Improvements in Relays for Use on Telegraph, Cable, and other Lines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in Relays for Use on Telegraph, Cable, and other Lines.
SIDNEY GEORGE BROWN, Van Buren, Poole Road, Bournemouth, in the County
of Hants, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
The invention relates to improvements in relays for use on submarine cable
and other telegraph lines, the object being the continuous amplification of the
arrival signalling currents whereby less sensitive recording instruments may be
used and "repitition " or "translation" from one line section to another can
be made possible without reducing the speed of signalling.
The unsuitability of ordinary relays arises from the character of the arrival
current on a cable circuit especially if worked at fast siphon recorder speed
where the signals are read more from their general outline than from any
definite movement of the siphon arm, it is therefore important that the relay
should magnify the arrival currents in a continuous manner.
The following is a description of an instrument constructed according to
my invention.
A light coil of wire delicately suspended between the two poles of a powerful
electro- or permanent magnet is capable of turning on a vertical axis.
It receives and is moved by the arrival current from the line.
To this coil and which I shall here call the primary coil is connected another
light coil and which I shall term the secondary coil.
The secondary coil may be fixed directly to the primary coil or may be
attached to it by threads the motion being magnified as desired.
The secondary coil is suspended in the field of an alternating current magnet
and arranged similarly to the primary coil so that in its normal position the
plane of the coil of wire is parallel to the north and south line of the magnet.
On a current circulating in the primary coil the secondary coil is turned out
of the plane so that part of the magnetic lines of force from the alternating
current magnet cut it, and induce a voltage proportional to the angle of deflec-
tion.
The alternating current magnet would be excited preferably by a battery and
a rotating commutator, while the induced current from the secondary coil would
be corrected by passing through another and similar commutator attached directly
to the first commutator before passing to the outside circuit.
If therefore a siphon recorder or relay or any other suitable instrument or
instruments are inserted in the outside circuit of the secondary coil, the induced
voltage will cause a current to flow which will work the instruments attached.
If the instrument described is used in connection with synchronizing contact
makers I could use a condenser to receive the energy induced in the secondary
coil and at stated times, say at the termination of every signal, discharge it
through a suitable relay. It might be found possible in some cases when the
signals have to be translated from one cable section to another to place the
Pine 871

page_text: second section directly in the circuit of the secondary coil, the induced current
being previously corrected as before stated.
As the induced current in the secondary coil would tend to oppose the motion
of the coil I can counteract this opposition to a more or less degree as desired by
fixing in parallel to the primary coil a series winding which is included in
the outside circuit of the secondary coil. The primary coil may be replaced if
desired by other means for moving the secondary coil so long as it could be
worked by the arrival current from the line, while the secondary coil may be
constructed and disposed in other ways than described in the foregoing provided
the action remained the same.
Dated this 24th day of August 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Relays for Use on Telegraph, Cable, and other Lines.
I, SIDNEY GEORGE BROWN, of Van Buren, Poole Road, Bournemouth, in the
County of Hampshire, Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The invention relates to improvements in relays for use on submarine cables
and other telegraph lines, and has for its object the continuous amplification of
the arrival signalling currents whereby less sensitive recording instruments
may be used than heretofore and repetition or translation from one line section
to another can be made possible without reducing the speed of signalling.
The unsuitability of ordinary relays arises from the character of the arrival
current on a cable circuit, especially if worked at fast siphon recorder speed,
where the signals are read more from their general outline than from any
definite movement of the siphon arm, it is therefore important that the relay
should magnify the arrival currents in a continuous manner.
According to my invention I employ the arrival current from the main line
to move a coil or its equivalent delicately suspended between the poles of a
magnet; the said coil being adapted, when so moved to induce a powerful relay
current.
In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into
effect I will now proceed to describe the same fully with reference to the accom-
panying drawings in which: —
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of one arrangement of apparatus according
to my invention, in which I employ two suspended coils.
Figure 2 is a diagram showing a slight modification of the arrangement shown
in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement in which no rectifier is employed
in the relay circuit.
Figure 4 shows an arrangement of apparatus connected in parallel, in which
one suspended coil only is used.
Figure 5 shows an arrangement of apparatus connected in series, in which
one suspended coil only is used.
