reference is now made to fig1 of the drawing wherein there is schematically illustrated digital microcomputer 11 , of the type employed in modern multifunction electronic sport watches . microcomputer 11 includes a microprocessor , a read only memory ( rom ) for storing program and display instructions and a random access memory ( ram ) for storing at designated addresses data signals supplied to the microcomputer and values computed by the computer . the microprocessor in microcomputer 11 includes the usual elements , i . e ., an input / output buffer , a central processing unit and clock circuitry including an oscillator responsive to quartz crystal 12 . microcomputer 11 and the remaining circuitry illustrated in fig1 are powered by battery 13 of the type usually employed in electronic watches . the frequency of the oscillator in microcomputer 11 is controlled by crystal 12 , as well as by the capacitance of variable capacitor 14 , connected to the microcomputer . microcomputer 11 includes a multibit output bus 15 for supplying alpha - numeric representing digital signals to liquid crystal display 16 . liquid crystal display 16 is fabricated in the normal manner , but includes alpha and numeric indications associated with the age , weight , sex , and stride length of the subject , as well as indications of the number of steps taken by the subject during a walking , jogging or running exercise routine , the average speed of the subject during the exercise routine , the peak speed , instantaneous speed and calories consumed by the subject during the exercise routine . in addition , liquid crystal display 16 includes the usual displays associated with a sport watch , i . e ., time of day , day and month , stop watch functions , lap timer , and countdown functions . microcomputer 11 also supplies signals to beeper piezoelectric beeper crystal 17 by way of driver 18 . crystal 17 provides an aural signal to the subject every other time the subject takes a stride while the watch is in the stop watch operating mode . in addition , computer 11 can periodically supply a pacing signal to crystal 17 , i . e ., to provide the subject with a aural signal each time he should take a stride to maintain a particular speed or cadence in walking , jogging or running . microcomputer 11 also supplies signals to beeper crystal 17 for the usual alarm and countdown functions of an electronic sports watch . to enter data into microcomputer 11 , switches 21 - 23 are provided . switches 21 - 23 are normally spring biased to an open state , and are selectively closed by the subject pressing them in the usual manner of operating a sports watch . one contact of each switches 21 - 23 is connected in parallel to the positive electrode of battery 13 , while the remaining contacts of the switches are connected to separate input terminals of microcomputer 11 . the electronic watch of the present invention includes a fourth normally open spring biased switch 24 , connected between lamp 25 and the electrodes of battery 13 . lamp 25 is mounted in proximity to liquid crystal display 16 , to illuminate the display in response to switch 24 being closed by the user . switches 21 - 24 are located in the four corners of the watch , in the usual manner . the nomenclature for switches 21 - 24 are respectively &# 34 ; time &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; lap / reset &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; record data &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; light &# 34 ;. in response to switches 21 - 23 being closed different command signals are supplied to microcomputer 11 . the read only memory of the microcomputer responds to depression of the buttons in the usual manner to derive control signals for liquid crystal display 16 . however , the program is different from those usually included in microcomputer sports wrist watches to enale calculation of the various functions associated with calculation of calories and subject speed . basically , switch 21 is closed to enable the subject to select the type of data to be entered into the random access memory of microcomputer 11 . closure of switch 23 causes numeric values to be entered into the random access memory at addresses controlled by the read only memory . in general , a numeric value is incremented by a count of one each time switch 23 is closed . however , if switch 23 is closed for in excess of a predetermined time interval , such as one or two seconds and remains so depressed , the numeric indication and liquid crystal display 13 are incremented at high speed in response to pulses from the oscillator responding to crystal 12 until switch 23 is open . to provide the pedometer function , mercury switch 26 is mounted in the watch case . mercury switch 26 includes a dielectric , preferably glass , envelope 27 , a mercury globule 28 inside of envelope 27 , and a pair of contact leads 29 extending through the bottom of envelope 27 into the interior of the envelope , to be wetted and bridged by globule 28 . mercury switch 26 is positioned in the watch casing so that in response to each swing of the left arm of a subject maintaining the arm parallel to the ground , the globule moves from a position , at the bottom of envelope 27 , where it short circuits leads 29 , to a position adjacent the top of the envelope , where the globule does not wet the contact leads , whereby the leads are open circuited . mercury globule 28 functions as an inertia member to provide bounceless closure of leads 29 each time the arm of the