Unusual Westminster chime mechanism

Instead of using a chime barrel and five hammers, this clock uses a single hammer, which is cotrolled by an intricate cam on the chime count wheel arbor. Behind this cam is a wheel with forty teeth in groups of four with a gap in between. This lifts the hammer while the cam directs the hammer to the correct rod. Note the extra deep notch in the cam at the end of the hour chime sequence, to allow the hammer to move to the hour rod.

This arrangement necessitates the hour strike to be on one rod only, which actually sounds very good.

There is no maker's name on the movement, probably as it is highly experimental in nature, and evidently the long term success of this design was not well anticipated.

Can anyone tell me the name of the manufacturer of this unusual clock?

Sorry the video is slightly blurred. I used the macro setting on my camera and it looked quite sharp when I played it back on the camera screen.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Westminster
• chime
• chimes
• chiming
• clock
• Tischuhr
• Kaminuhr
• Pendule
• Westminsteruhr
• Pendeluhr
• reloj
• horloge
• klok
• patent

[87Kefka]

Wow thats very strange how do u get it to work like that

[TommyWylie]

@87Kefka It has to be absolutely level from front to back or the hammer will hit wrong notes. This is the second of these unusual clocks I've owned. I still don't know who the manufacturer was... they seem to have kept very quiet about who they were.

[TommyWylie]

This clock now belongs to Phalos17!

[glisses7]

Hi Tommy

Exceptionally interesting and have never seen this idea before. Thanks for sharing. Ingenious. The only thing is, if anything happens to the one and only hammer, one is struggling.

I may get this wrong, but I have heard of a 'pump' action on some antique chiming clocks, but don't know if this is the same idea. For example, I think it was in a recent CLOCKS magazine and the train was only 2-train, yet still played a chime.

Cheers.

GAIUS

[TommyWylie]

@glisses7 I think the pump action referred to was a system for automatically moving the chime barrel away from the hammers to allow for the hour strike. Junghans and HAC built 3/4 chiming clocks with this idea. Sessions in the USA built 4/4 ones, which chimed at the hour as well. There is a video on Youtube of a Sessions Westminster chime, but I'm not sure who uploaded it.

[sooth15]

Holy cow. That's freakin' bizarre and sounds very complicated. What's the point, other than saving a bit of metal to make a few extra hammers?

[TommyWylie]

@sooth15 It's possible that the saving of metal was the main point of the excercise. It's not a Smiths and it doesn't have an HAC (or any other) trademark. I have had two of these clocks and both were in identical cases.

[Clockmaniac5445]

Awesome clock! How does it chime like that?

[kentwesterly]

Never saw any chime clock like this. THANKS FOR SHOWING IT

[SrWilson3s]

I've seen a french clock which works like this with a figure on top holding a hammer and strikes a nest of 4 bells infront of him doing the westminster the mechanism works very similar to this although the hours are struck on a gong inside the case.

[mietekzjaczna]

SUPER ! nietypowy mechanizm bicia

[glisses7]

Hi Tommy

Yes, I think you're right in your description of what clocks had pump action work.  You probably know more about it than I do, but I'm sure I read it in a recent CLOCKS mag.

Gaius