IMPROVEMENTS IN TIME INDICATORS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Melville Thomson Neale, of 32, Essex Street, Strand, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TIME INDICATORS."
Sealed the 10th February 1880, and dated the 13th August 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Melville Thomson Neale at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th August 1879.
MELVILLE THOMSON NEALE, of 32, Essex Street, Strand, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN TIME INDICATORS."
""
My improvements have reference to a mode of transmitting pulsations of electri-
city from a main or line battery through a "line" 'or "circuit" in which I place a
controlling or regulating clock (for the purpose of controlling or regulating pulsa-
tions of electricity emitted from the said main battery), and which clock I shall
afterwards describe, and to the instruments or "time indicators herein to be
described, which are for the purpose of automatically recording (on their separate
dials) the time shewn by the said controlling or regulating clock. By these
improvements the hands on the dials of many such instruments or time indicators
are caused to constantly indicate the time shewn by the hands of the said con..
trolling clock.
1. The line or main battery, in the circuit of which I place the controlling clock,
does not in these improvements influence directly the electro-magnet which actuates
the mechanism of the time indicator or instrument,, but only passes through a coil
of wire (as in an ordinary galvanometer), deflecting thereby a small oscillating
magnet weighted at the bottom end and kept in a vertical position when at rest,..
which oscillating magnet by its deflection closes the circuit of a local battery, and
which battery (consisting of a céll or cells) is contained or concealed inside of the
time indicator itself. By this arrangement a large number of such time-indicators
or recording instruments may be placed and worked in one line circuit.
2. The placing of a small battery, cell, or cells, as alluded to above, inside the
time indicator itself, in conjunction with the above mentioned' coil and magnet, for
Price 6d1

page_text: the purpose of obtaining a local current, which acts as a sort of relay, and which
battery's sole duty is to actuate the one set of hands belonging to its own time
indicator.
3. The mechanism (which actuates the hands of the time indicator when the local
battery is called into action), consisting of an electro magnet and its armature, the
prolongation of which armature has for its point of oscillation the same shaft which
carries the hands, and which armature prolongation carries on one of its sides a
spiral spring and nozzle or apex which gears into the teeth of a ratchet wheel,
thereby causing the wheel to revolve one tooth or one sixtieth (*) of its circum-
ference at every attraction of the armature, and allowing at every cessation of the
electric pulsation the armature to fly up and over the next tooth above, ready for
the next attraction.
The action is as follows:-Whenever a current of electricity or an electric pulsa-
tion psases through the coil from the line wire in each of the time indicators, the
oscillating magnet in each indicator feels its influence and is deflected, and its
bottom end (or a special striker piece in its stead, which swings or oscillates with
it) comes in contact with a small metallic point connected with one pole of the local
battery cell or cells contained in the time indicator itself, and as the shaft on which
the small magnet oscillates is connected with one end of the wire forming the coils
of an electro magnet, whose other end is attached to the other pole of the said local
battery cell or cells, the circuit of the said local battery is thereby closed, by reason
whereof the current of electricity from the latter passes through the coils of the said
electro magnet, and causes the nozzle or apex attached to the spiral spring of the
armature prolongation (which nozzle or apex gears into the ratchet wheel) to press
down one tooth of the said ratchet wheel, and so revolve the latter one sixtieth (0)
of its circumference, and consequently to revolve the shaft on which the ratchet
wheel is fixed, and also the minute and hour hands on the shaft, thus moving the
minute hand one minute on the dial, and the hour hand proportionately by means
of its usual gearing. I may add in regard to the local battery cell or cells before
alluded to, which is or are contained inside the time indicator or recording instru-
ment, that I do not bind myself that it or they shall be of any particular or peculiar
form, make, or name, but perhaps it or they may be preferably of the form of battery
known as Leclanché.
4. The clock which controls the pulsations of electricity is an ordinary clock, but
with the following attachments:-I cover the back of the dial plate with a similar
plate of dry wood or ebonite, or other non conducting material (which latter if
desired may be separate from the dial plate), through which protrudes the arbor or
shaft which carries the hour and minute hands. On the shaft, but separated from
metallic connection with it by a square nut of non conducting material, I place an
arm or hand of metal having a boss which fits onto the nut, and against which boss
in its rotation with the shaft or arbor presses a small wheel or roller supported by
a spring, the spring being fixed against the wooden or ebonite back of the dial
piate; this spring and wheel are connected metallically by wire or some other con-
ductor with one pole of the line or main battery. At the end of the arm is a
trailing spring carrying a wheel or roller, which moves at the same rate as the
minute hand of the clock; this wheel or roller in its rotation passes over the points
or teeth of a circular ring of metal attached to the ebonite plate, and having 60
(sixty) teeth or points of equal dimensions pointing inwards towards the centre;
this ring is connected with the other pole of the line or main battery, and the
various time-indicators or recording instruments are placed in the line circuit
between the regulating clock and the main battery.
