Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This utility application claims the benefit of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/539,565 filed Jul. 2, 2012 by Ram Pattikonda which claims the benefit of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/353,528 by Ram Pattikonda filed Jan. 19, 2012 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/434,408 by Ram Pattikonda, filed Jan. 19, 2011 is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates to communication systems. Specifically, and not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to a watch having an interface for a mobile phone. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    The use of mobile phones in our society has become pervasive with their capabilities continuously increasing. With increased capability, the size of the devices is becoming relatively bigger while the fragility of these devices is also increasing. With these increased capabilities, the mobile phones are becoming more like a handheld computer, resulting in awkward use of the device as a phone. Although these devices are used mostly for making and receiving phone calls, they are designed to be more like display devices or handheld computers. 
         [0006]    While the analog wrist watch was invented in the late 19 th  century and has been in use for more than one hundred years, it has not seen much change in terms of technology and integration with the digital world. While there are several digital watches with many features, they are either too complicated to attempt to merge the cell phone into a watch or not enough feature rich functions on these watches. Furthermore, there is no elegant luxury wrist watch that merges the old charm elegance of hand movement with new digital age features such as mobile phone connectivity and digital display. 
         [0007]    U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/539,565 and 13/353,528 both provide unique companion devices built into a wrist watch providing an interface to a mobile phone or other mobile phone device. It would be advantageous to incorporate these companion devices in an improved, elegant and advanced way to provide a mobile phone interface in the watch. There is also a need to merge many different technologies such as E-Paper display, transparent OLED display, tilt sensor, accelerometer, embedded battery, etc. to provide ease of time, mobile interface and many more functionalities in an integrated worn device such as a watch. It is an object of the present invention to provide such a system and method. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a watch worn by a user. The watch includes an electronic module. The electronic module includes an interface for wirelessly interfacing with a mobile communication device carried by the user. The user interfaces with the electronic module to perform operations upon the mobile communication device. The watch also includes a mechanism to wirelessly establishing a voice channel with the mobile communication device for performing mobile communication device operations. Additionally, the watch includes a mechanism for projecting directional sound to the user. 
         [0009]    In one embodiment, the present invention uses a side firing speaker affixed to the watch to project sound to the user. The sound may be projected from a bottom portion of the palm of the user to the user&#39;s ear. The side firing speaker may include a slider mechanism for performing hands-free speaker phone operations. 
         [0010]    In another embodiment, the present invention uses a vibration speaker affixed to the watch for projecting sound to the user through bone conduction when the vibration speaker contacts facial bones of the user. The vibration speaker may include a sliding plate to provide hands-free speaker phone operation. 
         [0011]    In still another embodiment, the electronic display includes an analog movement mechanism for displaying an analog clock and a digital display for interfacing with the mobile communication device. 
         [0012]    In another embodiment, the watch includes a sensor for sensing the movement of the watch on the user&#39;s hand when the user performs gestures. Specified gestures which are detected by the sensor command specified mobile communication device operations. 
