Structure Clock

Abstract

Analog clock (1) for structuring the time of a day and displaying its course, in particular for dividing a daily routine into a number of time-definable blocks, for conveying a daily routine to a person impaired with regard to the perception and abstraction of a time, wherein the clock (1) has an analog clockwork (2) with at least one hour hand (4) rotating about a pointer axis (3) and, in analogy to a clock face (5), a circular display area (6) which is swept over by the hour hand (4) at least once during the day, wherein the display area (6) is divided into several visible sectors (7), in particular circular sectors, which are swept over by the hour hand (4) during the course of a day, and wherein different tasks and / or activities can be assigned to the sectors (7), characterized by the fact that the central angle (8) of the visible sectors (7) is mechanically, in particular manually, adjustable.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a clock for structuring a day temporally and displaying its course, in particular for dividing a daily routine into a plurality of temporally definable blocks, for conveying a daily routine to persons who are not capable of perceiving and abstracting from a time. State of the art

[0002] For people who, due to intellectual impairment, disability, or cognitive decline, lack a sense of time and / or have difficulty telling time, various display systems are known from the prior art. Instead of displaying the time in a 12- or 24-hour system, these systems represent the passage of time by the movement of a pointer through different phases of the day. These phases can be divided, for example, into activities performed during that time, such as "sleeping," "getting up," "having breakfast," "working," "having lunch," "resting," "working again," "playing," and "sleeping again."

[0003] A pointer can sweep across a marker, limited in its spatial length, thus conveying a sense of the proportion of time already elapsed for a given day compared to the time remaining for that day. The same applies to other remaining phases of the day compared to elapsed phases, with their spatial length correlating with their temporal duration.

[0004] In this context, due to the cyclical repetitions of similar processes, it is advisable, in analogy to a conventional analog clock, to arrange the phases of the day in a circle, represented by circular sectors or arc segments of a circular ring.

[0005] Accordingly, solutions are known from the prior art in which a clock hand sweeps over a mark instead of or in addition to numbers on a clock face.

[0006] German patent DE 20 2014 009 333 U1 describes a clock with a visual representation of time intervals, especially for children, in which a transparent disc is arranged over a dial. Various activities are depicted on this disc along a circular arc. A moving minute hand points to a point within the arc, thus conveying a sense of how much of the time allotted for that activity has already elapsed.

[0007] The transparent disc is rotatable around the pointer axis, so that the transparent disc can be adjusted clockwise or counterclockwise and the sequence of successive time periods or time segments as a whole can be moved to a later or earlier time.

[0008] Changing, adding or removing time periods is not possible, or only possible by replacing the transparent disc.

[0009] Furthermore, watches with electronic displays as dials are known from the prior art, which overcome the aforementioned deficit through appropriate programmability. However, these are technically complex, comparatively expensive, and generally cannot be operated by a disabled user. Disclosure of the invention

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide an improved analog clock for structuring the time of a day and displaying its course, in particular with a simple, adjustable possibility for a disabled user to divide a daily routine into a plurality of time-definable blocks, in particular for conveying a daily routine to persons who are not capable of perceiving and abstracting from a time, in particular mentally impaired or disabled persons.

[0011] The problem is solved according to the invention by the features of the independent claim. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

[0012] According to the invention, an analog clock is provided for structuring the time of a day and displaying its course, in particular for dividing a daily routine into a plurality of time-definable blocks, for conveying a daily routine to a person impaired with regard to the perception and abstraction of a time, wherein the clock has an analog clockwork with at least one hour hand rotating around a pointer axis and, in analogy to a clock face, a round display area which is swept over by the hour hand at least once during the day, wherein the display area is divided into several visible sectors, in particular circular sectors, which are swept over by the hour hand during the course of a day, and wherein different tasks and / or activities can be assigned to the sectors, wherein The central angle of the sectors is mechanically, especially manually, adjustable.

