IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS."-A communication from abroad by
George Little, of the City and State of New York, United States of
America, Civil Engineer.
Sealed the 17th April 1868, and dated the 21st October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st October 1867.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Con-
sulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS," a communication, to be as
follows:-
The said improvements relate chiefly to the construction of recording or
writing instruments wherein the pen or marking point is attached to a magnet
which is supported in ink or other marking fluid contained in a suitable vessel
surrounded by coils of insulated wire. An electric current passing through
these coils moves the pen or marker into contact with the surface of a strip of
paper or other material which is caused by clockwork or other mechanism to

page_text: travel past the point of the pen. The magnet may also be supported in
alcohol or other liquid in a closed vessel, the ink or other marking fluid being
contained in a separate reservoir attached to the pen or otherwise arranged.
The said pen may be provided with some substance possessing the power of
capillary attraction which conducts the ink from its reservoir to the marking
point, or may be otherwise formed to supply itself with the marking fluid. A
pencil or fine brush may also be used as a marker. The pen or marking
point is attached to a rod extending from the float which is enclosed in a
glass tube or other vessel filled nearly to the top with the ink or other fluid.
A steel rod forming the magnet is attached to the bottom of the float; coils of
insulated wire are arranged to surround the vessel containing the float, and
are connected with the line wire in such a manner that the central portion of
the said coils shall possess a north polarity while the stream ends of the same
have an opposite polarity; these wire coils are so arranged in relation to the
poles of the floating magnet that the latter is caused to rise in the liquid when
a current passes through the wire coils. The pen is thus brought into con-
tact with the surface of the paper or other material and produces a dot or line
according to the times it is held up by the electric current.. A guide may be
placed within the glass or other vessel to prevent oscillations of the floating
magnet and pen. The point of a pen or marker is provided with a ball of
alder pith or some other substance capable of exerting capillary attraction.
The lower part of this pith ball must remain always immersed in the ink or
other marking fluid.
When my improved floating pen is used in connection with land telegraph
lines I prefer to employ an adjustable magnetic sliding rod to assist in bringing
the floating pen to a normal state. The said rod is arranged at the upper
end of the glass tube or other vessel, and may be adjusted to present either its
north or south pole to the floating pen as desired. A curved or bent tube
may be employed, one leg being found to receive the float and the other being
provided with a lid or cover to allow the ink or other liquid to be conveniently
introduced. Any suitable self-acting valve or other device may be employed
to keep the said liquid at the proper level in the tube. The floating pen may
be so formed and arranged in connection with the other parts of the apparatus
and the paper as to mark the letter in its downward motion.
In this case
the pen carries its own marking fluid in a small cup attached to a frame
which is provided with an aperture for the strip or other material to pass
through.
In another modification of my apparatus the ink or other marking fluid is
contained in a dished cover on the top of the glass vessel the float being

page_text: supported in alcohol or other liquid in the said vessel. A bent rod extends
through the centre of the dished cover and carries a pointed piece of pith or
other suitable substance whose lower end is kept in the ink which rises by
capillary attraction to the top or point of the said piece. When the current
is passed through the wire coils surrounding the pen the latter rises and
marks the paper as already described. The end of the float may be connected
with one end of a lever whose other end carries a pen or marker. In some
cases I attach to the top of the float a small hair pencil or brush, whose point
projects through a conical guide or inverted funnel on the top of the tube or
other vessel which is supplied with ink or other marking fluid through an
aperture in its covers. When the float rises the point of the brush or pencil
marks the paper as before described. I prefer to form the float of glass and
to enclose the steel rod or magnet within the lower part of the same to prevent
the corrosive action of the ink or other marking liquid. The writing or
marking point may also be formed of glass or some incorrodible metal, the
stem or rod being provided with capillary grooves or perforations. The pen
should be so arranged that when at rest its point is submerged in the ink
or other fluid and thereby kept from becoming dry, and also that it may
receive a continual supply of the said fluid when in operation. The float
should be of nearly the same specific gravity as the liquid in which it is sup-
ported so that a very slight force will cause it to rise or sink. The pen may
be attached to an elliptical hollow steel float and arranged to project down
through a self-supplying code or nipple placed above the paper or other
material, the marking point being carried on the end of a fine tube or wire of
incorrodible metal which may be furnished with a small portion of pith. The
vessel containing the float may be formed of vulcanite or hard india-rubber.
A stop is placed in the lower part of the said vessel to prevent undue pressure
upon the marking point. The pen may be arranged on the top of the
elliptical float and may be formed to act as a syphon, the marking point being
attached to one leg of the same and arranged in the proper position to mark
the paper or other material when operated by the electric current in the wire
coils. The syphon may be filled with alder pith or other absorbing substance.
The pressure of the atmosphere upon the liquid in which the magnet floats is
regulated by an inlet valve or other suitable device attached to the glass tube
or other vessel. In some cases a tube may be attached to the bottom of the
float, the tube and float being both formed of steel and protected from the
corrosive action of the ink or other fluid by a conting of some incorrodible
metal. A cross bar of gold or other incorrodible metal is attached to the
lower end of the tube. A small tube, preferably of similar metal, is attached

