Electromechanical wristwatch with reading by touch

Abstract: An electromechanical wristwatch is described with the particular characteristic of being readable both by sight or by touch in that the hours and minutes are indicated in two square areas. In each of these areas are four cursors which, by means of electrical impulses, which come out of or go back into the case. Said reading by touch can thus be interpreted by means of a series of combinations of the said cursors, which permit the time to be determined with an interval of five minutes.

Description: The invention refers to a wristwatch with two square areas each area having four cursors which come out of and go back into the case by means of suitable electric impulses, forming different and codified combinations which can be interpreted either by sight or by touch. The object of the latter use is to allow the time to be told in any situation in which it is not possible to look away from what one is doing or also in other special cases. It is known that in the sector of watchmaking other methods of reading have been devised for persons who are not able to carry out direct reading of a watch face, or for special uses such as in the armed forces for night duty, or for the blind. One of these is that carried out by means of modulated sounds emitted by a microprocessor, another is by means of acoustic signals reproducing a synthesised voice electronically and another again by reading by touch by putting the hands of the watch itself in relief on a particularly sophisticated face. A wristwatch readable by touch is known by DE-A-3106656 disclosing a watch based on the concept of aggregates. In other words, it works similarly to an abacus having push buttons instead of small balls. Said small balls of the abacus, as it is known, once that a row is completed, move one of the small balls to the upper row. More specifically, in DE-A-3106656 the first row sets a five hour range, the second one, the third one and the fourth one set a one hour, a five minute and a one minute range, respectively. This means that everytime it is desired to know the time, one has to carry out a complex and time consuming sum. These and other methods have certainly made telling the time easier but they have also been shown to be techniques subject to frequent variation as they are governed by micro-components which are not easily available on the market and are still not reliable in the long term. The general object of the present invention is to provide a wristwatch being readable both by sight or by touch in a simple and reliable way. These problems are solved by a wristwatch having the features recited in the characterizing part of Claim 1. Other advantageous features are indicated in the dependent claims. The present invention concerns a simple solution which is at the same time reliable in that it utilises a microprocessor which, by means of electrical impulses, attracts or releases the cylinders in the two distinct areas of the watch forming the combinations of reading by touch both of the hours and the minutes with an interval of five minutes. Those and other particular characteristics of the invention will be shown better in the following detailed description, given purely as an example without limiting the scope of the invention and with reference to the appended sheets of illustrative drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the watch, showing the two square areas for the reading of the hours and minutes, enclosed within a surrounding protective frame; Figure 2 shows a schematic plane view of one of the two square areas showing the controlling plates enclosed within the watch case; Figure 3 shows a schematic section of the watch, showing the internal plates and relative electromagnets, suitable for attracting and releasing the cursors, according to a codified sequence; Figure 4 shows a schematic view of the watch indicating the time 35 minutes past 1 as a practical example of telling the time; and Figure 5 shows an illustrative scheme emphasising the various combinations which are intelligible by touch. With reference to Figure 1 of the appended drawings, the watch 1 in question comprises two square areas 2 and 3 enclosed in a protective surrounding frame 4, in which there are four holes 5 for each of said square areas. In said holes respective cursors or cylinders 6 are positioned which come out and go back in for the codification by touch and by sight of the hours and minutes. The hours are marked in different combinations in the upper square area 2 and the minutes, with an interval of 5 minutes, in the lower square area 3. With reference to Figures 2 and 3, the working of cylinders 6 is obtained by means of small electromagnets 7 which attract internal blades 8. Each internal blade 8 is attached to the bottom of the respective cylinder 6 at one of its ends and to the housing comprising the surronding frame 4 at the other of its ends. Said electromagnets 7 are activated by means of codified impulses by a microprocessor taking into consideration that the blades and therefore the cylinders are raised when in the resting state. With reference to Figure 5, to clarify still better the codification of the reading, the 12 codes relating to the hours marked in the upper square area 2 are as follows: position A, one o'clock; pos. B, two o'clock; pos. C, three o'clock; pos. D, four o'clock; pos. E, five o'clock; pos. F, six o'clock; pos. G, seven o'clock; pos. H, eight o'clock; pos. I, nine o'clock; pos. L, ten o'clock; pos. M, eleven o'clock; pos. N, twelve o'clock. In the various codes one must note that the same are obtained by activating cyclically one, two, three or four cylinders, and finally the absence of the same, this last position marking 12 o'clock. Exactly the same codes, in the lower square area 3, indicate the fractions of the hour with an interval of 5 minutes with the said sequential progression as described above for the hours. Therefore, with reference again to the list in figure 5, in the lower square area 3 the position A indicates 5 minutes; position B 10 minutes; pos. C 15 minutes; pos. D 20 minutes; pos. E 25 minutes; pos. F 30 minutes; pos. G 35 minutes; pos. H 40 minutes; pos. I 45 minutes; pos. L 50 minutes; pos. M 55 minutes; pos. N 60 minutes or zero. In practice, with reference to the practical example of reading of Fig. 4, to indicate one o'clock one will have a single cylinder 6 identified either by touch or by sight in the upper square area 2, while in the lower one 3 the two cylinders 6 at the bottom indicate 35 minutes. Naturally the protrusion of the cursors, also allows reading of the hours visually, when it is not necessary not to look away from what one is doing. From this detailed description one can see that this invention is a correct and practical solution to allow telling the time without requiring the use of sight for anyone who needs to make use of this wristwatch and therefore the use of this watch is extremely useful also for the blind. Although the preferred form of embodiment illustrated and described is a wristwatch, it is clear that the constructive principles of this watch could also be applied to a different type of watch or clock, for example a pocket watch, desk clock and/or even a wall clock.

