US3763648A

US3763648A - Timepiece for creating visual effects

Info

Publication number: US3763648A
Application number: US00242539A
Authority: US
Inventors: D Pakter; T Krauss
Original assignee: D Pakter; T Krauss
Current assignee: COLOR WATCHES BY LEJOUR Co 29 WEST 36TH STREET NEW YORK NEW YORK 10018 A CORP OF NEW YORK; TERPACK INDUSTRIES Inc 1192 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK NEW YORK 10028 A CORP OF NEW YORK
Priority date: 1972-04-10
Filing date: 1972-04-10
Publication date: 1973-10-09
Anticipated expiration: 1990-10-09

Abstract

A timepiece which in addition to indicating time will also create certain visual effects. The timepiece has a face and a transparent crystal covering the face and defining therewith a space in which rotary hour-indicating and minute-indicating elements are located. A rotary second-indicating element is also located in this space. One of the rotary elements has a feature which enables it to contribute toward a predetermined visual effect. The crystal itself carries a stationary structure which coacts with the latter one rotary element for contributing to the desired visual effect.

Description

United States Patent [191 Pakter et al.

[ TIMEPIECE FOR CREATING VISUAL EFFECTS [76] Inventors: David L. Pakter, l 192 Park Ave.,

New York 10028; Thomas R. Krauss, 62-06 80th St., Middle Village 11379, both of NY.

[22] Filed: Apr. 10, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 242,539

[52] US. Cl 58/148, 35/39, 58/127 R [51] Int. Cl. G04b 47/00, G04b 19/06 [58] Field of Search 35/35 D, 35 F, 35 H,

35/39; 40/1 B, 8 R, 8 A; 58/1, 2, 43, 50 R, 5 A, 125 B, I26 A, 126 D, l27

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,439,492 4/1969 Gravenson 58/] R Dl7l,958 4/1954 Spooner 35/39 3,593,517 7/1971 Knippler 58/50 R 2,547,468 4/1951 Hussey 58/50 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 983,245 6/1951 France 58/50 R Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-Edith Simmons Jackmon Attorney-Alex Friedman et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A timepiece which in addition to indicating time will also create certain visual effects. The timepiece has a face and a transparent crystal covering the face and defining therewith a space in which rotary hourindicating and minute-indicating elements are located. A rotary second-indicating element is also located in this space. One of the rotary elements has a feature which enables it to contribute toward a predetermined visual effect. The crystal itself carries a stationary structure which coacts with the latter one rotary element for contributing to the desired visual effect.

12 Claims, 27 Drawing Figures PATENIEDUBT 1 3.7633648 sum 1 or s PATENTEDBBT 91m 3.763.648

SHEET 3 [IF 5 FIG. /2

PATENTED 3.763 ,648

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sum

5 or 5 1 TIMEPIECE FOR CREATING VISUAL EFFECTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to timepieces.

In particular, the present invention relates to timepieces which, in addition to indicating time, will also create special visual effects. I

While there are known timepieces of this general type, the visual effects which are achieved thereby are interesting to the observer only during the first time that they are observed. Thereafter these visual effects become boring, and even small children lose interest in the known devices of this type. With the known timepieces of this general type, the time-indicating function detracts from the desired visual effect and the variety of visual effects is necessarily limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a timepiece which will avoid the above drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a timepiece of the above general type which can achieve far more elaborate visual effects than has hitherto been possible.

Also it is an object of the present invention to provide a timepiece of this type which can indicate the time without detracting from the visual effect.

In addition itis an object of the invention to provide a timepiece of this type which will be particularly attractive to young people, and which willbe capable of holding their interest for a long time, while also having an educational value.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a timepiece of this type which does not require modification of any part of the movement situated behind'the face of'the timepiece, with the structure which achieves-the desired resultsincludingin some cases the visible surface of the face itself, with hour and minute indicating elements as well as a sweep-second element being rotatedin a conventional manner so that no modifications inthe basic workings of a timepiece are requiredwith the invention.

