Patent Description:
Time is precious to humans because the former goes by without returning and the latter have only limited life spans. Various timing instruments, therefore, have been developed since antiquity in order to tell time with precision and enable efficient time management.

Water clocks and hourglasses, for example, were used in the distant past to measure time with flowing water or sand. Serving the same purpose back then, sundials exploited the variation of shadow while oil-lamp clocks told time through the amount of the oil burned. Afterward, the modern era saw the development of pendulum clocks, quartz clocks, atomic clocks, and so on, which are either mechanical or electrical to help foster a proper sense of time, urging people to allocate time sensibly and make the best of every moment.

Today, clocks are typically provided with physical pointers, or hands, and a clock face, or dial, printed or engraved with numbers or graduation marks that represent time. Alternatively, a number display may be used. Such number display clock may be implemented by a time display device described in document <CIT>, which includes a laser for emitting a laser beam onto a selected hologram image formation body, wherein said hologram image formation body is configured to reflect the laser beam to generate laser indications in a pre-determined regeneration part to display a number. The manufacture and arrangement of clock components, however, make it difficult to produce a clock with a large dial, and physical clocks of common specifications tend to lack a wow factor in appearance. For people who are constantly in pursuit of modernity and changes, these issues definitely leave room for improvement. The inventor of the present invention, therefore, considered it necessary to design a highly creative clock that can stand out from its ordinary counterparts.

Patent application publication <CIT> discloses an optical clock having the features of the preamble of claim <NUM>.

Further projection devices for the projection of clock hands onto a distant plane are known from patent specification <CIT> and utility model publication <CIT>.

The primary objective of the present invention is to solve the prior art problem that diverse variations of clock sizes can be hard to achieve.

To address the above problem, the present invention provides a laser projection clock having the features of claim <NUM>. Further embodiments are subject-matter of the dependent claims. The laser projection clock according to the invention comprised a driving device, one or a plurality of pointer light source devices, and one or a plurality of gratings. The driving device comprises one or a plurality of rotating shafts and a power element for driving the one or plurality of the rotating shafts to rotate at different speeds respectively. The one or plurality of pointer light source devices is configured on one side of the driving device to each output a laser beam. The one or plurality of gratings is configured on the one or a plurality of rotating shafts in a one-on-one manner in order to be rotated by the one or plurality of rotating shafts respectively. The grating has an indication pattern, and the one or plurality of laser beams are projected to a projection plane through the one or a plurality of indication patterns of the one or plurality of gratings to form one or plurality of laser indications respectively.

Further, the plurality of pointer light source devices tilt toward one side so that the projected laser indications converge at one same point on the projection plane.

Further, the tilt adjustment unit comprises a X-axis fine-tuning unit, a Y-axis fine-tuning unit, and one or a plurality of elastic elements configured opposite, and corresponding to an intermediate position between, the X-axis fine-tuning unit and the Y-axis fine-tuning unit; wherein, the X-axis fine-tuning unit is configured on a first side of the laser output unit, the Y-axis fine-tuning unit is configured on a second side of laser output unit forming an included angle with the first side, and the X-axis fine-tuning unit and the Y-axis fine-tuning unit are configured for pressing the elastic element indirectly and from different sides respectively, so as to adjust the laser output unit.

Further, the X-axis fine-tuning unit comprises a rail with an internally threaded portion and a threaded locking unit threadedly coupled to the internally threaded portion; wherein, the threaded locking unit can be moved along the rail to one end of the rail in order to press the elastic element on the opposite side of the laser output unit and thereby adjust a tilt angle of the laser output unit in the X-axis direction.

Further, the Y-axis fine-tuning unit comprises a rail with an internally threaded portion and a threaded locking unit threadedly coupled to the internally threaded portion; wherein, the threaded locking unit can be moved along the rail to one end of the rail in order to press the elastic element/elements on the opposite side of the laser output unit and thereby adjust a tilt angle of the corresponding laser output unit in the Y-axis direction.

Further, the laser projection clock comprises a dial light source device and a fixed grating configured on one side of the dial light source device; wherein, the laser beam of the dial light source device is projected through the fixed grating to a projection plane on the dial light source device to form a clock dial pattern.

