Patent GB-191325977-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Electrically Operated Clock Mechanism.
Inventor: CLERC EUGENE CHARLES
IPC: G04C21/08
Filed: 1913-11-12
Granted: 1914-09-03
Abstract: 25,977. Clerc, B. C. Nov. 21, 1912, [Convention date]. Striking-mechanism; chimes; winding-apparatus, electric.-An electromotor is employed to actuate the chiming-mechanism of a clock, and, when its direction of rotation is automatically reversed, to actuate the striking-mechanism and wind up the mainspring of the movement. The motor (not shown) is geared through a worm 14, Fig. 5, to a wheel 50 fixed on an arbor 51. On this arbor are fixed two clutch members 50<a>, 58, having oppositelydisposed teeth engaging with spring-pressed pinions 53, 54 loose on the arbor. The pinions gear respectively with a wheel 15, and with teeth 55 on a drum 56. Thus, when the motor-driven arbor 51 rotates in a certain direction, the wheel 15 is rotated, actuating the striking-mechanism by means of pins 16 and winding up the mainspring 17, one end of which is attached to the wheel ; when the arbor 51 rotates in the other direction, the drum 56 is driven, actuating the chimes by suitable means, such as pins on its periphery. Fig. 4 shows the reversing- switch for the motor, consisting of a pivoted arm 65 carrying contact-fingers 66, 67 adapted to rest on insulated blocks 69, 70, 71, which are connected by wires 9 to the terminals of the motor. The motor circuit is completed through the clock framework when an arm 75 rests on an insulated block 68, Figs. 1 and 4. Every quarter of an hour, an angle-lever 23 escapes from one of a set of pins 25<a> on the minute-wheel 24, and is pulled over by a spring 74 connecting it to the arm 75, whereupon a pawl 27 pushes aside the arm 75, making contact at 68 and at the same time disengaging the rack 30. When only the chimes are to be actuated, the position of a notched disk 76 rotating once an hour is such that a finger 45 on the rack rests on the disk, preventing the rack from falling. The reversing-switch being in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, and the motor circuit being closed, the chiming-drum 56 is rotated through a fraction of a revolution. When the chime has been sounded, one of three pins 61 on the drum, Fig. 5, turns the hammer-arbor 20 by means of an arm 20<a>. This causes another arm 42 to lift the pawl 27, whereupon the spring 74 returns the arm 75 to the position in which the motor circuit is open. When the striking-mechanism is to operate in addition to the chimes, the notch in the disk 76 allows the rack to fall, at the instant of its release, to a position determined by a snail 32. The barrel 56 then operates as previously described, and at the end of the chime (the fourth one), a pin 62 on the barrel, Figs. 4 and 5, engages an arm 63 and shifts the contact-fingers 66, 67 into the position shown in dotted lines. This reverses the motor, the drum 56 stops, and the wheel 15 is driven, winding up the spring 17 and actuating the hammer 21 by means of the engagement of pins 16 with an arm 19 on the hammer-arbor 20. At the first upward movement of the hammer, the arm 42 lifts the pawl 27, allowing the upper end of the piece 75 to engage with the teeth of the rack. Each subsequent downward stroke of the hammer causes the rack to be raised one tooth by the action of a gathering-pallet 38 pivoted on a spring 77, which is engaged by an arm 41 on the arbor 20, When the rack is restored to its initial position, the piece 75 springs under the end of the rack, breaking the motor circuit at 68. Subsequently, before the next movement of the lever 23, a pin 72, Fig. 1, moves an arm 73 fixed on the arbor 64, thereby shifting the reversing-switch into the position shown in Fig. 4, so that on the next closure of the motor circuit, the motor rotates in the direction necessary for operating the chiming-drum 56. The Specification as open to inspection under Section 91 (3) (a) also describes a clutch which is generally applicable to electrically-wound clucks. and is for the purpose of preventing damage if the motor rotates in the wrong direction. The clutch is a modification of the arrangement shown in Fig. 5, the pinion 54 being replaced by a collar fixed on the arbor 51, against which the spring 59 abuts. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted. Driving mechanism, spring.-The driving-spring 17 is of the form shown in Fig. 5, one end being frictionally connected to a wheel 18 loose on its arbor, so that overwinding is prevented.