According to the invention the timepiece has a face BRIEF'DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of this-application-and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a timepiece according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates only the crystal of the timepiece of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates only the rotary sweep-second means;

FIG. 4 illustrates the face of the timepiece with the hour and minute hands;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary transverse section taken along line 55 of FIG. I in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a variation of the structure of FIGS. 1-5;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of another embodiment of a timepiece according to the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates the crystal of the embodiment of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 illustrates the rotary sweep-second means of the embodiment of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 illustrates the face of the embodiment of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional illustration, taken along line Ill-J1 of FIG. 7, to illustrate in more detail how the parts are assembled;

FIG. I2 is a front elevation of a further embodiment of a timepiece according to the invention;

FIG. 113 illustrates the crystal of the embodiment of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 illustrates the rotary sweep-second means of the embodiment of FIG. 112;

FIG. 15 illustrates the face of the embodiment of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 1l6-16 of FIG. 112 in the direction of the arrows and illustrating in greater detail how the components of this embodiment are assembled;

FIG. 17 is a front elevation of a further embodiment of a timepiece according to the invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates the crystal of the embodiment of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 illustrates the rotary sweep-second means of the embodiment of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 illustrates the rotary minute-indicating means of FIG. 17;

FIG. 21 illustrates the rotary hour-indicating means of FIG. 17;

FIG. 22 illustrates the face of the embodiment of FIG. 17; I

FIG. 23 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 23-23 of FIG. 17 in the direction of the arrows and illustrating in greater detail how the components are assembled;

FIG. 24 is a front elevation of an embodiment of the invention particularly suited for teaching purposes;

FIG. 25 illustrates the timepiece of FIG. 24 with the crystal removed;

FIG. 26 is a front elevation of the crystal of FIG. 24; and

FIG. 27 is a fragmentary transverse section taken along line 27-27 of FIG. 24 in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 11-5, the timepiece 30 has a conventional face 32 as well as a conventional minute hand 34 and hour hand 36 which respectively form rotary minute indicating means and hour-indicating means situated in front of the face 32 which is provided with the numerals 38 for indicating the hours. Behind the face 32 is a suitable conventional movement, housed within the case 40 (FIG. 5) for rotating the minute hand 34 and hour hand 36 so as to indicate the minutes and hours in a conventional manner.

Instead of providing the timepiece30 with a conventional rotary sweep-second hand, the rotary sweepsecond means 42, as shown in FIG. 3, takes the form of a transparent rotary disc having thereon a series of words which are radially arranged, as indicated in FIG. 3. In this way the rotary sweep-second means 42 will contribute toward a desired predetermined visual effeet.

The face 32 is covered by a crystal 44 which is transparent and which defines with the face 32 a space in which the three rotary means 34, 36, and 42 are accommodated, as is apparent from FIG. 5. In accordance with a further feature of the invention the crystal 44 carries a stationary means 46 which coacts with the rotary sweep-second means 42 in order to contribute to the predetermined visual effect. In the illustrated example the stationary means 46 takes the form of a circular sheet which is adhered to the inner surface of the crystal 44 and which has on its front surface a representation of the type illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, this representation may be that of a television set and an individual watching the television set as well as a table and an apple on the table. It will be noted that the stationary means 46 has a circular periphery beyond which the outer ends of the

hands

34 and 36 are visible so as to indicate the time.

The stationary means 46 is formed inwardly of its outer periphery with an opening 48 which simulates the screen of the television set. The several words on the rotary sweep-second means 42 will become successively visible in the opening 48, and an individual watching the timepiece will detect once each minute when the particular word visible through the opening 48 matches the object on the table which in the illustrated example is an apple. Thus, each time the timepiece has the condition illustrated in FIG. 1 it will be known that 1 minute has elapsed. The remaining words of the type shown in FIG. 3 when visible successively through the opening 48 will not match the object 50, so that a child using this timepiece can determine when the matching word appears, and thus the timepiece not only is entertaining but also is educational.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 is identical with that of FIGS. 1-5 except that the rotary sweep-second means 42 is situated behind the face 32' which differs from the face 32 only in that this face 32 is itself formed with an opening 48' of the same size-as and aligned with the opening 48 so that in this case the words on the rotary sweep-second means 42 will appear through the opening 48' behind the hands which now will become visible part of the time through the opening 48. In this way an added visual effect is achieved with the embodiment of FIG. 6.

