At 01:04 AM 12/17/2011, Neville Michie wrote...
This clock consists of 6 cubes, each has a digit display on one face.
It does not matter how you arrange them, if they are in a line they
will display the right time. (there may also be a nearby box
containing a Rb or GPS time standard.)
Wow. Looks like nobody takes time to read anymore. All the responses so
far act as if the line "each has a digit display on one face" wasn't
even there, and assume the boxes have to figure which side is up and
which side to use as a display.
They just need to figure out where they are in sequence. I'd use a
microcontroller in each, to drive the display, and also to monitor an
IR sensor and drive an IR LED. Sensor on the right of each box (as you
face the arrangement of boxes), LED on the left. Box on the right
(seconds - ones digit) receives no input from the sensor, knows it's
the rightmost box. It's also the one that keeps time. Displays last
digit, passes 5 remaining digits out the IR LED to the next box. Each
box strips the last digit, displays it, sends the remaining ones on.
Repeat. Last box receives one digit, displays it, done. Every time the
seconds increment, the rightmost box passes the new time along.
Obviously, if you're thinking of some type of electrical connection
between them, it's the same, only different.
The rest is just details, like how to modulate the signal, receive time
from your standard, etc. If you want the digit changes closely sync'd,
figure out the delay through each box, and each one delays the display
by the delay time*number of digits it's passing on (and the first one
starts the update sooner to accomodate).
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