Horology: time measuring systems or devices – Plural time zones
Reexamination Certificate
1996-11-12
2001-05-15
Miska, Vit W. (Department: 2112)
Horology: time measuring systems or devices
Plural time zones
C368S023000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06233204
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to world timepieces, and more particularly to a board for progressively displaying the universal time of every time zone and the time differences between the local time and everywhere in the world so as to facilitate a commercial traveller or a tourist to know the exact time of their destination at a glance and to help a teacher to show the time differences of the world in an astronomical class.
Hundred thousands commercial, trade or sightseeing travellers travelling daily in the world need to know the exact time at the departure and arrival between two terminus of their travelling. Since they understand that being punctual is very important for them, but most of them don't know how to obtain the date and the time different at their destinations. In order to meet the requirement mentioned above, various world timepieces have been disclosed heretofore, wherein the most typical prior art world timepieces are the Zone Time Display Clocks, U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,158 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,920, which include a world map on a small panel can selectively show the time differences for number of large cities in the world and which are adaptable to whom he is skillfull to operate it personally. U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,789 and 4,945,521 disclosed a clock and a watch, the former of which disposes a rotatable disk including thereon a world map of polar projection into a circular casing. A series of radially extended longitudes of 15° in interval on the map made in registry with a twenty-four hour scale around the circumference of the casing so that the user can visually obtain the time differences of every time zone upon the rotation of the disk. The later depicts a series of concentrical circles on a stationary dial face in which separately indicates the scales of local hours, minutes, the time defferences of 24 time zones and a selected number of major city names in the world, in addition to a plurality of arms coaxially rotate on a central shaft for respectively pointing the scales. This clock or watch is too small to contain informations enough to satisfy user's requirement, and the users feel difficult to read those invisible informations inversibly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,229 and 5,007,033 then disclosed a programmable world timepiece which is made of a calculator and includes a display unit normally displaying local time or selectively showing the present time of main cities in the world by pressing a plurality of selector switches in the lower portion. This calculator type world timepiece can also serve for skillfull personal only. So that the aforediscussed prior art world timepieces are of limited function and can not serve for the popularity of the travellers.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 2,299,913 discloses a world clock which is of a time display board on which attaches a transparent world map including 24 time zones thereon and incorporated with a time scale of doubled 12 hours on the top thereof. A plurality of colored incandescent bulbs actuated by a plenty of electronic mechanisms for selectively emanating the lights to imitating day or night on the map. But it could not show the transition of the date. Besides, it's mechanism is too complicated to manufacture. This is the reason why it has not come up to realization. Instead of the above world timepieces, a number of clock are arranged in an alignment on a wall in a lounge of an airport, a passenger terminal of a harbour or of a station hall. Each of these clocks tells the time difference of a major city around the world. This arrangement is quite limited to tell the time differences of few major cities and that they need to be adjusted frequently disregarding of whether or not they are operated by A.C. current, therefore causing inconvenience.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention has a main object to provide a board for dynamically displaying universal time which not only indicates the geographical positions of the countries and major cities within the 24 time zones of the world but also tells the transition of the date and the hours in the time zones in order to meet the requirement of the commercial and sightseeing travellers and the education.
Another object of the pesent invention is to provide a board for dynamically displaying universal time on which the date is changed daily and automatically according to the International Date Line and the time is changed hourly and synchroneously at every time zone and increases eastward in arismetic progression so as to avoid the appearance of the negative numerals in the time zones.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a board for dynamically displaying universal time, by utilizing the charactor of the Mercator Equator projection that the central maridian is selective, the time zones on the board are shiftable to facilitate every country or region to be centralized in the world map so that the map can be variable in accordance with the geographical position of the countries of the world.
Further object of the present invention is to provide a board for dynamically displaying universal time in which a plurality of LED incorporated with a plurality of IC plates of series circuit are disposed and controlled by a CPU circuit plate including a memory in which a calendar program good for any future years has been inputed so that the date and time are changed continuously and accurately in accordance with the real situation such as the usual year, Leap year and the different days of months.
Still further object of the present invention is to provide a board for dynamically displaying universal time including a control device which adjusts the date and time of every display window in order to conforming with the shift of positions of the time zones.
A furthermore object of the present invention is to provide a board for dynamically displaying universal time having a local time column at a lower central portion which displays the local hours, minutes and seconds against the GMT time and acted in uniform with the time shift of the universal time column and can be preset at a destination time when the board is used in an aircraft or a merchant marine for controlling the operation of the crew and the time of arrival.
Accordingly, the board for dynamically displaying universal time of the present invention comprises generally a hollow interior rectangular board which is made from suitable rigid material and is sizeably variable, and attached to the front of which is a world map compiled of Mercator Equator Projection having longitudinal interval of 15 degrees so as to divide the world into 24 time zones. Since that the International Date Line is superposed on the 180th longitude and the time zone ±12 is also centered at this longitude, so that this time zone must be widened doubly to allow two different dates in same hour. The Latidudinal interval of the world map is shortened in order to prevent the countries in high latitude from over enlarged. It is understood that the central maridian of the Mercator Equator projection is selective so as to permit any country or region in the world to be centered in the map. This provides an advantage of making various world map to serve for different countries. An universal date column incorporated with an universal hour column on the upper portion of the board in which a plurality of display windows are parallel formed spaced apart for disposing the LEDs therein. The LEDs indicate the shift of the date and the time synchroneously in cope with each of the 24 time zones and connect respectively with a plurality of IC plates which are of series circuit and connect to a CPU circuit so as to be controlled by the CPU circuit. The time zones are designated by English letters in accordance with the international criterion. Each time zone has a color block at the upper end with a first transparent color indicating the odd numbered time zones and the countries therewithin and a second transparent color indicating the even numbered time zones and countries
Chu Sheng-Pen
Chu Wen-Chi
Chu Wen-Ching
LandOfFree
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