US2034945A - Striking attachment for clocks - Google Patents

Description

March '24, 1936. F, w HADERMAN 2,034,945

STRIKING ATTACHMENT FOR CLOCKS Filed Nov. '7, 1955 E15 11' INVENTOR Y I ml ATT NEYS.

Patented Mar. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in striking attachments for clocks.

The principal object of the invention is to provide means for the striking of a gong of a clock, either electric or spring driven.

A further object is to provide means whereby the striking mechanism is thrown out of alignment with the moving clock parts except at the proper interval.

A further object is to produce a device which is simple in construction and one which may be readily applied to any clock without materially altering its construction.

A still further object is to produce a device which is economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved striking mechanism,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the parts ready to move into striking position,

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the invention,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail view of the actuator lever.

Electric clocks usually employ a buzzer system to indicate time intervals. In some instances gongs are arranged to strike the hours. These arrangements, however, are very complicated and add materially to the cost of the clock. Applicant has devised a simple mechanism which may be attached to any clock, particularly electric clocks, which will strike the hours.

In the accompanying drawing wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates the clock frame from which protrudes a shaft 6, upon which a disc I is positioned. This disc carries striker pins 8. The shaft 6 may be any rotating part of the clock which travels with sufficient speed to produce the desired result. The numeral 9 designates the minute shaft of the clock upon whose hour sleeve is mounted a snail cam ll. Mounted upon the frame 5 is a rack l2 pivoted as at l3, which has ratchet teeth M. A pin l6 carried by the arm 12 is adapted to engage the snail cam I l as will be later described.

The numeral l1 designates a rocker shaft having a hammer 20 secured thereto, which is capable of striking a gong 25. This shaft I! has pivotally mounted thereon, an actuator lever I8 which is biased with a flat spring l8a. and has a tail portion for engagement with the striker pins 8 and a head portion 2|. The head portion is provided with a beveled surface 22 adapted to be contacted by the beveled tail portion of a firstclass lever 24. A spring 26 tends to keep the rocker shaft I! turned in a counter-clockwise direction. An arm 2'! is secured to the rocker shaft 11 and has pivoted thereto a gathering pawl 28, the nose of which engages the teeth M of the rack I2. The member 24 which constitutes a hold-back pawl also has a nose 29 extending under the pawl 28 and adapted to engage the teeth l4 at certain intervals. A bell crank lever 3| is pivoted as at 32 to the case 5 and has its lower extremity in the path of movement of a pin 33 carried on an arm 33a driven by the minute shaft 9. The opposite end of this bell crank lever has a lug 34 which overlies the lever 24.

The operation of my device is as follows:

Assuming that the parts are in the position of Figs. 1 and 2, the rotation of the shaft 6 will cause the pins 8 to revolve, but they will be out of engagement with the tail of the actuator lever I8 for the reason that the actuator lever is being held in tipped position of Fig. 2 by the tail of the hold-back pawl 24. As the minute shaft 9 rotates, the pin 33 will gradually move the lower end of the bell crank lever 3! until the lug 34 moves against the tail of the pawl 24, which action will cause the nose 29 of the pawl 24 which underlies the gathering pawl 28 to raise the nose of the hold-back pawl out of engagement with the teeth [4 of the rack 12. As soon as this occurs the rack will fall by gravity until the pin [6 engages a step of the cam H. The end of the bell crank lever will then be moved into engagement with the head portion 2! of the lever l8 to hold the same in the position of Fig. 3, at the same time elevating the nose of the holdback pawl. As soon as the pin 33 passes the end of the bell crank lever 3|, the bell crank lever will move back to the position of Fig. 1, thus releasing the lever 18 and allowing it to move into the position of-Fig. 4 to be engaged by the pins 8. As the shaft 6, carrying these pins, is rotating, the engagement of the pins with the lever will cause a rocking action of the shaft 11, each time one of the pins engages the lever l8, which will cause the hammer 28 to strike the gong 25. At each actuation of the rocker shaft, the link 21 will work the pawl 28 over the teeth l4 and will advance the rack !2 one notch for each stroke of the gong. The nose 29 of the pawl 24 will prevent retrograde movement of the rack l2. As soon as the rack l2 has reached a point where the nose 29 of the pawl 24 falls off of the teeth, upward movement of the end of the pawl will cause its tail to engage the cam surface 22 of the actuator lever and move it from the position of Fig. 4 to the position of Fig. 2. Then the parts will be in their inoperative position and will not operate again until the next hour.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination with a time mechanism having minute and hour spindles, a snail cam carried by the latter, a pivotally mounted rack governed in its pivotal movement by the snail cam,

' a constantly rotating member driven by the clock mechanism, gathering and hold-back pawls engageable with the rack, a lever intermittently actuated from the minute spindle, a rock shaft, an arm pivotally mounted on the rock shaft for movement into and out of obstructing position with respect to said constantly rotating member, the lever being engageable with the arm to retain it in its unobstructing position, the holdback pawl being likewise engageable with the arm to retain it in its unobstructing position, the rock shaft having a gong actuating means, the gathering pawl being operatively connected with the rock shaft, the hold-back pawl being movable to arm releasing position by the lever and engageable with the rack after the lever actuating operation of the minute spindle.

2. In combination with a time mechanism having minute and hour spindles, a snail cam carried by the latter, a pivotally mounted rack governed in its pivotal movement by the snail cam, a constantly rotating member driven by the clock mechanism, gathering and hold-back pawls engageable with the rack, a lever intermittently actuated from the minute spindle, a rock shaft, an arm pivotally mounted on the rock shaft for movement into and out of obstructing position with respect to said constantly rotating member, the lever being engageable with the arm to retain it in its unobstructing position, the holdback pawl being. likewise engageable with the arm to retain it in its unobstructing position, the rock shaft having a gong actuating means, the gathering pawl being operatively connected with the rock shaft, the hold-back pawl being movable to arm releasing position by the lever and engageable with the rack upon completion of the lever actuating operation, the lever having a presser foot engageable with the hold-back pawl to release it from the arm and likewise having a member engageable with the corresponding member on the arm to retain the latter in its unobstructing position when releasing the hold-back pawl, the lever during those periods when it is not actuated by the minute spindle dropping by gravity to a position free of the hold-back pawl or the arm.

3. In combination with a time mechanism having minute and hour spindles, a snail cam carried by the latter, a pivotally mounted rack governed in its pivotal movement by the snail cam, a constantly rotating member driven by the clock mechanism, gathering and hold-back pawls engageable with the rack, a lever intermittently actuated from the minute spindle, a rock shaft, an arm pivotally mounted on the rock shaft for movement into and out of obstructing position with respect to said constantly rotating member, the lever being engageable with the arm to retain it in its unobstructing position, the holdback pawl being likewise engageable with the arm to; retain it in its unobstructing position, the rock shaft having a gong actuating means, the gathering pawl being operatively connected with the rock shaft, the hold-back pawl being movable to arm releasing position by the lever and engageable with the rack upon completion of the lever actuating operation, the lever having a presser foot engageable with the hold-back pawl to release it from the arm and likewise having a member engageable with the corresponding member on the arm to retain the latter in its unobstructing position when releasing the hold-back pawl, the lever during those periods when it is not actuated by the minute spindle dropping by gravity to a position free of the hold-back pawl or the arm, the constantly rotating member consisting of a disk with uniformly spaced pins on one face thereof and the lever having a tail portion movable into and out of the path of said pin in the extremes of its pivotal movement.

FRANK W. HADERMAN.

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