CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF WATCHES
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
AUGUSTIN CHAUFFOURIER, of No. 105, Regent's Quadrant, in the County of
Middlesex, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fourteenth day of
March, One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in the twelfth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Pierre Augustin Chauffourier, my exors, adiñiors, and assigns,
Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said Pierre Augustin Chauffourier, my exors, adñors, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said Pierre Augustin Chauffourier, my exors, admors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF WATCHES," communicated to me from abroad; in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Pierre Augustin
Chauffourier, should cause a particular description of the nature of the said

page_text: Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Pierre Augustin Chauffourier, do hereby declare that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into execution, are hereafter
described and ascertained by the.following statement thereof, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and..to the different.letters and figures
of reference therein contained, that is to say :-
The Invention communicated to me consist in a new mode of placing the
motive power or main spring of a watch, and in the new dispositions of several
of the other component parts. Up to this time, watches working a long
period have not produced a satisfactory result on account of the want of
sufficient moving power, and of a simple arrangement for reducing the
amount of friction. The cause of the evil is attributable to the fact that the
ordinary watches the space occupied by the moving power is confined in the
same radius of the circle of the watch plate and on the same geometrical
surface as that, of the whole mechanism which transmits the motion to the
regulator or pendulum. By the improvements herein-after described, the
depth of the watch is divided into two horizontal compartments, by which I
.afford a greater freedom of action to the works. By this new system I
obtain a watch combining great precision with a long period of action. The
motive power, that is to say, the main spring, is set at the exterior of the
plate so as to occupy the total diameter of one of the surfaces of the watch
.box; the other parts of the mechanism occupies the total diameter of the
other stage or surface of the box, and is therefore provided with as much
room as may be wanted; so that what is commonly termed a watch is
placed between the spring and the dial supporting the motion wheel and
hands for indicating the hour. The other parts of the mechanism do not
possess any important innovation, being merely adapted to agree with the
displacement of the moving power. And when once a communication has
been secured from that power to the pendulum or balance train and the
motion wlieel of the watch, then my arrangements are nearly similar to those
of ordinary watches working a long period of time:
. Having thus given a preliminary insight of the Invention communicated to
me, I will now-proceed to describe the mode of carrying it out. The watch
.differs more especially; from all others in the box or barrel and I will therefore

page_text: commence by the description of that part. Figure IV. is a bird's-eye view of
the barrel; B, B', is the edge; it is provided at its external periphery with a
small rim which serves for the casing. That edge is internally half the total
height of the watch. T, T, is a grooved plate set in the afore-mentioned edge,
tand its radius being shorter, leaves for rabbet the part Z, Z, cut in the bottom
part of the edge B, B. This groove is that of the barrel, and is sunken like
the first X..
។
Figures IV. and V. is a hole cut sufficiently large and deep, and is con-
veniently hollowed out on the opposite side (as seen in Figure V.) in order to
receive the stop on one side, and to give on the other side a sufficient elevation
-to the winding up square...
!
Figure I. is a plan in elevation of the internal parts of the watch, the dial
being taken off to shew the position of some of its several component parts.
A, A', is the plate on which the bridges which maintain the wheelwork is set.
This plate A, A, is freely set in the aforesaid edge B, B', and placed on the pant
Z, Z, on which it is properly fixed by the three screws 1, 2, and 3. It is
centered by two pillars and serves at the same time as a lid to the barrel. In
the same Figure I., B" is the bridge supporting the arbor of the barrel
S, S; S is the bridge, bearing a part of the wheelwork.. C is the bridge qu
which runs the wheel of the escapement, called horizontal scape wheel. D is
the cock for supporting the cylinder with its balance and spring. The arbor of
the barrel is provided with a ratchet wheel R, R'; one third of its thickness is
kept for the teeth, and the two other remaining thirds form underneath a
circular projection called.a slioulder, having its diameter at the bottom of the
teeth rather smaller than the ratchet. The wheel H, H', catches on the pro-
jection of the ratchet. The nave. of the arbor of the barrel, which is of a
larger diameter than the shoulder on which the said projection is set, by
aneans of two screws and two pillars holds therefore the wheel H, ',. in its
proper place on the arbor with an easy friction. This nave is formed into a
recess (on the side opposite to that on which the shoulder is set) facing the
bottom of the barrel, in order that the hollow X may enter without being in
contact, while the rim of. the barrel made in the form of a ring nearly reaches
the bottom part of.the.outer box or barrel. This ring is externally provided
with a hook serving to reach the internal hole of the main spring. The wheel
H, H, of the same Figure I. is provided with a circular spring .V, V, the
extremity of which forms the click. On account of the required pressure
of the main spring, the two.ends of the circular spring :V, V, are made by that
means to bear one on the other, and form a stopper perfectly secure. The
second wheel M of the same Figure 1. is provided with ninety teeth; it catches

