IMPROVEMENTS IN CHIME CLOCKS
Year: 1884

page_text: We, ANNIBAL LÉGÉ, AUGUSTE REMANE and EDWARD ROBERTS of 79 Turnmill
Street, Clerkenwell in the County of Middlesex, English and French Clock makers,
do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CHIME
CLOCKS" to be as follows:-
Heretofore, so far as we are aware, it has been customary to construct chime
clocks, that is, clocks chiming the quarters on four or more bells or gongs, with
three separate trains of wheels, one for the going part of the clock, one for the
hour striking part, and another for the chimes. This arrangement involves
considerable complication and consequent expense in manufacture. Now according
to our present invention, we obviate these objections by employing two trains of
wheels only, one for striking the hours and quarters, and the other for operating
the going action of the clock. The arrangements we employ for enabling the one
train to operate the chiming and striking mechanism at their proper times, are of
the following character. The train in question may be driven by a spring or
weight in any usual or convenient manner, but when a spring is used, we prefer
to interpose between its barrel and the train, a chain and fusee in order to secure
nearly equal striking effects at all conditions of tension of the spring. The chime
drum is connected with one of the arbors of this train of wheels by the closing of
a suitable clutch or coupling when the chiming mechanism is intended to act, and
is disconnected from the said arbor by the opening of the said clutch or coupling
when the hour striking mechanism is intended to act. This clutch or coupling is
operated so as to connect the chime drum to the arbor, or to disconnect it therefrom,
by any suitable mechanism operated at the proper time by the going train of the
clock, the same mechanism being also caused to block the chime drum, so as to
prevent it from turning when it is disconnected from the arbor and the hour is
being struck, and at the same time to throw the tail of the hour striking hammer
into gear with a pin wheel on the aforesaid arbor whereby the said hammer is
operated as allowed by the striking snail. This train, which may be called the
striking and chimney train, is prevented from revolving when not required by a
detent and pin wheel in the usual and well known manner, such detent being
withdrawn or liberated at the proper times for striking the quarters and hours by.
ГД... 031

page_text: suitable mechanism in connection with the'going train of the clock, the tail of the
said detent taking into recesses on a locking plate of the chime drum so as to allow
the detent to operate to stop the train and chimes at the right moment. We
prefer to construct the chime drum in as many separate wheels as there are bells or
gongs to strike the quarters and instead of using pins inserted in the drums, as is
usually practised for moving the chiming hammers, we form the pins solid with the
Baid separate wheels and shape the acting faces of such pins after the manner of
ordinary tooth gearing so that the acting faces of the pins roll, as it were, upon the
surfaces. of the hammer tails instead of rubbing thereon as is the case when plain
pins are used, thus materially reducing the friction and consequently the wear and
tear of the acting parts.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
We ANIBAL LÉGÉ, AUGUSTE REMANÉ, and EDWARD ROBERTS of 79 Turnmill
Street, Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex, English and French Clock Makers,
do hereby declare the nature of our said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CHIME
CLOCKS" and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had
to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
Our present invention relates to improvements in clocks which chime the quarters
on four or more bells or gongs, in which two trains of wheels are employed, one for
striking both the hours and quarters, and the other for operating the going action
of the clock. The arrangements we employ for enabling the one train to operate
the chiming and striking mechanism at their. proper times, are illustrated in the
accompanying sheet of drawings in which Figure 1 is a side view of so much of a
French clock movement as is necessary to show the application of our improvements
thereto. Figure 2 is a back view, Figure 3 a front view, and Figure 4' a plan of
same. A and A' are the usual front and back plates respectively, carrying the
various moving parts of the clock. B is the barrel containing the spring for
driving the train of wheels for striking the hours and quarters. This train of
wheels, which may be called the striking and chiming train, may be driven by a
spring, or by a weight, in any usual or convenient manner, but when, a spring is
used we prefer to interpose, between its barrel B and the train, a chain B¹ and
fusee C, in order to secure nearly equal striking effects under all conditions of
tension of the spring. The striking and chiming train may of course be arranged
in any convenient way, but, as illustrated in the drawings, the wheel 1 on the
fusee C gears with the pinion 2 on the arbor 3, the wheel 4 on the arbor 3 gears
with the pinion 4* on the arbor 5, the wheel 6 on the arbor 5 gears with the
pinion 7 on the arbor 8, the wheel 9 on the arbor 8 with the pinion 9* on the
arbor 10, and the wheel 11 on the arbor 10 with the pinion 12 on the flyer arbor 13.
The wheel 6 on the arbor 5 is a side pin wheel of 10 pins, which pins act on the
hammer for striking the hours, in a manner to be hereafter explained. The wheel 9.
on the arbor 8 has one pin on its side which normally rests on the detent D, as
shown in Figure 1. The arbor 5. extends through the back plate A¹, and carries at
its outer end an arm H or a half clutch.or coupling of any suitable kind. One.
end of the spindle F1 of the chime drum F is bored to receive the end of the
arbor 5, the other end being carried on a centre screw by the bracket E. The
chime drum spindle F¹ is made square at the end next the arbor 5, and carries a
coupling which turns with the chime drum but is free to slide longitudinally on
the spindle F. This coupling G when moved sufficiently to the right on the chime
drum spindle (see Figures 1 and 4) engages with the arm H or other half clutch or
coupling on the arbor 5, so as to connect the chime drum with the arbor 5 when
the quarters are to be chimed...
Instead of the half coupling G being arranged to slide on the spindle F', and
the half coupling H being fixed upon the arbor 5, the reverse arrangement may be
employed, namely, the one half coupling may be fixed to the spindle F¹, and the
other half coupling arranged to slide on the arbor 5, so as to take into or be with-
drawn from the half coupling on the spindle F¹. !.

