HK40028065A - Method for broadcasting an acoustic signal - Google Patents

Description

Method for broadcasting acoustic signals

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for broadcasting acoustic signals to a wearer of a watch.

The invention also relates to a watch implementing the method and to a computer program.

Background

In the prior art, the reception of a notification message is generally indicated in a watch by an alarm comprising the emission of an acoustic signal broadcast through an acoustic interface consisting of a loudspeaker. However, such a sound interface consumes a lot of energy in its functional range, which is problematic for such a watch whose energy capacity is limited.

It will be appreciated that there is then a need to find alternative solutions, in particular solutions which do not have the drawbacks of the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to propose a method for broadcasting acoustic signals that consume little energy, proposing a significant diversity of different sounds that can be emitted by a watch.

Another object of the invention is to propose a sound interface having a small size or compactness compared to the sound interfaces of the prior art.

To this end, the invention relates to a method for broadcasting acoustic signals to a wearer of a watch, comprising a step of identifying an event relating to a function of the watch and a step of sending a configuration signal relating to said identified event to a sound interface of the watch, the sound interface comprising a plurality of piezoelectric elements mounted on at least one deformable support element, said plurality of piezoelectric elements and said at least one deformable support element being able to generate sound together.

In other embodiments:

the sending step comprises a sub-step of selecting design criteria for the configuration signals relating to said identified event;

the design criteria comprise operating data of the acoustic interface, which data comprise at least one vibration frequency and at least one vibration amplitude, each defined for each piezoelectric element constituting said interface;

the information data comprises a broadcast duration of the acoustic signal;

the information data comprise at least one operating instant/period of each piezoelectric element with respect to the duration of the broadcast, namely:

a single operating moment during the duration of the full or partial broadcast of the acoustic signal, or

A series of operating moments during the duration of the broadcast of the acoustic signal.

For each operating moment, the information data comprise:

vibration frequency and vibration amplitude;

vibration frequency and a series of vibration amplitudes;

a series of vibration frequencies and a series of vibration amplitudes, or

A series of vibration frequencies and vibration amplitudes;

the configuration signal comprises individual instructions for controlling each piezo-element of the acoustic interface during the duration of the broadcast of the message;

configuring the signal to participate in the individual control of each piezoelectric element of the acoustic interface, contributing to the generation of:

a sound that can be broadcast to the wearer, or

Sound and touch messages that can be broadcast to the wearer.

The invention also relates to a watch, in particular a linked watch, implementing the method, comprising a processing unit and a sound interface provided with a plurality of piezoelectric elements, said processing unit being linked to said sound interface.

Advantageously, the acoustic interface is defined in the watch case and/or in the wrist strap of the watch.

The invention also relates to a computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of the method when said computer program is executed by a processing unit of a watch.

Drawings

Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following description, given by way of illustration and not of limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows a logic diagram relating to a method for broadcasting acoustic signals to a wearer of a watch, according to an embodiment of the invention, and

fig. 2 shows a watch implementing the method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a method for broadcasting acoustic signals to a wearer of a watch 1. The method is intended to suggest/inform the wearer of the watch 1 of the identification of events relating to one or more functions of the watch 1, and this by means of broadcasting acoustic signals specific to the identified events. This method makes it possible to individually control the piezoelectric elements 4 arranged in the watch 1 in order to participate in the generation of the acoustic signal. For example, when the acoustic signal "jumps" per second under the action of an adjustment mechanism such as balance, it is able to reproduce the "click" noise of the movement due to the direct drive of the mechanical movement. In this particularly advantageous example of a watch 1 provided with an electronic movement, the event identified may be the activation of a watch operating mode selected, for example, by this operating mode in a context menu of watch 1. It should be noted that the acoustic signal may be associated with a touch message related to a detected event broadcast through an interface of the tactile reproduction interface of the watch 1 comprised in the acoustic interface of the watch 1. For example, after identification of an event, in addition to the sound/noise broadcast by the watch, a touch message specific to the identified event may be broadcast to the wearer at the same or substantially the same time. Such messages may correspond, without limitation and without exhaustive, to:

the generation of an outline of a graphical representation (such as a pattern/symbol, letter or number) in a manner that is to say tactile, such as can be achieved by moving a person's fingertip over the wearer's skin;

-application of a graphical representation to the skin of the wearer, for example in the shape of letters or symbols/patterns;

the generation of wave and/or vibration phenomena, the purpose of which is for example to generate a soft, pleasant or perceptual or otherwise unpleasant tactile perception for the wearer.

