US1711296A - Stereopticon clock - Google Patents

Description

April 30, 1929. e. WILLENS STEREOPTICON CLOCK 3 Sheets-Sheet IIIIIIIINL "Ill- Filed April 20, 1928 1510617, 7 672 0790 WWW April 30, 1929. G WILLENS 1,711,296

STEREOPTICON CLOCK Filed April 20, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1512072267 (3802392 Mama April 30, 1929. s. WiLLENS 1,711,295

STEREOPTICON CLOCK Filed April 20, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 30,1929.

UNITED OSTATES PTENT OFFICE.

GEORGE 'WILLENS, F CHICAGQ, ILLINOIS.

srnnnorrroon omen.

Application filed April 20, 1928. Serial No. 271,484.

My invention relates in general to stereopti- Fig. 4: is a sectional view taken along the cons. It relates more particularly to the type line d4l of Fig. 2, and of stereopticon generally employed for adver- Figs. 5 and 6 are views taken along the lines tising purposes wherein slides in circular 55 and 6-6, respectively, of Fig. 3 looking 5 form are successively displayed on a screen in the direction of the arrows. with a clock dial and hands in shadow on the Une embodiment of my invention is shown outside of the projected image so that the time in Fig. l but I wish it understood that the aris shown by a glance at the projected image rangement of the case and the mounting of the and the center or advertising portion ofthe apparatus therein does not necessarily have 10 image brought to the attention of the observer. any connection with my present invention as My prior Patent No. 1,292,196, illustrates the instrument may be made with a transluand describes one form of stereopticon clock cent screen forming a part of the box in some of this character and in the present developof the ways shown in my prior patent above ment- 1 have been interested principally in referred to, or a screen placed exteriorly of simplifying and improving the operation of the box may be employed.

and in other respects enhancing the value of lln the embodiment of Fig. 1, a box or casing the former mechanism. 10, supports a source of light 11, condensing Accordingly, the principal object of my lens 12 and projecting lens 13. The slide present invention is the provision of an imshifting and time-keeping mechanism are proved stereopticon clock. shown as a unit A and form the principal mat Another object is to design the stereo ticon ter of interest in connection with the present so that it may be operated entirely by electric invention. power so that it may be left to operate any This unit does two things; it supports the length of time without receiving attention slides and shifts them successively into pro-' from an operator.

jecting positions in a continuous sequence of Another object is to drive the time mechaoperations. At the same time it places a pair nism by electricity. I of hands in the path of the pro ecting beam g Another object is to employ a synchronous of light, which hands show as a shadow motor to drive the clock mechanism and at the around the edge of the projected image and 30 same time utilize the power of the synchrocooperate with a dial image resulting from a nous motor to shift the slides. clock dial imprinted on the outside of the Another 'object is to provide a mechanism slides to show the time. The unit also keeps of this character wherein the slide wheel may these two hands continuously moving clock be removed. or placed on its shaft without havfashion and does this through an electric-timing any effect on the operation of the timeing mechanism utilizing the alterations of the keeping portion of the mechanism. electric current. These alterations are main- Another object is to provide a mechanism of tained by the power company so regular and this character wherein the slide wheel is simaccurate that a clock designed to keep the time plyplaced on its shaft with no adjustment of by utilizing, these alternations will be found 40 the position thereof necessary after being apas a rule, to be ofi. not more than two or three plied on the shaft. seconds in twenty-four hours;

Other objects and features of the invention The unit referred to above is built on a plate will be apparent from a consideration of the 16 forming what might be called the main detailed description taken with the accomframe of this mechanism. It supports a small 45 panying drawings,rwherein synchronous motor indicated in its case at 17,

Fig. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of having a drive shaft 18 extending through the my invention, a portion of the case being plate 16 for the purpose of driving both the broken away and the balance shown in longitime mechanism and the plate shifting mechatudinal vertical central section; nism. A gear 19 at the end of this shaft op- Fig. 2 is an enlarged faceview partly broken crates to drive the plate shifting mechanism, away of the mechanism as seen from the line while'a smaller gear 21 serves to operate the 22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the time mechanism. Electrical connection is arrows; made to the motor by means-of a cord 22 and Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical central secthis cord 22 leads to a socket 23, which socket tional view; also supplies the lamp 11 through'a conductor 24L so all that is necessary to operate the machine is to malre the single connection by means of asuitable plug, (not shown) to the socket 23.

