Patent GB-190926836-A (GB)
Title: Automatic Striking Mechanism for Watches.
Inventor: GOUSI JOSEPH
IPC: G04B21/02
Filed: 1909-11-18
Granted: 1910-06-30
Abstract: 26,836. Gousi, J. Nov. 19, 1908, [Convention date]. Striking-mechanism for watches, which strikes the hours, and indicates the half-hours by a single blow, comprises the following parts:- A pinion a mounted on the central arbor d and connected with it by ratchet gearing, the teeth of the wheel a being'interrupted at a<1>; a wheel g, fast on an arbor g', normally gearing with the pinion a<1>, and carrying a pawl g<2> engaging with a notched disk h, which is loose on the arbor g<1> but is controlled by a spring h<1>; and a hammer i, the tail i<1> of which is adapted to be actuated by twelve pins h<3> on the face of the disk h, the hammer having an arm i<5> normally resting on the edge of a disk b, which is integral with the pinion a, and has two oppositelydisposed notches b<1>, b<2>. Fig. 1 shows the position of the parts just before the striking of twelve o'clock. The pinion a, turning once an hour, rotates the wheel g, which, by means of the pawl g<2> carries with it the disk h in the direction of the arrow y. Just before an hour is struck, the end of the arm i<5> drops into the notch b<1>, but a blow is not yet given on the gong i<4>, since the hammer-tail i<1> presses against one of the pins h<3>. Immediately after this, a pin g<3> on the pawl g<2> encounters an inclined plane k<2> formed by a notch in a bridge k, and the pawl g<2> is gradually disengaged from the disk h, while at the same time the blank portion a<1> of the wheel a arrives in the position shown in the drawing. The wheel g then begins to rotate in the reverse direction, indicated by the arrow x, under the influence of a spring (not shown), and carries with it the disk h as soon as the pawl g<2> has again slipped into a notch. During this rotation of the wheel g and disk h, which is controlled by a fly l, and continues until the head g<4> of the pawl g<2> is stopped by a fixed pin m, the hammer i is actuated by as many of the pins h<3> as pass the tail i<1>. As the number of blows delivered corresponds to the number of pins h<3> that are on the righthand of the hammer-tail just before the hour is struck, the relative position of the pawl g<2> and of the disk h must be altered by one notch every hour. This occurs automatically when the pawl re-engages the disk after disengagement by the bridge k, the pawl falling back into the notch next to the one which it previously engaged, owing to the disk h, which would otherwise be reversed by its spring h<1>, being detained momentarily by the pressure of the hammer-tail on a pin h<3>. For the purpose of restoring the parts of the requisite position after twelve o'clock has been struck, a pivoted lever j, retained by a spring catch j<3> is provided. Normally, the lever is held as shown in Fig. 1, but during the striking of twelve o'clock it is shifted by a pin h<4> acting upon a projecting arm j<1>, so that it disengages the pawl g<2> from the disk h when the pawl arrives at the position in which its heel abuts against the stop m. The disk h then flies round in the direction of the arrow x under the influence of the spring h<1> until a pin h<5> strikes a stop k<1>, so that the mechanism is ready for striking one o'clock at the end of the next hour. The lever j is put back to its former position by an arm carried by the arbor g<1>. A single blow is given at the halfhours, by the arm i<5> of the hammer falling into the recess b<2> of the disk b.