EP3859452A1 - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a display device which comprises at least one band of display means, the display means being changeable in their state as a function of the advancing time, whereby a time unit can be represented by the band and the display means starting from one end of the band into a In order to optimize the known display devices for the time and to visualize the passage of time, it is proposed within the scope of the invention that the display means are arranged essentially vertically and are designed to achieve a highlight new fair value. In particular, the individual display means can be sequentially switched to a different state starting at one end of the tape as time progresses, which is reversed at a defined point in time for the respective display means until the display means corresponding to the time value to be displayed is reached the visual impression is created that time is progressing by a time value (e.g. minute) "dripping" through the tape until it "remains" on the last display means corresponding to the respective time unit.

Description

The present invention relates to a display device which comprises at least one band of display means, the display means being changeable in their state as a function of the advancing time, whereby a time unit can be represented by the band and the display means starting from one end of the band into a can be moved to another state.

Such display devices for the time, also called clocks, are known. They are used to measure the time intervals within a day. In addition to the usual display of the time using two pointers or a digital display with digits, new forms and options for visualizing the time are always of interest.

From the DE 20 2007 016 359 U1 , DE 100 03 980 A1 , DE 41 11 415 A1 and the DE 20 2007 002 759 U1 the visualization of time in the dual, octal or hexadecimal system, quintal system or as the sum of prime numbers is known. Although these forms of representation are unconventional and innovative, it is difficult to read the time from such a representation or to learn to read the time.

In the DE 90 01 225 U1 , DE 20 2009 017 703 U1 or EP 3 396 656 A1 therefore the representation of time is described in terms of written words. The disadvantage here is that the representation of the time by means of written words requires a relatively large display area and also requires a different representation for each language.

From the EP 2 804 057 A1 watches with only one hand are known. the DE 296 02 019 U1 , DE 38 14 710 A1 and DE 41 34 709 A1 describe clocks with a linear scale or light bars or digits as a number of light bars.

From the EP 1 195 662 A1 two-dimensional, two-dimensional representations of the time with, for example, representation of the hours on the X-axis and the minutes on the Y-axis are known. In the DE 20 2004 013 569 U1 describes the appearance of colored and / or luminous surfaces to display the time.

From the DE 201 05 780 U1 Various ways of arranging hours, minutes and seconds information by means of luminous elements are known, the basic representation of the time on a dial being retained and the hands being replaced by the luminous elements or at least the radial geometric arrangement of the luminous elements being retained, as in FIG DE 38 38 407 A1 described.

There are also a large number of suggestions for visualization in which hours, minutes and, if necessary, seconds are represented by linear light strips, as in DE 40 37 657 A1 , DE 41 35 514 A1 , DE 10 2007 035 740 A1 , DE 199 23 808 A1 , DE 195 04 676 A1 , FR 2576430A1 , JP000S56129884A , JP000S55146093A , JP000S55112287U , JP0000S6024489A , JP0000S5698674A , JP0000S5681483A or US 020080037374A1 described. The lamps are illuminated as a function of time, with a time unit being represented by the band.

The object of the present invention is to optimize the known display devices for the time and to visualize the passage of time.

The object is achieved in that the display means are arranged essentially vertically and are designed to highlight the achievement of a new time value by means of a dynamic visual effect.

In the case of the display device according to the invention for the time, not only a further display means is actuated, as in the prior art, when a new time value is reached, but a dynamic visual effect by shifting the display means in front of this further display means to the other state achieved. For this purpose, the display device has control means with which the display means located in front of the further display means can be switched to the respective other state.

The display means have at least two distinguishable states between which they can be switched. For example, the display means can be a reflective, transreflective or transmissive element. The display means can also be lighting means that can be switched between an illuminated and an unlit state. The geometric arrangement advantageously highlights individual display means or groups of display means. As a result, the respective time value that is displayed on the tape can be read off faster and more easily, without the need for an additional scale as a label.

The display means of a band can, for example, follow a periodic zigzag pattern, a sine function, a periodic rectangular function or a periodic triangular function. An additional display means can also be arranged horizontally next to the tape at periodic intervals. Likewise, display means with a different geometric shape than the rest of the display means of a band can be arranged at periodic intervals. Due to the geometric arrangement of the display means of a band, the unit of time represented by the band is divided into blocks. This makes it easier to read off the time unit quickly. For example, when minutes are shown, the geometric arrangement of the display means can subdivide the band into blocks of 10 minutes, with a new block starting at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 minutes.

