IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Edward Hughes, of the United Kingdom
Electric Telegraph Company (Limited), Gresham House, Old Broad
Street, in the City of London, Electrical Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING TELEGRAPHIC
COMMUNICATIONS."
Sealed the 21st July 1863, and dated the 27th January 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Edward Hughes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition; ön
the 27th January 1868.
I, DAVID EDWARD HUGHES, of the United Kingdom Electric Telegraph
Company (Limited), Gresham House, Old Broad Street, in the City of
London, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING TELEGRAPHIC
COMMUNICATIONS," to be as follows:-
The improvements relate, first, to means for regulating or governing the
motion of apparatus employed when recording telegraphic communication.
Upon one of the main axes of such apparatus I apply a fly or balance wheel,
and opposite the end of this axis, but held somewhat inclined to it, I apply an
elastic and weighted rod capable of vibrating in a rotary direction when
acted upon by an arm or connection from the main axis referred to. The

page_text: vibrations thus obtained regulate and render uniform the motions of the appa-
ratus without the necessity of an escapement. The position of the weight on
the vibrating rod is capable of being regulated to the speed desired. To
prevent breakage of this vibrating rod by the extent of its vibrations a pad or
friction surface is brought into operation upon a friction band or surface as
the vibrations increase, in order to use up the surplus force exerted.
Secondly, the improvements relate to means for facilitating the ready change
from one class or character of recorded sign or indication to another, as from
letters to figures. For this purpose the periphery of the type wheel is arranged
with the desired different signs thereon in alternate order, and this wheel is
affixed to a hollow shaft or boss, which receives the hollow shaft or boss of a
correcting or adjusting wheel, having teeth on its periphery corresponding
with those of one set of signs on the type wheel, or the intermediate positions
thereof. The outer end of an arm from the axis of the type wheel passes into
a recess in a lever turning upon an axis carried by the correcting or adjusting
wheel, and this lever is formed at its opposite ends with projections adapted
respectively to fill up spaces opposite those between teeth of the correcting or
adjusting wheel. The pressing in of one end of this lever will cause the teeth
of the correcting or adjusting wheel to be coincident with one set of signs on
the type wheel, and the pressing in of the opposite end of the lever causes the
type wheel to be moved partly round on its axis, so that the intermediate
signs are then coincident with the teeth of the correcting or adjusting wheel.
One or the other end of this lever is pressed inwards at the times desired to
effect a change, when the apparatus is set in motion by the passage of a
current of electricity brought into operation by acting on one or the other of
particular keys corresponding with the relative position of the type and
correcting or regulating wheels.
The improvements relate, thirdly, when using the power of a permanent
magnet in connection with an electro-magnet, in manner of the character
described in the Specifications of Letters Patent granted respectively to
Joseph Camp Griffith Kennedy, bearing date the 11th of September 1855,
No. 2058, and to myself bearing date the 27th of April 1858, No. 938, and
consist in connecting the armature through a small local battery to one
wire of the electro-magnet, and in connecting the other wire of the electro-
magnet with a stud or projection in position to be acted upon by the
armature when that is raised. By these means upon the passage of a
current of electricity into the electro-magnet the armature is at, once
released, when the current of electricity, in place of continuing through the
coils of the electro-magnet, flows by way of the armature and through the

