EP0690361A1 - Circuit hydraulique à commande électronique destiné à afficher des mesures de temps - Google Patents

Circuit hydraulique à commande électronique destiné à afficher des mesures de temps Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0690361A1
EP0690361A1 EP95830262A EP95830262A EP0690361A1 EP 0690361 A1 EP0690361 A1 EP 0690361A1 EP 95830262 A EP95830262 A EP 95830262A EP 95830262 A EP95830262 A EP 95830262A EP 0690361 A1 EP0690361 A1 EP 0690361A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
reservoirs
reservoir
series
graduated
liquid
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP95830262A
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German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Moreno Linzi
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Individual
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Individual
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of EP0690361A1 publication Critical patent/EP0690361A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
    • G04G9/00—Visual time or date indication means
    • 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
    • G04F1/04—Apparatus which can be set and started to measure-off predetermined or adjustably-fixed time intervals without driving mechanisms, e.g. egg timers by movement or acceleration due to gravity
    • G04F1/06—Apparatus which can be set and started to measure-off predetermined or adjustably-fixed time intervals without driving mechanisms, e.g. egg timers by movement or acceleration due to gravity by flowing-away of a prefixed quantity of fine-granular or liquid materials, e.g. sand-glass, water-clock

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an electronically sequenced hydraulic plant or circuit for displaying through the observation of liquid levels in a plurality of graduated reservoirs a time measurement, e.g. the current time.
  • Innumerable clock systems are known for displaying the current time or more in general a time measurement, either in an analog or digital fashion.
  • the known time measurement systems and displaying devices respond to the most different functional, aesthetic, comfort and personal taste requirements. For example the ticking noise of a mechanism for advancing the arms of an analog clock, whether mechanical or electrical, may cause discomfort and be ill tolerated.
  • Electroluminescent diodes, liquid crystals and similar displaying devices, capable of being electronically commanded without any mechanical transmission often provide an ultramodern aesthetic which is not particularly pleasing to a lot of people.
  • Peculiar and fancy displays may often offer useful and pleasing display solutions by constituting attractive objects per se, capable of focusing attention and induce curiosity and interest or more simply displaying the current time in a particularly pleasing fashion.
  • fancy displays systems are often intrinsically unprecise and quickly accumulate intolerable errors thus requiring excessively frequent resettings of the exact current time.
  • the displaying system object of the present invention which essentially consists in a sequentially operated hydraulic plant or circuit which is electronically timed by a precision clock, for example an electronic quartz clock, or the like.
  • the display system of the invention consists of a sequentially operated hydraulic plant electronically timed and which comprises an hydraulic circuit composed of a plurality of graduated or indexed (labelled) transparent reservoirs, hydraulically connected in cascade and by at least a recycling tank.
  • an electronically controlled volumetric pump employing a timing signal produced by a precision clock, for example an electronic quartz clock, pumps liquid from the recycling tank into a first transparent graduated reservoir, which may have a graduation and relative internal volumetry from 0 to 60 seconds (for example having markings that correspond to 10 second intervals).
  • the volumetric pumping rate will be such as to fill the first reservoir up to its 60 second marking (the higher level reservoir) in exactly 60 seconds.
  • a discharge line connected by an electrovalve or similar electrically controlled device, connects the bottom of the first reservoir to a second reservoir, placed at a lower level than the level of the first reservoir.
  • the second reservoir hydraulically connected in cascade with respect to the first reservoir, may have a graduation and relative internal volumetry from 0 to 60 minutes and is in turn connected by a line controlled by a second discharge electrovalve to a third graduated reservoir having an internal volumetry and graduation that may go from 0 to 12 or from 0 to 24 hours, depending on a construction option of the time display plant for cycles of 12 hours or for cycles of 12 hours.
  • additional reservoirs hydraulically connected in cascade even the current date may be displayed in a similar fashion.
  • the liquid contained inside the third graduated reservoir may discharge into the recycling tank through a line controlled by an electrovalve upon the striking of the 12th or 24th hour, thus restarting a new cycle of the display.
  • the opening of the electrovalves for sequentially discharging the liquid contained in a certain graduated reservoir into the graduated reservoir or recycling tank that follows in cascade is commanded by the timing circuitry driven by the precision system's clock signal, respectively triggering commanding the emptying of the graduated reservoirs that display the seconds, the minutes, the hours (at the end of the 24 or 12 hour cycle) and so forth.
  • the respective periods of opening of the sequenced discharge valves are set in order to allow a complete discharging of the liquid from a certain graduated reservoir to the graduated reservoir of higher order.
  • the setting of the exact current time upon starting the clock display by setting the relative levels of liquids in the different graduated reservoirs of the system of the invention, or every time it is necessary to reset the exact current time, takes place by completely filling all the graduated transparent reservoirs and by sequentially commanding manually the opening of the discharge electrovalves (in a reverse order and for the appropriate period of time of discharge of the liquid set by the timing system) thus setting sequentially the levels of the liquid in the different reservoirs of increasing order connected in cascade on the right markings so as to display the exact current time.
