Patent Publication Number: US-2003231555-A1

Title: Custom designed time piece

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] This invention relates generally to time pieces, such as clocks and watches and, more specifically, to time pieces having the persona of a person or other animal illustrated therein.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] Time pieces, such as watches and clocks having images of cartoon characters, real people or other animal illustrated therein, have been popular for many years. The images illustrated in such time pieces are, for the most part, images chosen by the time piece manufacturer.  
       [0003] Recently, some purveyors of time pieces have also offered the buying customer a choice of background illustrations disposed on the face portion of the time piece. In most cases, the customer chooses a background illustration from a set of pre-prepared background illustrations. In some cases, however, a photograph provided by the customer has been appended to the face portion of the time piece, thereby personalizing the time piece of the customer. Unfortunately, such personalized time pieces are totally static, the hour hand and the minute hand of such time pieces being not personalized in any way.  
       [0004] Accordingly, time pieces having images are either wholly chosen by the manufacturer or wholly static. Therefore, there is a need for a personalized time piece which can be custom designed by the end customer wherein both the face of the time piece and the hands of the time piece are personalized to the customer.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0005] The invention satisfies this need. In one embodiment, the invention is a method of custom designing and manufacturing an individual time piece. The method comprises the steps of (a) providing a time piece blank having a case, a face and a time keeping mechanism disposed within the case, the timekeeping mechanism comprising a minute hand spindle and an hour hand spindle, (b) identifying from a specific customer for the time piece a specific subject of the animal family whose image is desired to be used in the custom design of the face and hands of the time piece, (c) obtaining from the customer, or obtaining for the customer, at least one photographic image of the subject of the animal family identified in step (b), (d) separating the at least one photographic image obtained in step (c) into a torso and head portion, a first appendage portion and a second appendage portion, (e) appending the torso and head portion to the time piece face, (f) appending the first appendage portion to the minute hand spindle such that the first appendage portion appears to be anatomically correct with respect to the torso and head portion, and (g) appending the second appendage portion to the hour hand spindle such that the second appendage portion appears to be anatomically correct with respect to the torso and head portion.  
       [0006] In a second embodiment, the invention is a custom designed time piece comprising (a) a case, (b) a face, (c) a time keeping mechanism disposed within the case, the time keeping mechanism comprising concentrically disposed minute and hour hand spindles, and (d) an hour hand attached to the hour hand spindle and a minute hand attached to the minute hand spindle; wherein a multiple layer image, comprising at least three layers, is disposed above the face, the image being that of an animal having a torso and head portion, a first appendage portion and a second appendage portion,  
       [0007] In a third embodiment, the invention is a system for selling custom design time pieces. The system comprises (a) a computer for (i) receiving and storing in digital form one or more photographs of an animal designated by a customer, and for (ii) digitally altering and parsing the one or more photographs to yield a torso and head portion, a first appendage portion and a second appendage portion, (b) a printer for printing the torso and head portion, the first appendage portion and the second appendage portion onto a photographic print media, (c) a laser cutting tool for cutting out the printed torso and head portion, the first appendage portion and the second appendage portion, and (d) a time piece inventory comprising a plurality of time piece blanks, each time piece blank comprising a case, a face and a time keeping mechanism disposed within the case, the time keeping mechanism comprising a minute hand spindle and an hour hand spindle.  
       DRAWINGS  
       [0008] These features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying figures where:  
       [0009]FIG. 1 is a plan view of a time piece having features of the invention;  
       [0010]FIG. 2 is a plan view of a first photograph useful in the construction of the time piece illustrated in FIG. 1;  
       [0011]FIG. 3 is a second photograph useful in the construction of the time piece illustrated in FIG. 1;  
       [0012]FIG. 4 illustrates how the photographs illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 are parsed to yield manufacturing components for the time piece illustrated in FIG. 1;  
       [0013]FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a portion of a time piece having features of the invention;  
       [0014]FIG. 6 is a side view of the portion of the time piece illustrated in FIG. 5; and  
       [0015]FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a system having features of the invention.  
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
     [0016] The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention and several variations of that embodiment. This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments. Practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well.  
     [0017] In one embodiment, the invention is a method of custom designing and manufacturing an individual time piece  10 , such as a clock or watch. The method comprises seven steps as described below.  
     [0018] In the first step, a time piece blank is provided. The time piece blank comprises a case  12 , a face  14  and a time keeping mechanism  16  disposed within the case  12 , the time keeping mechanism  16  comprising a minute hand spindle  18  and an hour hand spindle  20 .  
     [0019] The case  12  can be any of the myriad of time piece cases known in the art, including clock cases and watch cases. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the case  12  is a watch case and the time piece is a wrist watch.  