5. The action is as follows:-
Every time the wheel attached to the arm passes over and consequently touches
or makes contact with one of the teeth or points of the circular ring, the line-circuit
is closed. The oscillating magnets in the several time-indicators are deflected by
the current, and the several electro-magnets attract their several armatures, which

page_text: cause their respective ratchet-wheels, shafts, and minute hands in each to revolve
one sixtieth of their circumferences, or in other words mark a minute.
The moment the trailing wheel has passed over the tooth or point of the ring onto
the ebonite or other nonconducting plate, connexion is broken, the several oscil-
lating magnets again become vertical, the local circuits being thereby broken, and
the armature in each time-indicator ceases to be attracted to the poles of the electro
magnet, and thereby causes the nozzle or apex of the spiral spring in each to be
pressed inwards, and consequently to fly over the next tooth above, ready for the
next attraction. The nozzle or apex, on account of its own formation and that of
the ratchet wheel, presses down one tooth of the latter at every fresh attraction of
the armature, and flies back over or up the next one above on its release or back-
ward stroke, the ratchet wheel itself being prevented from turning except in one
direction by means of a small spring which gears into its teeth. By these means
generally it will be seen that the hands of the time-indicators are moved on a minute
at a time at every pulsation of electricity emitted from the line-battery at the rate
permitted by the controlling clock.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Melville Thomson Neale in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th February 1880.
MELVILLE THOMSON NEALE, of No. 32, Essex Street, Strand, in the County of
:Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN TIME INDICATORS."
My Invention has for its object improvements in the means of transmitting time
by electric currents, by which many time indicators are caused to be kept in exact
time with a governing or controlling clock which contains mechanism for regulating
or giving out pulsations of electricity from a battery situated in the same circuit in
which are the said governing clock and time indicators.
The said improvements virtually consist in the addition to any ordinary electric
'indicator of time of a relay arrangement by which a local battery and circuit are
thrown into action to move the hands of each indicator at the moment, of a passage
of an electric pulsation through the main or line circuit, by means of which relay
arrangement a large number of time indicators can be placed in one circuit, the
main or line pulsation of electricity not having to do the work of moving the hands
of the various indicators, but simply having to actuate a delicate relay arrangement
in each indicator, which, as before mentioned, causes another or local battery and
circuit in each to come into action and perform this work. The said relay arrange-
ment may be of two or more kinds, such as a couple of coils with a magnetic needle
inside and between them, as in an ordinary galvanometer arrangement; or it may be
of any well known form of relay, such as one coil with an arm supporting it, and
having at its top a delicate armature or spring, the electricity passing through the
arm and coil. I do not in fact bind myself to any particular form of relay arrange-
ment, but I prefer to use one of the two forms above alluded to.
Any of the ordinary forms of dial time indicators may be used with my relay
improvements, which possess a set of hands and a ratchet wheel with 60 teeth in
it (as I prefer to give sixty pulsations in the hour, thus moving the hands minute by
minute, although I do not bind myself to give any given number of pulsations in the
hour). The said time indicator will of course have the usual electro magnet and
armature, and a mechanical arrangement such as is shewn in Figure 1 (a), or any
modification thereof by means of which the armature at each attraction or drawing
down by the magnet will be enabled to rotate the ratchet wheel one tooth at a
time, and also by the same action to grip it so as to prevent more than one tooth
passing at one attraction, no matter how strong or how weak the battery power
may be.
Figure 1 shows also the arrangement of the relay by which the local battery is
brought into action. I now proceed to describe more minutely my mode or modes
of carrying the above improvements into effect.
Figure 1 (a) and (b) represents the backs of two of the time indicators in which
my improvements as described herein are embodied, but I do not confine myself to
any particular form or shape, as it is evident that many may be equally well used.
