IMPROVE- MENTS IN WATCHES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bradshaw, the younger, of Coventry, in
the County of Warwick, Watchmaker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WATCHES."
Sealed the 4th July 1862, and dated the 8th January 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bradshaw at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
January 1862.
I, WILLIAM BRADSHAW, the younger, of Coventry, in the County of
Warwick, Watchmaker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENES IN WATCHES," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in watches relates to a novel arrangement
of the works for actuating a centre second's wheel. The centre second's hand
is carried by a pivot over the other hands without using the extra wheel
which is usually employed for this purpose in watches of this description. The
power is gained from the third wheel, and is carried out by two extra wheels
and three pinions. One of the wheels is on the centre second's shaft, and the
other is an intermediate wheel which actuates the fly pinion. The second's
power is directly connected with the independent hand, being attached to the
same arbor or shaft that carries the second's hand. There is an extra power

page_text: or spring in a box or collet on the second's hand shaft, and on this same
shaft is a pinion which gears into and is driven by the third wheel.
This arrangement of wheels is entirely different from any that has heretofore
been employed for similar purposes, and the intended object is effected with a
less number of wheels than usual.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Bradshaw in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th July 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BRADSHAW, the younger, of Coventry, in the County of Warwick, Watch-
maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Bradshaw, Her special license that I, the said
William Bradshaw, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Bradshaw, 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 WATCHES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Bradshaw, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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 William Bradshaw, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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) :-
My Invention of "Improvements in Watches," relates to a novel arrange-
ment of the works for actuating a centre second's wheel and hand. By my
improvement the centre second's hand is mounted on a pivot, and is carried

page_text: over the other hands without the necessity of using the extra wheel which is
usually employed for this purpose in watches provided with a central second's
hand. The power for actuating the centre second's hand is gained from the
third wheel, and is carried out by two extra wheels and three pinions; one of
the wheels is on the centre second's shaft and the other is an intermediate
wheel which actuates the fly pinion. The second's power is directly connected
with the independent second's hand, being attached to the same arbor or shaft
that carries the second's hand. For this purpose there is an extra power or
spring enclosed in a box or collet on the second's hand shaft, and on this
same shaft is a pinion which gears into and is driven by the third wheel.
This arrangement of wheels is entirely different from any that has heretofore
been employed for similar purposes, and the intended object is effected with a
less number of wheels than usual.
a small
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents an inside view of the pillar
plate of a watch constructed according to my Invention and is drawn to an
enlarged scale; Fig. 2 is a section of part of the same, taken through the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, and drawn to a scale double the size of Fig. 1. The red
circular lines in Fig. 1 indicate the ordinary going train of a lever watch, a
being the fusee; b, the second wheel; c, the third wheel; d, the fourth wheel;
and e, the escapement wheel. The third wheel c, (see Fig. 1), gears into and
drives a pinion f of eight teeth, which runs loosely on the arbor g. It will be
seen, on referring to Fig. 2, that this arborg carries at one end the independent
second's hand h and at the other end a collet or barrel i, containing
"maintaining" or "trail" spring, one end of which is made fast to the
pinion f, the other end being made to bear against the sides of the collet or
barrel i, so that it will be carried round by means of frictional contact, and
with it the arbor g and independent second's hand h. In order to regulate the
motion of the second's hand a spur wheel j of sixty teeth is secured to the
arbor g, and gears into a pinion k of ten teeth, which carries the wheel k¹, also
of sixty teeth, which acts on a fly pinion of six teeth, to which is attached the
fly m, shewn by dots in Fig. 1. This fly m strikes against the pinion of the
escapement wheel e, and is regulated by it, as will easily be understood. In
order to stop the independent second's hand without stopping the other parts of
the watch, an arm or lever n, (seen best in Fig. 3, which represents the back
of the pillar plate) is provided. This lever rocks on the screw o, and one end
of the lever projects through to the outside of the case of the watch, while the
other end carries a small pin p', which works through a slot cut in the pillar
plate, and when the arm or lever n is rocked upon its centre the pin n¹ comes
in contact with the fly m, and stops its further motion. A short tube p is

page_text: attached to the back of the pillar plate for the purpose of carrying the minute
wheel and hour wheel r, with their respective hands, as will be clearly seen
in the enlarged sectional view, Fig. 2.
Having now described my Invention of improvements in watches, and
having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the
Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the mode herein set
forth of actuating the centre seconds of watches.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bradshaw, the younger, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Seventh day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
WILLIAM BRADSHAW, JUNER. (L.S.)