Claims: Electromagnetic wristwatch with reading by touch comprising a protective frame (4) surronding two distinct reading areas (2, 3), wherein in both said reading areas (2, 3) are four holes (5) in which respective cylinders (6), whose protrusion or re-entering in various combinations allows the time to be told by touch or by sight move, the bottom surface of said cylinders being attached to internal blades (8) which are adapted to be actuated by electromagnets (7) in order to raise and lower said cylinders, in operation the hours being marked in the first area and the minutes, with an interval of five minutes, in the second area. Wristwatch according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion and re-entering of said cylinders (6) is controlled by said blades (8) which are lowered or released according to the the impulses of a microprocessor activating the relative electromagnets (7). Wristwatch according to claim 1, wherein the first four hours and the first four 5 minute fractions of the hour are each marked by a single cylinder (6) coming out in a sequential way from the holes (5) of the respective area (2,3), to indicate one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock and four o'clock and 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and 20 minutes. Wristwatch according to claim 1, wherein 5, 6, 7 and 8 o'clock are marked by the activation in the hour area (2) of couples of two adjacent cylinders (6), in a sequential way, and 25, 30, 35 and 40 minutes are marked analagously in the area (3) of the fractions of the hour. Wristwatch according to claim 1, wherein 9 o'clock and 10 o'clock and respectively 45 and 50 minutes are marked by the cylinders (6) coming out in transverse couples along the diagonals of the respective areas (2, 3) Wristwatch according to claim 1, wherein 11 o'clock and 55 minutes respectively are marked with the protrusion of all four cylinders (6) of the relative area (2, 3), while their disappearance from the plane of the case, that is the absence of protruding cylinders (6), indicates respectively 12 o'clock and 0 minutes in the relatives areas (2, 3).

Inventors: MICHELOTTI EUGENIO, MININNI GIANNI, MICHELOTTI, EUGENIO, MININNI, GIANNI
Applicants: MICHELOTTI EUGENIO, MININNI GIANNI, MICHELOTTI, EUGENIO
Application year: 1992
Main classification: G04B25
IPC codes: G04B25, G04G9, G04G1