Transmission of Sound and Signalling.
Year: 1885

page_text: Transmission of Sound and Signalling.
I, CHARLTON JAMES WOLLASTON of N° 16 Philpot Lane in the City of London
Middlesex, Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSMISSION
SOUND AND SIGNALLING to be as follows :—
"
"
OF
My Invention relates to apparatus and instruments for the transmission of sound
wherein the vibrations imparted to a disc or diaphragm are conveyed to and are
reproduced in another disc or diaphragm by means of the mechanical movement of
a conducting line.
According to my Invention I make use of discs, drumheads, diaphragms or the
like, one at each point to or from which it is desired to communicate and I connect
the instruments by a line not of fibrous material as hitherto adopted in this class
of instrument but by a line or wire of conducting material (preferably of Siliceous
Bronze) and in order to enable me to make use of this line or wire for the purpose
of actuating an Electric Call Bell or in some cases an Electric telegraph I insulate
and support the connecting wire at the necessary points in such a manner as to
prevent the escape of an electric current but not materially to affect the mechanical
movement of the said line or wire. In the application of my Invention to Railway
Signal Cabins or in cases in which it is desired to communicate with several points
on the same line and to enable these several points to communicate with the
terminal instruments or with one another I attach the connecting line or wire
with the disc of each terminal instrument and at the intermediate points I (as it
were) sever the wire and insert an instrument attaching one end of the wire at
the point of separation to the front of the disc and the other end to the back by
this means whatever vibration is imparted to any one of the disc the vibration is
conveyed by the line or wire and reproduced in all the other discs. I sometimes
use Electric Call Bells in order to attract attention, these bells may be left con-
stantly in circuit without interfering in any way with the facility of speaking and
when I make use of the line or wire as a telegraph wire the Electric signals
although passing simultaneously with speech cause no interference the one with
the other.

page_text: I provide switches to switch off the telegraph or bell if required and I arrange
my apparatus in such a manner that by slackening the tension of the line or wire
or other suitable method I am able to prevent the inconvenience of conversation
being overheard.
To enable conversation to be more readily carried on- in some cases I make use
of lengths of flexible or other tube provided with suitable mouth-pieces.
By means of apparatus which I term a repeater I enable any one of a number of
persons furnished with wires radiating from a centre to converse with any other
of the number in the same manner as those upon what are now well understood as
Telephone Exchanges."
น

page_text: Transmission of Sound and Signalling.
I, CHARLTON JAMES WOLLASTON of N° 16 Philpot Lane in the City of London,
Middlesex, Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My Invention relates to apparatus and instruments for the transmission of
sound wherein the vibrations imparted to a disc or diaphragm are conveyed to and
are reproduced in another disc or diaphragm or other discs or diaphragms by
means of the mechanical movement of a conducting line I will describe my
Invention with reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings which represent
diagramatically apparatus or means for carrying out my Invention.
According to my Invention I make use of discs drumheads, diaphragms or the
like, one at each point to or from which it is desired to communicate as shewn for
example at A and B. Figure 1 and I connect the said drum heads by a line C not
of fibrous material as hitherto adopted in this class of instrument but by a line or
wire of conducting material (preferably of Siliceous Bronze). This line may be
supported in any convenient manner at intermediate points and in order to enable
me to make use of this line or wire for the purpose of actuating an Electric call
Bell or in some cases an Electric telegraph, I insulate the wire from the supports
in such a manner as to prevent the Electric current passing through the supports
but not so as materially to affect the mechanical movement of the said line or
wire. In my drawing I have shewn the line wire supported on posts D carrying
at their upper ends grooved rollers d of insulating material over which the line
wire passes so as to admit of its free vibrations. In the application of my Inven-
tion to Railway Signal Cabins, or in cases in which it is desired to communicate
with several points on the same line and to enable these several points to com-
municate with the terminal instruments or with one another, I attach 'the
connecting line or wire C as shewn in figure 2 with the disc of each terminal
instrument A and B and at an intermediate point or points I (as it were) sever
the wire and insert an instrument as at B¹ for example and attach one end of the
wire at the point of separation to the front of the disc of the said Instrument
and the other severed end to the back of the said disc, by this means whatever
vibration is imparted to any one of the discs the vibration is conveyed by the line
or wire C and reproduced in all the other discs. These additional instruments
may be provided with speaking tubes B2 for the convenience of the operator
at these points.
Electric Call Bells may be used in connection with the wire C in order to attract
attention and these bells may be left constantly in circuit without interfering in
any way with the facility of speaking and when I make use of the line or wire as
a telegraph wire the Electric Signals although passing simultaneously with speech
cause no interference the one with the other.
I have illustrated diagramatically in Figure 2. an arrangement wherein a call
bell E and a telegraph instrument F is combined so that by means of a switch G

page_text: either the telegraph instrument F or the call bell E may be placed in circuit as
required.
To prevent the inconvenience of conversation being overheard I provide my
apparatus with means such for example as a lever H for slackening the tension of
the line or wire C by causing the said lever when depressed by the foot or other-
wise to press against a projection c on the line wire and thus slacken the wire
between the said projection and the disc of the adjacent instrument and thus
deaden or reduce the degree of sound.
To enable conversation to be more readily carried on, in some cases lengths of
flexible or other tube may be provided fitted with suitable mouthpieces.
Figure 4 represents an apparatus which I term a repeater by means of which I
enable any one of a number of persons furnished with wires radiating from a
centre to converse with any other of the number in the same manner as those
upon what are now well understood as "Telephone Exchanges" I represents a
table or switch board situated at a central station to which the line wires of each
of the subscriber's instruments communicate as at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 now suppose for
example subscriber No 1 desires to communicate with No 3-No 1 will call up the
operator at the central station and ask him to connect him with N° 3 which the
operator effects by inserting between the instrument of Nos 1 and 3 and a disc K,
rods of wood L L so that the vibrations will then pass from instrument No 1
through the rod L to the disc K.thence through the rod L¹ to instrument N° 3 and
through the line wire connected therewith to the distant station or office of the.
subscriber N° 3.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is,-
1. Apparatus for the transmission of sound and signalling consisting of a metallic
line wire or conductor of Electricity in combination with means for ringing a
bell or for working a telegraph instrument and with means for supporting the
conducting line or wire at suitable intervals by or upon insulating material
substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described with reference to
my drawings.
2. In apparatus for transmitting sound and signalling means for enabling
communications to be made between several points in the same line or conducting
wire and with the terminal instruments by means of intermediate diaphragms
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figure 2 of my drawings.
3. The combination with a mechanical telephone of means for transmitting
Electric currents through the line wire substantially as and for the purpose
herein before described with reference to my drawings.
4. In mechanical telephones means for slackening or increasing the tension of
the line wire substantially às and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
5. In apparatus for transmitting sound and signalling means for connecting the
instruments or lines of two subscribers substantially, as and for the purpose
herein before described with reference to figure 4 of my drawings.