Improvements in Mechanism for Indicating and Recording the Duration of an Experiment, Race, Cab-journey, or the like.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Aug., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 8th May, 1889-Accepted, 6th July, 1889
[Communicated from abroad by HERMANN BOVET, of Bienne, in Switzerland, Watch
and Clockwork Manufacturer].
Improvements in Mechanism for Indicating and Recording the
Duration of an Experiment, Race, Cab-journey, or the like.
I, ERNEST DE PASS, of 68 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of the
Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention consists in a mechanism for measuring and indicating the duration
of an experiment, a race, a cab-journey, or the like, from 1 second up to 24 hours,
said mechanism being so arranged as to enable the same to be combined with watches
of all kinds, without greatly increasing their price.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 shews the mechanism of the indicator as it
would be seen after the dial has been removed. Fig. 2 shews the arrangement of the
dial. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the eccentric bearing the seconds hand of the
indicator. Fig. 4 a vertical section of the eccentric bearing the minute hand of
the indicator, and Fig. 5 a vertical section of the eccentric bearing the hour hand
of the indicator. In all figures the same letters refer to the same pieces.
A is the minute pinion, or so called "chaussée," arranged as usual and bearing the
minute hand B of the watch. C is the "minuterie" (minute wheel work) and
D the hour wheel, both being arranged as usual in watches. The pinion A while
gearing, as usual with the wheel C, gears likewise into a transmitting wheel F
which drives a pinion G, bearing an eccentric H, to which is affixed the minute
hand 1 of the indicator.
A wheel J which is placed underneath the hour wheel D gears into another
transmitting wheel K which drives a wheel L bearing an eccentric M, to which is affixed
the hour hand N of the indicator.
The number of teeth of all these wheels is calculated so as to have on the one side
the hand I making one revolution in the hour, and on the other, the hand N making
one revolution in 24 hours.
The seconds are marked by a hand S, the eccentric R of which is placed upon the
axis P of the third wheel of the watch work.
The herein described arrangement is enabled to act as a chronograph or indicator
by means of the combined arrangement of the eccentrics R, H and M, and the lever T,
as will appear from the following description:
As shewn in Fig. 3, the axis P of the 3rd wheel carries a fixed seconds hand Q,
as usual in watches. Said axis carries also an eccentric R to which is affixed a
seconds hand S. The eccentric R is free to turn upon the axis P, but it is provided
with a little friction spring bearing laterally upon said axis P, so as to ensure
the eccentric. R turning with the axis P, but still able to be turned independently
for the purpose of setting the hand S to 0. A similar arrangement allows the
minute hand I, and the hour hand N of the indicator, to be set to 0.
The eccentric H, to which is connected the hand I, is provided with a spring /
bearing against the hollow axis of the pinion G.
The eccentric M, to which is connected the hand N, is provided with a friction
spring m bearing laterally against the hollow axis of the wheel L.
Now the three eccentrics R, H, and M may be acted upon by the three pro-
jections t¹ and t³ of a lever T, so as to cause their hands S, I'and N to be set to 0.
The lever T is held in the position shewn in full lines in Fig. 1, by means of a
spring U. By means of a push piece V, acting upon a transmitting lever W, the
Paine Rd1

page_text: lever T can be thrown from the position shewn in full lines in Fig. 1, into the position
shewn in dotted lines in said figure.
To measure the time by the herein described mechanism, the pusher V is pressed
down and is released at the very moment the experiment, or race, begins. The three
hands will then start from 0, and at the end of the experiment, or race, the duration
can be read in hours (up to 24), minutes and seconds.
Dated this 11th day of August 1888.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION:
Improvements in Mechanism for Indicating and Recording the
Duration of an Experiment, Race, Cab-journey, or the like.
I, ERNEST DE PASS, of 68 Fleet Street in the City of London, Fellow of the
Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this 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 accompanying drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This invention consists in a mechanism for measuring and indicating the duration
of an experiment, a race, a cab-journey, or the like, from 1 second up to 24 hours,
said mechanism being so arranged as to enable the same to be combined with watches
of all kinds, without greatly increasing their cost.
In the drawings left with my Provisional Specification, Fig. 1 shows the
mechanism of the indicator as it would be seen after the dial has been removed.
Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of the dial. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the
eccentric bearing the seconds-hand of the indicator. Fig. 4 is a vertical section of
the eccentric bearing the minute-hand of the indicator, and Fig. 5 is a vertical
section of the eccentric bearing the hour-hand of the indicator.
In all the figures the same letters refer to the same pieces.
"
A, is the minute-pinion or so called." chaussée," arranged as usual, and bearing
the minute-hand B of the watch. C, is the "minuterie (minute wheel-work) and
D, the hour-wheel, both being arranged as usual in watches.
The pinion A, while gearing, as usual, with the wheel C, gears likewise into a
transmitting-wheel F which drives a pinion G, bearing an eccentric H, to which is
affixed the minute-hand I, of the indicator.
