Illuminator (backlight)

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An electro luminescent backlight used in some Casio watches like DW-5600E-1V Illuminator.png
An electro luminescent backlight used in some Casio watches like DW-5600E-1V
A DW-5600E-1V G-Shock. This was one of the first ILLUMINATOR watches. DW-5600E.png
A DW-5600E-1V G-Shock. This was one of the first ILLUMINATOR watches.

Illuminator is an LCD backlight technology used in some Casio watches. The Timex corporation has its own similar technology called Indiglo. Casio originally used the Illuminator name for electroluminescent backlights, however it is now used for LED backlights also.

Backlight the state of being lighted from behind, usually applied to a screen or sign or other object needing to be read

A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). As LCDs do not produce light by themselves—unlike, for example, cathode ray tube (CRT) displays—they need illumination to produce a visible image. Backlights illuminate the LCD from the side or back of the display panel, unlike frontlights, which are placed in front of the LCD. Backlights are used in small displays to increase readability in low light conditions such as in wristwatches, and are used in smart phones, computer displays and LCD televisions to produce light in a manner similar to a CRT display. A review of some early backlighting schemes for LCDs is given in a report Engineering and Technology History by Peter J. Wild.

Casio multinational electronics manufacturing company

Casio Computer Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics and commercial electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It was founded in 1946, and in 1957 introduced the world's first entirely electric compact calculator. It was an early digital camera innovator, and during the 1980s and 1990s, the company developed numerous affordable home electronic keyboards for musicians along with introducing the world's first mass produced digital watches

Timex Group B.V., or Timex Group, is a Dutch holding company headquartered in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. It is the corporate parent of several global watchmaking companies including Timex Group USA, Inc., TMX Philippines, Inc., and Timex Group India Ltd.

History

In response to the Indiglo backlight which Timex had introduced in 1992, Casio introduced in 1995 an electroluminescent backlight on its modules. One of the first models was the Casio DW-5600E, commonly known as the G-Shock Illuminator (where the "E" of the model number means Electroluminescent).

G-Shock brand of watches manufactured by Casio

G-Shock is a line of watches manufactured by Casio, designed to resist mechanical shock and vibration. Its full form is Gravitational Shock. They are designed primarily for sports, military and outdoors-oriented activities; nearly all G-shocks are digital or a combination of analog and digital and have a stopwatch feature, countdown timer, electroluminescent backlight and water resistance.

In reference to this, domestic models (Japan) would typically bear the term "Foxfire", while export models bore "Illuminator."

Japan Constitutional monarchy in East Asia

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian continent and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea in the south.

See also


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