US4720820A — Clock, in particular desk or wall clock, with one…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 269 words

Clock such as a desk or wall clock, comprising a clock movement having a vertical axis and provided with a vertical minute drive shaft and a vertical hour drive shaft in operative coaxial arrangement, and three or four hand systems disposed at 90 degree angles to each other about the vertical axis and whose hand system axes are substantially horizontal and intersect the vertical axis, the hand systems each being provided in operative coaxial arrangement with a minute hand shaft having an auxiliary minute crown gear and an hour hand shaft having an auxiliary crown gear, each of said minute gears meshing in the manner of an angle gear with a common auxiliary minute transmission gear disposed operatively coaxially to the vertical axis and driven by the vertical minute shaft, and each of said hour gears meshing in the manner of an angle gear with a common auxiliary hour transmission gear disposed operatively coaxially to the vertical axis and driven by the vertical hour shaft, said minute gears each having the same number of teeth as said minute transmission gear with which they mesh, and said hour gears each having the same number of teeth as said hour transmission gear with which they mesh, the teeth being in mutual engagement having a profile displacement in the manner of a V-plus gear with said minute transmission gear having a diameter larger by at least double the corresponding tooth depth than the diameter of said minute gears and said hour transmission gear having a diameter larger by at least double the corresponding tooth depth than the diameter of said hour gears.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 269 words

Clock such as a desk or wall clock, comprising a clock movement having a vertical axis and provided with a vertical minute drive shaft and a vertical hour drive shaft in operative coaxial arrangement, and three or four hand systems disposed at 90 degree angles to each other about the vertical axis and whose hand system axes are substantially horizontal and intersect the vertical axis, the hand systems each being provided in operative coaxial arrangement with a minute hand shaft having an auxiliary minute crown gear and an hour hand shaft having an auxiliary crown gear, each of said minute gears meshing in the manner of an angle gear with a common auxiliary minute transmission gear disposed operatively coaxially to the vertical axis and driven by the vertical minute shaft, and each of said hour gears meshing in the manner of an angle gear with a common auxiliary hour transmission gear disposed operatively coaxially to the vertical axis and driven by the vertical hour shaft, said minute gears each having the same number of teeth as said minute transmission gear with which they mesh, and said hour gears each having the same number of teeth as said hour transmission gear with which they mesh, the teeth being in mutual engagement having a profile displacement in the manner of a V-plus gear with said minute transmission gear having a diameter larger by at least double the corresponding tooth depth than the diameter of said minute gears and said hour transmission gear having a diameter larger by at least double the corresponding tooth depth than the diameter of said hour gears.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 36 words

Clock of claim 1 wherein the clock movement and adjacent portions of the minute drive shaft and hour drive shaft are disposed in a housing framework formation vertically spaced from the hand system shafts and gears.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 140 words

Clock of claim 2 wherein the framework formation includes a box like hollow extension vertically adjacent the clock movement and having correspondingly three or four pocket shaped cavities defined between pairs of generally parallel inner and outer vertical side walls, each pair of side walls being disposed at right angles to the pair of side walls of the adjacent cavity for receiving a corresponding said minute shaft and minute gear and a corresponding said hour shaft and hour gear, and each pair of side walls having a guide surface region in each wall thereof at right angles to the corresponding hand system axis for operatively mounting adjacent portions of said minute shaft and minute gear and of said hour shaft and hour gear in the corresponding pocket shaped cavity defined by the pair of inner and outer side walls thereat.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 44 words

Clock of claim 3 wherein the pairs of side walls are connected at their edge portions remote from the framework formation to form a closed inside end wall of the corresponding cavity remote from the framework formation and defining a remote end continuation thereof.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 37 words

Clock of claim 4 wherein the edge portions of the inner side walls adjacent the framework formation are interconnected by a supporting cross wall arranged for operatively mounting said minute transmission gear and said hour transmission gear.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 49 words

Clock of claim 5 wherein said cavities are open in the direction facing the clock movement, and the guide surface regions of the outer and inner side walls contain centering bearing surfaces for correspondingly rotatably mounting said minute shafts and minute gears and said hour shafts and hour gears.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 67 words

