Home

Faceplate

1. fo Case 14 V 300 Walls Recepticle 22 VE X FIG 3 Modular Movement Faceplate U S Patent Oct 23 2012 Sheet 5 of 8 US 8 292 493 B2 Modular Movement Movement Subassembly FIG S U S Patent PCB 504 Oct 23 2012 Sheet 6 of 8 US 8 292 493 B2 Computer 600 Power Manager 608 Voltage Controller 636 Charging Controller 638 Processors 602 Micro processor 614 I Os 606 Display Controller 630 Touch Controller 634 FIG 6 Communications Interface 610 Memories 604 RAM 622 Non Volatile Memory 626 Sensors 612 MEMS Accelerometer 648 Sensor 1 Sensor n U S Patent Oct 23 2012 Sheet 7 of 8 US 8 292 493 B2 U S Patent Oct 23 2012 Sheet 8 of 8 US 8 292 493 B2 FIG 8 Icon Carousel US 8 292 493 B2 1 MODULAR MOVEMENT THAT IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL STANDALONE AND INTERCHANGEABLE IN OTHER PORTABLE DEVICES CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Divisional application of U S patent application Ser No 12 024 067 filed Jan 31 2008 and is incorporated by reference BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A typical wristwatch usually includes the following essen tial parts a movement housed within a case a piece of glass attached to an opening in the top of the case that covers the top face of the movement and a case back enclosing the move ment within an opening in the back of the case The move ment is
2. 1 2008 Youichi Horry et al A Passive Stye Butonless Mobile Terminal IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics Aug 2003 p 530 vol 49 No 3 PCT International Search Report and Written Opinion of the Inter national Searching Authority issued Mar 3 2009 application No PCT US2009 030777 Supplementary Extended European Search Report EESR of the European Patent Office issued Jun 28 2011 application No PCT US2009 030777 Cellwatch M500 User Manual lt mymobilewatch com gt May 31 2007 cited by examiner U S Patent Oct 23 2012 Sheet 1 of 8 US 8 292 493 B2 10 Case 14 Modular Movement a 12a Crystal 18 X Receptacle gt 22 Receptacle 22 a 10 Modular Movement 12b Body 16 Movement Subassembly 20 FIG 1B U S Patent Oct 23 2012 Sheet 2 of 8 US 8 292 493 B2 FIG 1C U S Patent Oct 23 2012 Sheet 3 of 8 US 8 292 493 B2 Assemble parts into a movement subassembly such that the subassembly is a complete working mechanism 200 Enclose the subassembly in the body 202 Integrate the crystal with the body thereby creating the modular movement 204 Require the cases of portable devices to have a receptacle for removably receiving the modular movement without tools and in a manner where the crystal of the modular movement is visible through the case when the modular movement is inserted 206 FIG 2 U S Patent Oct 23 2012 Sheet 4 of 8 US 8 292 493 B2
3. B2 10 2007 Gauthey et al 7 682 070 B2 3 2010 Burton lt 368 294 7 946 758 B2 5 2011 Mooring 2003 0151982 Al 2004 0120224 Al 2006 0018202 Al 2006 0233053 Al 2007 0189127 Al 2007 0253290 Al 2008 0276168 Al 11 2008 Mansfield et al 2009 0036175 Al 2 2009 Brandenburg et al FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 8 2003 Brewer et al 6 2004 Meylan 1 2006 Girardin et al 10 2006 Klein 8 2007 Pollak 11 2007 Aire FR 2735664 Al 12 1996 FR 2791150 B1 6 2001 GB 2183063 A 5 1987 GB 2399253 A 9 2004 WO 9813734 Al 4 1998 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Apple User Manual iPhone 3g Jul 30 2007 W100 wrist watch mobile phone lt http www gizmag com gol7797f gt Aug 15 2007 iCool M700 W100 G100 Touch Screen Wrist Watch Cell Phones lt http www ic mall comficool m700 w 100 g100 touch screen wrist watch cell phones p 1973 htm 1 gt Jan 1 2006 Touchscreen Cell PhonefPDA Wristwatch lt http www thinkgeek comfgadgets cellphone 9c9d gt Feb 28 2008 Abacus WristPDA a Watch Goes Where no PDA Can Go lt http www theinguirer netfen inquirerfnews 2006f04 30fabacus wristpda a watch goes where no pda can go gt Feb 28 2008 Wrist Phone M500 Ships this WeeK lt http Images google com Imgres Imgurl http I www slashphone com medlaldata 800 M500 jpg amp imgrefurl http cell reviews blogspot comf2007 __ 05 Ol archive May 31 2007 http www modumobile com modu make new connections pp 1 3 Jan
4. Jujo 6 525 997 Bl 2 2003 Narayanaswami et al 6 527 436 Bl 3 2003 Ng 6 549 791 Bl 4 2003 Jeon et al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS DE 29513038 U1 11 1995 Continued OTHER PUBLICATIONS Palm Wrist Watch palminfocenter com view story asp ID 7992 Sep 20 2012 Continued Primary Examiner Sean Kayes 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Convergent Law Group LLP 57 ABSTRACT A method for manufacturing an interchangeable movement includes assembling parts into a movement subassembly such that the subassembly is a complete working mechanism enclosing the subassembly in a body integrating a glass with the body wherein the body comprises a single shell with only an opening that receives the glass sealing the glass and the single shell to enclose the body thereby creating a water resistant modular movement and wherein the modular move ment is insertable into a case of a portable device having a receptacle for removably receiving the modular movement without tools and in a manner where the glass of the modular movement is visible through the case when the modular movement is inserted 6 Claims 8 Drawing Sheets 18 Crystal Ca a 302 Faceplate US 8 292 493 B2 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 556 222 Bl 4 2003 Narayanaswami 6 570 823 Bl 5 2003 Gilomen 6 720 860 Bl 4 2004 Narayanaswami 6 795 377 B2 9 2004 Gorden 7 081 905 Bl 7 2006 Raghunath 7 193 606 B2 3 2007 Barnett et al 7 286 063
5. RF communications interface 610 When it is time to leave for work the user removes the modular movement 125 from the receptacle 22 and inserts the modular movement 126 into his or her watch 710 or cell phone handset 700 and takes the modular movement 12b along In addition if the modular movement 12b is equipped with RFID the modular move ment 125 may be used for automatic payment of goods and services The user may use the modular movement 124 to carry or access his or her personal information such as email contacts voicemail etc stream real time data and media and may even use the modular movement 12b in the place of cash and credit cards FIG 8 is a diagram illustrating several views of an exem plary user interface that may be displayed on the modular movement 12b In one embodiment the user interface 800 displayed on the touchscreen 506 of the modular movement 12b may include menu items 802 and or an icon carousel 804 The icon carousel 804 is a scrollable display of icons that are laid out along an arc of the wheel across the touchscreen 506 where only a subset of the icons e g five 2 on each side of acenter position are visible on the touchscreen 506 at a time The user may rotate scroll the icons around the icon carousel 804 to the left or right with a swipe of the finger in the corresponding direction along the icon carousel 804 When the rotating icon carousel 804 stops rotating the icon in the center position is the
