US1933087A - Means for keeping up the oscillations of pendulums - Google Patents

Description

C. BATTEGAY Oct. 31, 1933.

MEANS FOR KEEPING UP THE OSCILLATIONS OF PENDULUMS 2 She'ets-Shee'h 1 Filed Feb. 7,.1931

INVENTOR.

BY J v u TTORNEY.

0a. 31 1933. c. BATTEGAY 1 539 MEANS FOR KEEPING UP THE OSCILLATIONS OF PENDULUMS Filed Feb. 7, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 6'0/7570/7/ 5017690 J/ A TTORNE Y.

Patented Oct. 31, 1933 .UNIIED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEANS FOR KEEPING UP THE OSCILLA- TIONS 0F PENDULUMS poration of France Application February 7, 1931, Serial No. 514,098, and in France June 27, 1930 14 Claims.

My invention has for its object improvements in the means for keeping up the oscillations of pendulums, chiefly in clocks.

It has for its chief object to keep up these oscillations by using an escapement mechanism of the Reid, Cole or the like type wherein the action of the driving weight or spring is replaced by that of electricity.

It consists chiefly in moving aside alternatingly one of the oscillation maintaining parts through the agency of a polarized electromagnet, the current flowing through which is controlled by the contact provided between the said parts and the pendulum itself.

It will be well understood from the following description and accompanying drawings given solely by way of example of several forms of execution of my invention.

Fig. 1 is a front view of a clock pendulum kept swinging according to invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of a modification of the system for keeping up the oscillations.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatical showing of a modification of the wiring diagram.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic showing of still another modification of the wiring diagram.

Figs. 5 and 6 relate to other forms of execution of my invention.

It is known that the oscillations of a pendulum may be kept up through the differential action of a counterweight or of a spring the positive driving action of which is greater than the negative action.

In particular it is known that this differential action may be obtained through the agency of electric energy.

My invention has for its object improvements in devices for keeping up oscillations of the above described type, in particular as concerns the symmetry of the actions on the pendulum, the chiciency of the electromagnetic motors and the simplicity of execution.

It is known in eifect that the main drawback of such electric methods of keeping up pendulums is due to the comparatively considerable consumption of electric energy required and the consequent difiiculties concerning chiefly the life of the battery and the wear of the electric contacts.

According to my invention, I use as a driving electromagnetic part a polarized receiver having a high efficiency which on one hand controls the movement of the hands and on the other hand keeps the oscillations of the pendulum up owing to the differential action of two springs moved alternatingly aside by the movement of the receiver.

These springs close in alternation the circuit of the receiver over batteries of cells in a direction such as will provide the reversed current impulses required for its working.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the pendulum 1 suspended from 2 carries at its lower end a weight 3 and a little underneath the suspension point a contact 4.

Two spring blades 5 and 6 with contact pins '7 and 8 urge constantly against the contact 4 on. the pendulum. They are separated one from the other by a small insulating part 9 carried at the end of a lever 10 moving integrally with the receiver armature.

The latter comprises chiefly a magnet 11 in the magnetic field of which an iron core 12 provided with a winding 13 is adapted to rock.

The magnetic circuit has a shape such that the reluctance of the circuit remains substantially constant during the movement of the armature 12-43, the direction of the magnetic flux of the magnet passing through the armature changing however for a very small angular shift.

The rocking motion of the receiver armature drives the hands of the clock through any known device such as an anchor 14 and a 30-tooth ratchet wheel 15 to the shaft of which is keyed the seconds hand.

The two springs 5 and 6 are connected with the positive and negative poles of a battery of two cells 16 and 17 connected in series and the connection between which is connected with one terminal of the receiver the other terminal of which is grounded through the mass of the pendulum l.

