IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING PENDULUMS FOR CHRONOMETERS AND CLOCKS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Matthew Augustus Soul, of No. 3, Leadenhall
Street, in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING PENDULUMS FOR CHRONOMETERS AND CLOCKS."
-A communication from abroad by Christian Johann Heinrich
Carl George August Voss and William Walter James Monnington,
both of the City of Hamburg.
Sealed the 12th March 1869, and dated the 14th September 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Matthew Augustus Soul
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th September 1868.
I, MATTHEW AUGUSTUS SOUL, of No. 3, Leadenhall Street, in the Oity
of London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING PENDULUMS FOR CHRONOMETERS AND
CLOCKS," a communication to me from abroad by Christian Johann
Heinrich Carl George August Voss and William Walter James Mon-
nington, both of the City of Hamburg, to be as follows:―

page_text: pendulum so as to render it independent of the works and propelling
weights, and thus admit of a more efficient regulation of the clock
than has hitherto been attained. Under the present system, as the
pendulum is impelled by the ratchet wheel direct, it is obvious that
any interruption in the works must exercise a direct influence on the
pendulum and produce greater or lesser oscillations.
In order that the nature of this Invention may be readily under-
stood, I append to this Provisional Specification a Sheet of Drawings,
and now proceed to describe this Invention with reference thereto.
Figure 1. The pendulum P is suspended at i by means of a spring k,
and moves with the branches a, a', and columns 7, 7, to and fro, thus
alternately making tense the springs S¹ and S. The wheel W is fixed
to the axle or arbor passing through the works, and is provided with
six pivots p¹, p³, p³, p', p³, p, which by falling upon pallet r are
alternately arrested and liberated, and thus regulate the progress of the
clock. The pallet r is firmly attached to the shaft g which is sup-
ported by the axletree or arbor q on which 9 balances with the
branches b, b'. On the axle of the pivot wheel W is fixed a triangular.
prism m, n, o, for the purpose of actuating the shaft g, in a slot or
recess of which it can just turn; to g are also screwed the two
springs 8 and 8 herein-before referred to, through the other ends of
which pass the two pins d, d³, screwed into the branches b, b'; in
this way the action of the springs is directed and guided. Furnished
in the above manner the clock goes easily. The pendulum is set in
motion towards the left column 1, acts on spring S¹ until the shaft g
is pressed sufficiently to the right to allow pivot pe to fall off the pallet r;
the moment this occurs the axle with the prism m, n, o, and the
wheel W turn until p' falls upon the pallet, at the same time the former
presses the shaft to the left and gives the requisite degree of tension
to spring S¹, the latter by the continuous motion of the pendulum being
still raised by column 1; the spring will then force the pendulum
back to the right, the latter thereupon raises 82 until pivot p¹ falls
off the pallet and makes room for p³, then S³ is put in tension and
the action is in this manner maintained. To six strokes of the pen-
dulum the prism m, n, o, and the pivot wheel W turn round once.
When a second pendulum is used the transfer of the prism axle to a
second wheel must therefore show 8:80, see Figure 2. The position
of the triangle towards the shaft is such that one point of the former

page_text: is constantly directed to one side of the latter, while the opposite
flat side runs parallel with the other side of the shaft. The triangle
turns very quickly. In order, however, that the pivots may invariably
fall off the pallet at the same time, and to render this operation inde-
pendent of the tension of the springs 81 and 82, pins y' and y³ are
fixed by springs and s to i, and supported by the screws t and f¹
rest on the firm points f and f¹. By means of the pins z and z',
together with screws c, c², the pendulum moving will alternately
raise pins. y and y¹ and springs and *. Figure 3 is a side view
of y, which is a hook fastened above or rather resting on 6 in such
manner as to allow springs & and ¹ to move freely; it holds shaft 7
fast at the branch until the liberation of the pivot from the pallet
can take place, so that this must always occur regularly. By means
of this apparatus therefore the springs must always receive the same
degree of tension independent entirely of the stronger or weaker
revolutions and power of the triangle,m, n, o. The springs impart their
power to the pendulum, which suffices to surmount the friction and
the resistance of the air. As the tension of the spring is invariably
uniform the oscillations of the pendulum are also uniform and inde-
pendent altogether of any defect in the works of the clock.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Matthew August Soul in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th March 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MATTHEW
AUGUSTUS SOUL, of No. 3, Leadenhall Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Matthew Augustus Soul, Her special.
licence that I; the said Matthew Augustus Soul, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Matthew Augustus Soul,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

