GB2317970A - Roman time dial - Google Patents

Abstract

A conventional clock or watch mechanism is combined with a dial having markings which simulate Roman time ie twelve daylight hours 9 and four, three hour night vigils 2. The mechanism may have conventional hands (figure 14), hands 5/6 orbiting around an obelisk 7, or hands in the form of projected light figures 9 and 10. The watch shown in figure 14c has Roman style month and date rings. A digital version is shown at figure 17.

Description

We, Alfio Lucrezio Grasso of Rue Breu, Les Floralies, 01710 Thoiry, Pays de Gex, France, and Bianca Josephine Grasso of 16 Lindale Crescent, Amblecote, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY5 2RL, England, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following description.

This invention relates to clocks and watches.

It is concerned with measuring, recording, displaying and sounding time in a clock or watch through a mechanism comprising a set of orbiting planetary-hands, and through employing a new dial arrangement to measure, record, display and sound time in the way of Imperial Rome. In this document the words clock or watch are used interchangeably.

After the Julian reform of 46 B.C. the Roman calendar was governed by the time taken by the earth to revolve on its axis (the day) and complete one orbital period round the sun (the year). To this day the twelve months of the year retain the sequence, names and lengths which were given to them by Caesar and Augustus.

The months were divided first in Calends (lust ofthe month), Nones (5th or 7th) and Ides (13th or 15th), and later in weeks of seven days which have also survived to this day with only one exception, that of the name of Sunday (dies solis) in favour of Day of the Lord (dies Dominica) in those countries whose language is rooted in Latin.

The way the time of the day was measured has not survived to this day other than in some appellations, and this was mainly due to three reasons: 1- The variability of the hour throughout the year; 2- The absence of an accurate standard of measurement such as the "second" 3- No capability, or absence in any case, to implement a timepiece which could work both at day and night time.

The Romans measured the day's duration by dividing it into 24 hours, 12 daylight hours and 12 night-time hours. This implied that the duration of the hour during the day or night varied in accordance with the season of the year. At the the vernal and autumnal equinoxes the duration of the daylight hours were exactly equal to those of the night hours and equivalent to our 60 minutes. At the winter and summer solstice they were most unequal, being the shortest at the winter solstice when daylight lasted for 8 hours and 54 minutes of sunlight resulting in an hour duration of only 44 minutes and 27 seconds rounding up, whilst the night hour lasted longer, lhour 15 minutes and 33 seconds rounding down. In the summer solstice it was the turn of the daylight hours to last 15 hours and 6 minutes against the 8 hours and 54 minutes of the night hours with an equivalent hour duration of 1 hour 15 minutes and 33 seconds for the daylight hours against 44 minutes and 26 seconds for the night-time hours.

The daylight hours commenced at sunrise and finished at sunset and were called first hour, second hour, third hour etc. up to the twelfth hour. At the vernal and autumnal equinoxes the first hour commenced at 6 o'clock a.m. our time and finished at 7 o'clock in the morning, whereupon the second hour would start from 7 a.m. until 8 o'clock a.m., and the third hour from 8 a.m. to 9 o'clock a.m., etc., up to the 12th hour which would start at 5 o'clock p.m. and finish at 6 o'clock in the evening.

The night-hours commenced at sunset and finished at sunrise. They were divided into 4 periods of 3 hours each, and each period was called a vigil, so that there would be a first, second, third and fourth vigil. A time falling in the first vigil would be referring to an equivalent modern period between 6 o'clock pm and 9 o'clock pm, unless more specific such as "at the second hour of the first vigil", meaning between 7 and 8 o'clock pm. Likewise a time falling in the second vigil would be referring to a time between 9 o'clock in the evening and midnight.

Similarly a time falling in the third vigil would be referring to a time between midnight and 3 o'clock in the morning, and a time falling in the fourth vigil would be referring to a time between 3 o'clock a.m. and 6 o'clock in the morning, thereafter count would revert back to the hour. Apart from the use of clepsydras which measured short periods of time, there were no means of measuring intervals of time shorter than one hour such as the "minute" or the "second" as part of a sub-multiple of the hour or minute.

The Roman way of measuring daytime hours remained more or less in use up until the XVII century in the form of sundials, both fixed and portable. The usefulness of these means of measuring time was lost on a cloudy day or at night.

In areas of the world shy of sunlight the sundial was even less useful. Various ingenious attempts at measuring time during the night or on a cloudy day were made, for example by means of graduated water and oil clocks. However the intrinsic variability of the hour according to the season remained. Likewise the rate of burning in an oil clock, or water flow in a water clock, also varied due to several changing variables.