The operation of the mechanism in maintaining the pendulum oscillations is easy to understand. Supposing the pendulum moves in the direction of the arrow, i. e. from left to right, the contact i -'7 is first broken and when the pendulum has slightly passed beyond its position of equilibrium, the contact 48 closes whereby a current impulse is sent from the battery 17 into'the winding 13 of the receiver in a direction such that the coil 13 oscillates from right to left. During this movement, the anchor 14 causes the ratchet wheel 15 to advance through a half tooth and thereby the seconds tooth through the angle corresponding to one second. At the same time the insulating part 9 moves towards the left and releases the spring 6 while it moves the spring 5 aside. The pendulum continuing moving rightwards the pendulum 1 bends the spring 6 and transmits some energy to it after which it returns towards the left with the assistance of the energy thus stored in the spring 6 which gives the pendulum more energy than it has precedently transmitted to it, the space traveled over during this return travel being more considerable than the outwards journey owing to the initial displacement of the spring 8 by the insulating part 9. The contact 4 now passes away from contact 8 and comes against the contact 7 whereby the circuit of the cell 16 is closed over the re-: ceiver. The direction of the current is reversed in the coil 13. The said coil 13 rocks and re-- turns into position shown in the figure. The same phenomena begin over again in the opposite direction, the spring 5 being in this case pushed aside by the pendulum and returning thenafter more energy to it than it has just received from it.

Returning now to Fig. 2, the modification shown is simpler in as much as the insulating part 9 is omitted, the spring blades 5 and 6 being carried by the moving part of the receiver itself.

In this Figure 2, when the pendulum moves from left to right in the direction of the arrow, it begins by closing the contact between the contacts 4 and 8 and causes current to pass through the receiver winding 13 from the cell 17 whereby the coil 12 is rocked in a direction opposed to that of the arrow into the position shown in the figure. This movement of the coil controls, as in the preceding case, through the anchor and the ratchet wheel, the movement of the clock hands and at the same time changes the position of the spring assembly 5-6 in a manner such that the travel of the spring 6 is greater when it accompanies the return movement of the pendulum than when it is pushed by the latter in its forward movement. Consequently there is an excess of positive work of the spring which keeps the pendulum oscillating. During the next half oscillation the contact 4-? is closed; the cell 16 feeds the receiver in a direction opposed to the feed from 17 whereby the coil 12 is moved towards the left, i. e. clockwise. The spring assembly 5-6 moves therewith so as to insure an increased return journey from the spring 5 with reference to its forward travel and a consequent excess of positive drive provided thereby and so on indefinitely.

Sparking at contacts 4-7 and 48 may be eliminated by the use of condensers 1819 and the resistances 2021, as illustrated in Figure 3.

The consumption of electric energy may be considerably reduced by making use of the wiring diagram illustrated in Fig. 4. It will be readily understood that once the armature 12 has been moved, the current continues passing in a perfectly useless manner through the coil 13 of the receiver. A substantial economy is thus provided by feeding the receiver with the current strictly required for its working.

As shown in Fig. 4, the connections are the same as previously with the addition of a condenser 22 in series with the coil 13 of the receiver. The working is the same as previously, but the re-- ceiver 13 is no longer fed with permanent cur rents and is actuated only by the currents loading the condenser 22 in one direction or the other. In order to provide sufficient energy, the battery cells at 16 and 17 must be sufliciently numerous. One of the batteries 16 or 17 may even be omitted, the receiver 13 working through the currents loading and unloading in alternation the condenser 22.

Obviously my invention is by no means limited to the forms of execution disclosed and covers on the contrary all modifications thereof which fall fairly within the scope of appended claims.

In particular the polarized receiver may differ from that shown by way of example and in fact any polarized receiver having a sufficient efficiency may be used in principle. It may even be of advantage in the case of Fig. 4, to use a receiver the inertia of the moving part of which is as small as possible.

In order to prevent any short-circuiting of the batteries owing to a fortuitous simultaneous contacting of the two pins 7 and 8 by the contact 4, an insulating part the width of which is slightly above that of 4 is provided between the springs 5 and 6.

The keeping up of the pendulum oscillations may also be ensured by a single spring blade carried by the penduli in or its suspension means and adapted to engage in alternation the pins 7 and 8 carried by the receiver (Fig. 5).

