A Watchman's Electrical Tell Tale System or Apparatus.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Aug., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 8th May, 1900-Accepted, 14th July, 1900
A Watchman's Electrical Tell Tale System or Apparatus.
AUGUST ECKSTEIN, Peel Works, Adelphi, Salford, Electrical Engineer, HERBERT
JOHN COATES, Peel Works, Adelphi, Salford, Lanc., Electrical Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to an improved electrical tell tale system, for indicating
and recording the visits made by watchmen or the like, to localities or stations,
and its object is to obtain accurate and complete records of such visits in an
effective manner.
In carrying our invention into practice, a cylinder or its equivalent, suitably
driven by clockwork in the usual way for obtaining time records, is placed at
the recording station. Near the said cylinder is placed a suitable ammeter,
voltmeter, or galvanometer, or such like instrument, so constructed as to be
capable of operating a recording pen or stylus, the said pen being arranged to
mark the indications of the said ammeter or the like, upon a paper stretched around
the cylinder, the whole being preferably enclosed in a suitable case. Une end
of the coils or windings of the said ammeter, or the like, is connected with one
pole of a battery, and the other end with the line wire, which is run from station
to station throughout the system, and the other pole of the battery is connected
with the earth, or the return wire, or equivalent means of connecting up is
adopted. At each point of visitation or station, is placed a contact key, so arranged
that when the key is operated, a complete circuit is established for a short period
of time, from the battery through the ammeter, line wire, or section of line wire,
and return wire or earth, to battery. Now it will be obvious that if at say
station 1 a short section of line wire be included in the circuit, a large deflection
of the ammeter will obtain, and at station 2, which will include a longer section
of the line, a smaller deflection of the ammeter will result and so on, as more
and more line wire is included in the circuit at the stations operated, so the
deflections get smaller, & there is thus obtained for each station a distinctive
deflection, which is duly recorded on the paper at the recording station. By
including in the line wire suitable resistances at the various stations, proportionate
deflections are readily obtained.
Instead of variation in the dimensions of the deflections being obtained by
difference in resistances, we sometimes arrange that batteries be placed at each
station, and joined up in series by the line wire going from battery to battery,
so that when a key is operated at any station the dimension of the deflection
obtaining on the recording instrument depends upon the number of batteries
included in the circuit.
In order that there may be a contact of sufficient duration to allow of a distinct
record being obtained, a form of contact maker is used, in which the operator is
compelled to allow a long enough interval of time to elapse between closing and
opening the circuit. One convenient way of doing this is as follows:-
Inside a suitable box or case a cam is so arranged, that it can be rotated by a

page_text: key passing thro' a hole in the said box; bearing upon the periphery of the cam, is
a spring connected to the circuit, which at a part of the cam's revolution, is
allowed to drop on to a contact screw or stud, and close the circuit, a shorter
spring engages with a similar depression in the cam, and prevents rotation of
the cam in the reverse direction.
The key cannot be withdrawn until a complete revolution of the cam has been
made in the right direction; and the cam is so shaped that just before the revolu-
tion is completed, the aforesaid contact spring is lifted and the circuit opened.
Dated this 4th day of August 1899.
A Watchman's Electrical Tell Tale System or Apparatus.
We, AUGUST ECKSTEIN, Electrical Engineer, and HERBERT JOHN COATES,
Electrical Engineer, both of Peel Works, Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
Our invention relates to an improved electric tell tale system for indicating
and recording the visits made by watchmen or like attendants, so that the various
stations visited in the circuit may be localized and the object thereof is to obtain
accurate and complete records of such visits in an effective manner.
In order that our invention may be clearly understood, we have appended the
accompanying six sheets of drawings, in which Figure 1, is a diagram illustrative
of the general system. Figure 2 is a similar diagram showing interposed
resistances, and Figure 3 is a similar diagram showing graded resistances, and
Figure 4 shows a device in which a local battery or like source of current is
adapted to each station Figure 5 Sheet 5, is a general view of the dead beat
ampère meter, with a pointer or stylus attached thereto. Figure 6, Sheet 6,
is a plan view and Figure 7 an elevation of the key device to be operated by the
watchman. Figure 8 is a detailed view drawn to a larger scale, showing the
movement and contacts. Figure 9 is a reverse side elevation relatively to
Figure 7, and Figure 10 is a preferable form of key to be used. Similar letters of
reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.
