IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC CLOCKS AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Richard Christopher Rapier at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 12th August 1868.
I, RICHARD CHRISTOPHER RAPIER, of 17, Victoria Street, Westminster,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ELECTRIC CLOCKS AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in electric clocks and
in apparatus connected therewith.
When reversed currents are used instead of making the break as
described in Bright's Specification (No. 549), 22nd February 1866,
with all four legs of the break fixed on one centre piece and turning
together, I make two breaks each with a single leg on each side, each
break turning quite independently of the other, the advantage thus
gained being certainty of contact, for in Bright's break in order to insure
certainty of contact of both legs it is necessary to interpose springs and
screws on the tips of the breaks so as to allow sufficient elasticity on the
part of the leg which first touches its touching plate to admit of the

page_text: other leg also touching, whereas in the break now described the leg
of each break touches independently of the leg of the other, and so they
may be made to touch more nearly at the same instant than they do in
Bright's Patent. I use two or more breaks for the purpose of making
simultaneous and similar contact, the object being to secure certainty of
contact; if, for instance, one break fails to complete the circuit from any
circumstance, such as dirt or grease on the touching tip, the second or
'third break may not be dirty at the same time, and the circuit will still be
completed by the second or third break, and the clock will continue to
receive its current from the battery. I put magnets in only one half of
the length of the magnet bar and none in the other half, the effect of
this being that when the end of the electro-magnet of the pendulum is
attracted quite to the end of the permanent magnets the pendulum does
not travel much further because the magnets then prevent the pendulum
going further, and thus regularity of swing is promoted.
I employ the following method of hanging a pendulum:-A bar of
steel or other metal with one edge up is supported on a frame; the
pendulum stem does not reach quite up to this bar, but is suspended on
it by two cheeks or plates fastened to the sides of the stem of the
pendulum. This bar is fitted with a stud or pin midway between the
cheeks, and on this pin turns a friction roller a little less in diameter
than the distance between the cheeks. Thus when the centre of the
stem coincides with the centre of the pin neither of the cheeks touches
the friction roller, but should the pendulum from any cause travel along
the bar one or other of the cheeks touches the friction roller, and is thus
prevented going further, and at the same time the friction roller offers
far less resistance to the working of the pendulum than any kind of
dead collar would do.
A modification of this may be made by fixing a friction roller to the
stem of the pendulum in any part of its length, and letting this friction
roller travel between guides fixed for the purpose to any convenient part
of the clock case.
Another part of the Invention consists in an apparatus for turning the
gas on and off sooner or later according to the lengthening or shortening
of the days. An arbor worked by the clock and revolving once in 24
hours has fixed upon it a disc keyed fast on the arbor; this disc is round,
but a portion of the circumference, say one-fourth, is struck with a rather
larger radius than the other part so as to act like a cam; near this disc

page_text: is a lever fixed in any convenient manner, so that one end of the lever
actuates the gas valve and the other end carries a friction roller, which
is touched by the circumference of the disc, thus when the small part
of the cam is passing the friction roller the gas valve is allowed to shut,
but whilst the larger part of the cam is passing the friction roller it is
pushed down by the cam, and the other end of the lever lifts and opens
the gas valve. In addition to the disc above described two other discs are
carried by the same arbor, one on each side of the fixed disc, but are not
fixed to the arbor, but the bosses of these discs are pressed against the
bosses of the fixed disc, so that they turn somewhat stiffly on the arbor.
These two discs are about the same size as the first-named disc, and they
have also cam pieces for about one-fourth of their circumference, and
also on another part of their circumference they have teeth cut, and
these teeth are actuated by small pinions whose arbors are carried by the
first-named disc, and on these arbors are fixed "star" wheels, or wheels
having large teeth, and the pinions are so arranged on their arbors that
when one of these star wheels is turned round the pinions turn the two
moveable discs towards each other, and when the other star wheel is
turned round (in the same direction as the former star wheel) the two
moveable discs turn from each other. To any convenient part of the
clock frame or case a pallet stud is fixed in such a way that the teeth of
one or other of the star wheels catch it as the star wheel passes. Thus
it will be seen that as the 24-hour arbor revolves it carries with it the
discs, the pinions, and the star wheels, and as the star wheels pass the
fixed stud once in 24 hours the star wheels will be turned one or more
teeth by catching against the stud, and the pinions fixed to the star
wheels will turn the discs a very little. By a proper proportioning of
the cams and the teeth in the star wheels and pinions and cam discs the
discs may be arranged so as to "open out" during the half year when
the days are shortening, and so keep the gas longer on and to "close
up as the days lengthen, and so keep the gas on a shorter time both
morning and evening, thus obtaining, for instance, 18 hours of illumi-
nation in the depth of winter and 6 hours in the height of summer.
The pallet stud may be fixed on a sliding piece or otherwise, so that it
can be brought opposite to either of the star wheels and so turn the
cams either towards each other or away from each other. By making
the cam part of the fixed disc a little smaller than the other cams the
gas will be turned on not quite so full during the time the fixed cam
only is upon the friction roller of the gas lever, i.e., during the midnight.

page_text: hours of winter, and so a little economy of gas is effected at the time it
is not so much wanted.
I also employ the following method of working groups of clocks :-I
use a controlling pendulum without any dials or wheels, the only moving
parts being the pendulum and the break for closing and opening the
circuit; the advantage of this method being that I thus reduce the risk
of error on the part of the controlling or master clock to a minimum,
all disturbing influence of dials, wheels, or pointers being removed, and
the pendulum having nothing to do but to move its break, its motion
will be much more regular and consequently better time will be kept
by the clocks in the groups. There will also be much less risk of the
master clock being stopped. The time keeping of the pendulum may
of course be known by observing the dials of the clocks in the group,
and its speed may be regulated by an adjustable weight as usual, and
when once the pendulum is adjusted the case need very rarely be opened,
as there is no dial requiring correction or wheels requiring cleaning.
I also employ the following method of mounting the break :-Instead
of mounting it on pivots I make it with a knife edge piece projecting
downwards in the centre between the 2 legs, and this knife edge may
stand on the pendulum bracket, and the movement being slight there is
very little friction, and consequently no oil required and cleaning
very rarely.
I also employ the following method of working the clocks at different
stations of a railway or in different towns-At the principal or con-
trolling station I use a pendulum by preference of considerable length
and weight. This pendulum may be worked by electricity or in any
other manner. It is furnished with a brake or mutator, by which a
current of electricity is transmitted at every beat of the pendulum along
wires to the controlling pendulum of each station. The controlling
pendulum of each station is thus driven by the clock at head quarters,
and it in its turn works a brake, by which it works all the clocks at its
own station. Thus by taking care to keep the one primary pendulum at
a regular and correct rate all the other clocks on the railway will keep
correct time. Of course the lengths of all pendulums intended to go
together must be approximately adjusted before placing them in the
circuit. The secondary controlling clocks of the stations may be made
with two electro-magnets in the pendulum, the one electro-magnet
receiving a current from the primary clock, and the other receiving

page_text: the same current as the secondary controlling clock sends to its subor-
dinate clocks, thus if any accident happens to the primary clock the
secondary and subordinate clocks still keep going, although they cease
to be controlled by the primary clock. Instead of two electro-magnets
one may be used if it be coiled with two wires together, the one wire
having the primary current passed through it, and the other wire having
the secondary current. By preference I use an acid battery for the
primary currents, and an earth battery for the secondary currents.
I also employ the following method in making electric clocks strike:-
I use a striking train like that of an ordinary clock, but I wind it up by
a lever actuated at one end by the pendulum of the clock, and the other
end carrying a pallet, which takes into a pallet wheel fixed on one of
the arbors of the striking train, and thus every beat of the pendulum
winds up the striking weight by as much as one tooth of the said pallet
wheel. The proportions of the various parts must be made according
to the number of blows required to be struck on the bell or bells. Also
if preferred a separate electro-pendulum may be used for winding up
the striking part of the clock so as not to interfere with the going part.