IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOCKWORK MOVEMENTS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOCKWORK MOVEMENTS."-A com-
munication from abroad by Michel Ange Bosio, of Rue St. Sebastien,
Paris, in the Empire of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd November 1863.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOCKWORK MOVEMENTS,"
to be as follows:-
These Improvements relate to a novel arrangement or combination of
escapement movement or regulating mechanism without escape wheel, having
a constant and direct force, and which may be applied advantageously to any
kind of clockwork.
By means of this combination or arrangement, and which the Inventor
denominates a “tempometer," the motor or pendulum, the escapement, and

page_text: the wheelwork, properly so called, are completely independent, which allows
the pendulum to preserve mathematical precision in its oscillations, whatever
may be the perturbations which take place in the clockwork. A kind of
small inclined plane depending from the escapement piece is disengaged and
naturally falls at each oscillation of the pendulum, at the same time giving it
a fresh impulse. The successive oscillations of this pendulum cause the
ungearing of the regulator or escapement mechanism, which is immediately
brought into its place again by the ordinary train of wheels acted upon by
a spring, a weight, or by electric contact. The suspension rod of the
pendulum has two sockets to receive two small pins, one of which effects the
ungearing operation, whilst the other receives the impulse from the regulator
mechanism. This mechanism comprises the escapement piece, one of the
extremities of which rocks upon an axle carried by a bridge piece, whilst the
other extremity, provided with a small weight and also an inclined plane, rests
upon the hook of a short rod which is actuated by a cam when one of
the pins of the pendulum on oscillating from right to left moves it from its
pace. An arm mounted upon the escapement lever is intended to act upon
another lever below when the ungearing takes place. This ungearing sets
free a rod, upon the axle of which is a pinion which gears into the escapement
wheel. The extremity of the rod rests upon a pin soldered to the lever last
mentioned, the extent of whose vertical oscillation is limited by two pins.
Upon the side of the periphery of the escapement wheel are ten stud pins
which serve to bring all the parts into position at each oscillation of the
pendulum.
The operation of these various parts is as follows:-On the balance or
pendulum being set in motion this latter moving from right to left will
displace the cam, which in moving will act upon the rod, and the extremity
of the escape lever will be thereby disengaged from the hook at the lower end
of the rod and will naturally descend by reason of its weight. Now as this
descent takes place while the pendulum continues its movement from right
to left, the small inclined plane of the escapement lever comes in contact with
the lower pin of the pendulum to which it gives a fresh impulse. The arm
of the escapement lever by striking against the second or lower lever will
cause it to rock upon its centre, thereby disengaging the rod below from one
of the pins of the escapement wheel, and the clockwork (which is actuated by
a mainspring or other motive agent) will then impart a quick movement to
the pinion which will transmit to the escapement or stud wheel. This last
operation, which takes place during the dead point of the pendulum, that is,
whilst it is returning from left to right, has for its object to bring back the

