Abstract:
A method and device for representing the passage of time, in which a day is divided into long time periods and short time periods; the large time periods are indicated using a graphic representation and the small time periods are represented by coloring at least a portion of the graphic representation.

Description:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to languages and devices for visual representation of the passage of time, and specifically to a clock that is especially suited to children.  
           [0002]    Systems for the visual portrayal of the passage of time range from concrete instantiations of slow-moving physical phenomena such as sundials and hourglasses, to more arbitrary paradigms developed along with specific motion or display technologies, i.e. dial clocks and digital clocks. These arbitrary representations have long survived the original mechanism that generated them and moved into the realm of language, retaining their meaning in relation to the time of day regardless of how the visual image is generated. Thus we may prefer a “digital” or “dial” clock interface on the screen of our computer or on our wrist, as a matter of taste and legibility. The mechanism that generates the changes in the visual portrayal can be based on atomic decay, piezoelectric pulses, mechanical action or any other phenomenon without affecting the resulting language of representation. The two dominant languages of dial and digital clocks, though arbitrary, are well enough accepted to perform the role of semiotic sign or marker throughout most of the world.  
           [0003]    There have been many suggestions for variations on and alternatives to the two dominant languages, to improve legibility, aesthetics, or other factors. The prior art includes novel ways of representing hours, minutes, and other accepted divisions of time. Conceivably, displays could be based on other divisions of time or represent the flow of time without representing divisions per se.  
           [0004]    The standard systems of representing time are dependent on familiarity with visual representations of numbers and comprehension of the clock hands as indicators within an otherwise static interface. Such interfaces are a priori unsuitable for children. Understanding the standard time representations requires a stage in child development more advanced than the stage at which a child can grasp the concept of the passage of time. Due to this misalignment, there is typically a protracted stage during which a child can grasp some of the concepts of time, but is prevented from doing this due to the difficulties of parsing written numerals and understanding the meaning of the position of the hands.  
           [0005]    In the prior art are known devices and methods that attempt to make time telling easier for children. A review of earlier art will serve to illustrate their respective and collective lacunae.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,493,138 to Hathaway describes a time teaching device in the form of a standard clock with an attached verse-inscribed panel. The numeral indicia are augmented with pictures of animals and familiar objects and the hands of the clock are fashioned in the form of the storybook characters Jack and Jill. Hathaway teaches a working version with clockwork driven hands as well as a demonstration version in which the hands are only turned manually. The verses inscribed on the device refer to the pictures and the characters on the hands of the clock, relating them in storybook fashion to the hours of a child&#39;s day. Hathaway does not teach a new method of representing time, but merely attaches additional recognizable shapes to the sectors of the clock and to its hands. The cognitive steps necessary to differentiate between the two hands of the clock and to associate the location of the hand with a particular sector of the clock face are retained.  
           [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,327 to Cordova, Jr. describes a display and method for depicting the passage of time by selectively and progressively “filling” predetermined areas representing hours, minutes, seconds, and tenths of seconds. A user tells time by noting how much of a given area is filled. The display is configured in a variety of shapes with the possibility of assigning different parts of the shapes to the various time divisions. While Cordova teaches a new method of representing the passage of time, no improvement in legibility or comprehensibility is achieved.  
           [0008]    A further disadvantage of Cordova is the inherent inaccuracy of depiction. The user is expected to calculate the relation of part to whole in determining hours on a 12 or 24 hour scale. This is cognitively difficult and can easily result in reading inaccuracies of one or two hours. A further disadvantage is in the depiction of small time divisions such as proposed for seconds or tenths of seconds. A device according to Cordova represents the passage of time over short intervals by rapidly flashing lights, detracting from the legibility and clarity of the entire display.  
           [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,961 to Bruskewitz describes a portable child activity timer designed to be comprehensible by children. A device according to Bruskewitz indicates pictorially what activity is being timed or what the child is waiting for, in addition to showing numerically how much time is left and indicating by means of a sound when a timed period is over. A device according to Bruskewitz is useful only for timing specific intervals and does not propose a new method of representing the time divisions of a day. The pictures on the timer relate to specific situations or events and are not associated with the time of day in a general sense.  
           [0010]    Other devices configured to teach children time telling skills are found in Swiss Patent 540 542 to Ingold, U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,214 to Rancati, U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,389 to Brooks, U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,945 to Totten, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,943 to Grimes, all of which describe variations on the concept of time telling teaching devices or teaching clocks. These devices are not actual clocks, but rather teaching aids consisting of various discs, rings, and hands with printing, pictures and colors on them which are rotated manually around a central pivot in order to display a simulacrum of a clock face. Although colors are used to represent the various hours in a day, the devices teach no new time-telling language.  
