US1942409A - Appointment reminder clock - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 9, 1934. A, w CARVER r AL 1,942,409

APPOINTMENT REMINDER CLOCK Filed Aug. 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR AMCam er BY F. ffazlcf'on ATTO R N EYJ Jan. 9, 1934. A w RVER Er AL 1,942,409

APPOINTMENT REMINDER CLOCK Filed Aug. 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYJ' Patented Jan. 9, 1934 APPOINTMENT REIVHNDER CLOCK Albert Woodburn Carver and Frank Murphy Hazleton, Muscatine, Iowa Application August 5,

1 Claim.

Our invention relates to improvements in appointment reminder clocks, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of our invention is to provide an appointment reminder clock which may be set for all the appointments which the operator may have during one day and which will automatically energize an audible signal for notifying the operator when the time for'the appointments is due.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the type described which has novel means whereby the audible signal will remain energized until the operator releases the mechanism and is therefore notified of the appointment.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the type described which has novel means for holding a list of appointments and for bringing the desired appointment in view at the time set for the appointment.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the type described which has novel means whereby the mechanism supporting the list of appointments may be actuated independently of the driving mechanism.

Other objects andadvantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device,

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view substantially along the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an end view of the device, a portion thereof being broken away for the purpose of clearness,

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the drum,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of the mechanism,

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the appointment chart,

Figure 7 is a wiring diagram, and

.Figure 8 is a detail view of a portion of our device.

In carrying out our invention, we provide a casing 1 having a clock mechanism 2 disposed therein so that the face of the clock will be visible through an opening 3 in the casing. A cover 4 is provided for the casing 1 and is hingedly secured at 5.

A drum 6 is rotatably mounted upon a drive 1929. Serial No. 383,584

shaft 7 within the casing l. The shaft '7 is operatively connected to the drum 6 by means of a spiral connecting spring 8, one end of which is connected to the shaft 7 and the other end of which is connected to the drum as at 9. One end of the shaft '7 is journaled in a bearing bracket 10 and is provided with a beveled gear 11 which is rigidly secured thereto. A lip 12 is integral with the beveled gear 11 and is adapted to contact with the pin or lug 13 which is carried by the drum 6. I

The opposite end of the shaft 16 is journaled in the side wall 18 of the casing 1 as at 19.

A gear 20 is rigidly mounted upon the shaft 16 spring 30. An actuating cam 31 is carried by the lever 24 and is arranged to engage with a cam block 32.

The cam block 32 extends through the wall 18 of the casing 1 and is provided with a cam surface 33. A support 34 is provided for the cam block 32. A spring 35 is carried by the support 34 for normally holding the block 32 outwardly. A contact block 36 is carried by the cam block 32 and is in electrical connection with a conductor 37.

A resilient switch 38 is carried by the cam block 32 and arranged to be brought into electrical connection with the contact block 36. A key 39 is secured to the cam block 32 and extends through an elongated slot 40 in the cover 4.

The cylinder or drum 6 is provided with a longitudinally extending recess 41. Looking lugs 42 are disposed at spaced-apart positions in the recess 41. An appointment sheet 43 is provided with a plurality of spaces 44 which are formed by lines 45. Time indications 46 are printed in the spaces 44 between the lines 45. The time indications 46, as will be noted, indicate time, as, for instance, every fifteen minutes during the day. The ends of the sheet 43 are provided with slots 47 which are arranged to receive the looking lugs 42. A clamp 48 is provided with elongated openings or slots 49 which are relatively wide at one end and relatively narrow at the other end. The sheet 43 is so constructed that one end may be disposed in the recess 41 and the locking lugs 42 extend through the slots 47. The

sheet 43 may then be passed around the cylinder 6 and the other end of the sheet may be disposed in the recess 41 so that the locking lugs 42 extend through the other set of openings 4'7. The looking clamp 48 may then be disposed over the ends of the sheet 43 and positioned in the recess 41 so that the lugs 42 will extend through the relatively wide portions of the openings 49. The clamp 48 may then be moved so as to bring the relatively narrow portions of the openings 49 into registration with the locking lugs 42. The head portions of the locking lugs will then hold the clamp against displacement.

