US3727397A - Clock mountings - Google Patents

Abstract

To make the time and the shut-off controls of an alarm clock easily available to a sleeper, the invention combines a mounting structure which is to be fixed to a wall, headboard of a bed, or simply placed on the floor, with an elongate and flexible arm or conduit which extends from the mounting structure to a holder for an alarm clock. The holder may have the form of a clamp capable of holding a clock in desired position, but in preferred form that holder comprises the case of the clock.

Description

United States Patent 1 Ethier 41 CLOCK MOUNTINGS [76] lnventor: Eugene L. Ethier, 216 West Simmons Avenue, Anaheim, Calif.-

[22] Filed: Dec. 16, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 208,724

[52] US. Cl ..58/56, D42/7 l-l, 248/116 [51] Int. Cl. ..-...G04b 37/14 [58] Field of Search 58/53-56; 248/114-116; D42/7, 7.8; 240/52 BL, 81 P, 81 BD [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,535,085 4/1925 Bamberger ..248/115 2,538,449 1/1951 Freshwater... ..248/1 15 1,884,756 10/1932 Hodny ..58/56 X 1,790,500 1/1931 Fischer ..240/8l BD 1 Apr. 17, 1973 2,598,978 6/1952 De Martin ..248/1|4 X 3,191,901 6/1965 Green ..58/56 X D203,941 3/1966 Jafie ..D42/7 Primary ExaminerRichard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-Lawrence R. Franklin Attorney-Harvey C. Nienow et a1.

[ ABSTRACT To make the time and the shut-off controls of an alarm clock easily available to a sleeper, the invention combines a mounting structure which is to be fixed to a wall, headboard of a bed, or simply placed on the floor, with an elongate and flexible arm or conduit which extends from the mounting structure to a holder for an alarm clock. The holder may have the form of a clamp capable of holding a clock in desired position, but in preferred form that holder comprises the case of the clock.

5 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures CLOCK MOUNTINGS This invention relates to improvements in clock cases and clock holders.

Turning off an alarm clock is an inconvenience. Attempting to discover what time it is prior to the alarm going off, or after the alarm has gone off, is also an inconvenience when the clock is at the side of of ones bed. A substantial amount of work has been done to eliminate the raucous clang of early alarm clocks. One can buy a clock whose alarm is variable in loudness, whose alarm rings over a series of short intervals separated by longer quiet times, whose alarm rings at intervals and become louder at each ring, and whose alarms buzz or chime rather than clang. In some cases, the bell or buzzer has been replaced with a radio which is turned on when the alarm is to sound. Some of these alarm clock radios include a provision for increasing volume with time if the alarm is not turned off;

It is true that some alarm clocks include turnoff bars or turn-off buttons or turn-off handles, but in general little has been done to relieve the newly-awakened sleeper of the task of groping for the clock and its turnoff mechanism. It is an object to provide an alarm clock and mounting arrangement by which the clock can conveniently be held within the sleepers reach and view but which will yield upon being pushed. It is an object to provide a mounting arrangement that will yield without falling or otherwise risking injury to clock or sleeper, either one. Certain of these objects, and others which will hereinafter appear, are realized in the invention, at least in part, by the provision of a clock mounted upon a yieldable arm whereby the overhead position of the clock can be adjusted and whereby it will simply move out of harm's way upon being struck.

Certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that various other modifications are possible within the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a pictorial view of an alarm clock and support combination that embodies the invention;

F IG. 2 is a fragment of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1 shown enlarged and partly in section;

FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation of a clock and radio support structure embodying the invention;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of an alternative form of bracket useful in the invention; and

FIG. 6 is an illustration of another kind of clock and mounting arrangement embodying the invention.

In FIG. 1 the numeral 10 generally designates an alarm clock whose face 12 extends downwardly and which has generally conventional form except that its case 14 is formed with a section 16 at its upper side (the side nearest the numeral 12 of the face) by which it is connected to a section of flexible metal conduit 18. The conduit is connected by a threaded metal ferrule 20 to the inner rod 22 of a telescopic stand whose tubular lower end 24 is fixed to a base 25 by which the unit can rest on the floor next to a sleeper's bed or next to a sleepers chair. The hollow rod 22 telescopes within the tube 24 and is held in selected position by a clamp 26 which serves to force the split upper end of the tube into firm contact with the outer surface of the rod when the clamp is tightened down. The clock is electrically powered. Power is supplied by a cord 28 which enters the base 25 and passes up through the tube 24 and the interior of the hollow rod 22 and the interior of the flexible conduit 18 and through the mounting structure 16 to the interior of the clock where it is connected to the clock motor and to a bulb by which the clock face is illuminated.