           [0011]    Thus, there is a need for, and it would be greatly advantageous to have a clock designed for children that familiarized them with the concepts of the passage of time, telling time, and associating given visual images with times of the day, using familiar images and colors to represent time. In addition, there is a need for, and it would be greatly advantageous to have a method of representing and telling time that is comprehensible and accessible to any person that is developmentally able to recognize images and colors.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0012]    The current invention provides a device that uses an alternative language of visual representation of the passage of time that is readable and comprehensible by any user, and in particular readable at the earliest possible stage of child development.  
           [0013]    The current invention is of a clock that uses color and recognizable images to represent both the passage of time and the time of day in a form that is comprehensible to young children. For example, sections representing the 12 or 24 hours are arrayed around the circumference of a circular face as in a conventional clock face. However, instead of using hands to indicate the hour, the appropriate hour is indicated by an area of color that appears in an appropriate section. Each section of roughly 30° representing an hour has a graphic representation, for example of a recognizable character such as an animal, which remains fixed in place.  
           [0014]    At least part of each graphic representation is transparent, such that a part of a colored disc placed behind the clock face is visible through these transparent sections. This colored disc is divided into areas of various colors which represent minutes or other subdivisions of time. The colored disk rotates, bringing successive colored areas into view through each of the transparent section of the characters. In this way, a time of day is represented by the association of a particular color with a particular recognizable character, for example, a yellow dolphin or a blue cat. The time resolution of the clock of the present invention as represented by the change of colors may vary. One embodiment of the invention is described where the colors change every 10 minutes, but it is clear that these intervals could be 5 minutes, 12 minutes, or any other period of time. A further increase in resolution may be achieved by varying the pattern or intensity of the color on the color wheel or by progressively filling the area with color. In any case, the accuracy and precision of the timekeeping mechanism of the clock will be on the order of seconds or fractions of seconds in keeping with standard clock technology, and options will exist for displaying a concurrent readout of the time at a finer resolution than is represented by color alone. This concurrent readout enables proper setting of the clock, and offers a higher precision to those able to read it. A preferred embodiment of the current embodiment supplements the color-based display with an accurate minute display indicated by one or more sets of numbers printed on the color wheel.  
           [0015]    In one preferred embodiment of the invention, a third separately rotating masking disc is disposed, for example, between the rotating colored disc and the fixed character disc, alternately screening and revealing the rotating colored disc in successive characters. This selective revealing could also be accomplished by placing the third masking disc behind translucent or transparent front discs and providing for natural or artificial lighting from behind the clock. This selective revealing could also be accomplished by other electrical or electrochemical or mechanical means.  
           [0016]    In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a fourth activity disc, situated, for example, in the center of the clock face, is divided into sections with depictions of activities appropriate to different times of the day. This disc is also partially masked by the clock face, and rotates to consecutively reveal successive depictions. The rotation of the activity disc is continuous or discrete and, in some preferred embodiments, is programmable. At any moment, the activity disc shows one of a series of activities associated with a particular time of day.  
           [0017]    Another preferred embodiment of the invention is readable by blind or visually impaired persons of all ages, while particularly adapted to children. In this preferred embodiment, the color disc is replaced by a texture disc that has varying tactile properties in separate areas. The masking disc and front face of the clock are necessarily perforated in this embodiment such that a person touching the face of the clock can feel the varying tactile properties of the disc below. In this preferred embodiment, the characters on the face of the clock have a three-dimensional or otherwise tactilely distinguishable nature. As a further feature, auditory cues associated with particular times could be added to this or other embodiments.  
           [0018]    The current invention overcomes the shortcomings noted in the prior art and provides a clock readable by anyone who has the ability to remember and recognize colors and figures such as animals. It is particularly suited for children and designed to provide both a useful representation of time, and a transitional educational tool to facilitate telling time with other methods. Unlike some previous examples, the current invention provides an actual functional clock that is accurate and consistent from day to day.  
           [0019]    In addition, the present invention provides a clock for children that consistently associates a given recognizable image with a certain time such that the image/time sign or association is recognizable outside of the context of the clock face. Such an image can be used in other media directed towards preliterate children. For example, advertisements for upcoming television programs could carry an image indicating the time according to the time telling language of the present invention.  
           [0020]    As is the case with any two-dimensional visual portrayal, the proposed language and its varying signs can be implemented on a computer display. Without ruling out computer displays or other electronic displays as a means of representing the proposed time telling language, a preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a stand-alone mechanism that represents the passage of time using the language of the present invention.  
