IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR THE PROTECTION OF HOUSES AND PROPERTY FROM BURGLARS, PARTS OF
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, of Beckenham, in the
County of Kent, Electrician, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR THE PROTECTION OF HOUSES AND PROPERTY FROM BURGLARS, PARTS OF 'THE
Sealed the 18th July 1865, and dated the 6th March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Cromwell Fleetwood
Varley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,.
on the 6th March 1865.
I, CROMWELL FLEETWOOD VARLEY, of Beckenham, in the County of Kent,
Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR THE PROTECTION, OF HOUSES AND PROPERTY FROM BURGLARS, PARTS
OF THE INVENTION BEING APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to give to the police, watchman, or others,
either on the premises, at the police station, or other appointed place, notice
of the opening, shutting, moving, or tampering with any safe, door, window,
or other moveable thing by means of electric signals produced in manner
herein-after mentioned.
In order to protect a safe, for example, I make an electric circuit to pass
from the battery through the safe, and so arranged that the moving of it or
the opening of the door thereof shall break the circuit and cause a bell to ring
[Price 8d.]

page_text: If a
at any other appointed part of the circuit, say, at the police station.
number of these apparatuses signal at the same place, at the police station for
instance, it is desirable that the police should know at which house the dis-
turbance is caused. I effect this by means of an indicating tablet, herein-after
described. For further security all or any of the doors, windows, or moveable
furniture in the same house may be made to form part of the circuit, and so
arranged that the opening or moving of any of them shall give the same
signal. By this arrangement, and if the signal is placed at a sufficient
distance, the burglar or other person causing the disturbance will not have
any knowledge of the signal. The apparatus at the signalling station consists
of an electro-magnet with a moveable armature. This armature is mounted
on an axle, and has a clip, on which a little tumbler or shutter is supported,
out of sight, but on the armature ceasing to be attracted, even for an instant
(which would occur on the breaking of the circuit), this tumbler or shutter
falls down before an opening in the case, and shows the name of the house
with which it is connected. At the same time it makes contact with what is
known as a "trembler bell" (or with any other suitable bell), which con-
tinues to ring by electricity until the current is cut off or the shutter lifted
up. At the signalling station a switch is also provided, by which the current
is cut off during the day, otherwise the bell would ring so long as the doors of
the house or safe were open.
The second part of my Invention, which may be used in conjunction with
or separate from the before-mentioned, consists of an arrangement by which
the particular safe,door, or window that has been disturbed may be indicated.
This is effected in the following manner:-I fix at a convenient part of the
house a series of indicators, enclosed in a strong box, accessible to the police
or watchman.
I connect these indicators as follows:-From one pole of the
battery I take the circuit to one of the doors or windows to be indicated,
thence through one of the indicators, then to the next door or window, then
through another indicator, and so on throughout the house if necessary, each
door or window at which the circuit may be broken to have its separate
indicator, and the wire finally terminating at the other pole of the battery,
either direct or through the earth, as may be most convenient. When all the
doors and windows are closed I provide a short circuit by means of contact
springs at each door or window, and so arranged that the opening thereof shall
break the short circuit, and cause the current of electricity to pass through
the indicator of the window or door opened. So long therefore as the doors
and windows are closed, the indicators will not form part of the circuit; but
should one of the doors be opened; the short circuit will be broken at that

