Watch with barometric pressure indicator

• US 4,279,028 A
• Filed: 10/10/1979
• Issued: 07/14/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Timex Corporation (Tanager Group BV)
• Original Assignee: Timex Corporation (Tanager Group BV)
• Inventors: Willis, Alan E., Lowdenslager, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Weldon, Ulysses
• Application Number:
  US06/083,434
• Time in Patent Office: 643 Days
• Field of Search: 58/23 R, 58/152 R, 58/152 A, 58/50 R, 58/23 A, 340/762, 340/765, 340/784, 340/782, 340/581, 73/384, 73/385, 73/386, 73/387, 73/170 R, 73/754, 368/10, 368/11
• US Class Current: 368/11
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 9/08 by making use of piezoelectric devices , i.e. electric circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/02 Detectors of external physical values, e.g. temperature

Abstract

A solid state digital watch and barometric pressure indicator having a sealed quartz crystal and a second unsealed quartz crystal which changes frequency with atmospheric pressure changes. The frequency variation of the unsealed quartz crystal is measured over a selected (interrogation) period and some number proportional to the frequency variation, which is indicative of the magnitude of atmospheric pressure change, is displayed with an appropriate sign to indicate increasing or decreasing atmospheric pressure.

Claims

1. In an electronic timepiece wherein a time reference signal having a frequency is generated by an oscillator having a sealed quartz crystal micro-resonator and fed to a divider that divides the time reference signal into time-count unit signals that are fed to and counted by a time counter to form time-indicating signals that are in turn fed to a decoder driver unit which actuates an electrooptical display device to give a visual representation of time, the improvement comprising an atmospheric pressure variation indicator including:

generator means for providing an alternating signal having a frequency varying in proportion with atmospheric pressure variations;

means for periodically measuring the frequency of said alternating signal at selected intervals and subtracting two consecutive frequency measurements from each other to provide a difference signal indicative of the difference in frequency between successive measurements of said alternating signal; and

circuit means coupled to said display device and responsive to said periodic frequency measuring means for selectively applying said difference signal to the display device so as to enable the display device to display indicia indicative of the difference signal which is correlated to increasing or decreasing magnitude of the atmospheric pressure variations between said successive measurements.

2. A timepiece as in claim 1, wherein:

the generator means includes an unsealed quartz crystal micro-resonator having a frequency which varies in proportion to atmospheric pressure variations.

3. In combination:

a digital display wristwatch comprising a quartz crystal controlled oscillator for generating a relatively high frequency time standard signal, divider means responsive to the time standard signal to produce low frequency timekeeping signals, counting circuit means responsive to the timekeeping signals adapted to count specific units of time and provide binary coded decimal information signals representative of time, decoder driver means responsive to the binary coded decimal information signals to provide drive signals to said digital display to display digital information correlated to the information signals whereby time information is presented on the digital display; and

an atmospheric pressure variation detecting means comprising an unsealed piezoelectric crystal oscillator circuit for generating barometric pulse signals having a frequency which varies with atmospheric pressure, a first NAND gate having one of its inputs being coupled to said barometric pulse signals and its other input coupled to a control signal output of a second NAND gate for periodically coupling said barometric pulse signals to a counter input terminal of an up/down counter, said up/down counter having a control up/down terminal being responsive to a high-low output state of the Q output of a first flip-flop circuit and the barometric pulse signals to first count-up and subsequently count-down the pulses of said barometric pulse signals to provide a binary code decimal difference signal representative of any frequency variation of said barometric pulse signals to said decoder driver, said first flip-flop circuit includes a Q output connected to one input of said second NAND gate and a reset connected to a reset of a second flip-flop and being connected to a time reference output of an N counter, said first flip-flop having a set terminal connected to a reset of said up/down counter and a first switch means for selectively setting said first flip-flop and resetting said up/down counter, said second flip-flop having a Q output connected to the other input of said second NAND gate and a set terminal connected to said decoder driver and to a second switch means for selectively setting the second flip-flop and enabling the decoder-driver to provide drive signals to display said difference signal, said N counter includes a counter input terminal connected to the output of a third NAND gate having one of its inputs coupled to the output of said time base and its other input connected to the output of said second NAND gate;

whereby said atmospheric pressure variation detecting means responds to a variation in atmospheric pressure a selected time period and is adapted to effect actuation of said digital display to display a digital number being correlated to atmospheric pressure variations.

4. The combination as in claim 3, wherein:

the first and second switch means each comprise a manually actuatable switch.

5. In an electronic timepiece wherein a time reference signal having a frequency is generated by an oscillator having a sealed quartz crystal micro-resonator and fed to a divider that divides the time reference signal into time-count unit signals that are fed to and counted by a time counter to form time-indicating signals that are in turn fed to a decoder driver unit which actuates an electrooptical display device to give a visual representation of time, the improvement comprising an atmospheric pressure variation indicator including:

first switch means,

generator means for providing an alternating signal having a frequency varying in proportion with atmospheric pressure variations,

means for periodically measuring the frequency of said alternating signal and subtracting consecutive frequency measurements from each other to provide a difference signal indicative of the difference in frequency between successive measurements of said alternating signal, including an up/down counter responsive to said first switch means to be periodically coupled to said alternating signals, and

circuit means coupled to said display device and responsive to said periodic frequency measuring means for selectively applying said difference signal to the display device so as to enable the display device to display indicia indicative of the difference signal which is correlated to increasing or decreasing magnitude of the atmospheric pressure variations between said successive measurements.

6. A timepiece as in claim 5, and having second switch means wherein:

the circuit means includes a decoder driver circuit connected to the up/down counter and responsive to said period frequency measuring means and to said second switch means for selectively applying said difference signal and for activating the display device to display a digital number indicative of the atmospheric pressure variation.