page_text: to the said cross bar and arranged to project through a conical piece or nipple
at the bottom of the vessel containing the float. The marking point at the
end of the fine gold tube is constantly supplied with the ink or other fluid
through a small aperture in the upper part of the said tube which is enclosed
in the steel tube, the latter having an aperture communicating with the ink
reservoir. A glass tube on the top of the said reservoir forms a guage which
is regulated by a stop-cock to prevent undue pressure upon the liquid. An
adjustable sliding magnetic rod may be attached to the outside of the glass
tube by means of a spring clip surrounding the said tube. In all cases I
prefer that the pen should be provided with pith or other similar substance,
and that the point of the gold or other metal tube should not come in contact
with the paper.
By arranging two of my improved pens side by side a double row of dots
and dashes may be produced, which is very desirable for submarine lines as
opposite currents may be then used. A message may be set up in type on a
sheet of soft substance covered with a metallic film. The said sheet may
be then arranged in connection with the floating pen which will record the
message in the type characters upon a blank sheet of paper arranged to
travel over suitable rollers.
The floating pen may be arranged to act in an inclined or horizontal
direction, the wire coils being so arranged that a current passing through the
same will move the pen endwise into contact with the paper. In this case I
prefer that the float shall be of the same specific gravity as the liquid in
which it is supported. The pen may be held in suspension in the ink or
other fluid without the aid of a float of glass or other substance, a part of
the pen being formed of some metal susceptible of magnetic attraction.
My improvements relate also to the construction of telegraphic instruments
in which a hammer or striker attached to the floating magnet is caused by
the action of the electric current passing through properly arranged wire coils
to strike a bell or bells arranged upon or near the instrument.
I also construct an instrument wherein my improved floating magnet is
provided with a mirror whose rays are directed by the movements of the float
upon photographic paper. In this apparatus I prefer to arrange the floating
magnet with its poles in a horizontal position.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st April 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Robert Lake, Her special licence that I, the said William Robert
Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Robert Lake, 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 ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 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 William Robert Lake, 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 accompanying Drawings,
forming a part of this Specification :—
The said improvements relate chiefly to the construction of recording of
writing instruments wherein the pen or marking point is attached to a magnet,
which is supported in fluid contained in a suitable vessel surrounded by coils
of insulated wire. An electric current passing through these coils moves the
pen or marker into contact with the surface of a strip of paper or other
material, which is caused by clock work or other mechanism to travel past the
point of the pen. The magnet may either be supported in the ink or other
marking fluid, or in alcohol or other liquid, the ink or other marking fluid