a
In carrying our invention into effect we employ a cylinder B (Figures 1 2 3 4
Sheets 123 and 4) driven by a suitable clock train in the base 1), carrying
paper or like material in the form of a strip affixed temporarily to said cylinder B,
by spring clips, elastic bands or the like, so that it may revolve at a predetermined
rate of speed, equivalent to a certain time ratio, the paper or the like being
suitably marked with horizontal and vertical ordinates. A galvanometer; which
may be arranged as a voltmeter or preferably a "dead beat" ampère meter A
carries a leverb with a stylus c that presses upon the paper or the like upon the
cylinder B. One end of the coils or windings of said ampère meter or galvano-
meter A is connected with one pole of a battery or other source of an electric
current C and the other end y is in circuit with the line wire e which connects
the stations a a' a". The other pole of the battery is connected with an
"earth"
or return wire r. The ampère meter preferably employed is shown by Figure 5,
Sheet 5, in which the stylus c is detailed. At each point of visitation, or station
a a al a key is employed, preferably of the shape shown by the detailed views

page_text: Figures 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 Sheet 6 of the appended drawings, and hereinafter to be
fully described; said key when operated establishing an electric circuit through
the line e and return r for a short period of time. The principle of our invention
is, that in the line wire e, the station a is nearest to the galvanometer or ampère
meter A, and consequently of least resistance. Therefore if the contact be
established by the operation of the key at a the deflection of the arm 6 of the
ampère meter A is greatest, and the stylus c being moved to a corresponding
position upon the ruled paper on the cylinder B, indicates the exact time at
which the key has operated the contact at a. The curved vertical lines at the
intersection of the horizontal lines indicate the time factor and the relative hori-
zontal lines register the several stations when the stylus e is operated-and since
the station a¹ is of an appreciable distance from a, and all also at a distance from
the central or recording point, it follows that the differential resistances imposed
by the line wire e between each station a a¹ all are sufficient to register
a time
record of each visitation upon the paper or the like on the cylinder B: the
galvanometer or ampère meter A being governed by the current passing through
its coils, which is governed by the resistance of the circuit.
We may interpose resistance coils or the like m m in the line wire e in cases
where the circuit is too small to make an appreciable deflection of the galvano-
meter or ampère meter A. This modification is shown by Figure 2; Sheet 2.
Or, as in Figure 3, Sheet 3 we may include the resistance coils or the like in the
key device shown by m m m on the drawing. A further modification is shown
by Figure 4 Sheet 4 in which no battery used at the central or recording station,
but intermediate batteries
corresponding to the stations a¹ all are
used instead so that the E M F on the line when operating at any station depends
upon the number of cells included in the circuit. In this case the dead beat
galvanometer is wound and arranged as a volt-meter in practice. The dimension
of the deflection upon the recording instrument depends upon the number of cells
included in the circuit.
In order that a contact of sufficient duration to allow of a distinct record being
made at the central or recording point upon the cylinder 1, a contact is used in
which the operator is compelled to allow a sufficient interval of time to elapse
between closing and opening the circuit. This arrangement is shown in the
plan, Figure 6, Sheet 6; side elevations 7 and 9 upon the same sheet and the
details Figures 8 and 10; the box or cover being shown as removed.
Said box or cover is provided with a key slot in which the key K Figure 10,
may be inserted with the tang t in the proper place.
The tang of the key K, Figure 10 drops normally into a slot L in the cam »,
which may be rotated in the direction of the arrows as shown by Figure 8. A
springs bears upon the periphery of the cam o, and upon its revolution by the
action of the key K, is released so as to complete the circuit between the
Cerminals M M¹, by contact with a stud or screw S, as shown by the dotted outline
Figure 8. A shorter spring q dropping into a depression in the cam o prevents
its rotation in the opposite direction, and since the key K cannot be withdrawn
until a complete revolution of the cam is made, it is obvious that said cam
must be returned to its normal position as shown by Figure 6, before the key K
can be removed. The pin p forms a pivot for said key K as in an ordinary
lock.
The action is as follows, that is to say: —
The watchman or operator having the key in his possession, places it in position
in the box appertaining to station a, and completes a circuit of least resistance,
and the recording ampère meter or galvanometer A registers a corresponding
mark on the time cylinder B, the vertical ordinates on the paper or the like
representing the time factor, at each intersection with the horizontal lines and
the horizontal ones the resistance which is equivalent to the position of the
station. The same procedure is followed at each station on the route, and the
record accurately obtained on B for the predetermined number of hours.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
First. In an electric tell tale system for recording periodical visits, the com-
bination of a dead beat ampère meter or galvanometer, and a clock driven
drum carrying ruled paper or the like, included in an electrical circuit with
one or more key and cam make and break devices substantially as herein described
and shown by the appended drawings.
Second. In an electric tell tale system for recording periodical visits, the
arrangement of a plain circuiter with a battery C and stations a a¹ a" in com-
bination with a recording device A B D substantially as herein described with
especial reference to Figure 1 of the appended drawings.
Third. In an electric tell tale system for recording periodical visits the arrange-
ment and use of resistances m m³ m" included in the circuit substantially as and
for the purposes herein described with especial reference to Figures 2 and 3 of
the appended drawings.
-
Fourth. In an electric tell tale system for recording periodical visits a contact
box, having a cam o operated by a key K, and controlled by a check spring q
in combination with a contact spring s and contact stud S substantially as and
for the purposes herein described with especial reference to Figures 6, 7, 8, 9
and 10 of the appended drawings.
Fifth. In an electric tell tale system for recording periodical visits the arrange-
ment and use of batteries n nn Figure 4, Sheet 4, included in the circuit so
that the indications may be recorded by varying the E M F the recording galvano-
meter being wound as a voltmeter, substantially as herein described and shown
by the appended drawings.
D
.
37
1000
FREDK. WALKER,
73, St. Stephen's Road, Upton Park, London, E.,
Agent for the Applicants.