large timing capacitor
`and a large timing resistor, both such elements requiring
`too much surface area to be capable of integration onto
`an integrated circuit chip.
`For example, an R-C time constant of 9 milliseconds
`requires a capacitor of 50()0 pF and a resistor of 1.8
`million ohms. Metal-oxide-diffusion capacitors use ap-
`proximately 10 square mils per pF; therefore, a 5000-pF
`capacitor requires a 50,000-square mil area. In compari-
`son, an integrated circuit chip containing the entire
`timekeeping circuitry for an electronic watch uses only
`a 20,000-square mil area.
`.
`Capacitors built from a P-N junction require approxi-
`mately 1 square mil of area per pF, and therefore, use
`less area than metal-oxide-diffusion capacitors. But
`5000-pF capacitors built from a P-N junction are still
`too large for practical use on an integrated circuit chip,
`and they also have the undesirable characteristic of
`varying in capacitive value as the voltage across the
`P-N junction varies.
`Resistors are commonly implemented by utilizing a
`diffused zig-zag pattern. Each 200 ohms of resistance
`requires a surface area of approximately 0.3 mils X 0.7
`mils. Therefore, a 9-million ohm resistor requires ap-
`proximately 1890 square mils of area, which is also
`prohibitively large when compared to the small 10-
`square mil area required to implement a logic gate.
`Pinch resistors utilize less area, but the ohmic value of
`a pinch resistor is difficult to control and typically var-
`ies by 500%. Pinch resistors are, therefore, not suitable
`for use in an accurate R-C timing network.
`Several difficulties are created by not being able to
`integrate the timing capacitor and timing resistor onto
`
`5
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`2
`an integrated circuit chip. The discrete components are
`much more expensive than components that are inte-
`grated onto the lightsensing controller chip. The dis-
`crete components also require extra manufacturing
`steps in the assembly of the control system. In addition,
`small light-sensitive equipment, such as that employed
`in an electronic digital watch, has little or no room for
`discrete parts.
`It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to
`provide an improved light-sensing control system.
`Another object of the invention is to provide alight-
`sensing controller capable of being fabricated as an
`integrated system having one light-sensitive resistor as
`its only discrete component.
`A further object of the invention is to provide a light-
`sensing controller which does not require an R-C timing
`network for its operation.
`It is still another object of the invention to provide a
`digital light-sensing control system.
`A still further object of the invention is to provide an
`electronic timepiece which includes a digital light-sens-
`ing means.
`
`BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`These and other objectives are accomplished in ac-
`cordance with the invention in which a photo resistor is
`coupled to a digital brightness detector. The resistance
`of the photo resistor varies inverselyproportional to
`ambient light conditions. A current source and a load
`resistor inside the brightness detector generate an ana-
`log voltage proportional to the resistance of the photo
`resistor. Several voltage level detectors inside the digi-
`tal brightness detector convert the analog voltage into
`several digital signals. Brightness control logic receives
`the digital signals and, in response, generates system
`control signals. The digital brightness detector and
`brightness control logic are packaged on a single inte-
`grated circuit chip.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The novel features believed characteristic of the in-
`vention are set forth in the appended claims; the inven-
`tion itself, however, as well as other features and advan-
`tages thereof, will best be understood by reference to
`the following detailed description of particular embodi-
`ments, read in conjunction with the accompanying
`drawings, wherein:
`a
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the invention;
`FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of one embodiment of a
`digital brightness detector;
`FIG. 3 is a log-log graph of light intensity vs resis-
`tance for a photo resistor;
`FIG. 4 is a logic truth table of one embodiment of a
`digital brightness detector;
`FIG. 5 is a logic diagram of one embodiment of the
`brightness control logic;
`FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating the logic sig-
`nals of various nodes within the logic of FIG. 5.
`FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of another embodiment of
`a digital brightness detector.
`FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of still another embodi-
`ment of a digital brightness detector.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`
`Referring then to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an em-
`bodiment of the invention is illustrated. The embodi-
`ment is comprised of photo resistor 10, digital bright-
`
`Page 6
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`

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`4,114,366
`
`4
`
`3
`ness detector 20, and brightness control logic 40. Photo
`resistor 10 is a discrete component, while digital bright-
`ness detector 20 andbrightness‘ control logic 40 are
`capable of being integrated onto a signal semiconductor
`circuit. chip 80. Electrical contact
`is made between
`photo resistor 10 and semiconductor chip 80 by means
`of input signal lead 11 connected to input lead 81.