page_text: local battery to the main wire, at the same time the tendency of the local
battery is to restore the magnetism in the cores of the electro-magnet.
Also my improvements relate to levers of the character referred to in the
latter Specification of Letters Patent as granted to me. In such former
Specification the surface of such lever * for operating on the pins of the circle
is shown only to extend over a surface equal to that of two pins, and I now
find it important for the purpose of insuring a sufficient flow of electricity for
considerable lengths of wire, and when working with high speeds to the type
wheel, that the duration of contact of the contact surface employed may be
equal to the passage of three or more letters of the type wheel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Edward Hughes in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th July 1863..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
EDWARD HUGHES, of the United Kingdom Electric Telegraph Company
(Limited), Gresham House, Old Broad Street, in the City of London, Elec-
trical Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Ilerself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said David Edward Hughes, Her special licence that I, the said David
Edward Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
1, the said David Edward Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING TELEGRAPHIC COM-
MUNICATIONS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said David
Edward Hughes, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said David Edward Hughes, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The improvements relate, first, to means for regulating or governing the
motion of apparatus employed when recording telegraphic communication.
Upon one of the main axes of such apparatus I apply a fly or balance wheel,
and opposite the end of this axis, but held somewhat inclined to it, I apply
an elastic and weighted rod capable of vibrating in a rotary direction when
acted upon by an arm or connection from the main axis referred to. The
vibrations thus obtained regulate and render uniform the motions of the appa-
ratus without the necessity of an escapement. The position of the weight on
the vibrating rod is capable of being regulated to the speed desired. To
prevent breakage of this vibrating rod by the extent of its vibrations a pad or
friction surface is brought into operation upon a friction band or surface as
the vibrations increase, in order to use up the surplus force exerted.
Secondly, the improvements relate to means for facilitating the ready
change from one class or character of recorded sign or indication to another,
as from letters to figures. For this purpose the periphery of the type wheel
is arranged with the desired different signs thereon in alternate order, and this
wheel is affixed to a hollow shaft or boss which receives the hollow shaft or
boss of a correcting or adjusting wheel, having teeth on its periphery corre-
sponding with those of one set of signs on the type wheel, or the intermediate
positions thereof. The outer end of an arm from the axis of the type wheel
passes into a recess in a lever turning upon an axis carried by the correcting
or adjusting wheel, and this lever is formed at its opposite ends with
projections adapted respectively to fill up spaces opposite those between teeth
of the correcting or adjusting wheel. The pressing in of one end of this lever
will cause the teeth of the correcting or adjusting wheel to be coincident with
one set of signs on the type wheel, and the pressing in of the opposite end of
the lever causes the type wheel to be moved partly round on its axis, so that
intermediate signs are then coincident with the teeth of the correcting or
adjusting wheel. One or the other end of this lever is pressed inwards at the
times desired to effect a change, when the apparatus is set in motion by the
passage of a current of electricity brought into operation by acting on one or
the other of particular keys corresponding with the relative position of the
type and correcting or regulating wheels.
The improvements relate, thirdly, when using the power of a permanent
magnet in connection with an electro-magnet in manner of the character

page_text: described in the Specifications of Letters Patent, granted respectively to
Joseph Camp Griffith Kennedy, bearing date the 11th of September 1855,
No. 2058, and to myself, bearing date the 27th of April 1858, No. 938, and
consist in connecting the armature through a small local battery to one wire
of the electro-magnet, and in connecting the other wire of the electro-magnet
with a stud or projection in position to be acted upon by the armature when
that is raised. By these means, upon the passage of a current of electricity
into the electro-magnet, the armature is at once released, when the current of
electricity, in place of continuing through the coils of the electro-magnet, flows
by way of the armature and through the local battery to the main wire, at the
same time the tendency of the local battery is to restore the magnetism in
the cores of the electro-magnet.
Also, my improvements relate, fourthly, to levers of the character referred
to in the latter Specification of Letters Patent as granted to me. In such
former Specification the surface of such lever k³ for operating on the pins of
the circle is shewn only to extend over a surface equal to that of two contact
pins, and I now find it important for the purpose of insuring a sufficient flow of
electricity for considerable lengths of wire, and when working with high speeds.
to the type wheel, that the duration of contact of the contact surface employed
may be equal to the passage of three or more letters of the type wheel.
But that the improvements may be better understood I will proceed by the
aid of the accompanying Drawings more fully to describe the same.