  • the display system may be restarted in a normal operation mode.
  • the distinct reservoirs hydraulically connected in cascade may be placed at different levels in order to permit the transfer of the liquid from a reservoir to the successive reservoir by gravity.
  • this will not be necessary if a plurality of pumps or appropriate pressurizing devices are employed.
  • the display of different units of measurement may be implemented, as an alternative, by a plurality of reservoirs arranged one next to the other which may be filled in sequence, for example through an overflow line from one to the next, instead of displaying them by the level reached by the liquid in a graduated reservoir.
  • the filling of all the graduated or indexed reservoirs for setting the exact current time may be carried out by commanding the performance of a fast filling cycle through the liquid raising pump and the sequential opening of the various discharge valves of the graduated reservoirs to properly set the display.
  • the hydraulic circuit may be substantially closed and a nonintercepted line for the redistribution of the gas phase (air) within the closed hydraulic circuit functionally interconnects the top parts of all the reservoirs of the hydraulic circuit.
  • This unintercepted line for the redistribution of the gas phase may also permit to fill all the graduated reservoirs, by physically turning the plant up-side down.
  • the hydraulic plant may be mounted on a pivoting board that can be blocked in an upright operating position and momentarily turned up-side down for resetting the display.
  • the hydraulic display system of the invention comprises a volumetric pump 1, provided with non-return valves 10 and 10' on the inlet and outlet lines.
  • the volumetric pump 1 draws liquid from a recycling tank 2 pumping it into a first graduated reservoir 3.
  • the internal volumetry and graduation of the first reservoir 3, set at the highest level, may be consistent with a graduation from 0 to 60 seconds and the pumping rate of the volumetric pump 1 may be controlled as to fill the reservoir 3 up to the marking 60, in exactly 60 seconds.
  • the liquid contained in the reservoir 3 discharges by gravity into the successive graduated reservoir 4 through the line 30 which is controlled by the electrovalve 31.
  • the second graduated reservoir 4 may have a graduation and a corresponding internal volumetry consistent with a graduation from 0 to 60 minutes.
  • the liquid contained in the reservoir 4 is eventually discharged by gravity into the successive reservoir 5 through the line 40 controlled by the electrovalve 41.
  • the reservoir 5 may have an internal volumetry and a corresponding graduation from 0 to 12 or from 0 to 24 hours.
  • the liquid contained in the reservoir 5 discharges in the recycling tank 2 through the line 50 controlled by the electrovalve 51.
  • an unintercepted line 16 for the redistribution of air among the different tanks interconnects the top portions of all graduated reservoirs 2, 4 and 5 as well as of the recycling tank 2, thus permitting to seal off the hydraulic circuit with respect to the atmosphere.
  • this line 16 it is even possible to completely fill the graduated reservoirs 2, 4 and 5 by gravity, by physically turning upside-down the sealed hydraulic circuit, which for this purpose may be mounted on an hinged frame that can be blocked in an operative upright position.
  • An electronic system of synchronization which may comprise a precision quartz clock for providing a system's clock signal and an appropriate logic circuitry commands the operation of the volumetric pump 1 and of the electrovalves 31, 41 and 51, through the switches 1', 31', 41' and 51', respectively.
  • the volumetric pump 1 which may be of any suitable type capable of providing an extremely precise and easily adjustable pumping rate, may be driven by the clock signal through a rate regulation circuit in order to provide a liquid flow rate suitable to fill up to the marking 60 the reservoir 3 in exactly 60 seconds.
  • the logic circuitry Upon the striking of the minute, the logic circuitry provides to command the opening of the electrovalve 31 (closing of the switch 31') for a set period of time sufficient to permit a complete transfer of the liquid contained in the reservoir 3 (having reached the level indicated by the marking 60) into the reservoir 4, which will have an internal volumetry so as to record an increment of the liquid level therein corresponding to one marking, that is to a minute.
  • the logic circuitry commands the opening of the electrovalve 41 (closing of the switch 41') for a set period of time long enough to allow a complete transfer of the liquid contained in the reservoir 4 (which in the meanwhile would have reached the marking 60) into the graduated reservoir 5, which will have an internal volumetry so as to record an increase of the liquid level therein due to the volume discharged from the reservoir 4, corresponding to an hour marking.
  • the logic circuitry commands the opening of the electrovalve 51 (closing of the switch 51') for a period of time long enough to permit a complete discharge of the liquid contained inside the reservoir 5 (which in the meanwhile will have reached the maximum level marking 12 or 24) into the recycling tank 2.
  • the setting of the exact current time may be effected at any moment and necessarily when starting the clock (that is the display system), by completely filling the graduated reservoirs 2, 4 and 5.
  • a complete filling of all the graduated reservoirs may be achieved by commanding through the control logic circuitry the run of a fast filling cycle, during which the pump 1 is commanded to deliver an enhanced liquid rate and the electrovalves 31 and 41 to open so as to permit a quick filling of all the graduated reservoirs.
  • the operator may manually command the opening of the electrovalves in sequence and for preset intervals of time by acting on appropriate push buttons 31'', 41'' and 51'', as schematically shown.
  • the complete filling of the graduated reservoirs 3, 4 and 5 for setting the exact current time may be effected by stopping the pump 1 and by physically upturning the hydraulic circuit (if implemented in a substantially sealed manner) in order to fill completely by gravity the graduated reservoirs through the line 16.
