EP4016197A1 - Moon phase display - Google Patents

Abstract

• a display level in which the current phase of the moon is displayed,• display elements that have a first strip-shaped side surface on which an illuminated section of the moon is depicted, and a second strip-shaped side surface on which no illuminated section of the moon is depicted,• each of the display elements having a has a first rotational position, in which the first and a second rotational position, in which the second side surface is arranged in the display plane,• wherein the first side surfaces together represent the full moon in a full moon position, in which all display elements are in their first rotational position,• a drive that can rotate each of the display elements around its longitudinal axis, and• a controller that is designed to control the drive in such a way that, starting from the full moon position, one of the display elements is rotated into the second rotational position in successive steps until all display elements in the second en rotated position so that a gradually waning moon is displayed.

Description

The invention relates to a moon phase display with a movable display element. Such moon phase displays are mainly known from wristwatches with mechanical movements.

A common design uses a circular disk that rotates once every 59 days. On the front of the disc, two circles are shown symmetrically to the axis of rotation, each symbolizing the moon. An opening is formed in a dial located in front of the disk through which a sector of the disk spanning approximately 180° is visible. This opening has a special shape in which approximately arcuate sections form the opening edges running in the radial direction of the sector. As the disc rotates, one of the two depictions of the moon moves out from under one of these opening edges, so that a crescent-shaped moon becomes visible, which enlarges to a full circle until it is covered by the other opening edge in a crescent-shaped manner. Shortly thereafter, the second representation of the moon appears below the first edge of the opening. An example of such a moon phase display is in the reference EP 3 098 671 A1 described.

Similarly, the phase of the moon can be displayed by moving the disc with the special aperture in front of a fixed moon image. Also, to display a moon of smaller diameter, a circular opening may be formed in a disc and moved relative to a slightly smaller diameter moon representation. For this purpose, more than two moon representations can be distributed over the circumference and the rotation speed can be reduced accordingly.

Yet another variant, in which one disc has a plurality of apertures and another disc depicts the moon, with both discs rotating at different speeds, is from the reference EP 2 853 957 B1 known.

All moon phase displays explained above have in common that the movable display element or the movable display elements have large dimensions in comparison to the display of the moon phase achieved. The well-known moon phase displays therefore usually form a small, creative addition to a watch dial.

Proceeding from this, it is the object of the invention to provide a moon phase display which, with a compact design, enables an attractive, large-area display of the moon phase.

This problem is solved by the moon phase display with the features of claim 1. Advantageous refinements are specified in the dependent claims.

• eine Anzeigeebene, in der die aktuelle Mondphase angezeigt wird,
• mehrere Anzeigeelemente, die jeweils um ihre Längsachse drehbar gelagert sind und eine erste streifenförmige Seitenfläche aufweisen, auf der ein beleuchteter Mondabschnitt abgebildet ist, und eine zweite streifenförmige Seitenfläche, auf der kein beleuchteter Mondabschnitt abgebildet ist,
• wobei jedes der Anzeigeelemente eine erste Drehstellung aufweist, in der die erste Seitenfläche in der Anzeigeebene angeordnet ist, und eine zweite Drehstellung, in der die zweite Seitenfläche in der Anzeigeebene angeordnet ist,
• wobei die ersten Seitenflächen in einer Vollmondstellung, in der sich alle Anzeigeelemente in ihrer ersten Drehstellung befinden, gemeinsam den Vollmond darstellen,
• einem Antrieb, der jedes einzelne der Anzeigeelemente unabhängig von den übrigen Anzeigeelementen um seine Längsachse drehen kann, und
• einer Steuerung, die dazu ausgebildet ist, den Antrieb so anzusteuern, dass ausgehend von der Vollmondstellung in aufeinanderfolgenden Schritten jeweils eines der Anzeigeelemente in die zweite Drehstellung gedreht wird, bis sich alle Anzeigeelemente in der zweiten Drehstellung befinden, so dass ein schrittweise abnehmender Mond angezeigt wird.

