Patent Grant
7016263
The invention concerns a device for data entry into a portable object, in particular a watch, said device including a control button, wherein a permanent magnet is housed, and a magnetic sensor arranged inside the object, said sensor being able to provide electric signals representing movements of the magnet in at least one direction for data entry.
Data to be entered in said object concern both time-setting commands in the case of an analogue or digital watch in which the movements of the magnet are measured by the analogue magnetic sensor to provide analogue electric signals representing, for example, the desired time-setting speed, and the read command, or the entry of messages or calculations, or game commands or programming for several functions.
In the fields of several daily activities, the use of small size portable objects, provided with electronic modules for executing many functions, is widespread. Control members or buttons for entering data or reading information are arranged on the case or the structure of the object so that the functions of the object can be used. These objects are for example portable phones, electronic address books, calculators or mainly wristwatches which are commonly used with data entry devices of various kinds.
By way of illustration of a keying member for data entry into a portable object, one can cite U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,849, which describes a personal telecommunication device. The member takes the form of a rotary ball mounted in a complementary shaped housing in the telephone case. The rotations of the ball are detected to move a cursor on one of two screens into a function selection position. As soon as the cursor is positioned, the ball can be pressed to validate the selection. Given that there is mechanical contact between the ball and parts of the housing, which transmit the electric signals to processing means, wear is inevitable. Furthermore, this arrangement of the ball in its housing does not guarantee sealed protection of the electrical elements co-operating with said ball.
In the case of a wristwatch, keying members, such as levers, have already been proposed for carrying out commands in at least two directions for an electronic game integrated in the watch. One can cite in particular U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,134, which describes such a wristwatch with a digital display. This wristwatch includes a data entry device with a control lever used mainly as a joystick.
After removing the joystick from a storage housing in the wristband, its end is removably fixed inside an elastic mass or matrix whose lower edges are held on one surface of a support in order to create a cavity between the support and a lower wall of the elastic mass. A metallic piece is fixed to said lower wall in order to form a metallic bridge, i.e. a short-circuit between metal pads arranged on an integrated circuit to detect movements in two directions (X, Y) when the lever is activated.
The data entered by this type of lever is achieved by short-circuiting metal paths, i.e. in an on-off manner, which means that a distinct analogue type measurement cannot be made as a function of the movements of said lever in one or the other of two directions, as would be the case with a Hall effect sensor which measures the movements of a permanent magnet. Furthermore, the metal pads are not kept sealed from the external environment.
Data entry devices, which combine magnetic Hall-effect sensors and magnets, have been disclosed, in particular in the computer field, for applications other than horological applications. Japanese Patent document No 8-152961 A describes an example of such a data entry device using a computer keyboard control button. A single magnet is housed inside the button in two parts, which fit together. The lower part of the button includes a cavity, set on a complementary shaped structure, which carries an analogue magnetic Hall-effect sensor for measuring the movements of the magnet in two directions (X, Y). A second magnet is disposed under the sensor structure to ensure better detection of magnetic field variations on the sensor measurement pads.
However, no precautions are taken to isolate the Hall-effect sensor in a sealed manner from an environment that is not protected against elements such as water or aggressive chemical products, because said button is used only in the field of computers, which are usually placed in places free of such noxious elements. Furthermore, the lower part of the button is in direct mechanical contact with the structure carrying the sensor, which can induce wear.
Another example of a similar embodiment of a control button for data entry can also be cited with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,980. The assembly forming the control button, includes several magnets arranged on one face of a control button disk facing an equivalent number of measurement pads of an analogue magnetic Hall-effect sensor arranged on the bottom of a casing for measuring the movements of the magnets in two directions (X, Y). Elastic elements link the button disk to the upper part of the casing to keep the button in a centred idle position.
As previously described, no precautions have been taken to protect the magnetic sensors from the influence of the environment, given that the button is used in the computer field, protected from aggressive external conditions.