, With the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 7-ll, the timepiece 50 has a face 52 which is illustrated in FIG. 10. In front of the face 52 are the rotary hour-indicating means 54 and minuteindicating means 56 which in this embodiment also are in the form of a conventional hour hand and minute hand. These components are driven by a conventional movement in the casing 58. A transparent crystal 60 is situated in front of the face 52 to define therewith the space in which the hands are accommodated, and this face also serves to accommodate the rotary sweepsecond means 62 which is illustrated in FIG. 9. This rotary sweep-second means 62 is in the form of a transparent disc having a circular peripheral region 64 provided with successive portions of different colors as illustrated. The inner circular part of the rotary sweepsecond means 62 which is surrounded by the portion 64 is also transparent but carries a representation of heavenly bodies, as illustrated in FIG. 9.

As is apparent from FIG. 8, which shows the crystal, in this embodiment it is the crystal itself which carries the numerals 66 which indicate the hours. Thus, the

hands

54 and 56 coact with numerals situated directly on the crystal. In addition, the crystal carries, at its inner surface, a circular stationary means 68 in the form of a sheet which is adhered to the inner surface of the crystal and which has transparent portions of different colors situated over the transparent differently colored portions 64 of the rotary sweep-second means 62. The circular stationary means 68 in addition carries a representation of a pair of astronauts 70 looking out of their capsule, which forms a vehicle for the astronauts, into the heavens. The space surrounded by the stationary means 68 is clear.

Referring now to FIG. 10, it will be seen that the face 52 carries a representation 72 of part of the vehicle for the astronauts 70, so that a three-dimensional effect is achieved with the part 72 situated to the rear of the crystal directly on the face 52. In addition, the central region of the face is provided with a representation of the heavens, suitable stars and planets being indicated, and this portion is visible through the transparent part of the rotary means 62 which is also provided with representation of heavenly bodies such as stars, the moon, etc.

The manner in which all of these components are arranged with respect to each other is particularly apparent from FIG. 11.

Referring to FIG. 7 it will be seen that with this construction, during rotation of the rotary sweep-second means 62, the differently colored portion 64 will cooperate with the differently colored regions of the stationary means 68 to provide a visual effect of different colors out at the horizon which is viewed by the astronauts. In addition, at the central region the part of the heavens-carried by the rotary means 62 will rotate with respect to the part thereof carried by the face 52, to give the effect of some stars, planets, the moon, etc. moving with respect to other heavenly bodies. Moreover, the fact that the part of the vehicle 72 is in a plane behind the part where the astronauts 70 are located gives a three-dimensional effect so that the reality of the visual effect of the embodiment of FIGS. 7-ll is surprising, and a highly entertaining representation of astronauts moving in space is achieved with the observer seeing what might well be seen by the astronauts themselves if the observer were situated directly behind the astronauts.

In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 12-16 the timepiece 76 has the face 78 shown in FIG. 15. Behind the face 78 is the movement located in the casing 80, as shown in FIG. 16. The face 78 is provided, in order to indicate the hours, with areas 82 of drop-shape configuration having different colors and arranged as illustrated in FIG. 15. The rotary hour-indicating means 84 and the rotary minuteindicating means 86 are in the form of a pair of conventional hands for respectively indicating the hours and minutes by coaction with the areas 82.

The crystal 88 is transparent and forms with the face 78 the space for accommodating the hands as well as the rotary sweep-second means 90 shown in FIG. 14 and described below. This crystal 88 carries the stationary means 92 in the form of a transparent sheet which is adhered to the inner surface of the crystal 88 and which is provided with a central region 94 having semicircles of different colors. This central region 94 which is transparent and has different colors is surrounded by a peripheral region 96 of the stationary means 92, this peripheral region being transparent and of a different color than the areas of the central region 94. The peripheral region 96 has clear transparent areas 98 aligned with the areas 82 which thus become visible through the clear transparent areas 98.

However, between the areas 82 and the clear areas 98 there is the rotary sweep-second means 90 which is also transparent and which has a peripheral region provided with the colored areas 100 of different colors having a size and configuration matching the areas 82 and distributed along a circle of the same diameter and with the same angular distribution. As a result the colors of the areas 100 will become superimposed while rotating past the colors of the areas 82, and these continuously changing combinations of colors will become visible through the clear areas 98. Thus, with this embodiment the hands will be visible beyond the area 94 of the crystal coacting with hour-indicating elements which are constantly changing colors to provide a very pleasant visual effect. In addition, the central region of the rotary sweep-second means 90 is formed with differently colored areas 102 visible through the colored areas of the central region 94 of the stationary means 92, so that in this way also an exceedingly pleasant constantly changing pattern of colors is surrounded by the constantly changing colors of the hour-indicating elements.

