US20030056412A1

US20030056412A1 - Display clock with sound recording device

Info

Publication number: US20030056412A1
Application number: US09/961,083
Authority: US
Inventors: Howard Locker; Christine Nguyen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-09-24
Filing date: 2001-09-24
Publication date: 2003-03-27

Abstract

This invention incorporates three elements: a clock, a sound emitting and recording device, and a display method into one unique and novel invention. The clock is centrally located within its perimeter frame (24) with stylized hour (28A), minute (28B) and second hands (28C) and a dial (32.) In the back of the clock, AA battery operated quartz movement clock motor (64) is housed with a sound emitting and recording device (67.) A message may be recorded in varying lengths of time. As the clock strike every daylight hour, the prerecorded message is emitted through the sound emitting opening (70.) The display method has an exterior display frame (20) and an interior sectioned display (22A) where plurality of display items (23) such as photographs, trading cards, sports cards, racing cards, golf cards, prints and the like are showcased. The display item (23) may be inserted and removed with ease due to the angled surface (52) and insertion slot (54).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to clocks and frames with sound recording and emitting capability, specifically the combination of a clock with a pre-recorded message and a display method which provides a protective, aesthetically pleasing, versatile display of plurality of items such as photographs, trading cards, sports cards, racing cards, golf cards, prints and the like.

2. Description of Prior Art

Various inventions in the past incorporate a clock with a display system; a display system with sound recording capability; and a clock with sound recording capability.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,022,016 (Smith, et al.), Des. 407,652 (Wu), Des. 290,787, and Des. 312,786 (Ives) are combination of clock with a display system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,016 (Smith, et al.) provides a display method for a single display item; whereas, U.S. Pat. Nos. 407,652 (Wu), Des. 290,787, and Des. 312, 786 (Ives) provide a display method for plurality of display items but do not allow adequate room to display and protect trading cards, sports cards, racing cards, golf cards and the like.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,979,097 (Moore), 5,641,164 (Doederlein, et al.) and 5,433,035 (Bauer) provide a display system for photographs, trading cards, sports cards, racing cards, golf cards, prints and the like with a sound recording capability. They do not allow the display of plurality of display items or incorporate a clock.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the current invention, the invention incorporates three primary elements: a clock, a sound recording/emitting device, and a display method into one unique and novel invention.

The clock has a perimeter frame that may be made from various materials such as plastic, wood, metal. The clock's lens is made of a transparent material such as glass, polystyrene, acrylic or the like. The hour, minute and second hand styles vary with the theme. For example, if the theme is baseball, then the hour hand may be a small bat, the minute hand may be a large bat, and the second hand may be a baseball. The hands may be made from various materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, or polystyrene. The dial also may vary depending on the theme. With the baseball theme, the dial's artwork might be a baseball diamond or the facade of a baseball shirt. The materials of the dial may also be made from various materials such as coated paper, polypropylene or metal. An AA battery that is housed in the back of the clock operates the clock's precise quartz movement.

In accordance with the current invention, the clock further includes a digital sound emitting and recording device in the clock case. A sound chip may be pre-recorded by a manufacturer or self recorded by an individual. For example, if the theme is baseball, sound emitting device may have the sounds familiar with a baseball stadium, baseball game event, a quote by a famous player, old recordings from radio or television, or memories from a special game. The sound may be set to automatically come on every hour during the day. The duration of the recorded message may vary in length; for example, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 seconds.

In accordance with the current invention, the clock further includes a display method for plurality of display items such as photographs, trading cards, sports cards, racing cards, golf cards, prints and the like. The display method has an exterior display frame, which fastens to the interior sectioned display area then fastens to the backing of the invention. The exterior display frame is rectangular in shape with plurality of holes for fasteners. The exterior display frame may be made from various materials such as plastic, wood or metal. The interior sectioned display is rectangular in shape with opaque sections and plurality of transparent display area. The opaque sections are designed to separate one display from another, and the opaque sections may be made from various materials such as plastic, wood or metal. The plurality of transparent display area showcase items such as photographs, trading cards, sports cards, racing cards, golf cards, prints and the like. The plurality of transparent display area may be made from various materials such as transparent polystyrene, acrylic or glass. The backing has plurality of insertion slots for display items, housing for the clock dial, hands, lens, sound emitting and recording device, and clock motor. The

backing

50 may be made from various materials such as plastic, wood or metal.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

In accordance with the current invention, the combination of the three elements: a clock, a sound emitting/recording device, and a display method allow a diverse commercial and personal application of the invention. On a commercial level, a company may use the clock as a promotional give-away to their customers or potential customers. For an example, an architect firm may include their business logo on the clock dial to continuously keep their name on top of the customer's mind when they look at the clock for the time. The architect firm may record a thank-you, inspirational message or a slogan to continuously remind their customers of their presence, and they may insert photos of their various projects in the display item compartment to showcase the services they provide to their customers.

