Interactive switching device for a portable electronic apparatus

• US 20050113940A1
• Filed: 10/29/2004
• Published: 05/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Swatch Group Research And Development Ltd
• Original Assignee: Asulab SA (The Swatch Group AG)
• Inventors: Frenkel, Erik Jan, Guanter, Jean-Charles
• Granted Patent: US 7,420,881 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3228 Monitoring task completion, e.g. by use of idle timers, stop commands or wait commands

Abstract

The device includes data entry means (10), control means (14) connected to means (12) for displaying said data. The invention is characterised in that it further includes a processing unit (16) inserted between the data entry means (10) and the control means (14). The processing unit (16) includes a memory (11) for storing reference times and particularly the Time Out, a counter (18) storing the time TC that elapses from the start of a manipulation and the time TM the elapses between two manipulations, and a comparator (21) including a first comparison unit (23), which acts on the one hand on an ON/OFF switch (24) to interrupt, via control means (14) the energy supply when TC>TO and which, on the other hand, enables TO to be altered at the end of a series of manipulations as a function of certain reference times of the memory and the speed at which the manipulations have been carried out.

Claims

1. An interactive switching device for a portable electronic apparatus powered by a battery or an accumulator and including:

data entry means enabling a user to select data or functions by successive manipulations;

display means arranged to provide information representative of the data corresponding to the manipulation carried out;

control means connected to the display means and arranged so as to provide a command representative of said data, wherein it further includes a processing unit inserted between the data entry means and the control means, said processing unit including a memory for storing reference times or durations and particularly the maximum time or duration authorised between the start and end of a manipulation, designated by “

Time Out”

, “

TO”

by abbreviation, a counter connected to a time base storing the time “

TC”

that elapses between two manipulations and the total elapsed time “

TM”

between two manipulations, and a comparator including a first unit, which acts on an ON/OFF switch to interrupt, via control means the energy supply to the data entry means and the display means, when TC>

TO and which enables certain reference times or durations of the memory to be continuously altered and at the end of a series of manipulations.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the memory includes a first zone for storing a security time “

TS”

, a second zone formed by a shift register, a third zone for storing a “

Time Max”

, “

TX”

by abbreviation, having a value established in a second unit of the comparator by comparison with the last TM, said TX value being stored in the last line of the shift register at the end of a series of manipulations, and a fourth zone for calculating and storing the TO of the following series of manipulations at a value corresponding to TO=TOM+TS.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein TS is a value peculiar to the device during its manufacturing and unable to be altered.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein TS is a value peculiar to the device during its manufacturing and able to be altered, either by manipulating an external control member, or by defining the new TS as a percentage of the last TOM.

5. The device according to claim 2, wherein, during a series of manipulations, TM becomes the new TX value when a TM value is greater than the last TX value.

6. The device according to claim 2, wherein, during a series of manipulations, TM remains less than the TX value, said TX value remains unchanged.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein it further includes an external control member which, whatever the number of series of manipulations previously carried out, allows the TO to be brought to its initial value, or to be altered to make it higher or lower.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the TO is altered by means of the control member, by changing the value stored in each line of the shift register of the memory.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the data entry means are formed by a keyboard including digital or alphanumerical keys.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the keys are of the touch, capacitive or resistive type.

11. The device according to claim 9, wherein the keys are formed by pressure sensitive contacts.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the display means are formed by hands.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the display means are formed by a liquid crystal digital display.

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein the display means are formed by vibrations or encoded vibration trains transmitted by the device to indicate a message to the user.

15. The device according to claim 1, wherein the portable electronic apparats is a wristwatch including a case, a dial, a glass and a time base for displaying the current time when the data entry means are inactive and wherein the display means are carried by the dial and the data entry means are formed by a touch screen with transparent electrodes carried by the glass or by keys integrated in the bezel, or in the case, or in the strands of a wristband.