IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS ANDARATUS CONNECTEDRE
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thomas Henley, of 46, Saint John Street
Road, Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex, Telegraph Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS AND IN
Sealed the 3rd October1861, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Thomas Henley
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 23rd March 1861, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
THOMAS HENLEY, of 46, Saint John Street Road, Clerkenwell, in the County
of Middlesex, Telegraph Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in the possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ELECTRIC TELEGRAPES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," and have
petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn
declaration that I am the true and first Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Thomas Henley, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
My improvements relate, firstly, to that kind of telegraph instrument known
as the alphabetical or letter-showing, and consists of an improved method of
reversing the battery current in the sending part; and also a new form of
apparatus for propelling the hand or pointer on the dial.
Sheet 2, Fig. 1, represents one of the instruments complete, enclosed in the
case, and Fig. 2 without the case.
The sending apparatus consists oftwo toothed wheels clampedtogether, but
insulated from each other, Sheet_1, Fig. 4, and shown separate in Sheet 1,
Fig. 5; they move round together on the fixed stud A, Fig. 2, Sheet 2; on
the periphery of these wheels two springs a, a, press, connected with line and
earth, the battery being connected with the centre stud, and with the spring b
rubbing on the lower wheel. The connections may be reversed, the battery
connected with the two springs pressing on the edge of the wheels, and the
line and earth with the centre stud and the spring under the wheel, but I
prefer the former arrangement, in which I also use a spring, which is con-
nected with the line wire, and which is made to touch a stud while sending,
and another stud whilst receiving, either working through the dial electro-
magnet, when sending or not, according to choice. Under the lower wheel is
fixed another smaller, this has a notch on the edge to receive a small roller on
the end of the spring; whilst this roller works on the edge of this wheel the
spring touches the stud, the notch in the wheel is made at such part of the
circumference that the roller shall drop in when the handle is at the cross or
zero point, and the spring is thus transferred to the stud, but whilst turning
the handle past zero, without stopping, the roller has not time to drop to the
bottom of the notch, and the studs being placed very near the immoveable
part of the spring, the contact is not broken with the line wire until the handle
is brought to rest at cross. This is important, as breaking contact only for an
instant very greatly diminishes the power of the particular current sent at that
time, and renders the instrument liable to miss a letter. When the spring
touches the stud the current is complete from the line through the dial to
earth for receiving from the distant station, and when it touches the other stud
the circuit is open from the battery through the commutator by the springs to
Jinc and earth for sending.
Sheet 1, Fig. 6, shews another plan of doing this, by placing a wheel with
teeth between the two wheels; the teeth of the central wheel project between
the others; Fig. 7, in the same Sheet, shows the parts separate. In using
this the springs alternately press on the teeth of this middle wheel and on the

page_text: others. When on the centre one short-circuit is complete for receiving, and
contact is broken with the battery, and this takes place between every letter.
In Sheet 2, Figs. 4 and 5 show a reversing key, on the same plan as the
commutator above described, which plan has the advantage of having no non-
conducting material for the springs to rub over; as where any non-conducting
medium is employed the springs rub it off, and the metal becomes coated with
it and the action of the current weakened; at other times the metal is rubbed
off and coats the non-conductor, and thus makes a short circuit for the passage
of the current.
Another form of the instrument is shewn in Sheet 2, Fig. 3, where one dial
answers both for receiving and sending. The receiving part of the apparatus,
shewn in Sheet 1, Fig. 2, consists of a magnetic bar mounted on axis; ou one
end of this magnet a cross piece of soft iron b is fixed, oscillating between the
horns of the electro-magnet A; on the other end of the magnetic bar a piece
of steel forming the pallets c, c, is fixed, which propels the wheel B by the
attraction and repulsion between the piece of soft iron and the horns of the
electro-magnet; each horn has two poles of a similar character, and the piece
of soft iron the same polarity at cach end induced by the magnetic bar; con-
sequently when the current passes in one direction the soft iron is attracted by
the two poles of the lower horns and repelled by the upper, and when the
current is reversed it is attracted by the upper and repelled by the lower, and
if the bar is balanced the slightest current is sufficient to move it. The com-
mutator has a handle and pointer attached, moving round the dial, on which is
marked the alphabet and numbers or any signals that may be required, the
same being marked on the dial of the receiving part of the instrument. The
wheel behind the receiving dial having the same number of teeth as each of
the wheels of the commutator, one revolution of the latter causing one of the
former, each reversion of the current caused by the springs passing from one
tooth to another of the commutator producingone motion in the magnetic bar,
and propelling the wheel one half tooth. The wheel having thirteen teeth for
twenty-six spaces on the dial,and fifteen teeth for thirtyspaces, I prefermaking
the teeth of the wheel of the shape shown enlarged in B',Sheet 1;when made
this shape much less motion is required in the magnetic bar to propel the
wheel than if the points of the teeth were cut straight towards the centre of
the wheel, as in that case one pallet must quite clear the wheel before the
other could begin to act; but in the form of wheel shown one pallet may be at
the bottom of the tooth and the other just ready to act, as owing to the curved
form of the front of the tooth it does not come in contact with the pallet,
although the wheel is moving round at the same time. I employ the electro-

