Clock
OwnerJulian E. Rentoninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A children's night and day clock has different appearances during the day and the night. Change is actuated by an alarm mechanism (9) which is linked to mechanically interdependent display elements (54, 56, 58) so that, at a preset time, they undergo a change in their mechanical positional relationship between the expression of night or sleeping time and day or waking time. Push button (18) is depressed to actuate the transition from day to night time. It lowers a lever (16; 116) which is then held in a loaded position against the urging of a spring (22; 122) by means of a latch (24; 180). When the clock reaches the present time, the latch is released and the clock reverts from the night configuration to the day configuration. Thereafter it remains in the day configuration until reset.
Claims7
A clock having a clock mechanism, display means which are displaceable between first and second configurations, in at least one of which they are at least partly visible from the exterior of the clock so that the configurations are visually distinct;
- and means coupling the display means to the clock mechanism so that at a predetermined time the clock mechanism actuates the coupling means whereby it tends to urge the display means from the first to the second configuration;
- wherein said display means tend to remain in the second configuration until the clock is reset, so that the state of the clock after the predetermined time is visually distinct from the state of the clock before the predetermined time on the basis of the configuration of the display means;
- said coupling means comprising an element movable between first and second configurations;
- characterised in that there are urging means urging said element to its second configuration;
- and releasable latching means for retaining the element in its first configuration;
- the latching means being coupled to the clock mechanism so that, at the predetermined time, the latching means releases the element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.