Communication installation between a user and equipment
The communication installation between a user and equipment, utilizing a display, a permanent magnet, and a magnetic field detection member, addresses the challenge of interacting with equipment lacking input devices, achieving efficient and cost-effective information entry.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2024000090
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-01-05
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-23
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-01-05
AI Technical Summary
Existing communication installations between users and equipment lacking information input devices pose practical difficulties, often requiring costly and risky external connectors or housing openings.
A communication installation using a display, a permanent magnet handled by the user, and a magnetic field detection member fixed to the equipment, allowing interaction through the detection of the magnet's presence or absence.
This solution enables efficient information entry without the need for additional hardware, ensuring simplicity, robustness, and protection against vandalism, while minimizing costs and energy consumption.
Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Communication installation between a user and equipment
[0001] The present invention relates to a communication installation between a user and equipment.
[0002] There are installations to allow interaction between equipment equipped with a display screen but lacking any specific element to allow entry or capture of information, this to ensure both simplicity, robustness and protection against vandalism.
[0003] The configuration of electronic equipment that does not have any information input device accessible to the user, such as a button, a rotary switch, a keyboard, etc., presents a real practical difficulty and is often dealt with either by installing an external connector or by causing the opening of the housing or the cabinet of the equipment, both of which involve both cost and risks.
[0004] The present invention aims to effectively remedy these drawbacks by proposing a communication installation between a user and a piece of equipment, the installation comprising: - a display, for displaying information, particularly for the user; - a permanent magnet intended to be handled by the user, in particular by bringing it closer to or moving it away from the equipment; - a magnetic field detection member, for detecting the presence or absence of the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet, the magnetic field detection member being in particular fixed to the equipment.
[0005] This solution, while using a minimum of hardware elements, makes it possible to manage an interaction between equipment devoid of any information input element.
[0006] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description.
[0007] This provides a communication facility between a user and a equipment, the installation including: - a display, for displaying information, particularly for the user; - a permanent magnet intended to be handled by the user, in particular by bringing it closer to or moving it away from the equipment; - a magnetic field detection member, for detecting the presence or absence of the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet, the member of magnetic field detection being notably fixed on the equipment.
[0008] The invention thus proposes to use a combination of three extremely simple members cooperating with the user and allowing any type of information entry, in particular, but not only when the entries are in a finite set of choices.
[0009] The display may be of the alphanumeric type, allowing in particular the display of possible choices or numerical values.
[0010] The magnetic field detection member is for example in the form of a silicon electronic component or in the form of a “reed” bulb.
[0011] The operating principle of the Human-Machine interface described above is based on the activation of the detection member by bringing the magnet to a determined distance from the detection member, which can be done for example by bringing the magnet close to or in contact with a particular point of the equipment casing, in particular using a marking so as to avoid any confusion.
[0012] During the first detection, a subset of N choices is displayed on the display in the form of a menu (for example one line per choice) and choice number 1 is highlighted (for example highlighted).
[0013] According to a defined period P (typically 1 second), the application embedded in the equipment will check the presence or absence of the magnetic field. If the magnet is still present then the highlighted choice moves on to the next one, with a loop performed if we reach N+1 which brings us back to choice number 1.
[0014] If the magnet is no longer present, then the current choice is selected. The selection can be notified via a flashing of the line. In other words, the mechanism is based on the presentation of different possible choices presented in the form of text or display of a color and sequentially in a predetermined order as long as a magnet is present in the detection zone. The choice of one of the options is made by removing the magnet from the detection zone.
[0015] This mechanism can be adapted for a simple LED for example having three colors where each choice corresponds to a color of the LED and where the flashing of the selected color corresponds to the validation of the choice entered.
[0016] In the case of a display in the form of a screen, a choice can be implemented in the form of a hierarchy. When a choice is selected, another subset of choices is displayed with the same mechanism. This makes it possible to multiply the possibilities while maintaining a reasonable screen size, which minimizes both cost and energy consumption.
[0017] In order to avoid carrying out an untimely command linked to the presence of an undesirable magnetic field, it is possible to integrate a safety mechanism which requires the presence of the magnet for a determined duration, in particular at the time of the first detection.
[0018] Another security mechanism may impose a specific procedure for accessing a submenu for accessing a critical function of the system. For example, by requiring the user to perform a predetermined number of turns in the previous menu before being able to access the submenu for accessing the critical function.
Claims
Claims
1. Communication installation between a user and equipment, the installation comprising: - a display, for displaying information, particularly for the user; - a permanent magnet intended to be handled by the user, in particular by bringing it closer to or moving it away from the equipment; - a magnetic field detection member, for detecting the presence or absence of the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet, the magnetic field detection member being in particular fixed to the equipment.