IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS POR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Tolhausen, of 149, Boulevart Magenta,
Paris, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent; for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS POR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS."-A communication from
Pietro Ambjorn, Count Sparre, residing at Stockholm, Sweden.
Sealed the 31st March 1865, and dated the 6th October 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Tolhausen at
the Office of the Commissioners of. Patents, with his Petition, on the
- 6th October 1864.
I, FREDERICK TOLHAUSEN, of 149, Boulevart Magenta, Paris, Civil Engineer
and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS," a communication
from Pietro Ambjorn, Count Sparre, a person resident at Stockholm, Sweden,
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to transmitting signals or messages by means of a
column of compressed air, which acts on an air-tight and elastic diaphragm at
the point where the message is received, said diaphragm communicating its
pulsations to a system of levers in connection with a bell or a dial suitably
arranged for that purpose. Another elastic diaphragm or a flask of india-
rubber is placed at the other end of the compressed air column, from whence
the operator transmits the signal according to the code agreed upon either by

page_text: a gentle pressure of the hand or of the foot. The compressed air column may
be confined in a quarter or half-inch pipe, and the air may be injected and
compressed by any suitable means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of-the-Letters-Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Tolhausen in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 6th April 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
TOLHAUSEN, of 149, Boulevart Magenta, Paris, Civil Engineer and Patent
Agent, send greeting.
-
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her-heirs..and successors; give and grant unto me, the said
Frederick Tolhausen, Her special-license that I, the said Frederick Tolhausen,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Frederick Tolhausen, 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
APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS," being a communication from Pietro
Ambjorn, Count Sparre, a person resident at Stockholm, Sweden, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Frederick Tólhausen, by an
instrument in writing under-my hand and seal,, 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 Frederick Tolhausen, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures, marked thereon (that is to say).....
My improvements relate to the transmission of signals, by means of a
column of air acting on a disc or diaphragm; the said column of air may be
contained or held in different manners, but I prefer making use of a round

page_text: pipe varying in bore according to the distances, and I will mention a bore of
to of an inch as sufficient for .transmitting signals to a distance of 1,200
yards. For the compression of this column of air and for forcing the same
against an air-tight diaphragm, I make use of a ball, a cylinder, or a capacity
in caoutchouc or other elastic substance adapted to the extremity of the
transmitting, apparatus, and I place a disc or elastic diaphragm on the
receiving apparatus; which is acted on by the air compressed in the trans-
mitting apparatus, consequently at each compression the said elastic diaphragm
is raised, and it reassumes its former shape on the cessation of the said
and
pressure, it is this alternate elevation and depression of the diaphragm
which I make use of for the transmission of signals.
I have represented in the four Figures, of the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings a complete system of apparatus composed of a transmitting
apparatus and a receiving apparatus connected by means of a service tube..
The transmitting apparatus is represented in a front elevation with the lid
removed in Fig. 1, and in a lateral sectional elevation through the line A, A,
Fig. 1, at the Fig. 2, and the, receiving apparatus is seen in front elevation
with the front plate removed in Fig. 3, and an end view of same is shown in
Fig. 4.
The principal organ in each of these apparatus consists in a metallic air-
tight box a, a', closed at the top by means of a lid or diaphragm in-caoutchouc,
and in each of which is attached one end of the connecting tube-b.; in this
state it will be clearly understood that the compression of one of these lids
will cause the elevation of the other, and vice versa..
I will now describe the mechanism I make use of to effect these results,
and to make them available for the transmission of signals.
The transmitting apparatus, Figs. 1 and 2,, is composed of a case in
metal or other appropriate substance c, c, in which is placed the box.a,
covered with its diaphragm, in which box the compression of the air is effected
by means of the disc d, acted on from without by pressure on the stop e; these
different pieces are guided in their alternating movement by the stand f
supporting the bolt g, which serves to connect the disc to the stop; the air
thus expelled from the transmitting box is driven into that of the receiver a',
the elastic diaphragm of which in rising causes the bell to ring in the following
manner I affix on the disc da toothed rack i, gearing in the pinion j,
which is connected with the escapement gear 'k, by means of the ratchet
wheel, which is made fast with the pinion and the catch 'm; the rising of
the rack thus causes this wheel / to rotate and strike the bell by means of the
escapement n; through the action of the ratchet wheel when the diaphragın