         [0013]    In another embodiment, the watch includes a detachable speaker module attached to the watch. The speaker module is positioned upon an ear of the user during use of the mobile communication device. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a companion wrist watch in one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a bottom side of the wrist watch of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram of the components of a system in one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a user using a side firing speaker in one embodiment of the present invention: 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a front view of the side firing speaker firing the sound at a steep 90 degree angle; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a side perspective view of the speaker with a flip open door in one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of a slider located on top of a speaker in another embodiment of the present invention: 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a side view of the slider of  FIG. 7  in a closed position; 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the slider of  FIG. 7  in the open position; 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is a front view of the vibration speaker positioned against a user&#39;s jaw; 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is a front view of a watch face in one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 12  is a front view of the watch face illustrating a partial view of an interior of the watch face; 
           [0026]      FIG. 13  is a top view of the watch face in one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 14  is a top view of a wrist watch having a battery in the strap of the watch; 
           [0028]      FIG. 15  is a side view of the watch; 
           [0029]      FIG. 16  is a side view illustrating the orientation of a user&#39;s hand for answering an incoming phone call; 
           [0030]      FIG. 17  is a top view illustrating a user&#39;s hand twisting his hand to read the watch; 
           [0031]      FIG. 18  is a side view of the watch with the orientation of the user&#39;s hand shown in  FIG. 1   
           [0032]      FIG. 19  is a front view of the watch face illustrating a first menu display in one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0033]      FIG. 20  is a front view of the watch face illustrating a second menu display in another embodiment of the present invention: 
           [0034]      FIG. 21  is a top perspective view of a watch having the separated display module and the audio/Bluetooth module; 
           [0035]      FIG. 22  is a top view of the display module and the strap; 
           [0036]      FIG. 23  is a front view of a portable speaker attached to a watch: and 
           [0037]      FIG. 24  is a top view of the portable speaker module removed from the watch. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0038]    The present invention is a system and method of utilizing projected sound in a companion device for a mobile communication device, such a mobile phone. The present invention is a wrist watch which combines several technologies in a novel implementation to deliver a user friendly and functional mobile companion watch. The present invention provides an apparatus capable of implementing audio phone conversations through a wireless connection, such as Bluetooth, to a mobile phone while providing a time display. The present invention may provide many convenience features, such as an interface to a mobile phone&#39;s application, display live information such as weather and stocks, and provide a gesture-based interface with the phone. 
         [0039]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a companion wrist watch  10  in one embodiment of the present invention. The wrist watch  10  includes a main body  12  having a display  14  and electronics  16 . The electronics may include a processor, such as a microcontroller, wireless device, and other electronics necessary for operating the wrist watch  10 . On one end of the main body  12  is a first strap  20  with a second strap  22  located on an opposing end of the main body. Each strap may include solar cells or other power modules  24  and  26 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a bottom side of the wrist watch  10  of  FIG. 1 . The main body  12  may include a bottom side  30  having an attachment module  32  (see  FIGS. 23 and 24 ) for a detachable speaker or dangle. 
         [0041]    In a normal mode, the wrist electronic displays time and date on the display surface  14 . The time and date may be synchronized with a mobile phone (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). In addition, the time and date may be displayed in different formats and time zones as desired by the user. 
         [0042]    The wrist watch, in conjunction with the mobile phone, may be utilized for a voice phone call. During an incoming call, the mobile phone sends a message containing information about the caller to the watch. This information is displayed on the phone and the display  14 . The user can either accept or reject the call. Once accepted, voice communication is established with the mobile phone. With the mobile phone kept in silent mode, the call information can be shown on the watch with vibration and minimal disturbance to the user. The user may also use the call history or favorite phone numbers list displayed on the phone to make outgoing calls. The user may also search for contacts, although cumbersome in a small screen (i.e., display  14 ), to select a number and dial out. The user may also display number pad and dial out numbers on the display  14 . In addition to touch screen input, a camera based input device/mouse could also be used to ease the use of selection on the display. 
         [0043]    Additionally, the watch  10  may be utilized as a power source. It is quite common for companion devices, such as Bluetooth headsets, to require a charge often. If this additional charging task is not carried out, the companion device is not usable. The watch  10  may utilized the power modules  24  and  26  or kinetic movement to charge the battery in a power module. The use of low power display and ultra low power microcontrollers combined with light and motion charging will enable perpetual usage of the device without charging. 
         [0044]    The wrist watch  10  may include a power management system so that the basic low power consumption modules, such as microcontroller processing. Real Time Clock and low power display are powered for long durations using the solar charge from the solar cells or any other source. The high power consumption modules, such as Bluetooth wireless, are powered for shorter periods when an additional charge is required. When the battery power is below a certain level, the high power modules can be switched off. Additional external charging would extend the period of high power consumption modules. 
         [0045]    The watch  10  may also provide for alerts and a summary message display. The user may see summary email or SMS messages on the electronic display  14 . Scheduled alerts such as meetings may also be displayed on the electronic display. 