page_text: magnet and horns with magnetic bar and soft iron needle to work a relay, or
to mark the paper in the "Morse instrument," or in any way that it may be
found suitable. At Fig. 1, Sheet 1, a relay is shown on this principle. A, the
electro-magnet;a, the magnetic bar and soft iron needle; D, the insulated cock
with two screws limitingtho motion of thelever, theupper making contactwith
the lever, on the needle being attracted downwards, the screw and lever cach
having a small gold surface for insuring good contact, the lower screw having
an agate point to insulate the lever from the cock when at rest; the stud E
carries a permanent magnet F, for adjusting the lever when influenced by
atmospheric currents,and when the relay is intended to be workedby making
and breaking the circuit only instead of reversing, the magnet is used instead
of a spring to return the lever to its normal position. The slot in the magnet
is for advancing it towards the lever or withdrawing it, thus increasing or
diminishing its effect. Fig. 8, Sheet I., represents it fitted up for receiving
signals by the car, the stand G being made hollow and of a very thin wood,
the lever having a small knob of metal striking a disk of bell metal H. (An
ordinary bell docs not answer so well, the sound not being so distinct.)
I also propose to work the dial apparatus of the alphabetical telegraph,
before described, by means of a magneto-electric machine, one form of which
is shown in Sheet 1, Fig. 9 and 10, in which the oscillating motion of the soft
iron pieces d, d, over the magnet I is produced by a wheel and pinion K and
L, with crank and connecting rod attached to the pin on the brass disk M.
Instead of a crank an eccentric or cam may be employed. The wheel has a.
handle N, and revolves on a stud which carries a dial similar to the commu-
tator before described. The handle may have a roller dropping into a notch
at each letter, if preferred, but I do not find it necessary, as owing to the con-
tinual change in the direction of motion of the disk with the soft iron curved
pieces, the toothed wheel with handle does not acquire any momentum during
its revolution, the handle stopping dead at any letter required. In magneto-
machines hitherto made, in which an armature wound with wire was made to
revolve by means of a toothed wheel and pinion, the wheel obtained so much
momentum from the revolving armature that it was very difficult to stop at
any particular part of the revolution; O, O, is the fixed armature or tem-
porarymagnet, which receives its induction from the permanent magnet by the
soft iron pieces, the polarity of this temporary magnet being reversed at each
oscillation of the disk. A magneto-electric machine described in my Patent,
dated the 22nd day of November 1856, No. 2769, in which a fixed armature
or temporary magnet was employed arranged between the poles of a perma
nent magnet, induction being produced and reversed in the temporarymagnet

page_text: by curved soft iron pieces attached to a moveable disk; but what I claim as
new in my present arrangement is fixing the temporary magnet at right angles
with the permanent one instead of parallel thereto, and also giving an oscil-
lating motion to the disk and soft iron pieces by means of gearing or other
means, so as to multiply the motion as applied to letter-shewing or other
telegraphs. Figs. 11 and 12, Sheet I., show a machine arranged with a
waved wheel P to produce the mction instead of the wheel pinion and
crank.
In my former Patent dated A.D. 1853, No. 2846, for electric telegraphs,
I proposed to use a magneto-electric current in conjunction with moveable
inetal type, by which messages previously arranged in the type could be rapidly
transmitted through the wires. I then proposed to short circuit such currents
as were not required to pass through the wire in order to make the requisite
marks on the paper. I now propose to interrupt the current to obtain the
same result and to use paper embossed with a finger key for preparing the
message previous to its being sent; the paper presenting the same surface
only on a larger scale as that on which a message has been received in an
embossing Morse. I propose to use a magneto machine with either disk or
armature with coils revolving, this when connected with a Morse at the distant
station would produce a succession of dots, and when the current was inter-
rupted a blank would be produced if this occurred just at the moment when
the magnetic lever with the soft iron cross piece was attracted to the upper
horns, but if this happened when attracted to the lower horns of the electro-
magnet, and if the other end of the lever carries a small roller lying in a
trough of oil colored with indigo or other matter on a roller moistened with it,
the small roller would make a mark on a band of paper passing in a longitu-
dinal direction above the lever, and the mark would continue until completing
the circuit allowed a current in the opposite direction to pass and reverse the
action of the lever. In preparing the message the paper must be moved by
clockwork or other means at each motion of the finger so that the distance
moved shall be always the same for each kind of signal, so that when the
paper is passed through rollers connected with the magneto machine by
gearing or chain wheels, the motion of the paper shall always correspond with
the machine; thus when the plain paper passed through, dots would be marked
on the paper by the reversed currents naturally passing from the machine,
but when an elevation on the paper passed through (the middle of the rollers
being turned away to allow the elevated part to pass), it would lift a small
metal level off a metal surface and break contact, and if the elevation was
of such a length as to blot out two currents it would form a space between