page_text: and gives the motion on one side to the wheelwork, and on the other to the
motion wheel. The wheel G, Figure II., has thirty teeth; it is cut or hollowed
nearly up to its teeth, and is beside provided at its centre with a hole nearly
as large as its groove. It is set so as to work with an easy friction against
the wheel L. A toothless steel wheel R, set on the centre of the spindle of
the pinion of the wheel L, is made to enter into the groove of the thirty-
toothed wheel G. The centre of the aforesaid wheel R is placed on the wheel
L, and is fixed at this point by means of two screws, and therefore it presents
its under side. On the Figure II. the first external line represents the wheel
L, the second the thirty-toothed wheel G, and the third shews the steel wheel
R set into the groove of the said wheel G; finally, the centre line of the afore-
said Figure represents at P the arbor of the pinion of the wheel L. The
Figure III. represents a plan of the wheel L seen underneath, having its
pinion and the two screws securing the steel wheel R. This mode of adjusting
gives a movement, replacing that of the canon pinion by which the hands are
set to the minutes and hours. The bridge B¹ of the said Figure 1 is provided
around the hole into which the pivot of the arbor of the barrel turns with
two grooves K, K', and Y, Y The first K, K', is cut for the canon pinion
or set hands square. The second groove Y, Y', with which the same bridge
B is provided on its left side, is cut more deeply. In the centre of this last
groove Y, Y', I insert the arbor of the pinion or minute stud of the wheel L;
by that contrivance the wheel M having ninety teeth gives motion to the
wheel G having thirty teeth, and to the wheel which sets the canon pinion in
motion, and the pinion of the aforesaid wheel M gives motion to the canon wheel.
The. arbor of the barrel containing the main spring is hollowed out in the whole
of its length, and is provided with a steel arbor turning freely in its hollowed
inside. I cause this said steel arbor to receive with an easy friction the canon
pinion on the side of the bridge B', whilst on the opposite side the said steel
arbor is provided with a small square entering a hole drilled inside the winding
up square. This hole is sufficiently large to allow the pipe of a small key to
enter in order to turn the hands. On the left side of the bridge B' I have
placed a safety steel bolt; it is kept at its place by means of a screw, and its
elongated part is made to penetrate between two teeth of the wheel H, H',
and serves to stop the action of the main spring. By that easy contrivance
all the train of the watch can be taken to pieces without taking down
the main spring. The steel piece 4, Figure I. is the dog to set the box in.
To prevent the oil of the main spring being mixed with that of the wheel-
work, I place, between the plate A, A, and the main spring a small
and very thin gilded platina sheet, having a diameter corresponding with

page_text: that of the plate A, A¹. This thin gilded plate has got in its centre a
proper hole exactly like the plate A, A', through which is to pass the
arbor of the cylindrical box; it is also provided at its edge with five holes
corresponding to those made in the groove Z, Z¹, and shewn by small circles in
Figure 4; when the screws 1, 2, 3, Figure 1, are drawn close, they keep that
additional plate and the plate A, A¹, together. The end of the index bearing
the two pins, which include between them the last turn of the blade of the
pendulum spring, is long enough to project a little out of the rim of the dial;
its outward projecting extremity passes underneath it, and bears at the same
time on the edge B, B'. I use that end as an index to regulate the watch, and
by it I am enabled to communicate a slower or faster movement to the pen-
dulum spring. I cause a small moveable and very thin steel band to follow the
index in its right or left motions; this band serves at the same time to keep
permanently shut the opening made in the edge B, B¹. In order to have on
the dial a small hand to indicate the seconds, I have rivetted a small wheel J,
Figure I., on the pinion of the fifth wheel P. This wheel J communicates its
rotative motion to another wheel J', having the same diameter and number of
teeth, and it is on the prolongation of the pivot of the wheel J that the band
indicating the seconds is set. These two above-named wheels J and Jare
set at the same elevation as the bridge of the wheel of the barrel at its
thinnest part. The number of the moving wheels and their trains are as
follows-First wheel H, H', with eighty teeth; second wheel M with ninety
teeth, its pinion with ten teeth; third wheel N with eighty teeth, its pinion
with ten teeth; fourth wheel O with sixty teeth, its pinion with ten teeth;
fifth wheel P with sixty teeth, its pinion with eight teeth; sixth, the escape-
ment wheel with fifteen teeth, and its pinion with six. The number and trains
of the motion wheel is as follows:-The wheel G is furnished with thirty teeth,
catches with wheel M, from which it receives its motion. The wheel L,
catching with the wheel G, is provided with thirty-six teeth, and its pinion with
ten. The hour wheel is provided with forty teeth, and the canon pinion with
twelve teeth. The two wheels J and J' have cach fifty teeth.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim
as the Invention communicated to me, all the parts of the mechanism of a
watch herein referred to taken separately. But what I claim as the Invention,
and intended to be patented by the aforesaid Letters Patent, is,-
Firstly, the adaptation of the moving power, t that is to say, of the main
spring, to the exterior of the watch plate, so as to occupy the whole diameter
of the watch, as herein-before described in reference to Figures IV. and V.

page_text: Secondly, the setting and arrangement of the other parts of the mechanism
of the watch on the whole diameter of another plan, as herein-before described
in reference to Figures I., II, and III.
Thirdly, the .constructions of the barrel and hollow arbor as herein-before
described in reference to Figures I., IV., and V.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Augustin Chauffourier, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
PIERRE A. CHA (L.B.)
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourteenth day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid Pierre Augustin Chauffourier came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in formi above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statuto made for that purpose.
Eurolled the Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.