Japanese Patent document No. 10-20999 A shows a way of using detection in both directions to define orientation of the control button. The control button includes Hall-effect sensor elements on a support and a magnet opposite and spaced apart from the elements. The magnet is inserted in a spring, which leans against a surface of said support without allowing it to protect the sensor elements.
The invention concerns a data entry device using the combination of a magnet and a magnetic sensor, for example a Hall-effect sensor, for detecting the movements of said magnet to overcome the drawbacks of the aforecited prior art devices.
This object, in addition to others, is achieved by the device for data entry into a portable object, in particular in a watch, characterised in that the analogue control button comprises an elastic mass housing the permanent magnet, and in that the control button is arranged on an external non-magnetic wall of the object so as to be mechanically uncoupled from the analogue magnetic sensor, which is placed facing the control button and on the other side of the wall, said wall being used as a sealing protection for the sensor and for electronic means housed inside the object to manage electric signals of the device.
One advantage of the device for data entry into a portable object consists of the combination of a permanent magnet and a magnetic sensor, for example a Hall-effect sensor, separated by a wall keeping the sealing of the portable object, without any intrusion, through said wall, by noxious elements from the environment in which the object is placed. Modification of the orientation of the magnetic field, by moving the button that includes the magnet, can easily be detected by said sensor through the non-magnetic wall of the object.
Another advantage of the device consists of the use of a monolithic magnetic sensor, for example a Hall-effect sensor, placed opposite and spaced apart from the permanent magnet, which is entirely enclosed inside an elastic mass or matrix. The sensor can be without any contact or in contact with the non-magnetic wall. The sensor is fixed to a printed circuit board that also receives the electronic units or means for processing electric signals provided by the sensor. Since measurement of the movements of the control button are made by a magnetic field passing through the non-magnetic wall, the printed circuit board carrying the sensor does not need to be in direct contact with the wall that carries the control button.
Another advantage of the device consists in providing a housing on the non-magnetic wall, which can be a metallic wall, in order to be able to house the elastic mass enclosing the permanent magnet so as to facilitate the mounting of said control button when the object is manufactured. This housing is also used to provide better lateral holding of the control button, which can be moved in particular in two directions.
Of course, if the housing that is, for example of complementary shape to the mass, is not made on said wall, a mark has to be provided on the wall so that said mass can be fixed precisely without any difficulty, or a tool for mounting the button has to be used during manufacture of the object, taking into account the location of the sensor inside the object in order to place it precisely on the external wall.
With the arrangement of the control button and the magnetic sensor, one can envisage measuring movements along one, two or three axes as a function of desired requirements for the manufacture of the portable object. However, measurement with a single sensor in two directions is preferable in order to be able to move a cursor on a display screen with the same control button or to go from one function table to another function table.
The objects, advantages and features of the device of the invention will appear more clearly in the following description of embodiments given solely by way of example and illustrated by the drawings, in which:
a and 2b show a partial vertical cross-section along the line A—A of
In the following description, the embodiments of the data entry device are preferably explained only with reference to the embodiment of a wristwatch of analogue or digital type, but it is clear that the device according to the invention can be mounted on other portable objects having electronic modules, such as for example a telephone, a calculator or an electronic address book. Furthermore, all those elements known to those skilled in the art, which form the various parts of the watch will not be described in detail. Reference will be made only to the elements necessary to make preferred embodiments of said watch.
In
Watchcase 5 encloses all the electronic units or means in a sealed manner, including the magnetic sensor, for example a Hall-effect sensor, in order also to provide time functions, and the various menus or messages to be displayed on display screen 11. The whole case, or at least a wall in proximity to control button 1 has to be made of a non-magnetic material so as to allow the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet of the control button to pass undisturbed through wall 5 so that the sensor detects the movements of the magnet.
