IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ELECTRIC CLOCKS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts:
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ELECTRIC
CLOCKS." A communication from abroad by Max Levin, of Berlin, in the
Kingdom of Prussia.
Sealed the 13th July 1866, and dated the 15th January 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th January 1866.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
ELECTRIC CLOCKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction of electric
clocks whereby their construction may be simplified.
In one arrangement, in which a balance wheel is employed, one end of the
insulated wire that surrounds the electro-magnets is in permanent connection

page_text: with a light spring secured to the plate of the clock, and the other end leads
to and is clamped to one pole of a galvanic battery. From the other pole of
the battery an insulated wire is led up and attached to a stronger spring
similarly attached to the plate. The balance wheel arbor is fitted with a cam
which at every forward vibration of the balance wheel brings these two springs
together and thus completes the electric circuit. The armature of the electro-
magnets is jointed to a rocking arm which carries a clutch that embraces the
seconds wheel and is intended to move it round tooth by tooth. On the arbor
of this wheel is a snail cam which bears upon the end of a rocking lever
having jointed to its other end a ratchet tooth. This tooth takes into the
teeth of the minute wheel and serves to drive it round one tooth for every
complete rotation of the -seconds wheel. The armature is raised from the
electro-magnet by a coiled spring which yields when the circuit is made, and
thus allows the armature to draw forward the rocking arm and cause its clutch
to act on the seconds wheel. When this action has been repeated a sufficient
number of times to release the rock lever from the increasing pressure of the
snail cam a spring which bears on the rock lever but yields to the pressure of
the cam will force back the lever and cause it to drive round the minute
wheel the distance of one tooth. Both wheels, are provided with retaining
clicks. To set the clock in action it is only necessary to start the balance
wheel, when the springs being brought together the circuit will be made and
the electro-magnets will, by attracting the armature, give axial motion to the
seconds wheel. The return vibration of the balance wheel will break the
circuit and allow the spring of the armature to restore it and the rocking arm
with its clutch to their normal positions, when the latter will be ready to react
upon the seconds wheel at the next completion of the circuit. The repetition
of these movements will cause the snail cam to act upon the rock lever as
described and thus impart the requisite motion to the minute wheel.
A very similar arrangement is adopted for transmitting the motion to the
minute wheel in clocks provided with pendulums beating seconds or half
seconds. The pendulum is connected with a battery wire and it carries a
metal arm fitted with a pin, which as the pendulum.vibrates strikes an impulse
spring with which the other battery wire is in connection through the wire of
the electro-magnets and thus completes the circuit. The driving of the wheels
is then effected in the manner above described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said. Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th July 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reigo, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Alfred Vincent 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 Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ELECTRIC CLOCKS," being a com-
munication from Max Levin, of Berlin, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 Alfred Vincent 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:
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-.
This Invention relates to improvements in electric clocks whereby their
construction may be simplified.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 shews in front elevation, and Fig. 2
in edge view, an arrangement of electro-magnetic clock in which a balance
wheel is employed for making and breaking the circuit for the electric.
currents.
A, A, is the plate on which the mechanism is mounted, secured to this plato
by a bracket is the electro-magnet a, a. One end a' of the insulated wire that