Gonsidering first the time mechanism, the gear 21 pinned to the shaft 18, engages a larger gear 26, which is loose on shaft 27, but this gear ishollowed out toward the plate 16 and a washer or collar 28 pinned to the shaft 27land a spring washer 29 loose on the shaft, are disposed within the hollow portion of the gear 26. The spring 29 hearing against the washer 28 and the inside of the gear 26, serves frictionally to connect the gear with the shaft and so turn the same. It is through the turning of the shaft 27 that all of the time mechanism operates.

llt is readily understood that hands equivalent to the hands of a clock must be provided and arranged toinove with a speedof the ratio of 12 to l in order that the proper time travel. of the hands may be obtained.

Referringrirst to the hour hand and mechanism for controlling the movement thereof, a pinion 3i, pinned to the shaft 27, drives a gear 32 supported on a shaft 33 and held thereon by screw 34:. Integral with the gear 32, is a smaller gear 36 which meshes with the external gear teeth of a ring gear 29, this gear being supported on the inside by rotatable grooved rollers ll which are mounted on studs 42, carried by the plate 16..

The ring gear 39 supports a hand l3 having an enlarged triangular end 43 which serves to cast a shadow on the screen indicating the hour. 1

The minute hand mechanism must be such as to drive the minute hand at twelve times 7 the speed of the hour hand and to accomplish this a pinion 46 on the end of the shaft 27 is pinned by means of its hub 47 so as to revolve with the shaft. It engages the outer teeth of a minute ring gear 48 which is supported on grooved rotatable rollers 49 carried by an auxiliary frame plate 51 which is supported away from the plate 16 by studs 52. The ring gear 48 carries an hour hand 53 which has a pointed shadow casting end 53 corresponding to the triangular end 43 of the hour hand. These two hands are shaped so that there can be no doubt in the mind of the ordinary observer of their shadows on the screen as to which indicates the hour and which the minute.

The shaft 27 is not connected to the motor mechanism and so may be operated independently thereof. Consequently, for setting the hands of the clock the projecting end of the shaft 27 is grasped and the shaftturnedQ The construction of the gear 26 and the manner in which it is mounted on the shaft, permits this gear to remain stationary or moving if the synchronous .motor is moving, without in any way adecting the setting of the hands As the shaft 27 is turned by hand,

the collar 28 slides in contact with the spring 22 and the gear 26 is not aifected. The gears 31 and 46, however, turn with the shafts and so the hands are turned through the train of gears described and may be positioned to the proper time setting whether the synchronous motor is running or The slides in the form of circular transparencies 5a are supported on a slide wheel 56, the slide wheel having a circular aperture in the location of each transparency and having means for supporting the transparencies in position, the means shown comprising for each transparency, a pair of upstanding lips 57 under which one side of the circular transparenc extends and bevelled roller 58 mounted loosely in an elongated slot 59 and forced in the slot toward the transparencies by a spring 61 clinched to the slide wheel at 62, each spring engaging a pair of the rollers, one at each end, manner shown. The transparencies are quickly replaced in positionor removed by forcing the roller the slot away from the transparencies and then lifting it out from under the-lips 57.

l mount the slide wheel so thatit can be advanced in successive stages equal to the dis tances from the centers of the transparencies and employthe power from the small synchronous motor 17 to drive the same. I arrange the drive, however, so that substantially the same load, and this a small one, is borne by the motor at all times; so that the intermittent operation of the slide wheel can in. no way aifect the action of the motor.

