IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE COVERING, PROTECTION, AND INSULATION OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS OR CABLES FOR TELEGRAPHIC, TELEPHONIC, AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention*
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE COVERING, PROTECTION, AND
INSULATION OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS OR CABLES FOR TELEGRAPHIC,
TELEPHONIC, AND OTHER PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by
Samuel David Strohm, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of
America, Dentist.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st August 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO
THE COVERING, PROTECTION, AND INSULATION OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS OR
CABLES FOR TELEGRAPHIC, TELEPHONIC, AND OTHER PURPOSES." [A communi-
cation from abroad by Samuel David Strohm, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States of America, Dentist.]
My Invention relates to the employment of tubes or other conduits for the
reception, protection, and insulation of wires, cables, or other conductors of
electrical currents for telegraphic, telephonic, lighting, heating, and other
purposes.
My improvements have for their object to provide conduits which can be con-
structed at light expense, which can be readily put together and taken apart, and
which when in position for use form a perfectly tight covering and effective insulator
for wires, cables, and other conductors of electrical currents.
The said Invention consists in the peculiar construction and combination of parts
hereinafter described.
The exterior casing is formed in two sections, each of which has external ribs or
flanges, whereby the said sections may be secured together by key-bolts or
CD •

page_text: equivalent fastenings to form a complete cylinder. The sections are designed to
be put together with one part on the top of the other part or section, so that the
former will serve as a removable cap to the latter, permitting access to the interior
whenever required. The said sections are also formed at their ends with internal
annular flanges which come together when said sections are aligned. Diaphragms
or discs are arranged to form a complete circle, or in sections. The said diaphragms
have annular grooves in their peripheries, into which the flanges fit, whereby the
. cylinders are held together end to end. The said diaphragms are also formed with
numerous openings for the passage of pipes or tubes, for which the said diaphragms
form bearings or supports. The said diaphragms may also have peripheral sockets
to receive dowels projecting forwardly from the casing, whereby they are firmly
stayed in position.
The said
The said tubes are also formed in sections fitted together so that one forms a cap
for the other, and are made with longitudinal ribs or flanges secured together by
key bolts or equivalent fastenings. One end of each section is enlarged to afford
a socket for the adjacent end of the next section, and produce a joint which may
be made tight by a packing or composition of any suitable character.
casing and tubes (either or both) are lined with enamel, porcelain, gutta-percha,
or other material which forms a good insulator, and which may be applied, either
while the said parts are in process of construction or after the same have been
made. The said casing and tubes may be made of metal, which in this manner
forms a perfect insulator for the wires or other conductors laid therein. The casing
and internal tubes may also be formed with lateral openings having hollow bosses
for the attachment of pipes, through which branch wires or conductors may be led
at intervals if desired. The internal tubes may be made of three sections instead
of two, one of the said sections thus forming a cap for the other two, and being
held in place by the enlarged end of the adjacent section, into which it is slipped,
and by a key bolt which connects the sections on which it is laid.
In a modification of the foregoing construction the main casing consists of pipes
made of any suitable material, such as metal, clay, glass, or terra-cotta. These
pipes are longitudinally divided into two sections, one forming a sub-section and
the other a removable cap, their upper and lower sections being flanged and bolted
together. Each section is formed with internal lugs or with annular grooves for
the reception and support of diaphragms which rest therein.
These diaphragms-are-discs-of-any-suitable-material, whose edges_or_peripheries
conform substantially to the shape of the casing; they are formed with radial or
tangential notchies, and with openings for the reception of internal conduits. The
wires which extend through such conduits may pass partly through such of the
latter as rest in the notches, and partly through those in the openings, being led
from one to the other by curved or bent connections. The object of this arrange-
ment is to pass the wires or conductors through the upper conduits, or those in the
notches at those places in their circuits where they are likely to be led out by
branches, while at other places in their circuits they pass through the lower conduits
'or those in the said openings.
The conduits consist of pipes or tubes of glass, vitrified material, or other non-
conductor of electricity, and are coupled end to end and longitudinally divided
so as to make sub-sections with removable caps like those of the external casing.
They rest or are supported on the diaphragms to afford them a soft bearing thereon;
the said conduits are provided with encircling rings or collars of an elastic nature,
such as india-rubber, cork, or felt. These rings may be placed over the joints, and
thus prevent the intrusion thereto or accumulation thereat of moisture. Such
joints may coincide in line or annularly with the diaphragms, or they may be
located at points between the said diaphragins. To guard against the accumulation
of moisture the conduits may be coated both inside and outside with shellac or
similar material. The casing and internal conduits may be first laid, and the con-
ductors which pass through the latter subsequently introduced.
To effect such introduction, cord, wire, or the like, may be placed in each internal