`Digital brightness detector 20 converts analog signals
`formed on input
`lead 81 to a plurality of digitized
`brightness signals B1-BN on leads 21. Brightness con-
`trol logic 40 receives digitized brightness signals B1-
`BN, combines them with system input signals S1-SN on
`leads 41, and produces system control signals C1-CH on
`lead 42. ._
`'
`~ Referring to-FIG. 2, a circuit diagram of an embodi-
`ment of digital brightness detector» 20 is illustrated.
`Input pin _81-is coupled to a current source 22 and shunt
`load resistor 23. Current source 22 has a constant cur-
`rent output of, for example, 140 pa. Therefore,
`the
`voltage on pin 81 equals 140 pa times the resistance of
`shunt load resistor 23 in parallel with photo resistor 10.
`The resistance of photo resistor 10 is inversely pro-
`portional to ambient light intensity raised to a power, as
`graphically illustrated in FIG. 3. For example, photo
`resistor 10 has a resistance of approximately 300 ohms in
`an ambient light of 80 foot-candles, and has a resistance
`of approximately 20,000 ohms in an ambient light of 0.2
`foot-candles. The former light intensity approximates
`normal office lighting conditions, and the latter light
`intensity approximates moonlight.
`since the resistance of photo resistor 10 varies in--
`versely with light intensity, and since current source 22
`has a non-varying output, the amplitude of the voltage
`on input pin 81 is a measure of light intensity. The use of 35
`voltage amplitude, as opposed to R-C charge time, to
`measure light intensity eliminates the need for a charg-
`ing capacitor or a charging resistor; and is an important
`feature -of the invention.
`'
`.
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`sity. The ability to easily quantize the ambient light to
`any desired degree is another feature of the invention.
`Referring to FIG. 5, a logic diagram of an embodi-
`ment of the brightness control logic of FIG. 1 is illus-
`trated.""This embodiment of the control logic is used, for
`example, in an electronic watch to automatically adjust
`the LED intensity to one of three settings in response to
`varying ambient light conditions conditions that are
`classified as “dim,” “medium” or “bright.” The embodi-
`ment is comprised of a signal generator 43, and a LED
`scanner 53.
`‘
`
`The purpose of signal generator 43 is to generate an
`enabling signal En on lead 57. Signal En has a pulse
`width proportional to ambient light intensity. The oper-
`ation of signal generator 43 is best understood by refer-
`ring to the timing diagram of FIG. 6 in conjunction
`with FIG. 5. A clock signal Ck, of fixed frequency,‘ is
`applied to counter 44 via lead 38. Counter 44 divides the
`input frequency by two and by four. The resultant sig-
`nals Ckl and Ck2, respectively, are combined with
`signal Ck to form enabling signal En.
`.
`,
`7
`Signal En has three different pulse widths, which
`depend upon the state of signals B1 and B2. When sig-
`nals B1 and B2 are both a logical “0”, only gate 45 is
`activated; and therefore, signal En has a relatively small
`pulse width 70. When signal B1 is a logical “O”, and
`signal B2 is a logical “1”, gates 45, 46 and 47 'are.acti-
`vated; and therefore, signal En has a medium pulse
`width 71. Finally, when signals B1 and B2 are both a
`logical “I”, gates 45, 46, 47 and 48 are activated; and
`therefore, signal En has a relatively long pulse width 72.
`Latches 49 are included at inputs 36 and 37 to avoid
`“flickering” effects whenever the voltage on pin 81 is
`near the threshold of one of the voltage level detectors.
`These three different pulse widths 70, 71, and 72 of
`signal En are used to obtain three distinct LED intensi-
`ties in an electronic watch. By activating an LED only
`when enabling signal En is in a logical “l” state,'three
`distinct intensities result, because the amount of light
`emitted by an LED is proportional to the length oftime it
`is activated. Signal En, therefore, is applied to one LED
`control input lead 51 of each LED driver 52 in the watch.
`The exact number of LED drivers 52 depends ‘on the
`number of display characters of the particular watch
`design, and is typically from two to six.
