Combined Clock and Bell.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Dec., 1889-Accepted, 18th Jan., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Combined Clock and Bell.
I, ALMERON MARK LANE of Meriden in the County of New Haven and State of
Connecticut, United States of America, Clock Maker, 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:-
:-
My invention relates to improvements in clocks having a bell for the ringing
mechanism to strike, and the main objects of my improvement are to provide a better
and simple construction of the bell and bell ringing mechanism with a time-piece,
and to produce a clock of this class in a compact and attractive form.
In the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my combined clock and bell.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of a portion thereof.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of a part thereof, partly in elevation, the plane of
section being indicated by the line x-x of figure 1.
Figure 4 is a view showing the underside of the clock and bell with the bell ringing
mechanism removed.
Figure 5 is a plan view of the parts that have been removed from fig. 4.
Figure 6 is a vertical section of detached parts showing a slight modification in
securing the parts together, and-
Figure 7 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, showing parts of a clock for
striking the hour instead of ringing an alarm.
A designates a case for containing a time-piece of any ordinary_construction, the
two forming what I term the clock. To the underside of this case I secure a plate 8
from which depends four posts 9, the lower ends of said posts being provided with a
shouldered and threaded tenon upon which to place fastening nuts 10. These
tenons pass through holes in the bell B and attaching plate C and the nuts are screwed
up against the underside of said plate so as to firmly clamp the bell between the
shoulders of the posts and the central portion of said plate. In the preferred form I
make said attaching plate with a central hub 12 in the form of a tubular boss and a
larger swaged or struck up portion 11, the inside of which forms a chamber or recess
for the reception of the nuts 10, while the base of the plate is in the form of a
flange.
case.
There is a central opening 13 in the bell B and immediately above the same, a
like opening 14 in the bottom of the case A. The attaching posts and their plate
are also so formed as to leave an unobstructed opening up through the bell and
I provide the time movement with a holding and releasing lever 15, the
foot 16 of which extends rearwardly in the lower part of the case to the central portion
thereof. The time movement and alarm setting mechanism are so arranged as to
move this lever forward when the hour arrives on which the alarm is set. This lever
and the mechanism for moving it are not peculiar to my present invention and may
be of any known construction, and therefore I consider it unnecessary to illustrate and
describe them. Examples of such mechanisms may be found in my United States
Patent No. 390,786, Oct. 9th, 1888, and in Patent 403,274, May 14th, 1889.
17 and 18 designate respectively the upper and lower plates of a bell ringing
nechanism for an alarm, the main parts of said mechanism being of ordinary con-
truction, and therefore they require no specific description. The upper plate 17
provided with a central orifice through which the holding arm or wire 19
rojects upwardly. The plate 17 is secured preferably by means of screws which
ass through the holes 20 fig. 5, into the threaded screw holes 21, fig. 4, of the
ttaching plate so as to hold the plate 17 and connected bell ringing mechanism
ad the attaching plate firmly together.. A portion of the attaching plate Cat its

page_text: edge is cut away as shown in fig. 4 in order to make room for the ratchet and
pawl 26, fig. 5, that are secured on the upper side of the plate 17. I then surmount
the whole upon the foot or base D preferably by means of screws that pass through
flanges 22, fig. 3, into the lower plate 18 of the bell ringing mechanism. Holes or
openings should be left in the lower plate 18 to permit the passage of a screw
driver when attaching or detaching the plate 17 and bell ringing mechanism to and
from the attaching plate.
It will be observed that the bell is mounted upon the alarm movement with its
lower edge slightly above the foot piece D and has the appearance of forming a
part of the base of the clock. It also covers the bell ringing mechanism and in
effect constitutes its case. The bell ringing mechanism by being secured to the foot
piece and attaching plate and the bell and clock being mounted upon said attaching
plate, the frame of said bell ringing mechanism constitutes the support or standard
on which the time piece is mounted. The holding arm or wire 19 which has a
vibratory motion as in other alarm clocks extends up through the orifice in the
central portion of the bell to the foot 16 of the holding and releasing lever 15 so that
when said lever is thrown forward at the proper time the bell ringing mechanism may
act in the ordinary manner.
While I have described specifically the plate 8, posts 9 and nuts 10 by which the
attaching plate C is secured to the clock and bell, I do not wish to confine myself to
such specific construction as other devices may be used as an equivalent therefor,
provided they permit of a central opening in the bell and the passage of the holding
arm or wire up through the bell to the clock. In fig. 6 I have illustrated a substitute
for such connection in which a plate 8 that is secured to the clock frame is provided with
a tubular shouldered portion 23, threaded exterially, and passed through a central hole
in the bell and attaching plate C, said bell and plate being firmly secured together by
means of the nut 22 on the exterior of the shouldered and threaded tube 23. Instead of
providing the attaching plate with a small central bub I allow the bell B to rest
directly upon the larger swaged or struck up part 11. The bell ringing mechanism and
its mode of attachment may be the same as before described.
While I have described my clock and bell as used in connection with an alarm
movement it may also be used in connection with a bell ringing mechanism for
striking the hour. Such change requires only that the holding and releasing mechanism
shall be operated hourly or half hourly by the time piece and that the holding arm
or wire 19 shall extend upwardly through the center of the bell &c., from the lock-
work post 24 of the bell ringing mechanism of the striking clock substantially as
illustrated in fig. 7, in which 25 designates the holding and releasing lever. The bell
ringing mechanism for a striking clock and its connections with the holding and
releasing lever 25 and their operating mechanism are not new with my present
invention excepting as they are mounted as before described. An example of such
mechanisms in a striking clock may be seen in my United States Patent 403,275,
dated May 14th, 1889.
I am aware that United States patent No. 327,919 shows a watch stand and electric
alarm bell arranged so as to ring the bell whenever the watch is removed from its
stand, and I hereby disclaim the same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim, and desire to secure by Patent, is-
-
1. A combined clock and bell with the clock containing a tripping device and
mounted on the summit of the bell, the bell mounted over and enclosing the ringing
mechanism, and devices intermediate said tripping device and ringing mechanism for
releasing said bell ringing mechanism at the predetermined time, substantially as
described and for the purpose specified.
2. A combined clock and bell connected together, having the bell ringing
mechanism enclosed by the bell and the holding arm or wire passing through an

page_text: opening at the central portion of the bell, substantially as described and for the
purpose specified.
3. A combined clock and bell, the bell portion consisting of the bell proper B,.
an attaching plate secured within said bell proper, and a separately formed bell
ringing mechanism secured to said attaching plate, substantially as described and for
the purpose specified.
4. A combined clock and bell consisting of the foot piece D bell ringing mechanism
mounted upon said foot piece, the attaching plate C mounted upon said bell ringing
mechanism and the bell and clock surmounting said attaching plate, substantially as
described and for the purpose specified.
5. A combined clock and bell ringing mechanism in which the frame of the bell
ringing mechanism constitutes the standard that supports the clock, substantially as.
described and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 13th day of December 1889
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.