Apparatus for Effecting the Automatic Driving, Regulating, and Winding-up of Clocks.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Oct., 1890-Accepted, 27th Dec., 1890
CODI TE ODRALDICATION
[Communicated from abroad by KARL ALBERT MAYRHOFER, of Berlin, in the
German Empire.]
Apparatus for Effecting the Automatic Driving, Regulating, and
Winding-up of Clocks.
1, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, 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 :-
This invention relates to apparatus by means of which a number of time-pieces can
be regulated from a central station and be automatically wound up so that separate
attention to each clock is not necessary. The new apparatus are suitable both for
regulating time pieces in a number of buildings as well as for a whole town.
The arrangement consists in a time piece serving as normal clock which is provided
with an automatic winding arrangement. By means of this normal clock one or more
driving apparatus are released and by means of the latter the secondary clocks
connected therewith by suitable means are regulated and at the same time wound up.
The apparatus are shown on the accompanying drawings. On Sheet 1 is shewn the
time piece serving as normal clock, on Sheet 2 the driving apparatus for the group of
secondary clocks, and on Sheet 3 a regulating and winding up arrangement for the
secondary clocks, that is to say, those which are worked and regulated by the driving
apparatus. The normal clock with automatic winding apparatus worked by wind-
pressure is arranged as follows:
On the standard A Fig. 1 four cross shaped arms C are mounted upon a vertical
asis b. The arms a a of the cross carry at their ends cups D thus forming a wind
wheel which is rotated by the action of the wind on the hollows of the cups. The
vertical axis of the cross C passes down to clockwork E and is connected by a
coupling F with the worm-shaft c.
at g.
Into the groove e of the one coupling sleeve d takes the fork having its pivot
This fork has an extension ; by means of a spring, not shewn on the
drawing (being situated on the axis of the lever fg h) the fork f, and consequently
also the coupling sleeve d, are generally pressed downwards.
i is a catch pivotted at & and acted upon by a spring coiled round its axis so as to
engage with the beak of the lever of the fork Mounted on the axis m is an
arm n with a segmental projection opqr, which arm is loaded at its outer end by
means of a weight s: Upon the axis m is also mounted loose a levert which is also
loaded at its end by a weight. This lever is connected by the rod u with a long
lever having its fulcrum at w. This lever has a downward projection carrying a
roller ..
The mode of winding up the clock to the highest position of the weight is
as follows:
In the position of the lever f g h shewn at Fig. 1 the fork g thereof holds tho
coupling sleeve in the lowest position where the claw y of the sleeve engages with the
pin on the worm shaft c. In consequence hereof the driving shaft is coupled
with the worm shaft c so that on the rotation of the former the latter will also be
driven; the shaft being driven by the wind-wheel D D, the worm M is caused to
rotate the worm wheel I whereby the weight L will be slowly wound up. During
the rising of this weight the counterweight N, which only serves for stretching the
chain, descends; but as soon as the weight L has been raised to such a height as to
come in contact with the roller æ and the lever, and consequently in continuing to
rise, raises this lever, and with it, through the connecting rod u, also the lever t, and
this, by the pin 7, turns the segment op to such an extent round m that the
lever m
s is brought beyond the vertical line, to the left hand. This lever
гл
72

page_text: consequently then falls over to the left, carrying the segment opqr with it; the end
of this segment then presses the beak h of the lever f g h downwards so as to become
engaged with the hook i of the catch ki. This position is shewn at Fig. 2.
By this movement the coupling sleeve d is raised by means of the fork
the connection between the driving shaft band the worm shaft c ceases.
wheel then continues to rotate without having any action on the mechanism.
and then
The wind-
During the descent of the weight L the lever moves downwards with all its
connections until the tumbling lever m ns assumes a position slightly beyond the
vertical whereupon this lever tumbles over to the right, and, by means of the end o
of tho segment opq, presses against the end 7 of the catch ik, thereby liberating
tho lover from such catch. The lever is then rotated upwards by means of the
before mentioned spring upon its axis 7, whereby the fork is moved downwards
and the coupling sleeve d again engages the driving shaft with the worm shaft c.
