US269278A - Clock-work escapement - Google Patents

Description

Patented Deo. 19, 1882.

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UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

CLOCK-WORK ESCAPEM ENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,278, dated December 19, 1882.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE PETER GANs- TER, of Reading', in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, temporarily residing in Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Escapements, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention is intended for application to clocks, watches, chronometers,and other timekeeping machinery, orto music-boxes and other 'machinery in which an approximately exact rate of revolution is importan t. I have in my experiments applied it to a small style ot' clock. The nature of the escapeinentA allows the machinery to be worked in any position indefinitely.

My device has the peculiarity that it does not oder in any part of its motion a dead-point, and consequently does not require a special act of starting it, as is the case in ordinary escapements. All that is required is to apply the power to the mechanism to be regulated, either by winding a spring or applying a weight, or in any other suitable manner.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification, and represent what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a front elevation of my new device. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of apartthereof, a part of the framing being broken away to more clearly show certain details. Fig. 3 is a plan of' Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a similar device, showing a different mode of regulating or adjusting the escapement. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a modification. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of Fig. 5.

A is the escapement-wheel, supported in suitable bearings and receivingmotion through a pinion, a, on its shaft from a wheel, X, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) the latter wheel forming part 0f the train of mechanism which the device is intended to regulate. The escapement-wheel A is formed on its periphery with notches l, 2, 3, 4, Snc. Shafts b c turn in suitable bearings on opposite sides of the eseapement-wheel.I

B C are wheels mounted on b c. Each is formed with a segment of teeth, B C', which engage with each other, compelling the wheels B C to turn in harmony in opposite directions. In each ofthe disks B G, near its shaft, is set a pin, b c', respectively, in such position that it can engage with and be acted upon by the notched surface of the escapement wheel A. The wheels B C are of considerable weight, or have weigh ts B2 G2 affixed to them, which should be balanced so that the centers of gravity shall coincide with the axes of the respective shafts b o. ln order to attain this, screws b2 c2, with heavy heads, may be inserted radially in those weights, as indicated in Fig. l. By turning these screws in the proper direction the center of gyration of each disk may be shifted outward or inward,always taking care that the center of gravity of each coincides with the axis of its shaft. The bearings of the shafts b c are carried on brackets B3 C3, which are capable of swiveling on center screws, B4 Gi, and may be adjustably held in the proper position by means which will be described farther on.

The operation of the parts so far as described is as follows: Snpposing the parts to be in the position illustrated 'in Fig. 2, the escapenientwheel A having a tendency'to turn in the direction of the heavy arrow w, the pin c being engaged in the notch l, and the pin b having inst left the notch 9,and being on the point between the notches 9 and S of the escapement` wheel, on the further turning of the latter the lower edge of notch l will strike against the pin c', causing the wheel C to commence a rotary motion in the direction of the arrow y, but the disks B and O being gearedv together the disk B will be compelled to turn in the direction of the arrow 'lhus the pin b will move into the notch S without effectively touching it, while pin c will come to the point between notches l and 15. At that moment, in consequence of the further revolution of escapement-wheel A, pin b is struck by the upper edge of notch S, whereby the motion of disk B will lbe reversed, compelling also disk C to turn in the opposite direction. This brings pin c into notch l5 and pin b' on the point between notches S and 7. It will thus be seen that by the power applied to escapement wheel A a succession of oscillations or partial rotations in alternately opposite directions is imparted to the wheels B and C, and as the latter are heavy, or carry considerable weight,involving an inertia which is to be overcome at each re- IOO versing of their rotation by the contact of one or the other ot the pins b' c with the escapemeut-Wheel A, the motion of the latter is retarded to just the sufticient extent. Setting the wheels B C nearer together makes the clock or other machine controlled by the escapement go slower; setting these wheels farther apart makes it go faster. It the wheels are set apart so that the pins b c enter quite to the bottom ot' each notch l, 2, tvc., the motion of the escapement-wheel will be very slow, because it will have to give a large throw in either direction to the disks or balance-wheels B C. If, on the contrary, the pins b c hardly enter the notches ot' the escapement-wheel, the motion will be much quicker, as the escapement-wheel turns freely a greater part of a revolution until the edges ot' its notches operate against the pins. Itt'ollous,therefore,thatasimplemethod ot' regulating or rectif'ying consists in simply moving the. shat'ts b c, and consequently the wheels B C, slightly away from or toward each other, and consequently' away from or toward the center ot' the escapement-wheel. For this purpose the brackets B3 O3, carrying the. disks or balancewheels B t), are mounted with capability to swivel,'as has been above described, and are provided with means for varying their position with reference to the escapement-wheel A. rIlhis may be accomplished by the device illustrated in Fig. 1, where their downwardprojecting ends are traversed each by a screw, E, the heads ot'said screws E being held against end motion in grooves formed for the purpose in the xed framing, so that by turning these screwsE in one direction orthe other the brackets are caused to slightly osciilate and bring their upper ends,carrying the disks,toward or away from the escapement-wheel A. It will be noticed that this mode ot' regulating allows each ot' the brackets to be adjusted separately, which l'or tine work may offer considerable advantages, as itl allows the pins b' o to be set both exactly in a same position with reference to the notches ot' the escapement-wheel, even it' there should be a slight error in the construction ot' the device.

