Watch device having touch
Contents
1. 12 United States Patent Lyons et al US007778118B2 US 7 778 118 B2 Aug 17 2010 0 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 75 73 a 21 22 65 60 51 52 58 56 WATCH DEVICE HAVING TOUCH BEZEL USER INTERFACE Inventors Justin R Lyons Olathe KS US Kristin M Massoth Prairie Village KS US John H Lovitt Spring Hill KS US Claudette D Stevenson Wilsonville OR US David J Downey Louisburg KS US Assignee Garmin Ltd KY Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 0 days Appl No 12 055 978 Filed Mar 26 2008 Prior Publication Data US 2009 0059730 Al Mar 5 2009 Related U S Application Data Provisional application No 60 968 517 filed on Aug 28 2007 provisional application No 61 018 647 filed on Jan 2 2008 Int Cl G04C 17 00 2006 01 USCh aise iste a ie essen Aiei 368 69 Field of Classification Search 368 69 368 71 72 75 See application file for complete search history References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 453 960 A 9 1995 Teres etal w 368 69 5 559 761 A 9 1996 Frenkel et al 368 69 6 052 339 A 4 2000 Frenkel etal 0 368 230 6 356 512 BL 3 2002 Martin etal we 368 10 6 542 120 BL 4 2003 Gilbertson 0 0 342 419 6 556 222 Bl 4 2003 Narayanaswami 345 786 6 837 827 Bl 1 2005 Lee et al 2 c censcececee8e 4822. g via a wireless or wired connection In such embodiments the processing system 136 may determine a first training param eter e g speed location heart rate etc for the user of the watch device 100 The processing system 136 may then cal culate a second training parameter e g speed location heart rate etc for the virtual training partner The processing system 136 may then cause the first and second training parameters to be displayed by the display 110 The virtual 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 training partner may be used by the user as a comparison for his or her own performance In accordance with the present invention the user interface 112 may be used to adjust the second training parameter via a scrolling motion press on the bezel 114 For example training parameters for the virtual training partner such as speed heart rate and the like may be increased via a clockwise scrolling motion press or decreased via a counterclockwise scrolling motion press To conserve and prolong the battery life of the watch device 100 the location determining component and or compo nents associated therewith such as the GPS receiver may be disabled when the watch device 100 is not set in the exercise mode navigation mode or any other mode that actively uti lizes GPS Thus for example when the watch device 100 is set in watch mode the location determining component may be disabled Further
3. 60 65 6 ate the watch device The housing 102 encloses and protects these internal components from environmental contaminants moisture vibration impact and the like The processing system 134 may include any number of processors controllers or other processing systems and resi dent or external memory for storing data and other informa tion accessed and or generated by the watch device 100 The processing system implements one or more software pro grams which control the display ofinformation on the display 108 and input of information via the touch sensitive user interface 112 and mechanical buttons 128 amp 130 In exemplary embodiments the location determining com ponent 136 comprises a global positioning system GPS receiver The location determining component may alterna tively be a receiver suitable for use with another Global Navi gation Satellite system GNSS or any other device which can determine locations of the watch device 100 Where a GPS receiver is employed as the location determining component the GPS receiver may be operable to receive navigational signals from GPS satellites to calculate a position of the watch device 100 as a function of the signals In exemplary embodi ments the location determining component may also be oper able to calculate a route to a desired location provide instruc tions to navigate to the desired location display maps and other information on the display 110 and to execute
4. 8 6 868 046 B2 3 2005 Farine etal eee 368 28 6 914 564 B2 7 2005 Barras etal 343 700 MS 6 990 047 B1 1 2006 Barbagiovanni etal 368 10 7 046 230 B2 5 2006 Zadesky etal 345 156 7 081 905 B1 7 2006 Raghunath 00 345 684 7 428 191 BL 9 2008 Klein w eee eeeeee 368 82 2005 0001821 AL 1 2005 Low ou eee eeeeeeeceeeteee 345 169 2006 0139320 AL 6 2006 Lang ou ee eeeeeeeeeeeee 345 156 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS KR 10 2001 0050157 3 2005 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Garmin s Forerunner 205 305 Owner s Manual published Jan 2006 Van Buskirk Eliot Perspective The secret of iPod s scroll wheel CNET News com 3 pages published Sep 22 2004 Continued Primary Examiner Edwin A Leon 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Samuel M Korte 57 ABSTRACT A watch device includes a touch sensitive user interface employing a sensor positioned within the bezel of the display for detecting when the bezel is touched by a user of the watch device The sensor may be capable of detecting single presses multiple simultaneous presses and scrolling motion presses about the bezel 27 Claims 6 Drawing Sheets US 7 778 118 B2 Page 2 OTHER PUBLICATIONS USS Appl No 11 234 370 X International Search Report from corresponding International Appli Tissot T Touch multifonctions User s manual 14 pages published cation No PCT US20008 065942 dated Nov 28 2008 prior to
