US2509871A - Music roll alarm clock - Google Patents

Description

May 30, 1950 F. LOEFFLER MUSIC ROLL ALARM CLOCK Filed May 12, 1948 5 Shee'ts-Sheet l INVENTOR.

BY RITZ LOEFFLER A T TORNE).

May 30, 1950 F. LOEFFLER musxc ROLL ALARM CLOCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 12, 1948 INVE NTOR.

FRITZ LOEFFLER BY Flea,

ATTORNEX May 30, 1950 F. LOEFFLER 2,509,871

MUSIC ROLL ALARM CLOCK Filed May 12, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.4. F1646.

I INVENTOR. U5 FRITZ LOEFFLER y 1950 F. LOEFFLER MUSIC ROLL ALARM CLOCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 12. 1948 FRITZ LOEFFLER ATTOR/VFX May 30, 1950 F. LOEFFLER MUSIC ROLL ALARM CLOCK Filed May 12, 1948 5 Sheets-Shea: 5

FIG]

INVENTOR. FRITZ LOEFF LER 4 T TORNEY.

Patented May 30, 1950 MUSIC ROLL ALARM ,-CLO(-1 K Fritz Loeffler, New, York, N."Y;; assignor to Lador, Inc., New York, N; Y., a corporation of New Application May1'12, 1948, SeriaLNo. 26,692.. 7

(Cl;- '58'-12) i 14 Claims.

This inyentiOn.,has to .do ,with improvements inucloclgmechanisms land moreparticularly with clocks havinga music. rollas, an alarm.

Music rolls asv such are well known articles of commerce and have previously. been useduto ,a limited .extentin -comb ination with mechanical (spring). operated. alarm. clocks. Usually. in these .clo.cks.,there had .been separate and indew pendentdriving'means, e. g. springs, for the clock and the. music roll sothat two hand winding, operations had.to.be.performed. Another shortcome ingpf. these clocks. wasgthatgthe. operation of the music roll.,cou1d .not be-sufficiently well .controlled...

Accordingto my invention .a single motordriving, means, ,e,-g. an electric'motor, operates the clock mechanism as well as the music roll. The present,.i,de vicetherefore combines the advantag s. attendant... to..an. .e1ectric clock with those I. of .a. clockhaving a musierrollalarm.

Accordingto a feature of my. invention I providea snapacting device which abruptly disengages themusic rollirom its driving-mechanism to insure abrupt stopping .of the .roll.. In. this way it is possible accurately .to .controlithe operation of.,the,.music rollfora predetermined periodof time..

According to another feature of myinvention,

I providea secondmore penetrating alarm, like a bell, which may be selectivelyconnectedito oper:v

ateaftenthe music ,.roll has been stopped.

Still another feature, of. my invention is that I provide a .combinationhour. hand-and alarm marker ontheface ofthe clock. Usually aseparatejindicatoris necessary tov mark the timeat which it is desired for'the alarmtooperate. I'

providein addition to thecustomary. fixed hour dial, an,. adjustable,alarm dial rotating with the hour gear. The alarm time. is setby rotating the.

adjustable dial into alignment with a marker provided on the hour hand.

For a more complete understanding of my invention.referencehshouldjbe had to the following.

showing-the operation of the cam followers and the release lever mechanism;

Fig; is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig; 6;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the clock with the;

front--housing, dials and front plate-removed;

7 is a front View of the assembledcloek;

Fig: B'is a cross section .on the. line. 88. of Figi'l'; and.

Fig.9 is a. plan-view .of thespaeer separating the frontiplate and clockdial.

