EP2042949A1 - Single-handed timepiece - Google Patents
Single-handed timepiece Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP2042949A1 EP2042949A1 EP07117265A EP07117265A EP2042949A1 EP 2042949 A1 EP2042949 A1 EP 2042949A1 EP 07117265 A EP07117265 A EP 07117265A EP 07117265 A EP07117265 A EP 07117265A EP 2042949 A1 EP2042949 A1 EP 2042949A1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- minute
- hour
- path
- current
- display
- 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.)
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- G—PHYSICS
- G04—HOROLOGY
- G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
- G04B19/00—Indicating the time by visual means
- G04B19/06—Dials
- G04B19/08—Geometrical arrangement of the graduations
- G04B19/082—Geometrical arrangement of the graduations varying from the normal closed scale
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- G—PHYSICS
- G04—HOROLOGY
- G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
- G04G9/00—Visual time or date indication means
- G04G9/02—Visual time or date indication means by selecting desired characters out of a number of characters or by selecting indicating elements the position of which represent the time, e.g. by using multiplexing techniques
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a time-piece with an open-ended minute display which can employ a single analogue type hand.
- Timepieces, or watches have evolved steadily over several hundred years, and particularly since the miniaturization of early spring-based designs enabled accurate portable timepieces, such as the marine chronometer.
- Early pocket watches only had an hour hand, as the inaccuracy of the watch mechanism meant that there was little point attempting to indicate the current minute.
- Mechanical mechanisms for watches of classical design became quite complex, including the escapement for controlling the release of stored energy in a periodic fashion, and the balan ce wheel and spring mechanism for providin g a harmonic oscillator to control the motion of the gear system.
- An analogue display could then indicate, on one or more dials, the current hour, minute, and even second, by means of separate hands driven by the mechanical mechanism.
- Other changeable information such as the day or date, could be indicated in separate windows, by means of a display mechanism driven by the underlying watch mechanism.
- the modern timepiece is split between those that employ a digital representation of time with numerals, and those that employ an analogue-type representation based on two or more moving hands and a number of symbols representing the hours of the twelve hour clock and some or all of the sixty minutes that make up each passing hour.
- the display can be effected by either mechanical or electronic means, and both of these may be based on an electrically-powered timekeeping mechanism.
- a 360°-rotating minute hand points towards symbols representative of minutes past the current hour and at the same time
- a linked 360°-rotating hour hand points towards symbols representative of the hours of the twelve hour clock.
- the symbols may be numerical or simply graphical, but are usually configured such that the hour symbols and the minute symbols at multiples of five-minutes past the hour are the same. Further minute symbols provide for resolution during the five minute intervals.
- the minute hand is driven to complete a full 360° rotation over a period of one hour and, if mechanical, the hour hand is coupled by suitable gearing mechanism to move slowly from one hour symbol to the next over the course of an hour, thereby completing a full 360° rotation over a period of twelve hours.
- on board processing means and driving circuitry simulates this effect on the LCD display.
- timepiece displays for both reasons of the ease of reading of the time display and also aesthetics.
- published US patent 4,991,154 discloses a timepiece that employs a conventional 360°-rotating minute hand to analogically display the current minute past the hour, whilst at the same time indicating the current hour in a conveniently positioned window on the timepiece dial by means of a single digital display.
- the digital display comprises a mechanically driven rotating member, which is linked to the minute hand driving means in such a way that the member is moved in a jerking fashion to update the current hour displayed in the window at the end of each rotation of the minute hand.
- timepiece displays which present the core information in a readily accessible form and also in an attractive and enhanced visual display.
- a suitable technical means will be required to enable the display to operate in the desired manner.
- a timepiece having a display comprising:
- the invention provides a timepiece with an innovative display, whereby the time information can be presented in a different and easy to read manner due to the open (i.e. not closed) path along which the minute symbols are located and along which the current minute indicating means effectively moves to indicate the current minute.
- the display may also be more compact.
- a separate display means is used to show one or both of the current (from) hour and the next (to) hour.
- a current minute indicating means is provided that is adapted to automatically reset on reaching the end of the effective path, at which time the hour display means will then indicate the new current and/or next hour.
- This resetting must be done in a time frame that is sufficiently rapid for the minute indicating means to be able to indicate the first minute (or minutes) past the new current hour in an uninterrupted manner.
- This resetting action could be as slow as several seconds or even a few tens of seconds.
- the resetting will preferably be performed in under a second and may be much faster, particularly if an electronic display is employed.
- the beginning of the path is proximate the current hour symbol and the end of the path is distal the current hour symbol.
- the beginning of the path is distal the next hour symbol and the end of the path is proximate the next hour symbol.
- the open path naturally runs from the proximity of the current hour symbol and/or towards the proximity of the next hour symbol, which provides for easy reading of the time.
- the symbol representative of the current and/or next hour is a numeral. In this way, the current and/or next hour is displayed in a convenient digital format. However, other representations are possible.
- the current minute indicating means may comprise a hand, a tip of which points to a part of the path indicative of the current minute relative to the minute symbols, wherein the hand comprises a moving member driven by a mechanical or electromechanical mechanism.
- This embodiment uses a conventional analogue-type display for the minutes, and therefore much of the driving mechanism may be based on that used in known timepieces, but must be adapted to provide for the rapid automatic resetting. The skilled person would be able to implement such an adaptation, for example by means of resilient member such as a spring.
- the current minute indicating means comprises a hand, a tip of which points to a part of the path indicative of the current minute relative to the minute symbols
- the display comprises an electronic display and the hand comprises a virtual hand displayed by activating a portion of the electronic display.
