GB2442757A

GB2442757A - Child's clock

Info

Publication number: GB2442757A
Application number: GB0620000A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Fleck
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-10-10
Filing date: 2006-10-10
Publication date: 2008-04-16
Also published as: GB0620000D0

Abstract

A time-indicating device 1 uses lamps or light-emitting diodes which are illuminated for predetermined periods of time to help young children to understand if they may get up from bed or should return to sleep. The indicators may be coloured like traffic lights 3 and operate in a similar sequence to indicate sleep-time (red), quiet time (yellow) and getting-up time (green). The device may be programmed easily by a parent or guardian, and includes an analogue or digital clock display 2 to help teach the child to tell the time.

Description

-2442757 Young Child's Clock

Background

This invention relates to a time indicating device, more particularly but not exclusively for use by young children Young children cannot understand conventional analogue or digital clocks, so when they waken they have no way of knowing whether it is time to get up, or if they should go back to sleep Many children therefore inadvertently disrupt the normal sleep of their families or guardians by waking during the night and assuming it is time to get up Such disruption could be reduced if there was a means by which young children could easily differentiate between sleep time, getting-up time and a time during which they can play or look at books, but remain quiet Many parents are happy for their children to awaken some time before they actually get up and disturb others -in fact they are keen to encourage their child to learn to play quietly or look at books on their own

Prior Art

Various clock improvements have been proposed to help indicate the difference between night and day for young children, and thereby prevent inadvertent disruption of others' sleep European patent 0532580 describes a clock for which an alarm time can be set. When this time is reached the appearance of the clock changes and this could indicate a transition from bedtime to getting-up time However, the mechanism is complex and requires re-setting before it can be re-used UK patent GB2369200 discloses improvements to an analogue clock in which the arms rotate around the clock face and point to pictures or colours which are more meaningful to a child However, some judgement is required to decide when the clock hands are actually pointing at the relevant symbol, so the wake time is open to considerable interpretation. Furthermore, the clock is non-illuminated and so it would be of little use in a dark bedroom. This drawback applies to many other similar apparatus Other prior art involves changing a display between sleep-time and wake-time, for example European patent EP1356351 This proposes changing a picture which could be illuminated, but it only indicates two different activities -sleeping and waking Furthermore, since there is no additional analogue or digital clock display, it does not help a young child to learn how to tell the time

Statement of Invention

The object of the invention is to provide a device that indicates "sleep time", "quiet time" and "getting-up time" in a manner which can be understood by children who are too young to tell the time accurately. It can also be used to indicate time periods for alternative activities, as determined by the parent or guardian of the child According to the present invention there is provided a time indicating device for a child, the device comprising: a clock having a display indicating the time, and at least two different, coloured indicators each of which is associated with an intended activity of the child and each of which is arranged to be illuminated for a predetermined period of time as measured by the clock Preferably, the two indicators are different colours Preferably, one of the indicators is illuminated at all times. There may be three indicators associated with sleep-time, quiet time and getting up time respectively. The clock display may be a digital or an analogue clock display. The indicators may be designed to imitate traffic light signals, railway track signals or pedestrian crossing signals.

if the indicators are arranged in the form of traffic light signals, the colours could be similar to those normally employed in the country of residence For many countries, green, yellow and red are appropriate, and lamps or light emitting diodes (LEDs) can be controlled to switch on and off every day at times which can be adjusted by a parent or guardian Most young children are already familiar with the sequence of traffic lights and will need little teaching to understand what they should do when they waken up and look to see which colour is illuminated. The most common interpretation would be for red to indicate that the child should go back to sleep, yellow to indicate that itis nearly time to get up but the child should remain quiet in their bedroom and green to indicate that the child is welcome to get up and disturb others.

The illumination devices are readily visible in darkened bedrooms, and could even be visible by more than one child In addition to the traffic light display, there can be illustrations on the housing of one or more vehicles or characters with which the child is familiar, for example from a cartoon, children's book or other source of entertainment.

In another form of the invention, the illuminated displays can be designed to mimic the signals for a pedestrian crossing. These images of a stationary person (illuminated red) and a walking person (illuminated green) will also be recognized by most young children, and the clock design will help to reinforce the road-safety instructions In another form of the invention two illuminated lamps or light emitting diodes can be mounted within an illustration of a railway signal device and used to indicate two different activity periods to the young child, such as sleep time (red) and getting-up time (green) . The design could be accompanied by an illustration of a train engine which would make it more appealing to the child, who is probably already familiar with railway engines and railway signals from children's books and videos.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front view of a time indicating device for use by young children, in which illuminated indicators are presented in the form of traffic lights.

Figure 2 show a side view of the Figure 1 device, upon which the time adjustment controls might be positioned Figure 3 is a front view of a second time indicating device, in which illuminated indicators are presented in the form of railway signals.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the first time indicating device comprises a housing 1 containing an electronic or electromechanical timer mechanism which can be adjusted using switches 5. The time can be indicated by an analogue or digital display 2 An electronic switching circuit can be programmed using switches or buttons 4 and 5 to illuminate different lamps or LEDs at different times The switches, LEOs and display are connected to a printed circuit board assembly inside the housing. This circuit board also contains the integrated circuits and other electronic components which are necessary for the clock to function properly The clock could be powered by battery, or from mains electricity and a suitable transformer which might be internal or external to the clock The housings may display graphical designs 6 and 7 to make it more attractive to a young child, and to make it clear that the coloured indicators are to be interpreted in the same way as traffic light signals 3 or railway signals 8. I' 3

The'outside shape of the housing can take many different forms, to be made appealing to a young child.

The illuminations may be bright enough to provide low-level ambient lighting (like a "night-light") which provides comfort to young children who are afraid of the dark. The whole room may therefore be illuminated by different colours at pre-programmed times and thereby indicate what the child should do when they waken.

The device may have an additional button(s) which is designed to be used by the child for interactive play When the button is pressed, the lamps or LEDs could change colour or flash according to a pre-programmed sequence At the end of the sequence the lamps or LED5 could revert to the normal operation The lamps or LEDs could be programmed to all switch off during part of the day, to prolong battery life As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the embodiments of the invention illustrated herein are given by non-limitative example only and many other modifications, developments and variants may be conceived and made within the purview of the following claims. $ 4

Claims

1. A time indicating device for a child, the device comprising a clock having a display indicating the time, and at least two different indicators each of which is associated with an intended activity of the child and each of which is arranged to be illuminated for a predetermined period of time.

2 The time indicating device according to claim I wherein the at least two indicators are different colours.

3. The time indicating device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein one of the indicators is illuminated at all times

4 The time indicating device according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein there are three indicators associated with sleep-time, quiet time and getting-up time, respectively

5. The time indicating device according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the clock display is a digital clock display

6. The time indicating device according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the clock display is an analogue clock display.

7 The time indicating device according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the colours of the indicators are chosen to represent traffic light signals

8 The time indicating device according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the indicators are designed to represent railway track signals.

9 The time indicating device according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the indicators are designed to represent pedestrian crossing signals.

10. The time indicating device according to any of the claims ito 9, wherein the indicators change state according to a predetermined sequence immediately upon activation of a switch