Improvements in Spring Motors.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Feb., 1892-Accepted, 9th July, 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Spring Motors.
I, SIGISMUND BARON WORTMANN, of 1148 and 1150 Second Avenue, in the
City and State of New York, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention, and in what mauner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The present invention is a spring motor in which are embodied the devices
embraced in my prior application for a British Patent filed October 27, 1891,
No. 18494, and in connection with the same I employ mechanism by which a still
further number of revolutions are attained by the axles and power shaft on the
uncoiling of the springs in proportion to the number of turns required to put the
springs under tension, and thus obtain increased power and further prolong
the period of time required for the unwinding of the springs.
In the invention embraced in my prior application just referred to, I employ a
single primary axle, a coiled spring, a drum which contains said spring and is
loosely mounted on the axle, a shaft parallel with the axle, differential gearing on
the axle and the counter-shaft and having its two primary wheels loose on the axle,
one of the said primary wheels being rigid with the drum, and an automatic clutch
mechanism operating in connection with the differential gearing to free the axle
from the influence of the spring when the spring drum attains its maximum speed
and it is run down, to such an extent that it fails to influence the drum and
differential gearing, whereby I am enabled to obviate the breaking of the spring:
cause the spring drum, the axle and the power shaft to rotate in one direction
at all times, both when putting the spring under tension and when it reacts and
expends its power in driving the drum, axle and power-shaft; and secure an
increased number of rotations of the axle and shaft on the uncoiling the spring
as compared with the number of turns necessary to wind or put the spring under
tension.
In my present invention, I aim to secure the multiplied number of rotations of
the axle and power-shaft as the springs uncoil, to a still greater degree, and a
further object is to partially rewind each spring of a series of springs at each turn
of the power-shaft by temporarily arresting the uncoiling of each spring and
utilizing the power of the acting springs of the series to partially rewind the
spring so arrested, thus insuring a longer operation of the movement and the
production of the increased amount of power.
With these ends in view, the invention consists in the combination with a series
of axles (two or more) each having a spring and a drum, a single power-shaft
common to all the spring axles, and differential gearing between the power shaft
and each spring-axle, of mechanism which temporarily arrests, in succession, each
one of the spring-axles during a complete turn of the power-shaft and which
permits the acting springs to partially rewind the spring on the axle so arrested.
The invention further consists in the combination of devices and novel con-
struction and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter described and
claimed.
The accompanying drawings fully illustrate my invention, in which,
Figure 1 is a front view, with one of the balance wheels omitted and shown by
dotted lines.
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the plane indicated by the
dotted line X-X of Figure 3, and looking in the direction indicated by the
arrow x¹.

page_text: Figure 4 is a vertical section on the plane indicated by the dotted line y y, of
Figure 3 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrow y'.
Figure 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4 and showing a modified form of
mechanism for successively and temporarily arresting the motion of the spring
axles.
Figure 6 is a view of the mechanism shown in Figure 5 looking in the reverse
direction and showing the other side of the frame.
Figure 7 is a sectional view of the machine illustrating a series of six axles and
springs used in connection with a common power-shaft.
Figure 8 is a detail view of the modified form of brake mechanism shown in
Figures 5 and 6.
Like letters and numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in all the
figures of the drawings.
A designates the power-shaft, and B, C, D, E, are a series of spring axles in
Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, and in Figure 7 the spring-axles are designated at B, C,
D, E, F, G. Although the drawings illustrate my machines with four and six
spring axles, yet it is obvious that the number of axles and springs can be varied,
as for instance, two, three, five or any desired number of axles and springs may
be used according to the power for performing the work.
The spring-axles are arranged in such relative positions to or around the power
shaft that the spring axles can all be geared to the power shaft which is common
to all of said spring-axles. The power shaft carries a compound gear comprising
the members 1, 2, which are of different relative diameters and contain different
numbers of teeth, and this compound gear forms in connection with the primary
gear wheels 3, 4, on each of the spring-axles, a differential gearing between each
spring axle and power shaft.
Each spring-axle has a spring-drum 5, which is loosely mounted on the spring-
axle, and within each drum is a coiled spring, having the inner end fastened to
the spring-axle and its outer end fastened to the drum.
The primary gear wheels 3, 4, of the differential gearing are loose on the
spring-axle and one of the primary wheels 3 is rigid with the spring drum 5, so
as to rotate therewith, while the other primary gear wheel 4, of the differential
gearing is adapted to be rigidly fastened to the spring-axle when the spring
uncoils by the automatic clutch mechanism, one for each axle and the loose
primary gear 4. This automatic clutch mechanism in one embodiment of my
invention consists of a sliding sleeve keyed to the spring-axle and normally
impelled by a coiled spring 8 toward the gear wheel 4 so that its serrated face
or end 9 engages with a serrated hub 10 on the primary gear wheel 4.