The moon phase display has

• a display level in which the current moon phase is displayed,
• several display elements, each of which is rotatably mounted about its longitudinal axis and has a first strip-shaped side surface on which an illuminated section of the moon is depicted and a second strip-shaped side surface on which no illuminated section of the moon is depicted,
• wherein each of the display elements has a first rotational position, in which the first side surface is arranged in the display plane, and a second rotational position, in which the second side surface is arranged in the display plane,
• wherein the first side faces together represent the full moon in a full moon position, in which all display elements are in their first rotational position,
• a drive which can rotate each of the display elements independently of the other display elements about its longitudinal axis, and
• a controller that is designed to control the drive in such a way that, starting from the full moon position, one of the display elements is turned into the second rotary position in successive steps until all the display elements are in the second rotary position, so that a gradually waning moon is displayed .

The display elements have an elongated basic shape with a longitudinal axis. The display elements can be cylindrical, ie have a constant cross-section over their length. In this case, the two side faces are at a constant distance from the longitudinal axis. The two side surfaces are strip-shaped, they each form a longitudinal side of the display element. For example, the display elements can have a rectangular cross section, with the two side surfaces lying on the opposite, longer sides of the rectangle. The first rotary position and the second rotary position then differ by an angle of 180°. If the display elements are triangular in cross section, in particular in the form of an equilateral triangle, the angle between the two rotary positions is 120° or 240°. Both side surfaces can have the same shape and size. In particular, they can be rectangular. In the first rotational position, the first side surface is in the display plane, in the second rotational position the second side surface, the second side surface then being in the same position as the first side surface is in the first rotational position.

The display elements can be arranged next to one another. The longitudinal axes can be arranged parallel in one plane. In the full moon position, the first side surfaces of adjacent display elements can abut one another or almost abut one another, so that they form an approximately closed surface. However, they can also be arranged at a visible distance from each other, which distance can be left empty or filled or almost filled by another element. Such spacing can be used as a design tool to emphasize the composite representation of the moon.

The drive can rotate each display element individually about its longitudinal axis and thereby in particular set the first and second rotary positions. The rotation can be carried out continuously or stepwise, for example using a stepping or servo motor or a rotary magnet. In particular, each display element can have its own drive, for example with its own stepping motor or servo motor or a rotary magnet. However, a central drive with a suitable clutch mechanism is also conceivable.

An electronic controller can be used as the controller, which controls, for example, the stepping or servo motors assigned to the display elements. However, purely mechanical control is also conceivable. The drive is controlled by the controller in such a way that all of the side surfaces arranged in the display plane at a specific point in time display the current moon phase. In the full moon position, all of the display elements are in the first rotational position, so that all of the first side faces are arranged in the display plane. Each of these faces shows an illuminated section of the moon, together they represent the full moon.

A battery or an accumulator, for example, can be present to supply energy to the drive and control. A mains connection is also possible.

With each step, one of the display elements is brought from the first to the second rotational position, so that the relevant first side surface and the illuminated moon section depicted thereon are no longer arranged in the display plane. The moon thus gradually decreases. After the last step, all display elements are in the second rotary position, so there is no longer any illuminated section of the moon visible, which corresponds to the new moon.

It goes without saying that the controller is preferably designed to reset individual display elements in further steps by rotating them further (in the same direction or in the opposite direction) from the second to the first rotational position, so that the moon gradually increases until the full moon position again is reached.

The steps can be carried out at fixed time intervals, which are dimensioned in such a way that the image of the moon shown corresponds as closely as possible to the current moon phase at any time. The length of the time intervals depends in particular on the number of steps required/the number of display elements.

In one embodiment, the number of display elements is an even number and ranges from 4 to 60. The even number means that the crescent can be optimally displayed if the moon sections depicted on one half of the display elements present together form a semicircle. Four display elements are already sufficient for a meaningful display of the moon phases, because it is already possible to choose between new moon, quarter moon, half moon, gibbous moon and full moon can be distinguished. A larger number of display elements is required for a more differentiated display. It also contributes to the compact dimensions of the moon phase display, because the installation space required to accommodate the display elements or for their rotary movement can be done with a smaller depth.

In one embodiment, the number of display elements is 14. This number allows a sufficiently differentiated display of the moon phase. In addition, a complete moon phase cycle, which lasts approximately 29.5 days, is represented in 28 steps, so that the time intervals between successive steps are approximately 24 hours or can be approximated by 24 hours. As a result, the display changes once a day at a fixed or approximately fixed time, which can make the moon phase display particularly interesting for a viewer.

When activating the drive, the controller can carry out the successive steps at fixed time intervals so that the moon phase displayed corresponds as closely as possible to the current moon phase. Alternatively, it can take into account the current time, for example so that the steps are always taken at the same time every day, or so that no steps are taken during specified quiet times (e.g. at night between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.). In the latter case, an upcoming step can either be brought forward to a time before 10 p.m. or made up for at a time after 8 a.m.

