IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS USED IN EFFECTING
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Stratford Andrews, of Hampstead Villa,
Abbey Road, St. John's Wood, in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS USED IN EFFECTING
Sealed the 3rd January 1868, and dated the 9th July 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Stratford Andrews
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th July 1867.
I, WILLIAM STRATFORD ANDREWS, of Hampstead Villa, Abbey Road, St.
John's Wood, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS USED IN
EFFECTING TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to enable the instruments such as that now
known by electro-telegraphists as Hughes' type-printing instruments, and for
improvements according to which Letters Patent were obtained, bearing date
April 27th, 1858, No. 938, and other instruments to work long distances in
all weathers by providing at one or more points between two termini a relay
or relays to reinforce or renew the electric current for land or submarine
purposes. The ordinary relays at present in use for Hughes' telegraphic
purposes do not accomplish this object satisfactorily. The current sent by the
Hughes' instrument is of short duration, and may be repeated at very rapid
intervals of time. For instance, a contact maker revolves over a circular

page_text: brass plate, making perhaps 120 revolutions in one minute; there are 26
slots in this plate, and the 26 letters of the alphabet are represented by small
metallic pieces, which are pressed up to meet the revolving contact maker in
its progress round the plate; there are spaces between each slot, and contacts
may be made at intervals of three letters. Contacts therefore may be made
and require to be repeated by the relays in the thousandth part of a second,
more or less. The contact throws off the armature of the electro-magnet of
the "printer," which the train replaces ready for the next signal.
"
Now in the working of the ordinary relays the armature of the "printer"
at each end being replaced by the train within the time specified if the relay
sticks and make prolonged contacts the armature is thrown off, and "chattering"
is produced whilst extra letters are thrown in. If the contact be insufficient,
or if the relay respond too slowly, the printer misses a letter or prints a letter
in advance. There is no sufficient guide to tell the ear or eye of the
operator at the relay station whether the relay be producing these effects
or not, and the object of one part of my Invention is therefore to remedy these
defects.
In carrying out these improvements I provide in duplicate an electro-
magnet (which may be of the ordinary kind), and opposite this there is a lever
or bar having an armature near one of its ends. At this end of this bar I
also insert a small piece of ivory (or it may be other suitable non-conducting
material) slightly projecting in the direction of the electro-magnet. Near the
opposite end of the lever or bar and fixed upon it, but insulated from it, I
provide a contact piece which I connect by a piece of fine wire to a conducting
piece. Upon the frame carrying the relaying apparatus there is a connection
to the line wire. A support holds a spring which a screw in the same piece
forces upon the above connection; this piece is connected with the battery.
Upon the same frame I apply similar connecting means at the opposite end of
the lever or bar, the spring in this case being connected with the line wire,
and the other connection with the earth, or in some cases or under some cir-
cumstances it may be insulated. I connect to this apparatus an ordinary
Siemens' polarised or other "pecker." I also connect a local battery with
the "pecker," the current of which circulates constantly by the rest point of
the "pecker" through the electro-magnets of the relay apparatus. This
current draws the armature to the electro-magnet. The ivory pin on the
lever or bar moves the spring away, preventing battery contact with the line,
and the line battery is thus insulated from the line. At the same time
another part of the lever or bar lifts the spring connected with the line wire
off the earth, or insulated contact leaving the spring in connection with the

