DE29705935U1 - Effect clock with a decorative display area - Google Patents

Description

Hubertus Maximilian Schmitz, Mainzer Strasse 13, 80804 Munich Effect clock with a decorative display surface

Descriptive

Effect clock with decorative time display surface

The innovation concerns an effect clock with a decorative time display surface, with
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- a fixed circular scale at the edge of the time display area on which time intervals are shown,

- Devices for displaying the time on the circular scale, and

- various surface-like, elongated overall motifs, each of which is provided along one of the imaginary radial lines that lead from the center of the time display area to the positions on the circular scale representing every full 5 minutes.

Clocks with decorative time display surfaces are known, on which, in addition to the numbers and symbols representing a time scale, one or more surface-like motifs are painted or printed. Clocks are also known in which the time display surface is provided with windows in which various additional numbers or symbols are visible as they pass by under the control of the clockwork, representing, for example, the respective day of the month or the phases of the moon and the like. For this purpose, a rotating disc is provided behind each window, on which the various numbers and symbols to be displayed in the window are applied. In the case of several pieces of information to be displayed, several windows are provided and the construction of the clock becomes complex due to the space required by the rotating discs.

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The aim of the innovation is to provide an effect clock with the features mentioned above, in which, during operation of the clock, all the surface-like overall motifs on the time display surface are automatically and progressively changed in a simple manner over successive time intervals.

The innovative solution to this problem results from the features of claims 1 and 8.

Preferred embodiments of the innovation are specified in the subclaims.

The clock according to the innovation is particularly suitable as a wall or grandfather clock. The advantage of the innovation is that the entire time display surface has a frequently changing appearance that attracts the viewer's interest, whereby each overall motif visible after a jump is always complete and the viewer's attention is additionally stimulated by the fact that each overall motif differs from the previous one only in details. Another advantage is the compact design.

In the new design, the individual overall motifs of the decor are composed of partial motifs that are arranged along the length of the motif and are interchangeable.

In one embodiment of the effect clock according to the invention, conventional hour, minute and possibly second hands can be provided, which are controlled by a quartz movement and show the time of day on a fixed circular scale arranged on the edge of a time display surface and provided with conventional markings. Alternatively, the hands are merely designed as markings on the edge of possibly transparent circular disks, which are attached to respective driven shafts or hollow shafts in the middle of the display surface.

The switching of the partial motifs is done mechanically. Above the hands or hand discs, two or more additional partial motif discs are arranged one above the other at a short distance. These are made of a transparent material. Surface-like partial motifs are applied to each of these discs, e.g. by printing, in such a way that in several angular positions of the parallel discs relative to each other, the partial motifs visible in a top view of the time display surface complement each other to form several elongated overall motifs aligned in a star shape at equal angular distances.

As an example, each overall motif can represent a human figure or a toy doll. This is composed of a head part selected from one of the various head parts shown on a partial motif disk, an upper body part selected from one of the various upper body parts shown on another partial motif disk, and a lower body part selected from one of the various lower body parts shown on a third partial motif disk. There are a variety of possibilities when designing other overall and partial motifs.

The partial motif discs are attached to the center of the time display surface on rotating hollow shafts, the rotation of which is controlled by coupling to the clockwork in such a way that, of the partial motif discs aligned with one another to form the overall motifs, one of the partial motif discs is rotated from one position to the adjacent one at certain time intervals. At other time intervals, a second and a third partial motif disc are brought into the adjacent position.

In the above example, the head area can change every 5 minutes for each visible overall motif,

Change the upper body part every 15 or 30 minutes and the lower body part every hour.

The changes in the positions of the partial motif discs only occur in jumps, e.g. with a switching time of 1 to 24 seconds, so that the overall motif visible after each jump is a complete one. For technical implementation, an additional gear is provided between a quartz clockwork of the usual design and the time display surface, whereby the additional gear is connected via a shaft of the quartz clockwork. In addition to the usual clock gear stages from the second to the minute to the hour, the additional gear contains two or three similarly constructed components for generating the jump movements. Springs are tensioned over a period of e.g. 5 minutes, 30 minutes and 1 hour, which are released at the appropriate moment by a suitable device, so that the disc intended for the jump movement follows a continuously rotating shaft assigned to it. By temporarily storing energy in the springs, it is possible to move relatively large discs. The larger the disc, the slower the movement. For example, discs with a thickness of 2 mm and a diameter of 240 mm can be used.