Time measurement which was independent of the variability of the hour throughout the seasons, or on the availability of the sunshine, commenced around the XII century with the construction of mechanical clocks which attempted to measure the hour uniformly throughout the day and night. Early mechanical clocks comprised two main components: (1)- a motive-energy storage component such as an elevated weight(s).

(2)- an escapement that connected the release of the motive energy from the storage component to the mechanism that regulated the movement of levers and gears in order to strike time at regular hourly intervals.

The early escapements were crude ironworks driven by falling weights and recording time by striking the hour. Many of the tower clocks at this time were of this type and remained so until in the XIV century the Italian family of Dondi through the invention of the dial introduced two further components to the modern clock: (3)- the dial, that is the means of recording and reading time, and (4) a system of gears to operate the hands of the clock. These hands rotated concentrically relative to an axis at the centre of the dial. With these two components added to the clock, time could now be recorded and read-off at any time of the day and night without having to wait to hear the striking of the hour.

Around the year 1500 the coilspring was invented which replaced the falling weight(s) as the main motive-energy storage component. Also since coilsprings could be made in a volume of space much smaller than falling weights, portable mechanical clocks such as carriage and bracket clocks were also made. The next three hundred years saw the invention of the anchor-escapement and the pendulum and further refinements of the escapement to both the accuracy of keeping time and of the gear system to move the hands of a clock or watch. A proliferation of Dondi's dial were also designed throughout this period and later, more or less as they are available today. Also grandfather and bracket clocks were introduced and assumed their modern forms.

Apart from more sophisticated manufacturing capabilities available to clock and watch manufacturers of modern times, today's clocks and watches are still based and made with the components described earlier. The major contribution of modern times being on the one side, the availability of advanced manufacturing precision machinery, and on the other side the invention of the atomic clock in 1955 which led to the replacement of the astronomical "second" in favour of the atomic "second", itself defined in terms of the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to a specified transition of the two hyperfine levels of an atom of Caesium-133.

The advancement of electrical and electronic engineering and microelectronics during this century also led to the construction of electric and electronic clocks and watches leading to the measurement of time by means of synchronizing an electric motor to the frequency of the power mains, or counting electric pulses generated by means of energizing quartz crystals electronically. Electronic clocks also provided the opportunity to display time digitally and of announcing time also through the sounding of tones or simulated speech, and are capable of implementation in both hardware, software or both.

Generally watch displays are realized by dividing a circle into 60 sectors of 6 degrees each for marking minutes and seconds, and/or into 12 sectors of 30 degree each for marking the hours. The hours, minutes and seconds are identified through the means of some narrow and generally pointed lengths of material such as metal, wood or plastic, called hands. The shorter hand indicates the hours, the longest the seconds and the medium the minutes. These hands generally revolve concentrically around an axis located at the centre of the dial, and as they turn they align themselves with points on the edge of a circumference, itself shown as a continuous circle or segmented circle or point circle or no circle at all, in correspondence of every conventional position described earlier, namely: each 6 degree sector corresponds to one minute of an hour for the minutes-hand, and each 30 degree sector corresponds to 5 minutes of the minutes-hand.

Correspondingly the shorter length hour-hand indicates 1 hour at each 30 degree sector. The seconds-hand, where included, corresponds to a 1 second for each 6 degree sector, and 5 seconds for each 30 degree sector. 360 degrees, or a circle, being equivalent to 12 hours for the hour-hand, 60 minutes for the minutes-hand and 60 seconds for the seconds-hand.

The disadvantage in using sundials whether simple or complex to measure Roman time are well known and have already been succinctly explained. A disadvantage also of current clocks is that they also do not measure, record, display or announce Roman time. Therefore there has never been a timepiece available to man which could accurately measure throughout the year, record, display and sound Roman time in a single embodiment, including also subdivisions of the hour in terms of minutes and seconds.

According to this invention there is provided a Roman clock which measures, records, displays and announces Roman time without the variability of the hour through (1) a planetary-hands movement to represent the orbiting of the earth round the sun at a constant rate of rotation based on the "second", such a planetary movement is capable of manufacture at low cost and conserves all the advantages of accuracy, comprehension and universality of usage of modern day watch/clock movements, mechanical, electronic or both; and (2) through the adoption of a new dial arrangement to record and display the daily 24 hours also according to the Roman way, thus creating a differentiated product based on the cultural legacy and aristocratic style of Imperial Rome. Means of sounding Roman time which has never been heard heretofore or of setting alarm times referenced to Roman time are also provided. These features endow this invention with a desirable market appeal. Several design variations of the clock or watch and different means of announcing Roman time are also possible to cater for a variety of individual preferences.

