US1205042A - Warning-action for clock-movements. - Google Patents

Description

APPLI CATION FILED lULY15|l9l6.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

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WILLIAM J". SMITH, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB TO WATERBUBY CLOCK 00., OF WATEBBURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

WARNING-ACTION FOR CLOCK-IJIGVEIVIENTS.

Application filed July 15, 1916.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. SMITH, a subject of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, residing at Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Warning Actions for Clock Movements and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in-

Figure l a view in front elevation of a chime-clock constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 an edge view thereof. Fig. 3 a broken view thereof in front elevation showing the warningaction in its warning position. Fig. t a detached perspective view of the locking lever. Fig. 5 a corresponding view of the warning-lever.

My invention relates to an improvement in warning-actions for clock-movements, applicable to either strike or chime-trains, the object being to provide a simple and reliable warning-action, not liable to derangement and constructed with particular reference to the reduction of friction, to ease of adjustment, and to reducing to the minimum the distance traveled by the locking-pin wheel a between its locked and warned positions.

With these ends in view, my invention consists in a warning-action for clock-movements, the said action having certain details of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claim.

As herein shown, I have applied my invention to a chime-train, though it is equally applicable to a strike-train.

My improvement is primarily characterized by having a warning-lever 2 and a locking-lever 3 swung upon a screw-stud t common to them both and, as shown, mounted in the front movement-plate 5 in front of which both of the said levers are located so as to be readily accessible. The warninglever 2 is made in one piece and comprises a warning-arm 6 and a lifting-arm 7 the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

Serial No. 109,517.

former having its upper end turned inward at a right angle to form a warning-finger 8 for co-action with a locking-pin 9 in a locking-pin Wheel 10. The lifting-arm 7 of the said lever 2, is formed at its end with a slot 11 for the reception of a coupling-pin 12 in the adjacent end of a lifting-lever 13 hung on a screw-stud M mounted in the said movement-plate 5. The said lever 13 carries a turn-back lever 15 hung upon a pivot 16 and having a lifting-finger l7 engaging with the lower edge of the lever 13 and with a depending cam-finger 18 successively engaged by the points 19 of a star or cam-wheel 20 mounted, as usual, upon the center-arbor 21.

The locking-lever 3, which is located in front of the warning-lever 2, aforesaid, has a locking-arm 22 the upper end of which is turned inward at a right angle to form a locking-finger 23 also co-acting with the locking-pin 9 aforesaid. A. notch 2 formed in the edge of the movement-plate 5 gives the fingers 8 and 23 access to the pin 9. The timing-arm 25 of the locking-lever 3 has its upper end turned inward at a right angle to form a finger 26 for co-action with the notched edge of the chime count-wheel 27. A spring 28 secured by a screw-stud 29 to the plate 5, engages with a pin 30 in the locking-arm 22 of the lever 3 and exerts a constant effort to keep the said finger 26 engaged with the edge of the chime countwheel 27.

The locking-wheel 1O aforesaid may form a part of any approved train whether it be a chime-train or a strike-train. As herein shown, the wheel 10 is mounted upon an arbor 31 carrying a lantern-pinion 32 meshed into by a so called third wheel 33 which is mounted on an arbor 3a carrying at its forward end the chime-count-wheel 27. The said arbor 34: carries at its rear end a lantern pinion meshed into by a so called. second wheel 36 mounted on an arbor 37 carrying a lantern-pinion 38 meshed into by the first or main wheel 39 which is mounted upon a winding-arbor 40 carrying a winding-drum il upon which a flat sheetmetal weight-ribbon 42 is coiled.

In applying my invention to a strike in stead of to a chime-train, the finger 26 of the arm 25 of the lockinglever 3 would engage with the ordinary count-wheel of a strike-train, or with a member of an ordinary rack-and-snail strike-train. Of course it makes no difference whether my invention is embodied in a weight-clock, as shown, or in a spring-driven clock.