6. and or change between a non waterproof and a waterproof strap for instance One aspect of the present invention is the recognition that due to the history of watchmaking and the resulting vertical watchmaking manufacturing process conventional watches have not been designed so that consumers can readily change the movement of a watch That is due to current construction techniques the manner in which movements are affixed within the case and or the manner in which the case back is attached to the case tools and some amount of skill would be required to remove a movement In most instances some disassembly of the movement may be even necessary to remove the movement from the case thereby ensuring that the movement will no be longer fully functional after removal without repair and reassembly Furthermore even assuming the consumer succeeded at removing a movement from a case the manner in which 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 watches and movements are constructed today would cause further problems for the consumer For example if a con sumer removed a mechanical movement from a completed watch the fully functional movement would include hands and dials However once the movement is removed from the case and the attached glass the hands and dials of the move ment would be unprotected and could easily be damaged by handling In this regard since with convention watches it is the watch that is water r
7. including an integrated top layer of glass 18 and a movement subassembly 20 for displaying information including time FIG 1B is a diagram of modular movement 125 showing a semitransparent body 16 for convenience so that subassembly 20 can be seen through case 16 As used herein the term modular means that the body 16 of the modular movement 12 includes all parts necessary for operation and power of the modular movement 12 Thus the modular movement 12 of the exemplary embodiment is fully functional in a standalone state However according to the exemplary embodiment the case 14 of the portable device 10 includes a receptacle 22 for removably receiving the modular movement 12 without need for a tool such that the modular movement 12 can be either used with the case 14 of the portable device 10 and or is user interchangeable with the cases of other portable devices having the same or similar types of receptacles When the modular movement 12 is used in a portable device 10 such as a watch the glass 18 of the module of movement 12 becomes the glass 18 of the portable device The glass 18 may include any type of transparent or semi transparent material layer on a top surface of the modular movement 12 including sapphire crystal plexiglass and the like In one embodiment the body 16 may be constructed to provide the modular movement 12 with a degree of water resistance and dust protection For example the body 16 may be a sin
8. recharged even while outside of the portable device 10 Thus the exemplary embodiment provides a module movement 125 that can be used operated and recharged whether both alone and when inserted into the portable device 10 Other example portable devices include a bike handlebar cradle a modem housing e g for notebook computers an adapter to convert to a USB dongle jewelry a lanyard clothing a keychain and a neck lace for instance Thus according to the exemplary embodiment the modu lar movements 125 made by the same or different manufac turers may be interchangeable by users into various portable devices 10 made by different manufacturers due to the stan dard form factor designs of the modular movements and US 8 292 493 B2 11 receptacles 22 Once inserted into the portable device 10 the modular movement 125 operates and optionally powers the portable device 10 Ifthe modular movement is equipped with the user s personal information and wireless connectivity the user may carry the modular movement 125 around wherever the user goes and may plug the modular movement 12b into whatever compliant portable devices 10 are available For example consider the scenario in which a user wakes up in the morning and while shaving plugs the modular movement 125 into a receptacle 22 next to the mirror There after the modular movement 124 streams stocks weather and the like for the user via an Internet connection made using the
9. sealant applied on the case to help keep water out Some case backs may be screwed in or onto the case The vertical watchmaking manufacturing market for elec tronic movements is similar in that very few companies make all the parts necessary to build a completed electronic watch Instead the companies typically purchase electronic move ments from suppliers and assemble electronic movements into the cases to complete the watch similar to the above BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the exemplary embodiment provides a method for manufacturing an interchangeable movement Aspects of the exemplary embodiment include assembling parts into a movement subassembly such that the subassem bly is a complete working mechanism enclosing the subas sembly in a body integrating a glass with the body wherein the body comprises a single shell with only an opening that receives the glass sealing the glass and the single shell to enclose the body thereby creating a water resistant modular movement and wherein the modular movement is insertable into a case of a portable device having a receptacle for remov ably receiving the modular movement without tools and in a manner where the glass of the modular movement is visible through the case when the modular movement is inserted A further exemplary embodiment discloses a system com prising a modular movement having a body housing a plu rality of layers including a top layer of glass a