     [0020] The time keeping mechanism  16  can also be any of the several time keeping mechanisms known in the art. The time keeping mechanism  16  can be analog or digital and can be powered by mechanical means, hardwired electrical connections or electrical storage batteries.  
     [0021] The face  14  can be any typical time piece face of the traditional analog style. The face  14  typically has a dial  22  with a plurality of hour indication marks  24  disposed in a continuous loop, traditionally a circle. The minute hand spindle  18  and the hour hand spindle  20  are concentrically disposed proximate to the center of the face  14 .  
     [0022] The second step in the method of the invention is to identify from a specific customer for the time piece  10  a specific subject of the animal family whose image is desired to be used in the custom design of the face  14  and hands  26  of the time piece  10 .  
     [0023] The subject of the animal family is typically a human being. The subject can be the customer himself (or herself) or it can be another. Such another is typically a loved one or a famous personage held in esteem by the customer. The subject can also be a non-human subject, for example, a pet of the customer such as a dog or cat. The invention is not restricted to any particular species of the animal family, and is not restricted to mammals.  
     [0024] The third step in the method of the invention is to obtain from the customer, or to obtain for the customer, at least one photographic image  28  of the subject of the animal family identified in the second step. In a typical application of the method, the customer provides the at least one photographic image  28 . However, if the customer does not have the at least one photographic image  28  but can provide the subject itself, the subject can be photographed by the practitioner of the method to provide the at least one photographic image  28 .  
     [0025] The customer can interact with the practitioner of the method in any of a wide varieties of ways, such as in person, via telephone, via the mail or via the Internet. In one application of the invention, the customer interacts with the practitioner of the method via the Internet by providing a Website on the Internet which offers instructions regarding how to take the one or more photographs, how to mail them to the practitioner of the method or how to upload them to the Website server  30  and how to order and pay for the custom designed time piece.  
     [0026] The customer can also provide the practitioner of the method with a hard copy of the at least one photographic image  28  to be used in the time piece  10 . The practitioner of the method then digitally scans the at least one photographic image  28  to provide a digital representation of the photograph, and then the practitioner loads that digital representation into a computer  32  for further processing as discussed below.  
     [0027] In a preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the at least one photographic image  28  comprises two photographic images, a first photographic image  28   a  and a second photographic image  28   b . The first photographic image  28   a  can be a side view of a human being taken with a camera lens disposed approximately at the same level as the subject shoulder. In this first photographic image  28   a , one arm  34  of the subject is shown in the foreground which is extended forwardly straight and declined from the horizontal at a first angle of declination α of between about 30° and about 60°. The second photographic image  28   b  is preferably the same side view as the first photographic image  28   a  except that the arm  34  shown in the foreground is extended straight rearwardly and declined from the horizontal at a second angle of declination β between about 45° and about 80°, and the second arm  36  of the human being is shown in the background disposed approximately horizontal with the forearm portion  38  being disposed approximately vertically and, more preferably, with the palm of the hand  42  being disposed upwardly.  
     [0028] The fourth step in the method of the invention is to separate the at least one photographic image  28  obtained in the third step into a torso and head portion  44 , a first appendage portion  46  and a second appendage portion  48 . This step is illustrated in FIG. 4. Typically, this step is accomplished with a computer  32  using one of the many computer programs for altering photographic images. One such computer program is PHOTOSHOP® sold by Adobe Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif.  
     [0029] In a typical embodiment, where the subject is a human being the first appendage portion  46  is one of the two arms or two legs of the human being and the second appendage portion  48  is the other of the two arms or legs of the human being. In embodiments of the invention where the subject is an animal other than a human being, the first appendage portion  46  can be a first leg and the second appendage portion  48  can be a second leg. In other embodiments, other appendages of the subject matter animal can be used, such as a tail, a wing, a flipper, etc.  
     [0030] The torso and head portion  44 , the first appendage portion  46  and the second appendage portion  48  are typically printed onto a suitable photographic print media  50 . Typically, the photographic print media  50  containing the images of the three portions  44 ,  46  and  48  is then laminated to a stiff backing material  52 , such as “Capton” polymer manufactured by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, of Wilmington, Del. The backing material  52  can be any backing material suitable for use as time piece hands for being press fit over time piece movement spindles.  
     [0031] After being printed and laminated, the torso and head portion  44 , the first appendage portion  46  and the second appendage portion  48  are cut out using a laser cutting tool  54 . This can be efficiently accomplished using a laser cutting tool  54  by first creating a separate computer file for the photographic image of each portion  44 ,  46  and  48  and then manipulating each such separate file to be “black and white” images only. Such “black and white” images can then be conveniently used as a laser path for the laser cutting tool  54  to follow in the cutting out of the three portions  44 ,  46  and  48 .  
