Abstract:
A time display device which utilizes light beams to display time is disclosed. The time display device at least comprises a timetable panel, an illuminant module, a counter unit, and a control unit. The characteristics of the time display device are that the control unit controls the illuminant module, the counter unit counts a real time, and then responds to the illuminant module in order to shoot at least one light for casting an image on the timetable panel to display time.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a time display device, and more particularly, a time display apparatus utilizing a light source module projecting light beams on a timetable panel to show the present time.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     As time passed, the exhibition of displaying time becomes a great of diversities. People try to know the present time through various ways. At the beginning, there were primitive sundials, sandglasses, then mechanical clocks, and now digital clocks or watches.  
         [0003]     In  FIG. 1 , it is a perspective diagram showing the structure of the main body portion of a clock in the prior art. The main body portion of the clock in  FIG. 1  comprises a timetable panel  12 , at least one pointer  13  positioned above the timetable panel  12 , and a time display housing  11  containing the timetable panel  12  and the pointer  13  wherein the pointer  13  contains at least one hour pointer  14 , one minute pointer  15  or one second pointer  16 . The length of the hour pointer  14  is shorter than that of the minute pointer  15 , and the thickness of the second pointer  16  is thinner than that of the minute pointer  15  wherein the combinations of these pointers have various forms to show the time information.  
         [0004]     In the early stage, the pointers can not be seen in the dark. However, with modifications made by people, the combinations of the pointers can be seen in the dark as the example represented in  FIG. 2  which includes a perspective diagram and a dissection diagram showing the structure of the main body portion of a clock able to show time information in the dark in the prior art. The time display main body in  FIG. 1  housing a timetable panel  12  and a pointer  13  positioned above the timetable panel  12 . In the cooperation with the time display device structure in  FIG. 1 , adding florescent materials  21  into the pointer  13  to form a pointer  22  containing florescent materials  21 . Furthermore, the pointer  22  contains an hour pointer  23 , a minute pointer  24  and a second pointer  25  wherein the length of the hour pointer  23  is shorter than that of the minute pointer  24 , and the thickness of the second pointer  25  is thinner than that of the hour pointer  23  and that of the minute pointer  24 . With the florescent pointers  22 , the time information can be seen in the dark. However, the time period of light emitting is only temporary and limited by the characteristics of florescent materials. After a while, the light emitted from the pointers vanishes and becomes one of the disadvantages of the clocks utilizing the florescent materials. Moreover, the annoying tick of clocks or watches is another disadvantage of clocks or watches with pointers.  
         [0005]     It is an objective of the present invention utilizing at least one illuminant module projecting light beams on a timetable panel to show the present time to overcome the disadvantages of the examples in prior art including the light vanishment of florescent materials and the annoying sounds from the pointers of clocks.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention provides a time display device comprising at lease one timetable panel, one illuminant module, one counter unit and one control unit. The illuminant module controlled by the control unit and positioned at the center area of the time display area projects images showing the time information on the time display area.  
         [0007]     The features and advantages of the present invention are further described by referring to the descriptions of the embodiments and the details with accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram showing the structure of the main body portion of a clock in the prior art;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  includes a perspective diagram and a dissection diagram showing the structure of the main body portion of a clock able to show time information in the dark in the prior art;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a dissection diagram of a time display device according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective diagram of a time display device according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates the operation of a time display device according to one embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  is a dissection diagram of a time display device according to one embodiment of the present invention illustrating the displaying operation utilizing illuminant modules and a timetable panel. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]      FIG. 3  is a dissection diagram of a time display device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment comprises at least one timetable panel  31 , one illuminant module  32 , one counter unit  33  and one control unit  34 . The timetable panel  31  may be a concave panel with a circular or polygon boarder on which numerical digits can be carved for timing indicators. The timetable panel  31  further includes a center area  311  which is a flat bottom of the concave timetable panel  31 . Moreover, the illuminant module  32  is a light emitting diode (LED) module emitting at least one light beam with a specific color. The illuminant module  32  illustrated in  FIG. 3  further comprises three colorful light sources for representing the hour, minute, and second of time by red, blue and green of primary colors or by yellow, purple, dark green or magenta of subtractive primary colors. A shielding structure covers the LED module producing three primary colors of the illuminant module  32  to avoid the interferences between these primary colors. The location of the illuminant module  32  is positioned at the center area  311  of the timetable panel  31 . Furthermore, the counter unit  33  used for counting the real time can be included in the control unit  34  comprising a integrated circuit (IC) positioned on a printed circuit board (PCB). The control unit  34  positioned under the timetable panel  31  controls the illuminant module  32  to display at least three figures showing the real time by emitting at least three light beams on the timetable panel  31 .  