US3091915A - Universal timepiece - Google Patents

Description

June 4 1963 w. s. PAWL 3,091,915

UNIVERSAL TIMEPIECE Filed April l5, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 4, 1963 w. s. PAWL UNIVERSAL TIMEPIECE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April l5, 1960 Z VG.

Hill!!! A June 4, 1963 w. s. PAwL 3,091,915

UNIVERSAL TIMEPIECE Filed April 13, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 June 4, 1963 w. s. PAwL 3,091,915

UNIVERSAL TIMEPIECE Filed April 13, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 HG. /Z M5 MZ Z /7 G. /5 //d INV TOR /52Y 111%* f June 4, 1963 w. s. PAWL 3,091,915

UNIVERSAL TIMEPIECE Filed April 15, 1960 5 sheets-sheet 5 United States Patent O `Walter S.

This invention relates to universal clocks and watches for simultaneously indicating the time in all other longitudinal time zones besides fthe local time zone and for 'indicating the corresponding position of the twilight zone line in each time zone through which it extends.

The main object of this invention is to use an image of the earths surface with lines of longitude spaced apart and radiating from south pole at the center of rotation of said image, as a multiple hour hand in a time piece having a 24honr dial, timed to make one complete revolution per day.

A further object is to use this image of the earths surface on a globular surface, placing the hour and minute scales -about the equator, mounting the globe and minute hand rotatably on its polar axis and providing twilight zone line indicating means, adjustably mounted on the six oclock scale axis for movement in accordance with the seasonal changes of the earths inclination with respect to the sun.

A further object is to Iuse a great circle wire ring around the globe for said indicating means.

A .further object is to use lighting means simulating the .suns rays to reproduce the great ci-rcle shadow line to indicate the twilight zone on the globe.

A -further object is to use electric clockwork to operate the image and the minute hand, and superposing an hour hand over the local time zone on said image.

A further object is to conceal the clockwork inside said globe.

A further object is to mount the globe in an equatorial 'bearing in the hour and minute scale ring, and to mount ripheral stationary hour scale with hour indications at similar intervals indicating the time in the corresponding -time zones, a minute hand extending over the hour zone dial and scale to a surrounding minute scale.

A further object is to iframe `an hour hand around the local hour zone to Ifacilitate reading the local time at a distance.

A further object is to reduce time zones in the representation of the above map to simply a corresponding arrangement of names of some well known key cities to Adesignate the respective' zones on a movable hours dial in combination with a 24-hour time scale, and a minute h-and with a surrounding -minute scale.

A fur-ther object is to use a double hemispherical hour dial in combina-tion with a l2-hour scale for small clocks and watches, and to indicate the hour zones by the corresponding key cities arranged around the hour dial clockwise for one hemisphere and counterclockwise for the other.

A further object is to indicate the hour zones simply by 15 radial linm east or west longitude spaced 30 on an hour dial -for use in combination with a l2-hour scale, and a lremovable hour hand adapted for mounting on said dial over any local hour zone.

Other and further objects will appear in the following detailed description of several modifications of the present; p

type,

Patented `June 4, 1963 ice invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. l is a face view of one form of timepiece made in accordance with the present invention,

tFIG. 2 is a side view thereof,

FIG. 3 is a face view of a similar timepiece adapted especially for small clocks and watches of the 2li-hour PIG. 4 is a similar view of a watch of the common l2-hour type,

FIG. 5 is a modied form of hour dial having a removably superposed hour hand for mounting in any hour zone indicated by the dial,

FIG. 6 is a detail section taken on the line 6-6 in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a iront face view of a globe form of clock with a lighting means for indicating the extent of the day light zone on the globe,

FIG. 8 is a side view thereof,

PIG. 9 is a section of the globe portion taken on the line 9 9 of FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 is a reverse side view of the globe portion,

FIG. 11 is a section of the globe portion taken on the yline 1'1-11 of FIG. 7,

FIGS. l2 and 13 .are front and sectional side views, respectively, of another form of -globe clock with daylight lighting means, and

ILFIIGS. 14 and 15 are front and side views, respectively, of a still further modification of .globe clock, parts being broken away in FIG. l5 to show the operating mechanism.