The time unit can be, for example, years, months, days, hours, minutes or seconds, but preferably hours and minutes. 11 or 12 or 23 or 24 essentially vertically arranged display means stand for the hours of half a day or a whole day, while 59 or 60 illuminants stand for the minutes of an hour.

The minutes are displayed, for example, by means of a light strip made up of 59 light sources. As time progresses, the light sources are sequentially transferred from the unlit to the lit state. In the above example, a further lamp is continuously illuminated from bottom to top every minute.

The display means can be designed as geometric bodies, for example circles, squares, triangles or polygons.

It is part of the invention that the individual display means can be displaced from one end of the tape from one state to another.

The value of a time unit, for example the minutes, can advantageously be set not only by setting a display means into a different state than the other display means on the strip, but by setting a number of display means, which corresponds to the number of minutes, into a state other than the remaining display means of the band are shown. The display means are put into a different state, starting from one end of the tape. This means that the display means of the tape are put into a different state from top to bottom or from bottom to top.

The display means, which are first put into another state, can be the lowest display means of the tape. In this way, the state of the display means of a band, which changes from bottom to top as time progresses, creates the impression of a bar filling up.

The number of display means in the same state corresponds, for example, to the number of minutes of the current time.

A further development of the invention consists in the fact that the individual display means can be switched sequentially from one end of the strip to another state as time progresses, which at a defined point in time for the respective display means can be reversed again if the adjacent display means is switched from one state to the other until the display means corresponding to the time value to be displayed is reached.

It is possible here for the individual display means to be sequentially relocatable from one end of the tape to another state as time progresses, which can be immediately reversed for the respective display means if the adjacent display means is switched from one state to the other until the display means corresponding to the time value to be displayed is reached. Instead of the immediate reversal, however, a time delay can also be provided so that several display means are switched to the other state at the same time. In both cases, a dynamic effect is created that symbolizes the passage of time.

According to the invention, it is provided that, as time progresses, the display means are used in order to highlight the achievement of a new time value by means of a visual effect. In particular, the display means can be sequentially switched to a different state until the display means corresponding to the time value to be displayed is reached.

This display means corresponding to the time to be displayed then remains in the other state until all the display means available are in this state, after which all display means are reset to their original state.

For example, a special visual stimulus is possible by arranging the display means of the tape to show the minutes. With each minute change, for example, the display means are sequentially switched to a different state, which is immediately reversed for the respective display means when the adjacent display means is switched from one state to the other. This creates the visual impression that a unit of time (eg a new minute) "drips" through the tape until it reaches the last, the display means corresponding to the respective fair value remains. In this way, the end or the beginning of a minute is advantageously easily and clearly recognizable. If all the display means corresponding to the minutes have been switched to the other state and a further minute has passed (ie after an hour has elapsed), these display means are reset to the original state. This is planned accordingly for the hours.

In addition to the "drop", other visualizations, which can also include all available display means, are conceivable, for example the flashing of display means or the slow increase or decrease in the brightness of display means.

A preferred embodiment of the invention consists in that the geometric arrangement of the display means of a band corresponds to a sine wave.

For example, the display means of the tape for displaying the minutes can be arranged sinusoidally and one above the other, with the extremes of the sinus occurring every 10 minutes, i.e. at a distance of 10 display means at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 minutes. This advantageously ensures that the number of minutes can be read off quickly and easily, even if many display means are in the same state by simply counting the extremes.

It is useful that the extremes of the sine 10, 20 or 30 display means are apart.

This distance between the extremes of the sine makes it easier to read off the time unit of a tape.

One embodiment of the invention consists in that the display means of a band can be displayed in different colors.

The display means can be implemented as RGB LEDs, for example. Display means can also be displayed in periodic intervals within a band a different color than the rest of the indicators on a band. This divides the respective band into blocks, which makes it easier to read the time unit. For example, in the case of the strip with display means for displaying the minutes every 10 minutes, a display means can light up with a different color than the rest of the display means and thus serve as a marker for 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 minutes.

It is expedient here for several bands of display means to be provided for different time units, the display means of different bands being able to be illuminated in different colors.

