US2456122A - Time zone watch - Google Patents

Description

1. GUILDE N' TIME ZONE WATCH Dec. 14, 1948.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June. 5,, 1945 1. GUILDEN f TIME ZONE WATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5. 1945 Patented Dec. 14, 1948 TIME. ZONE WATCH Ira Guilden Miami; Beach, Elan, assignolx, by!

mesne assignments, to TheFi'rst. N ationaLBank; ofBoston, Boston, Mass., acorporation of the United StatesofAmeflca; as'tr-ustee Applicafiom-Iunefi. 1 5 Serial. No. 597,60

Thisinvention. relatestto timepieces or chm:

nometers, such as v clocks, watches and, the like. having an hour. wheeldrivenlby. a motor mecha: nism, and, its principal, object is to provide a simple, efficient and reliahlevmeansl for setting; the hour hand: forwardvv or backward. to corree spend with a'given timezone, without stopping or. in any way disturbing the motor mechanism or, the setting of the minute hand..

hounhand' by, one hour or other predetermined time, interval; c

In addition vI provide a rotatable indicator having visible portionscontaining indicia designating difierent timezones connected'with the aforesaid, actuating mechanism so. asto be simultane- 3. o a ed or set, to correspondjwith the setting of. thehour hand.. To thisendfljthe indicator may, comprisea ratchet or. indexiwheel whi A further je is p ide. an; indicator; 1 9 carries. a. dial; showing. the difierent time zones, operative, conjointly with, an h n-hg nd s etting the. ratchet; wheel. being associated. with apawl mechanism, todesignatethe particular time Zone fi fi means: amuated y h f r P- for-w-hich thehour hand-isset. eratinglever for thehour. handlso asto, designate Other. objectsrelate to various r t e the particular,v time zonefcr which. the hour hand; struction. andwillbe apparent froma considera tion ,of the following description andthe accom: The-embodiment hereins-hownior- Purpose panying drawings ;wherein; of illustration isa navigation type Wrist wat h Fig Usanemargedfacelview ofvamwrist watch having the usual case center I, movement 2.; dial with. parts broken away and shown. in; section; 3 andothgr-convfintional'parts known to'the embodying thetpresent.inventmmw The, movement. Z comprises. the usuall prin Fig. 2 is, a vertical sectionthroufih'thezwrist 2 motor including-the-hounwhfielj (Figrm fixed watchtshown in Fig. l; to theoannon or spindle 61 which isoriven at a Fig. adsa plan, View oflthe settingvmechamsm constant speedto; rotate one. revolution. every and associated-parts; andi -h .i

Fig. 4 isxaaplan view" of; the-slip-clutch connec- -1' Q Whefil rotatably mm betweenithfihqur whaelz ahdindex wheel mountedlaboutlthe.cannon.61withcitsb yn rwhich carriesthehoun hand tion spaceriiabovethe hour Wheel'fi Anzarcuate In accordance with; the present invention: a 9 j f F um body t ofiithe timepiecersuch as-awristwatch, arolocle; operated a0 --.W thls nepessmtermmatjes either-bye spring motonarsynchronouslelectric 9 slot shQW 1 E p The motor,, an; impulse motor. or, any" othen-typmof p y r m i it suitable.motor-mechanism,. ismmvided with-the teeth as shown more clearly i one usuaLhounwheel whichflmay 'he;drivemeitherrat: end a 'f i a constant speed or intermittently tmmamone chored by.alrivet,lfijmtherecesa H vahdfthe free revolution every twelve, or twentyriomt: hours; end'ofithg extend? depending upon the graduationofzthesface;oisthe h S101? to posmori conngiuous-fio thezupper watch or clock.- The hour hand; iszconnected to face' of the w .bodyinomilon of a rotatable disk, such as a-ratchet or indexzwheel the 129m" 1S wlth'twelve R1 murar which is connected to the hour'wheelaby; means ogemngs 2 regesses centers-Of whmhare constituting a slip-clutch; connection: operative agarhand the? the sprmg normally to rotate the disk synchronously with a'puttQI-I the lrlke'pro'tupgmncei' 2] the hour wheel and to permit the disk toe-beadizi if f r g i gh fi f vanced or retracted, re1ative-tothehour-wheel; i g g fg" as 5311 51 1 thereby tov advance or retract: the hour hand Dilly efietivmahom a h correspondingly without stoppingior inanyway tered' in the hole 20' hut also to p ov i dear cam interfering with the normal operation of the element Qpeiative g i g mechamsm- Thehhourmand 1 lioutwardly so" thatithe'buttonllj may. readily e or rotated vsultable actuating h be disengagedfrom its seatlabout onehole, and nism such, for ex mp e, a p like 9 snapped; into engagementahout. another-v ho1e,.2.0 Estimated with n pil f f designed when the index. wheel. I!) is rotated rel'ativeto a a single-actuation 1s eflectwetocause-the the ho r whee1i5, Thesepartsntliusr prov de; a p wlt rotate the disk'and hence the hour-hand; slip utch connection hetweenthe index wheel relative to; the hour wheel through a predate and',hour, wheel; operative. normally toldri-veithe minedangle, ,thereby changing the settingof' the index wheel; l0 synchronously, with the. hour Wheel 5 and permit the index Wheel to be advanced or retracted, relative to the hour wheel, thereby to set the hour hand 24 (Fig. 2) carried by the hub 8. Since the openings 20 are spaced 30 apart, movement of the index wheel Ill carrying the button 2| from one hole to the next adjacent hole corresponds to a one-hour setting of the hand 24.