A wheel J, which is placed underneath the hour-wheel D, gears into another
transmitting wheel K, which drives a wheel L bearing an eccentric M, to which is
affixed the hour-hand N of the indicator.
The number of teeth of all these wheels is calculated so as to have, on the one side
the hand I making one revolution in the hour, and on the other, the hand N making
one revolution in 24 hours.
The seconds are marked by a hand S, the eccentric R of which is placed upon the
axis of the third wheel of the watch work.
The herein described arrangement is enabled to act as a chronograph or indicator
by means of the combined arrangement of the eccentrics R, H, and M, and of the
lever T, as will appear from the following description.
As shown in Fig. 3, the axis P of the third wheel carries a fixed seconds
hand Q, as is usual in watches. Said axis carries also an eccentric R to which is
affixed a seconds-hand S. The eccentric R is free to turn upon the axis P, but
it is provided with a little friction-spring r, bearing laterally upon said axis P so
as to ensure the eccentric R turning with the axis P, but still able to be turned
independently for the purpose of setting the hand S to 0. A similar arrangement
allows the minute-hand I and the hour-hand N of the indicator to be set to 0.
The eccentric H, to which is connected the hand I, is provided with a spring
bearing against the hollow axis of the pinion G.
The eccentric M, to which is connected the hand N, is provided with a friction-
spring m bearing laterally against the hollow axis of the wheel L

page_text: Now, these three eccentrics R, H, and M may be acted upon by the three pro-
jections t¹, 2, and 3, of a lever T, so as to cause their hands S, I, and Ñ to be set to 0.
The lever T is held in the position shewn in full lines, in Fig. 1, by means of a
spring U. By means of a push-piece V, acting upon a transmitting lever W, the
lever T can be thrown from the position shewn in full lines, in Fig. 1, into the position
shewn in dotted lines in said figure.
To measure the time by the herein described mechanisın, the pusher V is pressed
down and is released at the very moment the experiment, or race, begins. The three
hands will then start from 0 and, at the end of the experiment, or race, the duration
can be read in hours (up to 24), minutes, and seconds.
In order to be able to set the minute hand I, with precision, to 60, I combine,
as shewn in Fig. 6, of the drawings accompanying my Complete Specification, the
pinion G with a small break Y, which is pressed against the pinion G when the
lever W is pressed down by the push-piece V. This takes place by means of a three-
armed lever X, one arni of which is formed like a spring and engages in a
suitable notch of Y, and the other is provided with a pin x, bearing against the
transmitting lever W.
For stopping, at will, the seconds-band S (Figs. 1 and 3) I further combine the
axis P with the mechanism shewn in figs. 6 and 7. Upon said axis P there is affixed
a small disc p, the upper face of which is provided with fine upwardly-directed teeth.
The heart-piece R is free upon the axis P, and carries a small pin r¹ which engages
into the teeth of the disc p.
The tubular axis of the heart-piece R, to which the seconds-hand S, is affixed,
is provided with a circular groove into which engage two small springs s¹ and s¹¹,
the first one pressing the piece R continuously toward the disc p, and the second
being acted upon, by means of an intermediate lever X', either by the spring-shaped
arm of X, or by a stopping-lever Y¹, both of which have bevelled ends engaging
beneath X. The lever X acts upon the lever ✗' at the same time as upon the
break Y when the push-piece V. is pressed down.
The stopping lever Y₁, is acted upon by means of a special push-piece V¹, projecting
out of the watch-case.
Having now particularly described and ascertained my invention and in what
manner the same may be performed, I claim :-
1. The combination of the pinion A with the wheel F, pinion G, and eccentric H,
said eccentric carrying a hand I, and being connected to the pinion G by means of a
friction-spring, substantially as shewn and described and for the purpose specified."
2. The combination of the wheel J, affixed to the hour-wheel D, with the wheels K
and L, and with the eccentric M, carrying a hand N, and being connected to the
wheel L by means of a friction spring m, substantially as shown and described and
for the purpose specified.
3. The combination of the axis P with the eccentric R, carrying a hand S, and
being connected to said axis P by means of a friction-spring r, substantially as shown
and described and for the purpose specified.
4. The combination of the eccentrics R, H, and M, with the lever T, having three
projections t¹, t, and t³, and with the spring U, pusher V, and lever W, substantially
as shewn and described and for the purpose specified.
5. The combination of the transmitting lever W with the three-armed lever X and
the break Y acting upon the pinion G, substantially as shewn and described and for
the purpose specified.
6. The combination of the axis P with the disc p, the pin r¹, of the heart piece R,
and the levers and springs s¹, s¹, X', and Y¹, the lever ✗' being acted upon either by
the three-armed lever X, or by the stopping lever Y¹, substantially as shewn and
described and for the purpose specified.