IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPHIC APPARATUS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Michael Henry, of Fleet Chambers, 68, Fleet
Street, in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPHIC APPARATUS."-A communication from
abroad by the Société Digney, frères, et Compagnie, of 17, Boulevart
Saint Martin, Paris, France.
Scaled the 20th September 1870, and dated the 12th April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Michael Henry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th April 1870.
I, MICHAEL HENRY, of Fleet Chambers, 68, Fleet Street, in the City
of London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPHIC APPARATUS," communicated to
me from abroad by the Société Digney, frères, et Compagnie, of 17,
Boulevart Saint Martin, Paris, France, to be as follows:-
Instead of employing the frictional contact of a padded or cushioned
pusher to work the disc of the receiving instrument of printing

page_text: telegraphs as is usual, the disc is worked according to this Invention by
gearing teeth on the pusher engaging with teeth on the disc.
An ink well or reservoir furnished with valve and brush is used, and
by turning a handle or rod the valve is opened and the ink agitated by
the brush. The printing disc and the pusher may dip into the ink well,
and the disc may be raised and lowered by a screw.
Instead of releasing and propelling the paper by a handle worked by
an attendant a releasing contrivance, worked by electro-magnetic action,
at each flow of the current through the electro-magnetic coil unrolls the
strip of paper a little at a time, even in the absence of any attendant,
-and so leaves a sufficient space between each telegram recorded. This
may be done by electro-magnets having coils connected; so-that-when
the current passes through one of them an armature on the other is
attracted and moves a lever and fork, which disengage clutches and stop
clockwork from acting on a disc mounted on a cylinder furnished with a
spring. At each flow of the current the spring ceases to act, and a stud
on the disc comes against a stop. But when the current is interrupted
the clutch pieces are engaged, and the disc and spring being propelled
by the clockwork turn in reverse direction till stopped by the engage-
ment of a notch with a lever. This lover being acted on by the spring
brings a projection against the stop of the fly wheel, and thus stops the
clockwork and the feed of the paper. A lever or arm with armature
presses the paper against the disc for direct and intermittent current
instruments, a spring tending to clear the armature from the coil. In
continuous current apparatus the arrangement may be modified to avoid
using batterics at each post, a battery at each terminal sufficing; the
pressure lever being centered in a support and jointed to the armature
axis, so that when the armature rises it depresses the short arm of the
lever and lifts the long arm the centre of the lever is displaced. At the
end of the armature lever a spring plate makes contact between the raised
armature and a stud on the pillar.
Hughes' electro-magnet is according to this Invention applied to the
Morse receiving instrument so as to unrol the strip of paper rapidly and
reduce the magnetic power required. A clockwork movement is used
instead of a fly wheel for the receiving instruments, so as to unrol the
strip of paper with precision. The strip of paper is presented vertically
instead of horizontally to the disc.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Michael Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th October 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MICHAEL
HENRY, of Flect Chambers, 68, Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Michael Henry, Her special licence that I,
the said Michael Henry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Michael Henry, 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 TELEGRAPHIC APparatus,"
communicated to me from abroad by the Société Digney, frères, ct
Compagnie, of 17, Boulevart Saint Martin, Paris, France, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Michael Henry, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and scals, 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 Michael Henry, 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 thereof, as communicated to me, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures
thereon, that is to say :-
-
The improvements relate mainly to printing telegraphs or electro-
telegraphic apparatus for recording the messages they transmit.
My first improvement relates to the mode of driving the disc of the
receiving instrument of printing telegraphs. Instead of employing the

page_text: frictional contact of a pad or padded or cushioned pusher to work the disc
of the receiving instruments of printing telegraphs as is usual, the disc
is worked according to this Invention by gearing, that is to say, by teeth
on the pusher engaging with teeth on the disc.
My next improvement relates to the ink vessel. An ink well or re-
servoir furnished with valve and brush is used, and by turning a handle
or rod, the valve is opened and the ink agitated by the brush. The
printing disc or the pusher may dip into the ink well and the disc may
be raised and lowered by a screw.
My next improvement refers to the strip of paper on which the
- telegraphic messages are printed or recorded. Instead of releasing and
propelling the strip of paper by a handle worked by an attendant-a
releasing contrivance worked by electro-magnetic action at each flow
of the current through the clectro-magnetic coil unrols the strip of paper
a little at a time even in the absence of any attendant, and so leaves a
sufficient space between each telegram recorded. This is done by electro-
magnets having coils connected in such manner that when the current
passes through one of them an armature appertaining to the other will be
attracted and move a lever and fork which disengage clutches and stop
clockwork from acting on a disc mounted on a cylinder, furnished with a
spring. At each flow of the current the spring ceases to act, and a stud
on the disc comes against a stop. But when the current is interrupted
the clutch pieces are engaged, and the disc and spring being propelled
by the clockwork turn in reverse direction till stopped by the engagement
of a notch with a lever or arm. This lever or arm being acted on by the
spring brings a projection against a stop on the fly wheel of the clock-
A lever
work, and thus stops the clockwork and the feed of the paper.
or arm with armature presses the paper against the disc for direct and
intermittent current instruments, a spring tending to clear the armature
from the coil. In continuous current apparatus the arrangement may
be modified to avoid using batteries at each post, a battery at each
terminal or end of the telegraphic line sufficing, the pressure lever being
centred in a support and jointed to the armature axis, so that when the
armature rises it depresses the short arm of the lever and lifts the long
arm the centre of the lever is displaced. At the end of the armature
lever a spring plate makes contact between the raised armature and a
stud on the pillar.
Hughes' electro-magnet is according to this Invention applied to the