5. Mar 26 2008 U S Appl No 11 218 845 cited by examiner US 7 778 118 B2 Sheet 1 of 6 Aug 17 2010 U S Patent U S Patent Aug 17 2010 Sheet 2 of 6 US 7 778 118 B2 U S Patent Aug 17 2010 Sheet 3 of 6 US 7 778 118 B2 100 we U S Patent Aug 17 2010 Sheet 4 of 6 US 7 778 118 B2 U S Patent Aug 17 2010 Sheet 5 of 6 US 7 778 118 B2 U S Patent Aug 17 2010 Sheet 6 of 6 US 7 778 118 B2 2452 RLTERNATE lagae PT 100 2455 NOVETIBER 18 112 128 148 GPS ENABLED cbs GPS DISTANCE PACE DISABLED J RQURIG US 7 778 118 B2 1 WATCH DEVICE HAVING TOUCH BEZEL USER INTERFACE CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims the benefit under 35 U S C 119 e of U S Provisional Patent Application Ser Nos 60 968 517 filed Aug 28 2007 and 61 018 647 filed Jan 2 2008 which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety BACKGROUND The present invention is directed to a watch device and more particularly to a watch device having a touch based bezel user interface for providing input of information to the watch device Typically the user interfaces employed by digital watch devices consist of a segmented display disposed in the front face of the watch housing and several mechanical buttons arranged in the sides of the housing adjacent to the display This arrangement severely limits the functionality and or ease
6. ced with other devices and components without depart ing from the scope of the present invention It is believed that the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages The form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes What is claimed is 1 A watch device comprising a housing a wristband coupled to the housing for holding the housing to the wrist of a user of the watch device a display disposed in the housing for displaying informa tion to the user a backlight operable to illuminate at least a portion of the display and a bezel substantially surrounding the display the bezel including a ring shaped capacitive flex sensor for sens ing when the bezel is touched the sensor substantially surrounding the display wherein the backlight is operable to be activated in response to simultaneous touches of any two points on the bezel 2 The watch device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the capacitive sensor comprises a flex circuit and a plurality of sensor pads 3 The watch device as claimed in claim 1 further com prisin
7. ckwise direction The user may then lift his or her finger from the surface of the bezel 114 to complete the scrolling motion press or alternatively slide his or her finger further along the circumference of the bezel 114 in the original direc tion or in the opposite direction e g clockwise or counter clockwise to continue the scrolling motion press In embodiments of the invention the sensor 116 may com prise a capacitive sensor capable of detecting single presses including tap and or press and hold presses by the user s fingertip finger thumb or the like and multiple simulta neous presses as well as scrolling motion presses For example in specific embodiments the sensor 116 comprises acapacitive flex sensor 118 which detects changes in capaci tance when a user touches the surface of the bezel 114 In this embodiment the capacitive sensor 118 includes a flex circuit 120 having sensor pads 122 and an integrated circuit 124 When auser touches the bezel 114 with his or her fingertip or other conductive object the electric field around one or more of the sensor pads 122 is changed The integrated circuit 124 detects changes in capacitance on the pads 122 and outputs the position of the finger on the bezel 114 as detected by the sensor 118 The duration of each press may be determined or monitored from the output of the integrated circuit 124 In such embodiments the capacitive sensor 118 may have a resolution of a number of f
8. d it is not limited to using the exemplary modes discussed above FIG 8 illustrates use of the user interface 112 of the present invention to scroll through menus displayed by the display 110 of the watch device 100 for example to access various operating modes set preferences or the like In embodiments of the invention the watch device 100 may comprise a GPS enabled sports watch which may provide information such as time of day date time zone alarms countdown and count up timers calendar GPS control functions lap information position information battery life display virtual partner information heart rate pulse rate and the like In the embodiment illustrated the user interface 112 employs a bezel 114 having four discrete positions marked menu 146 training 148 GPS 150 and time date 152 These discrete regions are activated by a user pressing that portion of the bezel 114 corresponding to the region i e by touching the bezel 114 e g via a press and hold press where marked e g menu 146 training 148 GPS 150 time date 152 etc causing the watch device 100 to access a desired mode e g a time mode or watch mode a timer mode a menu mode and a GPS mode respectively The user may then utilize single presses e g tap or press and hold presses multiple presses and scrolling motion presses to scroll through menus within each mode as desired Thus for example the use