page_text: lever or bar, and by the spindle of the lever or bar with the coils of the
"pecker," one of which coils is of course always to earth. At the same time
the insulated contact piece banks against a screw terminal, connecting its own
line with the other apparatus and a "pecker." Now when the "printer" at
the distant (say, up end or line sends an electric wave the "pecker" of the
apparatus is, broken away from its rest contact, the local battery instantly
ceases to cause the electro-magnet to attract the "armature" of the lever or
bar, and the bar leaves the electro-magnet (the movement of one end of the
lever or bar may be aided partly by spring or otherwise), the battery spring
and the spring connection are allowed to make contact with the battery stop,
and the current passes out to the distant station of the down line; the contact
piece is broken from its own down line, cutting off the pecker" of the other
apparatus. The spring at the opposite end of the lever or bar is allowed to bank
upon the earth or insulated contact, and therefore the up line by which the
current has just been received is put to earth or left insulated; the lever or
bar frees itself from the spring (up line), and insulates its own "pecker" from
the line now put by the spring on the earth contact. The "pecker" cut off
from its own actuating current is therefore free to return to the rest point,
this it immediately does; the battery contact is remade and the armature of
the lever or bar re-attracted to the electro-magnet. The bar lifts the spring
off the battery contact, and reinsulates the battery from the down line, takes
the up line spring off the earth or insulating contact, and reconnects it with
its own "pecker," and the contact piece re-establishes the connection with the
other apparatus ready for any current from the down line. In connection
with this arrangement the armature may be held permanently attracted by an
induced electro-magnet, and released in the ordinary way by the pecker
making contact, and producing by a local current opposite magnetism, or
reducing the permanent induced magnetic force.
In working submarine cable or underground circuits I employ the before-
mentioned apparatus; and in order to neutralize or carry off the discharges
arising from the working of such circuits I use the hydraulic or pump
arrangement originally introduced by myself, and which has been long in use
in working electric telegraphs for making prolonged contacts on submarine
circuits for the above purposes. In cases where intermediate relays are not
employed to effect the same purpose of discharging underground or submarine
cable circuits, or of neutralizing at the termini the current of discharge by a
current of opposite polarity to the forwarding current I adopt the following
method:-1 prolong the contact maker of the Hughes' type printing instru-
ment before referred to by a separate piece working upon the same vertical

page_text: shaft, so that when the metallic pieces before mentioned have been passed by
the contact maker they come immediately into metallic connection with the
separate piece above mentioned. This separate piece is fixed upon the shaft
of the Hughes' type printing instrument, and the connections are arranged as
follows: As ordinarily arranged the vertical shaft carrying the contact maker
is in connection with the body of the printing instrument; I insulate the top
centre piece from the remainder of the vertical shaft, and connect this with
the line by a spring. I lead a piece of insulated wire to the terminal screw
connection on the contact maker, which I also insulate from the vertical shaft;
I then take an insulated wire from this screw and attach it to a piece fixed or
attached to the contiguous part of the vertical shaft, and playing against a
strong spring. I then attach the "prolonged" or extended part of the
contact maker to the underneath or supporting part of the vertical shaft
connected with the earth. By this means when the contact maker is brought
into connection with one of the small metallic pieces the working current
passes on to the line as at present through the body of the printing apparatus,
and immediately thereafter the prolonged or extended part of the contact
maker is brought into connection with the piece attached to the vertical shaft,
and by the insulated screw wire and spring and the body of the instrument
the line is connected with the earth and discharged. In sending reversals or
neutralizing currents I place a disc of metal on the vertical shaft, but insu-
lated from it. A spring leads from the "neutralizing" battery, an insulated
wire from the disc to the prolonged or extended part of the contact maker;
which in this case is insulated from the vertical shaft and earth. This piece
then makes contact with the piece attached to the vertical shaft, as described
above. By a further prolongation as first described I can then where
desirable finally discharge the cable to earth. I can work the printer with or
without relays in these arrangements by arranging the working currents for direct
working. The effect of this arrangement is that when the sending portion of the
contact maker has passed over the metallic piece it is immediately thereafter
placed in contact with the "discharger," and the discharging current from the
line then passes into the earth, or a second or neutralizing current is sent into
the cable in the ordinary way. It must be manifest that under this arrange-
ment the "discharger" may be made of any length of surface, and that as the
contact maker and the discharger move round together fixed upon the same
shaft the proportionate periods during which contacts are made with the
sending battery and with the neutralizing battery or earth must always be
the same. The lever or bar and parts acting therewith may be used as part
of other marking or indicating instruments.

page_text: Also the improvements relate to the prolongation of the contact maker of
the Hughes' type printing instrument and arrangements so as to obtain the
use of a simple discharger or neutralizer, or both combined with or without a
pecker at each terminus, by which I can work the Hughes' type printer
on submarine or underground circuits, and with either positive currents only,
or negative currents, or with positive and negative currents at either end or
with the alternate use of each, or by earth discharge.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Stratford Andrews in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
STRATFORD ANDREWS, of Hampstead Villa, Abbey Road, St. John's Wood, in.
the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters-
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of July, in the year of our.Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,.
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Stratford Andrews, Her special licence that I, the said William
Stratford Andrews, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others.
as I, the said William Stratford Andrews, 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 USED IN EFFECTING TELEGRAPHIC COM-
MUNICATIONS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Stratford Andrews, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Stratford Andrews, 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 :-

