Watch Display Opaque Cover with Light Guide Discontinuities
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fitness watches with LCD modules and backlighting LEDs face power consumption issues, leading to reduced battery life, especially during long workouts, and struggle with visibility in daylight due to the visibility of LEDs under a transparent cover.
Innovation Solution
A display arrangement featuring a substantially transparent cover with a layer forming an opaque area containing discontinuities that allows light from hidden LEDs to be transmitted, providing a separate illuminated indicator that is visible regardless of ambient lighting, and a processor-controlled LED system flashing at frequencies corresponding to heart rate information to conserve battery power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a transparent cover is used over the display module, then the display is visible, but the underlying LEDs are visible even when not illuminated causing confusion and difficulty in discerning their state
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is segmented into transparent and opaque areas, with the opaque area specifically positioned to hide the LEDs while the transparent area allows the display to remain visible. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by spatially separating the functions of display visibility and LED state clarity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different areas of the cover have different optical properties: the display area remains transparent for visibility, while the LED indicator area becomes opaque to hide the LEDs when not illuminated. This local differentiation of quality allows both requirements to be satisfied simultaneously.
2Illumination intensity
If backlighting LEDs are used with the LCD module, then the display is visible in various lighting conditions, but the LEDs draw significant power reducing battery life
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous backlighting, the indicator LEDs are activated periodically or on-demand to provide visual feedback for specific events (such as heart rate zone indicators). This periodic activation significantly reduces power consumption while maintaining necessary functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The indicator function is extracted from the main display backlighting system, allowing the indicator LEDs to operate independently with lower power consumption. The opaque cover area further isolates these indicator LEDs from the main display backlighting requirements.
3Loss of information
If the LCD module is activated to display heart rate information, then information is visible, but power consumption increases during long workout sessions
Solution Approach 1:
The heart rate feedback function is extracted from the LCD display and implemented through the opaque area indicator LEDs. These LEDs can convey essential heart rate zone information (such as green for target zone, red for above zone) without requiring the power-intensive LCD to be activated, thus preserving battery power during long workouts.
Solution Approach 2:
Different colored LEDs are used to convey different heart rate information states (e.g., green for target zone, red for above zone). This color-coded visual feedback system provides comprehensive information without requiring LCD activation, reducing power consumption while maintaining information delivery.
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 enhances the visibility of the LED indicator in all lighting conditions while reducing power consumption by using the opaque cover to hide LEDs and utilizing a light guide to ensure minimal light loss, and allows heart rate information to be displayed without activating the LCD, thus extending battery life.
Implementation Method 1
the layer comprises a plurality of discontinuities that allows light to be transmitted through the opaque area from the one or more light emitting devices
Data Source
Figure 1~6
Figure 2
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
A display arrangement for a watch case comprising a display module and a substantially transparent cover extending over the display module, wherein the cover comprises a layer forming a substantially opaque area outside the display module. The display arrangement further comprises one or more light emitting devices arranged below the opaque area, wherein the layer comprises a plurality of discontinuities that allows light to be transmitted through the opaque area from the one or more light emitting devices.