The timepiece 110 which is illustrated in FIG. 17 has a face 112 which, as shown in FIG. 22, is simply in the form of an element which has a visible surface of one predetermined color such as white or blue, for example. The face 112 is situated in front of the movement which is housed within the casing 114, as shown in FIG. 23. The crystal 116 is shown in FIG. 18 by itself. This crystal 116 serves to form with the face 112 the space for accommodating the several means for indicating the'hours, minutes, and seconds, as well as the stationary means 118 which is made up of an outer ring 120 of a predetermined color which may be transparent and which is adhered to the inner surface of the crystal and, an inner circular portion 122 which may be opaque or transparent and which has another color visible through the crystal 116, the inner circular part 122 of the stationary means 118 being adhered to the inner surface of the crystal so as to define with the outer part 1 an annular circular area 124 through which the observer may look toward the face 112.

The rotary hour-indicating means 126 is shown in FIG. 21. This rotary means takes the form of a circular disc which is transparent and which has at the region of its outer periphery a symbol such as a rectangle 128 of a predetermined color. The diameter of the rotary hour-indicating means 126 is such that the symbol 128, which indicates the hours, is visible through the space 124. The disc 126 may be made of a clear transparent plastic so that only the rectangle 128, which may be made of any desired color, appears.

The rotary minute-indicating means 130 is also in the form of'a clear transparent disc made of any suitable plastic and carrying a symbol, such as the triangle 132 which may be of any desired color and which also is situated so as to be visible through the annular area 124. The rotary sweep-second means 134 is also in the form of a clear transparent rotary disc, and this rotary disc carries a circular symbol 136 for indicating the seconds. This symbol 136 is also located in alignment with the area 124 so as to be visible therethrough.

The effect of the assembly of these components is shown in FIG. 17. The observer sees through the area 124 the three

symbols

126, 132, and 136 for respec tively indicating the hours, minutes, and seconds. The positions of the

elements

132 and 128 with respect to the winding crown 136 readily indicates the time. The rotating symbol 136 also indicates the seconds. However, because the symbol 136 continuously moves around the central portion 122 of the stationary means it gives the effect of one body orbiting about another body, thus providing in this way also an extremely pleasant visual effect as well as a simulation of an orbiting heavenly body.

Although in the illustrated example it is preferred to retain the face 112 in the condition shown in FIG.22 where it carries no designations whatsoever of the hours, since in this way the effect as shown in FIG. 17 is achieved, it is of course possible to provide numerals to indicate the hours with these numerals being visible through the area 124 and coacting with the

symbols

132 and 128, if desired. However it is preferred to provide an arrangement as shown where there are no numerals so that such numerals will not detract from the visual effect which is achieved with the arrangement shown in FIG. 17.

FIGS. 24-27 illustrate an embodiment of the invention which is not only entertaining but in addition is primarily of educational value since it is capable of teaching a child to tell time and also contributes toward development of conceptual thinking. The timepiece 1511 of FIGS. 24-27 has the usual case 152. The face 154 of the timepiece is illustrated in FIG. 25. Thus, the face 154 is provided with the indicia 156 for indicating the hours as well as the minutes. In front of the face 154, the timepiece has a rotary hour-indicating means 158 in the form of a conventional hour hand, a rotary sweep-second means 160 in the form of the rotary second-indicating element 161) which turns through a complete revolution at each minute as is conventional, and a rotary minute-indicating means 162 which is capable of indicating the minutes and which is driven by a conventional movement situated within the housing 152, this conventional movement also actuating the hour-indicating hand 15% and the second-indicating hand 166 in a conventional manner.

According to the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 2 4-27, the rotary minuteindicating means 162 has an intermediate portion 164 which is distinctive from the remainder of the components as by having a distinctive color. For example, the elongated intermediate portion 164 of the minute hand 162 may be colored yellow, so that it will be distinct from the remainder of the elements, and this intermediate portion 164 has printed thereon the word after". The coating 164 which has the distinctive color is indicated as a separate layer on the minute hand 162 in FIG. 27.