10. serial communications via contacts 510 and or USB communica tions for example Sensors 612 may include a variety of sensors including a MEMS accelerometer 648 and any number of optional sen sors 1 n MEMS accelerometer 648 may be used to measure information such as position motion tilt shock and vibra tion for use by microprocessor 614 The computer 600 may additionally include any number of optional sensors 1 n including environmental sensors e g ambient light tem perature humidity pressure altitude etc biological sensors e g pulse body temperature blood pressure body fat etc and a proximity detector for detecting the proximity of objects In one embodiment the proximity detector may be implemented as an infrared data association IRDA proxim ity detector The computer 600 may display the information measured from the sensors 612 analyze the information by microprocessor 614 and display the analyzed information and or transmit the raw or analyzed information via the com munications interface 610 In one embodiment not all of the sensors 612 may be located on PCB 504 In a further aspect of the exemplary embodiment the modular movement 125 may include more than one battery 502 and or the portable device 10 may include one or more external batteries not shown In this embodiment the modu lar movement 125 may be configured via the software rou tines and power manager 614 to selectively determine whether t
11. 4 includes an opening In this embodiment the modular movement 124 is inserted into the case 14 from the bottom or back of the case 14 and once inserted the glass 18 of the modular movement 126 is visible through the opening in the top of the case 14 Although FIGS 1A and 1B show that once the modular movement 124 is inserted into the receptacle 22 no closure is necessary to seal the case 14 unlike with traditional watches FIG 1C is a diagram illustrating that in an alternative embodi ment a receptacle door 24 may be used to close the case 14 once modular movement 12c is inserted into the receptacle 22 In another embodiment the receptacle door 24 may be attached to the case 14 via a hinge As used herein the portable device 10 may include a com bination of both the case 14 and the modular movement 12 But the term case 14 may denote the body of the portable device 10 into which the receptacle 22 is formed and into which the modular movement 12 is to be inserted Thus for small portable devices 10 such as a watch the proportionate size of the portable device case to the receptacle 22 is small FIGS 1A and 1B But for larger portable devices the size of the portable device case to the receptacle 22 may be larger e g FIG 1C According to an exemplary embodiment the modular movement 12 may be a mechanical movement or an elec tronic movement FIG 1A may illustrate an embodiment where the modular movement 12a is implemented as
12. IG 4B the UI may be designed such that the edges of the case 14 surrounding the touchscreen 506 are used as guides to the user s fingers as the user makes finger gestures across the touchscreen 506 m 5 20 40 45 55 60 65 12 In a further embodiment the user interface may be pro vided with auto configuration settings In one auto configu ration embodiment once the modular movement 12b is inserted into the receptacle 22 of the case 14 the modular movement 125 may be configured via contacts 510 or wire lessly to automatically determine characteristics of the case 14 such as the make model and shape of the faceplate 302 and or receptacle 22 opening Using the characteristics of the case 14 the modular movement 125 may automatically con figure its user interface 800 accordingly For example if the modular movement 126 detects that it is inserted into a case e g via a corresponding set of contacts in the receptacle having a rectangular or square faceplate 302 that does not overlap the glass 18 of the touchscreen 506 in any way then no changes to the user interface 800 need to be made If however the modular movement 124 detects that it is inserted into a case having a round or oval faceplate 302 that overlaps the corner of the touchscreen 506 and therefore eliminates areas of the screen space i e the corners then the modular movement 125 may automatically reconfigure the user inter face 800 to displa
13. M 622 and a nonvolatile memory 626 RAM 622 may be used as the main memory for microprocessor 614 for support ing execution of the software routines and other selective storage functions Non volatile memory 626 is capable of holding instructions and data without power and may store the software routines for controlling modular movement 125 in the form of computer readable program instructions In one embodiment non volatile memory 626 comprises flash US 8 292 493 B2 9 memory In alternative embodiments non volatile memory 626 may comprise any type of read only memory ROM VOs 606 may include a display controller 630 an audio chip 632 anda touchscreen controller 634 Display controller 630 may access RAM 622 and transfer processed data such as time and date and or a user interface to the touchscreen 506 for display The audio chip 632 is coupled to an optional speaker not shown and interfaces with microprocessor 614 to provide audio capability for the modular movement 12b In another embodiment the audio chip 632 may be coupled to both a speaker and a microphone not shown In this embodi ment a water resistant proof speaker and microphone may be used to retain water resistance of the modular movement 125 In an alternative embodiment the modular movement 125 may be implemented without sound capability in which case no audio chip 632 speaker or microphone is necessary In the embodiment where the audio chip 632 is coupled t
14. a mechanical movement In this exemplary embodiment the subassembly 20 within the body 16 of modular movement 12a would include a mechanical movement comprising not only components of a traditional raw movement such as a main plate bridges a train a winding and setting mechanism and a regulator but also a timing system an escapement a mainspring and a time display such as dial and hands The time display may be covered by the glass 18 The mechanical movement of the subassembly may be automatic or manual The winding and setting mechanism may include a compo nent such as a push in crown built into the case 14 that when pushed in would engaged with a recess in the side of the modular movement to interact with the winding and setting mechanism FIGS 1B and 1C illustrate example embodiments where the modular movements 126 and 12c are implemented as an electronic movement Examples of an electronic movement may include a quartz movement with an analog or digital display and with or without a battery Another example of an 0 m 5 30 40 45 50 65 6 electronic movement may include a computer based move ment with a touchscreen or LCD display and battery for instance FIG 2 is a flow chart illustrating a process for manufactur ing an interchangeable modular movement 12 The process may begin by assembling parts into the movement subassem bly 20 such that the movement subassembly 20 is a complete working m