The slide wheel is supported on a hub 63 which is removable from but quickly applied in position on a sleeve 64 which is loosely mounted on a spindle 66 held by the plate 16, the sleeve being retained on the spindle 66 by a screw '67.. Since the gears driving the slide wheel are timed to obtain the right action, I provide means forpreventing the slide wheel from being placed on' the sleeve 64 in more than one position. This means comprises in the present case, a longitudinal slot 68 in the sleeve and a projection 69 on the inside of the hub 63. An annular groove 71 is provided in the sleeve, and a spring 72 carried by the hub is adapted to engage in this annular groove to releasably hold the hub on the sleeve. In this way a positive but quickly releasable connection is obtained.

As previously mentioned, the gear 19 on the motor shaft 18 is employed to drive the slide shifting mechanism. This gear meshes With an idler gear 73 carried by a shaft supported on the plate 18, and the idler 73 meshes with a large gear 74 which is loose on a portion of the sleeve 64. This gear carries a pin 76 to which one end of a coil spring 77 is connected, the other end of the coil spring being connected by a screw 78 tothe sleeve 64. Consequently, there is a connection through the spring 7 only between the gear 74% and the 7',

sleeve 64, and the gear 74, through the spring and sleeve, is adapted to drive the slide wheel. I provide means, however, so that tension may gradually be built up in the spring 77 and then released so as to obtain a spasmodic snap being equal in number to half the number of the transparencies and arranged an equal distance about the periphery of the slide wheel. (lo-operating with these stops are dogs 81 and 82 projecting from a rocker 83 pivoted to the plate 16 at 84, the motion of the rocker being controlled by an arm 86 having one end connected to a pin 87 disposed on the idler 73 at a suitable distance from the center thereof. The other end is disposed in a longitudinal slot in the rocker 83 and connected thereto by a pin 88, so that movement of the gear 73 imparts a rocking motion to the rocker 83 and a corresponding in and out movement of the dogs 81 and 82. These dogs alternately engage and disengage one of the projections 7 9 so that the slide wheel is permitted to advance each time a distance equal to half the distance between the stops 79, or in other words, a distance equal to the distance between the centers of the transparencies 54. As the gear 74 is turned and the slide wheel held stationary, tension is increased in the spring 77 so that at the time a projection 79 is released by one of the discs, the spring unwinds sufficiently to drive the slide wheel with a snap movement until it is stopped by a projection 79 engaging the other one of the dogs on the rocker 83.

It is obvious that all of the tension in the spring 77 is not spent by its movement in drivingthe slide wheel one slide position or the proper action could not be obtained. With the spring entirely unwound, the projection 79 is normally in the position indicated at 79 in Fig. 2. In previous movements of this character with which I am familiar, it has rection so as to preliminarily build up a certain tension in the spring and engage the .pro

j ection over the dog 82, that is, bring all of the parts into positions as shown in full lines in Fig. 2. I

I have designedthis mechanism, however, so that it is unnecessary preliminarily to set the slide wheel, the only requirement being that it be placed in position on the sleeve 64 and the synchronous motor started. There are two things to bear in mind in obtaining this result and they are arranging the slide wheel so that the unadjusted position thereof will not bring the projection 79 too far away from one of the dogs 81 or 82; and secondly,

the timing of the rocker 83 and the position in which it is set must be accurately arranged.

Below the gear 74 andsecured on the sleeve 64 is a disc segment 91 of slightly smaller diameter than the gear 74 and having a chord cut from its side, leaving a straight edge 91. A pin 92 projecting downwardly from the gear 74 is positioned with respect to the cut away portion of the disc so that as the movement of the parts take place, there is no interference from the pin which has the open area of the disc in which tomove.

