Sundial
AssigneeHeliosphere Designs, LLC
InventorJoyce Popendorf
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of a sundial. Various embodiments of the sundial disclosed herein may be used to determine the time of day based on the position of the sun. The sundial may comprise an at least substantially spherical curved reflector that may be at least partially transparent and at least partially reflective such that light from the sun can pass through a surface of the reflector and be reflected off of an internal surface of the reflector to reflect an image of the sun from the internal surface. The sundial may further comprise a dial face for viewing of a reflected image of the sun to provide at least an approximate indication of the time based on the position of the reflected image of the sun on the dial face.
Claims20
A sundial comprising:
- an at least substantially spherical curved reflector, wherein the at least substantially spherical curved reflector is at least partially transparent, and wherein the at least substantially spherical curved reflector comprises at least a portion that is at least partially reflective such that light from the sun can pass through a surface of the at least substantially spherical curved reflector and be reflected off of an internal surface of the at least substantially spherical curved reflector to reflect an image of the sun from the internal surface;
- and
- a dial face positioned within the at least substantially spherical curved reflector and comprising a front surface and an opposite rear surface;
- wherein the at least substantially spherical curved reflector and the dial face are rotatable together such that an angle of the dial face with respect to a vertical plane may be adjusted to allow for use of the sundial at a plurality of different locations each having a different latitude;
- and
- wherein the sundial is configured to permit viewing of a reflected image of the sun on the dial face, and to provide at least an approximate indication of the time based on the position of the reflected image of the sun on the dial face.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.