US287291A - Watchman s time-recorder - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

A. M. JOHNSON.

WATGHMANS TIME RECORDER.

No. 287.291. Patented Oct. 23, 1883.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT M. JOHNSON, OF NENV HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

WATCHMANS TIME-RECORDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 287,291, dated October 23, 1883.

Application filed June 11, 1883. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT M. JOHNSON, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Vatchmens Clocks; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, iii- Figure 1, a front view; Fig. 2, a side view; Fig. 3, a detached view, showing the connection between the time movement and the slide which carries the marker; Fig. 4, a front view;

and Fig. 5, ascctional view, showing the train which operates the registcring-pointers.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of clocks which are located at a central point in a territoryto be watched, and with which several stations at different points in said territory communicate, and so that the watchman at one station may make a communieation to the central point, which will antomatically record his presence at said station at such predetermined time, commonly called watehmens clocks, from the fact that the central station is in connection with a time'movement, whereby the precise time at which the watchman was at such station will be indicated. The clock now more generally used for this purpose is one in which a revolving disk is arranged in connection with the time-movement, so as to make one revolution every twelve hours, and upon this disk a marker is brought to bear from the several stations at predetermined times, and so that the watchmans presence at such stations will be indicated on the disk, or his absence from the station noted by the absence of a corre sponding mark upon the disk. These disks are required to be renewed daily, and so that to compare several days with each other it is necessary to examine several independent disks.

The principal object of my invention is to construct an apparatus by which a single disk may be employed for a number of days-say one week; and the invention consists in the combination of mechanism, as hereinafter de scribed, and more particularly recited in the claims.

A represents themain shaft. ()u this shaft is the drum B, upon which the cord or weight which drives the movement is wound, or it may be a spring-barrel attached thereto. The shaft is provided with the usual pawl and ratchet between it and the main wheel 0, whereby the cloclmnovement may be wound. From this main wheel a suitable train of gearing communicates to the pointers, here represented as through a vertical shaft, ID, communicating with the train by bevel-pinions E, the time-pointers being above at any suitable distance, and the usual time-wheels taking their rotation from the pinion on' the vertical shaft 1). (Not shown.) The main shaft is arranged to make one revolution each twelve hours. Onto the main shaft a circular plate, F, is fixed, and upon this the indicator-disk H is placed. This disk is preferably of paper, and the plate F of wood or other semisoft material. The disk is secured to the plate F by a collar, I, over the ccntershaft, and a nut or pin to bear upon the collar, so that the disk will revolve with the plate F one revolution in twelve houis, and may be easily adjusted circumferentially around the center shaft by loosening the fastening which secures it to the plate. The disk H is divided radi ally into twelve parts, corresponding to the twelvehours, and circumferentially divided, say, into seven parts, representing the seven days of the week. At some convenient point, preferably in a central line below the main shaft, the indicator is arranged. The indicator consists of a lever, K, carrying a sharp point, a. This lever is hung upon a pivot, b, and so that the point will stand in front of the disk,as shown, and is provided with alight spring, L, SllffiClQllt to support the lever in a position holding the point away from the surface of the disk H.

M is a magnet arranged in an electrical circuit. The lever K is provided with a corresponding armature, N, and so that when the circuit is closed the armature attracted to the magnet will bring the point a onto the face of the disk H and make an indentation or perfo- 1' tion thereon, and when the circuit is broken 5 cuit that closing will be indicated upon the disk H, and the time at which such closing was made will be also indicated, for the reason that the disk H is set corresponding to the hours of time; hence if the circuit be closed in the position seen in Fig. 1, the disk will not only indicate that the circuit was so closed, but will also indicate that the circuit was closed at six o clock. rotation as the time passes, and at the next I 5 point where the watchman closes the circuit another indentation will be madesay at some point between six and seven-which will indicate the time when the circuit was closed at thatpoint, and so on, passing around the disk the twelve hours will indicate the number of times the circuit has been closed by the watchman.' The several indications thus produced upon the ,disk will all be in the same circumferential line during'the first twelve hours 2 5 say beginning at six at, night until six in the morning. Now, were there no provision for a change of relative position of the pointer to the disk, it would be necessary to remove the disk and introduce a new or fresh one. To

avoid this I arrange the lever K and its op rack, S, into which a pinion, T, on ashaft, U,

works. On this shaft U is a toothed wheel,

' V, the teeth of which stand in the path of a stud, d, on a wheel, 0, which is in connection with the time-train, and which wheel may 40 make one revolution each twelve hours, and in such revolution the stud (1 will engage one of the teeth on the toothed wheel V, and turn that. wheel and shaft one point, which turning will be communicated to the rack S 5 and raise that with the lever it carries one point. This movement will be caught by the pawl f engaging the toothed wheel V, as seen in Fig. 3. This movement will bring thepoint a to a position above the circumferential line in which it stood in the last revolution of the disk, and so that the point a, brought into contact with the disk, will make an impression within the last circle and continue on that inner circle during the next twelve hours, and

5 5 at the expiration of this second twelve hours the stud d on the wheel 0 will again turn the ratchet V one point, and raise the point a to a position nearer the center and into a circumferential line with the second line, and so con tinue. The first line of impressions, say, is be ginning six oelock Sunday night, and on the line marked S. After twenty-fourhoursthe second line above (marked M) will be reached, beginning Mondaynight at six o clock. The intermediate twelve hoursthat is, beginning six oclock Monday morning, if the record is to be madewill be on alineintermediatebe- The disk continues its.

tween the two lines S M, and so continue through the week, the point a rising step by step to make the record for successive days upon different circumferential lines corresponding to the respective days, and this change is automatically made, avoids the frequent change of disk, and-preserves on one disk the 'record for a whole week or longer time, if desirable, according to the extent of radial feed imparted to the point a or size of the disk.