15. a2 United States Patent Mooring US008292493B2 US 8 292 493 B2 Oct 23 2012 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 MODULAR MOVEMENT THAT IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL STANDALONE AND INTERCHANGEABLE IN OTHER PORTABLE DEVICES 75 Inventor David J Mooring Los Altos Hills CA US 73 Assignee Wimm Labs Inc Los Altos CA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 0 days 21 Appl No 13 074 197 22 Filed Mar 29 2011 65 Prior Publication Data US 2011 0176395 A1 Jul 21 2011 Related U S Application Data 62 Division of application No 12 024 067 filed on Jan 31 2008 51 Int Cl G04B 23 00 2006 01 52 US Cl eti e 368 276 368 88 368 281 58 Field of Classification Search 368 276 368 88 281 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 1 289 155 A 12 1918 Goal 1 462 076 A 7 1923 Spiro 2 665 542 A 1 1954 Sheldon 3 994 124 A 11 1976 Fujita 4 167 850 A 9 1979 Schneider LL 368 282 4 264 969 A 4 1981 Walker et al 4 462 697 A 7 1984 Thompson Case 14 Faceplate 302 Recepticle 22 4 742 503 A 5 1988 Braun et al 4 916 679 A 4 1990 Agnello wee 368 283 4 958 279 A 9 1990 Proellochs L 368 282 5 005 161 A 4 1991 Boilen 5 392 261 A 2 1995 Hsu 5 657 298 A 8 1997 Choay 5 943 302 A 8 1999 Fanshaw 6 431 746 Bl 8 2002
16. age appropriate voltage levels to properly charge the battery 502 Power manager 608 may further include a microcontroller not shown in one embodiment The communications interface 610 may include compo nents for supporting one way or two way wireless commu nications In one embodiment the communications interface 610 is for primarily receiving data remotely including streaming data which is displayed and updated on the touch screen 506 However in an alternative embodiment besides transmitting data the communication interface 616 could also support voice transmission In an exemplary embodi ment the communications interface 610 supports low and intermediate power radio frequency RF communications The communications interface 610 may include one or more of a WiFi transceiver 640 for supporting communication with a WiFi network including wireless local area networks WLAN and WiMAX a cellular transceiver 642 for sup porting communication with a cellular network Bluetooth transceiver 644 for low power communication according to the Bluetooth protocol and the like such as wireless personal area networks WPANS and passive radio frequency iden tification RFID 646 Others wireless options may include baseband and infrared for example The communications 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 interface 610 may also include other types of communica tions devices not shown besides wireless such as
17. ay be formed in the case 14 by a set of sidewalls 300 whose number shape size and depth should be substantially similar to those of the side walls of the modu lar movement 12 In addition the case 14 may be provided with a faceplate 302 that may function to aid in retaining the US 8 292 493 B2 7 modular movement 12 inside the case 14 as well as defines which portions of the modular movement 12 are visible through the case FIGS 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the modular movement inserted into the receptacle of the case In one embodiment the depth or thicknesses of the modular move ment 12 and the case 14 may be designed to be substantially similar so that when the modular movement 12 is inserted the side of the modular movement 12 facing the open end of the receptacle 22 is coplanar with the back of the case 14 and the wearer s arm as shown in FIG 4A As shown in FIG 4B the glass 18 of the modular movement 12 that is open through the faceplate 302 of the case 14 may be designed to be approximately coplanar with or slightly above or below the top of the case 14 In some embodiments the modular movement 12 may have its front and back sides open in the front and rear of the case 14 However some measure of protection may be pro vided by configuring the receptacle 22 so that the four side walls 300 of the receptacle 22 fully cover the four remaining sides of the modular movement 12 as shown Also although opening
18. currently active icon that can be selected or activated The user may select one of the menu items 802 or the currently active icon with a finger touch or double touch In one embodiment as the icons scroll around the icon car ousel 804 whichever icon is displayed in the center position may automatically enlarge for ease of viewing Other embodiments are also shown in FIG 8 such as the user interface 800 displayed on a watch with a round faceplate 302 and the icon carousel 804 displayed with an analog clock display It should be noted that the user interface 800 has no buttons on the modular movement 125 Instead the user interface 800 of the modular movement 126 is controlled entirely by the user interacting with the touchscreen 506 through touch such that a button or a dial for controlling the user interface are completely absent from both the modular movement and the case 14 thereby simplifying user interface 800 and saving manufacturing costs In one embodiment a button may be provided on the side of the modular movement 125 for reset ting but not for controlling user interface 800 In an alterna tive embodiment the modular movement 125 may be auto matically reset when first plugged in to be recharged or the recharging cradle may be provided with a reset button In the embodiment where the touchscreen 506 of the modular movement 12 is open through the faceplate 302 of the case 14 and is slightly below the top of the case e g F
19. departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims We claim 1 A method for manufacturing an interchangeable move ment comprising assembling parts into a movement subassembly such that the subassembly is a complete working mechanism enclosing the subassembly in a body and integrating a glass with the body wherein the body com prises a single shell with only an opening that receives the glass sealing the glass and the single shell to enclose the body thereby creating a water resistant modular movement inserting the modular movement into a case of a portable device having a receptacle formed in an opening ina rear of the case for removably receiving the modular move ment without tools and in a manner where the glass of the modular movement is visible through the case when the modular movement is inserted and calibrating a latching mechanism of the case to account for when the case is worn and the modular movement is US 8 292 493 B2 13 inserted into the receptacle the modular movement is held inside the receptacle at least in part by a wearer s body 2 The method of claim 1 further comprising forming the receptacle in the case with a set of sidewalls whose number shape size and depth are substantially similar to those of the modular movement and providing the case with a faceplate that aids in retaining the modular movement inside the case and defines which portions of the front of the modular mo
20. echanism block 200 The movement subassem bly 20 is then enclosed in the body 16 block 202 and the glass 18 is integrated with the body 16 thereby creating the modular movement 12 block 204 In one exemplary embodiment the modular movement 12 may be provided with a standard size and shape so that different modular movements from different manufacturers have the same size For example in one embodiment the standard size and shape of the modular movement 12 may be approximately 30 mm wide 34 mm tall and 8 mm in depth for example In another embodiment the modular movement 12 may have a size and shape of approximately 32x32x10 mm for example Thus any sizes ranging approximately around these dimensions should be suitable for the modular movement 12 Another step to the process is requiring the cases 14 of portable devices 10 to each have a receptacle 22 for remov ably receiving the modular movement 12 without tools and in amanner where the glass of the modular movement 12 is open or at least visible through the case 14 when the modular movement 12 is inserted block 206 The receptacle 22 should be designed so that no tools are required for modular movement 12 insertion or ejection so that the modular movement 12 is easily user interchangeable According to the exemplary embodiment several different latching mechanisms may be used to retain the modular movement 12 inside the receptacle 22 For example the receptacle 22 may be pro
21. esistant or waterproof removing the movement from the watch may expose the movement to moisture for which the movement would have little if no protection The exemplary embodiment of the present invention pro vides an improved movement and method of manufacturing thereof that enables consumers to change the movement of a portable device such as a watch No tools or disassembly assembly of either the portable device or the movement are necessary and the movement itself is modular and durable in construction such that the movement is fully functional stan dalone and therefore retains its functionality after removal from the portable device The modular movement is also easily user interchangeable with other portable devices FIGS 1A 1C are block diagrams illustrating exemplary embodiments of a portable device 10 having a modular move ment where like components have like numerals have like reference numerals According to the exemplary embodi ments modular movements 12a 12b and 12c hereinafter modular movement 12 when refereed to collectively are provided that can be removably inserted within a case 14 of the portable device 10 Inthe exemplary embodiments shown the portable device 10 comprises a watch although the bands are not shown but the portable device 10 may represent other types of devices as described below According to the exemplary embodiments the modular movement 12 includes a body 16 that houses a plurality of layers
22. for a tool such that the modular movement is user interchangeable with another case of another portable device wherein the case includes a latching mechanism that is calibrated to account for when the case is worn and the modular movement is inserted into the receptacle the modular movement is held inside the receptacle at least in part by a wearer s body
23. gle shell except for an opening for the glass 18 and once the glass 18 is in place the glass 18 may by sealed with the body 16 using traditional waterproofing methods In another embodiment the body 16 may be assembled in sepa rate pieces but then sealed once assembled US 8 292 493 B2 5 Providing a modular movement 12 having an enclosed and self contained body 16 including the glass 18 is in contrast to traditional watchmaking methods in which 1 the parts of the movement are not integrated into a body and 2 the watch glass is typically affixed to the watchcase rather than to the watch movement In one exemplary embodiment the modular movement 12 and the receptacle 22 in the case 14 are made industry stan dard sizes such that different modular movements 12 manu factured and sold by a one set of manufacturers fit within the receptacles of different cases manufactured and sold by another set of manufacturers for example FIG 1A shows an embodiment where the receptacle 22 is formed as an opening on the top or front of the case 14 and the modular movement 12a is inserted into the front of the case 14 through the open receptacle 22 In one embodiment the receptacle 22 may only extend partially through the depth of the case body leaving one side i e the back of the case 14 closed FIG 1B shows another embodiment where the receptacle 22 is formed as an opening in the back of the case 14 and where the top or front of the case 1
