ITTO940639A1 - ANALOGUE CLOCK. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an analog clock with 12-hour or 24-hour dial or both. On the 24-hour dial, 12 o'clock is in the center of the upper part of the main dial and the 24 o'clock position at 180 ° at the bottom. On the 24-hour dial the gems are highlighted graphically or with colors or with the use of metals or colored materials, compressed in the upper part a light sector that defines the day and in the lower part a dark sector that defines the night. On the right and left of the dial, two sectors are highlighted with the same techniques and materials that indicate the progressive transition from shadow to light and vice versa. On the 12-hour dial the aforementioned areas are highlighted in a similar way (Figure 1).

Description

DESCRIPTION of the industrial invention entitled: "Analog clock"

DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to analogue clocks with hands of all kinds, such as wrist, pocket, wall, table, etc.

Watches, chronographs, etc., mechanical or quartz, of the analog type with hands, can be of simple or extremely complex construction, even with functions added to those of time measurement, for example slide rule functions, calculations for the air navigation, compass navigation, etc.

After more than 500 years of evolution and progress in construction, the watch has reached very high levels of sophistication and precision, but it maintains a generalized setting error that makes the implementation of some functions more difficult and more expensive and that prevents the watch to be a tool of easy and immediate reading with information that goes beyond the indication of the time and the more or less complex systems for measuring time, its fractions, etc .; information that allows the user to feel involved in the movements of the Earth and the Universe and correspond to his deep and atavistic needs and sensations.

When the first clocks were designed, for reasons most likely related to the sense of writing, after having written the first hour of the day at a starting point, the second was written to the right of the first and so on. In writing, letters and numbers proceed from left to right in a straight line to continue to the next line. In an analog clock the path takes place on 360 degrees and then returns to the point of origin with the hour 24. The same "mistake" on the other hand, the people who write and read from right to left would have made in designing the clock. with the same result, namely the return to the top of the last hour, 24 o'clock.

Whether the reason is this or another, for example the fact that in the sundials the noon is projected downwards, the existing watches with a 24-hour dial have at the top, in the center of the dial, the 24 hour and in the lower center the now 12.

It is not excluded that the widespread adoption of watches with a 12-hour dial (the 24-hour dial is rarely used) has served to make this common setting "error" more acceptable.

In ancient times, humanity had in the Sun the main reference for measuring time and the peak of the day was the Sun at Zenith, the middle of the day. Noon. Not midnight as clocks mark.

In encyclopedias the term meridian generally means a direction towards the South or towards the position of the Sun at noon and the Greenwich meridian, the large circle that passes through the Greenwich Observatory and the two poles, is the departure from which the terrestrial longitudes are recognized. Traveling east (European continent) one hour is added every 15 °. Moving westward from Greenwich, you need to take one hour away.

Examine a first consequence of having positioned 24 o'clock at the top of the dial in watches that compute a day with one complete turn of the hour hand. The 24 hours and around, anytime and anywhere on the planet, indicate that it is night.

With this generalized constructive approach it is therefore impossible to indicate in a fixed way on the dial the positions of the day and night because they would be inverted, therefore unusable for the user, with the day below and the night at the top of the dial. Even the longest habit makes it difficult to accept this nonsense. If you want to indicate day and night, you should indicate the light and shadow areas with a circular crown and rotate it counterclockwise or at least add a two-color dial and a hand, with an obvious complication of the instrument and an increase in costs.

Let's examine a second consequence which translates into severe constraints both in reading the instrument and in constructing it.

The time measurement system is based on the rotation of the Earth around the sun and around its axis. To make a 360 ° rotation around its axis, the planet takes 24 hours (actually 23 hours, 56 minutes and 41 seconds with correction in leap years) and therefore everything should work without problems in the relationship between Earth and clock except that Earth and clock are out of phase with each other by 180 ° or meridians if you prefer. Various contrasts regarding the application of Greenwich mean time - G.M.T. - versus Greenwich mean astronomical time - G.M.A.T. - have increased rather than reduced confusion.

Be that as it may, if the 24 hour is set high, it means that the day ends right there. Then change the date and start a new day that increases by an hour every 15 ° going east, thus arriving at 12 o'clock in the center below. This in the watch. For the Earth, however, the international convention of standard time has defined the change of date at 180 ° of the Greenwich meridian, therefore in the time band where Aukland and Wellington are: and here is inverted (in the clocks) the position of the meridians from East longitude to West and vice versa! So with the top becoming below the right becomes left in the clocks as well.

For these reasons, as we approach the global village, with the media informing us of distant cultures and lands with increasing frequency and economic operators intensifying their business all over the world, the psychological distress we always feel when we have to do remains. to know what time it is, even approximately, in another city or part of the World, whether it is night or day, evening or morning.

This discomfort obviously subsides but it does not abandon even those who often travel through meridians and parallels: who, perhaps, have wondered why in airports and large hotels there is no clock that indicates the time in all the main cities of the World (perhaps with tags that can be moved to adapt to the legal hours in force), but as many watches and tags as there are cities of reference.

Manufacturers have addressed the problem in watches for personal use by proposing different solutions with either a second or third central hour hand for different time zones referring to a 24-hour dial, or with a second 24-hour time zone on a small dial with a single hand in an open window on the dial, and with other very elaborate and expensive mechanisms. While watches of the first type provide the personal reference time and the time corresponding to another city or pair of predefined cities, those of the second type provide GMT time for multiple cities. With the current convention, considerable constructional difficulties must be overcome because a 24-hour crown must be inserted into the dial that rotates counterclockwise inside a 12-hour clock referring to a fixed external circular bezel, where the names of the cities are reported. , or a fixed 24-hour crown, with a second hour hand and an outer bezel that rotates and is positioned by hand at the time indicated by the time zone hand.

As for watches with a 12-hour dial, in which the hour hand makes two 360 ° turns for the 24 hours of a day, the impression one gets by observing the market and the technique is that their direct derivation from the "wrong" "24-hour dial watches have conditioned and limited their development and legibility. There is also the suspicion that their absolute numerical and percentage preponderance in relation to watches with a 24-hour dial is precisely a consequence of the fact that they are "felt" less wrong because they are only one turn every two.

The above has examined the relationships between the Earth, the Sun and the clock and highlighted the generalized error in the time measuring instrument which has been consolidated over centuries of construction activity. But if the relationship between clock, Earth and Sun is wrong, even that between clock and Moon leaves something to be desired.