The remainder of the minute hand 162 may be colored white, for example, so that it is distinct from the portion 164, and between the portion 164 and the inner end of the minute hand 162, the white part thereof has printed thereon the word to", which it will be noted is oriented in such a way that it is inverted with respect to the word after. Thus, the inner portion 166 of the minute hand 162 is sharply distinct from the intermediate portion 164 so that these

portions

164 and 166 are conceptually different from each other.

The crystal 168 of the timepiece 150 is shown by itself in FIG. 26 and is illustrated in section in FIG. 27, this crystal being shown in the assembled timepiece, as it appears over the face, in FIG. 24. The crystal 168 is made of any suitable glass or plastic and is transparent, as is conventional. The crystal 168 has fixed to its inner surface a transparent plastic sheet 170 which has material printed on its inner surface, as shown by the raised layers in FIG. 27. Thus, the transparent plastic sheet 170 which adheres to the inner surface of the crystal 168 has printed thereon a circular minute-indicating ring 172. The top of the minute ring 172 is provided with the numeral which is angularly aligned with the hour-indicating numeral 12. Proceeding in a clockwise direction in FIG. 26 it will be seen that the minuteindicating ring 172 is provided with numerals increasing by increments of minutes up to the numeral 30 which is aligned with the hour numeral 6, with the intermediate minute numerals respectively being aligned with the hour numerals l-5. Thus, the minute numerals 5, l0, I5, 20 and 25 are respectively angularly aligned with the hour numerals I, 2, 3, 4, 5. This right half of the ring 172 is also colored yellow, so that a child will readily identify the intermediate portion 164 of the minute hand 162 with the right halfof the ring 172 since they are both of the same color.

The left half of the ring 172, as viewed in FIG. 26, is white or transparent and thus has the same color as the portion 166 of the minute hand 162. This left portion of the ring 172 also has the minute numerals indicated in increments of five minutes progressing, however, in a counterclockwise direction from the top of the ring 172, as viewed in FIG. 26, so that the left hand series of minute-indicating numerals 5-25 are respectively aligned with the hour-indicating numerals l1, l0, 9, 8, 7.

The ring 172 surrounds a circular area provided at the left with an opaque portion 174 which is of a semicircular configuration except that it has a central semicircular transparent portion 176 through which the inner portion 166 of the minute hand 162 is visible when the minute hand 162 is on the left side of a vertical line extending between the hour numerals l2 and 6. This transparent semicircular portion 176 forms a complete circle with an opaque semicircular component 178. The remainder of the semicircle on the right of

portions

174 and 176 and surrounded by the ring 172 is transparent so that the opaque semicircle 178 is situated centrally within a transparent semicircular area extending along the yellow right hand part of the ring 172.

With this timepiece, as the rotary minute-indicating means 162 turns each hour through a complete circle during the first half hour the word after is visible between the opaque semicircle 178 and the right hand side of the ring 172 with the word to being covered by the opaque portion 178 so that it is not visible at this time. Therefore, a child viewing the timepiece will, as shown in FIG. 24, learn that the minute hand indicates the number of minutes after the hour. For example, in

the position of the parts shown in FIG. 24 the minute hand 162 indicates 12 minutes after 10.

During the second half hour the portion 164 of the minute hand 162 is no longer visible since it is covered by the opaque portion 174, and at this time the inner portion 166 of the hand 162 is visible through the semicircular area l76. Now the word to will appear rightside-up, and a child viewing the timepiece will know how many minutes to the hour is indicated by the position of the minute hand along the left side of the ring.

An important feature of the invention resides not only in the fact that the child readily learns to tell time with this construction, but also in the fact that the child identifies the portion 164 with the right hand side of the ring 172 which is similarly colored and the portion 166 with the left hand side of the ring 172 which is colored the same as the portion 166. Therefore, the timepiece also serves as an aid to encourage conceptual thinking inasmuch as the child undergoes the mental process of identifying similar characteristics with each other.

