US2866932A - Electric motor control for chimes - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 30, 1958 P. DENTEL' 2,866,932

ELECTRIC MOTOR CONTROL FOR CHIMES Filed Jan. 12, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 30, 1958 P. DENTEL 2,866,932

ELECTRIC MOTOR CONTROL FOR CHIMES Filed Jan. 12, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ELECTRIC MOTOR CONTROL FOR CHIMES Paul Dentel, Saverne, France, assignor to Fabrique dHorlogerie la Vetlette, S. A., Saverne, France Application January 12, 1953, Serial No. 330,645

1 Claim. (Cl. 318-446) The present invention has for its object improvements in sets of bells generally termed carillons and the like musical mechanisms and their applications.

It is a well-known fact that various chiming mechanisms and, more particularly, those associated with clockworks, have to satisfy the requirements of various rules which are rather diflicult to observe, chiefly in the case of mass production. Thus, in particular, the shape, the material and the impact surface of the hammers play a predominant part while the operation generally termed counter-hammering is diflicult to execute when the bulk is to be reduced to a minimum, and the control of the chiming bell system or the like devices by means of an electric motor requires the interposition of an electric relay.

In order to remove these drawbacks inherent to various well-known requirements and in order to simplify the various parts so as to allow mass production and consequently a reduction in cost price, the present invention discloses improvements in the execution of numerous parts and also further applications of such parts.

It has for its primary object the use of plasticmaterial for the execution of bell hammers and, more particularly, that of hammers intended for use in chimes. The substitution of plastic material for the leather lining the hammers and serving for the obtention of harmonious sets of bells, provides the advantage not only ofcutting out the difficulties of obtaining leather of substantially uniform character, but also of removing the necessity of perfecting from time to time the arrangement by reason of the hygrometric instability of leather.

The invention has further for its object a system for hitting the sound-givingmember wherein a single spring operating tractionally acts as a stop, as a shank and as a counter-hammer, the two points of attachment of the spring and the rotary axis of the hammer or hammers lying, when inoperative, theoretically on a rectilinear line, while the outer point of attachment of the spring may be shifted in both directions coaxially with the axis of the hammers through any suitable control means with a view to adjusting the intensity of impact. T his arrangement shows the considerable advantage of cutting out the necessity of long hammer shanks with a view to forming a spring and an elastic stop and it allows, furthermore, the adaptation of very simple means for modifying the intensity of impact.

According to a further feature of the invention, the direct drive through an electric motor of the bell mechanism is associated with the control switches providing respectively for the release of the chiming and for adjustment of its duration as a relay, while a movable member acting as a measuring wheel, controls last mentioned switch forming a relay. This cuts out the clockwork or relay that is now always required for the direct control by an electric motor.

According to a still further feature of the invention, a bell, carillon, or music box mechanism controlled by a 2,55,932 Patented Dec. 30, 1958 spring or by a weight that is raised by an electromagnet or an electric motor is started from a distance through the energization performed by a switch, such as a time switch e. g., while the operative path of the spring or of the weight is limited so as to correspond to the duration of the chiming or of the tune played by the carillon at a speed adjusted by a flywheel acting against the resistance of air or by any suitable or known means. This mechanism allows limiting the operation of the electric motor or electromagnet to the mere cocking of the mechanical control means.

According to a further object of the invention, there is associated with a bell, carillon, or music box mechanism in accordance with the preceding disclosure, a toothed roll or drum constituted by a removable camshaft which controls the rising ofthe hammers and is laterally shiftable by one or more intervals to correspond in succession to various tunes. Also it is possible to provide for the adaptation of the cams on the camshaft to the playing of two or more tunes by the possibility of changing the removable camshaft, each interchangeable camshaft corresponding to one or more predetermined tunes.

The invention also covers the production of tunes by means of the above mentioned mechanisms operating through bellows actuating whistles or the like vibratory members of the type used in organs, concertinas, harmonicas or the like acoustic devices.

This provides the advantage of producing pleasant tunes of any type and substituting for the usual sounds obtained with bells, gongs, triangles and the like, sounds obtained by whistles or vibrating blades as in the case of harmonicas whereby the conventional scale of the chimes is increased by notes forming an agreeable and bright melody.