The series of springs can be readily wound in either of two ways that is to say,
directly from the power shaft A or from a winding shaft H. If it is desired to
wind from power shaft A, I provide the same with a balance wheel which is
provided with a crank or handle.
If it is desired to wind from the winding shaft H as shown in Figure 3 the said
shaft is arranged in the upper part of the machine and is provided with a balance
wheel or balance wheels having handles *, the said shaft H being also provided
with a gear pinion ¹ arranged to mesh with the primary gear wheels 3, 3, of the
upper drums. By turning the crank h* on one of the balance wheels h, the
winding shaft H and its pinion will be rotated and thereby turn the upper drums,
which in turn will operate the compound pinion 1, 2, on the power shaft A and the
latter will rotate the lower drums and spring-axles, thus winding all the springs by
turning a single shaft.
Power can be taken from either end of the shaft A and applied to any suitable
machine or motor through the medium of toothed or belt gearing.
By employing the differential gearing, and arranging the same so that the
gearing will turn the drums when winding the springs, I am enabled to wind the
springs from the outside of the same, because the drums are turned by the gearing,
thus causing the drums to rotate in the same direction at all times, both when

page_text: the machine is operated by hand or power to wind the springs and when the
springs uncoil to expend their energy and drive the power shaft.
To facilitate the operation of winding the springs, I employ mechanism which
engages with the spring axles to held them stationary or at rest while the spring-
drums are being turned to place the springs under tension. This mechanism
comprises a ratchet wheel 11 on each of the spring-axles of the series, and
pawls 12, adapted for simultaneous engagement with all the ratchet wheels of the
series of the spring-axles, said pawls being normally held away from the ratchet
wheels by a suitable arrangement of springs and all the pawls being controlled or
operated from and by a single shipping rod 13, which may, for convenience, be
manipulated by a shipping lever 14, suitably mounted or fulcrumed on the
machine.
To wind the springs when the pawls are free of engagement with the ratchets on
the spring-axies, the balance wheel is turned in a direction the reverse of the
direction of rotation of said wheel and the axles, and the axles, the drums and the
power shaft all turn together; but when the shipping lever is adjusted to throw
the pawls into engagement with the ratchets, the spring-axles are held stationary
or fast, and to place the springs under the tension the wheel can only be turned by
hand in the same direction that it turns when the springs are uncoiling.
In order to secure a greater number of revolutions of the power shaft, and
prolong the time that the movement will remain in operation, I employ mechanisms
in connection with the spring-axles and the power shaft which operate to
temporarily arrest the motion of each spring-axle in succession and while the
other springs are acting so that the springs so temporarily arrested will be partially
rewound, say the angular distance equivalent to a few of the teeth on the automatic
clutch mechanism at each complete revolution of the power shaft.
One embodiment of my invention consists in a cam or eccentric 15 on the power
shaft, a friction-disk 16 on each of the spring-axles, a friction band or hoop 17
arranged around the periphery of the friction-disk, and a lever or means 18 con-
nected to the friction brake 17 and arranged in the path of the cam or eccentric 15
so as to be moved by said cam when it contacts therewith to compress the friction
brake-band around the friction disk with the sufficient power to arrest the rotation
of the spring-axle for the short period of time that the cam is in engagement with
the lever. It is to be understood that the spring-axle is temporarily and positively
stopped by its brake-mechanism so that a part of the power of the acting-springs
can be employed to partially rewind the spring thus arrested; and this rendered
possible owing to the fact that the spring can be wound without injury in either
direction and that it can be placed under a greater degree of tension when its
spring-axle is arrested, as hereinbefore explained.
Thus, when the springs are uncoiling and the power shaft is driven by the same,
the eccentric first compresses the brake-band around the disk on the spring-axle B,
thus arresting the axle B temporarily and permitting the spring thereon to be
partially rewound the angular distance equivalent to a few of the teeth on the
clutch which automatically flies out of engagement with the gear 4; and when the
cam passes the end of the lever, the spring band retracts the lever and the clutch
instantly engages with the gear 4, thus bringing the spring again into action. The
cam acts on the brake mechanism of the spring-axle C in like manner to arrest
the same, permit its spring to be partially rewound, and again brought into
action; and the operation continued at each succeeding spring-axle until finally
the power of all the springs is expended.
This particular form of brake mechanism is not essential to this invention, and
said brake mechanism can be of any form known or familiar to those skilled in the
art.