`The above embodiment of brightness control logic 40
`further includes an LED scanner 53. The purpose of
`scanner 53 is to multiplex the display by sequentially
`providing individual LED select signals 66 to each
`LED driver 52. Scanner 53 accomplishes this purpose
`by further dividing down input clock signal Ck by
`means of a counter means 54 until the desired scanning
`frequency is reached; and by logically ANDing ;the
`resultant signal Ck3 and Ck4 by means of logic gates 55
`to obtain sequential select signals SS1-SS4 and byi_ap-
`plying these signals to LED drivers 52 via LED control
`inputs 56. By this technique, the scanning rate can be
`made very slow, and at the same time, it is independent
`of any large R-C charging time constant which requires
`physically large components for implementation. LED
`driver output signal D1, as shown in FIG. 6, illustrates
`a scanning rate under conditions where enabling signal
`En has a short pulse width 70.
`As previously pointed out, the ambient light on photo
`resistor 10 can be quantized differently simply by using
`voltage level detectors having other unique thresholds.
`Referring to FIG. 7, a voltage level detector 90 having
`a threshold of approximately 500 mV is illustrated.
`
`45
`
`Input pin 81 is coupled to the input nodes of two
`voltage level detectors 31 and 32. ‘Each voltage level
`detector is comprised of an input diode 33, a predeter-
`mined"nu'mber of serially-connected threshold setting
`diodes 34,‘ and an output transistor 35.
`Detector 31 generate a digital output signal B1. Sig-
`nal B1 is in a logical “1” state whenever the voltage on
`input pin 81 is less than about one volt, and is in a logical
`“0” state whenever the voltage on pin 81 is greater than
`about one volt. The actual voltage at which detector 31
`switches is equal to the cut-in voltage of one threshold
`setting diode 34 plus the cut-in voltage of a respective
`transistor 35.
`Similarly, detector 32 generates a digital brightness
`output signal B2 on lead 37. Signal B2 is in a logical “1”
`state whenever the voltage on input pin 81 is less than
`about two volts, and is in a logical “0” state whenever
`the voltage on pin 81 is greater than about two volts.
`The actual threshold level of detector equals three times
`the cut-in voltage of one threshold setting diode 34 plus
`the cut-in voltage of a respective transistor 35.
`The light intensity corresponding to two volts on
`input pin 81 is labeled as “medium,” and the light inten-
`sity corresponding_ to one volt is labeled as “bright.”
`Thus, the digital brightness detector of FIG. 2 behaves
`according to the truth table of FIG. 4. Any number of 65
`level detectors, Ieachrhaving a unique switching thresh-
`old-, _could be used in the.digital brightness detector in
`order to more finely quantize the ambient light inten-
`
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`5
`Level detector _90 consists of an output transistor 91,
`a multi-emitter transistor 92, and a current source 93.
`One emitter 94 of multi-emitter transistor 92 is coupled
`to input pin 81, and another emitter 95 is coupled to the
`base of output transistor 91. Base current source 93 is
`coupled to the base and collector of transistor 92. Cur-
`rent source 93 has a small output current relative to the
`output of current source 22 so as not to affect the volt-
`age level on pin 81.
`The operation of level detector 90 is best understood
`by considering how the current flows through emitters
`94 and 95 in response to various voltages on input pin
`81. When the voltage on input pin 81 is near ground,
`almost all of the current from current source 93 flows
`
`through emitter 94, and therefore, output transistor 91
`turns off. As the voltage on input pin 81 rises, current
`through emitter 94 decreases and current through emit-
`ter 95 increases. When the current emitters 94 and 95
`
`are approximately equal, output transistor 91 turns on.
`The threshold voltage of level detector 90 is calcu-
`lated by summing voltage drops around a loop 96,
`under the condition where the current through emitters
`94 and 95 are equal. Therefore, the threshold voltage
`equals the cut-in voltage drop of output transistor 91
`plus the voltage drop across base-emitter junction 98.
`But the latter two voltage drops are equal when the
`current through emitters 94 and 95 are equal. There-
`fore, the threshold voltage of level detector 90 equals
`the cut-in voltage of output transistor 91. At low cur-
`rent levels, this is approximately 500 mV.
`,
`Referring to FIG. 8, a circuit diagram of a voltage
`level detector 100, having a threshold of approximately
`60 mV, is illustrated. Level detector 100 is comprised of
`an output transistor 101, a multi-emitter transistor 102,
`and a current source 103. All the emitters 104 of transis-
`tor 102 are coupled toinput pin 81. Typically, transistor
`104 has 10 emitters. The base and collector of transistor
`102 are coupled to the base of output transistor 101 and
`to current source 103.