The clock mechanism or. ;works,- resting-on .-a base}! Fig';-..1) may be inserted asa unit intoyan Openin in: the :bottom .;ofan outside housing I 0: A leafspringzllisecuredltoszpostv IZby screw ,l3 presses. against; the back .side of housing. It and prevents ratt1ing-of the-unit. A crystal I4 is held in place. by bezel l5 against-the edges'of another suitable 'opening in-'- the side; of the housing;

Theclock mechanismds'driven by a-constant speed elect'ricmotor l6; preferablyqotthe alternating current synchronous type which is secured by screwslnot. shown) to back platel S. The,ope at on o the. me hanism a o t b d s rib d is used to reduce the normal speed of 'themotor to rate t e seco stm nu es andh u i ar the clock;,

Thernotor shaitinotshown) of motor lficar ries ap nion.23 -W i hien sesa shaftlg ar. 24 m u tedw th a pini n 2.5..ona s ft nion 25"drives a shaft gear, 21 'mountedwith a pinion ve a shaft, eeer.. 33.;mq n ed witna p n on. 3

onic t nsnaft 35; j A sw pin second hand. .3

is mounted onthe outer end of. shaft '35. Pinion 34drives a gear. 38 mou nt e d on a pinion shaftltg. A- pinion 39" (Fig; 2) forming part ofshaft 39.;en1 agesa gear .4 i which. .is frictionally. h ld.v by. a

hrine washer .4 Lit a minu e hu 4.2.;and. am ion.

43"pressed on hub 42. Minute hub 4l2 ,carriesat. its Outenenda minutehands i. Pinion stengages a gear, 45 mounted .ona pinion. it which turns loosely on pinionshaftutlii Aocollar. 41

positions piniondfionpinionshaftlfis so that it ves a s arrflimounted. adja n a e d.- of hour hand hub jfl'. JI-Iub. 49" carries at its outer end an hour hand 59.; An alarm gearjl (Fig. 3)"isymounted"on' alarm hub 52; 3 Alarm cam 53 loosely-mounted on 1 11 01918 coupled to alarm gear 5|"..by D0sts ,54." On the outer end of. alarm hub 52- arr-adjustable alarm dial 5a is mounted so gthat it will rotate-withflthe hub 52' but may.be. A spring washer.

'With theaid of Figs. 4-40 the operation ofthedevice controlling the engagementofthe' music Spring 55' alarm to the rest of the clock mechanism will be explained. A release lever 62 positioned between alarm gear 5! and alarm cam 53 is pivota1ly mounted On a shaft 63. A coiled spring 64, one end of which is fastened to one of posts 54, tends to hold lever 62 in inactive position (Fig. 4) pressing the levers end 65 against flange 56. Alarm cam 53 has a cut out portion whose edges 66, 61 are substantially perpendicular to one another. Release lever 62 has a radial edge 68 which is slightly displaced with respect to edge 66 of cam 53 and a circular edge 69 in line with the contour of cammed surface so as substantially to cover edge 61 of the cut out when the release lever is in inoperative position.

A locking and follower lever I9 is mounted on a hub II (Fig. 3) on a shaft I2 which'is rotatably mounted in front and back plates I9, I6. On one end of lever ill a cam follower 6| is mounted and projects from the lever so as to slide alon the cammed surface of cam 53. A spring 73, one end of which i attached to a post id and the other end to arm of lever 19, exerts pressure to move cam follower 6| towards alarm cam 53. The other end of lever 10, best shown in Fig. 5, carries a bushing I6 with a short shaft H. A gear I8 with a hub I8 is rotatably mounted on shaft l1 and is engaged by a gear l9. Gear '59 is mounted on a hub 66 along with a gear 59 which is driven by gear 39 (Fig. 3).

As cam 53 is rotated in clockwise direction, lever 19 will force follower 6| down edge 66 of the cut out portion to the position shown in Fig. 4a, whereupon gear 178 at the other end of lever i9 is swung downwards into engagement with a gear 89 which is connected to a music roll M (Fig. 1) and rotates the latter. The musical sound is produced when comb 82 (Fig. 6) is engaged by pins (not shown) projecting from the music roll.

As cam 53 continues to rotate, cam follower 6| rides along edge 61 and engages radial edge 68 of release lever 62 to rotate it about shaft 63 against the pressure of spring 65. When the release lever has been turned to a point greater. than the friction angle between it and the cam follow-er, spring 64 will suddenly snap the release cam 62 back to its inactive or normal position, causing edge 68 to slide past cam follower 6!.

The normal position of release lever 62 is with its end 65 contacting flange 56. The operation of lever 62 depends on the relative tension of springs 65 and I3. Springs 13 is more resilient than sprin 6t so that the pressure of spring 13 will be overcome and gear 18 moved out of contact with gear 89.

