IMPROVEMENTS IN TELL-TALE, INDICATING, AND REGISTERING ARRANGE- MENTS AND MECHANISM
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Ernesto Spagnoletti, of Paddington, in
the County of Middlesex, Telegraph Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TELL-TALE, INDICATING, AND REGISTERING ARRANGE-
MENTS AND MECHANISM."
Sealed the 24th January 1873, and dated the 27th July 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Ernesto
Spagnoletti at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 27th July 1872.
I, CHARLES ERNESTO SPAGNOLETTI, of Paddington, in the County of
Middlesex, Telegraph Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TELL-TALE, INDICATING, AND REGISTERING
ARRANGEMENTS AND MECHANISM," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in registering visits at
certain places made by watchmen and others in public or other buildings,
yards, and other premises, and for detecting omissions and tampering

page_text: with the apparatus by the attendants who should work it. For this
purpose I employ a train of clockwork, so regulated that when a roller,
cylinder, or barrel of metal, wood, or other material is attached to it,
these rollers revolve on an axle driven by the clockwork at a rate equal
by arrangement and adjustment to such a speed as will draw off of a
drum or bobbin a strip of paper any desired width at any required rate;
I employ a strip of paper scaled and ruled, showing the hours and
minutes; and this paper, by the revolving roller, is so arranged that a
scaled hour on it shall run off in the same time and at the same rate as
the minute hand of a clock traverses round the dial once, making the
hour, and that the paper and clock shall work in unison. This paper
may or may not be chemically prepared, it is so arranged on a drum
or bobbin as to pass over a cylinder and thence between the revolving
rollers by which it is drawn off; resting on this paper, if chemical pre-
parations are used, over the cylinder, are as many electrically insulated
needles in a holder, or each needle can have a separate rod holder, which
is better, acting on a hinge on a rod of electrical insulating material or
sectionally insulated, as places are required to be visited, and when
indications or marks are made by any needle it is known from which of
the appointed places it is sent, as each place is indicated by separate
needle, thus by the mark it can be seen at pleasure at what time to the
minute any given or desired place was actually visited by the attendant
or watchman either by day or night.
When chemicals are used and the paper is prepared thereby the signal
or mark is made in the following manner:-At each of the places
appointed to be visited by the attendant is fixed a small box containing.
two springs, so arranged that by the insertion of a key shaped in any
peculiar form so that no one can work it but those who have such a key;
the two springs can be put in electrical contact by this action, and an
electric circuit is made complete, and the current consequent on the
completion of the circuit from a battery attached passes through the
needle and prepared paper in its course decomposing the metallic
needle and leaving a mark or deposit on the paper. If the paper be not
chemically prepared, then electro-magnets have to be added to the
instruments, and so placed as to draw down levers, at the ends of which
are wheels or a piece of metal or other material, which when drawn
down by the electric current being sent through the electro-magnets by

page_text: the insertion of the key in the boxes at the places to be visited, presses
the paper upwards or downwards as arranged or required, and by so
doing puts the paper in contact with a pad or piece of cloth saturated
with ink or colouring matter, and thus makes a mark on the paper by
which can be seen the time the mark was made, or indentations in the
paper can be made without ink or colouring matter.
The clockwork train can
be made to run any reasonable number of
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Charles
Ernesto Spagnoletti in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th January 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
ERNESTO SPAGNOLETTI, of Paddington, in the County of Middlesex,
Telegraph Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Charles Ernesto Spagnoletti, Her special
licence, that I, the said Charles Ernesto Spagnoletti, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles
Ernesto Spagnoletti, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
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 TELL-TALE, INDICATING, AND REGISTERING ARRANGE-
MENTS AND MECHANISM," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Charles Ernesto Spagnoletti, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
any