- This embodiment also uses a conventional analogue-type display for the minutes, but is implemented via a purely electronic display.
- the display controlling mechanism may be based on that used in known timepieces, but must be adapted to provide for the rapid automatic resetting. This may be readily achieved in an LCD-type display, whereby the displayed analogue hand is "switched off” and almost instantaneously switched back on so as to appear in the new reset position.
- the only limitation on the speed of reset is the speed of the controlling electronics and the refresh rate of the LCD display.
- the current minute indicating means comprises means to highlight a portion of the path between the beginning of the path and a point on the path indicative of the current minute.
- This embodiment may be implemented either mechanically/electromechanically or electronically and provides for an alternative to the more conventional analogue display.
- the path portion may be highlighted by an increasing stripe, which may be a moving mechanical stripe displayed in a window of the display, a virtual bar displayed on the LCD display or an illuminated stripe of increasing extent.
- the current minute indicating means comprises means to highlight the minute symbol most closely representing the current minute past the hour. For example, the nearest current minute symbol may be temporarily illuminated.
- the path along which the plurality of minute symbols is disposed may be substantially linear.
- the path along which the plurality of minute symbols is disposed may be an arc of a closed geometric shape.
- the geometric shape may be substantially a circle, but could be an ellipse or the like. In this way the open path is simply a portion (an arc) of the closed geometric shape.
- the minute symbols need not be disposed uniformly along the path as there may be a nonlinear mapping between any motion of the current minute indicating means and the minute symbols.
- the driving mechanism may be adapted to cause the tip of the hand to traverse a remainder of the closed geometric shape between the end and the beginning of the path for automatically resetting.
- the tip of the minute hand will move steadily along the arcuate path over the course of one hour, but at the end of this slow traverse the driving mechanism will cause the hand to rapidly traverse the remainder of the circular perimeter to reset. During this resetting the hand may be visible or hidden to the viewer.
- the current minute indicating means is adapted to reciprocate for automatically resetting. This adaptation is particularly appropriate for linear displays and for displays where the length of the arc is less than half of the perimeter of the closed geometric shape. Moreover, the overall display may be more compact as the minute indicating means actually or effectively retraces its original path in a rapid manner. In a mechanical or electromechanically driven display the indicating means may be reset by a resilient member such as a return spring. In an electronic display the "virtual" indicating means may appear to retrace its path of may simply be "switched off" and then back so as to appear in the rest position.
- the present invention provides for a wide range of new timepiece displays, many of which may be implemented by suitable adaptation of the mechanisms used in known timepieces in accordance with the present invention.
- FIGS 1 to 7 show representations of various timepiece displays according to the present invention, as will now be discussed, although many more arrangements are possible, as will be apparent to the skilled person.
- the internal mechanisms of the timepieces are not shown, as the invention may potentially take many forms.
- Options include a mixture of analogue or digital representations, which may be displayed by means of a mechanical or electromechanical mechanism or else a purely electronic display means.
- the skilled person would be able to adapt known mechanisms to provide a suitable mechanism for implementing and driving the display of a timepiece according to the present invention when employing the teaching herein.
- the present invention relates particularly to improvements in timepieces of the "analogue" type, wherein one or more hands rotate about the centre of the face of the timepiece to point to markings or indicia spaced circumferentially about the face to represent time.
- the longer hand rotates at a speed of one revolution per hour and indicates minutes of the hour.
- the shorter hand rotates at one revolution per every twelve hours and indicates hours of the day. The two hands are therefore driven at different rotational rates.
- a typical single-hand timepiece merely omits the faster-rotating hand used to indicate minutes in a conventional analogue timepiece, and so both minutes and hours are then measured by the relative position of the single (hour) hand in relation to the hour markings or indicia on the face of the timepiece.
- Accurate time measurement is not necessarily compromised in principle with this type of timepiece, but the lack of detailed resolution for the viewer in terms of minutes between exact hours means that in practice it is.
- the timepiece of the present invention does not suffer from this problem.
- a preferred embodiment of the timepiece uses a single hand to display the minute at any given time on an analogue-based display with the hand moving between two points in an arc which subtends an angle of less than 360°.
- a numeral is positioned at one or both of the extreme ends of the arc to indicate the "from" hour and/or the "to" hour. The full motion of the hand from one extreme of the arc to the other indicates the passage of 60 minutes or one hour.
- the reset mechanism is implemented in a reciprocating manner, such that the hand quickly retraces the arcuate path to return to the beginning.
- a suitable restoring mechanism is employed in the inner workings to reciprocate the hand.
- the clockwise drive mechanism may be temporarily disengaged at this point or may be temporarily overcome by the restoring mechanism.
- Implementation in an electronic display is simpler, as the onboard processing means and driving circuitry simply control the LCD display to show a rapidly reversing hand or else the hand temporarily disappears from the display and almost instantaneously reappears pointing to the beginning of the arcuate minute path.
- the display can be viewed as a form of enlarged representation of the 30° arc representing the passage of five minutes on a traditional timepiece, but with the single minute hand representing the usual smaller hour hand on the traditional timepiece. Minutes are represented analogically, albeit the 60 minutes are represented by an arc and not a complete circle. The size of the arc effectively determines the accuracy of time measurement as read by the viewer.
- the timepiece of the present invention permits the displayed time information to be easily interpreted by the viewer, using a mix of analogue and digital representations.
