Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04F—TIME-INTERVAL MEASURING
  • G04F1/00—Apparatus which can be set and started to measure-off predetermined or adjustably-fixed time intervals without driving mechanisms, e.g. egg timers
  • G04F1/005—Apparatus which can be set and started to measure-off predetermined or adjustably-fixed time intervals without driving mechanisms, e.g. egg timers using electronic timing, e.g. counting means

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method of displaying time intervals of programmable durations along at least one time scale of given length, using a cursor which moves from one end. to the other of said scale with a speed as a function of the duration of each programmed time interval, as well as to a display device comprising at least one time scale of given length, a cursor capable of moving along said scale and means for controlling said cursor to determine its speed of movement as a function of a time interval of determined duration.
• a method and a device of this kind have already been proposed in FR 2 '600' 788.
• Such a device is a system which remains entirely static. For example at the conclusion of his speech, the speaker knows that he is in this concluding part. But, supposing that this part corresponds to one, two or five minutes, he does not know, without looking at his watch at the precise moment of the lighting of the diode corresponding to this last part, how much time has passed since the diode has lit. Even if there are several diodes for this concluding part, there is no indication of how long the last diode has lit and how long it will take until the end.
• each segment of the speech display is proportional to the length of the corresponding portion of the speech. The less this portion is long the less there are LEDs to display it. Even by increasing the number of diodes, nothing changes to this principle on which this device is based. However, we know that, on the contrary, the shorter the instant to be measured, like the concluding part of a speech from a meeting or a work of fixed duration, the more the observer concerned must have perception of passing time and being able to constantly see the time remaining to pass and perceive physically, without any reasoned deduction the time remaining until the end of the time allotted, with great precision, which cannot be done by a device such as that described in US 4 '995' 018.
• This display mode has also been tested for the continuous recording of series of television programs, Used in direct conditions. For radio broadcasts, this display mode has shown its effectiveness in perfectly managing the improvisation of a text of a short and precise duration (for example of the order of a few tens of seconds). The same observation could be made in the context of improvised music recordings in a given time.
• this complex display mode does not make it possible to organize the work or the presentation according to the elapsed time and the remaining time, because the numbers indicated by the hands on a watch dial do not give an immediate vision of the importance of the time elapsed and that which remains to accomplish the task or presentation, which can only be appreciated by deduction, that is, using the left hemisphere of the brain.
• the big problem is to complete this task at the exact end of this interval, because to complete a job within a certain range, it 'must prepare for the conclusion of the exposed a certain time before the end of the allotted time, failing which, either the conclusion will be rushed, or the time will be exceeded.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a solution which makes it possible in particular to remedy this drawback and which further improves the psychological perception of time.
• the present invention firstly relates to a method of displaying time intervals of programmable durations along at least one time scale of given length.
• the invention further relates to a device for displaying time intervals of programmable durations, comprising at least one time scale of given length.
• the method and the display device according to the present invention provide a significant improvement over all the devices for displaying programmable time intervals. They allow in particular, to each user, to distribute the different respective portions of time and to organize them at will, each not having the same perception of time, so it is important to allow each user to organize the display of the different portions of time according to their needs, the duration of the interval and the task in particular.
• Figure 1 is a block diagram of the control circuit of the display device
• Figure 2 is a function diagram illustrating the operation of the control circuit of Figure 1
• Figure 3 is a block diagram of a detail in Figure 2
• FIG. 4 is a function diagram illustrating the only counting with repetition of the measured time of the control circuit of FIG. 1
• FIG. 5 is a functional diagram of a detail of FIG. 4.
• the display device, object of the present invention, which is illustrated by FIG. 1 comprises, in this example, an integrated circuit of specific application, generally better known by the acronym of the designation in English: ASIC, which is connected by different buses 1 to a keyboard 2, to a remote control comprising a transceiver 3, to a central processing unit 4, generally designated by the acronym of its denomination in English: CPU and to a display unit 5 , which is preferably in the form of a timescale formed by a rectilinear segment or not constituted, for example, by a liquid crystal display, a row of light-emitting diodes, or any equivalent display means.
• ASIC integrated circuit of specific application
• CPU central processing unit 4
• a display unit 5 which is preferably in the form of a timescale formed by a rectilinear segment or not constituted, for example, by a liquid crystal display, a row of light-emitting diodes, or any equivalent display means.
• the display will include a line separating two portions of the segment forming the display member, this line placing from one end to the other of the rectilinear segment or not.
• the two portions of the segment will preferably have two different colors, to give the best possible perception of the ratio of length between the two portions of the segment of display of the time interval, and especially of the speed of change of these two ratios, characterizing the evolution of time in the interval measured between the elapsed time and the remaining time.
• the time scale constituting the display member 5 has a determined length, whatever the time interval to be measured. It is the speed of the cursor along this time scale that will vary depending on the duration of the time interval and the fixed length of this time scale.