         [0046]    In addition, the watch  10  may be utilized as a wallet replacement. A magnetic or a Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) wireless security authentication may be implemented as a dangle in the watch. This dangle may have real-time authentication of security through the mobile phone. The dangle may also have the electronic currency or electronic credit card validation built into it. The dynamic RFID with real-time link may act as a credit card, electronic currency or security authentication. With a security dongle and ability to display ID, most of the functions of the wallet may be implemented in the watch  10 . 
         [0047]    The watch may also be used in a client server architecture. The watch  10  may be used as a client to the attached mobile phone with the mobile phone acting as a server. A server application may run on the mobile phone and a client application may run on the watch. Using this embodiment, power intensive high performance applications may be implemented without adding volume or processing power in the client. The watch may act like a display device for high performance applications running in the mobile phone. The client program in the watch may collect data which is fed into the master server device (e.g., mobile phone). The master application in the mobile phone would process the data and give results to the watch. 
         [0048]    In one embodiment, the watch may be utilized in sports and fitness activities. While playing sports or rigorous fitness, it is often hard to carry a mobile device, which can be bulky and prone to breakage. In this embodiment, the user may leave the mobile device in the vicinity of the user, although not held by the user, and still be connected to many of the functions of the mobile phone, such as make-receive calls and check messages. The watch may have sensors to collect data such as pulse rate and pedometer. The watch may use the client server architecture to store the sensor collected fitness data as hours worked, pulse rate of the user and distance walked type functions in the attached mobile device. 
         [0049]      FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram of the components of a system  100  in one embodiment of the present invention. The system  100  includes a microcontroller module  102  (processor) having an Real Time Clock (RTC) Clock  104 , a power module  106 , a power charge module  108 , a wireless/Bluetooth module  110 , a display module  112 , a touch screen module  114 , a camera module  116 , a wired voice module  118  and a wireless voice module  120 . 
         [0050]    At the most basic level, the system  100  includes the display  14  for time and other information output, a touch screen or camera for data input, a microphone and speaker for voice input and output, the wireless/Bluetooth module  110  for communicating with a mobile phone  122 , companion mobile device, battery with power management, solar or kinetic power module and microcontroller module for driving and coordinating all the functions. 
         [0051]      FIG. 3  illustrates many of the sub-systems which may be utilized with the watch  10 . It should be understood that the list of components is not limited to the components illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Furthermore, not all of the components are necessary for the system  10  to function and remain in the scope of the present invention. The microcontroller module  102  drives and integrates all the sub-system modules. It maintains its own time using the RTC clock  104 , which is synchronized with the paired mobile phone  122  periodically. The RTC may have its own long term battery to power it for long periods to maintain the internal time without the link to the companion mobile phone. The clock time and date data is used as a primary display for the display module  112 . Although a mobile phone is depicted, any mobile communication device may be utilized with the watch  10 , such as a tablet. Personal Data Assistant (PDA), etc. 
         [0052]    The wireless/Bluetooth module  110  may be used to establish a connection with the mobile phone, exchange data with the mobile phone and establish voice channel communication with the mobile phone. The voice channel on the watch, either wired or wireless, is used for user conversations. The voice modules  118  and  120  (both wired and wireless) may include an independent voice channel with the mobile phone, speaker and microphone. The speaker and microphone may be either part of the watch with the telescopic dongle or independent wireless dongle. 
         [0053]    The display module  112  may be a general purpose graphical display to display time information, call indications, message information or any other data to be presented to the user. The display module may use an Liquid Crystal Diode (LCD), Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) or any other graphical display technologies with power saving built into the design. The display module may be integrated with the touch screen module  114  for user input. 
         [0054]    The power module  106  may be designed to work off a chargeable battery with prudent power management. The power charge module may use solar power or mechanical kinetic movement of the wrist and continuously charge the battery when power is available. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the complete system  100  may be built using the maximum power saving components such as ultra low power micro controller, power saving OLED type displays and low power speakers to help the power management. The power management may be designed to switch off the high power and medium power modules when the battery level goes below certain levels. At a low battery level, Bluetooth can be put in a low energy mode where only the low power key functions are enabled to support basic watch operation for a long period. 
