Asulab S.a.

The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd

Jean-Daniel Etienne

Pierre-Andre Farine

Zoran Randjelovic

Emil Zellweger

Pierre-André Farine

Ruud Riem-Vis

Elham Firouzi

Yvan Ferri

Silvio Dalla Piazza

Thierry Scordilis

Yves Oesch

Pierre-Andr&eacute; Farine

Matthieu Grange

Volker Urban

Eric Jeanclaude

Frank Bajahr

Claude Bornoz

A watch case including a middle and a hollow bezel provided with a near-field communication device including at least one microcircuit connected to an antenna, the bezel being removably mounted on the middle and formed by an assembly of two lining elements that could define a housing within which the near-field communication device is arranged, the first and second lining elements of the bezel being assembled together with a reversible fastening device.

Watch case comprising a near-field communication device

A watch case including a hollow pivoting bezel formed of first and second external elements including a near-field communication device provided with at least one microcircuit connected to an antenna, the case including a device for remotely controlling the communication device configured to activate or deactivate the communication device.

Watch case comprising a device for controlling a near-field communication device

An antenna assembly for a mobile device comprising a printed circuit board and an antenna structure located at a distance from the printed circuit board. The antenna structure is electrically connected to the printed circuit board via at least one elastomeric connector comprising a plurality of conductive filaments and an insulating structure extending between the antenna structure and the printed circuit board.

Antenna assembly for a time-piece

The portable electronic device () allows functions and/or data of a vehicle to be controlled and managed. In order to do this, the portable device comprises, in a casing having an upper part () fixed, for example, in a removable manner on a lower part (), means for wirelessly transmitting and receiving signals for short range personalised communication with the vehicle. It further comprises a microprocessor unit for processing functions and/or data of the device and of the vehicle, at least one display screen () having a portion which is visible from outside the casing for displaying different menus or data of the device or of the vehicle, and manual control means () for controlling the execution of functions of the microprocessor unit. A power source, such as a battery, is provided in the casing for supplying electric power to all the electronic components of the device. The manual control means comprise control keys () each having a touch-sensitive pad arranged on an inner face of the upper part () of the casing. Each control key may be individually activated by a finger of a user placed on the casing in a specified region of the touch-sensitive pad to be activated. The control means further comprise at least one control button () which can be pressed, in particular to make the control keys () and the display screen () switch from an idle mode to an operating mode.

Portable electronic device for controlling and managing functions and/or data of a vehicle

There is disclosed an electronic instrument worn on the wrist including a case () at least a part () of which is electrically conductive and in which are housed an electronic module () including a printed circuit board () and an electric power source () for powering the electronic module. The printed circuit board () has, at its periphery, a mechanical contact zone with the electrically conductive part () of the case (), and includes a conductive path () extending at the periphery of the printed circuit board, over the mechanical contact zone, and establishing an electric contact with the electrically conductive part () of the case (). The electronic instrument further provides an antenna () provided with an ground plane () where the conductive path () electrically connects this ground plane () to the electrically conductive path () of the case (), in directions extending substantially in the extension of the ground plane of the antenna () in order to increase the reception sensitivity of the latter.

Ground connection of a printed circuit board placed in a wristwatch type electronic device

There is disclosed a portable electronic instrument () including a case (), at least one electronic unit () housed inside the case, and at least a first input and/or output terminal (A; B) accessible from the exterior of the case and including an electrically conductive element () which is mounted so as to be mobile with respect to the case. The input and/or output terminal is adapted to be electrically connected to an input and/or output terminal () of said electronic unit via a transmission line (I/O; I/O) and for allowing transmission of electric signals on the transmission line through the connecting element. The connecting element can occupy a first or second position in which the input and/or output terminal is respectively uncoupled from or coupled to the input and/or output terminal of the electronic unit. The portable electronic instrument further includes a transmission gate (TG; TG) inserted on the transmission line between the input and/or output terminal and the input and/or output terminal of the electronic unit, said transmission gate having a transmitting and non-transmitting state allowing the input and/or output terminal to be respectively coupled to or uncoupled from said input and/or output terminal of the electronic unit. A protective element (TVS, TVS) against electrostatic charges is also inserted on the transmission line between the input and/or output terminal and the transmission gate.

Portable electronic instrument including at least one input/output terminal for establishing a communication with an electronic unit arranged within said instrument

The correlation and demodulation circuit () in particular for a pseudo-random code radio-frequency signal receiver () includes a correlation stage () connected to a microprocessor () in particular for configuring the correlation stage in normal operating mode or in test mode. In normal operation the stage receives intermediate signals (IF) corresponding to the radio-frequency signals shaped in means () for receiving the modulated signals from the receiver. The intermediate signals are correlated in a correlator control loop () of said correlation stage () with a replica of the first code supplied by a code generator (). The code generator () is adapted via a microprocessor () to generate a replica of a pseudo-random code of shorter repetition length than the pseudo-random code of the radio-frequency signals. Intermediate test signals (IF) with a reduced pseudo-random code are supplied to the correlation stage () so as to perform a test representative of the correlation stage in closed loop operation more quickly than with conventional intermediate signals.

