WO1997035238A1

WO1997035238A1 - Alarm clock

Info

Publication number: WO1997035238A1
Application number: PCT/ES1997/000044
Authority: WO
Inventors: Evaristo Garcia Ramos
Original assignee: Investigacion Y Transferencia De Tecnologia, S.L.
Priority date: 1996-03-21
Filing date: 1997-02-27
Publication date: 1997-09-25
Also published as: DE69703036D1; ATE196201T1; ES1034121U; ES1034121Y; EP0889382B1; AU1880797A; EP0889382A1

Abstract

Improved alarm clork comprising a clock or watch, time display means, alarm means, means for generating a first number, said number being a random number, means for displaying the random number when the alarm goes off, means for displaying a second number, means for manually modifying said second number and/or said first number, and means for stopping the alarm sound when a predetermined relationship between the first number and the second number is displayed, for example when the first number coincides with the second number.

Description

WATCH-AWAKER OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a perfected alarm clock, which is of the type of electronics and that has been conceived and realized as a means to ensure the user's awakening and even the stretching of the user so that once awake he will not wake up. go back to sleep

It is an object of the invention to provide an alarm clock that can be considered as security, since manual operations are necessary for the alarm to stop sounding, such operations must be carried out with light, which guarantees awakening. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Among the many types of alarm clocks, those of electronic operation that include a four-digit display, two of which indicate the hour and the other two indicate the minutes, can be mentioned, so that the change of time and minutes to put the clock or alarm clock into operation, is carried out by means of two buttons in combination with a switch with four positions, one corresponding to the one for marking the hour and minutes of the clock; another corresponding to the one for marking the time at which the alarm should sound; another corresponding to that of leaving the alarm activated, and another corresponding to that of deactivating the alarm so that it stops sounding.

This type of electronic alarm clock, which is considered basic, can be sufficient for most people in most situations.

However, there are exceptional cases in which an alarm clock like the one described is insufficient to achieve an effective wake-up of certain people. Thus, it can be mentioned that type of people who have a difficult awakening, which once activated the alarm press the corresponding stop switch and unconsciously continue to sleep. On the other hand, there is also the circumstance that on certain occasions the person must ensure the awakening, as is the case of having to make a plane trip, when there is an important appointment early in the morning, etc. It is clear that in those situations and similar ones, a system that ensures the awakening of those people referred to above would be desirable, although there is no known alarm clock capable of ensuring the awakening of certain types of people. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The alarm clock object of the invention ensures the awakening of all those people who find it difficult to abandon sleep, and this by means of an enormously simple but effective solution. Basically, the alarm clock of the present invention comprises: clock means (that is, some type of device or circuitry that serves to count the time and to give some type of signal as a function of the time counted), including means for counting the time and means to modify said count; time display means, including means for displaying two hour indicator digits and two minute indicator digits, for displaying the hour and minutes according to the clock media count; alarm means, including means for blowing up the alarm when the clock means indicate a certain time, means for setting the time at which the alarm should jump, and means for emitting a sound from alarm when alarm goes off; means for generating a first number, this number being a random number; means for displaying the random number when the alarm goes off; means for displaying a second number; means for manually modifying said second number and / or said first number; means to allow the alarm sound to be turned off when a predetermined relationship between the first number and the second number is displayed. Conveniently, the modification of the first and / or second number is made by the corresponding push-buttons, just as the hour and / or minute digits are usually changed when the clock time or the time is changed at The alarm should go off.

According to a possible embodiment, it may be necessary to match the first number and the second number in order to be able to turn off the alarm, that is, the system allows the alarm sound to be turned off when the second number and the first number displayed coincide.

The means for displaying the first number may be functionally associated with the two hour indicator digits, such that said digits indicate the first number, while the means for displaying the second number may be functionally associated with the minute indicator digits. , so that these digits indicate the second number. In this case, it is convenient that the first number, the random number, be a number from 25 to 99, so that it is clear that the number displayed does not correspond to the time, thus avoiding any possibility of confusion. The second can also be a random number, although it may be practical for it to be a certain number, for example, "00". In this case, it may be especially advantageous if the second number is the number which has to be manipulated, until it coincides with the first number.