9. e circumference of the bezel For example the sensor 116 may be configured to accept an input consist ing of simultaneous touches at two different locations on the bezel 114 e g by the user s forefinger and thumb In exem plary embodiments a multiple touch press may utilized to activate a feature which would not otherwise be activated by a single touch Exemplary features that may be activated by a multiple touch include turning on a backlight for the display 110 taking the watch device 102 out of a sleep or low power consumption mode or the like The touch sensitive user interface 110 may also be used as a rotary dial for accessing modes scrolling through lists for viewing or entering data and for adjusting settings of the watch device 100 Such tasks have heretofore been extremely cumbersome using mechanical buttons alone in conventional watch devices As shown in FIG 7B the sensor 116 may additionally or alternatively have the capacity to detect scrolling motion presses A user accomplishes a scrolling motion press by first touching the bezel 114 at a discrete location with his or her finger or thumb then without lifting his or her finger sliding his or her finger for a distance along the circumference of the bezel 114 as indicated by arrow 118 while maintaining contact between the finger and the surface of the bezel 114 In exemplary embodiments the user may slide his or her finger in either the clockwise or counter clo
10. ein The display 110 may comprise an LCD Liquid Crystal Diode TFT Thin Film Transistor LCD LEP Light Emitting Polymer or PLED Polymer Light Emitting Diode or the like capable of displaying text and graphical information The display 110 may be backlit via a backlight such that it may be viewed in the dark or other low light environments As illustrated in FIG 1 the display 110 is preferably positioned on a front face of the housing 102 for ease of viewing The watch device 100 may function in various operating modes such as an exercise mode that calculates exercise related information for the wearer based on the locations determined by the location determining component a navi gation mode that calculates navigation routes and other infor mation using locations determined by the location determin ing component a calendar mode operable to store and US 7 778 118 B2 7 indicate scheduled events such as races and exercise sched ules and a watch mode that may provide basic timekeeping functionality such as the time of day the date the year alarms and the like In some embodiments the exercise mode may provide the performance monitoring functionality dis closed in U S Pat Nos 6 837 827 7 085 678 and 7 057 551 each of which are incorporated herein by reference and or that employed by the Garmin Forerunner line of products As should be appreciated the watch device 100 may present any number of operating modes an
11. ensor 116 may be generally C or U shaped so that the bezel 114 and or the sensor 116 do not completely sur round the display 110 comprised two C shaped regions posi tioned on either side of the display 110 comprised of two or more curvilinear segments spaced around the display 110 or the like Additionally it will be appreciated that the capacitive sensor of the watch device illustrated in FIGS 1 through 8 may extend into other areas of the housing 102 such as the display 110 thereby providing for example a touch screen for the watch device 100 Alternatively or additionally the capacitive sensor 118 or alternatively a second capacitive sensor could also be used for proximity sensing In such embodiments the sensor could detect when the user has put the watch device 100 onto or removed the watch device 100 from his or her wrist or arm The watch device 100 could then automatically turn itself on turn itself off or switch modes of operation In exemplary embodiments the display 110 may include a generally transparent lens crystal 126 for covering and pro tecting the internal electronic components e g LCD LED PLED circuit board etc of the display 110 The bezel 114 crystal 126 and housing 102 and the joints or connections there between may be made substantially waterproof or water resistant to prevent the intrusion of liquids and other foreign objects within the housing 102 In embodiments the watch device 100 may further
12. ezel 114 within the area For example in the embodiment illustrated the watch device 100 may employ a bezel 114 having four discrete positions marked menu training GPS time date or the like These discrete regions are activated by a user touching that portion of the bezel 114 corresponding to the region i e by touching the bezel 114 where marked e g menu training GPS time date etc FIG 8 illus trates the access of typical modes employed by an exemplary watch device 100 Such modes may include a time mode or watch mode a timer mode a menu mode and a GPS mode In embodiments of the invention the touch sensitive user interface 110 may be capable of sensing single presses com prising a momentary press or tap and or a longer press or press and hold For example in one embodiment the touch 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 sensitive user interface may be capable of detecting a press or tap consisting of a press of approximately 0 5 seconds or less and a press and hold of approximately 1 second or more in one or more of the discrete regions e g menu training GPS time date and providing a different response depending on whether the detected press was a tap or a press and hold The sensor 116 may further be capable of detecting mul tiple e g two or more simultaneous touches at discrete locations about th