`
`When the voltage on input pin 81 is near ground, the
`voltage drop across each base-emitter junction of tran-
`sistor 102 equals the voltage drop across the base-emit-
`ter junction of output transistor 101. Therefore, each
`junction draws an equal amount of current. For exam-
`ple, if transistor 102 has ten emitters, then approxi-
`mately 10/11 of the current from current source 103
`passes through transistor 102; and only 1/11 of the cur-
`rent passes through transistor 101. Therefore, transistor
`101 will be turned off.
`
`the current
`As the voltage on input pin 81 rises,
`through the base-emitter junction of transistor 102 de-
`creases, and the current through the base-emitter junc-
`tion of transistor 101 increases. Output transistor 101
`turns on when the current through its base-emitter junc-
`tion equals the total current passing through all of the
`base emitter junctions of transistor 102. For example, if
`transistor 102 has 10 emitters, then each base-emitter
`junction of transistor 102 has 1/ 10 the current of the
`base-emitter junction of transistor 101 when transistor
`101 turns on.
`
`The threshold voltage of level detector 100 equals the
`base-emitter voltage drop of transistor 101 minus the
`base-emitter voltage drop of transistor 102 under the
`above-described current-sharing conditions. And since
`current and voltage through a base-emitter junction are
`approximately related by the ideal diode equation
`
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`this threshold voltage may be expressed in terms of
`current through each base-emitter junction. For exam-
`ple, if transistor 102 has 10 emitters, then under the
`above current-sharing condition, the threshold voltage
`is approximately (kT/q) 1n 10, which equals approxi-
`mately 60 mV.
`Various embodiments of the invention have now
`been described in detail. Since it is obvious that many
`changes and modifications can be made in the above
`details without departing from the nature and spirit of
`the invention, it is understood that the invention is not
`to be limited to said details except as set forth in the
`appended claims.
`What is claimed is:
`
`1. An electronic digital timekeeping device compris-
`ing:
`(a) time display means;
`(b) timekeeping circuitry means coupled to said dis-
`play means for generating time signals for display
`by said display means;
`(c) light sensor means;
`(d) digital brightness detector means coupled to said
`light sensor means, said detector means including:
`(i) a current source means, and
`(ii) a plurality of semiconductor voltage level de-
`tector means with each of said voltage level
`detector means having an analog input coupled
`to said current source means, a unique switching
`threshold, and a digital output representative of
`the quantum of light detected by said light sensor
`means; and
`(e) brightness control logic means coupled to said
`detector means for controlling the brightness of
`said display according to the digital outputs of said
`plurality of voltage level detector means.
`2. An electronic digital timekeeping device according
`to claim 1 wherein said brightness control logic means is
`comprised of a signal generator and a LED scanner;
`said signal generator having an output signal with a
`pulse width reflecting the state of said digital brightness
`output signals, and said LED scanner selectively apply-
`ing said output of said signal generator to a plurality of
`LED drivers.
`
`3. An electronic digital timekeeping device according
`to claim 1 wherein said plurality of semiconductor volt-
`age level detector means and said digital brightness
`control logic is integrated on a single semiconductor
`chip.
`4. An electronic digital timekeeping device according
`to claim 3, wherein at least some of said level detector
`means are comprised of a bipolar output transistor hav-
`ing a base coupled to a current source by means of at
`least one seriallyconnected threshold setting diodes;
`said base current source being coupled to said analog
`input by means of an input diode.
`5. An electronic digital timekeeping device according
`to claim 3 wherein at least some of said level detector
`means are comprised of a bipolar output transistor hav-
`ing a base coupled to one emitter of a multiple emitter
`transistor; said multiple emitter transistor having at least
`one emitter coupled to said analog input and having a
`base and a collector both coupled to a current source.
`
`Page 8
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`Page 8
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`

`
`7
`6. An electronic digital timekeeping device according
`to claim 3 wherein at least some of said level detector
`means are comprised of a bipolar output transistor hav-
`ing a base coupled to a currentsource and to a collector
`and a base of a multiple emitter transistor; each emitter
`of said multiple emitter transistor being coupled to-
`gether and to said analog input.
`7. A digital light-sensing control system comprising:
`(a) light sensor means for varying an analog electrical
`signal according to light intensity;
`(b) digital brightness detector means including regu-
`lated electrical signal source means and a plurality
`of level»-detector means coupled to said regulated
`electrical signal source, and to said light sensor
`means; each‘ of said level detector means having an
`analog input and a unique switching threshold, for
`generating a digital brightness output signal; and
`(c) brightness control logic means, coupled to said
`digital brightness detector means for selectively
`generating aplurality of system control signals in
`response to said digital brightness signals.