         [0055]    FIGS. 1-3 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/539,565 and 13/353,528 discussed using directional sound through the user&#39;s palm to provide an audio interface with a mobile phone or other mobile communication device. In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a form of directional sound with a sealed side firing speaker to project the sound to a user&#39;s palm for better sound with compact implementation. The directivity of the sound is combined with a palm-ear-wrist seal area to project the sound in sealed cavity of the user&#39;s cusped hand. 
         [0056]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a user  200  using a side firing speaker  202  in one embodiment of the present invention. The side firing speaker  200  fires the sound  204  at the bottom  206  of the user&#39;s palm towards the user&#39;s palm  208  clasped around the user&#39;s ear  210 . The sound  204  emanating out at the bottom of the palm may have some directivity and be further contained by the user&#39;s hand  212  and cheek  214 . The sound is directed towards the bottom of the palm  208  within the contained area of the clasped palm. The users clasped palm  208  and the user&#39;s ear pinna contain and amplify the sound to the ear. This not only produces very good quality sound, it also minimizes the leak from outside the palm  208 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the side firing speaker  200  fires the sound directly toward the clasped hand of the user.  FIG. 5  is a front view of the side firing speaker  200  firing the sound  204  at a steep 90 degree angle, hitting directly at the bottom of the palm and guided towards the clasped palm area of the user. 
         [0057]    The speaker  200  normally fires the sound straight in front of its surface. In one embodiment, an enclosure sits in front of the speaker and directs the sound to the side of the speaker. As depicted in  FIG. 4 , the palm  208  directs the sound. This side firing enclosure may be designed to either fire the sound sideways towards the palm or fire the sound directly in front for normal speaker mode operation. 
         [0058]      FIG. 6  is a side perspective view of the speaker  200  with a flip open door  220  in one embodiment of the present invention. As depicted in  FIG. 6 , a dome type side firing chamber  222  directs the sound to the side of the speaker and towards the bottom of the user&#39;s palm. The speaker includes the flip open door  220  on the top surface of the chamber  222 . Sound fires directly in front of the speaker while the door is opened. In this configuration, there is minimal sound going towards the palm. This open door mode can be used for a speaker mode hands-free operation. When the door is closed, the speaker fires the sound to the palm, thereby providing a private mode. 
         [0059]    In another embodiment of the present invention, a slider tube  230  may be utilized.  FIG. 7  illustrates a front perspective view of a slider  230  located on top of a speaker  232  in another embodiment of the present invention. The slider may be a tube which is positioned on a guide  236  having slots  238  to accommodate side firing and top firing sound broadcasting.  FIG. 8  is a side view of the slider  230  in a closed position. In a closed position of the slider, the slots  238  are lined up so that the sound  204  goes directly from the speaker to the front of the speaker for hands-free speaker mode.  FIG. 9  is a side view of the slider  230  in the open position. In the extended or open position of the slider, the slots  238  are closed and the sound  204  travels through the slider and fires at the end to the bottom of the user&#39;s palm. When the user is driving in a car, the bottom of the user&#39;s wrist points towards the user&#39;s face. The slots are designed for a hands-free mode which may direct the sound towards the driver. 
         [0060]    A speaker typically transmits sound through vibrations in the air. The present invention as discussed in  FIGS. 1-9  discusses using directional sound to direct all the sound to the ear. However, the devices discussed in  FIGS. 1-9  still leak sound to the external environment. This leakage can be minimized by using vibration speakers that make contact to the user&#39;s jaw bone while the user&#39;s palm is held against the ear. In one embodiment, a vibration speaker  240  is attached to the bottom of a wrist watch towards the bottom of the user&#39;s palm. When the user holds the user&#39;s palm to the user&#39;s ear, the vibration speaker  240  makes contact with the jaw bone of the user.  FIG. 10  is a front view of the vibration speaker  240  positioned against a users jaw  242 . As illustrated in  FIG. 10 , the vibration speaker is held against the jaw  242  of the user. This contact to the jaw bone enables the transmission of the sound vibrations to the ear through the user&#39;s skull bone structure. The vibrations between the wrist and jaw bone also reverberate within the confined area of the palm to produce a louder sound to the ear. 
