Documentation supporting the World's First!

[The Time Computer]

I have researched this subject thoroughly for years. I always like to talk facts and base any information I give strictly on documented facts that I can back up. Although a few people around the world have made claims to inventing the first ?Digital Wrist-Watch? or the first ?Solid State WristWatch? , fortunately this is well documented. In all due respect, Mr. Riehl may very well have been working on his wrist-watch in his basement but he had no knowledge of what others were working on at the same time! This is why one must timely document their ideas with the U.S. Patent Office so they can make legal claim to an invention. Documentation is the true measure of fact when it comes to who invented anything! I know of no legal documentation with claims other than those listed below. Some out there would like to think there is a controversy but a handful of believers does not constitute this??there is no controversy! .....It's a clear-cut issue at the Patent office, the Smithsonian and all the watch museums!

John M. Bergey, who I know personally have discussed this very issue for years will be the first to tell you that it took a team of many people from different companies to develop the "First Digital LED Wrist-Watch". They all should be proud to be part of a watch that changed the way the world tells time.

It should be noted that the first IC developed for an electronic wristwatch was developed by RCA. It was exclusively developed for The Hamilton Watch Co. in Lancaster, PA. A discussion one Sunday on the golf coarse between Jerry Robins (of Hamilton) and the CEO of RCA, Robins was asked, ?How?s that watch coming?? Robins?s answer was ?We have completed our end, we are just waiting for you to finish the development of the IC?. The next morning there was a meeting at RCA between R&D from Hamilton and RCA engineers to accelerate the finalization of the IC for the World?s First Digital LED Watch.....the Pulsar!

If anyone can supply me with factual documentation such as a Patent number to research at the US patent Office that supports otherwise then I will be the first to acknowledge and revise my records. My research excludes the Jump-Hour wristwatch that is technically the first wrist-watch displaying the time using numbers on a dial, disc or drum, I emphasized on digits displayed in a row by means of light, my documented research is the following:

The first ?Digital Wrist-Watch? was invented by John M. Bergey and Kenneth W. Derr, filed on June 25, 1968. This one will surprise most everyone. This invention is the first wristwatch that the time was displayed using digits of light, the seven segment display looks just like the LED displays we know today but the light was supplied using fiber-optics. This digital watch is so unique you just have to see it yourself! Patent#3,566,602

The first ?Solid State Wrist-Watch? was invented by Richard S. Walton, filed on October 16, 1968. This is the earliest documented proof of a device that used solid state technology to regulate time. There is no mention of a particular method of displaying the time, just a method to regulate it. Patent #3,560,998

The first ?LED Digital Wrist-Watch? was invented by Richard S. Walton, filed on April 22, 1969. This is the first wristwatch displaying the time using Light Emitting Diodes, the time was supplied by solid state circuitry. This by all means is the first watch to combine both digital and solid state technology in the same timepiece. This is the very invention that led to the development of the Hamilton prototype that eventually became the Pulsar LED wristwatch. Patent #3,576,099

The first ?LCD Digital Wrist-Watch? was invented by Richard S. Walton, filed on May 13, 1969. This is the first wristwatch displaying the time using a Liquid \Crystal Display, the time was supplied by solid state circuitry. Patent#3,613,351

The first "Side View" and the "First Solar Charged Electric" solid state digital timepiece was invented by Roger W. Riehl, filed on May 3, 1971. Along with some great improvements to earlier inventions this is the first claim to a digital watch that the display is on the side of the watchcase so as to view the time on the side of the timepiece instead of the top surface. Ironically, Bergey's earlier invention #3,566,602 does not make claim to this but is certainly the first concept of the sideview display. Bergey didn't make legal claim to that aspect of his invention so the invention belongs to Mr. Riehl. This also is the first watch to use a solar cell to charge a battery that supplies the power to the electric digital watch, the first wrist-watch solely powered by solar energy without a battery came many years later! Patent #3,823,551

I urge all that are interested to do the research themselves by going to the U. S. Patent Office website at http://www.uspto.gov/ and search these patents. There is much more than what I have supplied here so have fun!

Dennis L. Klein

[Synchroserious]

Same old nursery rime over and over.My fatyher was sent prototype RCA chips that were developed and had nothing at all to do with people still thinking dials for digits that wound up on a golf course.
Let,s get real here the patent office simply did not reaslize 99% of the patents were already common Knowledge and hello thats why none of it stuck and we got a variety of digitals.
I will not be available for comment for the remainder of thye day.The HOROLGY PERSON from the SMITHSONIAN IS MEETING ME TODAY. THEY WILL BE GETTING SOME INTERESTING DATA AS A DONATION WHICH INCLUDES A WORKING MK I THAT IS STILL GOING AFTER 32 YAERS 8)

[The Time Computer]

My fatyher was sent prototype RCA chips that were developed .........

