IMPROVEMENTS' IN SIGNALLING APPARATUS, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO SIGNALLING ON BOARD SHIP
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Blackie, junior, of North Woolwich, in the
County of Essex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS' IN
SIGNALLING APPARATUS, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO SIGNALLING ON BOARD
SHIP." A communication from abroad by John Blackie, of Washington,
United States of America.
County of Essex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SIGNALLING APPARATUS, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO SIGNALLING ON BOARD
SHIP." A communication from abroad by John Blackie, of Washington,
United States of America.
Sealed the 25th August 1865, and dated the 27th February 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Blackie at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
February 1865.
I, JOHN BLACKIE, junior, of North Woolwich, in the County of Essex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SIGNALLING APPARATUS, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO SIGNALLING ON BOARD
SHIP," to be as follows:-
The Invention will be understood by the annexed Drawings, and the
following description thereof.
Figure 1 is a perspective view, and Figure 2 a transverse vertical section
of a portion of the apparatus when intended for conveying orders to the engine-
man or other person as required; Figure 3 is a bottom plan view, and Figure 4
a side elevation of an apparatus connected with and operated by a rudder for

page_text: conveying return signals which may have been made to the helmsman, to the
pilot, or other officers as may be desired. Similar letters in each of the
Figures indicate corresponding parts.
In Figures 1 and 2, A represents an armature, made long and round as
shown, and hung excentrically upon pivot points at its ends, as shown at
C, Figure 2, so as to permit it to turn upon its pivots in either direction
when attracted by an electro-magnet. To one end of A is secured a pointer
or index, which may be of such weight as to counterbalance the excentrically
hung armature, by which means the latter may be operated by very small
power. By turning the armature A on its pivots, the hand or index a will
be made to move in the arc of a circle corresponding with the movement
of A. By providing a dial plate, and placing it so that the hand a shall sweep
across its face it is obvious that the hand may be moved to or past any
required numbers or signals pointed or printed thereon, the signals or orders
being arranged in the arc of a circle corresponding with the sweep of the
hand, I cause the armature A and hand a to assume as many different positions
as there are orders to be conveyed, and this I accomplish by means of electro-
magnets, having their ends arranged or fitted radially around the armature A
in positions corresponding with the relative positions which the hand is required
to assume in order to point to the various orders on the dial. It is immaterial
what position the bodies of these magnets occupy, provided their faces or ends
are properly placed, as the armature will be attracted by the flat face of the
end presented to it when the electrical current is applied, without reference to
the position of the body of the magnet; I therefore construct the bodies of the
magnets B, C, D, and E, that while occupying the same plane their ends
shall be presented towards A in different positions radially, whereby A can
be readily attracted or moved from one to another of the magnets according
as the circuit is broken with one and completed with the other of the magnets.
By these means I am enabled to operate the armature A and hand a to any
required extent by magnets arranged as shown in Figure 1, the armature
assuming the various positions required as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2.
In this case I have placed four magnets horizontally, two on each side of A,
while the fifth magnet F is placed underneath A in a vertical position, as
shown in Figure 2; but it is obvious that the body of F may also be placed
horizontally, provided its ends are brought underneath A. It is further obvious
that any desired number of magnets may be thus arranged, and the hand a
made to assume a corresponding number of positions, the principle being the
same as in Figure 2. Another magnet H is arranged vertically near the
rear end of A, having secured to its upper end a plate b, which is pro-

page_text: vided with the projection c, through which pivot points extend, pivoting the
armature or keeper I thereto. To this keeper I is attached a rod having a
hammerf secured to its opposite end for the purpose of striking a bell J pro-
perly placed to attract the attention of the helmsman whenever the index is
moved. In order to hold A and a in position the armature A has attached to
it a notched wheel i, into the notches of which the spring rod h falls when
the hammer drops, thus bolding A securely in position, and thereby retaining
the index a at the desired order marked on the dial. Attached to h is a small
vertical rod s, having its upper end bent in the form of a hook, which rod s is
of such a length that the hammer rod when raised almost up to the bell shall
engage in the said hook, and thereby lift the rod h out of the notch in the
wheel i, whereby the armature A is unlocked, and permitted to rotate.
the hammer falls again by its own gravity, the rod s is released, whereby /
again engages in one of the notches of i, again locking A in place.
As
The operation of this part of the apparatus is as follows:-A battery K is
provided, having a wire leading to a key-board L placed within reach of the
pilot. From the keys a separate wire runs to each magnet, except the
vertical magnet H. When one of the keys is pressed down so as to come in
contact with the conductor 6 from the battery, whereby the circuit which the
fluid is to travel is closed, the magnet connected with the said key becomes
charged, and thereby attracts the armature A, and thereby moves the index a.
The current, at the instant of charging the magnet by passing along the wire
No. 1, for example, returns from the other arm of the magnet B by the wire
I', and is conducted along the rod d in the direction of the arrow until it
arrives at the wire g, which conveys it to and charges the magnet H, which
attracting the keeper I, causes the hammer f to strike the bell, and raise the
rod h out of the notch in the wheel i all at one operation, the fluid returning
from the opposite arm of the magnet H by the wire 6 to the battery in the
usual manner. As the return wire from each magnet B, C, D, E, and H is
connected with the rod d, which is connected with the magnet H by the rod g,
and as there is no return wire to the battery except No. 6, which passes direct
from H to the battery, it follows that whenever any key is touched whereby
either of the magnets operating A is charged, the current is compelled to pass
around H, charging it at the same time. Thus the index is operated, the
armature A unlocked and re-locked, and the bell struck all at one operation.
By these means the pilot is at all times enabled to transmit instantly to the
engineman, or to the man at the wheel, any of the orders marked on the dial,
the latter being situated where it can be always seen by the engineman or
helmsman. In order however that the pilot may know that his order has