page_text: being contained in a separate reservoir attached to the pen or otherwise
arranged. The said pen may be provided with some substance possessing the
power of capillary attraction, which conducts the ink from its reservoir to the
marking point, or may be otherwise formed to supply itself with the marking
fluid; a pencil or fine brush may also be used as a marker.
The nature of my Invention consists,―
First. In the combination of a pen with a reservoir containing fluid, when
the fluid floats or partially floats the pen.
Second. In the combination of a pen with a reservoir containing fluid, and
a coil or coils of wire placed in such relation thereto that the pen shall be
influenced by voltaic or electric currents passing through the coil.
Third. In the combination of a pen with a reservoir holding fluid, a coil of wire
located as before described, and paper actuated by proper machinery, and in such
relation to the pen that the oscillations of the pen may make marks thereon.
Fourth. In the combination of a pen with a reservoir of fluid and paper
properly moved and held in such relation thereto that the oscillations or
vibrations of the pen may make marks or signs upon the paper.
Fifth. In the combination of a pen with a reservoir of fluid and a float
supporting or aiding to support the weight of the pen, and these in com-
bination with a properly located coil, and also with properly located paper.
Sixth. In the combination of a pen and reservoir of fluid, having an
aperture through which the marking part of the pen projects, with a regulating
tube or a syphon, and these in combination with a coil properly located, and
also in combination with paper properly located and moved.
Seventh. In the combination of a pen with a reservoir of fluid and a magnet
supported in such relation to the pen as to influence its position in the fluid
and these in combination with a coil arranged so as to influence the position of
the pen when currents of galvanism or electricity are passed through the coil.
Eighth. In the combination of a pen with a reservoir of fluid and a coil,
when the pen is so arranged as to pass through an opening in the bottom of
the reservoir, and the reservoir is vertical and surrounded by the coil, and
these in combination with a regulating tube or a syphon.
Ninth. In the combination of a pen with a reservoir of fluid, having an
opening at the bottom and a coil surrounding the reservoir, and a magnet
arranged above the reservoir, and also all of these parts in combination with a
magnet arranged below the reservoir.
Tenth. In the combination of a pen, a float, a reservoir of fluid, a regulating
tube, or a syphon, a coil and paper properly moved, and in the combination of
these parts with a magnet so arranged as to influence the position of the pen.

page_text: By the word pen throughout this description I mean an instrument capable of
making marks when oscillated, and composed not only of a marking part, portion
or point, but also of metal capable of being magnetised by induction or a magnet
or magnets, the metal or magnet or magnets and the marking part being so
connected that when one moves the other moves, the two forming but a single
instrument, although I intend sometimes to connect the two by joints instead
of rigidly.
By coil I mean any proper coil of wire, such as is usually employed in
telegraphic machinery or apparatus; and by properly moved paper I mean paper
caused to travel either in a straight or curved line, or in that of the thread of
a screw, or moved to and fro in any manner known to telegraphers, so long
as it is so moved that a pen which oscillates shall make marks thereon, owing
to the combined movement of the pen and paper. In my working apparatus
I have employed the ordinary so-called "Morse machinery for moving the
paper, and I deem it unnecessary to describe any batteries, or line wires, or
cables, or instruments for making or breaking circuits or switches, or pole
changers, as such are well known and form no part of my Invention, neither
do I intend to describe the operation of coils through which electric or voltaic
currents are passed, changed, or broken in imparting motion either to magnets
or metal capable of being magnetised by induction, the effects of a coil in
connection with a battery to move certain bodies being well known.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a telegraphic recording apparatus provided
with a floating pen or marker according to my improvements; Figure 2 is a
transverse section on the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section of my
improved pen and reservoir detached, drawn to an enlarged scale. The
remaining Figures illustrate various modifications of my Invention. Like
letters indicate corresponding parts in all of the Figures.
b
In this apparatus the paper a is drawn by proper self-acting machinery from
a roller c upon which it has been wound, and passes over a table or support
immediately under the pen. The reservoir containing the fluid and pen is
supported above the table upon legs or standards d. These standards carry a
female screw d', into which is screwed a circular box d containing a wire
coil e.
On the top of the coil is an insulating plate f, and above this is the
cover of the coil box f¹. This coil I prefer to make of No. 40 silk covered
copper wire with a central opening of about half an inch in diameter. One
end of the wire composing the helix or coil is secured to the box itself. As
the latter and the female screw, the supports d, and the table are all made