According to a particular embodiment of the dial arrangement described hereafter, it will also be possible to use such dial for showing both Roman time and modern time. The invention is capable also of using current clock movements whether mechanical, electrical or electronic, or any combination of them as an alternative to using the orbiting planetary-hands movement in order to measure and show Roman and modern time by adopting the dial embodied in the Roman clock.

This invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows the measurement of time according to the Romans represented in a circle of 360 degrees.

Fig.2 -shows a current clock dial with engravings for hours, minutes and seconds.

Fig.3 -shows a front view of a typical embodiment of a Roman clock.

Fig.4 -shows an enlarged view of the dial of the Roman clock.

Figs. 5a, b and c - show examples of how to read Roman time in a Roman clock.

Figs. 6a to 6h give other examples for reading both Roman and modem time from a Roman clock and/or Roman dial.

Fig.7 - re-proposes a front view of the Roman dial.

Fig.8 - shows details of one implementation of the planet-hand.

Fig.9 - shows details of an alternative optical arrangement to implement the planet-hands.

Fig. 10- shows an arrangement comprising the hour and minutes planet-hands together with a cross-sectional view of a concentric gear train system to implement the orbiting hands.

Fig. 11- shows an alternative epicyclical gear train to implement the orbiting hands.

Fig. 12- shows a further alternative of an epicyclical gear train to implement the orbiting hands.

Fig.13- shows an embodiment of a dial of a Roman clock used in conjunction with a conventional clock movement and clock hands.

Figs. 14- a, b, and c, shows examples of conventional watches embodying the dial of a Roman timepiece to display both Roman time and modern time together with multidial features showing the Roman calendar.

Fig. 15 - shows another embodiment of a Roman dial with the first hour referenced to the 6 o'clock position.

Fig. 16-shows a further embodiment of a dial for a Roman clock with the first hour referenced halfway between the 12 o'clock and the 1 o'clock positions.

Figs. 17- a and b, show two examples of a digital display suitable to implement a digital Roman clock.

The diagram of figure 1 represents the Roman system of time measurement together with the corresponding time of our era at the bi-annual equinoxes as described earlier. The diagram shown in figure 2 is a typical embodiment of a modern clock dial comprising ticks for hours, minutes and or seconds.

With reference now to figure 3 it can be seen that the Roman clock comprises a case (1) having a suitable cavity into which is housed the clock mechanism (3), (4), (5) and (6), and the Roman dial (2), (7), (8) and (9). Referring to fig. 4 it will be seen that in a dial for a Roman clock there are present two thin annular concentric cuts, or slits (3) and (4) through which of each passes a thin spindle fixed to the orbiting mechanism just behind the face of the dial. These spindles become receptacles for the heads of the clock hands (6) and (5) referred to as "planet-hands", and as the orbiting mechanism rotates behind the dial, the planethands also rotate around the fixed "sun-obelisk" (7) positioned at the centre of the dial.

Figure 4 also shows that the inner part of the Roman dial is divided into four quadrants by the pair of axis (2). Each of these quadrants identifies a vigil, therefore there are provided Roman numerals corresponding to each of the four night vigils, every vigil lasting three hours. At the centre of the vigils which also is the centre of the dial there is provided a short obelisk which need not necessarily be a pointed quadrangular spindle, but can be a small rounded disc or two or more concentric cylinders or simply an optional dot at the intersection of the pair of axis (2) depending on the choice of clock movement or watch hands as will be shown later.

Another distinguishing and novel feature of a Roman clock is the dial arrangement. According to this invention the position adopted for the hours is different from the convention adopted for a modern clock. This has been chosen in order to enable a user to read both Roman and modern time without having to do any mental conversions which would otherwise be necessary if the conventional order of the hours position had also been adopted for this invention.

In the embodiment of a Roman dial therefore the position of the XII hour is preferably placed in the location normally taken by the 6 o'clock position of a modern dial. It will be seen, in fact, that in the embodiment of figure 4 the first hour ends at the 7 o'clock position, the second at the 8 o'clock position, and so on. Before explaining in more detail how this mechanism functions it is instructive to explain how to measure and read Roman time on a Roman clock such as explained in one of the embodiments shown in the sets of figures 5a to Sc, and 6a to 6h.

In the Roman clock shown in figures 5 the hours on the dial follow the convention of a modern clock, therefore Roman time would be read simply as it appears indicated on the dial, for example: i- the time now is: 20 minutes to the second hour, see fig. Sa.

ii- the time now is: 10 minutes past the fourth hour, fig. 5b.

iii- the time now is: one hour and 25 minutes past the first vigil, fig. Sc, etc.