The moon phases inserted in the dial of more complicated and relatively more expensive watches are, for example, only an approximate and incorrect schematization of the same, except in the initial and terminal phases of the new and full moon cycles.

The Moon in reality shows itself to us in the distinct and successive phases of: New Moon, which is invisible; then a sickle lit on the right; internal radius of the sickle which increases until it becomes the diameter of the Moon in the first quarter which divides the already illuminated part from the right from the one still obscured; opposed ray that progressively decreases discovering more and more illuminated surface in the phases of the humped Moon; and finally full Moon with beginning of the inverse cycle of return to the next new Moon. Of all this complicated and significant sequence, the moon phase indicators of the watches show us only arcs of circles that move to the right until they discover the Moon, and then cover it up to hide it.

Not to mention the fact that (a possible solution being subsequently clarified) the moon phase indicator is positioned in the dial a little where it happens, the only rule being an orderly arrangement of the functions of the watch on the dial and its aesthetics. together.

In a sector where production has existed for over 500 years, the description of the state of the art does not claim to affirm - nor could it do so - that occasionally watches or proto-watches with partial solutions close to those of the present invention, even if not seen in their organic and consequential whole.

Nor to exclude that this can happen nowadays in special watches in which certain settings, principles or parts are used for specialized functions or even in watches in line with the traditional design that use not too different solutions for particular and partial purposes, without inserting them, understand and use them in their logical context and then added to the existing one only to solve a limited problem of readability of the instrument or other.

But when 99.9% of the products of an industrial sector respond as a general approach to the same basic project for tens or hundreds of years and nothing appears modified or destined to change even in the most recent creations and in the immediate future, it seems legitimate to conclude that that is the current state of the art.

The purpose of the present invention is to: a) Help correct the generalized error of the convention universally used for the construction of analogue hand clocks with mechanical or quartz movement for wrist, wall, table, etc., with the proposal of a different, more rational and logical convention, but assuming that the principle on which this convention is based is already, in some way, known and therefore focusing attention and claims on identification in a fixed way on the quadrant of the day and without affecting the central area of the same, of the night and of the gradual transition phases of brightness between them, a characterization apparently minor but in reality of great importance because it is the obligatory step to be able to design a new generation of watches that are more complete and more legible than the current ones.

b) To identify, within the new convention, solutions and indications that make the consultation of the watch easier, more immediate and more complete, with the addition of information that does not exist today or can only be obtained with expensive and approximate technical solutions.

c) Making certain clock functions more rational and constructively cheaper.

According to the invention, these objects are achieved by means of a watch having one or more of the characteristics defined in the claims.

In the figures of the annexed drawings, embodiments with circular dials have been represented but it is understood that the invention is applicable to watches with dials of any shape or in small dials included in a main dial.

The advantages of the invention will be clarified by reading the following description, made with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figures 1 and 2 are front views of the same watch with a 24-hour dial, shown in two different situations of use,

Figure 3 is a front view similar to those of Figures 1 and 2, of a clock with a 12-hour dial,

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are similar front views of other embodiments of a watch according to the invention,

Figure 7 is an enlarged schematic section with increased thicknesses, along the line VII-VII of Figure 1, which illustrates a gear train for controlling a moon phase indicator according to a first embodiment,

Figure 8 is a partially schematic diametrical section along the line VIII-VIXI of Figure 4, illustrating another embodiment of a moon phase indicator,

figure 9 is a plan view of the same mechanism, according to arrow IX of figure 8, and with certain parts shown for transparency, figure 10 is a plan view similar to that of figure 9, which illustrates a variant of the indicator of the moon phases of figures 8 and 9, e

Figures 11 to 15 are front views of a quadrant change system.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a 24-hour clock comprises a dial 10 on which an hour hand 12a, a minute hand 14 and a second hand 16 rotate.

The watch may include a second hour hand 12b which may be positioned to indicate a second time zone.

The hour hands make one revolution in 24 hours.

The quadrant 10 is divided, among other things, into a peripheral annular band 18 and a central circular area 20.

The 24 hours are reported on the peripheral band 18. The central circular zone 20 is divided into twenty-four parts with twenty-four lines every 15 ° which also represent twenty-four hour hands, with the possibility of a further intermediate subdivision of 7.5 ° which identifies the half hours, as seen for example in figures 1 and 2 for the line on which the city of New Dehli is located.

The clock in Figures 1 and 2 has the Sun as a fixed central reference point at 12, noon, whether or not the symbol of the Sun is shown on the dial 10.

The upper part 22 of the peripheral band 18, near 12 o'clock, is graphically represented with a light color, for example yellow, as a period of certain light, while the lower part 24, near 24 hours, is graphically represented as a period of darkness with a dark color, for example dark blue.

The dial shows 12 noon at the top (reference 22a), and midnight at midnight at the bottom (reference 24a).

It is known that at the equator day and night, light part dark part, are the same, with transition phases between sunrise and sunset of short duration. But even at the equator it seems an intolerable approximation to represent two sectors on the clock, the high light one, the low dark one, of equal width and without indicating the progressive passages from day to night. At other latitudes and with the changing seasons, the hours of the day and night lengthen and shorten and the transition phases become longer. To the right and left of the clock are identified the transition zones 26, 28 respectively from night to day and from day to night. For example, the transition zones 26, 28 can be of violet-red-orange shaded colors. On the left side of the clock the aurora and the Sun are identified, which being at the center of the clock at the top is located to the right, to the East, while on the right side the sunset is identified, with the Sun to the left, to the West.

For an easy intuitive distinction of day and night hours, the clear circular sector 22 that defines the day must extend at least 15 ° to the right and 15 ° to the left (i.e. one hour on each side, two in total) from the center of the quadrant where they are located. 12 noon; correspondingly, the dark circular sector 24 which defines the night must extend by at least 15 ° to the right and 15 ° to the left of the center of the quadrant where midnight is located; the transition sectors 26, 28 must extend for at least 15 ° - 1 hour - to separate the two light and dark sectors at sunrise and sunset.

The different sectors 22, 24, 26, 28 can be graphically identified with the absence of hatching and more or less dense hatching or with a different surface finish of a material, or simply colored or, in the most precious watches, be distinguished by more or less metals precious or colored gems.

