An Invention Designed to Regulate or Assimilate the Movements of Electrically Connected Mechanical Instruments or Machines, more particularly Wheels or other Bodies Revolving upon Axes, and to Diminish Variations in the Movements or Speed of the same by Means of Electrical Impulses.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Feb., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 8th Nov., 1895-Accepted, 8th Feb.,
1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Invention Designed to Regulate or Assimilate the Movements
of Electrically Connected Mechanical Instruments or Machines,
more particularly Wheels or other Bodies Revolving upon Axes,
and to Diminish Variations in the Movements or Speed of the
same by Means of Electrical Impulses.
We RICHARD JOSEPH CROWLEY of 10 Harbour Row Queenstown County
Cork Ireland Electrician HARRY WILLIAM CHARLES Cox of 51 Cricketfield
Road Hackney Downs in the County of London Electrician and CLARANCE
FRANK LEIGHTON of The Croft St. Albans in the County of Herts Gentleman
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This device may be constructed, preferably in the form of a wheel or revolving
body, hereinafter referred to as a special wheel, which may be attached to or
may form part of any machine or mechanical instrument so that it will move
with other wheels (if any) or parts of the machine or mechanical instrument to
which it is attached or of which it forms part.
The special wheel may be so constructed connected and insulated that it is
capable of forming part of an electric circuit connecting the machines or
mechanical instruments which it is desired to regulate and so that at certain
periods in its rotation it will by forming a contact with another part of the said
circuit complete such circuit through a similar special wheel in another machine
or mechanical instrument so as to close the said circuit when the other special
wheel in the other machine or mechanical instrument is also forming its contact.
When both the special wheels are forming their respective contacts the circuit
will be complete and by means of a battery or other suitable means an electric
current will be established.
Should either of the special wheels form its contact before the other special
wheel forms its contact the rotation of the one arriving first will be retarded
by a suitable mechanism until the arrival of the other but immediately the other
forms its contact the current thereby established will energize electro magnets
which will operate upon the retarding mechanism so as to release the retarded
wheel thus opening or breaking the circuit.
It will thus be seen that any difference in the speed of two electrically connected
machines or mechanical instruments equipped with this device will be periodically
corrected or compensated and practically reduced to a minimum if not entirely
eliminated so that the instruments may work for long periods of time without
serious variation except what may occur during the short intervals of regulation.
In the foregoing description the result is obtained by the special wheels
periodically closing an open circuit, but similar results may be obtained by
periodically opening closed circuits.
The special wheels may be made so as to form any suitable number of contacts
in a single revolution and any suitable number of machines or mechanical instru-
ments may be similarly regulated in a single circuit with suitable relays if
necessary and either in series or parallel.
Instead of constructing the special wheel so that it shall itself form part of the
electric circuit other mechanisms such as bolts or levers may be employed to close
or onen the circuit as required.

page_text: Instead of relying upon the various instruments the movements of which it is
desired to assimilate regulating each other, we find it preferable to employ one
machine to govern all the others in the circuit, so that they may be said to take
their time from and be subordinate to the governing machine. Any suitable
mechanical contrivance, such as a piece of clockwork making an intermittent
rubbing or other periodical contact, may be employed as a governing machine to
open and close the circuit at frequent intervals so that for instance (assuming that
open circuits are being used) although the special wheels of the various subordinate
machines may all have reached their respective contacts they will not be released
until the period arrives for the governing machine to close the circuit and thus
release their respective retarding inechanisms.
Dated this Twenty-sixth day of February 1895.
RICHARD JOSEPH CROWLEY.
HARRY WILLIAM CHARLES COX.
CLARANCE F. LEIGHTON.
COMPLETE STEIFICATION.
An Invention Designed to Regulate or Assimilate the Movements
of Electrically Connected Mechanical Instruments or Machines,
more particularly Wheels or other Bodies Revolving upon Axes,
and to Diminish Variations in the Movements or Speed of the
same by Means of Electrical Impulses.
We RICHARD JOSEPH CROWLEY of 10 Harbour Row Queenstown County
Cork Ireland Electrician, HARRY WILLIAM CHARLES Cox of 51 Cricketfield
Road Hackney Downs in the County of London Electrician and CLARANCE
FRANK LEIGHTON of The Croft St. Albans in the County of Herts Gentleman
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This device may be constructed preferably in the form of a wheel or revolving
body hereinafter referred to as a special wheel, which may be attached to or may
form part of the clock or machine which it is desired to regulate so that it will
move with other wheels (if any) or parts of such clock or machine.
The special wheel may be so constructed connected and insulated that it is
capable of forming part of an electric circuit connecting the clocks or machines
which it is desired to regulate and so that at certain periods in its rotation it will
by forming a contact with another part of the said circuit complete such circuit
through a similar special wheel or device attached to or forming part of another
clock or machine so as to close the said circuit when the other special wheel or
device in the other clock or machine is also forming its contact.
When both the special wheels are forming their respective contacts the circuit
will be complete, and by means of a battery or other suitable means an electric
current will be established.
Should either of the special wheels form its contact before the other special
wheel forms its contact, the rotation of the one arriving first will be retarded by a
suitable mechanism until the arrival of the other but immediately the other forms
its contact the current thereby established will energize electro-magnets which will
operate upon the retarding mechanism so as to release the retarded wheel thus
opening or breaking the circuit.
In the accompanying drawings a suitable arrangement of plant for carrying out
our invention is shewn.
Fig. 1. is a front elevation representing two of our devices A and B in circuit.

