Analog type watch and time set method

• US 9,989,925 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2015
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Withings S.A.
• Original Assignee: Withings S.A.
• Inventors: Wautier, Edouard, Saadi, Rachid, Hutchings, Cdric
• Primary Examiner(s): Kayes, Sean
• Application Number:
  US14/621,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20160238996A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,209 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 3/001 Electromechanical switches for setting or display in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: G04R 20/30 Decoding time data; Circuits therefor

Abstract

An interaction method between a graphic tactile device such as a smartphone and a timepiece having at least two analog-type physical pointers is disclosed. Each of the pointers is controlled independently by a stepper motor and referenced relative to a ref-position. The timepiece comprises a control unit configured to handle time count and to control stepper motors. The smartphone has a value setting interface, and the timepiece and the smartphone communicate through a wireless remote short-range communication link. The method comprises the steps of initiating a calibration procedure, causing the minute pointer to be moved to the ref-position via the value setting interface, causing the hour pointer to be moved to the ref-position via the value setting interface, and ending the calibration procedure, and return to a normal time display, Thereby, starting from an initial unknown pointer positions, the control unit of the timepiece can accurately know the positions of pointers.

Claims

1. An interaction method between on the one hand a graphic tactile device and on the other hand a timepiece having at least two analog-type physical pointers, among which are an hour pointer and a minute pointer, each being controlled independently by a stepper motor and each referenced respectively relative to a first and second ref-position, the timepiece comprising a control unit configured to handle time count and to control stepper motors,

the timepiece being deprived of any time set button/actuator,

the graphic tactile device having a value setting interface,

the timepiece and the graphic tactile device being able to be in communication through a wireless remote short-range communication link, the method comprising the steps:

initiating a calibration procedure,

causing the minute pointer to be moved to the first ref-position via the value setting interface,

causing the hour pointer to be moved to the second ref-position via the value setting interface,

ending the calibration procedure, and return to a normal time display, which causes the control unit of the timepiece to know accurately the positions of pointers,

wherein the value setting interface comprises a graphic object,

wherein at when causing the minute pointer to be moved to the first-ref position via the value setting interface, or at when causing the hour pointer to be moved to the second-ref position via the value setting interface, a movement of a pointer is performed in response to a drag travel on the graphic object by the finger of a user, and

wherein at when causing the minute pointer to be moved to the first-ref position via the value setting interface, or at when causing the hour pointer to be moved to the second-ref position via the value setting interface, there is defined a transfer gain from the finger drag travel to the pointer angular travel, and there is defined a speed of the finger drag, wherein the transfer gain is adjusted and updated in response to the speed of the finger drag.

2. The interaction method of claim 1, wherein the graphic tactile device is a smartphone.

3. The interaction method of claim 1, wherein the timepiece is a wristwatch with hour pointer and minute pointer arranged coaxially.

4. The interaction method of claim 1, in which during the first ref-position is the top position, namely ‘

12h’

position, the second ref-position is the same top position.

5. The interaction method of claim 1, wherein the graphic object is formed as a wheel graphic object.

6. The interaction method of claim 1, wherein the timepiece comprises a third pointer, further comprising:

causing the third pointer to be moved to a specific ref-position via the value setting interface.

7. The interaction method of claim 1, wherein the timepiece comprises a auxiliary pointer for seconds, (“

seconds”

pointer), further comprising;

causing the auxiliary pointer to be moved to another ref-position via the value setting interface.

8. A timepiece having at least two analog-type pointers, among which are an hour pointer and a minute pointer, each of the pointers being controlled independently by a stepper motor and referenced respectively relative to a first and a second ref-position, said timepiece being deprived of any manual user input to set the time, and being deprived of any tactile screen functionality, said timepiece being able to communicate through a wireless short-range communication, with a remote graphic tactile device, wherein the timepiece is configured to, under a calibration procedure:

move the minute pointer upon receiving a first motion control from the remote graphic tactile device, enabling the user to cause the minute pointer to move toward the second ref-position, and

move the hour pointer upon receiving a second motion control from the remote graphic tactile device, enabling the user to cause the hour pointer to move toward the first ref-position,

whereby the calibration procedure is performed through a user interaction with the remote graphic tactile device, and

wherein the received first motion control and the received second motion control each define one or more user finger drags on a value setting interface of the remote graphic tactile device, such that a respective magnitude of angular displacement of the moved hour pointer and the moved minute pointer is based on the speed of the respective one or more user finger drags.

9. The timepiece of claim 8, having a water-tightness level of at least IP68.