page_text: escapement piece to its place, that is, to the middle of its course. As the
escapement wheel rotates one of its studs comes in contact with the extremity
of the escapement lever and brings it back to its fixed position. At each
fresh oscillation of the pendulum the same movements of the regulator
mechanism will take place.
From the foregoing it will be readily understood that this arrangement of
escapement or regulator mechanism is susceptible of application to any clock-
work movement whatever may be its dimencions
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 2nd May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOCKWORK MOVEMENTS," being a communication
from abroad by Michel Ange Bosio, of Rue St. Sebastien, Paris, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention of "Improvements in Clockwork Movements" is described
by my foreign correspondent as follows:-Abandoning entirely the old theory
upon which the escapements hitherto constructed have been based, the Inventor
has devised an escapement movement or regulating mechanism without any
escape wheel, and having a constant and direct force of itself which may be
applied indifferently and with advantage to any clockwork movement or
mechanism.
The distinctive characteristic of this regulator or mechanism, which the
Inventor denominates a "tempometer," consists, first, in the complete inde-
pendence of the pendulum, which has no forked piece as a guide for its
movement.
Second, in the complete independence of the detent, which alone gives the
natural and direct impulse to the pendulum.
Third, in the independence of the clockwork movement comprising the
ordinary wheelwork. The result of this combination is that the pendulum
always preserves the mathematical precision of its oscillations, whatever may
be the perturbations of the clockwork, whether set in action by a spring or by
a weight. The escapement mechanism is such that it is impossible for the
clock to lose or gain, as since the whole depends upon the oscillations of
the pendulum, if the wheelwork is in advance by reason of defects in its
construction it is obliged to wait for the passage of the pendulum which
works the escapement; if, on the contrary, the wheelwork is slow, the pendulum
will release it and set it in motion at the precise moment required..
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents in front view the improved
escapement movement complete; Fig. 2 is a plan or bird's-eye view of the
same; Fig. 3 is a side view, and Fig. 4 shews on an enlarged scale the
mechanism in operation, (that is to say,) while the detent is falling.
9
The rod p of the pendulum is completely independent of the wheelwork.
It is provided with two pins or studs g and g', the former of which effects
the release of the parts, whilst the latter g¹ receives the impulse from the
detent by means of an inclined plane. The detent or escapement lever a,
which is completely independent, rocks at one of its extremities upon a shaft
set in the bridle piece a', and rests at its other extremity upon the hook 6' of
the rod b. Near the rod b is a small cam or lever c provided with a pin d
which displaces the rod b when the disengagement is to take place. The
piece on the detent lever a comes against the lever f set outside on the
plate P. The axle of this lever f is provided with a small volute spring which

page_text: adds its action to that of the counterweight f¹ in order to raise the lever f
again when the escapement has been effected. The extremity of the lever fis
bent at a, as seen in the plan view Fig. 2, and passing through the plate P
acts as a stop to the rod e mounted on the shaft of the pinion s which takes
into a count wheel r, which is furnished at the side of its periphery with ten
studs h. The shaft of the pinion s carries a regulating fly v which may be
provided with balls to increase its effect. The object of the studs h is to bring
back the scape lever to its place, and for this purpose the left hand extremity
of this latter (see Fig. 4) is bent at a² in order to bring it into contact with
the studs h. The lever a also carries the inclined plane which by the
continued descent of the escapement gives the impulse to the pendulum rod.
The action of the mechanism is as follows:--The pendulum p moving in
the direction of the arrow Fig. 1 by the action of the upper stud 9 displaces
the cam or lever c, which by the agency of the pin d pushes back the rod 6;
the extremity of the lever a will then become disengaged from the hook 6'
and will fall by its own weight. The pendulum rod p continuing its
movement from right to left the inclined plane will in falling come into
contact with the lower stud g¹, and thus impart a fresh impulse to the
pendulum, the projection; will strike against the lever f and cause it to rock
on its axis and disengage the rod e which sets the clockwork in motion. The
pinion makes a complete revolution whilst the "count" wheel only makes
one-tenth of a revolution during the same time, which corresponds to the
distance necessary for bringing the detent lever back to its place, (that is to
say) in gear with the hook 6'. This operation is effected during the return
of the pendulum from left to right. The lever f being brought back to its
normal position by the counterweight f, the spring attached thereto will
cause it to act upon the projection e and keep the parts in a stationary
position until the return of the pendulum, when the same action will again
take place.
Having now described the nature of this Invention of "Improvements in
Clockwork Movements," and having explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I desire
it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I
claim the general arrangement of the parts herein shewn and described for
5 effecting the object herein set forth. I claim, particularly, mounting the
pendulum independently, and also the use of the pins or studs g, g', set upon
the pendulum rod, the one for effecting the escapement, and the other for
receiving the impulse from the incline plane of the independent detent lever,

page_text: also the use of the inclined plane of the detent lever, which by its continued
falling movement gives an impulse to the pendulum rod.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)