The clock mechanism 2 is operatively connected to the drive shaft 7 by means of a pinion 50 which is in mesh with the bevel gear 11 and is rigidly mounted upon the clock shaft 51.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. Let us assume that the clock mechanism is wound sufficiently. The cover 4 may be swung about the hinges 5 so as to reveal the'mechanism concealed in the casing 1. The lever 24 is then moved forwardly, thus moving the cylinder or drum 6 in a counterclockwise direction viewing the end adjacent the bevel gear 11. The cylinder is actuated by movement of the lever 24 due to the connection of the actuating arm 22 or segment 21 with the gear 20. When the cylinder 6 is rotated in this direction, it is moved against the tension of the spring 8. The cylinder 6 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction until the groove 41 appears at the top of the cylinder. The form 43 may then be secured to the cylinder by placing one end within the recess 41 so as to allow the locking lugs 42 to extend through the openings 47 therein. The cylinder may then be rotated so as to pass the form or sheet 43 about the cylinder. The other end of the sheet may then be disposed in the recess 41 so that the lugs 42 will extend through the openings 47. The clamp 48 may then be disposed in the recess over the ends of the sheet 43 and rigidly secured in place by moving the clamp so that the relatively small portions of the slots 49 will come in contact with the head portions of the, lugs 42.

The appointments may be placed upon the sheet before or after the sheet is placed upon the cylinder and the sheet is so arranged that as the cylinder rotates in a clockwise direction viewing the end adjacent the gear 11, the indications 46 moving into alignment with a relatively long opening 52 in the cover 4 will indicate time every few minutes from the beginning of the office hours in the morning until the close of the day.

The cylinder 6 is provided with a plurality of stop members or blocks 53 which are in alignment with the spaces 44 of the sheet 43 when the sheet 43 is disposed upon the cylinder 6. Therefore, for every space 44 upon the sheet 43, there is provided upon the cylinder 6 a stop block 53. The stop members 53 are disposed in slots or grooves 54 and are guided in their movement by pins 55 or the like which are disposed in elongated slots 56 in the blocks. The blocks adjacent each space 44 upon which there is an appointment written are forced outwardly, see Figure 5. The cylinder 6 is then released by the rearward movement of the lever 24 and allowed to be rotated in a clockwise direction to its normal position by the spring 8. When the lug 13 engages with the lip 12, the cylinder is in its normal position and will gradually be rotated in a clockwise direction by the movement of the gear 11 through the actuation of the clock mechanism 2. In this position the cylinder is in exact time agreement with the clock movement and is held in this position by the tension of the spring 8.

When the lever 24 has been moved rearwardly into its normal position, the actuating cam 31 will engage with the cam block 32 and force the cam block inwardly into a position where the outwardly projecting blocks 53 will be adapted to engage therewith. In this manner the device is automatically set.

Let us assume that the first appointment is for 9:15 oclock in the morning. The block 55 opposite the space 44 for the time of 9:15 A. M. will be pushed outwardly. As the cylinder 6 is rotated by the clock mechanism, the block 53 opposite the space for the first appointment will at 9:15 oclock be moved into engagement with the resilient switch 38, causing the switch to move into engagement with the contact block 36.

In Figure 7 we have shown a wiring diagram illustrating a circuit provided with a source of current such as a battery 55 and an audible signal such as a buzzer 56. When the switch 38 is moved into engagement with the contact block 36, the circuit is closed, permitting the current to pass from the battery 55 through the switch 33, the contact block 36, the conductor 37, through the audible signal 56', and through a conductor 57' back to the battery. In this man-' ner the audible signal is energized, warning the person that the time has arrived for the first appointment.