The parts such as 5 and 6 which have been supposed hereinabove to be carried or controlled independently by the receiver may as well be carried by an independent spindle 18' (Fig. 6) and their movement is merely controlled by that of the pendulum.

The pendulum may also be constituted by a wire of so-called Invar steel carrying the weight 3 at its lower end.

What I claim is:

1. A clockwork control device comprising a polarized receiver having an armature mounted to rock, circuits for alternately passing electric current of opposite polarities through said receiver to cause the armature thereof to rock, a pendulum supported to oscillate, a contact carried by the pendulum and common to both circuits, a pair of spring contacts positioned on opposite sides of the pendulum and respectively included in said circuits, and mechanical connections between the armature and said spring contacts to alternately tension the spring contacts to impart, through the reaction of said con tacts, impulses to the pendulum. I

2. A clockwork control device comprising a polarized receiver having an armature mounted to rock, circuits for alternately passing electric current of opposite polarities through said receiver to cause the armature thereof to rock, a pendulum supported to oscillate, a contact carried by said pendulum and common to both circuits, spring contacts included in the respective circuits and positioned on opposite sides of the pendulum to be engaged alternately by the pendulum contact and flexed during such engagement, and operative connections between said spring contacts and the armature for laterally shifting said spring contacts with respect to the pendulum contact.

3. In combination with a pendulum, a polarized receiver mounted to rock, electric circuits adapted to feed the receiver with current of opposite polarities, current switching means controlled by the pendulum at each half oscillation thereof to alternately feed current of opposite polarities through the receiver and thereby cause the receiver to rock alternately in opposite directions, said current switching means including a symmetrical spring arrangement having opposing parts alternately engageable by the pendulum, means operated by the receiver to move said opposing parts of the spring arrangement alternately aside in advance of the pendulum until the pendulum has swung past its position of equilibrium, whereby said parts are respectively flexed when engaged by the pendulum for imparting impulses to the latter 4. A clockwork control device comprising a pendulum, a polarized receiver, electric circuits adapted to feed the receiver with current of opposite polarities, two spring contacts on opposite sides of the pendulum and adapted to be alternately engaged thereby to alternately feed current of opposite polarities through the receiver, means operated by the receiver to move each spring slightly outwardly in advance of the corresponding outward movement of the pendulum and to release said spring before the pendulum has reached, on its return travel, the point to which the spring had been previously brought by the said means, whereby impulses are imparted to the pendulum, and means operative by the receiver to actuate the clockwork.

5. A clockwork control device comprising a pendulum, a polarized receiver including an armature mounted to rock, electric circuits adapted to feed the receiver armature with current of op posite polarities, two spring contacts on opposite sides of the pendulum positioned to be engaged by the pendulum to alternately connect said circuits with the receiver armature, means, controlled by the receiver armature, to move each spring to a point slightly outward of its normal position in advance of the corresponding outward movement or the pendulum and to release it before the pendulum has passed in its return movement, beyond the just defined point, whereby impulses are imparted to the pendulum, and means operated by the receiver armature for controlling a clockwork,

6. [i clockwork control device comprising a pendulum, a polarized receiver including an armature mounted to rock, electric circuits adapted to feed the receiver armature with current of opposite polarities, two spring contacts on opposite sides of the pendulum positioned to be engaged by the pendulum to alternately connect said cir= cults with the receiver armature, an insulated part, carried by the receiver armature, to move each spring to a point slightly outward of its normal position in advance of the corresponding outward movement of the pendulum and to release it before the pendulum has passed in its return movement, beyond the just defined point, whereby impulses are imparted to the pendulum, and means operated by the receiver armature for controlling a clockwork.

7. A clockwork control device comprising a pendulum, a polarized receiver including an armature mounted to rock, two sources of current supply of opposite polarity, two springs contacts on opposite sides of the pendulum adapted to cooperate with the pendulum :for selectively connecting the corresponding source of current supply with the receiver armature, means controlled by the receiver armature to selectively move each spring to a point slightly outward of its normal position in advance of the corresponding outward movement of the pendulum and to release it before the pendulum has passed, in its return movement, beyond the just defined point, whereby impulses are imparted to the pendulum, a con denser in series with the armature, and means operated by the receiver armature to control a clockwork.

