US1401390A - Geographical clock - Google Patents

Description

A. CAESAR. GEOGRAPHICAL CLOCK. APPLICATION FILED DEC. I6, 1920.

Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

ATTORNEY PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST CAESAR, 0F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

GEOGRAPHICAL CLOCK.

To all whom it myconcem:

Be it known that I, AUGUST CAESAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Geographical Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in time indicators for geographical clocks.

The object of my invention is the provision of simple and inexpensively constructed dial devices which may be conveniently used with the works and hands of an ordinary clock to designate the time at various places about the world.

With this and other objects in view, as

I will appear in the following specification,

the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and adaptation of parts as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

' In the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote like parts in the various views, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a clock embodying the present nvention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional View taken through 2-2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the clamping members for the rotary dial plate.

.In said drawings, the reference numeral 5 designates a clock case containing the usual or any suitable mechanism for revolving an hour hand 6 once each twelve hours and a minute hand 7 once each hour.

The hour hand 6 is carried by a tubular arbor 6 through which extends the arbor 7 for said minute hand. 10 represents a stationary dial, hereinafter designated as the fixed dial, having marked thereon an annular series of consecutive hour indicating numerals A 1 to 12. About the margin of said dial the same is divided into circular degrees or multiples thereof as denoted by graduated marks B. The marks B are denoted by numbers such as C to indicate their circular distances in degrees to 180 upon each side of an initial point D and representing meridians east and west from said initial point or prime meridian.

Between the circle of hour indicating marks A and the marginal circle divided into meridian marks, the fixed dial 10 isprovided with a circular portion 11 in which are marked the names of selected places as Chicago, Halifax, Calcutta, etc.,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

Application filed December 16, 1920. Serial No. 431,095.

the same being disposed upon the fixed dial radially with their corresponding meridians with respect to a predetermined prime meridian, as for example, Greenwich which is marked opposite the ,zero point D.

In front of said fixed dial is a rotar dial 12 which, as will be presently explained: is connected to a tubular arbor 8 which is rotatably mounted upon the hour hand arbor 6 The dial 12 and its arbor 8 are rotated in unison once each twenty-four hours. As illustratedin Fig. 2, a pinion 7 2 on the minute hand arbor 7 drives a gear 9 on an intermediate shaft 9 by which pinions 9 and 9 are driven to rotate gears 6 and 8 on the arbors 6 and, 8 respectively.

The rotary dial 12 is of greater diameter than the diameter of the circle of the hour indicating numerals A and is made of glass or other suitable transparent material so that such hour numerals may be clearly seen therethrough.

About the periphery of the rotary dial is a circle of numbers divided into two series, G and H, of numerals l, to 12 inclusive.

In proximity of the respective numbers 12 of such series the rotary dial is provided with the words Noon and Midnight, and medially thereof at diametrically opposite sides are rovided the words Evening and orning. The above referred to numbers and words are most advantageously applied to the rotary dial by pasting to the back surface of the dial a paper ring upon which they are printed.

The manner of connecting the rotary dial 12 toits arbor 8 is an im ortant feature of the present invention. fieferring to Fig. 2, 13 represents a sleeve which surrounds the arbor 8 and extends {throu h center holes provided in both of said ials. At its outer end said sleeve is provided with a circular flange 14 serving as a head and between which and the front surface of the rotary dial is desirably placed a thin washer 15 of felt or an equivalent. The inner end of the sleeve 13 is provided with a plurallt of longitudinally disposed slot 16 (Fig. 33 to afford intermediate fingers 17 whereby the arbor 8 is grasped about a peripheral shoulder 18 thereof. I

Seated against the rear surface of the rotary dial 811d opposed relation to the 11('- sleeve flange 14: is a recessed washer 19 of les diameter than the hole 20 in the fixed dial. The recess of the washer 19 serves to receive one end of a helical spring 21 surrounding said sleeve, and the other end of the spring bears against a collar 22 which is secured by a set screw 23 to the sleeve.

The spring 21 acts to retain the rotary dial out of contact with the fixed dial 10 and causes the rotary dial to be frictionally engaged between the flange 14: and the washer 19 which with the sleeve 13 are rotated in unison with the arbor 8 every twenty-four hours.

The rotary dial may be adjusted by turning the same independently of the arbor 8 to bring the number in series G or H (according to whether it is afternoon or before noon) which correspond with the actual time (indicated by the clock hands 6 and 7 with respect to the numerals A of the fixed dial) opposite the name in circle 11, of the place where the clock is used. For instance, assuming the clock is to be employed at Seattle, say at three oclock a. m., the rotary dial is adjusted by being independently rotated to present the correspondingly designated mark 3 of the eries H into proximity of the word Seattle.

Bein thus set, the coincident time at any other p ace which is marked in circle 11, or whose longitude is known with respect to the prime meridian, is ascertained by comparing its position in circle 11 with the peripheral number in G or H upon the rotary dial.

After the rotary dial is adjusted it turns with the arbor 8 to point off in an interesting way the passage of time at various place throughout the world.

What I claim, is,

1. In a clock having clock hands and a ing aid numbers and containing selected place names, a rotary dial formed of transparent material through which all of said numbers are coincidently visible, said rotary dial having at its periphery two sets of time indicating numbers ranging from 1 to 12, an arbor for rotating said rotary dial once each twenty-four hours for indicating by the numbers thereon concurrent time with respect to the places designated by said names and spring actuated means for yieldingly engaging said rotary dial to the arbor therefor.

2. In a clock, the combination with a nonrotary dial provided upon its face with characters to indicate the names of places and degrees of longitude, the clock hands, and arbors therefor, of a rotary dial provided circumferentially with time indicating characters', an arbor for said rotary dial, means to connect said rotary dial to the arbor thereof for independent and unitary rotary movements, said means comprising a sleeve secured to the arbor and having a head element in front of the rotary dial, a washer mounted upon said sleeve at the back of the rotary dial, a spring acting against said washer to frictionally engage the rotary dial with the sleeve head, and means for regulating the efiective power of the spring.

Signed at Seattle Washington, this 7th day of December 1920.

AUGUSTCAESAR.

Witnesses:

PIERRE BARNES, MARGARET G. TUPPLE.

Images