AN ELECTROMETRIC REGULATOR, FOR ELECTRIC TELE. GRAPHING, LIGHTING, AND ELECTRO-MOTIVE PURPOSES.
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Lacassagne, and Rodolphe Thiers, both of
Lyons, in the Empire of France, and of 32, Essex Street, Strand, London,
for the Invention of "AN ELECTROMETRIC REGULATOR, FOR ELECTRIC TELE.
GRAPHING, LIGHTING, AND ELECTRO-MOTIVE PURPOSES.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Lacassagne and
Rodolphe Thiers at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 4th May 1855.
We, JOSEPH LACASSAGNE and RODOLPHE THIERS, both of Lyons, in the
Empire of France, and of 32, Essex Street, Strand, London, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN ELECTROMETRIC REGULATOR, FOR ELECTRIC
TELEGRAPHING, LIGHTING, AND ELECTRO-MOTIVE PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to an apparatus for rendering electric currentsregular
and constant, whatever may be the variations in the battery employed; also
for regulating the intensity of the electric current to any extent required, aud
for indicating the amount of dynamical electricity expended upon any kind
of work. This apparatus is founded upon a combination of the following
three well-known principles:-First, when a galvanic current is made to pasa
through a liquid that is less conducting than the wires of the battery, the
intensity or quantity of electricity set in motion in a given time is inversely
proportional to theresistance which it experiences passing through the liquid,
and this resistance may be regulated either by increasing or diminishing the
conducting power of the liquid, or by increasing or reducing the number of

page_text: contact points immersed in the same. Second, when the surfaces of the con-
ductors immersed are of such metal as is not attacked by the liquid, platina for
instance, gases may be obtained in the free state which are evolved by decom-
position of the liquid by the electric current, the quantity of gas obtained being
proportional to the intensity of the current, or to the quantity of electricity to
which the immersing liquid has given passage. Third, the attracting power
of an electro-magnet varies, caeteris paribus, in the same proportion as the
intensity of the current which creates the same.
Having thus set forth the leading principles upon which our apparatus is
constructed, we will now briefly describe the way in which they may be com-
bined and applied so as to form a regulating apparatus. Let us suppose one
of the conducting wires of a working battery to be cut in two, each of the
extremities carrying a platina plate, both being suspended inside a glass bell
of a gasometer or gasholder containing water that has been rendered con-
ducting by being slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid: thus, according to
one of the principles above stated, the gasometer will rise or sink according
as the gas evolved is let out or kept in. The rising of the bell will produce
a constant diminution of intensity by reducing the surface of platina
immersed, whilst the reverse effect will take place if, by letting the gases issue,
the bell is made to sink, and thus the points of contact between the platina
and the intervening liquid are increased. There is also an electro-magnet
having an armature with a lever, the fulcrum of which is placed on one of the
branches of the electro-magnet, and a spring or sliding weight being applied
to one of the ends of the lever, the current being sent through the coil, the
maguetic attraction will act contrarily to said spring or weight, and overcome
its force or not, recording as the one or the other is greater. To complete
this apparatus, one of the coils which is to act upon the armature is bored
out cylindrical inside, and through this coil passes a tube, which communicates
with the inside of the bell of the gasholder; the end of the armature thus
shutting or opening this tube, it may be made to act as a valve. Thus, the
spring drawing down the opposite end of the armature, if the magnetic
attraction is more powerful than the force of the spring, the armature will be
in close contact with the mouth of the tube, and the gas thus being prevented
escaping raises the gasometer bell and plates out of contact; hence, the inten-
sity of the current transmitted, and the magnetic power in the coils above
mentioned, is diminished till the latter equals or is less than the tension of the
spring, when the armature end rises from the pipe mouth above mentioned,
and allows some gas to escape until the current becomes again strong enough
to shut the pipe, and the same action is repeated over again, thus affording a