subject moves through one cycle . since the arm is moved through a cycle each time the subject takes two steps , the number of times contacts 29 are opened is directly proportional to the number of steps taken by the subject . bounceless closure of leads 29 is provided by mercury globule 28 because mercury has very high internal cohesive forces , such that the mercury remains in globular form and does not separate into droplets . contact leads 29 of mercury switch 26 are connected to circuitry in microcomputer 11 which generates a pulse each time the contacts are opened by mercury globule 28 moving away from them . thereby , the circuitry within microcomputer 11 derives a pulse each time the left arm of the subject completes one movement cycle . the pulses derived in the microcomputer in response to contact leads 29 being open circuited from mercury globule 28 are counted during each cycle time of the computer . a signal indicative of the number of counted pulses during each computer cycle time is stored in a designated ram address . the stored count indicative of number of counted pulses is combined with preset signals stored in the computer indicative of subject stride length to provide the pedometer function , and with the computer computation cycle time to derive the aforementioned speed parameters . the pulses generated by the circuitry responsive to opening of contacts 29 are also combined with the subject stride length indications , the subject weight indications , the subject sex indication and the subject weight indication to derive an indication of calories consumed . reference is now made to fig2 of the drawing , a plane view of the exterior of a watch in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention . as illustrated in fig2 the watch includes a plastic , dielectric relatively thin case 31 having a generally square outline . secured to opposite edges of case 31 is strap 32 for enabling the watch to be placed around the wrist of a subject , in the normal fashion . in the four corners of case 31 are spring biased push buttons 33 - 36 which , when pushed inwardly , respectively , close switches 21 - 24 . push buttons 33 - 36 are of the type normally employed on conventional electronic sports watches . legends assigned to push buttons 33 - 36 are respectively &# 34 ; time &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; lap / reset &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; record data &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; light &# 34 ;, respectively color coded with dots 37 as orange , blue , amber and white . extending across the top of the watch face is liquid crystal display 16 . below display 16 are s tripes 38 - 40 containing abbreviations for instructions associated with buttons 33 - 35 , and color coded in the same manner as the buttons . stripe 38 is color coded orange , to correspond with button 32 , and bears the nomenclature &# 34 ; stw timer pace maker entry &# 34 ;; stripe 39 is color coded amber to correspond with push button 33 , and bears the nomenclature &# 34 ; date alarm sta / stp advance &# 34 ;; and stripe 40 is color coded blue , to correspond with button 34 , and bears the nomenclature &# 34 ; cal dist speed step &# 34 ;. reference is now made to fig3 and 4 of the drawing wherein there are respectively illustrated front and back faces of dielectric printed circuit board 41 , mounted in watch case 31 so that the planar surfaces of the printed circuit board are parallel to the plane of the watch face containing liquid crystal display 16 . as illustrated in fig4 microcomputer 11 is surface mounted on the back face of printed circuit board 41 , i . e ., the face of the board adjacent liquid crystal display 16 . surface mounted microcomputer 11 is covered with protective , insulative coating 42 . leads 43 , coated or plated on the back face of board 41 , extend from microcomputer 11 to terminal pads 44 , engaged by pins ( not shown ) connected to liquid crystal display 16 . on opposite faces of printed circuit board 41 are coated or plated leads 45 for supplying to microcomputer 11 power from battery 13 and signals from crystal 12 , capacitor 14 , switches 21 - 23 , and mercury switch contacts 29 . leads 45 , on opposite sides of printed circuit board 41 , are connected to each other by plated through holes 46 in the printed circuit board . leads 43 and 45 and plated through holes 46 are covered with a dielectric coating ( not shown ), as is conventional in the art . however , terminals 44 and portions of conductive lands forming switches 21 - 24 are not covered by the dielectric coating , so that pads 44 and the conductive lands can engage metal contacts to provide electric connections . in fig3 watch case 31 is illustrated as it is mounted on the left wrist or lower forearm of a subject while walking , jogging or running with the left forearm parallel to the ground . the face of circuit board 41 illustrated in fig3 is adjacent the watch backing . in fig4 the face of circuit board 41 is illustrated in the position where case 31 is mounted on the left wrist of a person walking , jogging or running with the forearm parallel to the ground ; the circuit board face illustrated in fig4 is adjacent the watch face . as illustrated in fig3 and 4 , longitudinal axis 46 of elongated envelope 27 of mercury switch 26 is disposed at an angle of 30 ° from the horizontal when the watch is worn on the left wrist with the left forearm parallel to the ground . to provide this result , longitudinal axis 46 is displaced 60 ° from the axis of wrist watch strap 32 . envelope 27 is mounted in watch case 31 so leads 29 , at one end of the envelope , are below the end of the envelope where no leads are located when the watch is worn on the left wrist or forearm and the forearm is parallel to the ground . thereby , when the left forearm is in a stationary position , parallel to the ground , mercury globule 28 wets and bridges contacts 29 to short circuit the contacts together . globule 28 wets and bridges contacts 29 while the arm is cyclically moved , with the forearm remaining parallel to the ground , except immediately after the left arm has reversed direction immediately after being extended farthest in front of the body of the subject . the inertia of mercury globule 28 is such that at the time of arm reversal the globule moves forward relative to the rest of envelope 27 , toward the top end of the envelope 27 . at this time globule 28 is approximately at the position indicated by dotted lines 28 &# 39 ; where the globule no longer wets and bridges contacts 29 so the contacts are not connected to each other . at all other times during the cyclic movement of the left forearm during a walk , jogging or running exercise routine , the inertia of globule 28 is such that the globule wets and bridges contacts 29 . in response to globule 28 moving off of contacts 29 once during each arm movement cycle , a pulse is supplied by mercury switch 26 to microcomputer 11 , whereby the number of pulses supplied to the microcomputer is equal to one half the number of steps taken by the subject . hence , each time a pulse is derived by mercury switch 26 , which in essence forms a pedometer sensor , the subject has taken two steps ; thereby the number of steps and pulses are directly proportional to each other . while 60 ° has been found to be an optimal angle between the longitudinal axes of envelope 27 and watch strap 32 , this angle can vary considerably , by up to and even in excess of plus or minus 15 °. it is important for the longitudinal axis of envelope 27 not to be located in the vertical or horizontal plane while the pedometer including switch 26 is worn by the subject because globule 28 will not serve as an inertia member in these positions . therefore , the longitudinal axes of envelope 27 and strap 31 should not be in line with or at right angles to each other . for component mounting convenience , metal can 47 , containing crystal 12 , is positioned immediately adjacent envelope 27 , and the can and envelope longitudinal axes are parallel . envelope 27 and can 47 are mounted on parallel or planar edges 48 and 49 of printed circuit board 41 . battery 13 is mounted on printed circuit board 41 in a cavity having arcuate side walls 51 . the upper face of battery 13 , constituting one electrode of the battery , engages metal , spring - like tab 52 , while the lower battery face , which constitutes another electrode of the battery , abuts against metal tab 50 , connected to the plated metal land 53 on a face of board 41 . land 53 is connected by metal plated through - hole 54 to leads on the opposite sides of printed circuit board 41 , as illustrated in fig3 . metal tab 52 is pivotally mounted by rivet 55 on metal strap 56 that extends in a direction at right angles to the longitudinal axis of strap 32 between opposite edges of printed circuit board 41 ; strap 56 is on the face of circuit board 41 illustrated in fig3 . tab 52 and strap 56 are connected to metal arms 57 and 58 that extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of watch strap 32 along opposite edges of printed circuit board 41 . arms 57 and 58 are integral with strap 56 , being constructed as spring biased contacts having fingers 61 - 64 extending toward printed circuit board 41 . each of lands 65 - 68 is coated on both faces of printed circuit board 41 and includes a conducting plating along the edge of the circuit board opposite from fingers 61 - 64 . fingers 61 - 64 respectively engage the portions of lands 65 - 68 on the edges of circuit board 41 in response to buttons 33 - 36 being pushed inwardly . buttons 33 - 36 respectively include extensions 71 - 74 arranged so that extension 71 bears against a corner at the intersection of arm 57 and finger 61 , extension 72 engages a corner at the intersection of arm 58 and finger 64 , extension 73 engages a corner at the intersection of arm 58 and finger 63 , and extension 74 engages a corner at the intersection of arm 57 and finger 64 . in response to buttons 33 - 36 being pressed inwardly , switches 21 - 24 are closed by virtue of the contact between finger 61 and land 65 , between finger 62 and land 66 , between finger 63 and land 67 , and between finger 64 and land 68 . in response to buttons 33 - 36 being released , the spring bias of arms 57 and 58 opens contacts 21 - 24 and pushes buttons 33 - 36 outwardly . in response to buttons 33 - 35 being depressed , current respectively flows from one electrode of battery 13 through tab 32 and strap 56 to fingers 61 - 63 , thence to lands 65 - 67 and plated leads 45 on printed circuit board 41 to input terminals of computer 11 . in response to button 36 being pushed , current flows from battery 13 through tab 52 and strap 56 to finger 64 , thence to land 68 and bulb 25 to illuminate liquid crystal display 16 . to provide fine tuning for the oscillator in microcomputer 11 , including quartz crystal 12 and variable capacitor 14 , the value of the capacitor is adjusted by turning screw 81 , which controls the value of the dielectric between