IMPROVEMENTS IN NOCTURNAL TELE- GRAPHIC APPARATUS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lanc, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN NOCTURNAL TELE-
GRAPHIC APPARATUS."-A communication from abroad by Constant
Maric Joseph Douillard, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 7th June 1872.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chan-
cery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,. Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN NOCTURNAL
TELEGRAPHIC APPARATUS," to be as follows:-
:-
This Invention has for its object to enable ships at sea to communi-
catc with each other or with the shore at night time as well as by day.

page_text: No difficulty at present exists in ships communicating with each other
during daylight by means of signals made with flags or otherwise; but
at night time, owing to the impossibility of seeing these signals no
communication between distant ships can take place.
In order to remedy this defect the Inventor of the improved system
hereafter described makes use of a lantern or lanterns of peculiar con-
struction, which he places aloft on one of the masts, and by means of
shutters or discs to be worked from below he is enabled to temporarily
obscure the light so that by alternately flashing and obscuring the light
he can make signals which may be seen from a distance. The discs
used for temporarily obscuring the light are made of wire gauze fixed
in a metal frame or ring attached to a lever, which by means of a rod is
connected to the armature of an electro-magnet placed in the lower part
of the lantern. Conducting wires extend from this magnet down to an
electrical apparatus placed on the deck or in any convenient position,
and by making and breaking electric contract the electro-magnet above
will be made to attract or release the armature and thus actuate the
wire gauze disc, which when pulled down by the attraction of the
magnet will come down on to the flame of the lamp and prevent it from
emitting light, but will not extinguish the flame. To the clectrical
apparatus below is adapted a recording apparatus consisting of a series
of rollers which are rotated at a constant speed, and around which is
passed a band of paper which is carried forward by the rotation of the
rollers under pointers, which when one of the keys of the electrical
instrument is depressed will make a corresponding mark on the paper.
By this means a record of the message or signal sent will be kept.
A much simpler instrument than the foregoing may be employed for
communicating with the shore, and a combination of colored lights may
be used instead of the flashing white light above described. When
colored lights are used to make the signals, glasses of three colours (say
red, white, and green) are mounted in vibrating frames connected to
levers which can be worked from below by means of rods, chains, or
wires connected with the finger keys or with small levers or winches
which will be equivalent thereto. When the keys, levers, or their
equivalents are depressed to work the coloured glasses above they will
also mark corresponding signals on the travelling band of paper which

page_text: is kept in constant and uniform motion and will therefore record any
signal that is made by depressing the fingers or keys, as in the other
apparatus.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th December 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of Junc, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my exccutors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, 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 Ircland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN NOCTURNAL TELEGRAPHIC APPARATUS,"
being a communication from Constant Maric Joseph Douillard, of
Paris, in the Republic of France, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 Scal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention and in what mannor
iha

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):-
-
During daytime ships at sea can signal one another either by means
of coast semaphores or by international signal flags. At night, how-
ever, the difficulty of seeing these signals is such that little or no
communication between distant ships can take place.
In order to remedy this defect the following means have been devised
for enabling ships, whether at sea or at great. distances apart, to com-
municate the one with the other or with the different semaphore
stations along the coast.
To enable two ships at sea to signal by night at great distances apart
it suffices to place upon the mast at a suitable height two ordinary
signal lanterns, to each of which is fitted an electric apparatus which
operates opaque discs. The wires of this apparatus lead to the deck of
the vessel and are in connection with a small manual and recording
apparatus by means of which the captain can alter the lights in the
two lanterns at will. These alterations of light can be answered by.the
ship which is being signalled, at the same time they will be registered
upon a strip of paper capable of being unrolled, and the answer will be
transmitted and recorded in the same manner, so that it only suffices to
draw out the strip of paper in order to read the message sent and
particularly the answer thereto.
To allow of a ship speaking a coast semaphore in the night time the
same apparatus may be employed and the same results attained as that
described for ships at sea, but it will be easier to furnish the semaphores
with a simple lantern having three glass discs, red, opaque, and green,
which being moved alternately as desired can produce and re-pro-
duce the same signals as those of the apparatus on board ship and
can also register the message sent and the answer received by the
same apparatus already described which is at this time but a recording
apparatus although arranged in exactly the same manner with the
exception of the electric machine which is no longer required or
used.

