Many vintage Westclox alarm clocks have patent numbers or dates stamped on the back. I put the most common patents in the clockhistory.com database. You can see them on the following web page: https://clockhistory.com/1/patent/list-company/westclox
For example, you’ll see 1,848,520 on the backs of some style 5 Baby Ben alarm clocks. Enter “1848520” into the No. search box and hit tab or return, and you’ll see that this patent is for a clock timing machine.
Then if you click on the title or the image, details about the patent will come up. You can then click on “Google Patents” and then “Download PDF” to view the full patent. Use the browser’s back button to return to the database.
[Note: on the patent detail pages, the links to the U.S. Patent database no longer work, and I haven’t found a URL format that will access a patent directly (it worked so conveniently, until the Patent Office changed things).]
Earlier Westclox clocks have patent dates instead of numbers. For example, you’ll see Oct. 28, 1902 on the back of many older Westclox. Go back to the Westclox patents page (https://clockhistory.com/1/patent/list-company/westclox) and enter “1902” in the Date search box, hit tab or return, and you’ll see that this patent is for a lantern pinion. This is the fundamental Westclox-style pinion, with a lead alloy body and inset hard steel wires for pivots and trundles.
For a special treat, clear the Date search box, then enter “Des” (uppercase or lowercase doesn’t matter) into the Type search box, hit return (or tab), then enter “Ben” into the Summary search box and hit return; and you’ll see a list of design patents for the Big Ben and Baby Ben.
Then, click on Search in the breadcrumb to get back to the list.
Type “Util” in the Type search box, and several patents about Big Ben and Baby Ben mechanics will come up.
If you type “Tr” in the Type search box, the Ben-related trademarks come up. Trademarks are interesting in that they have an “In Use” date that may indicate when a model was first made. Clear the word “Ben” from the Description field (and hit return or tab) and all the Westclox trademarks I’ve cataloged so far will come up.
Max Schlenker and Ellworth Danz were well-known designers at Westclox. You can enter “Schlenker” or “Danz” (or other name) in the Inventor search box to see their patents (first clear the other search boxes).
Clear the search boxes (or click “Patents” in the breadcrumb), and then you can search for patents by “Category”. Categories of Westclox patents include Windup Clock, Alarm Mechanism for a Clock, Windup Watch, AC Electric Clock, Clock Synchronous Motor, Clock Power Outage Indicator, DC Electric Clock, Automobile Clock, Clock Case, Watch Case, Clock Technology, Clock & Watch Manufacturing, and Weather Instrument.
To view all the patents in the database (Westclox and others), see: https://clockhistory.com/1/patent/list
Then, if you enter “Case” in the Type search box, you’ll see some of the early cast front cases in which Westclox movements were installed.
I hope this gives a good idea of how to search for patents, have fun playing with it!
Retrieving a Patent from the United States Patent Database
To reach the U.S. Patent database, use the following URL: https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/static/pages/ppubsbasic.html
Then, to find a patent by its number, use the Quick Lookup at the top. For regular (utility patents), enter the 7-digit number (such as 1563431). For design patents, enter the letter D followed by 6 digits (such as D114262).
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