page_text: descends, the rack aided if necessary-by the spring o, alsó descends to its first
position without causing the bell to ring; the equilibrium is-then-established
between the two atmospheric boxes, which are thus in a proper state to
transmit and receive afresh.
An apparatus thus constructed will be sufficient to transmit a simple signal
from one place to another, but for the greater security in the working I
have imagined some additional organs by the aid of which the receiving office
may send signals to the transmitting one, either to confirm the reception or
for any other purpose; to effect this I add to the transmitting apparatus a
visible sign, which disappears from view at the moment of transmission, and
by the act of transmitting, and-which can only be made to reappear by the
working of the receiver, and I add to the receiver in the first place a sign
which contrary to that of the transmitter only becomes' apparent by the trans-
mission of the signal; and, secondly, a stop acting by compression on the
diaphragm; by the action of which the receiver first displaces his own sign and
causes at the-same time that of the transmitter to appear. p is the transmitting
sign, which is marked on a plate p', and visible through the opening p² made
in the box'; whien-transmission is effected this sign is caused to disappear by
the rotation of the cylinder p³, to which it is affixed, and this is' effected by
means of the lever q, articulated at q', one extremity of which is fitted' in the
bolt g, the movements of which it is forced to follow, whilst its. upper end
terminates in a fine point working in a curvilinear slot cut in the cylinder-p
(see dotted lines, Fig. 2), a spring r attached by one of its extremities to the
lever, whilst its other extremity is held under a fixed point', serves to bring
back this lever and its accessory parts. at the required moment; as soon as
this lever is depressed it is maintained in this. position by a little hook s
attached to the spring s', which falls back on the descent of the lever'q, and
then returning to its original position presents a momentary obstacle to the
rise of the said lever: The receiver is provided with a sign (say, the No. 24);
marked on a plate t; hinged at t! to its case, and which when at. rest.assumes
the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 8. In order to displace
this: sign when the message is received I affix to the rack ia square u
provided at, its top part with a little pin u', which serves as a stop to the
platet; when the rack and consequently the square.u rises; the plate is suddenly
disengaged and falls impelled by the spring 2 into the position indicated-in
the Fig. 3, where the No. 24 is seen through a window made in the case;
when this has taken place and the bell has been.
thus apprised
.the
rung,. person.
confirms the reception of the signal by pressing on the stop v, which action
causes the sign of the transmitting apparatus to become. visible, while it

page_text: displaces its own (24); to accomplish this the stem of the stop v
provided
with two inclined planes v¹ mounted on either face of it, which coming in
contact with the inclined planes v mounted on the disc d', depresses this
latter, and by the compression of the air in the box raises the disc d'of the
transmitting apparatus, and when this effect is produced a little inclined
pláne s fixed to the disc on rising disengages the spring s¹ from the lever q,
and thus liberates the hooks which holds the lever q, thus allowing the latter
to-return immediately to its place, and bringing back the sign p under the
opening p²; the stem of the stop, v. is also provided at its back with an inclined
plane v³, represented by dotted lines, which acting. on a little flap formed in
the plate t (equally represented in dotted lines) raises, the latter. till it becomes
again fixed in its position of rest, as shewn in the dotted lines at Fig. 3.
When instead of a series of strokes a single, stroke on the bell is.sufficient,
the mechanism above described is considerably diminished by the suppression
of the rack i, the toothed wheels, the catch, and the escapement, which I
replace by a projection mounted on the disc which acts on the hammer of the
bell hung in the ordinary manner, and articulated so that it shall cause the
bell to be struck in rising. while at its down stroke, this projection turning on
its axis will effect no action on the bell.
It will be easily understood from this explanation that my new apparatus,
consisting in conduits terminating by the diaphragms as above described, can
readily be used for other purposes, and specially to replace with advantage
the action of electricity, such as, for instance, to transmit the indication of
time from one regulating clock or timepiece to as many others as might be
desired, in which case it. is only necessary to supply these clocks with the
usual minute and hour gearing, and with a ratchet wheel of 60 teeth if the
transmission is to take place every minute, and 120 teeth if transmitted every
half minute, and so on in proportion, and to cause the regulating clock to
depress a transmitting disc put in communication with as many receiving discs
as there are clocks, and the elevation of which latter would cause the advance
of a single tooth. Instead of an elastic cover adapted to my atmospheric
boxes I propose to make use of a flexible air-tight material such as leather,
and if necessary to assist its rising after depression by means of a small plate
or disc placed within the box, 'and impelled slightly towards the cover by
springs, which latter arrangement may also under certain circumstances be
advantageously.applied to boxes covered with elastic diaphragms. ;
Having now explained my improvements, and the best means. I am.
acquainted with for putting the same into practice, I claim,-
Firstly, the compression of air or other gaseous fluids by means of a flexible

page_text: tube, for the purpose described.
Secondly, the mechanical contrivance and construction of parts described
with regard to my transmitting apparatus.
And; thirdly, the mechanical contrivance and construction of parts described
with regard to my receiving apparatus.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Tolhausen, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
A. SPARRE.
F. TOLHAUSEN.. (L.S.)