Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Nov., 1886.
Complete Left, 15th Aug., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 16th Sept., 1887.
I, JUSTIN WALZER, of Chaux de Fonds, in Switzerland, Watch Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
The purpose of my Invention is to provide a watch, of whatever system, with a
sounding mechanism, of very cheap construction, striking the hours and the quarters,
or other subdivisions of the hours.
For this purpose, I provide the stem which carries the usual pinion for winding up
the watch, and the sliding pinion for setting the hands with a third pinion affixed to
the stem. The said pinion transmits its motion by means of a certain number of
intermediate wheels (which are affixed to a moveable bridge) to a centre wheel which
is provided with two superposed toothed ranges, one of which acts upon a click
bearing the hammer which strikes the hours upon a sonorous spring, the other upon
a click bearing a hammer which strikes the quarters, or other subdivisions of the
hours, upon another sonorous spring.
By turning the crown (that is to say the stem) the said centre wheel is caused to
turn and to act upon the hammers striking the hours and the quarters, when the
intermediate wheels are in gear with the centre wheel. There is a second stem
traversing the case-ring of the watch and bearing a snail which is combined with a
system of levers so as to cause the aforesaid intermediate wheels to be thrown into or
out of gear with the centre wheel and, at the same time, to displace the clicks bearing
the hanimers so as to have them adjacent or not to the superposed toothed ranges of
the centre wheel, when the said stem is turned by means of a button or a lever placed
upon the case ring.
There is also a spring barrel gearing into a toothed range affixed to the centre
wheel and effecting the turning back of the latter to its position of repose.
The centre wheel is provided with a click which falls into a notch of the hour-wheel
so as to limit the rotation of the centre wheel proportionately to the hour indicated
by the notch at the moment the stem is turned for striking the hours.
The pinions for winding up the watch, and for setting the hands, are thrown out of
action by a lever acted upon by the aforesaid snail as soon as the intermediate wheels
are thrown into gear with the centre wheel.
"
4000

page_text: I, JUSTIN WALZER, of Chaux-de-Fonds, in Switzerland, Watch Manufacturer, 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, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, that is to say :-
The purpose of my Invention is to provide a watch of any system with a sounding
or repeating mechanism of a very cheap construction for striking the hours and the
quarters or other subdivisions of the hour, by turning the crown, while retaining the
use of this latter for winding purposes. and for setting the hands in the ordinary
manner.
I proceed with reference to the accompanying drawings to fully describe my
Invention.
Description of the sounding or repeating mechanism. The stem of the crown A
carries, as in ordinary remontoir watches, a pinion B, for setting the hands, with
Breguet's gearing adjusted upon its square part. The pinion C of the crown serving
to actuate the remontoir turns freely upon the stem A when it is not moved away by
the gearing. A third pinion D is fixed upon the rod A, and serves to actuate the
mechanism which causes the watch to strike. It is in constant gearing with the
wheel E which transmits motion to the transmission wheels F and G, carried by a
swinging piece O whose pivoting point (the screw o) coincides with the centre of the
wheel F.
either
By means of a mechanism hereinafter described the swinging piece O may
be placed so that the wheel G may rotate loosely when the crown is turned in order
to wind up the watch or to set the hands, or so that it may gear with the centre
wheel H. serving to wind up a spring barrel L containing a spring solely designed to
bring back the whole of the sounding mechanism to the starting point after it has
operated.
A bridge P, fixed by three screws upon the plate holds the wheels E and H as well
as the spring barrel, in position. The part of the bridge P which covers the latter
is notched so as to limit the travel of the spring barrel I, due to a pin i fixed upon the
said spring barrel. The teeth of the wheels H and I are calculated in such a inanner
that when the pin ; has terminated its course the wheel H has accomplished one entire
revolution.
The wheel H carries an annular projecting rim H' which traverses the bridge P
and in which are fixed a spring J and a click K rotating therewith. This wheel H is
placed above the cannon wheel L whose-ring L' and the cannon L pass through the
same. The ring L' is provided on its circumference with a notch which is shifted
at the same time as the hour hand fixed upon the cannon of the wheel L. The click K
engages with the notch las soon as it comes opposite the same and serves consequently
as a stop to limit the rotation of the wheel H, in a manner determined by the position