[0013] Such an analog clock has several advantages, one of which is that it is now possible for the mentally impaired person, the user, without the need to abstract a usually numerical time display, to understand, based on the relative position of the analog clock's hands in relation to a circular sector, how the day is structured and to what extent a day, a part of a day, or generally a period of time has elapsed.

[0014] By looking at a display area, i.e., the area which on a normal analog clock includes the hands and dial, the user can directly see how many sectors and associated activity periods a daily routine comprises in the sense of a structural plan, in what relative position the sectors and the associated activity periods are to each other, what relative width, i.e., what central angle, and what associated duration they have, and at what relative position certain activity periods such as "playing" or "lunch" are located in the course of the day.

[0015] In particular, the mechanical adjustability of the sector's central angles allows the user to modify the time periods of a task segment represented by the size of these angles. This mechanical, haptically perceptible adjustability provides the user with clear feedback that their manual movement—that is, the tangible change to the physically palpable circular sector—alters something abstract like a duration of time.

[0016] Furthermore, the user can see how changing one circular sector or activity section simultaneously changes the width of at least one other circular sector. This allows the user to understand and recognize the relationship between the activity sections through manual intervention.

[0017] This possibility of intervening in the daily routine by manual movement or, if necessary, by experimentation, not only promotes the ability to grasp the connections, but also fosters the important possibility of self-determination for the targeted user group and the associated feeling of self-efficacy.

[0018] Advantageously, the analog clock has at least two movable circular sectors, which are designed as visually distinct, in particular differently colored, flat sectors of a circle, arranged below the minute hand and rotatable about the hand axis, and which overlap and can be manually rotated relative to each other, in particular such that by changing an overlap angle, a sector visible from a respective circular sector can be adjusted. Advantageously, the analog clock has a plurality of at least three or four circular sectors. Corresponding to the number of circular sectors, the day can be divided into a corresponding number of phases.

[0019] Overlapping circular disk sectors offer the advantage that by changing an overlap area, the width or the central angle of the sector visible to the viewer of a lower circular disk sector, which can be partially obscured by an upper circular disk sector, can be changed continuously.

[0020] Advantageously, the circular disk sectors have a notch or slot extending from a center point to a circular edge, along which an overlap with another circular disk sector, adjacent from the viewer's perspective, can occur. A circular disk sector with such a slot, particularly one with a radially oriented slot, offers the advantage that, upon overlap with another circular disk sector, it can form an upper sector in a first overlap area and a lower sector in a second overlap area with the same other circular disk sector.

[0021] Particularly advantageous are the circular disk sectors designed as a full circle with a cut or slot extending from a center point to a circular edge, hereinafter referred to as a slotted disk, wherein the design can in particular be such that an overlap with another, for example adjacent, circular disk sector can occur along the slot from the user's point of view.

[0022] Compared to a circular sector, a full circular disk offers the advantage of symmetry about its center point. With the full circular disk mounted centrally, preferably in a vertical orientation on the pointer axis, its center of gravity lies directly on, not beside, the pointer axis, unlike a circular segment. This prevents any gravitational torque from generating that could cause the disk to rotate unintentionally. Due to frictional forces, this positional stability is not significantly affected by any asymmetry caused by a relatively narrow slot. Without the disruptive influence of gravity, adjusting circular sectors is considerably simplified, particularly for the intended user group.

[0023] In an advantageous embodiment, at least two of the circular disk sectors are arranged centrally on the hand axis of the clockwork as slotted disks made of a flexible material, rotatable about the hand axis, which interlock along their slots, particularly with each other. For this purpose, the slotted disks can be made, for example, of cardboard or plastic film.

[0024] Furthermore, the slotted discs can interlock along their slots in such a way that, from the viewer's point of view, on a first side along a slot, for example to the left of the slot, an upper slotted disc covers a lower slotted disc underneath, and on the opposite side of the slot, for example to the right of the slot, the lower slotted disc covers the upper slotted disc.