page_text: letters; if the elevation was of double the length it would stop out four currents,
being the length of a space between words. If the elevation on the paper
caused the lever to break contact when the magnetic bar was almost down,
then a dash would be made on the paper of a length corresponding to the
elevation on the paper, and as these can be made of various lengths with
certainty, an alphabet could be constructed with a less number of signals than
those now in use. One method I should adopt in preparing the message on
the paper
would be by having, say, five koys, one would by means of a clock-
work escapement allowing sufficient paper to pass as would correspond to one
revolution of the magneto-machine when it is passed through the rollers, this
paper thus passed would not be embossed by the key, the second key would
emboss the paper and allow the passage of as much as would form a space
between letters, a second key would pass enough to make a space between
words, with a third key a dash would be formed in the motion of the key, the
paper would move before the embossing point came into action, in order that
the elevation of the paper should lift the lever when the proper current has
passed to keep the ink roller against the paper, a fourth key could in a similar
manner cause a dash to be made of double the length. Instead of embossing
paper I propose in some cases to mark (with some suitable varnish that dries
rapidly) metallic ribbon to be passed through rollers in the same way as
the paper, the non-conducting varnish interrupting the current at the proper
time, answering the same purpose as the lifting of the lever by the embossed
paper. Messages can be transmitted much more rapidly by this apparatus
than when a battery current is used with type, as the contacts are made and
broken so rapidly the current cannot pass.
Instead of metallic ribbon a revolving metallic roller or cylinder may be
employed for receiving the non-conducting varnish, the keys for marking it on
the cylinder traversing along by means of a screw or rack. When the marked
cylinder is employed for transmitting the messages it is taken out of the
marking frame and transferred to another frame, in which an insulated spring
or lever is made to traverse throughout its whole length, the cylinder and
screw receiving an uniform motion from the magneto-machine from whence
the current to produce the dots is derived.
Sheet 3, Figs. 1, 2 and 3, show a lever magneto-machine for working a
Morse or other telegraph. A, A, are two permanent magnets with electro-
magnetic coils B, B, between the poles as represented, the soft iron pieces e, e,
are fastened to the gun metal disk C, which has projecting pieces acting on
the studs to limit the motion, the spiral spring f keeps the handle raised.
Owing to the disk being placed between the two magnets, the attraction

page_text: Is So balanced that a very triming power is sufficient to Acep one reve
action.
I prefer to make the soft iron core of the temporary magnets of an oval section,
or of some shape much narrower in one direction than the other, as represented
in g, g, as there is much less space necessary to pass through with the lever
to reverse the position of the soft iron piece with the permanent magnets
and coils.
Figs. 4 and show a lightning conductor of improved form, the outer
part being a ring of metal, within which is fixed one or more star wheels of
the shape shown, the outer ring being connected with earth, several wheels
orsystem of wheels may
be fixed insulated from each other and connected with
several wires when the line consists of several, I also prefer to fix in combina-
tion with them flat plates of metal nearly touching each other to take off the
bulk of the atmospheric electricity.
Whilst submerging electric telegraph cables it is of great importance to
know with certainty at what speed the ship is going, and also to know the
relative speed of the vesseland of the cable running out. Attempts have been
made to cause a Massey's log to register the speed on board by passing a
current of electricity through a conductor enclosed in the line, attaching the
log to the ship, such circuit being interrupted at intervals by means of a
break piece in the log. But such attempts have not been successful owing to
the impossibility of keeping the water from passing through the bearing of the
wheel to the break. To obviate this, I enclose the break in a water-tight
chamber without any connection with the other machinery of the log except
by the agency of magnetism.
Sheet 4, Fig. 6, shows a plan, and Fig. 5 a side view, of apparatus
attached to the rotating fly of a Massey's log. Abeing a magnet connected to
the wheelwork by the pin a, the revolution of the small wheel B causing the
magnet to oscillate on the axis, and this by its influence causing the small
magnet C in the air-tight chamber to oscillate with it, and thus to complete the
circuit from the attaching line by the insulated stud to the magnet, and thus to
the framework and water. The end of the line on board is connected through
the electro-magnet in the indicatingapparatus, Fig. 7, Sheet 4, to one pole of
a battery, the other pole of the battery with an earth plate in the water. By
this plan the break is kept thoroughly dry and every oscillation of the
magnet correctly registers on board. Instead of trailing the log at the end
of a line, I sometimes prefer, especially in cable laying, to attach the appa-
ratus to an iron frame at the side of the ship, as represented at D, Sheet 4,
Figs. 3 and 4, as it is not there affected by the screw or in danger of

