IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRICALLY ACTUATED CLOCKS
Year: 1884

page_text: I EDWARD GARDNER COLTON of the firm of Popplewell Colton & Co of Victoria
Chambers Southampton Buildings in the county of Middlesex Fellow of the
Institute of Patent Agents do hereby declare the nature of the said invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRICALLY ACTUATED CLOCKS (a communication to me
from abroad by the firm of Kiek Brothers of Amsterdam in the Kingdom of
Holland, Electricians, to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object the construction of clocks operated by electricity
from a standard clock in a more simple manner than hitherto and which clocks
are capable of careful regulation. The invention (as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents) consists in a peculiar arrangement of escapement wheel and
lever and spring operating the same by a pivoted armature.
The armature consists of a soft iron rectangular plate having lugs at two of its
opposite corners carrying pivots working in centres in the frame of the clock.
To this armature is screwed a lever having a small upright extension at its other
end to which is screwed a small flat spring which can be regulated to press gently
with more or less pressure on the escapement wheel.
The teeth of this wheel are formed in two ways, that is to say, inclined to a
circle concentric with the axis of the wheel, but a small tooth is made at the end
of each main tooth, forming a step or abutment at an angle with the face of the
inclined plane of the main tooth.
Thus this small tooth forms an abutment for the spring carried by the end of the
armature lever to advance the tooth.
The lever also carries a tooth or pawl which is placed nearly vertically over the
centre of the escapement wheel and works on the face of the main teeth thereof.
An adjustable spring is also attached to the armature lever to pull it down on
breaking the circuit.

page_text: The spring on the armature lever presses gently on the before named teeth of
the escapement wheel.
When the armature is attracted by the electro magnet, this spring slides over
one tooth, but when the contact is broken, the attraction ceases and the other
spring pulls down the armature lever, and the spring attached to its end advances
the escapement wheel one tooth, at the same time the tooth or pawl on the armature
lever dropping on the escapement wheel prevents the wheel being advanced more
than one tooth at once.
The escapement wheel drives a train of wheels for actuating the hands of the
clock as is well understood.
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1001

page_text: I EDWARD GARDNER COLTON of the firm of Popplewell Colton & C° of Victoria
Chambers Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex Fellow of the
Institute of Patent Agents do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRICALLY ACTUATED CLOCKS" (A communication to me
from abroad by the firm of Kiek Brothers of Amsterdam in the Kingdom of
Holland Electricians) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This Invention has for its object the construction of clocks operated by electricity
from a stand or motor clock in a more simple manner than hitherto and which
clocks shall be of cheap construction. Hitherto electric clocks with which I am
acquainted have used ordinary ratchet teeth on the escapement wheel the same
being advanced by a pawl carried by a lever (attracted by the electro magnet or
released therefrom by the breaking of the circuit) pressing against the short or
upright portion of the teeth of such escapement.
This arrangement is sometimes liable to advance or allow the escapement wheel
to move more than one tooth at each completion or break of the circuit and to
obviate this the details of such clocks are often very complicated, rendering the
same costly and more or less liable to get out of order.
In order to describe the nature of the said invention and the manner of
performing the same I have caused to be annexed to this specification the
accompanying sheet of drawings and now refer to the figures and letters of
reference marked thereon.
Therefore in the said drawings A shows the peculiar and novel arrangement of
escapement wheel used in clocks constructed according to and for the purposes of
this invention.
As will be seen on reference to the said drawings the teeth of this wheel A. are
formed in two ways-that is to say, at B inclined to a circle concentric with the
axis C of the wheel, but a small tooth or beak D is made at the end of each main
tooth forming a step or abutment at an angle with the face B of the inclined frame
of the main tooth.
Thus this small tooth D forms an abutment for the spring carried by the end of
the armaturo lover as hereafter described to advance the same.
The wheel A is divided into teeth corresponding to periods of time during which
the standard or motor clock makes and breaks the electric circuit.
The current impulses may be sent every minute or fractions of a minute or at
other period of time. In the former the escapement wheel A has 60 teeth.
Adjacent to the escapement wheel A mounted on suitable arbors C C turning in
suitable centres E E I place one or more electro magnets F F their coil ends being
connected to binding screws or terminals for the line wires to connect with the
same.
Over the core of this magnet or these magnets F F I pivot the armature C this
carries lugs H H at its opposite ends carrying pivots I I working in centres J J in
the frame of the clock.
To this armature I attach a lever K (or this lever may form part of the same)
carrying at its end a small upright extension L to which is screwed a small
spring M of flat steel the lower end of which is slightly bent to engage with
the teeth on the escapement wheel, the screw N adjusting its pressure on the
escapement wheel.

page_text: The lever K also carries a tooth or pawl O which is placed nearly vertically over
(or in line with, if the lever K is placed at the side instead of the top or bottom)
the axis C of the escapement wheel A, and this tooth or pawl O works on the face B
of the main teeth thereof.
An adjustable spring P is also attached to the armature lever to pull it down on
breaking the circuit and to form or operate a pawl Q to prevent reverse motion of
the escapement wheel.
The springs M P on the armature lever press gently on the before named teeth
of the escapement wheel.
When the armature G is attracted by the electro magnet or magnets F F the
pawl end Q of the spring P is free to slide over one tooth D when the contact is
broken and when the attraction ceases the other end of the spring P pulls down
the armature lever K. and the spring M attached to its end L advances the
escapement wheel A. by reason of this spring M (which when the armature lever K
was attracted and so causing the spring M to clear the next tooth) now dropping
into one of the small teeth D and so advancing the escapement wheel A one step.
At the same time the tooth or pawl O on the armature lever dropping on the
main portion B of one of the teeth prevents the wheel being advanced more than
one tooth at once while the other tooth or pawl end Q of the spring P prevents the
reverse motion of the escapement wheel A.
The escapement wheel A drives a train of wheels for actuating the hands of the
clock as is well understood and which forms no part of my invention neither do
I claim the mere framing, pivots, magnets or like shown devices cominon to clocks
of this class.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
Firstly. Actuating electrically controlled clocks substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Secondly. In an electrically actuated clock the form of teeth for the escapement
wheel as hereinbefore and for the purposes described that is to say the main.
portion B of the tooth inclined to a circle concentric with the wheel axis and with
a smaller tooth or beak. D projecting upwardly from the same B to be operated by
a spring or elastic tooth or pawl carried by the armature lever substantially as
described.
Thirdly. In an electrically actuated clock the check tooth O carried by the
armature lever in combination with the spring tooth or pawl M on the end of the
same and the pawl or spring P Q for preventing reverse motion of the escapement
wheel and pulling down the lever substantially as and for the purposes described.
Dated this 12th day of December 1884.