IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELE- GRAPHS.
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Davies and Frederic Herbert
William Higgins, both of Nos. 17 & 18, Cornhill, in the City
of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELE-
GRAPHS.
Sealed the 14th October 1873, and dated the 29th July 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Davies
and Frederic Herbert William Higgins at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 29th July 1878.
We, WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES and FREDERIO HERBERT WILLIAM
HIGGINS, both of Nos. 17 & 18, Cornhill, in the Oity of London, do
liereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in electric telegraphs.
For receiving the telegraphic messages we employ a printing instru-
ment which consists of type wheels driven by the oscillation of pallets
actuated by an electro-magnet. The printing is done sometimes when
the type driving current is on, and sometimes when off. Two type

page_text: wheels on the same axis are used together, they have 60 characters
or symbols. The type wheels complete a revolution for every 15
currents sent through the electro-magnet, and at will one or other of
them can be brought into action and caused to print.
The palletts of the escapement are of such a form as to obviate the
necessity when running at high speed for any great pressure of the
pallets upon the escapement wheel. The incline of the palletts is such
that the momentum of the escapement wheel and parts connected
therewith cannot move the palletts independently of the actuating
electro-magnet.
There is a ratchet and pawl to prevent the backward movement of
the type wheels, which thus cannot move in either direction except
when currents are sent which influence the electro-magnet provided
to work them.
The inking roller is of piano felt covered with velvet ribbon with the
pile outwards, and counterbalanced in order that it may press on the
type with no more weight than is necessary.
The instrument is mounted upon a pad of sponge rubber placed
under its base to prevent its vibrations being communicated to the
bracket or other support.
The transmitting machine is provided with a form of governor which
allows its actuating train to start at full speed instantly upon being
set free by the finger keys, and the governor keeps the speed uniform
whilst running, and admits of ready adjustment. A. crank driven by
the actuating train gives motion to a rocking lever having a pin upon
it; this pin enters a fork in the end of an arm or instrument mounted
on a centre, which can be made to approach to or recede from the pin.
Thus the arm or instrument, when the train is running, receives a
vibratory motion through a larger or smaller arc. The resistance
which this arm or instrument opposes augments rapidly as the speed
increases, and is also dependent on the arc through which it vibrates.
1
A condenser is applied in connection with the distributing relays to
receive a portion of the charge from the line at the instant contact
with the battery is broken, and discharge it when the line tension
falls so as to produce a momentary reversal of the magnetism of the
electro-magnets of the receiving instruments in circuit.

page_text: A second contact point is adapted to the distributing relay; it is
carried by a spring, and arranged in practice to make contact, whilst
the main points are still separated by a distance of about bu of an
inch. The object of this arrangement is to cause the spark to be given
³ off only at one place, and leave one set of points clear.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Henry Davies and Frederic Herbert
William Higgins in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
HENRY DAVIES and FREDERIC HERBERT WILLIAM HIGGINS, both of
Nos. 17 and 18, Cornhill, in the City of London, send greeting.
·
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said William Henry Davies and
Frederic Herbert William Higgins, Her special license that we, the
said William Henry Davies and Frederic Herbert William Higgins,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said William Henry Davies and Frederic Herbert William Higgins,
our 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 ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said William Henry Davies and Erederic Herbert
William Higgins, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and
seal of one of us or them, 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.

page_text: centre, which can be made to approach to or recede from the pin. Thus
the arm or instrument when the train is running receives a vibratory
motion through a larger or smaller arc. The resistance which this arm
or instrument opposes augments rapidly as the speed increases, and is
also dependant on the are through which it vibrates.
A. condenser is applied in connection with the distributing relays to
receive a portion of the charge from the line at the instant contact with
the battery is broken, and discharge it when the line tension falls so as
to produce a momentary reversal of the magnetism of the electro-
magnets of the receiving instruments in circuit,
-
-
A second contact point is adapted to the distributing relay, it is carried
by a spring and arranged in practice to make contact, whilst the main
points are still separated by a distance of about 4th of an inch. The
object of this arrangement is to cause the spark to be given off only at
one place and leave one set of.points clear.
In order that our said Invention may be most fully understood and
Figure 1 is a side view of parts of an electric telegraph printing
instrument, the portions of the instrument to which our Invention
relates are fully and clearly shewn, but other parts which are old and
well-known are omitted.
a is the electro-magnet by which motion is given to the type wheels;
when magnetised it attracts to it the armature 6, and when the
magnetism ceases the spring c draws the armature back away from
the magnet. The armature 6 is mounted upon the axis 6', and on this
axis is also fixed an arm which terminates in the pallets &º, 6º. Between
these pallets is the ratchet escapement wheel d; it is fixed upon the axis
of the type wheels and has fifteen teeth. When the pallets descend in
consequence of the attraction of the electro-magnet upon the
armature b, the upper pallet pushes the escapement wheel forward by
the space of half a tooth and there holds it until the magnetising current
ceases to flow. At this time the spring o lifts the pallets and again
pushes the escapement wheel forward by the space of another half tooth.
Here again the type wheel is securely held and retained until the