It will be understood that referring these times to the equivalent corresponding time shown by a modern clock will require some mental conversion. Naturally it cannot be expected that users of a Roman clock or watch put aside the corresponding time measured in the current way as everything that one does in life today, from taking a plane, starting work or going to school or watch a football match is scheduled to the way we have been using every day. It is for this reason that the arrangement of the hour numerals in a dial for a Roman clock have been chosen in the preferred position shown in fig. 3 and fig.4, as in this way it will be seen that reading Roman time or normal modern time is done subconsciously, and in so doing users have a continuous link between the roots of the Roman legacy and the need of compliance with daily life. The following examples will show how easy and immediate is reading Roman time and the corresponding modern time through imagining to read from a Roman clock with a dial as shown in the set of figures 6a to 6h. Assume that the planetary orbitinghands indicate: i- a quarter past the first hour = a quarter past 7 a.m., fig. 6a.

ii-20 minutes past the 2nd hour = 20 minutes past 8 a.m., fig. 6b.

iii-5 minutes to the 4th hour = 5 minutes to 10 a.m., fig. 6c.

iv-half past the 9th hour = half past 3 p.m., fig. 6d.

v-5 minutes into the first vigil= 5 minutes past 6 p.m., fig. 6e.

vi-third vigil or midnight= 12 a.m. or midnight, fig. 6f.

vii-25 minutes past the third vigil= 25 minutes past 3 a.m.

viii-l hour and a quarter to the first hour= a quarter to 5 a.m., fig. 6h, and so on.

The operation of the Roman clock will now be further described. Referring to figure 7 it will be seen that there are provided two orbiting planetary-hands to indicate the hour and vigil (5) and the minutes (6), and a fixed obelisk (7) representing the sun thus together constituting an heliocentric system. These orbiting planet-hands pass through two annular cuts on the face ofthe dial (3) and (4), and are fixed to two revolving discs at the back of the dial, the hour-disc and the minute-disc, whereupon as the hour and vigil disc rotates, the planet-hand (5) and not the sun-obelisk (7) rotates, and while orbiting around the latter it shines a beam of focused and/or collimated light (5a) towards the sun-obelisk (7), thus giving the impression that a geocentric system is actually in place. Likewise is done with the minutes orbiting planet-hand which as the minutes annulus disc behind the dial rotates, the minutes planet-hand (6) also, while orbiting, shines a beam of similar light (6a) towards the sun-obelisk (7) suitably coated in an absorbing grey or black paint. To further avoid light scattering at the sun-obelisk several arrangements can be taken. In one arrangement the alignment of the light source mounted on the planet-hands can be adjusted so that the light-beam just falls short of the sun-obelisk onto the face of the dial. In another arrangement, suitable for large clocks such as tower clocks, the light system simulating the radiation from the sun can consist of a light source travelling throw a series of lenses which force a circular flow of the light beam emerging from the planethands towards and through the sun-obelisk where it is reflected internally through a system of mirrors and lenses back to the planet-hands. One arrangement of a light system embedded in the planet hand itself, and suitable for small clocks and watches is shown in the embodiment of figure 8a which shows a detail of the components to construct a planet-hand with a laser diode and an optional rigid material hand. Inside a hollow sphere (2), the planet-hand, there is provided an optical aperture to which is mounted from the inside of the planet sphere a laser diode (4), or other type of light source, whose electrical wires are fed through the cylindrical spindle (3), which is used to fix the planet-hand to the orbiting disc behind the dial as described earlier, to an appropriate energy source inside the clock. An optical lens, which could be moulded on the outer case of the laser diode itself, is aligned in such a way that the beam of light escaping from the optical aperture (5) hits tangentially the face of the dial before reaching the sunobelisk. In this way a thin line length of light is shone on the dial thus making an effective extended "hand" of the planet-hand under consideration. The residual light reaching the sun-obelisk is suitably absorbed or reflected downwards or both depending on the type of clock or watch under implementation. Means of shaping the line shone on the dial in the direction of the sun-obelisk through the lens (5) can also be provided by interfacing suitable optical filters in front of the lens and/or adapting the geometric shape of the lens itself, with the aim of converting the "point source" of the laser diode, or other type of light source, to a "line source". In this arrangement it is possible also to attach a rigid material hand (1) to the planet sphere, either below or above the light beam, or alternatively a synthetic material can be chosen such that light is carried along the length of the rigid material hand itself, for example as shown in figure 8b which shows the implementation of a planet-hand using a lossy optical fibre-glass or a hybrid combination of optical glass-fibre and other highly refractive light conductive material.

