]S47.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



57 



explained. This position of the cylindei's G, and H, being such as to 

 caiTy the electric fluid through the coils of the electric magnet E, the lever 

 armature I, will be drawn up into a horizontal position, and in so doing 

 will cause the hanuner p*, to strike the gong or bell F. 



The patentee next describes certain appendages which he proposes to 

 adapt to the electric telegraph. Firstly, of a commutator, or pole changer, 

 for reversing the direclion of motion of the electric current; secondly, of 

 a rheopeter, for changing the direction simply of the electric current ; 

 these being for tlie purpose of separating any number of intermediate 

 stations from the telegraphic circuit, or of connecting any of those stations 

 ■with the circuit, when desired. Fig. .'> is a front elevation of the commu- 

 tator, and lig. 6 a lop view of the same. A, is a block of wood, and B a 

 wooden cylinder, turning upon an axle monnled in standards. Upon the 

 periphery of this cylinder seven strips of copper are arranged, as shown in 

 fig. 7, which represents the periphery of the cylinder B, extended in a 

 plane. One of these strips of copper, a, is imbedded transversely in the 

 periphery of the cylinder; the other six strips, i c rf and e, are also im- 

 bedded, and extend partially round the periphery of the cylinder. These 

 latter strips are intended to reverse the direction of motion of the electric 

 current : the strips d' and t>' are directly connected by two wires with h 

 and c; and the strips d and c are alternately connected with b and c, by 

 two wires crossing each other, one of which, /, forms a communication 

 between b and e; and the other wire g, between b and d. These wires 

 /and g, are insulated from each other, and deeply imbedded into the 

 cylinder, and they are covered by a transverse piece of ivory h. Four 

 erect springs, ifc/andm, are affixed to the base block A; their upper 

 parts pressing against the periphery of the cylinder. A handle n is alfiscd 

 to the axle, for the purpose of turning the cylinder round ; and an elonga- 

 tion of the handle forms a pointer, to indicate the extent to which the cy- 

 linder is to be moved. A wire is attached to each of the springs, for the 

 purpose of connecting this instrument with the electric circuit ; and by 

 turning the cylinder to the right or left, the direction of the electric current 

 may be changed, or, in other words, the poles of the battery may be re- 

 versed. 



The rheopeter is shown in horizontal view at fig. 8, and in vertical sec- 

 tion at fig. 9. A, is a circular block of wood, in which two permanent 

 magnets are imbedded ; their poles extending upwards, as at N, S, N*, S*. 

 X y z, are three glass cups containing mercury, a a, is a bar of soft iron, 

 supported in a horizontal position by the vertical pin b ; round tliis bar an 

 insulated copper wire c c is coiled, the ends of which extend at right 

 angles to the bar, and are bent down so as to touch the surface of the mer- 

 cury in the cups. A wire d, being supposed to communicate a current of 

 electricity (say from London) to the mercury in the cup .v, that electric 

 current will be conducted by the wire c, to the mercury in the cup y, and 

 from thence pass on by the wire e, to the place of its destination (say 

 Rugby), and thence through the remainder of the telegraphic circuit, back 

 again to its starting point. As the electric fluid thus passes, the bar a 

 becomes magnetised, and its ends are attracted by the poles of the perma- 

 nent magnets, S and N*, as shown at fig. 8. If, for example, the current 

 of electricity is required to be cut off from the telegraph at Rugby, and 

 directed, say towards Birmingham, the poles of the battery are changed, 

 by means of the apparatus shown at fig. 5. The direction of motion of 

 the electric current being thus reversed, it will, in passing through the wire 

 d (figs. 8 and 9), cause the ends of the bar a to be attracted by the reverse 

 ends of the magnets, that is, N and S* ; by which means the pendent end 

 of the wire c will be brought from the mercury cup y, to the mercury cup 

 z, and the current will then, instead of proceeding through the wire e as 

 before, take its course through the wire/, and so on, to Birmingham ; by 

 which means the telegraph at the Rugby station is eil'ectually thrown out 

 of the circuit. 



^Vfaen the circuit of the telegraphic apparatus is required to be closed, 

 the key J, fig. 1, must be depressed. In order to keep the circuit closed, 

 the draw-stop Q Q is pulled out, which draws down a small lever R, into 

 the position shown by dots in fig. 2. This lever R, keeps the key in a 

 depressed posi'ion, and the instrument is thereby prepared for receiving 

 communications from a distant telegraph. 



At figs. 10 and 11, a modification of this rheopeter is shown, in which 

 the electro-magnet is made to move in a vertical instead of a horizontal 

 plane. The advantage cou-3ists in the facility which it affords of changing 

 the local direction of the electric current, without interrupting the current 

 itself in so doing. This results from the manner in which the wire of the 

 electro-magnet is coiled. Upon each half of the soft iron bar there is a 

 separate coil of insulated wire ; the length of the wire of each of these 

 coils proceeds from the extremity of the bar to its middle, and then re- 

 turns, by overlapping, to the same extremity of the bar where the ends of 

 the wire, forming the coil, are made to dip into mercury cups. By this 

 arrangement, one of these coils is dextrorsum, and the other sinistrorsum 

 relatively to the side of the bar at which the electric current enters the 

 coil. Then, if the electric current be supposed to branch oflT in two differ- 

 ent directions, and pass from the same side of the bar, through these two 

 coils simultaneously, the electric current would flow in the same direction 

 through both coils, and, consequently, the polar unity of the resulting 

 electro-magnet vvould be preserved. It is therefore obvious, that when the 

 electric current enters either coil from the same side of the bar, a similar 

 polarity results, and a corresponding motion is communicated to the bar, 

 by the influence of the permanent magnets, as will be subsequently de- 

 scribed ; and when the electric current enters either coil from the opposite j 



side of the bar, the polarity, and, consequently, the motion of the bar, is 

 hereby reversed. In these alternating motions, when the bar becomes 

 liorizontal, as seen in the drawing, the ends of the two coils are immersed 

 in the mercury cups, and therefore, without interrupting the electric cur- 

 rent. Its local direction may be changed, by depressing either end of the 

 instrument ^'^^" fallowing description of the several parts of the 



Fig. 10 is a plan view of the instrument, and fig. 1 1 is a vertical section. 

