Clock

Abstract

A clock has a movement with protruding nested drive shafts. A housing member has a wall and a ridge which is forwardly offset from the wall. A planar dial rests against the ridge and is formed with an aperture in register with the aperture of the wall with the nested shafts extending through the apertures. A securing device engages the front of the dial, extends through the aligned apertures and engages a fixed member of the movement thereby holding the dial against the ridge.

Description

This invention relates to clocks.

According to this invention there is provided a clock comprising a clock movement with protruding nested drive shafts, a housing member having a wall formed with an aperture, a planar dial which rests against the wall and which is formed with an aperture in register with the aperture of the wall, the nested shafts extending through the apertures, and a securing device which engages the front face of the dial, extends through the aligned apertures, and engages a fixed member of the movement thereby holding the dial against the wall.

Preferably the wall has a ridge which is forwardly offset from the wall, said dial resting and being held against said ridge.

Preferably, the fixing member is a nut having a male thread which engages a female thread of the fixed member of the movement; the fixed member of the movement is preferably its case.

Preferably the clock has a reversible dial; by a reversible dial is meant a dial which is printed on both sides and which may be assembled into the clock with either of its two faces facing outwards so as to be visible.

An embodiment of this invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a clock in accordance with this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a section through an assembled clock in accordance with this invention.

Referring to the Figures, the clock has a movement 1 having a casing 2 from which nested concentric shafts 3 protrude. A clock case 4 in the form of a plastics member has a flat wall 5 surrounded by a forwardly offset flat ridge 6; the wall 5 has a central aperture 7. A circular cardboard dial 8 (which may be printed on both sides) has an aperture 9 at its centre aligned with the aperture 7 of the wall 5 and its periphery engages the circular ridge.

The movement 1 rests against the rear of the wall 5 with its nested shafts 3 protruding through the aligned apertures 7 and 9 and a nut 10, which has a central core 11 through which the shafts 3 pass, is screwed into a female thread in the casing 2 thereby clamping the dial 8 against the centre of the wall 5 so that its periphery is urged against the ridge 6; this tensions the cardboard dial 8 and helps to prevent the dial 8 from curling. Hour and minute hands 12 and 13 are mounted on the concentric shafts 3 in conventional manner.

To change the dial 8 or to reverse it, the hands 12 and 13 are first removed and the nut 10 is then unscrewed. The dial 8 may then be replaced or reversed and the nut 10 re-fitted over the nested shafts 3 and tightened. Thereafter, the hands 12 and 13 may be re-attached to the nested shafts 3.

A reversible dial may be provided in other clocks.

Claims

1. A clock comprising a clock movement with a fixed member and protruding nested drive shafts, the housing member having a wall formed with an aperture; a planar dial which rests against the wall and which is formed with an aperture in register with the aperture of the wall, the nested shafts extending through the apertures, and a securing device which engages the front face of the dial, extends through the aligned apertures, and engages a fixed member of the movment thereby holding the dial against the wall, a portion of said dial surrounding the aperture in the dial and being positioned against the wall, the wall having a ridge which is forwardly offset from the remainder of the wall, a periphery of said dial resting and being held against said ridge thereby tensioning the dial so as to form a concave surface.

2. A clock as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fixing member is a nut having a male thread which engages a female thread of the fixed member of the movement.

3. A clock as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fixed member of the movement is its case.

4. A clock as claimed in claim 1 wherein the dial is reversible.