The audible signal will remain energized until the person being notified moves the block 53, which is in engagement with the switch 38, inwardly, so as to allow the cylinder to continue in its relatively slow rotative movement. As the person notified moves the block 53 inwardly, his attention is drawn to the writing in the space 44 and is thus informed of the appointment which he has at that time. The stop block 53 is moved inwardly by the operator gripping the key 39 and moving the key against the tension of the spring 57 in the direction of the cylinder. This movement of the block 53 opens the circuit and stops the energizing of the audible signal. The cylinder then continues in its rotative movement until the next outwardly positioned stop block 53is moved into engagement with the switch 38, thus closing the circuit and energizing the audible signal for notifying the operator that another appointment is due and the appointment is written upon the space adjacent the opening 52.

When it is desired to look over the list of appointments on the sheet 43, or when it is necessary to place additional appointments thereupon, the cylinder is drawn forwardly in a rotative movement, or, in other words, it is rotated in a counterclockwise direction by the movement of the lever 24 and against the tension of the spring 8. As the lever 24 is moved forwardly, the actuating cam 31 is moved away from its normal position in engagement with the cam block 32, thus allowing the cam block to be moved outwardly by the tension of the spring 35 so as to be freed from the stop blocks 53 and permit the cylinder 6 to be rotated freely. The grip 26 is adapted to engage with the gripping bar 29 for holding the lever, together with the cylinder, in any desired position. In this manner the cylinder may be rotated to bring any desired space 44 into alignment with the opening 52 so that the operator may write in the space an appointment or a memorandum. After this has been accomplished, the grip 26 may be released by a movement inwardly toward the handle 25 and the lever 24 may be moved to its normal position, causing the actuating cam 31 to engage with the cam block 32 and force the cam block inwardly into operative position.

It will be noted that the cylinder is rotated in a counterclockwise direction by the engagement of the lip 12 with the pin 13 and that the cylinder is rotatably mounted upon the shaft 7 but is held in the normal position by the spring 8, that position being the location of the cylinder when the pin 13 is in engagement with the lip 12. It will further be noted that due to the fact that the shaft 16 is secured to the cylinder, the cylinder may be rotated independently of the clockactuated mechanism by the lever 24 which is operatively associated with the shaft 16 through the actuating arm 22 and the gear 20.

When the drum is in its normal position the lug 13 connected therewith is in constant engagement with the lip 12 which is constantly moving very slowlyfor rotating the drum. During the time that the drum is being rotated by the lever 24 to a certain position for entering an appointment thereon and then rotated back toward its normalposition, the lip 12 connected with the gear 11 continues its movement, so that, strictly speaking, the drum will not return to the exact position from which it started. If the lip has moved a great enough distance before the drum is rotated back, the drum cannot be rotated back by the lever 24 a sufllcient distance to permit the rack 21 to disengage the gear, in which case it would be necessary to reverse the movement of the clock mechanism sufficiently to enable te drum to be rotated back far enough to permit the gear 20 to disengage the rack 21. Actually, however, the interval elapsing between the time that the drum is moved from its normal position to its advanced position and then returned to its normal position, is so short that the lip 12 will not have advanced far enough to prevent the rack 21 disengaging the gear 20 when the drum is rotated back to its normal position.

We claim:

A device of the type described comprising a housing having an opening therein, a clock mechanism disposed in the housing and comprising in part a driving shaft, having a driving gear connected therewith, a driven shaft rotatably disposed in the housing, a driven gear connected with the driven shaft and in mesh with the driving gear, said driven gear being provided with a projectng lug, a drum mounted on the driven shaft and rotatable with respect thereto, said drum having a projecting portion positioned for engagement with the lug for rotating the drum when the driving gear is rotated, an auxiliary shaft positioned in alignment with the driven shaft and fixedly connected with the drum, an auxiliary gear mounted on the auxiliary shaft, a toothed segment movably mounted in the housing and normally positioned out of engagement with the auxiliary gear, and a lever positioned without the housing and connected with the toothed segment, said lever being movable for moving the toothed segment into mesh with the auxiliary gear for rotating the drum independently of said clock mechanism.

ALBERT WOODBURN CARVER. FRANK MURPHY HAZLETON.

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