Clock of claim 5 wherein the cross wall contains a bearing hub, and said minute transmission gear and hour transmission gear contain intermeshing centering ribs, the hub and ribs being operatively arranged for mutually centering said transmission gears via the ribs for relative coaxial rotation with respect to each other, and for rotatably mounting said transmission gears via the hub for rotation relative to the cross wall.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 35 words

Clock of claim 1 wherein the clock movement is provided with a vertical second drive shaft having a drum attached thereto containing an outside surface adapted to bear visually disposed indicia such as an advertisement.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 144 words

Clock such as a desk or wall clock, comprising a clock movement having a vertical axis and provided with a vertical minute drive shaft, a vertical hour drive shaft, and a vertical second drive shaft in operative coaxial arrangement, several analog time indicating devices disposed at right angles to each other at a level spaced from the clock movement, and operatively connected to the vertical minute drive shaft and the vertical hour drive shaft for operating the time indicating devices, and a rotary dummy pendulum disposed at a location remote from the level of the time indicating devices, and in operative coaxial arrangement with and operatively connected to the vertical second drive shaft for operating the pendulum, the pendulum being operatively connected to the vertical second drive shaft via a connection assembly including a speed increasing transmission and an elastic spring acting intermediate member.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 144 words

Clock such as a desk or wall clock, comprising a clock movement having a vertical axis and provided with a vertical minute drive shaft, a vertical hour drive shaft, and a vertical second drive shaft in operative coaxial arrangement, several analog time indicating devices disposed at right angles to each other at a level spaced from the clock movement, and operatively connected to the vertical minute drive shaft and the vertical hour drive shaft for operating the time indicating devices, and a rotary dummy pendulum disposed at a location remote from the level of the time indicating devices, and in operative coaxial arrangement with and operatively connected to the vertical second drive shaft for operating the pendulum, the pendulum being operatively connected to the vertical second drive shaft via a connection assembly including a speed increasing transmission and an elastic spring acting intermediate member.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 29 words

Clock of claim 9 wherein the connection assembly includes a friction clutch whose power transmitting friction moment is smaller than the drive moment of the vertical second drive shaft.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 51 words

Clock of claim 10 wherein the speed increasing transmission includes a gear link member operatively connected to the pendulum, the spring acting intermediate member is operatively connected to the vertical second drive shaft, and the friction clutch is operatively disposed between the gear link member and the spring acting intermediate member.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 53 words

Clock of claim 9 wherein the spring acting intermediate member is in the form of a coil spring containing several turns and disposed coaxially of the vertical second drive shaft, one end of the spring being operatively connected to a hub element fixedly mounted on the vertical second drive shaft for co-rotation therewith.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 46 words

Clock of claim 12 wherein the speed increasing transmission includes a gear link member rotatably mounted on the vertical second drive shaft and operatively connected to the pendulum, and the spring is operatively disposed in the manner of a brake spring in the gear link member.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 21 words

Clock of claim 9 wherein the pendulum is mounted directly on the vertical second drive shaft in freely rotatable relation therewith.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 146 words

Clock such as a desk or wall clock, comprising a generally cube like shape hollow part including four clock face supports disposed at right angles to each other and symmetrical to a vertical centerline, and forming four vertical side walls, and a horizontal top cover plate connected to the side walls and having a central inwardly directed hub portion coaxial to the vertical centerline, and four horizontal corresponding hand systems of minute and hour hands in a stationary gear housing having a top support cover, the gear housing being disposed in the hollow part with the four hand systems arranged at the four clock face side walls for being driven by transmission systems of a clock movement vertical minute drive shaft and vertical hour drive shaft arrangement, and with the inwardly directed hub portion of the hollow part resting on the gear housing top support cover.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 146 words

