IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO FOG HORNS OR TRUMPETS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO FOG HORNS OR
TRUMPETS."-A communication from abroad by Felix Brown, of
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 5th November 1875.
I; WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO FOG HORNS OR
TRUMPETS," a communication, to be as follows :-
-
This Invention has for its object the production of sounds of a certain
tone and at regular intervals in such a manner as to indicate to mariners.

page_text: see when enveloped in logs and in me.
The said Invention consists,-
First. In the combination of a horn or trumpet with a sirene valve,
through which steam or air under pressure is driven to produce the
proper vibrations in the atmosphere to produce sound.
Second. In the combination of the said sirene valve with driving or
rotating mechanism, whereby certain tones may be produced.
And, Third. In the combination of the horn or trumpet and sireno
with a suitable valve motion or cut-off, by which regular intervals of
sound may be produced, as described.
The said Invention also consists in the combination of the above
recited several parts with a steam generator.
: The sirene is mounted upon the dome of a boiler or similar chamber.
Upon the top of the said boiler a bracket is mounted to support the axis
of the rotating disc of the sirene, and upon the said bracket aro fastened
the boxes or bearings for said axis. This axis may be provided with a
pulley, to which motion can be given by a belt from the engine. One
end of said axis extends through a stuffing box into a steam chamber,
and is provided with a disc of metal which is perforated or notched, and
said disc constitutes the valve proper of the sirene. Upon the opposite
side of said chamber is a horn or trumpet of any suitable size and shape,
and the end of said trumpet may serve as the seat of the valve for the
sirene; or an additional seat may be introduced, having radial per-
forations through which the steam or air may pass into the trumpet
when permitted by the aforesaid valve, and thereby produce the desired
vibrations in the atmosphere.
The steam or air may be introduced through a valve into the chamber
by any suitable connections either through the bottom or through the
top. In the latter case the horn or trumpet and its connections may be
mounted upon any suitable support independent of the boiler, as the
aforesaid chamber is formed upon a pedestal which may be fastened in
any convenient place.
Mechanism must be provided for rotating the said valve disc of the

page_text: trumpet depends upon the velocity of the vibrations, and as a certain
tone is required for a perfect signal the driving power must act regularly,
consequently the engine is provided with a governor or regulator and a
fly wheel from which a belt is carried to drive the sirene; and there is
also connected with the engine a worm gear wheel, upon which is a cam
that acts upon a lever connected with the valve which admits the steam
into the said chamber. During the time that the cam is so acting upon
the valve the sound is continued through the trumpet, and it may also be
varied during a certain time as one long sound and a short one, or in any
manner to distinguish one signal upon a certain point from another
within hearing from another point, and this effect will vary according to
the shape of the cam.
It is practicable to make the disc of the valve with certain curves like
a ship's propellor, so that the steam or air under a constant pressure may
act as a rotating power to run the valve of the sirenc to a certain tone,
but owing to the variations of friction it will be found preferable to
regulate its rotary motion by agents not so delicate.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 4th May 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, 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

