GB1591315A - Battery driven movement for a clock - Google Patents

Description

(54) BATTERY-DRIVEN MOVEMENT FOR A CLOCK (71) We, JAHRESUHREN-FABRIK GmbH AUG. SCHATZ & SOHNE, a German Body Corporate of 7740 Triberg, Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The invention relates to a battery driven movement for a -clock with a two-mass pendulum.

The advantage of the known two mass pendulum is that it is possible to adjust the oscillation frequency within wide limits and that in the case of a virtually balanced pendulum, little force is necessary for driving the pendulum. This has a particularly advantage ous effect on the life of the clock in the case of electrical drives A further important advantage is that pendulum clocks where the pendulum has a time-keeping function are still popular with a large percentage of the population. This' applies in particular,to those clocks in which the dial and the casing form part of'the two-mass pendulum because such a clock 'is not only aesthetically attractive but also has an interesting action inasmuch as the whole clock swings.The dock can then form the pendulum bob and a second mass is arranged above the pivot. The pendulum is then driven by the second mass which is impulsed during part of its swing. However, this leads to to a disadvantage in connection Nvith sensitivity of operation because even a draught can distrub the pendulum and second mass -resulting not only in inaccuracy but also 'the' clock may stop. Furthermore, pendulum docks '-are generally very sensitive to mechanical influences such as, for example, tilting of the clock, vibrations, thermal expansion, changes to the damping of the bearing and the like.

Pendulum clocks are also known which only have the external configuration of a 'pendulum clock in 'that the pendulum is constructed as a dummy pendulum and has no 'time-keeping function. In general, said known pendulum clocks have an electrical synchronous motor which is energized by the main drive and which exerts both a tirn'e- keeping function and also drives the pendu-' lum,, cf. U.S. Patent 2,995,005. For this purpose the driving motor must have a relatively large output in order to be able f6 drive both pendulum and movement.Finally a pendulum clock of this type operated by low voltage direct current is known in which a special electromagnetic pendulum driving mechanism located below the pivot of the pendulum is provided separately from the' time-keeping mechanism. However, this leads to part of the pendulum being hidden by the casing of said driving mechanism which signi fically impairs the external appearance of thè clock.

It - has been proposed by the applicant in German Offen-lengungschrift No.:P26 ' 17 759 3 to provide between the two-mass pen dulum and a fixed part a permanent magnet which co-operates with electric coils on - a printed circuit board, whereby-the driving currents flowing through the coils produce magnetic fields which pròduce .a relative swinging movement between the permanent magnet -and the coils, the two-mass pendulum being constructed as - a dummy pendulum.

Such a battery-driven movement Ilas-"th'e" advantage that sensitivity is removed and the clock is extremely reliable. It has all the advantageous accuracy characteristics of a balance, tuning fork or quartz movement without losing the important advantage of an attractive - appearance during operation. The pendulum can have the known elongated shape with a bob in the lower -area, whose pivot is arranged, for example, below -the clock casing with the dial. According to another proposal the pendulum pivot may be arranged behind -the clock casing in the area of the hand shaft. In this case the clock casing -is fixed to the wall by means of a bracket.

'The permanent magnet is located in the upper part of the two-mass pendulum in the area of the upper weight, which constitutes the second mass. In this case the mounting of the pendulum is on a casing part because the battery movement and the pendulum drive are positioned on the printed circuit board.

These movements are very popular, not only because they have an asthetic appearance but also because they have an interesting action, so that e.g. the complete casing also swings or the movement forms the pendulum bob or the second mass is arranged above the pivot point.

It is an object of the present invention to so improve the arrangement previously pro posed by the applicants that the possibilities of an interesting and aesthetic design are further increased.

According to the present invention in a battery driven movement for a clock as previously proposed by the applicants the two-mass pendulum is constructed as an annular member.

Consequently there are no longer two separate masses on the pendulum and in stead the first mass and the second mass pass into one another through the annular mem veer, making it impossible to say where the first mass starts and the second mass ends.