13. first training parameter for the user of the watch device and calculating a second training parameter for a virtual training partner the first and second training parameters being displayed by the display wherein the second training parameter may be adjusted in response to a scrolling motion press on the bezel 15 The watch device as claimed in claim 12 wherein the position determining component comprises a global position ing system GPS receiver and an antenna 16 The watch device as claimed in claim 12 wherein the display is operable for displaying a plurality of display screens and where at least one of the display screens dis played is selectable using the bezel 17 The watch device as claimed in claim 12 wherein the sensor is operable for detecting scrolling motion presses on the bezel 18 The watch device as claimed in claim 17 wherein the sensor is operable for detecting single presses on the bezel 19 The watch device as claimed in claim 17 wherein the sensor has a resolution of at least approximately 128 touch positions 20 The watch device as claimed in claim 12 further com prising a button disposed on the housing adjacent to the bezel the button for being actuated to provide input to the watch device 21 The watch device as claimed in claim 20 wherein the button is operable for providing input to the watch device in cooperation with the sensor 22 A watch device comprising a housing a wristband coup
14. g a processing system for determining a first training parameter for the user of the watch device and calculating a second training parameter for a virtual training partner the first and second training parameters being displayed by the display wherein the second training parameter may be adjusted in response to a scrolling motion press on the bezel 4 The watch device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the display is operable for displaying a plurality of display screens and where at least one of the display screens dis played is selectable using the bezel 5 The watch device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sensor is operable for detecting scrolling motion presses on the bezel 6 The watch device as claimed in claim 5 wherein the sensor is operable for detecting single presses on the bezel 7 The watch device as claimed in claim 5 wherein the sensor has a resolution of at least approximately 128 touch positions 8 The watch device as claimed in claim 1 further com prising a button disposed on the housing adjacent to the bezel the button for being actuated to provide input to the watch device 9 The watch device as claimed in claim 8 wherein the button is operable for providing input to the watch device in cooperation with the sensor 10 The watch device as claimed in claim 1 further com prising a position determining component disposed within the housing for determining a geographic position of the watch device 11 The
15. include one or more mechanical buttons two mechanical buttons 128 amp 130 are illustrated disposed adjacent to the bezel 114 in the housing 102 In exemplary embodiments the mechanical buttons 128 amp 130 may be used to control commonly used function of the watch device 100 For example in one specific embodiment wherein the watch device comprises a sports watch the buttons 128 amp 130 may be used to control func tions that are most commonly used while running e g start stop for a timer or stopwatch enter lap reset quit etc In embodiments the combination of mechanical buttons 128 amp 130 and the touch sensitive user interface 112 enhances the functionality flexibility and reliability of the watch device 100 For example in one specific embodiment the touch sensitive user interface 112 may be used to scroll menus for display by the display while the buttons 128 amp 130 may be used to select items within the menus As shown in FIGS 3 and 4 the watch device 100 may include one or more printed circuit boards 132 which may support a processing system 134 a location determining com ponent 136 memory an accelerometer wireless transmission components e g cellular BLUETOOTH ANT IEEE 802 11 WiFi etc and the like The housing 102 may also enclose an antenna assembly 134 for the location determining component A battery 138 provides electrical power to oper 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
16. inven tion DETAILED DESCRIPTION The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures The use of the same reference num bers in different instances in the description and the figures may indicate similar or identical items Digital watch devices typically employ user interfaces comprised of a display disposed in the front face of the watch housing Several mechanical buttons are arranged in the sides of the housing adjacent to the display These buttons are used to input information into the watch device and to control the display of information by the watch device via the display For smart watches such as personal training devices and per sonal navigational watches which may be connected and can retrieve and display data quickly and efficiently the present arrangement is especially limiting Such watches may have a display capable of displaying several different screens or menus for providing information and or facilitating data entry Consequently such watches may require housings which include large number of buttons However it is highly desirable that such sport watches be small sleek and stylish This physically limits number of buttons that can be placed on the device and other mechanical input devices are large and unreliable US 7 778 118 B2 3 Accordingly the present invention is directed to a watch device having a user interface employing a sensor positioned within the bezel of the displa