page_text: armature is again attracted. This secure locking of the escapement
wheel arises from the shape given to the portion of the pallet which
stops the forward motion of the escapement wheel when the armature is
not moving under the influnence of the electro-magnet or of the spring.
This portion of the pallet is shaped to such an incline that even if a
force were applied tending to turn the type and escapement wheels
forward it would have little or no tendency to move the pallets 6º around
their centre 6³, in which direction alone they are free to move. This
construction prevents the momentum given to the type wheels in rapid
working from causing the escapement pallets to trip, or to receive back
from the escaping wheel a motion when there is no corresponding make
or break of the electric circuit; e is a ratchet wheel on the same axis
with the escapement and type wheels; it has thirty teeth, and a pawl
dropping between these teeth prevents the escapement wheel under any
circumstances from rotating in a backward direction.
The transmitting instrument at the sending station consists of an axis
which as it revolves makes and breaks an electric circuit fifteen times in
each complete revolution, these makes and breaks actuate the relay
instrument, shewn at Figures 2 and 3 and herein-after described. "The
relay is at the sending station, and it makes and breaks another battery
circuit in which the electro-magnet a is included.
The transmitting instrument has a number of finger keys corre-
sponding to the characters or symbols of the type wheels, and by
depressing one or other of these keys the axis is stopped at any part of
the revolution, and just when the character or symbol corresponding
with the key which has been depressed has been brought into a position
to be printed, that is to say, to the under side of the type wheel. When
the axis of the transmitter is stopped an automatic arrangement com-
pletes the electric circuit by which the printing is determined, this
current acts upon a relay which completes a battery circuit through the
electro-magnet f, and the armature 9 is then attracted. This armature
is attached to the paper carrier h which is mounted upon the axis i, and
so when the armature is attracted the strip of paper k is raised into con- .
tact with the type wheel and so the printing is effected.
g
The types are constantly inked by the roller m which runs in contact
with them. This roller as already mentioned is made of piano felt, and
is covered with velvet. The roller is dabbed with printing ink from

page_text: time to time as may be required. The inking roller m is carried by the
arms m² mounted on the axis m² and is counterpoised by a weight m³, so
that it bears but very lightly upon the type. By a simple arrangement
forming no part of the present Invention, each movement of the paper
5 carrier causes the strip of paper 1 to be advanced a short distance,
sufficient to keep the characters distinct the one from the other.
Figure 4 shows the axis of the escapement wheel and parts connected
therewith. The type wheels are here clearly seen; they are marked n and
o; they are rigidly fixed together and able to slide upon the escapement
) axis, but not to turn independently. One wheel usually carries letter
type, and the other figures and fractions; one wheel only is in use at a
time, that is to say, the two wheels never simultaneously print upon the
paper, but one or other of the type wheels n or o is brought over the
paper into position to print by means of the small lever p, which is
mounted upon an arm fixed upon the escapement axis.
•
In order to shift the type wheels the escapement axis is brought to
one or other of two positions corresponding with blanks on the type
wheels, and then the printing contact being made the paper carrier h
rises and with it the two pins h² and h³, which are fixed upon it; and
one or other of these pins (according to the position of the axis) strikes
the lever p and causes it to tip upon its centre pin p². An arm p³ of
the lever p is linked to the type wheels, o, and so motion is given to
them along the axis, the pin ' operating when the motion is required in
one-direction, and the pin h³ when a contrary motion is required. q is a
notched disc; it is fast with the type wheels, a fixed stud corresponds
with the notch, and when the type wheels are shifted the disc passes
from side to side of the fixed stud. At other times the stud prevents
any accidental displacement of the type wheels laterally. is a spiral
or worm on the axis of the escapement wheel, a small hook traverses
along it, and when the type wheels are several times rotated without
printing or moving the paper carrier the hook catches upon the stump „ª
and retains it, stopping the rotation of the type wheels, but each time
that the paper carrier moves it brings the hook back and starts it afresh
at the commencement of the spiral or worm r. This contrivance is not
fully shown in the Drawings as it forms no part of the present Invention,
it enables the type wheels to be at any time brought correctly back to
the starting point even if the concord between the transmitting and
receiving instruments should for a moment be deranged. a is a portion

