US670634A - Electric clock. - Google Patents

Description

No. 670,634 Patented Mar. 26, IBM. F. L. GREGORY.

ELECTRIC CLOCK.

. (Application filed Mar. 2, 1900. (No Model) -2 Sheets-Sheet L J '1' 3' 4 f I I l I Witnesses: E [720622 6021- K IIH J I mm. ,,"r---"----"/""' fieafi. Gregory 7? I By fez; Jtlozvzqy, I

u Noam: PEYERS cu. PNOYD-UTMO..WASN1N Patented Mar. 26, mm.

F. L.- GREGORY.

ELECTRIC CLOCK.

(Application filed Mar. 2, 1900.)

2 SheeisSheet 2.

(N0 MUdel.)

In @622 ton flea Z. Gregory m: Mann's FEYE PHOTOLIYHO.,WASH1NGYON.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orinoco FRED Ii. GREGORY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE SEMPIRE CLOCK COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC CLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 670,634, dated March 26, 1901.

Application filed March 2, 1900. Serial No, 7,046. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED L. GREGORY,,a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Synchronizing Devices for Timepieces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a synchronizing device for timepieces; and it has for its main object the provision of an improved synchronizing device for shifting the hands of a timepiece to a predetermined position at a predetermined time in order to set such hands to indicate the exact time, the setting of such hands being usually controlled by an electric circuit governed either by a master-timepiece or by a standard time-circuit controlled in any well-known manner.

In the preferred embodiment my invention will be applied in such a manner that both the seconds-hand and the minute-hand will be controlled directly, and as the hour-hand will usually be mounted in the ordinary manner-that is to say, by gearing it to the min- 'ute-handthe synchronizing action may extend to all three of the hands generally used to indicate the time. WVhen my invention is so applied as to control directly both the seconds and the minute hands, it will be evident that these should be set in the predetermined position synchronously, and this position will usually be that which indicates the hour of noon.

As a timepiece will sometimes be slow and sometimes fast, it is necessary in practice to provide means for setting the hand forward to the predetermined position or back to such position, as the case may be. For this reason the setting device will preferably be a duplex one-that is to say, it will have two members or working faces, one of which should coact with one side of the member to be set and the other with the other side of said settable member. Hence one such setting member or face will be effective for shifting the settable member back if it is moving too rapidly, while the other will be effective for setting it ahead if it is moving too slowly. Such a duplex setting device will preferably be employed in connection with each of the two hands just mentionedviz., the seconds-hand and the minute-hand. lVhen properly constructed, it will be evident that these duplex setting devices may serve as means for centering their respective settable members or hands in the predetermined position,and an important feature of the present invention is the provision of means for centering the hand in such predetermined position to show the corrected time, regardless of whether the mechanism has been running fast or slowly.

The setting members for the minute and seconds hands will be controlled by and may be carried by and move with the armature of an electromagnet placed in a circuit controlled by some standard time-circuit or master-timepiece for regulating the time indicated by a secondary timepiece or timepieces, and this armature will preferably be an oscillatory one pivoted between the poles of a horseshoe-electromagnet in order to control the operation of the synchronizing device most positively and provide for a considerable movement of the setting member about its axis.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming tart of the present application, Figure l is a front elevation of a timepiece embodying my improved synchronizing device. Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation of the upper portion of the same and illustrates the positions assumed by the parts just before the synchronizing device becomes effective. Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevation of a portion of the mechanism, illustrating the positions of the parts when the synchronizing device is operated. Figs. 4: and 5 are detail sectional front elevations of the synchronizing device, the positions of the parts corresponding, respectively, to those shown in Figs. 2 and 3; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of two setting members of the synchronizer.

Similar characters designate like parts in the different figures of the drawings.

My synchronizing device maybe employed in connection with many different kinds of timepieces and is not limited in its application to any one particular type, such as that shown. Although I have illustrated my improved synchronizing device in connection with an electric clock substantially of the construction shown in my prior patent, No.

