G04C3/004

Rotary input mechanism for an electronic device

One embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device includes an enclosure having a sidewall with a button aperture defined therethrough, a display connected to the enclosure, a processing element in communication with the display. The device also includes a sensing element in communication with the processing element and an input button at least partially received within the button aperture and in communication with the sensing element, the input button configured to receive two types of user inputs. During operation, the sensing element tracks movement of the input button to determine the two types of user inputs.

HAPTIC ACTUATOR INCLUDING MOVABLE COIL AND CIRCUITRY FOR GENERATING DRIVE WAVEFORMS BASED UPON A BEAT FREQUENCY AND RELATED METHODS
20170038862 · 2017-02-09 ·

A haptic actuator may include a housing, at least one permanent magnet carried by the housing, and a field member movable within the housing and comprising at least one coil cooperating with the at least one permanent magnet. The housing, at least one coil, and field member may define a resonant frequency. The haptic actuator may also include drive circuitry coupled to the at least one coil and being capable of generating first and second drive waveforms having respective different frequencies spaced about the resonant frequency to drive the field member at a beat frequency lower than the resonant frequency.

METHOD OF TUNING A HAPTIC ACTUATOR INCLUDING FERROMAGNETIC MASS CHANGE ITERATIONS AND RELATED APPARATUS
20170038863 · 2017-02-09 ·

A method is directed to tuning a haptic actuator that includes a housing having a ferromagnetic mass, a coil carried by the housing, and a field member movable within the housing responsive to the coil. The haptic actuator is operative as a resonator and having an initial quality (Q) factor. The method may include determining whether the initial Q factor is within a desired Q factor range, and when the initial Q factor is not within the desired Q factor range, performing ferromagnetic mass change iterations until an updated Q factor is within the desired Q factor range. Each ferromagnetic mass change iteration may include changing the ferromagnetic mass of the housing, determining the updated Q factor based upon changing the ferromagnetic mass of the housing, and determining whether the updated Q factor is within the desired Q factor range. Another embodiment changes the ferromagnetic mass of the field member.

METHOD OF DETERMINING THE AXIAL DISPLACEMENT OR AXIAL POSITION OF A SHAFT OF AN ELECTRONIC CONTROL DEVICE

A method of determining the axial displacement or axial position of a magnetised shaft, such as a setting stem (3) of a timepiece, of an electronic control device (1). The method includes obtaining a new function by multiplying the norm of the magnetic field generated by the magnetised shaft by a selected compensation function, which depends only on the rotation angle of the shaft in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the shaft. This allows to simplify the processing of measurement and to strongly minimise the necessary memory resources as there is no need to store a high number of different curves corresponding to different angular positions. By applying the proposed method using said new function, it is possible to detect in a sufficiently precise manner axial displacements/positions of the shaft, by using preferably a single magnetic sensor.

Horological control device

A control device (2) mounted in an opening (20) in a middle (16) and including a support (14) and a rotatable part, which has a shaft (12), a gripping member (4) and a control member (6) forming a rotation sensor (26). The sensor includes a magnetic detector provided inside the watch case in a radial peripheral region of the control member. On a first side of a circular opening (22), the support has a cavity (24) which is open in the axial direction. The cavity is configured to house the control member fixedly mounted on the shaft, such that this control member can be momentarily retracted, at least for the most part, into the cavity following an axial movement of the shaft into a position in which the magnetic detector is mounted inside the watch case.