US374061A - Clock-winding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

A. E HALL.

CLOCK WINDING MEOHANISM.

(No Mod-e1.)

No. 374,061. Patented Nov. 29,1887.

N. PETERS. Halo-Lithographer. walhin lun, D. C.

UNIT D STATES lPATENT -OFFICE.

ADOLPHUS E. HALL, OF PEQRIA, ILLINOIS.

CLOCK-WINDING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 374,061, dated November 29, 1887,

Application filed December 16, 1886. Serial No. 221,740. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Y Be it known that I, ADOLPHUS E. HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Winding Mechanism for Clocks and \Vatches; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of thein'vention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to winding mechanism for clocks and watches, and is fully described and explained in this specification, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a side elevation of one embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view.

In the views, A is a barrel mounted on a suitable arbor, a, and inclosing a coiled spring, one end of which is fastened to the barrel and the other to the arbor, the exposed end of the arbor being squared to receive awinding-key. To one end of the barrel A is rigidly secured a gear-wheel, a, concentric with the barrel and engaging a pinion, B, mounted upon a second arbor, b, jonrnaled in suitable bearings. 0n the arbor b is mounted a second gear-wheel, B, of considerably greater diameter than that of the pinion B, andthis gear vheel engages a second pinion, c, rigidly mounted on the mainspring-arbor G of, the time-piece. The arbor Cpasses through an ordinary mainspring-barrel, O, inclosing the mainspring and provided with a rigidly-attached gearwheel, 0, adapted to communicate the motion of the barrel to a time-train of any desired construction. Inasmuch as the pinion B is of ainuch smaller diameter than the gear-wheel a and the pinion o is much smaller than the gear-wheel B, motion transmitted from the supplemental spring in the barrel A to the mainspring is multiplied, and .obviously the gearing may be so made as to multiply this mo- 1 tion to any desired degree.

It is desirable that the gearing between the two springs be periodically restrained and re leased, in order to allow the mainspring to unwind any desired distance, and then to be wound again by the action of the supplemental spring. In order to accomplish this the barrel which incloses the mainspring is provided with a grooved cam, D, and the gear-wheel B is provided with a series of pins, d, and levers D D are mounted upon suitable stationary shafts between the cam and the gearwheel. One end of each of the levers is so arranged as to engage the cam D, and the other end is bent, preferably at an oblique angle, in order to form a stop and at the same time to present no opposition to the sliding of the pins over the ends, when desirable. The camgroove is eccentric with reference to the gearwheel C, and is so arranged that the obliquelybent free end of each of the levers D D is in the path of the pins d, except when the opposite end of the lever is in engagement with the are of least radius of the cam. Then, in the revolution of the cam, its arc of least radius comes in contact with the end of either of the levers, that end is drawn inward and the opposite free end is thrown outward and leaves the path of the pins d. Each of the levers thus releases each of the pins of the gear-wheel B once during each rotation of the mainspringbarrel, and the number of pins may evidently be so increased and the form of the cam so varied as to time these releases in any desired way. the gear-wheel B the barrel A and gear-wheel a revolve until stopped by the interposition of the end of one of the levers D D, and that during such rotation the mainspring is correspondingly wound up.

From the foregoing it will be seen that if the Inainspring and the supplemental spring be wound up a time-piece may be run for a much longer time than has been possible by any device heretofore used. The spring being kept at practically the same tension at all times, the movementot' the parts actuated thereby is necessarily uniform and regular.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with the mainspring and mainspring-barrel of a timepiece, of a supplemental spring and means for winding the same, a train of gearing connecting said supplemental spring and said mainspring, a cam mounted directly on the mainspring-bar- It is evident that upon the release of' rel, and two pivoted levers, one end of each of which impinges on the'cam and is actuated by the rotation thereof, while the other end, when in one position, acts as a stop engaging one element of said train of gearing, and in leaving said position releases said element and permits the operation of the train.

2. The combination, with the mainspring and its barrel 0, of the supplemental spring and its barrel A, the train of gearing connecting the two springs, the pins (I, mounted on one element of the train of gearing, the cam D, mounted on the mainspring-barrel, and the levers D D, each having one of its ends in engagement with the cam D, and its opposite is end adapted to stop and release said pins d, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADOLPHUS E. HALL.

DAVID H. lVIEAD,

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