24. he timing sys tem the escapement mainspring dial and hands however are not usually parts of the ebauche Very few watch manufacturers are capable of producing the parts necessary for bauches movements and the cases to support the production and assembly of finished watches Instead most watch companies purchase complete move ments from a supplier such as ETA fit the movements with dials and hands and then encase the movements within in house or contractor supplied cases Some watch companies may purchase bauches from a supplier finish polish and decorate the parts optionally modify parts of the movement and or add custom components and assemble the parts to create a higher quality or custom movement The final steps of the process is case fitting in which the movement is fitted inside the case which may require further assembly and finally case closure During case fitting the watch movement is fitted into the case tightly so that it does not move and in some cases may be physically attached to the case with screws After fitting the case is enclosed with a case back for proper dust and water resistance Typically watch companies take great care in how the case back is affixed to the case because this assembly point can be critical for the water tightness of a watch For example one method for achieving water resistance is to use gaskets between the case and case back to form a seal used in conjunction with a
25. movement subassembly for displaying information including time wherein the modular movement includes all parts necessary for power and operation including the displaying of the infor mation and wherein the body housing comprises a single shell with only an opening that receives the top layer of glass the top layer of glass and the single shell being sealed to enclose the body housing such that the modular movement is water resistant and fully functional standalone and a case the case including a receptacle for removably receiving the US 8 292 493 B2 3 modular movement without need for a tool such that the modular movement is user interchangeable with another case of another portable device BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS 1A 1C are block diagrams illustrating exemplary embodiments of a portable device having a modular move ment FIG 2 is a flow chart of a process for manufacturing an interchangeable modular movement FIG 3 is another diagram illustrating the exemplary embodiment of the receptacle formed in the rear of the case FIGS 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the modular movement inserted into the receptacle of the case FIG 5 is a diagram of an exploded view of the modular movement and components thereof when implemented as a computer based electronic modular movement according to one exemplary embodiment FIG 6 is a block diagram illustrating computer compo nents on the PCB comp
26. o both a speaker and microphone the microphone may record voice input that is first processed by the audio chip and then input to the microprocessor 614 for further processing The audio chip 632 may include hardware and or software that converts analog voice into pulse code modulation PCM or Adaptive Differential PCM ADPCM digital code and vice versa as well as for compressing and decompressing the PCM or ADPCM digital audio signal In one embodiment the processed voice input may be stored for subsequent playback In another embodiment the processed voice input may be transferred to communications interface 610 for wireless transmission Touch controller 634 may interface with the touchscreen 506 to detect touches and touch locations and pass the infor mation on to microprocessor 614 for determination of user interactions Another example I O 606 may include a USB controller not shown Power manager 608 communicates with the microproces sor 614 and coordinates power management for the computer 600 while the computer is drawing power from the battery 502 during normal operations In one embodiment the bat tery 502 may comprise a rechargeable lithium ion battery or the like may be used for example The power manager 608 includes a voltage controller 636 and a charging controller 638 for recharging the battery 502 Voltage controller 636 may regulate battery voltage to the rest of the computer 600 and charging controller 638 may man
27. o draw power from the battery or batteries 502 the external battery or batteries or a combination thereof depend ing ona variety of factors such as current operating conditions and the percentage of battery power remaining in each of the batteries In the case of a watch for example a band and case assembly may include a left strap and a right strap and may further include a left battery in the left strap and a right battery in the right strap In this embodiment the modular movement 125 may be configured to selectively determine whether to use battery 502 the left battery and or the right battery or some combination of the three In a further aspect of the exemplary embodiment the receptacle 22 of the standard size that is designed to receive the modular movement 125 may be built into the case of any type of portable device 10 FIG 7 is a diagram illustrating exemplary types of portable device form factors that could be used with modular move ment 125 and receptacle 22 As shown exemplary types of portable devices that may include standard receptacles 22 for use with modular movement 125 may include a cell phone handset 700 a carrier and strap 702 a media player 704 portable speakers 706 battery dock recharger and speaker 708 a watch 710 a media handset and cradle 712 a telephone handset 714 and a portable charging cradle 716 for the modu lar movement 12b Through the use of charging cradle 716 the modular movement 125 can be
28. ple a currently available type of electronic watch referred to as a smart watch is capable of wireless connectivity via FM broadcast ing to provide consumers access to news weather sports stocks instant messenger e mail and horoscopes on a liquid crystal display LCD The type of components found inside the case of a smart watch may include a speaker a printed circuit board PCB a processor a memory a radio receiver chip a rechargeable battery and an inductive charging coil The watch may be recharged by placing the watch in a watch stand and plugging the watch stand into the wall When a coil attached to the contact surface on the back of the watch comes in contact with a charging plate on the watch stand the smart watch battery is charged through induction Although there may be some differences between the pro cesses used to manufacture a mechanical movement and an electronic computer based movement both types of move ments are assembled as a collection of parts in what can be characterized as a vertical watchmaking manufacturing pro cess Consider by way of example the process used to manufac ture a mechanical watch movement A mechanical watch 0 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 movement begins with a raw movement or bauche which refers to an incomplete watch movement thatis soldas asetof loose parts comprising a main plate bridges a train a wind ing and setting mechanism and a regulator T