page_text: surrounds the electro-magnet is in permanent connection with a light spring d
secured to the plate of the clock, and the other end a leads to and is clamped
to one pole of a galvanic battery B. From the other pole of the battery an
insulated wire a is led up and attached to a stronger spring e similarly
attached to the plate A. The balance wheel is shewn at C, and on its arbor
is fitted a cam c which at every forward vibration of the balance wheel brings
these two springs d and e together, as shewn in the detached view, Fig. 3,
and thus completes the electric circuit. The armature of the electro-magnet
'marked has its fulcrum at *, and it is jointed to a crank lever 6' which has
its fulcrum at * and serves to give the impulse to the balance wheel. One:
limb of this lever carries a click that embraces the seconds wheelf, and is:
intended to move it round tooth by tooth, and the other carries a pin which,
bears upon the cam c at each vibration and thus imparts the forward motion
or, impulse to the balance, wheel. On the arbor of the seconds, wheel is a snail
cam which bears upon the cranked end of a rocking lever 9 having its;
fulcrum at gand carrying at its other end a jointed ratchet tooth. This
tooth takes into the teeth of the minute wheel h and serves to, drive it'
round one tooth for every complete rotation of the seconds wheel f. The,
cranked end of the lever g is kept in contact with the snail cam f¹by means
of a spring g'. The armature bis raised from the electro-magnet by a coiled.
spring which yields when the circuit is made, and thus allows the armature
to draw forward the cranked lever b and cause its click to act on tho
seconds wheel. When this action has been repeated a sufficient number of
times to release, the rock lever from the increasing, pressure of the-snail cam f
the spring g' which bears on the rock lever but yields to the pressure of the
cam will force back the lever and cause it to drive round the minute wheel;
the distance of one tooth. Both the wheels f and h are provided with
retaining clicks, as shewn at f* and *, and the further to secure; the wheel A.
a pin from an arm carried by the lever g drops into the teeth of the minute
wheel. To set the clock in action it is only necessary to start the balance.
wheel, when the springs d and e being brought together the circuit will be.
made and the electro-magnet will, by attracting the armature b, give through
the crank lever b and click b axial motion to the seconds wheel. The return
vibration of the balance wheel will break the circuit and allow the spring of
the armature to restore it and the crank lever with its click to their normal;
positions, when the latter will be ready to react upon the seconds wheel at tlie
next completion of the circuit. The repetition of these movements will cause,
the snail cam to act upon the rock lever as described, and thus 'impart the
requisite intermittent motion to the minute wheel.

page_text: Fig. 4. shews in elevation an arrangement of electro-magnetic apparatus
very similar. to that above described adapted to a half-seconds pendulum.
D is the pendulum, which is hung upon an insulated support. The fulcruni
pin of the pendulum is connected by a wire a¹ with one pole of the battery B,
and a wire a leads from the other pole of the battery to the electro-magnet a.
The pendulum bas a metal arm d fitted with a pin, which as the pendulum
vibrates strikes an impulse spring e which is coupled with the wire a leading
off from the electro-magnet. This impulse spring e is carried by a lever b',
which has its fulcrum at b*, and is jointed, like the crank lever b' of the first-
described arrangement, to the armature b. When, therefore, by the attractive
force of the electro-magnet the armature is drawn down (which will take place
at every return stroke of the pendulum and consequent closing of the electric
circuit) the lever ¹ which carries the click that works the seconds wheel will
be set in action and caused to rotate the wheel f. At the completion of each
rotation the lever 9 will be rocked, and it will thereby move round the minute
wheel the distance of one tooth. To prevent needless repetition I have
lettered the parts in Fig. 4 not specially referred to with letters of reference
corresponding to like parts in Figs. 1 and 2.
Fig. 5 shows an arrangement of electric clock provided with a pendulum D
which beats seconds. This pendulum sets in action an escapement lever ƒ³
which, working into a seconds wheelf of thirty teeth will, at the completion
of every revolution rock the lever g and cause it to operate upon the minute
wheel as before described. The impulse in this arrangement is transmitted to
the pendulum through the bell-crank lever b, which is fitted at its upper end
with a pin projecting through the plate A so as to enter a notch formed in the
pendulum. Each vibration of the pendulum will thus cause the closing of the
circuit (by coming in contact with such pin). A downward movement is
thereby imparted to the lever which gives impulse to the pendulum on its
return and thus breaks contact. The pendulum is fitted, as in the former
arrangement, with an arm which, when it has reached its extreme return
movement, will come in contact with and lift the spring e and receive an
impulse in return. The bell-crank lever b' is jointed to and receives its
motion from the armature b, as in the first arrangement. The pendulum
is coupled with the battery B by a wire a', and the electro-magnet by a
wire a².
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in
the Construction of Electric Clocks," as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent

page_text: I claim the arrangements of self-acting mechanism above described, wherein
the seconds wheel is caused to act upon the minute wheel without any
intermediate train of gearing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON.. (L.S.)