IMPROVEMENTS IN WATCHES AND CHRONOMETERS
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Richard Holl, of Weymouth
Terrace, City Road, in the County of Middlesex, Watchmaker,
+1
of Tennommer WimcuPS AND CHRONOMETERS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION, left by the said Frederick Richard
Holl;, at the office of the Commissioners, of Patents, with his
petition, on the 1st October 1852.
I, FREDERICK RICHARD HOLL, of Weymouth Terrace, City Road, in
the County of Middlesex, Watchmaker, do hereby declare the nature
..of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATCHES AND CHRONOMETERS
to be as follows:
This Invention consists of, First, of the use of a strong bent spring,
fixed at one end and connected at the other to a bent arm, which carries
a rolling surface, which, by acting on a curved incline within a curved.
rack moving on a centre, gives motion to that rack, which gives motion
to a pinion, which in turn gives motion to the other parts of the works.
Secondly, the Invention consists of an improvement of the chronometer
escapement, by which the locking spring is acted on through a diagonal
attached to it, in place of being acted on directly at its end.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Frederick Richard Holl, in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 1st April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
FREDERICK RICHARD HOLL, of Weymouth Terrace, City Road, in the
County of Middlesex, Watchmaker; send-greeting...
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of October in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth year
of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Frederick Richard Holl, Her special licence that I,
the said Frederick Richard Holl, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederick Richard Holl, 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 WATCHES AND CHRONOMETERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I,, the said Frederick Richard Holl, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, 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 Frederick Richard Holl, 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 (that is to say):
This Invention consists,
First, of the use of a strong bent spring, fixed at one end and con-
nected at the other to a bent arm, which carries a rolling surface, which
by acting on a curved rack moving on a centre gives motion to that
rack, which gives motion to a pinion, which in turn gives motion to the
other parts of the works.

page_text: Secondly, the Invention consists of an improvement of the chrono-
meter escapement, by which the locking spring is acted on through a
diagonal attached to it, in place of being acted on directly at its end.
And in order that my Invention may be more fully understood, and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued
by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS..
Figures 1, and 2, show the front and back of what I denominate an
index procket chronometer, the parts being of the real size, and are
actuated by my Invention. Figure 1, is a back view without the dome
or bottom, and Figure 2, is a front view without the dial or hands. The
train from the curved rack on the lever C, to the balance consists of
six wheels and six pinions. The wheels in Figures 1, and 2, are shown
in out line of their real diameter; the pinions and teeth are not shown,
as they are too small to be readily drawn on paper; I therefore give
the numbers:
The 1st wheel has 60 teeth, the pinion 12 leaves
2d wheel
"
دو
64 teeth,
دو
pinion 12 leaves
3d wheel
32
وو
64 teeth, pinion 16 leaves
22
29
4th wheel 60 teeth,
pinion 8 leaves
33
"
5th wheel 70 teeth,
وو
pinion 8 leaves
6th wheel
وو
"
15 teeth,
22
pinion 7 leaves
The seventh circle shows the position of the balance; a, is the scape
cock; b, is the small wheel cock; c, is the large wheel cock; d, is the
balance cock. In this I use the right side locking spring, which is
shown, with its stud, e, in its true position, and acts under the balance;
but other escapements can be used, such as the duplex or lever. The
escapement is fully shown in Figure 6, on a magnified scale, and will
be hereafter, described. D, n, and U. p, in Figure 1, with the hour
scale, serves to show the state of the power, or how long the watch will
go and has gone. The index is shown at D, N. When the index pointer
at the end of the lever C, see Figure 3, is pushed to U, p, it will
point to 28, which is the number of hours the timekeeper will go before
it returns again to D, N. The peculiarity of this Invention consists in
using the frame itself as the part to contain the power or main spring,
and using a short strong spring as the motive power, that only requires

page_text: to be bent to a curve of smaller radius by simple leverage, instead of
the 'long thin spring heretofore used that requires winding, and making
the parts that act as levers to set up the power of the spring the means
whereby its inequalities are corrected, so that the power when it acts
upon the train of wheels is equal.
Figure 3, shows what is technically called the frame, and it also shows
parts of a similar view to that at Figure 2, but without the bars, largely
magnified, in order that the construction and action of the principal
parts may be more readily understood. A, is the main spring, which
consists of a strong bent spring of the form indicated, and simply
requires to be bent from the form shown by dotted lines in Figure 3 to
the position shown in outline, when it will be in a condition, in attempting
to assume it former state, to exert its force and give motion to the train
of wheels. B, is the lever, turning on an axis at G', one end of which
is acted on by the spring A, and at the other end it carries the roller
surface F, which acts on the curved surface of the lever C, and by
so doing gives motion to that lever, on the other edge of which is formed
a curved toothed rack, which takes into and gives motion to the pinion,
J, of the first wheel of the train. The lever C, turns on an axis at
C', and its outer end is formed into a pointer to the ingraved index, and
it is by pushing this pointed end from the position shown by dotted lines
in Figure 3, to the other position shown by the same figure, that the
spring A, is bent or wound up. D, Figure 2, is the centre wheel cock,
which holds down the lever C, and also carries the ordinary minute
wheel X, and its stud. The pivot or axis of the lever C, is hollow, so
that the centre wheel arbor may pass through it. E, Figure 2, is the
bar of the lever B. F, Figure 2, is the small wheel and escapement
bar. G, Figure 2, is the bar of the main spring A, and of the friction
roller. H, Figure 2 and 3, is the stud and screw of the main spring
A. The end of the screw or stud H, acts against the side of the part
cut out of the bar G, and when the screw is turned it draws the main
spring, and sets the power up, and keeps everything tight in position.
The minute wheel X, is shown in its true position in Figure 2, acting
into the set-hand wheel Y, which is very clearly seen in Figure 3; "the
set-hand wheel Y, is on the harbour. Y', but moves freely thereon,
which arbour at its upper end has a screw formed thereon' which

