The First Cyclometer or Rolling Wheel Clock by Pallweber in 1888

For many years we have been told by various sources (online and print) that the cyclometer-type clocks, that is, clocks that display time with digits using rolling wheels, were invented in the 1930s. We know that these types of clocks were very popular in the 1950s and were sold from the 1930s up into the 1970s even.

Could it be possible that we have discovered a clock lost to history? A rolling wheel clock that was produced before 1900, making the claims of first invention essentially false?

Yes. And you're about to see the Truth revealed.

This article in video form

Background:
It is taken as fact that Frederick A Greenawalt revealed his invention of the rolling wheel clock March 10, 1933. Just 3 months later, Edgar Bourquin described his version of a rolling wheel clock. Bourguin's clock design went on to become GE's first rolling wheel clock and subsequent designs made it into various Telechron clocks.

F. A. Greenawalt's invention, on the other hand, was clearly a better mechanism. Instead of wheels of similar size, he had variable sized wheels. This allowed for easier mechanics to time the advancement of the minutes, tens of minutes and the hours. This type mechanism became widely used in the hugely popular Pennwood and Lawson cyclometer clocks. These clocks are highly prized by collectors and some are frankly, works of art.



So you can appreciate how some would like to credit Greenawalt with the invention of the cyclometer-type clock. You could definitely say, he patented a clock mechanism that went on to be wildly popular.

However, it was not the first.

Austrian, Josef Pallweber, on September 8, 1888 described his invention of a rolling wheel clock or as he called it, "Clock with jumping numbers" (Uhr mit springenden Zahlen). The patent was issued in Germany on August 13, 1889 and a functioning model produced probably around 1890 in Germany.

Pallweber, you may know, was a leader in the display of time using numerals. He invented a clock displaying time using revolving plates that was produced around 1883, and by no longer than 1884 the world's first digital pocket watches were produced using a Pallweber jump number design. The Pallweber Name came back to prominence when in 2018, the IWC (International Watch Company) of Switzerland release several heritage watches to commemorate their 150 year anniversary. One of these was a redesigned Pallweber Jump Number watch. These watches ranged in price from about $30,000 to $50,000 new and were released in very limited quantities.




Most importantly to us at Flip Clock Fans, Pallweber invented the first flip clock. This was another clock-type that we rediscovered. Because typically the American patented Plato Clock (circa 1903) is credited as being the first flip clock. However, Pallweber's invention was first described to the public in the December 1st 1890 issue of The "German Journal for Clock-Makers" (Deutsche Uhrmacher Zeitung). Josef Pallweber was issued German patent No. 54093 on October 27, 1890 for his "Clock with numbers changing by falling double-sided numbered tablets" (Uhr mit Zahlenwechsel durch Herabfallen doppelseitig bezifferter Täfelchen). The world's first flip clock - a clock produced in 1894 and extremely rare.

And now. Thanks to clock collectors Daniel Harlow and David Molyneux of East Sussex, in the south of England, who brought their Pallweber clocks to my attention through my association with FlipClockFans.com, and after some digging around on a German patent database online, we can announce that Josef Pallweber invented the first rolling wheel clock in 1888.

This patent was a difficult find, firstly because the patent seems to only exist in Germany, in the German language, and also due to description of the clock - "Clock with jumping numbers" (Uhr mit springenden Zahlen). I had seen the name of the patent and assumed it was for his jump hour or plate type clock, or watch. Even when I found the patent, at first it did not look like the clock. But when you look closely at the wheels in the illustration, you see that they match up perfectly to the clock. For some reason the digits were not pictured, or mentioned in the patent write up.



You'll find very few references to this patent in the patent literature, or any other documents or trade magazines. Perhaps the other inventors knew of this invention - but by the 1930s it would have been over 40 years (and an intervening world war) that Pallweber's clock was first described.
And so, for a time, the Pallweber rolling wheel clock was lost to history.

The clocks in the possession of collectors Daniel Harlow and David Molyneux are probably more rare that the Pallweber flip clocks. And are a horological treasure.

So there you have it - the world's first rolling wheel or cyclometer-type clock. Invented over 130 years ago by the champion of the digital display of time, Austrian, Josef Pallweber.

References
Patent DE000000048142A on German Patent Site
Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt
https://depatisnet.dpma.de/DepatisNe...E000000048142A