This advantageously makes it easier to distinguish between the bands for different time units. A particularly advantageous color choice is to let the hours glow in red and the minutes in white. The display means of the various bands can be illuminated in complementary colors in a particularly advantageous manner. This enables a quick and easy differentiation of the bands and thus also the time units represented by the bands.

One embodiment of the invention consists in that the color of the display means can be changed as a function of time.

mit h:Stunden, m:Minuten, H:Farbwert ("hue") zwischen 0-360 Grad. Dadurch wird jeder Uhrzeit am Tag eine Farbe zugeordnet. Entsprechend kann die Grundlage der Farbänderung auch jede beliebige andere Zeiteinheit außer Tag (also z.B. Jahr, Monat, Woche) sein.The color of the display means can change randomly after a unit of time has elapsed. In another embodiment, the color of the display means changes continuously during 24 hours of a day. For example, it starts at 0:00 with a selectable color H _{0: 0} and then changes the color according to the color wheel in the HSV color space: $$\mathrm{H}\left(\mathrm{H}:\mathrm{m}\right)={\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{0}:\mathrm{0}}+\mathrm{360}*\left(\mathrm{60}*\mathrm{H}+\mathrm{m}\right)/\mathrm{1440},$$

with h: hours, m: minutes, H: color value ("hue") between 0-360 degrees. This means that each time of the day is assigned a color. Correspondingly, the basis of the color change can also be any other time unit besides the day (e.g. year, month, week).

It is also provided that the time value can be represented by the number of illuminated display means on a strip.

A further embodiment of the invention consists in the fact that when the longer time unit changes, a visual effect is also displayed in that the display means of the strip can be sequentially changed to the other state for displaying the shorter time unit in each case.

If, for example, all the display means of the band for displaying the minutes are illuminated as a shorter time unit and a new hour begins as a longer time unit, the display means of the band for displaying the minutes can switch sequentially to the other state. This creates the visual impression that the strip for displaying the minutes "empties" when a new hour begins: The display means of the strip go one after the other from top to bottom to the other state, so that the impression arises that the minutes "flow off" downwards. In this way, the end or the beginning of an hour can be easily and clearly recognized.

Finally, it is according to the invention that the time unit that can be displayed by the display means of a tape can be changed, for example by a switch, automatically in a cyclical change or by other triggering means.

For example, a band that shows the minutes as a unit of time can be changed to a band that shows the hours as a unit of time with the aid of a switch. For example, a band for displaying the minute can be changed into a band for displaying the day of the month and a band for displaying the hour in a band for displaying the month in the year with the aid of a switch. The change in the time unit displayed by a tape can be displayed by changing the color of the display means of the tape.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in more detail below with reference to drawings. Understandably, the animation effects cannot be displayed.

Fig. 1

eine erfindungsgemäße Vorrichtung in Frontalansicht,

Fig. 2

die gleiche erfindungsgemäße Vorrichtung in einem Betriebszustand in Frontalansicht,

Fig. 3

eine weitere erfindungsgemäße Vorrichtung in Frontalansicht,

Fig.4

die gleiche erfindungsgemäße Vorrichtung in einem Betriebszustand in Frontalansicht,

Fig. 5

die gleiche erfindungsgemäße Vorrichtung in einem anderen Betriebszustand in Frontalansicht,

Fig. 6

eine weitere erfindungsgemäße Vorrichtung in Frontalansicht.

Show it

Fig. 1

a device according to the invention in a front view,

Fig. 2

the same device according to the invention in an operating state in a front view,

Fig. 3

a further device according to the invention in a front view,

Fig. 4

the same device according to the invention in an operating state in a front view,

Fig. 5

the same device according to the invention in a different operating state in a front view,

Fig. 6

another device according to the invention in a front view.

In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 a display device 1 according to the invention is shown. It consists of a band for displaying the minutes 2. The band for displaying the minutes 2 consists of 59 largely vertically arranged display means 3. These display means 3 of the band for displaying the minutes 2 follow the shape of a sine and are circular. The extremes of the sine have a distance of 10 display means 3. Below the band for displaying the minutes 2 there is a digital display 4 for displaying the hours. The digital display 4 is designed as a 2-digit 7-segment display.

