US1111383A - Electric clock. - Google Patents

Description

r; HOLDEN. ELECTRIC CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30, 1912- Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

fzvyzwraa THANK HOLDEN,

His Ara-nann FRANK HOLDEN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOE T0 GENERAL ELECTRIC (Jtzlh'iPAltf'il,

' A CORPORATION or new YORK.

morale CLOCK.

Specification otLcttcrs Patent.

Tetented sea-puss,

A lication filed Noveniber so, 1912. Serial x0. 734,293.

To all whom it may concern Be it knowri tluit I, FRANK HOLDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing ct London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Clocks, of which the following is a specifi cation.

This invention relates to electric clocks,

which normally acts to vary the time of the. pendulummr balance wheel in this type of clock.

In; this end the invention consists in the employment of an auxiliary driving device, such as a small motor for operating the mechanism, the circu-it of the motor being supplied with-current from a battery or other-convenient source and controlled by a contact cal-cried by the pendulum.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l I illustrates diagrammatically one form of the invention, Fig. 2 is a-dingrammatic view 01% certain of the electrical connections, a'nd Fig. 3 illustrates a modified detail of construction.

Referring to the figures of the drawing, there is shown a pendulum 1 which is similar to that described in British Patent, No. 14,873 of 1909. The'pendulum carries a coil 2 adapted to swing in the magnetic field of the permanent magnets-16 and periodically energized to produce an impulse by means of n pivoted contact 3. The contact 3 is also carried by the pendulum and is adapted to engage the fixed contacts 4, thus completing an electric circuit. Fig. 2 of the drawings illustrates diagrammatically the electrical connections of the circuit.

Instead of utilizing the movement of the pendulum for operating directly the indi' eating or clock mechanism, I provide an ellicient electric motor having small internal losses, such as is used in some types of electric' meters. This motor is connected in any suitable manner, as for example, by means of a. chain or cord 6, to a wheel -provided with one or more radially projecting pins or contacts 8, preferabl of some gootl conducting muterial, such as silver.

The wheel 7 is rotatably mounted in a position that the in or pins-8 project thepath of a flexib e contact carried by -ie pendulum. The motor is supplied with current from a convenient source, such as a battery i0, wlnchmafbe the same as that supplylng the current-for actuating the pendulum, or may be a separate battery. G'ne terminal of this battery is connectedto the pendulum, while the "otheris connected through the motor armature to the cloen mechanism or-contaot wheel in such a man-5 men that the circuit is completed when one of the pins 8 on the wheel is engaged by the flemble contact 9 on the pendulum.

contact wheel is connected to the indicating or clock mechanism, WlllCll comprises. the

gearing 11 and the indicating hands '12, mthat the motor when supplied with current drives said mechanism throughthc contact wheel.

The operation is as follows: When pendulum is swinging in-onedirection, for example from left to right in the drawing. the flexible contact 9 cnrried therchy engages one of the .pins 8 on the contact wheel. This completes the circuit of the n'iotoriwhich immediately accelerates, driving the contest wheel and the clock mechanism through the chain or cord 6. On the return stroke the flexible contact does not engage a contact on the wheel 7, as these contacts are preferably so arranged as not to come into the path the flexible contact on the return stroke. If not so arranged,however, the flexible contact may he hinged, as shown at i l in 3,

so as to ride freely over the wheel contacts on the return stroke, in which case the been of the flexible contact or the portion of the Wheel contact-s engaged thereby may be in sulnt'ed as at 15, so that the motor circuit will not be completed.

The moiment'm inertia o'f'the motor is such that when once started it will. run for a considerable time at a practically constant speed and during this time its circuit may or may not be completed throu h the mov ing contacts. of the motor are such that, without t a operzition of the pendulum, it runs t a r per cent. slow, or as nearly as practice" the The electrical characteristics.

always less than, the sp ed required to make the clock give the right time. Thus, granted e starting condition under which the pendu-.

him and. r'evolvingcontacts synchronize, it is evident llli l't the revolving contacts cannot gain appreciably on the pendulum contact, as thecjontacts no longer.,.close the motor circult, and the motor loses the accelerating effectofthehpplied"voltage. It is a matter of proporti-oiiin'g -"tl'ie electrical characteristics of the m'otor't arrange that the closing of thepontzicts produces enough acceleration so that the revolving contacts. cannot fall hehindthe pendulum contactm Thus before an appreciable; decrease-1n speed of the revolv- @11 contests takes place a Contact on the contactmvhel; engages the pendulum contact to complete the Inotor-circuitnnd accelerate the motor. These'accelerating impulses will occur at substantially regular intervals so that the number of revolutions made by the con-' Withazdrivingmechanism, such as above described, the" movement of the hands, the secondhand more particularly, is continuous and not periodic as is the case with the usual pendulum driven clocks.

It will he obvious that various modificm tions' of the arrangement described above, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of'the United States, is:

.1. Amelectric clock comprising an elec tricniotor having a continuously rotatable member, an electric circuit operatively rea, means for-synchronizing the motor.

opcratively related to said motor, a movable 1 contact included in said circuit and adapted to be actuated by said motor, a second I110?- able contact included in said circuit and 00 operating with said first mentioned movable contact, and zipcnduluzn adapted to actuate said secoi'u'l movable Contact.

An cl ric clock comprising an inclicaling mechanism, an electric motor operm Lively connected to said mechanism, an electric circuit in operative relation to said motor, and a penduluin'zidapted to complete said circuit when thespeed of the motor de creases a predetermined amount.

l. electric crock comprising an indicating mechanism, an electric motor'having a continuously rotatable member for driving said mechanism, an electric circuit operatively related to said motor, 3nd :1 pendw lum adapted to control said circuit An electric clock comprising, an indicating mechanism, an electric. motor for driving said mechanism, an electric circuit in operative relation'to said motor, a con tact wheel in said circuit and dri venby said motor snd a pendulum having a Contact included insziid electric circuit-and adapted to engage said contact'wheel whenthe speed of the motor decreases predetermined amount.

In witness whereof, I have, hereunto set my hand this liith day of November, 1912,

7 FRANK HOLDE-N.

lVitnesses':

FREDK. J. SKOYLEs,

c Gimmes H. Bnnosss.

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