Crystal for a telephone watch

• US 7,167,689 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2001
• Issued: 01/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Asulab SA (The Swatch Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Asulab SA (The Swatch Group AG)
• Inventors: Mignot, Jean-Pierre, Dubugnon, Dominique, Martin, Jean-Claude
• Primary Examiner(s): MEHRPOUR, NAGHMEH
• Application Number:
  US09/767,722
• Publication Number:
  US 20010014618A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,190 Days
• Field of Search: 368/13.1, 368/13, 368/84, 368/68, 368/159, 368/239, 368/241, 368/242, 368/294, 368/296, 368/314, 368/321, 368/26, 368/69, 368/224, 455/575.1, 455/90.3, 455/128, 455/351, 455/344
• US Class Current: 455/90.3
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/04 using radio waves radio-controlled time-pieces G04R
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/08 Touch switches specially adapted for time-pieces
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets

Abstract

The telephone watch includes a crystal (1) including a keyboard (2) formed in particular of a plurality of capacitive sensors (3) disposed under the crystal. This crystal includes a thick zone (4) at its center and a thinned zone (5) at its periphery. The keyboard (2) is deposited under the thinned zone (5).

Claims

1. A crystal for a watch including a keyboard, said crystal comprising an exterior upper face, directed toward the exterior of said watch, and an interior lower face directed toward the interior of said watch, wherein said keyboard includes a plurality of keys, each key being associated with at least one electrode disposed on the lower face of the crystal for forming a plurality of capacitive sensors, said keys being activated by placing a finger on said upper face of the crystal opposite said at least one electrode, wherein said crystal includes a thick zone and a thinned zone, the keys of the keyboard being disposed in only the thinned zone,

wherein the crystal is secured onto a bezel including an inner reinforcement extending under the thinned zone of the crystal, the keyboard being sandwiched between said thinned zone and said reinforcement, and

wherein the upper face of the crystal facing the exterior of the watch has a continuous smooth curved surface.

2. A crystal according to claim 1, wherein the thinned zone is arranged on the side of the crystal lower face.

3. A crystal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thick zone is disposed at its centre and in that the thinned zone is disposed at its periphery.

4. A crystal according to claim 3, wherein it is round and wherein the thinned zone forms a ring under which the keyboard is deposited.

5. A crystal according to claim 1, wherein the keyboard includes a first decorative opaque layer formed of numbers and signs and deposited directly under the thinned zone, and a second layer deposited under the first and formed of a plurality of conductive pads, a different one of said corresponding pads corresponding to conductive pads corresponding to each number or sign, said conductive pads being individually connected to a printed circuit.

6. A crystal for a watch including a keyboard, said crystal comprising an exterior upper face, directed toward the exterior of said watch, and an interior lower face directed toward the interior of said watch, wherein said keyboard includes a plurality of keys, each key being associated with at least one electrode disposed on the lower face of the crystal for forming a plurality of capacitive sensors, said keys being activated by placing a finger on said upper face of the crystal opposite said at least one electrode, wherein said crystal includes a thick zone and a thinned zone, the keys of the keyboard being disposed in only the thinned zone,

wherein the upper face of the crystal facing the exterior of the watch has a continuous smooth curved surface, and

wherein said thick zone has a thickness sufficient to withstand a hydrostatic pressure of three bars.

7. A crystal for a watch including a keyboard, said crystal comprising an exterior upper face, directed toward the exterior of said watch, and an interior lower face directed toward the interior of said watch, wherein said keyboard includes a plurality of keys, each key being associated with at least one electrode disposed on the lower face of the crystal for forming a plurality of capacitive sensors, said keys being activated by placing a finger on said upper face of the crystal opposite said at least one electrode, wherein said crystal includes a thick zone and a thinned zone, the keys of the keyboard being disposed in only the thinned zone,

wherein the upper face of the crystal facing the exterior of the watch has a continuous smooth curved surface, and

wherein said thinned zone has a substantially constant thickness.