IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SIGNALS CHIEFLY FOR USE AT SEA, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Julius Boult, of the Firm of Wm. P. Thompson
& Co., 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, and of 6, Lord
Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer and Patent Agent,
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SIGNALS CHIEFLY
FOR USE AT SEA, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR." A communication from
abroad by William Charles Seaton, of the City and Province of Quebec, in
the Dominion of Canada.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Julius Boult at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th April 1881.
ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of the Firm of Wm. P. Thompson & Co., 323, High
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, and of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer and Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR
RELATING TO SIGNALS CHIEFLY FOR USE AT SEA, AND IN APPARATUS THerefor.”
A communication from abroad by William Charles Seaton, of the City and Province
of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada.
This code of signals is intended for the use of vessels, particularly as side and
mast-head lights, and lighthouses at night or during fog or snowstorms, so that
by its means a communication may be established with those who are within sight
or hearing.
The code can be divided into three sections :-
Part I. providing, 1st, signals which shall give the course to the nearest point
that the vessel using it may be steering; 2nd, the fact of her being hove to
closehauled, or in stays; 3rd, what she intends doing to avoid collision; 4th,
whether she is shewing her port or starboard side to the observer.
Part II. gives a number of signals which can be applied to a vocabulary of such
sentences as may be considered best adapted for use under such circumstances.
Part III. provides signals for the use of lighthouses.
When the code is translated through the medium of light, it shall be effected,
1st, by the use of a red or a green light in conjunction with a white light, either
[Pier 11

page_text: of which may be made to assume a fixed or constant character, or else be broken
up into flashes; 2nd, by a flash light shewn without any accompanying light;
3rd, by a fixed white light shewn in conjunction with a white flash light.
When sound is used the red, green, and white lights shall each be typified by
blasts of a separate and distinctive length, while the flashes shall be rendered
by blasts of a proportionate length to the flashes represented.
The flashes are formed by the gradual opening and closing of the screens before
the light, as explained in the description of the instrument by which it is effected,
and the difference between the intervals of full light shewn will mark the distinction
between the long and short flashes; that is, supposing the short flash is made by
an immediate return motion of the screens after they have attained their greatest
opening, then a long flash may be shewn by an interval, say of three seconds, of
bright light occurring between these two movements of the screens.
In all signals a period of repetition will be fixed upon, and the interval between
the end of one signal and its re-commencement may be expended either in an
eclipse of light, or as an interval of fixed light. This interval is also necessary as
affording the requisite opportunity during which any desired change of signal may
be effected. Let the light which can be broken up into flashes be called the flash
light, then the following variations in the order in which the light can be made to
fall will give sixteen different combinations, as under :-
The eight different sequences into which a long and a short flash can be made to
fall when taken in groups of three.
One short flash.
One long flash.
× Short flashes.
× Long flashes.
× Short flashes alternately with eclipses.
× Long flashes alternating with eclipses.
× Each of these four signals will repeat itself continuously during the period of
the signal, with the provision that a sufficient interval be left to allow for the
operation of changing signals.
A long and a short flash separated by an eclipse.
A short and a long flash separated by an eclipse.
For convenience of reference let these signals be arranged in any order that.
may be considered advisable, and then numbered consecutively from 0 to 15, both
inclusive.

page_text: seen below the-flash, the course will be N.N.W. If, instead of a red light, a green
one is used in the above two positions, then the courses will be respectively S.S.E.
and S.S.W. The other numerals being used in like manner would thus give a
signal for each of the 32 points of the compass.
Suppose No. 9 be the signal to shew that a vessel is hove to, then in a similar
manner the color and position of the accompanying light may be made to express
the quarter of the compass in which her middle course lies; thus, if a red light
is shewn over the flash it will signify that this middle course lies in the N.E.
quarter.
If No. 10 be appropriated to shew that a vessel is closehauled, then again this
signal taken in conjunction with the color and position of the accompanying light
will at once indicate the quarter of the compass in which the vessel is sailing close-
hauled; thus if a red light is seen above this signal it signifies that the vessel is
sailing closehauled upon a north easterly course, and this fact taken in connection
with the known direction of the wind, will at once indicate whether she is upon
the port or starboard tack.
Signal No. 11 may be selected to shew that the vessel is in stays, and as the
accompanying light will indicate what tack she was last upon (as defined in the
explanation of the preceding signal), it will at once be seen to what tack she is
now in the act of changing.
The remaining signals may or may not be shewn with an accompanying colored
light, but for the purposes of this section of the code it is thought better in their
respect to let the white light be seen alone, and thus Nos. 12, 13, 14, and 15, that is,
all signals not used as courses or points of sailing can have meanings assigned them
indicative of the means the vessel intends to adopt to avoid collision, or any other
significations such as may be considered desirable by the maritine authorities.
A strip of white light, shewn from the same lantern, at each side of any colored
light will be the mark of distinction between the signals as shewn from the different
sides of the vessel; that is, if a colored light having these adjacent bands of white
light be taken as a signal shewn from the port side of a vessel, then a colored light
without these bands will denote a signal shewn from the starboard side of the
vessel, or vice versa.
1st. By all the signals not used in Part I. which can be formed by a continuous
colored light being displayed above or below each one of the sixteen signals made
by the flash light, which latter will then shew a white light.
2nd. By any one of the sixteen signals not used in this manner in Part I., being
shewn alone, the signal being given in white light.
3rd. By all the signals which can be formed from the red, green, and white
lights when the flash is given by a colored instead of a white light, and a fixed
light is shewn in white in a position either above or below the flash light.
4th. By a red or green flash light being displayed by itself.
5th. With the numerical signals as established in Part I. numbers may be formed
by shewing these signals in succession in any desired order, and to each of the
numbers thus made a meaning can be assigned.
18 for nighthouse nomenclature.
Let each lighthouse be assigned a number; this number can then be given by
the flash light, as explained in the 5th article of Part II., care being taken to
provide an interval of darkness between following numbers of the same signal.
In addition to this flash in white light, a white continuous light is shewn either

page_text: 9
10
11
Heave to.
Flash Light shewn along
I intend to stand on.
I intend to go astern or heave all abacl
12 I intend to port my helm.
13 I intend to starboard my helm.
14 Port your helm.
15 Starboard your helm.