Figure 6 shows an arrangement of apparatus in which two stretched wires
replace the suspended coils.
Referring to Figure 1, A is a light wire coil delicately suspended in the field
of an alternating current magnet a, and B is another light wire coil delicately

page_text: suspended in the field of a powerful direct current electro or permanent mag-
net b and connected to the coil A by a suitable strip of insulating material C.
The coils A and B are normally suspended so that their planes are parallel to
the north and south lines of their respective magnets and that they are capable
of turning on their central longitudinal axes. 1) is an electric battery or its
equivalent, the direct current from which is conducted by wires d d through a
rotating commutator or transformer E whence it is conducted as an alternating
current by wires a² a¹ to excite the magnet a. I preferably insert a condenser K
in the alternating current circuit a¹ to neutralize self-induction in the coils of
the magnet a. FF are wires for conducting the induced current from the coil A
to a rotating commutator or rectifier e, whence it passes as a direct current to
the relay circuit G G. The commutators E and are mounted preferably on
the same spindle, so as to work in step. H, H are the main line conductors
connected to the coil B.
Referring to Figure 2 the coils A and B, instead of being suspended one
beneath the other, are placed side by side and connected by two silk cords, c, c,
or their equivalent, the arrangement of the apparatus in this case being other-
wise substantially the same as that shown in Figure 1. I prefer to place the
ends of the cords c, c, attached to the coil B, further apart than the opposite
ends of the said cords attached to the coil A, in order to obtain as great a move-
ment as possible in the coil A,
Under normal conditions the coils A and B remain stationary but upon the
arrival current from the main line circulating in the coil B, this coil is turned
out of its plane, and, being connected to the coil A, turns the latter coil also
out of its plane, so that the magnetic lines of force from the alternating current
magnet a cut it and induce a current whose voltage is proportional to the angle
of deflection. This induced alternating current passes through the conductors F
to the rectifier e, whence it passes as a direct current to the relay circuit G, G.
If therefore a siphon recorder or relay or other suitable instrument or instru-
ments are placed in this relay circuit, the induced current will work such instru-.
ment or instruments.
K³ is a condenser, which may or may not be shunted with a résistance R, for
neutralizing the self induction, if any, in the relay circuit.
If the relay circuit possessed capacity in place of self induction, then K
would be replaced by a coil possessing self induction. The condenser K2 and
resistance R may be placed on the other side of the rectifier e in series with the
leads F, F, instead of in the position shown.
In the same way the alternating current coil A could be made to work more
efficiently by short circuiting any of the leads F F or G G by condensers,
resistances or induction shunts; but the value of these latter and their position,
depend entirely upon the character of the receiving instrument placed across
the leads G G.
Referring to Figure 3, a somewhat similar construction to the foregoing
figures is here shown; B being the coil suspended in the field of the direct
current magnet b, A the coil suspended in the field of the alternating current
magnet a, cc the cords connecting the coils A and B, and H H the main line
conductors connected to the coil B. In this arrangement, however, the rectifier
is dispensed with; the induced alternating current conductors F, F, being directly
connected to a third coil A* suspended in the field of an alternating current
magnet a* The alternating current magnets are excited by a transformer or
its equivalent; one of the circuits having a condenser K* in circuit. The
arrival current operates the coils A and B as previously described, and the
induced current passing through the coil A*, causes movements thereof which
may be employed to operate a pointer and stops or other instrument or instru-
ments. The condenser K* alters the relative position (with respect to time) of
the rise and fall of the magnetic fields of the magnets a an at, and thus prevents,
as far as possible, any back action of the induced current in the suspended coil

page_text: of the magnet a*, on that of the suspended coil in the magnetic field of the
magnet a.
Referring to Figure 4 a single coil A is suspended in a plane parallel to the
north and south poles of an electro magnet a excited by a fluctuating direct
current produced by a battery 1) having in circuit a transformer 1; or other
suitable means may be employed for producing this fluctuating direct current.
H, H are the main line conductors, and FF are the induced alternating current
conductors. e is a rotating rectifier mounted on the same spindle with a synch-
ronous motor E. G, G are the relay circuit conductors and L is an induction
coil.