Further, the fixed grating has a plurality of annularly arranged identification patterns; and, the annularly arranged identification patterns comprise words, numbers, or patterns that make up the dial of a clock.

Further, the driving device is one or a plurality of mechanical movements or quartz movements.

Comparing with the conventional techniques, the present invention provides the following advantages:.

The details and technical solution of the present invention are hereunder described with reference to accompanying drawings. For illustrative sake, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale. The accompanying drawings and the scale thereof are restrictive of the present invention.

The technical features of the present invention are described below by way of certain preferred embodiments. To begin with, reference is made to <FIG> and <FIG>, which show partially see-through perspective views of a laser projection clock according to the invention that are taken from different viewing angles respectively.

The present invention discloses a laser projection clock <NUM> as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. The laser projection clock <NUM> comprises a driving device <NUM>, one or a plurality of pointer light source devices <NUM>, and one or a plurality of gratings <NUM>. The laser projection clock <NUM> projects one or a plurality of laser beams L that pass through the gratings <NUM> respectively so that the patterns on the gratings <NUM> can be projected as far as the laser beams L can reach to show the time wherever desired, be it a wall of a building or any other object at an intended location or in an intended space.

The driving device <NUM> comprises one or a plurality of rotating shafts <NUM> and a power element <NUM> for driving the rotating shafts <NUM> to rotate at different speeds respectively. In one preferred embodiment, the rotating shafts <NUM> are configured at the shafts of one or a plurality of gears <NUM> respectively. In cases where a plurality of gears <NUM> are configured, the gears <NUM> mesh with one another and have different gear ratios respectively, and the power element <NUM> rotates the gears <NUM> in such a way that the rotating shafts <NUM> are rotated at different speeds respectively.

In one preferred embodiment, the driving device <NUM> is a mechanical movement and uses a winding mechanism as the power element <NUM> for rotating the gear <NUM>. The mechanical movement further includes an escapement device and a balance wheel hairspring for adjusting the speed so that the rotating shafts <NUM> on gears <NUM> can rotate the gratings <NUM> stably. In another preferred embodiment, the driving device <NUM> is a quartz movement and uses a battery as the power element <NUM> for driving the gear/gears <NUM> into rotation. The quartz movement further includes a quartz oscillator, an integrated circuit board, and a stepper motor with windings. The stepper motor receives signals from the quartz oscillator through the integrated circuit board in order for the rotating shafts <NUM> on the gears <NUM> to rotate the gratings <NUM> stably. Please note that the type and structure of the power element <NUM> for rotating the rotating shafts <NUM> are not limited to those disclosed above. The power element <NUM> may be any device capable of rotating the rotating shafts <NUM> stably.

The pointer light source devices <NUM> are configured on one side of the driving device <NUM> and can each output a laser beam L. The one or plurality of gratings <NUM> are configured on the rotating one or plurality of shafts <NUM> respectively, i.e., in a one-on-one manner, so as to be rotated by the one or plurality of rotating shafts <NUM> respectively. In one preferred embodiment, the gratings <NUM> are diffraction optical elements. In another preferred embodiment, the gratings <NUM> are holograms, which are formed by photography to generate specific wave fields. As a hologram can reproduce complicated interference lines, a laser beam L incident on such a hologram undergoes diffraction.

Referring to <FIG> in conjunction with <FIG> and <FIG>, the laser projection clock <NUM> comprises three pointer light source devices <NUM> and three gratings <NUM> (i.e., gratings 30A~30C) that correspond to the pointer light source devices <NUM> respectively. The gratings 30A~30C are configured for projecting laser indications of the hour, the minute, and the second respectively. It is worth mentioning that the present invention has no limitation on the number of the pointer light source device <NUM> or of the gratings <NUM>. There may instead be two pointer light source device <NUM> and two gratings <NUM> (i.e., gratings 30A and 30B) that correspond to the pointer light source device <NUM> respectively and that are configured for projecting laser indications of the hour and the minute respectively. Moreover, the relationship between the gratings 30A~30C and the hour, the minute, and the second may vary according to design or manufacture requirements; the present invention imposes no limitation in this regard.

