IMPROVE- .MENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to. James Robert France, of Clarence Street, Islington,
in the County of Middlesex, Telegraphist, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
.MENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS."
Sealed the 31st March 1857, and dated the 17th October 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Robert France,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th October 1856.
I, JAMES ROBERT FRANCE, of Clarence Street, Islington, in the County of
Middlesex, Telegraphist, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in electric telegraph
apparatus. For which purposes, in place of resorting to the means of
suspension heretofore employed for the tongues or armatures of electro-
magnets or coils, they are suspended by means of magnetism; and in place
of employing 'springs to remove the armature and tongues from electro-
magnets, magnets or magnetic coils are used for that purpose.
In order to reduce the effect of residual magnetism the cap pieces are
magnetically insulated by placing between the cap picces and the soft iron
of an electro-magnet a' non-magnetic matter.
In order to obtain diversity of action from the same electro-magnets or coils,

page_text: two or more magnetic armatures or tongues are applied to a single electro-
magnet or coil, they in some cases being hung in such manner as to require
different degrees of force to move them to the electro-magnet or coil; and
when using two or more magnetic armatures or tongues with an electro-
magnet or coil they may be applied in reverse directions, so that the same
current of electricity in passing through an electro-magnet or coilsmayattract
one and repel the other of the armatures, by which in relay instruments one
instrument would act for two lines branching in different directions, and the
instruments of one or other line only would be communicated with, according
as a positive or negative current is for the time being employed.
For printing with type three magnetic armatures or tongues are employed
with a single electro-magnet or coil, one of them being arranged to be repelled
when the other two are attracted; and the two, similarly suspended, are
arranged to require different degrees of force to move them to the magnet.
And also when constructing electric type-printing apparatus, the same is
arranged to cause not only the secondary current to pass through the instru
ment but also the original current of electricity; and this is accomplished
by means of employing three magnetic tongues, as above-mentioned, 'to
one electro-magnet or coil, or by employing three electro-magnets or coils
in the same line wire.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Robert France in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th April 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
ROBERT FRANCE, of Clarence Street, Islington, in the County of Middlesex,
Telegraphist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Robert France, Her special licence that I, the said James
Robert France, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said James Robert France, 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

page_text: Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that 1, the said James Robert France, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their bands 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Robert France, 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:-
This Invention consists, first, in suspending the tongues or armatures of
electro-magnets by means of magnetism, and in removing the tongues or
armatures from electro-magnets by means of permanent magnets in place of
by springs, as heretofore; also in an improved method of constructing electro-
magnets, by which the residual magnetism is reduced.
Figure 1 is a side view of a contact maker arranged according to my
Invention; Figure 2 is an end view of the same with some of the parts
removed; and Figure 3 is an end view of the parts removed in Figure 2.
a, a, are two coils of fine insulated wire, in connection with the line wire, and
surrounding the bars of soft iron a¹, a¹, so as to magnetize them when an
electric current passes in the line wire. The pieces of soft iron a', a', are
capable of sliding in the coils a, a, and they can be more or less inserted into
or withdrawn from the coils by turning the screw b, and in this way the
action of the éléctro-magnet can be adjusted. a², a², are small pieces of soft
iron contained within the end of the coils a, a, opposite the ends of the soft
iron bars a,a, but not in contact with them. These pieces a³, a², form the poles
of the electro-magnet, and by the use of cap pieces or pole pieces of this
description magnetically insulated from the bars which form the maguet the
residual magnetism is much reduced. c, c, are standards, placed in front of
the poles of the electro-magnet, and carrying the permanent magnet d, sus-
pended from which by magnetic attraction is another permanent magnet e,
and this is connected by a piece of brass with the softiron armaturef. 9,9, are
permanent magnets, which by their attraction keep the armature back
against the stop until they are overcome by the attraction of the electro-
magnet rendered magnetic by a current passing in the line wire; the armature
is then drawn towards the poles of the electro-magnet until it is arrested by
the stop i, and by this means a local circuit is completed, and the current