page_text: The combination and working of the apparatus will be readily under-
stood by referring to the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1 repre-
sents a transverse vertical section of an ordinary lantern which is
furnished with the novel system of night telegraphing apparatus; Fig. 2
shews another transverse section of the same lantern; Fig. 3 is a hori-
zontal section taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 represents a
section in plan taken in the line 3, 4, of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a transverse
section of the manipulating and recording apparatus taken in the
line 5, 6, of Fig. 7, which is a sectional plan view, and Fig. 6 represents
a longitudinal section of the same taken in the line 7, 8, of Fig. 7.
These several Figures are drawn at a scale of half the real size; Fig. 8
is a transverse section of the other description of lantern; Fig. 9 repre-
sents a front view of the same partly in section; Fig. 10 is a horizontal
section taken in the line 9, 10, of Fig. 8, and Fig. 11 is another section
taken in the line 11, 12, of the same Figure, these last four Figures are
drawn to the scale of two-fifths the real size.
The lantern A, as shewn at Figures 1 to 4, is of ordinary construction
and has in itself nothing remarkable. To its base is affixed a wooden
box B so arranged as to be capable of receiving an electro-magnet
composed of two bobbins C connected together at their lower extremities
by two wires c, and at their upper by two other wires c¹, c", which
communicate with the terminal insulators D, D', which are themselves
connected at one end, as will be presently explained, with the recording
manipulator and at the other end with the electric pile. The result
of making and breaking contact is to impart to the piece of soft iron
armature C¹ a certain alternating vibrating motion so that the jointed
rod & may actuate a moveable frame E upon a support e which carries
the obscuring shutter E which is composed of a small disc covered with
wire gauze and can be placed as desired in the two positions indicated,
the one in black and the other in red ink so as to shew the light in all
its brilliancy or to totally obscure it.
A small spiral spring d', the tension of which can be regulated or
adjusted, has for its object to balance the vibrating shutter during its
motion and to render it very sensitive. The small crank axle b. is
intended to bear and maintain the piece C¹ in the position indicated by
red lines so as to allow of the light appearing in all its brilliancy when
the telegraphic system is not in action.

page_text: The recording apparatus shewn at Figures 5 to 7 is inclosed in a
wooden box, and it is composed of three finger keys F, F, F", which
are jointed to the same axle f which carries three ratchet wheels f¹.
These keys are each furnished with a spring f" which when the keys
are pressed down imparts a slight movement to the axle, which by
means of bevil wheels.f communicates motion to the axle f* which
carries at its extremity a cylinder f³ around which passes the paper,
and then by a series of small wheels f* gives motion first to a cylinder G
upon which are two separate ink rollers, the one red and the other
green, then to another friction pulley upon an axle regulated by springs
and upon which the strip of paper is rolled according as the apparatus
operates. The paper is arranged upon another pulley similarly
arranged which comes against the small guide pulley h before taking
into a spring guide , Fig. 5, which directs and supports it upon the
cylinder before reaching tho pulley H. The two keys F, F, carry
cach at their extremities a small spring I which enters the ends of two
levers I¹ jointed obliquely according to circumstances on the support i,
they cach carry at their other end a small roller which is impregnated
with different colours from the ink roller of the cylinder C, so that
by pressing upon one of the finger keys the little roller will be caused
to descend and imprint upon the strip of paper the color required
according to the succession of the green and red. These colors will
thus be printed upon one and the same line with suitable white spaces
between them, the width of which is regulated by means of the third
finger key F which causes the paper to move forward without any
thing being imprinted thereon, the conventional signals may be thus
produced which are to determine the letters and figures and thus compose
the despatch desired to be transmitted. Underneath the three finger
keys are three steel springs f", Figures 5 and 6, made fast by means of
screws to the box and these springs have for object to raise the finger keys
the moment the pressure ceases. The two springs of the keys F, F,
have further a point of contact and are placed in communication when
one or other is pressed with two other small springs f",ƒ³, Figures 6
and 7, so as to be brought into communication with the copper wires
(indicated in red ink) with the terminators 1 and 2. The terminator C',
Fig. 7, corresponds to the copper pole of the pile, and is itself placed
in communication with the two springs f" and fs by the wire shewn in
red ink. The working of the night telegraphic apparatus may now