• the ASIC comprises a power management element 6 connected to an energy source 7, an interface 8 between the keyboard 2 and a micro control unit 9, a time base 10 connected to a programmable ROM 11, an interface 12 (serial links and electrical controls) between the transceiver 3 and a RAM 13 and finally a display control 14 connected to the display member 5.
• the cursor which is constituted by the line of separation between the two zones of different colors of the display segment 5, moves linearly from one end of the ruler to the other of this segment 5
• a division of this interval should be chosen, preferably in two unequal portions, a first portion representing the major part of the interval to be measured and a final portion of this interval.
• the display of these two time portions will be done as follows.
• the speed of the cursor during the display of the first portion will correspond to the linear speed of the cursor to traverse the entire display segment according to the total duration of the interval.
• the cursor When the cursor has traversed the portion of display segment 5, proportional to the first portion of time, the cursor is brought back to the beginning of display segment 5 and then traverses the entire display segment 5 at a proportional speed. to that of the second portion of time in the total time interval, which is significantly shorter than the first portion of time, so that the cursor will have a speed significantly higher than that which it had at the time of display of the first time portion.
• the two time portions may also be displayed on two different display segments 5. These may be the same length or not and preferably have different display colors, to give the user additional information to allow him to distinguish between the first or the second period of time. You can also choose a non-linear display of the time interval.
• the idea consists, preferably, in reducing the speed of movement of the cursor between the start and the end of the display segment 5.
• the speed variation curve will be continuous from start to finish, so that the speed variation is not noticeable. This effectively amounts to dividing the display segment into a plurality of micro-segments, each of which has a speed which decreases compared to the previous one.
• this speed variation curve as a function of the interval will be calculated by the electronic control circuit.
• the time interval is divided to be measured in a large number n of micro-intervals whose durations grow gradually from the first to n th micro-interval, these micro-gaps being displayed on respective equal fractions of said time scale, function of the length of said time scale divided by said number n.
• this display mode may or may not be combined with the separation of the time interval into two unequal portions as explained above.
• the first portion of the display corresponding to the major part of the total time will be displayed with a non-linear speed, while the second portion will be displayed at a linear speed over the entire length of display segment 5, proportional to the length of this second time portion of the total interval to be measured, as in the case explained above.
• the display device can be switched on, at the desired time or by delaying the start of a determined duration, chosen by the user when he enters the parameters. in the device.
• the first step SI corresponds to the switching on, which passes to the second step S2, which determines whether the start of the measurement of the programmed time interval is delayed or not.
• step S3 it is determined in step S4 whether the countdown is complete or not.
• step S5 which must determine whether the countdown of the time T1 corresponding to the first portion of the time interval is finished or not. If the count relating to this first portion of time is completed, the user proceeds to a first reset of the cursor of the display device in step S6, which simultaneously triggers step S7 which must determine whether the count relating to the second time portion T2 is completed. If the time interval has been divided in two, the end of the countdown of the portion T2 commands the second reset of the cursor of the display member, corresponding to step S8.
• step S9 is used to determine the moment when the count corresponding to the number n of micro-intervals is finished. In this case, the reset will be done after this step S9.
• FIG. 4 illustrates the only counting function of the function diagram of FIG. 2 to which is added a repetition function of the measured time, executed in a step S10 corresponding to block A illustrated in detail in FIG. 5. This step is intended at the repetition of a chosen number of times of the successive measurement of the same time interval.
• This function can be programmed whenever there is a need to perform a repetitive function. This can correspond to a learning exercise for example.
• the step SU therefore decides, according to the parameters introduced during the programming of the display device, whether the time interval must be repeated and if so, how many times. After each repetition, the display is reset to step S12 before the countdown begins again. After the last programmed repetition, the device is stopped in step S13 during which the display flashes, for example three times, before going off, signaling to the user the end of the measured interval .
• the repetition could also be controlled manually to allow the user to stop the repetition at will and not by fixing the number of repetitions in advance.
• the remote control 3 includes a transceiver.
• a second display member similar to the display member 5 but smaller, will be placed on the remote control, from which the receiver will receive signals from the display command 14, allowing another person to control the flow of the time interval programmed on this display member. This can be particularly useful in the context of a conference, allowing the speaker not only to view the measurement of the time interval, but also re to the president, who is in particular responsible for ensuring that the timetable and therefore the speaking times allocated to the speakers for their presentations are respected.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Measurement Of Predetermined Time Intervals (AREA)
• Measurement Of Unknown Time Intervals (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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• 2003
  • 2003-12-08 JP JP2004557734A patent/JP2006509204A/ja active Pending
  • 2003-12-08 AU AU2003283171A patent/AU2003283171A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-12-08 CN CN200380109521.0A patent/CN1745345A/zh active Pending
  • 2003-12-08 EP EP03775033A patent/EP1570319A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-12-08 WO PCT/CH2003/000805 patent/WO2004053600A1/fr active Application Filing
• 2005
  • 2005-06-06 US US11/145,739 patent/US20050243063A1/en not_active Abandoned

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