page_text: means of regulating the force of the current by the spring or weight balancing
the magnetic attraction of the coils. In order to avoid the rapid oscillations
of the armature which is attracted by the spring and electro-magnet alternately,
we use a cock or tap for letting out the gases evolved in the inside of the bell
of the gasometer by trying the opening of this tap. It may be set to any
opening required, so as to let out the same quantity of gas constantly that is
let out by the oscillations of the armature. The gases thus escaping may
be conducted into a graduated test glass, which is put down upon a hydro-
pneumatic trough; and by using a table of electro-chemical equivalents when
the battery is used for electrotyping, the quantity of gold or silver deposited
in a given time may be ascertained or read off from the scale of the test
glass.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Lacassagne and Rodolphe Thiers in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 3rd November 1855.
TO ALL WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
LACASSAGNE and RODOLPHE THIERS, both of Lyons, in the Empire of France,
and of 32, Essex Street, Strand, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Joseph Lacassagne and Rodolphe Thiers, Her special licence, that
we, the said Joseph Lacassagne and Rodolphe Thiers, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Joseph Lacassagne and
Rodolphe Thiers,ourexecutors, administrators, and assigns, should at anytime
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 "AN ELECTROMETRIC
REGULATOR, FOR ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHING, LIGHTING, AND ELECTRO-MOTIVE PUR-
POSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Joseph Lacas-
sagne and Rodolphe Thiers, by an instrument in writing under our hand
and seal, 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.

page_text: NUW ANOW
that we, the said p
Thiers, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
. Our Invention relates to an apparatus for rendering electric currents regular
and constant, whatever may be the variation in the battery employed; also
for regulating the intensity of the electric current to any extent required,
and for indicating the amount of dynamical electricity expended upon any kind
of work.
This apparatus is founded upon the combination of the following three well-
known principlès-First, when a galvanic current is made to pass throughȧ
liquid that is less conducting than the wires of the battery, the intensity or
quantity of electricity set in motion in a given time is inversely proportional-
to the resistance which it experiences passing through the liquid, and this
resistance may be regulated either by increasing or reducing the conducting
powers of the liquid, or by increasing or diminishing the number of contact
points immersed in the same. Second, when the surfaces of the conductors
immersed are of such metal us not attacked by the liquid, platina for instance,
gases may be obtained in the free state, which are evolved by decomposition
of the liquid by the electric current, the quantity of gas obtained being pro-
portional to the intensity of the current, or the quantity of electricity to which
the immersing liquid has given passage. Third, the attracting power of an
electro-magnet varies, cacteris paribus, in the same proportion as the intensity
of the current which creates the same.
Having thus set forth the leading principles upon which our apparatus is
"constructed, we will now briefly describe the way in which they may be com-
bined and applied so as to form a regulating apparatus. Let us suppose one
of the conducting wires of a working battery to be cut in two, each of the
extremities carrying a platina plate, both being suspended inside a glass bell
ofagasometer or gasholder containing water that has been renderedconducting
by being slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid thus, according to one of
the principles above stated, the gas meter will rise or sink according as the gas
evolved is let out or kept in the same. The rising of the bell will produce a
constant diminution of intensity by reducing the surface of platina immersed,
whilst the reverse effect will take place if, by letting the gases issue, the bell is
made to sink, and thus the points of contact between the platina and the
intervening liquid are increased. There is also an electro-magnet having an
armature with a lever, the fulcrum of which is placed on one of the branches
of the electro-magnet, and a spring or sliding weight being applied to one of

