Electrical Signalling Apparatus.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 23rd May, 1889-Accepted, 6th July, 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Electrical Signalling Apparatus.
I, FRANK, JACOB, of 12 Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to electrical signalling apparatus of a kind chiefly applicable
when the signals have to be transmitted over short distances, as on board ship or in
a manufactory or establishment, that is, in such cases where there is no objection to
the use of a number of conducting wires for connecting the transmitter to the receiver.
The transmitter is in the form of a sliding or rotating commutator which can be
moved so as to bring any one or two of a number of conducting wires into
circuit with a battery or other source of electricity. These wires are led to a
receiver which consists of a number of electromagnets connected respectively to the
wires and arranged round a suitably pivotted polarised armature, carrying or
moving an index. According as the one or the other of the electromagnets is
excited or as two of them are excited the armature is caused. to take various
definite positions and the index shews accordingly the condition of the transmitter
by which the currents exciting the magnets are determined.
The commutator may be arranged to transmit either positive or negative currents
by each wire so as to give the one or the other polarity to the electromagnets with
which the wire is connected. Or each of the magnets may be double coiled with a
conducting wire to each coil, its polarity being determined according as the one or
the other of the two coils is brought into circuit with a current of one direction.
For a moderate number of signals, such as 12, the receiver need have only
3 electromagnets arranged uniformly around the axis of the polarised armature, these
being sufficient to determine 12 different positions of the armature, according as the
polarity of any one or two of the electromagnets is determined by the transmitter.
When only 8 signals are required one of the three electromagnets may be dispensed
with, the two remaining, which are not diametrically opposite one another, being
sufficient to determine 8 different positions of the armature.
For a greater number of signals, a greater number of electromagnets are required
in the receiver, this being generally an odd number. If it be an even number no two
of the magnets should be diametrically opposite to one another in order to obtain
four definite positions for each wire connecting the transmitter and the receiver.
Instead of a polarised armature, in certain cases a soft iron armature may be
employed and an even number of electromagnets may be spaced uniformly round the
armature, in which case the polarity of the electromagnets is not reversed.
Dated this 10th day of September 1888.
ABEL & INRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Electrical Signalling Apparatus.
I, FRANK JACOB of 12 Queen Anne's Gaie, Westminster in the County of Middlesex,
Electrical Engineer, 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 electrical signalling apparatus of a kind chiefly applicable
when the signals have to be transmitted over short distances as on board ship or in a
manufactory or establishment where there is no objection to the use of a number of
conducting wires connecting the transmitter to the receiver.

page_text: The transmitter is in the form of a sliding or rotating commutator which can be
moved so as to bring any one or two of a number of conducting wires into circuit with
a battery or other source of electricity. These wires are led to the receiver where a
number of electromagnets connected respectively to the wires are arranged around a
polarised armature, carrying or moving an index. According as the one or the other
of the electromagnets is excited or as two of them are excited. the armature is caused
to take various positions, and the index shows accordingly the condition of the trans-
mitter by which the currents exciting the magnets are determined.
The commutator may be arranged to transmit either positive or negative currents
by each wire, so as to give the one or the other polarity to the electromagnet with
which the wire is connected. Or each of the magnets may be double coiled with a
conducting wire' to each coil, its polarity being determined according as the one or the
other of the two coils is brought into circuit.
For a moderate number of signals such as 12, the receiver need have only 3 electro-
magnets arranged uniformly around the axis of the polarised armature, these being
sufficient to determine 12 different positions of the armature according to the polarity
of any one or two of them is determined by the transmitter. When only 8 signals
are required, one of the three electro magnets may be dispensed with, the two remaining,
which are not opposite to one another, being sufficient to determine 8 different positions
of the armature. For a greater number of signals a greater number of electro
magnets are required in the receiver, this being an odd number, or if it be an even
number, no two of the magnets should be diametrically opposite to one another.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a diagram shewing the electrical connections
for signalling apparatus according to my invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram of the receiver
in elevation Fig. 3 is a front view and Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the transmitting
and receiving apparatus adapted for engine room signalling. Referring first to
Figs. 1 and 2, B is a battery or other source of electricity, the two terminals of
which are connected respectively to two rings A and of the transmitter. On the
transmitter face are three segments D, F, G which are respectively connected to the
coils of three electromagnets D F G₁ of the receiver. On the axis of the transmitter
is fixed a two armed lever of non conducting material on the arms of which are fixed
two conducting pieces H and K in such positions that the one H makes contact
between the inner ring C and any one of the segments D, F, G, whilst the other K
makes contact between the outer ring A and any one of the same segments. The
segments are of such lengths that one of the pieces H or K may be in contact with one
segment while the other is in contact with either of, the other two or with neither of
them. In the receiver the three electro magnets D F G are situated at equal
intervals around an axis L on which are fixed arms M and P, and between these arms
are held two limbs N. S of a simple or compound permanent magnet. According as
any one of the magnets D¹ F¹ G¹ is excited or as any two of them are excited as
determined by the position of the contact pieces H, K, so the magnets N S take any
one of 12 different positions, relatively to them, and an index carried on its axis points
to one or other of 12 different signals.
As both N and S can be made to point directly to any one of the three
magnets D¹ F G and in as many intermediate directions, the number of different
positions that can be assumed by the magnet N S is four times the number of the
magnets affecting it. In like manner, with a less or greater number of electro-magnets,
provided no two of them are diametrically opposite to one another, the number of
different positions that can be assumed by the inagnet N S may be taken as 4 times the
number of the electromagnets.
Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4 Q is the signalling handle which works a commutator
having contact pieces H K as above described whereby any of the three
magnets, D F G¹ of a distant receiver is or are put in circuit, causing the magnet of
that receiver to take such a position that the index I fixed on its axis points to one or
other of the signals marked on the dial. It is to be understood that there is an
instrument such as is shewn by Figs. 3 and 4 at each end of the line. The operator
at the one end moves the handle Q to a certain signal thereby causing the index at the

page_text: other end to point to the same signal, and the operator at the other end by moving
his handle Q to the same signal causes the index at the near end to point to the
same, thus indicating that he has duly received the signal. When such an
acknowledgement of signal is not required the transmitter at the one end of the
line need only have the handle Q and the contacts HK operated by it, and the
receiver at the other end need only have the electromagnets D F G and
the magnet NS with its index I. Although I have shewn in Fig. 3 only 8 different
signals on the dial, it is to be understood that with the arrangement of three electro-
magnets D F G', 12 different signals might be transmitted; also that by employing
a greater number of magnets with a suitable transmitting commutator a greater
number of signals might be transmitted.
Although I have shewn in Fig. 1a transmitting commutator so arranged and con-
nected to a battery B that a + or-current may be transmitted to the electro-magnets,
the commutator might be so arranged as to bring into circuit either of two coils
wound in opposite directions on the magnets, the current from the battery being in
that case always of one direction. Also, although I have shewn a magnet N. S
consisting of two limbs permanently magnetic, these limbs might be cores of an
electro-magnet, and the form of the magnet, whether it be a permanent or an electro-
magnet, may be varied, provided that it presents a pole on each side of the index axis.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
.
In electrical signalling apparatus, a receiver having on its index axis a polarised
magnet free to revolve between several electro magnets arranged around it, so that,
according as any one or more of these electro magnets is or are excited by a current
of electricity transmitted from a distance, the magnet with its index is caused to take
one of a number of different positions substantially as described.
Dated this 23rd day of May 1889.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.