IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPLIANCES FOR MOVING OR SETTING AND REGULATING ONE OR MORE CLOCKS, DIALS, OR OTHER INDICATORS BY A STANDARD TIMEKEEPER
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Collis Browne, of No. 15, Nelson Crescent,
Ramsgate, in the County of Kent, Physician, for the Invention
of "IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPLIANCES FOR MOVING OR SETTING AND
REGULATING ONE OR MORE CLOCKS, DIALS, OR OTHER INDICATORS BY A
STANDARD TIMEKEEPER."-Partly a communication from abroad by
Robert Herlert, of Dresden, in the Kingdom of Saxony.
+
Sealed the 21st August 1874, and dated the 7th March 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Collis Browne at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 7th March 1874.
.
I, JOHN COLLIS BROWNE, of No. 15, Nelson Crescent, Ramsgate, in the
County of Kent, Physician, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for " IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPLIANCES FOR MOVING SETTING
OR
AND REGULATING ONE OR MORE CLOCKS, DIALS, OR OTHER INDICATORS BY A STANDARD
TIMEKEEPER," to be as follows: —
•
The objects of this Invention are,-
-

page_text: indicators of time or signals from one standard clock or timekeeper, the
movement or regulation being effected intermittently by or through
some part of the standard timekeeper coming into contact with a pallet
(spring or otherwise) for completing the current at given periods.
Secondly. To provide special appliances in, on, or to standard time-
keepers, and also to moving parts of dials or to the dials themselves,
by which a corresponding record at fixed intervals can be registered or
exhibited.
Thirdly. To dispense with complete and costly trains of wheelwork in
the subsidiary dials or indicators.
And, Fourthly. To fix the hands or signals for fixed periods after each
alternate movement.
One method of carrying the Invention mechanically into effect is as
follows: Attached to some moving part of a standard timekeeper is a
pin, claw, or lever in connection with one pole of a battery, which pin or
other device, as, say, the minute or the seconds hand, travels round or
moves onwards is caused to bear upon or against a spring pallet, which
in its turn is put into contact with a pin or stud connected with the wire
of other pole of a battery for completing the electric circuit, the power
of the current through this connection being sufficient to draw an arma-
ture to a horseshoe coil or other magnet, and to produce a partial rotation
of a wheel of, say, the minute hand of a dial, the distance of travel of the
wheel being instantly communicated to the minute hand and also to the
hour hand by gearing in a corresponding manner to indicate the time.
The armature has an extension piece or lever, and this has a pull claw
or a push paul connected to it, the degree of action (travel) being
governed by a set screw on the end of a balanced beam, which beam is
lifted at the same time as the lever moves to free a stop piece from
between the teeth of the wheel to permit the wheel to travel..
Several changes or variations of the above mechanical movements can
be made, but these will be determined more or less by the construction
of the standard timekeeper and the quickness of the repeat, or by the
speed of the intermittent contacts desired.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,,
filed by the said John Collis Browne in the Great Soal Patent Offico:
on the 7th September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN COLLIS'
BROWNE, of No. 15, Nelson Crescent, Ramsgate, in the County of Kent;
Physician, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Collis Browne, Her special
licence that I, the said John Collis Browne, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Collis Browne, 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 "IMPROVED MEANS
OF AND APPLIANCES FOR MOVING OR SETTING AND REGULATING ONE OR MORE CLOCKS,
DIALS, OR OTHER INDICATORS BY A STANDARD TIMEKEEPER," partly commu-
nicated to me from abroad by Robert Herlert, of Dresden, in the
Kingdom of Saxony, and partly Invented by myself, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Collis Browne, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and scals, 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.
I NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Collis Browne, 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 following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings,
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
-
The objects of this Invention are,-

page_text: setting and regulating the hands of any number of clocks, dials, or in-
dicators of time or signals from one standard clock or timekeeper, tho.
movement or regulation being effected intermittently by or through
some part of the standard timekeeper coming into contact with a pallet
(spring or otherwise) for completing the current at given periods.
Secondly. To provide special appliances in, on, or to standard time-
keepers, and also to moving parts of dials, or to the dials themselves,.
by which a corresponding record at fixed intervals can be registered or
exhibited.
Thirdly. To dispense with complete and costly trains of wheelwork in
the subsidiary dials or indicators.
And, Fourthly. To fix the hands or signals for fixed periods after each
alternate movement.
One method of carrying the Invention mechanically into effect is as
follows: Attached to some moving part of a standard timekeeper is a
pin, claw, or lever in connection with one pole of a battery, which pin
or other device, as, say, the minute or the second hands travels round or
moves onward, is caused to bear upon or against a spring pallet, which in
its turn is put into contact with a pin or stud connected with the wire of
the other pole of a battery for completing the electric circuit, the power
of the current through this connection being sufficient to draw an arma-
ture to a horseshoe coil or other magnet, and to produce a partial
rotation of a wheel, of, say, the minute hand of a dial, the distance of
travel of the wheel being instantly communicated to the minute hand
and also to the hour hand by gearing in a corresponding manner to
indicate the time. The armature has an extension piece or lever, and
this has a pull or push claw or a push paul connected to it, the degree of
action (travel) being governed by a set screw on the end of a balanced-
beam, which beam is lifted at the same time as the lever moves to free a
stop piece from between the teeth of the wheel to permit tlie wheel to
travel.
:
Several changes or variations of the above mechanical movement can
be made, but these will be determined more or less by the construction
of the standard timekeeper and the quickness of the repeat, or by the
speed or the intermittent contact desired.
Figure 1 shows a standard timekeeper, with a pin a projecting from a
disc upon the seconds hand spindle or arbor; this pin a, as it arrives in