page_text: of metal, and as the framing which supports the wheelwork and table is also
metallic a wire in connection with the framing will be in connection with one
end of the coil; the other end of the wire is secured to the cover f¹ of the coil
box, insulated as before described from the box, and this cover is pressed upon
by a flexible piece of metal attached to a rod g. This rod where it passes
through the table 6 is enclosed in a non-conducting tube, and is held by a set
screw g¹ in a socket projecting from a standard 92 secured to the non-con-
ducting bed plate of the apparatus. This standard is to be connected with the
ground, and there will consequently be a connection between the ground or
earth and that end of the coil which is attached to the cover of the coil box.
In the circular opening through the coil is situated a part of the reservoir h.
The reservoir shown is cylindrical with a'spherical top made by preference of
vulcanite or hard rubber, and in pieces screwed together to facilitate cleaning
and the introduction and removal of the pen. It has a small opening at the
bottom, through which the marking part of the pen passes, and another
opening at one side h', through which its cavity connects with the bore of the
regulating tube. I prefer also to depress the top of the reservoir, as shown
at h³, for a purpose hereafter described. The reservoir is supported partly by
resting upon the coil, partly by a crutch g* formed on the top of the rod g. The
coil and consequently the reservoir and pen can be adjusted with reference to
the paper by turning the coil box, the lower part of which has a screw taking
into the female screw d¹, and by raising or lowering the rod g, which is held
in place at the desired elevation by the screw g¹. The regulating tube k, made
by preference of the shape shown, is connected to the reservoir, and extends
down nearly as low as the bottom thereof. It is open at the bottom, and I
prefer to cap the bottom with a cistern k¹, simply slipped into a collar k², which
may be slid up and down upon the tube; all the joints between the open
bottom of the tube and the open bottom of the reservoir should be air tight,
or nearly so. The pen which I prefer to use has a float attached, and is com-
posed of a marking part and two permanent magnets with like poles opposed
to each other. This pen consists of a hollow bulb and a tube of glass; into
the said tube are introduced the two magnets, which are separated by a glass
thread or rod, and the glass of the tube is drawn to a fine point with a small
opening extending from the extremity up nearly to the lower pole of the
lowest magnet, where the opening is closed either by a wad or by closing the
bore; another small hole leads from the periphery of the glass into the hole,
which extends to the point, and a small fibre of cotton, silk, or other similar
material is passed from the point through both of these holes extending from
the point up inside the glass and then outward to the periphery of the glass

page_text: at a short distance above the point. The marking portion of the pen may be
made separate and cemented to the lower part of the tube containing the
magnets. The marking portion may be formed of alder pith or other substance
capable of exerting capillary attraction. The bulb is shown at m, the tube
at m¹, the magnets at n, n, the point of the pen at n³, the thread or fibre
at n³. I prefer to make the float and pen of about the size and shape shown
in the Drawings, with magnets weighing about five and a half grains each,
and when properly made the float and pen will weigh about fifteen grains, and
be of a little greater specific gravity than water at a temperature of seventy-
six degrees Fahrenheit; but the pen and float may be of other specific gravity,
and may be lighter than water. I prefer to make that part of the pen which
projects through the bottom of the reservoir fit rather closely to the aperture
so as to avoid escape of fluid. The ink may be composed of four drachms
of soluble blue to a quart of rain or distilled water. The room in which the
apparatus is worked should be kept at an even temperature; I also use other
inks and other kinds of pens and floats, and pens without floats, and other
kinds of markers or marking points, such, for instance, as a point composed of
twisted corrugations, well known to makers of glass pens. The depression h²
serves as a stop for limiting, if necessary, the upward motion of the pen, and
its downward motion is limited by the paper. The use of the regulating tube
is to balance, or nearly so, by means of the column of ink contained therein,
the fluid pressure of the ink in the reservoir to prevent its escape at the
bottom opening thereof, except as carried out by the pen. When the
cistern is used and partially filled the effective length of the column of
fluid in the tube can be adjusted by slipping the cistern up and down, and the
flow of ink can thereby be regulated with great nicety. I find, however, in
practice that it suffices to fill the tube in commencing, to use no cistern, and
when the ink has risen in the tube a quarter or half an inch, or thereabouts,
owing to its flow through the pen, all that is necessary is to invert the reservoir
and pour in a little more ink. The amount of ink used is very small, and an
effective level at the bottom of the tube a quarter of an inch above the bottom
of the reservoir furnishes sufficient pressure to insure a good supply to the pen.
To those accustomed to work telegraphic instruments it will be clear from
this description that marks can be made upon paper passing over the table
by changing the direction of currents through the coil, by alternately making
and breaking currents through the coil in any proper way, or by an operator
located at any suitable distance from the coil, the ink being always present
at the point or marking part of the pen, and being transferred therefrom to
the paper when the point strikes or rests upon the paper. The length of

