US1475629A - Escapement mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 27 1923.

H. L. HAYNES ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM Fil ed Dec. 19, 1919 Nqv. 27, 1923. 1,475,629

H. L. HAYNES ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM Filed Dec. 19, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WTW/ Patented Nov. 27, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD L. HAYNES, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSTGNOR OF 0NE-HALF T0 HENRY J.

WALSEE, 0F CLEVELAND, -OI'IIO.

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM.

' Application filed December 19, 19 1s.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Hnnonn L. HArNns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Escapement Mechanism, of which the following 'is a specification.

This invention relates to time pieces and particularly to escapement mechanism therefor. The invention has particular relation to clock movements or time pieces designed for running over an extended period, such as eight days, a month or a year, such as clock movements used in connection with time recording or signal. systems or for any other purpose.

Clock movements designed for long periods ofoperation require large powerful springs, which necessitate the use of a pendulum or other heavy escapement mechanism. The present invention has for its object to provide improved escapement mechanism for use with long period clock movements, and the delicacy and accuracy of which may be the same as a watch escapement but which is not affected by the heavy clock spring. A further object of the invention is to provide improved escapement mechanism in which the escapement is directly affected by a secondary relatively light spring of lower power, to thereby protect the es capement but which secondary spring is rewound at relatively frequent intervals so as to maintain its power factor substan tially uniform.

A further object of the invention is to provide governing means for controlling the transfer of power from a primary spring havin a relatively large power factor to a seconc ary or intermediate spring of small power factor by the use of braking mechanism effective upon a relatively stationary part of the casing or frame, to thereby avoid variation in time effect and compensate for lost motion or any wear of the parts.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved escapement mechanism of the general character indicated which can be built or assembled in compact unit form so designed as to be capable of insertion in many forms of clock movements already assembled, thereby adapting it for clock movements already in usefand which arrangement also enables the escapement mech Serial No. 345,989.

anism to be handled as a'unit for repair, inspection and other purposes without effect upon the main clock movement.

Further objects of the invention are in part obvious and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

The invention comprises the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, which represent one suitable'embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a front elevation; Fig. 2is a sectional elevation on substantially the line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a detail sectional elevation, on a larger scale, on the line 3 3, Fig. 2; and Fig. l is a detail sectional elevation on substantially the line 14t, Fig. 3, connection between the brake levers and scroll being shown out of true position for purposes of illustration. I

The invention isycapable of application to any suitable or desired form of clock movement. For purposes of illustration the drawings show a simple clock movement which consists of the frame plates 1 connected by the usual pillars 2 and which plates'are provided with or form the necessary hearings or supports for the rotating shafts or arbors. In thev frame is mounted the main spring 3 provided with a winding shaft 4. and a gear 5 in driving relation with a pinion 6 on arbor 7. Said arbor is provided with a gear 8 driving a pinion 9 on a shaft 10 which in turn is provided with a gear 11 meshing with a pinion 12 on shaft 13. Shaft 13 carries a large gear 1 1. The train so far described is a usual clock train, with one of the arbors serving as the means for operating the clock hands. For example, arbor 10 may be the hand operating shaft which consequently turns in the clockwise direction Fig. 1. Gear 145 is the one usually connected to a pendulum or other corresponding esca-pement mechanism: and in the present instance is the gear which supplies the power and which drives the escapement mechanism forming the subject matter of this invention.

In a suitable portion of the main frame 'islocated'a plate 15 which may be secured to a main frame plate by the posts or pillars 16. This plate serves as the support for all of the members or elements of the escapement mechanism, so that by disconnecting the pillars 16 the escapement mechanism may be removed as a unit without disturbing the assembly of the parts carried by plate 15 tor the purpose of inspection or repair or said escapement mechanism can be shipped or packed as a unit and by providing the necessary openings in the frame plates may be readily attached to a clock movement already in use as the substitute for the escapement mechanism therein contained.

Plate 15 is provided with short pillars 17 which serve to support two es-capement frame plates l8, l9, o1 peculiar shape, as shown in dotted lines 1. Plate 15 also carries a cupped bearing member 20 which co-operates with a portion of the plate 18 as the bearings for an arbor 21. carrying a pinion 22 in driving relation with the gear i l. Secured to rotate with said arbor is a sleeve or enlargement carrying a disk lying within a hollow shallow circular recess 25 of plate 15, the periphery of said recess being provided with suitable braking material, such as a, steel ring which constitutes an internal brake drum. Upon the disk 2% are pivoted at 27 two brake levers 28, the pivots for said levrrs lying near the periphery of the dish where said levers are provided with braking portions 2?) oi curved form designed to properly co-operate with the drum or braking portion 26 of the plate.

At its opposite end, adjacent the plate 18, arbor 2 is secured to the inner end of a coiled secondary or intermediate spring; 80, whose outer end is connected to pin 31 on a hollow casing attached to a gear Said gear is rotatable loosely on the arbor 21 and carries a cam disk or scroll provided with two curved cam slots to receive pins 36 located on the inner ends of the brake levers 28. Gear 38 is operatively connected to a suitable ordinary watch escapement, such as what is known as an 18 size watch escapement, including the escape wheel 37 operated by gear 33, the escape lever 38 and the balance wheel 39. The parts of this escapement are supported by the plate 19 before referred to.

