IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING AND APPLYING MOTIVE
POWER." A communication from abroad by John Madison Cayce,
Wiley Blount Barfield, and James M Ewen, all of Franklin,
Williamson County, State of Tennessee, United States of America.
Sealed the 28th February 1871, and dated the 2nd November 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 2nd November 1870.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING AND APPLYING
MOTIVE POWER," to be as follows:-
:-

page_text: the same shaft, but independently of each other. In applying their
power to the working shaft the operator can at will use any one or any
number of the springs at the same time, so that although a force
sufficient to overcome only one spring is necessary to wind up the
apparatus yet the combined power of all the springs is available when-
ever needed, or they may be used separately one after the other.
This object is accomplished by means of the mechanism which I
will now proceed to describe. The apparatus may be mounted in a
rectangular frame with a number of parallel cross pieces; but I do not
deem the shape or construction of the frame material, and may use any
kind of frame which I find best adapted to support the various parts of
the machine. The frame supports two parallel shafts, from one of which
the power is applied whenever needed by means of a pulley and belt or
by any other mechanical means in common use for a similar purpose.
The power of the apparatus is obtained from springs coiled in a series of
barrels working independently of each other on the other or main shaft.
Each barrel has a cog rim affixed to it, by which the power of its spring
may be communicated to a small gear wheel on the first shaft, and
thence to the belt pulley before mentioned; these gear wheels like the
barrels run independently of each other, being hung loosely on their
shaft between two fixed collars, and having a pawl to prevent their
turning loosely on the shaft except in one direction.
The method of attaching the barrels to their shaft is as follows:-A
longitudinal groove is made in the shaft, in which slides a rod formed
with projections upon it. A grooved ring is attached to one end of this
rod engaging with a bifurcated hand lever, by which the rod can be
moved back and forth in its bed. Each barrel rests not directly on the
main shaft but on a short sleeve or hollow shaft inclosing the main shaft.
A pawl and ratchet are employed near the end of the sleeve to check the
recoil of the spring when winding or wound. A groove is cut around
the main shaft near the centre of each barrel, and in this groove plays a
little pin that projects from the inner side of the sleeve.
It is obvious that so long as there is no obstacle to break the continuity
of the groove the main shaft can be rotated independently of the sleeves
upon it, and of the barrels; but when the rod above mentioned is moved
along so that some of the projections upon its face extend across the
grooves, then the corresponding pin in the sleeves will engage with one
of such projections, and the shaft will not turn without turning the

page_text: sleeve and winding up the mechanism. The projections are so arranged
along their rod that when the latter is slid to a certain position the first
.projection extends across the first groove and enables the first spring
apparatus to be wound up; but no other projection is then across its
groove, and consequently no other spring is wound up. When the first
spring has been fully wound, the rod is moved along till another pro-
jection comes across its groove, and then the second spring can be wound
up, and then the third and fourth, and so on, in the same manner, each
by itself requiring the use of but little power to wind up the whole
machine. The projections are just long enough to extend across the
grooves and bear slightly against the shoulders of metal formed at the
intersection of those grooves with the longitudinal groove, in which
the rod slides so as to receive their support in withstanding the power of
the spring. The bifurcated hand lever which sets the rod properly to
wind one or another spring is held in place by a rack, the notches of
which may be numbered, so that when the lever is set in notch No. 1
the first spring will wind, when in No. 2 the second, and so on.
In connection with the devices above described, I employ an adjustable
locking apparatus or cut off, the object of which is to place the several
spring apparatus, when they are all wound, so under the control of the
operator that he can use one, two, or three, or any other number of
springs at once according to the amount of power that may be necessary.
The cut off operates by locking the cog rims on the spring barrels in
the following manner :-In a grooved bed plate fixed to the side fraining
are a series of dogs, which can be made to project so as to come in
contact with the cogs of the said rims and prevent the barrels from
rotating. A sliding rod with inclines properly arranged upon it moves
back and forth in a longitudinal groove in the grooved bed plate passing
transversely through open or closed slots in the sliding dogs in such a
manner that as the said sliding rod is moved forward the inclines upon
it will advance first one dog then another, and so on in the regular order,
and when the rod is correspondingly withdrawn, it will withdraw the
dogs in the same manner. When therefore the operator does not wish
to employ the first spring, he moves the sliding rod forward till it
advances the first dog, and thus locks the first wheel. If he desires to
lock two wheels he advances the rod another step, and so with any
number or all of the wheels and springs. The apparatus can thus not
only be wound up one wheel at a time, but can be unwound or used as