Lastly, the invention provides for the use of the improved mechanisms referred to as applied to bells or sets of bells carried by doors or the like to serve as signalling means. This substitution of sets of bells for entrance door bells, telephone bells or the like alarm systems, provides the advantage of replacing, by a varied selection of tunes, unpleasant and harsh noises by musical and agreeable sounds, while removing the parasitical strays; such varied tunes may be played advantageously crescendo and also it is possible to make such mechanisms operate directly under the voltage of the electric network without requiringatransformer'.

These various objects and features of my invention will be disclosed with further detail hereinafter with reference to accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational View of a bell system;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic View of the same system seen in side view;

Fig. 3 is a detail view of various members of the same system;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatical elevational view of a modified embodiment of the system shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the arrangement in. cluding various parts of a bell mechanism controlled by an electric motor; Y

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of a modification of the control of the bell mechanism by an electromagnet; and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the application of bellows to the bell mechanism with a view to replacing the conventional carillon or chime bells by other sound-producing means.' p

The hammer 1 (Figs. 1 to 3) forming anessential member of any bell mechanism is made according'to the invention of synthetic molded material, preferably nylon or the like superpolyamidic material, the mass of which is increased'through the insertion of a metal core 2. It is of particular interest, from an economical standpoint, to substitute such a synthetic material for the leather generally coating the hammers used nowadays, for obtaining a harmonious chiming, this interest lying in the difiiculty of obtaining a leather having a substantially uniform yieldingness and also, as mentioned, by reason of the hygrometric instability of leather. The synthetic material referred to cuts out, as a matter of fact, these drawbacks. Furthermore, it is possible and of advantage to replace the leather coating by mere pieces of plastic material, as shown at 3 in Fig. 3, where such a piece is constituted by a slightly conical plate fitted in a slot 4 provided inside the metal mass 5 of the hammer 1 and held inside said slot through the mere clamping of its end. This connects the two sections of the hammer in an economical and lasting manner.

The conventional long hammer shank serving as a spring and an elastic stop is generally associated with a braking system adapted to hold the hammer fast, immediately after impact so as to produce a counter-hammer effect and this requires often an objectionable bulk which it is sometimes impossible to obtain with the size given to the set of bells; now, the invention provides a coil spring 6 one end of which forming an attachment point 7 is hooked onto a lever 8 rockably mounted on a stationary spindle 9 on which rocks also the hammer 1 (Fig. 2). The other end of the spring 6 forming the attachment point 11 is hooked to the lower end 12 of the hammer 1. When inoperative, the point of attachment 11 lies on the straight line connecting the attachment point 7 to a point 9 of the axis of rotation 9 around which the hammer rocks.

The spring 6 operates tractionally and, in order to ensure a completely aperiodical operation, said spring may be associated with another spring that is tuned to a quite diiferent frequency.

The lever 8 is urged permanently by a return spring 13 secured to a stationary point 14, against a cam or snailshaped stop 15. An angular shifting of said snail 15 produces a modification of the location of the hammer 1 with reference to the sound-producing member, and this leads consequently to a modification in the intensity of impart. To this end, it is sufiicient to modify the position of its point of attachment 7 in the direction of the arrow x or y of Figure 1.

It is of advantage to provide a series of flat operative surfaces on the snail 15 in order to obtain a corresponding number of different positions for the lever 8. But it is also possible to obtain a similar result by means of an adjusting screw acting directly on the lever 8.

The coil spring 6, may, through its particular attaching means, play the parts of a shank, of a counter-hammer and of a stop. The hammer 1 is driven by the conventional cam 16 acting on a lug 17011 the shank 10.