Another implementation suitable for large clocks and using the circular flow of light referred to earlier is shown in figure 9. The planet-hand (5) consists of a sphere with two openings at right angle (5i) and (5ii) and a reflecting mirror (5iv) placed at an angle of substantially 45 degrees to the virtual point where the centre line of the openings in the sphere would meet. The sun-obelisk consists of two concentric cylinders (7a) and (7b) held in place by suitable fixing rods running close to the centre of this assembly and not shown in the diagram. The top part of the sun-obelisk is the cap and can be finished in a semispherical dome of pointing pyramid. The second part of the sun-obelisk (7b) consists of another cylinder having a plate at each end. The top plate (7bi) has a circular cut-out to allow a free passage to incoming light reflected by the toroidal and conical mirror (6v) towards a similar mirror (6vi). Likewise the bottom plate of sun-obelisk (this) has a wider cut-out than the upper plate of this component, its diameter being a little less than the upper diameter of the conical mirror (5v), in order to provide mechanical support for the mirror component (5v). All the mirrors, viz.

(5v), (5vi), (6v) and (6vi) are shaped in the form of a toroidal cylinder with its outer walls cut at an angle of substantially 45 degrees as shown in figure 9. It will be seen also that the combined assembly of the sun-obelisk and reflecting mirrors inside it are partly on the side of the face of the dial (Q) and partly below.

These four mirrors are all held in place through rods running along the centre-axis of the assembly. The arrangement shown in this embodiment operates in the following manner. A light beam optionally generated inside the clock enters the planet sphere (5) through the opening (5i) and after being reflected at right angle by the mirror (5iv) escapes through opening (5ii) and lens (5iii) towards the sunobelisk where it impinges on the outer surface of the conical mirror (5v) whereupon it is reflected downwards to the outer surface of the matching conical mirror (5vi). From here the light beam (5a) is reflected at right angle towards the mirror (5vii), and through a further right angle reflection by this mirror (5vii), reenters the lower planet-hand opening (5i) of planet (5) to repeat the circular cycle. By observing figure 9 it will be seen that the same operation applies to the other planet-hand, the minutes planet-hand (6) and its associated components (6i) to (6vii). With this arrangement it is also possible to include a further set of components running outside of the minutes planet-hand (6) and inside of the conical set of mirrors (6v) and (6vi) to allow the seconds to be displayed as well.

Some residual scatter of light remains around the cap of the sun-obelisk but this is desirable as it gives the impression of a glow of light emanating from the sunobelisk.

In practice such arrangement of actively beaming light from the orbiting planetshands to the sun-obelisk need not be strictly followed and a pair of fixed metal, synthetic or wood planet-hands can be used instead, or both, pointing either towards or away from the sun-obelisk.

One implementation of the mode of operation of the orbiting planetary mechanism behind the dial ofthe Roman clock is shown in figure 10. With reference to such figure it will be seen that there is provided an example of a mechanism comprising two concentric orbiting discs (S) and (P). The sun-disc (S) and the planet-disc (P) rotate through suitable gears trains (R) and (T) respectively, which in turn they couple to a suitable escapement not shown in this diagram. A front view of this arrangement results in the disc (s), the "sun" disc, and the annulus (p), the planet. The sun-obelisk (SB) is fixed to the face of the dial ring (Q) on which are inscribed the vigil quadrants and optionally the hour numerals as shown in figure 4. The planet hands (M and H) at the front of the dial are each connected to a suitable spindle (K) fixed on each of the discs thus forming a pressure contact between the spindles and each of the planet hands. Several other ways of attaching the planet hands to the revolving discs can be considered. In this manner as the sun disc and the planet disc rotate, the planet-hands move in their orbit to measure and record time. With this arrangement it is also possible to add a third planet, not shown in figure 7, concentric to (P) and (S) which could act as the drive for the seconds planet-hand also not shown in figure 7 as the implementation is obvious.

Another embodiment of the orbiting planetary mechanism is shown in figure 11.

With reference to such figure it will be seen that there is provided a different kind of mechanism consisting of an epicyclic train system comprising of three concentric gears (A), (B) and (I)) and three pairs of direct gear trains (cl and c2) forming the "planet " gears of an epicyclic gear train. These three planet gears are spaced 120 degrees apart. The central gear (A), the "sun " gear, is connected to the hour and vigil planet-hand (H). The three pair of "planet" gears (cl and c2), are fixed to carrier (B) itself concentric to (A), and they couple to an annulus gear (D)also concentric to (A). Such an arrangements has three inversions so that if the "sun" gear moves in a clockwise direction the annulus gear (D) will also move in a clockwise direction. The annulus gear (D) drives the minutes-planet-hand (M) in a similar arrangement as described earlier. Similarly the planet-hands (m and h) at the front of the dial (Q) are each connected to their respective orbiting discs thus as the latter move in their orbit the planet hands move along with them.

