Improvements in Signal Telegraphy.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Sept., 1892-Accepted, 19th Nov., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Signal Telegraphy.
I, CLAUDIUS VICTOR BOUGHTON of Corner of Hudson & 7th Streets, Buffalo,
County of Erie and State of New York, United States of America, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in electric telegraphy for marine purposes,
and more particularly to that class of marine telegraphy in which flash lights are
employed for transmitting messages.
Its object is to transmit by sight any message desired similar to the transmission
of messages over wire by printing. This is accomplished by the relative position
of the lights to each other, different combinations of light being connected to the
circuit to represent the different figures, letters or characters. It consists of a
series of incandescent lights preferably arranged upon a horizontal line, each light
being connected by wire to a separate post, and each post being connected to a
second post, a key-board having separate keys for each figure or character to be
employed, and each key having connecting pins for closing the circuit with a
particular combination of wires leading to different second posts, and through
which the circuit passes illuminating the combination of lamps assigned to the
character.
My invention further consists of other details of its construction in all of which
I will now proceed to definitely describe and claim.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 is a top plan detail view of my improvements showing the connections
for displaying the letter "A" only.
Fig. 2 is a cross-section of my improved device.
Fig. 3 is a partial top plan view of that part of my improvement shown to the
left of the line X-X of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a front elevation of that part of my improvement shown to the right of
the line X-X of Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the keys showing the mode of closing the circuit
with the wires leading to the lamps.
Fig. 6 is a top plan view of one of the signal lamps.
Referring to the drawings:
1 is the bed-plate upon which I have arranged my improved signal telegraph.
2 are the batteries placed at the rear of said bed-plate for generating the electricity,
this, however, may be accomplished in any well known way.
Leading from the batteries 2 is the positive wire 3 which is connected to the
switch 4, arranged on the key-board 5. This switch wire connects the positive
wire 3 to a metallic band or plate 6 arranged on the under side of the key-board 5,
and from which plate a series of short springs 7 depend.
10 are
8 is the index plate which is arranged to slide in grooves 9, (as seen in Fig. 6)
by which means the index may be made to read in several different ciphers.
the keys which are arranged upon the key-board on a line with the letters on the
index plate. These keys are constructed as shown in detail in Fig. 5, and this
particular key is arranged to connect the positive wire with five wires leading to
the signal lamps.
The connection is made by the manipulator pressing down the spring pressed
key 10, which has secured to its lower end the plate 11 in which are arranged the
small spring-pressed pins 12.
These pins 12 rest directly over rigid pins 13, which are embedded in a non-
conducting material 14, and have secured to their lower ends the wires 15. It will

page_text: be seen that the spring-pressed pins 12, by reason of their vertical play will always
insure a perfect contact with the rigid pins 13, although their lower ends may not
be on a perfect horizontal plane with each other, and by reason of the guide-
pins 16, rigidly secured to the plates 11, and passing down into the board 17,
lateral play of the pins 12, is also avoided thus ensuring a perfect contact and like-
wise a sharp, un-intermittent light to each lamp connected to the circuit.
The plates 11, which are rigidly secured to the keys are always connected to the
positive wires by the spring-plates which act against their edges as seen in Figure 5.
The wires 15, which are secured to the lower ends of the pins 13, lead to the
posts 19, as seen in Figures 1 and 2.
From these posts 19, the current is carried through short metallic plates to the
second posts 19, to which are secured the wires 20, leading to the incandescent
lamps 21, and after passing through the carbon filaments of the lamps the current
returns to the batteries 2, through the short wires 18, connected to the rod 22,
which rod is connected to the batteries by the return wire 23.
8 is the index-plate upon which are arranged the different figures and characters
which may be transmitted to the lamps, the letters and figures being on a line with
the keys 10.
When it is desired to telegraph in cipher the operator has but to move the plate 8
to the right or left thereby changing the index-plate to a cipher key and the person
receiving the message having been made aware of the cipher employed can readily
read same by placing his index-plate in a similar position.
The lamps are arranged in a horizontal line as shown in the drawings a sufficient
number of lamps being placed in a row to represent any single number or letter or
a sufficient number of lamps might be employed to show a succession of words or
numbers each different character being formed by a different combination of lamps
representing dots and dashes with spaces between them, a dot being indicated by
a single lamp a dash by four or more consecutive lamps being spaced by four or
more intervening lamps which are not illuminated as seen in Figure 1, in repre-
senting the letter A.
B is represented by illuminating four or more consecutive lamps, omitting four
or more, illuminating one, omitting four or more, illuminating one, omitting four
or more, illuminating one representing the letter as follows, X X X X-
X- XX the stars representing the illuminated lamps and the hyphens
the un-illuminated lamps.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. A signal telegraph consisting of a number of electric lights arranged in a
continuous line, a number of spring-pressed keys arranged upon a board and repre-
senting the letters of the alphabet, each key opening or closing a circuit which
includes the necessary lights to form the dashes and dots of the Morse system called
for by the letter upon the key in operation all arranged and operating substantially
as and for the purpose stated.
2. The herein described signal telegraph consisting of the key board 5, spring
pressed keys 10, movable index plate 8, one or more spring pressed pins 12, secured
to each key for connecting the positive wire 3, leading from the battery 2, with
one or more rigid pins to which return wires are secured and after passing through
certain combinations of electric lamps are combined into a single return current
leading to the battery from which the positive wire is fed, all arranged and
operating substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 1st day of September 1892.
C. V. BOUGHTON,
By L. W., per F. B.