A MECHANICAL CLOCK

Abstract

The invention relates to a mechanical clock having a winding mechanism and a means to automatically wind the winding mechanism of the clock; wherein the automatic winding means is directly or indirectly powered or actuated by an electrical system of a motor vehicle, in use.

Claims

1. A mechanical clock having a winding mechanism and a means to automatically wind the winding mechanism of the clock; wherein the automatic winding means is directly or indirectly powered or actuated by an electrical system of a motor vehicle, in use.

2. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 1 which is an automatic mechanical clock, comprising a winding mechanism and a means to automatically wind the winding mechanism through movement of at least part of the clock, wherein the movement of the clock is powered or actuated by an electrical system of a motor vehicle, in use.

3. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means to automatically wind the winding mechanism comprises means to rotate the clock or clock face.

4. A mechanical clock of claim 3 wherein the automatic winding means is operable in use such that subsequent to rotation of the clock or face for a set period of time, the clock or face is returned to a set position.

5. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 1 wherein the automatic winding means is operable in use to continuously wind the winding mechanism.

6. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 1 wherein the automatic winding means is operable in use to wind the winding mechanism in a periodic manner.

7. A mechanical clock of claim 1 wherein the face of the clock comprises one or more indicators thereon.

8. A mechanical clock of claim 7, wherein the means to automatically wind the winding mechanism comprises means to rotate the clock or clock face and is operable in use such that subsequent to rotation of the clock or face for a set period of time, the clock or face is returned to a set position, and wherein the set position to which the clock or face is returned subsequent to winding comprises a position whereby an indicator for 12 o'clock is centered at the top of the clock.

9. A mechanical clock of claim 1 additionally comprising a positional sensor.

10. A mechanical clock of claim 9 wherein the sensor is operable in use to determine the rotational position of the clock itself, or the rotational position of the face of the clock.

11. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 9 wherein the positional sensor comprises an optical sensor.

12. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 1 wherein the automatic winding means is operable in use to automatically wind the winding mechanism of the clock irrespective of whether the engine of the vehicle is operational or is turned off.

13. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 1 comprising a rotational mechanism operable in use to rotate one or more hands of the clock to indicate the time to a user.

14. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 13 comprising a crown wheel operable in use to act upon the rotational mechanism to move the hand(s) of the clock.

15. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 14 comprising a means to move the clock itself in such a way so as to present the crown wheel to a user for altering the time displayed by the clock.

16. A mechanical clock of claim 1 comprising or operably connected to a user interface switch.

17. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 16 wherein the clock is mounted in a holder, the holder comprising the user interface switch.

18. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 16 wherein the user interface switch is operable in use to override the automatic winding operation of the winding mechanism.

19. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 16 wherein the interface switch is operable in use so that, when switched, the automatic winding mechanism is wound for a given length of time.

20. A mechanical clock as claimed in claims 16 wherein the interface switch is operable in use so that, when switched, the clock may alter its position.

21. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 16 wherein the interface switch is operable in use to disconnect the clock from the vehicle for removal from the vehicle.

22. A mechanical clock as claimed in claim 16 wherein the interface switch comprises a push button or a flick switch.

23. A vehicle comprising a mechanical clock as claimed in claim 1.

24. A vehicle as claimed in claim 23 wherein the mechanical clock is positioned on or within a dashboard of the vehicle.

25. A vehicle as claimed in claim 23 wherein the mechanical clock is positioned on or within a centre console of the vehicle.

26. A vehicle to which is connected an automatic mechanical clock comprising an automatic winding mechanism powered or actuated by movement of the clock, and a clock movement mechanism powered by an electrical system of the vehicle.

27. A vehicle as claimed in claim 26 comprising a mechanical clock as claimed in claim 1.

28. (canceled)

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] In order that the invention may be more clearly understood embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0028] FIGS. 1-4 are a series of schematic diagrams illustrating a clock in accordance with the present invention.

[0029] FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate a mechanical clock 2 of the present invention showing various operational uses. The clock 2 is an automatic, self-winding clock. The clock 2 is housed a holder 4 which is mounted in the dashboard or centre console of a vehicle (not shown), for example. The clock 2 houses the clock mechanisms including a winding mechanism and is rotated in the holder 4 via a rotating mechanism (not shown). The clock 2 includes a clock face 6 and comprises a crown wheel 8 and indicia in the form of Arabic numerals 10 thereon. The crown wheel 8 is operable in use to alter the position of the hands of the clock 2 (not shown) manually. In addition, the holder 4 includes a user interface switch in the form of a button 12 located at the bottom of the holder 4 in the orientation shown in the Figures.