page_text: The object of the Invention is to enable instruments, such as those now known
by electro-telegraphists as Hughes' type-printing instruments, and for improve-
ments according to which Letters Patent were obtained bearing date April 27th,
1858, No. 938, and also other instruments to work long distances for land or
submarine purposes in various weathers by providing a relay or relays at one
or more points between two termini to reinforce or renew the electric current.
Currents sent by the "Hughes'" instruments are of short duration, and
may be repeated at very rapid intervals of time, for instance, a contact
maker revolves over a circular brass plate, making perhaps 120 revolutions in
one minute; there are 26 slots around the plate, and the 26 letters of the
alphabet are represented by small metallic pieces, which are raised by the
operator acting upon keys, and these metallic pieces meet the revolving contact
maker in its progress round the plate; there are spaces between each slot, and
contacts may be made at intervals of three letters. Contacts therefore may be
made, and require to be repeated by the relays in the thousandth part of a
second. The contact throws off the armature of the electro-magnet of the
"printer," which the "train" replaces ready for the next signal. The armature
of the "printer" at each end of the line being replaced by the train within
the time specified in the working of the ordinary relays, if the "relay" stick
and make prolonged contacts, the armature is thrown off at the opposite end
and "chattering" is produced, whilst extra currents are thrown in and extra
letters printed. If the contact be insufficient, or if the relay respond too
slowly the "printer" at the opposite end misses a letter or prints a letter in
advance. There is no sufficient guide to tell the ear or eye of the operator at
the relay station whether the relay be producing these effects or not, and the
object of one part of my Invention is to remedy these defects.
But that the improvements may be better understood I will, by the aid of
the accompanying Drawings, proceed to describe means pursued by me in
carrying the same into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows parts in position arranged to carry out the first part of the
Invention; Figures 2 and 8 show side views of parts represented in Figure 1;
Figures 4, 5, and 6, are detail views. In each of the views the same letters
are used to indicate corresponding parts.
By reference to Figure 1 it will be seen that the apparatus is arranged in
duplicate, that is to say, there are parts A, A', which correspond with the parts B
and B', and are marked with the same letters of reference. In each apparatus
A and B there is an electro-magnet a (which may be of the ordinary kind)

page_text: and opposite each of these magnets a a lever or bar b is suspended, baving an
armature 6' near one of its ends 6. At this end 6 of the bar b I insert a
small piece of ivory 63 (or it may be other suitable non-conducting material)
slightly projecting in the direction of the electro-magnet. Towards the oppo-
site end of the lever or bar b, and fixed upon it, but insulated from it, there
is a contact piece c, which is connected by a piece of fine wire c' to a con-
ducting piece . d is a projection standing out from the framing of the
apparatus, and in connection with the section f¹ of the line wire; this projec-
tion d carries a screw connector d'. e is a support for a spring e, which is
forced by the screw against the screw connector d. The support e is
connected with a wire f from a line battery. At the opposite end of the.
bar I apply a spring g carried by a support 9 from the main frame, the
support 9 being connected with a section of the line wire. g is a screw
which forces the spring g' against the screw connector . i is a projection
(standing out from the framing) supporting the screw eonnector i¹, and in con-
nection with an earth wire, or under some circumstances this projection i may
be insulated; I connect to this apparatus an ordinary Siemens' polarized or other
"pecker "j. A current from the local battery k will be conducted by the insu-
lated wire k' to the upper part 1 of the pillar j, which is insulated at * from
the rest of that pillar j³, aud from thence sur current passes by means of the
rest point or screw to the lever j, along which it will be conducted, and pass
down the bearings 3 of the lever to the wire
through the coils of the electro-magnet a of the
coils a the current is conducted by the wire
thereby completing the circuit. The current from the local battery k draws the
armature b¹ (carried by the lever b) to the electro-magnet a, causing the ivory
più on the lever or bar b to move the spring away from the screw d¹ of the
support d, thereby preventing battery contact between the part f¹ of the line
wire and the wire f from the line battery. The lever or bar b at the same
time lifts the spring g' (which by its support g is connected with the section f
of the line wire) off the screw connector i¹, the support i of which is in con-
nection with the earth wire, retaining the spring y¹ in metallic connection
with such lever or bar b, and by means of the spindle and bearing 6% of that
lever b, also in metallic connection with the wire b, which is connected with
one end of the coils of the "pecker" j. The other end of the coils being
in connection with the earth wire 10. At the same time the insulated contact
piece c banks against a screw terniinal 1, connecting the section f³ of the line
wire by means of the wire c', the conducting piece c and the sectional line wire
f, with the other apparatus, say B. Now when the "printer" at the distant,
تمع
by which it will be conducted
relay apparatus, and from the
back to the local battery k,
2.