`8. A digital light-sensing control system according to
`claim 7, wherein said light sensor means is a photo resis-
`tor.
`'
`-
`»
`=
`.-
`'
`
`.
`
`-
`
`.
`
`9. A digital light-sensing. control system according to
`claim 7; wherein saidbrightness controllogic and said
`digital brightness detector are integrated on a single
`semiconductor chip.
`;
`,
`'
`.
`10. A digital light-sensing control system according
`to. claim 7 wherein said regulated. electrical signal
`source means, is comprised of a semiconductor constant
`current source and a‘ shunt load resistor.
`11. A digital light-sensing control system according
`to claim 7 wherein said brightness control logic means is
`comprised of a signalgenerator and a LED scanner;
`saidlsignal generator having an output signal with a
`pulse width reflecting the state of said digital brightness
`outputosignals, and said‘ LED scanner selectively apply-
`ing said output of said signal generator to a plurality of
`LED drivers.
`
`45
`
`12. An integrated digital light-sensing control system
`comprising:
`'
`(a) a photo resistor;
`‘(b) semiconductor current source means, coupled to
`said photo resistor, for generating a voltage pro-
`portional to the resistance of said photo resistor;
`(c) a plurality of semiconductor voltage level detect-
`ing means coupled to said current source means,
`‘each level detecting means of said plurality provid-
`ing an analog input, a digital output, and a unique 5
`switching threshold; and
`V
`'
`(d) brightness control logic means, coupled to each of
`said digital outputs; for generating system control’
`signals in response to said digital outputs.
`13.‘An integrated digital light-sensing control system 55
`according to claim 12 wherein, at least some of said level
`detector means are comprised of an output transistor
`
`7
`
`4,1 14,366
`
`5
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`having a base coupled to a current source through at
`least one serially-connected threshold setting diodes;
`said base current source being coupled to said analog
`input through an input diode.
`14. An integrated digital light-sensing control system
`according to claim 12 whrein at least some of said level
`detector means are comprised of an output transistor
`having a base coupled to one emitter of a multiple emit-
`ter transistor; said multiple emitter transistor having at
`least one emitter coupled to said analog input and hav-
`ing a base and a collector both coupled to a current
`source.
`
`15. An integrated digital light-sensing control system
`according to claim 12 wherein at least some of said level
`detector means are comprised of an output transistor
`having a base coupled to a current source and to a col-
`lector and a base of a multiple emitter transistor; each
`emitter of said multiple emitter transistor being coupled
`together and to said analog input.
`16. An electronic digital timekeeping device compris-
`ing a case, time display means, timekeeping circuitry,
`and a light sensor means enclosed withinlsaid case; with
`at least some of said timekeeping circuitry being ‘inte-
`grated on a single semiconductor chip; ‘wherein said
`single chip contains digital brightness detector means
`and brightness control logic means for varying the in-‘
`tensity of said time display means in response to ambient
`light intensity detected by said light sensor means, said
`digital brightness detector means being comprised of a
`plurality of semiconductor voltagelevel detector means
`coupled toa current source means; each level detector
`means of said plurality providing an analog input, a
`digital output that is responsive to said analog input, and
`a unique switching threshold.
`‘
`17. An electronic digital timekeeping device accord-»
`ing to claim 16 wherein at least some of said level detec-
`tor means are comprised of a bipolar output transistor
`having a base coupled to a current source by means of
`at least one serially-connected threshold setting diodes;
`said base current source being coupled to said analog
`input by means of an input diode.
`'
`7
`18. An electronic digital timekeeping device accord-
`ing to claim 16 wherein at least some of said level detec-
`tor means are comprised of 'a bipolar output transistor
`having a base coupled to one emitter of a multiple emit-
`ter transistor; said multiple emitter transistor having at
`least one emitter coupled to said analog input and ‘hav-
`ing a base and a collector both coupled to a- current
`source.
`
`19. An electronic digital timekeeping device accord-
`ing to claim 16 wherein at least some of said level detec-
`tor means are comprised of a bipolar output transistor
`having a base coupled to a current source and to a col-
`lector and a base of a multiple emitter transistor each
`emitter of said multiple emitter transistor being coupled
`together and to said analog input.
`1
`I
`i
`i
`I
`
`has
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