Improved Automatic Remontoir Apparatus for "Hughes" Telegraph Apparatus.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Jan., 1396
Complete Specification Left, 29th Sept., 1896-Accepted, 31st Oct., 1896
[Communicated from abroad by SIEMENS & HALSKE, of 94 Markgrafen Strasse.
Berlin, in the Empire of Germany, Electrical Engineers.]
Improved Automatic Remontoir Apparatus for "Hughes" Telegraph
Apparatus.
We, SIEMENS BROTHERS & CO. LIMITED, of 12 Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster,
in the County of London, Electrical Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
Various arrangements have been proposed for effecting the automatic winding up
of the driving weight of "Hughes" telegraph apparatus, but none of these have
met with general application, partly because they were too complicated and partly
because they could not be readily adapted to the existing driving apparatus.
The present invention relates to an arrangement for the above purpose which
obviates the said difficulties, being both simple in construction and readily adapted
to the existing arrangements for driving the Hughes telegraph apparatus.
Such driving gear consists, as is well known, of a heavy weight which is
suspended in a loop of an endless chain, which, in being drawn down by the
weight, imparts the requisite motion to the mechanism of the telegraph apparatus.
For winding up the weight, the one side of the loop of the chain is led over a
pitch wheel which is suitably geared to a treadle, so that on working the treadle
the wheel is rotated and the loop with the weight is thereby wound up.
According to the present invention there is combined with this arrangement a
pneumatic apparatus which is automatically brought into action for winding up the
chain-loop and weight when the latter has descended a certain distance.
For this purpose a chamber or cylinder having a piston or flexible diaphragm
can be put in communication through a two-way cock or valve either with the
atmosphere or with a reservoir in which either air pressure or a partial vacuum is
maintained.
To the piston or diaphragm is connected the one end of a chain which passes
over a pitch wheel suitably geared with the wheel before mentioned over which
the loop of the driving chain passes, the other end of the second chain being
attached to a spring.
The strap of the pulley from which the driving weight is suspended carries an
arm which, when the weight has descended a certain distance, comes in contact
with a tappet on a tumbling device combined with the beforementioned cock or
valve, and in turning this partially round, opens the communication between the
cylinder and the reservoir so that the air pressure or exhaust in acting upon the
piston or diaphragm causes this to exert a pull on the chain and thereby to turn
the pitch wheel so as to wind up the chain-loop and weight again.
When the weight arrives at its raised position, the beforementioned arm strikes
against a second tappet on the tumbler of the air valve, and in reversing this, causes
the communication with the reservoir to be closed and the cylinder to be put in
communication with the atmosphere.
The spring acting on the piston or diaphragm chain then draws this and the piston
back into the original position in which it remains until the weight has sunk so as to
act on the valve as first described, whereupon the above operation is repeated.

page_text: With this automatic remontoir apparatus the usual pedal action may either be
omitted or be retained for use in case the automatic apparatus should get out of order.
In this case the pipe connecting the cylinder with the reservoir is provided with a two
way cock by means of which, when the weight is to be wound up by the treadle, the
cylinder is kept in communication with the atmosphere and the communication with
the reservoir is cut off.
Dated this 8th day of January 1896.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.
Improved Automatic Remontoir Apparatus for "Hughes" Telegraph
Apparatus.
We, SIEMENS BROTHERS & Co. LIMITED of 12 Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster,
in the County of London, Electrical Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what inanner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Various arrangements have been proposed for effecting the automatic winding up
of the driving weight of Hughes telegraph apparatus, but none of these have met with
general application partly because they were too complicated and partly because they
could not be readily adapted to the existing driving apparatus.
The present invention relates to an arrangement for the above purpose which
obviates the said difficulties, being both simple in construction and readily adapted to
the existing arrangements for driving the Hughes telegraph apparatus. Such driving
gear consists, as is well known, of a heavy weight which is suspended in a loop of an
endless chain, which in being drawn down by the weight, imparts the requisite motion
to the mechanism of the telegraph apparatus.
For winding up the weight, the one side of the loop of the chain is led over a
pitch wheel which is suitably geared to a treadle so that on working the treadle
the wheel is rotated and the loop with the weight is thereby wound up.
According to the present invention there is combined with this arrangement a
pneumatic apparatus which is automatically brought into action for winding up the
chain loop and weight when the latter has descended a certain distance, as we
shall describe referring to the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a perspective view shewing the driving gear.
Fig. 2 is a side view of the parts to which this invention is applied.
A chamber or cylinder K having a piston or flexible diaphragm can be put in
communication by a pipe R through a two way cock or valve H either with the
atmosphere or with a reservoir in which either air pressure or a partial vacuum is
maintained.
To the piston or diaphragm rod G is connected the one end of a chain which
passes over a pitch wheel suitably geared or on the same axis with the pitch
wheel before mentioned over which the loop of the driving chain passes, the other
end of the second chain being attached to a spring f. The strap of the pulley from
which the driving weight A is suspended carries an arm a which, when the weight
has descended a certain distance comes in contact with a tappet from a disc on the
axis of the cock H carrying a tumbling weight and in turning this partially
round, opens the communication between the cylinder K and the reservoir so that
the air pressure or exhaust acting upon the piston or diaphragm causes this to exert
a pull on the chain and thereby to turn the pitch wheel so as to wind up the
chain loop and weight again. When the weight arrives at its raised position, the

page_text: arm a strikes against a second tappet on the tumbler disc and in reversing the cock H,
causes the communication with the reservoir to be closed, and the cylinder K to
be put in communication with the atmosphere.
The spring acting on the piston or diaphragm chain then draws this and the
piston back into the original position in which it remains until the weight bas
descended so far as to act on the cock or valve, whereupon the above operation is
repeated.
With this automatic remontoir apparatus the usual pedal action may either be
omitted or it may be retained for use in case the automatic apparatus should get
ont of order. In this case the pipe R connecting the cylinder K with the reservoir
may be provided with a suitable cock or valve by means of which, when the weight
is to be wound up by the treadle, the cylinder is kept, in communication with the
atmosphere and the communication with the pressure or vacuum reservoir is cut off.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
In combination with the driving weight and chain of Hughes telegraph apparatus,
a cylinder which by means of a cock and tumbler operated on by the driving weight
as it descends and ascends is put into communication with an air pressure or vacuum
vessel a piston or diaphragm being connected to the driving gear thus subjected to.
pressure whereby the weight is wound up.
Dated this 25th day of September 1896.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.