  • the exact current time may be set by acting manually and sequentially on the push buttons 31'', 41'' and 51'' for setting the correct levels in the various graduated reservoirs of the display.
  • the timing circuitry will remain active to control the period of aperture of an electrovalve following each manual command exerted through the respective push button.
  • the display of any of the time measurement units may alternatively be implemented by employing a series of transparent containers, each indicating a certain multiple of the unit or time measurement, for example 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 minutes (or hours, days or months) and standing one next to the others on a same level.
  • the liquid introduced in a first container at a controlled rate or intermittently, fills in succession the series of containers set one next to the other through an overflow line connecting the top portions of a container to the top portion of the container following it in the series and so forth.
  • an unique electrovalve controls the simultaneous discharging of the liquid from all the containers on the series into the graduated reservoir or the first container of another series of a higher order.
  • This alternative form of displaying is schematically depicted in Fig. 2, showing for example an alternative way of displaying the minutes in a liquid display system of the invention as the one depicted in Fig. 1.
  • the display system of the invention employing a succession of graduated or otherwise indexed (labelled) containers hydraulically connected in cascade, may be realized even in different ways from the ones described for purely illustrative purpose in the figures.
  • the volumetric pump 1, driven by a system's clock signal, through an appropriate logic control circuitry may be substituted by a normal recycling pump that can be intermittently commanded into operation by employing a recycling tank placed at a higher level than any of the graduated or indexed displaying containers or reservoirs and by controlling the rate of discharge of the liquid from the recycling tank into the first of the graduated reservoirs of the display through a special electrovalve controlled by pulses generated by a rate control circuit.
  • a closed loop control system may employ a flow rate sensor in the delivering line (filling the graduated reservoir or indexed reservoir containers of a first order of unit of time).
  • the signal produced by the flow rate sensor may than be used by the driving circuitry of the volumetric pump or of the primary liquid delivery device to the hydraulic display circuit in order to exert a closed loop control of the flow rate and therefore ensure an improved precision of the recirculating liquid display under any operating condition.
  • the problem of gathering large quantities of liquid in a graduated reservoir or in a series of indexed containers for displaying a unit of time of a relatively high order, such as hours, days or months, may be alleviated by implementing the display system according to an alternative form of realization.
  • a subdivision of the amount of liquid relative to an indication of a certain unit of time into a congruent plurality of indexed containers connected in cascade is effected and only the liquid dischargeable from the last one of the sequential containers is used to carry the information to a graduated reservoir or to a similar series of indexed containers connected in cascade that display the unit of measure of a higher order.
  • a volumetric pump (or the timed discharge stream of a graduated reservoir displaying the seconds) introduces the liquid into the container labeled 50 of the six containers connected in cascade, each indicating the passing of 10 minutes. It is evident that the containers (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60) will fill in succession with the passing of time. After the container 50 itself will eventually be filled, the liquid will start to fill also the last one of the containers, labeled 60. Upon the opening of the electrovalve 21, only the quantity of liquid contained in the last container 60 will be transferred to the series of labeled containers connected in cascade (1, 2, ..., 12) displaying the passing of the hours.
  • an auxiliary electrovalve 31a will open.
  • This auxiliary electrovalve will empty all the other containers: 10, 20, ..., 50, by returning the liquid into the recycling tank. It is evident how the information of the passing of an hour is effectively transferred from the first series of cascaded containers displaying the passing of minutes to the second series of cascaded containers displaying the passing of the hours, by a fractionary quantity of liquid (in the example corresponding to the passing of 10 minutes).
  • the internal volumetry of the containers 1, ..., 12 for displaying of passing of the hours may be substantially reduced.
  • This type of embodiment is exceptionally useful for displaying the time through the indication of units of relatively different orders from one another.
  • FIG. 4 An electronic circuit for controlling the liquid display system of the invention, designed for displaying seconds, minutes, hours and adaptable for a displaying cycle of 12 or 24 hours, is shown in Fig. 4.
  • the control circuit employs an integrated timer produced by SGS-THOMSON MICROELECTRONICS (ST 6215) and an external quartz crystal for generating a stable system's clock frequency.
  • the electronic clock card of Fig. 4 generates sequenced pulses at the striking of each second, each minute, each hour, every 12 hours and every 24 hours through respective outputs.
  • Distinct dedicated control circuits each commanded by a relative output of the clock's circuit of Fig. 4, will command the opening of the respective electrovalve of the display system for a set interval of time.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Reciprocating Pumps (AREA)
  • Measurement Of Unknown Time Intervals (AREA)
EP95830262A 1994-06-29 1995-06-22 Circuit hydraulique à commande électronique destiné à afficher des mesures de temps Withdrawn EP0690361A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITVA940021 1994-06-29
IT94VA000021A IT1278619B1 (it) 1994-06-29 1994-06-29 Impianto idraulico temporizzato elettronicamente per visualizzare una misura del tempo