Clock such as a desk or wall clock, comprising a generally cube like shape hollow part including four clock face supports disposed at right angles to each other and symmetrical to a vertical centerline, and forming four vertical side walls, and a horizontal top cover plate connected to the side walls and having a central inwardly directed hub portion coaxial to the vertical centerline, and four horizontal corresponding hand systems of minute and hour hands in a stationary gear housing having a top support cover, the gear housing being disposed in the hollow part with the four hand systems arranged at the four clock face side walls for being driven by transmission systems of a clock movement vertical minute drive shaft and vertical hour drive shaft arrangement, and with the inwardly directed hub portion of the hollow part resting on the gear housing top support cover.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 52 words

Clock of claim 15 wherein the cover plate has a cup like depression concentric to the vertical centerline and from the central bottom portion of which the central hub portion is inwardly directed toward the top support cover of the gear housing, the depression being adapted to accommodate a rotary dummy pendulum.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 36 words

Clock of claim 15 wherein the clock face supports forming the vertical side walls and the horizontal cover plate correspondingly include annular disc surface formations having the same outside diameter and integrally interconnected to each other.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 40 words

clock of claim 15 wherein the hub portion is provided with a threaded flange sleeve, and the top support cover of the gear housing is provided with a corresponding threaded central bearing hub for threaded interconnection with the flange sleeve.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 38 words

Clock of claim 15 wherein the hollow part has an open underside, and the gear housing has a counterpart cube like shape thereto permitting relative insertion of the gear housing into the hollow part via the open underside.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 190 words

Clock such as a desk or wall clock, comprising a clock movement having a vertical axis and provided with a vertical minute drive shaft and a vertical hour drive shaft in operative coaxial arrangement, four analog time indicating devices disposed at right angles to each other at a vertical first level spaced from the clock movement, and operatively connected to said drive shafts for operating the time indicating devices, a rectangular clock housing containing the clock movement and time indicating devices, and having vertical side walls disposed at right angles to each other between adjacent vertical corner posts, the posts being fastened upright to a base plate and carrying a top cover plate, the posts each having vertical slots in which the side walls are correspondingly guidingly retained, the posts being elongated in cross section and diagonally disposed in an inward direction from the slots toward the vertical axis, and each post having a horizontal bearing surface at a level remote from said first level, and a horizontal support element supported by the corresponding horizontal bearing surfaces of the posts, and arranged for supporting in turn the clock movement thereon.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 190 words

Clock such as a desk or wall clock, comprising a clock movement having a vertical axis and provided with a vertical minute drive shaft and a vertical hour drive shaft in operative coaxial arrangement, four analog time indicating devices disposed at right angles to each other at a vertical first level spaced from the clock movement, and operatively connected to said drive shafts for operating the time indicating devices, a rectangular clock housing containing the clock movement and time indicating devices, and having vertical side walls disposed at right angles to each other between adjacent vertical corner posts, the posts being fastened upright to a base plate and carrying a top cover plate, the posts each having vertical slots in which the side walls are correspondingly guidingly retained, the posts being elongated in cross section and diagonally disposed in an inward direction from the slots toward the vertical axis, and each post having a horizontal bearing surface at a level remote from said first level, and a horizontal support element supported by the corresponding horizontal bearing surfaces of the posts, and arranged for supporting in turn the clock movement thereon.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 111 words

Clock of claim 20 wherein two vertically spaced apart horizontal bearing surfaces are provided on each post, one bearing surface being disposed at a second level vertically above said first level and the other bearing surface being disposed at a third level vertically below said first level, and two corresponding horizontal support elements are provided which are supported respectively by said bearing surfaces, the support element supported by the bearing surfaces at the second level being arranged for supporting in turn the clock movement thereon, and the support element supported by the bearing surfaces at the third level being arranged for supporting in turn portions of the time indicating devices thereon.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 67 words

Clock of claim 20 wherein the housing has an interior top portion and the top cover plate has a cut out portion coverable by a removable cover for opening the interior top portion to provide access to a hand setting knob and an energy source compartment for accommodating an energy source for operating the clock movement, said knob and compartment being located in the interior top portion.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1991-01-18	1991-07-20	1992-01-19	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1995-01-18	1995-07-20	1996-01-19	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1999-01-18	1999-07-20	2000-01-19	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Clock, in particular desk or wall clock, with one or more analog time indicating devices

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