This just proves my research! Why would RCA spend the time and money to develop something with no end user? Simple, your father got chips that were developed for the Hamilton Pulsar! I could acknowledge the possibility your father was ahead of the Pulsar project if the IC he used was from a company other than RCA and there was proof they developed it before RCA.

Dennis L. Klein

[dot matrix]

Old argument that is not going to be resolved.

viewtopic.php?t=41

[Mr Frequency 32768hz]

Wow, intresting stuff. So now its proven, Pulsar was the first ! Will the notice on this site be changed now ?

[The Time Computer]

Mr. Frequency? Yea, I once again needed to post these facts for all those new members who weren?t here the last time this came up. I also don?t think they will go back and read all those posts from over two years ago, they deserve the chance to read my research too. I think your like myself and a lot of the others out there?if somebody is going to make these kind of claims we just want some documentation proving it. Every legitiment source has documented the exact same facts??because it?s fact, there is no other answer! I think it is only fair that when comments are posted on this forum that may confuse our new LED enthusiasts that they get a fair chance to read, research or inquire to get the facts. I have supplied them with the information they need to decide for themselves. All of us that have been around long enough know the history???we already know who did what and when!

Dennis L Klein

[Synchroserious]

Did you invent the internet? Are you the ultimate authority for every one to listen to?Did you once golf with all those figments of your wandering logic.Are you trying to change history and tell us all were driving around in fuel charged vehicles?

[Synchroserious]

Back to documentation for the common interest. the Smithsonian visit went well and they will have some answers on Horolgy for anyone interestred in contacting them about the invention and achievement of the most advanced Watch, THE SYNCHRONAR!
Now that anyone with some common sense knows who did what and when we realize at the end of the day who the Grandfather of the Digital watch was. NEW NOTE: Pease allow 10 more days for the Smithsonian to register my donation and then people can call for info on some of the Synchronar history.

[retroleds]

Now that anyone with some common sense knows who did what and when we realize at the end of the day who the Grandfather of the Digital watch was

Yes! A.Barbella, U.S. Patent 3,333,410 , filing date 4/2/1965. Quartz oscillator, divider circuit, speed compensator, leap year compensator - it's all there. Sorry to disrupt the status quo...people resist change.

Al Gore invented the Internet...I thought that was common knowledge.

[Synchroserious]

I can no longer respond to such childish banter and jeolosy complexes,my brother has sent me your responces to your interest in invadeing my privacy and your backwards behind the times interest.

[retroleds]

Howard: Not sure if you were referring to me or Dennis...I did write back to your brother after he contacted me, first. No requests for ANY information were ever made....nobody wants or needs to know what you're doing there ...but Barry does write a nice letter and seems very reasonable. I did voice the opinion that Barry seems like a good condidate for the public-exposure end of the Reihl family legacy, since he doesn't seem weighted down by as many lingering issues.

You made funny on someone inventing the Internet...I threw in the punchline regarding Al Gore to add some levity to the whole thing. Childish banter reins supreme here; otherwise, we start taking timepieces too seriously. Why don't we just chalk it up to differences in opinion and circumstances, and move on in life? Or PM me if you must...

[dot matrix]

Al Gore invented the Internet...I thought that was common knowledge.

As far as I know, Al Gore never actually claimed to invent the internet. Have you got a source for this rumor? :wink:

[DragonFly2]

Interesting, I suspect that the answers to the question who was first probably (in terms of proof) lies with RCA whose CMOS microchip technology seems to be at the heart of both watches. Both watches would have been what we call in the elecronics industry 'Custom ASICS' and as such would have been the result of lengthy and involved design processes with both RCA and their then respective customers.
This would have generated substantial design costs for the then RCA customers in question and significant amounts of paperwork with the design for each ASIC being signed off at various stages of the design (I know this from similar personal experiance with direct involvement in ASIC design).
So if these records still exist at RCA or some subsequent company (RCA sold its IC manufacturing bussiness to Harris who subsequently sold it to Fairchild as it is now known) then we may finally have proof.
But bear in mind that the paperwork for both sets of ASICs would be needed to fully understand the chronology.
It does appear that the situation is not unlike the who the invented 'Calulus' question, where Newton and Huygens were both working independantly on the same idea without knowing it.
Incidently the CMOS or COSMOS technology was the basis of the CD4000 series logic chip family.

[retroleds]

DrangonFly's got the right attitude - we will probably never know the true first, because several people may have been working on this independantly from each other....duplicating efforts. :( And any number of people may have been on the verge of bringing their work to light, only to have it interrupted by "life happening".

The "first" debate primarily exists because "first" is being asserted in regard to the comparitively niche product Synchronar, versus the well known Pulsar. Maybe a more honest approach would be to refer to Synchronar as "one of the first LED watches" and the Hamilton/Pulsar as " the first mass-marketed LED." Lots of clock cycles going to waste on this...

[The Time Computer]

Interesting, I suspect that the answers to the question who was first probably (in terms of proof) lies with RCA whose CMOS microchip technology seems to be at the heart of both watches.