With the advent of mass ,air transport lfacilities and travel across continents and even hemispheres as well as kthe increased communications Ifacilities by radio, it is becoming more useful to greater numbers of people to have access to universal timepieces, not only at travel terminals but also for personal use in the Iform of travel clocks and Watches. A universal clock of the globe type can also lbe made very ornamental for display and home use and serves as an educational aid in geography and geophysics.

' at the particular .time of .the year.

The -ilat -face -dial timepiece is the simpler form and is illustrated in fFIGS. 1 to =6 in lfour modications. The rest of the iigures illustrate three modiiications of the globe type which also include a twilight zone line indicating means.

The form illustrated in lFIGS. l and 2 comprises a round open face casing 20, annular scale shoulder 22 lixed inside the peripheral wall 24, a dial 26 rotatably mounted on and timed by the clockwork 28 in said casing,

to revolve once in 24 hours. A minute hand 30 is mounted on a sha-ft telescopically rotated by the same clockwork .through the shaft of the dial. A 24 hour scale 32 is inscribed on the shoulder 22, and is circumscribed on its border by a minute scale 34, toward which the minute hand is extended to indicate the minute portion of the time after the hour in any hour zone in the world, as indicated by the points 36 of the 15 longitude strips 38 of the world map arranged in star like fashion on the at faced dial surface, which is timed to turn one complete revolution in 24 hours. The 75 W. longitude strip is shown -framed by an hour hand 40 for use in the Eastern standard time zone of the United States to facilitate reading the local time from a distance at which Ait might be 3 difficult to recognize `this strip by reading the map portion embraced by it.

Each strip 38 is designated near its extremity by the degree of longitude it is east or west of Greenwich which is at longitude. These strips are further designated toward the center of the dial by their respective key cities, such as Washington, D C., for the local time Zone strip indicated by the local hour hand framing 40.

The lower half of the hour scale, between 6 pm. and 6 a.m. may be shaded as shown to indicate the night time half. The left and right halves of the hour scale may be designated by am. and p.m. respectively. The pm. hour numerals 1 to 12 may be supplemented by numerals 13 to 24 designating the order of hours in entire day from midnight to midnight.

A more simpliiied version of this timepiece is shown in FIG. 3, wherein the hour dial 42 has only the name of the key cities arranged radially around the center at 15 intervals for use as the hour hands for the respective time zones. Thehour hand for New York and Washington is shown supplemented by an hour hand 44 to show the local time at a glance even when the key cities cannot be' ready because of darkness or distance. The hour divisions 46 on the hour scale may be designated by numerals 48 only at suitable intervals for simplicity.

The watch illustrated in FIG. 4 has the usual l2 hour scale and the hour dial 50 has 12 radial lines 52 representing the hour hands, the corresponding key cities being arranged on these lines reading'down in a clockwise direction for the eastern hemisphere and in a counterclockwise direction for the western hemisphere. 'Iihe hour hand 54 is superposed on one of the hour lines 52 to designate the local time.

A modied hour dial 56 as shown in FIG. 5, may be used with a 12 hour scale. In this modiic-ation the radial hour lines 58 are designated to read their longitudes upwardly clockwise for east longitude hour zones and upwardly counterclockwise for west longitude hour zones. The superposed hour hand 60 is rotatably mounted relative to the dial 56 and is Amade of some springy material so that its peg 62 may be lifted out of one of the holes 64 on the lines 58 and into another for shifting the local hour hand as may be desired.