page_text: the marks and intervals between them are to be governed in the usual
manner. When facsimile writing is desired the motions of the paper and the
making, breaking, or reversal of circuits or currents through the coil are to
be performed in any ordinary manner, I intend at times to dispense with
the regulating tube and to regulate the flow of ink in all forms of the appa-
ratus by a stop-cock, as shown at k, Figure 10, or a valve applied near the top
of the reservoir, and so constructed that it may be nicely adjusted to permit
the entrance of a minute quantity of air. A small aperture in the top of the
reservoir with a conical pin dropped into it and controlled in position by a
screw forms a good valve.
As an additional means of controlling the vibrations of the pen I employ one
or more permanent magnets set in such relation to the pen as either to tend
to draw it towards or away from the paper. By making such magnets
adjustable in their distance from the pen their effect upon the said pen may
be increased or diminished. This means of controlling the vibration is highly
useful when owing to leakage of current or other causes the effective force of
the coil diminishes or increases.
In Figure 1 two magnets are shown, oue a screw-shaped magnet o mounted
in a female screw cap in such manner that the maguet can be made to enter
the depression in the top of the reservoir to a greater or less extent, thereby
being located nearer to or farther from the pen; the other magnet o¹ which
has a rack formed upon it, is slipped into a socket in the standard g², and can
be moved up and down by the pinion with a milled head g. This magnet
will be slightly affected by the currents passing through the standard, but this
may be avoided by insulating it or by making the connection in some other
way. Its end nearest the pen enters the bottom of the table and is surrounded
by an insulating tube g, Figure 2. These maguets may be mounted and
adjusted in any other proper or suitable manner. If the pen and float are
too heavy for effective work when compared with the power of the coil, then
the upper magnet if set with its poles in such position that it attracts the
pen is to be caused to approach the pen. If the pen and float are too
buoyant then the lower magnet is to be brought nearer to the pen. As such
magnets act with diminished intensity in a certain ratio to their distance from
the object acted upon their employment, even when non-adjustable, gives also
a certain sharpness and precision to the stopping and starting of the pen,
accelerating its velocity at the ends of the stroke. Momentary electric
currents of equal duration may be employed in connection with my Invention
for the recording of dots and dashes by so adjusting the pen with the aid of
the adjustable magnets that the marking part thereof shall remain in a state

page_text: of rest upon the paper by its own adhesion, brought about by the moisture of
the ink when made to come in contact with the paper by reason of the
momentary voltaic or electric current. The pen is allowed to remain on the
paper by its own adhesion sufficiently long to make a dash, and a reverse
voltaic or electric current of momentary duration is then made to move the
pen away from the paper, but when it is desired to make a dot instant
reversals of the momentary current must be made in the usual way. The
mode here described has some advantages, as for instance, magneto-electric
currents may be employed instead of voltaic electricity, as by the use of
currents of equal duration, as is well known to those understanding the art,
greater rapidity of action can be kept up through long submarine lines owing
to the prevention of what is known as "clogging" or retardation of the current.
In Figure 4 the pen is shown without the float m, the two magnets n being
connected together by a brass or non-magnetic connection and the reservoir
and other parts being similar to those shown in Figure 1. When the
magnets are employed in connection with the marker and without any distinct
or separate float, they may be hollow and formed of small steel tubes plugged
up at the ends or drawn to a point and welded or otherwise hollowed out to
diminish their specific gravity.
In Figure 5 the pen and float are similar to those in Figure 1, but are so
constructed as to act through an opening in the top of the reservoir upon
paper located above the pen, the regulating tube is moreover inverted and is
little more than a mere ink reservoir; it may be closed so that it and the
reservoir become a syphon or barometric inkstand, or it may have a small
aperture for air at the top, as shown.
In Figure 9 the pen has a float, and is syphon pointed, the paper to be
written on being located below the point. The aperture in the reservoir
has an air-tight cap, and the short tube serves merely as an ink reservoir and
a duct through which ink may be poured.
In Figure 6 also the pen has a float, but in this case it is horizontal, and
the coil is divided. I prefer to use a regulating tube with this form of appa-
ratus, but the opening h¹ may either be capped air-tight or have a small hole
for the admission of air, with or without a valve.
In Figure 7 the pen has a float, and is composed of a magnet or magnets
and two making points acting on two strips or sheets of paper; this plan bas
its advantages with regard to insuring a correct record of the dispatch. If
the apparatus works correctly the two lines of writing will be counterparts of
each other, that is to say, the marks on the one will correspond to the spaces
on the other, when the "Morse" alphabet is employed on one strip the