17. istband is coupled to the housing for holding the housing to the wrist of a user of the watch device A display is disposed in the housing for displaying information to the user and a bezel is disposed in the housing so that the bezel at least partially surrounds the display The bezel includes a sensor for sensing when the bezel is touched so that the user of the watch device may provide an input to the watch device by touching the bezel This Summary is provided solely as an introduction to subject matter that is fully described in the Detailed Descrip tion and Drawings The Summary should not be considered to describe essential features nor be used to determine the scope of the Claims Moreover it is to be understood that both the foregoing Summary and the following Detailed Description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not necessarily restrictive of the invention claimed The accompanying draw 10 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 ings which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the Detailed Description serve to explain the principles of the invention BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures wherein FIG 1 is an isometric view illustrating a watch device constructed in accordance with an exempla
18. ixed discrete positions about its circumference e g in one specific embodiment a capacitive sensor having at least approximately 128 discrete locations is employed When a scrolling motion press is made as shown in FIG 7B the capacitance around successive sensor pads 122 is changed by the user s fingertip as his or her fingertip slides around the circumference of the bezel 114 The capacitive sensor 118 may have no moving parts and can be protected US 7 778 118 B2 5 from impingement by liquids and other foreign object beneath the bezel 114 While a capacitive flex sensor is shown specifically in the drawings and discussed herein it is con templated that other touch based sensor technologies e g resistive etc may be utilized In FIGS 1 through 8 the user interface 112 is illustrated which employs a generally ring shaped bezel 114 and sensor 116 However it is contemplated that the one or both of the bezel 114 and sensor 116 may have other shapes without departing from the scope and intent of the present invention For example in embodiments of the invention the user inter face 112 may comprise a bezel 114 and sensor 116 that are more squared rectangular triangular or which may have another geometric or curvilinear shape Similarly the user interface 112 may employ a bezel 114 and or sensor 116 which do not completely surround the display 110 For example in embodiments of the invention the bezel 114 and or the s
19. led to the housing for holding the housing to the wrist of a user of the watch device a display disposed in the housing for displaying informa tion to the user a backlight operable to illuminate at least a portion of the display and a bezel at least partially surrounding the display the bezel including a capacitive sensor for sensing when the bezel is touched wherein the backlight is operable to be activated in response to simultaneous touches of any two points on the bezel US 7 778 118 B2 11 23 The watch device as claimed in claim 22 wherein the sensor has a resolution of at least approximately 128 touch positions 24 The watch device as claimed in claim 22 further com prising a button disposed on the housing adjacent to the bezel the button for being actuated to provide input to the watch device 25 The watch device as claimed in claim 24 wherein the button is operable for providing input to the watch device in cooperation with the sensor 12 26 The watch device as claimed in claim 22 further com prising a position determining component disposed within the housing for determining a geographic position of the watch device 27 The watch device as claimed in claim 26 wherein the position determining component comprises a global position ing system GPS receiver and an antenna
20. ng worn it may disable the location determining component In some embodiments the watch device 100 may provide various power management functions based on information associated with the calendar mode For example the watch device 100 may provide charging reminders to the wearer to remind the wearer to recharge the battery before a scheduled race exercise routine or other event where the location deter mining component is likely to be used The processing system 134 of the watch device 100 may also selectively disable the location determining component such as by reverting to watch mode when an exercise related event is not scheduled within the calendar mode or automatically enable the loca tion determining component such as by entering the exercise mode at the time at which an event is scheduled to start Such functionality enables the watch device 100 to quickly provide performance monitoring functionality when the wearer begins to exercise Although the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the attached drawing figures it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims Further the watch device 100 and its components illustrated and described herein are merely examples of a device and components that may be used to implement the present invention and may be US 7 778 118 B2 9 repla
