US3581410A

US3581410A - Talking clock

Info

Publication number: US3581410A
Application number: US802064A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wilard L Zeigner; Andrew M Holland; Donald J Maurer
Original assignee: Mattel Inc
Current assignee: Mattel Inc
Priority date: 1969-02-25
Filing date: 1969-02-25
Publication date: 1971-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 1988-06-01
Also published as: DE6945072U; GB1240080A; DE1958356A1

Abstract

A TOY CLOCK WITH A PHONOGRAPH WHICH STATES THE TIME AT WHICH THE HANDS ARE SET. THE CLOCK INCLUDES A RECORD WITH TWENTY-FOUR NEARLY CONCENTRIC GROOVES, TWELVE OF THEM DEFINING THE HOUR AND TWELVE DEFINING THE CLOSET FIVE MINUTE INTERVAL AFTER THE HOUT GROOVE AND THE OTHER A MINUTE GROOVE, AND THE HOUR AND MINUTE SAYINGS ARE PLAYED IN SUCCESSION.

Description

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TALKING CLOCK Filed Feb.V 25, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 @MMM irraz/vff June l l971 w. L. zElGNER EVAL 3,581,410

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TALKING CLOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 25.-, 1969 wt/wams d//ulr A .If/Mk ilaria n. #dalla .m 1.0/2 w a M W TALKING CLOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 25. 1969 q af Qn. 7/ Sii@ E mh. l Il *i N" NM United States Patent O 3,581,410 TALKING CLOCK Willard L. Zeigner, Fountain Valley, Andrew M. H olland, Venice, and Donald J. Maurer, Torrance, Cahf., assiguors to Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif.

Filed Feb. 25, 1969, Ser. No. 802,064 Int. Cl. G09b 19/12 U.S. Cl. 35-39 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy clock with a phonograph which states the time at which the hands are set. The clock includes a record with twenty-four nearly concentric grooves, twelve of them dening the hour and twelve defining the closest iive minute interval after the hour. Two tone arms are provided, one engaging an hour groove and the other a minute groove, and the hour and minute sayings are played in succession.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to toys, and more particularly to a toy clock which states the time.

Description of the prior art OBJECTS A=ND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a simple clock which plays a recording stating the time at which its hands are set.

Another object is to provide a device for instructing children to tell time.

Still another object is to provide a toy clock which is of maximum entertainment and educational value.

In accordance with the present invention, a toy clock is provided with a phonograph device that plays a saying, or voice recording, indicating the time at which the hands are set. The phonograph device includes many record tracks, some dening the hour and the others deiining the minutes after the hour. Two tone arms are provided for engaging the record tracks, one engaging an hour-indicat ing track and the other engaging a minute-indicating track. The modulated or sound-producing portions of the tracks are arranged so that the hour indication sounds iirst, and the minute indication plays immediately thereafter to provide a complete voiced time indication.

The novel features of the invention are set forth 'with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF 'TI-IE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation view with parts broken away, of a talking clock constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 1A is a plan view of a portion of the clock of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2. is a sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

ice

FIG. 3 is a partial front elevation view with parts broken away, of the talking clock of FIG. l; and

FIG. 4 is a partial front elevation view with parts broken away, of the talking clock of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF T-HE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 illustrates a talking clock comprising a case 10 `with a transparent circular front cover portion 12, a clock face 14 displayed behind the transparent cover portion, and a pair of clock hands 16 and 18 over the face that indicates the time. A knob 20 which protrudes from the center of the clock face can be turned by a child to move the clock hands 16, 18 so that any time setting can be displayed. A child can rotate a start knob 22 to cause the talking clock to play voice recordings that state the time. For example, the clock may state My hands read 8:35.