In one embodiment, the longitudinal axes of the display elements run perpendicularly with respect to the field of view of a viewer who is looking at the moon phase display in a usage position. In the case of a moon phase display integrated into a wristwatch, this means that the longitudinal axes are parallel to one line are arranged, which connects the 12 o'clock and the 6 o'clock position of a conventional 12-hour dial. In the case of a moon phase display integrated in a grandfather or wall clock or another standing or wall-hanging moon phase display, the longitudinal axes accordingly run in the vertical direction. This alignment of the longitudinal axes results in a representation of the moon that generally corresponds better to the moon observed in the sky than with a horizontal alignment of the longitudinal axes.

In one embodiment, the controller is designed in such a way that the number of successive steps (from full moon to new moon) corresponds to the number of display elements, with a display element arranged on a first side of the moon phase display being rotated in the first step and the one directly next to it being rotated in the second step display element, and so on until, in the final step, a display element arranged on a second side of the moon phase display opposite the first side is rotated.

In one embodiment, the control has a northern hemisphere operating mode and a southern hemisphere operating mode, wherein in the northern hemisphere operating mode in the first step a display element located on the far right in relation to the viewer's field of vision is rotated and in the southern hemisphere operating mode in the first step it is included leftmost indicator in the viewer's field of vision. As a result, the representation achieved corresponds to the appearance of the moon, which an observer can see in the sky on the respective hemisphere.

In one embodiment, the first side surfaces form a square surface in the display plane in the full moon position. This shape is ideal for depicting a format-filling, circular full moon.

In one embodiment, partial areas of the first side areas that adjoin the images of the illuminated sections of the moon have a background color. The background color can be chosen dark, corresponding to the night sky. As a result, the moon is displayed against a uniform background when the moon is full.

In one configuration, the second side surfaces have the background color. As a result, the illuminated sections of the moon are also displayed in front of a uniform background for every partial moon display.

In one embodiment, an unlit section of the moon is shown on each of the second side surfaces. As a result, the moon sections not directly illuminated by the sun are also visible, as in reality. This is a special design feature that cannot be realized with the conventional moon phase displays described at the beginning.

In one embodiment, partial areas of the second side areas that adjoin the images of the unilluminated sections of the moon have the background color. As a result, the entire moon is displayed in front of a uniform background in every partial moon position.

In one embodiment, the moon phase display has a frame which is arranged in the display plane and frames the display elements. The frame forms an aesthetic finish to the surface formed by the display elements. At the same time, it protects the movable display elements from damage and can serve to accommodate suitable bearings and/or the drive and/or the controller.

The frame is preferably kept in the background color. This achieves a uniform appearance of the moon phase display. In addition, the recognizability of their structural design can be completely or partially hidden with movable display elements.

In one embodiment, the display elements each have a third, strip-shaped side face that is arranged in a third rotational position in the display plane. In this case, the display elements can in particular be triangular in cross section. With the help of the third side surfaces, additional states of the moon phase can be displayed. For example, the second side surfaces can be kept entirely in the background color and the third side surfaces can have images of unilluminated sections of the moon. You can then switch between the two display variants explained.

In one embodiment, the drive for each of the display elements has its own drive unit with a stepper or servo motor or a rotary magnet. As a result, the rotational position of each display element can be adjusted with the same precision. The drive units can be screwed to a support structure of the moon phase display via elongated holes, so that fine adjustment of the position of the display elements is possible. In particular, the elongated holes can be aligned in such a way that the position of the display elements can be adjusted in the direction of the display plane (ie perpendicular to the normal direction of the display plane). At the ends opposite the drive unit, the display elements can each be mounted in a bearing element, the position of which can be designed to be finely adjustable in the same way via a slot connection. This makes it easy to adjust the position of the display elements so that there are equal distances between adjacent display elements.

In one configuration, the drive unit of one of the display elements is arranged at an upper end and the drive unit of an adjacently arranged display element is arranged at a lower end of the respective display element. This can apply to any pair of adjacent display elements. In other words, the driving units are always arranged alternately at opposite ends of the display elements. A space is then available to each drive unit which is approximately twice as large as the free space above or below a display element. This allows miniaturization of the moon phase display.

