Year: 1889

page_text: I, CHARLES ALBERT FAVRE, notaire, à Neuveville, Canton de Berne, Suisse, 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:-
This invention relates to means of automatically recording thermometric barometric
hygrometric and anemometric observations, so as to shew at one station or at several
stations the atmospheric conditions existing in places which may be very distant and
may be more or less inaccessible. The apparatus consists of two sets of instruments
those of the one set which may be termed the "observers" are situated at the place
where the atmospheric conditions are to be observed, on the top of a mountain for
example. The other set of instruments which may be termed the "recorders" are
situated in an observatory or other accessible station and are connected by electrical
conductors with the "observers."
Each "observer" instrument consists of two parts, the part which is affected by the
atmospheric influence, and the part which effects transmission of the electrical current
to act on the "recorder."
The first mentioned part in all cases lowers or raises more or less a wire, and the
second part provides for a wire connected to this wire dipping into mercury which rises
along the wire at a certain rate, so that the duration of electric current established by
contact of the wire with the mercury is greater or less according as the wire is more or
less deeply immersed. The "recorder "in each case has a uniformly revolving barrel
against which a tracer bears during the time that a current is transmitted from the
"observer."
The length of line thus traced represents the reading of the "observer." The
observations and consequent records being taken at convenient equal intervals, such as
every hour, the barrel of each recorder shews by the lengths of the successive lines
traced on it the atmospheric conditions at the distant station at each of these successive
periods

page_text: Such being the general character of the apparatus, its parts will now be more parti-
cularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the observing thermometer a glass tube enclosed in
a metallic casing A rests by knife edges on two end hearings B. From the middle of
e glass tule a branch glass tube T bends down through a hole in the base plate E
passes along under the base plate then bonds up through a hole in the base plate and
terminates in a bulb T enclosed within a curved hell glass which may be graduated
as shewn, an index being fixed on the bulb,
The glass tube is filled with mercury aufficient to fill to about midway in the bulb T
and it is counterbalanced by an adjustable weight 1'. From the tube T is suspended
the contact making wire .r." According as the temperature rises or falls the mercury
in the glass tube expands or contracts, its level in 1" rising or sinking so as more or
less to overcome the counterweight 1', and consequently the extent to which the wire a
is lowered or raised corresponds with the rise or fall of the temperature.
Fig. 2 is a side view of the observing barometer. A beim F carrying on a vertical
arm a weight P has mounted on knife edges at each end of it a vessel A and (both
containing mercury. Into the mercury of A is inserted the end of a barometer tube D),
and from the beam is suspended the contact making wire which is obviously
lowered or raised according as the mercurial column in D is raised or lowered by the
atmospheria pressure on the mercury in A.
Fig. 3 is a side view of the observing anemometer. A vane G carries a conical
hood I under which is a curved wing C pivotted on a knife edge at e and bearing at e
on a rod which descends the column D and hears on the end of a lover E.
n
This lover rests on the curved arm of a lever F which has at the one end a weight l’
and at the other end the contact making wire .r. According as groater or less wind
force acts on the wing () bearing it more or less downwards the wire z is more or less
lowered.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the instrument for observing the direction of the wind.
On the axis of the vane G is fixed a cam (against the face of which a roller « on a
lover is pressel up by an adjustable spring R. The wire suspended from Dis
lowered more or less according to the position of the cam as determined by the
direction of the wind acting on the vane G.
Fig. is a side view of the hygrometric observing instrument which consists of a
bundle of hairs or other sensitive fibres suspending the wire r, raising it or lowering
it according as the bundle becomes shortened or lengthened by the hygrometric
influence of the atmosphere.
In the several observing instruments above described the reading is measured by
the greater or less depression of a wire ..
Fig. 6 is a side view of the instrument by which, in each case, this reading is
translated into duration of electric contact.
.
The wire is attached to a balanced lever connected to one conducting wire II from
the distant observatory or station and having a platinum wire & descending from it into
a mercury vessel A from which a wire e descends into mercury in a vessel F connected
to the return wire 11. The vessel A communicates by a tube d with a curved vossel B
of capacity equal to A, and this tube d and an arm d' constitute a lever poised on knife
odges at g. Another lever (also but separately poised at y carrius a weight y suffi
cient to overcome that part of the weight of the mercury in B which is not counter-
balanced by a weight on an arm projecting from a pulfoy h lving a cluain attached
to d, but the weight y is usually prevented from overbalancing B by a spring R acting
against a weaker adjustable spring .
The usual condition of the instrument is therefore that shown in the drawing, in
which case there is mercury in A d and B up to the level m which is clear below the
end of the wire & so that the circuit 11 usually romains open.
But at stated intervals in the distant observatory or station a circuit is closed for
transmission of a current by a conductor I which excites an electro-magnet E. This
attracts its armature a straining the spring R through a lever and thereby liberating