The globe clock modifications are more realistic representations of the earth and its rotation relative to the sun that the at face forms. One of these modifications is shown in FIGS. 7 to 11. The globe shell 66 may be of very light'construction and is split along the equator. Each half is reinforced by a frame work provided with complementary bayonet locking means comprising the headed pin and'arcuate slot connections 63. A clockwork motor 70 and mechanism including planetary gears '72 are mounted on this frame inside the shell 66 except for the gears 72 which extend through circumferential slots in the shell along the equator, and mesh with the stationary internal ring gear 74 in the hollow annular casing-76 on which the hour and minute scales 78 are inscribed, for cooperation with the rotating hour dial and local hour hand 80 on the globe and the minute hand 82 to indicate the local as well as other times over the other time zones throughout the world simultaneously. The clockwork is geared so that as the planetary gears 72 carry the globe through 15 of rotation each hour it rotates'the minute hand 82 through 345 so as to complete a full revolution for the minute hand with respect to the stationary scale 78. The electric current supply ltov the motor '70 is conveyed to it from the cord 84 through ring and wiper contacts between the stationary casing and the rotating globe frame (not shown).

This globe clock may be provided with lighting means 86 mounted on a pair of arms 88 adjustably pivoted at their lower ends to the casing 76 at the diametral axis through theequator on the 6 oclock line of the scales. The arms 88 are substantiallyof I beam section and are partially cut away to slidably accommodate the bracket plate 90 ixed to the sides of the casing 76 to guide the arms 88 in their angular adjustment, plate 90 having an arcuate guide slot 94 for guide pin 96 on arm 88 and passed loosely through a bore in the inner ange 98 of the I beam. A clamp nut 100 threaded on the end of pin 96 is used for lock-ing the arms in any angular adjustment to move the lighting means in accordance with the seasonal changes in the direction of the suns rays with respect to the earths polar axis. The lighting means is made to simulate the suns rays in that the light rays are projected in a beam of substantially parallel rays around the periphery of the beam which is of substantially the Vsame diameter as the globe, so as to cause a shadow line on the globe between the instant day and night zones to indicate the exact location of the actual twilight zone line on earth.

The rays from the' lighting means do not necessarily have to be concentrated in a cylindrical beam of parallel rays as in the lighting means 86, as long as the source of light is circular and of substantially the same diameter as the globe. Thus, a circular neon light 102 may be used as` shown in the modiiication of FIGS. 12 and 13.

-In this modication the arms 104 support the light 102 pivotally on the '6 oclock axis and the braces 106 universally pivoted to the light clamp 108 are pivoted at their other ends to spring clips 110- movable along the top of ica-sing 112 for adjustment of the light about the 6 oclock axis in accordance with the seasons.

This modiication has the clockwork 114 and motor 116 outside of the globe 118 in the casing 112, and the globe is mounted on the sleeve shaft 128 through which the minute hand shaft 122 operates to rotate the minute hand 124. An annular ring 126 mounted around the equator provides the hour and minute scales and may be of transparent material to facilitate reading from either side. This ring may be adjustably mounted on a at base forming the top of the horizontal portion of the casing 112. The ballast 128 for the neon light may be mounted inside the casing 112 and connected by flexible cord`130 to the light bulb 102 and to the outside cord i132 to which the motor 116 is also connected. The top of thecasing 112 may be scaled to indicate the adjustment required for the various seasons.

Another means for indicating the twilight zone line is shown in the modification of FIGS. 14 and 15. In this case the line is indicated by a great circle wire ring 134 pivote'd on the 6 oclock axis and having a pointer 136 reading on a scale 138 the adjustment required for the seasonal changes in the position of the twilight Zone line.

In this modification the globe 140 is rotatably mounted by an equatorial groove 142 in the globe cooperating with an internal ridge on the scale ring 144 which extends loosely into the groove. The motor 146 in the casing 148 drives the globe through a gear 150 meshing with the gear 152 formed in the bottom of the groove 142, and also drives the minute hand 154 through gear train 156 in properly timed relation. The minute hand 154 may be counterbalanced by a weight 158, and the ring 144 may be of transparent material so as to facilitate reading the time' from either side.

The casing walls 160 and 162 may be mirrored to facilitate seeing all the parts of the clock when desired.

