JP7362231B1 - Analog clock, time display method, and time display program - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a time display method with a new sensation in an analog watch. SOLUTION: The direction of rotation of a second hand 20 is reversed every rotation. Alternatively, the direction of rotation is reversed each time the seconds display section 32, which rotates as time passes and displays the seconds of the time, goes around once. Alternatively, the direction of rotation of the hands can be reversed between AM and PM. In this way, by periodically reversing the direction in which the second hand 20, second display section 32, or hands, which are the elements for displaying the time, a new time display system that differs from the conventional monotonous display system is created. can be provided. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an analog clock, a time display method, and a time display program.

The methods of displaying the time on a clock are broadly divided into "digital" and "analog" methods. Digital models display time elements such as hours, minutes, and seconds in numbers. In the analog type, the time is displayed by rotating hands (hour hand, minute hand, and second hand) corresponding to each time element as time passes.

In a typical analog watch, the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand all rotate clockwise. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 discloses a timepiece in which the second hand rotates in the counterclockwise direction, which is opposite to the direction of the hour and minute hands.

Utility Model Publication No. 02-81490

An object of the present invention is to provide a time display method with a new feel in an analog watch.

In order to achieve the above object, the analog timepiece and time display method according to the present invention are characterized in that the rotational direction of the second hand is reversed every time the second hand rotates once.

Further, the analog timepiece and time display method according to the present invention are characterized in that the second display section, which displays the seconds of the time while rotating as time passes, reverses the direction of rotation each time it rotates once.

Furthermore, the analog timepiece and time display method according to the present invention are characterized in that the rotation direction of the second hand or all the hands is reversed in the morning and in the afternoon.

In addition, the analog timepiece and time display method according to the present invention are characterized in that the direction of rotation of the seconds display section, which displays the seconds of the time while rotating as time passes, is reversed between AM and PM.

Further, the present invention is a time display program for displaying the time on a computer display, and is characterized in that the program causes the computer to execute a time display method having any of the configurations described above.

According to the present invention, by periodically reversing the rotation direction of the second hand, second display section, or hands, which are elements for displaying time in analog watches, a new sense that differs from the conventional monotonous display method is created. It becomes possible to provide a time display method of

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an analog timepiece according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an analog timepiece according to a second embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the dial of an analog clock concerning a modification.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of an analog clock, a time display method, and a time display program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First embodiment>
An analog watch 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as "watch 10") according to the first embodiment is displayed on a display included in a smartphone, which is a type of computer.

The smartphone used in this embodiment can be any of a variety of off-the-shelf devices that are widely available. This smartphone is equipped with basic components such as a CPU, a storage unit such as memory and storage, a communication module for communicating with external devices, a battery, as well as a display and a touch panel.

Smartphones usually come standard with a clock function. This clock function automatically corrects time information based on a standard called NITZ (Network Identity and Time Zone) when a mobile phone communication line is available. Furthermore, even in an environment where a mobile phone communication line is not available, the time information can be accurately and automatically corrected using NTP (Network Time Protocol) in a communication environment such as an Internet line. Therefore, in this embodiment, the display mode of time information based on this clock function is devised.

As shown in FIG. 1, the watch 10 includes a time display surface 12 that displays the time. In this embodiment, the display of the smartphone on which the clock 10 is displayed constitutes the time display surface 12. In this example, the time display screen 12 is displayed on the page of FIG. 1 as if it were a smartphone display. ) may be displayed on the time display screen 12.

The time display surface 12 of the watch 10 has the same basic configuration as a known analog watch. That is, the numbers 1 to 12 are arranged at equal pitches along the circumference of the circular dial 14, and the time is displayed by the hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20, which rotate as time passes. The hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20 are hands corresponding to time elements corresponding to hours, minutes, and seconds, respectively.

On the inside of the circular dial 14, landmark lines indicating 5-minute intervals on a typical watch are displayed on virtual rays extending radially from the center point of the circle at equal pitches of 30 degrees. There is. Furthermore, on the virtual rays extending radially from the center point of the circle described above at equal pitches of 6 degrees, mark lines indicating one-minute intervals in a typical watch are drawn from the periphery of the dial 14 toward the center point. are displayed briefly.

The hour hand 16 rotates once every 12 hours in the right (clockwise) direction, similar to a typical clock. The minute hand 18 also rotates once every 60 minutes in the right (clockwise) direction, similar to a general clock.