In the said Figure 1 (a) and (b), B is a shaft or arbor on which an ordinary set
of minute and hour hands with the usual gearing or additional wheels for actuating
the latter from the former or otherwise are set, shewing the time on a dial plate
behind the ratchet wheel C, which contains sixty teeth, and which are also keyed on
to the shaft or arbor B. N, in Figure 1 (a), is a small magnate capable of oscillating
with the arbor or shaft P, and which is easily deflected by a current of electricity
passing through the coils M when conveyed from the line wire L' through the
terminals L, L. It is weighted at the lower end in the usual way as in a galvano-
meter, so as to cause it to remain in a vertical position when at rest, when not
under the influence of the current. I is a small spring for preventing the ratchet
wheel C from turning, except in the direction shown by the arrow.

page_text: D.is the armature of the coil.or magnet F; E, E, E, is a specimen of.a mechanical
lever and slide arrangement by which the wheel C is revolved a tooth at a time by
the motion of the armature D. In the form of relay, as shewn in Figure 1 (a), the
coils of wire M, M, have their ends joined to the terminals L, L.
R is a horizontal point or stop of metal against which the end of the magnet
comes in contact when oscillating or deflecting under the influence of the current
passing through the coils M, N. It may however be convenient in some cases to
employ a special striker or piece of metal, also fixed as the arbor or shaft P, for the
purpose of making contact with the point R, instead of utilizing the magnet itself
for the purpose of actually making contact with the said point.
The bottom part of the apparatus or indicator (in Figure 1) (a) and (b) T, U, V, W,
forms the receptacle for a battery cell or cells X, X, which I do not bind myself to
.be of any particular or peculiar form, make, or name; but it or they may be perhaps
preferably of the form of battery known as Leclanche. Connection from this
battery cell or cells, which I call the "local battery" in contradistinction to the
line battery W (Figure 2), is then to be made by joining up in the usual way by
means of wire or other conducting material one of the terminals S to the point
piece. R. The metallic plate in which the shaft P and magnet N oscillate is to be
united in the same manner, with one end Y of the wire forming the coil or coils of
the electro magnet F, whilst the other end of its coil or coils Z is united to the
other terminal S of the said battery cell or cells.
It will thus be seen that the battery cell or cells X, X, forms a local battery, from
.which an electric circuit is formed or obtained through points S, R, N, P, Y, Z, and
S, but only when the small magnet N (or the special striker previously alluded to
by me as perhaps convenient to be attached) touches or makes contact with the
piece R, thus permitting the said circuit to be closed.
Figure 1 (b) shows another form of relay by which the same result is obtained.
M is a coil or magnet of delicate form, the ends of the wire being united to the
. line terminals L, L, whilst the local magnet F is united to it and the terminal S of
the local battery X, X, the other terminal S being joined up in the usual way to
this relay M. In this method the local circuit is closed whenever a current of
electricity through the main or line circuit L' and L' passes the armature N of
the coil M, being at once drawn down by it.
The action is therefore as follows:-Figure 1 (a), whenever a current of electricity
or an electric pulsation passes through the coils M, M, from the line wire L', L³, the
small magnet N feeling its influence is deflective, and at its bottom end (or the
special striker in its stead) comes in contact with the point R, thus closing the
.local circuit S, R, N, P, Y, Z, S, the local circuit being closed the local battery X, X
causes the local magnet F to act, and the mechanical arrangement in connection
with the armature causes the ratchet wheel to revolve one tooth.
The like manner in Figure 1 (b), whenever a current passes through the relay M
the local circuit S, R, M, N, Y, Z, S, is closed, and the local battery X, X, brought
into action in a similar manner to Figure 1 (a).
In each case it is obvious that the ratchet wheel being fixed to the shaft on which
the minute and hour hands are revolving thus 1/60th of its circumference at each
pulsation causes the minute hand to record at each movement one minute on the
dial, and the hour hand (by means of its usual gearing in connection with the
minute hand) 1/60th of the hour.
By these my improvements a minute is marked on the various time.indicator
dials at each pulsation of electricity, whilst the line current L, L³, has not to do
the work of moving the magnets F of the various indicators.
The cell or cells of the local battery .X, X, may be either concealed in the
- indicator itself or placed elsewhere, as to this I do not bind myself although 'I
prefer to have it, self contained.
Figure 3 shews the complete circuit of indicators, main line battery W, and
controlling clock X.
14

page_text: With regard to the controlling clock X, Figure 2 shews a simple arrangement,
which added to an ordinary clock will cause a circuit to be closed every minute
giving a long or short pulsation at pleasure; but I do not bind myself to this or
any particular form of apparatus attached to a clock for giving pulsation, but this
or any well known form may be used.
However I now proceed to describe the particular form as one way of obtaining
the required minute pulsation.