page_text: These signals are shewn in the case of a vessel either from a lantern having a
lamp placed behind each of two apertures, the white light being shewn from one
and the colored light from the other, or from two distinct lanterns, one of which
will give the flash light and the other will display the fixed light. When used in
lighthouses they will be shewn in the manner calculated to give the best effect in
the desired direction.
It consists chiefly of a train or trains of wheel work, driven by spring, weight,
or other suitable power; the one I am about to describe is driven by a spring, a
framework to support the mechanism, and screens for the flash signals.
The flashes are made by the intervention of a screen or screens between the
light and the aperture through which it would be visible, this interception of the
light taking place at certain regulated intervals, and is effected by the apparatus
described below.
A shaft bears a cylinder, upon whose periphery in parallel circles are as many
sets of cogs or teeth as are signals in the code. These are arranged so that every

page_text: cog required to form any one signal shall come into gear during each revolution of
the cylinder, and the cogs shall be placed at such distances one from the other that
the required intervals between the alternate opening and closing of the screens may
be obtained. The cylinder is placed between two arms connected. with a rack, so
that by means of a pinion working upon the latter the cylinder may have a lateral
motion upon a key or feather fixed upon the shaft squaring, or flattening the shaft
would have the same effect, so that any set of cogs upon the cylinder may be
brought into gear with the train working the screens. The rack is kept in its
place by a rod which, passing loosely through the arms controlling the cylinder, is
fixed to the supports of the wheelwork. The shaft also bears a loose wheel, the
use of which is explained in the article referring to the regulating gear.
The shaft derives its motion from a train of wheels actuated by a weight or
spring or other suitable driving power, and this train is so arranged that when
geared to a pinion keyed to the shaft it gives to that shaft a period of revolution
equal to the period determined upon for that of the signals.
The eclipsing train is so placed that it may gear with the cogs or teeth upon the
cylinder, and is so arranged that a pulley at its other extremity shall revolve at
such a speed that a point upon any part of its circumference shall pass through a
space equal to that passed through by a screen during the time the latter takes to
open and close.
This may be effected by any of the ordinary reversing motions, or more
particularly by means of a segmental wheel, to which a period of revolution of
any multiple of the time required for the movement of the screen is given. This
segmental wheel gears with two pinions which are placed so that one shall come
into gear as the other goes out in consequence of the passage of the blank part of
the wheel.
A bar upon the pinions gears with a pin upon segmental wheel to facilitate their
gearing proper. The pitch diameter of the segmental wheel will be such that the
number of teeth upon it will make either of the pinions with which it gears
describe one revolution, and its blank part sufficiently long that the receding end
of the line of teeth upon the wheel may just clear one pinion as the advancing
end of the toothed part gears with the other. One of these pinions will gear with
a like pinion keyed to the shaft bearing the pulley, the circumference of which
pulley must then be equal to the required rise or fall of the screen, and the other
pinion will gear with an idle wheel, which in its turn will gear with the pinion
upon the pulley shaft. It will thus be seen that when the segmental wheel is in
gear with one of these two pinions the pulley will have a contrary motion to that
which it will have when it is in gear with the other. The segmental wheel will
have the number of alternate lines of teeth and blanks upon its circumference in
the ratio of its period of revolution to that of the time occupied by the movement
of the screens, that is, if it revolves in 128, and the movement of the screens is
effected in 38, it will have two lines of cogs alternating with two blanks.
As between the moment when the last tooth of the segmental wheel leaves one
pinion, and that when the first tooth of the next line of teeth gears with the other
pinion, the segmental wheel is out of gear and liable to be moved, so that it will
not be certain to gear with the pinion to which it is travelling, a locking motion is
provided as follows:-
A disc is fixed to the shaft carrying the segmental wheel, and this disc bears
arms which are so placed that at the moment when the segmental wheel is out of
gear they shall be passing concave segments cut in a disc fitted to each of the
pinions gearing with this wheel. These concave segments have a radius slightly
exceeding that of the arms, and the discs in which they are cut are so placed upon
the pinion shafts that the arms shall have just passed clear of them at the moment
the segmental wheel comes into gear and gives motion to these pinions. The
number of arms and segments will be regulated by the number of lines of teeth and
blanks upon the segmental wheel. With a wheel having two lines of each, there
would be four arms, and the disc belonging to each pinion would carry two concave