page_text: (e) is the outer brass rim of the special wheel.
(1) is the brass contact point upon the outer rim of the special wheel.
() is the armature or retarding lever.
(h) is a bolt or pin through the armature.
(i) is a spiral spring.
(i) are electro-magnets.
(k) is a bracket supporting the electro-magnets.
(/) is a flat brass spring pressing slightly against the side of the brass rim of the
special wheel so as to form a rubbing contact.
(mm) are screws by which the various parts of our device are attached to the
wall or case of the clock or machine which it is desired to regulate.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the special wheel and flat brass spring showing how
the rubbing contact is effected.
(d d) is a block of ebonite.
(n) is the wall or case of the clock or machine which it is desired to regulate.
Fig. 3 is a front elevation of one of our devices C at the moment of releasing
the special wheel.
The arrows show the direction in which the special wheel revolves.
Fig. 1 shows how the current is conducted from the battery (a) to device B by
means of the conductor (b) which is attached to the flat brass spring (1) by the
screws (mm). This flat brass spring (1) is insulated (see Fig. 2) from the wall or
case (n) by the block of ebonite (dd) and conducts the current by means of the
rubbing contact to the brass rim (e) of the special wheel, the brass rim being
insulated from the axle (c) by means of the ebonite (d). From the brass rim (e)
the current is conducted by the contact point (f) to the armature or retarding
lever (y) and thence by the spiral spring (i) to the electro magnets (jj). It passes
through the electro-magnets (j) and thence by means of the conductor (b) to
device A through which it is conducted in a precisely similar manner the circuit
being completed between the electro-magnets of device A and the battery (a) by
means of the conductor (b).
In Fig. 1 device B the special wheel is shewn retarded the contact point (f)
having reached the armature (9) with which it is forming its contact and by which
it will remain retarded until a similar contact has been made in device A. In Fig. 1
device A the contact point (f) has not yet reached the armature (g) and until it does
so the circuit will remain open so that no current passes. As soon as the contact
point (f) in device A forms its contact with the armature (g) the circuit will be
closed and the electro magnets (jj) in both devices will be energized so that they
will simultaneously attract the ends of the respective armatures which are over
them consequently raising the opposite ends of such armatures as shewn in
Fig. 3 C so that the special wheel in both devices will be simultaneously released
and the circuit opened. The armatures (g) are so constructed balanced and
adjusted that immediately the electro-magnets cease to be energized such armatures
will be released and will revert to the position shewn in Fig. 1 where they will
remain until both contact points have made their respective contacts when the
operation already described will be repeated.
In the accompanying drawings it is assumed that the axle (c) of the special
wheel is connected to one or more wheels in the clock or machine which it is
desired to regulate in such a manner that when the special wheel is retarded the
movements of the clock or machine which it is desired to regulate will also be
retarded and vice versa when the special wheel is released the clock or machine
which it is desired to regulate will also be released.
It will thus be seen that any differences in the speed of two clocks or machines
respectively equipped with the devices A and B shewn in Fig. 1 will be

page_text: periodically corrected and practically reduced to a minimum if not entirely
eliminated.
In carrying out our invention variations can be made as to the form of the
various parts of the device and as to the materials used in its construction, for
instance the special wheel may be of various forms, it may have any suitable
number of contact points, it may be insulated from the clock or machine which
it is desired to regulate by means of an axle made of any non-conducting material
or otherwise and any suitable insulating material other than ebonite may be
used in its construction. Copper or other suitable conducting materials may
be used in those parts of the device described as made of brass and vice versa
and the connections between the electro magnets and the armatures may be made
by any suitable device other than by means of the spiral spring which spring we
have found useful for the purposes of adjusting the armature but we do not confine
ourselves to that form of spring or adjustment.
We do not confine ourselves to the use of any special form of armature or
mechanism for making and breaking the contact with the special wheel or revolving
body nor do we confine ourselves to the use of any special form of magnet or
magnets for instance permanent magnets or solonides may be used to operate the
armatures.
Any suitable number of clocks or machines may be equipped with our device in
a single circuit and where necessary we make use of relays.
Instead of relying upon the various clocks or machines to which our device is
attached regulating each other we find it preferable to employ one machine to
govern all the others in the circuit so that they may be said to take their time from
and be subordinate to the governing machine.
Any suitable mechanical contrivance such as a piece of clockwork making an
intermittent or other periodical rubbing contact may be employed as a governing
machine to open and close the circuit at frequent, and if possible regular, intervals
so that for instance if in the case of the devices A and B shewn in Fig. 1 such a
governing machine be inserted in the circuit then although the contact points (f)
in both devices may have made their contacts with the armatures (g) the circuit
will still remain open and the special wheels will not be released until the governing
machine closes the circuit.
Having now particularly ascertained and described the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is.
1. The system of synchronizing or assimilating and regulating the movements of
clockwork and other mechanisms by means of electric impulses in combination with
the device consisting of a special wheel armature and magnets as described in the
foregoing Specification and the accompanying drawings.
Dated this Seventh day of November 1895.
CLARANCE F. LEIGHTON.
H. W. C. COX.
R. J. CROWLEY,
By Clarance F. Leighton,
His Attorney.