[0030] Although not shown in the Figures, it is to be understood that the clock 2 is electrically connected to the electrical circuitry of the vehicle. In this way, the winding mechanism may be wound automatically via rotation of the clock 2 within the holder 4 which is powered by a battery within the vehicle, which may be the vehicle battery itself

[0031] The Figures illustrate the clock 2 in a number of different configurations and show the operational use of the clock 2. FIG. 1 shows the clock 2 in its resting position, i.e. the position which it is in for the majority of the time wherein it displays the time to a user. In this position, the clock face 6 is positioned such that the numeral 12 (indicia 10) is shown centred and at the top of the clock 2.

[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates the automatic winding of the clock 2. To wind the clock 2, the clock 2 is rotated with respect to the holder 4 in the direction shown by arrows 14 on FIG. 2 (although it is to understood that the clock 2 may be configured such that it may be rotated in the opposite sense). The rotation of the clock 2 with respect to the holder 4 acts to wind the winding mechanism of the clock (not shown) to ensure that the clock 2 functions as is required, i.e. keeps time and does not lag. The rotation of the clock 2 is powered by the electrical system of the connected vehicle.

[0033] It is envisaged that the clock 2 will rotate constantly for a set period of time, or for a set number of rotations, in order to wind the winding mechanism of the clock 2. Furthermore, this rotation of the clock 2 will be performed in a periodic manner, for example, every hour, in order to ensure that the clock 2 remains functional. This may be performed irrespective of whether the vehicle to which the clock 2 is connected is in use.

[0034] To ensure that the clock face 6 is returned to the position shown in FIG. 1 subsequent to winding, the clock 2 may additionally comprise a sensor (not shown), which in some cases will comprise an optical sensor located on either the body of the clock 2 or on the clock face 6 operable to detect the rotational position of the clock 2 or clock face 6, in use.

[0035] The sensor may additionally be used to check whether the clock 2 and/or clock face 6 is in the correct position during normal use, i.e. when the winding mechanism is not being wound. This is illustrated figuratively in FIG. 4 where the clock face 6 has been rotated with respect to the body 4 in the direction shown by arrow 20. This unwanted rotation may have been caused by vibrations from the vehicle to which the clock 2 is connected to. If such a rotation occurs, the sensor may detect this and in doing so, instruct the clock 2 to rotate back to the correct position. In this way, the clock face 6 is kept in the correct position at all times. Again, this rotation may be powered by the electrical system of the vehicle to which the clock 2 is connected.

[0036] FIG. 3 illustrates a further feature of the clock 2 of the invention showing an operational use of the user interface button 12. Depression of the button 12 acts to instruct the clock 2 to rotate with respect to the holder 4 (in the direction shown by arrow 16) through a given angle in order to present the crown wheel 8 to a user. The crown wheel 8 may subsequently be moved manually, for example in a direction illustrated by arrow 18 to a second position (shown by reference numeral 8 on FIG. 3). In this position, the crown wheel 8 may then be rotated axially with respect to the clock face 6 in order to alter the position of the hands of the clock 2.

[0037] The button 12 may additionally be operable to perform further tasks with regards to the operation of the clock 2. For example, depression of the button 12 may cause the clock 2 to rotate once through 360. In this way, the winding of the winding mechanism may be undertaken manually to either simply display this feature, or to check that automatic winding of the mechanical clock 2 is functioning correctly. Furthermore, the button 12 may also be operable, upon depression, to rotate the clock 2 with respect to the body 4 to a position whereby the clock 2 itself disconnects from the connected vehicle. This may be desirable to enable the clock 2 to be removed for servicing or cleaning, for example. It is envisaged that the button 12 may be used to perform two or more of the above actions and in such cases the length of time for which the button is depressed, or indeed the number of times the button is depressed consecutively may be different depending on which action is to be undertaken.

[0038] Whilst the clock 2 illustrated in the Figures is shown to rotate per se in other embodiments the clock 2 may have a rotatable clock face 6 which acts to wind the winding mechanism, the clock face being rotatably connected to a stationary clock body and/or the clock 2 may include an alternative or additional means to wind the winding mechanism, such as a winding key, for example.

[0039] The above embodiments are described by way of example only. Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.