Cam follower 6| rides along curved edge 69 of release cam 62 and the cammed surface of 53. When cam follower 6| is lifted out of the cut out portion of cam 53, lever I0 is suddenly swung up so that gear 18 abruptly breaks with music roll gear 89, thus stopping the playing of the music.

As distinguished from the usual gradual disengagement between an alarm and its driving source, I break the connection between music roll gear 69 and gear 18 by means of release lever 62 so fast that music roll 8| comes to a stop almost instantaneously upon the operation of lever 62. The importance of the abrupt disengagement is that the music roll is stopped dead and not gradually. In this connection I have found that in certain cases where the music roll has a great deal of inertia the application of a suitable brake to the roll will prevent any unwanted movements therein.

Fig. 4c shows cam follower 6| just after it has been lifted out of the cut out and as alarm cam 59 continues to rotate, the follower slides around cam 53 until it can once again enter the cut out portion, e. g. 12 hours later.

A second and more penetrating alarm, such as a bell 95, (Fig. 1) is mounted on post I2 by spacer and plate 86. The alarm is sounded by means of an arm 81 which is movably mounted on a cross piece 88 held on pivots 89 between back plate I8 and front plate I9. Arm 8'! is under tension from a spring 96 (Fig. 6) fastened to a post 9I. At the other end of arm 81 an elbow 94 projects, on one end of which a striker or hammer 95 is provided and from the other end a cam follower 96 projects, A lug 9! projects from arm 91 between hammer 95 and cam follower 96. Cam follower 96 rides around alarm cam 53 close to cam follower 6|. The distance between the two cam followers is such that follower 96 can slide past edge 66 of the alarm cam only after follower 6| has been lifted into its inoperative position by the operation of release lever 62. Thus the music alarm must have sounded and stopped before the bell alarm can operate.

'The bell alarm operates in the following manner: After follower 96 has dropped into the cut out portion of alarm cam 53, a projection I00 of crosspiece 88 which is connected to spring is moved into engagement with the teeth of a star wheel IIlI which rotates with shaft 26. The alternate lifting of arm 8'! by the star wheel and retraction by spring 96 causes hammer to strike bell 85 and produce the conventional ringing alarm. As alarm cam 53 continues its rotation, cam follower 96 rides up edge 67 of the cam and the stroke of arm 81 is gradually diminished until follower 96 again reaches the periphery of cam 53, whereupon projection I09 is disengaged from star wheel II]! by the outward movement of arm 81. The bell alarm ceases ringing and will not be operated until the alarm cam 53 makes another complete rotation, i. e. after 12 hours have elapsed.

The operation or non-operation of the alarms is controlled by a shaft I 64 (Fig. 6) which extends rearwardly through the housing of the clock and on which a disc I95 having a pin I06 projecting therethrough is pressed. A lever I01 is rotatably mounted on hub II and has one end contacting pin I96 on one side of disc I95. Lever arm I5 may contact pin I06 on the other side of disc E65. The other end I96 of lever I9! is adapted to contact projection 91 of arm 91. A spring H9 anchored to post "I4 tends to hold lever IElI against pin E66.

Depending on how pin I66 is set (by turning shaft E66) the music alarm will operate (position M), the music alarm and then the bell will operate (position M+B) or both alarms will be silent (position S).

In position M, the bell alarm cannot operate because lever Hill is held by spring I I 0 against pin I66 so that upper end I66 of lever i0! rests against lug 91 and prevents cam follower 96 from sliding down edge 66 of alarm cam 53. However, lever arm 'l5 is free of the pin and since lever 19 can still move the music alarm will operate.

