US2639577A - Novelty clock device - Google Patents

Description

y 25, 1953 s. M. LUBlN 2,639,577

NOVELTY CLOCK DEVICE Filed Oct. 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l 25 E6 I INVENTOR.

15 2 ,29 y WNW May 26, 1953 s. M. LUBIIN NOVELTY CLOCK DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 26, 1951 INVENTOR.

Patented May 26, 1953 UNITED s'r rEs PATENT OFFICE 2,639,577 NOVELTY oLooK DEVICE Sylvan M. Lubin, Spokane, Wash.

Application October 26, 1951, Serial No. 253,369

. My invention relates to improvements in a novelty clock device.

It is the principal purpose of my invention to provide a clock which can be hung on any upright wall surface on which the commonly used hour and minute indications are provided, the clock mechanism being so constructed that the time indicating hands and the supportingmeans therefor, comprise a ring ijournalled to rotate on the support that hangs on the wall and the hands are driven about the ring by theirown power units. With this device the entire clock mechanism may be rotated by hand without disturbing the time relation of the hands, the ring being weighted so that after rotation the ring will return to a normal resting position.

The improved device preferably utilizes a ring which has gears for the individual hands and the hands are provided with spring wound clock mechanisms, operable to drive pinions that mesh with the gears on the ring. It should be understood however, that the drive mechanism may be varied to use positive drives which are the equivalent of the gear and pinion arrangement used.

The nature and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the "drawings and description are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front face View of a novelty clock device embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view in side elevation of the clock device with portions of the hands broken away;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken vertically on Figure 1 on the line 3--3 thereof, the hands being moved to upright position;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken through the supporting frame and ring to illustrate the bearing; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating the inner construction of the drive pinion which drives a hand.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, my invention comprises essentially a supporting frame H) of any suitable construction which has an aperture ll therein or other suitable means by which it may be supported on a wall l2. The customary way to support the frame it! on the wall l2 would be by means of a pin indicated at l3. However, any other suitable means could be provided for supporting the frame In against an upright wall. The frame Ill serves as a mounting 5 Claims. (CI. 58-45),

frame for a freely rotatable ring l4. As shown in the drawings,the ring M has a bearing groove I5-in its inner face and the support frame [0 has aplurality of ball bearings lfi that set in the groove I5. The ring I4 is supported in this way.

and cooperate with the usual hour and minute.

indications shown at l9 and in Figure 1. The dial with the hour and minute indications may be provided on the supporting wall in various ways. It may be painted on the wall or it may be a separate sheet, but it need have no physical connection whatsoever with the hand carrying ring [4 other than that provided through the support frame 10 and the wall I 2 that carries the support frame. The hand I! carries its own power mechanism indicated at 2|. This power mechanism may be the common well known spring type of clock mechanism. A like power mechanism 22 is provided for the hand [8. The hand I! has a band portion 23 that encircles the ring l4 and is rotatable thereon. The ring M has a t channel 24 which receivesa rib 25 of the band 23.

The band 23 is integral with the hand I! at one end and has a flange 26. at the other end which is fastened to the hand I! by a screw 21. With this construction the hand can be removed from the ring I. The hand I8 is rotatably mounted on the ring M in the same manner as the hand I1, the parts 23', 28, 29, and 3i being the equivalent of the parts 23 to 21 inclusive on the hand l'l.

It will be appreciated that since the ring I4 is mounted to rotate in a vertical plane about the supporting frame In, that some means must be provided to drive the hands from the power units 2| and 22 so as to make them indicate the time. For this purpose, the ring I 4 is weighted by a weight indicated at 32 and the ring has annular rows of gear teeth 33 and 33 which are engaged by pinions 34 and 35 driven by the clock mechanisms M and 22 respectively. It is obvious that the mechanism which drives the minute hand I! must drive its pinion 34 at a rate sufficient to cause the minute hand to indicate the passing of sixty minutes for each indication by the hour hand l8 of the passing of one hour. This is a simple matter of the requisite gearing within the drive units 2| and 22 and it has not been illustrated in detail since such mechanisms are well known. However, it is necessary in order to set the hands in the proper relation at any time, that they be provided with some means whereby they can'be manually rotated into the proper position. In order to accomplish this in a simple way, I

mount each one of the pinions 34 and 35 on its respective drive shaft 36 or 3'! by an overrunning clutch mechanism indicated in Figure of the drawings. In this mechanism the pinion will normally be driven through the clutch mechanism consisting of the parts 38 and 39 so as to turn the hand to which the pinion is attached, about the ring 14. The hand can be turned faster than it is driven by the pinion by turning it manually since the clutch parts will permit the pinion to rotate on its shaft. The springs 39 of the clutch will yield sufficiently to allow the pinion to rotate. However, when the shaft is driven in such a direction as to drive the pinion and advance the hand, the springs 39 will aid in preventing the pinion from turning on the shaft in a reverse direction.

The hands I! and 18 with their drive units 2| and 22 preferably are so constructed as to be substantially in balance about the center of the ring M in all positions of the hand. This makes it necessary to furnish only the small amount of power to overcome the friction of the moving parts. The novelty construction of this device affords several advantages. For example, the entire clock mechanism may be spun around on the support and as soon as it stops spinning, the hands will again indicate the proper time, thus affording amusement.

' It is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. Having thus described my invention/I claim:

1. A novelty clock device adapted to be suspended in front of an upright wall surface on which the commonly used hour and minute indications are provided, said device comprising a supporting frame, a ring journalled for rotation in a vertical plane on said frame, said ring being weighted to cause it to return to the same position after rotation, a time indicating hand rotatably mounted on the ring, said hand having a pinion and said ring having a circular row of gear teeth thereon engaged by the pinion, and power means on the hand for driving the pinion.

2. A clock device adapted to be suspended in front of an upright surface of a wall on which 4 the commonly used hour and minute indications are provided, said device comprising a supporting frame adapted to hang on the wall, a ring rotatably mounted on said frame to rotate in a vertical plane, an hour hand rotatably mounted on the ring, a minute hand rotatably mounted on the ring, each hand having a power device therein, means driven by the power device on each hand to turn the hand on the ring and means to bring the ring to rest in the same position after it is rotated that it occupied before rotation.

. time indicating hands journalled on the ring,

and a driving mechanism for each hand operably connected to the ring to rotate the hand about the ring.

5. A novelty clock device comprising a support adapted to hang on a wall, a ring rotatably mounted on the support and weighted to cause it to stop in a definite position after rotation;

time indicating hands journalled on the ring, and a driving mechanism for each hand operably connected to the ring to rotate the hand about the ring, said driving mechanism including a releasably connection whereby the hand may be manually turned on the ring.

SYLVAN M. LUBIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 407,945 Speei- July 30, 1889 1,822,195 Baumgarten Sept. 8, 1931 1,920,838 Butts Aug. 1, 1933 2,034,498 Warren Mar. 17, 1936

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