Said control button 1 with the permanent magnet, which constitutes the main element of the data entry device, can be manipulated by a user's finger preferably in two directions X and Y so that the magnetic sensor, for example a Hall-effect sensor not shown in
The data entry device of the invention further includes the sensor, the converter and the micro-controller, but
Buttons 9 can be used for validating selected data with control button 1, for deleting validated data or for move backwards in a selection menu. Of course, selection buttons 9 can be used to execute other operations known to those skilled in the art for making a multifunctional watch.
Given that the selection buttons are used for providing, for example, a validation, return or erase command, they can be made simply in the form of pressure switches using a stem with a sealed passage commonly used in watch-making. However an embodiment in the form of a control button combined with another magnetic sensor spaced apart from and opposite the button magnet can be envisaged.
As can be noted for example in
In another embodiment of the data entry device not shown in the Figures, the selection buttons can be omitted. In this case, the magnetic sensor must be able to measure magnetic field variations of the control button magnet along the three X, Y and Z axes. The magnetic field values along the X and Y axes allow the data to be entered to be selected by passing from one displayed menu or function table to another, whereas the magnetic field along the Z axis allows the chosen data to be validated and/or stored. However, as will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to
The possibility of using the magnetic sensor for measuring the force applied to said button along the axis Z for example allows one to vary the speed at which the hand moves or the numbers scroll down, when the time of a wristwatch is set by varying the pressure on said button.
However, problems of positioning on three axes can be resolved by allocating a non-linear kinetic function to axes X and Y.
a shows schematically a cross-section along line A—A of
One can envisage fixing the bottom face and possibly the lateral surface of the lower part of the elastic mass 2 of button 1 in housing 7 by any means known by those skilled in the art, in particular by bonding. The housing allows the control button to be better held when it is manipulated in the X and Y directions, and possibly allows the movements of the magnet to be limited in one or the other of these directions.
In an alternative embodiment shown in
It is obvious that other shapes can be envisaged for the elastic mass and housing to fulfil the same functions, for example the control button could have a pyramidal or truncated shape arranged in a housing of complementary shape. The upper part of said button can also be arranged on the exterior surface of the wall while leaving the possibility of being easily manipulated by a user's finger.
One could also envisage fixing the control button to the non-magnetic wall without inserting it in a housing. In order to do this, either a positioning index on said wall should be provided when the button is mounted for it to be precisely positioned opposite and at a distance from the sensor, or a positioning tool able to take account of the position of the sensor should be used for positioning the button on the wall during mounting.
The permanent magnet has a magnetisation axis perpendicular to the non-magnetic wall and to the magnetic sensor. The orientation and magnitude of the magnetic field in the sensor's plane are parallel and approximately linearly proportional to the radial movement of the magnet in a region which depends on the size of the magnet and the distance d separating the magnet from the sensor. However, along the vertical Z axis, the relationship between the magnetic field and the distance separating the sensor from the magnet is not linear around a given starting distance d as can be seen in the graphs of
In both cases, magnetic field variations of the order of 10 mT or more over the useful movement which is of the order of half the thickness of a quasi-cubic samarium cobalt magnet can be obtained. A semiconductor monolithic Hall effect sensor can easily detect these magnetic field variations.
A sensor of this type that measures the magnetic field for example along three directions is described in particular in EP Patent No 0 947 846 and is marketed under the name 3D-H-10 or 3D-H-30 by Sentron in Zug, Switzerland. This sensor is based on the vertical Hall effect for detection in the plane and on the lateral Hall effect for perpendicular detection. It has contact pads for receiving the supply current and contact pads leading the electric voltages dependent on the applied magnetic field to the outside. These voltages allow the magnitudes of Bx, By, and Bz components of the magnetic field along the three measuring axes X, Y, and Z to be extracted.
Of course, other types of magnetic sensors exist capable of being integrated on very small semiconductor surfaces or other appropriated substrates. These sensors can in particular use the magnetoresistive effect (for example of the HCM1052 type by Honeywell) or the fluxgate principle (cf. the thesis of L. Chiési, <<Planar 2D Fluxgate Magnetometer for CMOS Electronic Compass >>, Hartung-Gorre Verlag, ISBN 3-89649-478-3, 1999).