 A IS a block of wood, forming the base, and N' S' N S two permanent 

 magnets having their similar poles opposite in the same vertical plane, 

 and fixed to the base A by brass clamps C C. D D, are two brass standi 

 aids, screwed to the base, and carrying set screws with sunken centres, 

 which form the bearing-points of the horizontal axle R, which passes 

 through the soft iron bar F. Round onehalf of this bar a double coil G 

 of insulated wire is wound ; and the ends of this wire dip into the raer- 

 cuiy cups H and I. Round the olher half of this said bar there is a 

 smiilm- coil K of wire, the ends of which dip into the mercury cups h and 

 Ihe two mercury cups L and H at the same side of the bar, are both 

 connected by the wires P' P with the stud O, to which the main circuit 

 wire V , IS fastened by a binding screw. The mercury cup M is connected 

 by the wire S with the stud T, to which, by a binding screw, the current- 

 entering wire U of the telegraph is fastened. The mercury cup I is con- 

 nected by the wire Q, with the stud R, which latter is connected bv the 

 sinal branch wire W, with the current-issuing wire of the tele.'raoh 

 which passes to the remote terminus. Now, for example, suppose the 

 electric current to be passing from the stud O, to the mercury cup L, it 

 will then pass through the coil of wire K, to the mercury cup M, and so 

 on through the current-entering wire U, of the telegraph. The electric 

 current now passing through a sinistrorsum coil, the extremity Y of the 

 iron bar becomes a north pole, and the other, Z, a south pole. This ex- 

 tremity Y, of the bar is then repelled by ihe pole Ni of the permanent 

 magnet, attracted by the pole Si ; it therefore descends, and releases the 

 ends ot he coil t„ from the mercury cups H and I. The telegraph isthen 

 within the electric circuit. 



If the direction of motion of the electric current be now changed, the 

 current-entering wire U becomes the current-issuing wire, and the stud R 

 IS now connected with the current-entering wire. The electric current 

 hen passes from the stud T, to the mercury cup M, and thence through 

 tlie coil K, to the mercury cup L, and so on to the main wire V. As the 

 electric current, in this case, passes through the coil K, from the opposite 

 side ot the bar, this said coil is thus rendered dextrorsum ; the polarity of 

 the iron bar is therefore changed, the end Z becoming a north pole, and the 

 end Y a south pole. This end Y of the bar is therefore repelled by the 

 polel* of the permanent magnet, and attracted by the pole N'. The ex- 

 tremity Y of the bar is therefore raised from its inclined position, as ia 

 the first instance, and releases the ends of the coil K, from the mercury 

 cups L and M, at the same time that its other extremity, being depressed, 

 immerses the ends of the coil G, in the mercury cups H and I, and this 

 immersion lakes place before the ends of the coil K leave the mercury 

 cups L and M. ' 



As the stud R is now externally to the telegraph connected with the 

 current-entering wire, the electric current, instead of passing through the 

 telegraph, branches off to the stud R; it then passes to the mercury cup I, 

 thence through the coil G, to the mercury cup H, and so on to the main 

 wire V. The telegraph is thus, without any interruption of the electric 

 current taking place, put out of the circuit ; and as the electric current 

 now passes through a sinistrorsum coil, the bar retains its position, until 

 the direction of motion of the electric current is reversed, to briof the 

 ti'legraph again within the circuit. . ° 



Fig. 12 represents, in elevation, one of the posts for supporting the cir- 

 cuit wires of the telegraph along the line of communication. This post 

 IS of wood, and is to be sunk about five feet into the earth, the sunken 

 portion being imbedded in Roman cement. A wooden lantern-shaped box 

 completely covers about 16 inches of the upper end of the post, so as to 

 protect this portion of the post (which is to be well varnished) from the » 

 humidity of the atmosphere. The box is made in two parts ; the cover is 

 of a pyramidical form, and is firmly fixed on the post ; the case is made to 

 slide up and down upon the post, and is fastened to the cover, so as to 

 completely envelope the varnished portion of the post, and the broad bind- 

 ing screw clamps thereon, which carry the telegraphic wires. No metal 

 whatever is used in the construction of this box, to the outside of which 

 an insulated lightning conductor, passing down to the earth, is attached. 



The patentee claims, Firstly,— the construction and use of the direct 

 action electro-magnetic telegraph, as before described ; and particularly 

 the arrangement of the letters or symbols on the dial plate ; and the means 

 applied to communicate direct circulate motion to the ratchet-wheel, and 

 the index, by the alternate motion of two jointed lever armatures, working 

 simultaneously, by being connected with one another, in the prolongation 

 of the vertical diameter of the wheel ; the pendent portions of these lever 

 armatures forming the pallets of the escapement, and takiug into the teeth 

 of the ratchet-wheel ; their ascending and descending motions being regu- 

 lated by the latch-slops, which produce a dead beat escapemeut ; he also 

 claims this escapement, whether it be worked by two levers, as described 

 or by one lever only. Secondly, — the adaptation of the electro-magnets 

 of the telegraph, as before described and represented in the drawings, 

 whereby they form what may be called a magnetic circle, and attract the 

 extreme and mediate ends of the armatures simultaneously, when the elec- 

 tric circuit is closed; and by the proximity of the bell-ele'ctru-magnet and 