21. of use of the user interfaces of such watches since the con ventional design philosophy has been either to increase the number of buttons arranged around the display or alternately use a lesser number of buttons but employ complex display menus for the display of information Watches having hous ings which include large number of buttons can intimidate users while watches which use a large number of display menus can be confusing to use For smart watches such as personal training devices and personal navigational watches which may be connected and can retrieve and display data quickly and efficiently the present arrangement is especially limiting Watch interfaces are further limited because it is usually desirable that they be small sleek and stylish These requirements physically limit the number of buttons that can be placed on the housing SUMMARY The present invention is directed to a watch device having a user interface employing a sensor positioned within the bezel of the display for detecting when the bezel is touched by a user of the watch device In exemplary embodiments the sensor may be capable of detecting both single presses as well as scrolling motion presses about the bezel In this manner an intuitive user interface is provided that that is not possible with discrete mechanical switches or any known watch input technology or combination thereof In one specific implementation the watch device includes a housing A wr
22. other functions described herein The location determining component 136 may include one or more processors controllers or other processing systems and memory or may utilize the components of the processing system In exemplary embodiments the memory of the pro cessing system and or the location determining component may store cartographic data and routing used by or generated by the location determining component The memory may be integral with the location determining component integral with the processing system stand alone memory or a com bination of both The memory may include for example removable and non removable memory elements such as RAM ROM flash and or other conventional memory ele ments The antenna assembly 140 is configured and strategically mounted and positioned to optimize reception of external radio frequency signals e g transmitted from the GPS Sat ellites while minimizing the overall size of the watch device 100 and eliminating protrusions from the housing 102 of the device 100 In the embodiment illustrated the antenna assembly 140 comprises a patch antenna 142 having a circuit board ground plane 144 However it is contemplated that other antenna types and configurations may be used without departing from the scope and intent of the present invention The display 110 is coupled with the processing system 134 and the location determining component 136 for displaying data and information as described her
23. r may use a single press to access the GPS mode and then scroll through menu or screens to turn the GPS receiver on or off and or to provide information about GPS satellite acquisition Similarly the user may use a single press to access the timer mode and then use additional single presses e g taps or alternatively scrolling motion presses to scroll through menus or screens to access stop watch func tions display heart rate information received from a remote heart rate monitor via a wireless connection e g Bluetooth ANT etc such as the user s heart rate in beats per minute BPM or a page containing a graphical display of the history of the user s heart rate over a time period The menu and time modes may be accessed in a like manner In embodiments the watch device 100 may be capable of receiving and displaying information e g training param eters location etc about other persons e g other runners in a race training partners etc via a wireless link with watch devices 100 worn by those persons a wireless server device or the like In such embodiment the user interface 112 of the present invention may be used to control the presentation of this information via the display 110 The watch device 100 may be capable of displaying infor mation about a virtual person such as a virtual training partner i e fictitious person whose information is generated by the watch device 110 or received from an outside source e
24. ry embodiment of the present invention FIG 2 is a top plan view of the watch device shown in FIG 1 further illustrating the display and touch sensitive user interface or input device FIG 3 is an isometric view of the watch device shown in FIG 1 having sections cut away for further illustrating inter nal components of the watch device FIG 4 is a diagrammatic cross sectional side elevational view taken through the housing of the watch device shown in FIG 1 further illustrating the internal components of the watch device FIGS 5 and 6 are an isometric view and a top plan view respectfully of the housing of the watch device shown in FIG 1 wherein portions of the bezel and housing of the watch device are shown as being cut away to facilitate illustration of the sensor of the touch sensitive user interface FIGS 7A and 7B are top plan views of the watch device shown in FIG 1 further illustrating a user utilizing the bezel for input of information and FIG 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating use of the user interface or input device of the present invention to scroll through menus displayed by the display of the watch device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein The drawings are not necessarily to scale emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the