Fig. 1

drei nebeneinander gezeigte Ansichten einer Mondphasenanzeige zu unterschiedlichen Zeitpunkten,

Fig. 2

eine schematische Schnittdarstellung eines Ausschnitts der Mondphasenanzeige aus Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

eine perspektivische Rückansicht der Mondphasenanzeige aus Fig. 1 und

Fig. 4

eine perspektivische Explosionsdarstellung eines Antriebs der Mondphasenanzeige aus Fig. 1.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment illustrated in figures. Show it:

1

three side-by-side views of a moon phase display at different times,

2

shows a schematic sectional view of a section of the moon phase display 1 ,

3

Figure 12 shows a rear perspective view of the moon phase display 1 and

4

1 shows a perspective exploded view of a drive of the moon phase display 1 .

figure 1 shows a moon phase display with fourteen display elements 10-36 and a frame 38 enclosing the display elements 10-36. The display elements 10-36 each have a first and a second strip-shaped, rectangular side face up. The display elements 10 - 36 are rotatably mounted about a vertical longitudinal axis.

in the in 1 In the situation shown on the left, all display elements 10-36 are in a first rotational position, in which the first side surface is arranged in a display plane corresponding to the plane of the drawing. Together, the first side faces of the display elements 10-36 almost completely fill a square area of the display plane. The front of the frame 38 is also in the display plane. It has a square shape and a square section in which the display elements 10-36 are arranged so that they almost completely fill this section.

On each of the fourteen first faces is an illuminated section of the moon depicted in 1 is shown in white. Together, the first faces represent the full moon; the left in 1 The situation shown is the full moon position. Sub-areas of the first side faces, each of which is adjacent to the illuminated section of the moon, are kept black in the color forming a background. Frame 38 is also black so that the full moon appears against an overall uniform background.

Starting from the in 1 In the full moon position shown on the left, the display elements 10 - 36 are individually brought into their respective second rotational position in successive steps. In the first step, this is done for the leftmost display element 10, then for the adjacent display element 12, and so on. After four steps you get the one in the middle of the 1 position shown, in which the moon has decreased by a good quarter (more precisely: by four fourteenths). The four display elements 10, 12, 14 and 16 arranged on the left are now in their second rotational position, in each case a second side surface in the display plane is arranged. No illuminated section of the moon is shown on the second side surfaces, but rather an unilluminated section of the moon, which is shown in gray. Sub-areas of the second side faces, which border on the unilluminated sections of the moon, they are kept black in the background color. The diameter of the moon image is matched to the dimensions of the first side faces in such a way that the area filled by the display elements 10 - 36 is almost completely or completely exhausted.

After three further steps are also the display elements 18, 20 and 22 in their second rotary position, this in the 1 The situation shown on the right is a half-moon position. The one in the 1 The course of a southern hemisphere operating mode shown, because it represents the situation to be observed in the southern hemisphere in the night sky, in which the moon decreases "from the left". In a not-shown northern hemisphere operating mode, starting from the full moon position, the display element 36 located on the far right is first rotated into the second rotational position.

In 2 the display elements 10, 12, 14 are shown schematically in cross section. They each form an equilateral triangle. The first side surface 40 is arranged on one side of the triangle, and the second side surface 42 is arranged on a second side of the triangle. In the position shown, the first side faces 40 are in the display plane illustrated by a dot-dash line 44 . Adjacent to the first side surface 40 of the display element 10, a piece of the frame 38 can be seen, the front side of which also lies in the display plane. Behind the frame 38 is a vertically disposed beam 46 forming part of a support structure. On another element of the supporting structure, an in 2 not shown, horizontal carrier, is for each display element 10 - 36 a bearing element 50, indicated only schematically. The longitudinal axes 48, around which each of the display elements 10 - 36 is rotatably mounted in the bearing element 50 are also shown.

Also indicated only schematically is a controller 66, which is designed to control the rotary position of each display element 10-36. For this purpose, the controller with drive units 60 (see 4 ) tied together. The electronic control 66 and the drive units 60 are supplied with electrical energy by a storage battery, which is not shown.

figure 3 Figure 12 shows a rear view of the moon phase display with a back panel (not shown) removed. One can see the back of the frame 38 and two of the vertical supports 46 and two horizontal supports 52, 54, which form a supporting structure for the display elements 10-36. The frame 38 is attached to this support structure.

