Anchor escapement Anchor escapement In horology, the anchor escapement is a type of escapement used in pendulum clocks. The escapement is a mechanism in a mechanical clock that maintains the swing of the pendulum by giving it a small push each swing, and allows the clock's wheels to advance a fixed amount with each swing, moving the clock's hands forward. The anchor escapement was so named because one of its principal parts is shaped vaguely like a ship's anchor. The anchor escapement was probably invented by British scientist Robert Hooke around 1657, although some references credit clockmaker William Clement, who popularized the
Escapement 'anchor' pallet locks the larger wheel and, on this being unlocked, a pallet on the end of the lever is given an impulse by the smaller wheel through the lever fork. The return stroke is 'dead', with the 'anchor' pallets serving only to lock and unlock, impulse being given in one direction through the single lever pallet. As with the duplex, the locking wheel is larger in order to reduce pressure and thus friction. The Daniels escapement, however, achieves a double impulse with passive lever pallets serving only to lock and unlock the larger wheel. On one side, impulse is