page_text: 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING PENDULUMS FOR CHRONOMETERS AND CLOCKS," a
communication to me from abroad by Christian Johann. Heinrich Carl
George August Voss and William Walter James Monnington, both of
the City of Hamburg, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Matthew Augustus. Soul, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, 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 Matthew Augustus Soul, 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, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to give an uniform power to the
pendulum so as to render it independent of the works and propelling
weights, and thus admit of a more efficient regulation of the clock
than has hitherto been attained. Under the present system, as the
pendulum is impelled by the ratchet wheel direct, it is obvious that
any interruption in the works must exercise a direct influence on the
pendulum and produce greater or lesser oscillations.
In order that the nature of this Invention and the means by which
the same is effected may be clearly described and ascertained, I have
appended to this Specification a Sheet of Drawings having figures and
letters of reference marked thereupon, and now proceed to describe
this Invention with reference thereto.
- Figure 1. The pendulum P is suspended at i by means of a spring k,
and moves with the branches a, a¹, and columns 1, P, thus
alternately making tense the springs 8, 8. The wheel W is fixed
to the axle or arbour passing through the works, and is provided with
six pivots p², p³, p³, p', p³, p', which by falling upon pallet r are
alternately arrested and liberated, and thus regulate the progress of

page_text: the clock. The pallet r is firmly attached to the shaft g which is
supported on the axletree or arbor on which g balances with the
branches b, b. On the axle of the pivot wheel W is fixed a triangular
prism m, n, o, for the purpose of actuating the shaft 9 in a slot or
recess in which it can just turn; to g are also screwed the two
springs S¹ and S³, herein-before referred to, through the other ends of
which pass the two pins d, d, screwed into the branches b, b¹; in
this way the action of the springs is directed and guided. Furnished
in the above manner the clock goes easily. The pendulum is set in
motion towards the left column I, acts on the spring S¹ until the shaft
is pressed sufficiently to the right to allow pivot pe to fall off the
pallet r; the moment this occurs the axle with the prism m, n, o,
and the wheel W turns until p¹ falls upon the pallet, at the same
time the former presses the shaft to the left and gives the requiste
degree of tension to spring S¹, the latter by the continuous motion of
the pendulum being still raised by column 2; the spring will then
force the pendulum back to the right, the latter thereupon raises S*
until pivot p' falls off the pallet and makes room for p³, then S³ is
put in tension and the action is in this manner maintained. To six
strokes of the pendulum the prism m, n, o, and the pivot wheel W
turn round once. When a second pendulum is used the transfer of
the prism axle to a second wheel must therefore equal 8:80, see Figure 2.
The position of the triangle towards the shaft is such that one point
of the former is constantly directed to one side of the latter, while the
opposite flat side runs parallel with the other side of the shaft. The
triangle turns very quickly. In order, however, that the pivots may
invariably fall off the pallet at the same time, and to render this operation
independent of the tension of the springs S¹ and S2, pins y' and y' are fixed
by springs and s to i, and supported by the screws t and rest on the
firm points fand f¹. By means of the pins & and z¹, together with screws c
and c, the pendulum moving will alternately raise pins y and y¹ and
springs and s'. Figure 3 is is a side view of y, which is a hook fastened
above or rather resting on 6 in such manner as to allow springs &¹ and ³
to move freely; it holds shaft g fast at the branch until the liberation
of the pivot from the pallet can take place, so that this must always
take place regularly. By means of this apparatus therefore the springs
must always receive the same degree of tension independent entirely
of the triangle m, n, o. The springs impart their power to the pen-
dulum, which suffices to surmount the friction and the resistance of

page_text: the air. As the tension of the spring is invariably uniform the
oscillations of the pendulum are also uniform and independent altogether
of any defect in the works of the clock. It will be obvious that the
exact arrangement of the springs and their number may be varied, and
that they may be placed vertically or otherwise instead of horizontally,
and that they may be retained in position by being secured only at
one end, and yet the principle of action of this Invention may be
preserved. It is therefore not intended to confine the application of
the Invention to the exact arrangement of parts shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of
this Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
what is claimed is, the rendering of the pendulum independent of the
irregularities in the works by the spring arrangement, as in the Drawings
illustrated and in this Specification described, or by means of arrange-
ments of springs and bearing pieces mechanically equivalent to that
illustrated and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Augustus Soul, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.