CH715296A2 - Portable active lighting device on a person's wrist. - Google Patents

Abstract

The active lighting device (1) is mounted on a person's wrist to illuminate a path they are taking. The device is in the form of a wristwatch. The device comprises first light sources (5), which are controlled by a control unit. The first light sources are arranged on a portion of a housing. Each first light source activated by the control unit can generate a light beam with a different orientation than another first light source activated by the control unit. The device also includes a motion sensor connected to the control unit to determine the movement of the wrist of the person wearing the device in order to allow the control unit to select certain first light sources to be activated depending on the movement of the wrist. of the person to light the path to follow in the same direction defined forward.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a portable active lighting device on the wrist of a person, in particular to illuminate a path taken when the ambient light is insufficient. The portable active lighting device can be in the form of an electronic or electromechanical watch, or a bracelet with electronic components.

STATE OF THE ART

To adequately illuminate a path or a road taken by a person on foot, it is known to use a portable lighting device with a suitable adjustment of the intensity of the light generated by one or more sources of light. Such a lighting device can also be used for a walk or a run in the dark. Such a lighting device can be placed for example on the head of a person and switched on manually when walking or running in the dark.

Mention may be made in this respect of US patent application 2018/0 112 839 A1, which describes a bracelet with an adjustable light source. However, nothing is defined regarding the orientation of the light source taking into account the movement of the bracelet during a walk or a race. Thus, such a light source bracelet does not allow the path taken by the walker or runner wearing said bracelet to be correctly lit, which constitutes a drawback.

The patent application US 2017/0 241 634 A1 describes a bracelet with the possibility of fixing and connecting different light sources, but as for the previous document the light sources remain in a well defined direction and do not allow correctly lighting the path taken by the walker or runner wearing said bracelet, which is a drawback.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention therefore aims to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above to achieve a portable active lighting device on the wrist of a person easy to use and uncomplicated to allow good lighting of a path taken by the person while taking into account the movement of the person's wrist.

To this end, the invention relates to a portable active lighting device placed on the wrist of a person, which comprises the features of independent claim 1.

Particular embodiments of the lighting device are defined in dependent claims 2 to 14.

An advantage of the lighting device according to the invention lies in the fact that the lighting device in use makes it possible to maintain the same direction of the light generated by first light sources to illuminate a path to be followed by a person wearing the lighting device. Thus the first light sources are selected by a control unit on the basis of measurements of a motion sensor so as not to follow the movement of the wrist of the person during a walk or a run for keep an illumination always in the same direction forward.

Advantageously, there may be provided second light sources, which are arranged in the lighting device to generate a rear illumination and a color other than the front illumination to indicate the presence from the person using the light fixture to vehicles or other people coming from behind.

Preferably, the lighting device can be in the form of a wristwatch, or even only of a bracelet with electronic components. In the case of a wristwatch, the light sources can be mounted on a portion of the case, for example on a watch bezel to each generate, once activated, a beam of light in a radial direction towards the outside of the case , that is to say substantially in a direction parallel to a dial and perpendicular to a middle part of the case. Each light beam from an activated light source has a different direction from another activated light source. A selection of light sources to be activated is managed by a control unit on the basis of measurements from at least one motion sensor, such as a magnetometer or an accelerometer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The purposes, advantages and characteristics of a portable active lighting device placed on the wrist of a person, will appear better in the following description on the basis of at least one non-limiting embodiment illustrated by the drawings on which ones: <tb> fig. 1 <SEP> represents a simplified block diagram of the components of the active lighting device according to the invention, <tb> fig. 2 <SEP> shows in simplified form an embodiment of a portable active lighting device in the form of a wristwatch in the operating position according to the invention, <tb> fig. 3 <SEP> shows in simplified form a partial section of the embodiment of FIG. 2 of a portable active lighting device in the form of a wristwatch according to the invention, and <tb> fig. 4 <SEP> schematically shows a portable active lighting device in the form of a wristwatch worn on a person's wrist to illuminate the path taken by the person according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, reference is made to a portable active lighting device to be placed on a person's wrist. All the electronic components, which are well known to a person skilled in the art in this technical field, are described only in a simplified manner. The lighting device can advantageously be in the form of a wristwatch or a bracelet with electronic components.

