Wearable electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9760064-B2
Application number	US-201615049337-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 22, 2016
Priority date	Feb 27, 2015
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

A wearable electronic device includes an external housing including a first surface, a second surface toward a direction opposite to the first surface, and a first opening formed through the first surface; a display disposed in the opening; a plate covering the display, forming at least a portion of the first surface, and having a substantially circular shape; a first structure forming a portion of the external housing or extending from the external housing; a bezel surrounding an outer circumferential surface of the plate, mounted on the external housing to be rotatable, and including a surface toward a portion of a surface of the first structure; and a second structure disposed between the portion of the surface of the first structure and the surface of the bezel and attached to the first structure. The second structure has a friction coefficient smaller than a friction coefficient of the first structure.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wearable electronic device comprising:
an external housing comprising a first surface, a second surface toward a direction opposite to the first surface, and a first opening formed through the first surface;
a display disposed in the opening;
a plate covering the display, forming at least a portion of the first surface, and having a substantially circular shape;
a first structure forming a portion of the external housing or extending from the external housing;
a bezel surrounding an outer circumferential surface of the plate, mounted on the external housing to be rotatable, and comprising a surface toward a portion of a surface of the first structure; and
a second structure disposed between the portion of the surface of the first structure and the surface of the bezel and attached to the first structure, the second structure has a friction coefficient smaller than a friction coefficient of the first structure.

2. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a binder attached to a portion of the external housing to be attachable to and detachable from an external substance or a portion of a human's body.

3. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a processor and a memory, which are disposed in the external housing and electrically connected to the display, wherein the memory stores instructions allowing the processor to change and display a user interface on the display in response to rotation of the bezel.

4. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the bezel and the external housing comprise one or more magnetic substances.

5. The wearable electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the one or more magnetic substances comprise a plurality of magnetic substances arranged along a periphery of the bezel and spaced apart from each other.

6. The wearable electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the external housing comprises an extending part located along the periphery of the bezel and comprises one or more of a plurality of the magnetic substances arranged along the extending part.

7. The wearable electronic device of claim 6 , wherein one or more of magnetic substances included in the bezel are arranged at a first interval, one or more of magnetic substances included in the external housing are arranged at a second interval, and the first interval is greater than the second interval.

8. The wearable electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the magnetic substances included in the bezel have a first polarity, one portion of one or more of magnetic substances included in the external housing have the first polarity, and the other portion of one or more of magnetic substances included in the external housing have a second polarity.

9. The wearable electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the portion of one or more of magnetic substances included in the external housing is alternately arranged with the other portion of the magnetic substances included in the external housing.

10. The wearable electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the external housing comprises an extending part located along the periphery of the bezel and comprises a magnetic substance comprising a plurality of portions having different polarities from each other and disposed along the extending part.

11. The wearable electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the extending part is placed to surround at least a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the plate when viewed from an upper side of the plate, the one or more of magnetic substances included in the external housing comprise:
a first set of magnetic substances arranged along a portion of the extending part; and
a second set of magnetic substances arranged along the other portion of the extending part, and the portion of the extending part is positioned at an opposite side of the plate from the other portion of the extending part.

12. The wearable electronic device of claim 11 , further comprising a sensor disposed at the portion of the extending part to sense a rotation of the bezel.

13. The wearable electronic device of claim 2 , wherein each of the bezel and the external housing comprises a recess inwardly recessed and comprises a separation preventing part having a substantially ring shape and alternately inserted into the recess of each of the bezel and the external housing to prevent the bezel from being separated from the external housing.

14. The wearable electronic device of claim 5 , wherein a plurality of holes is formed along an inner lower surface at a lower end of the bezel such that the holes are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined angle, and an insertion member supported by an elastic member at an inner upper surface of the external housing such that the insertion member is inserted into the holes while being disposed at a lower end of the holes.

15. The wearable electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the sensor sensing the rotation of the bezel comprises a first sensor disposed adjacent to a lower surface of the bezel to sense a pattern formed on the lower surface of the bezel.

16. The wearable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the sensor sensing the rotation of the bezel further comprises a second sensor disposed adjacent to the lower surface of the bezel to sense the magnetic substance.

17. The wearable electronic device of any one of claim 1 , wherein the bezel comprises an insulating part formed of an insulating material and disposed between the plate and the external housing formed of a metallic material.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Jong Hae
• Yoo Chung Keun
• Yoon Byoung Uk
• Jung Ik Su

Classifications

• G04G21/00 Primary

  Input or output devices integrated in time-pieces · CPC title

• G06F1/163 Primary

  Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt · CPC title

• G04B19/283 Primary

  on rotatable rings, i.e. bezel (for graduations on the bezels G04B19/18) · CPC title

• H04B1/3833

  Hand-held transceivers · CPC title

• G04B37/12

  Cases for special purposes, e.g. watch combined with ring, watch combined with button (watch guards or protectors A45C11/10, A45C11/12; watches combined with cosmetic powder containers A45D33/30 {; domed dial G04B19/10; calibers in which the clockwork is disposed on different planes G04B33/08; means for fixing watches on items of clothing G04B37/1433; cases having means for fixing onto a normal bracelet G04B37/1486; cases giving special affects due to their particular shape G04B45/0069; watches combined with various objects and therefore having a specially shaped case G04B47/00}) · CPC title