535,370, granted April 9, 1895, this particular type of mechanism is merely shown for the purpose of illustrating one application of my invention to clockwork. In the construction shown the clock will have the usual front and back plates, such as 2 and 3, connected in the ordinary manner by pillars and having suit-able journal-openings therein to receive the ends of the spindles or arbors which carry l the several hands and the other rotary parts of the time-train. Here the arbor or spindle which carries the minute-hand is designated by 5, and the minute-hand itself by m, said hand being supported in this case for movement in unison with said spindle. The shaft 5 and the minute-handm carried. therebyare driven by a spur-gear 6, which meshes with a corresponding spur-gear 7, secured to the main driving-shaft 8, which shaft derives its movements in this case from a weighted lever, such as 9, loosely supported on said shaft and having a spring-pressed pawl 10, which engages the teeth of a ratchet-wheel 12, also secured to said shaft, the weight in descending turning said ratchet-wheel and shaft and also the gear-wheels 7 and 6 to drive the minute-hand. This lever 9, as just stated, turns the wheels of the clock-train duringits descending movement; but at a predetermined point in its descent it should be raised again, and in order to effect this result I prefer to make use of an electromagnet, which will be energized at the proper point in the descending movement of the lever and will serve to raise the weight. In this case such an eleetromagnet is illustrated at E and is preferably of the horseshoe type, having an armature 13 pivoted between its ends and also between the poles of the electromagnet. In this case the weighted lever 9 is secured to the armature 13 for movement in unison therewith, and both of the parts are loosely mounted on the shaft 8. The lever 9 also has a short arm 9, from which projects a pin or finger 9, which at a predetermined point in its movement is intended to strikea detent-pawl 15 and release the same from engagement with a counter-weighted circuitmaker 16, with which the pawl normally engages. This pawl will be released when the weighted lever reaches the limit of its downward movement, and thereupon contact-point 16 on the contact-maker 16 will make e11- gagement with a contact-arm 17 of any suit able construction and close a circuit to a source of energy, such as the battery I), through the conductor 20, the coils of the electromagnet, conductor 21, the battery I), the conductor 22, the clock-frame, and the contact-point 16, whereupon the electromagnet E will be energized and the armature 13 oscillated to raise the weighted lever 9. Just before said lever reaches the limit of its upward movement the finger 9 will strike a corresponding fingerlti on the circuit-maker 16 and shift the latter to break the contact with the arm 17, and thus prevent waste of the current, the pawl 15 being at this time in contact with the detent face or notch 10 of said contact-maker. Thus the weight of the lever 9 will be continuously and regularly exerted to drive the time-train at a uniform rate of speed.

A pinion moving in unison with the hand on and designated herein by (3 drives,tln'ough a gear 25 and a pinion 26, a gear (3", concentric with and of the same size as the gear (3, this gear 6 being secured to the sleeve 27, which carries the hour-hand h. It should be understood that the gear (3 only moves in uni son with the shaft 5 when the synchronizing device is ineffective and that said shaft is frietionally driven, it being supported in this case in a split friction-sleeve 5, the friction between theshaft 5 and the sleeve 5, to the latter of which said gear 6 is secured, being overcome when the hand is set by the synchronizing device.

From the spur-gear 6 motion may be transmitted to the seeondshand and an escapement in a manner which is well understood, a large transmitting-gear 6, moving in unison with the gear 6, being shown herein for this purpose. This gear (5 drives a pinion 31 on a spindle 30, carrying another large transmitting-gear 32, meshing with a pinion 3 1- on a shaft or spindle 33, which carries the secondshand 5. Here said seconds-hand is secured directly to this shaft 33, and the inion is mounted thereon so that the shaft 33 will be frietionally driven. In the construction shown an escapenient-wheel 35 is secured to this pinion, and a frictionally-driven connection between the shaft and the escape ment-wheel is obtained by securing to the ratehetwvheel a light spring, such as 36, the free end of which works in and presses against a grooved collar 33, fast on the shaft, the usual escapement 3U eoacting with the escapement-wheel.

It will be noticed that the principal difference between the devices just described and those which are well known in the art is that the shafts 5 and are frictionally driven by the time-train instead of being positively driven thereby at all times. Hence when it is necessary to set either the minute-hand or the seconds-hand the shaft 5 or the shaft 33, as the case may be, may be turned relatively to its immediate driving member without disturbing other parts of the time-train.

As before stated, I prefer to employ a synchronizing device which eoacts both with the min ute-hand and the seconds-hand for the purpose of setting said hands synchronously to a predetermined position, and the synchronizing device which is illustrated herein is so shown. In the preferred construction it embodies at least two settable members and at least two setting members, one settable mem bercontrolling the setting of the seconds-hand and another settable member controlling the setting of the minute-hand, while the setting members will operate in a substantially similar manner, one coacting with the secondshand-setting element and another with the minute-hand-setting element. Preferably the settable element for the seconds-hand will be an arm, such as 33, fixed to the shaft 83, and hence movable in unison with the seconds-hand s, andin a like manner the settable member controlling the minute-hand may be fixed to the shaft 5, said settable member being indicated herein by 5 and being a rockarm similar to that shown at 33".