In Figures 5 and 6 of the drawing, I have illustrated another form of the
mechanism for temporarily braking the spring-axles, and in this mechanism a cam,
eccentric or crank 17 is fixed to one end of each shaft a pitman 18 is connected
to the eccentric or crank and to a spring-pressed pawl 19 which is adapted to
engage with the ratchet wheel 20 fixed to or rigid with another of the spring-

page_text: axles. Thus, one spring-axle is adapted to be arrested by the crank or eccentric
on an adjacent spring-axle, and each axle is thus in turn adapted to be arrested
by another axle, the cranks or eccentrics being so arranged or disposed that only
one spring-axle is arrested at a time and its spring partially rewound.
In Figure 6 of the drawing, I have shown a machine with a series of six springs
around a common power shaft, and this form of the machine is constructed with
mechanism for holding the axles stationary when the springs are wound and with
brake-mechanism for successively arresting each spring-axle and partially rewinding
each of its springs in the manner described.
It is equally evident that any number of axles and springs may be used in
connection with the brake-mechanism and the winding mechanism, and the power
of the movement can thus be varied to adapt it to the work required.
The operation of my invention will be understood by those skilled in the art,
from the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings, and it may
be briefly summarized as follows: To place the springs under tension, the balance
wheel can be turned in one direction to rotate the axles and shafts; but to facilitate
the winding, the shipping rod can be moved to throw the pawls into engagement
with the spring-axles to hold the same rigid, when the wheel can be turned in the
reverse direction to quickly put the springs under tension. The pawls can be
operated at any time to release the springs and permit them to uncoil to drive the
power shaft, and the shipping lever can be moved at any time to arrest the drums
When the
without in any manner breaking or injuring the parts of the movement.
springs are uncoiling, each brake mechanism is operated momentarily on each turn
of the power shaft to arrest the spring-axle and rewind to a limited extent the
springs of the axles.
By varying the proportion of the wheels, and the teeth thereof, constituting the
differential gearing, I ain enabled to secure an increased number of rotations of the
power shaft.
Another advantage secured is that of having the drums and spring-
axles turn in one direction, both when winding or unwinding the springs, and by
the present improvements, I am enabled to still further increase the rotations of the
power shaft and prolong the operation of the machine.
I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of
construction may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the
advantages of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make such changes
as fairly fall within the scope of the same.
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 mechanical movement, the combination of the spring-axles, a common
power shaft, a spring and drum on each axle, differential gearing between each
spring drum and the power shaft, and mechanism for temporarily arresting the
rotation of the spring-axle and permit its spring to be rewound to. a limited extent
by the springs remaining in action, substantially as described.
2. In a mechanical movement, the combination of the spring-axles, a common
power-shaft, a spring and a drum on each spring axle, differential gearing between
each spring axle and the power shaft, an automatic clutch mechanism operating in
connection with the differential gearing, and brake-mechanism to hold one of the
spring axles temporarily at rest, substantially as described.
3. In a mechanical movement, the combination of a series of spring-axles, the
springs and drums thereon, the power shaft common to all the spring-axles, and
differential gearings intermediate of the power shaft and the spring-drums,
substantially as described.
4. In a mechanical movement, the combination of a series of spring axles, the
springs thereon, the differential gearings operating in connection with the spring
drums and power shaft, and an automatic clutch to free each spring axle from the
influence of its spring, substantially as described.

page_text: 5. In a mechanical movement, the combination of the power shaft, a series of
spring axles, the springs, spring-drums geared by differential gearing to the power
shaft, and mechanism for arresting the whole series of spring-axles, substantially as
described.
6. In a mechanical movement, the combination with the power shaft, a series of
spring axles, the springs, spring drums, differential gearings, clutch mechanism, of
a series of connected pawls adapted to simultaneously engage with the spring-axles
to hold them against rotation in one direction, and a shipping rod or lever to adjust
said pawls, substantially as described.
7. In a mechanical movement, the combination with a series of spring-axles, a
counter-shaft, springs, spring drums, differential gearing, and clutches, of means for
arresting the rotation of all the spring-axles and permitting the spring drums to be
turned while the axles are so held, thus permitting the spring to be wound from
the power shaft or from a separate winding shaft, substantially as described.
8. In a mechanical movement, the combination with a power shaft, a series of
spring axles, the springs, the drums geared by differential gearings to the power
shaft, a brake-mechanism for each spring-axle, and means for successively operating
each brake mechanism of the series of spring-axles for a limited period of time,
substantially as described.
9. The combination in a mechanical movement with a power shaft, the spring-
axles, the spring and drums, the differential gearings, brake mechanism for each
spring axle and means on the power shaft to operate each brake mechanism in
succession, substantially as described.
10. In a mechanical movement of the class herein described, the combination
with the spring-axles and the springs thereon, of mechanism which retards the
movement of each spring-axle in succession and permits the same to be partially
rewound, substantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of Wah 1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.