JPH04319691A - Oscillation frequency regulator for pendulum in pendulum clock - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control automatically delay and fast progress of a clock by compar ing oscillation frequency of a pendulum to standard oscillation frequency from a crystal oscillator which is housed in an inside of the pendulum and by driving a pulse motor with the comparison value. CONSTITUTION:Standard pulse is always output from a crystal oscillating element 23, is input to a comparison circuit, vibrates a pendulum 26 and makes a pendulum clock work. Oscillation frequency of the pendulum 26 at this moment is counted by a mercury switch 25 and is input into the comparison circuit. Accordingly, in the comparison circuit, the standard pulse and the present vibration of the pendulum are always compared, and, when deviation appears, a pulse motor 20 is made to rotate reversely or ordinarily to move a weight 26 upwardly or downwardly, so as to eliminate the deviation. In this way, both the oscillation frequency of the pendulum 26 and the number of the standard pulses are automatically regulated to be always the same and thereby vibration of the pendulum 26 is adjusted to maintain the correct time.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pendulum frequency adjusting device for automatically controlling the swing speed of a pendulum of a pendulum type clock.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Examples of pendulum structures in conventional pendulum clocks are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This pendulum 1 has a weight 3 supported at the lower end of a pendulum arm 2 so as to be movable up and down along the arm 2, and the weight 3 is adjusted up and down with a screw 4 and a nut 5, thereby delaying the clock. , so that the advance can be manually adjusted.

In other words, in such a conventional pendulum frequency adjustment device, by visually checking whether the clock is slow or fast, for example, if the clock is running fast, the pendulum weight is moved down three times or vice versa. When the pendulum is in a delayed state, the weight 3 is moved upward to adjust the frequency of the pendulum.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the case of a pendulum structure, especially when the length of the pendulum arm 2 is long as in a large clock, the pendulum arm 2 may change due to changes in temperature.
There was a problem in that the length changed slightly, which caused the swinging speed of the pendulum 1 to change, causing the clock to advance or lag depending on changes in temperature.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] This invention was made by focusing on these conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to compare the frequency of the pendulum with the fundamental frequency emitted from a crystal oscillator built inside the pendulum. Then, the pulse motor is driven based on the compared values to automatically move the pendulum weight up and down.
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic adjustment device for a pendulum frequency in a pendulum clock, which can automatically control the delay or advance of a clock.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained in detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

In FIGS. 3 to 5, 11 is a pendulum arm, and this arm 11 has four parallel support shafts 1.
2, and the upper and lower ends of each support shaft 12 are fixed metal fittings 13, 1.
4 are connected together. A cylindrical frame-shaped weight support member 15 is provided at the lower end of the arm 11 and is guided by the support shaft 12 so as to be movable up and down. Reference numeral 16 denotes a screw punch which is installed and fixed in parallel with each of the support shafts 12 between a bracket 17 fixed to two center shafts and the fixing fitting 14; Nut member 18 is engaged. This nut member 18 is housed inside the cylindrical frame 15 inside the weight support member 15 so as not to hinder the rotation of the nut member 18. A worm gear 19 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of this nut member 18.
This worm gear 19 has a worm 22 connected to a pulse motor 20 via a reduction gear group 21.
are in mesh with each other, so that the nut member 18 is rotated when the pulse motor 20 is driven. 23 is a crystal oscillator that generates a reference pulse for the clock; 24 is a battery that serves as a power source; and 25 is a mercury switch that generates a pendulum pulse (counts the frequency). 26 is a pendulum weight, and this weight 26 is fixed to the weight support member 15.

The configuration of this embodiment has been described above, and its operation will now be described.

First, a reference pulse is always outputted from the crystal oscillator 23 and inputted into the comparator circuit shown in FIG. Therefore, the pendulum 26 is vibrated to operate the pendulum clock, but the frequency of the pendulum 26 at this time is the same as the mercury switch 25.
is counted (detected) and input into the comparator circuit. Therefore, this comparison circuit constantly compares the reference pulse with the current pendulum operation vibration, and if an error occurs between the pendulum vibration frequency and the reference pulse number, the pulse motor 20 is adjusted to eliminate the error. The weight 26 is moved up or down by rotating it in the forward or reverse direction, thereby automatically adjusting the pendulum's vibration frequency and the reference pulse number to be always constant, so that the pendulum's swinging movement can be accurately timed. FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the invention, which can be accurately corrected to support. That is, in the embodiment described above, a crystal oscillator is used as a means for outputting the reference pulse, but in this example, instead of the means for outputting the reference pulse, a digital crystal clock 27 is incorporated, and a radio etc. The pendulum is equipped with a microphone 28 that detects a time signal from the center, and compares the hour when the current time signal is detected by the microphone 28 with the time on the crystal clock 27. As a result, if the pendulum stops within one hour, Let me restart,
Even without moving the hands of a pendulum clock, the time delay can be automatically corrected within 12 hours by automatically adjusting the vertical movement of a weight 26 to correct the time to an accurate time. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the pendulum is temporarily stopped due to an earthquake or the like, for example, if the pendulum is made to vibrate again, accurate time can be indicated without moving the hands.

In this embodiment, the reference signal of the clock is compared with the frequency of the pendulum of the clock, and if the pendulum frequency lags behind the reference signal, the pendulum The weight actuating motor is automatically driven to raise the weight of the pendulum, and when the pendulum frequency is advancing relative to the reference signal, the actuating motor is automatically driven to lower the pendulum weight. Because it is driven by
When the length of the pendulum in a pendulum clock fluctuates due to thermal expansion due to temperature, etc., the weight position (up and down) of the pendulum can be automatically adjusted so that the clock indicates the accurate time. Highly accurate time indications can always be maintained regardless of the time.

[0011]

As described above, the present invention includes a means 25 for calculating the frequency of the pendulum, a reference signal generating section 23 that oscillates at a constant frequency, and a frequency division of the reference signal to calculate the standard frequency of the pendulum. , an error signal generating means for calculating the difference between the frequency of the pendulum and the standard signal, and a step motor 20 rotated in response to the error signal. , is a pendulum frequency adjustment device for a pendulum clock, which includes a weight shifting means that shifts the weight of the pendulum in the vertical direction with respect to the pendulum in accordance with the rotation of the motor. and the frequency of the pendulum of the clock, and if the frequency of the pendulum lags behind the reference signal, the weight operating motor is automatically driven to raise the weight of the pendulum. , and when the pendulum frequency is advancing relative to the reference signal, the operating motor is automatically driven to lower the weight of the pendulum, so the length of the pendulum in a pendulum clock is equal to the temperature. The pendulum's weight position (vertical position) can be automatically adjusted so that the clock indication indicates the accurate time when the clock indication changes due to thermal expansion etc. Therefore, the time indication is always highly accurate regardless of the season. The effect is that it can be maintained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a conventional pendulum.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a conventional pendulum.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an embodiment of a pendulum according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an embodiment of a pendulum according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the weight driving section of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the weight operation of this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of a weight driving section showing another embodiment of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] Means for calculating the frequency of a pendulum (25
), a reference signal generating section (23) that oscillates at a constant frequency, a standard signal generating means that divides the frequency of the reference signal to generate a standard signal corresponding to the standard frequency of the pendulum, and a frequency of the pendulum. It has an error signal generating means for calculating the difference from the standard signal, and a step motor (20) which is rotated in response to the error signal, and the weight of the pendulum is adjusted relative to the pendulum according to the rotation of the motor. A pendulum frequency adjustment device for a pendulum clock, characterized by comprising a weight shifting means for shifting in the vertical direction.