- the display is compact, whilst still providing a good degree of resolution in the minute display.
- An added bonus of the invention is that a range of aesthetically pleasing timepiece displays may be realised.
- the timepiece of the present invention may be implemented as clock, either wall mounted or independently supported.
- the "from” hour and the "to” hour are advantageously displayed in digital format at the start and end of the arc, respectively. These provide an indication of the hour at a given moment. This provides an efficient representation of the current time by only displaying details relevant to the current time. The removal of the irrelevant detail ensures quick and clearer understanding of the current time.
- the numerals are incremented by one.
- Control of the digitally represented figures indicative of the hour can be operated mechanically or electronically. With either option, the transition from one hour to the next will not be represented by a gradual change of the display, as in conventional analogue timepieces, but instead will change near-instantaneously to represent the new from and to hour, in the manner of conventional date displays.
- the simplified digital hour display can employ either the twelve hour or twenty four hour clock, in which case the digits to be displayed range between 0 to 12 and 0 to 24, respectively.
- Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the face or dial 10 of the timepiece has the general overall shape of a segment of a circle that has been truncated near the centre of the circle.
- the from-hour 11 and the to-hour 12 are displayed in large digital formats in windows of the display and a single moving hand 13 indicates the passage of the intervening hour with respect to minute symbols 14 along the arcuate path.
- Both the start 15 and end 16 of the arcuate path is denoted by a circular symbol adjacent the from-hour 11 and the to-hour 12.
- the intervening minutes are represented by a symbol at five minute intervals.
- the symbols at the fifteen minute intervals are numerals, whilst those in between are simple dots or short lines.
- the time displayed is 5:50. If the 12-hour clock is being used, this time may be AM or PM, and this additional information may be displayed separately. If the 12-hour clock is being used, the time displayed is 5:50 AM.
- Figure 2 shows a similar embodiment to that of figure 1 , but with a face 20 having a perimeter shape that is substantially rectangular. Moreover, there are two different sets of minute symbols, which are radially separated along parallel arcuate paths.
- the inner radial set 14 comprise numerals at five minute intervals, with the exception of the start 25 and end 26 of the arcuate path, and the outer radial set 27 comprises short lines, with those at the ten minute intervals being longer than those at the intervening five minute intervals.
- the purpose of this dual array of symbols is that the partially transparent hand 23 reveals and frames the numeric minute symbol as is passes over it, whilst the very tip of the hand points to the outer short line symbol, thus providing two different sources of the same time information.
- the time shown is 10:35 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 10:35 AM on the 24-hour clock.
- Figure 3 shows a very similar embodiment to that of figure 2 , but with an opaque hand 33 and two windows 38,39 for date information on the face 30.
- the date is displayed numerically in the upper left-hand circular window 38 and the month is displayed in the lower left-hand, horizontal elongate window 39.
- the time shown is 10:10 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 10:10 AM on the 24-hour clock, and the date shown is 29 September.
- Figure 4 shows a further embodiment similar to that of figure 2 , but with a more rounded barrel-shaped face 40 and opaque hand 43.
- the minute symbols comprise an inner set of long radial lines 47 at 5-minute intervals, with those at 10-minute intervals being longer than those in between, and an outer set of numerals 44 at the 5-minute intervals apart from the start 45 and end 46 of the arcuate path.
- the time shown is 7:20 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 7:20 AM on the 24-hour clock.
- Figure 5 shows another single-hand analogue type embodiment, with a more conventional circular face shape 50.
- the rotational axis 58 of the hand 53 is offset from the centre and the arcuate path near the tip of the hand is inset from the perimeter of the circular face.
- the minutes are denoted at 15-minute intervals by long radial lines 57 and by numerals 54 on the path, and at intervening 5-minute intervals by dot-like symbols on the arcuate path.
- the from-hour 51 and to-hour 52 numeric symbols are somewhat offset from the start 55 and end 56 of the arcuate path, and the time shown is 5:10 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 5:10 AM on the 24-hour clock.
- the resetting mechanism for the embodiment shown in figure 5 will be of the reciprocating type, for similar embodiments, where the hand may be shorter and/or the rotational axis of the hand is more central, the resetting mechanism may cause the hand to rapidly traverse the remainder of the circular path about the rotational axis on reaching the end of the arcuate portion in order to return to the start of the arcuate portion. During this traverse, the hand may be visible or may temporarily disappear beneath a raised baffle-like portion of the display face, in the case of the real, mechanically-driven hand.
- Figure 6 shows a quite different embodiment of the present invention, comprising a horizontal (i.e. vertically-flattened), substantially rectangular display face with a linear path 63 for displaying the passage of one hour.
- the path is essentially an elongate display or window 63 subdivided by markers 64 into 5-minute intervals, with adjacent numerals at the 15-, 30- and 45-minute points.
- the from-hour 61 and to-hour 62 are displayed as standalone numerals near the beginning 65 and end 66 of the elongate display window. Passage of the intervening hour may be shown by a moving vertical bar or else an increasing "stripe" in the elongate display or window 63.
- This minute indicator may be implemented mechanically, electromechanically or electronically.
- the resetting mechanism will typically be of the reciprocating type, although in the case of an electronic display the bar or stripe may simply be "switched off" and almost instantaneously reappear at the the beginning of the linear display.
- the time shown is exactly 10:00 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 10:00 AM on the 24-hour clock.
- figures 7 and 8 show further similar embodiments to that of figure 6 , but a vertical (i.e horizontally-flattened), substantially rectangular display face is employed with linear path for displaying the passage of one hour.