         [0061]    The vibration speaker  240  illustrated in  FIG. 10  does not generate much sound until it makes contact with the facial bones (e.g., jaw) of the user. To utilize the vibration speaker  240  as a speaker phone (for hands-free mode), a slider plate of glass or any vibrating material may be slid on top of the vibration speaker (not shown). This plate may act as a resonant vibrator and generate regular sound through the air. The vibration speaker may work as both a private hands-on bone conduction speaker and a hands-free loud speaker with a slide of a plate. 
         [0062]    In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a wrist watch having a combination digital and analog display with a partial dial containing a digital display.  FIG. 11  is a front view of an electronic module  244  having a watch face  250  in one embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 11 , the watch face  250  includes an area  252  providing for analog or mechanical movement located in the center of the watch with a surrounding area  254  having a digital printed circuit board (PCB)  256 . The analog movement drives the hands  260  and  262  of the watch. The PCB  256  may include a micro controller and digital circuits for driving a digital display and digital logic of the watch. 
         [0063]      FIG. 12  is a front view of the electronic module  244  with the watch face  250  illustrating a partial view of an interior  270  of the watch face. The watch face includes a digital display  272  located in the center portion of the watch while a mechanical dial  274  is located surrounding the display. In an alternate embodiment, the watch face includes only the digital display  272  with the PCB without the analog mechanical movement. 
         [0064]    An issue with utilizing an analog/digital combination is associated with putting a hole in the middle of the display to allow the analog time hands to connect to the movement mechanism below. This hole is a technical problem in many displays as LCD technology does not support placing holes in the panel. In one embodiment, the analog watch mechanism is positioned in front of the digital display.  FIG. 13  is a top view of the watch face  250  in one embodiment of the present invention. The electronic display includes the digital display  272  with a watch movement mechanism  280  and the hands  260  and  262  overlaying the digital display. A top protective glass  282  or other transparent material may be placed over the entire electronic display. Thus, it is no long necessary to place a hole in the digital display. As illustrated in  FIG. 13 , the watch movement mechanism  280  sits on top of the digital display  272 . The watch movement mechanism runs the hour and minute hands  260  and  262 . The watch top protective glass  282  sits in front of the mechanism. Thus, the user would see the watch hands, mechanism and uncovered area of the display. By using a small watch movement mechanism, only a small portion of the digital display is hidden. The watch movement mechanism may be held in place on the display with a matching slot on the front surface of the display. The watch movement mechanism may also be held with other transparent mechanical supports connected to the watch face  250 . 
         [0065]    To conserve space and utilize the maximum battery life for the digital functions, the present invention may incorporate batteries in one or both, watch strap.  FIG. 14  is a top view of a wrist watch  290  having a battery  292  incorporated in straps  294 .  FIG. 15  is a side view of the watch  290 . In one embodiment of the present invention, a watch case  296  is extended with wings  298  on either side. These wings  298 , which may have an appearance of a metal watch strap, have a sealed water proof cavity to secure the battery  292 . In another embodiment of the present invention, a metal strap having connected large links may be utilized. Each link may include an embedded small chargeable battery. These connected batteries in the links may provide enough capacity to drive the watch without consuming additional space outside the strap. In still another embodiment, the battery is embedded in a leather strap that carries a thin ribbon cable through the interior of the strap to transmit the battery power to the watch. Furthermore, a vibrator motor  300  may be integrated into the bottom of the case  296 . The bottom of the watch case, which always makes full contact with the top of the user&#39;s wrist, provides an ideal surface to indicate through vibration that a call is incoming. The batteries in the straps of the watch and the vibrator motor in the bottom of the watch case may be incorporated into any wrist watch and still remain in the scope of the present invention. 
