Patent Publication Number: US-9836026-B2

Title: Wall clock with changeable size

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to a timepiece, and more particularly to wall clocks with changeable appearance and size, so as to distinctively improve the utility and decoration of wall clocks. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Wall clocks are well known devices in the timekeeping art and very important articles for daily use. In view of the beautiful design and appearance of the wall clocks, they function not only as timekeeping device, but as decorative objects as well today. With the increasingly living standard, the appearance, size and other aspects are highly required gradually, and consumers may select a wall clock with different size, shape or appearance according to the different surroundings. This may raise a question that when consumers select a wall clock with different size, shape or appearance, they would buy different kind of wall clocks. For example, when wall clocks sized 12 inch or 18 inch are selected, two wall clocks sized 12 inch and 18 inch are needed to, respectively purchase, which may result in not only great burden for consumer, but also increase of manufacturing time and cost for manufacturer. 
     Wall clocks which dial features can be changed are disclosed in prior art, but the wall clocks which can be changed in size are not disclosed in prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,055 discloses a changeable wall clock, which designs to use 4 dials with different design and style to realize the changeable function. Users can open the cover and change the dials in clock base to obtain 4 different kinds of style. However, it still has a disadvantage of failure to change in size. 
     Therefore, there is a need to improve the wall clocks in existing technology so that if desired, consumers can assemble wall clocks with different size, and at the same time, the producing cost of a wall clock should be decreased. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention responds to the above needs of changing size of the wall clock. According to one aspect of the invention, the object of the invention is to provide a wall clock which size can be changed. This wall clock is designed to change length of the interior element to change the size of wall clock in its entirety. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the object of the invention is to provide a wall clock with a variety of different dishes mounted therein so as to display different functions on the basis of different requirements. 
     To achieve the above objects, the following technical solutions are adopted: 
     A wall clock with changeable size comprising: 
     a clock base; 
     a transparent front cover secured in the clock base; 
     a dial disposed in the clock base adjacent to the front cover, which has a plurality of holes thereon; 
     a rear cover secured in the clock base; wherein the wall clock further comprises 
     a framework assembly disposed in the clock base adjacent to the dial in which the framework assembly comprises 
     a central dish for displaying time, which is configured to be suitable for passing through one of the holes of the dial; 
     a plurality of arms, each of which is configured to be retractable in a length direction thereof, and has one end being secured to the central dish; 
     a plurality of fixing members for the arms, mounted removably and radially at different positions of the other end of the respective arms so that the framework assembly can be fixed in the clock base. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, the wall clock further comprises a hollow hiding member disposed between the front cover and dial in the clock base. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, the wall clock further comprises a plurality of dishes mounted on the arms, which are suitable for the holes of the dials. According to the present invention, the number of the dish is ranged 2-10, and preferably 4-7. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, the dish is selected from the group consisting of analogue display dish, digital display dish or combination thereof. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, the wall clock further comprises a battery compartment with a battery door, which is mounted on the arm. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, the wall clock further comprises power supply disposed in the battery compartment, in which the power supply is selected from the group consisting of solar battery, lithium-ion battery, AC power source or DC power supply. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, a plurality of pores are set on the arms, and the fixing members for the arms are fixed on the arms by screws through the pores. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, the fixing members for arms are locks. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, the number of arms is ranged 2-10. Preferably, the number of arms is ranged 4-7. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, two-dimensional or three-dimensional text, numeric, character, pattern or solar power is printed on the dial. 
     According to the wall clock with changeable size of the invention, two-dimensional or three-dimensional text, numeric, character, pattern or solar power is printed on the dish. 
     Accordingly, the wall clock of the invention is structurally different from the wall clock in prior art. In addition, by virtue of the extension or retraction of the framework assembly in the wall clock and the combination of the dishes of the wall clock, the wall clock of the invention can provide a convenient, effective and economical means by which owners or users of the wall clock can periodically and simply change the size and function display of the clock to suit changing seasons, tastes or moods without additional cost, if desired. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The features of the present invention may be clearly set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention, together with the advantages thereof may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings, wherein like reference signs identify like elements, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a wall clock with changeable size of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a framework assembly of a wall clock with changeable size of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of a wall clock having one type of combination of dishes, after a wall clock with changeable size of the invention is fully assembled; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a wall clock having another type of combination of dishes, after a wall clock with changeable size of the invention is fully assembled; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a wall clock having another type of combination of dishes, after a wall clock with changeable size of the invention is fully assembled. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The structure of the device of the invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompany drawings. The description and explanatory embodiment herein are merely used to set forth the present invention, not to limit the invention. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a wall clock with changeable size  100  comprises a clock base  110 , a front cover  120 , a dial  140 , a framework assembly  150  and a rear cover  160 . 
     The clock base  110  may be used for receiving other elements/components of the wall clock  100  and may be shaped differently, for example it can be shaped to be a circle or a rectangle, or others which are familiar with the skilled person in the art. Furthermore, the clock base  110  can be made of different materials such as plastics, mental, ceramics, bamboo, wood, etc. 
     The front cover  120  is disposed in the clock base  110  and is shaped to be correspondent to the clock base  110 . The front cover  120  is made of transparent material like glass or transparent plastic. As is known in the art, the front cover  120  is assembled in the clock base  110  by means which is familiar with the skilled person in the art. 