- the embodiment of figure 7 operates in the same manner as that of figure 6 , but adjacent minute numerals are present at all 5-minute intervals 74 between the start 75 and end 76 of the elongate display window 73. In the example of figure 7 , either no time is shown or the time shown is exactly 5:00 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 5:00 AM on the 24-hour clock.
- the embodiment of figure 8 is a little different in that there is not a single elongate display window for the linear path 83, but rather a series of discrete windows 84 representative of blocks of 5-minute intervals.
- the relevant interval is indicated by numerals in each window.
- time may be indicated by highlighting the relevant window or all windows up to and including the relevant window, for example by illumination.
- the precise time will not be indicated so accurately, but rather rounded to the nearest 5-minute interval.
- the more precise time may be indicated within the relevant window by a moving bar or stripe, as in the embodiments of figures 6 and 7A.
- either no time is shown or the time shown is exactly 3:00 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 3:00 AM on the 24-hour clock.
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Abstract
A timepiece with a display (10) for indicating the passage of one hour, whereby the minute symbols (14) are located along an open-ended path having a beginning (15) and an end (16) along which a current minute indicating means (13) effectively moves to indicate the current minute. A separate display means is used to show one or both of the current hour (11) and the next hour (12). The current minute indicating means (13) is adapted to reset rapidly and automatically to the beginning (15) of the path on reaching the end (16) of the path, at which time the hour display means (11,12) will then indicate the new current and/or next hour. The display facilitates the use of a single hand (13) in an analogue type display, which traverses an arcuate path over the course of an hour and then resets, preferably by a reciprocating action. Displays with a range of linear paths are also described.
Description
- The present invention relates to a time-piece with an open-ended minute display which can employ a single analogue type hand.
- Timepieces, or watches, have evolved steadily over several hundred years, and particularly since the miniaturization of early spring-based designs enabled accurate portable timepieces, such as the marine chronometer. Early pocket watches only had an hour hand, as the inaccuracy of the watch mechanism meant that there was little point attempting to indicate the current minute. Mechanical mechanisms for watches of classical design became quite complex, including the escapement for controlling the release of stored energy in a periodic fashion, and the balan ce wheel and spring mechanism for providin g a harmonic oscillator to control the motion of the gear system. An analogue display could then indicate, on one or more dials, the current hour, minute, and even second, by means of separate hands driven by the mechanical mechanism. Other changeable information, such as the day or date, could be indicated in separate windows, by means of a display mechanism driven by the underlying watch mechanism.
- The last fifty years has seen considerable further developments in watch mechanisms, starting with the electrical or electronic tuning fork, which was rapidly superseded by the quartz crystal oscillator that provided an accurate and highly stable frequency source for pacing the timekeeping mechanism by means of the piezoelectric effect and also a source that could be powered by a modest electrical battery. As such, movements may now be entirely mechanical, entirely electronic, or a blend of the two. Over the same period there have been considerable developments in display technology, such as the advent of the liquid crystal display (LCD), which have provided alternative ways for displaying the time and other ancillary information. As a result, in addition to traditional mechanical analogue displays, the time may now be displayed in a purely digital format or may be displayed electronically, either in an analogue representation or else digitally.
- Generally speaking, the modern timepiece is split between those that employ a digital representation of time with numerals, and those that employ an analogue-type representation based on two or more moving hands and a number of symbols representing the hours of the twelve hour clock and some or all of the sixty minutes that make up each passing hour. In either case, the display can be effected by either mechanical or electronic means, and both of these may be based on an electrically-powered timekeeping mechanism. With the more conventional analogue display, a 360°-rotating minute hand points towards symbols representative of minutes past the current hour and at the same time a linked 360°-rotating hour hand points towards symbols representative of the hours of the twelve hour clock. The symbols may be numerical or simply graphical, but are usually configured such that the hour symbols and the minute symbols at multiples of five-minutes past the hour are the same. Further minute symbols provide for resolution during the five minute intervals. The minute hand is driven to complete a full 360° rotation over a period of one hour and, if mechanical, the hour hand is coupled by suitable gearing mechanism to move slowly from one hour symbol to the next over the course of an hour, thereby completing a full 360° rotation over a period of twelve hours. In an electronic analogue display, on board processing means and driving circuitry simulates this effect on the LCD display.
- Alternative arrangements have been proposed for timepiece displays, for both reasons of the ease of reading of the time display and also aesthetics. For example, published
US patent 4,991,154 discloses a timepiece that employs a conventional 360°-rotating minute hand to analogically display the current minute past the hour, whilst at the same time indicating the current hour in a conveniently positioned window on the timepiece dial by means of a single digital display. The digital display comprises a mechanically driven rotating member, which is linked to the minute hand driving means in such a way that the member is moved in a jerking fashion to update the current hour displayed in the window at the end of each rotation of the minute hand. - Nevertheless, there is still considerable scope for alternative forms of timepiece displays, which present the core information in a readily accessible form and also in an attractive and enhanced visual display. However, in order to realise such alternative displays, a suitable technical means will be required to enable the display to operate in the desired manner.
- According to the present invention, there is provided a timepiece having a display comprising:
- hour display means for displaying a symbol representative of the current hour and/or the next hour; and,
- minute display means for indicating the current minute past the current hour, wherein the minute display means comprises:
- means for displaying a plurality of symbols representative of minutes past the hour, the plurality of symbols being disposed sequentially along an open path having a beginning and an end remote from the beginning, the path between the beginning and the end being representative of the passage of one hour from the current hour to the next hour; and,
- means for indicating the current minute relative to the minute symbols along the path, the current minute indicating means being adapted to reset rapidly and automatically to the beginning of the path on reaching the end of the path.