As will be understood, in the clock of Figures 1 and 2 there is no phase shift between the rotation of the Earth and the rotation of the hands around the respective axes. The Earth and the hands have the same starting point referred to in Greenwich and turn in the same direction, making it easy and cheap to build watches with the time of the world as well as making them easy and immediate to read.

The solution consisting in pictorial indication of the hours of day and night in a differentiated way, without indicating the transition phases, is already known in certain clocks called "World Hours", but these pictorial indications are not fixed on the main dial, but are shown on a 24-hour crown that turns counter-clockwise. In other watches the same indications are shown on a small dial served by a special hand inserted in the main dial.

Again referring to figures 1 and 2, placing the wearer of the watch on the right meridian or time band and therefore on his time, he will have to the right of the hand on the dial the hours and therefore all the meridians to follow in a clockwise direction that are on the Earth to his right until the 180th degree below him, followed by the 180th degree until he returns to his meridian.

In the central circular zone 20 there are traced, with color or engraving or other, indicator lines 20a which represent the subdivision of the circle by 15 ° into 15 °. Above these lines, in figures 1 and 2, the names of the main cities of the world are written, from the center towards the outside of the clock.

Preferably, the central zone 20 is constituted by a central rotatable disk together with the hour hand 12.

Also preferably, the relative angular position of the hour hand 12a and of the central disc 20 can be adjusted according to the location where the wearer of the watch is located.

Also preferably, the rotating disc is keyed directly onto the hour tube and the twenty-four lines traced on the disc are so many hour hands whose reference point the user chooses.

Thus, the hour hand, which is neutral with respect to the movement of the watch, can be positioned on the disk intended to drag it with a separate command from the outside by means of a different position of the crown or by a different crown or button (not represented ) or similar, either on the reference time line to improve readability * or on another line, as a separate time zone.

For these purposes, the hand 12a can be of such a shape (not shown) as to cover the inscription of the city or place of reference, whether it is used on the reference line, which is in any case known to the user, or whether it is used as a second time zone. for a city or reference place of particular interest to the user.

Alternatively, the central disc 20 can be idle and free around its axis, and not controlled from the outside, but only by the hour hand 12 itself, which will be operated and fixed to the disc itself with an external command.

Thanks to these precautions, the user of the watch will immediately know at what time of day or night another location in the world is located, with the great advantage of not having to meditate for long before knowing, for example, if he can telephone. in this other location to find someone in the office or not to wake them up in the middle of the night.

In Figure 1 the user is in London and has correspondingly set the disc 20. The clock strikes 8.10 in the morning. He can immediately know that it is after midnight in Los Angeles and perhaps his interlocutor will be asleep, that in Tokyo it is just after 5pm and his interlocutor will still be in the office, and so on.

In figure 21 the user is in Los Angeles at 8.10 am and immediately knows that he cannot disturb his interlocutor in Noumea at past three in the morning, while he can safely call his interlocutor in Abu Dhabi at dinner time, and so on.

According to an alternative, not shown, the sectors such as 22, 24, 26, 28, indicating day and night, sunrise and sunset, as well as all the fixed indications of the dial, hours, minutes, functions, brand of the The clock, etc., could be placed on a transparent fixed disk, made of glass or plastic material, placed between the rotating disk 20 and the protective glass of the clock. The central pin and the sleeves of the hour, minute, second and any other special purpose hands will pass through this hard disk.

The watch may also be equipped with a moon phase indicator, designated 30 in figures 1 and 2. This indicator 30 may be of the type in which a disk 32, with the full Moon drawn, rotates clockwise and appears and disappears. in a semicircular opening 34 of the dial.

A drive wheel on disk 32 is illustrated in FIG. 7 with reference to which it will be described later.

Alternatively, the moon phase indicator of the clock in figures 1 and 2 can be of one of the types illustrated in figures 8, 9 and 10 and which will be described later.

Reference will now be made to Figure 3 to describe a 12-hour clock based on the same principles of the invention.

The clock of Figure 3 comprises, in the usual manner, a dial 110 on which an hour hand 112, a minute hand 114 and a second hand 116 rotate.

As usual, the 112 hour hand completes one revolution in 12 hours.

The quadrant 110 is divided, among other things, into a peripheral annular band 118 and a central circular area 120.

The 12 hours of the half day are reported in an annular area radially internal to the peripheral belt 118.

The peripheral annular band 118 shows the areas of light, darkness and penumbra with colors or other means as described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

Also in the case of figure 3 the clock has the Sun as a fixed central reference point at 12 o'clock, on the light sector that indicates the light of day, whether or not the symbol of the Sun is shown on the 110 dial. Sole are indicated with the reference 122a.

Band 118 is divided into two zones, one light 122, indicating the day, the other dark 124, indicating the night. In the upper part of the quadrant, these two areas are side by side and concentric for at least 30 ° to the right and 30 ° to the left (i.e. one hour on each side, two in total).

In the lower part of the dial, the two light-colored and 124 dark-colored zones intertwine in the manner of Greek, as indicated, respectively, with 122b and 124b, to represent the possibility of a more or less long duration of the day and night and the light transition zones at sunrise and sunset.

In this case, the user is required to have a greater reading experience to distinguish daytime from nighttime hours in the areas of possible light variability that include sunrises and sunsets, but this is facilitated by the practical differentiation between the upper and lower parts of the 118 range. .

Also in the case of figure 3 on the central area 120 the radial indicators of the hour 120a are highlighted, and in the example represented the main cities of the world are shown according to their longitudes straddling said indicators.

The main GMT reference line, which refers to London-Auckland, is preferably thicker, as shown, than the other eleven lines.

Preferably, the central zone 120 is constituted by a disk which can be made integral in rotation with the hour hand 112.

Preferably, the central disc 120 is keyed directly onto the hour tube, while the hand 112 is idle and is positioned on the disc intended to drive it with a separate command from the outside of the case by means of a different axial position of the crown or by a different one. crown 0 button (not shown) or similar.

In figure 3 it is assumed that the user is in Bangkok at 10.09 in the morning. He will not have to resort to his school memories of longitudes, nor to know where the cities along the meridians are to know the time.