page_text: been obeyed it is necessary that some means shall be provided by which the
position of the rudder in the case when the order has been given to the
helmsman shall be automatically indicated or made known to him. For this
purpose I employ the apparatus shown at Figures 3, 4, and 5.
In Figure 3, M represents the rudder post, which has attached to it an
arm m provided with a vertical pin l', which works in a slot in a similar
arm n' attached to another shaft or rotating post N. This post N is also
provided with a spring arm O, which has secured to its upper side near the
outer end an adjustable frame p, in which is mounted a metallic roller o.
By having the frame p adjustable or pivoted, it can be turned so as to cause
the roller o to stand diagonally to its line of travel, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.
By these means the roller o is caused to scrape or slide to a limited degree at
the same time that it rolls on moving over the face of the metallic plates 1*, 2*,
and so on, the roller o being held firmly up against the plates by the pressure
of the spring arm O, as shown in Figure 4. The series of plates from 1* to 9*
is connected by conducting wires, as shewn in Figure 4, from the extremities
of which series of connecting wires a separate wire r and r¹ is connected,
leading to a differential galvanometer, Figure 5, which being a well-known
apparatus needs no description.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-A wire from the battery K
leads to the shaft or post N, from whence the fluid passes along the arm O to
the wheel o, from which it passes to any of the series of plates 1* to 9*,
according as the wheel o may be in contact with one or other of those plates.
From the plate which in the Drawing is shown by the position of the roller o
in Figure 3, as plate 3*, the electric current passes along the wire 31 to the
point where that wire is connected to the uniting coils on either side, at which
point the current is divided, and flows thence along both wires and r¹ to the
differential galvanometer, Figure 5, 'from whence it returns to the battery
along the wire t, when the circuit is closed by means of the knob u, Figure 5.
As the rudder is turned to one or the other side the arm O and wheel o is
made to move in a corresponding manner over the series of plates, as already
described, whereby the circuit is closed between the wheel o and the plate upon
which it rests. When the wheel rests upon plate 5*, it is obvious that the
current, which is divided at the point where wire 5¹ unites with the connecting
coils, will have the same distance to travel along wires r and r³, the same being
of uniform lengths, in which case the needle of the galvanometer will stand at
zero; but whenever the connection is made between the wheel o and any other
plate, as for instance with plate 3*, as shown in the Drawings, then the
current passing to the right, along wire r¹, will have a greater distance to

page_text: travel than that portion passing to the left and along wire r, which will cause
the needle to be deflected to a degree exactly corresponding with the difference
in the distance travelled by the two currents, when the wheel o is carried to
the opposite side of plate 5*, then the needle will be deflected to the
opposite side in a similar manner. By these means the position of the rudder
will at all times be indicated by the position of the needle whenever the
circuit is closed at u, and thus the pilot in the pilot house, the captain
in his room or any other portion of the vessel where the galvanometer may
be situated, can at all times, day or night, and without the knowledge of the
helmsman, know exactly at what angle or point the rudder stands.
It is obvious that the entire apparatus, or either of the parts composing it
may be applied to other purposes and uses than that shown, the application to.
signalling on board ship being sufficient to illustrate the Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Blackie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th
August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BLACKIE, junior, of North Woolwich, in the County of Essex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Blackie, Her special licence that I, the said John Blackie,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Blackie, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SIGNALLING APPARATUS, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO SIGNALLING ON BOARD
SHIP,"
(communicated to me from abroad by John Blackie, of Washington,
United States of America), upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Blackie, 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