[0025] Advantageously, the slotted discs can have a slit-shaped recess along their slot with a width of approximately 3 mm to approximately 10 mm, and a recess at their center which corresponds, in particular, at least to the diameter of the pointer axis, especially 7 mm. Slotted discs which have a recess which corresponds at least to, or exactly to, the diameter of the pointer axis have the advantage that such a slotted disc can be slid onto the pointer axis from the side.

[0026] In an advantageous embodiment, several slotted disks are passed through the slot of a slotted disk. In this way, the sector of the slotted disk visible to the user can be adjusted for any given slotted disk by successively rotating the slotted disks above it.

[0027] Advantageously, all the slotted discs below it pass through the slot in the uppermost slotted disc. This allows for a successive fanning out of the slotted discs and thus the successive representation of different sectors, adjustable in their width or central angle.

[0028] Since the uppermost slotted disc can be screwed into the others by means of a rotation, its designation as the uppermost slotted disc depends on the specific point in time, for example, during adjustment or assembly. Advantageously, all other slotted discs pass through the slot of each slotted disc.

[0029] The flexible material and thickness of the slotted disk are advantageously chosen such that the slotted disk is reversibly deformable at least to the extent that the cut edges along the slot exhibit a height offset relative to each other, enabling the passage of at least 3, in particular 10, and specifically up to 15 identical slotted disks through the slot. The number of slotted disks determines the maximum number of visible sectors that can be represented.

[0030] It is particularly advantageous for the slotted discs to be different colors, allowing similar activities, such as mealtimes, to be assigned the same colors. Different colors enable better differentiation for the user, and it is also possible to permanently associate specific activities with certain colors.

[0031] The number and / or order of the slotted discs can be advantageously varied to suit a user's preferences or, for example, a uniform color scheme or style within a facility. In addition to this, but also independently of it, the slotted discs can have different colored front and back sides. It is advantageous for the slotted discs to be essentially a single color on each side. Unless this is intended to signal additional information, a uniform color on each side of the slotted disc prevents a visible sector from displaying multiple colors.

[0032] In an advantageous embodiment, the position of the circular disk sectors, particularly the slotted disks, can be reversibly fixed. For this purpose, the circular disk sectors can, for example, be designed to adhere to one another. Alternatively, the circular disk sectors can be fixed, for example, by clamping, such as by clamping all circular disk sectors together.

[0033] In an advantageous embodiment, the circular disk sectors are non-adhesive, easily rotatable relative to each other, and made, for example, of a plastic film. Furthermore, they can be pressed together, for example, by one or more magnets.

[0034] In an advantageous design of the clock, tasks and / or activities can be assigned to the visible sectors. This assignment can advantageously be achieved using markers. For example, the markers can be attached to the visible sectors using magnets or Velcro.

[0035] In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the clock has magnetic markers that can be placed on the visible sectors, which have a dual function: firstly, they assign an activity to the sector, and secondly, they fix the circular disc segment by means of a magnetic force.

[0036] In an advantageous embodiment of the clock, it has a display area that is at least partially magnetically effective and magnetically effective markers. The markers can be magnets and the display area a material with comparatively high magnetic permeability, the markers a material with comparatively high magnetic permeability and the display area a magnet, or both the markers and the display area a magnet.

[0037] To create a display area that is at least partially magnetically effective, it can, for example, include an iron-containing disc. For this purpose, the clock can have a mounting plate or base disc with comparatively high magnetic permeability, for example, made of iron, or a disc with comparatively high magnetic permeability arranged within the display area, for example, made of iron.

[0038] In an advantageous embodiment, the markers can be placed on the visible sectors of the slotted discs and adhere magnetically to a magnetically effective disc arranged in or below the display area, with the magnetism acting through the slotted discs.

[0039] In one design variant, the analog clock also features a dial and, in addition to an hour hand, a minute hand and, optionally, a second hand, which together form a clock in the familiar manner, thus allowing the viewer to relate the progression of time in the structural plan to the representation of time on a conventional clock. At the same time, this makes the time clearly visible to everyone.

