Improvements in Automatic Advertising Clocks or Time Mechanisms.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Advertising Clocks or Time Mechanisms.
I, JOHN THOMAS GENT, residing at "Iviecliffe," Flushing, Falmouth, in the
County of Cornwall, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows;-
This invention relates to clocks or time mechanisms which have combined with
their casings and with their running down train of wheels rotating parts such
as drums, prisms, or their like, having upon them faces or sides containing adver-
tising matter; the said drums prisms or rotating parts being operated (that is to
say being rotated or turned) by the actual clock or time mechanism so as to bring
their advertising faces progressively into view.
In such advertising clocks and time mechanisms the movement of the rotating
drums or prisms, upon the faces of which the advertising matter is placed, is
extremely slow in consequence of being driven by the clock mechanism, and this
is detrimental to advertising purposes because of the slow change of the adver-
tising matter to the casual observer. Furthermore it is desirable to the correct
working of the time mechanism that no extra work, however small, should be
placed upon it.
According to this invention the drums, prisms, or rotating parts carrying the
advertising matter are actuated or driven either by a weight, a spring, a wound
up independent running-down train of wheels, or an electro-magnet, the clock
or time mechanism being used only as the means for releasing the same, or making
the electrical circuit; the intervening mechanism being such as to ensure an
instantaneous change of the faces or sides of the drums or prisms upon which the
advertising matter is placed, a pause being allowed between each change.
In one form of this invention a weighted lever or its equivalent is arranged to
be lifted by a cam or eccentric upon the minute wheel axis of the clock mechanism
the fall of which said lever shall rotate a peg wheel or a disc journalled in suit-
able bearings and geared to the axis of the drums or prisms so as to communicate
an intermittent part rotation thereto each time the lever falls.
It is understood that the parts of the drums or prisms are extremely light so
that the work of the cam or eccentric upon the minute wheel would not be great.
The cam would preferably work upon the long arm of the weighted lever.
In another form of this invention the cam or eccentric upon the minute wheel
of the time mechanism may release an independent running down train of wheels
driven by a spring, one or more teeth for every rotation of the said minute wheel,
which will allow the independent mechanism to give an instantaneous part rota-
tion to the axes of the advertising drums or prisms and afterwards allow of a
pause before another part rotation. The independent running down train of
wheels could be arranged so as to only require their motor spring re-winding
occasionally, and any number of advertising drums could be geared therewith.
In another form of this invention a rotation of the minute wheel of the time
'mechanism can be made to complete an electrical circuit by bringing together

page_text: contacts, and an electro magnet or electro-magnets can be placed within the said
circuit and arranged to either attract or repel an arm or a lever which, in its
turn, imparts a rotary motion to a gearing arranged intermediate between the
electro magnets and the rotary drums or prisms in order to effect the latters'
instantaneous part rotation each time the minute wheel of the clock mechanism
revolves.
01
The parts of the mechanisms in all the forms of this invention described may
retreat either by their own weights or by springs, but it is not anticipated that
any element such as a spring would be necessary.
The independent train of wheels may be arranged in any convenient position
in the clock's casing, as also can be the electric magnets; provision being made
for connecting up the different axes of the rotary drums or prisms so that they
may be operated collectively or all together.
בד
Improvements in Automatic Advertising Clocks or Time Mechanisms.
We, MARY GENT, of "Iviecliffe," Flushing, Falmouth, in the County of Corn-
wall, THOMAS LEWIN, of 5, Belvoir Road, Leicester, and HENRY SMITH, of 93,
High Street, Leicester, both in the County of Leicester, all Executors and Trus-
bees of the late John Thomas Gent, lately residing at "Iviecliffe," Flushing,
Falmouth, in the County of Cornwall, do hereby declare the nature of this inven
tion 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 advertising clocks and has distinct reference to those
in which the matter to be displayed is carried in a decorative sense upon rotating
drums or prisms which are arranged within the lower part of the casing of a long-
length clock upon vertical axes, the time mechanism being located in the upper
part of the said clock's casing adjacent to the time indicating dial. In adver-
tising clocks having their drums or prisms so located and arranged, the faces or
sides of the said drums or prisms have hitherto been extremely slow in the change,
in consequence of being rotated by the slow moving time "mechanism. Such a
slow change is undesirable for advertising purposes having regard to the casual
observer, as also is the extra work put upon the time mechanism for the driving
of the drums or prisms carrying the matter.
According to this invention the said drums, prisms or rotating parts carrying
the advertising matter are actuated by an independent running-down train of
wheels driven by a wound-up spring, which said train is controlled in its run-
ning-down movement by the clock or time mechanism, which is used only as the
means for holding and releasing a part of the said train. The intervening
mechanism between the running-down train, as aforesaid, and the drums or
prisms is of such a character as to impart the instantaneous movement of the
train of wheels to the prisms' spindles, and so give a quick change to the prisms'
faces or sides and a pause between each change.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings the invention is shown in its applica-
tion to a long-cased clock which is suitable for standing upon the floors of
restaurants, hotels, etc. In the figs of the drawings a diagramatic elevation of a
clock is shown in Fig. 1, a back elevation of the mechanism for driving the adver-