On a personal level, the invention may be an entertaining “Game Clock”. The clock dial may be an image of a baseball diamond with baseball hands to tell the time. The customer may record a memory they have of a particular baseball game or sounds related to the game of baseball, and they may insert photos of their favorite baseball outings and/or collectable baseball cards of their favorite baseball players. The same may be done for sporting events such as football, racecar, soccer, golf or the like; collectable cards such as “Cabbage Patch Kids”, “Power Rangers”, “PowerPuff” or the like. The commercial and personal applications for the current invention are enormous.

DRAWING FIGURES

In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetic suffixes. [0014]
FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of the prototype of the invention; [0015]
FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of the two frames: exterior display frame and clock frame; [0016]
FIG. 3 shows a side perspective view of the invention; [0017]
FIG. 4-A-FIG. 4-A([0018] 2) show the view of the backing looking from the outside;
FIG. 4-B-FIG. 4-B([0019] 2) show the view of the backing looking from the inside;
FIG. 5-A shows the view of the clock frame looking from the inside; [0020]
FIG. 5-B([0021] 1-3) show alternative views of the clock frame;
FIG. 6-A shows the view of the exterior display frame looking from the inside; [0022]
FIG. 6-B([0023] 1-2) show alternative views of the exterior display frame;
FIG. 7-A shows the view of the interior sectioned display; [0024]
FIG. 7-B shows the side view of the interior sectioned display; [0025]
FIG. 8 shows the view of the composition of the invention.[0026]

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS

[0027] 20 exterior display frame
[0028] 21A,B,C 21A: plurality of holes in frame 20 21B: plurality of ½ holes in frame 22A 21C: plurality of holes in backing 50
[0029] 22A,B,C 22A: entirety of interior sectioned display 22B: opaque sections 22C: plurality of transparent display area
[0030] 23 display item
[0031] 24 clock frame
[0032] 25A-B 25A: plurality of holes in clock frame 24 25B: plurality of holes in backing 50
[0033] 26 clock lens
[0034] 28A-C 28A: hour hand 28B: minute hand 28C: second hand
[0035] 30A-C plurality of nuts
[0036] 31A-B 31A: hole in center of 62 31B: hole in center of clock dial 32
[0037] 32 clock dial
[0038] 50 entirety of backing
[0039] 51 display item compartment
[0040] 52 plurality of angled surface
[0041] 54 plurality of insertion slot
[0042] 56A-B plurality of fasteners
[0043] 58 housing for clock parts such as 32, 30A-B, 28A-C, 26
[0044] 60 opening for hanging clock
[0045] 62 housing for clock motor/sound recording device
[0046] 64 clock motor
[0047] 66 AA battery compartment
[0048] 67 sound emitting and recording device (not pictured . . . open market item)
[0049] 68 digital sound chip area
[0050] 70 sound emitting opening
[0051] 72 sound recording button