[0040] For example, the dial of a typical clock can be arranged around the circular sectors on the base disc, so that the hands point over the circular sectors simultaneously to a corresponding scale in the dial.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment of the clock, the base plate can be arranged on a frame. This frame can serve for stiffening and for standing or hanging the clock, and can house a clock mechanism.

[0042] Furthermore, the clock can be configured to display a day of the week. In an advantageous embodiment, the analog clock has seven day-of-the-week indicators, of which only one is visible at a time to indicate the current day of the week. The day-of-the-week indicators are colored differently to distinguish the days of the week for the viewer.

[0043] Advantageously, the colors can be assigned to the weekday indicators according to a known symbol system for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). In an initial design option, the colors of the weekday indicators are implemented as follows for each weekday: Monday - yellow; Tuesday - green; Wednesday - blue; Thursday - red; Friday - orange; Saturday - white; Sunday - white.

[0044] In a second design option, the colors of the weekday indicators are as follows for each weekday: Monday - red; Tuesday - orange; Wednesday - yellow; Thursday - green; Friday - blue; Saturday - pink; Sunday - white.

[0045] To display the current day of the week, the day-of-the-week indicators can be mounted on or next to the display area, particularly on the outer edge, especially on the edge of the base disc, and can be attached in a clip-on manner. In an advantageous embodiment, the day-of-the-week indicators can be positioned exclusively and / or precisely at a location corresponding to the start of the day. Such precise positioning, marking the start of the day, can be of great importance depending on the nature of the viewer's impairment, for example, to avoid conflicting with the sense of order and / or need for order of an autistic person. In an advantageous embodiment of the clock, the day-of-the-week indicators can be positioned precisely at 00:00, i.e., centrally above the pointer axis, or, in the case of a circular clock, at its apex.It is advantageous to label the weekday indicators with the weekday or a respective abbreviation on half of the weekday indicator that corresponds to the display day.

[0046] Weekday indicators that can be attached to the edge of the base disc can, for example, be designed as clips that attach to the edge of the base disc. To define a specific attachment point on the edge of the base disc, the frame can, for example, extend radially towards the edge of the base disc to such an extent that the weekday indicators can only be attached to the base disc at a position where the frame has a recess.

[0047] Advantageously, the weekday indicators can be designed to be attached to the base disc, or, magnetically penetrating a non-magnetic base disc, to a disc arranged in the display area, which is designed as a magnet or material with comparatively high magnetic permeability, for example, containing iron.

[0048] Furthermore, the frame behind the base plate may have a recess for storing markers and / or unused weekday indicators.

[0049] This makes it possible to arrange currently unused weekday indicators and / or markers behind the display area, on the back of the base plate. The clock is advantageously designed so that a magnetic disc can be used on two sides, or rather both sides, for attaching markers and / or weekday indicators. While the front of the magnetic disc serves to attach markers for fixing and marking the visible sectors, the back of the magnetic disc is suitable for fixing the markers and / or weekday indicators within a cavity formed by the frame and securing them against falling out or being lost.

[0050] For cost-effective implementation, for example, the magnetically effective disc can be made of a material with a comparatively high magnetic permeability, such as iron, while the markers and the day-of-the-week indicators can be designed as permanent magnets or equipped with a permanent magnet.

[0051] In an advantageous design, the markers bear pictograms or symbols, in particular symbols of so-called augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). This makes it possible to convey a structural plan to a user of the aforementioned clock entirely without the use of alphanumeric characters, to modify it independently if necessary, and to track its progress. Drawings

[0052] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached schematic drawings and preferred embodiments.

[0053] It shows Fig. 1 an embodiment of an analog clock for structuring the time of a day and displaying its progress; Fig. 2 an embodiment of a circular disk sector designed as a slotted disk; Fig. 3 two slotted disks arranged one above the other, which interlock along their slots; Fig. 4 a lateral view of a section along a secant of four superimposed slotted disks; Fig. 5 A schematic representation of a section along a secant through an analog clock for structural planning.

