IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF ELECTRIC INDICATORS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward John Cowling Welch, of Eden Street,
Hampstead Road, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF ELECTRIC
INDICATORS."
Sealed the 30th June 1871, and dated the 2nd January 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward John Cowling
Welch at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with. his
Petition, on the 2nd January 1871.
I, EDWARD JOHN Cowling WELCH, of Eden Street, Hampstead Road,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF
ELECTRIC IndicatORS," to be as follows :—
+
.
The indicator is contained in a case formed of wood or other suitable
material, with openings in front in number corresponding to the required
number of bells or otherwise. A bell being rung (as it is termed) from
any room or part of a house or other place a bell sounds inside the
indicator frame, and at the same time the number or name of the room
appears in one of the openings in the front of the case, and when the bell

page_text: has done sounding the number is again caused to disappear by pressing
a small lever attached to the case. These results have hitherto been
sought to be brought about in several different ways, but the present
arrangement is claimed to be a great improvement on all the others, the
way it is carried out is as follows:-A frame of brass or other metal in
section something like the letter T, carries a horse-shoe of soft iron, upon
the arms of which are reels wound with insulated wire; upon a current of
electricity being passed through the coils of wire the horse-shoe is con-
verted into a powerful magnet. In front of the ends of this horse-shoe
is a small iron shutter provided with a projection or notch on the edge
thereof and working on a hinged joint, which shutter being attracted by
the magnet is drawn towards it, the electric current through the coils
being stopped the shutter falls back into its original position. A lever
carrying a card or piece of metal with the required number or name on
it moves up and down on a pin carried by an arm projecting from the
side of the brass frame, and this lever when up rests on the before-
mentioned projection or notch and when the shutter is attracted by the
magnet the projection or notch being drawn away the lever falls down
and displays the number or name in front of the opening in the indicator
frame, and the instant the bell in the room has ceased being rung the
shutter falls back, and upon the lever attached to the case being actuated
the lever carrying the number is again raised up and is caught by the
projection or notch of the shutter. One of these complete actions is
placed behind each opening in the indicator, and the lever attached to the
case lifts all the levers at once.
..
With regard to that part of the apparatus which rings a bell in order
to call attention to the indicator. the return wires from all the actions are
united to one wire, so that whichever action is at work the return current
shall pass through the single wire which is connected to the magnetic
coils of the electric bell itself, so that from whichever room the bell is
actuated the current not only causes the number to appear by passing
through the coils of that particular action in the indicator, but also
passes through the coils of the electric bell, and by this means 'the
strength of the current is much reduced by having to pass through two
sets of coils at the same time. In this indicator the bell used is so con-
structed that instead of the current being broken each time the hammer
strikes the bell the coils of the bell magnets are simply cut out of the
circuit as the hammer is attracted and strikes the bell, the hammer rod

page_text: being in electric contact with one end of the magnetic coils and to one:
end of the battery and a small spring placed in front of the hammer rod
(insulated on a piece of wood or other insulator) being in contact with
the other end of the coils and with the return wire from the actions, the
electric current passes through the indicator action on through the small
insulated spring to one end of the coils, then through the coils on to the
hammer, rod, and thus, to the battery; in doing this the iron core of.
the coils becomes a magnet attracting the armature which carries the
hammer rod and hammer, the latter being struck against the bell at:
the same time that the hammer rod is brought in contact with the
insulated spring; the current then entering the spring as before passes
direct to the hammer rod and thus to the battery without going through.
the coils of the magnet, the core of which at once ceasing to be magnetic;
the armature falls back, breaking contact with the spring, and the
current again passes through the coils as before. By this means the
whole battery current is sent alternately through the action and bell coils
together, and through the action coils alone, thus ensuring the perfect
working of the indicators which generally fail under the method of
construction previously used where the current was wholly broken
each time the bell armature was attracted, and when established at
the return of the hammer had to pass through both sets of coils at
once.
This kind of bell is also applicable to the existing systems of electric
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,..
filed by the said Edward John Cowling Welch in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 1st July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
JOHN COWLING WELCH, of Eden Street, Hampstead Road, in the County:
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,. by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of January, in the year.
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-.
fourth year of Her reign, did, for. Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward John Cowling Welch, Her