In this connection it is to be noted that the identifying of the characteristics with each other by way of similar colors is only given by way of example. It is possible, for example, to utilize different features such as different shapes in order to achieve this same result. For example, the intermediate portion 164 of the minute hand may have an edge of a wavy shape while the right side of the ring 172 will have a periphery of a similar wavy shape. The inner portion 166 can then have an edge of a notched configuration, for example, while the left hand side of the ring 172 will have a similar notched configuration. Thus, the child is encouraged to identify like characteristics with each other, giving the possibility of encouraging conceptual thinking as well as the possibility of learning to tell time in a highly entertaining manner with the timepiece of the invention.

Further variations are of course possible with this embodiment. For example, the minute ring can be located on the face of the timepiece rather than on the crystal, and the hour indicia 156 may be located on the crystal instead of on the face.

It is thus apparent that with all of the embodiments of the invention it is possible for the timepiece to carry out its basic function of indicating the time. However, this function does not in any way detract from the achievement of the desired visual effect, and by making use of the crystal itself to support the stationary means it is possible to achieve a wide variety of elaborate entertaining visual effects which in many cases are also educational.

What is claimed is:

1. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face, rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweepsecond means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes, and seconds, said rotary minute-indicating means and rotary hourindicating means respectively being in the form of a minute hand and an hour hand, said stationary face carrying circularly arranged time-indicating indicia visible through said stationary crystal and with which said hands coact for indicating the time, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and situated at an area thereof beyond which said indicia and the outer ends of said hands are located so as to remain visible beyond said stationary means through said crystal, said stationary means coacting with said rotary sweepsecond means for achieving a predetermined visual-effeet without preventing the hours,minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means.

2. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a-stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face, rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweepsecond means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes, and seconds, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and coacting with one of said rotary means for achieving a predetermined visual effect without preventing the hours, minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means, said rotary sweep-second means contributing toward said visual effect and forming said one rotary means which coacts with said stationary means to achieve said visual effect, said rotary hour-indicating means and rotary-minute-indicating means being respectively in the form of an hour hand and a minute hand, said stationary means being fixedly carried by a surface of said crystal and having an outer periphery beyond which outer end portions of said hands are visible through said crystal, said stationary means being formed inwardly of its periphery with an opening and carrying a representation of a predetermined object which is visible at said crystal, said rotary sweep-second means being in the form of a rotary disc covered by said stationary means except at said opening thereof and carrying a plurality of radially arranged words one of which matches said object and the others of which do not match said object, said words being successively visible through said opening during rotation of said sweep-second means so that an observer will know when one minute has elapsed each time said one word which matches said object appears through said opening.

3. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face,'rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweepsecond means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes, and seconds, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and coacting with one of said rotary means for achieving a predetermined visual effect without preventing the hours, minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means, said rotary sweep-second means contributing toward said visual effect and forming said one rotary means which coacts with said stationary means to achieve said visual effect, said rotary hour-indicating and minute-indicating means being are in the form of an hour hand and a minute hand, said crystal carrying at an outer peripheral portion numerals for coacting with said hands, and said stationary means being in the form of a ring around which said numerals are arranged, having transparent portions of different colors, and also having a representation of an astronaut, said face carrying a representation of the heavens and part of a vehicle for the astronaut, and said rotary sweep-second means being transparent and also carrying a representation of the heavens and having an outer peripheral portion of different colors coacting with the colors of said portions of said ring for providing said effeet while the part of said rotary sweep-second means which represents the heavens coacts with the part of said face which represents the heavens for indicating movements of heavenly bodies during rotation of said sweep-second means.

4. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face, rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweepsecond means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes and seconds, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and coacting with one of said rotary means for achieving a predetermined visual effect without preventing the hours, minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means, said rotary sweep-second means contributing toward said visual effect and forming said one rotary means which coacts with said stationary means to achieve said visual effect, said face having substantially drop-shaped areas of different colors for representing the hours, said rotary hourindicating means and minute-indicating means being in the form of an hour hand and a minute hand, and said stationary means having an outer circular transparent portion of a predetermined color formed with openings through which said areas of said face are visible with said openings matching the configuration of said areas, respectively, said stationary means having a central region surrounded by said openings and divided into transparent portions of different colors, andsaid rotary sweep-second means being transparent and having areas of different colors matching in configuration and number said areas on said face and arranged along a circle of the same diameter as said areas on said face so that different color effects are achieved and visible through said openings of said stationary means while said rotary sweep-second means turns, said rotary sweep-second means having a central region provided with areas of different colors to coact with the central region of said stationary means for adding to the visual effect.