With this arrangement as the minutes gear (D) completes one revolution in 1 hour, the hour-hand rotates for only one twelfth of its full orbit. The prime drive to this arrangement can be through the external shaft of gear (D)via a direct gear train coupled at (T) to the escapement system. In a variation of this mechanism the prime drive can be coupled to gear (B), and as this gear rotates it moves along both the sun gear (A) and the planet gear (D) through the gear train (cl) and (c2).

In this way the planet gear (D) could display the seconds, gear (B) the minutes and gear (A) the hours and vigils. However given the large disparity in the ratios of reduction for the hour gear and of increase for the seconds gear, the "planet" gears (cl) and (c2) become more complex.

A further implementation of an or clock or watch movements that move the hands from the centre of the dial as shown in figures 13. In such a case it is sufficient to use conventional watch movements in conjunction with the Roman dial configuration described earlier and omit also the annular cuts on the dial (3) and (4) of figure 7. Typical watch implementations are shown in figures 14a, 14b and 14c.

Instead of the dial arrangement shown in figures 3, 4 and 7, other dial arrangements can also be considered to cater for individual preferences such as those shown in figure 5, and figures 13 to 16 inclusive. Further variations can also be considered such as the omission of the vigil numerals, using numbers rather than Roman numerals, adding the appellations "mane" and "ante meridiem" for the two parts of the morning, and "de meridie" and "suprema" for the afternoon and evening, or changing the chosen text angle and/or text character font for representing the vigils and hours. Digital versions of the Roman clock are also possible for use with electronic drives for watches or clocks. Two examples showing a digital day-time display and a night-time display are given in figures 17a and 17b.

A further feature that can be optionally incorporated in a clock utilizing one of the embodiments of this invention is that of including means of announcing time in accordance with the Roman measurement of time described in this invention.

Since the time of the Romans attempts to announce the hours of a clock have resulted in many different implementations well documented in the literature, whether by mechanical or electronic means, or both. Modern clocks often incorporate means of sounding time at quarter hour intervals, or half hour intervals, or hourly, or a combination of them. A typical pattern consists of playing one sound, or set of sounds, for the first 1/4 hour, followed by two sounds, or a set of sounds, at the hour interval and three sounds, or set of sounds, at the 3/4 hour interval. At the hour point a louder and often different pitch sound is played, often repeated a number of times equivalent to the hour they announce.

Of course current clocks make no distinction between the sound used to announce the day-hours against the sound used to announce the night hours. Also the pattern of sounds in a clock is repeated without variations between the day hours and the night hours. There are no means of course of sounding vigil sounds in current clocks.

With this invention it is possible to add patterns of sounds which announce the time of the day measured according to the embodiments of this invention. It is therefore possible to add provisions for sounding a pattern of sounds for the vigils as distinguished from the pattern of sounds played for the day-time hours.

One such pattern of sounds could be based on four different pitches as shown by the following example: Pitch 1 (P1) is played for the 1/4 hour sound, Pitch 2 (P2) is played for the hour sound, Pitch 3 (P3) is played for the vigil sound, Pitch 4 (P4) is played for the vigil-hour sound.

One playing sequence using these four sound tones is shown in Table 1. Another playing sequence based on three sound tones is shown in Table 2. Other playing sequences can also be considered. Obviously where a vigil and/or hour sound distinction is employed in a clock movement according to one of the embodiments of this invention, then means of detecting and differentiating the passage from the vigils to the hours must be included in the mechanism whether mechanical, electric/electronic or both.

TABLE 1 Time to strike V4H H V vH P1 P2 P3 P4 1st hour 0 1 0 0 1h+h 1 0 0 0 1h+h 2 2 0 0 0 1h + h 3 0 0 0 2nd hour 4 2 0 0 2ndhour (optional) 0 2 0 0 2h+h 1 0 0 0 2 I/2h 2 2 0 0 0 2h+h 3 0 0 0 3rdhour 4 3 0 0 3rdhour (optional) 0 3 0 0 3h+h 1 0 0 0 11 hour 4 11 0 0 lihour (optional) O 11 0 0 11h+h 1 0 0 0 1lh+h 2 0 0 0 11h+h 3 0 0 0 12 hour 4 12 0 0 12 hour (optional) 0 12 0 0 or lst vigil 0 0 1 0 lst vigil lst hour 4 0 1 1 lst vigil st hour+l/4h 1 0 0 0 lstvigillsthour+l/2h 2 0 0 0 lstvigil 1st hour+3/4h 3 0 0 0 lstvigil2ndhour 4 0 1 2 lstvigil2ndhour(optional) 0 0 1 2 1st vigil 2nd hour + I/4h 1 0 0 0 1st vigil 2nd hour + I/2h 2 0 0 0 1st vigil 2nd hour + 3/4h 3 0 0 0 Ist vigil 3rd hour optional 0 0 1 3 or 2nd vigil 0 0 2 0 2ndvigil lsthour O 0 2 1 2nd vigil 2nd hour 0 0 2 2 2nd vigil 3rd hour 4 0 2 3 2nd vigil 3rd hour optional 0 0 2 3 3rd vigil 0 0 3 0 etc.