page_text: tising drums or prisms separate of the clock casing in Fig. 2, a similar view as
Fig. 2 but of the front side and illustrating the connection between the mechanism
for driving the drums and the clock or time mechanism in Fig. 3, and a side
view of the upper part of Figs. 2 and 3 in Fig. 4. In Fig. 5 is shown an enlarged
view of the upper part of Fig. 3 for the purpose of clearly setting forth the hold-
ing and releasing mechanism to the running-down train of wheels driving the
prisms. In the form of clock shown in the drawings two drums or prisms are
shown arranged to work side by side longitudinally within the lower part of the
clock's casing and to be driven by a single train of wheels, but it will be obvious
that any number of such prisms can be geared up.
In the said sheet of drawings a², a², are the drums or prisms adapted to carry
the advertising matter to be displayed, the same being formed as ordinarily of
light metal frames covered with suitable material, and being arranged to work
longitudinally within the lower part of the clock's casing a. The upper parts a
a, of the spindles of these prisms are connected to a rotatable axis at, mounted
within suitable bearings, a, upon one of the side plates of the frame e carrying
the mechanisms, by gear wheels a, a, a, a, which form part of an intervening
mechanism between a running-down train of wheels c, located within the frame
for rotating the drums or prisms, and the drums or prisms themselves; the other
parts of the said intervening mechanism comprising a gear wheel as carried upon
the axis a, and a pinion carried upon the arbor of one of the wheels of the
running-down train c, these latter gearing with the pinion as the driver.
The train of wheels is simply an increasing one, as to speed, from its drum c²
to its fifth wheel, 3, which is a peg wheel, and which drives a fly vane c; the
last named being for the purpose well-known. The arbor of this fifth wheel
in the train is shown as carrying a peg or projection, e, which forms part of the
medium for freeing or holding the train by its being either released or held, but
the said peg or projection can just as well be carried upon the wheel itself. The
fourth wheel, of the train also carries a peg or projection 8 for the same pur-
pose, as will be hereinafter more clearly described.
d is a cam wheel carried upon the minute finger arbor 2 of the clock mechan-
ism, the said cam wheel's periphery having lifts formed upon it of a ratchet-
toothed shape, although it need not necessarily be of such a shape. This cam
wheel is arranged to lift a weighted lever g, each time it rotates one tooth,
sufficient to move a stop carried by the said lever into and out of position
in respect of the pegs 6,, on the fifth and fourth wheels; the said stop at one
time engaging the peg and at another time the peg . The lever is ful-
crummed at g³ to the same side of one of the plates of the frame e as the cam
wheel is mounted, and the only additional work imposed upon the clock
mechanism is the gradual lifting of the lever g, which may be so anti-frictionally
mounted as to reduce the work to a minimum.
The stop g2 projects from the side of the lever g through a slot g in the plate
of the frame e carrying the lever g, and has a freedom of movement up and down
therein equal to the lift of the lever by the ratchet-shaped parts on the periphery
of the cam wheel d.
The mechanism according to this invention operates as follows:-
The tendency of the running-down train of wheels is, when their spring is
wound up, to constantly rotate the axis a and drive the prisms a³, but the move-
ment of the said train is governed by the stop on the lever 9 intervening or
coming in the path of either one of the pegs or projections 6, 8, which form a
part of the said train, so that only when the said stop is brought into such a
position to allow of it can the train of wheels work. The position of the said stop
in the figs of the drawing is that which will allow of a running-down movement
of the train in the direction of the arrow, until the peg 8 has come to the other
side of the stop g2 by almost a single revolution of the wheel, c', during which
time the prisms would be revolved sufficient to change their faces. As the cam
wheel revolves through the time mechanism it gradually lifts the stop g. until

page_text: the peg is freed from the position it now has taken, but immediately this peg
is freed the stop moves into position so as to come in the path of the rotation of
the stop c, but, nevertheless, allowing sufficient movement in the train for the
peg to arrive at its normal position. When the lever g falls from one of the
rises of the wheel 9, the peg is freed by the projection g2, and the train of
wheels can run down sufficient to rotate the prisms one face before the stop c
is again caught. Such a movement is obtained every minute by the cam wheel
having 60 rises.
The running-down train of wheels c can be fitted with a motor spring, which
will only need rewinding occasionally, and any number of advertising prisms
could be geared therewith, and the said train may be arranged in any convenient
position in the clock's casing.
It is to be understood that the time mechanism is of the ordinary construction
and forms no part of this invention, it being only the cam wheel or its equiva-
lent which connects the said time mechanism with that driving the prisms.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
is claimed is;――
First. In advertising clocks of the kind herein described in which the axes
of the drums or prisms are vertical, the combination with a cam wheel such as d
rotated by the minute hand of the time mechanism, of an independent running
down train of wheels c, a lever g carrying a stop which is adapted to control the
running down of the said train off the said cam wheel, and an intervening
mechanism gearing the said drums or prisms, the whole of the parts operating
so as to partly rotate the said drums or prisms periodically and quickly to ensure
a quick change of their faces, substantially as described and set forth.
Second. In advertising clocks of the kind herein described in which the axes
of the drums or prisms are vertical, the combination with a cam wheel such as d
rotated by the minute hand of the time mechanism. of an independent running
down train of wheels having pegs e,, in its system, a lever g carrying a
stop which periodically holds and releases the said pegs, and which is con-
trolled by the cam wheel, and an intervening mechanism a, a, a, a³, and a
which gear the said drums or prisms with a part of the running-down train c,
substantially as set forth.
Dad 10th
T
1000
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Also of Liverpool, London, and Manchester,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.