page_text: fouling the cable during its being payed out. It should project three feet
from the ship's side, otherwise it will not truly indicate the vessel's speed,
owing to the friction of the water with the ship's side.
Fig. 7, Sheet 4, represents an improved indicator with two hands or
indexes, one indicates the speed of the ship on the graduator circle by the
electric current from the log, the other is actuated by another current from a
break attached either to the paying-out machine or to the sheave over which
the cable passes at the stern. I prefer to connect the axis of the sheave to
small wheelwork to reduce the speed of the electric break piece to register one
in half or quarter of a mile. The two hands being set at zero at starting, it will
easily be seen how much the speed of the cable running out exceeds the speed
of the ship, and the breaks applied to the paying out machinery accordingly.
In submerging telegraph cables, it is also of great importance to be able to
indicate the depth of the sea with accuracy; my electric apparatus for this
purpose consists of a line containing an insulated conducting wire wound on
the drum E, Fig. 1, Sheet 4, passes over the measuring wheel F, and over the
pulley G, and carries at its extremity the piece of apparatus shown enlarged in
Fig. 2; this consists of a permanent magnet H, wound with insulated wire
connected with the conductor in the centre of the sounding line, the latter
having a break in the continuity, as seen at I.
Affixed to the magnet is shown the bar K (made of non-magnetic metal),
carrying the iron arms L, L, and cup forceps M, M; the former are held in
contact with the poles of the magnet by its attraction, keeping the cups ex-
tended until they touchthebottom, when the continuity of the conductingwire
is restored at I by the contraction of the spiral encased between the coats of
the insulated covering. Instead of the spiral being made of wire, vulcanized
india rubber may be used, but the pressure at great depths would be likely to
collapse it to such a degree as to prevent the two wires touching each other as
soon as the continuity is restored at I. The current from the battery on deck
passes through the conductor in the line and round the magnet, temporarily
reversing its polarity, causing the arms of the forceps to separate from the
magnet, the cups at the same time closing from the force of the spring upon
any soil that may be loose at the bottom. To facilitate the sinking of the
apparatus, if thought desirable, weights maybe hung upon the arins, as shown
by the dotted lines; when the arms are disengaged from the magnet the
weights drop off, making the apparatus so much lighter to heave up again;
beyond this the weights are of no use, and the action of the apparatus is not at
all depending upon them; during the descent of the apparatus, the depth in
fathoms is registered on the dial apparatus O, see Fig. 1, Shect 4, by the same

page_text: battery that actuates the permanent magnet, as follows:-The measuring wheel
is one fathom in circumference, and carries on its axis a small disk, with a
projection which touches an insulated spring once each revolution; this spring
is connected by insulated wire to the electro-magnet in the indicator; a wire
also passes from the same pole of the electro-magnet to an insulated spring,
which presses on an insulated disk on the axis of the drum; this disk being in
connection with the inner end of the conductor on the sounder line, one pole
of the battery is connected with the remaining pole of the electro-magnet in
the indicator, the other pole of the battery with the framework carrying the
drum, and from these to a metal plate in the water, the outer end of the wire
coiled round the permanent magnet on the sounding apparatus is in connection
with the metal work, and exposed to the water, but owing to the break on the
conductor as caused by the weight of the whole in descending, the current from
the battery cannot pass through the line, but passes through the electro magnet
in the indicator, and by the spring and disk on the frame once in each revo-
lution of the drum, and causing one fathom to be registered on the dial,
although the measuring wheel may by its momentum cause it to make several
revolutions after the apparatus reaches the bottom, it will not be indicated on
the dial, as the moment the circuit is completed through the conductor in the
sounding line, the electro-magnet in the indicator attracts the keeper per-
manently, and consequently it registers no longer. The bobbin of wire P is
placed in the circuit between the indicator and measuring drum to cause a
resistance more than the sounding line and water, so that the greater part of
the current shall pass through the latter, and prevent the indicatorregistering
during the rotation of the drum by its momentum, and also to ensure the
action of the apparatus the moment it touches the bottom, although the spring
might be touching the disk attached to the measure drum; at that moment a
key or switch is introduced in the circuit between the battery and indicator, by
which the current should be complete when this apparatus is lowered to the
surface of the sea.
POSTS AND INSULATORS.-I propose to construct telegraph posts of iron,
according to the method shown in Sheet 3, where Fig. 6 represents an
elevation, and Fig. 7 a section of post according to my improved plan. I
take four long taper sheets of iron, and having dished or bent them insuitable
stamps to the shape shown in Fig. 8, I place them together in the manner
shown, the ribs formed by the rivetting at the four sides giving great strength;
I place these iron posts on a cast-iron foot, the one shewn at Fig. 9, and
marked G, Fig. 6, is a very good form; the posts may be fixed on the foot by
drilling a hole and driving a pin through the post and foot, or by any other
B