In the example of Figure 3 all the cities and time zones East Longitude of Greenwich-London, GMT time, are located on one side of the radial hour markers 120a and written from the center of the clock outwards, while the cities and West longitudinal time zones are shown on the other side of the markers and are written from the outside of the clock towards the center.

The user is in Bangkok and the local time is 10.10 AM. You want to know the time in Cairo that the index indicates at 5.10, which is also the time in Honolulu: AM or PM?

Bangkok and Cairo are located on the east longitude zones, but the user is not required to remember this. But these cities are written on the dial from the center outwards, and this is evident. As is evident the position of the thickened indicator located at 3 o'clock in Figure 3.

All cities spelled the same way clockwise after this marker are still AM. Cairo is then at 5.10 AM, five hours earlier, Sydney which is already past the 12 noon symbol is already at 1 PM; 3 hours later. Honolulu is obviously at 5.10 PM because all cities opposite the same indicator have an inverse symbol.

The user is in New York and the local time is 10.10 PM. He wants to know the Dubai time he sees with Los Angeles at 7.10. The two cities belong to different hemispheres and are written opposite. They are beyond the reinforced indicator and beyond the 12 symbol which represents midday for Dubai and midnight or change of date for Los Angeles. Los Angeles is then at 7.10 PM, 3 hours earlier and Dubai at 7.10 AM the next day.

Alternatively, the cities belonging to the two hemispheres East and West can be written in different colors, different fonts, etc. ..

Reference 130 designates a moon phase indicator which can be realized in one of the ways which will be described later with reference to Figures 7 to 10.

Figure 4 illustrates a 12-24 hour clock according to the invention.

In this case the watch comprises a dial 210 on which two hour hands 212a, 212b, a minute hand 214 and a second hand 216 rotate. A third hand 212c may be positioned for a second or third time zone depending on how hand 212b is used.

The clock in Figure 4 is distinctive because it has both 12 o'clock indexes or corresponding symbols at the top as indicated in 222a.

The dial also includes a date window D located in an exact position, i.e. at 24 o'clock, at the bottom, where the date change is located.

The quadrant 210 is divided, among other things, into concentric peripheral annular bands outside 218a and inside 218b, and in a central circular area 220.

The 212a hour hand makes one revolution in the 12 hours and the outer ring band shows the twelve hours of the half day on 360 °.

The innermost annular band shows the 24 hours of the day on 360 °, also in this case with noon, and possibly the symbol of the Sun, at the top, in the position indicated with 222a.

The position of the two annular bands can be reversed.

The sectors of the inner band 218b are colored differently or are differentiated in another way, as in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, and are indicated with corresponding reference numbers, increased by 200 (222, 224, 226, 228 ). For their description, see the embodiment of figures 1 and 2.

Also in the embodiment of Figure 4, the central zone 220 is advantageously constituted by a rotating disk keyed onto the hour tube, with which the idle hand 212b can be made integral in rotation in the desired position.

Twenty-four lines are drawn on the central rotating circular zone 20, one every 15 °, which also represent twenty-four hour hands positioned on 24 different reference cities, which are written on said lines. The presence of the 12-hour dial served by the 220a hour hand and 214 minute hand does not make the 212b hour hand indispensable, as the user who is in London does not need a second hand to know if it is 10.10 am in London. and it is evening, that of the twenty-four reference lines that bears the inscription London and is pointed towards 10 pm is correct, as are the hours indicated for the other cities of the world. In special cases there may also be divisions at 7.5 ° or half hours by cities in India, Pakistan and the Far East. The 12 hour hand 212a and the rotating disc 220 keyed onto the 24 hour head are both dependent on the same gear train and move together in a 2: 1 ratio.

The clock setting is then done by positioning not only the 12-hour hand on the reference time, but the disc with the exact time from 1 to 24 correctly indicating the same time on the 24-hour ring.

The user can at his choice position the neutral hand 212b, which is controlled by a different position of the crown or by a separate crown or a button (not shown), or the like, on the reference line to increase readability, but also to his choice to position it to indicate a second time zone. An independent third hour hand 212c, controlled by the clock mechanisms, can be added to indicate a further time zone.

On the central disc 220 a circumference 229 representing the Equator is traced.All cities located in the northern hemisphere are written from the center towards this line of the Equator and outwards, while those located in the southern hemisphere are written from the periphery of the disk towards the equator line and towards the clock axis.

The advances of a summer hour in the two hemispheres are thus remembered and distinguished from each other and this helps the user to know the exact local time of the cities at any time of the year. For example, the standard GMT time in Sao Paulo is 3 hours earlier than London time, but when it is summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere, the difference rises to 5 hours.

230 designates a moon phase indicator which can be realized with one of the systems illustrated in Figures 8 to 10, with reference to which it will be described later, or also with a system similar to that illustrated in Figure 7.

In a variant not shown without a central disc with indication of the cities, the 12-hour indexes with the relative hand can be positioned in a distinct and separate way inside or outside the 24-hour markers. In this case, the two hands can be positioned separately, but are moved in operation with a 1: 2 ratio by the same gear train and with the same axis and direction of clockwise rotation. Thus, when the 24 hour hand is not used for a second time zone, but is used to better specify the local time AM or PM, the two hands coincide and overlap once a day at 12 noon.

Figure 5 shows another 24-hour clock according to the invention.

Parts similar to those of Figure 4 are designated by corresponding reference numbers, preceded by the first digit 3.

In this case the watch comprises a dial 310 on which turn an hour hand 312a, a second hour hand 312b for a second time zone, a minute hand 314 and a second hand 317.

On the dial there is an annular band 318 within which the 24 hours are indicated and 12 noon are indicated at the top (reference 322a) and at the bottom 24 hours, midnight (reference 324a).

The clock in figure 5 has the Sun as a fixed central reference point at 12 noon, whether or not the symbol of the Sun is shown on the dial 310.

The upper part 322 of the peripheral belt 318 near 6 pm is represented graphically or with a light color, for example yellow, as a period of certain light, while the lower part 324 near 24 hours, midnight and change of date, is represented graphically as a period of darkness with a dark color, for example, dark blue.

To the right and to the left of the clock are identified the zones 326, 328 of transaction respectively from night to day, sunrise, and from day to night, sunset. For example, the transition zones can be of a violet-red-orange gradient color or with a hatching that becomes less dense as it rises towards the light part 322.