In this context, the touch message, in particular broadcast with sound/noise by means of the sound interface 3, enables the wearer to tactilely perceive the message in addition to the sound perceived acoustically. In other words, the wearer's receipt of the message is dependent on his tactile perception. In one example, if the identified event relates to a missed call from his girlfriend, the wearer may perceive a feeling of caress on his skin in addition to the sound/noise, or in a variant, he may perceive the generation of a heart-shaped contour on his skin.

This method is implemented by a wristwatch 1, in particular a connected wristwatch. Such a watch 1, visible in fig. 2 (non-exhaustive and non-limiting), comprises:

a processing unit 2 comprising hardware and software resources, in particular at least one processor cooperating with memory elements;

an acoustic interface 3 comprising a plurality of piezoelectric elements 4, each element 4 being capable of converting an electrical signal into mechanical oscillations/pulsations;

a haptic reproduction interface, which is comprised in the sound interface 3 and thus also comprises a plurality of piezoelectric elements 4;

a hybrid display dial 5 provided with a first analogue display member and a second digital and/or alphanumeric display member;

-a communication module 6;

a mechanical or electronic movement 7, and

environmental, behavioral and/or physiological sensors 8.

This processing unit 2 of the watch 1 is linked/connected to, among other things, a sound interface 3, a tactile reproduction interface, a piezoelectric element 4, a display dial 5, a communication module 6, a movement 7, and environmental, behavioral and physiological sensors 8.

In this watch 1, the acoustic interface 3 is defined in the case 1 and/or in the wrist band of this watch. The acoustic interface 3 and therefore the haptic reproduction interface comprise a piezoelectric element 4 and at least one deformable support element 9 associated with said piezoelectric element 4. Each piezoelectric element 4 may be made, for example, of a piezoelectric ceramic or flexible piezoelectric polymer material (polyvinylidene fluoride-PVDF), and may have, without limitation, a circular shape and/or be a thin film or membrane. Such a piezoelectric element 4 may have a characteristic dimension of about several square millimeters or so to several square micrometers, but a small thickness of about several millimeters or even several micrometers. The piezoelectric element 4 is able to receive control instructions from the processing unit 2 in order to deform said at least one support element 9 by means of vibrations. The deformable support element 9 (also referred to as acoustic support element 9) is for example a plate. It will be understood that the term "plate" is used herein to define a substantially two-dimensional element having a thickness that is small compared to its length and width. The plate may be curved and have a given curvature.

The deformation of the support element 9 is achieved by vibration according to a vibration frequency range which makes it possible to produce an acoustic effect and thus to generate an acoustic signal, generating an air movement around the support element 9. The vibration frequency range is directly dependent on the material of the support element 9. For example, if the support element 9 is made of PMMA, the corresponding frequency range extends from 20Hz to 20 kHz. A given series of deformations of the support element 9 by high-frequency vibrations can be envisaged so that a series of audible effects forms a music/melody. It should be noted that here, instead of the movement of the piezoelectric element 4 by disturbing the air surrounding the piezoelectric element 4 which directly generates sound, the movement of the support element 9 on which the piezoelectric element 4 is actually resting generates this disturbance and thus an acoustic signal.

In the first exemplary embodiment, the piezoelectric element 4 of the acoustic interface 3 may be arranged on all or part of the surface of the support element 9 forming the back of the case 1. In a second example, the piezoelectric elements 4 may be arranged in a wrist band, in particular on all or part of the surface of a support element 9 comprised on at least one length of the wrist band. In a third example, these piezoelectric elements 4 can be arranged in the back of the watch case and in all or part of the surface of a support element 9 included on at least one length of the wrist strap. In a fourth example, each piezoelectric element 4 of the acoustic interface 3 may be associated with a separate support element 9, in other words the acoustic interface 3 comprises as many piezoelectric elements 4 as it comprises support elements 9. The assembly is thus composed of the piezoelectric element 4, and the support element 9 can be arranged in the watch case and/or wrist strap. In a fifth example, the back of the case may be divided into a plurality of support elements 9, and at least one piezoelectric element 4 may be provided on each support element 9.

It should be noted that in this wristwatch 1, each piezoelectric element 4 is linked/connected to the processing unit 2, respectively. In other words, the processing unit 2 is able to control each piezoelectric element 4 of the acoustic interface 3 individually and/or individually.

It should be noted that the piezoelectric element 4 comprised in the sound interface 3 and the one or more deformable support elements 9 of the haptic rendering interface are arranged in the same way as the piezoelectric element comprised in the sound interface 3. However, these elements 4, 9 of the tactile reproduction interface are defined in all or part of the watch 1, said part being intended to be in contact with the skin of the wearer (for example defined at his wrist). It should be noted that the haptic rendering interface may comprise a deformable support membrane in which the piezoelectric element 4 and the one or more deformable support elements 9 are arranged. In this example, the film may then be partially attached to the watch 1 while being fixed to the surface in contact with the skin of the wearer of the back of the watch case and/or to the surface in contact with the skin of the wearer of the wristband. In a variant, the membrane may be made integral with the contact face of the back of the watch case 1 and/or with the contact face of the wrist strap.

