IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Wilde, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS."
Sealed the 7th January 1870, and dated the 4th November 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Wilde at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th November 1869.
I, HENRY WILDE, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention consists, firstly, of an improvement in the construction
and working of acoustic signalling instruments by which a succession of
long and short sounds is produced corresponding to the printed dots
and dashes employed in the Morse code of signalling. In this improve-
ment a magneto-electric or an electro-magnetic machine driven by a foot
motion or other convenient driving power is employed to generate a
rapid succession of alternating currents, which are transmitted along the
line wire and through the receiving instruments of the several stations.

page_text: The receiving instrument consists of two small drums facing each other,
and between them is a small hammer attached to a bar of magnetized
steel or of polarized iron oscillating between the poles of an electro-
magnet. The alternating current from the magneto-electric machine
causes the hammer to strike the drums at the several stations with such
rapidity as to produce an almost continuous musical sound. This con-
tinuous sound is broken up means of a Morse key into separate short
and long sounds corresponding to the dots and dashes of the Morse
printer, and these sounds present to the ear signals agreeing exactly
with those which the printer presents to the eye. This method of
producing and receiving audible signals in accordance with the Morse
code, as will be seen is the reverse of that sometimes employed by Morse
instrument operators, inasmuch as the clicking sounds produced by
the Morse printer are of equal duration and are separated by short and
long intervals of silence, whereas in my improved system the elements
of a letter consist of a combination of short and long sounds separated
by equal intervals of silence.
My Invention consists, secondly, in an improved method of working
the single needle telegraph by means of the currents from a magneto-
electric machine instead of those from a voltaio battery. In this
improvement a magneto-electric machine is driven by a foot motion
similar to that described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted
to me on the Twenty-fifth of February 1863, No. 516. The alternating
currents from the magneto-electric machine are first turned in one
direction by means of a commutator connected with the armature axis,
and are subsequently transmitted along the line either in the same or
in alternate directions by means of a reversing key or keys in such
order as to produce the required signals on the receiving instruments at
the several stations.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 3
filed by the said Henry Wilde in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd May 1870
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WILDB, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
send greeting.
3
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WILDB, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
send greeting.
3

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Henry Wilde, Her special licence, that I,
the said Henry Wilde, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Henry Wilde, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF ELECTRIC
TELEGRAPHS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry
Wilde, 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 Henry Wilde, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon (that is to
say):-
My Invention consists, firstly, of an improvement in the construction
and working of acoustic signalling instruments by which a succession of
long and short sounds is produced corresponding to the printed dots-
and dashes employed in the Morse code of signalling. In this improve-
ment a magneto-electric or an electro-magnetic machine driven by a foot
motion or other convenient driving power is employed to generate a
rapid succession of alternating currents, which are transmitted along the
line wire and through the receiving instruments of the several stations.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved acoustic electric telegraph
instrument; Figure 2 is an end view of the same; and Figure 3 is a plan
with the upper part of desk removed to shew the parts beneath.
The parts forming my improved electric telegraph consist of the
magneto-electric machine a, shewn best in Figure 3, which is similar to

page_text: that described in former Letters Patent granted to me on the Twenty-
fifth day of February One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three,
Number 516. The magneto-electric machine is contained in the desk b,
which is secured to the table c supported on standards d, d. The
rapid succession of alternating currents produced by the magneto-
electric machine is transmitted through the electro-magnetic coils e, e,
of the receiving instrument through the line wire and through the
receiving instruments at the several stations. The receiving instrument
is a modification of the ordinary polarized relay, and consists of two
small metal drums f, f, facing each other, as shewn in Figure 4.
Between these drums, which are constructed so as to produce the same
sound, is a small hammer g attached to the magnetized bar h oscillating
between the pole pieces e¹, e¹, of the electro-magnetic coils e, e. The
alternating currents from the magneto-electric machine cause the
hammer g to strike the drums f at the several stations with such
rapidity as to produce an almost continuous musical sound. This
continuous sound is broken up by means of the Morse key i into
separate short and long sounds corresponding to the dots and dashes of
the Morse printer, and these sounds present to the ear signals agreeing
exactly with those which the printer presents to the eye. This method
of producing and receiving audible signals in accordance with the Morse
code, as will be seen, is the reverse of that sometimes employed by
Morse instrument operators, inasmuch as the clicking sounds produced
by the Morse printer are of equal duration and are separated by short
and long intervals of silence, whereas in my improved system the
elements of a letter consist of a combination of short and long sounds
separated by equal intervals of silence. Instead of using the drums f,f,
for producing the sound sufficient sound may in most cases bo produced
by the striking of the bar h against the brass studs passing through
the pole pieces e', e', as shewn in Figures 5, 6, and 7.
My Invention consists, secondly, in an improved method of working
the single needle telegraph by means of the currents from a magneto-
electric machine instead of those from a voltaic battery. In this improve-
ment the alternating currents from the magneto-electric machine worked
by a treadle, as shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3, are first turned in one
direction by means of a commutator connected with the armature axis, as
described in the Specification of the Patent granted to me in 1863 above
referred to, and are subsequently transmitted along the line either in the

page_text: same or in alternate directions by means of a Highton or other reversing
key or keys (in lieu of the Morse key i), in such order as to produce the
required signals on the receiving instruments at the several stations.
Instead of using the ordinary needle receiving instruments, the
instrument shewn in Figures 8, 9, and 10 may be used; in this case
the electro-magnet j produces the requisite deflections of the needle k,
which is supported by centre points. To the lower end of the needle is
connected the hammer which strikes the bells m, m, which are of
different tones. The hammer is brought to the vertical position after
cach deflection by gravity, or by means of a spring as is well understood,
so that the signals may be read from the lower end of the needle either
visually or acoustically.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described a con-
venient manner of carrying the same into operation, I would have it
understood that I do not limit myself to the details given, as they may
be considerably varied or modified without departing from the peculiar
character of my Invention, and that I do not claim any of the parts
shewn and described when taken separately; but what I do claim is,―
Firstly. The combination of a magneto-electric acoustic or needle
telegraph instrument with a treadle motion and writing desk, as herein
described.
And, secondly. The dividing by means of a Morse key the continuous
sound produced, as herein described, by the electric currents generated
by a magneto-electric or electro-magnetic machine into separate short
and long sounds corresponding to the dots and dashes of the Morse
printer, such sounds presenting to the ear signals agreeing with those
which the printer presents to the eye.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Wilde, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of April One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.