San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-16
The Clinquement "Chronologe."
and NOTHING ELSE.

The Clinquement "ChrOnologe."
This is a very singular and interest.
ing continuance. AS described by q
correspondent of Nature, it is clock
with only one toothed wheel, yet it
shows the hours, minutes, days of the
week, etc and strikes the hours aud
quarters at each quarter of an hour.
Moreover, there is an arrangement
for repeating the hours and quarters
at will. The single toothed W heel
spoken of is the escape-wheel and
this propels a pair of pallets and PEN
dulum in the ordinary way. The
rest of the work is done In the fall of
a small leaden ball, long chain of
these balls being intermittingly. ele-
waited, and one of them discharged
over a revolving drum each quarter
OF an hour. 1t is interesting to fol-
low one of these balls through the
course of its multitarious duties. 1t
first enters a sling in q tape wound
over the escape wheel axle, and it
is the weight of this and three other
balls (which have been previously
deposited in preceding slings) which
keeps the escape wheel gong. AS
the wheel turns around the balls
decend, and after quarter of an
hour the lowest will have arrived at
. funnel-shaped opening, where it
will get liberated from its sling and
fall 1t first strikes q lever which
enables the drum, to move on and
discharge another ball into a sling
upon the escape-wheel taps. Then,
rushing down tNbe, it enters q
zlgzag. It Is within this zlgzag
that the striking Of the
quarters is performed, for at each of
its angles a bell is placed, against
which the bell strikes sharply as 1t
passes them. After leaving the zig
gag the ball is projected down another,
where it strik es the hour.
AS the number of blows to be struck
is regulated by similar contrivapce
at each zigzag, we will continue our
attention to that for the hours. The
channel down which the bell passes
is vertical to the face of the zigZag.
Now, the front or zigzag side of this
channel is a moving tape, which ear
ries little trap. AS the tape is al
ways moving, the position of the trap
depends upon the time, and the posi-
ton Of the trap also determines
the stage of the zigZag upon
which the ball will be. p c.
jected. Thus, when the trap is
opposite the sixth stage of the zig
gag, the ball will encounter six cor
ners upon its way down and conse-
quently six blows will be sounded;
when the trap is at the top, twelve
blows are sounded; and and when the
trap is at the bottom, no blows are
sounded. When the ball leaves the
zigzag, it enters sling at the lowest
is Internationally carried up again TO
begin its work over again. For re-
peating the hours and quarters at
will, there is a separate reservoir of
smaller balls; and by pulling a han
die, one Of these can be discharged
abve the first zigzag, and when
1T has done its work it
disappears through hole, which
the regular balls can not pene-
trate, back to its own reservoir. 1t
may be mentioned that, in lieu of
bells, the hour zigzag has single
vertical sonorous tubs for each set
of corners. The time, days of the
week, ETC., are shown by means of
tapes carrying pointers suspended
over the escape wheel and another
axle.
The inventor, the Rev. Canon Gin
queman, maintains that the simpli-
city and precision, by reason of the
constant force on the escapement of
his "chronOlogen (which he has pat.
ented), render it peculiarly advan-
tageous for missionary and other dis
tant stations, where the assistance of
professional clockmaksrs is not read.
lily procurable.