page_text: 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 John Blackie, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
The Invention will be understood by the annexed Drawings, and the
following description thereof.
Figure 1 is a perspective view, and Figure 2 a transverse vertical section
of a portion of the apparatus when intended for conveying orders to the engine-
man or other person as required; Figure 3 is a bottom plan view, and Figure 4
a side elevation of an apparatus connected with and operated by a rudder for
conveying return signals which may have been made to the helmsman, to the
pilot, or other officers as may be desired. Similar letters in each of the
Figures indicate corresponding parts.
In Figures 1 and 2, A represents an armature, made long and round as
shown, and hung eccentrically upon pivot points at its ends, as shown at
C, Figure 2, so as to permit it to turn upon its pivots in either direction when
attracted by an electro-magnet. To one end of A is secured a pointer or index
which may be of such weight as to counterbalance the eccentrically hung
armature, by which means the latter may be operated by very small power.
By turning the armature A on its pivots the band or index a will be made
to move in the arc of a circle corresponding with the movement of A. By
providing a dial plate, and placing it so that the hand a shall sweep across
its face it is obvious that the band may be moved to or past any required
numbers or signals pointed or printed thereon, the signals or orders being
arranged in the arc of a circle corresponding with the sweep of the hand.
I cause the armature A and hand a to assume as many different positions
as there are orders to be conveyed, and this I accomplish by means of
electro-magnets having their ends arranged or fitted radially around the
armature A in positions corresponding with the relative positions which
the hand is required to assume in order to point to the various orders on the
dial. It is immaterial what position the bodies of these magnets occupy,
provided their faces or ends are properly placed, as the armature will be
attracted by the flat face of the end presented to it when the electric current
is applied without reference to the position of the body of the magnet.
therefore construct the bodies of the magnets B, C, D, and E, so that while
I

page_text: occupying the same plane their ends shall be presented towards A in different
positions radially, whereby A can be readily attracted or moved from one to
another of the magnets according as the circuit is broken with one and com-
pleted with the other of the magnets. By these means I am enabled to
operate the armature 'A and hand a to any required extent by magnets
arranged as shewn in Figure 1, the armature assuming the various positions.
required, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. In this case I have placed,
four magnets horizontally, two on each side of A, while the fifth magnet F is
placed underneath A in a vertical position, as shown in Figure 2, but it is
obvious that the body of F may also be placed horizontally, provided its ends
are brought underneath A. It is further obvious that any desired number of
magnets may be thus arranged, and the hand a made to assume a corre-
sponding number of positions, the principle being the same as in Figure 2.
Another magnet H is arranged vertically near the rear end of A, having
secured to its upper end a plate b, which is provided with the projection c,
through which pivot points extend pivoting the armature or keeper I thereto.
To this keeper I is attached a rod, having a hammer f secured to its opposite
end for the purpose of striking a bell J properly placed to attract the attention
of the helmsman whenever the index is moved. In order to hold A and a in
position the armature A has attached to it a notched wheel i, into the notches.
of which the spring rod h falls when the hammer drops, thus holding A securely
in position, and thereby retaining the index a at the desired order marked
on the dial. Attached to h is a small vertical rod s, having its upper end.
bent in the form of a hook, which rod s is of such a length that the hammer
rod when raised almost up to the bell shall engage in the said hook, and
thereby lift the rod h out of the notch in the wheel i, whereby the armature A
is unlocked and permitted to rotate. As the hammer falls again by its own
gravity the rod s is released, whereby h again engages in one of the notches
of i, again locking A in place.
The operation of this part of the apparatus is as follows:-A battery K is
provided, having a wire leading to a key-board L placed within reach of the
pilot. From the keys a separate wire runs to each magnet except the
vertical magnet H. When one of the keys is pressed down so as to come in
contact with the conductor 6 from the battery, whereby the circuit which the
fluid is to travel is closed, the magnet connected with the said key becomes
charged, and thereby attracts the armature A, and moves the index a. The
current at the instant of charging the magnet by passing along the wire No. 1,
for example, returns from the other arm of the magnet B by the wire I', and
is conducted along the rod d in the direction of the arrow until it arrives at