page_text: the ends of the lever, the current being sent through the coil, the magnetic
attraction will act contrarily to said spring or weight, and overcome its force or
not, according as the one or the other is greater. To complete this apparatus,
one of the coils which is to cut upon the armature is bored out cylindrical
inside, and through this coil passes a tube, which communicates with the inside
of the bell of the gasholder; the end of the armature thus shutting or opening
this tube, it may be made to act as a valve. Thus, the spring tending to draw
down the opposite end of the armature, if the magnetic attraction is more
powerfull than the force of the spring, the armature will be in close contact
with the mouth of the tube, and the gas thus being prevented escaping, raises
the gasometer bell and plates out of contact; hence, the intensity of the
current transmitted, and the magnetic power in the coils above mentioned, is
diminished till the latter equals or is less than the tension of the spring,
when the armature end rises from the pipe mouth above mentioned, and
allows some gas to escape until the current becomes again strong enough to
shut the pipe, and the same action is repeated over again, thus affording a
means of regulating the force of the current by the spring or weight balancing
the magnetic attraction of the coils.
In order to avoid the rapid oscillation of the armature which is attracted
by the spring of electro-magnet alternately, we use a cock or tap for letting
out the gases evolved in the inside of the bell of the gasometer; by trying
the position of this tap it may be set to any opening required, so as to let out
the same quantity of gas constantly that would be let out intermittently by the
oscillations of the armature. The gases thus escaping may be conducted into
a graduated test glass, which is put down uponahydro-pneumatic trough, and
by using a table of electro-chemical equivalents when the battery is used for
electrotyping, the quantity of gold, silver, or other metal deposited in a given
time may be ascertained or read off from the scale of the test glass.
The accompanying Drawings will bear out what has been said above;
shewing Fig. 1 an elevation, and Fig. 2a plan, of the electrometeric regulator.
The some letters of reference stand for like parts in both Figures A, B, C, D.
is the framing of the regulator; F, copper reservoir, containing a bell filled
with acidulated water for keeping the liquid of the gas meter always at the
same level; G, H, I, cocks and tubes, by means of which the acidulated water
is inade to pass from the reservoir F into the gasmeter. J. glass reservoir,
containing acidulated water; K, glass bell, for receiving and collecting the
gases resulting from the decomposition of water; L. copper thimble, which is
hermetically luted upon the bell K; M, N, small pipes, through which the
two conducting wires O, P, pass the latter being wound with silk, and cemented

page_text: in the former; Q, R, platina plates that are attached to the conductors O,P;
S, T, tube passing into the interior part of the electro-magnet U, V. This
electro-magnet has a coil of copper wire, wound with silk as usual, the end X
of said wire communicating with the conducting wire P, and the other with
the plate v, to which it is secured by a set screw; Y, Z, armature for shutting
and opening the orifice of the tube S, T. a is a set screw for regulating the
travel of the armature Y, Z.; b represents a nut and screw for regulating the
tension of the coiled spring c; d, scale shewing the actual tension of said
spring by means of a hand; e, f, g, h, india-rubber tubes, which are secured
to the taps placed at i, j, respectively. These taps are for giving passage to
the gases formed in the bell K., india-rubber tube for conducting the gases
that are evolved in the bell K into a test glass s; m, square of a tap, the
opening of which is regulated by the button », which gears into the sector
.0, p; q, hand for shewing upon a divided arcr the amount to which the tap-m
is opened so as to shew the different quantities of gas that pass into the test.
glass s in a given time; », test glass, that is graduated so as to shew the cubic
content of gas which has been collected from the gas meter J, K; t, small
hydro-pneumatic trough; u, copper plate, to which the conducting wire O
is secured by a set screw; v, copper plate, to which the conducting wire Pis
secured. The regulator is placed on one of the conducting wires of the working
battery by means of these two plates, so that the current must necessarily pass
through the regulator. A¹, B¹, cord and counterweight, passing over pulleys
and regulating the pressure exerted by the gas meter bell; E, F, small brass
rods that slide in tubes for guiding the bell K in its ascending and descending
Combining the three principles above stated so as to form an appa-
ratus for regulating and measuring the force or intensity of the electric current
produced by any battery, and applied to telegraphing, lighting, or motive
purposes, substantially as above described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Joseph Lacassagne and Rodolphe Thiers,
have hereunto set our hand and seal, this
, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred & fifty-five.
day of