page_text: be readily understood. Let it be supposed that two lanterns each
furnished with their requisite appliances be made fast to the top of the
mast at a suitable distance, so as to allow of their being seen distinctly
from the point to which it is desired to signal and being in connection
on one side with the recording instrument, and on the other with the
pile (as the wires shewn in red ink clearly indicate) care being however
taken to leave spaces as indicated by the three figures 3, 4, and 7.
These preliminaries being arranged it will be evident that by acting
alternately as desired upon the three finger keys, light or darkness will
be produced upon one or both of the lanterns so as to make signals
corresponding to letters and figures. These signals will at the same
time be imprinted upon the strip of paper which is unrolled by degrees
as the finger keys are touched, so that the vessel which it is desired to
signal having made the like preparation for recording the signals can
likewise register the message or despatch which has been sent, and if it'
be desired to answer it it will only be necessary to repeat the operation.
What has just been described is indispensable for establishing a com-
munication between two ships at sea, and by this means they are
enabled to correspond with promptness and precision even at great
distances for the reason that the mode of lighting employed will give an
intensity and range more or less great.
For signalling between ships and semaphore stations on shore it will
be found convenient to furnish the semaphores with a more simple
apparatus which is represented at Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11, and which
is capable of producing similar results.
This apparatus is composed of a rectangular lantern made of tinned
sheet iron or other suitable material so arranged as to be capable of
receiving a lamp or any other closed light, having however an orifice in
front of the reflector, and in which opening will be placed alternately
three glasses, one red, the other blue, and the third completely opaque.
Only the first and last-mentioned glasses will suffice for producing the
conventional signals necessary for corresponding and in co-relation with
those products as already described. To the frame of each glass is
attached a metallic chain which passes around the two pulleys A¹, A,
and is affixed to a small handle B suitably guided along the sides of the
lantern, so that by pressing upon one or other of these handles there
will be placed in front of the orifice (and consequently in front of the

page_text: "
light) one of the three glasses as desired. The three handles are each
furnished at their lower ends with a metal rod b, which is suitably
guided, and in its downward motion acts upon the three finger keys C
of the recording apparatus which is arranged and operated in the
manner already described, with this exception, that there is no necessity
for the employment of electricity, which consequently simplifics the
apparatus.
It is thus possible to produce with three glasses (and even with two)
all conventional signals corresponding to those produced in a different
way by the night telegraphic apparatus on board ships. These latter,
together with the semaphores with which they are in communication,
repeat alternately the signals, and record them at the same time in order
to attain the result already described.
In this last case the apparatus is only a recording one, and it is
placed in the lower part of the lantern in a compartment so arranged
that the three finger keys would be in connection with the lower
rods of the glasses by means of which the conventional signals are
produced.
Hitherto signals corresponding to Morse's alphabet (an international
telegraphic system) have been employed. When two lanterns are used
on shipboard two lights are shewn for one line or dash and one for a
stop or dot. In the second application, as in the recording of signals, a
red colour has been used for a line or dash and a green one for a stop or
dot. Silence is sufficiently determined by the absence of light and
upon the recorder by the white space which will be the result of the
arrangement adopted.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that this system of
night telegraphy supplies a great want in the existing state of inter-
national navigation, and will allow of vessels signalling one another in
the night time, and also speaking the semaphores along the coast, which
is a matter of great importance.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to
me as aforesaid, and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I claim as the Invention [secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid, the application as herein set forth for the system of night
telegraphy of all descriptions of lantern of whatever form or dimensions

page_text: and of whatever system of lighting, whether wax candles, oil, gas, or
electricity, as also the obscuring the light of lanterns so as to vary the
color, and thereby form signals as and for the purpose above shewn and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, the Seventh day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.