IMPROVEMENTS IN WATCHES
Year: 1859

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Jules Jean Louis Guiblet at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th June 1859.
I, JULES JEAN LOUIS GUIBLET, of 11, Wilmington Square, Clerkenwell,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATCHES," to be as follows:-
the axis of the
This Invention has for its object improvements in watches, and consists,
firstly, in combining therewith mechanism, such as is herein-after described,
by means of which the watch may be wound and the hands set without the
use of a key or other instrument detached from the watch. For English
watches, or watches in which a fuzee is employed, I mount on
fuzee a pinion, having ratchet or other teeth formed on it. This pinion is
surrounded by a ring furnished on its inner edge with teeth corresponding
with the teeth of the pinion before mentioned. This ring is carried by and
turns on a lever, which is itself mounted on a centre or axis carried by the
frame of the watch. The outer edge of the ring is furnished with spur teeth,
gearing with a driving pinion, to which motion can be given by turning a knob
projecting from the handle of the watch, or otherwise. When the mechanism
is out of use, a spring holds the lever in such a position that the teeth on the
inner edge of the ring do not gear with the pinion on the fuzee axis, and
consequently the fuzee axis is free to turn independently of the winding
mechanism; were this not so, the action of the watch would be interfered
with. The lever on which the toothed ring is mounted is itself furnished with

page_text: a single tooth, and this tooth, when the lever occupies the position to which
its spring tends to bring it, enters between the teeth of the driving pinion, so
that immediately this pinion is turned in the direction to wind the watch, it
acts on the tooth of the lever, and throws it a short distance, so as to bring
the teeth on the inside of the ring to gear with the pinion on the fuzee axis,
and then by continuing to turn the driving pinion the watch may be wound.
If the driving pinion be turned in the wrong direction for winding the watch,
the teeth on the inside of the ring are not brought into gear with the pinion
on the fuzee axis, and no injury can result.
For the purpose of setting the hands of the watch a detent is employed, by
pressing on which the lever before mentioned' may be thrown in the opposite
direction to that in which it is moved by the driving pinion to prepare for
winding, and so as to carry its tooth clear of the driving pinion, and at the
same time to bring the teeth on the exterior of the ring which it carries to
gear with a pinion mounted on the axis of the minute hand, and then, by
turning the driving pinion in either direction the hands may be set; at this
time the teeth on the interior of the ring are clear of the pinion on the fuzee
axis.
In some cases I modify the arrangement above described in the fol-
lowing manner-A spur wheel is mounted on the fuzee axis, and immediately
over this wheel is another spur wheel carried by a lever similar to that which
carries the ring in the former arrangement. The driving pinion gears with
the wheel carried by the lever, and when this pinion is turned in the direction
to wind the watch, it, as before, moves the lever a short distance, and so causes
the wheel carried by it to gear with a pinion, which also gears with the spur
wheel on the axis of the fuzee. When it is desired to set the hands of the
watch, it is done by depressing a detent, as in the former arrangement, so as
to bring the wheel mounted on the lever to work with a pinion on the axis
of the minute hand of the watch, and then turning the driving pinion in one
or other direction as may be required.
For watches in which no fuzee is employed, and in which the winding
axis does not turn continuously while the watch is going, the arrangement of
the mechanism may be simplified by removing the tooth from the lever, and
applying the lever spring, so as to keep the ring, or the wheel carried by the
lever, constantly in gear with the pinion or wheel on the winding axis, except
when the detent is depressed in order to bring the ring or wheel into a
position to drive the pinion on the axis of the minute hand to set the hands
of the watch.
When it is not required to employ the mechanism both for winding the
watch and setting the hands, but for the former purpose only, the pinion

page_text: which gears both with the wheel on the fuzee axis and the wheel carried by
the lever, may be dispensed with, the lever in this case being placed on one
side of the wheel on the fuzee axis, so that the wheel which it carries may
gear directly with the latter wheel when the lever is moved by turning the
driving pinion into its position for winding the watch. This arrangement is
applicable both for English watches and others.
My Invention also consists in an improved method of actuating the seconds
hand of a watch, so that the seconds hand may move but once for each
second, and may not make a movement for each beat of the escapement, as
in watches of the ordinary construction. For this purpose there is attached
to an axis, which makes one complete revolution in a minute, one end of a
spiral spring, the other end of which is connected to a toothed wheel,
mounted loosely on the same axis, and having the seconds hand attached to
it. This toothed wheel gears with a pinion, which by intermediate wheels
communicates with an axis carrying a locking arm. This arm rests against
a pinion on the axis of the escapement wheel, and thus for a time the wheel.
which carries the seconds hand is prevented revolving, notwithstanding that
the axis with which it is connected by the spring continues to travel but once
each second, the teeth of the pinion on the axis of the escapement wheel
assume such a position as to allow the end of the locking arm to pass, and
then the seconds hand makes its step forward.