Each grating <NUM> has an indication pattern. The laser beam L of each pointer light source device <NUM> passes through the indication pattern of the corresponding grating <NUM> and is eventually projected on a projection plane P (as shown in <FIG>) to form the corresponding laser indication. In a preferred embodiment as shown in <FIG>, the grating 30A has an indication pattern 31A for the hour hand, the grating 30B has an indication pattern 31B for the minute hand, and the grating 30C has an indication pattern 31C for the second hand, wherein all the indication patterns 31A~31C are strip-like. More specifically, the indication pattern 31A is shorter and wider than the indication pattern 31B, and the indication pattern 31C is generally as long as but narrower than the indication pattern 31B. The laser beams L are projected on the projection plane P through the gratings 30A~30C respectively to form laser indications of the hour, the minute, and the second respectively. Please note that the indication patterns 31A~31C in the present invention are not limited to those described above and may be other patterns that differ from one another in length, width, or shape in order for a user to distinguish the plural laser indications projected.

In one preferred embodiment, the projection plane P may be a sticker on a wall, a panel, the cover of an object, or the like in order to provide a physical clock face on which the plural laser indications can be projected. The physical clock face may have words, numbers, or patterns to which the laser indications can respond, thus forming a <NUM>- or <NUM>-hour dial. In another preferred embodiment, the projection plane P may be a virtual dial formed by projecting a light beam to a wall or curtain. Referring back to <FIG>, the laser projection clock <NUM> further comprises a dial light source device <NUM> and a fixed grating <NUM> configured on one side of the dial light source device <NUM>. The laser beam L of the dial light source device <NUM> is projected through the fixed grating <NUM> to a projection plane P on the aforesaid side of the dial light source device <NUM> to form clock dial pattern. Based on practical needs and the arrangement of the space where the laser projection clock <NUM> is used, the dial light source device <NUM> can be selectively turned on to project the clock dial pattern and turned off when projection of the clock dial pattern is not desired.

The fixed grating <NUM> has a plurality of annularly arranged identification patterns <NUM>. The identification patterns <NUM> comprise words, numbers, or patterns that make up pattern or format of the clock dial pattern. In a preferred embodiment as shown in <FIG>, the identification patterns <NUM> include a plurality of circularly arranged Arabic numbers <NUM> that increase clockwise. A strip-like pattern <NUM> is configured on one side of each Arabic number <NUM>, and a plurality of circular dot patterns <NUM> are evenly distributed between each two adjacent strip-like patterns <NUM>. The strip-like patterns <NUM> and the circular dot patterns <NUM> serve as the graduation marks on a clock dial. It is worth mentioning that the identification patterns <NUM> are not limited to the foregoing and may include only words, numbers, or identifiable patterns that enable determination of time.

In a preferred embodiment as shown in <FIG>, each pointer light source device <NUM> comprises a laser output unit <NUM> and a tilt adjustment unit <NUM> configured on one side of the laser output unit <NUM>. Each laser output unit <NUM> is configured for outputting a laser beam L. Each tilt adjustment unit <NUM> is configured for adjusting the output direction of the corresponding laser beam L so that at least one laser indications meet at one end, i.e., all the laser indications converge at one same point on the projection plane P. In another preferred embodiment, the pointer light sources device <NUM> are parallel to the axes of the gratings <NUM>, and the output directions of the laser beams L can be changed by elements capable of light deflection (not shown). Each light-deflecting element may be a lens provided on one side of the corresponding grating <NUM> so that the corresponding laser beam L is deflected after passing through the light-deflecting element and the corresponding grating <NUM>. Or each light-deflecting element may be one or a plurality of mirrors configured on one side of the corresponding grating <NUM> to change the output direction of the corresponding laser beam L.

In another preferred embodiment as shown in <FIG>, each of the plurality of the pointer light source devices <NUM> is tilted toward one side such that the projected laser indications converge at one same point on the projection plane P. Each tilt adjustment unit <NUM> comprises an X-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM>, a Y-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM>, and one or a plurality of elastic elements <NUM> configured opposite, and corresponding to an intermediate position between, the X-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> and the Y-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM>. Each X-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> is configured on a first side of the corresponding laser output unit <NUM> while the corresponding Y-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> is configured on a second side of the corresponding laser output unit <NUM>, wherein the second side forms an included angle with the first side. Each pair of X-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> and Y-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> are configured for pressing the corresponding elastic elements <NUM> indirectly, and from different sides respectively, so as to adjust the corresponding laser output unit <NUM>. In one preferred embodiment, the elastic elements <NUM> are springs or other elements capable of elastic restoration. Please note that the included angle between each pair of X-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> and Y-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> in the present invention is not necessarily <NUM>° as shown in <FIG> and may vary according to design or manufacture requirements; the present invention has no limitation in this regard.