page_text: restrained by the plate e³. The boss e carries a pin or axis e*, which turns in
a hole formed for it in the end of the arm e affixed to the axis I'; f is a
weight capable of sliding on the elastic rod c, and of being held in any desired
position thereon by its being affixed to the rod f¹, to which is affixed the
rack, the teeth of which are taken into by the teeth of the pinion f³, by
which that rack is moved so as to move the weight f along the rod c. The
boss e also supports the arms g and h; the arm g is furnished with a pad g¹ of
cloth, leather, or other suitable material, which in the rotary vibrations of the
outer end of the rod c is brought to bear against the inside of the stationary
rim a' affixed to the framing a, and the arm g is drawn towards the flange a¹
by means of the spring h¹ acting on the arm h. By this means, as the fly or
balance wheel 6 revolves, motion will simultaneously be given to the weight f,
which, by acting on the rod c, and thence through the strap or band d upon the
boss e and the friction arm 9, will cause an increase of friction upon that arm,
in proportion to the amount of force exerted by the tendency to increase the arc
of vibration of the rod c, resulting from any increase of motive power exerted
upon the apparatus, by which the effect of such power will be rendered
uniform. By altering the position of the weight f along the rod c, the number
of vibrations of that rod in a given time will be varied, so as to regulate and
render. uniform the speed of the mechanism to which it is connected in
relation to another or other instruments with which it may be desired such
mechanism should work in unison.
Figures 4 and 5 shew a slight modification of the parts for holding the loose
end of the elastic rod c, by the substitution of a rigid or only slightly elastic
piece of metal d for the flexible material already referred to, and the appli-
cation of a friction spring e* affixed to the arm &³, with its loose end pressing
on the boss e with a tendency to retard its movement.
Figure 6 shews a side view, Figure 7 a front view, Figure 8 a back view,
and Figure 9 a section of parts arranged according to the second head of the
Invention. is a type wheel for printing telegraphic communications, in
manner such as described in the Specification of Letters Patent referred to
or otherwise; but, according to my present improvements, the periphery of this
wheel is formed alternately into signs of a different character as letters and
figures, and in place of this wheel being formed on or affixed to the same boss
as that to which the correcting or adjusting wheel is affixed, as explained in
the said Specification of Letters Patent granted to me, the type wheel / is
affixed to the tube or hollow axis i', which receives upon it the boss j¹ of the
correcting or adjusting wheel j. To this hollow axis i¹ of the type wheel i is
also affixed the lever or arm 2, the outer end of which is received into a

page_text: recess, as shewn in the lever i³, which is capable of moving on its axis of
motion, carried by the correcting or adjusting wheel j. The effect of a
depression of either end of this lever i³ towards the centre of the wheel is
to cause the type wheel i to make a slight movement on its axis in relation to
the correcting or adjusting wheel j, in a direction dependent upon which end
of the lever is depressed, and the amount of movement thus obtained is
equal to the distance between one sign and the next, or from one character of
sign to the other on the type wheel, and the depression of one or the other
end of the lever is is obtained by causing the cam or tappet k to act at the
time desired, in manner such as described in respect of the tappet i³ of the
said former Specification of Letters Patent granted to me, and for this purpose
I make use of two finger or releasing keys, one to cause the tappet k to act
on one end of the lever i³, and the other on the other end thereof, according to
the direction of the change desired, as from figures to letters, or from letters to
figures, or from one to any other sign.
Figure 10 shews by a Diagram an illustration of the third part of my
improvements. a represents a portion of a line wire; b, the electro-magnet ;
c, a wire passing therefrom to the axis c¹ of the contact maker in apparatus
of the character of that referred to as being described in the said Specification
of Letters Patent granted to me, No. 938, 8 ; d is one of the finger keys, by
which contact is obtained; and e is a wire therefrom to one pole of the main
battery f, the other pole of which is by the wire g in connection with the earth
plate h; i is the armature affixed to the lever i', which turns upon an axis i³,
and is by the wirej in communication with one pole of a small local battery k,
the other pole of which is in metallic connection with the wire a by means of
the wire ; m is a stud carried by one end of the lever n, which is capable of
turning upon an axis n'. The axis n' is by means of the wire p in metallic
connection with the axis c' of the contact maker, and the stud m is in metallic
contact with the armature i. When, from electricity being caused to flow
through the line wire a; the armature is repelled from contact with the
electro-magnet b, the current of electricity, in place of continuing through
the coils of the electro-magnet b will flow by way of the armature i, and
through the local battery to the main wire a; at the same time the tendency
of the local battery is to restore the magnetism in the cores of the electro-
magnet.
The fourth part of the improvements is shewn by side view and plan at
Figures 11 and 12. The red lines indicate a circle of contact pins q, and l, l,
indicates the extended surface of the lever, adapted to be in contact with
any one of the pins q, a period equal to the time of traversing the
space

page_text: occupied by four of such pins; m, m, is the insulating cam acting therewith
to force back the contact pins q after each operation.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and means by which
the several improvements are carried into effect, I would have it understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details shewn and described, as
these may be varied without departing from the peculiar character of such
improvements.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Edward Hughes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
D. E. HUGHES. (L.B.)