25. se a segmented display and may employ a liquid crystal display LCD light emitting diode LED display polymer light emitting diode display PLED or any like display employing thin screen display technology In the embodiment illustrated the display 108 is sur rounded by a touch sensitive user interface 112 The user interface 112 includes a generally ring shaped bezel 114 which aesthetically unites the display 110 to the top surface 108 of the housing 102 The bezel 114 may be formed of metal or plastic and in specific implementation may be joined to the housing in a water resistant or water proof manner to prevent the intrusion of fluids into the housing As shown in FIGS 3 through 6 a ring shaped touch sensitive sensor 116 is disposed beneath the bezel 110 In embodiments the sensor 116 may have the capacity to detect both single presses as well as scrolling motion presses In this manner the touch sensitive user interface 112 may be used for entering information as one or more single buttons or as a rotary dial As shown in FIG 7A the sensor 116 may be capable of sensing single touches by a user s fingertip at a plurality of discrete locations about the circumference of the bezel 114 For example as shown in FIG 7A the touch sensitive user interface 110 may also function to provide single discrete areas which act as buttons and which are depressed or actuated by the user by touching a portion of the b
26. watch device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the position determining component comprises a global position ing system GPS receiver and an antenna 12 A watch device comprising a housing having an upper surface and a bottom surface 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 a wristband coupled to the housing for holding the housing to the arm ofa user ofthe watch device so that the bottom surface generally rests against the arm a processing system disposed in the housing for processing information a display disposed in the upper surface of the housing for displaying information to the user a backlight operable to illuminate at least a portion of the display and a bezel disposed in the housing so that the bezel substan tially surrounds the display the bezel including a ring shaped capacitive flex sensor for sensing when the bezel is touched and providing an input to the processing system the sensor substantially sur rounding the display and including a flex circuit and a plurality of sensor pads wherein the backlight is operable to be activated in response to simultaneous touches of any two points on the bezel 13 The watch device as claimed in claim 12 further com prising a position determining component disposed within the housing for determining a geographic position of the watch device 14 The watch device as claimed in claim 12 further com prising the processing system for determining a
27. while in the exercise mode the processing system 134 of the watch device 100 may monitor the performance of the wearer to determine if the location determining compo nent should be disabled For example the watch device 100 may time out if the wearer does not move a predetermined distance within a predetermined time period Upon timing out the watch device 100 may revert to the watch mode or other non GPS mode or remain in exercise mode with the location determining component disabled As another example the watch device 100 may prompt the user for an input if it determines that the user is not exercising and then disable the location determining component based on the wearer input or the lack of wearer input In some embodiments the watch device 100 may utilize one or more sensors such as the touch sensitive sensor dis cussed above an accelerometer an infrared sensor a heat sensor or the like to determine if the wearer is currently wearing the watch device 100 For example the touch sensi tive sensor may sense various electrical properties of the human body to determine if the watch device 100 is currently being worn the accelerometer may detect movement of the watch device 100 to determine its wear status and the infrared sensor and heat sensor may detect heat associated with the human body as compared to background radiation to deter mine if the watch is being worn If the watch device 100 determines it is not currently bei
28. y for detecting when the bezel is touched by a user of the watch device The bezel and sensor completely or at least substantially surround the display In exemplary embodiments the sensor comprises a flex or capacitive sensor The flex sensor is located beneath a plastic or metal bezel making it a robust reliable and stylish replace ment for the mechanical buttons common in prior watch devices In exemplary embodiments the sensor may be capable of detecting both single presses as well as scrolling motions about the bezel In this manner an intuitive user interface is provided that that is not possible with discrete mechanical switches or any other known watch input tech nology or combination thereof Referring generally to FIGS 1 through 8 a watch device 100 constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodi ment of the present invention is described The watch device 100 includes a housing 102 shaped to be worn on the arm of auser and typically on the back of the wrist of the user which is coupled to the wrist via a wristband 104 The housing 102 generally includes a bottom surface 106 FIG 4 which may be shaped to fit against the user s wrist and a top surface 108 generally facing away from the bottom surface 104 and wrist A display 110 is disposed in the top surface 108 so that it may be viewed by a user of the watch device 100 while the watch device 100 is worn on the wrist of the user In embodiments the display 110 may compri
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