EXACTLY!
Really hard to make an LED watch without this crucial part, agree?

Some more historical facts for the believers and I guess for the non-believers too if they would just PLEASE listen! Again, I invite anyone to prove me wrong and I will change my records. So far only one man has taken the challenge.

I actually have a good personal connection to the development of the first IC made by RCA but first let go over this one last time!

The first IC ever manufactured was by RCA (well documented) and the majority of funding came from the Hamilton Watch Co. A contract between Hamilton and RCA was signed by John M. Bergey and Dr. George Heilmier to gain exclusive rights to the research of the CosMos project. Bergey headed the R&D for Hamilton and Heilmier was the head of the CosMos project. You ask what the hell is CosMos? . . . . Complementary Silicon Metal-Oxide Semiconductor, this was later simply shortened to CMOS.

Now, were did RCA get this technology? They got it from a guy by the name of Albert Medwin??he got it from a guy by the name of Tom Klein??.my uncle! My late uncle helped pioneer the first ?Integrated Circuit? and filed for his own patent in 1966. My uncle didn?t have the money or the means to further develop and produce it. He sold it to RCA were Mr. Medwin who headed the CosMos team picked up from there. RCA filed for a patent in April of 1969, RCA went on to actually produce the first IC and Hamilton was the first to get it. This would mean any claim to get an IC before Hamilton by anyone would not be correct, it was impossible, to be quite frank. My uncle worked on his IC long before RCA filed and was granted the patent. The history goes to RCA because they produced it, and rightfully so!

Now, here?s were it gets REAL interesting and I want to stress I am not trying to start some ?Conspiracy? against the Synchronar, just providing the facts! Mr. Medwin left RCA after the CosMos project, he started his own company. The name of his company was ?Ragen Semiconductor? !

Ring any bells????.Does this explain why Mr. Riehl is claiming to get samples of a chip? Did he get them from Ragen Semiconductor? I think here is where we need Roger, it?s a shame he isn?t with us to give us more detail but I believe this is where the controversy started. I tried for several years to contact Roger about this but could never get any reply? I could never get in touch with Mr. Medwin either, he may still be with us but I have had no luck.

And finally, I never said Mr. Riehl wasn?t working on his watch before May 6th 1970. I only stated that it is unfair to say he was the only one doing so at the time and claim he was the first! Regardless of what is said on this website it will take a ?Flux Capacitor? and ?1.21 gigawatts? to change the historical facts on any of this!

Dennis L. Klein

This posting is protected under the US Copyright laws and shall not be reprinted without the permission of Dennis L. Klein.

[Synchroserious]

Dennis you must really think I am some kind of idiot that was born yesterday,I GREW UP AROUND THIS WATCH ,AND YOU ARE WAY OFF AGAIN.Since you are obviuosly unaware,Ragen Precision Industries Inc. was the parrent company to the small subsidiary RSI.After meeting the inventor Roger W Riehl and learning from his ideas to CLEAN UP THE RAGEN SEMI- PROCCESS TO MAKE HIS WATCH CHIP,RPI WAS VERY INTERESTED TO STOP PAYING ROYALTIES TO RIEHL ELECTRONICS shortly after production started and made a deal(yes I have the records,seal and all) offering Roger to step in as president and save the semiconductor operations that RPI was otherwise ready to shut down as RSI had been loseing money for years prior to RWR and his fasinating watch.RPI went in and Advertised the watch heavily for the "74 World release" but like most L.e.d,s and semiconductor plants they were done with interest in the watch and were ready to close down the RSI plant in late "76".Then another deal was struck for RWR to take over ALL operations at Ragen Semiconductor renameing the company Riehl Time Corp., RWR also designed and supplied chips to other vendors,like a major flashlight company and an Electronic staple gun to suplement the cost of keeping the plant open for watch chips and what do you know he lost some of the contracted work and was having financial trouble and the plant closed in 84.I know this info almost like the back of my hand.Roger Jr. was there makeing the chips.I will admit this whole thing is a very old subject and has taken some refreshing and looking at the records.I have the first Electronic Digital watch ever constructed by the way.[/b]

[The Time Computer]

"YOU ARE WAY OFF AGAIN"

Humm?...I read your post several times but just couldn?t make sense of it, sorry? I tried to see somewhere in there were you proved something I said was wrong? Are you saying I didn?t get the Synchronar history right??.well, I don?t think I had any references to that nor do I know or care. Are you saying Albert Medwin didn?t work for RCA, that he didn?t develop and invent the first IC for RCA? Is this not the same Albert Medwin who started a business that was involved with the Synchronar?

Actually I was hoping to get some kind of reply as to were the Synchronar got a chip prior to the first one invented by RCA? I was hoping you might know how to get in touch with Mr. Medwin to get a statement as to facts about the chip he developed for RCA and who got it first. Can you at least tell us who made the chip in the watch you have there in front of you?