The clock of the present invention can

.corporate: a screen for displaying the digits; a general switch with push-buttons to allow at least the following operations to be carried out manually: modify the clock count; set a time at which the alarm should go off; modify the first number and / or the second number; and turn off the alarm when the first number and the second number coincide on the screen. You can also have a push button to choose between an alarm mode (in which the alarm jumps at the preset time) and a mode without alarm (in which the alarm does not jump at the preset time).

In addition, the watch advantageously includes a button that allows choosing between a normal mode of operation in which it is not necessary to manipulate displayed numbers in order to be able to turn off the alarm sound, and a special mode of operation in which the first number is displayed. random and the second number, being necessary the manipulation of at least one of said numbers to be able to turn off the alarm sound. Obviously, the modification of the first and / or second number must be made with light and it is also a situation of total awareness of the person who performs it, since otherwise it would be unable to carry it out. Obviously, this will ensure or ensure that that person is awake, otherwise the sound of the alarm will not stop.

Next, to facilitate a better understanding of this descriptive report and forming an integral part of it, some figures are attached in which, with an illustrative and non-limiting nature, it has been represented

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) sitting the object of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to complement the description that will be followed immediately and in order to help a better understanding of the features of the invention, a set of drawings are attached to the present specification based on which the easiest to understand innovations and advantages of the alarm clock made in accordance with the object of the invention. Figure 1.- Shows the block diagram corresponding to the clock of the invention.

Figure 2.- Shows a front view of what a conventional electronic alarm clock is.

Figure 3.- It also shows a front view of the alarm clock made in accordance with the object of the invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

As can be seen in the aforementioned figures, and in particular in Figure 1, an electronic alarm clock includes a series of main blocks, starting with a filter block 1, then a frequency selection block 2, followed by the counters 3, 4 and 5 for seconds, minutes and hours, respectively ^¬, blocks 4 being and 5 related to the corresponding comparator alarm 6 to activate the circuit 7 corresponding alarm, including, as is normal in an alarm clock, a delay countdown block 8, and the corresponding alarm minute counters 9 and alarm hours 10. Well, from the referred block circuit that includes a conventional electronic alarm clock, it they can incorporate a generator 11 of a random two-digit number, and a comparator between hours and minutes 12 in connection with the corresponding alarm circuit 7 referred to above. Well, once cited what is the corresponding general block diagram of the alarm clock of the invention, it physically includes a body 13 with a screen 14 in which two pairs of digits 15-15 'and 16-16' appear , corresponding to the first hours and seconds to minutes, the buttons 17 and 18 appear on the front of the body 13 of the alarm clock to change the corresponding digits for hours and minutes. The body of the alarm clock also includes a general switch 19 in which the buttons 20, 21, 22 and 23 appear, so that the action on the button 20 allows to carry out the marking of hours and minutes of the clock, acting on Buttons 17 and 18. The action on button 21 allows marking the time at which the alarm should sound. The action on the button 22, is to leave the alarm activated, while the action on the button 23 is to suppress the alarm sound, as shown in Figure 1. The referred switches can be pressure, slide or any other another type.

Well, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a switch 19 'is incorporated which, in addition to being provided with the above-mentioned buttons 20, 21, 22 and 23, includes a new button 24 in functional association with the generator block 11 of the random number and with the comparator block 12 between hours and minutes, so that when the alarm activation starts, simultaneously the generator 11 generates a random number that will appear in digits 15 and 15 'corresponding to the time of the alarm clock , at the same time it gives that digits 16 and 16 'will mark "0", having to perform the operations based on which digits 16 and 16' are matched with the 15 and 15 'generated as random by block 11. To match that pair of digits, it will be necessary for the person to have the alarm clock in front of him, for which he must logically turn on the light, and then act on the button 18 until the first digit of minutes 16 coincides with the first digit 15 of hours. Then you must act on the button 17 until the second digit 16 'of minutes coincides with the second digit 15' of hours, so that once this match between the pairs of digits 15-15 "with 16-16 'has been achieved, the alarm clock will be able to cancel its alarm, by acting on the corresponding button 23.