N.B.: - The numerals in this table indicate the number of strokes.

TABLE 2 Time to strike ~H H V P1 P2 1st hour 0 1 0 1h+h 1 0 0 1h + h 2 0 0 1h+h 3 0 0 2nd hour 4 2 0 2nd hour (optional) 0 2 0 2h+h 1 0 0 2h+h 2 0 0 2h+h 3 0 0 3rd hour 4 3 0 3rd hour (optional) 0 3 0 3h+'/4h 1 0 0 11 hour 4 11 0 11 hour (optional) O 11 0 11lh+h 1 0 0 11h+h 2 0 0 11h+h 3 0 0 1st Vigil O 0 1 lst vigil lst hour 0 1 1 1st vigil 1st hour + s/4h 1 0 0 Ist vigil Ist hour + h 2 0 0 Ist vigil Ist hour + 3/4h 3 0 0 1st vigil 2nd hour 0 2 1 Ist vigil 2nd hour + h 1 0 0 1st vigil 2nd hour + t/2h 2 0 0 lstvigil2ndhour+3/4h 3 0 0 2nd vigil 0 0 2 2nd vigil (optional) 4 0 2 2ndvigillsthour 0 1 2 2nd vigil 2nd hour 0 2 2 3rdvigil O 0 3 3rd vigil (optional) 4 0 3 4th vigil 0 0 4 4th vigil Ist hour 0 1 4 4th vigil 2nd hour 0 2 4 1st hour 0 1 0 etc.

Claims (1)

1. Claims

   1- A clock or watch embodying the Roman measurement of time based on the second for use as a timepiece comprising: orbiting planetary hands for the display of the hours, minutes and seconds rotating from the periphery of the clock; the adoption of a sun-obelisk placed at the centre of the dial's clock; the use of a beam of monochromatic or chromatic light for the indication of the hours, minutes and seconds; a dial arrangement whereby the hours are positioned on the face of the dial with the twelfth hour located at the 6 o'clock position and the first hour at the 7 o'clock position, and so on to the eleventh hour located at the 5 o'clock position; a dial arrangement divided into four equal quadrants each representing a period of one vigil; means of announcing pattern of sounds to strike vigils, hours and minutes.

   2- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 1 in which the mechanism to move the hands of the clock or watch is based on planetaryhands rotating around the clock from the periphery of the dial to simulate the orbiting of planets round the sun in an Copernican system, or the orbiting of the sun and planets around the earth in a Ptolemaic system.

   3- A clock or watch as claimed in claims 1 and 2 given the name Roman Clock or Roman Watch.

   4- A clock or watch as claimed in claims 1 , 2 and 3 in which the mechanism driving the clock hands consists of two, or optionally, three concentric final gears each of which is provided with receptacles located on the periphery of the outer annulus of such gears for attaching means of displaying the hours, minutes and seconds and projecting through the front of the dial in the direction of the sun-obelisk.

   5- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 4 in which the final mechanism that moves the clock hands consists of three epicyclical concentric gears; the centre gear being fixed and carrying a set of "planet gears" arranged as an equidistant triad of "planet gears placed 120 degrees apart around a circular axis. The outer minute-gear being coupled to an escapement system from which it takes its motive power, and through the triad of "planet gears" to an inner hour-gear. The minute and hour gears are provided with receptacle for the hands.

   6- A clock or watch as claimed in claims 4 and 5 in which the final mechanism to move the clock hands consists of five epicyclical concentric gears. The outer gear of this set of concentric gears, the seconds gear S, is coupled to the minutes gear, M, via a triad of "planet gears" mounted on a fixed ring located between S and M around a circular axis and spaced 120 degrees apart. The innermost gear of the set of five concentric gears, the hour gear H, is also coupled to the minutes gear M through another set of "planet gears" also mounted 120 degrees apart on another fixed intermediary ring located between M and H. The motive rings S, M and H also incorporate suitable slots for receiving their respective hands.