page_text: seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Ernesto Spagnoletti, 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 :——
This Invention has for its object improvements in registering visits at
certain places made by watchmen and others in public or other buildings,
yards, and other premises, and for detecting omissions and tamperings
For this
with the apparatus by the attendants whose visits it records.
purpose I employ a train of clockwork so regulated that when a roller,
cylinder, or barrel, of metal, wood, or other material is attached to it,
these rollers revolve on an axle driven by the clockwork at a rate equal
by arrangement and adjustment to such a speed as will draw off a'
drum or bobbin a strip of paper any desired width at any required rate;
I employ a strip of paper scaled and ruled showing the hours and
minutes, and this paper by the revolving rollers is so arranged that a
scaled hour of it should run off in the same time and at the same rate as
the minute hand of a clock traverses round the dial, once making the
hour, and that the paper and the clock shall work in unison. This
paper may or may not be chemically prepared, and it is so placed on a
drum or bobbin as to pass over or under a cylinder, and thence between
the revolving rollers by which it is drawn off; resting on this paper (if
chemical preparations are used) over the cylinder (though they might be
under, as hereafter described) are as many electrically insulated needles
(or markers) in a holder, which can be constructed by taking two flat
pieces of brass, placing the needles between them, and screwing such
pieces together, these pieces being placed on a rod which is placed over
the roller or drum, being secured to the frame of the clockwork, or each
needle can have a separate rod holder, which is better, acting on a hinge
on a rod of electrical insulating material or be sectionally insulated, as
places are required to be visited, and when indications or marks are
made by any needle it is known from which of the appointed places it is
sent, as each place is indicated by a separate needle, thus by the mark

page_text: it can be seen at pleasure at what time to the minute any given or
desired place was actually visited by the attendant or watchman either
by day or night, and the duration of the visit recorded.
When chemicals are used and the paper is prepared, thereby the signal
or mark is made in the following manner: -At each of the places
appointed to be visited by the attendant is fixed a small box containing
two springs, which by the insertion of a key shaped in any peculiar form
so that no one can work it but those who have such a key, the two
springs can be put in electrical contact by this action, thus an electrical
circuit is made complete and the current consequent on the completion
of a circuit from a battery attached passes through the needle and
prepared paper in its course decomposing the metallic needle and leaving
a mark or deposit on the paper. If the paper is not chemically prepared
then electro-magnets have to be added to the instruments, and so placed
as to draw down levers at the ends of which are wheels or a piece of
metal or other material, which when drawn down by the electric current
being sent through the electro-magnets by the insertion of the key in
the boxes at the places to be visited; presses on the paper upwards or
downwards as may be arranged or required, and by so doing puts the
paper in contact with a pad or piece of cloth saturated with ink or
colouring matter, and thus a mark on the paper is made, by which can
be seen the time the mark was made, or indentations in the paper can be
made with or without ink or colouring matter.
The clockwork train can be made to run any reasonable number of
hours.
Insulated wire fixed in tubing are used between the boxes into which
the key has to be placed, and the instrument and battery thus completing
the circuit.
Having thus far particularly described and ascertained the nature of
my said Invention and incidentally in general terms described in what
manner the same is to be performed or carried out in practice, I now
proceed to particularly describe and ascertain in what manner the same
is to be performed or carried out in practice (that is in and by the
following statements, referring to the accompanying Drawings). The
aid of the foregoing statements to be resorted to if necessary for better
explanation thereof.

page_text: a mill edge would produce.
Fig. 4, diagram of the course of the paper, showing how it clears the
markers when the instrument is not in work.
These Figures do not show any of the parts of my instrument, which
are the same as those used in telegraphs or in clockwork. In these
Figures A denotes guide frames to be suitably connected with the other
parts of the instrument and maintaining in working position the follow-
ing parts, namely:-The forked raiser C actuated from the magnet by
the lever B, such raiser carrying marking rollers D, each constructed of
two pieces of brass or other suitable metal or material, between which
the marking pad or cloth is placed. These rollers are kept revolving by
the drawing off of the paper which is itself drawn off by action of the
clockwork suitably applied thereto. The needles or marking points are
fixed or proceed from the edges of rollers E which are carried in a
frame F situate above the raiser C. This frame might be constructed so
that instead of the whole number of marking points having separate
spindles and frames there might be one spindle for the whole system of
needle rollers.
Instead of using a pad or cloth a groove may be formed in the marking
roller, so that as the paper is brought into contact between the needle and
the roller, a mark such as produced by by a milled edge would be produced.
In the diagram, Fig. 4, a represents the roller from which the paper is
supplied. The paper prior to passing between the inking and marking
rollers is carried over another roller b and then between the two rollers
c and d, and thus the paper will be kept clear of the marking roller
when same is out of action. In lieu of the arrangements shown in the
Drawings the positions of the rollers D and E might be reversed with
advantage.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I

page_text: hereby declare that I claim the Invention of "Improvements in Tell-tale
Indicating, and Registering Arrangements and Mechanism," as the same
is herein-before described and illustrated by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Ernesto Spagnoletti, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
Witness,
FRED. SWIFT,
The Green,
West Drayton.
C. E. SPAGNOLETTI. (L.S.)