A DEVICE FOR DISPLAYING A SHPERICAL OBJECT IN A FLAT PLANE

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for displaying a spherical object on a flat plane, characterized in that the device comprises a first disc with a projected image of the surface of a first hemisphere of the spherical object, and at least two second discs with a projected image of the surface of a second hemisphere of the spherical object. A preferred embodiment is a method for navigation, comprising the use of the device according to the invention, and a method for determining the time at any point in the world, comprising the use of the device according to the invention.

Claims

1-16. (canceled)

17. A device for displaying a spherical object on a flat plane, wherein the device comprises a first disc with a projected image of the surface of at least one first hemisphere of the spherical object, and at least two second discs, each with a projected image of the surface of at least one second hemisphere of the spherical object, wherein the first and second hemispheres together represent the entire surface of the spherical object.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein the device comprises at least three second discs.

19. The device according to claim 18, wherein the at least three second discs are symmetrically positioned around a perimeter of the first disc.

20. The device according to claim 17, wherein a perimeter of the at least two second discs is aligned with a depiction on the spherical object against a perimeter of the first disc.

21. The device according to claim 18, wherein the device comprises four second discs.

22. The device according to claim 17, wherein the spherical object represents the Earth.

23. The device according to claim 22, wherein a center of the first disc includes one of the group consisting of North Pole and South Pole, and a center of the at least two second discs includes the South Pole.

24. The device according to claim 17, wherein the first disc and the at least two second discs are individually rotatable about their own axes and are coupled together to provide opposite rotation of the first disc with respect to each of the at least two second discs.

25. The device according to claim 24, wherein a diameter of the first disc and each second disc is identical.

26. The device according to claim 17, wherein the first disc and the at least two second discs are equipped with a mutually cooperating mechanism to induce rotation of each disc when one of the other discs rotates.

27. The device according to claim 26, wherein the mutually cooperating mechanism comprises interlocking gears.

28. The device according to claim 17, additionally comprising a time division ring, with its center aligned with the center of the first disc.

29. The device according to claim 28, wherein the time division ring comprises an inner edge located outside the at least two second discs.

30. The device according to claim 28, wherein the time division ring interacts with an outer circumference of the at least two second discs to induce rotation of the time division ring when one of the other discs rotates.

31. The device according to claim 28, wherein the time division ring comprises an even distribution of a number of hours selected from the group consisting of 12 hours and 24 hours.

32. The device according to claim 17, wherein the at least two second discs are arranged symmetrically around the first disc, and wherein a pyramid shaped prism, comprising a square base and triangular faces extending from each edge of the square base and with their vertices remote from the square base located above a center of gravity of the square base, is positioned above the first disc and with corner points of the square base respectively positioned on centers of the at least two second discs.

33. A method for navigation, comprising providing a device according to claim 17 and using the device to navigate.

34. A method for determining the time at any point in a world, comprising providing a device according claim 31 and using the device to determine the time at any point in the world.

Description

[0029] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing. The drawing shows in:

[0030] FIG. 1 a first view of a device according to the invention,

[0031] FIG. 2 a second view of a device according to the invention,

[0032] FIG. 3 a variant of a device according to the invention.

[0033] In the figures, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals. However, not all parts necessary for a practical implementation of the invention are shown, for simplicity of presentation.

[0034] FIG. 1 shows a first view of a device 1 comprising a first disc 2 and four second discs 3, 4, 5, 6 positioned symmetrically around the first disc 2. The first disc 2 is rotatable about the center point 7. At the circumference, the first disc 1 is operatively coupled to the circumference of the second discs, such that a rotation about the center point 7 causes a rotation of the second discs 3, 4, 5, 6 around their respective center points 8, 9, 10, 11.

[0035] The image on the device shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. shows the northern hemisphere on the first disc 2 and the southern hemisphere on the second discs 3, 4, 5, 6. The equator lies on the circumference of both the first and second discs. The second discs 3, 4, 5, 6 are positioned relative to the first disc such that in the variant according to FIG. 1 at each point of contact of the first disc 2 with each of the second discs an accurate and faithful and accurate positioning or alignment with the image of the second discs is obtained. North America on the first disc 2 is aligned with South America on the second disc 5.

[0036] By rotating the first disc 2 in the direction of FIG. 2, after some turning, North America on the first disk 2 is aligned with South America on the second disk 4. Further rotation continuously changes the alignment of the matching parts of the images of the first disk with the respective second disk. Depending on how the user is oriented in relation to the true north pole, rotating the discs allows him to choose a highly accurate direction for displaying the image in the flat plane of the device 1.

[0037] Finally, FIG. 3 shows a variant of the image in which a pyramid-shaped prism 12 is placed on the device 1. The pyramid-shaped prism 12 has a square bottom face and triangular faces extending from each edge of the bottom surface, with their vertices remote from the bottom face located above the center of gravity of the bottom face. The center of gravity of the bottom face is placed above the center point 7 of the first disc 2 such that the four vertices are respectively positioned on the centers 8, 9, 10, 11 of the second discs 3, 4, 5, 6. The prismatic deflection of the image produces a smoother image especially at the transition from the first disc to the second disc.

[0038] A disc 13 with a time indication, also indicated as time division ring, is placed on the periphery of the device 1. The time designation of 1-24 corresponds to the number of hours distributed around the earth. By aligning the time indication on the disc 13 with a known combination of time and place, the correct time can be displayed instantaneously for any part of the earth.

[0039] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the figures. The invention is limited only by the appended claims.

[0040] The invention also extends to any combination of features described above independently of each other.