AN IMPROVED REGULATOR FOR WATCHES, PORTABLE CLOCKS, AND TIME- PIECES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Mallett, of Barnstaple, in the County of Devon,
Watch Manufacturer, Silversmith, & Jeweller, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED REGULATOR FOR WATCHES, PORTABLE CLOCKS, AND TIME-
PIECES."
Sealed the 11th November 1859, and dated the 25th May 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Mallett at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
May 1859.
I, JOHN MALLETT, of Barnstaple, in the County of Devon, Watch Manu-
facturer, Silversmith, & Jeweller, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED REGULATOR FOR WATCHES, PORTABLE CLOCKS, AND
TIMEPIECES," to be as follows:-
I straighten one end of the balance, pendulum, or regulator spring, and act
upon it by a curb working on a screw provided with a square, by turning
which with the winding key the curb may be moved along the straightened
part of the spring in either direction, and thereby act thereon and regulate the
watch, clock, or timepiece with precision.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Mallett in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
November 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MALLETT, of Barnstaple, in the County of Devon, Watch Manufacturer,
Silversmith, and Jeweller, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Mallett, Her special licence that I, the said John
Mallett, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Mallett, 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
"AN IMPROVED REGULATOR FOR WATCHES, PORTABLE CLOCKS, AND TIMEPIECES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Mallett, 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 per-
formed, 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 John Mallett, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:―
My improved regulator for watches, portable clocks, and timepieces is
constructed in the following manner: -According to my Invention, I straighten
one end of the balance; pendulum, or regulator spring, and act upon it by means
of a curb working on a screw provided with a square, by turning which with
the winding key the curb may be moved along the straightened part of the
spring in either direction, and thereby act thereon and regulate the watch,
clock, or timepiece with precision.
I now proceed particularly to describe how the said Invention may be

page_text: carried into effect with reference to the accompanying Drawing, which
represents in plan an enlarged view of a watch regulator arranged and con-
structed according to my Invention, a portion of the usual internal arrange-
ments of the watch being likewise shown, for better illustrating the application
of my improved regulator. a is the balance, and 6, the cock, constructed as
in an ordinary watch; c is the pendulum, balance, or regulator spring, one end
of which, c¹, is straightened and held in a stud d at the outer extremity; e is
a screw or finely threaded rod or pin, pivoted at one end in the stud d, in
which it may turn in either direction, but is prevented from shifting to and
fro by a small screw d¹ working in a groove in the pivot or smooth part at the
end of the screw. The outer extremity of the screw e is furnished with a
square f, of such "dimensions that the winding key may fit it when applied
thereto; g is a curb working on the screw e, and so arranged and placed that
it may act upon the straightened part c² of the spring, which in the particular
arrangement shewn in the Figure, is carried through a slot in the curb, a small
screw pin g' at top preventing it from rising out of it; h is a scale engraved
on the watch plate i. By applying the winding key to the square f, the
screw e will be thereby turned to the right or to the left, according as it may
be desired to retard or to accelerate the going of the watch; the curb g will be
consequently moved along the straightened part c¹ of the spring in the required
direction and to the desired extent which it would indicate on the scale; the
spring is acted on by these means, and the regulation of the watch may be
effected by the wearer with ease and minute precision, the adjustment by my
improved arrangement being necessarily far more exact, and accomplished
with more certainty than by the ordinary mode. The plate i may, as shewn,
be cut away around the square for convenience of applying the key, and may
also, as shewn, be slotted under the screw e, the curb being guided or steadied
in its travel by a stud on its under side passing through the slot and over-
lapping its edges, so as to travel along the under surface of the plate. For
watches that have no keys, the screw e may be furnished with a hurled or
projecting rim, with a roughened or a rowel-like edge, whereby the screw e
may be turned by the finger or nail, in order to work the curb. In a similar
manner the regulator may be applied to various descriptions of watches,
portable clocks, and timepieces, merely modifying the details according to the
particular description of article to which it may be applied.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that my Invention relates to an
improved regulator for watches, portable clocks, and timepieces, and that what
I claim is, the mode herein explained of constructing and arranging a regulator,

page_text: wherein the balance, pendulum, or regulator spring is straightened at one end,
and along which straightened part a curb may be moved in either direction by
turning a screw on which it works, in order to effect the regulating of the
watch, portable clock, or timepiece, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Mallett, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
E. H. JONES.
JOHN MALLETT. (L.8.)