If pin I66 is turned counterclockwise to position M-l-B, both the music and bell alarms will operate because lever I61 is rotated about hub II and is pressed by spring H9 against pin I96 so as to raise end I 98, as indicated in dotted lines Fig. 6, out of engagement with projection 91: Cam follower ;9.may then drop past edge 66 andoperate-the bell alarmas above described. Since;the movem ent of lever IE! is not influenced. by this1position of:pin =I06-,-the music alarm will operate asbefore;

If pin I08'is vmoved clockwise to the position S neither alarm-Willoperate because end i013 of lever, IU'If holds. out the bell alarm as above described. Pin I fitalso engages leverarm- 75 preventing,-lever;;l from rotating and cam follower 6I-- entering the cut out. The'music alarm:is therebyzheld out. A fiat-springQB (Fig. 6) suitablyfastened to :front; plate I9 may conveniently be: arranged to have a nub in one end register with .notches indisc I which correspond to positionsM, MrliB, S. Thedisc is thereby kept fromrotating against thepressure of springs I3 andiIiI0.;

Thesetting of the alarmsis controlled by a shaft-H4. (Fig. l) which extends through the rear of1the';..housing. At the' front end of shaft IE4 a gear.-. I i5 is mounted; and meshes witna. gear. IIfizrotatably-mounted'on a stud HT. Gear H6 engagesgear 5I.which controls the rotation of alarm camz53 and alarm dial 58. By overcoming thefriction of .spring'55i against the parts mount ed on hubs 49 and 52?,2-ithe alarm. dial can be rotated, and aligned with. inner pointer H9 of hour-whand 50 "(Fig. 7). The novel constructionof hour hand-50f enables it to serve a dual purposetoxindicate. the .hour of the day as Well as the time towhich the alarm is set. Hand. 58 is formed intermediate its ends into a ring H8. Within this ring small pointer I I9 may be aligned with suitable numbers on the adjustable alarm dial. Outer pointer I29 indicates the hours of the day in the usual manner.

The hands of the clock are set by rotation of a shaft I22 (Fig. 2) which extends through the rear ofthe-housing. When a gear 523 pressed on-shaft I22=is rotated the friction'between gear and-pinion 43 created-by spring washer M is overcome and the hands moved.-

The musicroll 8 I is supported in a frame I24 by screws I25 (Fig. 1). A locating screw 125 10- cates gear with respect to gear l8. Frame 524 is fastened to front plate I9 by screws I30.

Referring to Fig. 8, a spacer I26 separates front plate I9 from clock dial I2'I. A circular opening is provided in clock dial E2! in which alarm dial 58 is placed. The alarm dial is practically flush with clock dial I21. The clock dial is positioned on extensions I29 of post I1 and the distance from posts [1 to center shaft is accurately measured. Since the clock dial will be rigidly held it is possible to have only a small clearance between the two dials. The face of the clock has a neat and compact appearance.

Since shafts 26 and 29 are the most directly coupled to the motor shaft they rotate at relatively high speeds and should be lubricated and for that purpose I provide holes I3I and I32 in spacer I26 (Fig. 9). When clock dial I2'I is in place, two chambers defined by holes 3i and I32 are provided between the dial and front plate I9 into which lubricating means, such as a wick, may be placed continuously to lubricate the shafts. A clearance hole I33 may also be provided in spacer I26 to permit pivots 89 to project from front plate I9.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of my invention it will be clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made thereon and that certain features thereof may be used separately or in other combination Without departing from the scope: of ,my' inventionaas .set-

music-roll, anda singledriving means connected with the clock mechanism for driving it and connectable to drive the music roll, coupling means for operatively connecting the music roll to said driving means, and means operableat predetermined times by the clock mechanism foractuating the couplin means.

2. Aclock comprising a clock mechanism, music roll, a single driving. means for driving both' the clock mechanism and the music roll, means for operatively, connecting the. music roll with said drivingmeans and meansincluding a spring and lever means for. controllingthe con nection between saiddriving means andv roll.

3. In. combination with a clock mechanism, a constant speed motor for driving said mechanism,..a music roll alarnrmeans for operativelyconnecting the music roll with said motor, and

lever means for abruptlyv making and breaking the connection between the motor and music roll.

4. The device according to claim- 3,.a secondalarm and means for operatively connecting said second alarm with said motor.

5. The device accordingto claim 4, and means for connecting said second alarm after-the breaks ing of the connection with the music roll.

6. In an alarm clock. housing, clock works, an alternating current. motor for driving said; works, a music roll, means for operatively connecting said roll to the motor, va camhaving a follower.

controlling the operativeconnection of the motor to-the music roll,. and a spring operated release lever for. movingthe cam follower With respect to .the cam to disconnect abruptly the motor from themusic roll.