As for the embodiments of the previous figures, the annular band 318 can be identified by hatching, different surface finishes of the materials, color, metals or gems, for all 360 ° or part of them, but to be indicative it will include at least two hours in parts 322 and 324 where the indices 12 and 24 are found, and at least one hour in the transition phases where the indices 6 and 18 or other selected ones are found.

The central rotating disc is replaced in this execution by an outer bezel 320 which rotates on the watch case and is operable by hand. On this bezel, the cities of the world are shown on 360 °, every 15 °, or even every 7.5 ° for cities or reference places that in the universal GMT system are positioned on half an hour such as India, Pakistan and countries of the 'Far East.

The user simply has to move the external bezel 320 in correspondence with the time of the reference city to know the time of all the cities inscribed on the bezel.

The 312b hour hand for the second time zone will mark the exact time in the chosen city. The line under the cities, for example under Sào Paulo, indicates that it is located in the southern hemisphere or southern hemisphere and this information is important to indicate the summer variations of the summer time for the "daylight saving time" and for the hour change ratings in relation to cities located in the northern or northern hemisphere.

Finally, figure 6 shows a 12 and 24 hour clock with a hand-rotating bezel.

Parts similar to those of Figures 4 and 5 are designated with corresponding reference numbers, preceded by the first digit 4.

On a dial 410 there are the 412a hour hand which moves with reference to the 12 hour dial and then to the 418a band, the 412b hour hand for a second time zone on the 24 hour ring, the 414 minute hand and the 416 Seconds Hand.

The figure is characteristic in that both quadrants have index 12 at the top center as indicated in 422a.

The 24-hour annular band 418b is characterized by a differentiated color or in another way as in the embodiments of the other figures, and these sectors are indicated by the reference numbers 422, 424, 426 and 428.

The center of the dial is fixed and can therefore be used for the watch brand and other inscriptions, while cities or landmarks arranged on time zones are inscribed on the 420 outer bezel which must be operated by hand.

On the bezel the names of cities or places of reference are shown every 15 ° and where necessary also every 7.5 °.

The user does not really need anything other than the 12-hour hand 412a to identify and correctly position the rotating bezel at the time indicated on the 24-hour dial in the 418b band, because being in the city of reference, he knows if the time read on the 12-hour dial is AM or PM.

When the bezel is correctly positioned he will know the time of all the cities written on the dial.

The independent hand 412b of the 24 hours will thus be able to serve the second time zone.

In Figure 6, cities in the southern hemisphere are highlighted with a line above the city name, such as Sao Paulo.

According to an embodiment not shown, the external bezel that can be moved by hand can be replaced by a disc external to the hour dials and rotated by the clock mechanisms, making manual movement unnecessary.

Three forms of implementation of moon phase indicators will now be described, which are applicable to all watches according to the invention and which are of such size as to be contained in the watch case.

A first embodiment is shown, as presented externally, in Figures 1 to 3 and will now be described with reference to Figure 7.

Referring to Figure 7, in a 24 hour clock the disk 32 of the Moon of Figures 1 and 2 is mounted on a pin 36 together with a toothed wheel 38 with 30 teeth. The wheel 38 engages a toothed wheel 39, with the same number of teeth, for reversing the motion. The rotating disc 20 carries a peripheral pin or tooth 40 which at each revolution, corresponding to 24 hours, meshes with the inversion wheel 39 and makes the wheel 38 rotate by 1/30 of a turn, and after 30 turns of the rotating disc 20 - that is, thirty days - the synodic month of 29.53 days plus a fraction of the new phase of the cycle will have been completed, and after 59 revolutions, two exact lunations.

When applied to a 12-hour clock such as that of Figure 3, the toothed wheel corresponding to the wheel 38 of Figure 7 will have 59 teeth and will be moved twice a day by a pin or tooth similar to that indicated with 40 in the same Figure 7 and carried by the rotating disk 120 of Figure 3.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate a second embodiment, visible in Figure 4 as it appears externally.

Referring to Figure 4, a sphere 42 representing the Moon is visible through a hole 44 in the peripheral annular band 218.

The sphere 42 is half light, for example of an opalescent material, and half dark, preferably with a slightly indented parting line.

Referring to Figures 8 and 9, the sphere 42 is keyed onto a diametrical shaft 46 which extends in the plane of separation of the light and dark hemispheres.

The shaft 46 is supported by bushings 48 and is made to rotate by a return wheel at 90 °, in particular a pair of conical sprockets 50. The input sprocket of this gear train is integral in rotation with a toothed wheel 52, similar to the wheel 39 of Figure 7. The wheel 52 takes its motion from a peripheral pin or tooth 54 which, in the 12-hour clock of Figure 4 is carried by the rotating disc 220, similarly to the disc 20 of Figure 7.

In this case the pin 54 of the disc 220 meshes with the wheel 52 at each revolution, corresponding to 12 hours. Thus, in 59 turns and fractions of the disc 220 the ball is made to complete a complete rotation of 29.53 days, equal to lunar cycle.

Figure 10 illustrates a variant of the embodiment of Figures 8 and 9.

Referring to Figure 10, through a hole such as that indicated at 44 in Figure 4 a sphere 60 or a fixed hemisphere of light and opalescent color is visible.

The ball 60 is held firm and supported on a support (not shown) by a pin 62, square example, axially perforated and within which a shaft 64 integral with and fixed to two polar bushings of a dark half-shell 66 of such internal diameter is rotated. to allow its rotation around the sphere 60. The half-shell 66 is operated in its rotation of 360 ° around the sphere - thus showing the phases of the moon with precision - by a pair of conical reels 68 of which the output one is integral with the shaft 64. The bevel gear 68 takes motion, directly or by means of a toothed wheel 70, from the peripheral pin or tooth 54 of the rotating disc 220.

Since each revolution of the clock corresponds to the displacement of one step of the toothed wheel 70, if this has 30 teeth after 29 days it will have rotated the shell by 29 positions and the pin 54 will be halfway (about 12 hours), from a new interference and after 30 days he will have completed a lunation in the synodic month of 29.53 days plus 0.47 days of a new cycle.

In both the embodiments of figures 8 and 9 and of figure 10, in the spherical presentation a magnifying glass (not shown) can be associated, similar to that of the calendar clocks' daters, to amplify the image of the Moon .