page_text: Morse receiving instrument so as to unrol the strip of paper rapidly
and reduce the magnetic power required. Clockwork chronometric
movement may be used instead of a fly wheel for the receiving in-
strument so as to unrol the strip of paper with precision. The strip of
paper is presented vertically instead of horizontally to the disc.
Another improvement consists in using screws tapped or formed with
a long screw thread to move and thereby obtain the minimum and
maximum tension of the opposing or armature spring which acts on the
armature of the electro-magnet. Or the electro-magnet may be made
moveable and moved by such a screw to and from its armature, in which
case the opposing spring is dispensed with. Or a pinion and rack may
be used instead of a screw and nut.
The accompanying Drawings exemplify the mode in which the
Invention is carried into practical effect.
In printing telegraph apparatus, as at present constructed, in which a
pad or cushion is used to more the printing disc, such pad or cushion
moves the said disc by its frictional contact therewith, and consequently
the disc often stops or works irregularly, because depressions are formed
in the surface of the pad, or its material wears away, and the pad or
cushion requires to be inked from time to time, as otherwise no impression
will be produced.
Now according to these improvements the pad or cushion is geared
with the disc and thereby works it, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
and 6 of the Drawings, in which a is the pad or cushion which is set in:
a frame or ring, toothed at its periphery, the teeth gear into the rim of
the disc band drive it round in a regular manner. c, Figures 3, 4, and 5,
is an ink vessel fixed above the pad a and fitted with a valve d, and a
brush e, mounted on a stem, which may be smooth or threaded, and which
has a stud or knob at one end. By turning the stem in the required
direction the valve is raised and allows the ink to flow through, the ink
being at the same time agitated by the brush.
Figures 7 and 8 shew an arrangement of ink vessel in which a portion
of the printing disc is always kept partially immersed. The ink vessel
is raised and lowered by the screw f. To suit this arrangement the
mode in which the paper strip travels has to be modified, that is to say,
it must be fed so as to be presented vertically towards the disc instead
of horizontally as in apparatus of ordinary construction; Figures 7
and S show these modified arrangements. The pad or cushion itself

page_text: might be immersed in the ink vessel and the disc b moved by gearing
as shewn in Figure 8*. (This ink vessel may be advantageously applied
to ordinary printing apparatus.)
In order to prevent wear of the pad or to obviate uneven distribution
of the ink a to-and-fro lateral or traversing motion may be given to the
pad, so that fresh inked surfaces are presented continuously to the printing
disc. For this purpose the pad a, Figure 5* and 6* is mounted in a
frame traversed or moved laterally by a rod or bar a³, carrying with
it two studs a³, which are acted on alternately by a cam a'. At each
revolution of the cam, a to-and-fro motion of the pad is produced.
In the Morse receiving apparatus the releasing action of the clockwork
for unrolling the paper strip to the required extent for receiving a
message has been hitherto produced by a lever worked by a telegraph
clerk when he is informed that a message is about to be sent, but by this
method the constant presence and attention of the clerk is necessitated.
Whereas according to my next improvement an arrangement is used
by which the releasing action is effected even when the telegraph clerk
is not at his post at the instrument, and by which also the paper strip is
unrolled to the desired extent after each message has been printed or
recorded, and the required blank interval is thus kept between each con-
secutive message. For this purpose an electro-magnet A, Figures 1 and 2,
is placed under the receiving instrument, and the coils of this electro-
magnet are connected with the coils of the electro-magnet B by
means of connections indicated by red lines in the plan Figure 2.
At each flow of the current through the coils of the electro-magnet B
the armature of the coils of the electro-magnet A is attracted,
and the lever or arm is thereby caused to oscillate on its axis k.
This lever or arm i is bent at right angles at its upper part, and by its
oscillation it causes the fork & to swing on its axis m and thereby disen-
gages the two clutch boxes n, o, Figure 2, so as to prevent the clockwork
from acting on the disc p, Now this disc p is mounted on a collar
carrying a spiral spring which acts when the two clutch boxes n, o, are
engaged, but which ceases to act when those clutches are disengaged.
It follows that at each flow of the current, however brief, the spring
ceases to act and the stud v on the disc p strikes to the left of the stop 8,
but as soon as the flow is interrupted and the clutches n, o, are engaged
the disc p being moved by the clockwork brings the spring with it, and
turns in a reverse direction until a notch on the said disc comes in front