29. rising the modular movement accord ing to an exemplary embodiment FIG 7 is a diagram illustrating exemplary types of portable device form factors that could be used with modular move ment and receptacle FIG 8 is a diagram illustrating several views of an exem plary user interface that may be displayed on the modular movement DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a modular movement that is both fully functional standalone as well as interchangeable in other portable devices such as watches The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements Various modifications to the preferred embodiments and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily appar ent to those skilled in the art Thus the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein Whether a watch utilizes a mechanical or electronic move ment most conventional watches have been designed so that consumers can change the straps or bands of a watch and even interchange the straps between different watches either for aesthetic or functional reasons For example a consumer may wish to change between a casual and a formal strap change between different color straps
30. s for the modular movement 12 are shown in the front and rear of the case 14 via the faceplate 302 and receptacle 22 in another embodiment the receptacle 22 may also be formed on a side bottom or top of the case as well particularly for other types of portable devices 10 and form factors In a further embodiment the faceplate 302 may be pro vided in any shape desired such as square round oval tri angular or rectangular for instance and the shape of faceplate 302 may be different than the shape of the modular movement 12 Thus in the case of a watch although a square or rectan gular modular movement 12 is inserted into a square or rect angular receptacle 22 in the case 14 the modular movement 12 may be given the appearance of a round face by providing the case 14 with a round faceplate 302 Similarly in the case of a round modular movement 12 the case may be given a square or rectangular faceplate 302 if desired Accordingly the case 14 design has no restrictions on what faceplate movement shape combinations that can be used Any shaped faceplate 302 may be applied to the case 14 for use with any shaped modular movement 12 and correspondingly shaped receptacle 22 According to another aspect of the exemplary embodi ment the modular movement 12 is implemented as a com puter based electronic movement that is used to power the portable devices into which it is inserted as described below FIG 5 is a diagram of an exploded vie
31. s up or down when inserting the modular movement 125 into the receptacle 22 of the case 14 In one embodiment the contacts 510 are located on a side of the modular movement 12a that is in the receptacle 22 opening so that the portable device 10 as a whole can be placed in a dock and the contacts 510 used to abut the contacts of the dock In another embodi ment the contacts 510 are located on a side of the modular movement 12b that face inward into the receptacle 22 for abutting with contacts in the receptacle 22 In yet another embodiment the contacts 510 may be located on the modular movement 125 such that the contacts 510 wrap around at least two side of the modular movement 12b to be used in both manners During assembly the contacts 510 are inserted into the body 16 and the layers of components are assembled as shown into a movement subassembly 20 The movement subassembly 20 is then inserted into the body 16 and the body is sealed creating the computer based modular movement 12b FIG 6 is a block diagram illustrating computer compo nents on the PCB comprising the modular movement 12b according to an exemplary embodiment In one embodiment the PCB 504 containing computer 600 may be implemented as a single sided or double sided PCB In another embodi ment the PCB 504 may be implemented as separate PCBs and stacked within the movement subassembly 514 Computer 600 may include components such as processors 602 memories 604 inputs o
32. the completed finished inner mechanism contained inside the watch not including the case or dial which is responsible for measuring the passage of time and optionally other information such as date month and day Movements may be entirely mechanical entirely elec tronic potentially with no moving parts or a blend of the two A mechanical watch is a watch that uses a non electric mechanism to measure the passage of time They are driven by a spring called a mainspring which must be wound periodically and releases the energy to turn the clock s wheels as it unwinds They keep time with a balance wheel which oscillates back and forth at a constant rate Mechanical movements may be automatic self winding or manual manual winding mechanism Anexample type of electronic movement is a quartz move ment used in quartz watches that utilizes frequency of vibra tions of a quartz crystal to accurately regulate the operation of the watch Quartz movements may be automatic a self wind ing rotor mechanism or battery powered The majority of watches made today are equipped with electronic movements that feature an analog time display having rotating hands ona face or dial Some watches may have both analog and digital time readouts for simultaneous display of different informa tion Other watches equipped with electronic movements may include digital displays and small computers that are used in many types of electronic devices For exam
33. utputs 606 power manager 608 a communications interface 610 and sensors 612 In one embodiment one or more of the components of the computer 600 may be implemented on a single chip The processors 602 may include at least one microproces sor 614 a digital signal processor DSP a global positioning chip GPS 616 and a clock 620 Microprocessor 614 and or DSP may be capable of concurrently executing multiple soft ware routines including system code to control the various processes of the modular movement 12b In one embodiment microprocessor 614 may comprise an Advanced RISC Machine ARM processor or the like may be used for example GPS 618 may process received signals and with or without microprocessor 614 determine position information such as location speed direction and time Clock 620 may be used as an internal timing device for the computer 600 Clock 620 which may also be referred to as a real time clock or system clock inputs to the microprocessor 614 a constant flow of timing pulses for operation of the microprocessor 614 Clock 620 may also keep track of the time of day and makes this data available to the software routines executing in microprocessor 614 In one embodi ment clock 620 comprises a silicon clock oscillator imple mented using micro electro mechanical systems MEMS technology In another embodiment clock 620 may utilize a quartz crystal oscillator Memories 604 may include a random access memory RA