The winding-up of the weight I. is then again effected as above described. The clock
work is consequently automatically wound up, and requires no attention. The above
described normal clock can also be used, by means of a special contrivance for
regulating electrical secondary clocks. The arrangement for this purpose is as
follows:
For sending a working current for the electric secondary clocks the following
arrangement is applied to the normal clock, as shewn at Fig. 3. A contact cross
piece a with four contact arms bis driven from the minute arbor of the clock so as
to rotate once every four minutes. At the same time, by means of an eccentric
device, the double contact spring c¹² is moved in such a manner as to be in contact
first with the two contact studs ¹², and secondly with the contact studs ²,
being connected with 43; c² and c² are connected to the poles of the battery. In
the first case, for instance, the current coming from e' would pass into the stud k¹,
and coming back from the stud would pass through c² to the other pole of the
battery, while in the second case the current from c¹ would pass into the stud and
would pass from k³ back through c² to the battery. By this arrangement therefore,
the current is caused to pass each time in the contrary direction through the line
wire.
For effecting the instantaneous contacts, each one of the four arms is made to
slide over the springs fff, connecting f1 and 2 together while f is connected
with the contact spring leading back from the line wire. In the first case therefore
the current passes from the battery over c k to f', over the contact piece of the lover b
to f, from into the line wire in which are included the secondary clocks. From
this the current returns and passes at the second contact of the lever into the
spring and from there through and e² to the other pole of the battery. In the
second case the current passes from the battery through ef in the reverse direction
into the line wire of the secondary clocks and passes from the same through, thence
through the contact piece of lever to f', from there through and c² to the battery.
Consequently a current impulse will be transmitted every minute in contrary
directions into the line wire of the secondary clocks.
The abovo described normal clock with automatic winding arrangement by wind
pressure also serves for putting in action the driving apparatus for the group of
secondary clocks which is shewn on Sheet 2 at Fig. 4. The normal clock imparts
at certain time intervals, by means of a suitable arrangement, an electrical impulse
which actuates the driving mechanism of the group of clocks. The latter consists of
one or two ejectors 1, 1, worked by water under pressure supplied through a pipe 3
closed by a cock 2. The pipe 3 is led at 4 from the street mains and is provided with
a cock 5 leading to the safety apparatus. This cock is generally open and is only
closed automatically when any irregularity takes place. The air conduits 6, 6
passing from the ejectors lead to the automatic air valves 7, 7 and join together
underneath the collecting vessel 8 to which the conduit 9 leading to the secondary
clock is connected. The cock 2 is opened by a semi-revolution of the lever 11 which
engages with the loop 10 of the cock. The lever 11 is rotated by means of the chain
wheel connected thereto actuated by means of the pitch-chain 12 actuated by the
t

page_text: driving gear which consists of the wheel 13, the winding up wheel 14 and the guide
rollers 15, 16 and 17, and actuated by the weight 18, while 19 acts as stretching
weight. The driving weight 18 is connected to the piston of the brake cylinder 39.
The latter is always kept filled with water from the collecting vessel 21 with
overflow 20 by means of the pipo 22 and it is also provided with a small valve that
allows of the rapid filling thereof, but only allows it to empty slowly. The above
described driving gear is prevented from running down by one of the knife edges a
of the wheel 13 resting upon the knife edge b of the double armed lever 23, the knife
edge c on the end of the longer arm of the lever being made to bear upon the knife
edge of the electro magnet 24. By the running down of the driving gear the
valvo 25 is closed or opened, which effects the closure of the air conduit 26 leading
from the collecting vessel 8 to the open air at 27. From the pipe 3 there are two
branches, the one 28 passes to the winding up cylinder 29, the piston of which is
connected to the toothed rack 30 gearing with a toothed wheel on the axis of the
chain wheel 14. The other branch 31 leads to the collecting vessel 21 and keeps
this full up to the overflow. The pipe 32 leads to the pressure guage, while 33 is
the discharge for the winding up cylinder 29 and 34 is the discharge for the brake
cylinder 39. From the front of the air valves 7, 7 two branches also pass off from
the air conduit 6, 6 and lead to the casings 35 and 36 containing membranes. The
membrane 36 actuates a counter 37 and the membrane 35, which is loaded with an
adjustable weight 38, serves for automatically throwing out the driving mechanism
on the attainment of a vacuum corresponding to the position of the weight 38, as on
the rising of this weight the lever 23 is caused to fall by means of a spring pressing
on the armature of the electromagnet 24 thus disengaging the driving mechanism.
The action of the entire apparatus is as follows.
