The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century. — John Shaqi
The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.Byrn, Edward W. (Edward Wright)
History
The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
Byrn, Edward W. (Edward Wright)
Inventions -- History; Inventions -- History -- 19th century
In line with other efforts to increase the capacity of the wires, the
_duplex telegraph_ was invented by Dr. William Gintl, of Austria, in
1853, and was afterwards improved by Carl Frischen, of Hanover, and by
Joseph B. Stearns, of Boston, Mass, who in 1872 perfected the duplex (U.
S. Pats. No. 126,847, May 14, 1872, and No. 132,933, Nov. 12, 1872).
This system doubles the capacity of the telegraphic wire, and its
principle of action permits messages sent from the home station to the
distant station to have no effect on the home station, but full effect
on the distant station, so that the operators at the opposite ends of
the line may both telegraph over the same wire, at the same time, in
opposite directions. This system has been further enlarged by the
quadruplex system of Edison, which was brought out in 1874 (and
subsequently developed in U. S. Pat. No. 209,241, Oct. 22, 1878). This
enabled four messages to be sent over the same wire at the same time,
and is said to have increased the value of the Western Union wires
$15,000,000.
In 1846 Royal C. House invented the _printing telegraph_, which printed
the message automatically on a strip of paper, something after the
manner of the typewriter (U. S. Pat. No. 4,464, April 18, 1846). The
ingenious mechanism involved in this was somewhat complicated, but its
results in printing the message plainly were very satisfactory. This was
the prototype of the familiar “_ticker_” of the stock broker’s office,
seen in Figs. 10 and 11. In 1856 the Hughes printing telegraph was
brought out (U. S. Pat. No. 14,917, May 20, 1856), and in 1858 G. M.
Phelps combined the valuable features of the Hughes and House systems
(U. S. Pat. No. 26,003, Nov. 1, 1859).
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--RECEIVING MESSAGE ON STOCK BROKER’S “TICKER.”]
_Fac Simile_ telegraphs constitute another, although less important
branch of the art. These accomplished the striking result of reproducing
the message at the end of the line in the exact handwriting of the
sender, and not only writing, but exact reproductions of all outlines,
such as maps, pictures, and so forth, may be sent. The fac simile
telegraph originated with F. C. Bakewell, of England, in 1848 (Br. Pat.
No. 12,352, of 1848).
The Dial Telegraph is still another modification of the telegraph. In
this the letters are arranged in a circular series, and a light needle
or pointer, concentrically pivoted, is carried back and forth over the
letters, and is made to successively point to the desired letters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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