It should be noted that in the form of a wristwatch does not necessarily mean that it is intrinsically a wristwatch. On the other hand, the configuration of the lighting device is of a shape identical to that of a wristwatch with a case, a glass closing the top of the case to view information on a dial or a liquid crystal display, and a bracelet with one or two strands connected to the case to place the lighting device around a person's wrist.

[0014] FIG. 1 shows in a simplified manner the various main components of a portable active lighting device 1 to be placed on the wrist of a person according to the invention. The lighting device 1 is in the form of a wristwatch with at least one case connected by a bracelet with one or two strands, or a bracelet with electronic components. The lighting device 1 can also be a wristwatch as explained in FIGS. 2 to 4.

The lighting device 1 comprises at least one motion sensor 3, 4 connected to a control unit 2, and at least first light sources 5 connected to the control unit 2. The control unit 2 is connected to a continuous power source, not shown. This source of electrical power is preferably a source of direct voltage, which comes from a rechargeable or primary battery, or which is extracted and rectified from received electromagnetic radiation. The lighting device 1 can be activated manually by the action of a switch button or a touch key on the housing or the glass closing the housing, as explained below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

For a lighting device 1 in the form of a wristwatch, the first light sources 5 can be placed on the middle of the case closed by a glass, or on a bezel fixed on the middle of the case as explained below with reference to Figures 2 and 3. The lighting device 1 can also include second light sources 6 connected to the control unit 2. These second light sources can also be placed on the middle part of the case, for example of the watch case closed by a glass, or on a bezel attached to the middle of the case.

The first light sources 5 are provided to generate once activated each a beam of light of different orientation from each other light source. Thus, this allows the control unit 2 to automatically select on the basis of measurements from the motion sensor 3, 4 certain first light sources 5 so as to keep an illumination L1 of the path followed by the person wearing the device 1 d always in one direction. The selection of the first light sources 5 depends on the movement of the wrist of the person wearing the lighting device 1 to illuminate the path to be followed in the same direction forward despite the movement of the wrist.

The second light sources 6 are also provided to generate, once activated each, a light beam of different orientation from each other light source. The control unit 2 also automatically selects on the basis of measurements from the motion sensor 3, 4 certain second light sources 6 to generate an illumination L2 opposite to the illumination L1 while keeping the illumination L2 in the same opposite direction. at L1 illumination.

In the case of a lighting device 1 with the first and second light sources 5, 6, it can be envisaged to have the illumination L1 of the first light sources 5 of a color different from the illumination L2 of the second light sources 6. For example the illumination L1 for illuminating towards the front of the person wearing said lighting device 1 can be white light, while the illumination L2 for providing light towards the rear to signal the presence of the person on a walking or running path may be a red light.

The second light sources 6 can also be controlled by the control unit 2 so as to provide a second blinking red L2 illumination. This generates more visibility to signal the presence of the person using the lighting device to vehicles or other people coming from behind, and further reduces power consumption.

Of course, it can also be envisaged to have first two-color light sources 5. Under these conditions, there are no second light sources 6, but the first light sources must be selected by l control unit for generating an L1 illumination towards the front of a first color and an L2 illumination towards the rear of a second color during a walk or a run. The second illumination L2 can also be flashing.

Each first or second light source can be a LED light emitting diode, or even a combination of two LED light emitting diodes mounted for example head to tail to firstly provide a light beam of a first color during polarization. direct or of a second color different from the first color during a reverse polarization.