Each X-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> comprises a rail <NUM> with an internally threaded portion and a threaded locking unit <NUM> provided on (or more specifically, threadedly coupled to) the internally threaded portion such that the threaded locking unit <NUM> can be moved along the rail <NUM> to one end of the rail <NUM> in order to press the elastic element <NUM> on the opposite side of the corresponding laser output unit <NUM> and thereby adjust the tilt angle of the corresponding laser output unit <NUM> in the X-axis direction.

Each Y-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> is identical in structure to the corresponding X-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> and is different from the corresponding X-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> only in the direction in which it is provided. Each Y-axis fine-tuning unit <NUM> comprises a rail <NUM> with an internally threaded portion and a threaded locking unit <NUM> provided on (or more specifically, threadedly coupled to) the internally threaded portion such that the threaded locking unit <NUM> can be moved along the rail <NUM> to one end of the rail <NUM> in order to press the elastic element <NUM> on the opposite side of the corresponding laser output unit <NUM> and thereby adjust the tilt angle of the corresponding laser output unit <NUM> in the Y-axis direction.

The driving device <NUM>, pointer light sources device <NUM>, and dial light source device <NUM> in the present invention further have power supply wires (not shown) electrically connected to a power supply in order to be powered for operation.

The laser projection clock of the present invention can be implemented in various ways, two of which are described below with reference to <FIG> as two preferred embodiments. It is understood, however, that implementation of the present invention is by no means limited to the following embodiments.

As shown in <FIG>, the laser beams L of a plurality of pointer light source devices <NUM> pass through their respective gratings <NUM> (i.e., gratings 30A~30C) and are adjusted in output angle by their respective tilt adjustment units <NUM> such that the resulting laser indications (i.e., the hour hand H1, the minute hand H2, and the second hand H3) are projected on three projection planes P1~P3 respectively. The projection planes P1~P3 lie on one side of the laser projection clock, are arranged from left to right, and have words, numbers, or graduations that indicate the hours, the minutes, and the seconds respectively, allowing the time to be read from the laser indications on the projection planes P1~P3. It should be pointed out that the arrangement of the projection planes P1~P3 is not limited to that described above and may be vertical, annular, or otherwise instead. Furthermore, the projection planes P1~P3 may be physical clock faces, virtual clock faces, or a combination of both; the present invention imposes no limitation on how the projection planes P1~P3 are implemented.

Claim 1:
A laser projection clock (<NUM>), comprising:
a driving device (<NUM>) comprising a plurality of rotating shafts (<NUM>) and a power element (<NUM>) for driving the plurality of rotating shafts (<NUM>) to rotate at different speeds respectively, wherein each of the rotating shafts (<NUM>) has a rotation axis, and the rotation axes are separated from each other;
characterised by
a plurality of pointer light source devices (<NUM>) configured on one side of the driving device (<NUM>) to each output a laser beam (L), wherein the pointer light source device (<NUM>) comprises a laser output unit (<NUM>) and a tilt adjustment unit (<NUM>) configured on one side of the laser output unit (<NUM>), an output direction of each laser beam (L) being adjustable; and
a plurality of diffraction optical elements or holograms (<NUM>, 30A, 30B, 30C) configured on the plurality of rotating shafts (<NUM>) in a one-on-one manner in order to be rotated by the plurality of rotating shafts (<NUM>) respectively, wherein each of said diffraction optical element or hologram (<NUM>, 30A, 30B, 30C) has an indication pattern (31A, 31B, 31C), and the plurality of laser beams (L) are projected to a corresponding projection plane (P, P1, P2, P3) by passing through the plurality of indication patterns (31A, 31B, 31C) of the plurality of diffraction optical elements or holograms (30A, 30B, 30C) to form a plurality of laser indications (H1, H2, H3) respectively.