- In this way, the invention provides a timepiece with an innovative display, whereby the time information can be presented in a different and easy to read manner due to the open (i.e. not closed) path along which the minute symbols are located and along which the current minute indicating means effectively moves to indicate the current minute. The display may also be more compact. A separate display means is used to show one or both of the current (from) hour and the next (to) hour.
- In order for the display to operate, a current minute indicating means is provided that is adapted to automatically reset on reaching the end of the effective path, at which time the hour display means will then indicate the new current and/or next hour. This resetting must be done in a time frame that is sufficiently rapid for the minute indicating means to be able to indicate the first minute (or minutes) past the new current hour in an uninterrupted manner. This resetting action could be as slow as several seconds or even a few tens of seconds. However, the resetting will preferably be performed in under a second and may be much faster, particularly if an electronic display is employed.
- Preferably, the beginning of the path is proximate the current hour symbol and the end of the path is distal the current hour symbol. Alternatively or in addition, the beginning of the path is distal the next hour symbol and the end of the path is proximate the next hour symbol. In this way, the open path naturally runs from the proximity of the current hour symbol and/or towards the proximity of the next hour symbol, which provides for easy reading of the time.
- It is preferred that the symbol representative of the current and/or next hour is a numeral. In this way, the current and/or next hour is displayed in a convenient digital format. However, other representations are possible.
- In one embodiment, the current minute indicating means may comprise a hand, a tip of which points to a part of the path indicative of the current minute relative to the minute symbols, wherein the hand comprises a moving member driven by a mechanical or electromechanical mechanism. This embodiment uses a conventional analogue-type display for the minutes, and therefore much of the driving mechanism may be based on that used in known timepieces, but must be adapted to provide for the rapid automatic resetting. The skilled person would be able to implement such an adaptation, for example by means of resilient member such as a spring.
- In another embodiment, the current minute indicating means comprises a hand, a tip of which points to a part of the path indicative of the current minute relative to the minute symbols, wherein the display comprises an electronic display and the hand comprises a virtual hand displayed by activating a portion of the electronic display. This embodiment also uses a conventional analogue-type display for the minutes, but is implemented via a purely electronic display. Again, the display controlling mechanism may be based on that used in known timepieces, but must be adapted to provide for the rapid automatic resetting. This may be readily achieved in an LCD-type display, whereby the displayed analogue hand is "switched off" and almost instantaneously switched back on so as to appear in the new reset position. The only limitation on the speed of reset is the speed of the controlling electronics and the refresh rate of the LCD display.
- In a further embodiment, the current minute indicating means comprises means to highlight a portion of the path between the beginning of the path and a point on the path indicative of the current minute. This embodiment may be implemented either mechanically/electromechanically or electronically and provides for an alternative to the more conventional analogue display. In one example, the path portion may be highlighted by an increasing stripe, which may be a moving mechanical stripe displayed in a window of the display, a virtual bar displayed on the LCD display or an illuminated stripe of increasing extent.
- In yet another embodiment, the current minute indicating means comprises means to highlight the minute symbol most closely representing the current minute past the hour. For example, the nearest current minute symbol may be temporarily illuminated.
- The path along which the plurality of minute symbols is disposed may be substantially linear. Alternatively, the path along which the plurality of minute symbols is disposed may be an arc of a closed geometric shape. For example, the geometric shape may be substantially a circle, but could be an ellipse or the like. In this way the open path is simply a portion (an arc) of the closed geometric shape. The minute symbols need not be disposed uniformly along the path as there may be a nonlinear mapping between any motion of the current minute indicating means and the minute symbols.
- When the plurality of symbols is disposed on an arc of a closed geometric shape and the current minute indicating means comprises a hand, the driving mechanism may be adapted to cause the tip of the hand to traverse a remainder of the closed geometric shape between the end and the beginning of the path for automatically resetting. For example, where the shape is substantially a circle, the tip of the minute hand will move steadily along the arcuate path over the course of one hour, but at the end of this slow traverse the driving mechanism will cause the hand to rapidly traverse the remainder of the circular perimeter to reset. During this resetting the hand may be visible or hidden to the viewer.
- However, for most embodiments it is preferred that the current minute indicating means is adapted to reciprocate for automatically resetting. This adaptation is particularly appropriate for linear displays and for displays where the length of the arc is less than half of the perimeter of the closed geometric shape. Moreover, the overall display may be more compact as the minute indicating means actually or effectively retraces its original path in a rapid manner. In a mechanical or electromechanically driven display the indicating means may be reset by a resilient member such as a return spring. In an electronic display the "virtual" indicating means may appear to retrace its path of may simply be "switched off" and then back so as to appear in the rest position.
- As will be appreciated by the skilled person, the present invention provides for a wide range of new timepiece displays, many of which may be implemented by suitable adaptation of the mechanisms used in known timepieces in accordance with the present invention.