page_text: a motive power in the same manner, if preferred, or none of the springs
being locked their united power may be employed.
The sliding rod may be covered by a strip to keep it in place, and a
rack and wheel or crank may be used to operate it. When these are
used, an index plate marked with figures 1, 2, 3, and so on, may be
employed to show whether one, two, three, or more of the springs are
cut off. When any spring is thus cut off, and its barrel and cog rim
held fixed during the operation of the machine, the small gear wheel
connected with it on the pinion shaft will necessarily be stopped, but the
action of the said shaft by the influence of the other springs will not be
interfered with, since the gear wheels, it will be remembered, are loose
on that shaft, operating upon it only by means of the ratchets and pawls,
or pawls only may be employed, the cog rim of said gear wheels serving
as a ratchet. A hand wheel and lever may be used to wind the main
shaft, if preferred, and may be supported in any kind of convenient
frame, and connected to the shaft by bevel gearing.
The number of spring apparatus in this combination depends entirely
on the amount of power to be employed, and although the cog rims are
described as springing from the middle of the convex surface of the
barrels, such arrangement being the best possible for strengthening the
barrels, preventing injury when springs break, and obviating any
tendency of the springs to warp or twist the barrels; the cog rims
may, however, be otherwise arranged. The dogs may also be single, or
may be constructed like segments of internal gear wheels, if preferred.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, a
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 29th April 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Melville Clark, Her special
licence that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Melville
Clark, 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 APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER,"
a communication to me from abroad by John Madison Cayce, Wiley
Blount Barfield, and James McEwen, all of Franklin, Williamson
County, State of Tennessee, United States of America, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Alexander Melville Clark, 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 Sheet of Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say)
The object of this Invention is to provide a spring power so constructed
that any required number of springs may be employed, winding up by
the same shaft, but independently of each other. In applying their
power to the working shaft the operator can at will use any one or any
number of the springs at the same time, so that although a force
sufficient to overcome only one spring is necessary to wind up the
apparatus yet the combined power of all the springs is available
whenever needed, or they may be used separately one after the other.
This object is accomplished by means of the mechanism which I will
now proceed to describe.
Figure 1 represents a top view; Figure 2, a plan of the cut-off
apparatus detached and the cover removed; Figure 3 a perspective view
of a portion of the main shaft; Figure 4 an end elevation; Figure 5, an

page_text: axial section of one of the large wheels in position on the main shaft;
Figure 6, an axial section of one of the small wheels in position on the
small shaft; Figure 7, a side elevation of the rod by which the several
large wheels are at the will of the operator thrown into or out of gear
with their shaft.
In the Drawing, F represents the frame of the apparatus which is
shown as a rectangular frame with a number of parallel cross pieces ƒ, f.
I do not deem the shape or construction of the frame material, and
may use any kind of frame which I find best adapted to support the
various parts of the machine. The frame F supports two shafts A and B,
from the latter of which the power is applied whenever needed by
means of a pulley b and a belt, or by any other mechanical means in
common use for a similar purpose. The power of the apparatus is
obtained from springs coiled in a series of barrels D, working indepen-
dently of each other on the shaft A. Each barrel has a cog rim d
affixed to it, by which the power of its spring may be communicated to
a small gear wheel G on shaft B, and thence to the belt pulley b. The
gear wheels G, G, like the barrels D, D, run independently of cach
other being hung loosely on their shaft between two fixed collars H, H',
and having a pawl / to prevent their turning loosely on the shaft except
in one direction.
.
:―
The method of attaching the barrels to the shaft A is as follows:-
A longitudinal groove a is made in the shaft in which slides a rod E
formed as shown in Figure 7. A grooved ring J is attached to one end
of the rod E, engaging with a bifurcated hand lever K, by which the rod
can be moved back and forth in its bed. Each barrel rests not directly
on the shaft A, but on a short sleeve or hollow shaft I inclosing the
shaft A, as shown in Figure 5. A pawl and ratchet i are employed
near the end of the sleeve to check the recoil of the spring when
winding or wound. A groove a¹ is cut around the main shaft near
the centre of each barrel, and in this groove plays a little pin m, that
projects from the inner side of the sleeve as seen in Figure 5.
It is obvious that so long as there is no obstacle to break the con-
tinuity of groove a¹ the shaft A can be rotated independently of the
sleeves I, I, and of the barrels, but when the rod E is moved along so
'that some of the projections e, e¹, upon its face extend across the
grooves a¹, a¹, then the pin m will engage with the projection e, and the
shaft will not turn without turning the sleeve I, and winding up the