page_text: ordinarily is screwed into the knob of the pendant, and it is in this
position that it is shown in Figure 3. Y2, is a cylinder cut away as
shown, and it is to the end of this cylinder that the "set-hand wheel"
Y, is fixed, and it will consequently be turned when the cylinder is
turned by the pin Y³, fixed through the arbour Y'. The wheel Y, is
constantly in gear with the minute wheel X, and is turned thereby when
the watch is going. In order to set the hands, the arbour Y', is to be
unscrewed, so as to free the screw from the knob of the pendant, by
which means the pin Ys, will be moved from its ordinary position,
and come against the inclined part of the cylinder, so that on turning the
arbour it will turn the cylinder, and the wheel, Y, which will give
motion to the minute wheel, and turn or set the hands correctly. The
arbour Y', at its lower end, is long enough to pass beyond the cylinder
a distance equal to what it will be moved up by unscrewing the screw,
and allow of its end being still supported below the end of the cylinder.
It should be understood that the first wheel of the train No. 1, has a
secondary spring, like an ordinary going fuzee, to keep the watch going
during the moving or setting up of the main spring. The detent I,
and spring are shown in Figure 3. It will be seen that arrange-
ment is made to allow the pinion J, and ratchet K, to turn in the
direction of the arrows, while the lever C, is being pushed up. The
drawing, Figure 3, shows the lever C, with lines drawn from the
edge of the curve against which the rolling surface F', acts to the tips of
the teeth of the curved rack. There are eighteen teeth which act in
the pinion J, but there is an extra tooth at each end for safety. The
parallel and equidistant curved lines drawn or struck from the center
of motion of the lever C, and the other curves intersecting them, show
at the edge of the curved surface of the lever C, that the power required
from the action of the main spring for each tooth of the toothed rack
will be equal, or as nearly so as may be; for as the spring decreases in
power the leverage becomes more favourable, and it will be evident that
as the spring is diminishing in power the lever is increasing in power,
thus keeping an equal pressure on the pinion as the rolling surface
moves along the curve. Figure 4, is an edge view of the lever C, and
the lever B; the proportions are magnified to the same scale as Figure 3.

page_text: F', is the roller; it turns two thirds of the circle in the action, and it is
cut away, as seen in Figure 3, to free it of the arm of the stud D', which
is formed out of the solid steel. The "detached" escapement holds the
first rank in the various classes of escapements, because it does not
require oil at the part where the power is given off from the train. It
has long been a desideratum to shorten the angle, especially for pocket
chronometers, as they are apt to set in the pocket; and as an abstract
proposition the shorter the angle the better, as the communication of the
power to the balance cannot be too brief so that it is efficient. Figures
5, and 6, show..two views of my improved escapement, the diagonal
locking springs being to the right of the wheel in one, and to the left
in the other; the one to the right is preferred for pocket watches, and
the one to the left for marine chronometers. A, the escape wheel; b,
the roller; c, the unlocking pallet; d, the stud to hold the locking spring;
e, the screw that holds the stud down to the plate; f, the screw to secure
the locking spring; 9, the adjusting screw. The piece h, is the locking
spring, having the passing spring h', secured to the diagonal arm by a
screw at ; l, is the banking. Figure 7, shows the simple principle on
which this escapement is based. Let A, and B, represent the two sides of
a rectangle, and C, the diagonal line, and let D, be an unlocking pallet;
Suppose the dots K, and L, to represent the centres of motion; suppose
that it is now fixed at the centre K, L, being quite free; and suppose
the pallet to turn its centre in the direction of the arrow; the pallet
now pressing against the end of the diagonal C, it will cause the side A,
to move in the direction of a, a, and it will describe the arc of a circle,
having K, as its centre of motion; this is the action of the left side
locking spring, Figure 5. If K, is now set free, and L, made the centre
of motion, and the pallet is again moved as before, it will cause the side
B, to move in the direction of b, b, and it will describe the arc of a
circle, having L, as its centre of motion; this is the action of the
right side locking spring, Figure 6. Thus it will be seen that I get the
changing the centre of motion from
respective actions, right and left, by
K, to L, because in both cases the relative position of the pallet and
the diagonal arm remains the same, and their action is in the same
direction.

page_text: The advantages obtained in my escapements are to increase the diameter
of the roller, and lessen the lift of the two springs in unlocking and
passing, whereby the angle is shortened to about one half of what it is in
the ordinary escapement, which prevents the chronometer from setting,
that is stopping, in the pocket, and as a sequence the balance is more
detached to that extent during its arc of vibration.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Richard Holl, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of March in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
FREDERICK RICHARD HOLL. (L.S.)
Witness, FRED HARRIS.