The clock It) can be raised or lowered at will by raising or lowering the rod 22 and clamping it into selected position.

To some extent the height of the clock can also be adjusted by changing the manner in which the gooseneck or flexible conduit 18 is bent. However, the primary purpose of that conduit is not to accomplish height adjustment of the clock but rather to enable one lying below it to reach up and push it out of the way or to draw it back at will into viewable position. That conduit is sufficiently flexible so that the clock will move easily out of the way if a sleeper should contact it with his arms whereby both the arm and the clock are saved from harm. While not visible in FIG. 1, the back of the clock is fitted with a set of customary clock controls including a knob by which to set the time and another to set the time at which the alarm is wanted and another to render the alarm system operable or inoperable. The small control 30 at the top of the clock controls power to the lamp so that the illumination can be turned on and off at will.

Having awakened during the night, one need only reach up and turn on the switch 30 to illuminate the clock and discover the time. whereupon he can extinguish the light and return to sleep. Upon being wakened by the alarm, he need only reach up and actuate the mechanism that turns off that alarm. If the clock is in the way when he arises, he need only push it aside to bend the flexible conduit 18 to a different shape. In the preferred form of the invention, that conduit is sufficiently stiff to remain substantially in the position to which it is bent, although bending it requires but a little force.

It is not essential that the clock be positioned directly over the sleepers head. In this embodiment, the clock case is rotatable about an axis through the clock from top to bottom. The structure that permits that rotation is visible in FIG. 2. The flexible conduit 18 terminates in a truncated, washer-like conical fitting 40 from which a threaded nipple 41 extends. The case 14 is molded of a plastic material. At its upper end the case has a truncated pyramidal section 42, the outer face of which is reentrant at 44 to form a sleeve which is internally threaded so that it can be threaded on to the nipple 41 as shown. That having been done, a plastic nut 46 is threaded onto the end of the nipple. The nut has a through opening, part of which is threaded and is threadedly engaged upon the nipple. The remainder of the through opening has smaller diameter whereby a shoulder is formed at 48 which limits the degree in which the nut 46 can be threaded onto the nipple. The space between the upper face of the nut 46 and the lower face of the truncated conical washer 40 is slightly greater than the length of the sleeve 44. The result is that the case 14 can be rotated relative to the nipple 42 until either the washer 40 or the nut 46 is engaged. The object is to limit rotation of the clock to less than 360 less the cord be twisted. To insure that the spacing is controlled to this end without imposing excessively difficult manufacturing dimensional tolerance, washers 4S and 47 are added and selected for their thickness.

The sleeve 44 is sufficiently long so that the case cannot be wiggled at the point of connection to the nipple and so that there is enough friction between the threads of the nipple and the threads of the case so that the case will remain in any rotational position in which .it is placed. The inner edge of the nut lip is rounded away to prevent chafing of the wires that will extend through these several parts to the interior of the case for connection to the clock.

The clock need not be mounted on a stanchion or post. The embodiments of FIGS. 3, 4' and 6 are arranged for mounting on a wall or the headboardof a bed or some vertical surface. In FIG. 3 the plate 50 is provided with perforations (not shown) by which it may be screwed to a wall or the headboard of a bed. The plate carries a radio 52 which is powered by a cord 54 which enters at the bottom of the radio and supplies energy both to the radio and to the clock 56. The clock is mounted at the end of a metal gooseneck 58 which extends from the connection 60. That connection 60 is secured to the radio case. The tuning dial of the radio is identified by the reference numeral 62. A volume control 64 and-an alarm button 66 completes the control parts of the radio. Clock 56 carries two controls, one 68 of which is a switch by which the lamp within the clock can be turned on and off. The other control 70 is visible in FIG. 4. It is used to reset the digital time display. The digits are mounted on individual wheels which are interconnected by a Geneva gearing system to a common drive motor. The clock is conventional. It will be apparent that the radio and the clock could be combined in a single case or otherwise arranged together at the outer end of the gooseneck 58. In that case, the inner end of the gooseneck would be connected directly to the wall mounting plate 50 or, alternatively, would be connected to a stanchion which might be similar to that shown in FIG. 1.