page_text: say, up end of the line, sends an electric wave the armature
carried by the lever
or arm is attracted to its magnet 3, and the lever or bar jis removed away
from its rest contact 3, the local battery k instantly ceases to cause the electro-
magnet a to attract the armature. 61 of the lever or bar b, and that bar b leaves the
electro-magnet a, allowing the line battery spring e¹ to make contact with the
screw connector d'; a current then passes up the wire f from the line battery out
to the distant station of the down line f³, the contact piece c being broken from
its own down line 3, thus cutting off the "pecker"j of the other apparatus.
The spring g' at the opposite end of the lever or bar b is allowed to bank
upon the screw of the support i in connection with the earth wire, and by
these means the up line by which the current has just been received is put to
earth. The lever or bar 6 then frees itself from the spring g' (up line), aud
insulates its own "pecker" from the line fs, now put by the spring g¹ on
the earth screw connector i¹. The armature 10 of the "pecker "j being cut
off from its own actuating current is thereby free to allow the lever or
bar j to return to its rest point, which it immediately does the contact with:
the local battery k is remade, and the armature 61 of the lever or bar b is
reattracted to the electro-magnet a. The bar b then lifts the spring e off the
screw d', and thereby insulates the line battery wire f from the down line at.
the same time the bar 6 takes the up line spring g¹ off the earth screw con-
nector, and reconnects it with its own "pecker "j, and the contact piece c
reestablishes the connection with the other apparatus ready for a fresh current
from the down line; 6' is a spring carried by a support 68, which acts to draw
the lever or bar b against the bank stop n when that lever is not attracted by
the armature towards the naguet a.
I have not thought it necessary to show how the various parts are connected
together by terminals, switches, and wires, as this will be easily understood
by practical electricians, the colored lines in Figure 1 however show a plan
of connections which will enable the course of currents through the apparatus
to be readily understood. The red lines represent the wires which are required
to be used in sending currents in one direction, those indicated by the blue
lines not being in working at that time.
In order that the course of the currents may be more clearly understood I
will suppose a current of electricity to be entering the relay apparatus in the
direction of the arrow in the instrument A, Figure 1, from what may be
called the up line f³. The current from the line f³ first passes by the screw
connector to the insulated contact piece c, thence by the wire c¹ to the con-
ducting piece c, down which it pass, and is conducted by the wire f² to
the metallic support 9 of the apparatus B, and from that support down.

page_text: the spring g' and the lever or bar 6 to the spindle 6 of that bar b on to the
bearing 6, and from thence the current is conducted by the wire 66 to the
magnet of the apparatus B', and from that magnet by the wire 10 to
earth; in so doing it draws down the armature jo of the lever j of the
magnet from its rest point 3, thus breaking contact with the local battery k.:
The electro-magnet a of the apparatus B then ceases to attract the armature b','
the bar 6 falls, and the upper end of it is drawn by the spring 67 to the bank'
stop n, and the spring g¹ being no longer held by the end of the lever b it is
forced upon the contact screw i¹ (which is connected with the support i, and
thence to the earth wire ), whereby the remainder of the current from the
up line is discharged to earth; at the same time the bar b being drawn away"
from the spring e' it is forced upon the contact screw d', and a current from
the line battery passes by the wire f through the metallic support e,
the
spring e', and the screw d' to the wire , and from thence through the con-
nection to the down line f³. In the meantime the lever carrying the
armature rises and makes contact with the rest point 3, thus completing
the circuit of the local battery k through the coils a; these coils a immediately
attract the armature 6' until the bar 6 having forced back the springs e
and g', the insulated contact piece crests against the point 7, and by that
means breaks contact with the wire f from the line battery, removing the
spring g' from the screw i and replacing it again in contact with the bar 6:
and in connection with the relay j ready to receive the next signal from the
up line. In connection with this arrangement the armature b¹ may be held
permanently attracted by an induced electro-magnet, and released in the
ordinary way by the "pecker" making contact, and producing by
a local
current opposite magnetism, or reducing the permanent induced magnetic
force. The lever or bar 6 and parts acting therewith may be used as parts of
other marking or indicating instruments. In the apparatus B the parts are
represented in the position they will assume when a current is passing by the
wire from the line battery out on to the line f³ to the distant station,
as indicated by the arrows z¹.
In working submarine or underground cable circuits I employ the before-
mentioned apparatus, and in order to neutralize or carry off the discharges
arising from the working of such circuits I use the hydraulic or pump
arrangement originally introduced by myself, and which has been long employed
in working electric telegraphs for making prolonged contacts on submarine
circuits for the above purposes. In cases where intermediate relays are not
employed to effect the same purpose of discharging underground or submarine
cable circuits or of neutralizing at the termini the current. of discharge by a

