IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Kift Winter, F. 'R. A. Š.,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 6th December 1872.
I, GEORGE KIFT WINTER, F. R. A. S., of No. 2, Wilton Villas,
Shepherd's Bush, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS,"
to be as follows
―:
This Invention has for its object improvements in electric telegraphs..
In order to obtain a high speed on long circuits I employ a method
by which the line current is only allowed to pass through the receiving
instrument, while it is varying in strength a portion of the line current
passing in one direction through the instrument during its increase, and
in the reverse direction during its decrease. I obtain this in the
following way:-Suppose A and B to be respectively the first and
second branches of a Wheatstone's bridge on the right hand side; and C
and D respectively the first and second branches on the left hand side,
and let the resistances of these branches be so adjusted that

page_text: •
Let us wind the wires composing C and B simultaneously on a soft
iron rod or bundle of iron wires, in such a way that the currents in the
two wires should each tend to produce magnetism in the same sense,
that is, that the currents should run in the same direction through the
two wires.
C
Let the wires composing A and D be wound on two separate reels,
each of which has a cylindrical hole through the centre, into which we
can insert or draw out, as occasion may require, a soft iron rod.
Finally, suppose the receiving apparatus to be inserted between the
points where A is joined to B, and C is joined to D, and the bridge thus
formed be inserted at the receiving end of a line or cable, then so long as
a steady current is flowing there will be no action on the receiving
apparatus, but when any change takes place in the current passing
through the bridge, a current will be produced in the receiving
apparatus which will be in one direction during the increase, and in the
reverse direction during the decrease of the current passing through the
bridge. Or all four branches may be wound on separate reels and
the permanent iron core only introduced into one of them. Or
condensers may be applied to the alternate branches with or without the
arrangements detailed above.
In order to record feeble signals I use an induction coil or other
apparatus producing electricity of high tension, which by causing a
rapid series of sparks or a brush discharge to fly between a small
platinum point (which is moved by the action of the line current) and
a metal plate facing the point will mark a ribbon of paper passing
between the point, and the plate either by causing a series of per-
forations in the paper, or by the chemical action of the sparks or brush
on paper chemically prepared.
In order to protect telegraph instruments from injury by lightning
two plates in proximity with each other are commonly employed; these
plates are plane or have a number of points or ridges upon them, and
intermediate instruments have a discharger of this kind on either side of
the instrument. If the line on one side be struck there is a tendency
for the electricity to charge both the dischargers, the dischargers acting
for the moment as accumulators or condensers. At present the charge
can only get from one plate to the other through the coils of the
instrument. I provide a route for the discharge to get from one line plate

page_text: to the other without passing through the coils by connecting the two
line plates to a third discharger, one plate being connected with one side
of the third discharger and the other with the other. Or the three
dischargers may be combined into one instrument by bringing the line
plates near together and letting a row of points on each project towards
the other.
Sometimes a short fine wire is introduced into the circuit to protect
the instrument from injury by lightning. Should a powerful discharge
pass to the instrument it will fuse the fine wire. Now I cause this wire
to sustain an arm connected with the line on one side, and when the
wire is fused it falls upon a contact point connected with the line on the.
other side of the instrument, or in the case of a terminal instrument
with earth. The instrument is thus temporarily thrown out of circuit
and continuity of the circuit is preserved. An indicator may be attached
to the arm.
In telegraphing in opposite directions at the same time and on the
same wire I use an induction coil for the generation of the working
current instead of a battery.
Sometimes I use two induction coils one producing a compensation
_current and the other for producing the line current.
Also sometimes I use two induction coils or two separate portions of
the same coil for receiving the line current, as a primary, the relay or
other receiving instrument being worked by induced currents. The
sending current is applied between the two coils.