USRE837E - Improved calendar-clock - Google Patents

Description

noLLYrsKiNNnn,

n-TENT Ormea on Honor, ortie.v

-Speciication fo ming pnrt of Letters Pate To all whom it'masy concern:

Be it knovtnthat -l, I-I0LLY SKINNER, of Huron, in the county of Erie and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Calendar-Clocks; and I do hereby declarethat the followingisafull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had` to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a front view of the calendar mechanism and the dial of a calendar-clock, the former being shown in black and the latter in .red "outline Fig. 2 is a front view of some of the principal portions of the calendar mechanism in 'a dii'erent position, and Fig. 3 is ay perspective view of the rotating nger from which the movements of theicalendar mechanism are derived.

Similar lettersof reference in the several figures indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in a calcndarmovement of noveldescription, which effects in a very simple and certain manner all the changes that yare rendered necessary by the varying lengths of the months, the yearlwheel being providedw-ith an additional tooth controlled by a smallleapyear wheel to regulate the effective length of the'tooth representing the month of February, and the month-wheel is arranged in such relationA to the year-wheel that its motion in one direction'is controlled by the length ofthe diterent teeth of the vyearwheel, and that its mot-ion lin the other direc tion is communicated to the year-wheel; and this invention further c'onsists'in arranging the month-wheel in such a manner that the same, at the end 4ofeaeh month, returns to its original position by the action of aspring to the other parts ot the calendar-movement in Figs. l and 2, gives motion inthe directionfthe arrows shown upon them to the toothed nt No. 19,519, dated March 2,1858; ReissueNo. 837, dated October 18, 1859.

wheels B and G,the former of which carries a dial on which is marked the days of the week, and the latter a'dial on which' is marked num bers from 1 to 31, to represent the days of the months. Thelweek-d-ay wheel B is represented as fitted to rotate on the tube of the hourhand of the clock, and has fourteen (14) teeth, which may be ordinary spur-teeth, and its dial is divided into a corresponding. number o t' parts marked with the names ot' the days ot' two weeks. This wheel, however, may have only seven (7) teeth and have its dial divided into seven (7) parts, marked with, the days of one week,ai 1d it may be arranged to rotate on a Fixed arbor in any convenient position behind the dial of' the clock. The month-wheel C has its teeth ot ratchet form. Itrierepresented with thirty six (36) teeth 5 buiit'may have any nnmbernotless than thirty-one, (31;) rEhe numbers on its dial correspond with thirty-one (31) consecutive teeth. I t is represented as fitted to rotate loosely on the main arbor C of the fitted .in a similar manner to any fixed axle. The iingerA has two teeth, c and d, (see Fig. 1,) the formerot' which engages with the teeth of the month-.wheel (J, and the latter with the teeth of the wheel B, and serving to more each of the-said wheels one tooth at eachrevolution of the dinger, and thus to present a new name ofayand date of the month opposite to two openings, e andf, in the clockl dial. The two wheels B `and U and the aida 01I are relatively so arranged that the nger A performs the whole of its action upon both wheels during` a small fractional portion ot' its revolution. The teeth ont the finger serres also to release the wheel B from a stop or pawl, g, (see Fig.'1,) by'throwing the said pawl ont of gear before the tooth d comes into action on. the wheel. The month-wheel C vis heid etutionary between the acts of the finger A upon it by a stud, i, attached to the front of one arm of a forked lever, D E, which moves vertically on a fulcrum, 8, secu red in theframingj ot' the clock-movenient.y This stud yi is causal to drop into the bottoms ot the spaces between, the teeth by gravitation, aided by a spring, 7`, applied on the top ot' the lever g but it is lil'iel over the teeth by the acti in ot' the teeth. them selves when the wheel is moved by the linger A. Fis the gear-Wheel, arranged to rotate striking-movement of the clock; but it may be acter of ratchet-teeth, is clearly represented` in Figs. l and 2, their only difference4 from ratchet-teeth of the common kind consisting yin their having notches K K in their faces.y rlhese teeth represent the twelve months of the year, and vary in length (measured from the point of each to the back of the notch in `the next tooth behind it) in the same ratio as the months, and in the saine order. The tooth which represents the month of February (marked l* in Figs. l and 2) is long enough in proportion to the teeth representing the other months to represent thc Februaryr ot' a leapyear-viz.,twenty-nine (29)(lay`s in len gth; but on the inner side of this tooth there is.4 a springtooth', m, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, and shown in Icold outline in Fig. 2,) which is capable of being forced outward, as shown in Fig. l, to cover the notch la* in the tooth behind Z*'viz;, the tooth representing the month of January, and thus make the eifective length of the tooth lit bear ,such relation yto the length ci' the other teeth as to represent tiventyeight (28) days. lhis spring tooth m rests against what may be termed theleapyear wheel Gr, which is arranged to turn freely on a pivot, U, secured in the back of the yearwheel. rlhis leap-year wheel contains four notches, ppp pi, to receive a projection on the back of the spring-tooth m, three of the said notches being of ,such uniform depth that they will support the said tooth when forced outward, as shown in Fig.4 l, to cover the notch Id, and the other one being deeper, and serving as a bearing in which the said tooth may rest in a position to leave the said notch uncovered, as shown in Fig. 2. The elasticity of the tooth m is such as to cause it to move toward the center of the year-wheel or to uncover the' notch kit. The year-Wheel lF carries the month card, which is divided into twelve parts, having the names of the months represen ted thereon. It may be observed that the positions of these names need not be opposite to the teeth which represent the same months, but will depend upon the position of the opening i" in the clock-dial, through which the name of the current month is'shown.