Any suitable means may be employed for actuating the setting member or members of the synchronizing device; but I prefer to make use of an electromagnet, such E, substantially similar to that shown at E, and also having an armature, such as 40, which is oscillatory about an axis between the poles of the electromagnet E, which, it will be seen, is of the horseshoe type. This electromagnet, it. should be understood, will be included in a circuit containing a source of energy, such as a battery I), and also a circuit-making device controlled by the master-timepiece or standard time-circuit, the circuit-controller having in this case a rotary member 41, carryinga contact-point 41 cooperative with a fixed contact-arm 42 These parts will usually be so arranged as to make contact between the points 41 and 42 exactly and only at the hour of noon each day.

When the electromagnet E is energized, the armature thereof will of course be oscillated, and this movement of such armature may serve as the means for imparting movement to the settable members 33 and 5 to set the seconds-hand s and the minutehand m to the predetermined position to indicate the correct time. The setting members of the synchronizing device may be controlled by said armature 40 in any desired manner; but I prefer to mount them so that at least one element of each setting device will move directly with the armature, one member of each setting device of the synchronizer being in this case secured to the shaft or sleeve which carries said armature.

It has been stated hereinbefore that each of the setting members is intended to be so constructed as to be capable of shifting in either direction the hand controlled therebythat is, it may serve to move the hand forward or backward, according as the timepiece is running slowly or fast. For this reason I make use of what is essentially a duplex setting device for each of these hands, the setting device controlling the arm 33 being preferably a cam, such as 0, carried by an arm 41, while the setting device controlling the minute-hand embodies several separate elements, one of which is a rock arm or finger 42, movable in unison with the armature 40 and the arm 41. The cam c is preferably a crown-cam oscillatory about an axis transverse and in this case perpendicular to that of the arm 33, and said cam when in its normal position will be disposed at a considerable angle to such arm. I employ a crown-cam which straddles the shaft 33 in order that the center of movement of the arm 33 may at all times be within the working field of the cam-faces. This crown-cam has in this case a pair of separated cam faces, (designated herein by and 45, re spect-ively,) which extend toward each other and may be separated by a space, such as 45, which forms a centering-space for receiving the arm 33, which, it should be understood, will preferably have a thin edge or knife-edge. In order to overcome the friction exerted by the spring 36 when the arm 33 is to be moved very far, the cam-faces will preferably commence at the point 45' opposite the space 45 and diverge abruptly from each other, only one of these faces of course being effective at one time, the face which is effective being determined by the position of the arm 33". When the cam cis swung from the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4 to that illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5, the arm 33" will ride down the cam-face 45 and will be centered momentarily between the opposing walls of the space 45", the cam of course withdrawing practically instantaneously, owing to the deenergization of the electromagnet E. At the same time that the cam c is swung in the manner just described the rock arm or finger 42 is also oscillated. This arm may control the movements of the arm 5 in any desired manner, but preferably will work in the bifurcated ends of a pairof angle-levers, such as and 50, which normally will be in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, but which when the arm 42 is raised will close upon the arm 5 at opposite sides thereof, and one or the other of these angle-levers will shift such arm to the predetermined position and center it there, this arm 5", with its hand m, also moving at this time in opposition to the friction normally exerted between the shaft 5 and the sleeve 5 for rotating such shaft. The angle- levers 50 and 50 are in the nature of intermediates for transmitting the movement of the arm 42 to the arm 5, and the centeringpoint of these angle-levers maybe determined by means of a suitable stop, which in this case may be the shaft 30, straddled by such levers when the latter are closed. These angle-levers in the present case are pivoted on the inner wall of the face-plate 2, as is clearly shown, and the arm 5 is secured directly to the shaft 5.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that when the master time-circuit is closed by engagement of the moving contact 41 with the contact-arm 42 the electromagnet E will be energized and the armature 40 thereof swung to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5 and that thereupon the rock- arms 33 and 5", and with them the hands 8 and m, (and hence the hand 7a,) will be set in the predetermined position synchronously, whereupon contact will be broken practically instantaneously at 41 and 42 and the setting ICO in, a predetermined position in opposition to such friction; a horsesl1oe-eleotromagnet having an armature secured to an armature-shaft journaled between, and oscillatory in the plane of,the poles thereof; and a pair of setting members both secured to said armatureshaft and one controlling the settable member for the seconds-hand and the other controlling said levers.

FRED L. GREGORY.

Witnesses:

J. B. ADAMS, HARLEY D. Hoovnn.

Images