           [0021]    In addition, the proposed language is suitable for reproduction and use in other conventional methods of printing and publishing. Some of the more useful instances of such publishing are as a bulletin board or magnetic board with movable figures designed to teach the proposed language. A book that teaches the proposed language could be static or include moving parts that reproduce the rotary mechanism of the proposed invention. Likewise, a nonfunctional mockup of a clock according to the current invention could be produced for use as an educational tool.  
           [0022]    Any of these solutions could also use standard revolving clock hands in addition to the described language as a transition device between the two languages of portraying time.  
           [0023]    A further preferred embodiment of the current invention uses the proposed language over a shorter time period and is useful as an activity timer. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]    The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 1 is a front view of a face disc of a preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 2 is a front view of a activity wheel of a preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 3 is a front view of a hour mask of a preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4 is a front view of a color wheel of a preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective of face disk, hour mask, color wheel and activity wheel of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 6 is a cross section of a side-view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 7 is a detailed front view of a color wheel of a preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 8 is a front view of a color wheel of a further alternate preferred embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a computer displaying an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0034]    The device of the present invention is of a clock that uses color and recognizable images to represent both the passage of time and the time of day in a form that is comprehensible to young children.  
         [0035]    The principles and operation of devices according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the figures and the description hereinbelow.  
         [0036]    It is clear that the details of the figures are by way of a non-limiting example and exclusively for the purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only. Thus, the present invention is described in no more detail than is necessary for an understanding of the present invention. The description hereinbelow, together with the accompanying drawings, makes apparent to those skilled in the art how the invention may be realized.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 1 is a detailed front view of face disk  12 . Face disk  12  is embossed or printed with a series of hour graphic representations  22  arrayed in a roughly circular arrangement. Each hour graphic representation  22  is perforated by at least one transparent or removed section  24 , through which the other discs (see below and in FIG. 1) are at least partially visible. Further time fraction perforations  26  are disposed between each hour graphic representation  22  and the center of face  12 . Still further, an activity perforation  28  is disposed near the center of face  12 . In the depicted embodiment, the width of transparent section  24  as measured perpendicular to the radius of face  12  is approximately 6°, but in alternate embodiments it could be 12° or any other width, in coordination with the movement and divisions of the color wheel.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 2 is a front view of activity wheel  14 . Activity wheel  14  is embossed or printed with activity graphic representations  30  showing activities.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 3 is a front view of hour mask  16 . Hour mask  16  has a solid or opaque portion  32  and a see-through portion that is either transparent or is a perforation  34 .  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 4 is a front view of color wheel  18 . Color wheel  18  is divided into radial sections  36  which are embossed or printed in various colors or patterns that may be distinguished from one another. Sections  36  may also be printed with a character or characters  38 . These characters may represent time divisions such as minutes. Sections  36  are further divided into subsections  40  which may also be embossed or printed in various colors or patterns or graphic representations that may be distinguished from one another.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of face disk, hour mask, color wheel and activity wheel of a preferred embodiment of the invention when assembled to make a single display assembly of a clock of the present invention. A display assembly  10  is composed of a face disk  12 , an activity wheel  14 , an hour mask  16 , and a color wheel  18 . Face disk  12 , activity wheel  14 , hour mask  16 , and color wheel  18  are separately rotatable around a common geometric axis  20 . While face disc  12  remains fixed, a mechanism (not shown) rotates activity wheel  14 , hour mask  16 , and color wheel  18  according to a schedule of time intervals. The rotation of activity wheel  14 , hour mask  16 , and color wheel  18  is such that at any one moment the see-through portion  34  of hour mask  16  is located behind a single hour graphic representation  22  allowing a colored section  36  of color wheel  18  to be seen through an appropriate hour graphic representation  22 . Typically, but not necessarily, hour mask  32  remains fixed behind face disk  12  for the period of one hour before rotating 30 degrees clockwise. At any time, a color appears in behind only one-hour graphic representation  22 , serving to indicate a particular hour. Color wheel  18  typically, but not necessarily, rotates one full revolution during an hour, bringing successive colors into view through perforation  24  and see-through portion  34 . The overall effect is such that an active or indicated hour graphic representation  22  appears distinctively colored while all other representations appear to be gray or other such “neutral” color. As color wheel  18  rotates, the visible color changes within the outline of an hour graphic representation  22 , providing a visual representation of the passage of intervals less than an hour. In the depicted preferred embodiment, the color wheel rotates 6 degrees each minute, such that a new section  36  is brought into view and after 10 minutes a second color is brought into view. In addition color wheel  18  rotates an additional 30 degrees at the end of each hour to initiate the color cycle in the next graphic representation. Clearly, any time interval could be used. Independent of the rotation of hour mask  16  and color wheel  18 , activity wheel  14  rotates at given intervals to bring successive activity graphic representations  30  into view through activity perforation  28 . Whereas activity perforation  28  depicted in FIG. 5 is roughly 180°, it is clear that in other embodiments activity perforation  28  can be smaller.  
