An Improved Indicating or Signalling Apparatus for use in Transmitting Instructions for Military, Naval, or for other Purposes.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Dec., 1889-Accepted, 1st Mar., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Indicating or Signalling Apparatus for use in
Transmitting Instructions for Military, Naval, or for other
Purposes.
Captain LATHAM CHARLES MILLER BLACKER Royal Artillery 35 Castletown Road
West Kensington London S.W. does 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 an indicating apparatus chiefly designed to be used for
transmitting or signalling instructions such as ranges and angles of training etc. from
range or position finders to guns etc. in casemates and elsewhere.
It may also be applied or used for any other purpose such as signalling or trans-
mitting instructions consisting of combinations of words or of letters or signs or
numbers or of figures or of any other symbols to a certain distance for any purpose
whatsoever.
The main feature of the invention consists in the employment of an instrument or
apparatus wherein dises or dials are arranged contiguous to one another or super-
imposed one on the other either concentrically or overlapping in such a manner that
by rotating the said discs or dials certain indications can be exhibited as follows:-
The discs or dials are enclosed in a case or box as shown in Fig. 1. and each disc or
dial carries figures, letters words or other symbols inscribed round its flat or curved
surfaces.
The case or box has a slit or aperture in its front or any side or surface, through
which aperture the figures letters words or other symbols inscribed on the discs or
dials can be caused to appear by the rotation or other movements of the said discs or
dials in such a manner as to form any such combinations of symbols etc. as may be
desired.
In the accompanying drawing I have shown how the said invention may be con-
veniently carried into practice in one variety of the same:-
Fig. 1. is a plan of receiving portion of indicator hereinafter described.
Fig. 2. is a plan of driving portion or transmitting portion of indicator aforesaid.
Fig. 3. is a vertical section on the line A B of one part or section of driving or
transmitting portion of the said indicator.
The motion of the discs or dials in any system of this indicator is communicated to
a distance by means of wires, cords, ropes, pulleys tubes or other means.
In the system employed in the indicating apparatus consisting of overlapping discs
such as in fig. 1, the motion of the dials is reciprocated or communicated to a distance
by means of wires, cords or other pulleys as follows:
For instance in Fig. 1. the diameter of each disc is 20 inches and the wires pass
once round and are carried to a distance over large 5 inch pulleys to a driving
apparatus described in Fig. 2.
This working or driving apparatus consists of three spindles or rollers a, a¹, all
each of which is 2 inches in diameter or exactly ✓ of the diameter of the large
discs.
It will thus be seen that by rotating these spindles ten times by means of the
attached handles and winding up the wires accordingly, the large dia s in fig. 1. can
be made to rotate once and thus each revolution of the spindles in Fig. 2. would
cause one figure or other symbol to appear at the aperture in the case in fig. 1.
supposing always ten figures etc. to be inscribed round the flat edge of each disc in
proper order.
Desired combinations can be thus formed and exhibited.
•
the mahing in onda to

page_text: show which figure is being exhibited, at the aperture, of the large dials and consists
of 3 five inch discs 6 16 toothed round their periferies: these teeth gear into a
inch pinion (c, c, c¹¹) on the continuation of the axis of each of the two inch
spindles and thus ten revolutions of the inch pinion will rotate the 5 in. discs
once, each of the 10 figures on the latter being brought in succession under the
pointers d, d¹, d".
These discs can be set at any time to correspond with the 20 inch dials by pulling
them forward on their axles and turning them till they correspond under the pointers,
and then keying them back.
Small pawls as shewn at e in the section prevent the handles from running back
till required.
Weights as shown at w, w¹, w¹¹, keep the wires in a state of constant tension.
The pulleys fff" should be at least 5 inch in diameter as otherwise the wires
will not run freely round them.
The operation of the apparatus hereinbefore described is as follows, that is to
say :-
Supposing it is wished to set the dials in Fig. 1. in any desired combination,
for example :―
Supposing any number 7860 (in tens of yards) between 0 and 9990 is required
to be exhibited.
The handles in the transmittor or driving portion of the apparatus are severally
turned until the numbers 7 on the first, 8 on the second and 6 on the third small
indicating discs b, 61, 61, come under the pointers d, d', d" respectively.
When this has been done, presuming that the two portions Figs. 1, & 2 of the
apparatus have been previously set so as to correspond, then the figures 7, 8 & 6 will
severally appear on their respective discs at the aperture in the case in Fig. 1. forming
with a fixed zero painted on the outside of the case the required number 7860.
Care must however be taken that when the discs at each end of the apparatus have
been each worked once round from 0 to 9, they must be run back and invariably
started again from their respective zeros.
A strong stop is provided just above the zero on each of the large dials to prevent
the weights being over-wound, and a small indicating folding stop is placed on the
face of each of the small indicating discs in Fig. 2, next the zeros, in order to show
the operator when he has arrived at the limit or end of the wires and has to run the
handles back.
Instead of the weights w w¹ wll spiral or other springs may be employed in the
dials, or the weights may be hung from running pulleys (as in clock cases) the ends
of the wires being attached to the bottom of the case. This plan will necessitate
doubling the weights but will shorten the hanging wires by half and economise
space.
I sometimes modify the construction of the apparatus described above by placing
the dials in fig. 1. concentrically one on the other, each dial being one size smaller
than the one beneath it. The action of the dials is however substantially the same,
the numbers being exhibited through an aperture after the same manner as in the
first named apparatus, and the movements of the dials are actuated from a distance by
the same or similar means.
It is obvious that this apparatus can be used for any purpose where it is required
to signal to a distance any message that may be desired, such as in hotels restaurants,
public offices, private houses etc. to supersede speaking tubes telephones and other
complicated and expensive appliances.
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 :-
First An apparatus wherein discs or dials are so arranged contiguous to one
another or superimposed one on the other either concentrically or overlapping or
otherwise, in such a manner that certain combinations of words fanres letters ar

page_text: other symbols inscribed in or on the said discs or dials, can be formed by moving the
latter in a certain way.
Second-The transmitting or driving portion of the above apparatus as described
in Fig. 2, or any other contrivance whereby the motion of the discs or dials in the
indicating portion of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1. can be controlled and actuated
from a distance by wires, pulleys, or other means.
Third The contrivance whereby the exact position and motion of the discs or
dials as shown in Fig. 1. or elsewhere can be ascertained and acted upon by the
operator working the instrument or apparatus, by means of the indicating discs as
shown in Fig. 2. and in the section thereof, or in any other way.
Dated this First day of December 1889.
L. C. M. BLACKER, Capt. R.A.