In the case of a still more reduced bulk, it is possible to resort to the arrangement illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 4, wherein the hammer is carried no'longer at the end of a rocking shank, but is secured to the end of a rod 18 adapted to be shifted along its axis inside the bearings 19 and 19. The hammer 1 is secured to the rod 18 through welding, riveting or screwing; it may also be integral with said rod. When inoperative, the location of the hammer 1 is defined by the coil springs 20 and 21 that are not tensioned. The spring 20 acts as a shank and the spring 21 as a counter-hammer. The con ventional hammer-raising cam 22 acts on a driving washer 23 which is screwed, welded or riveted to the rod 18 or formed integrally therewith.

When the cam 22 rotates in the direction of the arrow f around the pivot 24, its teeth act on the washer 23 and shift the whole arrangement in the direction of the arrow f which provides for the cocking or stressing of the spring 20. When the washer 23 is free from the tooth on the cam 22 that engages it, the hammer 1 is projected upwardly against the sound-producing, member while cocking slightly the spring 21 which returns the whole arrangement to its original position of equilibrium.

The carillon or the like mechanisms are generally controlled by a spring or weight forming the prime mover which is generally wound up by hand or electrically. In this case, the control of the electric motor is performed through the agency of an electric relay and the duration of operation is controlled either by hand or through a clockwork or a relay. In order to cut out this clockwork or relay, the invention releases from a distance the playing of the tune by means of an electric switch, such as a time switch for instance. When the tune has been started, it stops automatically as soon as it has been played. To this end, the electric motor is associated with a driving member, forming a measuring or timing wheel, and with an electric switch.

As illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 5, the hammer or hammers 1 are raised by the cam or cams 25 revolving around the spindle 26. On the latter is rigidly secured a timing wheel 27 driven by the pinion 28 on the shaft of the electric motor 29. The rotor 30 of the motor 29 carries a pin 31 abutting against the arm 32 of the lever 33, subjected to the action of the spring 34, when the motor is not energized. In contradistinction, when the motor 29 is energized, the magnetic flux of the stator exerts on the arm of the lever 33 pivoting at36 an attraction that is greater than the action of the spring 34. By reason of this attraction, the arm 32 is urged out of the path of the pin 31 so that the motor may revolve freely.

The so-called timing wheel 27 carries also a pin 37 acting on the operative lever 38 of a switch 39. When the arrangement is at rest, the switch 39 and the switch 40, in parallel with the latter, are both open. A pressure in the direction of the arrow f exerted mechanically or by hand on the switch 40, energizes the motor 29. At this moment, the arm 35 of the stop-forming lever 33 is urged against the stator about its pivot 36 and its other arm 32 releases the pin 31 so that the rotor 30 may now revolve freely. The timing wheel 27 is then driven in the direction f and the pin 37, which had broken its branch circuit through engagement with the arm 38 of the switch 39, allows after a few fractions of a second said arm 38 to recede, which provides a free passage for the current. From this moment onwards, the switch may be opened and the wheel 27 continues rotating until the pin 37 engagesagain the lever 38 and breaks the current at 39. During this revolution of the wheel 27, the suitably outlined cam or cams 25 provide for the production of the desired tune. As soon as the current is broken, the lever 33, subjected to the action of the spring 34, returns into its operative position by pivoting about the pivot 36 to engage the pin 31 wherein it prevents the rotor of the motor from continuing its rotation under the action of its inertia.

This association of various means known per se allows obtaining substantial advantages: it is however possible to modify the arrangement disclosed and in particular the timing wheel 27 may be driven by any number of parts inserted between it and the motor.

The'arrangement described allows simplifying the control system of the set of bells and consequently leads to a substantial reduction in the cost price and all the more so inasmuch as it allows a mass production. Thus, the chimes or sets of bells improved according to the invention, may replace advantageously electric bells in all their various embodiments and applications and also cut out their numerous drawbacks, such as their unpleasant nerve-racking noise, the production of wireless disturbing strays and the like. The selection of a tune played crescendo may also be of interest in such applications.

The carillons referred to may thus be substituted for all door-bells, telephone call bells and the like alarm devices and they may also be operated directly by the voltage of the mains without requiring a transformer, which provides a further economy.

It should also be understood that in the case of circuits including a transformer, the latter may be retained, the motor being provided with a low voltage winding. By reason of the ease of dismantling of the motor coils, the substitution of one coil for another allows practically operation on a very large range of voltages extending between say 3 and 380 volts.

In the case where the current used is direct current, or when it is necessary to cut out the relay switch, the precedingly described arrangement may be modified as illustrated in Fig. 6. In this case, the electric motor serves only for the cocking of a mechanical motor, such as a spring or weight-operated prime mover driving in its turn the bell mechanism, the speed of operation of which is adjusted by a suitable regulator such as a flywheel acting against the resistance of air.

In the case illustrated in Fig. 6, an electromagnet constituted by a core 41 and a winding 42 is controlled by means of a remote switch 43. The core 41 includes an extension forming a rack 44 meshing with a pinion 45 revolving loose on the axis of the gearwheel 46 and rigid with a ratchet wheel 47. The ratchet wheel 47 drives through the agency of the pawl 48 the gearwheel 46 in the direction of the arrow f The gear train 49-50 leads to a flywheel 51 operating against the action of air with a view to regulating the speed of operation. The hammer-controlling cam may be mounted rigidly on one of the gearwheels of said gear train, say 46 or 49. By depressing for a moment the switch 43, the winding 42 is energized and exerts a pull on the core 41 which moves until it meets a stop. When the current is broken, the core 41 is urged in the opposite direction through the action of gravity or by a return spring 52 urging the core in the direction of the arrow 2. During this return movement, the core drives through the rack 44 the pinion 45 and thereby the gearwork at the speed regulated by the flywheel 51 and consequently also the hammer-controlling or raising mechanism.

In all the types of bell sets described hereinabove, it is possible to include various drums or cams providing for the playing of two or more tunes. In this case, it is possible to resort to the conventional camshaft adapted to be shifted axially through one or more intervals, each shifting through one interval corresponding to engagement of one set of cams with the hammers.

It is also possible to provide for the ready removal of the camshaft so as to exchange it easily with another camshaft producing one or more tunes. This exchange allows the change of the tunes played, as desired.

Lastly, in the case where it is preferred to produce the sound of a bellow-operated whistle, or of vibrating bells rather than that of bells, gongs, triangles or the like, the arrangement described hereinabove allows such a substitution. Thus, the bellows may be actuated by the mechanism controlling the set of bells just like clocks of the well-known cuckoo type. This control of wind instruments may be extended to that of the vibrating blades of harmonica. To this end (Fig. 7), the hammer rod or rods 53 rocking at 54 raise the bellows 55 through the agency of a rod 56 to which is hooked a rod 57 controlling the harmonica 58 so as to ensure a reciprocatory movement in front of the mouth-piece 59 of the bellows 55. The harmonica produces then no longer the conventional scale, but a series of notes the sequence of which forms an agreeable and bright melody.

What I claim is:

An actuating mechanism for a sound signaling device which includes a vibratable member adapted intermittently to strike a sound producing element, an electric motor including a stator, rotor, and shaft, a pin carried by said rotor, a pinion carried by said shaft, a pair of parallel electric circuits for said motor between the motor and a source of electrical power, a manual switch in one circuit, a spindle adjacent said motor, a cam on said spindle adjacent said vibratable member for actuating said vibratable member upon energization of said motor, a timing wheel on said spindle adapted to be rotated by said pinion, a bell crank lever adjacent said motor, one end of said bell crank lever engaging said pin when said motor is deenergized, the other arm of said lever being magnetically energizable upon actuation of said motor to move said one arm to release said pin and a second switch in the other of said circuits operable by said timing wheel to continue the operation of said motor for a predetermined period after said manual switch is opened.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 358,157 Kenyon Feb. 22, 1887 965,435 Brauer July 26, 1910 1,266,875 Smith May 21, 1918 1,547,183 Steele July 28, 1925 1,938,712 Merrill Dec. 12, 1933 2,128,150 Little Aug. 23, 1938 2,206,837 Edwards July 2, 1940 2,307,989 Bower Jan. 12, 1943 2,463,203 Reck Mar. 1, 1949 2,482,840 Collins et a1. Sept. 27, 1949 2,488,111 Ames Nov. 15, 1949

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