If the current passes through the electromagnet, its armature is attracted; the
lever 23 loses its support and falls down, thereby withdrawing the support from the
knife edge a of the wheel 13, and the latter is consequently caused to make a quarter
revolution to the right by the action of the weight 18 whereupon the next knife
edge a bears against the knife edge of the lever 23 which has meanwhile been
raised again by a pin. By the quarter revolution of the winding apparatus the water
cock 2 is opened and the air cock 25 is closed. The water now flows, on the one
hand, through the ejectors 1, 1, thereby exhausting the air conduit, and, on the other
hand, it passes through the pipe 28 into the winding-up cylinder 29 and thus causes
the toothed rack 30 connected to its piston to rise, whereby the driving mechanism
is wound up again double as much as it had before run down. The before mentioned
vacuum having been attained, the membrane in the casing 35 rises and presses, by
means of the lever and spring connected thereto, upon the armature of the electro-
magnet, whereupon the driving gear is again released and the wheel 13 is again
caused to perform a quarter revolution. By this means the air cock 25 will be
opened and the cock 2 closed; the air passes through 25 into the conduit, while the
water is forced out of the cylinder 29 causing the toothed rack to sink down so that
all parts again return to the original position.
The safety apparatus for preventing any irregularity of working, and which is
put in action by the commencement of any such irregularity so as both to protect
the apparatus from injury and also to prevent any irregular actuation of the
clocks connected with the mechanism, is as follows. The air valve 7, 7, already
described serves for preventing the entrance of water into the main conduit, thus if,
for instance, in consequence of the choking of the pipe 26, an insufficient supply of
air pressure should enter into the main conduit after the opening of the admission
valve 25 and the closing of the cock 2, the water contained in the discharge pipes of
the ejectors would be drawn in through the pipes 6, 6, and so be admitted into the
main conduit. The water cannot, however, pass the valves 7 as these are closed for
passage in this direction.
The safety apparatus actuating the cock 5 prevents, on the one hand, any irre-
gularity due to leakage of the air or water conduits, as also, on the other hand, any

page_text: irregularity which might occur through any closing of the water pressure main.
The cock 5 is rigidly connected with the wheel 40, the latter having a continual
tendency to turn to the right owing to the action thereon of a chain loaded by a
weight 41. It is prevented from such motion by the lever 42 which bears with a
knife edge on its vertical arm underneath a projection of the wheel 40. The left arm
of the lever 12 embraces by means of a fork the float rod 44 of a float contained in
the collecting vessel 43, while the right arm of 42 takes into a slot of the piston
rod 45 of the pressure cylinder 46. The latter is connected by a cock 47 with the
water pressure pipe 3 and is maintained constantly filled with water under pressure
as long as a certain minimum pressure corresponding to the weight 48 and the sectional
area of the piston is not exceeded. If this is exceeded, the piston loaded by tho
weight 48 descends to the bottom and the right arm of the lever 42 is pressed down,
the projection on wheel 40 loses its support on the knife of the vertical arm of 42 and
the valvo 5 closes by the action of the weight 41. The same takes place when the
float in the vessel 43 rises so high that the adjustable sleeve 49 of the float rod 44
forces up the left arm of the lever 42. Tho vessel 43 has a discharge regulated by a
cock which is so arranged that the quantity of water required for the regular working
does not fill the vessel 43 to such an extent as to cause the float to rise so as to bring
the safety apparatus into action. If, on the other hand, the air conduit pipe is leaky,
so that the vacuum required for the second releasing of the driving gear is not
attained or is attained very tardily, the apparatus would run continuously or, at any
rate, for a very long time, if the float vessel in consequence of the continued supply
were not filled and thus caused to bring the safety apparatus into action, whereby the
water pressure supply is closed, and at the same time by closing an electrical contact,
a signal is given of the existing irregularity.
By means of the above described driving gear for the group of secondary clocks,
such clocks situated at distant stations are regulated and wound up. The
arrangement for regulating and winding up such a secondary clock is shown at
Figs. 5 and 6, Sheet 3. The secondary clock is connected by a conduit pipe with
the said driving mechanism, and it consists of a perfectly independent clock, which,
at certain intervals of time, generally every hour, has the position of its hands
corrected by the said driving gear, and is at the same time wound up.
From
the driving apparatus, a conduit main, forming a closed circuit, passes, from which
short branch pipes pass to each one of the secondary clocks. These branch pipes
widen out to a metal capsule a, Figs. 5 and 6, in which is a diaphragm of leather
or caoutchouc. In the middle of this diaphragm is fixed a rod b which actuates
a levere loaded by a weight c and is rotatable upon a horizontal axis.