In Fig. 2 the display device 1 is off Fig. 1 shown in an operating state. The digital display 4 shows the twelfth hour of the day. The number of illuminated display means 5 of the tape for displaying the minutes 2 corresponds to the number of minutes. In the figure, 13 illuminated display means 5 can be seen, while the rest of the display means 3 are unilluminated display means 6. The illuminated display means 5 are arranged from bottom to top in the band for displaying the minutes 2. The time displayed is 12:13 p.m. The change to 12:14 p.m. is currently taking place. The left drawing in Fig. 2 show the Display device, the "drop" 10 being displayed at position "53". A very short time later, the situation is as shown in the drawing on the right: The drop 10 has moved on to position 52.

In Fig. 3 , FIGS. 4 and 5 a further embodiment of the display device 1 according to the invention is shown. It consists of a band for displaying the minutes 2. The band for displaying the minutes 2 consists of 59 largely vertically arranged display means 3. These display means 3 of the band for displaying the minutes 2 follow the shape of a sine and are circular. The extremes of the sine are 10 display means 3 apart. On the zero line of the sine of the band for displaying minutes 2, a band for displaying hours 7 is arranged. The tape for displaying the hours 7 consists of 12 display means 3 arranged vertically one above the other. To differentiate between the display means 3 of the tape for displaying the minutes 2 and the display means 3 of the tape for displaying the hours 7, the display means 3 is differentiated by different luminous colors of the display means 3, which are called RGB LEDs are realized. The "common" display means of the band of minutes and hours 8 light up in the color of the display means 3 of the band to show the hours 7.

In FIGS. 4 and 5 the display device is off Fig. 3 shown in different operating states. The number of illuminated display means 5 of the tape for displaying the minutes 2 corresponds to the number of minutes. In Fig. 4 43 illuminated display means 5 can be seen and in Fig. 5 21 illuminated display means 5 can be seen, while the rest of the display means 3 are unilluminated display means 6. The illuminated display means 5 are arranged from bottom to top in the band for displaying the minutes 2. The number of illuminated display means 5 of the tape for displaying the hours 7 corresponds to the number of hours. In Fig. 4 2 illuminated display means 5 can be seen and in Fig. 5 8 illuminated display means 5 can be seen, while the rest of the display means 3 are unilluminated display means 6. The illuminated display means 5 are arranged from bottom to top in the band for displaying the hours 7. The displayed time in Fig. 4 is 02:43 am. The displayed time in Fig. 5 is 08:21.

In Fig. 6 a further embodiment of the display device 1 according to the invention is shown. It consists of a band for displaying the minutes 2. The band for displaying the minutes 2 consists of 59 largely vertically arranged display means 3. These display means 3 of the band for displaying the minutes 2 follow the shape of a sinus and are point-shaped. The extremes of the sine have a distance of 10 display means 3. Next to the band for displaying the minutes 2, a band for displaying the hours 7 is arranged. The band for displaying the hours 7 consists of 12 display means 3 arranged one above the other. At periodic intervals of three display means 3, an additional display means 9 is arranged next to the band for displaying the hours 7. This makes it easier to read the number of hours.

Claims (10)

A display device (1) comprising at least one band (2,7) of display means (3), the display means (3) being changeable in their state as a function of the advancing time, with a time unit through the band (2, 7) can be displayed and wherein the display means (3) can be moved from one end of the tape to another state, characterized in that the display means (3) are arranged essentially vertically and are designed to achieve a new one by means of a dynamic visual effect To highlight current value. Display device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the individual display means (3) can be switched sequentially from one end of the strip (2, 7) to a different state as time progresses, which at a defined point in time for the respective display means ( 3) can be reversed again if the adjacent display means (3) is switched from one state to the other until the display means (3) corresponding to the time value to be displayed is reached. Display device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the geometric arrangement of the display means (3) of the strip (2,7) corresponds to a sine wave. Display device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the extremes of the sine 10, 20 or 30 display means (3) are apart. Display device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the display means (3) of the strip (2, 7) can be illuminated in different colors. Display device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that several bands (2, 7) of display means are provided for different time units, the display means (3) of different bands (2,7) being able to be displayed in different colors. Display device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the color of the display means (3) can be changed as a function of the advancing time. Display device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the time value can be represented by the number of illuminated display means (5) of a strip (2,7). Display device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that when the longer time unit changes, the display means (5) of the strip (2, 7) can be sequentially changed to the other state for displaying the shorter time unit in each case. Display device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the time unit which can be displayed by the display means (3) of a strip (2,7) can be changed.

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