Detached repeating mechanism

From Object Wiki

Detached repeating mechanism
Manufacturer	(unknown)
Production years	18th century
Production location	(unknown)

An eighteenth-century apparatus intended for use as an accessory to a bracket clock, enabling it to repeat the hour and nearest quarter whenever required.

[edit] How it works

For this purpose the pinion on the projecting spindle of the apparatus is made to mesh with one of the motion wheels of the clock, so that the pinion is rotated once per hour by the clock. On the same spindle as the pinion is a stepped cam which controls the number of quarters to be struck; this cam carries a pin which engages with the star-wheel every hour and moves it through the space of one tooth. On the same spindle as the star-wheel is a ‘snail’ which controls the number of hours to be struck. If the positions of the snail and cam are correctly set in the first place the mechanism will repeat the hour and the nearest quarter whenever the cord is subsequently pulled.

[edit] Memories

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[edit] In the Science Museum's Records

Inv. No: 1937-290