page_text: passes by the standards c, c, which are in connection with one of the poles of
the battery, through the magnets d and e to the stop i, and thence to the
standards j, j, carrying the stop i, and which are in connection with the other
pole of the battery.
Figures 4 shew, in end view and longitudinal section, another method of
magnetically insulating the cap pieces or poles of electro-magnets. In these
Figures k, k, are soft iron bars; 1, 1, insulated wire coils, wound on brass
tubes; m, m, and n, n, soft iron cap pieces or poles, which in this case are
placed exterior of the bars l.
Figure 5 is a side view, and Figure 6 is a plan, of another contact maker,
in which a magnetic tongue is used in place of a soft iron armature. 0, 0, is
the electro-magnet, placed verticallyand in connection with the line wire. At
the ends of the soft iron bars of this magnet soft iron discs o¹, 01, are fixed
excentrically by means of brass screws, and a plate of brass is interposed
between each of the discs o and the soft iron bar, to which it is attached, so as
magnetically to insulate it. By mounting the cap or pole pieces o¹,0¹, excen-
trically, their distance from the magnetic tongue p,can be adjusted as may be
required. 9 is a permanent magnet, sustaining the tongue p, and carried by
the standard 1, to which another permanent magnets is fixed. When there
is no current passing in the line wire, the tongue pis held by the magnet s
against the stop t, and then there is no current passing in the local circuit.
By passing a current through the line wire, the tongue is caused to leave the
stopt and to make contact with the stop u,and then the local circuit is com-
plete, and the current passes through the stop u, the tongue p, the magnet q,
and the standardr; and when the current in the linewire ceases, or is reversed
in direction, then the tongue returns to the stop t; thus each reversal of the
line current makes or breaks the local circuit.
My Invention also consists in a method of arranging instruments or contact
makers for working branch lines. For this purpose, two magnetic armatures
are used to work with an electro-magnet, and the poles of the magnetic
armatures are placed in reverse positions, so that when one armature is
attracted bythe electro-magnet the other armature remains stationaryagainst
its stop; thus, when the current in the line wire passes in one direction the
instrument works one branch line, and when the current in the line wire
passes in the other direction the instrument works the other branch line.
Figure 7 is a side view, and Figure 8 is a plan, of an instrument of this de-
scription. a isthe electro-magnet; and b,c,are two magnetic armatures, having
their poles reversed in respect to each other, and carried by the levers b¹, c¹.
When the armature 6 is attracted the end of its lever is brought in contact

page_text: with the stopd, and the current passes through this stop, through the lever b¹
and through the standard e, by which the lever b' is carried. These parts are
in connection with one branch circuit. When the armature c is attracted,
then the lever c¹ comes in contact with the stop h, and so the other branch
circuit is completed. Thus, it will be seen, that according as positive or
negative currents proceed from the sending station, so one or other of the
branch lines will be communicated with.
Figure 9 is a side view, and Figure 10 is a plan, of an instrument which I
employ in connection with a printing apparatus. It consists of the two instru-
ments just previously described combined together, that is to say, there is a
magnetic tongue working between the poles of an electro-magnet, as in
Figures 5 and 6, and there are also two magnetic armatures, as in Figures 7
and 8. The magnetic tongue at each of its motions makes or breaks a
circuit, and causes a type wheel to make one step forward, and this motion
may be produced by any of the ordinary combinations of mechanism usually
employed for similar purposes. When the type wheel is brought to the
desired position,the force of the current passing in the line wire is augmented,
so as to cause one or other of the magnetic armatures to be drawn towards
the electro-magnet, and thus another local circuit is completed, which causes,
by any ordinary and known arrangement of mechanism, the printing hammer
to descend to print the letter on to a strip of paper on which the communica-
tion is received. This is the effect produced whichever of the two magnetic
armatures is brought up to the electro-magnet; but it is necessary to use two
magnetic armatures, because the augmented current passed through the
electro-magnet must not be of such a nature as to cause the type wheel to
make another step.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the exact details; but what I claim is,
First, the use of tongues or armatures suspended by magnetic attraction
when such tongues or armatures are used in combination with electro-
magnets, that is to say, with bars of iron or other magnetic metal surrounded
with coils of insulated wire.
Second, the use of permanent magnets in place of springs to remove the
armatures of electro-magnets.
Third, the use of two magnetic armatures in combination with an electro-
magnet, as herein described, for causing an electric current to pass in one or
other of two electric currents, according as the current passing in the coils
of the electro-maguet is in one or other direction.

page_text: Lastly, the working printing apparatus by means of an electro-magnet
combined with magnetic tongues or armatures which require different
degrees of power in the current passing round the electro-magnet to bring
them into operation, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Robert France, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
J. R. FRANCE. (L.S.)