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0690361A1 true EP0690361A1 (fr) 1996-01-03

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EP95830262A Withdrawn EP0690361A1 (fr) 1994-06-29 1995-06-22 Circuit hydraulique à commande électronique destiné à afficher des mesures de temps

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EP (1) EP0690361A1 (fr)
IT (1) IT1278619B1 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1195662A1 (fr) * 2000-10-05 2002-04-10 Heinz Mutter Montre et méthode pour représenter le temps
CN114563943A (zh) * 2022-03-01 2022-05-31 新疆坎儿井灌溉技术有限责任公司 以漏水为计时和动力控制制作自动水钟的装置

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2223738A1 (en) * 1973-03-27 1974-10-25 Frank Remy Decorative fluidic time measuring display - has fluid sequentially passing through communicating chambers using syphon arrangement
FR2225779A2 (en) * 1973-04-13 1974-11-08 Encausse Gerard Hour-glass employing liquid flow - comprises upper and lower sectioned chambers with communicating flow orifice
FR2450476A1 (fr) * 1979-03-02 1980-09-26 Ingendahl Kurt Montre a dispositif d'affichage perfectionne
FR2576430A1 (fr) * 1985-01-21 1986-07-25 Bequet Claude Montre lineaire analogique
FR2578066A1 (fr) * 1985-02-28 1986-08-29 Thual Jacques Ensemble formant horloge solaire

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2223738A1 (en) * 1973-03-27 1974-10-25 Frank Remy Decorative fluidic time measuring display - has fluid sequentially passing through communicating chambers using syphon arrangement
FR2225779A2 (en) * 1973-04-13 1974-11-08 Encausse Gerard Hour-glass employing liquid flow - comprises upper and lower sectioned chambers with communicating flow orifice
FR2450476A1 (fr) * 1979-03-02 1980-09-26 Ingendahl Kurt Montre a dispositif d'affichage perfectionne
FR2576430A1 (fr) * 1985-01-21 1986-07-25 Bequet Claude Montre lineaire analogique
FR2578066A1 (fr) * 1985-02-28 1986-08-29 Thual Jacques Ensemble formant horloge solaire

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
GITTON: "time,like an ever flowing stream...", HOROLOGICAL JOURNAL, vol. 131, no. 12, UPTON HALL,UPTON,GB, pages 18 - 20, XP000035604 *

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1195662A1 (fr) * 2000-10-05 2002-04-10 Heinz Mutter Montre et méthode pour représenter le temps
CN114563943A (zh) * 2022-03-01 2022-05-31 新疆坎儿井灌溉技术有限责任公司 以漏水为计时和动力控制制作自动水钟的装置
CN114563943B (zh) * 2022-03-01 2024-05-28 新疆坎儿井灌溉技术有限责任公司 以漏水为计时和动力控制制作自动水钟的装置

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ITVA940021A1 (it) 1995-12-29
IT1278619B1 (it) 1997-11-24
ITVA940021A0 (it) 1994-06-29

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