         [0066]    The present invention may also utilize tilt sensors, gyros, or accelerometers  302  (see  FIG. 15 ) to detect the orientation of the hand. Gestures of the user&#39;s hand may be used as an interface for controlling the watch. Thus, specific gestures may correspond to specific operations on the mobile communication device. When a user lifts his hand and moves the palm to the user&#39;s ear to answer the phone call or make a phone call, the orientation of the sensor  302  changes to a vertical axis. This change in orientation may be used to answer an incoming phone call.  FIG. 16  illustrates the orientation of a user&#39;s hand  212  for answering an incoming phone call. When the user moves his hand down, this gesture can be used to mute the call. The user may use various hand gestures to control a call. For example, when a user lifts his hand when there is no incoming call, the sensor  302  in the watch senses this gesture, and interprets the gesture by the microcontroller module  102  to command that “dial out” screens be displayed on the digital display  272 .  FIG. 17  illustrates a user&#39;s hand  212  twisting his hand to read the watch. When the user  200  twists his hand  212  to read the watch, the sensor  302  detects the tilt in the hand axis,  FIG. 18  is a side view of the watch  290  with the orientation shown in  FIG. 17 . This tilt is used to initiate a refresh command on the time in the digital display or illuminate the dial. A slight tilt can refresh time while a larger tilt may illuminate the watch. In another example, when the user makes a gesture of twisting his hand (as he does while unlocking a physical door), this twist is detected and used to unlock the locked screen on the watch. During jogging, a user typically swings his hands. The sensor  302  may be used to detect this jogging and send the detected movement to the microcontroller module to command that a health monitor screen of the watch be enabled when jogging is detected by the sensor. During an incoming call, shaking of the user&#39;s hand can be used to reject the call. When a user moves his hands, such as when gesturing goodbye, this may be utilized to command the ending of a call. Furthermore, when the user moves his wrist horizontally, this gesture may be used to command the movement of a mouse in an attached computer or smart device. 
         [0067]    A single accelerometer may be used to detect tilt in multiple axes to take multiple actions. These tilt-based actions not only gives the user convenience, where the user does not have to use menus, it may also save power by refreshing the time or switching on illumination of the watch only when desired, by the user. Thus, a sensor or accelerator or plurality of such may be utilized to detect movement of the watch, send the detect movements to the microcontroller module  102 , and send an appropriate command to the watch. Furthermore, the sensor may detect drastic movements, such as when a user falls, and transmits an emergency message or dials and calls a specified emergency number (e.g., 911) or other designated number. 
         [0068]    In another embodiment of the present invention, the watch may incorporate E-paper or memory LCD technology for use with the watch face  250  (see  FIGS. 19 and 20 ). E-paper display technologies are designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike conventional backlit flat panel displays which emit light, E-paper displays reflect light like ordinary paper, making it more comfortable to read and giving the surface a wider viewing angle compared to conventional displays. The E-paper consumes power only during refresh. The display could be refreshed once a minute to update time or as desired dependent upon the connected mobile&#39;s signal level or battery charge. This refresh may also be limited to only when the user reads the watch during the tilt of the user&#39;s hand. The rest of the time the display would not consume any power. Memory LCD technology works in a similar fashion as E-Paper and may be used to display information on the watch. 
         [0069]    The watch utilizing E-paper technology may also provide a display similar to a physical clock dial. In normal operation, the E-Paper display may be made to look similar to an analog clock with rotating hands. A dual pattern display can be achieved while the E-paper pattern is changed. The analog looking watch becomes digital only during call or when the digital functions are needed. 
         [0070]    In another embodiment of the present invention, the digital display  272  may be constructed of organic, transparent OLED material, which may appear as a normal analog watch with transparent glass on top. In this embodiment, the digital display is a transparent glass which illuminates with a character display only during calls or when the digital functions are needed. The illumination of the OLED glass also provides night time reading without use of an additional LED. The tilt display automation may also be applied for the OLED display. 
