IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATCHES
Year: 1855

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
WATCHES."-A communication.
Sealed the 10th July 1855, and dated the 21st May 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st May 1855.
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
WATCHES" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the employment of permanently attached mecha-
nism as a substitute for watch keys. In carrying out the object of the
Invention, two folding leaves are attached to the back of a watch case, one of
which leaves fits upon the fusee post and serves to wind up the watch, and the
other fits upon the centre post and serves to move the hands. These leaves
are so arranged that they can be raised up when it is desired to wind or set
the watch, and afterwards the leaves may be closed down upon the case out of
the way.

page_text: The Invention is alike applicable to watches with single or double cases,
and the connection of the folding leaf with the fusee is effected by a clutch
box or a ratchet wheel and click arrangement, the object being to prevent
injury to the watch by turning the fusce in the wrong direction.
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 21st November 1855.
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 Twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
tho said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, 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 WATCHES," being a com-
munication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 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 Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The nature of the Invention consists in attaching permanently to the backs
of watch cases folding leaves, for winding up the chain and adjusting the

page_text: hands of watches. These leaves are so arranged that they can be raised up
when is desired to wind or set the watch, and afterwards closed down upon
the case out of the way.
Fig. 1 represents the back of an ordinary single-case watch with the im-
provement attached thereto. Fig. 2 shews the back of the inner case of an
ordinary double-cased watch with the improvement attached. Figures 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, and 9 represent views of the detached parts of the mechanism as
applied to a single-case watch. Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15 represent views
of the detached parts of the mechanism by which the improvement is attached
to double-cased watches.
It has long been deemed desirable among watchmakers to have some
permanently attached mechanism by which the watch could be readily wound
up and set, and which would dispense with the necessity of a separate or
detached watch key. The arrangements of mechanism hitherto employed for
this purpose have been attached to the handle or ring of the watch, and have
by reason of their position been necessarily complicated, and therefore expensive,
and casily liable to derangement. The present Invention is, however, very
simple, costs little, can be readily attached to any watch, and cannot possibly
get out of order or interfere with the action of the watch. The arrangement
of mechanism to be attached to a single-case watch is slightly different from
that of a double-case watch. I proceed to describe, first, the manner of
applying the improvement to a single-cased watch.
A, A, Fig. 1, is a back view of the outer casing of a single watch. Fig. 3
is a vertical section of the same watch on the line X, X, Fig. 1. 6, 61, Fig. 3,
is the fusee post of such a watch, extending through the plate of the watch
c, c'. On the outer extremity of b, b', a small clutch wheel d, d', fits; this
clutch wheel is shewn detached in Fig. 7. A circular opening is cut through
the outer case A, A, into which a corresponding circular disc e, e, is placed.
This disc e, e', is of the same thickness as the outer casing A, A. e, e¹, rests
upon and is attached to another disc f, f1, placed immediately below the
aperture in the plate A, A, and of a little larger diameter than the disc e, e
To ff, is attached a clutch wheel h, h', which fits into and forms a clutch
box with d, d. The compound piece, composed of c, e, f,f,-and-h, h¹, is seen
in Figures 6. ff', rests upon a flat spring 9, 9', (Fig. 3,) with a circular
opening, through which h, h', passes; this spring is seen-in-a-top and edgo
view detached at Figures 9. The extremity g¹ of g, g', is rivetted or secured
to the inner surface of the outer casing, and this spring serves to throw h,,
off from d, d'. I, 1', is a leaf, which is secured to the outer surface of c, d, by
a hinge at I. This leaf turns up and down upon the binge at I, and also