1l is a rachbar, which is slotted longitudinally to receive and slide along a stationary 1in, S, and which is partly supported on a roller, n, attached to a spring, n, that is secured to the framing of the clock. This bar carries a spring-pawl, q, by which the yearwheel is moved one tooth at the end of every month, to present the name of the succeeding month opposite the opening r in the clockdiil.

I is a spring-pawl, to prevent `the return of Y the year-Wheel when the pawl q is moving for- Ward to engage with a new tooth. The rackbar H derives motion in the direction of the arrow shown upon it from a pinion, t, which is attached to the month-wheel C, and Which gears into the toothed rack on the under side of the said bar, every daily Ymovement of the said wheel C produced by the finger A, causing the paWl-to move a distance bearing a proper proportion to the length of the toot-l1 and tothe circumference of the year-wheel. This bar is subjected tothe action ot1 a spring, J, which, is gathered up or strained as the bar is moved inthe direction of the arrow, and at the end of each month it is carried back toits original position by the action of this spring, carrying with it the month-wheel G, which latter is prevented turning back too far by a pin, 4, on its under side, as will be presently explained.

The leap-year Wheel receives a quarter revolution on its own axis for every com plete revolution of the year-wheel by means ot' i'our studs, 5 5 55, on its back side, which are arranged equidistantly in a circle'described from the center A the said movement being produced by one ot' the said studs coming in contact with and sliding along a stationary in elined plane or bar, 6, as the leap-year wheel revolves round the axis of the year-wheel.

K is a catch arranged to vibrate near the stud i ot' the lever D E, and between. the month-wheel and' the lever D E, on a tixed pin, which is secured inthe clock-framing. This catch has a notch on the side next the :stud t to receive the said stud when the latter is raised high enough out of the notches in the month-wheel. This arm, K, has a spring, y, applied to it to force it toward the' stud i. The arm E ot' the lever D E carries a pin, yZ, which rests upon the top of or nearly touches the 'rack-bar H when the stud i is in one of the notches in the month wheel. The monthwheel is furnished on its back side with a pin, 4, (see Fig. 1,) so arranged that it may strike the catch K in its revolution with the monthwheel.