         [0071]      FIG. 19  is a front view of the watch face  250  illustrating a first menu  320  display in one embodiment of the present invention. The display may utilize the OLED material or the E-paper display described above. Other visual types of displays may be utilized in other embodiments. The dial display of the watch may have a touch screen having a plurality of menu functions. The E-paper or Transparent OLED may display current action items for each of the menu functions. As depicted in the menu  320 , the display may show setup, call or silence in one segment, an answer or up scroll, in another segment, and a down or reject in another segment.  FIG. 20  is a front view of the watch face  250  illustrating a second menu  322  display in another embodiment of the present invention. In this second menu, one segment may be a setup selection, while another selection may be an answer command and another segment may be a reject command. During incoming calls, the menu functions may display commands of silence, answer or reject. The user may then push whichever command is desired. Likewise, during an outgoing call, the menu functions of call, and up/down commands (for scrolling numbers) may be displayed. 
         [0072]    The present invention may split a watch into two separate components, a display module  400  and an audio/Bluetooth module  402 ,  FIG. 21  is a top perspective view of a watch  404  having the separated display module  400  and the audio/Bluetooth module  402 . The display module may be located on top of the user&#39;s wrist and the audio/Bluetooth module located at the bottom of the user&#39;s wrist. The display module may include a microcontroller unit (MCU)  406  and is attached to battery enclosure wings  410  on each side of the display module. A leather or metal strap  412  may include an embedded ribbon cable which connects the electronics within the display module  400  on top of the wrist with the electronics of the audio/Bluetooth module  402  on the bottom of the wrist. The strap  412  may be designed with an offset so that the audio interface is offset with respect to the display module. Additionally, this offset may help move the audio interface closer to the palm of the user for better audio firing. 
         [0073]      FIG. 22  is a top view of the display module  400  and the strap  412 . The display module includes a watch dial  430  and may include a battery box  432  for retaining batteries. The audio/Bluetooth module  402  is shown at the end of the strap  412 . The watch strap  412  may be designed in such a way that it can be locked in place around the wrist with slack. It can later be tightened by pulling the strap to make it a tight fit around the wrist. A magnetic latching mechanism may be provided between two ends of the open strap. Once the magnets lock is in place, it provides a large loop around wrist. The strap is further pulled for a tight fit around the wrist using a buckle or other fastening device. 
         [0074]      FIG. 23  is a front view of a portable speaker  500  attached to a watch  502 .  FIG. 24  is a top view of the portable speaker module  500  removed from the watch  502 . The compact speaker module  500  may utilize the vibration speaker  240  (i.e., bone conduction speaker) with the wireless interfaces discussed above. The portable speaker module may include a compact battery  504  to last for a short period. This removable module  500  is attachable to the audio module at the bottom of the watch strap. During a call, the removable module is removed from the watch and held behind the user&#39;s ear, concealed behind the ear pinna. This module  500  may communicate with the watch to play the phone audio channel. When connected to the watch, the module  500  may be charged from the higher capacity battery of the watch. 
         [0075]    Although the present invention has been described as a wrist watch, the present invention may be embodied in any mobile device capable of being carried or worn. The present invention is a wrist watch, a finger ring or other mobile carriage device that communicates with a paired mobile device, such as mobile phone or PDA and provides interface to use of many of the functions of the mobile device without the need to open the bulkier counterpart for frequently used operations. These supported functions include receiving and making phone calls, checking incoming calls, checking messages, checking synchronized time, etc. The wrist watch may also monitor the presence of the larger mobile device and trigger an alarm during the loss of the mobile phone. 
         [0076]    While the present invention is described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments for particular applications, it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications, applications, and embodiments within the scope thereof and additional fields in which the present invention would be of significant utility. 
         [0077]    Thus, the present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the present teachings will recognize additional modifications, applications and embodiments within the scope thereof. 
         [0078]    It is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover any and all such applications, modifications and embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Technology Category: 5