8. A clockwork control device comprising a polarized receiver having an armature mounted to rock, circuits for alternately passing electric current of opposite polarities through said receiver to cause the armature thereof to rock, a

pendulum supported to oscillate, a contact carried by said pendulum and common to both circuits, spring contacts included in the respective circuits and positioned on opposite sides of the pendulum to be engaged alternately by the pendulum contact and flexed during such engagement to store up reacting pendulum operating power, and operative connections between said spring contacts and the armature for laterally shifting said spring contacts with respect to the pendulum contact to increase the flection of the spring which is next to react upon the pendulum to operate the same.

9. A clockwork control device comprising a polarized receiver having an armature mounted to rock, circuits for alternately passing electric current of opposite polarities through said receiver to cause the armature thereof to'rock, a pendulum supported to oscillate, a contact carried by the pendulum and common to both circuits, and spring contacts positioned to be engaged alternately by the contact on the pendulum when the pendulum oscillates, said spring contacts being so positioned that they are flexed during oscillation of the pendulum to maintain the oscillation of such pendulum through the return of the contacts to normal positions after having been flexed by the oscillation oi the pendulum in opposite directions, and means operative by the armature to preliminarily flex each spring contact prior to the engagement of the pendulum contact therewith.

10. A clockwork control device comprising a polarized receiver having an armature mounted to rock, circuits for alternately passing electric current of opposite polarities through said receiver to cause the armature thereof to rock, contacts in said circuits, a pendulum supported to oscillate, and resilient means operatively connected with the armature, to be flexed when the armature is rocked and positioned to transmit energy to the pendulum to sustain its oscillations, said resilient means carrying at least one of said contacts to cause said circuits to be selectively closed and broken in accordance with the oscillations of the pendulum.

11. A clockwork control device comprising a polarized receiver having an armature mounted to rock, circuits for alternately passing electric current of opposite polarities through said receiver to cause the armature thereof to rock, a pendulum supported to oscillate, a contact carried by the pendulum and common to both circuits, and spring contacts positioned to be alternately engaged by the contact on the pendulum when the pendulum oscillates, and operative connections between the armature and said spring contacts to flex the spring contacts when the armature is rocked and store energy in said contacts to sustain oscillation of the pendulum.-

12. A clockwork control device comprising a polarized receiver having an armature mounted to rock, circuits for alternately passing electric current of opposite polarities through said receiver to cause the armature thereof to rock, a pendulum supported to oscillate, a contact carried by said pendulum and common to both circuits, spring contacts included in the respective circuits and positioned on opposite sides of the pendulum to be engaged alternately by the pendulum contact, and mechanical connections between said spring contacts and the armature for laterally shifting said spring contacts to place them alternately under tension, whereby they are adapted to react and transmit impulses to the pendulum to sustain the oscillations of the latter.

13. A clockwork control device comprising a pendulum, a polarized receiver including an armature mounted to rock, electric circuits adapted to feed the receiver armature with current of opposite polarities, contacts carried by the receiver and connected to said circuits, a spring contact carried by the pendulum and adapted for alternate engagement with said receiver contacts to feed current of opposite polarities alternately through said receiver to rock the receiver and thereby tension the spring contact alternately against the pendulum to impart impulses to said pendulum.

14. A clockwise control device comprising a polarized receiver having an armature mounted to rock, circuits for alternately passing electric cur rent of opposite polarities through said receiver to cause the armature thereof to rock, a pendulum supported to oscillate, pendulum contact means carried by the pendulum and common to both circuits, spaced contact means positioned to be alternately engaged by the pendulum contact means when the pendulum oscillates, one of said contact means being resilient, and mechanical connections between the armature and said resilient contact means and operable by rocking movement of the armature to tension said means to react upon the pendulum and sustain the oscillations of the latter.

CONSTANT BATTEGAY'

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