- Examples of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
-
Figure 1 shows an analogue timepiece display according to the present invention with a circular arc minute path and minute hand, and a current and next hour digital display; -
Figure 2 shows an analogue timepiece display similar to that offigure 1 , but with a partially transparent minute hand and rectangular display perimeter; -
Figure 3 shows an analogue timepiece display similar to that offigure 2 , but with opaque minute hand and date information; -
Figure 4 shows another similar analogue timepiece display with radial minute lines and minute symbols; -
Figure 5 shows a similar display to that offigure 4 , but with an offset axis for the minute hand in a display with circular perimeter; -
Figure 6 shows a horizontal linear timepiece display with graded minute scale; and, -
Figure 7 shows a horizontal linear timepiece display with a continuous graded minute scale; and, -
Figure 8 shows a horizontal linear timepiece display with a discrete graded minute scale. -
Figures 1 to 7 show representations of various timepiece displays according to the present invention, as will now be discussed, although many more arrangements are possible, as will be apparent to the skilled person. The internal mechanisms of the timepieces are not shown, as the invention may potentially take many forms. Options include a mixture of analogue or digital representations, which may be displayed by means of a mechanical or electromechanical mechanism or else a purely electronic display means. However, in each case, the skilled person would be able to adapt known mechanisms to provide a suitable mechanism for implementing and driving the display of a timepiece according to the present invention when employing the teaching herein. - The present invention relates particularly to improvements in timepieces of the "analogue" type, wherein one or more hands rotate about the centre of the face of the timepiece to point to markings or indicia spaced circumferentially about the face to represent time. In the typical two-hand configuration, the longer hand rotates at a speed of one revolution per hour and indicates minutes of the hour. Meanwhile, the shorter hand rotates at one revolution per every twelve hours and indicates hours of the day. The two hands are therefore driven at different rotational rates.
- A typical single-hand timepiece merely omits the faster-rotating hand used to indicate minutes in a conventional analogue timepiece, and so both minutes and hours are then measured by the relative position of the single (hour) hand in relation to the hour markings or indicia on the face of the timepiece. Accurate time measurement is not necessarily compromised in principle with this type of timepiece, but the lack of detailed resolution for the viewer in terms of minutes between exact hours means that in practice it is. The timepiece of the present invention does not suffer from this problem.
- As shown in
figures 1 to 5 , a preferred embodiment of the timepiece uses a single hand to display the minute at any given time on an analogue-based display with the hand moving between two points in an arc which subtends an angle of less than 360°. A numeral is positioned at one or both of the extreme ends of the arc to indicate the "from" hour and/or the "to" hour. The full motion of the hand from one extreme of the arc to the other indicates the passage of 60 minutes or one hour. - On reaching the end of the arc the hand returns quickly to the starting position at the beginning of the arc to indicate the start of a new hour. The hour numerals will then increment by one to show commencement of the new from-hour and to-hour.
- In the examples shown, the reset mechanism is implemented in a reciprocating manner, such that the hand quickly retraces the arcuate path to return to the beginning. For mechanical/electromechanical driven displays, a suitable restoring mechanism is employed in the inner workings to reciprocate the hand. The clockwise drive mechanism may be temporarily disengaged at this point or may be temporarily overcome by the restoring mechanism. Implementation in an electronic display is simpler, as the onboard processing means and driving circuitry simply control the LCD display to show a rapidly reversing hand or else the hand temporarily disappears from the display and almost instantaneously reappears pointing to the beginning of the arcuate minute path.
- The display can be viewed as a form of enlarged representation of the 30° arc representing the passage of five minutes on a traditional timepiece, but with the single minute hand representing the usual smaller hour hand on the traditional timepiece. Minutes are represented analogically, albeit the 60 minutes are represented by an arc and not a complete circle. The size of the arc effectively determines the accuracy of time measurement as read by the viewer.
- As shown in
figures 1 to 5 , the timepiece of the present invention permits the displayed time information to be easily interpreted by the viewer, using a mix of analogue and digital representations. The display is compact, whilst still providing a good degree of resolution in the minute display. An added bonus of the invention is that a range of aesthetically pleasing timepiece displays may be realised. Although primarily intended for wristwatches, the timepiece of the present invention may be implemented as clock, either wall mounted or independently supported. - The "from" hour and the "to" hour are advantageously displayed in digital format at the start and end of the arc, respectively. These provide an indication of the hour at a given moment. This provides an efficient representation of the current time by only displaying details relevant to the current time. The removal of the irrelevant detail ensures quick and clearer understanding of the current time. On completion of the hour the numerals are incremented by one. Control of the digitally represented figures indicative of the hour can be operated mechanically or electronically. With either option, the transition from one hour to the next will not be represented by a gradual change of the display, as in conventional analogue timepieces, but instead will change near-instantaneously to represent the new from and to hour, in the manner of conventional date displays. Advantageously, the simplified digital hour display can employ either the twelve hour or twenty four hour clock, in which case the digits to be displayed range between 0 to 12 and 0 to 24, respectively.