page_text: Figure 2 is an end elevation of the said boiler and engine, shewing a
side view of part of the said trumpet and valve stem of the sirene;
Figure 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the trumpet and sirene shown
in Figure 2; and Figures 3ª, 3b, show detached the valve and valve
seat corresponding in construction with those shewn in Figures 2
and 3.
Figure 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the trumpet and sirene shown
in Figure 2; and Figures 3ª, 3b, show detached the valve and valve
seat corresponding in construction with those shewn in Figures 2
and 3.
Figure 4 is a sectional view of another form of valve and trumpet;
Figure 5 is a transverse section of the same.
°
Similar letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A is the sirene, which is mounted upon the dome of a boiler or
chamber B. The ordinary locomotive boilers have been found to be con-
venient and efficient for my purpose, as well as cheaper than those for
which a furnace is required to be constructed. Upon the top of said boiler
a bracket C is mounted to support the axis of the rotating disc of the
sirenc, and upon the said bracket are fastened the boxes or bearings for
said axis, as at D, D', and the axis is shown at E provided with a pulley,
to which motion can be given by a belt from the engine, as at F.
One end of said axis extends through a stuffing box G into a steam
chamber A', and is provided with a disc of metal H, which is perforated
or notched, as shown in Figures 3 to 5, and the said disc constitutes.
the valve proper of the sirene. Upon the opposite side of said chamber A¹.
is attached a horn or trumpet of any suitable size and shape, as shewn
at T, and the end of the said trumpet may serve as the seat of the valve.
for the sirene, as in Figure 4; or an additional seat, as in Figure 3b, may
be introduced, having radial perforations, h, h, through which the
steam or air may pass into the trumpet when permitted by the valve H,
and thereby produce the desired vibrations in the atmosphere.
When the parts are constructed as shown in Figure 3, 3ª, and 3, the
steam or air will be divided into as many jets as there are openings,
whereas. by the construction shown in Figures 4 and 5 each vibration
will consist of only one jet of steam or air, as the case may be, and in
this case it is evident that a much smaller trumpet may be used for the
same pressure of steam to attain the same velocity.
The steam or air may be introduced through a valve into the
chamber A through any suitable connections, either through the
bottom, as in Figures 1 and 2, or through the top, as in Figures 3

page_text: and 4. In the latter case the horn or trumpet and its connections may
be mounted upon any other suitable support independent of the boiler,
as the chamber A' is formed upon a pedestal which may be fastened in
any convenient place.
Mechanism must be provided for rotating the valve disc H of the
sirene as regularly as possible, for the reason that the tone of the
trumpet depends upon the velocity of the vibrations, and as a certain
tone is required for a perfect signal the driving power must act regularly.
consequently the engine shown is provided with a governor or regulator
and a fly wheel, from which a belt is carried to drive the sirene; and
there is also connected with the engine a worm gear wheel M, upon
which is a cam N that acts upon a lever connected with a valve which
admits the steam into the chamber A¹; the valve rod is shown at W in
Figures 1 and 2, and during the time that the cam N is so acting upon
the valve the sound is continued through the trumpet, and it may also
be varied during a certain time as one long sound and a short one, or in
any manner to distinguish one signal upon a certain point from another
within hearing from another point, and this effect will vary according to
the shape of the cam.
It is possible to make the disc of the valve H with certain curves like
a ship's propeller, as shown at h, h, Figure 3ª, so that the steam or air
under a constant pressure may act as a rotating power to run the valve
of the sirene to a certain tone, but owing to the variations of friction it
will be found preferable to regulate its rotary motion by devices not so
delicate.
Although steam is the most convenient agent for producing the sound,
air
may be used under pressure, which may be obtained by any of the
compressers used for mining or drilling purposes. Steam however acts
as a lubricator, and the parts will ordinarily keep in order longer when
this medium is used.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I do not limit myself to the precise
details of construction and arrangement of parts as above described, as it
is obvious that various modifications of the parts of my apparatus may
be used in connection with a horn or trumpet for properly directing
sound, and I claim,-

page_text: First. The combination of a horn or trumpet with a sirene valve or
sirene proper, as above described and for the purpose specified.
Second. The combination of a horn or trumpet and sirene with
rotating mechanism or driving power acting with the required regu-
larity, as above described and for the purposes set forth.
Third. The combination of a horn or trumpet and sirene with a valve
and cut-off mechanism, as above described and for the purposes set
forth.
Fourth. The combination of a horn or trumpet with a sirene in which
the seat of the valve consists of only one opening equal in area or nearly
so to the small end of the said horn or trumpet, while the rotating valve
is provided with two or more openings, as above described and for the
purposes set forth.
Fifth. The combination of a horn or trumpet for mariners and other
signals with a steam generator, as above described and for the purposes
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six
Witness,
HY. JAS. NoONE.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)