' In all the several forms illustrated front face of the clock is the one in the center of which the minute hand and the south pole are located because that is the face which is rotated in a clockwise direction.

These globe clocks lend them-selves to many different ornamental arrangements, and many obvious modifications in design and details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A universal timepiece comprising an annular hour and minute scale in a vertical plane, a central rotary globe map of the world on a horizontal axis with great circle hour lines radiating from the poles at 15 intervals to the inner edge of said annular scale to indicate the hour portion of the times in the corresponding time zones represented by said lines, a minute hand extending radially over said globe map to the minute portion of the annular scale to indicate the times in minutes after the respective hours indicated by the hour lines for the several time zones respectively, a clockworks operatively connected to rotate said globe map over an angular distance of one hour on the scale While rotating said minute hand one complete revolution, said globe map being hollow, an interval ring gear in said annular scale, a clockworks in said hollow globe map, including a set of planetary drive gears for said globe map extending through peripheral slots spaced around the equator of the globe map to mesh with said internal ring gear, and a shaft extending through the south pole to operate said minute hand.

2. A universal timepiece as dened in claim 1, and a twilight zone indicating means comprising a light source above said globe providing a beam of rays having substantially the same diameter as the globe so as to produce a great circle shadow line on said globe indicating the position of the twilight zone line, said light source having a pair of supporting arms pivoted on the 6 oclock diametral axis at the sides of said annular scale, and said shifting means comprising a releasable clamping nut on a bolt in one of said arms, a bracket plate on said annular scale having an arcuate guide slot for said bolt over which said nut is clamped to hold said light source in any angularly adjusted position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 47,584 Timby May 2, 1865 270,329 Moore Jan. 9, 1883 425,833 Silvernail Apr. 15, 1890 666,381 Gareau Ian. 22, 1901 712,729 Schumacher Nov. 4, 1902 1,499,692 Reed July 1, 1924 1,513,317 Frakes Oct. 28, 1924 1,750,505 Bulka Mar. 11, 1930 2,068,418 Kyack Jan. 19, 1937 2,099,518 Hazlett Nov. 16, 1937 2,268,239 Braaten Dec. 30, 1941 2,550,805 Greeneld May 1, 1951 2,603,940 Packard July 22, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,615,298 Ferrari Oct. 28, 1952 2,641,683 Dupler June 9, 1953 2,721,442 Pettigrew oct. 25, 1955 80,881 Austria July 10, 1920 248,618 Italy Apr. 13, 1926 758,771 France Nov. 7, 1933

Claims (1)

1. A UNIVERSAL TIMEPIECE COMPRISING AN ANNULAR HOUR AND MINUTE SCALE IN A VERTICAL PLANE, A CENTRAL ROTARY GLOBE MAP OF THE WORLD ON A HORIZONTAL AXIS WITH GREAT CIRCLE HOUR LINES RADIATING FROM THE POLES AT 15* INTERVALS TO THE INNER EDGE OF SAID ANNULAR SCALE TO INDICATE THE HOUR PORTION OF THE TIMES IN THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONES REPRESENTED BY SAID LINES, A MINUTE HAND EXTENDING RADIALLY OVER SAID GLOBE MAP TO THE MINUTE PORTION OF THE ANNULAR SCALE TO INDICATE THE TIMES IN MINUTES AFTER THE RESPECTIVE HOURS INDICATED BY THE HOUR LINES FOR THE SEVERAL TIME ZONES RESPECTIVELY, A CLOCKWORKS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO ROTATE SAID GLOBE MAP OVER AN ANGULAR DISTANCE OF ONE HOUR ON THE SCALE WHILE ROTATING SAID MINUTE HAND ONE COMPLETE REVOLUTION, SAID GLOBE MAP BEING HOLLOW, AN INTERVAL RING GEAR IN SAID ANNULAR SCALE, A CLOCKWORKS IN SAID HOLLOW GLOBE MAP, INCLUDING A SET OF PLANETARY DRIVE GEARS FOR SAID GLOBE MAP EXTENDING

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