In another embodiment of the effect clock according to the innovation, as in the embodiment described above, a circular scale can be provided on the edge of the time display area and hands. However, the switching of the partial motifs takes place electronically.

The partial motifs are stored in the form of data in an electronic memory and can be called up to form each motif and displayed on an LCD display in the time display area. For example, twelve motifs can be displayed simultaneously, whereby individual partial motifs of a motif can be exchanged for others in time with the clockwork.

The hands may be omitted if the motif, the position of which corresponds to that of an hour hand at the last full hour, and the motif, the position of which corresponds to that of a minute hand at the last full 5 minutes, appear together with an additional marking.

It is also possible to provide the time display device by switching the LCD display in such a way that only a first overall motif, which replaces the hour hand in its position at the last full hour and is provided with an additional marking, and a second overall motif, which replaces the minute hand in its position at the last full 5 minutes, are visible at the same time. At the end of the following hour and the following 5 minutes, a new overall motif appears in which one partial motif has been replaced by another compared to the previous motifs.

Claims (9)

Protection claims 1. Effect clock with a decorative time display surface, with 5 a fixed circular scale at the edge of the time display area on which time intervals are shown, Devices for displaying the time on the circular scale, and various surface-like, elongated overall motifs, each of which is provided along one of the imaginary radial lines that lead from the center of the time display area to the positions on the circular scale that represent every full 5 minutes, where - two or more discs are provided, one above the other, which are mounted concentrically with the circular scale at the centre and which allow a view of the circular scale and which are rotated in jumps by an angle of 30° at their own intervals and in time with the clockwork, and each disc is provided with several surface-like partial motifs applied at a distance from one another in the circular direction, which are visible through the disc above, in such a way that after each sudden rotation of one of the discs, the overall motifs appear in the top view of the time display surface, each of which is composed of partial motifs that complement one another along the radial direction. 2. Effect clock according to claim 1, in which one of the discs jumps at intervals of 5 minutes and another of the discs jumps at intervals of one hour. 3. Effect clock according to claim 1 or 2, in which the fixed circular scale is applied to a fixed disc. 4. Effect clock according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the circular scale is divided into hours and minutes. 5. Effect clock according to one of claims 1 to 4, in which a marking serving as a pointer is applied to the edge of a transparent disc driven by the clockwork as a device for displaying the time. 6. Effect clock according to one of claims 1 to 5, in which a marking serving as a minute hand is formed on the edge of a partial motif disc that advances in 5-minute intervals, and a marking serving as an hour hand is formed on the edge of a partial motif disc that advances in 1-hour intervals. 7. Effect clock according to one of claims 1 to 6, in which each partial motif disc is made of a transparent material to allow a view of the partial motifs of the disc below. 8. Effect clock with a decorative time display area, with 30 a fixed circular scale at the edge of the time display area on which time intervals are shown, Devices for displaying the time on the circular scale, and various surface-like, elongated overall motifs, each of which is provided along one of the imaginary radial lines that lead from the center of the time display area to the positions on the circular scale that represent every full 5 minutes, where - provide the time display area with LCD display areas on which the various overall motifs can be represented, on each LCD display surface, the overall motifs are composed of partial motifs arranged lengthwise, the partial motifs are stored in the form of data in an electronic memory and can be called up for visualization on the LCD display surfaces, and 20 - at intervals controlled by the clockwork, one or more partial motifs are exchanged for others for each visible overall motif. 9. Effect clock according to claim 8, in which the LCD displays are connected as a device for displaying time in such a way that only a first overall motif, which appears in the imaginary position of an hour hand at the full hour, and a second overall motif, which appears in the imaginary position of a minute hand at the full 5 minutes, can be called up for display on the LCD displays, whereby an overlay of the two overall motifs in the same position is avoided by only one overall motif being visible.