page_text: of the hour hand. Upon the projecting rim H³ of the wheel H are fixed by means
of three screws, the wheels M and N, the first of which causes the hours to be
struck, and the second which has 48 teeth, causes the quarters to be struck. This
wheel may be provided with another number of teeth in order to strike the to or other
divisions of the hour.
.
The snail S is fixed to a rod which traverses the case-ring or frame of the watch
and carries a button of variable form, but so arranged as to adapt itself to the form of
the frame when the sounding mechanism is at rest.
By causing this piece to accomplish a quarter of a turn to the right the wheel G is
thrown into gear with H by means of a lever R which with the intermediary of a
hinge causes the swinging piece O to oscillate, the extremity of R being raised by the
snail S. At the same time the click O' fixed to the swinging pieco O by means of a
pivot screw 9, and guided by a spring o¹ bears against the teeth of the wheel M.
The click ¹ carries a hammer U which strikes a snorous spring V when this click
is raised by the teeth of M. The arm 0" of the swinging piece O carries a stud o¹¹
resting against the swinging piece W for setting the hour hand, the latter, at the same
time, serves as a spring to the Breguet gearing of the pinion B.
When the mechanism is at rest the stud o" leaves the swinging piece W free to
hold the Breguet gearing engaged so that the watch may be wound up.
As soon as the piece T is turned a quarter of a revolution in order to cause the
wheel G to gear with the wheel H, the stud o" shifts the swinging pioce W so as to
disengage the Breguet gearing. In this position of the mechanism the stem A causes
the sounding pinion D to turn, but does not carry away either the remontoir pinion C,
or the setting of the hands.
A swinging piece X fixed to the plate by a pivot screw z carries a click X' with a
spring and a hammer u, the latter striking a sonorous spring; the click X' is
actuated by the wheel N to strike the quarters or other subdivisions of the hour.
The position of the swinging piece X is determined by a lever Z oscillating upon a
pivot screw, one extremity of which is connected to the swinging piece X by a
hinge Y while the other engages in the notch of the snail S.
When the piece Tis turned a quarter of a revolution as above described for striking
the hours, the lever Z causes the click X' to advance against the wheel N without
however causing the gearing to operate. In order to cause the striking of the
quarters the piece T should be again turned until its extremity T rests upon the
cannon of the push piece for setting the hands, or other stop piece t, fixed to the frame
or case-ring. There results therefrom a proportionate rotation of the snail S which
raising a second time the lever Z causes the swinging piece X to advance until the
click enters thoroughly into the teeth of N.
This second rotation imparted to the snail S having to maintain the hour click O'
and the hand-setting swinging piece W in the same position which had been given to
them by the first quarter of a turn of the piece T, the notch of the snail must be
formed so as not to raise tho extremity of the lover R any further after this latter has
assumed the position shewn in fig. 2.
The snail $ is provided with a ratchet wheel having three notches S' in which rest
the extremity of a safety spring S", fixed to the plate. This arrangement prevents
accidental shifting of the piece T (and consequently of the snail S) from one of these
three positions into the other.
Working. In order to cause the watch to strike, two motions of the crown are
required, the first causing the hours to strike, the second, the quarters, or other
subdivisions of the hour.
After having turned, for a quarter of a revolution, the piece T, which then becomes
placed perpendicularly to the frame (Fig. 2) the crown is turned from left to right
until a resistance is met with, which is produced by the click K, encountering
the notch 1. During this motion the click or is raised, by the teeth of M, a number of
times corresponding to the position in which is found, at this moment, the cannon
wheel L, that is to say, the hour hand. The result is the striking of the hour.
Should the watch indicate at this time the exact hour which has been struck, the

page_text: click O' will remain resting against the last of the teeth of M, by which it had been
raised. But if on the contrary, the watch shows the hours, and a quarter for
instance the wheel M will pass for a quarter of a division of its teeth beyond the
extremity of the click O', before this stop click K, reaches the bottom of the notch l.
In the first case when the crown is released, it will remain stationary. In the second
case it will return back until the click O' rests against the last tooth of the wheel M,
by which it had been raised.
In order to know the correct time the piece T, is then again turned, until its
extremity rests against the stop t.
The click X is then in gear with the wheel N. In the first of the two cases above
considered, that is to say, when the watch registers at this moment the exact honr
which has been struck, it will be found impossible to then turn the crown in order to
cause the quarters to strike.
If on the contrary, the hour is gone by, the crown may be turned for the amount
it has come back, after having struck the hour, which will allow the wheel N, to raise
the click X', the number of times corresponding to the quarters or other subdivisions
of the hour equivalent to the amount for which the wheel M, has returned back.
This motion of the crown will be again arrested by the click K, engaging in the
notch 1.
By then turning the pieco T, backwards, in order to place it at rest the click X' will
be first disengaged and then the click 01, and the swinging piece W. The result is
the return to the departure point of the whole mechanism under the action of the
spring contained in the barrel I, and the reestablishment of the Breguet gearing.
The mechanism may be simplified by dispensing with the hammers and the sonorous
spring or springs. It will be sufficient in order to obtain a distinct striking, to provide
the clicks with strong springs, and to impart a suitable form to the teeth of the
wheels M and N.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention
and in what manner the same may be performed 1 declare that what I claim is:
1. In watches. the combination with the crown used for winding purposes, and for
setting the hands of mechanism causing the striking of the hours and of the quarters,
or other subdivisions of the hour when the said crown is turned after having actuated
a button or a lever placed on the exterior of the case, substantially as hereinbefore
described and as shown in the drawings.
2. The mechanism striking the hours, as herein described and as shown in the
drawings.
3. The mechanism striking the quarters, or other subdivisions of the hour, as herein
described and as shewn in the drawings.
4. The snail actuating these mechanisms as herein before described and as shewn in
the drawings.
Dated this 15th day of August. 1887.