When there is no rotating disk 20, 120, 220, the rotation of the sphere 42 or of the half-shell 66 can be obtained in various ways, according to the type of caliber used, by other gears of the watch. Reference will now be made to figures 11 to 15 to describe an advantageous feature, applicable to embodiments of the invention which have a central rotating disk or crown such as those of figures 1 to 4.

Figure 11 illustrates by way of example a first thin central rotating disc 80 which corresponds to the rotating disc 20 of Figures 1 and 2.

The first disc 80 has a radial cut 82 which extends from the periphery towards the center and ends in a slot 84 in the form of a partial ring.

From the opposite ends of the annular slot 84 extends up to the center of the disc an appendage 86 which acts as a hub with a hole 88 for coupling to a central control pin or sleeve.

Figure 12 illustrates a second thin rotatable disc 90 which, as will be seen, is coupled to the first disc 80.

The second disc 90, similarly to the first, has a radial cut 92 extending from the periphery towards the center and ending in a slot 94 in the shape of a partial ring.

The slot 94 extends from the side of the cut 92 opposite that from which the slot 84 extends from the cut 92.

In this case too, an appendage 96 extends from the opposite ends of the annular slot 94 and acts as a hub with a hole 98 for coupling to a central control pin or sleeve other than that to which the first disc 70 is coupled.

In Figure 13 the two discs 80 and 90 are coupled. The first disk 80 covers practically the whole of the second disk 90, a small sector 90a of which protrudes on the first disk 80 through the slot 82.

The first disc 80 has a notch 100 which opens into the slot 82 and in which, in the condition of Figure 13, a small projection 102 is engaged to prevent the second disc 90 from disappearing completely under the first disc 80.

In these conditions, the face of the clock looks like that of figures 1 and 2, indicating for example the main cities of the world.

The second disc 90 has the function of covering the first disc 80 to change the appearance or a function of the clock.

For this purpose, the pin or sleeve coupled to the second disk 80 can be made to rotate by the user by means of a crown or other control (not shown) which is located on the outside of the watch case. Thus, the second disc can be neutral or carry different decorations or supplementary writings, such as for example famous holiday resorts, major Formula 1 racing venues or other sporting events, etc.

To cover the first disc 80 with the second disc 90, the latter is rotated clockwise starting from the outer crown or the like.

The second disc 90 then slides over the first as evidenced by an intermediate position thereof in Figure 14.

Figure 15 illustrates the condition in which the second disk 90 substantially covers the first disk 80, leaving a small sector 80a uncovered. This is to prevent the first disc 80 from disappearing completely under the second disc 90 through the slot 92, without any possibility of returning to the position of figure 13.

Preferably, the two discs 80 and 90 are connected to each other with a shoulder strap, defined by the slots and by the appendages 86, 96, of at least 30 ° so as to allow a maximum overlap of 330 ° of the second disc on the first.

The first disk 80, as already described, with reference to Figures 1 and 2, in use is driven in rotation by the hour hand. In the condition of Figure 13, the first disc 80 rotates the second disc 90 in a clockwise direction through the projection 102 engaged in the notch 100.

Also in the condition of Figure 15, the first disc 80 rotates the second disc 90 clockwise, this time by means of a friction washer (not shown) interposed between the two central appendages or hubs 88, 98.

Numerous other variants are possible within the scope of the invention. Thus, for example, the rotating element inside the hour crown can drag an external circular crown through jumpers passing over the crown itself. References to cities and places and / or parts of them, to supplement them, or solar time corrections related to the use of summer time, or other, can be written on this crown.

Likewise, a fixed plate can be associated to the dial with the indications of cities and places which rotates in a clockwise direction, bearing the indication of hours, minutes, fractions, any clock mark, light and dark circular sectors, and other data. This fixed plate will be of transparent material, will be positioned between the rotating disc and the protective glass and will be rigidly fixed in position on the watch case. Through a central hole of this plate will pass the control tubes of the hour, minute and fraction hands and other hands for special uses, for example the hand of a second time zone.

The fixed indications of hours, minutes, fractions, any watch brand, circular sectors identifying the day and night and more can also be reported directly on the inside of the protective glass. The latter will be fixed in a precise position and with known devices that do not allow its rotation or displacement, even minimal with respect to the watch case.

In a clock according to the invention, particularly for airports, hotels, offices, stations, stadiums, or in any case intended for simultaneous use by a plurality of people, the names of cities and places and their references can be moved for the purpose of 'adaptation to the various legal hours. It can also bear tags of different colors or with different symbols to indicate for each city concerned the GMT time and the daylight saving time changed between summer and winter.

Claims (22)

