IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR INDICATING WHEN WATCHES OR CLOCKS ARE WOUND UP AND WHEN RUN DOWN
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I, SOPHUS EMIL NIELSEN, Watch Manufacturer, of 14 Soho Square, London, in
the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
"IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR INDICATING WHEN WATCHES OR CLOCKS ARE WOUND
UP AND WHEN RUN DOWN" to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to provide suitable means which will indicate if a
watch or clock is wound up, and which as such watch or clock works will bo
actuated so as to show how far the main spring is unwound, until the movement
has run right down. The improved mechanism presents the advantages of
providing more reliable means for preventing overwinding, while at the same time
the thickness of the movement is not increased..
The invention is especially applicable to keyless watches, but it may also be
applied to ordinary watches wound by key and also to clocks.
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The main spring arbor is made hollow, and through it passes an arbor or shaft
one end of which carries a hand or pointer moving over a small dial on the
ordinary dial, and which dial is marked at suitable points with the words "up'
(signifying that the watch or clock is fully wound up) and "down" (signifying
that the watch or clock has run right down), while if desired the space between
these two words may be provided with suitable divisions to indicate intermediate
conditions of the actuating or main spring.
The opposite end of the shaft carrying the pointer extends beyond the back of
the spring barrel, and carries an arm on the outer end of which a wheel or pinion
is mounted on a pivot and gears with a pinion fixed to the rear of the spring
barrel, and also with the inner teeth of a wheel formed with teeth both on the
outer and inner surface of the rim. This wheel is mounted so as to be free to
revolve freely in a recess in the back of the top plate of the movement, and the
outer teeth on the periphery of the wheel gear with a pinion connected by suitable
gearing with the winding mechanism. The wheel is secured in position by a plate
fastened over it, and provided with a stop or abutment with which the arm on the

page_text: end of the pointer shaft is brought in contact as it revolves, whereby the rotation
of the pointer is limited in oither direction.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
The pointer is arranged to be opposite the "down" mark on the dial when the
movement has run right down, and then as the main spring is wound up the
goaring connecting the winding stem to the double geared wheel will cause the
latter to revolve, whereby the internal teeth will actuate the pinion gearing with
them, and this pinion gearing with the one on the back of the spring barrel will
cause the arm on which it is 'mounted to turn with the pointer shaft, and so move.
the pointer over the dial until when the spring is fully wound up the pointer will
stand at "up" on the dial. It is necessary that the double gear wheel be made to
revolve in the opposite direction to the spring barrel, and the gearing connecting it
with the winding mechanism must therefore be arranged so as to effect this result.
After being wound up the main spring in unwinding will cause the pinion on
the back of its barrel to actuate the pinion at the end of the arm on the pointer 1
shaft, and the latter pinion gearing with the internal teeth of the double gear
wheel mounted on the back plate, will cause the arm to revolve, carrying with it.
the pointer shaft, whereby the pointer will be moved over the dial until when the
spring has run right down the pointor will be opposite the word “down.”
The whole of the gearing actuating the pointer must be so proportioned that the
pointer will be caused to make somewhat less than a completo revolution during
the whole number of turns made by the main spring barrel while the spring runs
right down or is fully re-wound; and the contact of the arm on the pointer shaft
with the abutment or stop of the plate covering the double gear wheel will arrest
the movement of the pointer in both directions, and as it acts in combination with
the winding mechanism it will also form a stop to prevent over winding.
"

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, SOPHUS EMIL NIELSEN, Watch Manufacturer, of 14 Soho Square, London,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR INDICATING WHEN WATCHES OR CLOCKS .ARE
WOUND UP AND WHEN RUN DOWN," and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The object of my invention is to provide suitable means which will indicate if
a watch or clock is wound up, and which as such watch or clock works will be
actuated so as to show how far the main spring is unwound, until the movement
has run right down. The improved mechanism presents the advantages of providing
more reliable means for preventing overwinding, while, at the same time the
thickness of the movement is not increased.
The invention is especially applicable to keyless watches, but it may also be
applied to ordinary watches wound by key, and also to clocks.
In the accompanying drawing the invention is shown as applied to a keyless
watch.
Fig. 1 is a back elevation of the watch movement.
Fig. 2 is a similar view with a part removed to show the gearing more clearly.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section.
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section, and
Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the watch movement.
In all these views only such parts of the movement are shown as are necessary
to enable my invention to be understood; the other parts being of ordinary
construction.
The main spring arbor A is made hollow, and through it passes an arbor or
shaft B one end of which carries a hand or pointer C moving over a small dial on
the ordinary dial, such small dial being marked at suitable points with the words
"up" (signifying that the watch or clock is fully wound up) and "down" (signifying
that the watch or clock has run right down), while if desired the space between
these two words may be provided with suitable divisions to indicate intermediato
conditions of the actuating or main spring.
.
The opposite end of the shaft B carrying the pointer C extends beyond the back
of the spring barrel D, and carries an arm F on the outer end of which a wheel or
pinion Ġ is mounted on a pivot H, and gears with a pinion I fixed to the rear of
the spring barrel, and also with the inner teeth of a wheel J formed with teeth ɲ
on the outer and teeth J' on the inner surface of the rin. This wheel is mounted
so as to be free to revolve in a recess in the back of the top plate K of the
movement, and the outer teeth J' on the periphery of the wheel J gear with a
pinion L connected by suitable gearing with the winding mechanism. In the

