Analog watch with touch interface

• US 10,459,570 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2018
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Garmin Switzerland GmbH (Garmin Limited)
• Original Assignee: Garmin Switzerland GmbH (Garmin Limited)
• Inventors: Brisimitzakis, Evangelos V.A., Roush, Adam W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pervan, Michael
• Application Number:
  US16/111,972
• Publication Number:
  US 20190138145A1
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 3/146 incorporating two or more stepping motors or rotors
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 17/08 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/08 Touch switches specially adapted for time-pieces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance

Abstract

A wearable electronic device including a housing including a watch face, a protective material, a display, a touch panel comprising a plurality of touch sensors, a first watch hand, a first watch hand actuation apparatus, a memory, and a processor. In embodiments, the processor is configured to receive a touch signal from at least one of the plurality of touch sensors, determine a position of the first watch hand, identify a signal threshold of a touch sensor by selecting one of a plurality of signal thresholds stored in the memory, and identify a touch input received by the touch sensor once the touch signal received from the corresponding touch sensor exceeds the selected signal threshold.

Claims

1. A wearable electronic device comprising:

a housing including a watch face and one or more side walls;

a protective material positioned above the one or more side walls;

a touch panel positioned under the protective material and comprising a plurality of touch sensors, each touch sensor associated with a region of the watch face, the touch panel separated from the protective material by an air gap;

a first watch hand positioned within the air gap and proximate to the touch panel;

a first watch hand actuation apparatus attached to the first watch hand and configured to rotate the first watch hand within the air gap;

a memory configured to store a plurality of signal thresholds for each of the plurality of touch sensors, the plurality of signal thresholds associated with a position of the first watch hand; and

a processor operably coupled to the touch panel, the first watch hand actuation apparatus, and the memory, the processor configured to;

receive a touch signal from at least one of the plurality of touch sensors,

determine a position of the first watch hand,

identify the signal threshold of at least one of the plurality of touch sensors by selecting one of the plurality of signal thresholds based on the determined position of the first watch hand, and

identify a touch input received by one of the plurality of touch sensors once the touch signal received from the corresponding touch sensor exceeds the selected signal threshold.

2. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein each signal threshold is associated with a touch sensor of the plurality of touch sensors.

3. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1 wherein the selected signal threshold corresponds to a proximity of the first watch hand to the at least one of the plurality of touch sensors.

4. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the first watch hand actuation apparatus is a stepper motor.

5. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the touch panel comprises a plurality of touch zones, each touch zone associated with at least one of the plurality of touch sensors.

6. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 5, wherein one of the plurality of signal thresholds is associated with the at least one of the plurality of touch sensors associated with a touch zone.

7. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a watch hand position sensor configured to provide a position signal, and wherein the processor is further configured to determine the position of the first watch hand responsive to the received position signal.

8. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to select the signal threshold of each of the plurality of touch sensors by selecting one of the plurality of signal thresholds based on the position of the first watch hand.

9. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a display positioned below the touch panel and operably coupled to the processor, the processor further configured to control the display to present a user interface.

10. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to present the user interface on the display responsive to the determined position of the first watch hand.

11. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to control the first watch hand actuation apparatus to position the first watch hand with respect to one or more user interface elements of the user interface.

12. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the touch panel is associated with a portion of the watch face comprising less than an entirety of the watch face observable through the protective material.

13. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the touch panel is associated with an entirety of the watch face observable through the protective material.

14. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to perform a calibration operation by controlling the first watch hand actuation apparatus to rotate the first watch hand within the air gap until the processor receives a touch signal matching a calibration signal stored in the memory from at least one of the plurality of touch sensors.

15. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a second watch hand and a second watch hand actuation apparatus is attached to the second watch hand, the second watch hand actuation apparatus configured to rotate the second watch hand within the air gap, wherein the plurality of signal thresholds stored in the memory are associated with positions of each of the first watch hand and the second watch hand, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a position of the second watch hand,

identify the signal threshold of at least one of the plurality of touch sensors by selecting one of the plurality of stored signal thresholds based on the determined position of at least one of the first watch hand and the second watch hand, and

identify a touch input received by one of the plurality of touch sensors once the touch signal received from the corresponding touch sensor exceeds the selected signal threshold.

16. A wearable electronic device comprising:

a housing including a watch face and one or more side walls;

a protective material positioned above the one or more side walls;

a touch panel positioned under the protective material and comprising a plurality of touch sensors, each touch sensor associated with a region of the watch face, the touch panel separated from the protective material by an air gap;

a first watch hand positioned within the air gap and proximate to the touch panel;

a first watch hand actuation apparatus attached to the first watch hand and configured to rotate the first watch hand within the air gap;

a memory configured to store a plurality of signal thresholds for each of the plurality of touch sensors, the plurality of signal thresholds associated with a position of the first watch hand;

a display positioned below the touch panel; and

a processor operably coupled to the touch panel, the watch hand actuation apparatus, the memory, and the display, the processor configured to;

receive a signal from at least one of the plurality of touch sensors,

determine a position of the first watch hand,

identify the signal threshold of at least one of the plurality of touch sensors by selecting one of the plurality of signal thresholds based on the determined position of the first watch hand,

identify a touch input received by one of the plurality of touch sensors once the signal received from the corresponding touch sensor exceeds the selected signal threshold,

control the display to present a user interface including one or more user interface elements, and

control the first watch hand actuation apparatus to position the first watch hand with respect to the one or more user interface elements.

17. A wearable electronic device comprising:

a housing including a watch face and one or more side walls;

a protective material positioned above the one or more side walls;

a touch panel positioned under the protective material and comprising a plurality of touch sensors, each touch sensor associated with a region of the watch face, the touch panel separated from the protective material by an air gap;

a first watch hand positioned within the air gap and proximate to the touch panel;

a second watch hand positioned within the air gap and proximate to the touch panel;

a first watch hand actuation apparatus attached to the first watch hand and configured to rotate the first watch hand within the air gap;

a second watch hand actuation apparatus attached to the second watch hand and configured to rotate the second watch within the air gap;

a memory configured to store a plurality of signal thresholds for each of the plurality of touch sensors, the plurality of signal thresholds associated with a position of the first watch hand and the second watch hand;

a display positioned below the touch panel; and

a processor operably coupled to the touch panel, the first watch hand actuation apparatus, the second watch hand actuation apparatus, and the memory, the processor configured to;

receive a touch signal from at least one of the plurality of touch sensors,

determine a position of each of the first watch hand and the second watch hand,

identify the signal threshold of at least one of the plurality of touch sensors by selecting one of the plurality of signal thresholds based on the determined position of at least one of the first watch hand and the second watch hand, and

identify a touch input received by one of the plurality of touch sensors once the touch signal received from the corresponding touch sensor exceeds the selected signal threshold.

18. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 17, further comprising a watch hand position sensor configured to provide a position signal, and wherein the processor is further configured to determine the position of each of the first watch hand and the second watch hand responsive to the respective received position signals.

19. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to control the first watch hand actuation apparatus to position the first watch hand with respect to one or more user interface elements of the user interface.

20. The wearable electronic device as recited in claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to perform a calibration operation by controlling the first watch hand actuation apparatus to rotate the first watch hand within the air gap until the processor receives a touch signal matching a calibration signal stored in the memory from at least one of the plurality of touch sensors.