Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-04
2004-07-13
La, Anh V. (Department: 2636)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S539100, C340S384100, C368S013000, C455S575600, C379S430000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06762685
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wrist portable information apparatus
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a first type of a conventional wrist portable information apparatus, there are Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 177663/1999 and Japanese Utility Model No. 3059555 and there is a known type of wrist portable information apparatus in which conversation is made after detaching the watch from the user's wrist. According to such a wrist portable information apparatus, a microphone and a speaker integrated into the strap are connected to a main body by wire. Therefore, as shown by FIG.
16
and
FIG. 17
, regardless of states of opening and closing the strap, the microphone and the speaker are always connected to a circuit block (or circuit board) of the main body.
Further, as a second example of the conventional wrist portable information apparatus, there is provided Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 307682/1995. According to the second conventional example, although a microphone and a speaker are connected to a main body by wire similar to the first conventional example, as shown by FIG.
18
and
FIG. 19
, the speaker is separate from the main body and a strap and is separated from the main body via a hinge. The speaker of the second conventional example is contained in a containing portion provided at the main body when speech is not made and is detached from the containing portion when speech is made.
FIG. 20
shows a method of making speech according to the second conventional example. It is necessary that the main body stays mounted to the wrist by closing the strap and speech is made by moving the hinge portion and enveloping the speaker by the palm over the ear.
Further, according to a third example of the conventional wrist portable information apparatus, as general means for providing an alarm, there are known means utilizing sound such as a buzzer or by vibration by a motor. Further, as a method of switching the informing means, there is known a wrist portable information apparatus in which a user arbitrarily selects the type of alarm means.
Further, similar to the wrist portable information apparatus, in a portable telephone having a function of vibration rather than sound for an alarm, as a fourth example, there is known a portable telephone for storing an operable time for use of a vibration generating means set by time setting means and for informing of an incoming call by vibration only based on a predetermined time range as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 19965791/1996 and as a fifth conventional example, there is known a portable telephone for detecting surrounding noise and informing the user of an incoming call by vibration when the detected surrounding noise is larger than a previously set reference level or smaller than the reference level, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 251259/1996.
According to the first conventional example, in addition to the motion of opening the strap and detaching the main body from the wrist from a state of closing the strap and mounting the main body to the wrist and thereafter putting the wrist portable information apparatus to the ear, some operation of pushing a button is needed, which is troublesome for a user. Further, according to the second conventional example, although the second conventional example is not troubled by button operation as in the first conventional example, speech style differs from a style of supporting the wrist portable information apparatus by the hand and putting the apparatus to the ear as in the wrist portable information apparatus which the user is accustomed to by a hand set of a normal telephone or a portable telephone. According to the second embodiment, although the apparatus is easy to put to the ear on a side the same as that of the hand wearing the telephone, the apparatus is difficult to put to the other ear. Further, the speech style is liable to feel strange to the user and is similar to a hand gesture associated with thinking and accordingly, it can be anlogically interpreted easily that the gesture is liable to be mistaken by surrounding persons.
Further, conventionally, sound-based informing means create a problem in that when a terminal is brought into close contact with the body as in the wrist portable apparatus, sound is absorbed by the body and the sound pressure level is lowered and therefore, information is difficult to hear. Further, there is a problem in that a user hardly hears information by sound at a location where the surrounding environment is noisy. Conversely in a music hall the surrounding of which is quiet, in meeting, or in a train, information sound based alarms pose a problem in view of the disruptive and rude environment they create.
Meanwhile, in informing means based on vibration, when the terminal is brought into close contact with the body as in the wrist portable apparatus, vibration is propagated directly to the body, and therefore, in comparison with sound-based informing means, the informing means is difficult to undergo influence of noise or the like. Further, there is achieved an advantage of being capable of transmitting information without bothering others even at a location where information by sound poses a problem. However, although the informing means by vibration is effective informing means when the informing means is mounted to the body, when the informing means is detached and left remotely from the body or when the informing means is put in a bag or the like, there poses a problem that vibration cannot be sensed.
In order to resolve the above-described problem, there is known a wrist portable information apparatus having both informing means for informing by sound and informing by vibration and used by switching the informing means depending on time and occasion.
However, when informing by sound and informing by vibration are switched manually as in the third conventional example, it is troublesome to change the setting. Further, when the user forgets to switch the informing means inadvertently and carries the wrist portable information apparatus to a location where information by sound poses a problem in view of manner while setting the informing means to informing by sound, surrounding persons are troubled thereby. Further, when the wrist portable information apparatus is detached from the arm while setting the apparatus to informing by vibration, there is a concern that vibration cannot be sensed.
Further, when informing means is automatically changed by time range as in the fourth conventional example, although the wrist portable information apparatus is effective to some degree during a user's regular routine daily routine, the apparatus becomes inconvenient when the user's routine is deviated, or when the user intends to change the informing means according, to location.
Further, when the informing means is automatically changed by surrounding noise as in the fifth conventional example, at a quiet location, the informing means automatically carries out informing by sound. In this case, at a location where when the surrounding is a quiet environment as in a music hall, mentioned above, and informing by sound troubles surrounding persons, the information switching means may conversely becomes inconvenient. As described above, manual change of the informing means is operationally troublesome. However, conventionally, there has not been found effective means for automatically changing to set the informing means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Hence, the invention has been carried out in order to resolve such a problem and it is an object thereof to provide a wrist portable information apparatus promoting operability.
In order to achieve the above-described object, according to the invention, there is provided a wrist portable information apparatus comprising a main body case mounted to a wrist, a strap connected to the main body case for mounting the main body case to the wrist, a contact mechanism an electrically connected state of which is changed by stat
Kawai Noboru
Muto Atsushi
Adams & Wilks
La Anh V.
Seiko Instruments Inc.
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