page_text: segments. The wheel which gears with and takes its motion from the cylinder
and which I will call the cylinder wheel, is upon the same shaft, and is of the same
pitch diameter as another wheel. The former gears with the cylinder, and by the
motion thus given it gives an equal motion to the other wheel, and from thence to
a pinion, which transmits it to the gear working the screens. The cylinder wheel
is of such a pitch diameter that a cog upon the cylinder will carry it round through
the space of as many teeth as this pinion requires to make the screens go through
one movement, and the space upon the circumference of the cylinder wheel, equal to
this number of teeth, is cut into a concave segment, whose radius is slightly in excess
of that of the blank part of the cylinder; therefore the pitch diameter of this wheel
must be so arranged that the number of teeth its circumference would bear must be
a multiple of the number of teeth required to make one movement of the screens.
For instance, if this latter movement is effected by three teeth of the pinion, and
the cylinder has a pitch diameter which would give 45 teeth, then the cylinder-
wheel could be of a size to carry 30 teeth, and it would therefore have 10 concave
segments separated by an equal number of spaces, into which the cogs of the
cylinder would gear.
The effect of this arrangement would be that a cog of the cylinder gearing with
the cylinder wheel would move its shaft through such an angle as would transmit
to the pinion the exact amount of motion required to effect either an opening or a
closing of the screens, and would then present a space in position for the following
cog upon the cylinder to gear with; but if a blank intervened then the concave
part of the cylinder wheel would ride so closely to this blank as would prevent its
baving any motion until the next cog presented itself, thus making sure that the
cog would come truly into gear with the cylinder-wheel. The screens are each of
about the width and one half the depth necessary to shut off the light from the
lens, and are intended to work over guide rods. When the apparatus is intended
to move from one lens to another, these guide rods would be in a frame supported
by brackets attached to the apparatus. A pulley is attached to the centre of both
the upper and lower part of this frame, and also upon the upper and lower arms of
the bracket; these latter pulleys are so placed that they may be perpendicular
to the previously mentioned pulley at the extremity of the eclipsing train. All
these pullies would be in equivalent positions where the apparatus is stationary.
The screens are provided with lugs or with rollers to travel over the guide bars,
and are thus retained in their places. A line or band is now placed once round the
pulley at the extremity of the eclipsing train, and one end of it passes over the pulley
upon the upper part of the bracket; from thence over the pulley upon the upper
part of the frame; and after being attached to the upper screen it passes under the
pulley in the centre of the lower part of the frame, and is made fast to the lower
screen. The other end of this line or band will pass under the pulley upon the
lower arm of the bracket; from thence under the lower pulley upon the frame; and
after being attached to the lower screen passes over the upper pulley upon the
frame, and is then made fast to the upper screen.
.
These screens are thus so connected with each other and with the pulley at the
end of the eclipsing train that a revolution of the latter will cause the screens to
open out one from the other, while the contrary motion of the pulley which follows,
as already explained, will cause the screens to close in one upon the other, this
latter movement making the necessary eclipse which breaks the light into the
required flashes, whose length is regulated by the distance between the cogs of
the cylinder.
The regulating gear is a train of wheels which gears with a wheel keyed to the
cylinder shaft; the last wheel of this train is a worm wheel, which gears with a
worm, the shaft of which carries a cross head. A pin passes through and works in
each end of the cross-bead. The part of the pin under the crosshead has a screw cut
upon it, upon which works a small nut, and the upper part of the pin carries the
fan or fly. A light spring has one end attached to the nut, and the other to a pin
near the centre of the crosshead. The fans are of such a size that when placed

page_text: nearly in a line with the crosshead they will keep the machine at the desired
speed when the cylinder is out of gear with the eclipsing train.
The action of the regulator is that when the machine is in regular motion the
spring will turn the fans so that it will not present its full area to the direction of
revolution, but at such an angle as will keep the machine at the desired speed
when it is in full work. When however, in consequence of the blanks upon the
cylinder, the eclipsing train is not in gear, the speed of the machine will be
increased, and the spring having more to resist will be more or less overpowered,
and the fans will become proportionally more in a line with the crosshead, when
its area of resistance will be increased and the speed of the machine reduced. If,
on the contrary, through the rolling of the ship or from other causes, a strain is
put upon the working of the machine, then its speed is lowered, and the spring in
consequence brings the fan nearer a right angle to the crosshead; its resistance
being thus decreased the speed will be augmented until the equilibrium is again
restored.
The colored lights are shown by one or other of the following methods, according
as is desirable :-
A colorless lens is permanently fitted into the aperture in the lantern from which
the colored light is intended to be shewn. Behind this is placed a frame, which
contains a sheet of red and another of green glass, both being of the requisite size
and shape, and this frame is so arranged that the part containing either the red or
the green glass may take its place behind the lens in the aperture and in front of a
lamp, so that the rays proceeding from the lens may be red or green, as desired.
Or a red or a green lens are placed either horizontally or vertically in a frame
(provision being made in the former case so that the band of white light, which is
the distinction between the port and starboard lights, may be shewn); and this
frame is so arranged that the red lens or the green lens, as desired, may take its
place opposite the aperture in the lantern from which the colored light is intended
to be displayed.
The white and colored lights may be shewn from the same lantern, or from two
distinct lanterns working in conjunction. If in one lantern, the lantern will have
two apertures, one under the other, each fitted with a fixed colorless lens. The
frame containing the colored glasses and the apparatus for shewing the flash light
will be connected with one another. If the flash is in white light they will be
connected by bands passing over pullies, so that the frame and the flash apparatus
may travel in contrary directions up and down guide bars provided for that
purpose. The bands will be of such a length that when the colored glass in the frame
is opposite one of the lenses the screens shall be in a proper position to shut off the
light from the other; but if the flash is in colored light the frame containing the
colored glasses is attached to the flash apparatus, so that it may be always before
the screens.
If in two distinct lanterns one lantern will be arranged to shew the fixed light,
while the other will shew the flash light. Each lantern will be pivotted to a bar
in such a manner that during a revolution of this bar upon its axis the lanterns
may swing so that they may always retain their normal upright position. This
bar, to which the lanterns are attached, is in its turn pivotted to an upright
stanchion, so that the position of the lanterns may be reversed when desired, and
provision is made by a ring sliding over a hook to keep this bar fixed to the
stanchion in either of the two positions it is designed to take up.
Provision will also be made for shutting off the fixed light altogether, either by
external shutters or by a screen inside.
The registrating gear upon the shaft, which carries the pinion which gears with
the rack upon the cylinder, is a disc bearing the names or numbers of each of the
signals. This disc is fitted upon the shaft, so that as it is turned by the handle
which actuates the pinion it presents at an opening the symbol which represents
that signal which is in gear at that moment.
The frame which carries the panels containing the red and green glasses supports