page_text: current of opposite polarity to the forwarding current I, according to the second
part of these improvements, adopt the following method:-I prolong the
contact maker of the Hughes type printing instrument, before referred to, by
a separate piece working upon the same vertical shaft, so that when the
metallic picces before mentioned have been passed by the contact maker they
come immediately into metallic connection with the separate piece or pro-
longation of such contact maker. This separate piece is fixed upon the shaft
of the Hughes' type-printing instrument, and instead of this shaft being in
metallic connection with the body of the printing instrument, as in the
ordinary arrangement, I according to this part of my Invention insulate the
top centre piece from the remainder of the vertical shaft and connect such top
piece with the line by a spring, and I lead an insulated wire from this centre
piece to the terminal screw connection on the prolongation attached to the
contact maker which I also insulate from the vertical shaft and the ordinary
contact maker. Upon the part of the "rejector" under the prolongation of
the contact maker there is affixed an upright piece which passes up over the
contact maker but insulated from it, and forms an elbow holding a spring. A
button fixed on the prolongation of the contact maker when the latter is raised
presses against this spring and through the part of the "rejector" underneath
the prolongation connection is made with the underneath part of the shaft and
thence with the earth.
Figure 7 shows a plan, Figure 8 an external view, Figure 9 an under side
view, Figure 10 a horizontal section, Figures 11 and 12 vertical sections, and
Figures 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, detail views of means which
I adopt in carrying out this part of my Invention. a is the vertical shaft,
upon the upper part of which is fixed the bevil wheel a', by which motion is
communicated to the shaft a from other parts of the apparatus which I have
not thought it necessary to show as the same are well understood by persons
acquainted with this class of electrical apparatus. The top centre a² of the
shaft a, which by means of the spring a³ is in connection with the line wire, is
insulated from the lower part of the shaft a, as shown at a'; b is an insulated
wire which is connected to the centre a³, and is carried down through the
bevil wheel a¹ to the terminal screw 62 carried by the prolongation of the
contact maker b; this prolongation 6' is insulated at c, c, c, from the contact
maker and from the vertical shaft a; d is the "rejector" which is insulated
at e from the supports f and f affixed to the metallic plate as formed on the
lower end of the shaft a, which is also insulated from the remainder of the
shaft, as shown at a'; 9 is an upright piece formed or affixed on the support f¹
of the rejector" d; this upright piece 7 is formed at its upper end with an