FIG. 4  is a top perspective diagram of an embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0015]     In  FIG. 5 , it illustrates the operation of a time display device according to one embodiment of the present invention controlling the illuminant module  32  by using the control unit  34  described in  FIG. 3 . The illuminant module  32  can be an LED module including at least three different color LEDs in which there are a red LED  321  emitting a red light beam, a blue LED  322  emitting a blue light beam and a green LED  323  emitting a green light beam positioned at the center area  311  in a vertical sequential order. For example, the LED  321  emitting a red light beam can be positioned at the top of the module, the LED  322  emitting a blue light beam can be positioned at the middle of the module and the LED  323  emitting a green light beam can be positioned at the bottom of the module. While the counter unit  33  in  FIG. 3  sends the counting result to the control unit  34 , i.e. the time is 5 hours, 50 minutes and 10 seconds, the control unit  34  controls the illuminant module  32  wherein the top red LED  321  emits a light beam on the concave timetable panel  31  having the direction of the dotted line  511  as illustrated in  FIG. 5  and having a red image area  51  located between the numerical digits “12” and the numerical digit “3”. The red image area  51  represents the second portion of time in order to display the 10 seconds portion of the time of 5 hours, 50 minutes and 10 seconds. The middle blue LED  322  emits a light beam on the concave timetable panel  31  having the direction of the dotted line  521  as illustrated in  FIG. 5  and having a blue image area  52  located between the numerical digits “12” and the numerical digit “9”. The blue image area  52  represents the minute portion of time in order to display the 50 minutes portion of the time of 5 hours, 50 minutes and 10 seconds. Furthermore, the lowest green LED  323  emits a light beam on the concave timetable panel  31  having the direction of the dotted line  531  as illustrated in  FIG. 5  and having a blue image area  53  located at the numerical digit “6”. The green image area  53  represents the hour portion of time in order to display the 5 hours portion of the time of 5 hours, 50 minutes and 10 seconds. Thus, there are three images located at three portions of timetable panel  31  with different distances from center point to represent the hours, minutes, and seconds of time.  
         [0016]     The embodiment in  FIG. 5  utilizing three light beams represent hour, minute and second respectively to display time wherein the red LED  321  of the illuminant module  32  emits a light beam  511  with the longest distance, the blue LED  322  emits a light beam  521  with a shorter distance, and the green LED  323  emits a light beam  531  with a shortest distance. The light beams  511 ,  521 ,  531  further project three images  51 ,  52 ,  53  with different colors resulted from the reflection of the light beams from the illuminant module  32  by the concave timetable panel  31 . Referred to  FIG. 6 , it is a dissection diagram of a time display device according to one embodiment of the present invention illustrating the displaying operation utilizing light projecting sources and a timetable panel. According to the concave shape of the timetable panel  31  and the flat shape of the center area  311  of the timetable panel  31 , the timetable panel  31  has a funnel shape with a wide top boarder and a narrow bottom area. Moreover, there is a ramp area  312  coupling the top boarder and the narrow bottom area. The red LED  321 , positioned at the highest portion of the illuminant module  32  located at the center area  311  of the timetable panel  31  corresponding to the wide top boarder of the ramp area  312  of the concave timetable panel  31 , emits a red light beam projecting a red image area  51  with a longest distance  511  on the top portion of the boarder of the ramp area  312 . The blue LED  322 , positioned at the lower portion of the illuminant module  32  located at the center area  311  of the timetable panel  31  corresponding to the middle portion of the boarder of the ramp area  312  of the concave timetable panel  31 , emits a blue light beam projecting a blue image area  52  with a shorter distance  521  on the middle portion of the boarder of the ramp area  312 . Furthermore, the green LED  323 , positioned at the lowest portion of the illuminant module  32  located at the center area  311  of the timetable panel  31  corresponding to the lowest portion of the boarder of the ramp area  312  of the concave timetable panel  31 , emits a green light beam projecting a green image area  53  with a shortest distance  531  on the lowest portion of the boarder of the ramp area  312 . A representation of time information can be displayed with these colorful image areas with different distances.  
         [0017]     Through the solutions indicated by the embodiments of the present invention for providing various styles representing time information, the vanishment problem of the clocks with fluorescent materials indicating the timing and the annoying sounds of the clocks with pointers can be both solved. Although the features and advantages of the embodiments according to the preferred invention, it is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all modifications and changes within the spirit and scope of the following claims.