   7- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim in which the clock hands consist of chromatic or monochromatic light-beams in combination with or without rigid hands and pointing towards or away from the sun-obelisk.

   8- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 7 in which the chromatic or monochromatic light beams are changed in relation to the level of the external or ambient lighting conditions.

   9- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 8 in which the light beam hands are used in combination with rigid hands attached to the top of the planet spheres themselves connected to the receptacles of the corresponding planet gear of the movement mechanism described in claims 4, 5 and 6.

   10- A clock or watch as claimed in any preceding claim in which the clock hands consist each of a spherical ball inside which is located a direct or indirect light source in order to shine a chromatic or monochromatic light beam out of the sphere through a suitable aperture towards the sun-obelisk thus indicating the hours, minutes or seconds.

   11- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 10 in which the light source is generated inside the clock system and an arrangement of mirrors directs the light up to the planet spheres orbiting just above the dial's face and towards the sun-obelisk from which it is reflected downwards inside the clock system and via suitable mirrors reflected back towards the planet spheres to form a light loop sustained by the light source inside the clock. The light path for each planet sphere is independent of the others and through the provision of accurate mounting, separation and absorbing materials cross path interference is avoided and distinct light beams attained.

   12- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 11 in which the planet spheres are set behind the face of the dial and the hands attached to the planet spheres through the annular cut-outs provided on the dial.

   13- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim in which the clock-hands consist of lossy fibre-optics for the whole of their length.

   14- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 13 in which the clock hands use rigid opaque hands in combination with or without illuminated hands.

   15- A clock or watch as claimed in any preceding claim in which the clock-hands are made from two or more sections of fibre optics and other light conductive material with a high refraction coefficient from the viewer's side of the clock-hands.

   16- A clock or watch as claimed in any preceding claim where only the pattern of dial of the clock is used to implement a Roman clock or Roman Watch.

   17- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim whereby the pattern of the dial of the clock is used in conjunction with conventional clock or watch movements.

   18- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 17 in which the mechanism of operation is mechanical, electric and/or electronic, or combinations thereof.

   19- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim in which the position of the first hour is at the 6 o'clock position of a conventional clock, the second hour at the 7 o'clock position, and so on up to the twelfth hour located at the 5 o'clock position of a conventional clock.

   20- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 19 in which the inner part of the dial is divided into four quadrants to represent the vigils; the first vigil being positioned in the quadrant between the conventional 6 and 9 o'clock positions, and the second vigil between the 9 and 12 o'clock of a conventional clock, and so on in a clockwise direction up to the fourth vigil.

   21- A clock or watch as claimed in claims 19 and 20 in which the position of the first hour is positioned at the 12 o'clock position of a conventional watch, and the first vigil at the position between 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock of a conventional clock, thereafter both hours and vigils being counted clockwise as in a conventional clock.

   22- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim incorporating multi-dials for displaying the Roman calendar, the day of the month, the month of the year, or the year itself, or a combination of them, and whether the year is measured from the foundation of Rome, or according to the modem era, or both.

   23- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim which uses Roman numerals or modern numbers in whichever character or font type and/or character orientation and size, or combinations thereof.

   24- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 23 in which the numerals for indicating vigils or hours or both are substituted with letters of whichever type of character font, orientation, size or combinations thereof.

   25- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim incorporating multi-dials for the purpose of measuring conventional and Roman time, or further subdivisions of the second for the purpose of implementing chronometers.

   26- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim adopting a mechanism based on 24 hours to complete 360 degrees of revolution of the hour hand.

   27- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim whereby the dial is configured to display the 12 hours inside 180 degrees ofthe dial and the vigils within the other 180 degrees of the dial, independent of where the starting point of the first hour is placed.

   28- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim in which the embodiment of the dial is as shown in figures 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

   29- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim in which a combination of both digital and analogue displays of Roman time is adopted whether within a single dial or multi-dial arrangement and whether or not normal time is also displayed.

   30- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 29 in which the display adopts Roman numerals or normal numerals or both.

   31- A clock or watch as claimed in claim 30 in which the display adopts character letters of whichever font, orientation and size instead of numerals, or a combination of numerals and letters or alpha-numenc.

   32- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim in which the main dial is a Roman dial and an outer rotating ring on the case of the watch or clock is inscribed with normal time, or vice-versa.

   33- A clock or watch as claimed in any previous claim in which the front and back of the timepiece incorporates a dial which can be reversed to display on one side Roman time and on the other side a conventional dial showing normal time independent of which time-zone it refers to.