Due to the fact that it is a dummy pendulum an extremely large number of possibili ties are provided with regard to the design.

According to a further development of the invention the annular member is arranged in a substantially concentric manner around the clock casing and dial. As a result virtually the whole clock is surrounded by the annular pendulum which swings backwards and forwards around the entire casing without there being the known elongated shape of the pendulum. As a result the clock has a particularly interesting appearance both in operation and when stationary.

It also requires much less space than known pendulum clocks because there is no downward longitudinal extension.

In this connection it is particularly advantageous for the annular member to assume the configuration of an object such as the steering wheel for a ship, a clock balance, a vehicle wheel, a vehicld tyre or the like.

There are a large number of possible configurations for such annular members, and they need not always be copies and can in fact constitute imaginary bodies of any type.

The present invention can be better understood from the following description and Claims, with reference to the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view from the front Fig. 2 is a part sectional side view of the clock according to Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 more particularly shows the clock casing part 12 concentrically surrounded by the annular pendulum lla according to the invention so that dial 15 is completely framed by pendulum 1 la. In this case pendulum 1 la is constructed like the steering wheel of a ship.

Fig. 2 shows that pendulum 1 la is arranged in the vicinity of wall 16. Casing part 12 is fixed to the wall 16 by means of two fasten ings la, lb and has a bracket 1 which carries pivots 13, 14 of said annular pendulum 1 la.

It can be seen that pivots 13, 14 are aligned with the axis of hand spindle 17 and as a result dial 15 is located precisely in the centre of annular pendulum 1 la and, in the view of Fig. 1 swings around the clock whilst casing 2, 12" is permanently fixed to wall 16.

Pendulum 1 la is a two-mass pendulum because part of the clock mass is located above pivots 13, 14 and a further part is located below the same although no pendulum bob is provided.

The clock is driven by a commercially available battery-driven movement 4 surrounded by casing 3, 12 in which is also provided the mounting 6 for the battery and the printed circuit board 7 with the coil system and all the electrical components for driving the pendulum. The coil or coils are arranged at the same distance from pivot 13, 14 of the pendulum as the permanent magnet 10 which is fixed to pendulum 1 la. The portion of casing 12 located between permanent magnet 10 and the coils serves to protect said coils on, printed circuit board 7. When the permanent magnet 10 swings past the control coil an induction signal is generated which produces an operating current in the drive coil via a transistor circuit. The operating pulse produced in this way, by the resulting magnetic field, maintains the oscillations of the pendulum independent of movement 4.This is already known and need not therefore be explained in detail.

It can also be gathered from Figs. 1 and 2 that fastenings la, 1b constitute in all four pins which maintain the casing 3, 12 at a certain distance from wall 16 so that pivots 13, 14 of pendulum 1 la can be fitted between the casing and the wall. This leads to a comparatively simple construction if the pendulum pivots 13, 14 are to be in line with the hand spindle 17.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown and in particular the two-mass pendulum 1 la constructed as an annular member can assume the most varied configurations. It can simulate a balance, a vehicle wheel, a vehicle tyre or the like. It can also constitute any imaginary body which does not call for simulation. In operation it is particularly interesting that the annular member swings backwards and forwards around the clock.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A battery-driven movement with a two-mass pendulum in which between the two-mass pendulum and a fixed part a permanent magnet is provided which co-operates with electric coils on a printed circuit board, whereby the driving currents flowing through the coils produce magnetic fields which produce a relative swinging movement between the permanent magnet and the coils, the twomass pendulum being constructed as a dum

