Single Button GPS Watch Mode Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic timepieces that utilize GPS satellite signals for timekeeping and positioning require multiple buttons or operating members, leading to complex configurations and increased size, making them less user-friendly and efficient.
Innovation Solution
An electronic timepiece with a single external operating member that switches between timekeeping and positioning modes based on continuous input time, allowing for time adjustment using satellite signals from one or more GPS satellites for basic timekeeping and multiple satellites for precise time and location-based adjustments, simplifying the device's construction and user interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple buttons or operating members are provided for different functions (timekeeping mode, positioning mode, time adjustment, calendar display), then each function can be accessed independently, but the device configuration becomes increasingly complex and larger in size
Solution Approach 1:
A single external operating member (button) is designed to perform multiple functions by detecting different operation patterns (press duration, press sequence). The button can switch between timekeeping mode and positioning mode, access time adjustment function, and display calendar information, eliminating the need for separate buttons for each function while maintaining full functionality
2Ease of operation
If multiple buttons are provided for switching between timekeeping mode and positioning mode, then mode switching is straightforward, but the device size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The operating characteristics of the single button are made dynamic based on the duration of the press operation. Short presses (first operation characteristic) switch between timekeeping and positioning modes, while long presses (second operation characteristic different from first) access time adjustment function. This dynamic response allows multiple functions to be accessed through one button without requiring multiple physical operating members
3Device complexity
If a single operating member is used for all functions, then device complexity is reduced, but it requires distinguishing between different operation characteristics (press duration)
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects and responds to different operation characteristics by measuring the duration of the button press. The control unit distinguishes between a first operation characteristic (short press for mode switching) and a second operation characteristic (long press for time adjustment). This parameter-based differentiation allows a single button to control multiple functions without requiring complex mechanical structures
Data Source
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AI summary
An electronic timepiece enables a simple construction, and an electronic device has the electronic timepiece. A wristwatch 1 has a button A 6; a mode setting unit 32 that sets the operating mode of the wristwatch 1 based on an input operation of the button A 6. Based on the continuous input time that the button A 6 is operated continuously, the mode setting unit 32 changes the operating mode between a timekeeping mode that receives satellite signals from one or more GPS satellites and adjusts the internal time information based on time information contained in a received satellite signal; and a positioning mode that receives satellite signals from three or more GPS satellites and adjusts the internal time information based on time information and positioning information contained in the received satellite signals.