electrodes of capacitor 14 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art . at the time of initial installation , the assembler turns screw 81 until the quartz crystal oscillator is at the correct , predetermined frequency for time - keeping purposes . piezo - electric crystal 17 is formed as a coating on stainless steel watch backing 82 , fig5 and 6 . crystal 17 includes piezo - electric slab 83 that is deposited on aluminum coating 84 , in turn deposited on backing 82 . aluminum coating 85 is applied to the face of slab 83 opposite from coating 84 , whereby coatings 84 and 85 form electrodes on opposite faces of slab 83 for crystal 17 . electrical and mechanical contact is made between electrodes 84 and 85 and leads on printed circuit board 41 through metal compression springs 86 and 87 that respectively bear against coatings 84 and 85 and are connected to leads on printed circuit board 41 . the rom and ram in microcomputer 11 activate liquid crystal display 16 in the conventional manner in response to closure of switches 21 - 23 for the usual sport watch functions , namely display and adjustment of time , date , countdown timer , alarm timer and stopwatch . in response to pulses from the pedometer comprising mercury switch 26 and timing signals from the oscillator including quartz crystal 12 and input signals from switches 21 - 23 , the rom and ram of microcomputer 11 are arranged to derive digital signals which are supplied to liquid crystal display 16 to indicate the instantaneous speeds of the subject during an exercise period , the average speed of the subject during the exercise period , the total distance traveled by the subject during the exercise period , the number of steps taken by the subject during the exercise period and the number of calories burned by the subject during the exercise period . all of these functions are performed while microcomputer 11 is operating in the stopwatch mode . prior to calculating instantaneous , peak and average speeds , total distance traveled and calories , push button 35 is pressed until the indicia &# 34 ; data &# 34 ; appear in the upper right - hand corner of the liquid crystal display . in the normal , clock mode , the indicia &# 34 ; inavpk speed step dist and data &# 34 ; appear on the upper line of the liquid crystal display . in response to button 33 being pressed in sequence four times , causing switch contacts 21 to close four times , display 16 is activated by the rom so the bottom line of the liquid crystal display reads ( 1 ) &# 34 ; stw &# 34 ; ( for stopwatch ), ( 2 ) tmr ( for countdown timer ), ( 3 ) nothing i . e ., there are no alpha numeric characters on the bottom line of the liquid crystal display , and ( 4 ) nothing . in response to the fourth activation of button 33 , &# 34 ; data &# 34 ; appears in the upper right - hand corner of the display . when the &# 34 ; data &# 34 ; indicia appear on the upper line , the program in the rom addresses the ram to read out rom signals to the buffer so the center line of the liquid crystal display is activated to read either &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; ( stored in a designated ram address ) followed by the letters &# 34 ; ut &# 34 ; ( signals for &# 34 ; ut &# 34 ; are stored in a designated rom address ). the numeric values 0 and 1 followed by the letters &# 34 ; ut &# 34 ; signify whether distance , weight and speed data entries via button 34 and numeric values on display 16 are to be in metric or english units ; 0 = metric and 1 = english . to change from english to metric units and vice versa , button 35 , associated with contact 22 , is pressed . in response to button 35 being pressed with the read only memory causing display 16 to be in state ( 4 ) a designated ram address changes state from one to zero and vice versa . the sex of the subject may then be changed by pressing button 34 , closing switch contact 23 . this causes the program in the rom to access designated addresses in the ram and rom to cause a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; value to appear on the middle line of the liquid crystal display followed by the letters &# 34 ; se &# 34 ;; 0 = female and 1 = male . to change the sex from male to female , button 35 is pressed , causing the designated ram address to change state . in response to the designated ram address indicating that the subject is a female , designated rom addresses for female coefficients are read out to the arithmetic logic unit ( alu ) of the computer during a computation interval for the subject calorie factor ; other designated rom addresses are read in response to the sex designated rom address having a value associated with a male subject . button 34 is then pressed to set the age of the subject , so that the program in the rom reads out designated ram and rom addresses to cause the display center line to display a numeric value followed by &# 34 ; ae &# 34 ;. to change the age of the subject stored in the ram designated address , button 35 is pressed . to increment age by a count of one , button 35 is pressed instantaneously and released . if , however , it is desired to change the age value significantly , button 35 is pressed for in excess of two seconds and remains pressed until a value slightly less than the age of the subject is displayed on display 16 , at which time button 35 is released . button 35 is then depressed and released for short intervals until the desired subject age numeric value is reached value in the center line of liquid crystal display 16 . in the