The display elements 10 - 36 (in 3 only partially provided with reference numerals) each adjoin one of the horizontal beams 52, 54 with their upper and lower ends. Brackets 56 for receiving a drive unit are arranged on every second of the display elements 10 - 36 at the upper end of the respective display element 10 - 36 , above the horizontal support 52 . On the remaining display elements 10 - 36 such brackets 56 are located at the lower ends of the display elements 10 - 36, below the other horizontal support 54. The drive units themselves are in 3 not shown in detail.

figure 4 shows a section of the moon phase display in a perspective view from the front. Some of the display elements 10-36 and the horizontal support 52 arranged above them can be seen. A drive unit 60 with a holder 56 is arranged above the support 52 for every second display element 10-36.

One of these drive units 60 is shown in an exploded view. It comprises the two-part holder 56 with four oblong holes through which a screw 58 is guided and screwed into the carrier 52, and a servomotor 62 which is connected to a shaft 64 supporting and driving the associated display element 10-36.

List of References

10 - 36

display element

38

frame

40

first face

42

second side face

44

line (display level)

46

beam (vertical)

48

axis of rotation

50

bearing element

52, 54

Carrier (horizontal)

56

bracket

58

screw

60

drive unit

62

servo motor

64

Wave

66

steering

Claims (15)

Moon phase display with • a display level in which the current moon phase is displayed, • several display elements (10-36), each of which is rotatably mounted about its longitudinal axis and has a first strip-shaped side surface (40) on which an illuminated section of the moon is depicted, and a second strip-shaped side surface (42) on which no illuminated section of the moon is depicted is, • wherein each of the display elements (10-36) has a first rotational position, in which the first side surface (40) is arranged in the display plane, and a second rotational position, in which the second side surface (42) is arranged in the display plane, • wherein the first side surfaces (40) together represent the full moon in a full moon position, in which all display elements (10-36) are in their first rotational position, • a drive that can rotate each of the display elements (10-36) independently of the other display elements (10-36) about its longitudinal axis, and • a controller (66) which is designed to control the drive in such a way that, starting from the full moon position, one of the display elements (10-36) is turned into the second rotational position in successive steps until all the display elements (10-36) are in the second rotation position, displaying a progressively waning moon. Moon phase display according to Claim 1, characterized in that the number of display elements (10-36) is even and lies in the range from 4 to 30. Moon phase display according to claim 1, characterized in that the number of display elements (10-36) is fourteen. A moon phase display according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the longitudinal axes of the display elements (10-36) are perpendicular with respect to the field of view of an observer viewing the moon phase display in an in-use position. Moon phase display according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the controller (66) is designed such that the number of successive steps corresponds to the number of display elements (10-36), with a first step on a first side of the moon phase display arranged display element (10-36) is rotated, in the second step the immediately adjacent display element (10-36), and so on, until in the last step a display element (10-36 ) is rotated. Moon phase display according to claim 5, characterized in that the controller (66) has a northern hemisphere mode and a southern hemisphere mode, wherein in the northern hemisphere mode in the first step a display element (36) located on the far right in relation to the viewer's field of vision is rotated and in the southern hemisphere mode of operation, in the first step, a leftmost display element (10) with respect to the viewer's field of vision. Moon phase display according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the first side surfaces (40) form a square surface in the display plane when the moon is full. Moon phase display according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that partial surfaces of the first side surfaces (40) which adjoin the images of the illuminated sections of the moon have a background colour. Moon phase display according to Claim 8, characterized in that the second side surfaces (42) have the background colour. Moon phase display according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that an unilluminated section of the moon is depicted on each of the second side surfaces (42). Moon phase display according to Claim 10, characterized in that partial surfaces of the second side surfaces (42) which adjoin the images of the unilluminated sections of the moon have the background color. Moon phase display according to one of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the moon phase display has a frame (38) which is arranged in the display plane and frames the display elements (10-36), the frame (38) preferably being kept in the background colour . Moon phase display according to one of Claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the display elements (10-36) each have a third, strip-shaped side surface which is arranged in a third rotational position in the display plane. Moon phase display according to one of Claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the drive for each of the display elements (10-36) has its own drive unit (60) with a stepper or servo motor (62) or a rotary magnet. Moon phase display according to Claim 14, characterized in that the drive unit (60) of one of the display elements (10-36) is at an upper end and the drive unit (60) of an adjacent display element (10-36) is at a lower end of the respective display element (10 -36) is arranged.

Images