Patent GB-737358-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and relating to calendar clocks
IPC: G04B19/243
Filed: 1953-10-09
Abstract: 737,358. Clocks; advertising, moving. ETABLISSEMENTS BOUTILLON SOC. ANON. Oct. 9, 1953 [Oct. 10, 1952], No. 27818/53. Classes 3(1) and 139. [Also in Group XIX] In a calendar clock 9, Fig. 1, the numerals and letters indicating the minutes, hours, days of the week, days of the month and month are inscribed on sets of pivotal blades which appear in windows 1-8 in a dial 9a. The "units" and "tens" digits of the number denoting the minutes, the hours and the day of the month are represented on adjacent sets of blades R<SP>1</SP>, R<SP>2</SP>, R<SP>3</SP>, R<SP>4</SP> and R<SP>6</SP>, R<SP>7</SP> respectively. The clock comprises a barrel 10, Fig. 3, connected through the gears 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, differential gear 18, 30, 26 and gears 27, 32, 33, 34 to the escape wheel 35. The gear 17 is also connected to the butterfly 24 through the gears 20, 21, 23. The planet carrier 28 carries a counter-weight 31. The escape wheel spindle 34a and the balance staff are carried by two auxiliary plates 39, 39a pivoted at 39b, Fig. 5, and normally maintained in such a position that the escape wheel pinion 34 meshes with the gear 33. A finger 41 attached to the plate 39a lies adjacent a pin 42 on the gear 21 the spindle 22 of which carries an arm 43 which co-operates with a cam surface 44 on the planet carrier 28. Normally the cam surface 44 arrests the arm 43 so that the drive from the barrel 10 to the butterfly 24 is locked. The weight 31 moves the planet carrier counter-clockwise, Fig. 5, and bevel gear 26 is rotated to drive the escapement. When the arm 43 is freed the gear 18 rotates and the planet carrier 28 and the weight 31 are moved clockwise the cam 44 returning to arrest the arm 43 after one revolution. The cycle is then repeated, the weight 31 ensuring a constant drive to the escapement. Rewinding. The mainspring arbor 11, Fig. 3, carries a gear 49 which is connected through gears 50, 51, 53, differential gear 55, 56, 57, 65, gears 67, 69, 70 to an electric motor 71 which periodically winds the mainspring arbor 11 until a nut 73 on the arbor has moved far enough to rock a lever 75 into braking engagement with a disc 77 of the motor 71. Indicating means. The set of pivoted blades or rotor R<SP>1</SP> comprises ten blades 78, Figs. 6 and 7, each having two aligned pivots 79, 82 located in holes in discs 80, 83 respectively secured to a shaft 81 urged to rotate by a spring 84 but normally retained by the engagement of the two indicating plates with abutments 86, 87 in a fixed member 85. The gear 46, Fig. 2, is rotated one tenth of a revolution every minute and is connected by a shaft 48 and bevel gearing 89, 88 to the shaft 81 so that every minute the blade 78a, Fig. 7, moves to the position 78b and the blade 78 to the position 78a. Each side of a blade bears half of two succeeding inscriptions so that two contiguous blades in the positions 78a, 78b make up the whole inscription. The rotor R<SP>2</SP> comprising six blades is mounted on a shaft 92, Figs. 2 and 8, connected to the shaft 81 through a transfer mechanism comprising a cam 93 keyed to the shaft 81, a double armed lever 95, 97 the arm 95 of which carries a roller 94 which bears against the cam 93 and the other arm 97 of which carries a spring-loaded pawl 98 which actuates a ratchet wheel 100 on the shaft 92. The rotor R<SP>3</SP> comprises ten blades 120 inscribed similarly to those of the rotor R<SP>1</SP> and the rotor R<SP>4</SP> comprises six blades bearing the numerals "0", "1", "2", "0", "1", "2". The rotor R<SP>3</SP> is driven from a gear 72, Fig. 2, through gearing including a differential gear 107 and a worm and worm wheel 118, 119 driven by the shaft 116 which is normally locked by the engagement of an escape lever 123 with a tooth 122 on the shaft 116.' The lever 123 is controlled by a cam 45a rotated by the clock movement to effect release of the lever 123 from the tooth 122 once every hour. The rotor R<SP>4</SP> is driven from the rotor R<SP>3</SP> through transfer mechanism similar to that described above. , A worm 125 on the shaft 116 rotates a thirty-toothed gear 126 carrying a disc 128 graduated up to twenty-three hours and having projection 128a at the remainder of its periphery. The arrangement is such that at the twenty-fourth hour the projection 128a moves the lever 123 to free the shaft 116 which rotates continuously until the rotor R<SP>3</SP> again indicates "0". The rotor R<SP>5</SP> indicating the days of the week comprises seven blades 137 and is rotated by a mechanism comprising a cam 130 integral with the gear 126 and coacting with a lever 132 to actuate a pawl 134 which steps-on a ratchet wheel 136 connected to the rotor. A shaft 113 driven from the differential gear 107 is drivingly connected to a co-axial shaft 140 drivingly connected to a shaft 144. The shaft 140 drives the ten-bladed rotor R<SP>6</SP> through a worm and worm wheel 141, 142. The rotor R<SP>6</SP> is connected to the four-bladed rotor R<SP>7</SP> through the above described type of transfer mechanism. The shaft 144 has two, spaced apart teeth 145, 145a, the former of which is normally engaged by one arm of a lever 146. When at the end of each twenty-four hours the cam 130 moves the lever 132 to actuate the rotor R<SP>5</SP>, as described above, the end 132a of the lever 132 rocks the lever 146 to free the shaft 144 which rotates until the tooth 145a meets the lever 146 and upon return of the lever 146 the shaft 144 is freed to complete its rotation. The shaft 144 carries a worm 149 which drives a forty-toothed gear 150 integral with a cam 151 and an indicator disc 152 having a projection 152a which engages a roller 153 carried by the lever 146. The projection 152a has four steps corresponding in length to twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty and thirty-one day months. Integral with the roller 153 is a sleeve having a groove 153a, Fig. 9, which is engaged by one end of a lever 154 fixed to a shaft 155, Fig. 2, carrying a lever 156 which engages the teeth of a forty-eight toothed ratchet 157. The depth of each tooth corresponds to the length of the month and the ratchet is stepped forward at the end of every month by a mechanism comprising the cam 151, a roller 158 carried by a lever 159 and a spring-loaded pawl 162. The lever 156 is thereby located in the appropriate tooth gap to position the roller 153 on the appropriate step of the disc 152 so that at the end of each month the lever 146 is moved to free the shaft 144 which rotates through the appropriate number of revolutions to zeroize the rotors R<SP>6</SP> and R<SP>7</SP>. The twelve-bladed rotor R<SP>8</SP> which indicates the month is actuated in similar manner to the day rotor R<SP>5</SP>. Additional display rotors, Fig. 12, may be provided. Setting. Upon energization of an electromagnet 169, Fig. 3, the escapement frame 39, 39a is moved counter-clockwise, Fig. 5, whereupon the hook 41 arrests the gear 21 and the weight 31 falls. Upon de-energization of the magnet 169 the frame 39, 39a is returned so that the gears 33, 34 again mesh and the clock is advanced by one minute. To retard the clock therefore the magnet 169 is maintained energized for the appropriate period and to.advance the clock the electromagnet 169 is repeatedly energized and de-energized. The disc 128, Fig. 2, may actuate a switch to effect an audible or visual alarm.