Improvements in Electric Apparatus for Indicating or Recording at a Distance the Position or Motion of a Primary Mechanism.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 20th Apr.,
1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electric Apparatus for Indicating or Recording
at a Distance the Position or Motion of a Primary Mechanism.
1, ALPHONS CUSTODIS, Engineer, of Rubenstrasse, 23, Düsseldorf, in the
German Empire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
The present invention relates to apparatus for transmitting the motion of an
indicator hand or analogous mechanism, so as to indicate at a distance the position
of the said hand at any given moment or to record its motion on a sheet of paper,
or to sound an alarm, when a given position is reached.
The primary mechanism may, for instance, be an instrument for measuring the
density of a gas, in which case the apparatus indicates the position or records the
motion of the said instrument at a distance, and may sound an alarm, if the density
of the gas reaches an allowable limit.
The accompanying drawing shows an example of an apparatus embodying my
invention and serving to explain the same.
On the axle w of an indicator hand, (or of a scale beam or float) is secured one
end of an insulated wire d carrying a contact piece c. This piece is situated in
a vessel containing acidulated water or another suitable liquid and having at the top
and at the bottom conducting wires connected with a galvanic battery & and
solenoid s, so as to form an electric circuit, which may also contain a galvano-
meter g.
The current passes through the lid a, and the wired to the contact piece c,
thence through the liquid to the lower contact piece k, and out through the
wire 1.
The piece is suspended from the wire d, as mentioned above, and dips into
the liquid more or less, according to the position of the axle w, thereby varying the
depth of the liquid through which the current has to pass for completing the
circuit, and as the liquid is comparatively a bad conductor of electricity, the total
resistance of the circuit will practically depend on the position of the metallic
contact piece c.
The magnet coils mentioned above forms part of the distant recording or
indicating instrument, which also contains a solenoid s. The cores e and e¹ of these
solenoids are suspended from opposite ends of a scale beam for balance lever,
connected with an indicating needle or recording lever by means of a rack
or pinion.
=
The drawing shows a recording lever carrying at its upper end a pencil adapted
to trace a curve on a recording drum, moved by clockwork.
The solenoid is placed in a circuit passing through the battery b and
including a variable resistance r, which can be regulated by hand.
If the balance lever is horizontal and the contact piece c descends, the liquid
resistance in the vessel will decrease, and the current passing through the solenoid s
will increase, so as to draw down the core c and to move the pencil lever to the
right.
The opposite effect is produced, if the contact piece c rises.
The lever may be utilized also for closing the circuit of an alarm bell in the
manner well-known, as soon as the said lever reaches a given angle, thus indicating
by an acoustic signal, when the axle or the pointer of the primary instrument
occupies a certain position.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is ;-
1. Electric indicating or recording apparatus comprising in its construction
a primary indicating hand and dial or other operating mechanism, a vessel
containing a resistance liquid and a stationary contact piece, a movable contact
piece placed in the said vessel and connected with the primary operating mechanism
in such a manner that the latter serves to vary the distance between the stationary
and the fixed contact pieces, a recording drum and clockwork situated at a distance
from the primary operating mechanism, a recording pencil controlled by a solenoid,
and an electric battery circuit including the said resistance liquid, movable contact
and solenoid, substantially as described.
2. Electric mechanism adapted to record at a distance the motion of a primary
operating mechanism by the variation of a liquid resistance, substantially as
described with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 26th day of February 1895.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
433, Strand, London, Agents.