Improvements in and connected with the Arrangement and Operation of Relays in Telegraphic Systems.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1892-Accepted, 12th Mar., 1892
COMPLETE
SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with the Arrangement and
Operation of Relays in Telegraphic Systems.
I, WILLIAM FREDERICK WENTZ of 339 Waverly Avenue, Newark in the
County of Essex and State of New Jersey, United States of America, Electrician,
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 :-
This invention relates to line controllers or adjusters for telegraphic circuits.
In the ordinary single current Morse system of telegraphy it is necessary to
adjust the relays to the electrical condition of the circuit so that they will respond
with the proper degree of sensitiveness to the makes and breaks of the circuit
made by any operator on the line. Every change of current strength requires a
corresponding change in the adjustment. With a steady current on the line the
relays require but little attention, but in stormy weather, owing to the heavy and
fluctuating leakage along the line, the current becomes very unsteady and the
operators are therefore compelled to diligently watch their adjustments. Where
a leak occurs on a point on the line, between which point and a terminal station
there are intermediate stations, the relays at one or more of those stations will
often not respond when a key is opened at a point beyond the point of leakage,
because there is sufficient current on the line between the leak and the terminus
to vitalize those relays in that portion of the circuit, sufficiently to hold their
armatures down. The operators at those stations are therefore unaware at times
that signalling is going on, and are liable to "break in" upon the signalling
operator. It is on lines including a number of intermediate stations that such
trouble commonly occurs, as it will be found that a number of stations have
their relays improperly adjusted.
The object of my invention is to improve the working and get rid of the trouble
on the lines, caused by the failure to keep the relays adjusted, by making such
adjustments unnecessary, and without making any changes at the intermediate
stations. To those ends my invention consists in special mechanism located at the
terminal stations, the function of which is, at and during the opening of a key, to
reduce the current of the battery so that the quantity of current which will flow
over the line in case there is a leak, will be reduced to such an amount that the
leaking current will not prevent the relays in that part of the circuit between the
battery and the leak from responding. The mechanism also, is such that when
the key closes, the full current of the battery is presented to the line and all relays
must respond.
By a reference to the accompanying drawing, I will now describe my invention;
Figure 1 shews a telegraph line arranged for single current Morse, with the
addition at each terminal of a relay SR inserted in the main line; a short circuit SC
controlled by the armature of the relay SR; a relay IR inserted in the sounder
circuit; and a branch BL of the main line controlled by the armature of the
relay IR.
Figure 2 represents a line with terminal and intermediate stations.
In giving the operation, I will first describe a defective operation which
sometimes takes place with the ordinary system, and in giving this let it be under-
stood that the apparatus at the terminal stations is of the ordinary nature. Let us
suppose that a heavy leak occurs on the line at the point LK. If the operator
at IS now opens his key, the relays at P and Q or one of them will not respond.
.e. the armatures will not go to their back stops because there is sufficient current
flowing between the main battery and LK to hold said armatures against their

page_text: front stops. P and Q or one of them will therefore not be aware that the line is in
use and may
""
" break in on operator IS. To remedy this it is necessary for P
and Qto adjust their armatures to a higher degree, so that the leaking current will
not hold their armatures down, but a higher adjustment makes the reading of signals
more laborious.
Now let us consider the operation with my improved apparatus at the terminal
stations. Assume the leak to be located as before. Operator IS opens his key
and relay. SR responds, (because it is always kept properly adjusted). While its
armature is travelling to its back stop, the line is open at two points, to wit-IS and
the terminal station, and when the latter break is closed by the armature of SR
striking its back step a portion of the battery is shunted from the main line through
the circuit SC and leaving only a fraction of the battery current presented to line
and therefore free to flow over that portion of the line between the main battery and
the leak. The amount of this depreciated battery current which will flow over this
circuit will, of course, be dependent upon the extent of the leak, but as the shunt'
circuit contains an adjustable resistance and is therefore always under control, 'it is
evident that the main battery current may be reduced sufficiently to have no effect
on the intermediate relays in case of leakage. Thus it will be seen that on the
opening of a key every relay must respond. When the relay at a terminal station
responds, the second relay IR is de-energised and the branch BL is completed,
thus making a complete circuit for the depreciated battery current through the
terminal station. Upon the closure of the key the depreciated battery current
becomes stronger because it has a freer circuit than the leak provided and the
relay SR which is made much more sensitive than the ordinary relays, pulls its
armature to its front-stop, thereby breaking the shunt circuit putting full battery
to line and causing all relays to respond. SR is not so sensitive as to respond to
any current less than that of the depreciated battery, so that an escape of current
at a leak while a key is open, would not cause it to move its armature. It will be.