     [0032] The fifth step of the method of the invention is to append the second appendage portion  48  to the hour hand spindle  20  to provide an hour hand  26   a , such that the hour hand  26   a  is disposed in close proximity to the face  14  of the time piece  10 . This provides a first layer in what will become a three-layer image of the subject disposed above the time piece face  14 .  
     [0033] The sixth step of the method of the invention is to append the torso and head portion  44  to the time piece face  14 . This is most conveniently accomplished by attaching a spacer  56  to the time piece face  14  at a location spaced apart from the hour hand spindle  20  and minute hand spindle  18 , and then attaching the torso and head portion  44  to the spacer  56 . The torso and head portion  44  is disposed such that the hour hand  26   a  is sandwiched between the face  14  of the time piece  10  and the torso and head portion  44 . The appending of the hour hand  26   a  and the torso and head portion  44  is accomplished is such a way that the second appendage portion  48  appears to be anatomically correct with respect to the torso and head portion  44 .  
     [0034] The seventh step of the method of the invention is to append the first appendage portion  46  to the minute hand spindle  18  to provide a minute hand  26   b , in such a way that the first appendage portion  46  appears to be anatomically correct with respect to the torso and head portion  44 . In embodiments where the first appendage portion  46  and the second appendage portion  48  depict the two arms of a human being, the hour hand spindle  20  and the minute hand spindle  18  are disposed through the shoulder area of the torso and head portion  44 . In embodiments where the first appendage portion  46  and the second appendage portion  48  depict the two legs of a human being, the hour hand spindle  20  and the minute hand spindle  18  are disposed through the hip area of the torso and head portion  44 .  
     [0035] The minute hand  26   b  is typically disposed above the torso and head portion  44 , such that the torso and head portion  44  is sandwiched between the hour hand  26   a  and the minute hand  26   b . The resulting assemblage provides a three-layer image of the subject disposed above the face  14  of the time piece  10 . This is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6.  
     [0036] The method can further comprise the step of appending a background photographic image (not shown) directly to the face  14  of the time piece  10 .  
     [0037] The method can also further comprise the step of adding a second hand  26   c  or a second indicating disk (not shown) to a second hand spindle  40  on the time piece  10 .  
     [0038] The invention is also the embodiment of the completed time piece  10 , such as is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 5 and  6 . The completed time piece  10  is a unique custom time piece with an anatomically correct subject disposed within a unique three-layer (i.e., three dimensional) look.  
     [0039] In another embodiment of the invention, the invention is a system  60  for selling custom designed time pieces  10 . As illustrated in FIG. 7, the system  60  comprises a computer  32  for (i) receiving and storing in digital form one or more photographs of an animal designated by a customer, and for (ii) digitally altering and parsing the one or more photographs to yield a torso and head portion  44 , a first appendage portion  46  and a second appendage portion  48 . The system  60  further comprises (i) a printer  62  for printing the torso and head portion  44 , the first appendage portion  46  and the second appendage portion  48  onto a photographic print media  50 , (ii) a laser cutting tool  54  for cutting out the printed torso and head portion  44 , the first appendage portion  46  and the second appendage portion  48 , and (iii) a time piece inventory  64  comprising a plurality of time piece blanks, each time piece blank comprising a case  12 , a face  14  and a time keeping mechanism  16  disposed within the case  12 , the time keeping mechanism  16  comprising a minute hand spindle  18  and an hour hand spindle  20 .  
     [0040] The system  60  of the invention can be used to append the torso and head portion  44  to the face  14  of one of the time piece blanks in the time piece inventory  64 , the first appendage portion  46  to the minute hand spindle  18  of the time piece blank and the second appendage portion  48  to the hour hand spindle  20  of the time piece blank to yield a custom designed time piece  10 .  
     [0041] The system can further comprise a digital camera  66  for taking one or more photographs of the animal designated by the customer.  
     [0042] The system can also further comprise a digital scanner  68  for scanning one or more photographs provided by the customer to provide the one or more photographic images  28  in digital form for input into the computer  32 .  
     [0043] The system can further comprise a server  30  adapted to host a Website, the Website comprising instructions regarding how to take the one or more photographs, how to upload those photographs to the server, and how to order and pay for the custom designed time piece  10 .  
     [0044] The invention provides an efficient system and method for making an inexpensive, totally individual, custom-made time piece having a unique three-dimensional appearance. Although the time piece is totally individualized to the customer, the time piece can be efficiently manufactured using the method and the system by a wide variety of customer contact methods, including face-to-face contact, telephone contact, regular mail contact, e-mail contact and contact via an Internet Website.  
     [0045] Having thus described the invention, it should be apparent that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope and fair meaning of the instant invention as set forth hereinabove and as described hereinbelow by the claims.