It will be observed that the rotation of the index wheel ll relative to the hour wheel 5, to reset the hour hand does not stop or in any way interfere with the operation of the motor mechanism or movement 2; nor does it in any way affect the setting of the minute hand which is carried by a spindle or cannon 25 telescopically disposed within the cannon 6.

A dial disk index wheel 30 is mounted to rotate freely about the hub 8 of the index wheel l0, and the periphery of the wheel 30 is formed with ratchet teeth 3|. The wheel 30 carries a dial index 32, the outer marginal portion of which is divided into twenty-four sectors having indicia designating the twenty-four international time zones. These zones are given numbers which correspond to the number of hours necessary to add or subtract in the particular zone in order to correct the Greenwich mean time, the zones to the east of Greenwich being denoted by negative numbers and those to the west of Greenwich being given positive numbers. The dial 3 is formed with a small window 34 (Fig. 2) through which one of the marked sectors of the dial index 32 may be seen. The wheel 30 is yieldingly held against rotation and normally locked in set position by engagement of the free end of a small leaf spring 35 with the teeth 3|, the spring 35 being mounted on the outer face of the movement, as shown in Fig. 2.

It will be noted that the ratchet wheel 30 and dial index 32 are independently movable relative to both the ratchet wheel or index l and hour wheel 5, and hence the dial index 32 when being set may be moved through an angle different from that of the index wheel l0. Since it is generally desired to reset the hour hand by intervals of one hour, the angular movement of the index wheel l0 is 30, whereas the corresponding movement of the dial index (with twenty-four intere the two detent members engage the ratchet teeth l4 and 3|, respectively, and rotate the wheel I!) through an angle of 30 and the index 30 through an angle of 15. When the lever 40 is retracted from active position to neutral position, the resilient members 46 and 41 of the active detent, due to their resiliency, slide back over the teeth l4 and 3| without moving the ratchet and index wheels since both are yieldingly held in set position by national time zones) is 15". Accordingly the dial formed in the upper face of the movement. De-

tent members 44 and 45 are mounted on opposite portions on the inner end of the lever 40 and each of the detent members carries a pair of resilient members 46 and 41, the member 41 extending in opposite directions and being engageable with the teeth 3| of wheel 30, and the member 46 likewise extending in opposite directions and being engageable with the teeth I4 of index wheel H3. The design of the parts is such that when the lever 40 is in neutral or inactive position, as shown in Fig. 1, the detent and ratchet teeth are normally disengaged from each other, but when the lever 40 is rocked from neutral or inactive position in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction,

as indicated by the solid dot-and-dash lines of Fig. 3, the resilient members 46 and 41 of one of the button 2| and the spring 35, respectively, with sufficient force to overcome the tendency of the spring member of the detents to cause reverse movement.

Rocking movment of the index lever 40 is controlled through a, link 5|] pivotally secured adjacent to one end to the lever 40 and at its opposite end to a rocker arm 52 pivotally mounted at 53 within a recess or relief portion 54 at the inner periphery of the Watch case I. The opposite ends of the rocker arm 52 carry leaf springs 56, the free ends of which engage the inner periphery of the case so as normally to hold the rocker arm in a neutral or inactive position, as shown in Fig. 1. A pair of push buttons 60 and 6|, received in openings formed in the case and held in place by springs 62, provides the operating means for rocking the arm 52 in one direction or the other.

With the construction and arrangement of parts herein shown the push button 60 may be depressed to swing rocker arm 52 ina clockwise direction, which movement of the rocker arm is transmitted through link 50 to swing lever 40 in a counterclockwise direction, as indicated by the full lines of Fig. 3. The counterclockwise movement of lever 40 brings the spring member 46 and 41 of detent 44 into operation to rotate index wheel ll] through an angle of 30 in a clockwise direction, thereby setting the hour hand 24 ahead one hour, and simultaneously rotates dial index 30 through an angle of 15, thereby effecting the corresponding change in the setting of the dial 32. Likewise, depression of button 6| causes a reverse movement of the hour hand and dial index. Thus, by simply depressing one of the buttons, the hour hand of the watch may be reset ahead or behind exactly one hour without interfering with the movement 2 or affecting the setting of the minute hand, and as the dial index is simultaneously set to indicate the particular time zone for which the hour hand is set, a mere glance at the face of the watch shows the exact time with reference to Greenwich mean time. By successively depressing one or the other of the push buttons, the hour hand and index dial may 'be set to indicate the exact time in any desired international time zone.

. While I have shown and described one desirable embodiment of the invention, it is understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration, and that various changes in shape, proportion and arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a timepiece of the type having an hour wheel driven by a motor mechanism, an index disk rotatable about an axis concentric with said hour wheel, a slip-clutch connection between said index disk and hour wheel, said slip-clutch being operative normally to drive said index disk synchronously with said hour wheel and to permit said index disk to be advanced relative to said hour wheel, an hour hand carried by said index 8 disk, a rotatable dial havingport'iohs containing indict: designating different time zones, and .setting means having parts engageable with-said index disk and dial for advancing said index disk and dial through predetermined angles, thereby to change the setting of said hour hand by a predetermined time interval {and simultaneously m the dial to correspond with the setting of said hourhand. f a

2, In a timepiece of the t e having an hour wheel driven by a motor mechanism, a ratchet wheel concentrically mouiited'w-ith respect to said hourwheel, a slip-clutch connection between said ratchet wheel and hour wheel,-said-slip-clutch being operative normally to drive said ratchet synchronously with said hour wheel and to permit said ratchet wheel to be advanced or retracted relative to said hour wheel, an hour hand connected to said ratchet wheel, a dial wheel having ratchet teeth on its periphery, and setting means including detents engageable with said ratchet wheel and said ratchet teeth, and means for operating said detents so as to advance or retract said hour disk by predetermined time intervals and simultaaneously set said dial wheel to correspond with the setting of said hour hand.

3. In a timepiece of the type having an hour wheel driven by a motor mechanism, an index wheel rotatable about an axis concentric with said hour wheel, a, resilient member carried by one of the wheels and normally engaging the other wheel to provide a slip-clutch connection normally operative to rotate the wheel synchronously and to permit the index wheel to be advanced relative to the hour wheel, an hour hand carried by said index wheel, a rotatable dial having portions containing indicia designating different time zones, and setting means having parts engageable with said index wheel and dial for advancing said index wheel and dial through predetermined angles, thereby to change the setting of said hour hand by a predetermined time interval and simultaneously set the dial to correspond with the setting of said hour hand.

4. In a timepiece of the type having an hour wheel driven by a motor mechanism, a ratchet wheel concentrically mounted with respect to said hour wheel, a slip-clutch connection between said ratchet wheel and hour wheel, said slip-clutch being operative normally to drive said ratchet wheel synchronously with said hour wheel and to permit said ratchet wheel to be advanced or retracted relative to said hour wheel, an hour hand connected to said ratchet wheel, a dial wheel having ratchet teeth on its periphery, and setting means comprising an index lever pivotally mounted to swing from an inactive position to an active position, a pair of detent members mounted on said lever and so arranged that one of the detent members engages said ratchet wheel and the other detent member engages the ratchet teeth of said dial to advance the ratchet wheel and dial through predetermined angles relative to said hour wheel in response to movement of said lever from inactive position to active position, a rocker arm for swinging said lever from inactive position to active position, and means for restoring and yieldingly holding the lever and rocker arm in inactive position.

5. In a timepiece of the type having an hour wheel driven by a motor mechanism, an index wheel rotatable about an axis concentric with said hour wheel, a resilient member carried by one of the wheels and normally engaging the other wheel to provide a slip-clutch connection nomalily tperaldve to rotate mamas syncinre newly and to the index'wheel to be ad'- van'cd relative to hour wheel, an indicator carried hy-said index wheel, a rotatable dial having portionacontaining indicia'tlesi'gnatingdifier ent timemncs, and wtingimem'irorzadvanoing said index wheel and dial throagn predetermined angles relative to said hoilr wheel, thereby to change the setting 0:05am tnlrcatoraby-za predetermin'ed time interval and simultaneously change the setting bf saii't'i flial to correspond with the setting of-said indioator, said meanacompris ing an index-lever pivotally mounted to swing from en-inactive position to an active position, a pair of detents mounted on said lever and arranged to engage and advance said dial and index wheel through a predetermined angle relative to said hour wheel in response to movement of said lever from inactive position to active position, a rocker arm for swinging said lever from inactive position to active position, and means for restoring and yieldingly holding the lever and rocker arm in inactive position.

6. In a timepiece of the type having an hour wheel driven by a motor mechanism, an index wheel rotatable about an axis concentric with said hour wheel, a resilient member carried by one of the wheels and normally engaging the other wheel to provide a slip-clutch connection normally operative to rotate the wheel synchronously and to permit the index wheel to be advanced relative to the hour wheel, and hour hand carried by said index wheel, a rotatable dial having portions containing indicia. designating different time zones, and setting means comprising an index lever pivotally mounted to swing from an inactive position to an active position, a pair of detent members mounted on said lever and so arranged that one of the detent members engages said ratchet wheel and the other detent member engages the ratchet teeth of said dial to advance the ratchet wheel and dial through predetermined angles relative to said hour wheel in response to movement of said lever from inactive position to active position, a rocker arm for swinging said lever from inactive position to active position, and means for restoring and yieldingly holding the lever and rocker arm in inactive position.

7. In a timepiece of the type having an hour wheel driven by a motor mechanism, a ratchet wheel concentrically mounted with respect to said hour wheel, a slip-clutch connection between said ratchet wheel and hour wheel, said slip-clutch being operative normally to drive said ratchet wheel synchronously with said hour wheel and to permit said ratchet wheel to be advanced or retracted relative to said hour wheel, an indicator connected to said ratchet wheel, a dial having indicia designating difierent time zones, a pair of spaced opposed detents engageable with said ratchet wheel and dial, and means for selectively operating said detents to advance or retract said ratchet wheel and dial to change the setting of said indicator by a predetermined time interval, and simultaneously set the dial to correspond with the setting of said indicator.

-8. In a timepiece of the type having an hour wheel driven by a motor mechanism, a ratchet wheel concentrically mounted with respect to said hour wheel, a slip-clutch connection between said ratchet wheel and hour wheel, said slip-clutch being operative normally to drive said ratchet wheel synchronously with said hour wheel and to permit said ratchet wheel to be advanced or retiacted relative to said hour wheel, an hour hand connected to said ratchet wheel, a dial wheel having ratchet teeth on its periphery, and setting means including a pair of spaced opposed detents, each having a, pair of resilient members respectively engageable with said ratchet wheel K and th ratchet teeth on said dial wheel, and means for selectively operating said detents simultaneously to advance or retract said ratchet wheel and dial wheel, thereby to change the setting Of said hour hand by a predetermined time interval and to set the dial wheel to correspond with the setting of said hour hand.

IRA GUILDEN.

REFERENCES CITE]? The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 504 432 Grunberg Sept. 5, 1893 1,419,029 Doll June 6, 1922 1,932,754 Spranger Oct. 31, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 28,101 Switzerland Apr. 20, 1903

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