34. vement are vis ible through the case 3 The method of claim 2 wherein the depth of the modular movement and the case are substantially similar so that when the modular movement is inserted into the receptacle one side of the modular movement is coplanar with an open end of the case and wherein the glass that is open through the faceplate is approximately coplanar with a top of the case 4 The method of claim 3 further comprising providing the faceplate with a shape different from that of the modular movement 5 The method of claim 1 further comprising providing the modular movement with a subassembly comprising at least one of a mechanical movement and an electronic movement 15 20 14 6 A system comprising a modular movement having a body housing a plurality of layers including a top layer of glass a movement subassembly for displaying information including time wherein the modular movement includes all parts neces sary for power and operation including the displaying of the information and wherein the body housing com prises a single shell with only an opening that receives the top layer of glass the top layer of glass and the single shell being sealed to enclose the body housing such that the modular movement is water resistant and fully func tional standalone and acase the case including a receptacle formed in an opening in a rear of the case for removably receiving the modular movement without need
35. vided with internal latching mecha nisms such as snaps clamps or springs for example In another embodiment a mechanism may be used that pressur izes the modular movement 12 into the receptacle 22 from the outside of the case 14 In yet another embodiment contacts 510 on the modular movement 12 may be provided with springs that hold the modular movement 12 in place when inserted In yet another embodiment at least one wall of the recep tacle 22 may be provided with one or more magnets that have sufficient attraction force to hold modular movement 12 in place when inserted A spring loaded decoupling mechanism could be used to then eject the modular movement 12 Also in a watch or other wearable portable device 10 embodiments where the back of the case 14 is open any of the latching mechanisms may be calibrated to account for when the case 14 is worn and the modular movement 12 is inside the receptacle 22 the modular movement 12 may be held inside the receptacle 22 at least in part by the wearer s body e g by a wrist Requiring no tools for insertion or ejection of the modular movement 12 may be a function of both the design of the receptacle 22 and the case 14 The design of the receptacle 22 and case 14 also affect how the inserted modular movement 12 will be visible through the case 14 FIG 3 is a diagram illustrating a rear view of the case 14 and the receptacle 22 according to one exemplary embodi ment The receptacle 22 m
36. w of the modular movement and components thereof when implemented as a computer based electronic modular movement according to one exemplary embodiment As shown the modular move ment 12 includes body 16 that houses multiple layers of components which in this exemplary embodiment may include a plastic internal chassis 500 a rechargeable type battery 502 a printed circuit board PCB 504 a touchscreen 506 and an optional second plastic internal chassis 508 and protective covering 512 In this embodiment the modular movement 12 has six sides but the side with the touchscreen is substantially all display space The PCB 504 may include components described below such as a memory and processor for executing software that displays a user interface on the touchscreen 506 and that operates the modular movement 125 and an optional com munications interface for receiving data remotely which may be displayed and updated on the touchscreen 506 Other components of the modular movement 125 may include an antenna not shown that wraps around the body 16 alternatively embedded in case 14 and a set of contacts 510 20 40 45 55 8 inserted into the body 16 and in contact with the PCB The contacts may be used for recharging the battery the contacts are both power and ground and or for serialized communi cations The contacts can also be used for orientation pur poses for the user to tell which side of the modular movement 126 i
37. y information only in the available areas of the touchscreen 506 In another auto configuration embodiment the orientation of user interface may automatically change in response to the modular movement 12b detecting a change in the orientation of the modular movement 126 A modular movement that is both fully functional standa lone and interchangeable in other portable devices such as watches has been disclosed The present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown and one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments and any variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention For example the portable device may be provided without communication capability and used to store a user s personal information such as medical records for instance In addition the embodiments can be implemented using hardware software a computer readable medium containing program instructions or a combination thereof Software written according to the present invention is to be either stored in some form of computer readable medium such as memory oris to be transmitted over a network and is to be executed by a processor Consequently a computer readable medium is intended to include a computer readable signal which may be for example transmitted over a network Accordingly many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without

Faceplate

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents