A NEW ELECTRO-TELEGRAPHIC SYSTEM PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE FOR LONG CABLES.
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Secondo Roos of Turin in the Kingdom of Italy but at
present of Arundel Street, Haymarket in the County of Middlesex for an
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Secondo Roos at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th December 1883.
SECONDO Roos of Turin in the Kingdom of Italy but at present of Arundel
Street, Haymarket in the County of Middlesex "A NEW ELECTRO-TELEGRAPHIC
SYSTEM PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE FOR LONG CABLES.'
•
"
This Invention relates to a new electric telegraph apparatus more especially
applicable for use with submarine cables.
Every telegraphic apparatus is necessarily composed of two distinct parts, one
which is essentially telegraphic that serves for the manifestation of the electric
current, and the other or mechanical part which translates the manifestation of the
current into intelligible signals.
Mechanical Part. The mechanism consists of two clock movements, of which the
one is for unwinding the paper strip and for the automatic transmission of signals.
The strip of paper on which the message is printed is unwound in the ordinary
way.
The automatic transmitter is a wheel having conical teeth which engage in the
manner of a rack in holes in the perforated paper strip prepared by means of a
perforator similar to a Wheatstone perforator. To the right and left of this wheel
is applied a small lever which levers serve to establish electric communication
every time one of the levers meets with a hole in the paper strip. This clock
movement is provided with a regulator fly. The second movement is similar to the
first but entirely independent thereof. It has an escapement of peculiar form
consisting of two similar and opposite crown wheels, the teeth of one alternating
with those of the other. Between these wheels plays the stop piece of the
escapement. The flanks of the teeth are straight for the stop to abut against and
AJl ....מ
5.

page_text: the ends of the teeth are bevelled to cause the stop to oscillate from one wheel to
the other. A sinuous or cam wheel whose sinuosities are equal to the number of
teeth in one of the crown wheels, alone serves to establish mechanical connection
between the two clock movements by acting on a lever bearing an inked printing
wheel. The teeth of the one crown wheel correspond with the salient portions of
the cam wheel, and the teeth of the other with the re-entering portions of the
same and consequently the more or less prolonged stoppage of the stop piece of the
escapement against one of the crown wheels serves to regulate the length of the
dots and dashes, and against the other crown wheel that of the blank spaces.
Upon any suitable arbor there are placed two commutators, the one local for
determining with reference to the position of the escapement the working of the
contact levers of the automatic transmitter; the other or line commutator acts in
perfect correlation with the electro magnetic system hereafter described. The
commutator contact springs act as brakes and the regulator fly applied to the
other clock movement sufficiently regulates the desired relative speed of the two
clock movements, it being necessary that the one actuating the escapement should
go rather faster than the other.
The electro magnetic part of the apparatus consists of a flat thin soft iron blade
or pallet of a certain width and of a length about 10 or 12 times its width mounted
upon a central pivot perpendicular to its plane on which it may oscillate freely in
its own plane, said blade being surrounded as close as possible by a long and fine
coil of silk-covered wire, which coil for convenience of manufacture would be in
two parts, one above and one below the pivot of the blade. The extremities of the
blade project a short distance beyond the ends of the coil and the oscillating motion
which the blade is capable of receiving is limited to about 2 to 3 millimetres in
extent. The coil and blade constitute in effect an electro magnet having a free
and movable core whose poles depend on the direction of the current in the coil
and change instantaneously when such direction is changed. In an apparatus thus
constructed the resistance of the coil may always be readily proportioned to the
length of the cable, the dimensions of the soft iron blade being also varied so as to
enable the coil to be so arranged as to produce the maximum of useful effect.
"
It will be evident that such an arrangement is capable of changing its polarity
with the greatest possible rapidity and under the influence of the "instantaneous'
current traversing the cable (notwithstanding the possible formation of a series of
consequent poles) of which current the sensible effect will not however be directly
appreciable but must be utilised by local actions in such a way as to operate any
suitable kind of printing telegraph.
To this end, the coil being vertical, the blade is held in an axial position therein
by two spring actuated brass levers whose action is limited by a stop. The lower
end of the blade plays between the poles of an electro magnet of sufficient power
placed symmetrically with regard to the blade and in the plane of its motion at a
distance each of rather more than a millimetre which distance is capable of
adjustment. The electro magnet is traversed by a local current always in one
direction and its poles consequently attract or repel the soft iron blade according to
the polarity it acquires by the influence of the line current in the surrounding coil,
or at least will retain the blade if it is approached towards the pole. The other
end of the blade engages with a lever which is intermediate of the said blade' and
the crown wheel escapement above referred to of which the other end of the lever
forms the before mentioned stop piece described as playing between the crown
wheels.
In the normal condition the coil is traversed by a weak line current and the
electro magnet by a local current of a certain strength and in virtue of these two
currents the soft iron blade is retained against one of the poles of the local electro
magnet the escapement of the printing mechanism is arrested, the line commutator is
so placed as to change the direction of the line current at the least movement of the
commutator and the line current does not pass by the commutator in the receiving
instrument.

page_text: Under these conditions the working is as follows:-It should here be observed
that the manipulation may be effected either by changing the direction of the line
current or by momentarily interrupting the local circuit, or by momentarily closing
a derivation of the local circuit. The details of the mode of operating in each of
these three cases will be readily understood without explanation.
Suppose the manipulation to be effected by a derivation of the local circuit. At
the moment of closing this derivation the blade will be returned to its central
position, the escapement of the printing apparatus will be released and the
escapement wheel will act on the stop lever and consequently on the soft iron
blade which will thus be thrown over to the opposite pole of the local electro
magnet. The line commutator will at same time have changed the direction of
the line current and consequently the polarity of the blade which will now be such
that the blade will be retained by the pole of the electro magnet towards which it
has just been approached. At the receiving station the direction of the line
current being reversed, the soft iron blade will be repelled by the pole to which it
adhered the escapement of the printing apparatus will be released and by the
motion of the escapement wheel, the soft iron blade will be thrown over to the
other pole of the local electro magnet by which it will be retained. On again
closing the derivation of the local circuit a similar action takes place and so on.
By means of this electro magnetic system any printing telegraph apparatus may
be operated by adapting the stop lever and the commutator according to the
construction of the printing apparatus.
In order to enable the receiving station to stop the sending station in case of
error without augmenting the current on the line, the interruption of the
correspondence is effected by a current of double the intensity of the line current
sent by the receiving station whilst the sending station is transmitting the current
of opposite sign, which is effected by means of a commutator which only permits
the passage of the interrupting current under these conditions.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Secondo Roos in the Patent Office on the 4th June 1884.
SECONDO Roos, of Turin in the Kingdom of Italy, but at present of Arundel
Street, Haymarket in the County of Middlesex "A NEW ELECTRO-TELEGRAPHIC
SYSTEM, PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE FOR LONG CABLES,"
This Invention relates to a new electric telegraph apparatus more especially
applicable for use with submarine cables.
Every telegraphic apparatus is necessarily composed of two distinct parts, one
which is essentially telegraphic that serves for the manifestation of the electric
current, and the other or mechanical part which translates the manifestation of the
current into intelligible signals.
The mechanical part consists of two clock movements, of which the one is for
un-winding the paper strip and for the automatic transmission of signals. The
strip of paper on which the message is printed is unwound in the ordinary way.
The automatic transmitter is a wheel having conical teeth which engage in the
manner of a rack in holes in the perforated paper strip perforated by means of a
perforator similar to a Wheatstone perforator. To the right and left of this wheel
is applied a small lever which levers serve to establish electric communication every
time one of the levers meets with one of the holes in the paper strip whose various
combinations represent signals. This clock movement is provided with a regulator
fly. The second movement is similar to the first but entirely independent thereof.
It has an escapement of peculiar form, consisting of two similar and opposite
crown wheels, the teeth of one alternating with those of the other. Between these
wheels plays the stop piece of the escapement. The flanks of the teeth are
straight for the stop to abut against and the ends of the teeth are bevelled to
cause the stop to oscillate from one wheel to the other. A sinuous or cam wheel
whose sinuosities are equal to the number of teeth in one of the crown wheels alone
serves to establish mechanical connection between the two clock movements, by
acting on a lever bearing an inked printing wheel. The teeth of the one crown
wheel correspond with the salient portions of the cam wheel, and the teeth of the
other with the re-entering portions of the same and consequently the more or less
prolonged stoppage of the stop piece of the escapement against one of the crown
wheels serves to regulate the length of the dots and dashes, and against the other
crown wheel, that of the blank spaces. Upon any suitable arbor there are placed
two commutators, the one local for determining with reference to the position of
the escapement, the working of the contact levers of the automatic transmitter;
the other or line commutator acts in perfect cor-relation with the electro-magnetic
system hereafter described. The commutator contact springs act as brakes and the
regulator fly applied to the other clock movement sufficiently regulates the desired
relative speed of the two clock movements, it being necessary that the one actuating
the escapement should go rather faster than the other.
The electro-magnetic part of the apparatus is represented in the accompanying
drawings and consists of a flat thin soft iron blade or pallet A of a certain width
and of a length about 10 or 12 times its width, mounted upon a central pivot a
perpendicular to its plane, on which it may oscillate freely in its own plane, said
blade being surrounded as close as possible by a long and fine coil of silk-covered
wire B (shown in section in figure 1) which coil for convenience of manufacture
would be in two parts, one above and one below the pivot of the blade. The
extremities of the blade A project a short distance beyond the ends of the coil and
the oscillating motion which the blade is capable of receiving is limited to about 5

page_text: 2 to 3 millimetres in extent. The coil B and blade A constitute in effect an electro-
magnet having a free and movable core A, whose poles depend on the direction of
the current in the coil and change instantaneously when such direction is changed.
In an apparatus thus constructed the resistance of the coil B may always be readily
proportioned to the length of the cable, the dimensions of the soft iron blade Å
being also varied so as to enable the coil B to be so arranged as to produce the
maximum of useful effect. It will be evident that such an arrangement is capable
of changing its polarity with the greatest possible rapidity and under the influence
of the "instantaneous" current traversing the cable (notwithstanding the possible
formation of a series of consequent poles) of which current the sensible effect will
not however be directly appreciable but must be utilised by local actions in such a
way as to operate any suitable kind of printing telegraph.
.
To this end the coil B being vertical, the blade A is held in an axial position
therein by two spring actuated brass levers c (figures 1 and 3) whose action is
limited by a stop d. The lower end of the blade A plays between the poles of an
electro-magnet E of sufficient power, placed symmetrically with regard to the
blade A and in the plane of its motion, each pole being at a distance of rather
more than a millimetre from the blade, which distance is capable of adjustment.
The electro-magnet E is traversed by a local current always in one direction and its
poles consequently attract or repel the soft iron blade A according to the polarity
which the latter acquires by the influence of the line current in the surrounding
coil B, or at least will retain the blade A if it is approached towards the pole. The
other end e of the blade A engages with a lever F (figures 1 and 4) which is
intermediate of the said blade and the crown wheel escapement above referred to,
of which the other end of the lever F forms the before mentioned stop piece
described as playing between the crown wheels. In the normal condition, the
coil B is traversed by a weak line current and the electro-magnet E by a local
current of a certain strength and in virtue of these two currents the soft iron
blade A is retained against one of the poles of the local electro-magnet E, the
escapement of the printing mechanism is arrested, the line commutator C of the
transmitting instrument (no 1 figure 6) is so placed as to change the direction of
the line current at the least movement of the commutator and the line current does
not pass by the commutator in the receiving instrument no 2. Under these
conditions the working is as follows:-It should here be observed that the
manipulation may be effected either by changing the direction of the line current
or by momentarily interrupting the local circuit, or by momentarily closing a
derivation of the local circuit. The details of the mode of operating in each of
these three cases will be readily understood without explanation. Suppose the
manipulation to be effected by a derivation G of the local circuit.-At the moment
of closing this derivation G (see no 1-figure 6) the blade will be returned to its
central position, the escapement of the printing apparatus will be released and the
escapement wheel will act on the stop lever and consequently on the soft iron
blade which will thus be thrown over to the opposite pole of the local electro-
magnet. The line commutator C no 1 will at same time have changed the direction
of the line current and consequently the polarity of the blade, which will now be
such that the blade will be retained by the pole of the electro magnet towards
which it has just been approached. At the receiving station no 2 the direction of
the line current being reversed, the soft iron blade will be repelled by the pole to
which it adhered the escapement of the printing apparatus will be released and by
the motion of the escapement wheel, the soft iron. blade will be thrown over to
the other pole of the local electro-magnet by which it will be retained. On again
closing the derivation of the local circuit, a similar action takes place and so on.
By means of this electro-magnetic system any printing telegraph apparatus may
be operated by adapting the stop lever and the commutator according to the
construction of the printing apparatus..
In order to enable the receiving station to stop the sending station in case of
error without augmenting the current on the line, the interruption of the

page_text: correspondence is effected by a current of double the intensity of the line current
sent by the receiving station whilst the sending station is transmitting the current
of opposite sign, which is effected by means of a commutator which only permits
the passage of the interrupting current under these conditions.
Having described, the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein before in part recited Letters Patent is :-
An electro-magnetic apparatus for controlling the working of printing telegraphic
instruments wherein the change of polarity in an oscillating pallet (produced by
the reversal of the line current in the coils encircling the said pallet) acts in
combination with springs and a local electro-magnet substantially as herein
specified.
In Witness whereof I.the said Secondo Roos bave hereunto set my hand and
seal this twenty first day of May, A.D. 1884.