Figure 2 represents the back of the dial plate, or it may be a separate fixture to
or addition to any ordinary clock or time piece, whereby such clock may be made
to give out or regulate at regular intervals of a minute electric pulsations from a
battery, which pulsations pass through the relays of the several time indicators in
the line circuit.. Through the dial plate or separate fixture above mentioned the
arbor or shaft protrudes, and on this the minute and hour hands are fixed in front.
Around B, Figure 2, is placed a square of ivory, ebonite, or other insulating material
which exactly fits the shaft, and which is sufficiently tight on it to turn with it.
On this square is fixed the metallic hand N having a boss (see Figure 2), against
which in its rotation presses a small wheel or roller supported by the spring S; the
hand N carries a trailing spring at the end of which is a small wheel or roller V;
T, T, T, T, is a circular ring or plate with 60 (sixty) teeth of equal dimensions
pointing inwards towards the centre. The spring S and its wheel P are connected
by one pole of the line battery through one of the terminals L. The circular ring
or plate T, T, T, T, from which the sixty teeth radiate has the other terminal Ĕ
affixed to it, and from this connection is made to the various time indicators (as
per Figure 1) required to be attached to the line circuit, as per example, Nos: 1
to 18, Figure 3, which are all actuatad by the line battery W, and regulated by
the controlling clock or some well known arrangement. The action is as
follows: As by the connections made the wheel V now represents one end or pole
of the battery W, see Figure 3, and the points of the ring or plate T, T, T, T, the
other pole of the said battery it is evident that the circuit W, 1 to 18, L, V, N,
P, S, L, W (see Figures 2 and 3), will be closed whenever the wheel or roller V
comes in contact during its rotation with one of the sixty points of the ring or plate
T, T, T, T, and it will thus be evident that as the arm N is keyed on to the shaft B
which moves the hands of the controlling clock to which the apparatus described in
Figure 2 is attached, the arm N and its wheel V moves at the same pace, and that as
there are sixty equal divisions in the plate T, T, T, T, over which the wheel runs the
wheel V occupies exactly one minute in passing from point to point of the plate
T, T, T, T, and as every time the wheel V touches a point of the said plate it causes
the circuit W, 1 to 18, L, V, N, P, S, L, W, Figures 2 and 3 to be closed, and an
electric pulsation to be transmitted from the line battery W along the said circuit
through the several relays M, Figure 1, of the various time indicators in the said
circuit, which causes the small magnets or armatures N in each of the time
indicators, (as described in Figure 1 (a), (b), to deflect or be attracted towards their
respective coils at each said pulsation, closing thereby their respective local circuits
as per example S, R, P, N, Y, Z, S), bringing thereby the local battery cell or cells
(as per example X, X), into play and causing by means of their electric magnets
as per example F), and as previously described their several ratchet wheels (as
per example C) to be rotated, and a minute thereby instantaneously marked by
their respective hands on their several dial plates through the medium of their
respective shafts (as per example B). It will be thus evident that the hands in
the various time indicators will constantly keep pace with the hands of what I call
the controlling clock, the time of which be it fast or slow, or exact Greenwich time
will thus be constantly transmitted to the several time indicators in the circuit.
The arrangement I have first described for the controlling clock is such that by
turning the ratchet pinion P the arm N and its trailing wheel V can be brought in
or out at pleasure, thus varying as required for the strength of the battery
employed the length of the pulsation. It will of course be evident by drawing the

page_text: trailing wheel in that a larger pulsation is ensured, the sixty teeth being every where
of an equal width, whilst by screwing it out instantaneous pulsation or those
lasting three, four, or any number of seconds can be obtained at pleasure. There
are however many well known methods of obtaining pulsations, any of which may
be probably equally well used.
be probably equally well used.
CLAIMS.
1. The application of the arrangement of a relay to a time indicator, such as a
magnet deflected by electricity passing through coils (as in a galvanometer), or an
ordinary delicate coil and armature or spring relay for the purpose of closing a
local circuit in time indicators, such as described in Figure 1, for the purpose
specified, and in the manner shewn in conjunction with a local battery cell or cells,
which may or may not be concealed in the time indicator which said local circuit
is for the sole purpose of actuating its own one set of hands.
2. The peculiar construction of the arrangement for the controlling clock as
described and in the manner shewn and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, he, the said Melville Thomson Neale, have hereunto set
his hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
20 Witness,
25
JNO. ANDREWS,
32, Essex St.,
Solz.,
ALEX. ANDERSON,
his Clerk.
MELVILLE THOMSON NEALE. (L.S.)