page_text: special licence that I, the said Edward John Cowling Welch, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Edward John Cowling Welch, 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 THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF
ELECTRIC INDICATORS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I; the said
Edward John Cowling Welch, 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 Inven-
tion, 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 Edward John Cowling Welch,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, that is to say :—
The indicator is contained in a case formed of wood or other suitable
material with openings in front in number corresponding to the required
number of bells or otherwise. A bell being rung (as it is termed) from
any room or part of a house or other place, a bell sounds inside the
indicator frame, and at the same time the number or name of the room
appears in one of the openings in the front of the case, and when the
bell has done sounding the number is again caused to disappear by
pressing a small lever attached to the case. These results have hitherto
been sought to be brought about in several different ways, but the
present arrangement is claimed to be a great improvement on all others,
and is carried out in the following manner:-A frame of brass or other
metal, in section something like the letter T, carries a horse-shoe of soft
iron, upon the arms of which are reels wound with insulated wire. Upon
a current of electricity being passed through the coils of wire the horse-
shoe is converted into a powerful magnet. In front of the ends of this
horse-shoe is a small iron shutter provided with a projection or notch on the
edge thereof and working on a hinged joint, which shutter being attracted
by the magnet is drawn towards it. The clectric current through the
coils being stopped, the shutter falls back into its original position. A

page_text: lever carrying a card or piece of metal with the required number or
name on it moves up and down on a pin carried by an arm projecting
from the side of the brass frame, and this lever when up rests on the
before-mentioned projection or notch, and when the shutter is attracted
by the magnet the projection or notch being drawn away the lever falls
down and displays the number or name in front of the opening in the
indicator frame, and the instant the bell in the room has ceased to be
rung the shutter falls back, and upon the lever attached to the case
being actuated the lever carrying the number is again raised up and is
caught by the projection or notch of the shutter. One of these complete
actions is placed behind each opening in the indicator case, and the lever
attached to the case lifts all the levers at once.
With regard to that part of the apparatus which rings a bell in
order to call attention to the indicator, the return wires from all the
actions are united to one wire, so that whichever action is at work,
the return current shall pass through the single wire, which is con-
nected to the magnetic coils of the electric bell itself, so that from
whichever room the bell is actuated the current not only causes the
number to appear by passing through the coils of that particular
action in the indicator, but also passes through the coils of the electric
bell, and by this means the strength of the current is much reduced
by having to pass through two sets of coils at the same time. In
this indicator the bell used is so constructed that instead of the current
being broken each time the hammer strikes the bell the coils.of the
bell magnets are simply cut out of the circuit as the hammer is
attracted and strikes the bell, the hammer rod being in electric contact
with one end of the magnetic coils and to one end of the battery,
and a small spring placed in front of the hammer rod (insulated on
a piece of wood or other insulator) being in contact with the other
end of the coils and with the return wire from the actions, the electric
current passes through the indicator action or through the small in-
sulated spring to one end of the coils, then through the coilson to the
hammer rod, and thus to the battery; in doing this the iron core of
the coils becomes a magnet attracting the armature which carries the
hammer rod and hammer, the latter being struck against the bell at the
same time that the hammer rod itself is brought in contact with the
insulated spring; the current then entering the spring as before passes
direct to the hammer rod and thus to the battery without going through
.

page_text: the coils of the magnet, the core of which at once ceasing to be mag-
netic the armature falls back breaking contact with the spring, and the
current again passes through the coils as before. By this means the
whole battery current is sent alternately through the action and bell
coils together, and through the action, coils alone, thus ensuring the
perfect working of the indicators which generally fail under the method
of construction previously used where the current was wholly broken
each time the bell armature was attracted, and when established at the
return of the hammer had to pass through both sets of coils at once.
This kind of bell is also applicable to the existing systems of electric
bells or indicators.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would observe
in conclusion that what I consider novel and original and therefore
claim as constituting the Invention secured to me by the said herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent are,-
-
First. The combination and arrangement of parts and mechanism in
the construction of electric indicators substantially as and for the
purposes herein-before set forth and described.
And Secondly. The arrangement of the bell apparatus substantially as
and for the purpose herein-before set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward John Cowling Welch,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this First day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
EDWARD J. COWLING WELCH. (L.S.)