         [0042]    At any time, a single successive activity graphic representations  30  appears, serving to indicate a particular activity for that time of day. In the preferred embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 through 5, activity wheel  14  shows daytime and nighttime, cycling in a 24 hour period, but any time interval or number of activity graphic representations can be used.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 6 is a side cross section of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A back  76  is attached to face  12  forming a closed housing  77 . Disposed within housing  77  is movement  78  and display assembly  10 . Display assembly  10  is composed of activity wheel  14 , hour mask  16 , and color wheel  18 , each connected to movement  78  by spindles  80 . Movement  78  causes activity wheel  14 , hour mask  16 , and color wheel  18 , to rotate at varying rates of speed.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 7 is a detailed view of color wheel  18 . In FIG. 7, sections  36  are colored in various colors that are represented by various hatch patterns. Sections  36  can also be visually distinguishable from one another within any particular color area. The outer portion of color wheel  18  of FIG. 6 is composed of a purple area  42 , a blue area  44 , a green area  46 , a red area  48 , an orange area  50 , and a yellow area  52 . A table  51  shows the correspondence between the various colors and the hatching representations thereof Smaller color areas are printed in an area closer to the center of color wheel  18 . Visible adjacent to yellow area  52  are orange area  62 , red area  60 , green area  58 , blue area  56 , and purple area  54 . Similar areas are disposed adjacent to blue area  44 , green area  46 , red area  48 , and orange area  50 . These smaller color areas are visible through perforations  26  of face disk  12 , and serve to indicate what portion of a certain hour remains, and which colors appear next in the sequence.  
         [0045]    Activity wheel  14 , hour mask  16 , and color wheel  18 , rotate at varying rates of speed such that the colored  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 , and  52  of color wheel  18  are successively visible through perforations  24  of face  12  in a timed sequence. Specifically, in the preferred embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 through 6, activity wheel  14  is rotated 180° twice every 24 hours according to a programmable timer, hour mask  16  is rotated 30° clockwise every 60 minutes, and color wheel  18  of FIG. 6 is rotated 6° clockwise every minute and an additional 30° clockwise every 60 minutes in conjunction with hour mask  16 , making colored areas  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 , and  52  of color wheel  18  visible through a perforation  24  of face  12  and through transparent section  34  of hour mask  16  for 10 minutes each, with individual sections  36  visible for one minute each, while opaque section  32  of hour mask  16  is visible through all other perforations  24  and  26  of face  12 . Such a combination of discs and rotations activates a graphic representation  22  for one hour of every 12 hours by displaying a color, and represents a smaller increment of time by changing the color within graphic representation  22 . Further resolution can be achieved by introducing varying patterns in individual wedges  36  of color wheel  18 . In addition, alternate activity graphic representations  30  shown on activity wheel  14  will be visible through perforation  28  of face  12  at various times of the day. A further preferred embodiment rotates color wheel  18  12° every 2 minutes, allowing perforations  24  to have a width equivalent to 12° in a direction perpendicular to the radius of face  12 .  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 8 is a detailed view of a second embodiment of a color wheel  18 . In FIG. 8, color wheel  18  is divided into 72 colored sections represented by various hatch patterns. Visible are purple areas  74 , blue areas  72 , green areas  70 , red areas  68 , orange areas  66 , and yellow areas  64 . As in the previous embodiment, color wheel  18  is rotated behind face disc  12  and hour mask  16  such that successive colored sections are brought into view through small perforations  34  and  24 . These colored sections, when visible, indicate the passage of intervals of time shorter than one hour. In this embodiment color wheel  18  is rotated 6° every minute and hour mask  16  is rotated 30° clockwise every hour. No additional rotation of color wheel  18  is necessary. In this embodiment the perforations or transparent portions of face disk  12  are necessarily smaller in the direction parallel to the diameter of the clock face and appropriately offset from the center of the clock face. Each colored section relates to a specific graphic representation on face disk  12   
         [0047]    In FIG. 9 is depicted an additional embodiment of a device of the present invention, made up of components including a electronic display device (computer monitor)  76  and a desk-top computer  78 . On electronic display device  76  appears an image substantially similar in appearance to an hour graphic representation  22 . This representation  22  may be wholly or partially colored or otherwise visually distinguished, and the coloration may change to indicate the passage of intervals of time shorter than one hour.  
         [0048]    It is clear to one skilled in the art that on display device  76  it is also possible to simultaneously display a plurality of hour graphic representations  22  and to distinguish the active representation  22  from non-active representations, for example, by color.  
         [0049]    Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.