Electronic device with analogue display of the history of at least one quantity measured by a sensor

• US 7,623,415 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2005
• Issued: 11/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere Suisse (The Swatch Group AG)
• Original Assignee: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere Suisse (The Swatch Group AG)
• Inventors: Germiquet, Christophe, Gilomen, Beat, Krauchi, Frank, Born, Jean-Jacques, Raeber, Guy, Berseth, Vincent
• Primary Examiner(s): Miska; Vit W
• Assistant Examiner(s): KAYES, SEAN PHILLIP
• Application Number:
  US10/598,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20070183264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,728 Days
• Field of Search: 368/11, 368/10, 368/80, 732/91, 733/01, 732/93, 733/23, 733/25
• US Class Current: 368/11
• CPC Class Codes: B63C 11/32 Decompression arrangements; Exercise equipment
• CPC Class Codes: B63C 2011/021 Diving computers, i.e. portable computers specially adapted for divers, e.g. wrist worn, watertight electronic devices for detecting or calculating scuba diving parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 5/06 by using barometric means
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 17/00 Indicating the time optically by electric means G04C19/00 takes precedence; by mechanical means G04B19/00, G04B19/20
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/02 Detectors of external physical values, e.g. temperature

Abstract

There is disclosed a portable electronic device (1), particularly of the wristwatch type, comprising at least first and second analogue display members, a sensor (23, 52) powered to take measurements of a surrounding physical magnitude and a memory zone (26) for storing the measured physical magnitude values. The electronic circuits of the device are capable of operating the analogue display members, in an operating mode called the historic mode, such that at least one of them indicates the change in the stored value as a function of time opposite suitable graduations (8, 9, 33, 42, 51) of the device.

Claims

1. A watch including:

(a) a case containing a watch movement on which a dial is mounted, the watch movement including electronic circuits able to generate time signals to be sent to motor means controlling at least first and second analogue display members, wherein the analogue display members are arranged above the dial to display current time in a time mode that is a first operating mode;

(b) a sensor for a physical magnitude, for periodic acquisition of value of the physical magnitude as a function of time in a second operating mode, wherein said sensor is an ambient pressure sensor; and

(c) means for automatically activating said second operating mode from said time mode in response to immersion of the watch in water, wherein the sensor is connected to means for processing values capable of generating electric signals to storage means provided for storing values, wherein the watch has a historic mode that is a third operating mode in which the processing means are arranged for generating control signals to be sent to the motor means for a display representative of stored values of the physical magnitude as a function of time so that at least said first analogue display member indicates, opposite suitable graduations of the watch, the value of a variable, the change in which is linked to physical magnitude value on condition that the variable does not give any indication relating to time remaining before a decompression stop has to be made or any indication relating to a minimum depth not to be exceeded by a person wearing the watch when coming up from a dive when said second analogue display member is made to indicate information relating to a depth and said first analogue display member indicates a measured depth.

2. A watch including:

(a) a case containing a watch movement on which a dial is mounted, the watch movement including electronic circuits able to generate time signals to be sent to motor means controlling at least first and second analogue display members, wherein the analogue display members are arranged above the dial to display current time in a time mode that is a first operating mode;

(b) a sensor for a physical magnitude, for periodic acquisition of value of the physical magnitude as a function of time in a second operating mode, wherein the sensor is connected to means for processing values capable of generating electric signals to storage means provided for storing values, wherein the watch has a historic mode that is a third operating mode in which the processing means are arranged for generating control signals to be sent to the motor means for a display representative of stored values of the physical magnitude as a function of time so that at least said first analogue display member indicates, opposite suitable graduations of the watch, the value of a variable, the change in which is linked to physical magnitude value on condition that the variable does not give any indication relating to time remaining before a decompression stop has to be made or any indication relating to a minimum depth not to be exceeded by a person wearing the watch when coming up from a dive when said second analogue display member is made to indicate information relating to a depth, and

wherein in said historic mode, said electronic circuits are capable of operating said motor means so that the display of the value of said variable as a function of time is performed over a predefined maximum period of time, so that when actual duration of said acquisition of the value of the physical magnitude is greater than said predefined period of time, the value of said variable as a function of time is displayed in an accelerated manner.