The flexible arm on which the clock is mounted need not be a flexible coiled metal or plastic gooseneck. Stiff arms coupled to swivels and universal joints are also useful within the invention. An embodiment in that form is shown in FIG. 6 where the clock is housed in a bulbous case 70 behind a transparent face 72 and an escutcheon plate 74. The alarm time set knob 76 and the alarm on-off lever 78 extend through the rear por tion of the case where they are visible in FIG. 6. At its lower end, the case 70 is connected to a universal joint 80 whose other end is connected to a rigid tube 82. The other end of the tube is connected to a swivel 84. The swivel housing is fixed by any convenient means, such as by welding as shown, to a mounting plate 86 by which the unit can be mounted upon a wall or the headboard of a bed. The clock is powered from an electrical source through a cord 90 which enters the unit at the lower side of the swivel housing.

An alternative arrangement is shown in FIG. 5. Here the flexible conduit 92 enters a small housing 94 that serves as an electrical box and the anchor point for two screws 96. The screws extend through the slot 98 formed in corresponding legs of two L-shaped members. These members are arranged so that their slotted arms overlie one another and so that their other arms lie op site one another. The screws 96 extend throu h the sots mto threaded openings in the housing 4.

members can be moved somewhat to adjust the spacing between the opposite arms 104 and 106. These arms are perforated and have thumbscrews turned into them. Thumbscrew 108 is turned into arm 104 and thumbscrew 110 is turned into arm 106. The two thumbscrews clamp down on a clock placed between the arms 104 and 106. The electric cord by which the clock is powered extends down through the opening 112 in the upper wall of the housing 94 and fence out the conduit 92 to a supply connection. A clock mounted between the thumbscrews 108 and 1 10 will be held in whatever position it is clamped by those thumbscrews, although, of course, its position can be adjusted.

Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I am fully aware that many modifications thereof are possible. My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art.

I claim:

' 1. In an apparatus for holding a clock positioned face down over a bed, a support structure, a clamp holder and a connecting means for connecting said support structure and clamp holder such that the relative position of the clamp holder and support structure may be altered, said clamp holder comprising a U-shaped clamp having spaced, opposed arms and means for altering and spacing of said arms, said connecting means comprising a flexible, goose neck conduit.

2. In combination:

a clock;

a support structure; and

a connecting means for connecting the clockand support structure such that the relative position of the clock and support structure may be changed, the connecting means comprising an elongate flexible conduit. I j

3. The invention defined in claim 2 in which the support structure comprises a base and a pole extending upwardly from the base, the flexible conduit being connected to the upper end of the pole.

4. The invention defined in claim 2 in which said clock is mounted face down to said conduit and has a swiveled connection to said conduit.

5. In combination;

a clock;

a support structure; and

a connecting means for connecting the clock and support structure such that the relative position of the clock and support structure may be changed;

said support structure comprising means in the form of a plate for attachment to a vertical surface and said connecting means comprising a flexible, goose neck conduit.

Claims (5)

1. In an apparatus for holding a clock positioned face down over a bed, a support structure, a clamp holder and a connecting means for connecting said support structure and clamp holder such that the relative position of the clamp holder and support structure may be altered, said clamp holder comprising a U-shaped clamp having spaced, opposed arms and means for altering and spacing of said arms, said connecting means comprising a flexible, goose neck conduit.

2. In combination: a clock; a support structure; and a connecting means for connecting the clock and support structure such that the relative position of the clock and support structure may be changed, the connecting means comprising an elongate flexible conduit.

3. The invention defined in claim 2 in which the support structure comprises a base and a pole extending upwardly from the base, the flexible conduit being connected to the upper end of the pole.

4. The invention defined in claim 2 in which said clock is mounted face down to said conduit and has a swiveled connection to said conduit.

5. In combination; a clock; a support structure; and a connecting means for connecting the clock and support structure such that the relative position of the clock and support structure may be changed; said support structure comprising means in the form of a plate for attachment to a vertical surface and said connecting means comprising a flexible, goose neck conduit.

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