Claims

1.- Improved alarm clock, comprising: clock means, including means for counting time ^" (3,4, 5) and means for modifying said count; means for displaying time, including means for displaying two indicator digits of the hour

(15, 15 ') and two minute indicator digits (16,

16 "), to display the hour and minutes according to the count of the clock means; alarm means, including means for blowing up the alarm when the clock means indicate a certain time (6.7), means for preset the time at which the alarm should go off, and means to emit an alarm sound when the alarm goes off; characterized in that it also includes: means for generating a first number (11), this number being a random number; means for displaying the random number when the alarm goes off; means for displaying a second number; means for manually modifying said second number and / or said first number; means for allowing the alarm sound to be turned off when a predetermined relationship between the first number and the number is displayed. second number

2. Clock-alarm clock according to claim 1, wherein the alarm sound is allowed to turn off when the second number and first number displayed coincide.

3.- Alarm clock according to claim

1, in which the means for displaying the first number are functionally associated with the two hour indicator digits (15, 15 '), such that said digits they indicate the first number, while the means for displaying the second number are functionally associated with the minute indicator digits (16, 16 '), so that said digits indicate the second number.

4.- Alarm clock according to claim

3, in which the first random number is a number from 25 to 99.

5.- Alarm clock according to claim

4, in which the second number is initially "00".

6. Alarm clock according to any of the preceding claims, comprising: a screen (14) for displaying digits; a general switch (19 ') with pushbuttons (17, 18, 20-24) to allow at least the following operations to be performed manually: modify the clock media count; set a time at which the alarm should go off; modify the first number and / or the second number; turn off the alarm when the first number and the second number coincide on the display.

7. Alarm clock according to claim 1, which includes a button (24) which allows choosing between a normal mode of operation in which it is not necessary to manipulate displayed numbers to be able to turn off the alarm, and a special mode of operation in which the first random number and the second number are displayed, the manipulation of at least one of said numbers being necessary to be able to turn off the alarm sound. MODIFIED CLAIMS

[received by the International Office on August 4, 1997 (04.08.97); claims 1 and 3 have been replaced by claim 1; claims 2 and 4-7 do not change but have been renumbered 2-6 (2 pages)]

1.- Improved alarm clock, comprising: clock means, including means for counting time (3,4,5) and means for modifying said count; time display means, including means for displaying two hour indicator digits (15, 15 ') and two minute indicator digits (16,

16 '), to display the hour and minutes according to the clock media count; alarm means, including means for blowing up the alarm when the clock means indicate a certain time (6.7), means for setting the time at which the alarm should jump, and means for emitting an alarm sound when the alarm goes off alarm; means for generating a first number (11), this number being a random number; means for displaying the random number when the alarm goes off; characterized in that it also includes: means for displaying a second number; means for manually modifying said second number and / or said first number; means for allowing the alarm sound to be turned off when a predetermined relationship between the first number and the second number is displayed; being the means to visualize the first

AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19V number functionally associated with the two hour digits (15, 15 '), so that these digits indicate the first number, while the means for displaying the second number are functionally associated with the minutes indicating digits ( 16, 16 "), so that these digits indicate the second number.

3. Alarm clock according to claim 1, wherein the first random number is a number from 25 to 99.

4. Alarm clock according to claim 3, wherein the second number is initially "00".

5. Alarm clock according to any of the preceding claims, comprising: a screen (14) for displaying digits; a general switch (19 ') with push buttons

(17, 18, 20-24) to allow at least the following operations to be performed manually: modify the clock media count; set a time at which the alarm should go off; modify the first number and / or the second number; turn off the alarm when the first number and the second number coincide on the display.

6. Alarm clock according to claim 1, which includes a button (24) which allows choosing between a normal mode of operation in which it is not necessary to manipulate displayed numbers to be able to turn off the alarm, and a special mode of operation in which the first random number and the second number are displayed, the manipulation of at least one of said numbers being necessary to be able to turn off the alarm sound.