IMPROVEMENTS IN LEVER ESCAPEMENTS FOR WATCHES OR TIMEKEEPERS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LEVER ESCAPEMENTS
FOR WATCHES OR TIMEKEEPERS."-A communication from abroad by
Julius Hietel, John Wenzel Hietel, and John L. Geissler, all of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Sealed the 3rd November 1868, and dated the 2nd June 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 2nd June 1868.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
5 Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LEVER ESCAPEMENTS
FOR WATCHES OR TIMEKEEPERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a new manner of constructing the lever of
an escapement, and consists in constructing the lever of a watch escape-

page_text: ment of two arms which are connected at their outer ends by a spring
and fitting it around the staff which has a groove formed in it for the
reception of the short arm. The application and arrangement of this
self-regulating spring lever will, when the watch is shaken or violently
agitated, allow the ruby pin to pass, and will therefore permit the
balance to turn freely under the influence of such shock or motion.
The object of the Invention is to prevent the breaking of the ruby
pin or pivots, which in ordinary lever escapements is frequently the
case, and to still at the same time avoid the complication of the
chronometer escapement in which the same freedom of the balance is
provided.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd December 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LEVER ESCAPEMENTS FOR WATCHES OR TIMEKEEPERS," being a communi-
cation to me from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their

page_text: hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
This Invention relates to a new manner of constructing the lever of
a watch escapement, and consists in the application and arrangement
of a self-regulating spring lever which will when the watch is shaken or
violently agitated allow the ruby pin to pass, and which will therefore
permit the balance to turn freely under the influence of such shock or
motion.
The object of the Invention is to prevent the breaking of the ruby
pin or pivots which with ordinary lever. escapements is frequently the
case, at the same time the complication of chronometer escapements in
which the same freedom of the balance is provided is avoided.
Experience has shown that a well constructed anchor or lever escape-
ment (even in the keeping of time) is but little inferior to the free
escapement, and that even as to durability it frequently excels the
too complicated lock spring escapement, and it furthermore possesses
certain mechanical advantages over it in its construction and manu-
facture. Although in these two important points the free escapement
is inferior to the anchor escapement, it has still the decided advantage
of allowing unrestricted freedom to the motion of the balance, which is
not the case with the lever escapement, as the latter causes a frequent
striking and even occasional breaking of the ruby pin or pivots. The
advantage of a free motion of the balance is however of much importance
in watches as they are frequently exposed to considerable and violent
motion which affects the balance in such a manner that the play
allowed to the balance of the lever escapement has proved to be
insufficient. A removal of these drawbacks to the lever would be of

page_text: the utmost advantage and would soon find universal adoption and favor,
the more so as a good but injured lever watch cannot be easily-repaired
by ordinary watch-makers. The lever, which has all the advantages of
the free escapement without sharing the complication and difficulties
of its construction, is the subject of the present Invention. This self-
correcting spring lever allows the balance to turn freely in either
direction, the lever yielding to it, and resuming its original position
by the action of the spring of which it is formed, so that under no
circumstances can a striking or breaking of the ruby pin or pivots be
possible. The lever is thus brought to the desired perfection in a simple
manner without any complicated mechanism, its appearance being but
little different from that of the ordinary lever. The self-correcting
spring lever can be applied without difficulty to all kinds of American
and foreign lever watches.
I will now proceed to describe the construction and arrangement of
the self-correcting spring lever with reference to the accompanying
Drawings, in which Figures 1 and 2 represent a plan or top view, partly
in section of the improved watch escapement; Fig. 3 is a sectional side
view of the same.
A is the balance wheel mounted on its staff B; C is the lever turning
on its staff D; and E is the plate or base. On the balance is fixed the
ruby pin a in the usual manner, and the front end of the lever C is
forked. The lever C is made of a spring bar which is doubled at its
outer portion, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, thus forming two arms b
and d. The long arm b has the fork at its inner end and fits around
or rather rests against one half of the staff D, for which purpose it has a
semicircular recess cut into it. The short arm d rests against the
opposite flattened side of the staff D, and (when undisturbed) also
against the edge of the long arm b, its end being near to but not in
contact with a shoulder e formed on the long arm; this shoulder may
however be omitted. The whole lever C is in reality not clastic, but
only that bent portion or ring f of it, which on their outer ends con-
nects the two arms b and d. This spring portion f may either form
part of or may be secured to the arms. By means of this spring f
the arms b, d, of the lever can be drawn somewhat apart, as in Fig. 2,
but the spring will draw them together again, as in Fig. 1, as soon as
they are released from pressure or strain. The flattened portion of the

page_text: staff D against which the arm d rests is somewhat hollowed, so that
the arm will rest only against the two extreme ends of that portion as
shown. The lever is prevented from playing up and down by being
held between two shoulders 9, 9, formed on the staff D, as shewn in
Fig. 3. F are the pallets mounted on the staff D; h is the banking pin
secured to and projecting from the upper and lower sides of the pallet.
The upper part of the banking pin h fits through a slot in the long
arm 6 of the lever C while the lower ends fits into and plays in a slot
or groove formed in the plate E. The lever and pallets work under
ordinary circumstances exactly like the ordinary lever, that is, the ruby
pin causes the lever to oscillate around its staff D, and to thereby
oscillate also the staff whereby the pallets are moved in the ordinary
manner. If however the watch should be vehemently shaken or moved,
so that the balance has a more than usual tendency to swing in either
direction, the ruby pin will (when it has brought the lever to one side
so that the banking pin is at the end of its slot in the plate E) push the
long arm b still further in such direction. The spring f will allow the
arm to yield (as in Fig. 2) and thereby permit the ruby pin to pass the
lever. When the ruby pin has passed the lever resumes at once its
original position. Thus free unrestricted motion is allowed to the
balance without doing away with the ordinary advantages of the lever
escapement. It will be noticed that while the lever is thus moved
aside (that is to say, while the arms b, d, are somewhat drawn apart)
neither the staff D nor the pallets change their position.
Having now described the Invention which has been communicated to
me as aforesaid, and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent
as aforesaid,-
First. The use and application of a self-regulating spring lever C
for watch escapements, made and operating as herein shewn and
described.
Second. Constructing the lever C of a watch escapement of two
arms band d connected at their outer ends by a spring f, and adapted
to the staff D, as herein set forth.
Third. The combination and arrangement in a watch escapement
of the balance wheel A, spring lever C, partly flattened or grooved

page_text: staff D, pallets F, banking pin h, and ruby pin a, as herein shown and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Thirtieth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)