Where exact time-keeping is important the winding should be done at regular periods, winding always to a delinite stop, asis common in time-keej'iers. During the tirst partot' the period intervening between one winding and the next the machine will run with a ve.- locity somewhat above the average. During the last partit will run with a velocity below, but the mean velocity will be very uniform so long as the same mainspring and the same adjustment there-ot' and the saine weight and diameter ot' the oscillating wheels are preserved.

The invention possesses marked advantages over anyordinaryescapeinent for all machines where considerable power is involved.

Fig. 4 shows the construction of adjusting means which I employ under many ordinary circumstances. The adjustmentis effected by one operation simultaneously for both disks B C. From the lower extremity ot' each bracket B3 C3 projects a pin, b3 c3, respectively, lwhich pins are engaged in eccentric slots c, formed in a plate, E, which swivels on a center, c', and from which may project an index-hand, E', showing on a selle theexact relative positions of the parts. XVhen t-he index is turned, for instance, to the right in Fig. 4, the slots e, through the pins b3 cil, cause'the lower extremities of the brackets to move apart, and thus bring the disks B O in somewhat closer proximity to the center of the shaft a', which, as described above, has the eii'ect ofretarding the motion ot' the escapement. It' the index E is turned in the opposite direction, thereverse effect is produced, as will be readily seen.

In the form ot' device shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the two oscillating` wheels B and C are not geared together, but geared to an intermediate wheel, G. These three wheels B, C, and Gr may themselves be made ot' suliicient weight to involve sutiieient inertia; but I propose to extend the shaft/ot' the intermediate wheel, Gr, and mount thereon a larger wheel, II. Instead ot' this, the shat'ts b and c may be extended, and may each carry large wheels. ln this moditication, as in the other, adjusting the shat'ts b c nca-rer together increases the range oi' the oscillations and makes the machinery go slower. The adjustment is ett'ected by a screw, E, engagingin threaded segments formed on the lower ends ot' the brackets I-l C3, as clearly indicated in Fig. 5.

Other modiiications may be iliade in the forms and proportions ot' the details. I can make the wheels B G ot' compound construction, so that when subjected to changes ot' temperature the expansion and contraction shall be equalized; but I do not esteem such generally necessary. The necessity i'or equalizing in ordinary time-keepers is largely due to the t'act that they work by pendulums or hairsprings, which vary with changes ot' temperature. lllyescapement, by dispensing with those elements, avoids the errors incident thereto.

I claim as my invention- 1. An escapement having a notched escapement-wheel, as A, and two balanced members, as B G, geared together and carrying studs b' c', combined and arranged substantially as herein specified.

2. [n an eseapement, the notched escapement-wheel A and members B C, having pins b c, in combination with the adjustable brackets Bi G3, carrying the members B C, and with means, as E, for varying the distance between the centers ot the members B and C, substantially as and for the purpose herein specilied.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at New York city, New York, this 31st day ot' March. 1882, in the presence ot' two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses: GEORGE P. GANS'IE'.

A. lil. FIRMIN, Wu. C. Dur.

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