The lighting device 1 can comprise two motion sensors, such as a magnetometer 3 and an accelerometer 4 for supplying measurement signals to the control unit 2. The magnetometer 3 and the accelerometer 4 can be of the triaxial type. Said control unit 2 can also include at least one memory 21 for storing measurements made by the motion sensor (s) 3, 4 and at least one calculation algorithm for managing and calculating the measurements made by the sensors. The control unit 2 can also include its own time base 22 such as a low frequency oscillator, which can be a clock or quartz crystal oscillator or MEMS, so as to clock the measurement and control operations of the first and seconds light sources 5, 6. Thus, this control unit 2 can be a microcontroller.

It should also be noted that the control unit 2 once activated can take into account the initial position by at least one movement sensor 3, 4 on the wrist of the person wearing the lighting device 1. This makes it possible to calibrate initially the direction of the first illumination L1 and also that of the second illumination L2 before a start in motion or for a run. Thus, a direction of illumination L1 for example once calibrated makes it possible to always have this direction of illumination L1 maintained fixed whatever the movement of the wrist, which is sought to clearly illuminate the path to follow in the dark.

In principle, there is no adjustment of the light intensity of the different activated light sources, but it is rather sought to have the maximum intensity at each illumination generated by the light sources activated by the 'control unit 2.

Figures 2 and 3 show an embodiment of a portable active lighting device 1 in the operating position. The lighting device 1 is here a wristwatch. This wristwatch 1 comprises a case with a middle part 12 closed by a bottom 14 with a gasket 13, the case being closed by a watch glass 18 fixed by a seal 17 to a bezel 10, which itself is fixed to the middle 12 with another seal 11. Through the watch glass 18, one can see a dial 16 and needles 20 for indicating the time in particular. A bracelet 30 is connected to the middle part 12 of the case with a clip for placing the lighting device 1 on the wrist of a person using it. A push button 40 in fig. 2, which is mounted through the middle 12 to be connected to the control unit 2, is also provided for manually setting the time indication or for initializing and activating the lighting device 1. There may also be provided a touch button connected to the control unit 2 in the housing to initialize and activate the lighting device 1.

The wristwatch 1 also includes inside the case a watch movement or a watch electronic module 19, and the control unit 2 connected to one or two movement sensors 3, 4, which are a magnetometer 3 and an accelerometer 4 for example. The control unit 2 is electrically connected to each light source 5, 6 as specified below by means of a flexible printed circuit board 15. Preferably, at least the first light sources 5 are placed in part in the cavities of the telescope 10 and partly opening towards the outside of the telescope 10, in particular a form of lens.

Schematically in FIG. 2, the first light sources 5 are arranged on or in part in the watch bezel 10, which in this case is of annular or circular shape. Several first light sources 5 are provided, arranged on a portion of a circle on the periphery of the telescope 10, preferably being regularly spaced from one another. The first light sources 5 can be arranged on a portion of a circle which can go up to 180 "between noon and 6 am. Each first light source 5 is electrically connected to the control unit 2 arranged in the watch case so that it can be activated according to measurements of the motion sensor 3, 4, which is also arranged in the watch case . Each first light source 5 can generate, once activated, a light beam F shown in FIG. 3 moving radially outwards from the case, that is to say substantially in a direction parallel to the dial 16 and perpendicular to the middle part 12 of the case. Thus each first light source 5 generates a light beam F of different orientation than another activated light source. The light beam F can be in the form of a cone.

In this case, for the generation of a first illumination L1, there are provided for example four first light sources 5 activated by the control unit 2 and shown in gray in FIG. 2, and defining a first illuminated sector. The other first light sources 5 are inactive. However, during a movement of the person's wrist at an angle 9, another selection and activation of first successive light sources 5 is carried out by the control unit 2, for example four other first selected and successive light sources, to keep the same direction of illumination L1 at an angle a with respect to the ground 50 of the path taken by the person wearing the lighting device 1. The first illumination L1 is the combination of four light beams F from four first activated light sources 5. The direction of illumination L1 has been memorized according to an initial position of the wrist following the manual action of the push button 40 in FIG. 2 when using the lighting device 1.