While an ordinary clock generally has a face which indicates only twelve hour markings, the illustrated talking clock includes an inner ring portion 24 with twelve hour markings and also an outer ring portion 26 with twelve numbered minute markings. The numbered minute markings are provided to aid in teaching the child that the hour is broken up into sixty minutes. In order to reduce complexity, the illustrated talking clock has provisions for indicating time intervals spaced by iive minutes. Cam apparatus is provided to urge the minute hand toward the closest live-minute indication if the minute hand is set between the live minute intervals.

The clock comprises phonograph apparatus including a record 28 with twenty-four grooves. Twelve of the grooves define hour sayings with an introduction, such as My hands read eight. The other twelve grooves deline minute sayings such as Thirty-five. The grooves have only a very slight spiral, so they are nearly circular and nearly concentric, and are substantially radially spaced from each other. Except for a short lead-in section at the beginning of each groove, the grooves extend almost 360 around the record.

Separate playback mechanisms

30 and 32 are provided for playing the hour and minute sayings, respectively. The minute playback mechanism 32 comprises a tone arm 34 4with a needle 36 which can engage any one of the twelve minute-indicating grooves. The record grooves are modulated in depth, and the needle modulations aire transmitted through a speaker piston 38 to a speaker cone 40' for acoustical amplification. In a similar manner, the hour playback mechanism 30 has a tone arm 42 with a needle 44 that engages an hour groove, the needle oscillations being transmitted by a speaker piston 39 and amplified by another speaker cone 46.

For a particular setting of the clock hands, the minute and hour needles engage particular record grooves, and the record 128 makes one revolution. During the first twothirds of the record revolution, the hour needle 44 is engaged with a modulated hour groove portion to reproduce the hour saying. During this period, the min-utc tone arm is engaged with an unmodulated portion of the minute groove and it produces substantially no sound (actually only a low level of noise). During the last third of the record revolution, the minute tone arm is engaged with a modulated portion of the minute groove which reproduces the minute saying while the hour groove is unmodulated and therefore nominally silent. The mechanism is driven by a motor 48 which is energized by an ordinary dry cell 50. It is constructed so that after the start knob 2.2 is rotated to start the mechanism, a turntable 52 on which `the record and other mechanisms are mounted makes one complete revolution and then stops.

A better understanding of the details of the mechanism can be had by considering the chain of events occurring in the operation of the device for a given setting. When the start knob 22 is rotated clockwise by approximately a quarter-turn, a cam 54 fixed to the knob presses against a start/stop lever '6. The lever 56 is mounted at a bearing area 58 in a manner which allows pivoting and slight rocking about the pivot point. The force of cam 54 on lever lS6 causes the lever to pivot clockwise. A contact block 60, also shown in FIG. lA, has a ramp 62 which forces the lever 56 to tilt until it is behind the block, as the lever pivots clockwise. When the lever `56 reaches the end of the contact block ramp 62, a lip portion 57 thereof falls into a notch 64, so it cannot pivot back under the urging of a return spring 90. The lip portion also presses an electrical contact 66 of a switch 92 against a second contact 68 thereof. These contacts are in series with the electrical cell 50 and motor 48, and their closing causes the motor 48 to be energized and to turn the turntable 52.

The motor 48 has an output shaft 70 that drives a friction drive Wheel 72. The drive wheel 72 has a small diameter portion 74 that is in frictional engagement with a rim portion SZR of the turntable to drive it. Prior to starting the toy, the speaker pistons 38, 39 are held away from the tone arms 34, 42 by a lift arm 78. As soon as the turntable begins to rotate, a lift arm cam 76 on the turntable is moved out of engagement with the lift arm 78. This allows two end portions 80 and 82 of the lift arm to move away from the speaker pistons 38, 39 and allow them to bear against the tone arms 34, 42. Prior to starting the toy, when the lift arm raises the speaker pistons away from the tone arm 34, 42, the tone arms can be moved radially over the record grooves for re-positioning into different grooves as the clock hands are turned. After several degrees of turntable rotation, when the lift arm cam 76 disengages from the arm, the speaker pistons 38 and 39 are free to move down and bear against the needles 36 and 44 to transmit the recorded sounds to the speaker cones.