5. The combination of claim I and wherein said rotary sweep-second means is in the form of a rotary disc.

6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said stationary face is formed with an opening, said rotary sweep-second means being situated behind said stationary face with a portion thereof visible through said opening.

7. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said stationary face is formed with an opening aligned with said opening of said stationary means and said rotary sweepsecond means being situated behind said stationary face so that said rotary sweep-second means is covered not only by said stationary means but also by said face except for part of said sweep-second means which is visible through both of said openings and carries said words.

8. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face, rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweepsecond means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes, and seconds, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and coacting with one of said rotary means for achieving a predetermined visual effect without preventing the hours, minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means, said rotary minute-indicating means forming said one means which coacts with said stationary means for achieving said visual effect, said rotary minute-indicating means having a pair of portions which are distinct from each other and said stationary means also having a pair of portions which are distinct from each other and which respectively have characteristics similar to the characteristics of the distinct portions of said rotary minute-indicating means, so that one pair of portions of similar characteristics at said minute-indicating means and said stationary means can be identified with each other to indicate one type of information while the second pair of portions of similar characteristics at said minute-indicating means and said stationary means can be identified with each other for providing a second type of information, said one pair of portions coacting to indicate minutes after the hour while said second pair of portions coact to indicate minutes to the hours, said stationary means including a minute-indicating ring one-half of which extends from the hours 12 to 6 and has one identifying characteristic while the other half extends from the hour 6 to the hour 12 and has a different characteristic, one of said portions of said minute-indicating means which has the same characteristic as said one-half of said minute-indicating ring bearing the legend after while the other portion of said minute-indicating means which has the same characteristic as said other half of said minute-indicating ring bears the legend to.

9. The combination of claim 8 and wherein said stationary means includes opaque sections positioned for covering said other portion of said minute-indicating means and rendering said one portion thereof visible during the first half of each hour and for covering said one portion of said minute-indicating means and rendering said other portion thereof visible during the second half of each hour.

10. The combination of claim 9 and wherein said opaque sections have a semicircular configuration and are surrounded by said minute-indicating ring, one of said sections being situated on the right side of a vertical line extending between the hour numerals l2 and 6 and covering an inner portion of said minuteindicating means which forms said other portion thereof while said one portion is visible between said ring and said one opaque section, a second opaque section being located on the left side of said vertical line and having a central semicircular cutout forming a complete circle with said one semicircular opaque portion and rendering said inner portion of said minuteindicating means visible during the second half of each hour while covering said one portion of said minuteindicating means during the second half of each hour.

11. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said legends are inverted one with respect to the other.

12. The combination of claim 11 and wherein said characteristics are color characteristics.

Claims

1. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face, rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweep-second means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes, and seconds, said rotary minUte-indicating means and rotary hour-indicating means respectively being in the form of a minute hand and an hour hand, said stationary face carrying circularly arranged timeindicating indicia visible through said stationary crystal and with which said hands coact for indicating the time, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and situated at an area thereof beyond which said indicia and the outer ends of said hands are located so as to remain visible beyond said stationary means through said crystal, said stationary means coacting with said rotary sweep-second means for achieving a predetermined visual effect without preventing the hours, minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means.

2. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face, rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweep-second means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes, and seconds, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and coacting with one of said rotary means for achieving a predetermined visual effect without preventing the hours, minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means, said rotary sweep-second means contributing toward said visual effect and forming said one rotary means which coacts with said stationary means to achieve said visual effect, said rotary hour-indicating means and rotary-minute-indicating means being respectively in the form of an hour hand and a minute hand, said stationary means being fixedly carried by a surface of said crystal and having an outer periphery beyond which outer end portions of said hands are visible through said crystal, said stationary means being formed inwardly of its periphery with an opening and carrying a representation of a predetermined object which is visible at said crystal, said rotary sweep-second means being in the form of a rotary disc covered by said stationary means except at said opening thereof and carrying a plurality of radially arranged words one of which matches said object and the others of which do not match said object, said words being successively visible through said opening during rotation of said sweep-second means so that an observer will know when one minute has elapsed each time said one word which matches said object appears through said opening.

3. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face, rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweep-second means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes, and seconds, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and coacting with one of said rotary means for achieving a predetermined visual effect without preventing the hours, minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means, said rotary sweep-second means contributing toward said visual effect and forming said one rotary means which coacts with said stationary means to achieve said visual effect, said rotary hour-indicating and minute-indicating means being are in the form of an hour hand and a minute hand, said crystal carrying at an outer peripheral portion numerals for coacting with said hands, and said stationary means being in the form of a ring around which said numerals are arranged, having transparent portions of different colors, and also having a representation of an astronaut, said face carrying a representation of the heavens and part of a vehicle for the astronaut, and said rotary sweep-second means being transparent and also carrying a representation of the heavens and having an outer peripheral portion of different colors coacting with the colors of said portions of said ring for providing said effect while the part of said rotary sweep-second means which represents the heavens coacts with the part of said face whiCh represents the heavens for indicating movements of heavenly bodies during rotation of said sweep-second means.

4. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face, rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweep-second means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes and seconds, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and coacting with one of said rotary means for achieving a predetermined visual effect without preventing the hours, minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means, said rotary sweep-second means contributing toward said visual effect and forming said one rotary means which coacts with said stationary means to achieve said visual effect, said face having substantially drop-shaped areas of different colors for representing the hours, said rotary hour-indicating means and minute-indicating means being in the form of an hour hand and a minute hand, and said stationary means having an outer circular transparent portion of a predetermined color formed with openings through which said areas of said face are visible with said openings matching the configuration of said areas, respectively, said stationary means having a central region surrounded by said openings and divided into transparent portions of different colors, and said rotary sweep-second means being transparent and having areas of different colors matching in configuration and number said areas on said face and arranged along a circle of the same diameter as said areas on said face so that different color effects are achieved and visible through said openings of said stationary means while said rotary sweep-second means turns, said rotary sweep-second means having a central region provided with areas of different colors to coact with the central region of said stationary means for adding to the visual effect.

5. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said rotary sweep-second means is in the form of a rotary disc.

7. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said stationary face is formed with an opening aligned with said opening of said stationary means and said rotary sweep-second means being situated behind said stationary face so that said rotary sweep-second means is covered not only by said stationary means but also by said face except for part of said sweep-second means which is visible through both of said openings and carries said words.

8. In a timepiece, such as a clock or watch, a stationary face and a stationary crystal situated in front of and spaced from said face, rotary hour-indicating means, rotary minute-indicating means and rotary sweep-second means located between said crystal and face for respectively indicating hours, minutes, and seconds, and stationary means fixedly carried by said crystal and coacting with one of said rotary means for achieving a predetermined visual effect without preventing the hours, minutes, and seconds from being indicated by the three rotary means, said rotary minute-indicating means forming said one means which coacts with said stationary means for achieving said visual effect, said rotary minute-indicating means having a pair of portions which are distinct from each other and said stationary means also having a pair of portions which are distinct from each other and which respectively have characteristics similar to the characteristics of the distinct portions of said rotary minute-indicating means, so that one pair of portions of similar characteristics at said minute-indicating means and said stationary means can be identified with each other to indicate one type of information while the second pair of portions of similar characteristics at said Minute-indicating means and said stationary means can be identified with each other for providing a second type of information, said one pair of portions coacting to indicate minutes after the hour while said second pair of portions coact to indicate minutes to the hours, said stationary means including a minute-indicating ring one-half of which extends from the hours 12 to 6 and has one identifying characteristic while the other half extends from the hour 6 to the hour 12 and has a different characteristic, one of said portions of said minute-indicating means which has the same characteristic as said one-half of said minute-indicating ring bearing the legend ''''after'''' while the other portion of said minute-indicating means which has the same characteristic as said other half of said minute-indicating ring bears the legend ''''to''''.

10. The combination of claim 9 and wherein said opaque sections have a semicircular configuration and are surrounded by said minute-indicating ring, one of said sections being situated on the right side of a vertical line extending between the hour numerals 12 and 6 and covering an inner portion of said minute-indicating means which forms said other portion thereof while said one portion is visible between said ring and said one opaque section, a second opaque section being located on the left side of said vertical line and having a central semicircular cutout forming a complete circle with said one semicircular opaque portion and rendering said inner portion of said minute-indicating means visible during the second half of each hour while covering said one portion of said minute-indicating means during the second half of each hour.