page_text: of the tip or pointed end of the lever t, and is prevented from turning
further round. Now the lower part of the lever being acted upon by
the spring a moves the needle v, and brings it up to and against the
projection on the fly wheel of the clockwork, and thus stops the clock-
work and prevents the strip of paper from being unrolled to a greater
extent. The parts are relatively arranged and combined in such manner
that when the current ceases to flow into the instrument the strip of
paper still unrolls to an extent proportionate to the time taken by the
disc p in rotating. The extent of paper unrolled can be varied as
required when direct and intermittent current instruments are used, as
shewn in Figures 1 and 2, the pressure of the paper under the printing
disc is effected each time the armature x is attracted, that is to say, at
cach flow of the current into the electro-magnet B. This armature
causes the axis y to oscillate, and consequently the pressure lever Z
which is mounted on this axis y is caused to oscillate. The axis y is
supported by arms y', y'. A spring to tends to keep the armature
separate from the coils. But when continuous current instruments
are used this arrangement is modified, as illustrated in Figures 9 and 10.
In this modified arrangement the armature being always attracted to
its original position does not act as above described, and the electro-
magnet ceases to be magnetized, and hence the armature is repelled, and
this action is made use of for pressing the paper on the disc. For this
purpose the centre of the pressure lever is displaced, that is to say, it is
centred at a¹ in an additional support, and it is jointed to the axis b',
which carries the armature. The armature as it rises presses slightly
on the short arm of the pressure lever, and raises the longer or opposite
arm. At the end of the armature lever and above it is placed a thin
plate c, acting as a spring and accelerating contact between the
armature when it rises and the screw d' of the pillar e'. This continuous
current instrument is preferable to direct and intermittent current
instruments, because its employment dispenses with the necessity of
having batterics at cach post, and allows of a battery being used at each
terminal or extreme end of the line only.
Figures 11 and 12 represent a receiving instrument on Morse's system
to which according to the next improvement an electro-magnet on
Hughes' system is applied and adapted. For continuous current in-
struments the arrangement shewn in Figures 7 and 8 is employed, but
for intermittent current instruments the arrangement shewn in Figures 1

page_text: and 2 is used. In order to adapt the contrivance for both descriptions
of instrument each pressing lever should be provided with two sets of
supports, to be changed as required.
Figures 13 and 14 represent an arrangement in which a chrono-
metric clockwork movement E is applied to receiving instruments,
instead of the ordinary clockwork fly wheel, by which means the strip of
paper is unrolled with mathematical precision. This is extremely
important in instruments for taking observations such as chronographs.
In this case one or more printing discs may be used according to the
nature of the observations to be recorded.
Figure 15 shews an improved arrangement for effecting and regulating
the tension of the armature or opposing spring in electro-telegraphic
apparatus. It consists of a screw tapped or formed with an elongated
screw thread and free to turn in either direction of rotation, so as to
work a nut B. According to the direction in which the screw is turned
it moves the nut B forward and backward. To this nut is fastened a
silk cord which is attached at its opposite end to the bottom of the
armature or opposing spring which is fixed at top to the armature of the
electro-magnet. This nut in travelling to and fro causes the spring to
expand or contract to an extent regulated by the length of the screw
thread. By a similar arrangement the armature or opposing spring may
be dispensed with, and the electro-magnet acted.on directly and caused
to recede from or approach towards its armature. In this case the B³,
Fig. 16, is connected with a support or frame B' carrying the electro-
magnet B', and sliding in a dovetail guide groove. The travel of the
electro-magnet is regulated by a dial C on which moves an index
pointer C³, connected with the stud C*.
Figure 17 shews another mode of regulating the tension of the
armature or opposing spring in which a pinion and rack are used, the
rack carrying a rod connected with the bottom end of the spring and
thereby working it.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First. The employment and arrangement of pads or cushions working
the discs of printing telegraphs by toothed gearing, substantially as
described (instead of by frictional contact).
Second. The employment of ink well or ink vessel for telegraphic

page_text: apparatus having appurtenances arranged and combined therewith, as
described.
Third. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
self-acting apparatus for unrolling the strip of paper, described in reference
to Figures 1 and 2, and the application and adaptation of such arrange-
ment of apparatus to Morse's receiving instruments.
Fourth. The arrangements of armatures, herein-before described,
whereby the said apparatus may be employed either for continuous
current instruments or for intermediate current instruments.
Fifth. The application to and combination with Morse receiving in-
struments of electro-magnets used in Hughes' type printing instruments.
Sixth. The application to receiving instruments of a chronometric
clockwork movement for causing the strip of paper to unroll with
mathematical precision.
Seventh. The arrangement of apparatus for effecting and regulating
the tension of the armature spring by a screw with clongated thread
working a nut, as described and illustrated in Figures 15 and 17.
Eighth. The arrangement of apparatus for working the armature
spring by pinion and rack, as described.
Ninth. The arrangement in which the armature spring is dispensed
with and the electro-magnet made moveable in a guide way, and worked
by screw and nut as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Michael Henry, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Twelfth day of October, in the year One
thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
E. EDMONDS,
68, Fleet Street,
London.
M. HENRY. (L.S.)