AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATCHES."
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Cole and Joseph Cole, both of Coventry, in
the County of Warwick, Watchmakers, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATCHES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Cole and Joseph
Cole at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 20th July 1861.
We, JOHN COLE and JOSEPH COLE, both of Coventry, in the County of
Warwick, Watchmakers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATCHES," to be as follows:-
The object of our Invention is to obtain by a simple arrangement of driving
gear an independent dead centre seconds watch.
In adapting the Invention to an ordinary watch, we mount upon a pivot or
arbor that projects through the pillar plate an extra pinion, which gears into
and receives motion from the fourth wheel. At its upper end the arbor of
this extra pinion carries loosely a diminutive going barrel, which has a small
collet and spring inside, so attached to the pivot or arbor as to allow of its
slipping round on the pivot or arbor when a stop pin is applied, and thus
stopping the action of the dead centre seconds. Affixed to the going barrel
is a wheel of sixty teeth, which gears into a pinion of six
between the pillar plate, and a small cock attached thereto.
a double fly is placed, which works in a hollow sunk in the
leaves, supported
Upon this pinion
back of the pillar

page_text: plate. This fly is alternately retained and released by the action of the pallet
pinion every second, the pallet pinion being made long enough to come
through the pillar plate level with the fly, its arbor having its bearing in the
bar at the back of the pillar plate; by this means an intermittent or dead-beat
motion is obtained, which is communicated to the centre seconds hand in the
following manner :-The seconds' wheel runs underneath the hour wheel upon
the carrying pinion, and has a pipe, boss, or collet long enough to come level
with the carrying pinion squares. This seconds' wheel gears into a pinion
fixed on the going barrel before mentioned, and below the wheel of sixty
teeth, at every escape, therefore, of the fly from the pallet pinion the seconds'
wheel is driven round the distance of one tooth. In this arrangement the
hour wheel runs over the seconds' wheel, and the hour hand works next the
dial. The seconds' wheel boss comes above the hour wheel, and the hand on
this is fitted to work between the hour and minute hands. To stop the action
of this gearing we provide a long pin, which may be thrown into contact with
the wheel of sixty teeth; when this is done the going barrel will slip on
its arbor.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Cole and Joseph Cole in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th January 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
COLE and JOSEPH COLE, both of Coventry, in the County of Warwick, Watch-
makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said John Cole and Joseph Cole, Her special license that we, the said
John Cole and Joseph Cole, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said John Cole and Joseph Cole, our 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
WATCHES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Cole

page_text: and Joseph Cole, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or
under the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 John Cole, on behalf of myself and
of the said Joseph Cole, do hereby declare the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being
bad to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of our Invention is to obtain, by a simple arrangement of driving
gear that can be thrown in or out of action at pleasure, a dead beat centre
seconds watch.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents in plan view (on an
enlarged scale) so much of a watch movement with our improvement applied
thereto as will serve to explain the nature of our Invention; Fig. 2 is an
elevation of the same, partly in section; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken
in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1.
Supposing now our Invention is to be adapted to an ordinary watch, we
provide a pivot or arbor a, which projects through the pillar plate A (see
Fig. 3), and carries an extra pinion b, with twenty teeth, which pinion gears
into and receives motion from the fourth wheel B. At its upper end the
arbor a of this extra pinion carries loosely a diminutive going barrel c, within
which is contained a small collet & and a coiled spring e. The collet d'is
keyed to its arbor, and the inner end of the spring is attached to the collet,
but the outer end of the spring is free, and bears upon the inner periphery of
the box or barrel c. This mode of connection between the pivot or arbor and
the barrel c is adopted to allow of the latter slipping round on its arbor with
a sudden impulse when released from the locking apparatus, to be presently.
described, and thereby setting the dead centre seconds' hand in motion.
C is the centre seconds' wheel of sixty teeth, into which gears a ring of
twenty teeth on the periphery of the going barrel or spring box c, the
impulse, therefore, imparted to the barrel c by the coiled spring contained
therein will be directly conveyed to the seconds' wheel, and by that wheel in
the usual way to the seconds' hand h, which is situate between the hour and
the minute hands, as shown at Fig. 2. Affixed to the going barrel c'is also
a wheel of sixty teeth, which gears into a pinion f, of nine leaves, sup-.

page_text: ported between the pillar plate A and a small cock attached to the back
thereof. The arbor of this pinion carries a fly wheel g, which works in a
hollow sunk in the back of the pillar plate. This fly is intended to act as
an escape wheel, and for this purpose it is provided with three teeth, which
are successively retained and released by the action of a pallet pinion D, at
such intervals as to permit of the barrel c moving on its arbor once for every
second of time. This pallet, by which the locking and unlocking of the fly
or escape wheel is effected, is made long enough to come through the pillar
plate level with the fly, its arbor having its bearing in the bar E at the back
of the pillar plate.
By reference to the Drawing it will be seen that the seconds' wheel C runs
underneath the hour wheel upon the carrying pinion, and has a pipe, boss, or
collect long enough to come level with the carrying pinion squares. As,
therefore, this seconds' wheel gears into the ring of teeth c¹ on the going
barrel, as before mentioned, and the wheel ca is under the command of the
locking arrangement just described, it will be readily understood that at every
escape of the fly from the pallet pinion the seconds' wheel will be driven round
the distance of one tooth. In this arrangement the hour wheel runs over the
seconds' wheel and the hour hand works next the dial. The seconds' wheel
boss comes above the hour wheel to receive the seconds' hand, and enable it
to work between the hour and minute hands. It will now be understood
that as the connection between the spring e, which imparts the impulse to the
seconds' wheel, is by the pressure of the free end of the spring upon the inner
periphery of the barrel the stoppage of the seconds' wheel may be at any time
effected without in any way interfering with the performance of the other parts
of the watch. In order to throw the seconds' movement out of action, a
spring catch is provided, which is attached to and operated by a rocking
arm i¹, having its fulcrum on the pillar plate. At its inner end this arm is
pointed, so as to fit into notches on a bearing spring k, also attached to the
pillar plate. The arm i¹ protrudes beyond the watch case, and has a nick
made in it; when, therefore, the wearer of the watch wishes to throw the
seconds' wheel out of action he has merely to insert his finger nail into the
nick of the arm, and thereby to rock the arm in the direction of the arrow,
Fig. 1, when the spring catch will stop the further movement of the fly
wheel. By moving the arm in the opposite direction, the fly or escape wheel
will be released, and the motion of the seconds' wheel will be continued as
before.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of "An Improvement
in the Construction of Watches," and explained the manner of carrying the

page_text: same into effect, we wish it to be understood that, under the above in part
recited Letters Patent, we claim the means above described for obtaining the
dead-beat action in centre seconds watches.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Cole, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
JOHN COLL. (L.B.)