page_text: point, and the current will have to passthrough its corresponding indicator, and
thence continue through the short circuit. In the same manner all or any of
the indicators may be affected by the opening of all or any of the doors. Any
safe or moveable thing may in like manner form part of the circuit, and the
disturbance indicated in the same way.
The third improvement consists of the form of voltaic battery used. It is
very desirable that the battery for such purpose should work for many months
without requiring cleansing. For this purpose I use a Daniels' battery,
modified as under :-Between the negative solution and positive solution I
insert a layer of insoluble salt; for instance, if the negative metal be copper;
and the positive zinc, I prefer a layer of oxide or carbonate of zinc, so that
any sulphate of copper that may travel by diffusion or otherwise towards the
zinc shall, when passing through the oxide of zinc, be converted into oxide of
copper, liberating sulphate of zinc. In this way the zinc plate of a Daniels'
battery may be kept perfectly clean for months together. Carbonate of lime
may be used, but it is not so good. Carbonate or oxide of magnesium answers
very well.
The fourth improvement is an improved terminal insulator, used when the
wires are carried above the ground, and consists of inserting in the wire to be
terminated a bar of ebonite with a hole bored across each end to carry the
wire through (or any other convenient mode of fixing the wire may be
adopted), the bar being of sufficient strength not to break with the strain of
the wire upon it.
:
The fifth part of my Invention consists of improvements in intermediate
insulators. I construct these insulators of a straight piece of solid ebonite (of
sufficient strength to support the wire) affixed to the pole or cross arm, and
to the ebonite I fasten the conducting wire. And these insulators
may also
be made of ebonite in the form of a hook, and fastened to the under part of
the cross bar, so as to allow the conducting wire to rest in it. And when
invert insulators are used (whether made of stoneware, porcelaine, or ebonite),
I construct them with a ring of the same material, slightly undercut to arrest
the rain in its descent before it reaches the lower edge of the insulator cup.
The sixth and last part of my Invention consists of improvements in the
"trembler bell." I encase the iron of the electro-magnet in a closed circuit,
such as a copper tube or a secondary coil. This will have the effect of
retarding its magnetization and demagnetization, and thus allow a longer
contact and produce more distinct blows of the hammer, and it will also
reduce the spark, and thus preserve the metal from oxydization at the point
of contact,

page_text: The third improvement above mentioned is applicable to all voltaicbatteries
in which a constant action is required.
The fourth and fifth improvements above mentioned are applicable to aërial
conductors used for electric purposes.
The sixth improvement above mentioned is applicable to all cases where
audible electric signals are required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Cromwell Fleetwood Varley in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CROMWELL
FLEETWOOD VARLEY, of Beckenham, in the County of Kent, Electrician, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, Her special licence that I, the said
Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as 1, the said Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR THE PROTECTION
OF HOUSES AND PROPERTY FROM BURGLARS, PARTS OF THE INVENTION BEING APPLI
CABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof and accompanying Drawings, that is to say:

page_text: The object of my Invention is to give to the police, watchman, or others,
either on the premises, at the police station, or other appointed place, notice of
the opening, shutting, moving, or tampering with any safe, door, window, or
other moveable thing by means of electric signals produced in manner herein-
after mentioned.
In order to protect a safe, for example, I make an electric circuit to pass
from the battery through the safe, and so arranged that the moving of it or
the opening of the door thereof shall break the circuit and cause a bell to ring
at any other appointed part of the circuit, say at the police station. If a
number of these apparatus signal at the same place, at the police station for
instance, it is desirable that the police should know at which house the
disturbance is caused. I effect this by means of an indicating tablet, herein-
after described. For further security. all or any of the doors, windows, or
movable furniture in the same house may be made to form part of the circuit,
and so arranged that the opening or moving of any of them shall give the
same signal. By this arrangement, and if the signal is placed at a sufficient
distance, the burglar or other person causing the disturbance will not have
any knowledge of the signal. The apparatus at the signalling station consists
of an electro-magnet with a movable armature. This armature is mounted
on an axle, and has a clip, on which a little tumbler or shutter is supported,
out of sight, but on the armature ceasing to be attracted, even for an instant
(which would occur on the breaking of the circuit), this tumbler or shutter
falls down before an opening in the case, and shews the name of the house
with which it is connected. At the same time it makes contact with what is
known as a trembler bell" (or with any other suitable bell), which continues
to ring by electricity until the current is.cut off or the shutter lifted up. At
the signalling station a switch is also provided by which the current is cut off
during the day, otherwise the bell would ring so long as the doors of the house
or safe were open. This arrangement is shown in Fig. 1 in the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
The second part of my Ievention, which may be used in conjunction with or
separate from the before-mentioned, consists of an arrangement by which the
particular safe, door, or window that has been disturbed may be indicated.
This is effected in the following manner:-I fix at a convenient part of the
housea series of indicators enclosed in a strong box accessible to the police or
watchinan. I connect these indicators as follows:-From one pole of the
battery I take the circuit to one of the doors or windows to be indicated,
thence through one of the indicators, thence to the next door or window, then
through another indicator, and so on throughout the house if necessary, each

