Improvements in Electric Clocks.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Aug., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 11th May, 1896-Accepted, 4th July, 1896
[Communicated from abroad by SoCIÉTÉ ANONYME LA PRÉCISION, of 42 Rue
des Bogards, Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium.]
Improvements in Electric Clocks.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in electric clocks, and has for its object
the suppression of the sharp and disagreeable noise resulting from the contact of
the arinature with the poles of the electro-magnet which contact occurs periodically
every minute or half minute for example, in clocks in which the escapement is
controlled by an electromagnet energized intermittently by the action of a regulator
acting upon a wire system in which the electromagnet is included. According to
the present invention the electromagnets of the ordinary kind are replaced by
electromagnets having a silent action which is the object of this invention. A
constructional example of such an electromagnet is hereinafter described.
The case which encloses a clock spring capable of actuating the clock for at
least six months and the wheel train with its arbors is mounted between two plates
constituting the frame which carries in front the dial and at the top the silently
acting electromagnet energized by a current periodically sent into the wire circuit
connected therewith.
The construction of the escapement gear with the silently acting electromagnet
has the characteristic peculiarity that the armature which has the form of a balance
beam is so suspended that it does not come in contact with the poles; upon the
armature is fastened the anchor which has as usual two bill or claw shaped
projections or pallets at the extremities of the anchor arms; the said armature is
held in position between the two pole pieces of the electromagnet (extending
horizontally with regard to the core of the coil) by two oppositely acting springs
connected at their inner ends to the anchor of the escapement and at their outer
ends to the said pole pieces in such a manner that the balauce beam armature and
the vertical arm of the anchor or the detent normally occupy a slightly inclined
position between the pole pieces. In this position one extremity of the scape lever
(which has two symmetrical arms fixed at its centre on the shaft of the last driving
pinion of the clockwork, and which is driven by said shaft) rests with one of its
two projecting extremities upon the interior surface of one of the pallets of the
anchor and is thereby prevented from turning until the magnet is re-energized.
This pallet is provided with a rounded spring for deadening the impact of the scape
lever. As soon as the current is sent through the circuit the magnetized pole pieces
cause the free balance beam armature to turu and assume a horizontal position
between the poles without touching the same. By this movement the arm of the
anchor is placed in a vertical position and the pallet is caused to release the pin or
extremity of the scape lever which then turns until the other end of the scape lever
is arrested by contact with the exterior surface of the other pallet of the anchor
likewise provided with a spring for deadening the impact. As the current at this
moment is again cut off, the balance beam armature and the anchor are brought
back to the resting position by the counteracting springs and, at the same time, the
scape lever which is then not stopped by either of the pallets effects a half revolution

page_text: limited by the striking of the lever upon the first named pallet of the anchor. The
same operation is repeated at each new passage of the current and so forth until
the driving spring is completely unwound.
The rotary movement of the scape lever is transmitted by intermediate gear to
the hands of the dial, the large one of which advances each time to the amount
equal to the fraction of time which corresponds to the one half revolution of the
scape lever.
It is evident that the escapement constituted by the anchor in combination with
the scape lever is merely described as a constructional example and that the
escapement proper may undergo any suitable constructional modifications without
in any way altering the characteristic feature of this silently acting electromagnetic
escapement device.
L
1002
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Electric Clocks.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:—
This invention relates to improvements in electric clocks, and has for its object
the suppression of the sharp and disagreeable noise resulting from the contact of
the armature with the poles of the electro-magnet which contact occurs periodically
every minute or half minute for example, in clocks in which the escapement is
controlled by an electro-magnet energized intermittently by the action of a
regulator acting upon a wire system in which the electromagnet is included.
According to the present invention the electromagnets of the ordinary kind are
replaced by electromagnets having a silent action which is the object of this
invention.
A constructional example of such an electromagnet is hereinafter described and
represented in the accompanying drawing, applied to a clock motion of a
corresponding construction, in which drawing
Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the escapement at rest.
Figure 2 is a like view showing the escapement in its first active position.
Figure 3 is a similar view showing the escapement in its free or disengaged
position.
Figure 4 is a plan view of the escapement gear, and
Figure 5 is a vertical section of the system.
The case B which encloses a clock spring capable of actuating the clock for at
least six mouths and the wheel train R with its arbors is mounted between two
plates constituting the frame which carries in front the dial C and at the top
the silently acting electromagnet E energized by a current periodically sent into
the wire circuit c c connected with the block through the terminal b b.
The construction of the escapement gear with the silently acting electromagnet
has the characteristic peculiarity that the armature X which has the form of a
balance beam is so suspended that it does not come in contact with the poles; upon
the armature is fastened the anchor A which has as usual two bills or claw shaped
projections a a¹ or pallets at the extremities of the anchor aruis; the said armature
is held in position between the two pole pieces P of the electromagnet (extending
horizontally with regard to the core of the coil E) by two oppositely acting

page_text: springs Q connected at their inner ends to the anchor A of the escapement and at
their outer ends to the said pole pieces P in such a manner that the balance beam
armature normally occupies a slightly inclined position between the pole
pieces, the arm of the anchor or detent being in a vertical position. In this
position (Figure 1) one extremity of the scape lever L (which has two symmetrical
arms fixed at its centre on the shaft of the last driving pinion of the clock-work,
and which is driven by said shaft) rests with one of its two projecting extremities g
upon the interior surface of one of the pallets of the anchor and is thereby
prevented from turning until the magnet is re-energized. This pallet is provided
with a rounded spring r, for deadening the impact of the scape lever. As soon as
the current is sent through the circuit the magnetized pole pieces cause the free
balance beam armature to turn and assume a horizontal position between the poles
without touching the same. By this movement the arm of the anchor is moved
beyond the vertical position and the pallet a is caused to release the pin or
extremity a of the scape lever which then turns until the other end of the scape
lever is arrested by contact with the exterior surface of the other pallet of the
anchor likewise provided with a spring r¹, for deadening the impact (Figure 2).
As the current at this moment is again cut off, the balance beam armature and the
anchor are brought back to the resting position by the counteracting springs and,
at the same time, the scape lever L which is then not stopped by either of the
pallets (Figure 3) effects a half revolution limited by the striking of the lever
upon the first named pallet a of the anchor. The same operation is repeated at
each new passage of the current and so forth until the driving spring is completely
unwound.
The rotary movement of the scape lever L is transmitted by intermediate gear
to the hands of the dial, the large one of which advances each time to the amount
equal to the fraction of time which corresponds to the one half revolution of the
Bcape lever.
It is evident that the escapement constituted by the anchor A in combination
with the scape lever L is merely described as a constructional example and that
the escapement proper may undergo any suitable constructional modifications
without in any way altering the characteristic feature of this silently acting
electromagnetic escapement device.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A silently acting electromagnetic escapement for clocks the characteristic
feature of which is that the anchor or detent is actuated by an electro magnetic
armature suspended like a balance beam between the two pole pieces of the
electromagnet so as to turn between the said pole pieces-under the action of the
current and of oppositely acting springs-without coming in contact with the said
pole pieces.
2. In the silently acting escapement device described in the first claim a special
form of the escapement device proper, the characteristic feature of which is an
anchor having two pallets, between which turns a scape lever consisting of two
symmetrical arms, so as to periodically effect a half revolution produced by the
clock movement.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.