When the arrival main line current passes through the coil A, the latter is
turned out of its plane and consequently cut by the fluctuating magnetic lines
of force of the magnet a, and an alternating current thereby induced which
passes, by the conductors F F, through the rectifier e and thence as a direct
current to the relay circuit G G. The coil L resists the alternating induced
current and prevents its passing back to the main line, while at the same time
allowing the direct main line current to pass.
It will be understood that the transformer 7 may be replaced by any other
means for producing an alternating current, say by means similar to those shown
in Figure 1; or an alternator may replace the transformer 7 directly, in which
case the rectifier e could, for convenience, be coupled directly to the shaft of
the said alternator. The battery D may also be replaced by other means for
introducing a direct current, such as a dynamo.
It will be also understood that the suspended coil A may not only consist of
a one coil circuit, but might also consist of two or more circuits, connected
together in parallel. If there were two such circuits in the coil A, the current
from the line conductors H H might pass around one of the said circuits while
the other circuit might be exclusively reserved for the relay circuits F F, G G.
Referring to Figure 5 a single coil A is suspended in a plane parallel to the
north and south poles of a fluctuating direct current magnet excited as described
with reference to Figure 4. HH are the main line conductors. F, F are con-
ductors leading the induced current to the commutator e, and G is the relay
circuit. E is the synchronous motor. L' and L2 are induction coils. L is an
inductive or magnetic shunt. K¹ and Ka are condensers.
The arrival current passing through the coil A, turns it out of its plane, and
an alternating current is induced as previously described.
This induced alternating current passes by the conductors F F through the
rectifier e and thence as a direct current to the relay circuit G, G. The induc-
tive shunt L3 prevents the induced alternating current returning directly to earth,
but allows the direct main line current to pass. The arrangement of the con-
denser K and the induction coil L² enables the induced alternating current to
return by the main line conductor if the coil L' is placed in the line, and at the
same time prevents the direct main line current being short circuited.
The condenser K³ is placed across the leads G G for the same reason that the
inductive shunt L³ is placed across the leads F F: Moreover, as in Figure 1,
capacity and self induction would be placed in any convenient part of the circuit
to neutralize any inductive or capacity effects on the suspended coil A.
The induction coil L' may be placed in the main circuit for the same purpose
as in Figure 4.
Referring to Figure 6, A and B are wires respectively stretched between suit-
able terminal screws. b may be a permanent or electro magnet between the
poles of which the wire B passes. HH are the main line conductors and Ka
is the usual receiving condenser in the main line circuit. K is a condenser to
neutralize self induction in the coils of the alternating current electro magnet a
between the poles of which the wire A passes. i is a strip of paper or its equi-
valent, connecting the stretched wires A and B. is a transformer or its
equivalent for exciting the electro magnet a. 12 is a compensating transformer

page_text: which might have been wound on the alternating current electro magnet a,
and is for the purpose of preventing the stretched wire A from inducing any
voltage when at rest. E is a synchronous motor and e is a rectifier mounted on
the same spindle therewith. F, F are the induced alternating current conduc-
tors, and G is the direct relay current circuit.
When the arrival current passes through the stretched wire B situated in the
field of the magnet b, it causes the said wire to move out of its normal position
and as the wire B is connected to the wire A by the strip i, the wire A will also
move out of its normal position in the field of the alternating current magnet a,
and an alternating current will be thereby induced; the said alternating current
passing through the commutator e to the relay circuit.
The stretched wires A and B will be observed merely to replace the suspended
coils shown in Figures 1 and 2, and it is obvious that a single stretched wire
may be used in a similar manner to the single coil shown in Figures 4 and 5;
a compensating transformer being generally required to prevent the said
stretched wire from inducing any voltage when at rest.
In Figures 4, 5 and 6, also, the rectifier e may be dispensed with and replaced
by a coil suspended in the field of an alternating current magnet in a similar
manner to coil A* Figure 3.
The apparatus consisting of the magnet a and the coil A may be replaced by
any of the known devices for producing a continuously rotating magnetic field.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In a telegraphic relay apparatus a coil or its equivalent suspended in a
magnetic field and adapted to be moved by the main line arrival current, and
to induce a current in the relay circuit for the purpose specified.
2. Apparatus constructed arranged and operating substantially as described
with reference to one or other of the figures of the accompanying drawings, for
the purpose specified.