-
Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the face or dial 10 of the timepiece has the general overall shape of a segment of a circle that has been truncated near the centre of the circle. The from-hour 11 and the to-hour 12 are displayed in large digital formats in windows of the display and a single movinghand 13 indicates the passage of the intervening hour with respect to minute symbols 14 along the arcuate path. Both thestart 15 and end 16 of the arcuate path is denoted by a circular symbol adjacent the from-hour 11 and the to-hour 12. The intervening minutes are represented by a symbol at five minute intervals. The symbols at the fifteen minute intervals are numerals, whilst those in between are simple dots or short lines. In the example shown infigure 1 , the time displayed is 5:50. If the 12-hour clock is being used, this time may be AM or PM, and this additional information may be displayed separately. If the 12-hour clock is being used, the time displayed is 5:50 AM. -
Figure 2 shows a similar embodiment to that offigure 1 , but with aface 20 having a perimeter shape that is substantially rectangular. Moreover, there are two different sets of minute symbols, which are radially separated along parallel arcuate paths. The inner radial set 14 comprise numerals at five minute intervals, with the exception of thestart 25 and end 26 of the arcuate path, and the outer radial set 27 comprises short lines, with those at the ten minute intervals being longer than those at the intervening five minute intervals. The purpose of this dual array of symbols is that the partiallytransparent hand 23 reveals and frames the numeric minute symbol as is passes over it, whilst the very tip of the hand points to the outer short line symbol, thus providing two different sources of the same time information. In the example offigure 2 , the time shown is 10:35 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 10:35 AM on the 24-hour clock. -
Figure 3 shows a very similar embodiment to that offigure 2 , but with anopaque hand 33 and twowindows face 30. The date is displayed numerically in the upper left-handcircular window 38 and the month is displayed in the lower left-hand, horizontalelongate window 39. In the example offigure 3 , the time shown is 10:10 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 10:10 AM on the 24-hour clock, and the date shown is 29 September. -
Figure 4 shows a further embodiment similar to that offigure 2 , but with a more rounded barrel-shapedface 40 andopaque hand 43. Moreover, the minute symbols comprise an inner set oflong radial lines 47 at 5-minute intervals, with those at 10-minute intervals being longer than those in between, and an outer set ofnumerals 44 at the 5-minute intervals apart from thestart 45 and end 46 of the arcuate path. In this way, the same information is again displayed in two ways. In the example offigure 4 , the time shown is 7:20 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 7:20 AM on the 24-hour clock. -
Figure 5 shows another single-hand analogue type embodiment, with a more conventionalcircular face shape 50. However, therotational axis 58 of thehand 53 is offset from the centre and the arcuate path near the tip of the hand is inset from the perimeter of the circular face. The minutes are denoted at 15-minute intervals bylong radial lines 57 and bynumerals 54 on the path, and at intervening 5-minute intervals by dot-like symbols on the arcuate path. In this particular example, the from-hour 51 and to-hour 52 numeric symbols are somewhat offset from thestart 55 and end 56 of the arcuate path, and the time shown is 5:10 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 5:10 AM on the 24-hour clock. - Although the resetting mechanism for the embodiment shown in
figure 5 will be of the reciprocating type, for similar embodiments, where the hand may be shorter and/or the rotational axis of the hand is more central, the resetting mechanism may cause the hand to rapidly traverse the remainder of the circular path about the rotational axis on reaching the end of the arcuate portion in order to return to the start of the arcuate portion. During this traverse, the hand may be visible or may temporarily disappear beneath a raised baffle-like portion of the display face, in the case of the real, mechanically-driven hand. -
Figure 6 shows a quite different embodiment of the present invention, comprising a horizontal (i.e. vertically-flattened), substantially rectangular display face with alinear path 63 for displaying the passage of one hour. The path is essentially an elongate display orwindow 63 subdivided bymarkers 64 into 5-minute intervals, with adjacent numerals at the 15-, 30- and 45-minute points. The from-hour 61 and to-hour 62 are displayed as standalone numerals near the beginning 65 and end 66 of the elongate display window. Passage of the intervening hour may be shown by a moving vertical bar or else an increasing "stripe" in the elongate display orwindow 63. This minute indicator may be implemented mechanically, electromechanically or electronically. In the latter case it may be bar or stripe displayed on an LCD display or else represented by a suitably illuminated portion of the elongate display. In either case the resetting mechanism will typically be of the reciprocating type, although in the case of an electronic display the bar or stripe may simply be "switched off" and almost instantaneously reappear at the the beginning of the linear display. In the example offigure 5 , either no time is shown or the time shown is exactly 10:00 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 10:00 AM on the 24-hour clock. - Finally,
figures 7 and 8 show further similar embodiments to that offigure 6 , but a vertical (i.e horizontally-flattened), substantially rectangular display face is employed with linear path for displaying the passage of one hour. The embodiment offigure 7 operates in the same manner as that offigure 6 , but adjacent minute numerals are present at all 5-minute intervals 74 between thestart 75 and end 76 of theelongate display window 73. In the example offigure 7 , either no time is shown or the time shown is exactly 5:00 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 5:00 AM on the 24-hour clock. The embodiment offigure 8 is a little different in that there is not a single elongate display window for thelinear path 83, but rather a series ofdiscrete windows 84 representative of blocks of 5-minute intervals. The relevant interval is indicated by numerals in each window. In this embodiment, time may be indicated by highlighting the relevant window or all windows up to and including the relevant window, for example by illumination. In this case, the precise time will not be indicated so accurately, but rather rounded to the nearest 5-minute interval. However, in alternative implementations, the more precise time may be indicated within the relevant window by a moving bar or stripe, as in the embodiments offigures 6 and 7A. In the present example of figure 7B, either no time is shown or the time shown is exactly 3:00 AM or PM on the 12-hour clock and 3:00 AM on the 24-hour clock.
Claims (14)
- A timepiece having a display comprising:hour display means (11,12) for displaying a symbol representative of the current hour (11) and/or the next hour (12); and,minute display means (13,14) for indicating the current minute past the current hour, wherein the minute display means comprises:means for displaying a plurality of symbols (14) representative of minutes past the hour, the plurality of symbols being disposed sequentially along an open path having a beginning (15) and an end (16) remote from the beginning (15), the path between the beginning (15) and the end (16) being representative of the passage of one hour from the current hour to the next hour; and,means (13) for indicating the current minute relative to the minute symbols along the path, the current minute indicating means (13) being adapted to reset rapidly and automatically to the beginning (15) of the path on reaching the end (16) of the path.