page_text: its rotation with the disc at a certain part comes into contact with a
tempered plate or strip c, and presses it into contact with a stud d,
whose base is in connection electrically with one pole of a battery
through the wire e. The tempered plate c has a base plate, and this is
in connection electrically with the other pole of the battery by the wiref
to complete the circuit.
Instead of this wire f going direct to the battery it is carried on to a
horseshoe or other magnet g of a subsidiary dial, as in Figures 2 and 3;
where the strength of the electrical current is caused to draw an armature
into contact, when the pin a forms the connection between the strip c and
the stud d, the armature for the instant acting upon a rod g¹, whose paul h
pushes the ratchet wheel i onwards a distance of one tooth. This wheel
has preferably 60 teeth, so that the hand commonly termed the minuto
hand of a dial or timekeeper is thereby moved over a distance cor-
responding to one minute of time, the movement being effected at the
termination of each minute indicated by the standard timekeeper from
which this subsidiary time indicator is actuated. The subsidiary dial
plate is carried by a bracket, and this has also a lip k, upon which a
balance lever is pivotted; a catch claw m thereon being free to drop.
into the teeth of the ratchet wheel in succession as each movement of
the wheel is completed. The catch or drop paul m is so arranged that
it can become released by friction on the angle faces of the wheel teeth
as it moves, the friction being so slight from the balance of the wheel
that it does not interfere with the going movement of the mechanism.
A stop-picce n is fitted upon the bracket, and a set screw pupon the
armature rod g, the two being adjustable to regulate the number of teeth
over which the paul shall slide, so that supposing the ratchet wheel to
have 120 teeth the paul could be set to move over one tooth only at a.
time to give minute indications of time upon the subsidiary dial, or if
it be set to move over four teeth then the subsidiary dial would givė
indications of time at two minute intervals. It will be understood that
larger or shorter intervals between the indications can be arranged, and
sound indications can also be accomplished corresponding therewith, or at
other periods by arranging pins or other make and brake appliances in.
connection in any suitable manner.
In working the magnet armature of the subsidiary dials it is purposed
using springs to withdraw the armatures from the magnets after each
attraction of them, but the armatures may be eccentrically pivotted so

page_text: that they fall back by their own weight to withdraw the pauls back over
the tooth or the teeth of the ratchet wheel as the case may be.
If I work a number of subsidiary dials I continue the wire on from
one to the other in succession, so that all the armatures of the series can
be operated by the current at one instant of time. By this arrangement
a large number of subsidiary dials, say, in a town, series of offices, ware-
houses, railway stations, or other places, can be kept to true time without
regard to their distance apart or the distance from one standard time-
keeper in which the ordinary train of wheels and other appliances.
usually in or to clocks are arranged, there being only a ratchet wheel
rod, balance lever, and magnet in each of the subsidiary dials, as before
explained, the costly sets or trains of wheelwork, as separate clock
mechanism, being dispensed with.
The application of this Invention is of the greatest importance to
railway and dock companies, especially to the former, where the working
of the ordinary clocks is so seriously interfered with by vibrations of
stations caused by passing trains, which in many instances, particularly
when a passenger train is passing in one direction and a heavy luggage
train in the other, and the two travelling at different speeds, causes the
escapement wheel to be at a standstill for the time while the trains arc
passing, which if repeated at intervals causes inconveniences to passengers
and other travellers who expect to find station clocks true to time.
In order that the party in charge of the standard timekeeper and of
the battery may know that the current is clectrically correct I attach a
recorder to the timekeeper itself, as in Figure 1, this being under the
operation of the electric battery in a similar manner, but to some other
part of the timekeeper, preferably at the part marked A.
0
Figure 4 shows how a draw paul arrangement of appliances can be fitted
for the purpose of actuating the hand or hands of subsidiary dials, this
plan being used alone or in combination with the push paul mechanism
previously referred to in this description. Of course no limit to moving
minute hands by the mechanism only is intended, since any skilled.
mechanic would know how to fit séconds and hour wheels and hands in
position so that the subsidiary dials, as far as appearances from the
exterior go, could be made to resemble distinct clocks, in which case,
particularly if seconds of time had to be indicated, it would be preferable
to move that wheel first from the armature, and then the others from

page_text: that by gearing, or each may be moved independently of the other as
desired.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, claim is made to the construction
and arrangement, also the employment of mechanism, substantially as
hercin-before described and shown in or by which hands can be moved
over the faces of subsidiary dials at intervals of time, and be locked, such
mechanism being worked by electricity put into contact by some moving
part of a standard timekeeper of the ordinary or of special construction,
as set forth.
Secondly. Claim is made to the special arrangement of mechanism
shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings annexed, through or by which
time can be indicated on subsidiary dials from a standard timekeeper
and electrical agency, as set forth.
.
Thirdly. Claim is made to the modified arrangement of subsidiary dial
mechanism when in connection clectrically with a standard timekeeper
as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Collis Browne, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Fifth day of September One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-four.
JOHN COLLIS BROWNE,
(L.S.)