CLAIMS 1. Analog clock with wrist or pocket or wall or support hands, suspended or expressed in other types of use, of the 24-hour type, with noon GMT placed in the center of the upper dial, thus faithfully reproducing in the clock the Earth's rotation with respect to the Sun, with on the right of the dial the meridians and time zones East longitude up to the 180 ° meridian and change of date and on the left the meridians and time zones West longitude up to the return to the Greenwich meridian in a universal instrument on average usable at all longitudes and latitudes, characterized by the fact that the hours or their indices, however represented or implied, are positioned within or near a band that leaves the central area of the dial free and, in continuous or discontinuous motion on the path to 360 °, is divided into light and dark sectors or intermediate tones, gradually in transition between the two tones, such highlights being able to be expressed graphically, or with different surface treatment of materials, with color, with the use of metals or colored materials, including gems, with a clear sector defining the day and extending from noon to at least 15 ° to the right and 15 ° to left, i.e. two hours one to the right and one to the left and a dark sector at midnight and change of date at 180 ° at the bottom and which extends for at least 15 ° to the right and 15 ° to the left from the center and defines the night, and two lateral sectors of an intermediate shade and gradually in transition from one shade to another, the left sector highlighting the hours of variability of light from dark to light at dawn with the Sun ideally located, but it can also be represented on the quadrant, at noon and then on the right, to the east, and the one on the right the area of variability of light from bright to dark at sunset with the Sun to the left, to the west, this band with said highlights and the hours or their indices expressed or underscored thesis being able to also be positioned on the external fixed bezel of the watch. 2. Watch according to claim 1, with a 24-hour ring arranged under the protective glass, characterized in that a hand-operated bezel rotates on the watch case, which carries indications on the 360 ° of cities or reference places on the different time zones therefore it is sufficient to position the city or reference place chosen in correspondence with the hour hand correctly indicating the standard time of the reference city to have the time of all the other cities or reference places inscribed on the bezel and immediate visual indications if in them it is day or night or a transition phase between the two, a second hour hand being able to be inserted for a second time zone. 3. Clock according to claim 1, characterized in that the 12-hour indexes with the relative hand are positioned in a distinct and separate way inside or outside the 24-hour indexes and that the two hands can be positioned separately, but are moved in operation with a 1: 2 ratio from the same gear train and with the same axis and clockwise rotation direction, so when the 24 hour hand is not used for a second time zone, but is used to better specify the local time AM or PM, the two hands coincide and overlap once a day at 12 noon. 4. Clock according to claim 3, with both 12 and 24 hour dials arranged under the protective glass and with the 24 hour dial preferably outside, characterized in that only the 12 hour dial has the hour hand and a hand-operated bezel rotates on the watch case, bearing indications on the 360 ° of cities or places of reference on the different time zones, so it is sufficient to position the city or place of reference on the corresponding 24-hour dial time at the time that can be read on the 12-hour dial, the user being helped in this by environmental knowledge and on the watch by the highlights relating to the phase of the day to know the GMT time of all the other cities or places of reference inscribed on the bezel and immediate visual indications if it is day or night in them or a transition phase between the two, a second hour hand being able to be inserted on the 24-hour ring as a second time zone rio or to indicate a place in a time zone of particular interest to the user who for seasonal reasons or because he does not use the GMT time or other is incorrectly indicated on the bezel. 5. Analog clock with wrist or pocket or wall or support hands, suspended or expressed in other types of use with 12-hour dial, in which, compared to the watches produced, the value of the symbol 12 referred to midday is inverted on the time band of the Greenwich meridian and at midnight on the time band of the 180 ° meridian where the date change is located, thus ideally positioning in a first 360 ° turn on the right clockwise the hours AM and the relative time bands and meridians longitude West from the 180 ° meridian to the Greenwich meridian and in the following lap the hours PM and the relative time bands and meridians East longitude from Greenwich to the 180 ° meridian, characterized by the fact that, graphically, with different treatment of the surfaces or with colors or with the '' use of metals or colored materials including gems, are highlighted side by side in the upper part of the dial near the hours or their indices, however represented or implied, two if Monochromatic continuous tors one light and one dark that define the light one the day, in the center of which the Sun can be represented, and the other dark one the night, which extend for at least 30 ° to the right and 30 ° to the left, that is one hour to the right and one to the left from the center where the 12 o'clock position is noon or midnight and that in whole or in part for the remaining 300 °, or less than 300 ° up to 60 ° depending on how long the continuous sectors, the same light and dark sectors are highlighted, which however alternate periodically between exterior and interior, or even of hatches or various geometric patterns, of the same shades and colors or of an intermediate color to signify the areas of possible light variation in the different seasons and at the different meridians and parallels and which include the areas of sunrise and sunset alternating in two successive 360 ° rotations of the hour hand, such highlights being able to affect the same band in which the hour indices are entered. 6. Clock according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that in the clock face and within the hour band there is a disk which rotates clockwise with the same gear train and in particular keyed on the sleeve of the hand of the hours, disc on which the names of cities of the world or other reference places are reported radially or centered on punctate signs placed near its outer circumference in orderly succession and relative to their distribution over time zones and with twenty-four radial lines on the clock 24-hour and twelve radial lines on the 12-hour clock, to which said cities or places of reference that represent as many hour hands refer, each user choosing the one of interest to set and read the time, being possible, for better readability, to have an added hand that is neutral and not moved by the clock gear which can also be positioned with a separate command on the disk intended to drag it to the chosen line and which may cover the writing of the locality in any case known to the user or even on a different line for a second time zone of a city or place of reference, which for seasonal reasons or because it does not use GMT time or otherwise it would be incorrectly indicated by the radial reference line on the disc, with the further possibility of adding a hand for a second time zone that can be set separately and controlled by the clock mechanisms. 7. Clock according to claim 3, characterized in that in the face of the clock and within the hour bands and with the innermost 24-hour band, a disc is positioned which rotates clockwise and on which are radially reported o centered on punctiform signs placed near its external circumference, the names of cities of the world or other reference places in an ordered succession and relative to their distribution over time zones with twenty-four radial lines to which said cities refer and which represent as many hands of the hours, this disc being collimating with the 24-hour ring and being keyed directly onto the sleeve of the 24-hour hand dragged by the small parts of the clock and having a fixed ratio 1/2 with the 12-hour hand, so that the setting of the 'now is done by placing one of the twenty-four radial lines and the relative city or place chosen on the reference time, thus having the universal time for each city and visual indications of night, day, sunrise, sunset, with the possibility of having an additional neutral hand that can be positioned with a separate command on the rotating disk intended to drag it, which can be positioned on the reference line and also of such shape as to be covering the writing of the reference city in any case known or even positioned for a second time zone of a city or reference place which, for seasonal reasons or because it does not use GMT or other time, would be indicated incorrectly by the reference radial line of the disc, with the further possibility of adding an hour hand that can be set separately and controlled by the clock mechanisms for a third time zone. 8. Clock according to claim 6 or 7, in which, with reference to the 24-hour dial, the rotating disk completes a revolution in 24 hours, characterized in that the cities or places of reference relating to the meridians and time zones, East longitude and West are inscribed clockwise on the 360 ° of the disk or of the rotating circular crown so that, taking as reference the time band of the Greenwich meridian at noon of the dial, the cities or places of reference that on Earth they are located in the East longitude time zones up to the time band that includes the 180 ° meridian where midnight and the date change are found, and in the left semicircle or semi-crown those located within the West longitude time bands until the return to the time band of Greenwich. 