page_text: an axis bearing two discs, one having a red and the other a green glass inserted
into it. The bottom of each panel has a rod extending from it, carrying a post of
a suitable length, and placed so that in passing the disc it shall rub against it, and
at the top of each panel is also a rod.
The rods of each panel will act against the disc bearing its own color.
When the panels are made to change places (by sliding over guide bars, and a
they are connected by a line passing from one to the other over a pulley as one
descends the other rises), the disc of the lower panel will be down and the glass up,
and the post by friction will carry the disc round until both it and the glass are
horizontal, when the glazed part will rest upon a pin and be locked into its place by
the projecting end of the bar. The upper panel in descending will find its disc in
the second position, and its post in like manner will bring it into the first position,,
where the leg rests against the pin, and the bar at the top of the panel at the end
of its motion locks against the disc.
The discs are so placed that the colored part of the disc belonging to the upper
panel will shew at an opening, as before, while the disc belonging to the flash light
will shew the signal in gear at the other. The instrument therefore shows at a
glance the color and flash which is being exhibited, and the positions they bear
one to the other, thus éhecking the actual signal which is being displayed.
Reasonable modifications can of course be made in the working out of the foregoing
without departing from the principle of the Invention.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alfred Julius Boult in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th October 1881.
ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of the Firm of Wm. P. Thompson & Co., 323, High
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, and of 6, Lord St., Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer and Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR
RELATING TO SIGNALS CHIEFLY FOR USE AT SEA, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."
A communication from abroad by William Charles Seaton, of the City & Province
of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada.
The following is the description of the Invention as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent:-This code of signals is intended for the use of vessels,
particularly as side and masthead lights, and lighthouses at night or during fog or
snowstorms, so that by its means a communication may be established with those
who are within sight or hearing.
The code can be divided into three sections :-
Part I. providing 1st, signals which shall give the course to the nearest point
that the vessel using it may be steering; 2nd, the fact of her being hove to, close
hauled, or in stays; 3rd, what she intends doing to avoid collision; 4th, whether
she is showing her port or starboard side to the observer. Part II. gives a number
of signals which can be applied to a vocabulary of such sentences as may be
considered best adapted for use under such circumstances. Part III. provides
signals for the use of lighthouses. When the code is translated through the
medium of light it shall be effected, 1st, by the use of a red or a green light in
conjunction with a white light, either of which may be made to assume a fixed or
constant character, or else be broken up into flashes; 2nd, by a flash light shewn
without any accompanying light; 3rd, by a fixed white light shewn in conjunction
with a white flash light. When sound is used the red, green, and white lights
shall each be typified by blasts of a separate and distinctive length, while the
flashes shall be rendered by blasts of a proportionate length to the flashes repre-
sented. The flashes are formed by gradual opening and closing of the screens
before the light, as explained in the description of the instrument by which it is
effected, and the difference between the intervals of full light shewn will mark the
distinction between the long and short flashes, that is, supposing the short flash is
made by an immediate return motion of the screens after they have attained
their greatest opening; then a long flash may be shewn by an interval, say of
three seconds, of bright light occurring between these two movements of the screens.
In all signals a period of repetition will be fixed upon, and the interval between
the end of one signal and its recommencement may be expended either in an
eclipse of light or as an interval of fixed light. This interval is also necessary as
affording the requisite opportunity during which any desired change of signal may
be effected. Let the light which can be broken up into flashes be called the flash
light, then the following variations in the order in which the light can be made to
fall will give seventeen different combinations as under. The eight different sequences
into which a long and a short flash can be made to fall when taken in groups
of three. One short flash, one long flash, x short flashes, x long flashes, x short
flashes alternating with eclipes, × long flashes alternating with eclipses x. Each
of these four signals will repeat itself continuously during the period of the signal,
with the provision that a sufficient interval be left to allow for the operation of
changing signals. A long and a short flash separated by an eclipse. A short and a
long flash separated by an eclipse. A long flash of about two thirds the period of
the signal.
For convenience of reference let these signals be arranged in any order
that may be considered advisable, and then numbered consecutively from 0 to 15
both inclusive

page_text: PART 1.
For use in signalling courses, points of sailing, &c. The flashes will be given in
white light. Let the first ten of the above signals be assigned to represent the ten
numerals, from 0 to 9 both inclusive, and let the first nine of these numerals be
taken to express angles from the meridian measured in points. (The signal for 9 as
a numeral is of use in part 2 & 3.) The red and the green lights shall be taken,
one to represent north and the other south, that is to say, that if red be taken as
the characteristic of north, then the green shall be the characteristic of south, or
vice versa. Further, that when a coloured light is displayed above or below a
white light it shall be taken to express the one. as easterly and the other as
a westerly course, that is, if when a coloured light is shewn above a white light it is
taken to represent an easterly course; then when the coloured light is seen below a
white light it shall represent a westerly course, or vice versa. Assuming then in
all the following illustrations that a red light is characteristic of north, and a
coloured light above a white light indicates an easterly course.
Let it be supposed
that the bright light is flashing, the combination corresponding to the numeral 2,
then if the red light is seen above it the course signalled will be 2 points, east of
north, or N.N.E., while if the red light is seen below the flash the course will be
N.N.W. If instead of a red light a green one is used in the above two positions,
then the courses will be respectively S.S.E. and S.S.W. The other numerals being
used in like manner would thus give a signal for each of the 32 points of the
compass. Suppose No. 9 be the signal to shew that a vessel is hove to, then in a
similar manner the color and position of the accompanying light may be made to
express the quarter of the compass in which her middle course lies; thus, if a red
light is shewn over the flash it will signify that this middle course lies in the N.E.
quarter. If No. 10 be appropriated to shew that a vessel is closehauled, then again
this signal taken in conjunction with the color and position of the accompanying
light will at once indicate the quarter of the compass in which the vessel is sailing
closehauled; thus if a red light is seen above this signal it signifies that the vessel
is sailing closehauled upon a north easterly course, and this fact taken in con-
nection with the known direction of the wind will at once indicate whether she is
upon the port or starboard tack. Signal No. 11 may be selected to show that the
vessel is in stays, and as the accompanying light will indicate what tack she was
last upon (as defined in the explanation of the preceeding signal), it will at once be
seen to what tack she is now in the act of changing. The remaining signals may
or may not be shewn with an accompanying colored light, but for the purposes of
this section of the code it is thought better in their respect to let the white light
be seen alone, and thus No. 12, 13, 14, & 15; that is, all signals not used as courses
or points of sailing, can have meanings assigned them indicative of the means the
vessels intends to adopt to avoid collision, or any other significations such as may
be considered desirable by the maritime authorities. A strip of white light shewn
from the same lantern at each side of any colored light, or a strip of white light.
adjacent to the after side of the colored light will be the mark of distinction
between the signals, as shewn from the different sides of the vessel, that is if a
colored light having these adjacent band or bands of white light be taken as a
signal shewn from the starboard side of a vessel, then a colored light without these .
bands will denote a signal shewn from the port side of the vessel, or vice versa.
PART II.
Is intended to give a more extended vocabulary, and this is effected by the
following means:-1st. By all the signals not used in Part I., which can be formed
by a continuous colored light being displayed above or below each one of the
sixteen signals made by the flash light, which latter will then shew a white light;
2nd, by any one of the sixteen signals, not used in this manner in Part I., being
shewn alone. the signal being given in white light; 3rd, by all the signals which