     The dial  140  is disposed in the clock base  110 , which is adjacent to the front cover  120 . The dial  140  which has a plurality of holes formed thereon is shaped to be correspondent to the clock base  110 . Different decorations such as 2-D/3-D text, numeric, character, pattern or solar power, such as solar membrane, can be formed on the dial  140 , which can be clearly observed by consumers through the transparent front cover  120 . These decorations may be made by means of printing, pasting, spraying, hot stamping or water floating. 
     The framework assembly  150  is of most importance, which is disposed in the clock base  110  and is adjacent to dial  140 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , the framework assembly  150  is retractable, which comprises: a central dish  151  configured to be suitable for one of the holes  141  in dial  140 ; a plurality of arms  156  made usually of metal, in which one end of each is secured to the central dish  151 , and a fixing member  158  is mounted on the other end so that when using the fixing member  158 , the framework assembly  150  in its entirety can be disposed in the clock base  110 ; a plurality of dishes  153  for displaying different function mounted on the arms  156 , which are configured to be suitable for the corresponding holes  141  on dial  140  and can be shaped differently as circle or rectangle or others; and a battery compartment  154  with a battery door  155 . In one embodiment of the invention, the dish  153  is secured to the arms  156  by first fixing members  152 . Preferably, the first fixing member  152  is a lock member. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the fixing member  158  for arms  156  may be a lock member with a plurality of pores  157  formed thereon, so that the lock member can screwed through the pore  157  to fix the lock member on the arms  156 . 
     Specifically, the framework assembly  150  is retractable resulting from the retractable arms  156 . When the framework assembly  150  need to be extended, in order to mount the framework assembly  150  in a larger clock base  110 , the arms  156  can be extended by adjusting the fixing member  158  for arm  156  to an appropriate position, followed by fixing the fixing member  158  by means of screw  159 . In case there is a need to further change the length of the arms  156 , the screw  159  is merely loosened, followed by adjusting the length of the arms and the fixing member  158 , and further fixing them together. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3-5 , the dishes  153  having different shape\size and function display are shown in the wall clocks  100 . The number of the dish  153  depends on the number of arm  156 . Preferably, one framework assembly  150  can have 4-7 arms  156 . The dish  153  can be analogue display dish or digital (LCD/LED) display dish or a combination thereof. The dish  153  is used for displaying the following contents: year, month, date, day of week, time of alarms, timer, time zones, moon phase, temperature, pressure, UV, humidity and/or weather forecast by multi-hand or multi digital display. Furthermore, different decorations such as 2-D/3-D text, numeric, character, pattern or solar power, such as solar membrane, can also be printed on the dishes  153 . For example, year, month, day, UV, character, pattern can all be printed on one dish  153 . Hence, dishes  153  with different displaying contents can be assembled on the arms  156 , rendering different styles of the wall clocks, so that the decoration and function of the wall clock  100  can be diversified. For instance, for one size of a wall clock such as sized 14 inch, it can be configured up to 128 combinations of dishes  153  on the dial  140 . 
     In one embodiment of the invention, power supply may be disposed in the battery compartment  154 , in which the power supply can be solar battery, lithium-ion battery, AC power source, DC power supply or a combination thereof. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the battery compartment  154  is preferably located at the position which the hour hand is directed to 12 o&#39;clock. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, a raised boss  1541  is preferably located at the battery compartment  154 , which is used to hang the wall clock  100  on the wall. 
     In one embodiment of the wall clock  100  of the invention, a hiding member  130  having a hollow structure is disposed between the front cover  120  and the dial  140  in the clock base  110 . The hiding member  130  is used for hiding the fixing member  158  in the clock base  110 . In other words, after fully assembled the wall clock  100 , the inner elements except for the dial  140  and dishes  153  cannot be observed, thereby rendering the wall clock  100  more simple and more beautiful. In another embodiment of the invention, the hiding member  130  is a paper banner in which the texts and marks can be easily printed on the banner surface before it is bent. But the hiding member  130  can be made of other material such as metal or plastic. 
     The rear cover  160  is mounted in the clock base  110 , and is adjacent to the framework assembly  150 . The rear cover  160  is shaped to correspond to the clock base  110 . As is known in the art, the rear cover  160  is used for protection of the wall clock  100 . 
     By utilizing the technical solution of this invention, a wall clock with changeable size and different function display can be easily assembled. For example, as is known, wall clocks having a size of 12 inch, 14 inch, 16 inch or 18 inch, etc., are commercially available, consumer can only buy a set of elements with less cost to obtain a plurality of wall clocks with different sizes, such as 12 inch, 14 inch, 16 inch or 18 inch wall clocks. For the manufacturer, the producing cost is sharply down, because the framework assembly  150 , which is the main and expensive component of a wall clock, is molded once. Thus, the wall clock  100  herein shown and described provides great variety in the possible change of size of the assembled wall clock  100 . Furthermore, the wall clock  100  may provide great flexibility in the possible function displays of the assembled wall clock  100  while retaining the efficiencies and economies that result from mass manufacture of the unchanging the main component, i.e., the framework assembly  150 . 
     As described above, because the framework assembly  150  is retractable, the manufacturer only need to manufacture different sizes of the clock base  110 , the front cover  120 , the hiding member  130 , the dial  140  and the rear cover  160 , and consumer can buy a set of the above elements and change the size of wall clock to obtain a number of different wall clocks by using one framework assembly  150 , without great costs for purchasing a number of wall clocks with different size in the market. 
     While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention described above are illustrative only, and all the changes and modifications made by those skilled in the art are covered by the appended claims.