page_text: I is a locking plate fixed to and turning with the chime drum F, and furnished
with four notches in its periphery, spaced respectively one tenth, two tenths, throe
tenths and four tenths of the circumference apart, corresponding respectively to
the one, two, three and four chiming operations, required for the 1st 2nd 3rd and 4th
quarters respectively. This locking plate I has a flange I' extending circum-
ferentially and at right angles to the side of the said locking plate I; this flange
has a notch J in it, into which the arm K of a fork, actuating the half clutch or
coupling G, enters at the moment when the said half clutch or coupling G is
disengaged from the arip or other half clutch or coupling H, so as to disconnect the
chime drum from the arbor 5 and to prevent the said drum from turning while
the hour is being struck. This arm K is fixed to one end of a rod L sliding in
holes in the plates A A¹, and pressed to the left by a spring K', so as to press the
hrm K constantly against the edge of the flange P, the other end of the said rod
being pin-jointed to the outer end of a lever M, pivoted at N on the front plate.
The inner end of the said lever M passes in behind the wheel O, turning on a stud,
and gearing with the wheel P fixed on the sleeve of the minute hand. At the
back of the wheel O is a tappet or pin Q, which acts upon the inner end of the
lever M, so as to draw the rod L to the right in Figures 1 and 2 against the action
of the spring K, and thus to withdraw the arm K from the notch J on the chime
drum Fafter the hour has been struck.
The detent D is fixed on a rod R turning in holes in the plates A and A' and
carrying on the face of the front plate A an arm or detent S on the end of which
rests the end of the striking rack T. On the detent D is an arm U, which by the
pressure of a spring V noting on the detent D, bears against the periphery of the
locking plate I while the chime drum is revolving, and operating the chiming
hammers W, and thereby holds the detent D clear of the pin on the pin wheel 9,
thus allowing the striking and chiming train to nct to turn the chime drum and
strike the quarters, but when one of the notches on the locking plate I comes
opposite the arm U, the latter, urged by the spring V, drops into such notch, the
chime drum is thereby stopped, and at the same time the upper end of the detent D
is brought under the pin of the pin wheel 9 and the striking and chiming train is
thereby stopped. When the chimes are to be again brought into operation, the
lever X, the inner end of which is raised at each quarter warning time by one of
four pins on the back of the wheel P on the minute hand sleeve, acts on a pin Y
on the arm S so as to turn the rod R, and thereby remove the upper end of the
detent D from under the pin in pin wheel 9, and the arm U from the notch in the
chine drum. locking plate I. The arm Z of the lever X carries at its end a stop. Z',
which projects through the slot 14 in the plate A, and against which stop a pin on
the wheel 11 comes to bear when the detent D is withdrawn from under the pin
in pin-wheel 9. When the lever X is liberated by the pin on the back of the
wheel P, by which it was raised, the said lover falls, releasing the pin on pin
wheel 11 and thereby the chiming and striking train, which then turns the chimė
drum F until the arm U drops into a notch on the locking plate I, and the detent D
comes again under the pin in pin wheel 9. If now 'the fourth quarter has been
struck, and the hour has to be struck, the notch J in the flange 1 of the locking
plate I comes just opposite the arm K, and the latter is forced by the spring V
into the said notch; this not only holds the locking plate I, and consequently the
chime drum F from revolving, but moves the half clutch G to the left, disengaging
it from the arm or other half clutch H on the arbor 5, and consequently disconnecting
the chime drum from the said arbor. The movement of the arm K to the left into
the notch J, draws the rod L to the left also, and a pin 15 on the said rod L acts
on the hammer-tail piece 10, pivoted on the axis 17 of the hour striking hammer 17ª,
so as to bring the said tail piece within the range of the 10 pins on the pin wheel 6,
as shown in full lines in Figure 1, whereby the hours, are struck as the train
continues to revolve. After the hour has been struck, and the tappet or pin. Qon
the wheel O acts on the lever M.Bo as to draw the rod Land the arm K to the right,
the pin 18 on the rod acts on the pivoted hammer-tail piece 16, turning it into

page_text: the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, so as to be clear of the pins on the
pin wheel 6, whereby the further revolution of the chiming and.striking train for
the purpose of chiming the quarters will have no action on the hammer 17ª for
striking the hours until the rod L is again allowed to move to the left. The
striking rack T, the snail 19, and the .leaf 20 on the arbor 8, act in the manner
well understood to regulate the striking of the hours, and we deem it unnecessary
to describe them further.
We prefer to construct the chime drum F in as many separate wheels as there
are bells or gongs to strike the quarters, (in the Figures it is shown divided into
four wheels) these wheels are connected so as to turn together, and instead of using
separate pins inserted in the drum, as is usually practised for operating the
chiming hammers, this construction enables us to form the pins solid with the said
separate wheels, and to shape the acting faces of such pins after the manner of
ordinary tooth gearing (as shown at 21 Figure 2), so that the acting faces roll, as
it were, upon the surfaces of the hammer tails 22, instead of rubbing thereon, as is
the case when plain pins are used, thus materially reducing the friction, and
consequently the wear and tear of the acting parts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is.
1.-The combination and arrangement of mechanism whereby the chiming drum F
is connected to an arbor of the chiming and striking train of wheels while the
quarters are being chimed, and disconnected therefrom, and locked so as not to turn
while the hours are being struck, substantially as hereinbefore described, and
illustrated in the drawings hereto annexed.
2. The construction of the chiming drum in separate wheels, according to the
number of bells or gongs used, such separate wheels having their acting pins
formed solid therewith, and the acting faces of such pins shaped as the teeth of
toothed wheels, substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in the
drawings hereto annexed.