[0054] Out of Fig. 1 is an analog clock 1 for structuring the time of a day and displaying its progression. The clock 1 has an analog clockwork 2 with at least one hour hand 4 rotating around a pointer axis 3 and, analogous to a clock face 5, a circular display area 6. The display area 6 is traversed at least once during the day by the hour hand 4, and the display area 6 is subdivided into several visible sectors 7, in particular circular sectors. Different tasks and / or activities can be assigned to the sectors 7. The central angle 8 of the visible sectors 7 is mechanically, in particular manually, adjustable.

[0055] The analog clock 1 has a weekday indicator 14, which is designed to be attached to the outer edge of the clock 1, specifically to the edge of the base disc 10.

[0056] The visible sectors 7 are assigned tasks and / or activities using symbols not shown here, with the symbols being arranged on magnetically effective markers 11, here designed as circular magnets. The markers 11 preferably bear symbols for so-called augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), which are not shown here.

[0057] The markers 11 can be placed on the visible sectors 7 and adhere magnetically to a base disk 10 located in or below the display area 6. Alternatively, instead of a magnetically acting base disk 10, a magnetically active disk with high magnetic permeability can be arranged in the display area 6 below the visible sectors 7 for interaction with the magnetic markers 11. In both configurations, the magnetism acts through the visible sectors 7.

[0058] The visible sectors 7 are not hidden shares of several, at least two movable, from Fig. 3 visible, circular disk sectors 17, which are arranged as optically different, in particular differently colored, flat, below the hour hand 4 and rotatable about the hand axis 3, each in the form of a Fig. The two visible slotted discs 70 are designed as slotted discs 71 and 72.

[0059] The circular disk sectors 17 are manually rotatable against each other in an overlapping manner, so that by changing an overlap angle an area visible from a respective circular disk sector 17 can be set as visible sector 7.

[0060] The display area 6 is surrounded by a dial 5, which allows the viewer to relate the progression of time in the structure plan to a representation of time on a conventional clock.

[0061] Fig. Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a circular disk sector 17 designed as a slotted disk 70.

[0062] The circular disk sectors 17 in the form of slotted disks 70 have a notch or slot 701 extending from a center point to a circular edge, along which an overlap of another circular disk sector 17, adjacent from the viewpoint of an observer, can occur.

[0063] Fig. Figure 3 shows two circular disk sectors 17 arranged one above the other, designed as slotted disks 71 and 72, which interlock along their slots 711 and 721.

[0064] The slotted discs 71 and 72 interlock along their slots 711 and 721 in such a way that, from the viewer's point of view, on a first side along a slot, for example to the left of slot 711, an upper slotted disc 71 covers a lower slotted disc 72 underneath, and on the opposite side of the slot, for example to the right of slot 71, the lower slotted disc 72 covers the upper slotted disc 71.

[0065] The slotted discs 71, 72 have a slit-shaped recess 18 along their slot 711, 721 with a width of approximately 3 mm to approximately 10 mm, and a recess 16 at their center point, which corresponds to at least one diameter of the pointer axis 3.

[0066] Fig. Figure 4 shows a side view of a section along a secant through four superimposed slotted disks 71, 72, 73, 74, wherein the slot 711, 721, 731, 741 of each slotted disk 71, 72, 73, 74, shown with dashed lines, passes through all the other slotted disks 71, 72, 73, 74. The slotted disks 71, 72, 73, 74 are of different colors. From a viewer's frontal perspective on the display area 6, a visible sector 7 of each of the slotted disks 71, 72, 73, 74 is visible.

[0067] Fig. Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of a section along a secant through a clock 1 for structural planning. The secant intersects the circular edge of a base disk 10 of the clock 1 at an upper vertex, where a weekday indicator 14 attached to the edge of the base disk 10 is visible.

[0068] The weekday indicator 14 can only be attached at exactly this position, since a frame 12 extends radially so far towards the edge of the base disc 10 that the weekday indicators 14 can only be attached to the base disc 10 at this position, where the frame 12 has a recess 15.