If used, the second light sources 6 are also arranged on or in part in the bezel 10 of watch of annular or circular shape. Several second light sources 6 are provided, arranged on a portion of a circle of the periphery of the telescope, preferably being regularly spaced from one another. The second light sources 6 can be arranged on a portion of a circle which can go up to 180 ° between 6 am and midnight. Each second light source 6 is electrically connected to the control unit 2 arranged in the watch case in order to be able to be activated according to measurements of the motion sensor 3, 4, which is also arranged in the watch case. Each second light source 6 can generate, once activated, a beam of light directed radially outwards from the watch case, that is to say substantially in a direction parallel to the watch dial and perpendicular to the middle of the case. . Thus each second light source 6 generates a light beam with a different orientation than another second activated light source. The number of second light sources 6 can be equal to the number of first light sources 5 in order to generate a second illumination L2 opposite to the first illumination L1.

In this case, for the generation of the second illumination L2, there are provided for example four second light sources 6 activated by the control unit 2 and shown in gray in FIG. 2 and defining a second illuminated sector opposite to the first illuminated sector. The other second light sources 6 are inactive. However, during a movement of the person's wrist through an angle 8, another selection and activation of successive second light sources 6 is carried out by the control unit 2, for example four other selected and successive second light sources, to keep the same direction of illumination L2 at an angle a with respect to the ground 50 of the path taken by the person wearing the lighting device 1. The second illumination L2 is the combination of four beams of light from four second light sources 6 activated. The direction of illumination L2 has been memorized according to an initial position of the wrist following the manual action of the push button 40 when the lighting device 1 is used. The first illumination L1 can be white, while the second illumination L2 can be red, for example.

It should be noted that it can also be envisaged to have only first two-color light sources over the entire periphery of the telescope 10. Under these conditions, each first light source 5 comprises two light-emitting diodes mounted at the head -spade. In this way, the control unit 2 can activate on a first illuminated sector first light sources 5 generating a white light beam, and on a second illuminated sector other first light sources 5 generating a light beam of Red color.

According to FIG. 3, the first light sources 5 can be arranged around the entire periphery of the telescope 10 while being partly in cavities of the telescope 10. It can also be imagined if second light sources are used to place them over the entire periphery of the telescope 10 above or below the first light sources 5 and coaxially. An electrical connection of each second light source to the control unit 2 can be made via the flexible printed circuit board 15, which is arranged to pass below the dial 16.

[0034] FIG. 4 schematically shows a portable active lighting device 1 in the form of a wristwatch worn on a person's wrist to illuminate the path taken by the person. In this case, the wristwatch is worn on the wrist of the left arm B, but it may be possible to make the same wristwatch to be worn on the wrist of the right arm. Note that during the movement of the arm B with the wrist from bottom to top in the direction D, the first illuminations L1 and L2, initially calibrated at the start of the use of the lighting device 1, always remain in the same direction d 'illumination towards the front for the first illumination L1 and towards the rear for the second illumination L2. This therefore makes it possible to properly illuminate the path taken by the person wearing the lighting device 1 when walking or running on a path or route taken.

It should be noted that the first light sources 5, or even second light sources 6 can be placed on an outer wall of the middle part 12 of the watch in FIG. 3 or in the outer cavities of the middle part 12, rather than on or in the bezel 10. The arrangement of the light sources can be identical to that described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

It should also be noted that the shape of the housing can be different from a generally cylindrical shape, that is to say circular in top view. It can be elliptical in top view or rectangular or other. In these conditions, the light sources must be well oriented for example on an edge of the middle or on an outer wall of the middle so as to allow a selection of light sources to activate whatever the movement of the wrist to always have uniform illumination forward without variation.

The lighting device can also be a bracelet with electronic components, where the first light sources or even the second light sources can be mounted on the side edge of the bracelet. The light sources must also be well oriented for the generation of at least the first forward illumination without variation.

