 |
|
The applications of the transistor had expanded by leaps and bounds -- from the radio to the television and then the VTR -- just as Ibuka and the others had dreamed.
Around this time, Saburo Uemura of Sony's Research Department began toying with the idea of using transistors in an electronic abacus. At Atsugi there were buckets of rejected transistors. Although their yield was not high enough for use in radios and televisions, they could surely be used in digital circuit switching. Uemura produced a prototype with over a thousand transistors. He had not intended to develop the electronic abacus for sale.
The trial model was still very rudimentary as far as calculators go, but it was rated fairly well. With this, Uemura set his mind to designing a truly functional calculator. Uemura believed that,  Sony may be profiting from transistors today, but in fifteen years or so digital devices will be just as important.
Ibuka, however, was stubbornly against the idea. Our products are for the consumer. An electronic calculator just won't sell. Uemura remained firm. These calculators make use of rejected transistors, so production costs are nominal!
Ibuka was still not too happy about the matter. Thereafter Uemura did his research out of Ibuka's sight. Eventually Ibuka discovered it and gave Uemura a sound bawling out. Ultimately, though, Ibuka gave in -- if Uemura was so obsessed with the idea, then let him try it. Ibuka gave his consent on one condition: I'll let you work on a replacement for the abacus, but I won't allow you to design a mainframe computer!
Uemura and his staff had set their sights on a compact electronic abacus, Sony size. Thanks to advances such as the Esaki Diode, computer research was advancing at a phenomenal pace. Most of it was aimed at building larger and faster computers. Uemura's goal was the exact opposite. Their calculator was to be small and lightweight, with quick computing speed, although it did not have to be as fast as IBM's mainframe computer. Until this time, no one had given this area of research much thought.
Uemura first tried using the Esaki diode in the calculator. He found that it was not suitable for the low voltage calculator that he was aiming for. Thus, he began independent research. The challenges included designing low voltage circuits, determining what form the display would take and deciding what to use for memory.
Late one summer day in 1962, Uemura's team stood tensely before Ibuka and other top Sony officials. Ibuka and the others were gazing at their first completed MD-3 calculator. The calculator, connected to an electric typewriter, was designed so that the answer would be typed on paper. One of the directors tried it, punching in a multiplication problem. Uemura and his staff watched anxiously as he pressed the equal sign. The typewriter suddenly sputtered to life; ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta...! To everyone's relief, the correct answer came scrolling out the typewriter.
Transistor problems aside, the miniaturization of the TV presented other unforeseen problems.
Sony's top directors acknowledged Uemura's calculator. It was still far from perfect, though. Prototypes 1 and 2 were produced. A relatively slow computing speed was acceptable. The next step was to develop silicon transistors, silicon diodes and miniature high-resistance hybrid ICs, with their main concern being to keep voltage consumption as low as possible.
Then in March 1964, the world's first all-transistorized desktop electronic calculator was perfected.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