page_text: suitable means. Another form as shewn in section at Fig. 10, where the plates
are not dished, but have the edges bent up only, the post thus forming a square
section with ribs at the corners.
The posts may be either galvanized or painted. I attach the insulators to
the poles in the manner seen in Fig. 6. at H. In Figs. 11, 12, 13, and 14,
are seen insulators as proposed by me, in which the bell and the sharp edges,
as made in the ordinary shackle insulator, are combined, thus making a very
efficient insulator; the sharp edge is at the lower part always remaining dryin
any weather. In attaching them to the post I propose to flatten out the iron
pin on which the insulator is to be fixed, which is then bolted to the rib of the
post; the same form is carried out as a terminal insulator at Fig. 11.
In telegraphic machinery it is frequently necessary to cause trains of wheel-
work propelled by weight or spring to revolve uniformly with each other at
the same rate of speed. It is very difficult to do this, except by the use of a
pendulum or other like means in which the train moves forward step by step.
This kind of motion would not do for some machinery which requires to move
uniformly. I effect this by means of an electric current, as shown in Figs. 15
and 16, several trains can be regulated by one of the number, or the whole
can be controlled by a clock. The controlling train must have a commutator
or apparatus for sending an electric current alternately reversed, seen at K.
This apparatus is fixed on an arbor near the end of the train. I should prefer
to place it on an arbor that would make about fifty revolutions per minute, on
the corresponding arbor of the other train is placed the crank or pin L. The
bar magnet M is attached to this pin by the connecting rod, and is by the
revolution of the arbor made to rise and fall in the hollow helical coil R. All
the trains will thus be made to keep time with the one sending the electric
current, as if they have a tendency to go too fast the magnet will get to the
bottom and top of the coil too soon, and must have a tendency to be retained
there until the current is reversed, thus retarding the train; and if the latter
goes too slow it is accelerated by the attraction of the magnet and coil, in such
manner as always to have a tendency to adapt itself to the speed at which
the commutator on the controlling train of wheelwork is revolving.
I claim, firstly, the new arrangement of letter-showing telegraphs, as herein-
before described, consisting of new reversing apparatus, and the use of the
magnetic lever with soft iron cross piece and escape wheel, all of which are
also applicable to other telegraph apparatus.
Secondly, the arrangement of the magneto-electric apparatus shewn in
Sheet I., consisting of fixed armatures placed at right angles to the
magnet with discand soft iron pieces made to oscillate by means of wheelwork;
permanent

page_text: also the magnetic machine shewn in Sheet 3, consisting of two magnets with
armatures with disc and soft iron pieces arranged between the magnets.
Thirdly, the use of embossed paper, metallic ribbon, or a metallic roller with
message prepared on them to be used in conjunction with a magneto-electro
current, as herein-before described.
Fourthly, actuating au electric break by the influence of a magnet shewn
in connection with a ship's log in Sheet 4, and also the mode of indicating
the speed of the ship and the paying-out of the cable on the same dial, as
herein-before described.
Fifthly, the apparatus for sounding, with measuring wheel and indicator, as
herein-before described.
Sixthly, the constructing of telegraph poles and insulators, as herein-before
described.
Seventhly, a hollow coil and permanent magnet for regulating trains of
wheelwork, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Thomas Henley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of February, in tho
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
(L.S.) WILLIAM THOMAS HENLEY.
20 Witness,
JOSEPH WILLCOCK,
Patent Agent & Engineer,
89, Chancery Lane, London.