Redundant Depth Display in Electronic Dive Watch
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic dive watches using Lavet motors for depth indication can desynchronize after shocks, leading to erroneous depth displays, which can endanger divers by providing incorrect data.
Innovation Solution
The watch features two coaxial hands that simultaneously indicate the instantaneous depth in dive mode, providing redundancy to detect any desynchronization and ensuring accurate information, with additional modes for time, synchronization, and data display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single hand is used to display instantaneous depth, then the display is simple, but desynchronization after shocks leads to erroneous depth information
Solution Approach 1:
The display function is segmented into two independent hands (first hand and second hand), each driven by its own motor. Both hands independently indicate the instantaneous depth value, allowing the system to detect desynchronization by comparing the positions of the two hands, thus resolving the contradiction between simple display structure and reliable information accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback through the comparison of two hands' positions. When desynchronization occurs after shocks, the diver can detect the discrepancy between the two hands and realize the depth information may be erroneous, enabling corrective action before using the information for dive decisions
2Reliability
If redundant display is added to detect desynchronization, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The two hands serve multiple functions: they both indicate instantaneous depth in dive mode, and their relative positioning also serves as a diagnostic tool for detecting motor desynchronization. This multi-functionality allows the system to achieve redundancy for reliability without proportionally increasing complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution allows divers to detect and react to potential malfunctions in the depth display, ensuring safer dives by providing reliable and redundant depth information, even in the presence of motor step shifts.
Implementation Method 1
the instantaneous depth is determined from measurements made by a pressure sensor
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention proposes an electronic dive watch (10) including a water resistant case (12) containing a watch movement (15) on which there is mounted a dial (16) provided with at least one first and one second coaxial hand (18, 20), each hand (18, 20) being driven independently by an associated motor (32, 34), of the type wherein the watch movement (15) includes an electronic circuit (30) that controls the first and second hands (18, 20) in accordance with a first operating mode in which each hand (18, 20) indicates a distinct item of data and in accordance with a second operating mode, called the dive mode, in which at least the first hand (18, 20) indicates an instantaneous depth value (Pi), characterized in that, in the dive mode, the first and second hands (18, 20) are controlled such that they simultaneously indicate the same instantaneous depth value.