page_text: door or window at which the circuit may be broken to have its separate
indicator, and the wire finally terminating at the other pole of the battery,
either direct or through the earth, as may be most convenient. When all the
doors and windows are closed the current flows continuously through the wire
and indicators, hiding the tablet on which the name of the room, doer, or
window is written, but an arrangement is provided by the spring contact
pieces so that immediately any one of the doors or windows is opened the
current is cut out of the indicator to which it is attached, and the tablet
naming the room or door immediately falls opposite the slot in the dial,
showing that the current is cut out and the door or window open (this
arrangement is shown in Fig. 2). In the same manner all or any of the
indicators may be affected by the opening of all or any of the doors. Any safe
or moveable thing may in like manner form part of the circuit, and the
disturbance indicated in the same way. The same object may be effected in
the following manner, but I prefer the method lastly described :-When all
the doors and windows are closed I provide a short circuit by means of
contact springs at each door or window, and so arranged that the opening
thereof shall break the short circuit and cause the current of electricity to pass
through the indicator of the window or door opened. So long, therefore, as
the doors and windows are closed the indicators will not form part of the
circuit; but should one of the doors be opened, the short circuit will be
broken at that point, and the current will have to pass through its correspond-
ing indicator, and thence continue through the short circuit.
The third improvement consists of the form of voltaic battery used. It is
very desirable that the battery for such purpose should werk for many months
without requiring cleaning. For this purpose I use a Daniels' battery,
modified as under:-Between the negative solution and positive solution I
insert a layer of insoluble salt, for instance, if the negative metal be copper
and the positive zinc, I prefer a layer of oxide or carbonate of zinc, so that
any sulphate of copper that may travel by diffusion or otherwise towards the
"zinc shall when passing through the oxide of zinc be converted into oxide of
copper, liberating the sulphate of zinc. In this way the zinc plate of a
Daniels' battery may be kept perfectly clean for months together. Carbonate
of line may be used, but it is not so good; carbonate or oxide of magnesium
answers very well.
The fourth improvement is an improved terminal insulator used when the
wires are carried above the ground, and consists of inserting in the wire to be
terminated a bar of ebonite with a hole bored across each end to carry the
wire through (or any other couvenient mode of fixing the wire may be

page_text: adopted), the bar being of sufficient strength not to break with the strain
of the wire upon it; see Fig. 3.
The fifth part of my Invention consists of improvements in intermediate
insulators. I construct these insulators of a straight piece of solid ebonite
(of sufficient strength to support the wire, affixed to the pole or cross arm,
and to the ebonite I fasten the conducting wire. And these insulators may
also be made of ebonite in the form of a hook, and fastened to the under part
of the cross bar, so as to allow the conducting wire to rest in it; see Fig. 4.
And when invert insulators are used (whether made of stoneware, porcelain,
or ebonite), I construct them with a ring of the same material, slightly
undercut to arrest the rain in its descent before it reaches the lower edge of
the insulator cup.
The sixth and last part of my Invention consists of improvements in the
"trembler bell." I encase the iron of the electro-magnet in a closed circuit,
such as a copper tube or a secondary coil. This will have the effect of
retarding its magnetization and demagnetization, and thus allow a longer
contact and produce more distinct blows of the hammer, and it will also
reduce the spark, and thus preserve the metal from oxydization at the point
of contact.
The third improvement above mentioned is applicable to all voltaic batteries
in which a constant action is required.
The fourth and fifth improvements above mentioned are applicable to aërial
conductors used for electric purposes.
The sixth improvement above mentioned is applicable to all cases where
audible electric signals are required.
Electro-magnets, trembler bells, switches, and galvanometers are so well
known to the makers of telegraphic apparatus that their description here has
not been considered necessary.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
CROMWELL F. VARLEY. (L.S.)