page_text: drawing this gearing is shown as consisting of a pinion M gearing with pinion L
and mounted on an axis O carrying the wheel P which gears with wheel Q on the
main spring arbor A, the wheel P being actuated as shown, in the usual manner for
keyless watches.
The wheel J is secured in position by a plate R fastened over it, and provided
with a stop or abutment R¹ with which the arm F on the end of the pointer
shaft B is brought in contact as it revolves, whereby the rotation of the pointer C
is limited in either direction.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
The pointer C is arranged to be opposite the "down" mark on the small dial
when the movement has run right down, and then as the main spring is wound up
the pinions L and M connecting the winding stem to the double geared wheel J,
will cause the latter to revolve, whereby the internal teeth J will actuate the
pinion G gearing with them, and this pinion gearing with the one I on the back of
the spring barrel D, will cause the arm F on which it is mounted to turn with the
pointer shaft B, and so move the pointer C over the small dial, until when the
spring is fully wound up the pointer C will stand at "up" on the small dial. It
is necessary that the double gear wheel J be made to revolve in the opposite
direction to the spring barrel, and the gearing connecting it with the winding
mechanism must therefore be arranged so as to effect this object.
In the case of watches or clocks in which the main spring is wound up by means
of a key applied directly to the main spring arbor A, the pointer O may be caused
to move over the small dial to the "up" position as the main spring is wound up,
by mounting a pinion on the main spring arbor and causing it to gear with the
pinion G on arm F, the latter pinion being made broad enough to gear with both
the pinion I on the back of the spring barrel D and the pinion on the main spring
arbor A. In this case the wheel J need only have internal teeth J³, the external
teeth J¹ being abolished. By this arrangement as the main spring arbor is revolved
to wind up the spring, the pinion it carries will actuate pinion G and so move the
pointer C to the "up" position.
After being wound up the main spring in unwinding will cause the pinion I on
the back of its barrel to actuate the pinion G at the end of arm F on the pointer
shaft B, and the latter pinion gearing with the internal teeth of wheel J, will cause
the arm F to revolvo carrying with it the pointer shaft B, whereby the pointer C
will be moved over the small dial until when the spring has run right down it will
be opposite the word "down" thereon.
The whole of the gearing actuating the pointer must be so proportioned that the
pointer will be caused to make somewhat less than a complete revolution during
the whole number of turns made by the main spring barrel while the spring runs
right down, or of the main spring arbor while tho spring is being fully re-wound ;
and the contact of the arm F on the pointer shaft B, with the abutment or stop R¹
of the plate R covering the wheel J, will arrest the movement of the pointer C in
both directions, and as it acts in combination with the winding mechanism it will
also form a stop to prevent overwinding.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said 4
Invention, and in what manner the samo is to bo performed, I declare that what
I claim is
-
1. The improved means for indicating when a watch or clock is wound up and
when run down, consisting in a pointer made to move over a dial by suitablo
connection, by gearing, to the winding mechanism and also to the main spring &
barrel, substantially as described and shown.
2. In watches and clocks the means for causing pointer C to move over a suitable
dial as the main spring runs down, consisting of pinion I on the back of the main
spring barrel and gearing with pinion G carried by arm F, the pinion G gearing
with the internal teeth J' of wheel J, and the arm F being mouned on one end of 5

page_text: axis B, which passes through the main spring arbor A and carries the pointer C at
its other end, all substantially as described and shown.
3. In watches and clocks the means for causing pointer C to move over a suitable
dial as the main spring is wound up, consisting in a pinion L connected by suitable
gearing with the winding mechanism, and gearing with the external teeth J' of
wheel J, so as to cause the latter to revolve, whereby the internal teeth J' of such
wheel actuate pinion G carried by arm F and gearing with pinion I on the main
spring barrel, and thus cause arm F to rotate the shaft B on which it is mounted
and the other end of which carries the pointer C, the movement of the arm F being
limited by coming in contact with the stop or abutment R¹ formed on the plate R
by means of which wheel J is secured in position, for the purpose of preventing
the overwinding of the main spring, all substantially as described and shown
4. In watches and clocks in which the main spring is wound up by a key
applied directly to the main spring arbor, the use on such arbor of a pinion gearing
with pinion G on arm F, in combination with an internally toothed wheel J with
which pinion G gears, for the purpose of moving a pointer C carried by the shaft B
on which the arm F is fixed, over a dial as the main spring arbor is rotated, all .
substantially as specified.