- A timepiece according to claim 1, in which the beginning (15) of the path is proximate the current hour symbol (11) and the end (16) of the path is distal the current hour symbol (11).
- A timepiece according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the beginning (15) of the path is distal the next hour symbol (12) and the end (16) of the path is proximate the next hour symbol (12).
- A timepiece according to any preceding claim, in which the symbol representative of the current (11) and/or next hour (12) is a numeral.
- A timepiece according to any of claims 1 to 4, in which the current minute indicating means comprises a hand (13), a tip of which points to a part of the path indicative of the current minute relative to the minute symbols (14), wherein the hand comprises a moving member driven by a mechanical or electromechanical mechanism.
- A timepiece according to any of claims 1 to 4, in which the current minute indicating means comprises a hand, a tip of which points to a part of the path indicative of the current minute relative to the minute symbols, wherein the display comprises an electronic display and the hand comprises a virtual hand displayed by activating a portion of the electronic display.
- A timepiece according to any of claims 1 to 4, in which the current minute indicating means comprises means to highlight a portion of the path between the beginning of the path and a point on the path indicative of the current minute.
- A timepiece according to any of claims 1 to 4, in which the current minute indicating means comprises means to highlight the minute symbol most closely representing the current minute past the hour.
- A timepiece according to claim 7 or claim 8, in which the highlighting means comprise means to illuminate the path portion or the nearest minute symbol.
- A timepiece to any of claims 1 to 9, in which the path (63) along which the plurality of minute symbols (64) is disposed is substantially linear.
- A timepiece to any of claims 1 to 9, in which the pa th along which the plurality of minute symbols (14) is disposed is an arc of a closed geometric shape.
- A timepiece to claim 11, in which the geometric shape is substantially a circle.
- A timepiece according to claim 11 or claim 12 when dependent on claim 5, in which the driving mechanism is adapted to cause the tip of the hand to traverse a remainder of the closed geometric shape between the end and the beginning of the path for automatically resetting.
- A timepiece according to any of claims 1 to 12, in which the current minute indicating means is adapted to reciprocate for automatically resetting.
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP07117265A EP2042949A1 (en) | 2007-09-26 | 2007-09-26 | Single-handed timepiece |
PCT/GB2008/003251 WO2009040532A1 (en) | 2007-09-26 | 2008-09-25 | Single-handed timepiece |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP07117265A EP2042949A1 (en) | 2007-09-26 | 2007-09-26 | Single-handed timepiece |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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EP2042949A1 true EP2042949A1 (en) | 2009-04-01 |
Family
ID=39399487
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP07117265A Withdrawn EP2042949A1 (en) | 2007-09-26 | 2007-09-26 | Single-handed timepiece |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP2042949A1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2009040532A1 (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN106200343A (en) * | 2016-08-12 | 2016-12-07 | 柳州治业科技有限公司 | A kind of watch with single hand |
CN104252131B (en) * | 2014-09-24 | 2017-02-15 | 熊汉生 | Analog watch and auxiliary time calibration method thereof |
CH715421A1 (en) * | 2018-10-01 | 2020-04-15 | Louis Vuitton Malletier Sa | Timepiece with a bidirectional indicator. |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP2015232566A (en) * | 2015-07-15 | 2015-12-24 | カシオ計算機株式会社 | Analog electronic timepiece |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4752919A (en) * | 1986-01-03 | 1988-06-21 | Clark Lloyd D | Clock with digital hour station and line of discrete, binary minute substations |
DE29602019U1 (en) * | 1996-02-06 | 1996-03-14 | Hepfner, Harry, 87616 Marktoberdorf | Clock display |
EP0788036A2 (en) * | 1996-02-01 | 1997-08-06 | Gerald Genta S.A. | Timepiece, particularly wristwatch |
DE10200284C1 (en) * | 2002-01-07 | 2003-01-02 | Walter Haselberger | Timepiece analogue display device has minutes display extending over angular range of less than 360 degrees with jumping between 60 minutes and 0 minutes positions |
-
2007
- 2007-09-26 EP EP07117265A patent/EP2042949A1/en not_active Withdrawn
-
2008
- 2008-09-25 WO PCT/GB2008/003251 patent/WO2009040532A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4752919A (en) * | 1986-01-03 | 1988-06-21 | Clark Lloyd D | Clock with digital hour station and line of discrete, binary minute substations |
EP0788036A2 (en) * | 1996-02-01 | 1997-08-06 | Gerald Genta S.A. | Timepiece, particularly wristwatch |
DE29602019U1 (en) * | 1996-02-06 | 1996-03-14 | Hepfner, Harry, 87616 Marktoberdorf | Clock display |
DE10200284C1 (en) * | 2002-01-07 | 2003-01-02 | Walter Haselberger | Timepiece analogue display device has minutes display extending over angular range of less than 360 degrees with jumping between 60 minutes and 0 minutes positions |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN104252131B (en) * | 2014-09-24 | 2017-02-15 | 熊汉生 | Analog watch and auxiliary time calibration method thereof |
CN106200343A (en) * | 2016-08-12 | 2016-12-07 | 柳州治业科技有限公司 | A kind of watch with single hand |
CH715421A1 (en) * | 2018-10-01 | 2020-04-15 | Louis Vuitton Malletier Sa | Timepiece with a bidirectional indicator. |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2009040532A1 (en) | 2009-04-02 |
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