IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOCKS OR SIMILAR TIME KEEPERS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Carpenter and George Martin, of St. John Street
Road, Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex, and of Tooting, in the County
of Surrey, Clock Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CLOCKS OR SIMILAR TIME KEEPERS."
Sealed the 17th November 1876, and dated the 19th May 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Carpenter and George
Martin at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th May 1876.
JAMES CARPENTER and GEORGE MARTIN, of St. John Street Road, Clerkenwell,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Tooting, in the County of Surrey, Clock
Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOCKS OR SIMILAR Time KEEPERS."
This Invention relates to improvements in clocks or similar time keepers, and
consists in fitting to the back plate of the clock or other time keeper a pair of
magnetic coils against the soft iron centres of which an armature is caused to
approach under the power of the battery with which the magnetic coils are put
in connection. The armature has on it a push pawl to engage into the tectli of
a ratchet wheel to cause the wheel to travel intermittently and wind up a spring,
one end of which is attached to the axle and the other end to the "escape" wheel,
upon the teeth of which the pallet acts in the ordinary manner for maintaining
the to-and-fro motions of the pendulum, which travels over the usual arc of a circle
in proper order for the divisions of time. The pendulum aperture in which the
crutch pin works is insulated on one side and it with the other which is in contact
by a wire from the coils constitute the make and break action at each vibration
of the pendulumn. The other conducting wire of the coils is connected with the
back plate or some other part of the clock, as found convenient.
A clock as above described can by an attachment on the armature be put in
connection with coils of other clocks or indicators of time at a distance that they
can be regulated by the clock above mentioned.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Carpenter and George Martin in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th November 1876.
JAMES CARPENTER and GEORGE MARTIN, of St. John Street Road, Clerkenwell,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Tooting, in the County of Surrey, Clock Manu-
facturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOCKS OR SIMILAR TIME KEEPERS."
This Invention relates to improvements in clocks or similar time keepers, as is
fully set forth in the following description, and regresented in the accompanying
Drawings, and consists in fitting to the back plate A, Figure 1, of the clock or
other time kuepor a pair of magnetic coils B, B, against the soft iron centres C, C,
of which an armature D is caused to approach under the power of the battery with
which the magnetic coils are put in connection. The armature has on it a push
pawl E to engage into the teeth of a ratchet wheel to cause the wheel to travel
intermittently and wind up a spring G, one end of which is attached to the axle H
and the other end to the "scape" or other wheel I, as in the detached view, Figure 2,
upon the teeth of which the pallet acts in the ordinary manner for maintaining
the to-and-fro motion of the pendulum J, which travels over the usual arc of a
circle in proper order for the divisions of time. The pendulum aperture in which
the crutch pin works is insulated by ebonite or other body K on one side, and it
with the other, which is in contact by a wire L from the coils, constitute the make
and break action at each vibration of the pendulum. The other conducting wire M
of the coils is connected with the back plate A or some other part of the clock, as
found convenient.
A clock. as above described can by an attachment on the armature be put in
connection with coils of other clocks or indicators of time at a distance that they
can be regulated by the clock above mentioned.
Figure 3 is a modification of the foregoing, in which the armature D is connected
to a horizontal bar D¹³, which terminates in a push pawl E, the horizontal bar
being supported on a pivot or centre a by a strap N which is attached to the back
plate A.
The bar D¹ hangs and rocks upon this centre under the action of the
battery in one direction, and under the action of a spiral spring b in the other,
the limit of motion being regulated by set screws c, c. The pawl E pushes its wheel,
which is an additional whicel F, upon the arbor of the centre wheel, and therefore
travels with it. On the armature bar D¹ is a spring & having a loose detent, the
point or tooth of which is in contact with one of the teeth of the fixed wheel F",
and moves in the same direction along with it under the falling or descending
motion of the armature bar through the tension of the spiral spring b; the drop
of the bar causes the pin e to press down the fork M by acting upon its leg f to
cause the wire g to dip into mercury contained in a bason for the opening or
completion of the electric circuit, which then instantly acts upon the magnets to
draw the armature D down and its pawl end up, which end then acts upon the
wheel F and winds up the spring G, the winding being in proportion to the
unwinding, and is taken up the moment it has given it off. The lower part of
the boss of the forked lever has a lip i upon it to take on to either side of a bent
portion of a spring k, by which the fork can be retained for the time until overcome
by the superior power of the spiral spring in one movement and of the armature
by the current in the other. The spring when wound up has sufficient power or
tension put into it to keep the works and hands going for, say two minutes, but
as the additional wheel makes the movement of one tooth only corresponding to
one minute of time, the spring has always the requisite power within it. One of 5
the wires of the magnetic coils B is always in the bath, as shown, and the circuit
made by the dip of the wire g causes the armature to be depressed, and its opposite
end with its pawl to be raised to push the wheels F on one tooth to wind up the
spring again. The up rising of the pawl end causes-the pin e to strike against
the fork leg m to lift and carry the lip i over the bend of the spring h, to be there 5
held until the next minute of time is completed, when the same action takes place.

page_text: Tis the stop paul to prevent the spring and wheel returning, and to ensure its
movement of rotation in one direction only.
Figure 4 shows another arrangement by which a spring or weight can be wound
up by an electric current, the works then being kept going by the spring like an
ordinary clock having a pendulum or balance. In this view the armatures D, D,
are double on separate bars D¹, D1, and are attracted to distinct magnetic coils B, B,
arranged on opposite sides of the back plate A, and drop simultaneously into
contact on the completion of the current or circuit by the dip of the wire g into
the bath , as before explained. The inner end of one of these bars has a push
paul E to engage into the loose wheel F, and the other a slip paul E¹ to engage
into the fixed wheel, the two bars being connected that they may move together.
The slip paul follows the travel of the tooth in which it is engaged, and its weight
assists the travel until it arrives at the end of the distance, when the loose paul
is acted upon again by the attraction of the armatures. The stop paul R in this
arrangement is centred upon a point n, and as its tooth rises up and over the
teeth of the wheel in succession its tail end p drops and throws a hook into
the path and under a stud projecting from a bars to which the dip wire g is
connected, the bar being part of the forked lever M², whose legs f, m, are acted
upon by a pin e, as before explained, and is held in both the up and down positions
by a lip or pin i acting upon the bent portion of the spring. When the tooth
of the stop paul falls into the next tooth of the wheel its tail end rises, and the
look g lifts the fork by its leg m to take the wire y out of the bath to break the
electrical circuit.
We may here remark that our Invention consists in winding up the spring or
the weight of a clock or similar time keeper that it may be kept going, such
winding up of the spring or weight boing actuated by a current of electricity in
contradistinction to what are known as electric clocks, in which the works are
kept going by electricity.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, we declare that we claim winding up the springs or
weights of clocks and similar time keepers by electricity, and utilizing the power
thus put into the springs for maintaining the going action of the works or mechanism
as described and substantially as shown in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Carpenter and George Martin, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventeenth day of November, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
JAMES CARPENTER. (L.S.)
GEORGE MARTIN.
(L.S.