observed that the leak carries off only a portion of the current; the remainder
must travel over the entire circuit and through all the stations although it is
depreciated when it gets beyond the point of leakage. Of course, if the leak were
a dead short circuit through which the current from both terminal batteries found
a perfect circuit, then the stations could only communicate with those on the same
side of the leak. As mentioned at the beginning of this Specification however,
this invention is designed to overcome troubles arising from a fluctuating current
caused by wet weather or poor insulation.
1
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It will be noted that although I have shewn and described the reduction of the
current by short-circuiting a portion of the battery, it is to be understood that the
invention includes the reduction of the current in any manner whatever; as, for
instance, resistance may be thrown into the main circuit; an opposing battery may
be cut in; or the circuit interrupted through a portion of the battery and left
complete through only the remaining portion.
1 .
With this system the line becomes more reliable, because if the terminal relays
respond, all the other relays are compelled to respond no matter what their adjust-
ment may be. An operator cannot unknowingly "break in" on the line. It saves
the time and labour otherwise lost in the continuous adjustment of the relays and
will increase the speed and improve the working by allowing the operators to give
their instruments as low an adjustment as they wish.
"'
J2 .:
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,―
1
1. In a telegraphic system, the combination with a main line including both
terminal and intermediate stations and main batteries or generators, of means for
reducing the current which is free to flow over the 'main' line; and an electro-
responsive apparatus controlling said 'means to make it operative when the main
circuit, is open, substantially as set forth.
1
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page_text: 2. In a telegraphic system, the combination with a main line including both
terminal and intermediate stations and main batteries or generators, of means for
reducing the current which is free to flow over the main line, and an electro-
responsive apparatus controlled by a break in the main line, and controlling said
means to make it operative when the main circuit is open, substantially as set
forth.
3. In a telegraphic system, the combination with a main line including. both
terminal and intermediate stations and main batteries or generators, of means for
reducing the current which is free to flow over the main line, and apparatus for
throwing said means into operation upon opening the main circuit, substantially as
described.
4. In a telegraphic system, the combination with a main line of means for
reducing the current which is free to flow over the main line, and apparatus for
throwing said means into operation upon opening the main circuit, substantially as
described.
5. The method of operating a telegraph line to overcome the evil effects of a
fluctuating current due to leakage or other causes, which consists in having less
available current to line when the line is open than is available when it is closed,
substantially as described.
6. In a telegraphic system, a main battery and circuit including terminal and
intermediate stations, in combination with a relay located at a terminal station, said
relay being more sensitive than the relays at the intermediate stations, a short or
shunt circuit for a portion of the main battery controlled by the sensitive relay and
a second circuit for that portion of the main battery not shunted, the said second
circuit including said sensitive relay, substantially as set forth.
7. In a telegraphic system, a main battery and circuit including terminal and
intermediate relays, in combination with an additional relay located at a terminal
station, the latter being more sensitive than the other relays a short or shunt
circuit for a portion of the main battery controlled by the sensitive relay and a
second circuit for that portion of the main battery not short circuited or shunted,
the said second circuit including said sensitive relay and another relay in the local
circuit of the terminal station controlling said second circuit, substantially as
described.
8. In a telegraphic system, a main battery and circuit including terminal and
intermediate stations, in combination with a relay located at a terminal station,
said relay being more sensitive than the relays at the intermediate stations, and a
separate circuit for a portion of the main battery including the sensitive relay,
substantially as described.
9. In a telegraphic system, the hereinbefore described arrangement at the
terminal stations of relays circuits and means for reducing the battery current,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
D 1000
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicant.