Improvements in Watchmen's Time Recorders.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Dec., 1890-Accepted, 25th Apr., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Watchmen's Time Recorders.
I, ISHAM DE KALB FULLER, of 121, La Salle Street, Chicago, in the State of
Illinois, United States of America, Electrical Engineer, 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 watchmen's time recorders or systems
in which an ordinary clock mechanism, provided with a revolving detachable paper
dial, is used in conjunction with electro-mechanism, in electrical connection with
the several stations in the watchman's beat, and adapted to record on such dial the
watchman's visits to said stations, by the application of a circuit closing key, applied
by the watchman to circuit closing mechanism at such stations; and the objects of
my improvements are: first, to provide a construction for the electro-mechanical
part of the apparatus whereby the number of stations in any given embodiment of
the system may be varied or increased with greater facility than heretofore; second,
to provide automatic electrical switches, in connection with the electro-mechanical
part of the apparatus and some point in the beat, whereby a single electric circuit
is made to embrace all of the stations in the beat; and third, to provide improved
means for recording the watchman's visits to the stations on the paper dial.
I have attained these objects in the apparatus constructed as illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1, is a front elevation of the electro-mechanical part of the apparatus.
Figure 2, is a transverse vertical section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3, is a top or plan view of the electro-mechanical part of the apparatus.
Figure 4 is a vertical section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, looking in the
direction of the arrows.
Figure 5 is a detail showing in perspective, a detached piece of the electro
mechanical part of the apparatus.
Figure 6 is a front elevation of the apparatus entire, showing the relative
position of the parts and the electrical connections.
Figure 7 is a detail showing in perspective and sectional view, the clamp for
holding the disk to the hour hand shaft of the clock.
In the drawings, A designates the frame for supporting the separate line-sections
of the electro-mechanism, with which the separate lines or circuits are connected.
This frame consists of a rectangular piece or plate provided with screw holes a for
attaching it to the clock casing, and screw holes a¹ for attaching said separate line-
sections thereto. B designates the separate line-sections. These are comprised of
the front piece b, the end pieces, ¹, and a central piece, 62; which parts are
preferably all cast as one piece. The end pieces 6 have a foot piece 6³ provided
with a screw hole whereby said line-sections B are attached to the frame A. The
screw holes in said frame A are so placed as to make the line-sections B fit closely
together in contact, and fill the entire area of said frame when as many are placed
thereon as the same is designed to hold; and any of said line-sections can be
removed from said frame by taking out the screws in the foot pieces b³ without
disturbing any of the others.
C designates the electro-magnets, which are secured to the line-sections B by
means of screws C passing through the front piece b and into the magnet core c in
such manner as to hold the same firmly to the respective line-sections. One end of
each magnet wire c is attached permanently to the line-section at c³ by being
soldered thereto so that each line-section made a part of the electric circuit. The
other end of each magnet wire is connected with a binding post D at each end of

page_text: said line-sections, being connected thereto by an insulating piece D' secured to a
projection d cast on the end pieces of the line-sections.
Supported in central pieces 62 of each line-section there are, preferably, two
sliding, spring-pressed bars 64 provided, each with a different embossed or indented
type or die on its front end, designed to indicate a different station on the watch-
man's beat.
The springs of said bars hold them normally retracted so that their rear ends
are projected through an opening in the bent ends of the central pieces b².
To the side pieces 6' are pivoted the armatures E adapted to strike the rear
ends of the bars when the circuit is closed on the magnets C, or any one of
them, there being a spring e adapted to retract the armatures, when the circuit is
open, and keep them normally off the bars 4.
The frame A is provided with a rubber or other insulating piece F for the
armatures to rest against in their normal position.
To the top line-section is attached a bar or plate G, whose inner surface is
provided with sunken or embossed type, or dies, g corresponding in kind and position
with type or dies on the spring bars .
I prefer to put the male or embossed type or dies on the type-bars, and the
female or indented type or dies in the bar or plate G as shown in the drawings.
The bar or plate G is extended down in front of the line-sections in a plane
parallel with the front of the type-bars so that as any of said type-bars is pressed
forward, by a blow of the armature on the rear end thereof, the type on the front
end will be forced into or upon its corresponding type in the bar or plate G.
The electro-mechanical part of the apparatus, as in the present instance shown
and described, is for a ten station apparatus, and has but three of the lines shown as
connected in circuit, the rest being represented in blank.
I do not consider that it is essential to the invention embraced by this part of the
apparatus to employ two electro-magnets and two type-bars in each line-section as
shown, nor that the particular arrangement of magnets and armatures shown for
operating said type-bars should in every case be followed.
From the description thus far given it is obvious that other stations might be
added by removing any of the blank line-section B as shown in the lower
portion of Figures 2 and 4 and substituting in its place a line section having
one or both magnets and armatures with wire connections as shown in the upper
portion of said figures.
The frame with detachable line-sections as shown, with the sections all full,
or partly full and partly blank, to suit the number of stations in the watchman's
beat in any individual case, is placed in the clock casing above the clock move-
ment in the ordinary way, the position of the clock movement relatively thereto
being shown by dotted lines H H in Fig. 6. In this position the paper dial I,
attached to the hour hand shaft I' of the clock, may have its upper half revolved
by the clock movement between the bar or plate G and the front of the line-
sections, so that when the circuit is closed at any station on the watchman's
beat as hereinafter described, the armature will drive the type-bar 6 of that
station forward against the bar or plate G and, by indenting or punching the
paper, print or cut out the number or other character employed to designate
the station upon said dial.
On the dial as shown the radial full lines indicate the hours, and the half
and quarter radial lines indicate fractions of an hour. Said dial is slowly
revolved in the direction of the arrow, as the hour hand of a common clock,
so that the time of the watchman's visits to the various stations of his beat
may be read on the dial by observing the position of the imprint on the dial
relatively to said radial lines.
I have provided means for attaching said dial to the hour hand shaft of the clock
by a yielding attachment which will be sufficient to keep the dial in motion with the
said shaft under ordinary circumstances, but in case the dial should accidentally

page_text: become fastened to the other part of the apparatus, so as to prevent its rotation,
its connection with said shaft will yield and allow the clock to go on without
tearing the dial. This consists in an inner plate i, and an outer spring pressed
plate i¹.
.
Said plate is provided with a socket piece adapted to fit over the end of said
i
hour hand shaft so as to secure said plate rigidly to said shaft. On the opposite
side of said plate from the socket piece, is a piece which is screw threaded at the
outer end, and forms when in place an extension of the hour hand shaft beyond said
plate i. The dial is made with a perforation in the centre adapted to just fit over
this extension, and the spring plate is then placed over the dial, and the nut it is
tightened down so as to revolve with the hour hand shaft. The nut has a groove
or shoulder, which engages the spring of the plate for the purpose of
clamping said plate down on the dial in such manner as to cause it to revolve with
the hour hand shaft and permit it to be stopped by slipping between said plates in
case it should be caught and held fast near the periphery by any force which would
tear it if rigidly secured to the hour hand shaft.
The switch mechanism is shown in Fig. 6 the upper part of which shows said
switch mechanism in front elevation; and the lower part shows it in rear elevation
with a portion of the switch-board broken away. Said switch mechanism consists
of a base piece or plate K upon which is mounted an electro-magnet L with its
armature, said armature being held normally retracted by a spring . To the
extreme end of the armature is pivoted a spring pressed ratchet-hook or catch /*
which is adapted to engage teeth or projections m on a revolving disk M. This
disk is mounted on a shaft m' which is journaled in a post or standard M' attached
to the base piece K. Behind said disk and supported on said standard is the
switch-board N made of hard rubber or other insulating material. The switch-
board is provided with a series of metallic sections n preferably arranged in a
circular path and the branch wires from the several line stations are attached to
these metallic sections at one end of the main line and with the watchman's station
at the other end.
The revolving disk M is provided with a switch-arm or projection n' which is
attached to the shaft m' and has its outer end adapted to move in contact with said
metallic section and close the branch circuit at that point with the wire which is
connected to said metallic section.
Attached to the shaft m' is a ratchet m² which engages a pawl pivoted to the
revolving disk M and adapted to engage said ratchet and prevent said disk and its
switch-arm from turning backward.
The electrical connection is made through the wires 1 and 2. The binding post o
on the lower line-section is in electrical connection through the contact of said
several line-sections with each other, with the coil wires of all of the magnets C by
means of the connections at c¹ and, thence through said wires, with the several
insulating binding posts D. The wire 1 extends from said binding post o by
branches 3, 4, 5, etc. to the various watchman's stations P thence, through open
circuit at said watchman's stations provided with ordinary key-circuit-closing
mechanism, to the switch-board on the premises to be watched being shown at the
bottom of Fig. 6; thence through the switch-arm n' to the shaft m³, thence to the
magnets L, and thence to the battery. The wire 2 starting from the battery runs to
the magnets L of the switch mechanism at the registering instrument being the one
shown at the top of Fig. 6, thence, to the shaft m', thence through the switch-arm 7,1
to the metallic sections and thence by branch wires 3", 4", 5", etc., to the insulating
binding posts D.
As shown in the drawings the circuit is closed through the wires 1 and 2
and their respective branches 3 at all points except P on the branch 3 of the
wire 1. By closing the circuit at this point by the application of the watchman's
circuit closing key a current would be sent over said circuit which would simul-
taneously operate one of the armatures E on the second line-section B from the top of

page_text: frame A, and both of the armatures of the switch mechanisms. The first named
armature E would strike the bar & bearing the type 3 and corresponding with the
type 3 on the bar or plate G and print the station 3 on the dial. The armatures
of the switch mechanism would draw down the spring pressed ratchet hooks /* into
engagement with the projection m on the disk M and the withdrawal of the circuit
closing key would permit the retraction of said ratchet by the spring which would
move the switch from contact with the metallic section with which the branch wires
are connected to and into contact with the metallic section to which the branch
wires 4 and 4" are connected, in both switch mechanisms.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. In a watchman's time recorder the. sections B each made as integral and
separate part of the apparatus, and composed of a metallic front piece or plate
provided with the end pieces or supports, an electro-magnet with one end of its coil
connected electrically with said front piece and the other end connected non-
electrically therewith, a sliding bar and an armature adapted to operate the same,
said supports and operating parts being attached to the rear of said front piece as
and for the purpose specified.
2. In a watchman's time recorder and in combination, a frame, as A, adapted to
be secured to the interior of a clock casing and provided with a series of regularly
arranged holes a¹, and a series of line-sections as B each made as an integral part of
the apparatus and composed of a metallic front piece one or more electro-magnets
with one end of the coil electrically connected with said front piece, and the other
non-electrically connected therewith, one or more sliding spring pressed bars, and
one or more armatures for separately operating the same, said separate line-sections
being adapted to be separately connected with and disconnected from the frame as
and for the purpose specified.
3. In'a watchman's time recorder and in combination a series of sliding spring
pressed bars each provided with a different type or die, a bar or plate arranged
opposite to said type-bars and provided with companion type or dies severally
corresponding in character and relative position with the type of said bars, and
electro mechanism for separately operating said respective type-bars from different
stations substantially as specified.
4. A watchman's time recorder system comprising a switch-board within the beat,
branch wires connecting the various stations of the beat, in open circuit, with said
switch-board, an electro-mechanical switch, substantially as shown, for changing the
connection of said branch wire through said switch-board by the closing and
opening of the circuits at said stations, a registering apparatus having electro-
mechanical registering appliances for each station in the beat, a switch-board in
conjunction with said registering apparatus, branch wires for connecting each of
said electro-mechanical registering appliances with said switch-board, an electro-
mechanical switch for changing the connection of said branch wires through said
switch-board and the main circuit wire, as the wires 1 and 2, for connecting a
battery said two switch-mechanisms and the registering apparatus, through said
branch wires, substantially as shown and described.
5. In a watchman's time recorder or analogous system and in combination, a
switch-board provided with metallic sections for attaching the various lines of the
system, a revolving switch-arm in connection with said sections, and electro-
mechanisms having an armature provided with a spring pressed ratchet hook
adapted to automatically engage the switch-arm by the closing of the circuit and to
shift the switch by the recoil of the armature substantially as specified.
6. In a watchman's time recorder, the spring clamp for attaching the paper dial
to the clock movement, consisting of the plate i having a socket on one side for
attaching said plate to the hour hand shaft, and an extension piece on the opposite

page_text: side screw-threaded at its outer end, the plate i provided with the spring, and the
nut provided with a groove or shoulder adapted to said spring, substantially as
and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 30th day of December 1890.
HERBERT & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.