492 



KNOWLEDGE 



[Dec. 12, 1884. 



(JF>ur $nbrntor5* Column. 



So great is the number of inventions noiv patented that many good 

 things are comparatively lost in the crowd. A succinct account, 

 therefore, hy an Expert, of all inventions of really popular interest 

 and utility must he advantageous hoth to the puhlic and the 

 Inventor, enabling persons to hear of inventions already desiderated 

 hy thcTn, and thus acting reciprocally as a stimulant on supply 

 and demand. 



THE MULTIPLE CLOCK. 



Clocks having more than one face have liitherto been among the 

 greatest difficulties in horology. The advantage of an ordinary 

 clock with two or three faces is for many positions obvious. 

 Messrs. Blnmberg & Co., of Paris and London, have now patented 

 an invention which marks an entirely new departure in clock- 

 making. This invention is known as the "multiple" clock, and is 

 claimed to surpass all known methods of working a clock with a 

 number of dials, inasmuch as it possesses but one movement, 

 which may be placed in any part of the case, and not necessarily 

 in juxtaposition to the dial or dails. It is therefore obviously 

 possible to place the " multiple " clock in positions, and to appi}- it 

 to purposes not practicable for clocks provided with the ordinary 

 mechanism. Patterns of the " Multiple" clock are now to be seen 

 at the warehouses of the manufacturers in London, at 2, Cannon- 

 street, and in Paris at G4, Rue de Bondy. They are prepared to 

 supply the clock in a large number of designs to suit a variety of 

 requirements, including use in private houses, hotels, reading- 

 rooms and public institutions, railway stations, offices, banks, and 

 ships' saloons. The " Multiple " clock is also made to be suspended 

 from the roof or ceiling at any elevation, a simple mechanism 

 allowing it to be drawn down for winding or cleaning, &c. The 

 "Multiple" clock maybe made, too, so as to show the time in 

 different parts of the world simultaneously. 



IMPROVED DOOR-KXOBS. 



Neaely everyone has had irritating experience of the imperfect 

 ■way in which door-knobs are usually connected and fastened to the 

 spindle, the fastening being generally quite an infinitesimal quantity 

 of screw, which soon ceases to " bite" after a little wear and tear. 

 Mr. E. V. Bailey, of Birmingham, has invented what is claimed (o 

 be an improved form of connection, suitable for most kinds of door- 

 handles, but particularly the movable knobs of lock spindles and 

 cupboard turnlocks. In this invention a knob is fixed at one end of 

 the spindle, at the other end to the spindle the knob is movable. 

 The hole in the neck of the movable knob is screwed at the back 

 with a screw-thread for taking upon the screwed end of the spindle. 

 The front of this hole is square or angular. For determining the 

 position in which the movable knob can be passed on to the screwed 

 end of the spindle a sliding-collar is used, which has a square or 

 angular bush, to match or fit the square or angular hole in the neck 

 of the movable knob. To fix the handle the rose is secured at the 

 end of the spindle, inserted through the dcor. On the protruding 

 screwed end of the spindle the sliding-collar is passed until it reaches 

 the door. The movable knob is screwed up, and a peculiar pattern 

 of rose-plate screwed on to the spindle to prevent the knob being 

 withdrawn from the spindle. 



REGISTERING THE FAMILY MILK SUPPLY. 



There is no end to the ingenuity of inventors in these days. It 

 is well known by all housekeepers that milk is frequently tampered 

 with after delivery, and the blame cast unjustly on the milkman. 

 A London dairyman, to obviate this e^-il, has invented an appliance 

 for receiving and registering the quantity of milk daily supplied to 

 a family. The apparatus has the further advantage of a great 

 saving of cans to the milk vendor. The appliance consists of a 

 framework and stand, which is fixed on the inside of the door, and 

 communicating with it on the outside is a dial-plate numbered 1 to 

 12, with a hand for pointing, and below this an opening, consisting 

 of a pipe, through which the milk is poured into the vessel placed 

 inside to receive it. The inner outlet of this pipe has a movable 

 plate that passes to and fro over it as required, and there 

 is a certain amount of simple mechanism connected with 

 it. Each figure on the dial represents quarts, and dots between 

 h.ilf-pints, and it is presumed the dial is sufficient to indicate a 

 vpeek's supply. Presuming the dial to stand at ?!!7, and the domes- 

 tic being ordered to set it at Fig. 1, representing a quart, she 

 moves the hand, which is actuated by means of a spring, and can 

 only be turned in one direction to that figure, and places the jug 

 upon the stand formed to receive it. This stand is connected with 

 a chain and balance-weight, which in its turn acts npcn the plate 

 that moves over the spout, and the weight of the jug depresses the 



stand, causing the balance-weight to rife, and the plate to movo 

 aside, and so open the spout, ready for the milki;ian to deliver the 

 quantity registered on the dial. This operation is repeated prior t'l 

 each delivery, and at the week's end the supply received is noted, 

 and the dial reset for the following week. 