This pin and disc arrangement is very effective, however, in controlling the position of the slide wheel to facilitate its being properly engaged for control by movement of the rocker 83. With the slide wheel removed from the sleeve 64, the pin 92 is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 6. With the slide wheel in operation with a projection 79 engaging a dog 81 or 82 and just as the shifting of the slide wheel has taken place, the pin is in the position indicated at 92'. When the spring is completely wound and just before the movement of the slide wheel, the pin is in the position indicated at 92". I have found that the best position of the slide wheel in its unadjusted position, that is, when it is first placed on the machine and the dogs 81 or 82 are not yet engaged, is with a projection 79 removed from a dog 81 or 82 as the case may be, a distance-equal to approximately half the distance between the slide centers. This allows suflicient tension to build up in the spring 77 to get the proper action and at the same time permits timing so as to obtain an automatic adjustment or setting of the slide wheel. Since there must be a full slide ,position movement after the slide wheel is set, the movement permitted by the disc 91 should be approximately one and one-half times the distance between the slide centers in order to obtain the proper action.

In timing the rocker 83, the first thing to be borne in mind is that for each slide distance movement of the gear 74, the idler gear 73 which controls the movement of the rocker 83 must make a half revolution; but I time this gear in addition so that as the gear wheel turns when first placed on the sleeve 64, one of the dogs 81 or 82 will engage a projection 79 so as to hold it while the gear wheel 74 turns one and one-half slide positions. Thereafter the movement of the slide wheel will.

be normal.

In timing the gears and rocker 83 to get this effect, I arrange so that in the normal operation of the slide wheel, the projection 79 engages the dogs 81 and 82 when such discs are advanced a considerable distance toward the inside of the projection. Then the time required to release the projection is only slightly less than the time required for the outward movement of this dog. At the same time, with this setting and the slide wheel inan unadjusted position as when first applied, the projection 79 is engaged while tne disc is on the way in so that the result will be that the projection will be engaged for a greater length of time, to be precise, approximately fifty percent again as long as when the subsequent normal operation takes place. This effect is obtained by roperly regulating the extent of movement of the rocker 83 (this being controlled by the'position of the two pivot points 87 and 88 and the location of the pivot point 84). As previously described, the segmented disc 91 or an equivalent structure is also of importance in positioning the pro-- jection 79so that when starting it will not get by the dogs 81 and 82 before they have moved inwardly sufliciently to engage the projection.

In the operation of my invention the general purpose is of course advertising and in carrying out this purpose, the transparencies, allof which have the clock dial on theoutside thereof, will each bear some advertising legend and when all of the transparencies have been placed in position on the slide wheel,- the wheel is mounted on the supporting sleeve 64, no precautions being necessary to secure proper positioning. A connection to a source of alternating current power is made at the plug 23 and this sets the synchronous motor in operation, resulting in a driving of both the time mechanism and slide wheel with its associated mechanism. If the hands of the time mechanism do not show the correct time, they may be set while the motor is running, or they may be set before starting the motor if desired. -The slide wheel being automatically adjustable will quickly start its regular intermittent movement causing the transparencies to be displayed in regular sequence on the screen. The hands. cooperate with the dial on each transparency and at all times except during the fraction of a second in which the shifting of the transparencies takes place, the correct time is discernible with an advertising legend visible at the same time.

Although I have described the features of the present invention with some particularity, it is obvious that I am not necessarily restricted to the specific form shown, and

the invention is limited only bythe scope of the appended claims. v

What I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent .is:--

1. In a stereopticon clock, a slide wheel bearing a plural'gy of transparencies and having projection on the periphery thereof, one for each two transparencies, a constant speed synchronous motor having a shaft with a driving gear thereon, an idler gear driven by said driving gear, a'slide wheel driving gear connected to said idler gear, a. yielding connection between said slide wheel driving a driving gear thereon, an idler gear driven by said driving gear, a slide Wheel driving gear connected to said idler gear, a yielding connection between said slide wheel driving gear and said slide wheel, a rocker with a pair of dogs for alternately engaging anddis engaging the projections on the periphery of the slide wheel, a connection from said idler gear to said rocker for reciprocating the same, and means for limiting the possible movement between said slide wheel driving gear and said slide wheel.