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (4)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. but also because they have an interesting action, so that e.g. the complete casing also swings or the movement forms the pendulum bob or the second mass is arranged above the pivot point. It is an object of the present invention to so improve the arrangement previously pro posed by the applicants that the possibilities of an interesting and aesthetic design are further increased. According to the present invention in a battery driven movement for a clock as previously proposed by the applicants the two-mass pendulum is constructed as an annular member. Consequently there are no longer two separate masses on the pendulum and in stead the first mass and the second mass pass into one another through the annular mem veer, making it impossible to say where the first mass starts and the second mass ends. Due to the fact that it is a dummy pendulum an extremely large number of possibili ties are provided with regard to the design. According to a further development of the invention the annular member is arranged in a substantially concentric manner around the clock casing and dial. As a result virtually the whole clock is surrounded by the annular pendulum which swings backwards and forwards around the entire casing without there being the known elongated shape of the pendulum. As a result the clock has a particularly interesting appearance both in operation and when stationary. It also requires much less space than known pendulum clocks because there is no downward longitudinal extension. In this connection it is particularly advantageous for the annular member to assume the configuration of an object such as the steering wheel for a ship, a clock balance, a vehicle wheel, a vehicld tyre or the like. There are a large number of possible configurations for such annular members, and they need not always be copies and can in fact constitute imaginary bodies of any type. The present invention can be better understood from the following description and Claims, with reference to the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view from the front Fig. 2 is a part sectional side view of the clock according to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 more particularly shows the clock casing part 12 concentrically surrounded by the annular pendulum lla according to the invention so that dial 15 is completely framed by pendulum 1 la. In this case pendulum 1 la is constructed like the steering wheel of a ship. Fig. 2 shows that pendulum 1 la is arranged in the vicinity of wall 16. Casing part 12 is fixed to the wall 16 by means of two fasten ings la, lb and has a bracket 1 which carries pivots 13, 14 of said annular pendulum 1 la. It can be seen that pivots 13, 14 are aligned with the axis of hand spindle 17 and as a result dial 15 is located precisely in the centre of annular pendulum 1 la and, in the view of Fig. 1 swings around the clock whilst casing 2, 12" is permanently fixed to wall 16. Pendulum 1 la is a two-mass pendulum because part of the clock mass is located above pivots 13, 14 and a further part is located below the same although no pendulum bob is provided. The clock is driven by a commercially available battery-driven movement 4 surrounded by casing 3, 12 in which is also provided the mounting 6 for the battery and the printed circuit board 7 with the coil system and all the electrical components for driving the pendulum. The coil or coils are arranged at the same distance from pivot 13, 14 of the pendulum as the permanent magnet 10 which is fixed to pendulum 1 la. The portion of casing 12 located between permanent magnet 10 and the coils serves to protect said coils on, printed circuit board 7. When the permanent magnet 10 swings past the control coil an induction signal is generated which produces an operating current in the drive coil via a transistor circuit. The operating pulse produced in this way, by the resulting magnetic field, maintains the oscillations of the pendulum independent of movement 4.This is already known and need not therefore be explained in detail. It can also be gathered from Figs. 1 and 2 that fastenings la, 1b constitute in all four pins which maintain the casing 3, 12 at a certain distance from wall 16 so that pivots 13, 14 of pendulum 1 la can be fitted between the casing and the wall. This leads to a comparatively simple construction if the pendulum pivots 13, 14 are to be in line with the hand spindle 17. The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown and in particular the two-mass pendulum 1 la constructed as an annular member can assume the most varied configurations. It can simulate a balance, a vehicle wheel, a vehicle tyre or the like. It can also constitute any imaginary body which does not call for simulation. In operation it is particularly interesting that the annular member swings backwards and forwards around the clock. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A battery-driven movement with a two-mass pendulum in which between the two-mass pendulum and a fixed part a permanent magnet is provided which co-operates with electric coils on a printed circuit board, whereby the driving currents flowing through the coils produce magnetic fields which produce a relative swinging movement between the permanent magnet and the coils, the twomass pendulum being constructed as a dum

my pendulum and in the form of an annular member.

2. A battery-driven movement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular member is arranged in substantially concentric manner around the clock casing and dial.

3. A battery-driven movement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular member simulates a steering wheel of a ship, a balance, a vehicle wheel, or a vehicle tyre.

4. A battery-driven movement with a twomass pendulum, substantially as described hereinbefore with reference to the drawings.