I have represented the impulse to produce the action of the point a as through an electrical circuit; but this may be done by other known means for communicating an impulse or movement of the pointer for like purposes. By arranging the disk 011 the main shaft of the v"time-movement, the disk itself may serve to indicate the time without necessarily employ-- ing the vertical shaft D and the communication therefrom to the pointers above. The position of the disk with relation to the lever K, or a pointer, h, thereon, as seen in Fig. 1, will indicate the time 011 the disk. 7

I have represented and described my clock as arranged for an open circuit 5 but it will be readily understood that it may be on a closed circuit, if desirable, by simply making the changes usual for converting a closed to an open circuit.

The arrangement of the disk directly upon the main or, twelve-hour shaft of the timemovement may be employed in connection with other recording mechanism. I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting this arrangement of the disk to my particular recording devices.

In case the record of the watchman is to be made only during, say, from six at night to six in the morning, the movement of the slide ICC carrying the point a need be made only once intwenty-four hours. In that case the gear which carries the stud (I may revolve only once in twenty-four hours, and such is the representation in Fig. 2; but if the record is requi red to be made during each twelve hours, I

then that wheel would be required to make one revolution in each twelve hours, or a corresponding stud, d, on the opposite side of the wheel. Instead of working the slide upward, it may work downward by reversing the rack.

As a means for communicating the presence of the watchman at a certain point, as well as to record the fact that he has been to that preeise point at such predetermined time, I employ a circuit-breaker, with an indicator in connection with it, as seen in Figs. 4 and 5. This consists of a driving-shaft, i, to which is applied a main driving-spring, Z, to which shaft a key is applied by the watchman, who

closed being sufficient to into a pinion 011 the shaft a, which carries a wheel, 10, and on this wheel is aprojection, 5, said wheel and projection forming a cam. In. the path of this cam 5 stands a metal point or finger, 6, from which a line, 7, runs to one pole of the magnet. From the other pole a line, 8, returns into connection with one of the plates, the metal point (3 being insulated from that plate. Now, after the finger on has been turned, as before described, to the stop 0*, the mainspring will act to return that finger, and at the same time will cause the wheel w to revolve and bring the cam 5 on the wheel into contact with the metal point (3, as seen in broken lines, and thereby close the circuit, the cam 5 passing on and immediately breaking the circuit, the time which the circuit is produce the record on the disk.

From the shaft of the earn a train of gearingsay of four wheels-communicates power to four corresponding shafts, each of which carries a pointer on a dial-plate, 9, the first indicating units, the second hundreds, the third thousands, and the fourth ten thousands, as in the usual registering devices. The first rotation of the cam will carry the unit-pointer one point, and each of the others a corresponding portion of one point; hence the number of times that the circuit is broken will be shown by the pointers on, their respective dials. A person in charge having the record of these dials may any time upon inspection ascertain how many times the circuit has been closed or broken, as the case may be.

The several stations at which at predetermined times the watchman is to be present are provided wit-h such anindicator. Each indicator will record the number of times which the watchman was present at that point, and the clock itself will record the total number of times the circuit has been closed or broken, as the case may be, and the time at which such closing or breaking was performed. \Vhile this circuit-breaker and its registering apparatus are particularly adapted to my improved clock, it will be apparent that they may be used in connection with other watchmens clocks and make a corresponding record. I therefore do not wish to limit this part of my invention to my particular construction of clock; nor do I wish to be understood as broadly claiming the mechanism described by which the circuit is closed and broken, as this I am aware is not new, the gist of this part of my invention being in combining with such a circuit-closer a registering mechanism which will indicate the number of times the circuit has been closed.

To indicate upon the recording-disk the reg istration from a particular station, the watch man may be required to make, say, one opera tion of the circuitcloser at one station, two at the next, three at the next, and so on, which would cause the point or marker on the disk to make one, two, three, and so on marks or depressions,- or the cam may have one projection for one station, two for the next, and so on, the cam closing and breaking the circuit one, two, or three times accordingly.

1. The combination of the disk H, arranged upon the twelve-hour shaft of the time-movement, the vertical slide P, carrying the markerlever K, the toothed wheel V in connection with said slide, and the wheel 6 in connection with the time-movement, and carrying a stud, (7, whereby at predetermined times a radial m ovement is imparted to said slide and marker, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In combination with a watchmans clock, substantially such as described, a circuit-closer consisting of the main drivingshaft z the spring applied thereto and fitted to engage with the watehmans key, the finger on, steps a 'r, cam 53 in gear-connection with the main shaft, the metal-pointed finger (3, standing in the path of said cam 5, and in connection with one line from the clock, the other line in eonnectioir with the frame of the circuit-closer, and a series of shafts carrying pointers, the said shafts in gear-connection with the main shaft, and whereby each movement of the finger on produced by the watchman will be indicated by the said pointers, substantially as described.

ALBERT M. JOHNSON. Vitnesses:

JOHN E. EARL'E, LILLIAX D. KELSEY.

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