In the operation of my improvement, the chime-train is normally locked or restrained from running, by the engagement of the locking-pin 9 with the under face of the locking-finger 23 of the locking-arm 22, as shown in Fig. 1. Now as the chime-train turns the center-arbor 21, one of the points 19 of the cam or star-wheel 20 acts through the finger 18 of the turn-back lever 15, to lift the lifting-lever 13 which acts through the lifting-arm 7 of the warning-lever 2 to swing the same from left to right, causing the outer edge of the warning-arm 60f the lever 2 to engage with the inner edge of the finger 23 of the locking-arm 22 of the locking-lever 3, whereby the same is also swung from left to right against the tension of the spring 28, so as to cause the finger 23 to be disengaged from the locking-pin 9. The chime-train is thus momentarily released,

permitting the locking-pin wheel 10 to travel through that small fractional part of one revolution necessary for the engagement of the pin 9 with the finger 80f the arm 6 of the warning-lever 2, the said finger having been brought into position for such engagement at the same time that the arm 6 was pushing the arm 22 from left to right and disengaging the finger 23 from the p n 9. The distance traveled by the locking-pm 10 between the fingers 23 and 8 is very short compared with the distance traveled in'the warning-actions of the prior art, due to the fact that thefingers 23 and 8 are located very close together in my improved action.

The parts are, now in the positions in which they are shown in Fig. 3, which shows the warning position of the warning-action. In a short time, commonly two or three mlnutes after warning, so called, has taken place, the'action of the time-train turns the cam or star-wheel 20 far enough to permit the turn-back lever 15 to drop off the point 19 p by which it has just been raised. The spring 28 now asserts itself to sw1ng the warning-lever 2 and the lockmg-lever 3 from right to left, whereby the finger 8 of the arm 6 of the warning-lever 2 is disengaged from the pin 9, leaving the lockmg- Jpin wheel 10 free to rotate, and whereby the finger 26 of the timing-arm 25 of the look ing lever 3 drops back into the'particular notch in the chime-count wheel 27 in which it was located atthe time the two levers were swung from left to right by the last preceding action of the cam or star-wheel 20. The finger 23 of the arm 22 of the lever 3 is now brought into the path of the locking-pin 9, but before the pin 9 has been brought into position by the rotation of the wheel 10, to engage with the finger 23, the rotation of the chime-count wheel 27 has swung the locking-lever 3 from left to right for a suflicient distance to clear the finger 23 from the path of the pin 9 which, in the rotation of the wheel 10, now moves between the fingers 8 and 23. The chime-train continues to run in this manner, until the next succeeding notch in the wheel 27 registers with the finger 26 of the arm 25 of the locking-lever 3 at which time the spring 28 asserts itself to swing both of the levers 2 and 3 from right to left, whereby the finger 23 of the arm 22 of'the locking-lever 3 is returned into'the path of the pin 9 for'stopping and locking the train as clearly shown in Fig. 1. This cycle of movement is repeated as often as the lever 13 is raised through the medium of the cam or starwheel 20, which is every quarter hour, in the chime-clock movement shown.

Inasmuch as the levers 2 and 3 are mounted upon the same center, there is no sliding movement of the arm 6 upon the finger 23 of the arm 22 as the levers 2 and 3 are moved from left to right, and from right to left, whereby all friction is eliminated so far as the operation of these two levers upon each other is concerned, whereasin prior warning mechanisms in which these levers have been mounted upon separate centers, considerable friction is produced by the sliding of one upon the other. This frictionbeing eliminated by my invention, less strain is imposed upon the chime-train than heretofore. The action of my warning-action is also freer and less liable to derangement. Also, under my invention the fingers 8 and 23 of the warning and locking-levers respectively, are brought close together, and being located close to the edge of the clockmovement, are readily accessible for atten tion and adjustment, whereas heretofore these fingers have been separated and passed into the interior of the movement through clearance openings formed in one of the movement-plates at a point so far distant from the edge thereof as to make them inaccessible for adjustment and attentionin case of their derangement.

I claim In a clock-movement, the combination with the front movement-plate thereof, of a locking-wheel located to the'rear of the said" plate and carrying a locking-pin, a two-armed locking-lever and a two-armed .warning-lever located in front of the said plate and mounted upon the same center upon which they have independent oscillation, the locking and Warning arms of the said levers co-acting With each other and extending inward through the said plate in position to alternately engage With the said locking-pin, a lifting-lever eriodically operated by the time-train of the movement and connected with the lifting-arm of the said Warning-lever, and means co-acting With the timing-arm of the locking-lever for 10 determining the duration of the running of the locking-Wheel.

WILLIAM J. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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