page_text: 1
colored instead of a white light, and a fixed light is shewn in white in a position-
either above or below the flash light; 4th, by a red or green flash light being
displayed by itself; 5th, with the numerical signals, as established in Part I.,
numbers may be formed by shewing these signals in succession in any desired
order, and to each of the numbers thus made a meaning can be assigned.
PART III.
Is for lighthouse nomenclature. Let each lighthouse be assigned a number, this
number can then be given by the flash light, as explained in the 5th article of
Part II., care being taken to provide an interval of darkness between following
numbers of the same signal. In addition to this flash in white light a white
continuous light may be shewn either above or below the flash. The number
can have a different signification according as the fixed light is above or below
the flash. The fixed light may also be taken as the distinctive mark between
the numeral signals as shewn from a lighthouse, and those as shewn from a
vessel.
TABLE OF FLASH SIGNALS.
The following is the order in which it is suggested that the signals given by
the flash light may fall, and in this table a long and a short flash are denoted
respectively by the letters L and S, and an eclipse of three seconds by ecl. The
time occupied in the opening or closing of the screens three seconds, and the period
of repetition once every 45 seconds.

page_text: view shewing the eclipsing train, that is, the train which gears with the signal
cylinder and works the screens; Figure 9 is an inboard view of the complete lantern
when both lights are shewn from the same lantern; A is a handle fixed to the
shaft carrying the pinion working the cylinder rack, and which also carries the
disc which shews at r the number of the signal in gear. In changing the signal when
the required one is in gear, a projection from the handle is inserted into the one of
the circle of holes shewn, which is underneath at the time, and a cover will be
drawn over this part of the case, thereby locking the handle into its place. The
slit E is to allow the handle to move up when the flash changes place with the
colored light. This is effected by turning the handle B which turns the barrel of
a winch, to which both the colored and Hash apparatus are connected by a line
passing from one to the other and over a leading pulley. A friction pawl is
applied to the barrel of this wynch to prevent the flash apparatus being injured in
case the handle slips from the hand while the change is being made. A crook or
handle c and d from each of the colored panels C and D comes through the slits F to
allow a reversal of the panels when desired. This is effected by simply pulling
downwards the upper crook or handle; when in place a bolt will secure it. The
slits F are to allow the crooks room to pass when the flash and colored lights are
reversed; Figure 10 is a view from right ahead of the same lantern, the white
strip A alongside the colored light is the distinction between the port and starboard
lanterns, a similar strip being placed in like manner on the opposite side of the
same lens; Figure 11 shews the flash in one lantern and the colored lights in the
other, and the manner in which they are pivotted to the bar A, and that bar again
to the stanchion B to allow the lanterns to be reversed. The ring C slides over a
hook like D on A to keep the lanterns in position. I have adopted this plan of
two lanterns because I think the place of the lamp inside will allow the lanterns
to be made smaller, and therefore more suitable for small vessels. Figure 3 is a
perspective view shewing how the eclipsing train is worked and regulated from the
signal cylinder; Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are details of the mechanism for changing
the signals and locking them, so that they cannot be changed except at the proper
time; Figure 8 shews the arrangement for regulating the speed of the clock train.
(Figures 9, 10, 11) Figure 12 shew the arrangement of colored screens, and
how they may be actuated. These signals are shewn in the case of a vessel
either from a lantern having a lamp or lamps placed, so that a light
shall be shewn from four apertures thereof, the white light being shewn from
one, and the colored light from the other, or from two distinct lanterns, one of
which shall give the flash light and the other will display the fixed light. When
used in lighthouses they will be shewn in the manner calculated to give the best
effect in the desired direction. The flashes are made by the intervention of a
screen or screens between the light and the aperture through which it would be
visible; this interception of the light taking place at certain regulated intervals,
and is effected by the apparatus described below. The shaft A (Fig. 1) bears a
cylinder B, upon whose periphery in parallel circles are as many sets of cogs or
teeth as are signals in the code. These are so arranged that all the cogs required
to form any one signal shall come into gear during each revolution of the cylinder,
and the cogs shall be placed at such distances one from the other that the required
intervals between the alternate opening and closing of the screens may be obtained.
The cylinder is placed between two arms connected with a rack C, so that by means
of a pinion working upon the latter the cylinder may have imparted to it a lateral
motion upon the shaft A, though it must always revolve with it, so that any set of
cogs upon the cylinder may be brought into gear with the train working the
screens. The rack is kept in its place by a rod D, which passing loosely through
the arms controlling the cylinder is fixed to the supports of the wheel work. The
shaft A also bears a loose wheel, not shewn, the use of which is explained in the
article referring to the regulating gear. The shaft A derives its motion from a
train of wheels actuated by a weight or spring or other suitable driving power, and
this train is so arranged that when geared to the pinion A', keyed to the shaft A,

