|
Omron 1210 Desktop Calculator
Sincere thanks to Mr. Takaharu Yoshida for the image of the Omron 1210
The Omron 1210 is the first production electronic calculator produced by
Omron Tateisi Electric Co. The 1210 was shown in prototype form at a Japanese
Business Machine show in March of 1969 as the Omron Calculet 1200.
When it was shown, it raised a quite a stir, as it was the smallest and
lightest full-function electronic calculator in existence at the time.
It took another six months for the production version of the Calculet 1200
to be introduced as the Omron/Answer 1200 in September of 1969.
At the time, Omron did not have its own distribution network for a consumer
electronic product, so the company relied on a consortium of three
electronic retailers to market the machines for them. The group, which
was called "JBM" for "Japanese Business Machine", consisted of Nippon
Business Machines Co., Ltd. (not to be confused with Nippon Calculating
Machine Co. a.k.a. Busicom), Chuo Business Center Co., Ltd., and Nippon
Answer Computer Co., Ltd.. The three firms marketed this first calculator
from Omron as the "Answer 1210". Eventually, Omron built out its own
sales operation and began selling the calculator as the Omron 1210.
The museum is looking for either the Answer or Omron-branded version of
this calculator. Here forward, the term Omron 1210 refers both to the
Omron and Answer-branded examples of this calculator.
A unique aspect of this calculator, and a couple follow-on Omron-made
calculators is that they use completely unique segmented Vacuum
Fluorescent display tubes that create a very hand-written appearing
digit rendition, similar to the Itron tubes used on some Sharp calculators
from the early 1970's (an example being the
Sharp QT-8D, but the digit
rendition of zero in the tubes used in the Omron calculators was a full-sized
zero, while the tubes used in the Sharp calculators had a half-sized zero.
It seems that the display tubes used in the Omron 1210 were unique
to Omron (perhaps manufactured by them), and were used in a few follow-on
calculators, and those were the last apparent use of these unique and
beautiful display tubes. If anyone out there knows anything about the
original of these display tubes, and if they were used in any other type
of calculator or other electronic device, please contact the museum by
clicking the EMail button in the menu bar at the top of this page.
The Omron 1210 is a four function calculator with twelve digit capacity.
It provides fixed decimal point positioning via slide switch
at left side of keyboard at 0, 3, 6, or 9 digits behind the decimal point.
Single accumulator-style memory register.
Flip-up display cover becomes a shroud to allow easier reading of display
in high ambient light conditions.
Unusual Circuit Modules in Omron 1210
At the time of the Omron 1210's introduction, it was the smallest
and lightest electronic calculator in the world. The key to the machine's
small size and light weight was the use some unusual hybrid circuit modules
that were unique, but were a technology that did not last too long amidst
the development of larger scale MOS integrated circuit technology.
These devices are not integrated circuits, but instead are hybrid devices.
Sony utilized hybrid devices in their early electronic calculators,
including the Sony SOBAX ICC-400,
Sony's first electronic calculator. However, in the case of the Sony
hybrid devices, only a few transistors, diodes, and resistors were contained
within each hybrid device. In the case of the Omron hybrids, there
were many individual IC chips, as well as transistors, resistors and diodes,
making the Omron devices much more complex than Sony's hybrid devices.
In 1967, Omron began a top-secret project to develop this hybrid technology,
specifically for use in an electronic calculator, which involved placing a
number of conventional Japanese-made MOS IC dies
(raw integrated circuit chips without any packaging) onto a ceramic
substrate, with tiny etched circuit traces on the ceramic substrate providing
connections between the chips. The chips had extremely fine gold wires
bonded to tiny pads on the integrated circuits that would connect the chips
to contacts on the ceramic substrate. This allowed many chips, as well
as transistor dies, diodes, resistors, and capacitors to be
packaged together with the wiring to interconnect them on the ceramic
substrate. The entire substrate was encapsulated in an epoxy-type
substance that was inert electrically but provided for heat dissipation
from the components within, with wire pins extending out the sides of the
package that provide connection to the circuitry inside.
This type of construction would allow a reduction in size
versus the use of traditional IC packages, which made the calculator
significantly smaller than anything on the market at the time.
The IC chips used inside these hybrid devices were likely manufactured by
one of the major Japanese MOS IC manufacturers such as NEC, Hitachi, or Toshiba.
I tend to believe that the chips in the hybrid packages were made by NEC,
as there are a significant number of conventionally-packaged NEC-made
integrated circuits used in the calculator along with the hybrid IC modules.
The Omron 1210 uses a total of six of these hybrid circuit modules.
Four of the devices are larger, with the other two devices being considerably
smaller. Of the four large devices, it appears that two provide storage
elements for working registers of the calculator, and the other two provide
the memory register storage capability. It is unclear what function the
smaller hybrid modules perform, but a guess would be that they are involved
in generating the display rendition from the internal numeric representation
used in the calculating logic. All of this information relating to the
function of these hybrid devices is a guess at this point, as the museum
does not have an example of this machine to study to gain more information
on these amazing hybrid devices. It is for the understanding of these
devices that the museum is so interested in acquiring one of these machines
in hopes of positively identifying the function of these devices.
Long-time OEM customer of Omron, Triumph-Adler in West Germany marketed
a version on this calculator with somewhat different cabinetry and
keyboard as the Triumph-Adler 1210. The Old Calculator Museum would
be interested in acquiring the Triumph-Adler version of this calculator.
If anyone reading this has any information on these hybrid devices used
in the Omron/Answer & Triumph-Adler 1210 calculators, please contact the
museum by clicking the EMail button at the top of this page. Of course,
if you have an Omron, "Answer", or Triumph-Adler 1210 calculator, working
or not, gathering dust and would
like to make arrangements for your calculator to become a part of the
Old Calculator Museum's collection, please get in touch with us right away.
We would be most interested in discussing terms to acquire the calculator.