If now
the air is exhausted from one side of the diaphragm in the capsule a, the rod b
and lever c rise. The latter acts upon the lever d by means of a pin e² and
moves the same to the left until the upper forked part of lever d presses against
an adjusting arm fixed on the tubular minute arbore thereby bringing the
minute arbor and hand into a normal position. Assuming now that at 12 o'clock
0 minutes an electrical impulse be sent to the driving apparatus and thereby an
exhaust be produced in the conduit pipe which leads to the secondary clocks then
the rod will be raised and the lever d will press against the adjusting arm f
until the minute hand is brought into the normal position. The pin c² then slides
off the lover dat d¹ and the lever falls back into its original position against
the stop d³, consequently the normal adjustment of the minute hand is effected at
the required moment. The lever c acted upon by the rod 6 moves still further,
and by such continued motion effects the winding up of the clock work to the
extent to which it had previously run down. The lever e carries a pawl which
takes into a ratchet wheel h. By the rotation of this wheel the winding up of
the driving spring of the clock is effected. Thus, if at the required moment, an
impulse, consisting of an air exhaust, be produced at such a secondary clock, this
will not only be made to indicate the correct time at that moment owing to the
minute hand being adjusted, but the clock will also be wound up to the extent

page_text: to which it had run down in the previous hour. This has the further advantage
that the clock always works with a constant spring tension and will therefore work
with only a very slight irregularity.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :
1. Apparatus for automatically winding up clocks by wind pressure consisting
of a wind wheel D D the shaft b of which is coupled to a worm shaft c by a
coupling actuated by means of a tumbling lever m ns with segment o p q ",
lever t, forked lever f g h and catch i kl, the levert being connected by rod u
with a lever having roller so that on the raising of the weight L of the
driving gear the lever is raised, causing the tumbling lever to fall over to the
left, whereby the lever fg is made to disconnect the coupling of the shaft 6
with the worm shaft c, which actuates the winding up mechanism, while on the
descent of the weight L the tumbling lever m ns falls over to the right and
thereby causes the lever to be released from the catch ki, thus effecting the
connection between the shafts and c again, substantially as described.
2. Apparatus for sending electrical impulses for working electrical clocks at a
distance from a central normal clock, consisting of a commutator actuated by an
eccentric, for alternatoly changing the direction of the current, and a contact
maker for momentarily closing the circuit, such devices being actuated by the
minute arbor of the normal clock, substantially as described.
vacuum is
3. Apparatus for regulating and winding up clocks whereby a
momentarily produced at certain intervals of time in an air conduit leading to the
several clocks to be regulated, which vacuum is made to act upon a regulating
and winding-up device on the several clocks, the said apparatus comprising the
following devices.
ог
A driving weight 18 acting on a pitch chain 12, and controlled by a hydraulic
cylinder 39; an electrical starting gear 24, d, controlling the starting wheel 13
with knife edges a; a water supply cock 2 which opened during the first
quarter revolution of 13 by means of the chain 12, crank 11 and looped lever 10;
and air supply cock 25 which is closed by such first quarter revolution; one
more ejectors 1, 1, which is or are actuated by the water supply through cock 2
so as to produce an exhaust in the conduits 6, 7, 8, 9, a cylinder 29, with piston
and toothed rack 30 which is caused by the entering water pressure to wind up
the driving gear again; a casing 35 with membrane which is raised by the exhaust
in 6 and is thereby made to actuate the starting mechanism so as to allow wheel 13
to perform another quarter revolution, and to effect the opening of cock 25 and
closing of cock 2 again, thus bringing the parts back into their original position,
substantially as described.
4. In the apparatus referred to in the preceding claim, the use of a safety
apparatus for indicating any leakage or other irregularity of action in the air
and water conduits, such safety apparatus consisting of a cock 5 on the water
pressure pipe with wheel 40 acted upon by weight 41, in combination with a
lever 42 arrested by a knife edge on wheel 40, which lever is connected on tho
one hand to the rod 45 of a piston in a cylinder 46 subject to the water pressure,
and on the other hand to the rod 44 of a float in the vessel 43, by which arrange-
ment the cock 5 is closed on the one hand, on a reduction below the minimum
pressure in the water conduit occurring, and on the other hand, on the occurrence
of a leak in the air conduit, substantially as herein described.
5. The use in combination with clocks of apparatus for winding them up and
regulating them by means of the mechanism referred to in claim 3, such apparatus
consisting of a capsule a connected to the air conduit of the said mechanism and
having a diaphragm with rod actuating a lever c in such manner that on the
production of vacuum in the air conduit, the diaphragm with its rod is raised,

page_text: as to set
thereby causing lever d to actuate an arm on the minute arbor so
the minute hand to correct time, and then to actuate the wheel on the winding-
up spindle by means of the pawl g, substantially as described.
Dated this 16th day of October 1890.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.