preferred embodiment , the age sequences through a range from 5 through 99 years . after the age of the subject has been set , button 34 is again pressed , causing the program in the rom to address the ram and rom so the center line of display 16 displays a numerical value followed by the letters &# 34 ; wt &# 34 ; for weight change entries . the display numerical value is then incremented by pressing button 34 , for either step by step or high speed changes , as described in connection with the age display . the weight values can be set anywhere from 50 through 500 pounds , or 22 through 227 kilograms , depending upon whether a display 16 has been set to 1 or 0 while &# 34 ; ut &# 34 ; appeared in the center line . next , button 35 is pressed , causing the program in rom to address the ram and rom so the center line of display 16 has a numerical value , followed by the letters &# 34 ; sl &# 34 ;, enabling stride length of the subject to be entered . the stride length is entered by depressing button 34 , as described for the age setting . the stride length in the preferred embodiment , can be set anywhere from 30 to 200 centimeters , or 13 to 84 inches . after stride length has been entered , button 33 is pressed , causing time of day to be displayed again on the display center line . each time button 35 is depressed while the &# 34 ; ae &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; wt &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; sl &# 34 ; indicia are displayed on the center line of the liquid crystal display while &# 34 ; data &# 34 ; is displayed in the upper right - hand corner of the display , a pulse is supplied by the oscillator including crystal 16 to the input of microcomputer 11 . each pulse increments by a count of one , count values stored in three different addresses in the microcomputer ram respectively associated with age , weight and stride length ; the appropriate ram address is accessed by the rom being at the address associated with display of data and one of age , weight or stride length . in response to button 35 being pressed for in excess of two seconds while the program in the rom is at an address causing data and ae , wt or sl to be displayed , a gate in microcomputer 11 responsive to pulses from the oscillator is opened to increment continuously the counts in the designated ram addresses associated with age , weight and stride length . the center line of the liquid crystal display 16 responds , through an input / output buffer of microcomputer 11 , to the ram accessed address to display the numerical values for age , weight and stride length , in a manner known to those of ordinary skill in the art . also , the designated ram addresses are incremental in an accumulator register of microcomputer 11 in a manner well known to those of ordinary skill . microcomputer 11 responds to the sex , units , age , weight and stride length signals to compute periodically , preferably once every six seconds , signals having numeric values indicative of subject distance traveled during the period , subject speed during the period , peak subject speed since the stop watch mode was entered , average subject speed since the stop watch mode was entered and calories consumed since the stop watch mode was entered ; the six second period is the computer cycle period . the distance traveled during the period is computed by microcomputer 11 counting the number of pulses derived as a result of globule 28 moving from and open circuiting contacts 29 during the period and multiplying the number of pulses by twice the subject stride length . to this end , microcomputer 11 derives a pulse each time globule 28 moves from contacts 29 and derives a digital signal indicative of the number of pulses during each computer cycle period . the digital signal is derived in a manner known to those skilled in the art , as disclosed , e . g ., in the aforementioned patent the digital signal indicative of the number of pulses is multiplied by two in the alu and stored in a designated ram address . at the end of the six second period , designated ram addresses where stride length and the number of pulses are stored are addressed and supplied to the alu . the microcomputer is programmed to multiply the number of steps by twice the subject stride length to derive an indication of distance traveled during the six second period . the stored indication of distance traveled is supplied to a designed ram address to enable &# 34 ; instantaneous &# 34 ; speed to be calculated during the six second interval , to update average and peak speeds since the beginning of the exercise period ( when the stop watch mode was entered ) and to compute calories consumed during the six second interval . &# 34 ; instantaneous &# 34 ; speed during the six second period is the distance traveled during the period divided by the length of the time interval of the period . the computed value of instantaneous speed is supplied by the alu to a ram designated address under the control of the program stored in rom . the designated address for instantaneous speed is updated after each six second interval . the instantaneous speed signal is combined with the previous accumulated value of average speed , as stored at a designated ram address . the previously accumulated value of average speed is combined in the alu under the control of a sub - routine program stored in the microcomputer rom in accordance with a known algorithm to compute average speed , as updated by the measurements taken during the previous six second