Portable Device Time Tracking via Auxiliary Clock Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable electronic devices, such as hearing aids and headsets, face challenges in accurately estimating absolute time elapsed, including downtime, due to the lack of a real-time clock circuit, leading to substantial uncertainty in usage patterns and extended operation times.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a portable electronic device and an auxiliary device with a built-in clock, allowing communication to transfer time information, enabling accurate estimation of absolute elapsed time including downtime, through wired or wireless connections, and storing this information in the device's memory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a real-time clock circuit is added to the portable electronic device, then the measurement precision of absolute time elapsed is improved, but the use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an auxiliary device as an intermediary that contains the real-time clock circuit. This auxiliary device transfers time information to the portable electronic device through a communication link, allowing the portable device to obtain accurate time data without having to maintain its own power-consuming clock circuit continuously.
Solution Approach 2:
The time-keeping function is extracted from the portable electronic device and placed in a separate auxiliary device. The portable device only needs to receive and store time information transfers, eliminating the need for a continuous power-consuming real-time clock circuit while still achieving accurate time measurement.
2Device complexity
If uptime clock and power-up counter are used to estimate real time elapsed, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision deteriorates due to substantial uncertainty
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary device acts as a mediator that provides accurate time information from an external real-time clock source. This eliminates the need for complex estimation algorithms based on uptime counters and power-up events, achieving both simplicity and precision simultaneously.
3Measurement precision
If the portable electronic device maintains continuous operation to track time, then the measurement precision of elapsed time is improved, but the loss of energy increases due to inability to conserve power during non-use
Solution Approach 1:
The time-keeping function is extracted to an auxiliary device that remains powered on continuously. The portable electronic device can be turned off during non-use periods, conserving energy, while still obtaining accurate time information when needed through periodic transfers from the auxiliary device.
Solution Approach 2:
Time information is transferred from the auxiliary device to the portable electronic device periodically or at specific events (e.g., when connected to a charger). This allows the portable device to remain off during non-use periods while still tracking elapsed time accurately through these periodic updates.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable electronic device and an auxiliary device each having an interface allowing the establishment of a communication link between them, at least to be able to transmit data representative of a status information from the auxiliary device to the portable electronic device, and-a method of of establishing a measure of an absolute elapsed time in a listening device. The problem is solved in that the portable electronic device has a timing unit for determining a time interval and a memory for storing data, and wherein the auxiliary device has a master timing unit for providing a signal representative of the present time, and wherein the system is adapted to transfer a signal representative of the present time from the auxiliary device to the portable electronic device and to store it in the memory.