[0069] In addition, from the user's point of view, the frame 12 has a recess 13 behind the base plate 10 for storing markers 11 and / or unused weekday indicators 14.

[0070] The weekday indicators 14 are magnetic and adhere to the base disc 10 in the recess 13. In an alternative design of the base disc 10 in a material with comparatively low magnetic permeability, for example wood, an additional disc, for example containing iron, with comparatively high magnetic permeability can be inserted between the base disc 10 and the slotted discs 71, 72, 73, 74. Fig. 5 shows the base disc 10, or in the alternative version the additional disc, which can be used from two sides for attaching markers 11 and / or weekday indicators 14. QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 20 2014 009 333 U1

[0006]

Claims

[1] Analog clock (1) for structuring the time of a day and displaying its course, in particular for dividing a daily routine into a number of time-definable blocks, for conveying a daily routine to a person impaired in the perception and abstraction of a time, wherein the clock (1) has an analog clockwork (2) with at least one hour hand (4) rotating about a pointer axis (3) and, in analogy to a clock face (5), a circular display area (6) which is swept over by the hour hand (4) at least once during the day, wherein the display area (6) is divided into several visible sectors (7), in particular circular sectors, which are swept over by the hour hand (4) during the course of a day, and wherein different tasks and / or activities can be assigned to the sectors (7), characterized by , that the central angle (8) of the visible sectors (7) is mechanically, in particular manually, adjustable. [2] Analog clock (1) according to claim 1, characterized by , that the clock (1) has at least two movable circular disk sectors (17) which are designed as optically distinct, in particular differently colored, flat sectors of a circle arranged under the minute hand (9) and rotatable around the hand axis (3), and which can be manually rotated against each other in an overlapping manner, so that by changing an overlap angle a sector (7) visible from a respective circular disk sector (17) can be adjusted. [3] Analog clock (1) according to claim 2, characterized by, that the circular disk sectors (17) are designed as slotted disks (70), (71), (72), (73), (74), i.e. essentially as a full circle with a notch, slit or slot (701), (711), (721), (731), (741) extending from a center point to a circular edge. [4] Analog clock (1) according to claim 3, characterized by , that on a pointer axis (3) of the clockwork (2) at least two of the circular disk sectors (17) are arranged centrally as slotted disks (701), (711), (721), (731), (741) made of a flexible material which are rotatable about the pointer axis (3) and which interlock along their slots (701), (711), (721), (731), (741). [5] Analog clock (1) according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized by, that the slotted discs (701), (711), (721), (731), (741) have a slit-shaped recess (18) with a width of approximately 3 mm to approximately 10 mm along their slot (701), (711), (721), (731), (741), and a recess (16) at their center point which corresponds to a diameter of the pointer axis (3). [6] Analog clock (1) according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized by , that through the slot (701), (711), (721), (731), (741) of a slotted disk (70), (71), (72), (73), (74) several further slotted disks (70), (71), (72), (73), (74) are passed through. [7] Analog clock (1) according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized by , that through the slot (701), (711), (721), (731), (741) of each slotted disk (70), (71), (72), (73), (74) all other slotted disks (70), (71), (72), (73), (74) are passed through. [8] Analog clock (1) according to any one of the preceding claims 2 to 7, characterized by, that the clock (1) has magnetic markers (11) that can be placed on the visible sectors (7), which have a dual function: firstly, they establish an assignment of an activity and / or task to the visible sector (7), and secondly, they provide a fixation of the circular disk sector (17) by means of a magnetic force, in particular against rotation. [9] Analog clock (1) according to claim 8, characterized by , that the analog clock (1) has a base disk (10) or a base disk (10) in conjunction with a magnetically acting disk with comparatively high magnetic permeability, which is designed for the attachment on both sides, in particular magnetically, of markers (11) and / or of weekday indicators (14). [10] Analog clock (1) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized by, that the analog clock (1) has a base disk (10) arranged on a frame (12), the frame (12) having at least one recess (13) forming a storage space for storing and / or attaching markers (11) and / or weekday indicators (14).

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