page_text: it gives to that shaft a period of revolution equal to the period determined upon for
that of the signals. The eclipsing train Figures 2 and 3 is so placed that it may gear
with the cogs or teeth upon the cylinder, and is so arranged that a pulley E, Fig. 2,
at its other extremity shall revolve at such a speed that a point upon any part of
its circumference shall pass through a space equal to that passed through by a
screen during the time the latter takes to open or close. This may be effected by
any of the ordinary reversing motions, or more particularly as follows:-Motion is
given by the cylinder B to the wheel K upon the shaft K¹, upon which is fixed a
spur wheel L, which, gearing with a pinion M, gives motion to a disc M¹. This
latter is connected by a link M² to a lever M³, to which is attached a toothed
segment M, whose arc and radius shall be such as will give the desired motion to
the pinion with which it gears; a counter balance M may be placed at the other
side of the bearing of this lever. On the same shaft as this last pinion is a pulley
or drum E which is connected by lines or bands E³ of suitable material to the
screens. The revolution of the disc M' will by means of the lever and connecting
rod give the toothed segment a backward and forward motion, which will transmit
through the pinion the required reversing motion to the drum E. The wheel K,
Fig. 3, is upon the same shaft, and is of the same pitch diam., as the wheel L,
Figs. 2 & 3. The former gears with the cylinder B upon the shaft A, and by the
motion thus given it gives an equal motion to the wheel L, and thence to the
pinion M which transmits it to the gear working the screens. The wheel K is of
such a pitch diam. that a cog upon the cylinder will carry it round through the
space of as many teeth as M requires to make the screens go through one movement,
and the space upon the circumference of K, equal to this number of teeth, is cut
into a concave segment K, whose radius is slightly in excess of that of the periphery
of the cylinder; therefore the pitch diam. of this wheel must be so arranged
that the number of teeth its circumference would bear, must be a multiple
of the number of teeth required to make one movement of the screens; for
instance, if this latter movement is effected by four teeth of M, and the cylinder
has a pitch diam. which would give 60 teeth, then K could be of a size to carry
40 teeth, and it would therefore have 10 concave segments separated by an equal
number of spaces into which the cogs of the cylinder would gear. The effect of
this arrangement would be that a cog of the cylinder gearing with the wheel K,
would revolve its shaft K¹ to such an extent as would make the wheel L transmit
to pinion M the exact amount of motion required to effect either an opening or a
closing of the screens, and K would then present a space or recess in position for the
following cog upon the cylinder to gear with; but if a blank upon the cylinder
intervened, then the concave part K² of K would ride so closely to this blank as
would prevent K having any motion until the next cog presented itself, thus
making sure that the next cog would come truly into gear with K.
The screens
S, S, Fig. 1, are each of about the width and one half the depth necessary to shut
off the light from the lens, and are intended to work over guide rods N, N, Fig. 1.
Where the apparatus is intended to move from one lens to another these guide
rods would be supported by brackets attached to the apparatus. A pulley P is
attached to the centre of both the upper & lower ends of these brackets, and two
others are upon the arm of the lower bracket; these latter pullies are so placed
that the lines E3 coming from the pulley E at the extremity of the eclipsing train
may be suitably rove through them. All these pullies would be in equivalent
positions where the apparatus is stationary. The screens are provided with lug
rollers or the like to travel over the guide rods, and are thus retained in their
places. A line or band is now fastened round the pulley E at the extremity of
the eclipsing train, and the ends are passed through the pullies P upon the lower
bracket closest to the above mentioned pulley E, and thence to the other pulley P
upon the lower bracket; (this pulley is double), one end is now made fast to the
lower screen S, after which it passes over the pulley P upon the upper bracket,
and after being made fast to the upper screen S is joined to the other end of the
line. Any other mode of attaching these lines to the screens so that a similar

page_text: motion is given to them may be used. These screens are thus so connected with
each other and with the pulley E at the end of the eclipsing train that a
revolution of this pulley will cause the screens to open out one from the other, while
the contrary motion of the pulley which follows, as already explained, will cause
the screens to close in one upon the other; this latter movement making the
necessary eclipse which breaks the light into the required flashes, whose length is
regulated by the distance between the cogs of the cylinder B upon the shaft A.
The regulating gear is a train of wheels with a wheel Q, Figure 1, upon the
shaft A; the last wheel of this train is a worm-wheel R which gears with a
worm R³, the shaft of which R³ carries a crosshead T, Figure 8. A pin p passes
through and works in each end of the cross-head; the part of p under the cross-
head has a screw cut upon it upon which works the small nut r, and the upper
part of p carries the fan t; a light spring S has one end attached to the nut r,
and the other to a pin near the centre of the crosshead. The fans are of such a
size that when placed nearly in a line with the crosshead, they will keep the
machine at the desired speed when the cylinder B is out of gear with the eclipsing
train. The action of the regulator is, that when the machine is in regular motion
the spring will turn t, so that the fan will not present its full area to the direction
of revolution, but at such an angle as will keep the machine at the desired speed
when it is in full work. When however in consequence of the blanks upon the
cylinder the eclipsing train is not in gear and the speed of the machine is increased,
the spring having more to resist will be more or less overpowered, and the fan t
will become proportionately more in a line with the crosshead, when its area of
resistance will be increased and the speed of the machine reduced. If on the
contrary through the rolling of the ship or from other cause a strain is put upon
the working of the machine, then its speed is lowered, and the spring in consequence
brings the fan nearer a right angle to the crosshead, its resistance being thus
decreased and the speed augmented until the equilibrium is again restored. In
Figure 8 the fans t are shewn almost in a line with the crosshead T; it would
therefore be revolving at a high speed. When at rest the fans would stand nearly
at right angles to the crosshead T.
CHANGING SIGNAL, REGISTRATION AND STOPPING GEAR.
A shaft C¹, Figures 4 and 7, bearing a pinion C2, is so fitted that it gears with the
rack C, Figure 1, which actuates the cylinder B; the same shaft also bears a disc C³,
Figure 5, having upon it the names, or numbers, or other symbols corresponding to
the signals, and a blank space for out of gear. A locking plate U, having as
many holes U₁ as there are signals, and one over for locking the cylinder out of
gear is fixed to the frame of the wheelwork in such a manner that it is parallel
to the above disc, and the shaft C works through its centre. The handle or
knob V, Figures 5 and 6, at the extremity of this shaft, has an arm V¹, fixed to it of
such a length that.a pin at its end shall travel in the circle of and be capable of
fitting into the holes in the locking plate. When this pin is made to enter one
of these holes it locks the shaft and pinion, and therefore the cylinder and the rack
with which the pinion gears. The handle is made to slide upon a feather upon
the shaft to allow this pin to be inserted in or withdrawn from the holes in the
locking plate, which latter is so fitted that when the pin is in any one of its holes
a signal upon the cylinder shall be exactly in gear with the cylinder wheel K of
the eclipsing train. And again, the disc bearing the signal numbers shall be fitted
so upon the shaft that the number corresponding to the signal then in gear shall
appear opposite an opening in the lantern designed for the purpose. The handle
or knob is made of two parts, so that the spokes of the disc C³ may be enclosed,
and it is slotted so that the handle can be moved over the feather without giving
motion to the disc. A bent lever W is fitted so that one end shall rest in a recess
or groove V2 formed round the inner end of the handle, while the other end of the
lever is of a length and shape so that it may be made to go in and out of gear