DESCRIPTION—FIGS. 1, 4-A, 4-B, 8—PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment of the display clock is shown in FIG. 1 (front view), a photograph of the prototype. The display clock has an [0052] exterior display frame 20 made of plastic with plurality of holes 21A, which is used to fasten to the interior sectioned display 22A through plurality of holes 21B and backing 50 through plurality of holes 21C with plurality of fasteners 56B. The exterior display frame 20 may be made of other materials such as wood or metal. In the preferred embodiment, the interior sectioned display 22A has two connected parts: an opaque section 22B made of an opaque polystyrene that separates each display item and a transparent display 22C area made of a transparent polystyrene that showcases a display item 23 such as photographs, trading cards, sports cards, racing cards, golf cards, prints and the like. The interior sectioned display 22A may be made of other materials where the opaque section 22B is made from wood or metal and the transparent display 22C is made of acrylic or glass or the like. In the case where the two materials are different, the opaque sections and transparent display area will be separate pieces adhered together by means of an adhesive such as glue, silicone seal or the like.
In the preferred embodiment, the clock area has a [0053] clock frame 24 made of chrome plated plastic with plurality of holes 25A, which is used to fasten to the backing 50 through plurality of holes 25B with plurality of fasteners 56A. The clock frame may be made from other materials such as wood or metal.
In the preferred embodiment, a [0054] clock lens 26 follows the clock frame 24. The clock lens is a transparent flat surface, which covers the clock made of a transparent material made of glass. The clock lens may be made of other materials such as transparent acrylic or polystyrene or the like.
In the preferred embodiment, the clock area has clock hands, which reveal the time. The [0055] hour hand 28A, minute hand 28B and second hand 28C may vary in shape and materials depending on the theme. For example, with a baseball theme, the hour hand 28A may be a small bat, the minute hand 28B may be a large bat, and the second hand 28C may be a straight line with a baseball at the end. In the preferred embodiment, the clock hands are made of aluminum, but they may be made of various materials such as stainless steel or polystyrene. The clock hands are fastened by plurality of nuts 30A-B to the clock dial 32 through a hole in the center of a clock dial 31B to the backing 50 through the hole in the center of the housing for clock parts 31A through a nut 30C to the quartz movement clock motor 64.
In the preferred embodiment, the [0056] clock dial 32 has artwork to indicate the time from 1-12. The artwork varies with the theme. For example, if the theme is baseball, the clock dial's 32 artwork may be of a baseball diamond, baseball jersey or the like. In the preferred embodiment, the clock dial 32 is made of polypropylene, but the clock dial 32 may be made of various materials such as coated paper, or metal.
FIG. 4-A and FIG. 4-B show a [0057] backing 50 of the invention. In the preferred embodiment, the backing 50 is made of plastic, but the backing 50 may be made of various materials such as wood or metal. The backing 50 has plurality of display item compartment 51 for the containment of display item 23. Each display item compartment 51 has an angled surface 52 and an insertion slot 54 to allow easy insertion and removal of display item 23 with a “sliding” motion.
In the preferred embodiment, the [0058] backing 50 has a housing for clock parts 58 that contains the following parts: 32, 30A-B, 28A-C, and 26 with an opening for hanging the clock 60 with a wall hanging device. The backing 50 has a housing 62 for clock motor 64 and sound recording device 67.
In the preferred embodiment, the quartz [0059] movement clock motor 64 is powered by a AA battery which is in the AA battery compartment 66. The digital sound chip area 68 has the sound chip, sound emitting opening 70 and sound recording button 72.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

Accordingly, the reader will see the invention functions as a clock, sound recording and emitting device and a display method. The three elements are flexible in that each element may change according to the user's needs, wants and interests. [0060]
If the user is a business, the user may use the invention as an advertising or promotional tool by replacing the dial with its logo; recording a business slogan or an inspirational message with the sound recording and emitting device; and inserting images of the product or services the user provides in the display area. Each time their customer sees or hears the invention, it reminds the customer of their business. [0061]
If the user is an individual, the use of the invention is unlimited. For example, if the individual enjoys baseball, the dial may be a scene of a baseball diamond; the hands may be in the shape of a bat and a baseball; the display area has photos of baseball outings favorite memories or cards of his favorite players; the recorded sound may be a favorite baseball saying like “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”[0062]
Although the description above contains much specificity, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, the invention itself may change out the element of a clock to be a mirror or an additional display area. The sound recording and emitting device may be an option. [0063]
Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. [0064]

Claims

1. A display clock generating a pre-recorded sound has a display method comprising:

an exterior display frame with opaque sections and plurality of transparent display area;

said plurality of transparent display area showcase items such as photographs, trading cards, sports cards, racing cards, golf cards, prints and the like;

a backing with plurality of insertion slots with an angled surface for easy insertion and removal of display item;

said backing has a housing for the clock dial, hands, lens, sound emitting and recording device, and clock motor.

2. The display clock as defined in claim 1 has a time apparatus with a sound emitting and recording device, comprising:

a perimeter frame covering a clock lens, a transparent material;

a plurality of hands to indicate the time;

a dial which varies in design for artistic effect;

a clock motor which operates by battery;

a digital sound emitting and recording device with speaker and microphone.