Integrated touch-skin notification system for wearable computing devices
US6218958A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 8, 1998 |
| Grant date | Apr 17, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 8, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04M19/047
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A tactile notification device that can be embodied in, e.g., a wristwatch, communicates via wireless link with plural personal computing devices, including cellular telephones, pagers, and palm top computers, of the person wearing the notification device. When one of the personal computing devices alerts, e.g., when the telephone receives an incoming call, the pager receives a page, or the palm top computer receives an email, the personal computing device sends a signal to the notification device, which generates a discrete tactile signal against the person's skin. The notification device can generate different tactile signals, and each tactile signal can be correlated as desired by the user to one of the personal computing devices. In one embodiment, opposed pinch bars are provided on the skin-facing tactile surface of a wristwatch to gently pinch the skin and thereby establish a first tactile signal that can be correlated to, for example, an alert for an incoming phone call. Also, a rotating bar can be provided on the tactile surface of the wristwatch, and the tactile signal that corresponds to, e.g., an incoming page can be established by rotating the bar against the skin.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.