The record rotates in a clockwise direction indicated by arrow 84 for one revolution. As mentioned above, during the first approximately two-thirds of the revolution the hour playback mechanism 30 announces the hour and during the last approximately one-third revolution the minute playback mechanism 32 announces the minute. At the end of the revolution, a stopping cam 86 fixed to the back of the turntable engages a member 88 on the start/stop lever 56, causing lever S6 to tilt backward. The lever 56 is therefore made to disengage from the slot 64 of the contact block `60. When thus disengaged, the lever 56 rotates counterclockwise under the force of a return spring 90. The lever K56 rotates counterclockwise and disengages from the switch 92, thereby deenergizing the motor. The turntable coasts a small distance but is stopped in a predetermined position, as shown in FIG. 3, when a protrusion 96 on the start/stop lever enters an indented portion 94 of the rim portion 52S and abuts a holding portion 98 on the turntable rim. Thus, rotation of the start knob 22 causes the turntable to make one complete revolution and stop at the same position at which it started, to prepare for the playing of another time saying.

After the turntable has stopped, a child can turn the knob 20 to change the time setting indicated by the clock hands 16, 18. Rotation of the knob 20 also automatically causes movement of the tone arms 34, 42, which results in movement of the minute and hour needles to the record grooves with sayings corresponding to the time indicated by the clock hands. As shown in FIG. 3, the knob is fixed to a shaft 100 which is fixed to the minute hand 18 and which is also fixed to a minute cam 102. A minute cam follower 104 on the tone arm 34 engages the minute cam 1012. A minute spring 1016 biases the minute tone arm so that its cam follower 104 is constantly engaged with the cam 102. This causes positioning of the minute needle 36 over a particular record groove defined by the minute cam.

The minute cam 102 has twelve face portions corresponding to twelve five-minute intervals in each hour. When the time setting knob 20 has been turned so the minute hand 18 points to five minutes after the hour, the cam portion C5 engages the minute cam follower 104. This causes the minute needle 316 to be positioned over groove G5. If the clock is then started, the minute saying will state it is live minutes after the hour.

A child may sometimes set the minute hand inbetween the five-minute intervals, which might cause confusion. To prevent such a setting, an index wheel 108 is fixed to the shaft 100, the wheel having twelve depressed areas separated by raised areas. An indexing lever 110 bears against the wheel and tends to rotate the wheel so that it lies in a depressed area. When the indexing lever 110 is within a depressed area, the minute hand points precisely to one of the twelve five-minute clock positions which are indicated at the outer ring area 26 of the clock face. As the knob 20 and minute hand 18 are rotated, the clock hour hand 16 must be slowly advanced to change the hour setting. A gear 'wheel 112 is fixed to the shaft 100 to rotate with it. The gear Wheel 112 has four pairs of teeth 114 spaced around its periphery. These teeth can engage a transfer pinion 1116 that is rotatably mounted on the clock housing. Every time the minute hand 18 rotates a quarter-turn, another pair of teeth '114 on the gear wheel passes by the pinion 116 to rotate the pinion by two teeth. As shown in FIG. 4, the pinion 116 is engaged with a spur gear 118 that is pivotally mounted around the shaft 100. An hour can is `fixed to the spur gear 118 to rotate with it.

As in the case of the minute cam, the hour cam 120 has twelve cam por-tions H1 through H12 which engage an hour tone arm cam follower 122 which is mounted on the hour tone arm 42. A spring 124 urges the hour tone arm cam follower 122- against the hour cam. This causes the hour needle 44 to Ibe engaged with one of `the hour grooves R1 through R12 on the record. The spur gear 118 is also fixed to the hour clock hand 16 to move it.