page_text: turns around with the plate c, c¹. When it is desired to wind the watch, the
leaf I, I, is .raised on the hinge I to the position I, I", (Fig. 3,) and by
pressing upon the leaf so as to overcome the resistance of the spring 9,2', the
teeth h, h', of the clucth will be forced into contact with the teeth d, d'. If
the leaf be now turned in the right direction, the fusee will be rotated and
the watch will be wound up; but if turned in the wrong direction, the upper
.clutch h, h', will slide over the teeth of the lower clutch, and no action will
take place on the fusee. Thus the risk of accident by turning in the wrong
direction is avoided. After the watch has been wound up, the leaf is to be
folded down, and it is then entirely out of the way. The spring 9, 9', keeps
the upper clutch h, h', detached from the fusee except at the moment of
winding.
To apply this improvement to an ordinary single-case watch, it is only
necessary, first, to-slip the lower clutch d, d', upon the fusce post b, 6'; second,
to cut a small circular hole in the back, and to fit thereto the compound piece.
h, h, ff, Fig. 6; third, to attach the straight spring 9, g', on the inner side
of the casing, so that one end of it g shall fit around h, h, and press f,f³,
and h, h, up from d, d¹. This arrangement does not interfere in the least
with the ordinary mechanism of the watch, and can be readily and economically
attached. The folding leaf I, I, when laid down on to the back of the watch,
may be held by a spring catch.
The same arrangement may be applied to a double-case watch under the
following modifications:-
A, A', (Fig. 2,) is a back view of the inner casing of a double-case watch,
the outer casing having been removed. Fig. 10 is a transverse section on y, y,
of Fig. 2, showing the position of the outer casing B, B. C, C', in Fig. 10,
is the plate of the watch. b, b, is the fusee post, with one extremity 6' extend-
ing to or through A, A¹. A circular aperture is made in the casing A, A', to
admit the disc e, e', to be fitted in and revolve in this aperture. A cylindrical
box d, d', with a cylindrical cavity is attached to the disc e, e. In this cylin-
drical cavity (see the detached views, Figures 13 and 15) the ratchet wheel
is fitted; a small pawle p is secured to the box and takes into the ratchet r, it
being pressed against the teeth flat springs,, which is bent around the
exterior of the box d, d. The hub of the ratchet is placed upon the outer
extremity of the fusec post b, b'. The disc e, e', and the box d, d', when turned
in one direction have a free motion independent of the interior ratchet
wheel r. by reason of the pawle p slipping over the ratchet teeth; but when
the disc e, e¹, and box d, d', are rotated in the other direction, the pawle p
catches in the ratchet and forces it round with it. To the outer side of e, e¹, a

page_text: folding semicircular leaf or wing i, i, is attached by a hinge at i. This wing
or leaf can be raised on the hinge, at i into the position i, ", or it can be
folded down into the position i, i'. When the leaf is folded down upon the
inner casing of the watch, as at i, 2, it presents the appearance shown in
Figures 2 and 10, affording ample room for the outer casing to be closed
upon it. When it is desired to wind the watch, the leaf or wing i, i, is opened
to the position i, ¹, and then affords sufficient surface to grasp and wind the
watch by. If the leaf i, i", be rotated in the wrong direction, the pawle p
slips over the ratchet teeth, and the fusee not being rotated, no harm can be
done to the works of the watch. The disc e, e', completely closes the aperture
around the fusee post, and thus prevents the entrance of dust. This modi-
fication of the improvement can be readily attached to a double-case watch,
without in any way modifying its previous mechanism, by making a circular
aperture in the second casing and slipping the box d, d', (with its outer disc
and folding leaf e, e, and i, ', and its interior ratchet wheel r,) through the
aperture upon b, b', the fusee post.
A disc like e, e', a folding leaf like i, ', and a hub attached to the disc, may
be applied for setting or regulating the position of the hands. v, v', represents
a circular disc, revolving in a circular aperture in the inner casing of the
watch. To the lower side of the disc v, vl, a hub u is secured, and on the
outer side of v, v¹, there is a folding or hinged leaf t, t; the hub u fits on
the centre post. These parts v, v, t, t, and u, are shown analytically in
Fig. 14, and it will be seen, by reference to Figures 8, are precisely the same
for single and double case watches.
When it is desired to set the hands, the leaf t, t, is raised to the dotted
position t,t", (Fig. 10,) and by turning it round like a key, the hub u revolves
the centre post, and thus moves the hands. This arrangement for setting the
hands is, as just stated, equally applicable to single as to double case watches.
In the former case, the larger leaf I, I', for winding the watch would fold over
and cover the smaller leaf t, t, for setting the hands, as is shewn in the
sectional view given at Fig. 3.
I regard the pawle and ratchet of the second described arrangement for..
winding as an equivalent for and substantially the same as the clutch box
arrangement for winding, as first described. The folding leaf may be used in-
-a-double-cased watch without the ratchet and pawle, but there would then
be the same risk as in ordinary winding of breaking the chain by turning
in the wrong direction. In these cases the winding apparatus would consist
of a simple disc, a hub to fit on the fusee post, and a folding leaf.
Having thus described the Invention of "Improvements in the Construction

page_text: of Watches," as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be under-
stood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,―
First, the combination and arrangement of the folding leaf or wing and
hub for winding or setting watches, substantially in the manner and for the
purpose herein-before described.
Second, the combination of the folding leaf and pawle and ratchet, or its
equivalent, for winding watches, substantially in the manner and for the purpose
as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.B.)