As can be seen in
The use of non-magnetic wall 5 of the case which is preferably not in contact with the sensor, guarantees total protection of the sensor and associated systems against damp or other external elements capable of damaging them. The watch with its protected data entry device can thus be used without any risk in any environment without any particular precaution. One could envisage making for example a diver's watch into which data can be entered using control and selection buttons.
Hall sensor 4 receives from analogue/digital converter 14, a current 1B which passes through the resistive zones of the doped semiconductor substrate, as shown for example in EP Patent No. 0 947 846. Voltages VX, VY and VZ representative of the magnetic field along the three axes, are amplified and digitised in unit 14 (monolithic CMOS circuit). In the case of a sensor measuring the components along the X and Y axes, the sensor can only supply voltages VX and VY at its output.
The analogue/digital converter communicates the numerical values to a micro-controller 16 via a data bus 15 so that it can process said values to supply control signals to the liquid crystal display or the motors driving the hands of the watch via a bus 17. The data to be displayed which depend on the received voltage numerical values and which are transmitted by the micro-controller to watch display, are for example selection menus, value tables, alphanumerical characters or calculations. Two signals S1 and S2 from the selection buttons are also supplied to the micro-controller for deleting data or storing or validating entered data.
The micro-controller includes in particular an oscillator circuit which generates for example a frequency of 32 kHz so as to supply clock signals to logic circuit stages, a frequency division chain for time related data to be displayed, memory means distributed in one read only memory with a dedicated processing and data supplying programme and in a random access memory for storing provisional data. These elements of the micro-controller are not described in detail and are not shown in
By way of illustration, reference will be made to
There are two possible modes of movement for the cursor on a display. The first mode consists in converting the deflection (by pressure) of the button into the absolute position of the cursor on the display. It is a kind of movement amplifier. This mode has the advantage of being fast and intuitive but requires the holding of the position during validation which can be problematic. The second mode consists in converting the deflection (by pressure) of the button into a cursor movement speed (
In
From this linear menu, after validation, shown by a dotted line in
It is to be noted that validation of the selected letter can be carried out without using a selection button, but in this case, the letter selection is validated by leaving the control button inactivated for a certain period of time after selection of the letter. However, when the message has been composed, it has to be validated and a message storing command entered, in particular via one of the selection buttons. The message is stored in the micro-controller memory means so as to be able to be subsequently read.
One could also envisage transmitting, in a wireless manner, the entered and stored messages to an external apparatus having a transmission and reception device for electric signals of the same type as that of the watch.
If the menu or function selected when the control button is actuated in the Y direction concerns time setting, movement in the X direction can make the watch hands move forwards or backwards at a speed depending on the magnetic field picked up, i.e. the further the control button is moved from its rest position the faster the watch hands will move forwards or backwards. In the case of an entirely digital watch, movement in the X direction will increment or decrement the time indication shown in figures.
In the embodiment shown in
It is also possible to scroll down the same tables from a linear menu which is selected by validation. This mode allows the X-Y commands from a selected table to be used to move easily within the table to be used.
In
From the above description, these skilled in the art can envisage multiple variant embodiments of the data entry device without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, instead of having a single control button, one could envisage providing said watch, or any portable object, with two control buttons, each with an associated magnetic sensor, for example a Hall effect sensor, for measuring the magnetic field of the magnet corresponding to the control button that has been manipulated. Of course, as explained hereinbefore, the selection buttons can be designed in the same way as the control button. The magnetic sensor could also be in contact with an internal surface of the non-magnetic wall protecting it or bonded to said internal surface leaving the magnetic sensor at a distance opposite the magnet of the control button.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00202670 | Jul 2000 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP01/07906 | 7/10/2001 | WO | 00 | 1/27/2003 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO02/10865 | 2/7/2002 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| WO 98 54624 | Dec 1998 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050249046 A1 | Nov 2005 | US |