.The operation ofthe calendar-movement is as follows At the colnmencement of the month, when the number 1 is opposite the opening f, (as shown in Fig. 1,) the rack-bar I l has run out by the spring J as far as it is permitted in the direction in which it moves to turn the year-Wheel, its movement in that direction beyond a certain pointbein g prevented by the pin 4 of the month-wheel being in contact with the catch K, and the said catch in contact with a stationary pin, 7, (shown dotted in Fig. 1,) which is secured in the clock-trant ing. In this condition of the parts the springcatch I engages one ot' the teeth ot' the year-wheel F. At the conclusion of the day the finger A moves both the Week-day wheel and the month-wheel. in the direction ofthe arrows shown upon them, as already described, and this is repeated at the endof every day, each movement of the monthwheel producing through the pinion and rack a movement of the rack-bar H and pawl q in the direction of the arrow marked on the rack'- bar, until the last day of the month, when, the

lmovement of the month-wheel taking place in the usual manner, the point of the pawl g is carried' pastthe point oi' the tooth of the Z year-wheel, along whose back it has beenv vtraveling, and the rack-bar and pawl are tilted by the spring 'v and roller u, as shown in Fig. 2.l The rack-bar, when thus lifted, raises the stud Z and the lever l) E,and `thus lil'ts the stud t' so high that itis caught in the notch ot' the catch K, and the month-Wheel,

then being left entirely under the iniiuence of the aetionl ot spring J' on the rack-bar and pinion, is by such intluencemoved quickly bac i in the opposite direetiotn te the arrow shown on it, to return-the'tgure l to the apeningf, while-the pavrl g moves the year-wheel F t'a'r enough to present `the name ot' av new month opposite the opening i in the eloekdial. At the same time as, this latter operation is completed the pin 4t in the monthwheel strikes the catch K and knocks it away 'troni the stud i, to permit the latter to drop into gear again,l rlhe month-wheel lis prevented moving bank too far by the catch "K, which is prevented by pin '7 from moving more than just far enough to liberate the stud t, and is thus made to serve as a stop to the pin 4. wheel is repeated at the end of each month, whether the saine consists of twenty-eight, (28,) tWenty-nine,`(29,) thirty, (30,) or thirtyone (3l) days, the libeiation ot' the month'- wheel, after the required number of movements, being reguiated bythe length'of the teeth ot' the year-wheel. Sonie time in every revolution of the year-Wheel F the leap-year wheel is caused to receive a quarter ot' a revolution on its o'wn axis,` by the means hereinbetbre described, to regulate the position ot' the spring-tooth lmy for the next month ot' lebruary, so that it may cause the effective length of the tooth l* to be suttieient to provide for twenty-eight (28) or twenty-nine (29) daily movements of the, month-wheel, as the year may require. i I y lt-nn'ght have been before mentioned that the racl-bar H is mantle with adownward inlhe above i'noveinent of the year- Y posel herein described.

elination, g,on its lower edge, attlie end to which the spring-pand q isfattaehed, so-as---to cause the rack-bar,in running along the roller tato strain the spring e just preparatory to the pawl q passing the point of each tooth of the year-Wheel, but to leave it unstrained Aduring the greater part of the movement of the rackhar, and to cause a slight descent of the rackbar. The object of this is to facilitate the movement of the lever D E by the rack-bar to operate the stud i. ','llie rack-bar might, however, be'niade without the inclinatioug, and have the 'upward pressure of the spring e upon it throughout its Whole movement, and its rise and fall to operate the lever D E will l then be controlled by the teeth of the yearwheel, as itis when ma'dewith tlieinelination g.

'What I elai-rn asrny invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isi- 1. The extraniovabl'e tooth Maand leap-yea tI wheel-G, applied to or controlled by the yearwheel F, to operate in the manner described, for the purpose of regulating the effective length of the tooth Wliieh represents the month of February.. i

2. The arrangement of the Imonth-.Wheel C, its attached pinion 't and pin 4, the rack-bar H and its pawl q, the spring e or its equivalent, the 'lever D E and its stud "i or their eqnivalentshthe catchA K or it's equivalent, and the step 7, the whole being applied to operate upon and be controlled by the year- Wheel ot' a calendar-movement, as and for the purpose herein set forth. v

3. Arranging the month-wheel in such a manner that. the same at theend of each month returns to its original position by 'the action ofa spring `or its equivalent, gathered up or strained by the action ofthe clock-work, substantially i n the nia-nner and for the A,pur-

. HOLLY SKINNER. Witnesses: .BL B. Lnwrs,

JOEL MORSE.

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