The spur gear `118 has 96 teeth. Thus, at every quarter revolution of the minute hand, 'when the pinion 116 is advanced by two teeth and it advances the spur gear 118 by two teeth, :the spur gear and the hour hand fixed thereto are advanced by 1/48 of a revolution. This causes the hour hand to advance by one-fourth of an hour every time the minute hand advances by fifteen minutes. Accordingly, the hour hand is always at a position on or between the hour numerals, which corresponds closely to the positions taken by the hour hand of an ordinary clock.

Thus, the talking clock of the invention can be easily set to the closest five-minute interval of any clock reading, by merely turning a single knob 20, and it can be made to play a voice message telling the time to which it is set `by merely moving a start knob 22. This enables a child to learn to tell time without consta-nt adult instruction, and enables him to derive enjoyment out of constantly testing and confirming his ability to tell time. While the talking clock generally does not contain a timepiece mechanism which would move the hands to indicate the actual time, such a mechanism could be included.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and Variations may readily occur -to those skilled in the art, and consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. A talking-teaching clock comprising:

a housing;

means defining a simulated clock face mounted on said housing;

hour and minute hands rotatably mounted on said housing to indicate the hour and minute;

knob means mounted on said housing and connected to said minute hand for enabling turning of said minute hand;

gear means coupled to said minute hand to turn said hour hand in accordance with rotation of said minute hand;

record means movably mounted in said housing and including a plurality of hour tracks and a plurality of minute tracks having voice recordings stating the hour and minute, respectively;

separate hour and minute tone arms for engaging said hour and minute tracks, respectively;

means swingably mounting each of said tone arms in said housing;

a speaker engageable by each of said tone arms for mechanically producing audible sounds vdefined by the tracks engaged by said tone arms;

hourv and minute cams coupled to said hour and minute hands, respectively;

hour and minute cam follower means carried by said hour and minute tone arms, respectively, for selecting one of said hour tracks and one of said minute tracks to be engaged by said tone arms; l

spring means connected to said tone arms for swinging said tone arms to positions where said cam follower means engages an associated one of said cams; and

lift arm means mounted in said housing for separating said tone arms and said speakers, whereby said tone arms are free to be swung to said positions by said spring means.

2. The talking-teaching clock described in claim 1 wherein:

said plurality of minute tracks comprise less than sixty tracks, to indicate only times spaced by a plurality of minutes; and including indexing means for automatically aligning said minute hand with a predetermined one of said times spaced by a plurality of minutes, after said minute hand has been manually moved to a position adjacent said predetermined one of said times.

3. The talking-teaching clock described in claim 1 wherein:

said tracks ext/end along substantially concentric circles spaced substantially radially from each other on said turntable; and including;

an electric motor for moving saidrecord means;

manually operable switch means for commencing the operation of said motor; and

means for terminating the operation of said motor upon the completion of one revolution of said lturntable.

4. An educational toy for teaching the time of day,

comprising:

a housing;

means defining a simulated clock face mounted on said housing;

hours and minute hands mounted on said housing to permit movement with respect to said simulated clock face to visually indicate different time settings;

record means including a plurality of hour-defining sound tracks and a plurality of minute-defining sound tracks, said record means comprising a turntable having a record with a plurality of radially spaced substantially circular grooves;

playback means for engaging particular hour-dening and minute-detining sound tracks in accordance with the positions of said hour and minute hands, respectively, to reproduce the sounds defined by said tracks, said playback means comprising separate hour and minute tone arm means each swingably mounted in said housing for engaging said hour-dening and minute-defining sound trac-ks, respectively, hour and minute cam means coupled to said hour and 'minute hands, respectively, a cam follower carried by each tone 'arm means and engageable with an associated one of said cam means for positioning each of said tone arm means to engage one of said grooves in accordance with the positions of said hands with respect to said clock face, and a spring connected to each of said tone arm means for normally biasing said tone arm means into engagement with said cam means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS WILLIAM H. GRIEB, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. XJR.