page_text: the wire g, which conveys it to and charges the magnet H, which attracting
the keeper I, causes the hammer f to strike the bell and raise the rod h out of
the notch in the wheel i all at one operation, the fluid returning from the
opposite arm of the magnet H by the wire 6 to the battery in the usual
manner. As the return wire from each magnet B, C, D, E, and H is con-
nected with the rod d, which is connected with the magnet H by the rod 9,
and as there is no return wire to the battery except No. 6, which passes
direct from H to the battery, it follows that whenever either key is touched,
whereby either of the magnets operating A is charged, the current is com-
pelled to pass around H, charging it at the same time. Thus, the index is
operated, the armature A unlocked and re-locked, and the bell struck all at
one operation. By these means the pilot is at all times enabled to transmit
instantly to the engineman, or to the man at the wheel, any of the orders
marked on the dial, the latter being situated where it can be always seen by
know
the engineman or helmsman. In order however that the pilot may
that his orders have been obeyed it is necessary that some means shall be pro-
vided by which the position of the rudder (in the case when the order has
been given to the helmsman), shall be automatically indicated or made
known to him. For this purpose I employ the apparatus shown at Figures.
3, 4, and 5.
In Figure 3, M represents the rudder post, which has attached to it an
arm m provided with a vertical pin l', which works in a slot in a similar
arm n¹ attached to another shaft or rotating post N. This post N is also
provided with a spring arm O, which has secured to its upper side near the
outer end an adjustable frame p, in which is mounted a metallic roller o. By
having the frame p adjustable or pivoted as shewn at o¹, it can be turned so
as to cause the roller o to stand diagonally to its line of travel, as shewn in
Figures 3 and 4. By these means the roller o is caused to scrape or slide to
a limited degree at the same time that it rolls in moving over the face of the
metallic plates 1*, 2*, and so on, the roller o being held firmly up against the
plates by the pressure of the spring arm 0, as shewn in Figure 4. The series
of plates from 1 to 9* is connected by conducting wires, as shown in Figure 4,
from the extremities of which series of connecting wires a separate wire 7 and
2 is connected, leading, to a differential galvanometer, Figure 5, which being
a well-known apparatus needs no description.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-A wire from the battery R
leads to the shaft or post N, from whence the fluid passes along the arm O to
the wheel o, from which it passes to any one of the series of plates 1 to 9*
according as the wheel o may be in contact with one or the other of those

page_text: plates. From the plate which in the Drawing is shown by the position of
the roller o in Figure 3, as plate 3*, the electric current passes along the
wire 31 to the point where that wire is conected to the uniting coils on either
side, at which point the current is divided, and flows thence along both wires
r and r to the differential galvanometer, Figure 5, from which it returns to
the battery along the wire t, when the circuit is closed by ineans of the
knob u, Figure 5. As the rudder is turned to one or the other side the
arm O and wheel o are made to move in a corresponding manner over the
series of plates, as already described, whereby the circuit is closed between
the wheel o and the plate upon which it rests. When the wheel rests upon
plate 5 it is obvious that the current, which is divided at the point where
wire 5 unites with the connecting coils, will have the same distance to travel
along wires raud r, the same being of uniform lengths, in which case the
needle of the galvanometer will stand at zero; but whenever the connection is
made between the wheel o and any other plate, as for instance, with plate 3*,
as shown in the Drawings, then the current passing to the right along wire r¹
will have a greater distance to travel than that portion passing to the left, and
along wire r, which will cause the needle to be deflected to a degree exactly
corresponding with the difference in the distance travelled by the two currents.
When the wheel o is carried to the opposite side of plate 5*, then the needle
will be deflected to the opposite side in a similar manner. By these means
the position of the rudder will at all times be indicated by the position of the
needle whenever the circuit is closed at u, and thus the pilot in the pilot
house, the captain in his room or any other portion of the vessel where the
galvanometer may be situated, can at all times, day or night, and without the
knowledge of the helmsman, know exactly at what angle or point the rudder
stands.
It is obvious that the entire apparatus or either of the parts composing it
may be applied to other purposes and uses than that shewn, the application
to signalling on board ship being sufficient to illustrate the Invention.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and its operation, I declare
that I claim,-
First, the employment of an eccentrically bung keeper or armature A, and
working it by means of a series of magnets, substantially as herein set forth.
Second, the employment of the stop i in combination with the spring h or
its equivalent, for the purpose of holding the keeper A and index a in
position.
Third, working the catch h and hammer f by the keeper i, substantially as
described.

page_text: '
Fourth, the employment of connecting coils and series of plates 14 2*, &c.,
in combination with a differential galvanometer, as shown and described.
Fifth, the employment of the wheel o mounted in the adjustable frame p,
operated by the spring arm O and shaft N in combination with the series of
plates 1*, 2*, &c. as described.
And, sixth, connecting and operating the shaft N with the rudder post M
by means of the slotted arm n³, arm m, and pin ', by which means the
vertical movement of the rudder post is prevented from disarranging or inter-
fering with the post N and its attachments.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Blackie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-five.
JOHN BLACKIE, JUN. (L.S.)