IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOCKS OR TIMEPIECES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Heinrich Jörns, of Tessin, Grand Duchy of Mecklen-
burgh Schwerin, Watch Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CLOCKS OR TIMEPIECES."
Sealed the 12th June 1863, and dated the 16th December 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Heinrich Jörns at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
December 1862.
I, HEINRICH JÖRNS, of Tessin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburgh Schwerin,
Watch Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN CLOCKS OR TIMEPIECES," to be as follows:-
This Invention is designed for obviating the necessity for winding up clocks
or timepieces periodically as at present practised. It is proposed to effect this
through the agency of the variations in the temperature of the atmosphere,
which is constantly taking place both inside and outside of dwelling houses,
and to employ the draught or current of air caused by such changes of
temperature to set in motion certain mechanism to be connected to the
ordinary mechanism of clocks, and by these means to produce a power
sufficient to wind up a clock continuously, instead of having to wind it up by
hand periodically, as at present practised. By this Invention a great part of
the weight at present necessary to keep the going parts of a clock in motion
may be dispensed with; for example, a clock, which under ordinary cir
cumstances would require four pounds to keep it going, may by this Invention
be kept going by the gravitating power of a weight of two ounces.
The following are examples of the means by which this Invention may be

page_text: carried into practical effect, that is to say, the case containing the clock
movements I propose to form with two vertical chambers, the foremost to
contain the clock and the back chamber for the passage of air by suitable
inlet and outlet passages; the top or outlet passage aforesaid is provided with
a flap valve, and the bottom or inlet passage is fitted with an ordinary
revolving ventilator, upon the axis whereof a worm is formed, which gears
into a worm wheel for imparting rotary motion to wheelwork for winding up
the going weight of the clock by means of an endless cord passing over a
series of pullies suitably placed. The action of the foregoing mechanism is as
follows: Suppose the clock to be only partly wound up, in this case the
flap valve aforesaid will be open; suppose also that there is a hole made in
that part of the wall against which the clock case is to be placed, said hole
will establish a communication by means of the aforesaid air chamber between
the air both outside and inside of the room in which the clock is situated, and
as the temperature of the air in the room varies from that outside of same,
the effect will be to cause the air in the room to pass through the ventilator
and outlet passage aforesaid, and thus impart motion to the winding mechanism
connected therewith, and raise the going weight of the clock, and continue to
do so until the weight is raised to its full extent, by which time a hook will
have been brought into action and lifted a sliding piece of metal and weighted.
lever connected to the outlet air passage aforesaid, and by these means close
said air passage, by which the action of the ventilator will stop, and the
winding up of the clock cease until the going weight aforesaid again descends
by its gravity, by which the outlet passage will be again opened, when the
winding mechanism will again come into action, and again raise the going
weight, as before stated, and so, on in succession, thus causing said weight to
be continually, raised as it descends, the operation of winding being in effect
self-acting, and, constituting the feature of novelty in this Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Heinrich Jörns in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th 3
June 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HEINRICH
JÖRNS, of Tessin,, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburgh Schwerin, Watch Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 3
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto I,
the said Heinrich Jörns, Her special licence that I, the said Heinrich Jörns,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Heinrich Jörns, 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 CLOCKS OR TIMEPIECES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Heinrich Jörns, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, 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 Heinrich Jörns, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say:-
This Invention is designed for obviating the necessity for winding up clocks
or timepieces periodically, as at present practised. It is proposed to effect this
through the agency of the variations in the temperature of the atmosphere,
which are constantly taking place both inside and outside of dwelling houses,
and to employ the draught or current of air caused by such changes of
temperature to set in motion certain mechanism to be connected to the
ordinary mechanism of clocks, and by these means to produce a power
sufficient to wind up a clock continuously, instead of having to wind it up
by hand periodically, as at present practised. By this Invention a great part
of the weight at present necessary to keep the going parts of a clock in
motion may be dispensed with; for example, a clock which under ordinary
circumstances would require four pounds weight to keep it going, may by this
Invention be kept going by the gravitating power of a weight of two ounces.
The following are examples of the means by which this Invention may be
carried into practical effect, that is to say:-The case containing the clock
movements 1 propose to form with two vertical chambers, the foremost to
contain the clock, and the back chamber for the passage of air by suitable
inlet and outlet passages; the top or outlet passage aforesaid is provided with
a flap valve, and the bottom or inlet passage is fitted with an ordinary

page_text: revolving ventilator, upon the axis whereof a worm is formed, which gears
into a worm wheel for imparting rotary motion to wheelwork for winding up
the going weight of the clock by means of an endless cord passing over a
series of pullies suitably placed. The action of the foregoing mechanism is
as follows:-Suppose the clock to be only partly wound up, in this case the
flap valve aforesaid will be open; suppose also that there is a hole made in
that part of the wall against which the clock case is to be placed, said hole
will establish a communication by means of the aforesaid air chamber between
the air both outside and inside of the room in which the clock is situated, and
as the temperature of the air in the room varies from that outside of same,
the effect will be to cause the air in the room to pass through the ventilator
and outlet passage aforesaid, and thus impart motion to the winding mecha-
nism connected therewith, and raise the going weight of the clock, and
continue to do so until the weight is raised to its full extent, by which time a
hook will have been brought into action and lifted a sliding piece of metal
and weighted lever connected to the outlet air passage aforesaid, and by these
means close said air passage, by which the action of the ventilator will stop,
and the winding up of the clock cease until the going weight aforesaid again
descends by its gravity, by which the outlet passage will be again opened,
when the winding mechanism will again come into action, and again raise the
going weight, as before stated, and so on in succession, thus causing said
weight to be continually raised as it descends, the operation of winding being
in effect self-winding, and constituting the feature of novelty in this Invention.
And in order to explain this Invention as completely as possible, I now
proceed to describe the means by which the same may be carried into practical
effect, reference being had to the illustrative Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference marked thereon
respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a clock representing the aforesaid improve-
ments adapted thereto; Figure 2, an elevation of the back of the clock case,
with portions thereof removed to expose to view certain parts herein-after
described and referred to; Figure 3, a vertical section through the line A, B,

page_text: A, A, is the case of the clock; B, the clock dial, affixed to the frame con-
taining the wheelwork, which may be of the ordinary kind. For the purposes
of this Invention the clock case is formed with a chamber C, and openings
D, E, and Q, for the inlet and outlet of air, as hereafter described.
I now proceed to describe the self-winding mechanism above referred to,
and mode of action of same as follows:-a, b, c, d, e, f, are a series of pullies
around and over which is, passed in the direction of the arrow's flight an
endless cord G, kept in a state of tension by the weights H and I, the
weight I being heaviest, and constituting the going weight of the clock; K is
a hook fixed to the weight I; the use of this hook is to raise by another
hook L a slide M, and thereby to lift a weighted lever N into the position
denoted by dotted lines at Figure 3, and actuate a valve or flap O affixed
thereto, so as to shut off the communication between the chamber C and the
outlet pipe Q; P is an ordinary revolving fan ventilator, such as is used in
dwelling houses; the axis of this ventilator has a worm 9 formed thereon,
which gears in a worm wheel h, and through the medium of this wheel the
system of wheelwork i, k, l, m, is set in motion, and the weight I raised as
follows: I would here observe that in fixing this improved clock in a room a
hole must be made through the wall or partition thereof, and the pipe Q
passed through same, so as to establish a communication between the air of
the room in which the clock is placed and the external air, so that supposing
the several parts to be in the position exhibited at Figures 1, 2, and 3, and
supposing also the temperature of the atmosphere in the room to be higher
than that of the atmosphere on the other side of the wall or partition of said
room, the consequence will be that the air in the room will pass through the
openings D, E, and impart motion to the ventilator P in the direction of the
arrow's flight, the air passing through the outlet opening Q, and by these
means motion will be transmitted to the system of wheelwork i, k, l, m, and
thereby raise the weight I, and wind up the clock, and as such weight
continues to raise, the hook K will lift the sliding piece M and lever N into
the position denoted by the dotted lines at Figure 3, the effect of which is
to shut off the passage of air through the outlet pipe Q, and by these means
to stop the action of the fan P and winding mechanism connected therewith,
and as the weight I again descends, the slide M will descend, and with it the
lever N, thereby lifting the valve or flap O, and allowing the fan P to be
again set in motion and wind up the clock as before, and so on continually;
R is a pawl to prevent the fan turning in a direction opposite to the arrow.
In adapting this Invention to ordinary clocks, the cord G has simply to be
passed round or over the pulley thereof in the usual way. In adjusting a

page_text: clock or timepiece of the above construction to a wall or partition, it is
necessary in order to ensure proper performance of the winding mechanism
that the temperature of the air in the room or other place, or the current of
air entering same be in excess of the temperature of the air or current at
the other side of the wall or partition against which the clock or timepiece
is fixed.
Having now full described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention for "Improvements in Clocks and Timepieces," together with the
best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into practical effect,
I would remark in conclusion that I hereby declare my Invention to consist
in and I claim the mechanical combinations and arrangements above
described with reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, or any
mere modification thereof in which the use of inlet and outlet passages are
employed in combination with an ordinary ventilator operating upon wheel-
work for winding up the going weight of the clock or timepiece, as above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Heinrich Jörns, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
HEINK. JÖRNS. (L.S.)