page_text: the lever so that its weight y can descend raising B to the dotted position B' and
thereby causing the mercury to flow into A to the level m' so that the wire becomes
immersed in it completing tho circuit II.
As B rises towards B the weight P descends towards P' losing leverage as the
mercury flows from B rendering B lighter.
On B reaching the position B a contact at any convenient part of the circuit II is
automatically broken consequently the current in II is maintained only during the
time recorded from the moment at which the mercury in A touches the wire t until
the moment when it arrives at the upper level m'. This time is obviously greater or
less according as the greater or less depression of the wire lowers more or less the
wire t. The duration of the current by the circuit II therefore corresponds with the
reading of the instrument to which is attached and it is this duration of current, as
will presently be described, that determines the length of the graphic record at the
observatory or distant station. When the circuit I is interrupted at the recording
instrument the electromagnet E becomes inert ceasing to attract its armature a. The
spring R then raises the weight y and B descends to its normal position, the mercury
flowing back into it from A, the apparatus then remains ready for a subsequent
operation when a current is again transmitted by I.
Instead of having a complete separate apparatus according to Fig. 6, for
each observing instrument, only the mercury vessels A B and F the tube d with
lever D wire t and a circuit II need be repeated for each instrument, the several
readings being simultaneously transmitted by the several circuits II when the one
circuit I is closed.
Fig. 7 is a front view of the recording instrument of which there is one for each
observing instrument and its transmitter.
A barrel C covered with paper is caused to revolve by a weight P at a speed timed
by a flyer V or otherwise, so that it makes one complete revolution while the mercury
in the transmitter (Fig. 6) flows from B to A but it is stopped by a stud a meeting an
arm c. This arm is raised when an electro magnet E excited by a current in the
circuit II attracts its armature, and thereupon the stud a being liberated the barrel
makes its revolution until a again meets c. The armature also when it raises liberates
an aring projecting from a rocking arm M having attached to it an eccentric rod t
which carries the frame N of an ink roller o.
When g is liberated the ink roller is allowed to hear on the barrel C and to trace a
line on it as it revolves. As soon as the current in circuit II ceases, the arm g
descends raising the frame N so that o ceases to trace. Consequently the length of
line traced is proportional to the duration of the current in II and therefore as already
explained to the reading of the observing instrument. As the barrel C completes its
revolution a stud b moves an arm d of a rocking shaft D whereby another arm H is
made to act on a toothed rack as in many type writers allowing the frame N to bo
drawn to the left by weight p the extent of one tooth of the rack r so that the next line
traced by o shall be at that distance from the last line traced.
The circuit I by the closing of which the transmitter is put in action, as previously
described, is automatically closed at regular intervals, as for instance every hour by a
clock.
Thus on each barrel C there are traced parallel lines, each shewing by its length the
reading of the observing instrument to which it is connected once every hour or other
determined interval of time.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim in apparatus for recording meteorological observations is :-
1. The observing thermometer described with reference to Fig. 1.
2. The observing barometer described with reference to Fig. 2.
3. The observing anemometer described with reference to Fig. 3.
4. The observing wind vane described with reference to Fig. 4.

page_text: 5. The observing hygrometer described with reference to Fig. 5.
6. In combination with one or with several of the observing instruments reforred
to in the preceding claims the translating transmitter described with reference to Fig. 6.
7. In combination with an observing instrument such as is referred to in claims 1
to 5 inclusive and a translating transmitter such as is referred to in clnim 6, the ¦
recording instrumant described with reference to Fig. 7.
Dated this 7th day of February 1889.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.