Correlation and demodulation circuit for a receiver for signals modulated by a specific code

A low power RF receiver () has an antenna (), a reception and shaping stage () for the radio-frequency signals provided by the antenna, a-channel correlation stage () receiving intermediate signals (IF) shaped by the reception stage (), and a microprocessor () connected to the correlation stage for calculating X, Y and Z position, velocity and time data as a function of data provided by the radio-frequency signals, such as GPS signals, transmitted by satellites. Each channel includes a correlator () associated with a controller (), which also includes a digital signal processing algorithm to allow all the synchronisation tasks for acquiring and tracking a satellite to be performed autonomously when the channel (') is set in operation, and to lock onto the satellite. Buffer registers () are placed at the interface between the correlation stage () and the microprocessor () for the mutual transfer of data. The low power RF receiver may be mounted in the case of a watch and powered by the energy accumulator or battery of the watch.

Low power RF receiver with redistribution of synchronisation tasks

The portable device () is used for determining horizontal and vertical positions. It includes a pressure sensor altimeter () calibrated to a predetermined initial altitude, a GPS signal receiver () arranged to receive, via an antenna (), signals originating from several satellites () in order to calculate position data of the device, a processing unit () receiving the position data from the receiver () and an altitude value from the altimeter (), and display means () for the horizontal and vertical positions of the device processed and provided by the processing unit. The processing unit sends the GPS receiver a signal corresponding to the altitude value of the calibrated altimeter to enable the receiver to determine, using the altitude value, the position data of the device. A memory () including cartographic data and associated with the GPS receiver () can provide the precise data to the processing unit () in particular for calibrating the altimeter.

Portable device for determining horizontal and vertical positions and method for operating the same

The numerically controlled oscillator ( ) is mounted in particular in a radiofrequency signal receiver which further includes means ( ) for receiving and shaping the radiofrequency signals, a correlation stage ( ) and a clock signal generator. The oscillator receives at one input a clock signal with a first frequency (CLK) which clocks the oscillator operations, and a binary word of several bits (Nb) to provide at one output at least an output signal (Mb) with a frequency determined as a function of said binary word and the clock signal. The oscillator includes a first accumulation stage ( ) for a first number of most-significant bits (Ob) of the binary word and a second accumulation stage ( ) for a second number of least-significant bits (Pb) of said binary word. The first accumulation stage is clocked at the first clock frequency (CLK) to supply the determined frequency output signal (Mb), while the second stage is clocked at a second clock frequency (CLK/N) N times lower than the first clock frequency. Output bits (Qb) or binary signals from the second stage are multiplied by N to be introduced at the input of the first stage every N cycles of the clock signal at the first frequency (CLK).

Numerically controlled oscillator in particular for a radiofrequency signal receiver

Delay locked loop intended to be used in a receiver of signals emitted by a GPS satellite, comprising a pseudo-random code generator (35), a local oscillator (34), a modulator (14) for modulating said pseudo-random code with the output signal of said local oscillator (34), a plurality of signal channels (C1, C2, C3) connected to the output of said modulator (14) and each comprising a pass-band filter (48 to 50). A data processing unit (11) is adapted to control the central frequency of the output signal of said local oscillator as a function of the output signal of said signal detection circuit and to control the central frequencies and the bandwidth of said pass-band filters (48 to 50) in several steps during said acquisition phase, so that said pass-band filters divide up, at each step, one of the pass-bands of the preceding step into non-overlapping pass-bands.

Delay locked loop for use in a GPS signal receiver

The angular speed measuring device comprises:

Device and method for measuring an angular speed

An angular speed measuring device includes an oscillator for producing an excitation signal which induces mechanical vibrations in a rotating tuning fork, and an analog processing circuit for processing an electrical detection signal derived from the tuning fork. The analog processing circuit comprises a temperature-independent phase shifter responsive to the excitation signal for producing two signals in quadrature. The quadrature signals are applied to two multipliers which also receive the detection signal. The output signals from the multipliers are dependent on the fixed phase shift .phi. between the excitation signal and the detection signal, which is fixed for a given tuning fork, and on the variable phase shift .psi. which is a function of the rotational speed of the tuning fork, but the multiplier output signals are independent of temperature. After A/D conversion, the multiplier output signals are processed in a microprocessor to determine the angular speed.

In an ultrasonic measuring apparatus for emitting an ultrasonic pulse, receiving reflected echos and producing an echo signal representative of the echos resulting from each impulse, each echo signal has a first portion corresponding to echos from one group of interfaces and a second portion corresponding to echos from another group of interfaces. The apparatus comprises a gain control (24) for controlling the amplitude of each echo signal and a processor (26) for receiving and treating said echo signals. The processor treat a composite echo signal comprised of the first portion of a first echo signal combined with the second portion of a subsequent echo signal, the gain control setting the amplitude of both the first echo signal for the duration of the first echo signal and the amplitude of the subsequent echo signal at a second value for the duration of the subsequent echo signal, so as to optimize the amplitude of both the first portion of said first echo signal and the second portion of the subsequent echo signal in the composite echo signal when treated by processor.

Ultrasonic measuring apparatus having adjustable gain control

An echo tracker clamps a time window for detecting an echo at the position of an echo produced by a mobile wall receiving an ultrasonic pulse signal at a repetition rate F.sub.r. It includes a depth counter (28) which counts in order to define the beginning of the time window in relation to a pulse of the pulse signal and which when it reaches a given value, supplies an enabling signal to activate authorization means (30) and a position detector (32). Enabling means (30) provide an enabling signal for a given time which defines the detecting time window. During this time, the position detector counts until the echo is detected. The value reached at that instant is used to clamp again the time window and to modify the initial value of the depth indicator. The invention is useful in the medical field for measuring the changes of the position of an interface between two tissues.

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Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, Switzerland

Jean-Daniel Etienne