The operation is as 's"ollows: l parts are so arranged that the tendency oi? the main spring is to turn arbor 21. in the cloclo wise direction, Fig. In the normal position oi the parts, or in other words. when the movement is runninei, the pins 36 lie intermediate the ends oi the cam slots in the scroll in which they are engaged. In this normal condition also. arbor 21 has been turned sutliciently to wind he secondary spring 30, so that power is stored in said spring sutlioient to actuate the escapemen The unwinding movement oi main spring 3 continues until the levers 28 have been bodily advanced by rotation of the disk 2% until. said levers have been turned sulliciently by the more slowly turning scroll to exert a rur' cr movement of disk The main clocl train, up to and including gear l lnd arbor 21 then held stationary. While aid train is stationary (and in fact at all other times the secondary spring 30 operates the watch escaoement and continues the regular advance or rotation oi the scroll 34;. Rotation of said scroll gradually turns the levers 28 until finally they released from braking ei'l'ect upon the drum and the disk is permitted to be again advanced by the main spring.

The effect is to transi e very small increients of power at relatively frequent int' tale, to wit, fractions of a second from c main spring to the secondary spring 20. T he watch escapei'nent is always dri; solely by the second y spring and is in I way subject to the direct pmver of the mai spring. Consequently the entire movement has the delicacy and accuracy ()Iii watch but may be provided with a lone or rclatively large main power spring smlicicnt to operate the movement over an extended period. Furthermore, the sensitiveness and accuracy oi. the n'iovement are governed entirely by the watch escapement and variation in the power effect of? the main spring); as it unwinds does not alilect the accuracy of the time effect. Again, the braking: effect which controls the transfer oi power spring to spring is exerted upon relatively stationary portion of the cane or support and the movement is not affected by lost motion as is the case where the braking" effect between two parts both of which have movement, and also wear of the bral:- in or other surfaces is automaticany taizcn up by automatic adjusts ent oi? the pins 36 the slots of the scroll.

ll hen the movement is r1 .ninp; there is no appreciable oscillation Oil the lovers 28 on. their pivots but they float. as it were in a position in which very slight lever movement produces braking effect or releases the leve The real opera from braking action. tion is quite analogous to the governing; effect in steam engines where the governor arms float in the governing; position.

Release of the braking levers to allow turther winding; of the secondary sprinsr is not an effect consequent upon the power of the scondary spring, for the reason th t when said levers are stationary and in )18.;{- in o; relation with the drum the natural turnin omemcnt of the scroll is in the proper d c: on to allow the pins 36 to travel downhill, it ere, toward the axis of the arbor 21. The tendency of the dish 2 1 to rotate clockwise, a result of the pressure of main spring 3, always exerts an eil'ect upon levers 28 tending to move them to release, so that essentially it is the power of the main spring which produces the releasing action and the secondary spring merely controls said releasing by its effect upon the scroll.

The greater the power effect of the main spring the greater is the pressure of the pins 36 upon the sides of the cam slots, but at the same time, the greater is the tendency of said pins to travel down hill, as before stated, so that the efiects are balanced at all tensions or pressures of the main spring. Therefore the swing of the balance and beat effect are uniform at all times.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with a support, said support carrying a secondary spring, an escapement operated by one end thereof, an arbor adapted for driving connection with the time piece train for wind ing said spring, and means rotatable with said arbor and movable relative thereto and operated by said secondary spring for controlling the winding effect thereon.

2. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with a support, said support carrying a secondary spring, an escapement operated by one end thereof, means adapted for driving connec tion with the time piece train for winding said spring, and means operated by said secondary spring for controlling the winding effect thereon, said means including braking levers effective upon astationary portion of said support, and a rotatable actuating disk therefor.

3. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with a sup port, said support carrying an arbor driven by the time piece train, a secondary spring operated thereby, an escapement actuated by said secondary spring, and braking mechanism controlled by said secondary spring and rotatable with said arbor and movable relative thereto to regulate the winding effect upon said secondary spring.

4. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with a sup port, said support carrying an arbor driven by the time piece train, a secondary spring operated thereby, an escapement actuated by said secondary spring, a stationary brake drum, brake levers effective thereon and rotating with said arbor, and means operated by said secondary spring for controlling the operation of said levers.

5. Escapementmechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with a support, said support carrying an arbor driven by the clock train, a secondary spring optating with said arbor, and a cam scroll actuated by said secondar T spring and operatively connected to sai levers for controlling the winding effect upon said secondary spring.

6. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with a support, said support carrying an arbor driven by the timepiece train and an annular braking surface surrounding said arbor, braking levers effective upon said surface and r0 tatable with and movable relative to said arbor, an actuating disk concentric with said arbor and rotatable relative thereto for actuating said levers, and a secondary spring connecting said arbor and disk.

7 Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with a support, said support carrying an arbor driven by the timepiece train, a secondary spring secured to and coiled around said arbor, a disk concentric with said arbor and actuated by said secondary spring, and movable-braking levers actuated by said disk for controlling the winding effect upon said secondary spring.

8.. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with a support, said support carrying an arbor driven by the timepiece train, a secondary spring secured to and coiled around said arbor, a disk concentric with said arbor and actuated by said secondary spring, and movablebraking levers actuated by-said disk for controlling the winding effect upon said secondary spring, said braking levers being carried by a part rotatable with said arbor.

9. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with a support, said support'carrying an arbor driven by the timepiece train, a secondary spring secured to and coiled around said arbor, a disk concentric with said arbor and actuated by .said secondary spring, movable braking levers actuated by said disk for controlling the winding effect upon said secondary spring, said braking levers being carried by a part rotatable with said arbor, and a sta tionary annular braking surface concentric with said'arbor and cooperating with said braking levers.

, In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HAROLD L. HAYNES.

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