page_text: with a ratchet wheel which is fixed to the shaft A, bearing the cylinder B. The
handle being pulled out so that the pin of the above mentioned arm V₁ may be
drawn clear of the hole in the locking plate will at the same time give a motion
to the lever (by reason of its end being recessed in the handle), and thus cause
its other end to gear with the ratchet wheel upon the cylinder shaft, and thus stop
the machine while a change of signal is proceeding. After the change of signal
has been made the handle is moved in over the feather upon the shaft until the
pin enters a hole in the locking plate; this motion reverses the action of the lever
and releases the ratchet wheel, thus allowing the machine to resume its motion.
As it only at the close of a signal that a change of signal can be made the
following motion is designed to lock the handle except during the proper interval
when such changes can be effected :-A shaft X, which may be an independant
shaft, or the one over which the rackwork arms travel, is by a pair of wheels of
equal diameter given an equal motion, though not necessarily in the same direction
to that of the cylinder shaft A. This shaft X has a cam X¹ fitted to it of such a
size and shape that it shall operate on the end of a lever X³ only during the time
when a change of signals can be made. This lever is pivotted to the frame work
of the machine, and one of its arms will work through a space in the locking
plate, and then move the end of a small catch Y pivotted to this locking plate; the
other end of the catch forms a clutch which works in and out of the shoulder
formed upon the inner side of the recess V2 in the handle above described. In
Figure 4 the catch Y is out of gear, so that the handle can be withdrawn and a
change of signal made; the dotted lines indicate the position it assumes whilst a
signal is being given. When therefore the proper interval has arrived during
which signal changes can be effected the cam, by means of the lever, removes the
catch from the handle, the handle is pulled out to unlock the pin from the
locking plate, and this movement of the handle gears the other lever with
the ratchet wheel and stops the machine, thus giving unlimited time to make the
desired change in the signal. This being effected the handle is pushed in until
the pin enters a hole in the locking plate, and this movement reverses the
action of the last mentioned lever, releases the ratchet wheel, and allows the
machine to resume work. A sliding door of the lantern passes over the handle,
thus effectually preventing any further movement of this part. When the interval
for signal changes has expired the cam leaves the lever, and a spring makes the
catch pass over the shoulder on the handle, preventing its being pulled away from
the locking plate until the proper time for such a movement has has returned.
An independent means of stopping the machine is provided by a pin, which by
being screwed in or out of its bearing moves a lever to one end of which it is
attached; the other end of the lever gears with the above mentioned ratchet wheel
upon the cylinder shaft and stops the machine, but when the pin is unscrewed and
moved in the contrary way the lever moves away from the ratchet and frees the
machine.
The colored lights are shewn by one or other of the following methods.
according as is desirable:-A colorless lens is permanently fitted into the aperture
in the lantern from which the colored light is intended to be shewn; behind this
is placed a frame which contains a sheet of red and another of green glass, both
being of the requisite size and shape, and this frame is so arranged that the part
containing either the red or the green glass may take its place behind the lens in
the aperture, so that the rays of light proceeding from the lens may be red or green
as may be desired, see Figure 12. The frame is provided with races or slots Z, or
otherwise with guide rods, by either of which it is intended to direct the motion
of the panels containing the colored glass. These panels Z¹ and Z2 are connected
one with the other by a line Z3, which passes over a pulley Z fixed in the upper
part of the frame. One of these panels is provided with an arm Z³, by which the
panel is moved up and down by hand as required and by means of the connecting
line above mentioned it gives a contrary motion to the other panel. A rod. Zo,
which is held in position by brackets which may be a continuation of the upper

