IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SOUNDING BELLS ON LIGHTHOUSES, ALARM BELLS ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS, AND POR BELLS IN CHAPELS AND PLACES OF WORSHIP
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Oliver, of No. 15, Old Boswell Court, in the
County of Middlesex, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR SOUNDING BELLS ON LIGHTHOUSES, ALARM BELLS ON
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS, AND POR BELLS IN CHAPELS AND PLACES
OF WORSHIP."
Sealed the 2nd June 1865, and dated the 8th December 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Oliver at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
December 1864.
I, CHARLES OLIVER, of No. 15, Old Boswell Court, in the County of
Middlesex, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SOUNDING BELLS ON LIGHTHOUSES, ALARM
BELLS ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS, AND FOR BELLS IN CHAPELS AND PLACES
OF WORSHIP," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for sounding
bells on lighthouses, for alarm bells on public and private buildings, and for
bells in chapels and places of worship. For these purposes a maintaining
power is used, by preference a weight, which as it descends gives motion to a
barrel by means of the chain or rope to which it is attached in the ordinary
manner of giving motion to a train of wheels. On the axis of a barrel is a
cog wheel, which gives motion to a pinion fixed on the axis of an escapement
wheel. The hammer is fixed in the ordinary way to strike on the sound bow

page_text: of the bell on the outside, and it receives motion from the hammer tail which
forms a crank, and then by means of a connecting rod from the hammer tail.
to another crank, and from thence by a second connecting rod, which is
attached to one end of a long lever. This long lever is fixed on one end of an
axis; on the other end of such axis is fixed another lever, which receives its
motion from a lever fixed on an opposite axis directly over the escapement
wheel; on the under side of such lever is a short projection or pallett, and
the teeth of the escapement wheel act in succession on this projection. At
the extreme end of this lever so acted upon is fixed a lifting tooth, which acts
on the opposite lever by a downward motion, and such opposite lever lifts and
discharges the hammer by the assistance of the pallett lever, which receives
motion from the escapement wheel, assisted by the pendulum. On its return
the tooth or lift is pressed down by the upward movement of the lever to which
it is fixed by its coming in contact with the first mentioned or opposite lever,
and resumes its place after it has passed it. At the extreme end of the axis
of the lever with lifting tooth on and outside the standard or frame is attached
a crutch, and on the top of the standard is a projecting piece, to which a
pendulum is attached by a spring to regulate the motion, and the rod of the
pendulum rests in the fork of the crutch; this assists in raising the hammer,
and the pendulum regulates the time of the blow, which can be varied as
required. At the other end of the same axis is a short arm, which gives
motion to another and a lower axis by a connecting rod, so as to give this
lower axis a rocking motion; this axis at the end where the escapement
teeth come is notched in such a manner as that when the notch is presented a
tooth of the escapement wheel can pass, but when the unnotched surface of
the axis is presented to the escapement wheel, as it is when the projection
before mentioned is so placed as 'to allow teeth to pass, it prevents the
escapement wheel running down.
To discharge or stop the machine there is affixed to the floor at the base of
the frame that supports it a catch balance lever or latch with a bevel 'tooth,
upon which another bevel tooth at the base of the bob of the pendulum rests.
By lifting the lever these teeth are disconnected and the machine put in
motion; by letting the lever resume its place the bevel teeth at the end of the
lever and base of the bob of the pendulum lock and stop the motion.
To wind up the machine a maintaining power jack is required, which
consists of a frame of two plates or bars distanced by studs, which is worked
by two cog wheels, a 'tooth is fixed to that plate or 'bar 'that comes in contact
with the machine, and this 'tooth is so arranged to rest in the teeth of the
main or barrel wheel, so that while the weight is being wound up the pressure

page_text: of this tooth on the teeth of the barrel wheel propel it forward in its progress
with an uniform force.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Oliver in the Great Seal Patent Office, on the 8th
June 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
OLIVER, of No. 15, Old Boswell Court, in the County of Middlesex, Machinist,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Charles Oliver, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Oliver,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Charles Oliver, 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
APPARATUS POR SOUNDING BELLS ON LIGHTHOUSES, ALARM BELLS ON PUBLIC AND
PRIVATE BUILDINGS, AND FOR BELLS ON CHURCHES, CHAPELS, AND PLACES OF
WORSHIP," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles
Oliver, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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 Charles Oliver, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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 and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for sounding
bells on lighthouses, for alarm bells on public and private buildings, and for
bells on churches, chapels, and places of worship. For these purposes a
maintaining power is used, by preference a weight, which as it descends gives