On the other hand, the second hand 20 rotates once every 60 seconds, but the direction of rotation is reversed every time it rotates. That is, the second hand 20 rotates clockwise (clockwise) from even minutes to odd minutes, and counterclockwise (counterclockwise) from odd minutes to even minutes, with 0 minutes as the base point. do.

As described above, in this embodiment, the hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20 function as a display unit that displays the time while rotating as time passes. More specifically, among the time elements of hours, minutes, and seconds, the hour hand 16 displays the hour display section, the minute hand 18 displays the minute display section, and the second hand 20 displays the minute display section. They each constitute a second display section that displays "seconds" of the time.

The operation of the watch 10 having the above configuration, that is, the time display method according to the first embodiment, is realized by the CPU of the smartphone executing a time display program stored in the memory. Specifically, among the above-described configurations, elements mainly including the dial 14, excluding the hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20, are displayed on the display of the smartphone as a basic screen. It also uses the built-in clock function of your smartphone to obtain time information. Then, based on the acquired time information, the hour hand 16 and the minute hand 18 are displayed at rotation angles corresponding to the passage of time. Regarding the second hand 20, the initial rotation direction is set based on the acquired time information, and the rotation direction is reversed every 1 rotation (every 60 seconds) from the 0 minute position as the base point as time passes. Display repeatedly at the corresponding rotation angle. In this way, the time display method according to the present embodiment is executed by causing the smartphone to function as a time display unit that displays the time display surface 12 of the watch 10.

As described above, according to the time display method of the present embodiment, in the analog watch 10, by reversing the direction in which the second hand 20 rotates each time, a new method different from the conventional monotonous display method can be achieved. It is now possible to provide an intuitive time display method. Furthermore, only the second hand 20 reverses its direction of rotation each time it rotates, and the hour hand 16 and minute hand 18 move in the same way as conventional watches, so there is no particular problem in accurately displaying the time. Furthermore, depending on the direction of rotation of the second hand 20, you can easily determine whether the current time elapsed is "from an even number to an odd number of minutes" or "from an odd number to an even number of minutes," so you can easily grasp the sense of time in one minute. It is also possible to recognize it.

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment described above, the direction of rotation is reversed every time only the second hand 20 rotates once, but in the timepiece 30 according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. The rotational directions of the hour hand 16 and minute hand 18 are also reversed. The basic configuration of the timepiece 30 is the same as the timepiece 10 according to the first embodiment, except that the movement of the hands and the timing at which the rotation direction is reversed are different. Therefore, in FIG. 2, the same components as those of the timepiece 10 shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted, and the explanation will focus on the different parts.

The clock 30 is configured such that the rotation directions of the hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20, which are hands corresponding to the time elements of hours, minutes, and seconds, are reversed in the morning and afternoon. Specifically, with 0:00:00 as the base point, the time in the morning (from midnight to noon) is displayed using the hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand as shown in FIG. 20 each rotates in the right (clockwise) direction. In the afternoon time display (from noon to midnight), the hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20 each rotate counterclockwise, as shown in FIG. 2(b). It is.

In addition, in the watch 30, the numbers 1 to 12 arranged along the periphery of the dial 14 are also reversed at the timing when the rotation direction of the hands (hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20) is reversed. That is, the arrangement of the numbers 12 and 6 remains the same, but the arrangement of the other numbers is interchanged on the left and right sides.

In the clock 30 having the above configuration, FIG. 2(a) displays 10:08:37 am, and FIG. 2(b) displays 10:08:37 pm. In this manner, in this embodiment, the time is displayed symmetrically in the morning and in the afternoon.

The operation of the timepiece 30, that is, the time display method according to the second embodiment, is realized by the CPU of the smartphone executing a time display program stored in the memory, similarly to the timepiece 10 described above. Specifically, time information is obtained using the clock function built into the smartphone. Next, based on the acquired time information, it is determined whether the current time is AM or PM, and the initial positions of the numbers 1 to 12 on the dial 14 and the hands (hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20) are determined. Set the initial rotation direction of each. Then, based on the acquired time information and initial settings, the dial 14 and other elements, as well as the hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20 are displayed at rotation angles corresponding to the passage of time on the display of the smartphone. Thereafter, a series of operations of reversing the arrangement of the numbers 1 to 12 on the dial 14 and the direction of rotation of the hands are repeated at the timing of switching between morning and afternoon as time passes. In this way, the time display method according to the present embodiment is executed by causing the smartphone to function as a time display unit that displays the time display surface 12 of the watch 30.