In this wristwatch 1, the communication module 6 is configured to establish a connection with a wireless local area network WLAN or through a cellular network system comprising in particular a SIM (acronym for subscriber identity module) card, and is also able to implement communication technologies such as bluetooth, for example. Under these conditions, watch 1 is able to exchange data with a remote server, computer or computer phone.

Furthermore, the environmental sensor 8 of the watch 1 is particularly suitable for measuring environmental parameters such as, for example, temperature, atmospheric pressure, etc. As regards the behaviour sensors 8, they are able to measure all types of behavioural characteristics of the wearer of the watch 1, such as for example the movements or gestures he makes. To this end, these behavior sensors 8 may comprise one or more inertial sensors of the accelerometer, gyroscope or miniature multi-axis gyroscope type (such as multi-axis sensors manufactured in MEMS technology, which are able to detect angular and linear accelerations along a plurality of axes relating to the accelerometer and/or gyroscope). As regards the physiological sensors 8, they are able to measure parameters related to the wearer's body function, such as, for example, pulse, blood oxygen saturation, skin impedance, blood pressure, breathing rate, respiratory arrhythmia, skin temperature, perspiration rate, blood oxygen saturation or blood flow.

This method comprises a step 10 of identifying events related to the functions of the watch 1. The watch 1 actually comprises a set of functions. These functions are related, non-exhaustive and non-limiting, to: management of phone calls, management of SMS or MMS type short messages, management of instant messages, measurement of atmospheric pressure, measurement of altitude, measurement of temperature, provision of sports performances, navigation/guidance assistance, monitoring of sports, measurement of rapid pulse rate, measurement of the number of steps, diary, configuration of the operating mode of the watch (for example, operating mode that is a reproduction of sound or noise of a mechanical movement, such as a click), alarm, etc.

In this context, it should be noted that the identification of events by the processing unit 2 may be caused, without limitation and not exhaustively, by:

a determination that the measurements from the one or more sensors 8 exceed a threshold value, in particular in case of monitoring the behaviour or physiological or environmental parameters or the like of the wearer by means of the processing unit 2;

reception of missed calls received by the processing unit 2 from the communication module 6;

reception of a short message or an instant message or an email received by the processing unit 2 of the remote server via the communication module;

activation of the operating mode of watch 1 (for example the mode related to the "click" noise);

-alarms, such as: triggering of an alarm for waking up, an alarm for meeting, an alarm for taking a medicine;

-and so on.

The method then comprises a step 11 of sending a configuration signal relating to said identified event to the acoustic interface 3 of the watch 1, the acoustic interface 3 comprising a plurality of piezoelectric elements 4 mounted on at least one support element 9 capable of generating sound together. It should be noted that the acoustic interface, as we have mentioned, is capable of generating touch messages in addition to sound/noise from the assembly formed by the plurality of piezoelectric elements 4 and the at least one support element 9 comprised in the haptic reproduction interface of the acoustic interface 3. This step 11 comprises a substep 12 of selecting design criteria of the configuration signals related to said identified event. In other words, the design criteria are defined based on the identified events. This design criterion is preferably pre-configured by the wearer of the watch, just like other design criteria specific to other identifiable events archived in the memory element of the processing unit 2. Such design criteria include the operating scenario of the piezoelectric element 4 constituting the acoustic interface 3. This design criterion then participates in the design of the configuration signals involved in the generation of the acoustic signals intended to be sent to the wearer of the watch 1. For example, if the identified event is "activation of an operating mode of the watch, such as a click noise", the design criteria of the configuration signal comprise an operating scenario intended to design a configuration signal specifically defining an acoustic signal for generating a "click" noise representative of the mechanical movement. In a variant, the design criteria may participate in the design of the configuration signals that contribute to the acoustic signal generation and to the touch messages intended to be sent to the wearer of the watch 1. For example, if the identified event is "triggering of a wake-up alarm", the design criteria of the configuration signal include an operating scenario aimed at designing a configuration signal specifically defining this touch message for generating an acoustic signal and reproducing a soft wake-up music/melody accompanying the feeling of carelessness perceived by the wearer.

The design criteria of the configuration signal include the operating data of the acoustic interface 3. More precisely, these operating data of the acoustic interface 3 comprise at least one frequency and at least one amplitude defined for each piezoelectric element 4 constituting said interface 3. In particular, these operational data include:

-a duration of the broadcast of the acoustic signal;

at least one operating instant/period of each piezoelectric element 4 with respect to the duration of the broadcast, namely:

a single operating moment during all or part of the period of broadcasting of the acoustic signal, or

A series of operating moments during a broadcast period of the acoustic signal, an

-for each operating instant:

vibration frequency and vibration amplitude, or

-a vibration frequency and a series of amplitudes, or

A series of vibration frequencies and a series of vibration amplitudes, or

-a range of vibration frequencies and vibration amplitudes.

