Means and Apparatus for Signalling during Fog or Hazy Weather at Sea, Applicable also for General Signalling Purposes at Sea, whether from Moveable or Fixed Structures, such as Ships, Forts, or the like.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Feb., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 12th Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 31st Dec., 1888
Means and Apparatus for Signalling during Fog or Hazy Weather at
Sea, Applicable also for General Signalling Purposes at Sea,
whether from Moveable or Fixed Structures, such as Ships,
Forts, or the like.
We, MELVILLE THOMPSON NEALE, of 2 Queens Road, Battersea, Surrey, Engineer
and JOHN HENRY SMALPAGE, of Maddox Street, Middlesex, Shipping Agent do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to utilize sound conveyed by and through water on,
or into, a telephonic or similar appliance in board an ordinary ship, a fort, a light ship,
or other structure to enable the signals from other ordinary ships, forts, light-ships or
other structure, to be beard, recorded, or otherwise noted, so that in a fog or during
hazy weather at sea or other water, the striking of a gong, the blast of a horn, or other
volume of sound given, from, say, a light ship could be received by the appliance on
a steam, or other vessel in the vicinity as a warning of her approach.
In the case of two vessels moving a pre-arranged code would (according to the
number of beats on the gong) signal the course over which the vessel giving the signal
is steering.
The appliance is capable of many modifications but in principle it is composed of an
inverted funnel mouthed tube closed by a diaphragm under water, and leading up to
a bell, a telephonic receiver, an artificial Tympanum a dial, or to a tape punctured
electrically or otherwise.
Supposing two oppositely moving or approaching vessels are fitted with our inven-
tion, one steering East, the other West, one blow on gong, say at 3 minutes interval
would indicate from the first named vessel, the course over which she would be then
moving say, East, the other vessel receiving the sound would with two blows on her
gong indicate to the first vessel that she was moving, West. If by the distinctness of
sound the two vessels were getting close, the first could give three quick sounds and
one after a short interval to indicate her change of movement to North East, the other
vessel replying by four quick sounds, and then two after an interval to indicate that
she is now moving South West.
Dated this 11th day of February 1888.
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said M. T. Neale
and J. H. Smalpage.

page_text: Means and Apparatus for Signalling during Fog or Hazy Weather at
Sea, Applicable also for General Signalling Purposes at Sea,
whether from Moveable or Fixed Structures, such as Ships,
Forts, or the like.
We MELVILLE THOMPSON NEALE Engineer and JOHN HENRY SMALPAGE, Shipping
Agent, both of Maddox Street, Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to utilize sound conveyed by and through water on
or into sound collecting diaphragms attached below the water line to ordinary ships,
forts or other movable or fixed structures.
We connect the diaphragm electrically or otherwise to a bell or a telephonic receiver,
an artificial Tympanum a dial, or to a tape punctured or to other recording appliance
so that the sound can be heard, recorded or otherwise noted at any desired point, so
that in a fog or during hazy weather at sea (or in other waters) the striking of a gong
the blowing off of steam, the sound of a distant screw or paddles, the action of breakers
on shore or other volume of sound given off under, water from a vessel or shore could
be received by the diaphragm on another vessel or movable or fixed structure in the
vicinity and indicate approach or warning.
It will be easily understood that if similar diaphragms were attached to each of the
ships or structures and they were also provided with bells, or, gongs or other sound
producing instruments they would be able to signal to one another. by pre-arranged
code.
In the drawings hereunto annexed Figure 1 represents a front view of three of, our
diaphragms arranged for fixing to a vessel or other structure.
Figure 2 is a section through A B (Figure 1) and Figure 3 is a diagram view of a
vessel fitted with three diaphragms on each side arranged at certain angles to each
other and to the side of the vessel so that they will receive and indicate the approach
of sound coming from any direction from which it is desired to collect sound but will
not be acted upon by the screw or paddles of such vessel itself.
The apparatus we use in carrying out our invention is capable of many modifications
and may be of any ordinary construction but in principal it, is composed of thin plates
or sound collecting diaphragms C, C, C, placed at certain angles (see Figure 2)
attached to a structure under the water line and in absolute contact on their outer side
with the water, but if found desirable one two, three or more diaphragms either
separately or collectively may be attached to a structure and so arranged that they
shall, by being set at fixed or certain angles, cover the whole side of a convex, concave
or a straight surface.
To these diaphragms may be fitted hearing tubes but we prefer to place a screw D
or other appliance close to the centre on the inner side of the diaphragm C nearly but
not quite touching the latter. The diaphragm C and the screw D each have a wire
connected to them which leads through an electric battery to a dial, a telephonic
receiver, an artificial tympanum, a tape punctured or to other recording appliance so
that whenever the vibration of the diaphragu C caused by sound or a signal received

page_text: makes the diaphragm C to touch the point of the screw D it will complete the electric
circuit and actuate the said recording appliances which may be of any ordinary well
known construction.
By turning the screw D to right or left and thus bringing it nearer or further away
from the diaphragm it will readily be seen that the radial distances within which a
sound wave will act upon it (causing contact and then actuating the recording
appliances) can be increased or decreased at pleasure.
We do not confine ourselves to this means of contact alone because we may use any
other method of communicating the vibrations of the diaphragm to the recording or
hearing apparatus
By means of our invention a vessel, fitted with a series of diaphragms on each side
(see Figure 3), will be immediately notified of the approach of any other vessel or
vessels hy the sound created by its propelling power or sound producing apparatus as
soon as it enters the radial distance which has been determined by the adjustment of
the screw to the diaphragm and will then also know approximately the distance the
approaching vessel or vessels is off and by the recording appliance will also know from
which direction such vessel is approaching because the sound wave created by such
vessel will have acted upon the diaphragm which covers that particular section which
the vessel has entered for instance if a vessel enters section A within the fixed radial
distance it will cause diaphragm a to vibrate and by means of the recording apparatus
show that it has entered through said section and so on with section b, c, etc.
:
If a code of sounds be established for signalling purposes we lower over or attach to
the side of the structure at the desired depth a bell or gong which can be actuated so as
to give any number of beats according to the signal required and if another structure
having the diaphragm was similarly fitted they could of course communicate with one
another at will as arranged.
A steam pipe or steam whistle under water could be used alone for giving sound, or
steam can be caused to actuate the bell or gong.
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
1. Attaching to a vessel, a Lighthouse, a Pier Head, a Fort, or other structure, a
sound collecting diaphragm or diaphragms arranged below the water line, by or through
which sounds travelling through water can be collected and transmitted to an ear
trumpet, or artificial Tympanum, to electrical indicators, or dials to a moveable tape
or other recording mechanism for indicating electrically or by other means or
appliances to enable such sounds to be heard or indicated substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. As a means for communicating or signalling from or to a Vessel, a Light-
house, a Lightship a Pier head, a Fort or other structure or between either or any
of them, the employment of a sound collecting diaphragm or diaphragms and a
sound producing instrument or instruments arranged below the water line so that
the sound produced may travel through water from either structure to the diaphragm
of the other structure, whether such structures be afloat or fixed substantially as
hereinbefore described.
The 10th 1
1000
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said M. T. Neale
and J. H. Smalpage.