9. Clock according to claim 5 or 6, in which the central rotating disk completes a revolution in 12 hours, characterized in that the cities or places of reference relating to the meridians and time zones, East and West longitude, are entered separately clockwise on two successive 360 ° revolutions of the hour hand, so that, taking the Greenwich meridian as reference at 12 noon, the cities and landmarks that are located on the East longitude meridians on the Earth will be entered clockwise on the 360 ° of the disk and relative time bands up to the 180 ° meridian and again on the 360 ° of the disk the cities and the reference places located on the West longitude meridian from the 180 ° meridian to 12 midnight up to the return to the Greenwich meridian, with the arrangement that cities and the reference places inscribed in the same angular positions on the disk, but relative to East or West longitude positions, are recognizable from each other because they are written for example, with different spellings or colors or because they are written radially, one from the center towards the outside and the others from the outside towards the center. 10. Clock according to claim 2 or 4, characterized by the fact that the ring bearing the names of cities or places of reference on 360 ° is positioned under the glass and outside the band or bands of the hours and is controlled for positioning and put into operation by the clock mechanisms, moving clockwise and completing one revolution in 24 hours. 11. Watch according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized by the fact that the central rotating disk drags, through bridges passing over the band or bands on which the hours are inscribed, an external circular crown, on said crown, references to cities and places and / or parts of them, or additions to them, for example for GMT half hours in India and Pakistan and other Far Eastern countries, or time corrections linked to summer and winter variations of the GMT standard time or other indications. 12. Clock according to any one of claims 2, 4, 6, 7, 10 and 11, characterized by the fact that a further graphic, color and orientation differentiation of the writings is introduced to specify the belonging of cities and places of reference to the Northern hemisphere and the Southern hemisphere or more specifically to the variations of the additional summer time called "daylight saving time", thus facilitating the user to evaluate the interrelationships and corrections resulting from the different local hours, with further differentiation being able to identify also cities or landmarks that have not adopted the universal standard time GMT. 13. Clock according to claim 8, characterized in that on the rotating disk the Equator is represented with an intermediate concentric circle inscribed on the rotating disk in order to be able to separate the cities and landmarks of the Northern hemisphere from those of the Southern hemisphere, for example example by starting to write the first ones from the center towards the outside and the second ones from the outside towards the center, also through said line of the Equator. 14. Clock according to claim 6 or 7, with disk rotating on the axis of the hands, characterized in that said disk is a first disk to which a second disk is associated, the two disks being superimposed and both with a radial cut that it allows the introduction and the sliding of one disk over the other, on the first disk being cities or places of reference written, while the second disk is neutral and carries different decorations or supplementary writings, such as for example famous holiday resorts in the world, seats of large Formula 1 races or similar, both discs having a hub in the center which has a hole on the axis for connection to the respective controls and which is connected to the disc with a shoulder strap of at least 30 ° so as to allow a maximum overlap of 330 ° of the second disc on the first, the first disc being keyed onto the hour tube with relative position and advancement controls in operation, the second being independently controlled. from an external control to the case in an anti-clockwise direction to discover it integrally, in the first disc a notch opening into the dividing cut being made, which interferes with a prominence of the second disc for its dragging, and by the fact that, moreover, between two discs it is a friction washer with a diameter equal to that of the central hubs is positioned in the center to allow reciprocal sliding between the two discs when necessary. 15. Clock according to claim 6 or 7, characterized by the fact that substantially the whole dial with the indications of cities and places of reference rotates clockwise and the indication of hours, minutes, fractions, possible clock brand, circular sectors light and dark and other data are reported on a fixed plate of transparent material positioned between the rotating disk and the protective glass, plate rigidly fixed in position on the watch case through a central hole through which the control tubes of the hands of the hours, minutes and fractions and other special purpose hands, such as a second time zone hand. 16. Clock according to claim 6 or 7, characterized by the fact that substantially the entire dial with inscriptions rotates clockwise and the fixed indications of hours, minutes, fractions, possible clock brand, circular sectors identifying the day and night and more are shown directly on the internal part of the protective glass which is fixed in a precise position and with devices that do not allow its rotation or displacement even minimal with respect to the watch case. 17. Large clock, without protective glass or with protective glass that can be temporarily removed or opened and then repositioned, according to any one of the preceding claims, particularly for airports, hotels, offices, stations, stadiums, and in any case intended for '' contemporary use by a plurality of people, characterized by the fact that it bears the names of cities and places of reference that can be moved for adaptation to the various legal hours in force and / or tags of different colors or with different symbols to indicate for each affected city time GMT and daylight saving time In effect according to the "daylight saving time". 18. Clock according to claim 6 or 7, comprising a moon phase indicator of the type in which a disk with the Moon drawn and having a diameter smaller than the radius of the disk itself rotates clockwise and is completely hidden for 180 ° by a shape obtained in the quadrant which also partially covers the other half of the disc with two equal semicircles arranged on the diameter, which in the rotation of the disc gradually discover the Moon to the left until it appears completely in the full Moon phase and then gradually hide it until disappear in the phase of the new Moon, characterized by the fact that this indicator of the phases of the moon is directly controlled by one or more pins entered in a circumference of the rotating disk and protruding from the disk itself, which move a gearing to make the Moon turn clockwise in the 29.53 days of lunation or synodic month. 19. Analog clock with hands, wrist or pocket or wall or countertop, suspended or expressed in other types of use, characterized by the fact that it includes a moon phase indicator consisting of a spherical body that provides a representation of the Moon which is visible in the dial through a hole made in it and which for the third dimension finds space between the internal face of the caseback and that of the watch glass if positioned in the dial in a circumference external to the path of the hands, or between the internal face of the caseback and the upper face of the dial if positioned within the range of action of the hands, the aforementioned representation of the Moon being rotatable and with an axis of rotation that rotates 360 ° counterclockwise in the 29.53 days corresponding to full lunation or synodic month, thus providing a faithful representation of the phases of the moon, this axis being driven in rotation by the clock mechanisms with u n 90 ° return gearing, the image of the Moon being able to be amplified by a magnifying glass similar to that of the date windows in calendar watches. 20. Clock according to claim 19, characterized in that the aforesaid spherical body is a sphere that is half light or opalescent like the Moon and half dark, which sphere is keyed onto the aforementioned axis driven in rotation by the mechanisms of the clock. 21. Clock according to claim 19, characterized by the fact that the aforementioned spherical body is at least one fixed hemisphere, clear or opalescent like the Moon, and by the fact that, to constitute the aforementioned rotatable representation, the spherical body is covered by a hemispherical shell dark, revolving around the body itself and keyed on the aforementioned axis activated in rotation by the clock mechanisms. 22. Watch according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that the moon phase indicator is positioned in the dial within the dark sector of the band which continuously or discontinuously on the 360 ° path highlights the night or the beginning of the same at sunset