interval . the thus computed average speed is returned to the ram designated address under the control of the program stored in the rom . the instantaneous speed during the six second interval is compared in the alu with the peak value signal stored in a designated ram address . if the instantaneous speed during the just completed six second interval is greater than the peak value previously stored in the designated ram address , the instantaneous value is returned to the designated address as a new peak value . if , however , the peak value previously stored in the designated ram address exceeds the value during the previous six second interval , the stored value is returned to the designated ram address . calories consumed during the previous six second interval are calculated by multiplying a previously determined factor r for the subject by the number of pulses generated during the six second calculation interval . for male subjects 26 years of age or older the value of r is calculated from equation 3 as : where x is the weight of the subject in kilograms , q is the subject stride length in centimeters , and z is the age of a male subject 26 years of age or older and the age of a female subject 21 years of age or older . the value of r is , in this instance , based upon equations 1 - 6 . the value of r is computed by microcomputer 11 in response to the values of units , subject age , weight , sex , and stride length initially entered into the microcomputer memory in response to activation of buttons , 33 - 35 . the entered values of age ( numeric ) and sex ( 0 or 1 ) are logically combined in the alu , to determine which expression for r , as stored in the rom , is to be used . the subroutine associated with calculating r is entered in response to button 33 being pressed . the entered value of units ( 0 or 1 ) determines whether appropriate coefficient changes will be made in the alu for the entered and read out values of distance , weight and speed . the initially calculated value of r for the particular subject is stored in a designated ram address and is read out into the alu once during each computation cycle interval time . the value of r supplied by the ram to the alu is combined with a stored value for the number of steps taken by the subject ( determined by counting the number of pulses generated in response to globule 38 opening contacts 29 ) during each cycle period to determine the number of calories consumed by the subject during the computer period . the calculated number of calories for the period is combined in the alu accumulator register with a previous indication of number of total consumed calories computed during the exercise regime , as stored in a designated ram address . the signal in the accumulator register is returned to the designated ram address for total calories computed . to read out the stored signals indicative of the number of steps taken during the exercise routine , peak speed during the exercise routine , distance traveled during the exercise routine , speed during the last computer period of the exercise routine , average speed during the exercise routine , and number of calories consumed during the exercise routine , button 35 is pressed after the routine has been completed . pressing button 35 terminates the stopwatch operation . button 33 is then pressed , causing the contents of the ram address where time of day is stored to be displayed . then , button 34 is pressed in sequence six times to provide sequential read out of the six aforementioned quantities . in response to the first depression of button 34 the program stored in the rom reads out the ram address where number of steps is stored through the microcomputer input / output buffer to liquid crystal display 16 ; a maximum of 999 , 999 steps can be displayed . in response to the second depression of button 34 , the contents of the ram address where instantaneous speed is stored , which corresponds to the subject speed during the last six second calculation period , are supplied to display 16 via the microcomputer input / output buffer . in response to the next four depressions of button 34 , the peak speed , average speed , distance and calorie indications stored in the designated random access memory addresses are sequentially supplied to display 16 . continued depressions of button 34 repeatedly sequence display 16 through the indications for number of steps , actual or instantaneous speed , peak speed , average speed , distance and calories consumed . the microcomputer rom stores signals to indicate what parameters are being displayed . thereby , in response to the first depression of button 34 the program stored in the rom addresses a designated rom address to read out signals to display 16 , causing the upper display line to read &# 34 ; step &# 34 ;, in response to the second depression of button 34 . the upper display line 16 responds to an address in the random access memory to provide indicia &# 34 ; in speed &# 34 ;, and the right side of the display middle line reads , either &# 34 ; m h &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; k h &# 34 ;, depending upon whether a 1 or 0 was displayed while the display middle line read &# 34 ; ut &# 34 ;. in response to the next two depressions of button 34 , the display top line responds to designated rom addresses to display indica &# 34 ; pk speed &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; av speed &# 34 ;, while the rom address causes the display middle line to read &# 34 ; mh &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; kh &# 34 ;. in response to the fifth depression of button 34 , the top display line responds to a designated rom address to display &# 34 ; dist &# 34 ;, while the middle line of the display reads , on the right side , either &# 34 ; ml &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; km &# 34 ;. in response to the sixth depression of button 34 , display 16 responds to a designated rom address that causes the letters &# 34 ; ca &# 34 ; to be displayed on the center display line . as an auxiliary subroutine , instantaneous speed and number of steps can be determined while the subject is performing an exercise routine , while the stop watch mode is entered . to these ends , the rom is programmed so that in response to the computer being in the stopwatch mode , sequential depressions of buttons 35 , 33 and 34 cause the upper display line to respond to a designated rom address to display &# 34 ; step &# 34 ; while the display center line responds to a designated ram address to indicate the number of steps taken prior to depression of button 35 ; depression of button 35 activates the computer into the &# 34 ; lap timer &# 34 ; mode . the next depression of button 34 causes the top display line to respond to a rom memory address that causes : the top line to read &# 34 ; in speed &# 34 ;, the center display line to read either &# 34 ; kh &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; mh &# 34 ;, and the center display line to respond the ram designated address where subject speed during the previous six second calculation interval is stored . the pacer function involves providing the subject with a predetermined number of aural pulses ; the number of pulses per minute is settable from 5 to 160 in 5 pulses per minute increments . to set the desired number of aural pulses or beeps per minute for pacing purposes , button 33 is activated three times from the time display , whereby the center display line is supplied with a number indicating signal from the ram , followed by the letters &# 34 ; pm &# 34 ;, as supplied to the display from a designated rom address . the digital display is incremented in units of five each time button 34 is pressed for less than two seconds . in response to button 34 being pressed for more than two seconds the digital indicia on the display center line is incremented rapidly . pressing button 34 sets a count down factor in a count down register of the microcomputer alu . the count down register is responsive to pulses from the oscillator including crystal 12 , to control the frequency of pulses supplied by the oscillator to beeper piezoelectric crystal 17 by way of amplifier 18 . the countdown register setting is controlled by a designated ram address loaded with pulses from the oscillator in response to pressing key 34 being pressed . after the designated pacer pulse rate has been set and displayed on liquid crystal display 16 , the pacer function is instigated by pressing button 33 while the watch is in the pacer mode . the rom is programmed to respond to pressing of button 35 at this time by opening a gate in the microcomputer to supply pulses to amplifier 18 and crystal 17 , causing aural pulses to be derived from the piezoelectric crystal at the designated pacer rate . after the pacer rate has been set , button 33 is pressed , to return display 16 to the time of day indication . the pacer beep function is activated by pressing button 34 and then pressing button 35 . each time button 3 is thereafter pressed causes the pacer beep to be either turned on or turned off . when the pacer beep is on the rom activates display 16 so that in the lower right hand corner thereof a special pictorial representation appears . crystal 17 responds to pulses from microcomputer 11 to provide an aural beep in response to many different functions performed by the microcomputer ; amongst these functions are : ( a ) sensing open circuiting of contacts 19 , each time each of buttons 33 - 35 is pressed , responding to a count of zero being reached in the clock countdown mode , and responding to the time set for the alarm to go off being reached , provided that the alarm setting has been set . while there has been described and illustrated one specific embodiment of the invention , it will be clear that variations in the details of the embodiment specifically illustrated and described may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .
the number of calories consumed by subject performing an exercise routine is approximated with a computer having a predetermined cycle time during which the distance travelled by the subject is determined . indications of the subject weight , sex and age are entered into a memory of the computer to cause the computer to compute and store an indication of the number of calories the subject burns in traversing a predetermined distance during the computer cycle time . the calories consumed by the subject during the cycle time are calculated from the stored indication and the distance travelled during the cycle time . the indications of calculated consumed calories are accumulated over several consecutive cycle times . to determine distance travelled , signals from a pedometer are combined in the computer with a subject &# 39 ; s stored stride length signal . the pedometer includes a mercury switch having an envelope containing contacts and a mercury globule for selectively wetting and bridging the contacts in response to cyclic motion of the subject . the entire structure is mounted in a watch case .