'7. :The device accordingto claim 6, and means projecting through said'housing for preparing the COIlllliOlzOf. themusic: roll by the cam at preset times. .a

8. The device according to claim '6, a bell alarm, an armextendingfrom bell alarm, means for connecting said arm to the motor, a second cam follower for controlling the operative connection of said arm to the motor, said second follower being displaced with respect to said first follower so that the music roll will operate before the bell.

,9. The device according to claim 6, and means for resiliently mounting within the housing said clock works, motor, cam, cam follower and lever as a unit.

10. In an alarm clock, an alternating current motor for driving the clock, a cam rotated by said motor, a music roll, means for connecting the music roll to the motor, a first cam follower for controlling the said last-mentioned means, a bell, a hammer for striking said bell, a second cam follower for controlling the operation of the hammer to strike the bell, a snap acting release lever rotatably mounted on said cam and engaged at one end by said first cam follower, and a spring fastened to the other end of the lever whereby the lever will abruptly break the connection between said first follower and the cam.

11. In an alarm clock, an alternating current motor for driving the clock mechanism, a cam having a cut out portion and rotated by the motor, a first cam follower contacting said cam, a music roll connected to said follower operable upon the follower moving into said out out portion, a second cam follower contacting said cam, a bell alarm connected to said second follower and operable upon the follower moving into the cut out portion of the cam, a release lever having a normal position mounted on said cam adjacent its out out and contacting said first follower upon its entering the cut out, and means for quickly returning said lever to normal position thereby moving said first follower out of the cut out and stopping the operation of the music roll alarm.

12. In an alarm clock, an alternating current motor for driving the clock mechanism, an hour hand, a gear for rotating said hour hand, a cam having a cut out portion and connected to said gear, a first cam follower contacting said cam, a music roll connected to said follower operable upon the follower moving into said out out portion, a second cam follower contacting said cam at a point behind said first follower with respect to the direction of rotation of the cam, a bell, a striker connected to said second follower and operable upon the second follower moving into the cut out portion of the cam to strike the bell, a snap acting release lever having a normal position mounted on said cam adjacent the cut out but displaced with respect to the cut out so that said followers may enter it, a spring fastened to one end of the lever for quickly returning said lever to normal position thereby moving the first follower out of the cut out and stopping the operation of the music roll, and means for alternatively connecting the music roll, the music roll and bell striker or disconnecting the music roll and bell striker to the clock mechanism.

13. In an alarm clock, an alternating current motor for driving the clock mechanism, a stationary clock dial having a central opening, an adjustable alarm dial situated in said opening and in substantially the same plane as the clock dial, an hour hand, a gear for rotating said hour hand, a cam having a cut out portion and connected to said gear, a first cam follower contacting said cam, a music roll connected to said follower operable upon the follower moving into said out out portion, a second cam follower contacting said cam at a point behind said first follower with respect to the direction of rotation of the cam,

a bell, a striker connected to said second follower and operable upon said second follower moving into the cut out portion of the cam to strike the bell, a snap acting release lever having a normal position mounted on said cam adjacent the cut out but displaced with respect to the cut out so that said followers may enter it, said lever having a surface for contacting said first follower, a spring fastened to one end of the lever for quickly returning the lever to normal position thereby moving said first follower out of the cut out and stopping the operation of the music roll, a disc having a pin projecting therefrom movable into three positions, in the first of said positions the music roll and bell striker being both disconnected from the clock mechanism, in the second position only the music roll being connected, and in the third position the music roll and bell striker being both connected, a projection from the first cam follower contacting the pin only in said first position whereby said first follower is held free of the music roll, and a second lever positioned so that one end engages the second cam follower and the other end said pin in said first and second positions of the pin whereby said second follower may be held from entering said out out to prevent operation of the bell alarm.

14. The device according to claim 13, and in Which said hour hand is formed into a ring intermediate its ends, and has a pointer within said ring for alignment with said alarm dial.

FRITZ LOEFFLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 433,220 Sprangers July 29, 1890 529,835 Porter Nov, 27, 1894 767,605 Stange Aug. 16, 1904 1,767,183 Lux June 24, 1930 2,044,543 Putnam June 16, 1936

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