According to the clock 30 according to the second embodiment, it is possible to switch and display AM and PM depending on the rotational direction of the hands (hour hand 16, minute hand 18, and second hand 20) so that morning and afternoon can be distinguished. This allows you to intuitively understand "morning" and "afternoon".

The clock 30 is configured so that the rotation direction of all the hands is reversed between AM and PM, but only the rotation direction of the second hand 20, which is one of the hands, is reversed between AM and PM. It may also be reversed. As a result, the time can be displayed without any discomfort when compared with a conventional analog clock, and it is also possible to easily distinguish between AM and PM by simply checking the rotation direction of the second hand 20.

Further, in the clock 30, the arrangement of the numbers 1 to 12 displayed on the dial 14 is changed between AM and PM, but this is implemented in a form in which these numbers themselves are not displayed (for example, see FIG. 3). I don't care if it's a thing. Alternatively, the arrangement of the numbers 1 to 12 displayed on the dial 14 may be changed between AM and PM, and the second hand 20 may be omitted.

The analog clock, time display method, and time display program according to the present invention have been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention is of course not limited to the above-described embodiments. It may be implemented in a modified form.

<Modified example>
(1) In the above embodiment, the rotation center of the second hand 20 is the same as the hour hand 16 and the minute hand 18, but the position where the second hand is displayed is not particularly limited as long as it is within the range of the dial 14. For example, a second hand with a small rotation radius may be provided independently in a region below the rotation centers of the hour hand 16 and minute hand 18.

(2) In the above embodiments and modifications, the seconds of the time are displayed by the hand (second hand), but if the seconds of the time are displayed while rotating as time passes, the seconds display part will be replaced by the hand. It may be in any other form. For example, instead of the second hand 20, as shown in FIG. 3, a second display section 32 may be provided below the rotation center O of the hour and minute hands. An appropriate image such as a photograph or a logo is displayed on the seconds display section 32, and the displayed image is rotated as time passes. Although FIG. 3 illustrates a circular display area as the second display section 32, the position, shape, size, etc. of the second display section 32 may vary within the range of the dial 14 (or time display surface 12). can be changed according to the user's preference. Further, for example, a seconds display section may be adopted in which a trajectory of an outline of a circle, an ellipse, a polygon, or any other arbitrary shape is displayed as time passes. In this case, the displayed contour shape may be reset once every 60 seconds per revolution, and the direction in which the locus is displayed may be reversed.

(3) In the above embodiment, the clock displayed on the display of a smartphone is exemplified, but this is not limited to a smart watch, a tablet, a mobile information terminal such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a television, or a digital signage. It can also be applied to clocks displayed on electronic devices such as. Naturally, the present invention can also be applied to various types of timepieces such as wristwatches, wall clocks, and desk clocks.

(4) The above embodiment has been described on the assumption that a time display program is standardly installed in a mobile information terminal, various electronic devices, a clock, etc., but an application program provided to a user via the Internet It goes without saying that similar effects can be obtained even if the method is implemented as follows.

(5) Although the above embodiments and modifications are exemplified by a clock displayed on a display screen of an electronic device, the invention may of course be applied to a mechanical or quartz clock.

The present invention can be implemented with various improvements, modifications, or variations based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof. In addition, any of the matters specifying the invention may be replaced with other techniques as long as the same action or effect is produced.

10 Clock 16 Hour hand (pointer)
18 minute hand (pointer)
20 second hand (pointer)
30 Clock 32 Second display

Claims (9)

An analog clock characterized by the fact that the second hand rotates in the opposite direction every time it rotates. An analog watch characterized by a seconds display section that displays the seconds of the time as it rotates as time passes, and that the direction of rotation is reversed each time it goes around. An analog clock characterized by the rotation direction of the second hand or all hands reversing in the morning and afternoon. An analog clock characterized by a second display section that displays the seconds of the time as it rotates as time passes, and that the direction of rotation is reversed between AM and PM. A time display method characterized by reversing the direction of rotation of the second hand every time it rotates. A time display method characterized by reversing the direction of rotation each time a seconds display section rotates as time passes to display the seconds of the time. A time display method characterized by reversing the direction of rotation of the second hand or all hands in the morning and afternoon. A time display method characterized by reversing the direction in which a second display part, which displays the seconds of the time while rotating according to the passage of time, rotates between AM and PM. A time display program that displays the time on a computer display,
A time display program that causes the computer to execute the time display method according to any one of claims 5 to 8.