page_text: mechanism. The projections e, e¹, e¹¹, are so arranged along the rod E,
that when the latter is slid to a certain position the first one e extends
across the first groove a¹, and enables the first spring apparatus to be
wound up, but no other projection e¹, e", is then across its groove, and
consequently no other spring is wound up. When the first spring has
been fully wound, the rod E is moved along till-another projection e¹
comes across its groove, and then the second spring can be wound up,
and the third and fourth, and so on in the same manner, each by itself
requiring the use of but little power to wind up the whole machine.
The projections e, e¹, e¹, are just long enough to extend across the
grooves a¹, a¹, and bear slightly against the shoulders of metal formed at
the intersection of grooves a, a¹, so as to receive their support in with-
standing the power of the spring. The hand lever K, which sets the
rod E properly to wind one or another spring is held in place by a
rack M, the notches of which may be numbered so that when the lever
is set in notch No. 1, the first spring will wind, when in No. 2, the second
and so on.
In connection with the devices above described I employ an adjustable
locking apparatus or cut off, the nature of which will be clearly understood
from Figures 1 and 2, its object being to place the several spring
apparatus when they are all wound so under the control of the operator
that he can use one, two, three, or any other number of springs at once,
according to the amount of power that may be necessary.
The cut off operates by locking the cog rims d, d, in the following
manner: In a grooved bed plate N are a series of dogs n, n, n, which
can be made to project so as to come in contact with the cogs of the
rims d, d, and prevent the barrels from rotating. A sliding rod O, with
inclines o, o, properly arranged upon it moves back and forth in a
longitudinal groove in plate N passing transversely through open or
closed slots in the sliding dogs n, n, in such a manner that as the rod O
is moved forward the inclines o, o', upon it will first advance one dog,
then another, then another, and so on in the regular order, and when the
rod is correspondingly withdrawn, it will withdraw the dogs in the same
When therefore the operator does not wish to employ the
first spring he moves the rod O forward till it advances dog n, and thus
locks the first wheel, if he desires to lock two wheels he advances thie
rod O another step, and so with any number or all of the wheels and
springs: The apparatus can thus not only be wound up one wheel at a
manner.

page_text: time, but it can be unwound or used as a motive power in the
same manner if preferred; or none of the springs being locked, their
united power may be employed.
The rod O may be covered by a strip O' to keep it in place, and a
rack and wheel or crank R may be used to operate it.
When these
are used an index plate T marked with Figures 1, 2, 3, and so on,
may be employed to show whether one, two, three, or more of the
springs are cut off. When any spring is thus cut off and its barrel
and cog rim held fixed during the operation of the machine the cog
wheel G-connected with it on shaft B will necessarily be stopped, but
the action of the shaft B by the influence of the other springs will not
be interfered with, since the gear wheels G, G, it will be remembered,
are loose on that shaft, operating upon it only by means of the ratchets
and pawls h, h, or pawls only may be employed, the cog rims of
wheels G serving as a ratchet. A hand wheel and lever L may be
used to wind the main shaft if preferred, and may be supported in any
kind of convenient frame C, as shown in Figure 4.
I do not restrict myself to any particular number of spring apparatus
in this combination, that depending entirely on the amount of power to
be employed, nor do I confine myself to the use of the cog rims springing
from the middle of the convex surface of the barrels, although that
arrangement is the best possible for strengthening the barrels, pre-
venting injury when springs break, and obviating any tendency of the
springs to warp or twist the barrels.
The dogs n, n, may be single, or may be constructed like segments
of internal gear wheels, if preferred.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention
to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. The combination of shaft A, rod E, sleeve I, and spring barrel D,
forming a single spring apparatus, when constructed to operate sub-
stantially as and for the purposes described.
2ndly. The combination of two or more of said spring apparatus
with each other%3B when the shaft A and rod E are so constructed
that by moving the rod along it will adjust the several springs to be
wound independently of each other, substantially as and for the purpose
described.

page_text: 3rdly. The combination of each spring apparatus, consisting essentially
of the parts A, I, D, E, m, i, d, with the shaft B, and the apparatus G,
h, H, H', substantially as and for the purposes specified,
4thly. In combination with the several cog rims d, d, d, the cut
off O, o, N, n, constructed to operate substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
Witness,
JAS. O. DEWEY,
.
53, Chancery Lane.
A. M. CLARK. (L.S.)