page_text: elbow holding a spring g'; g is a button fixed on the prolongation 61 of the
contact maker b immediately under the end of the spring g', so that when that
prolongation b¹ is raised the button g³ may come in contact with the spring g'.
By this means when the contact maker 6 is brought into connection with one
of the small metallic pieces before referred to the working current passes on
to the line as at present through the coils and body of the printing apparatus,
and immediately thereafter the prolongation 61 is brought into contact with
that metallic piece and raised by it, and by that means the button g² is brought
in contact with the metallic spring g', and the portion of the current remaining
in the line (after the contact maker b has passed from contact with the metallic
piece for the time raised) passes from the top centre a² down the wire b to
the screw terminal 6, and from thence by means of the button g² to the
spring g' down through the upright piece 9 and the support f¹ to the plate a³,
and from thence by the bottom centre a' of the shaft a to earth, and is so dis-
charged. is a small arm or projection from the prolongation 6', which
passes under the contact maker b, and prevents the contact maker 6 falling
and allowing its screw terminal 63 to make contact with the support f until
the prolongation b¹ has passed over and is released from the "metallic piece".
for the time raised. The vertical steel plate of the prolongation is
insulated at p from the body of that prolongation, as shown; q, q', are springs
which bear upon the contact maker 6 and the prolongation b¹; r, r, are stops
to prevent the contact maker b and the prolongation & being raised too far;
the stop is insulated from the prolongation 6¹.
For the purpose of sending reversals or neutralizing currents there is
applied an insulated dise of metal on the bevil wheel a¹ affixed to the upper
end of the vertical shaft. A spring leads from the neutralizing battery to this
dise, and an insulated wire from the disc to the support f', which in this case
is insulated from the bottom plate as of the vertical shaft at a; contact is
then made through this support f¹, and an elbow piece similar to the elbow,
piece g as before described, with the prolongation of the contact maker and.
a reverse current passes into the line, I could then if required finally discharge
the cable to earth by a further prolongation arranged and acting in a similar
manner to the prolongation 61 already described. The "printer" may work
in these arrangements with or without relays by arranging the working
currents for direct working.
Figure 22 shows a plan and Figure 23 a section of apparatus arranged
according to this part of the Invention. It will be readily seen that the parts.
are arranged in the same manner and are marked with the same letters of

page_text: reference as Figures 7 to 21, except that instead of the current being dis-
charged to earth in this arrangement I employ a metallic ring h placed upon
but insulated from the bevil wheel a', as shown at h¹; upon this metallic ring
a spring i presses, and this spring is in connection with a wire from the
neutralizing battery. k is an insulated wire, one end of which is connected to
the support f', which in this case is insulated from the metallic plate as, as
well as from other parts of the shaft a, so that when the contact maker b has
passed over the metallic piece for the time raised, the prolongation b₁ coming
in contact with that metallic piece, as before described, is raised and a
neutralizing current will be caused to flow from the neutralizing battery
through the spring i to the ring h, and thence by means of the wire k to the
support, along which it passes, and is conducted up the piece g to the
spring g', and from thence by the button to the prolongation 61, from which
it is conducted by the terminal screw 62 to the wire b, up which it passes to
the centre piece a³, and from the centre piece a* to the spring as, and then on
to the line. The effect of these arrangements is, that when the sending
portion of the contact maker has passed over the metallic piece for the time
raised it is then immediately placed in contact with the "discharger" or pro-
longatiou 6 of the contact maker, and the discharging current from the line
then passes into the earth, or a second or neutralizing current is sent into the
cable in the ordinary way. It must be manifest that under this arrangement
the "discharger" or prolongation of the contact maker may be made of any
length of surface, and that as the contact maker and the prolongation or
"discharger" move round together fixed upon the same shaft the proportionate
periods during which contacts are made with the sending battery and with the
neutralizing battery or earth must always be the same.
In place of the support f¹, Figures 7 to 16, being in direct metallic con-
nection with the plate as it may be insulated from it, as shown by Figure 23,
and it may be provided with a moveable metallic connecting piece between it
and the plate a, by which means the same instrument may easily be arranged
to discharge to earth through the connecting piece, or to send reversals when
the connecting piece is removed, the connections being arranged accordingly,
as will be readily understood.
According to these improvements, by the use of a simple "discharger," or
"neutralizer," or both combined, with or without a "pecker" at each
terminus, I am enabled to work the Hughes' type printer on submarine or
underground circuits, and with either positive currents only, or negative
currents, or with positive and negative currents at either end, with the alternate

page_text: use of each, or by earth discharge, and in connection with or without the
relay arrangement previously described, and which is only required on long
circuits.
Having thus described my Invention, and means which I adopt in carrying
the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details shown and described, as these may be varied without
departing from the peculiar character of the respective parts of the Invention;
but what I do claim is,-
First, the arranging or combining means or apparatus for effecting tele-
graphic communications, whereby the working of long distances is facilitated
in manner substantially as explained.
Secondly, I claim the arranging or combining means or apparatus acting
in manner and for the purpose substantially as described under the second
head of Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Stratford Andrews, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
W. ANDREWS. (L.B.)