page_text: spaces, and on the other the marks, will be read, and it is hardly possible that
the whole dispatch under any imperfection of working arising from atmospheric
or other causes cannot be understood from a comparison and collation of both
the records.
In Figure 8 I have illustrated a plan for working the pen in a reservoir of
fluid which is not ink, the ink being contained in a separate reservoir · p. The
marking point of the pen has a hole through it from bottom to top, or may be
of any suitable construction, as may be all the other points, as before stated,
but I prefer that it should have a hole extending through the point, or a
groove in the point with a fibre or thread enclosed. In this form of my
apparatus the fluid filling the reservoir may be water or spirits, and as its level
will be affected by evaporation only, this plan presents some advantages, but,
as before stated, the form which I have found to answer the best in practice
is that shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
In all the modifications of my apparatus it will be well to use some form of
contrivance for making a call. Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14 show various
plans for accomplishing this object. In all of these Figures like letters indicate
the same parts. A bell is represented at y and a bell hammer at a, and it is
clear that the oscillations of the floats, assisted by the adjustable magnets
herein-before described, will cause the hammers to strike the bells. In
Figure 13 no bell is shown, but a disc or target is attached to the float, so as
to be moved by its oscillations; this disc may be a mirror or lens which, in
connection with a lamp or ray of light will show a reflection upon a screen, or
it may have inscribed upon it the name of a station or other descriptive
marks, and it may be used in connection with a slotted screen z in such
manner that the inscription will be shown through the slot when a current is
caused to traverse the coil. I however prefer to use simply a magnifying lens,
or mirror, or both. A magnifying lens, either simple or compound, may be
mounted with a pen point in its focus, or the lens may be adjusted so as to
magnify the reflection of the pen point in a mirror, or a convex mirror may
be applied to reflect the pen point to the eye of the watcher, the apparatus
serving in all cases to magnify the minute vibrations of the pen. I prefer
whenever the pen is submerged in ink that the ink shall be without any
size, gum, or sugar, and should be a fluid that does not grow thick or viscid by
evaporation, for the reason that ink which becomes thick or gummy interferes
with the action of the pen in passing through the opening in the reservoir.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be conveniently and
advantageously carried into practice, I claim,--

page_text: First. The combination of a pen with a reservoir.
Second. The combination of the pen, reservoir, and coil.
Third. The combination of the pen, reservoir, and coil with paper properly
actuated.
Fourth. The combination of the pen, reservoir, and properly moved paper.
Fifth. The combination of the pen, float, and reservoir together, and with
a coil, and also with properly actuated paper.
Sixth. The combination of the pen and a reservoir having an opening
therein for the protrusion of the pen, with a regulating tube, and all of these
parts in combination first with a float, second with a coil, and third with
properly actuated paper.
Seventh. The combination of the pen with a reservoir of fluid, and these
parts in combination first with a float, and secondly with a coil, and
thirdly with both a coil and float.
Eighth. The combination of a pen, a reservoir, and a coil, when the
reservoir is vertical and provided with an opening at the bottom thereof, and
the pen passes through the opening, and the coil surrounds the vertical
reservoir, and these parts thus relatively arranged in combination with a
regulating tube.
Ninth. The combination of the pen, a vertical reservoir open at bottom,
and a coil surrounding the reservoir.
Tenth. The combination of a pen, a float, a reservoir of fluid, a regulating
tube, a coil, and paper properly actuated.
Eleventh. The modes of arranging, combining, and operating the parts for
making a call; all these combinations and the parts or elements making
up the said combinations are for the purposes and substantially as herein set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
Witness,
THO. N. PALMER,
Clerk to Messrs. Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
8, Southampton Buildings, W.C.