Silent alarm clock

• US 5,764,594 A
• Filed: 05/23/1996
• Issued: 06/09/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Brad Zieg, Neal Marks, Paul Berman
• Original Assignee: Brad Zieg, Neal Marks, Paul Berman
• Inventors: Marks, Neal, Zieg, Brad, Berman, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Miska, Vit W.
• Application Number:
  US08/651,250
• Time in Patent Office: 747 Days
• Field of Search: 368/10, 368/12, 368/46, 368/47, 368/52, 368/230, 368/72-74, 368/250, 368/251, 340/407.1, 340/825.44
• US Class Current: 368/12
• CPC Class Codes: G04B 25/04 Alarm clocks or watches with devices stimulating the skin normal pocket or wrist alarm clocks G04B23/12
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 10/00 Arrangements of electric power supplies in time pieces circuits G04G19/00; mounting, assembling of components of electromechanical watches G04C3/008, of electronic watches G04G17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 13/02 at preselected times, e.g. alarm clocks
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/04 using radio waves radio-controlled time-pieces G04R

Abstract

A silent alarm clock including a portable receiver unit with a wrist watch-type configuration. The receiver unit includes a vibrator adapted to create a vibrating sensation upon the receipt of a radio signal. To provide power to the receiver unit a rechargeable battery is included with a pair of associated contacts and a charger adapted to allow the recharging thereof. Also included is a base transmitter unit with a recharging base having a pair of contacts for contacting those of the receiver unit in a recharge orientation. A clock unit is situated within the base transmitter unit having associated control circuitry and a speaker. The clock circuitry is adapted to define at least two predetermined times. The base transmitter unit is adapted to transmit an audio signal via the speaker at a predetermined time if the receiver unit is the recharge orientation thereof and further generate a radio signal via free space if the receiver unit is not in the recharge orientation. Thus, a first user is awakened via the vibrator at the first predetermined time and places the receiver unit within the recharging base thereafter. A second user is then awakened at the second predetermined time via the audio alarm.

Claims

1. A new and improved silent alarm clock to be utilized by a first user and a second user where the first user is awakened prior to the second user comprising, in combination:

a portable receiver unit with a housing with an interior space and a pair of bands coupled thereto with a pair of pile fasteners situated at ends thereof for allowing the securement thereof to a wrist of the first user, the receiver unit including a vibrator situated within the interior space of the housing with a motor and a disk-shaped weight eccentrically coupled to a rotor thereof, wherein the vibrator is adapted to create a vibrating sensation upon the receipt of an activation signal;

a receiver with an associated decoder situated within the interior space of the housing and electrically connected between an antenna and the vibrator for allowing the receipt of radio signals via free space, wherein the decoder affords the transmission of the activation signal only upon the receipt of a predetermined radio signal, and a rechargeable battery for providing power to the receiver unit, wherein the battery includes a pair of associated contacts and a charger adapted to allow the recharging of the battery upon the application of power to the contacts; and

a base transmitter unit having a horizontally oriented bottom portion with a top face, a bottom face, and a periphery formed therebetween and a vertically oriented top portion with a front face, a rear face, and a periphery formed therebetween wherein both portions define an interior space, the base transmitter unit including a recharging base having a pair of contacts situated on a top surface of the vertically orientated portion of the housing with a lip formed about the contacts for maintaining communication between the contacts of the receiver unit and the contacts of the base unit during recharging, a recharge button positioned on the top surface adjacent the contacts, and a remote charge sensor situated within the interior space of the base for generating a charge signal upon the depression of the recharge button during charging;

a clock unit having associated control circuitry adapted to generate a current time signal and allow the generation of both an audio alarm signal and a remote alarm signal at a first predetermined time and a second predetermined time, a clock display situated on the front face of the vertically oriented portion of the housing for displaying numerical data representative of the current time signal, control keys for allowing a user to define the first predetermined time and second predetermined time;

a speaker adapted to generate an audio alarm upon the receipt of the audio alarm signal;

a transmitter with an associated encoder coupled to an antenna wherein the transmitter is adapted to emit the predetermined radio signal generated by the encoder upon the receipt of the remote alarm signal;

a transmitter enabler coupled between the control circuitry of the clock unit and the transmitter and adapted to allow the communication of the remote alarm signal therebetween only upon the lack of receipt of the charge signal via the remote charge sensor; and

a speaker disabler coupled between the control circuitry of the clock unit and the speaker for allowing the communication of the audio alarm signal therebetween only upon the receipt of the charge signal via the remote charge sensor;

whereby the first user is awakened via the vibrator at the first predetermined time and places the receiver unit within the recharging base thereafter and further the second user is awakened at the second predetermined time via the audio alarm.

2. A silent alarm clock comprising:

a portable receiver unit including a silent awakening means adapted to awaken a user upon the receipt of an activation signal and receiving communication means coupled to the silent awakening means and adapted to afford the transmission of the activation signal only upon the receipt of a predetermined communication signal;

a base transmitter unit a clock unit having associated control circuitry adapted to generate a current time signal and allow the generation of a remote alarm signal at a predetermined time, a clock display for displaying numerical data representative of the current time signal, and transmitting communication means adapted to transmit the communication signal upon the receipt of the remote alarm signal;

wherein the control circuitry of the clock unit is adapted to generate the remote alarm signal at a first predetermined time and an audio alarm signal at a second predetermined time and the base unit further comprises a speaker adapted to generate an audio alarm upon the receipt of the audio alarm signal, whereby a first user is awakened via the silent awakening means at the first predetermined time and a second user is awakened at the second predetermined time via the audio alarm.