3. ,In a stereopticon clock, a slide wheel bearing a plurality of transparencies and having projections on the periphery thereof, one for each two transparencies, a constant speed synchronous motor having a shaft with a driving gear thereon, anyidler gear driven by said driving gear, aslide wheel driving gear connected to said idler gear, a yielding connection between said slide wheel driving gear and said slide wheel, a rocker with I the same, and means for limiting the backward movement of the slide wheel with respect to said drive gear a distance from the position at which the peripheral' projections are engaged, not substantially more than onehalf the distance between transparency centers. 1

4. Ina stereopticon clock, a constant speed synchronous motor with a drive shaft having a pair of gears secured thereto, a time mechanism with a pair of shadow casting hands driven at constant speed by one of said gears, a slide supporting and shifting mechanism including a slide wheel, a driving gear concentric therewith, a spring connection between the concentric drive gear and the slide wheel, an idler gear receiving motion from the second motor shaft gear and transferring it to said slide Wheel drive gear, mechanism for alternately arresting the motion of and releasing the slide wheel to permit it to be driven by said spring connection.

5. In a stereopticon, a rotatably mounted slide wheel for conveying transparent slides,

ing connection between the gear and slide wheel through which the slide wheel is driven,

gear and said slide wheel, a rocker with a means for alternately holding the slide wheel quick movement of the slide wheel a distance equal to one slide position, it being necessary to have an initial tension on said.

yielding means in addition to said previously described tension in order to have satisfactory Operation thereof, and means associated with said yieldin connection for building up said initial tenslon when said slide wheel isfirst applied in position.

6. In a stereopticon, a rotatably mounted slide wheel, a concentrically mounted gear,

means for driving said gear at constant speed,

ayielding connection between the gear and slide wheel, means for alternately holding the slide wheel tobuild up tension in the yielding connection and releasing the same to obtain a quick movement of the slide wheel a dis-' tance equal to oneslide position, and means for automatically setting the slide wheel with respect to said holding and releasing means, said means including a stop between the gear and slide wheel for preventing the slide wheel having an advanced position substantially greater than one-half the width of each slide position.

7. In a stereopticon, arotatably mounted slide wheel with projections on the periphery thereof, a concentrically mounted constant speed driving gear, a yielding driving connection between said gear and slide Wheel, a rocker with two dogs carried thereby, a positively acting mechanism for operating said rocker and driven by connection to said driving gear, the rocker and dogs being set and timed by said positively acting operating mechanism so that each time a dog engages a projection, said 'dog has progressed a considerable distance inwardly, with the result that when the slide wheel is first placed in position, and the projections unengaged, at the first engagement the engaging dog is on the way in and thus holds the projection a greater length of time than normally and so sets the slide wheel to normal operating position. p

8. In a .stereopticon of the character described, a synchronous motor adapted for con stant driving movement and having a'drive shaft with a pair of driving gears thereon, a rotatably mounted slide wheel with transparent slides around the periphery thereof, a driving connection from one of said driving gears to said slide wheel, a time shaft disposed adjacent said motor shaft, a pair of ring gears concentrically disposed about said time shaft and having minute and hour shadow casting hands thereon, a relatively large idler gear mounted on said time shaft and meshing with the other of said synchronous motor driving gears, a clutch secured on the time shaft and adjacent said large idler gear for receiving motion from the idler gear and imparting it to the time shaft, and connections from the time shaft to said ring gears for driving the same at clock,

mounted gear at constant speed, a resilient driving connection between said gear and slide wheel, means for braking the slide wheel at periodic intervals to obtain a quick intermittent driving movement of said slide wheel, and means between said gear and slide P wheel for limiting the movement of said slide wheel in either direction.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 31st day of March, 1928.

GEORGE WILLENS.

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