IMPROVEMENTS IN SIGNALLING BY SOUND IN FOGS FOR SEA AND RIVER NAVIGATION, AND IN APPARATUS OR MECHANISM THEREFOR."
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Benjamin Barker at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th December 1880.
WILLIAM BENJAMIN BARKER, of Hoboken, New Jersey, United States of
America, and now of 38, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, Master
Mariner. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SIGNALLING BY SOUND IN FOGS FOR SEA AND
RIVER NAVIGATION, AND IN APPARATUS OR MECHANISM THEREFOR."
This Invention relates to the kind of sound to be used in signalling in fogs for
sea and river navigation, and also to the mechanism for actuating the sound
apparatus.
It relates firstly then to the sound, whether that sound be produced by a fog horn
or reed instrument or whistle.
It has been proposed to work a code of signals by long and short sounds, and a
combination or permutation of three, four, or more of these sounds in certain defined
or known sequence has produced a code.
The defect in these cases as to understanding the signals arises from the difficulty
of always knowing whether a sound is long or short, and my improvement relats to
so making the sounds to be used either long or short so distinct in character that if
even a portion only of the note of the sound be heard the ear can at once detect
that the note must be long or short.
In one case I use the same note, but instead of being a long even sustained note I
give it a vibratory character, so that the ear can at once distinguish it from the
other notes to be used having the long sustained note.
Thus supposing 1 long 2 short represent a signal in the code, the long note which
is preferably the one to vibrate will be issued from the apparatus with a vibratory
character, then the 2 short non vibratory or even notes with a well defined interval,
say, of 2 seconds, will be issued.
Now if only a portion of the long note is heard it can lead to no mistake, as the
ear would at once detect it to be a long note, as no signal in the code has two long
notes together.
The second part of the Invention relates to the mechanism for putting the sound
in operation.
It consists of a cylinder in which the air is compressed by a piston which is
operated by gearing turned by hand or power. The cylinder preferably being
above, and the piston and piston rod rising as the gearing is turned, the air in the

page_text: cylinder is compressed. At the outer part of the frame stands a vertical rod. On
this vertical rod is keyed the vertical code which is like a long pinion, each vertical
tooth of the pinion being cut on its face to the signal required, the long notes
having the edge of the pinion undulating to give the vibratory sound and the
short or other notes being perfectly uniform. The edges of the pinion tberefore
are constructed partly with an undulating surface, partly, with a smooth surface,
and partly cut away; the action of this edge therefore represents according to
its construction, long, short, or no notes at all, and either sustained notes or
vibrating notes. A lever presssing on this edge either by a roller or other suitable
device, so operates by suitable devices the aperture from the compressed air in the
cylinder to the fog horn or whistle that the signals on the pinion edges are
reproduced by the sounding instrument, whether fog horn or whistle.
The code pinion is automatically geared to the division plate, course plate, or
compass plate, so that when the course on that is placed to the bows, or to the
lubber point the code pinion must correspond to it. The operation of the geared.
mechanism must therefore give the signal indicated or set on the dial.
In ocean navigation therefore, supposing the vessel to be steering N.E., a certain
combination of long and short sounds as described tells the course the vessel is
steering, steering the opposite another distinctly different combination explains the
course she is taking.
In river navigation the code can be constructed accurately to describe her course
up or down the river, and whether on the right or left bank.