The manufacturers of this article are Messrs. Bodill, Parker, A 

 Co., of Great Hampton-row, Birmingham. 



A NEW COPYING APPARATUS. 



I.\ these busy days, the demand for cheap and effective copying- 

 machines is ever on the increase. Several appl.'ancee of this kind 

 have recently reached us from the Continent, and one known as the 

 black autocopyist has just been introduced from Germany. Thi 

 apjiaratus in question is simple in make, and c-jnsists of a wooden 

 frame in which a prepared parchment sheet is fixed. This sheet 

 must be soaked in water for a few minutes, which is effected on the 

 frame itself, after which the original is placed for a minute on the 

 parchment-sheet. By aid of a printing-roller copies can then £-. 

 once be taken. The frame is fitted with two springs, which span 

 the parchment, and reclean it when necessary. The process i' 

 simple and easy, and requires no special training on the part of th" 

 copyist, while the precision of the co|iics taken is undoubted, an' 

 the facsimiles closely resemble those obtained by lithography. The 

 autocopyist is introduced by the Autocopyist Company, of 72, 

 London-wall, London, E.C. Circulars, notices, price-lists, music, 

 »Vc., can by its means be reproduced, and the striking feature i^ 

 that the original is easily written with an ordinary pen. 



IMPROVED GLAZING. 



The skylight, and for the matter of that, glazing in general, aro 

 open to great improvement, and for one thing we should like to see 

 putty disestablished together with the barbarous " hacking" knife, 

 required as often as a new pane of glass has to be put in. The 

 British Patent Glazing Co., Limited, of 21, Finsbnry-circns, hav» 

 introduced a system of patent glazing patented by Mr. Joseph H 

 Mackenzie, lately of Glasgow, which appears to have many advan- 

 tages. It not only supplies the means of securing the glass without 

 the aid of putty or other plastic fixing, but forms part of the frame- 

 work of the construction. The glazing bar or sash bar is what if 

 known as a composite one, formed of solid rolled malleable iron of :i 

 X form, inverted, having the cross well rolled into a U shape, thus 

 forming gutters in each side of the vertical part of the bar, for 

 carrying off any moisture or condensation. The iron is coated 

 with a good anti-corrosive paint, or a bituminous substance, if 

 desired, after which it is enveloped in sheet lead or other soft 

 ductile metal or alloy. 



The composite bars are fixed at convenient distances apart, th- 

 glass is laid upon the soft metal, which acts as a cushion 

 and prevents breakage through shocks or vibrations. Channels 

 are provided in the bar for carrying away the moisture, and 

 the sectional strength of the bar is increased by giving th'- 

 cross web an arch form. The work can be done in any weather, 

 and no periodical outlay for putty and paint is necessary. There 

 are other advantages claimed for what seems to be a decidedly 

 improved system of glazing. 



A HYDRAULIC DOOR-SPRING. 



TnE shutting of doors is, in many cases, a matter of some iir. - 

 portance, and one that, doubtless, should be as nearly as possible 

 automatic. Messrs. Archibald Smith i Stevens, of the 

 Janus Works, Queen's-road, Battersea, London. S.W., furnish some 

 interesting particulars of what is known as .':rtevens & Major'? 

 patent hydraulic spring and check for swing doors, and for regt: - 

 lating the closing of doors so as to prevent banging. The spring: 

 is made to fix flush with the floor, and can be even covered with a 

 carpet, and acts as a hinge also. Assuming that this invention 

 docs efficiently what it professes, it should prove very useful. The 

 patentees give the following general description of the principle oi 

 action : — " The spring is placed within a small pump barrel. On 

 opening the door, a charge of oil is drawn from the containing-bo^ 

 into the pump. The spring, while closing the door, has to expel 

 this charge of oil through a small apertttre, the size of which is 

 adjustable, and the rate pf closing is controlled by the speed a: 

 which the oil is allowed to escape. All parts are of metal, and, i,-- 

 oil is constantly passed through, every part is always perfectly 

 lubricated." Simple means of regulating the action for faster or 

 slower closing are provided. 



Collier.'; .\xd theib L.4mps. — It is stated that at Walker Colliery, 

 near Newcastle, the miners have been asked to take down Marsair. 

 lamps instead of the old Clannyand Davy lamps, but have objected, 

 and have struck to the number of 300, leaving the colliery idle 