From the description which has just been made, several alternative embodiments of a portable active lighting device on the wrist of a person are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the following claims.

Claims (14)

1. Portable active lighting device (1) on a person's wrist to light a path taken by the person wearing the lighting device (1), the lighting device (1) being in the form of a wristwatch having at least one case closed by a glass (18) and a bracelet (30) connected to a middle part (12) of the case, or of a bracelet with electronic components, characterized in that the device comprises: - first light sources (5), which are controlled by a control unit (2), said first light sources (5) being arranged on a first portion of a case or bracelet, where each first source of light activated by the control unit (2) can generate a light beam of orientation different from another first light source activated by the control unit (2), - at least one movement sensor (3, 4) connected to the control unit (2) to determine the movement of the wrist of the person wearing the device in order to allow the control unit (2) to select certain first light sources (5) to be activated depending on the movement of the person's wrist to illuminate the path to be followed in the same direction defined forwards. 2. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 1, characterized in that the device comprises: - second light sources (6), which are controlled by the control unit (2), said second light sources (6) being arranged on a second portion of the case or bracelet, where each second activated light source by the control unit (2) can generate a light beam of direction different from another second light source activated by the control unit (2), and in that the second light sources (6) activated by the control unit (2), as a function of the measurements made by the motion sensor (3, 4), generate a second illumination (L2) of direction opposite to a first illumination (L1) generated by the first light sources (5) activated by the control unit (2). 3. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 2, characterized in that the first and second light sources (5, 6) are light-emitting diodes. 4. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 1, characterized in that the first light sources (5) each comprise two light emitting diodes mounted head to tail, where a first light emitting diode generates a light beam of first color when activated, while the second light emitting diode generates a light beam of a second color different from the first color once activated. 5. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 1, characterized in that the movement sensor is a magnetometer (3) or an accelerometer (4). 6. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two motion sensors, which are a magnetometer (3) and an accelerometer (4). 7. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (2) comprises a memory (21) for memorizing measurements made by one or two motion sensors (3, 4) and at least one calculation algorithm for managing and calculating the measurements made by the sensors, and a time base having a low frequency oscillator for clocking the measurement and selection operations of the light sources to be activated. 8. Active lighting device (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the control unit (2), once activated manually, determines the initial position of the lighting device (1) mounted on a wrist d 'a person in order to calibrate and initially memorize the direction of a first forward illumination (L1) generated by first light sources activated and selected by the control unit (2). 9. Active lighting device (1) according to claim 1, for which the lighting device (1) is in the form of a wristwatch with a generally cylindrical case, characterized in that the first sources light (5) are mounted on or partly in a circular bezel (10), fixed on a middle part (12) of the housing. 10. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 9, characterized in that several first light sources (5) are arranged at least on a portion of a circle less than or equal to 180 ° at the periphery of the telescope (10) preferably being regularly spaced from each other. 11. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 10, characterized in that several second light sources (6) are arranged at least on another portion of a circle less than or equal to 180 ° at the periphery of the telescope (10 ) and facing the first light sources, and in that the second light sources (6) are regularly spaced from one another. 12. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 9, characterized in that the first light sources (5) are arranged around the entire periphery of the circular bezel (10), preferably being regularly spaced one of the other. 13. Device (1) for active lighting according to claim 12, characterized in that the first light sources (5) each comprise two light-emitting diodes mounted head to tail, where a first light-emitting diode generates a light beam of first color once activated, while the second light emitting diode generates a light beam of a second color different from the first color once activated, and in that certain first light sources (5) activated and selected by the unit control (2) generate a first illumination (L1) towards the front of white color, while certain other first light sources (5) activated and selected by the control unit (2) generate a second illumination (L2) backward red. 14. Device (1) for active lighting according to one of claims 2 and 13, characterized in that the second illumination L2, generated by the first or second light sources (5, 6) activated, is flashing.