page_text: of the base of the instrument and t the pad of india-rubber sponge on
which it is supported in order to deaden sound and to prevent injurious
vibration. The instrument is covered with a glass u, which a band of
vulcanized india-rubber attached to the pad t embraces air and dust
tight.
The relay, of which a front elevation is shewn at Figure 2, and a side
elevation at Figure 3, consists of a - base of vulcanite or other non-
conducting material, to which is fixed the standard supporting by
means of an adjustable screw stem the electro-magnet v¹ by the binding
screws ³, ³. It is coupled with the transmitting instrument, by which
the electric circuit through the coils of the electro-magnet is alternately
made and broken. wis the armature, which when the current passes
in the coils of the magnet is attracted, and when the magnetism ceases
it is drawn back by the adjustable spring w¹. w³ is a lever, to which the
armature is fixed. It turns on the pivots w³, and is in electric con-
nection with the binding screw w². The lever wo³ carries two platinum
contact studs w³ and w³, the lower one w³ is connected with the lever by
means of a-spring blade. Opposite these contact studs are two corre
sponding screws x³ and x²; they are carried by the standard x, which is
in electric connection with the binding screw 2³. By the binding
screws wª and ≈³ the relay is coupled with the line circuit. When the
armatúre is attracted it makes contact between the studs w and wª and
the platinum pointed screws a¹ and a³, and so the circuit is closed, in
which the battery, the line wire, and one of the electro-magnets of the
printing instrument is included. When the magnetising current ceases
in the coils of the magnet o¹, and the armature recedes as far as the
adjusting screw 2 on the standard & will admit, contact is first broken
between wº and a³, the contact screws being adjusted so that this shall be
the case, and consequently there is no spark between these points, any
spark which may result from the discharge of the line wire on breaking
contact being taken between the points x¹ and w³. Also with the object
of lessening this spark we connect with the line wire at the transmitting
station in the vicinity of the relay a condenser consisting of sheets of tin-
foil laid one over the other, and separated by thin sheet gutta percha or
other thin insulating material. The alternate sheets are electrically
connected, and one set is coupled with the line wire and the other set
has an earth connection. A total metallic surface of twenty feet area
will usually be found sufficient.
•

page_text: The transmitting instrument consists of an axis the rotation of which
makes and breaks electric contacts which causes currents or shocks to
enter the line wire, and such currents or shocks being communicated to
the receiving instrument actuate the escapement and rotate the axis
of the type wheel in unison rotation for rotation with the axis of the
transmitting instrument, so that when the axis in the transmitting
instrument is stopped in any position, as it can be by suitable finger
keys, the axis of the type wheel in the receiving instrument will stop
simultaneously and in a corresponding position; the axis of the trans-
;.
mitting instrument is driven by wheelwork actuated by a weight or
spring, and to the proper working of the telegraph under varying
conditions it is requisite that the axis of the transmitting instrument
when liberated by the keys should at once start into rapid motion and
then run at a uniform speed which may be made more or less
rapid at pleasure, until the axis is again stopped by the finger keys.
The governor which we will proceed to describe fullfils these con-
ditions.
In the annexed Drawings Figure 5 is a side elevation, Figure 6 a
plan, and Figure 7 a front elevation with one of the plates of the frame
removed. a is the extremity of the transmitting axis; 6 is a spur wheel
upon it driving a pinion o, on the axis of which is a crank o². From the
crank pin a link d passes to the lever e on an axis e', and in the further
end of the lever e is fixed the pin es entering the slot f¹ in the lever f.
The axis fs of the lever is carried by a frame g which can be moved by
the hand of the operator around the centre g¹, but the pin eª is never to
be drawn out of the slot f¹; 9' is a friction spring on the frame g to
retain it wherever it may be placed. This rocking lever governor offers
very little resistance to the starting of the axis of the transmitting
instrument, but when the speed is high it is competent to absorb a large
amount of power. Thus the axis when it is liberated may be made to
attain a uniform speed almost instantaneously, and this speed will be
more or less, according as the two axes of the governor levers are set
more or less distant the one from the other.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention and the
manner of performing the same, we would have it understood that we
claim,-
1st The escemement arranged substantially as described.

page_text: 3rd. The sponge rubber pad arranged substantially as described.
4th. The condenser in combination with the line wire and relay,
substantially as described.
5th. The double contact relay arranged substantially as described.
6th. The rocking lever governor arranged substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Davies, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of
January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-four.