It should be noted that a range of vibration frequencies may include only similar or substantially similar frequencies, or only different or substantially different frequencies, or a combination of similar and different frequencies. Likewise, a range of amplitudes may include only similar or substantially similar amplitudes, or only different or substantially different amplitudes, or a combination of similar and different amplitudes.

This step 11 next comprises a sub-step 13 of generating configuration signals according to said design criteria. During this sub-step 13, the processing unit 2 uses the design criterion to design a configuration signal that makes it possible to individually and/or individually control each piezoelectric element 4 of the acoustic interface 3. Next, the configuration signal is sent by the processing unit 2 to the sound interface 3. Such a signal comprises a separate control instruction for each piezoelectric element 4 during the period of the broadcast of the acoustic signal related or unrelated to the broadcast of the touch message.

Upon receiving the configuration signal, the sound interface 3 sends/broadcasts to the wearer acoustic signals related or not to the broadcast of the touch message. Thus, the acoustic signal may correspond, without limitation and without exhaustive, to:

-brief and/or brief sounds/noises with at least one variable amplitude and/or at least one variable frequency;

-long sounds/noises with at least one variable amplitude and/or at least one variable frequency;

-a series of brief and/or brief sounds and/or long sounds/noises having at least one variable amplitude and/or at least one variable frequency;

-music/melodies, or

-a series of music/melodies.

If the broadcast of the acoustic signal is accompanied by the broadcast of the touch message, this broadcast of sound/noise will be associated with, without limitation and without exhaustive:

the generation of an outline of a graphical representation (such as a pattern/symbol, letter or number) in a manner that is to say tactile, such as can be achieved by the movement of the individual's fingertip on the wearer's skin;

-application of a graphical representation to the skin of the wearer, for example in the shape of letters or symbols/patterns;

generation of wave and/or vibration phenomena, the purpose of which is for example to generate a soft, pleasant or perceptual or otherwise unpleasant tactile perception for the wearer.

The invention also relates to a computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps 10 to 13 of the method when said computer program is executed by the processing unit 2 of the watch 1.

Claims (11)

1. A method of broadcasting acoustic signals to a wearer of a watch, said method comprising a step of identifying an event relating to a function of the watch (1), and a step of sending a configuration signal relating to the identified event to a sound interface (3) of said watch (1), said sound interface (3) comprising a plurality of piezoelectric elements (4) mounted on at least one deformable support element (9), said plurality of piezoelectric elements and said at least one deformable support element (9) being capable of generating sound together.

2. The method according to the preceding claim, wherein the sending step (11) comprises a sub-step (12) of selecting design criteria for the configuration signals relating to the identified event.

3. The method according to the preceding claim, wherein the design criteria comprise operational data of the acoustic interface (3) comprising at least one vibration frequency and at least one vibration amplitude, each defined for each piezoelectric element (4) constituting the interface (3).

4. The method of the preceding claim, wherein the information data comprises a duration of the broadcast of the acoustic signal.

5. Method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said information data comprise at least one operating instant/period of each piezoelectric element (4) with respect to said duration of broadcast, namely:

a single operating moment during all or part of said duration of the broadcast of said acoustic signal, or

A series of operating moments during the duration of the broadcast of the acoustic signal.

6. The method of the preceding claim, wherein, for each operating instant, the information data comprise:

-vibration frequency and vibration amplitude;

-a vibration frequency and a series of vibration amplitudes;

a series of vibration frequencies and a series of vibration amplitudes, or

-a range of vibration frequencies and vibration amplitudes.

7. The method according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein the configuration signal comprises individual instructions for controlling each piezo-element (4) of the sound interface (3) during a period of the broadcast of the message.

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein the configuration signal participates in the individual control of each piezoelectric element (4) of the acoustic interface (3), thereby contributing to the generation of:

the sound that can be broadcast to the wearer, or

The sound and touch messages that can be broadcast to the wearer.

9. A watch (1), in particular a connected watch, implementing the method according to claim 1, comprising a processing unit (2) and a sound interface (3) provided with a plurality of piezoelectric elements (4), said processing unit (2) being connected to said sound interface (3).

10. Watch (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said acoustic interface (3) is defined in the watch case (1) and/or in a wrist band of the watch (1).

11. A computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps (10 to 13) of the method according to claim 1, when said computer program is executed by a processing unit (2) of a watch (1).