page_text: motion to a barrel by means of the chain or rope to which it is attached, in
the ordinary manner of giving motion to a train of wheels. On the axis of
the barrel is a cog wheel, which gives motion to a pinion fixed on the axis of
an escapement wheel. The hammer is fixed in the ordinary way to strike on
the sound bow of the bell on the outside, and it receives motion from the
hammer tail, which forms a crank, and then by means of a connecting rod
from the hammer tail to another crank, and from thence by a second con-
necting rod, which is attached to one end of a long lever. This long lever is
fixed on one end of an axis, and on the other end of such axis is fixed another
lever, which receives its motion from a lever fixed on an opposite axis directly
over the escapement wheel; on the under side of such last-mentioned lever is
a short projection or pallet, and the teeth of the escapement wheel act in
succession on this projection. At the extreme end of this lever so acted upon
is fixed a lifting tooth, which acts on the opposite lever by a downward motion,
and such opposite lever lifts and discharges the hammer, and by the assistance
of the pallett lever, which receives motion from the escapement wheel assisted
by the pendulum on its return the tooth or lift is pressed down by the
upward movement of the lever to which it is fixed by its coming in contact
with the first-mentioned or opposite lever, and resumes its place after it has
passed it. At the extreme end of the axis that has the lever with the lifting
tooth on, and outside the standard or frame is attached a crutch, and on the
top of the standard is a projecting piece, to which a pendulum is attached by
a spring to regulate the motion, and the rod of the pendulum rests in the fork
of the crutch, and the pendulum regulates the time of the blow, which can
be varied as required. At the other end of the same axis is a short arm,
which gives motion to another and a lower axis by a connecting rod and a
short arm or projection attached to the lower axis, so as to give this lower
axis a rocking motion. This axis, at the end where the escapement teeth
come is notched in such manner, that when the notch is presented a tooth of
the escapement wheel can pass; but when the unnotched surface of the axis
is presented to the escapement wheel, as it is when the projection before
mentioned is so placed as to allow the teeth to pass, it prevents the escapement
wheel running down.
To discharge or stop the mechine, there is affixed to the floor at the base of
the frame that supports it a catch balance lever or latch with a bevel tooth,
upon which another bevel tooth at the base of the bob of the pendulum rests.
By lifting the lever these teeth are disconnected and the machine put in
motion, by letting the lever resume its place the bevel teeth at the end of the
lever and base of the bob of the pendulum lock and stop the motion.

page_text: To wind up the machine a maintaining power jack is required, which
consists of a frame of two plates or bars distanced by studs, which is worked
by two cog wheels; a tooth is fixed to that plate or bar that comes in contact
with the machine, and this tooth is arranged to rest in the teeth of the main or
barrel wheel, so that while the weight is being wound up the pressure of this
tooth on the teeth of the barrel wheel propel it forward in its progress with an
to my Invention, and suitable for being affixed to a lighthouse, a public or
private building, church, chapel, or place of worship; Fig. 2, a plan of part
of the apparatus; Fig. 3, the maintaining power jack to wind up the
machine.
A, A, is the framing; B is the bell; C, the hammer fixed on the outside
of the bell in the ordinary way; C, the hammer tail connected by the rod D
with the crank E; F is a second connecting rod attached to the other end of
the crank E, and connected to the extreme end of the lever G, the action of
which will be hereafter described; H is a weight connected with a chain or
cord I, the end of which is attached to the framing, and which passes under
and over the pullies J, and thence is wound on the drum or barrel K, on
which is a cog wheel L, which gives motion to the pinion M fixed on the axis
of the escapement wheel N, the teeth of which act in succession on the pro-
jecting piece or pallett O on the under side of the axis P, upon which works
the lever Q. At the extreme end of this lever is the lifting tooth Q', which
acts upon the short arm R, which is fixed at the other end of the axis upon
which the lever G before described is also fixed. On the extreme end of the
axis P, and outside the standard is attached the crutch S, and on the top of
the same standard is a projecting piece T, to which the pendulum U is
attached by a spring. At the other end of the axis P is a short arm V which
gives motion to a lower axis W by a connecting rod V', and a short arm V*
attached to such axis. The axis W at the part W₁ (where the escapement
teeth come) is enlarged, as shewn, and on one side of it is a notch formed so
as to permit a tooth of the escapement wheel to pass when that side of the
axis W is presented to it, but the escapement wheel is stopped when the
notch in the side of the axis W is not towards the escapement wheel.
Attached to the floor at the base of the frame A is the catch balance lever
or latch X, with a bevilled tooth, upon which a bevilled tooth at the base of
the bob of the pendulum rests. At the other end of the lever or catch is

page_text: a crank Y for lifting the lever or latch X, and thereby discharging the
machine.
Fig. 3 shews a maintaining power jack. a is a frame of two plates or
bars distanced by studs; b, b, the two cog wheels; c, the tooth that comes in
contact with the teeth of the main or barrel wheel of the machine; d, the a
handle or winder.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to any
of the mechanical parts separately; but what I do claim is,―
First, the construction herein described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of
the Drawings.
And, secondly, I claim the combination herein described with reference to
Fig. 3 of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Oliver, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
CHARLES OLIVER. (L.S.)