Timepiece with touch-type reading and control of time data

• US 7,031,228 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2003
• Issued: 04/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Asulab SA (The Swatch Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Asulab SA (The Swatch Group AG)
• Inventors: Born, Jean-Jacques, Frenkel, Erik Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuneo, Kamand
• Assistant Examiner(s): Phan, Thanh S
• Application Number:
  US10/652,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20040042347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 959 Days
• Field of Search: 368 69- 71, 368/230
• US Class Current: 368/69
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/08 Touch switches specially adapted for time-pieces

Abstract

The timepiece, which is preferably a wristwatch, includes for each time position a capacitive sensor (C1 to C12), on a fixed bezel, including only four markings (R3, R6, R9, R12) at 3 o'"'"'clock, 6 o'"'"'clock, 9 o'"'"'clock and 12 o'"'"'clock, and a single crown-push-button (9). The case contains, in particular, a non-acoustic vibration generator (20) and an electronic interpretation and coding circuit (15), associated with a time-keeper circuit (10), with the sensors and with the crown to control the vibration device, said circuit (15) being designed to identify the manipulations on the crown (brief, long application of pressure or pull) and on the sensors (positioning or movement).

Claims

1. A timepiece with touch reading and control of time data including:

a case formed of a back cover and a middle part closed by a glass arranged above a dial with analogue display including hands, said glass being surrounded by a fixed bezel mounted on the middle part including a crown-push-button;

a timekeeping circuit disposed in the case;

at least one stepping motor for driving each hand individually;

a non-acoustic vibration generator;

at least one energy source connected to power the timekeeping circuit, the stepping motors and the vibration generator device;

a set of twelve sensors arranged on the periphery of the glass facing twelve time positions and over which a finger has to run; and

an electronic interpretation and coding circuit associated with the timekeeping circuit and connected to receive, from the sensors and the crown-push-button, signals for driving the vibration generator,

wherein the bezel is provided with only four markings, identifiable by feel, arranged facing the four 3 o'"'"'clock, 6 o'"'"'clock, 9 o'"'"'clock, and 12 o'"'"'clock time positions, wherein the electronic circuit recognises and differentiates a brief application of pressure from a long application of pressure on the crown-push-button, recognises the activation of any individual sensor in a group of contiguous sensors, and recognises the clockwise or anti-clockwise direction in which contiguous sensors are activated.

2. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein each marking is formed of two bars projecting from the bezel and arranged on both sides of a sensor corresponding to the 3 o'"'"'clock, 6 o'"'"'clock, 9 o'"'"'clock, 12 o'"'"'clock time positions.

3. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein each marking is formed of a projection projecting from the bezel by a sensor corresponding to the 3 o'"'"'clock, 6 o'"'"'clock, 9 o'"'"'clock, 12 o'"'"'clock time positions.

4. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein each marking is formed by a recess arranged in the bezel by a sensor corresponding to the 3 o'"'"'clock, 6 o'"'"'clock, 9 o'"'"'clock, 12 o'"'"'clock time positions.

5. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein each marking is formed by a rough surface arranged on the bezel by a sensor corresponding to the 3 o'"'"'clock, 6 o'"'"'clock, 9 o'"'"'clock, 12 o'"'"'clock time positions.

6. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein each marking is formed of a rough surface on the glass by a sensor corresponding to the 3 o'"'"'clock, 6 o'"'"'clock, 9 o'"'"'clock, 12 o'"'"'clock time positions.

7. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the sensors are of the capacitive type and are located under the glass above each time position.

8. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein said timepiece is a wristwatch.

9. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the clockwise direction causes the electronic circuit to pass into current time read mode and the anti-clockwise direction into alarm time read mode, by activating two sensors, whose signals trigger trains of vibrations coding respectively the hour and the minutes, the time position of said sensors being determined by bringing the finger back onto the bezel to identify, either one of the four markings, or an immediately preceding position, or an immediately following position.

10. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein a brief application of pressure associated with an immobile positioning of the finger on a first sensor of the group of sensors at 11 o'"'"'clock, 12 o'"'"'clock, and 1 o'"'"'clock positions corresponds to the position of the alarm when ON and associated with an immobile positioning of the finger on a second sensor of the group of sensors at the 5 o'"'"'clock, 6 o'"'"'clock, and 7 o'"'"'clock positions to the position of the alarm when OFF.

11. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein a long application of pressure successively associated with two sensors allows an alarm time to be selected.

12. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit recognises a pull exerted on the crown-push-button associated with the positioning of the finger successively on a sensor or on two sensors for changing time zone or for changing the current time.

13. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein each hand is driven separately by a stepping motor and in that the electronic circuit recognises a long application of pressure exerted on the crown-push-button associated with a group of sensors positioned at 2 o'"'"'clock, 3 o'"'"'clock or 9 o'"'"'clock, 10 o'"'"'clock, or associated with a group of sensors positioned at 4 o'"'"'clock, 5 o'"'"'clock or 7 o'"'"'clock, 8 o'"'"'clock, to successively bring the hands into superposition at the 12 o'"'"'clock position to initialise the display.

14. The timepiece according to claim 1, wherein brief application of pressure is pressure exerted for less than 2 seconds and long application of pressure is pressure exerted for more than 2 seconds.

15. A timepiece with touch reading and control of time data including:

a case formed of a back cover and a middle part closed by a glass arranged above a dial with analogue display including hands, said glass being surrounded by a fixed bezel mounted on the middle part including only one crown-push-button;

a timekeeping circuit disposed in the case;

at least one stepping motor for driving each hand individually;

a non-acoustic vibration generator;

at least one energy source connected to power the timekeeping circuit, the stepping motors and the vibration generator device;

a set of twelve sensors arranged on the periphery of the glass facing twelve time positions and over which a finger has to run; and

an electronic interpretation and coding circuit associated with the timekeeping circuit and connected to receive, from the sensors and the crown-push-button, signals for driving the vibration generator,

wherein the bezel is provided with only four markings, identifiable by feel, arranged facing the four 3 o'"'"'clock, 6 o'"'"'clock, 9 o'"'"'clock, and 12 o'"'"'clock time positions, wherein the electronic circuit operates to recognise and differentiate a brief application of pressure from a long application of pressure on the crown-push-button, to recognise the activation of any individual sensor in a group of contiguous sensors, and to recognise the clockwise or anti-clockwise direction in which contiguous sensors are activated.