page_text: and lower parts of the said frame, is provided; at proper places upon this rod luds
or catches Z7 are attached, which are intended to fix the arm operating the panels
in its place when it is at either end of its motion. Another panel covered with
any suitable opaque substance is also in this frame and is used to shut off the
colored light when required. It is moved by an arm and fixed in its place by a
catch in the same manner as the colored glass panel. A small frame Z³ containing
colored glass is attached to the arın operating the panels, and from the other
end of the same side of this panel another arm Z is provided to bear another
small frame Z10, which will contain glass of the opposite color to the first mentioned
one Z³. As the panel is moved by the arm the one of these frames which bears
the same color as the panel brought into position behind the lens will appear at an
opening in the lantern provided for the purpose and thus register which of the
colored rays is being shewn by the lantern. The arm of the dark panel may bear
a similar dark screen to shut off the light from the opening when the dark panel is
in use; or a red or a green lens are placed either horizontally or vertically in a frame
(provision being made in the former case so that the band of white light which is
the distinction between the port and starboard lights may be shewn), and this frame
is so arranged that the red lens or the green lens as desired may take its place
opposite the aperture in the lantern from which the colored light is intended to be
displayed. The white and colored lights may be shewn from the same lantern or
from two distinct lanterns working in conjunction. If in one lantern, Figure 10,
the lantern will have two apertures, one under the other, each fitted with a fixed
colorless lens, the frame containing the colored glasses and the apparatus for
shewing the flash light will be connected with one another; if the flash is in
white light they will be connected by bands passing over pullies, so that the
frame and the flash apparatus may travel in contrary directions, up and down
guide bars provided for that purpose. The bands will be of such a length
that when the colored glass in the frame is oposite one of the lenses the
screens shall be in a proper to shut off the light from the other, but if the flash
is in colored light the frame containing the colored glasses is attached to the
flash apparatus, so that it may be always before the screens. If in two distinct
lanterns, Figure 11, one lantern will be arranged to show the fixed light, while the
other will shew the flash light. Each lantern will be pivotted to a bar a in such a
manner that during a revolution of this bar upon its axis the lanterns may swing
so that they may always retain their normal upright position; this bar, to which
the lanterns are attached, is in its turn pivotted to an upright stanchion 6, so that
the position of the lanterns may be reversed when desired, and provision is made
as by the ring c sliding over the hook d to keep this bar fixed to the stanchion bin
either of the two positions it is designated to take up. Provision can also be made
for shutting off the fixed light altogether either by external shutters or by a screen
inside. A suitable winch is provided for changing the places of the flash and
colored lights when such a change is requisite. The winch is secured to a
convenient part of the framing, and a line after being made fast to the flash
apparatus is passed round and one of the turns fastened to the barrel of the winch,
after which it is made fast to the frame containing the colored panels, passing on
its way over such guide pulleys as may be necessary to give it the proper direction.
The winch is operated by a handle which may be worked by hand from outside the
lantern. A suitable detent keeps the handle fast in the positions it has to take up.
Upon the shaft of the winch is fitted a ratchet wheel, for which a pawl suitably
place, is provided and pressed against the ratchet wheel by a spring. The teeth
of the ratchet wheel are of such a shape that the pawl cannot perfectly lock into
them, so that when they permit the pawl to free itself the resistance they offer
prevents the winch from racing. It will be observed that the foregoing apparatus,
although specially designed for the code of signals described herein, is quite adapted
to give other signals (as, for instance, the Morse telegram alphabet) by the proper
arrangement of the cogs upon the cylinder; and although a code of flash signals
has been herein set forth this may be modified, and such other series of flashes as

page_text: circumstances require may be substituted so long as they are used in the manner
indicated by the said code.
Having now described the Invention as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, and the method of performing the same, I wish it to be under-
stood that what I claim and desire to protect under the herein before in part recited
Letters Patent is,-
1. As a means of signalling the courses and points of sailing of a sailing or
other vessel, the employment of a flash light used in conjunction with a red or
green light, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. As a side or masthead light for vessels, the complete apparatus substantially
as and for the purposes herein set forth and shown in the accompanying
Drawings.
3. As a means of producing flash signals, the employment of a pair of sliding
screens so opperated as to approach each other and eclipse the light when required,
and for the required length of time, and in like manner to recede from each other,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth and shown.
4. In a signalling apparatus, the combination with a studded cylinder B of the
wheel K as a means of producing and regulating the motion of the flash screens,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth and shown.
5. In a signalling apparatus, the employment of the wheel K, which, after
giving to the screens the exact motion required, locks itself against the cylinder so
that it cannot turn until the proper time for the next flash, substantially as set
forth and shown.
6. As a mechanism for giving the reciprocating motion to the screens in a
signalling apparatus, the combination with the wheel K of the spur-wheel L, spur
pinion M, disc M¹, levers M² and M³, segmental rack M, rack pinion E¹, pulley E,
and lines E³, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth and shown.
7. As a regulator or governor for a train of wheel work, the combination
with the revolving crosshead T and fans or vanest of the governing springs S,
screwed pins or arms p, and regulating nuts r, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth and shown.
8. The method of exhibiting on board the vessel itself the signal which the
apparatus is then exhibiting, substantially as set forth and shown.
9. As a stop mechanism, the combination of the grooved handle V2 and lever W
with a ratchet wheel upon the cylinder shaft A, whereby the apparatus is of
necessity stopped before a change of signal can be effected, substantially as set
forth and shown.
10. As a locking device, the combination of the grooved handle V³, catch Y,
lever X², cam X', and cam shaft X, actuated from and at an equal speed with
the cylinder shaft A, whereby a change of signals can only be effected at such
time as the cylinder is in a proper position therefor, substantially as set forth and
shown.
11. As a device for setting and locking in position the signal cylinder. B of a
signalling apparatus, the combination of the armed rack C, pinion C³, spindle C¹,
and slotted handle V, with the handle arm V¹ and locking plate U, substantially as
set forth and shown.
12. As a device for correctly indicating in a signal apparatus what signal is in
gear, the combination of the armed rack C, pinion C³, spindle C', and index plate
or disc C³, substantially as set forth and shown.
13. As an extra locking device, a sliding door or panel in or upon the case, which
being passed over the handle prevents it from turning until said door or panel be
withdrawn substantially, as set forth.
14. In a signalling apparatus, the combination upon one pivotted beam or arm a
of the two pivotted lanterns, one shewing a flash and one a fixed light, whereby
the position of said lanterns may be readily reversed, the top lantern taking the
place of the bottom one without upsetting or interfering with the operation of

page_text: either, substantially as and for the purposes set forth and shown in Figure 11 of
the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Julius Boult, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, One thousand eight hundred
and eighty one.
ALFRED J. BOULT. (L.S.)