page_text: conduit when the latter are being laid. The conducting wires or cables, when it
is designed to introduce them, may be attached to the end of the cord or wire, and
then drawn through the conduit.
To permit the conductors to be led out at points or places where needed the
casings and conductors are formed with branches, openings, or stems.
In some cases cables, the conductors of which form an integral part thereof, may
be substituted for the internal conduits, such cables resting in the notches and
openings in the diaphragms within the casing. When access is needed to the con-
ductors for repairing, branching, or other purposes, it may be had by removing the
caps of the casing, and if need be of the internal conduits.
In a further modification of my Invention the conduits are composed of a series
of chambered sections having grooved or channelled sides, so that when brought
together they form a cylinder or equivalent figure or body having longitudinal
orifices or passages for the electrical conducting wires, cables, or tubes.
Each chambered section is formed of any suitable material, such, for example, as
iron, glass, clay, or wood. The sections have their sides formed with channels
which register with each other, so that when the said several sections are brought
duly together they will compose a cylinder or equivalent elongated body having
longitudinal passages or chambers for the reception of wires, cables, or other
electrical conductors. The said sections are also formed with longitudinal and
transverse flanges, through which pass bolts provided with keys, whereby said
sections are united longitudinally, and end to end. If desired, packing rings of
metal or other material may be inserted between the flanges to form tight joints,
and the sections should have hollow bosses at one end and corresponding sockets
at the other end so as to form couplings when fitted together.
If desired, bolts of sufficient length to pass through the several sections laterally
may be provided. If desired, an insulating material of any suitable kind may be
used as a lining for the passages.
Should tubes or cylindrical cables be placed
inside the said passages the latter may have their walls longitudinally fluted or
corrugated, whereby such tubes or cables may find bearings on the ridges, while
the hollows between such ridges will form channels for the reception of any suitable
insulating fluid, such as shellac, which is injected into the said channels around
the tubes or cables after the latter have been introduced into the said chambers.
The sections may be also formed with transverse ribs or heads and grooves, which
when the sections are brought together receive them and form a packing: The said
sections may also have dowels for the purpose of rendering the structure firm and
preventing the opening of the joints.
To permit the connecting wires to issue separately at various points the sections
are formed with lateral openings, which may, if desired, be provided with hollow
branches fastened to hollow bosses, and to afford room for making connections
between the main cable or conductor and branches the chambered sections may be
formed with annular grooves or other suitable recesses which will furnish space for
such purpose.
The conduits herein described may be laid under or on the surface of the ground,
or submerged under water, or sustained upon poles or other supports, or in or upon
the walls of buildings, and will form perfect protectors and insulators for the
conductors enclosed therein.

page_text: together by key-bolts or equivalent fastenings. One end of each section is
enlarged, as shown at c¹, to afford a socket for the adjacent end of the next section,"
and to produce a joint which may be made tight by a packing, or composition of
any suitable character. These joints should be located at or about midway of
the sections of the exterior casings or at any convenient point between the
supporting diaphragms B. The said casing and tubes (either or both) are lined
with enamel, porcelain, gutta-percha, or other material, which forms a good
insulator, and which may be applied either while the said parts are in process
of construction or after the same have been made. The said casing and tubes
may be made of metal, which in this manner forms a perfect insulator for
the wires or other conductors laid therein. The casing and internal tubes may
also be formed with lateral openings at having hollow bosses a³ for the attachment
of pipes E, through which branch wires or conductors may be led at intervals where
required. If desired, the internal tubes may be made of three sections instead of
two, one of the said sections thus forming a cap for the other two, and being held
in place by the enlarged end of the adjacent section into which it is slipped, and
by the key-bolts which connect the sections on which it is laid.
A modification of the foregoing construction is shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6,
wherein F represents the main casing, consisting of pipes ff', made of any suitable
material, such as metal, clay, glass, or terra-cotta. These pipes are longitudinally
divided on the line into two sections, one forming a sub-section f³ and the other
a removable cap 4, the upper and lower sections being flanged and bolted
together, as shown at f. Each section is formed with internal lugs f6, or with
annular grooves for the reception and support of diaphragms G, which rest
therein.
These diaphragms are discs of any suitable material, whose edges or peripheries
conform substantially to the shape of the casing. They are formed with radial or
tangential notches g and with openings g¹; these notches and openings are designed
for the reception of the internal conduits shown at H. The wires, which are led
through such conduits, may pass partly through such of the latter as rest in the
notches g and partly through those in the openings g₁, being led from one to the
other by curved or bent connections, as shown at g². The object of this arrange-
ment is to pass the wires or conductors through the upper conduits or those in the
notches g at those places in their circuits where they are likely to be led out by
branches, while at other places in their circuits they pass through the lower
conduits or those in the openings g¹.
The conduits H consist of pipes or tubes of glass, vitrified material, or other
non-conductor of electricity, and are coupled end to end and longitudinally
divided so as to make sub-sections with removable caps, like those of the external
casing. They rest in or are supported on the diaphragms G. To afford them
a soft bearing thereon the said conduits are provided with encircling rings or
collars I of an elastic nature, such as india-rubber, cork, or felt; these rings may
be placed over the joints and thus prevent the intrusion thereto or accumulation
thereat of moisture. Such joints may coincide in line or annularly with the
diaphragms G, or they may be located at points between the said diaphragins. To
guard against the accumulation of moisture the conduits may be coated both inside
and outside with shellac or similar material. The casing and internal conduits
may be first laid and the conductors which pass through the latter subsequently
introduced. To effect such introduction, cord, wire, or the like, may be placed in
each internal conduit when the latter are being laid. The conducting wires or
cables, when it is designed to introduce them, may be attached to the end of the
said cord or wire and then drawn through the conduit.
To permit the conductors to be led out at points or places where necessary.
the casings and conduits are formed with branches, openings, ar stems k, k.
To lay conductors according to this part of my Invention, a trench being dug,
the lower section of the casing is first laid therein; the diaphragms are then
inserted and the upper section-or removable cap-placed-upon-the lower section and

page_text: bolted thereto. The internal conduits are then inserted in the notches and
openings in the said diaphragms, the elastic bearings being applied to the said
conduits previously or at the time of their insertion in the diaphragms. After the
casing and conduits have been laid the conductors may be passed or drawn through
the latter in the manner already described.
In some cases cables, the conductors of which form an integral part thereof, may
be substituted for the internal conduits, such cables resting in the notches and
openings in the diaphragms within the casing. When access is needed to the
conductors for repairing, branching, or other purposes, it may be had by removing
the caps of the casing and if need be of the internal conduits. Under some
circumstances the internal conduits need not be longitudinally divided, as already
suggested, but may be complete cylinders or tubes.
When the pipes are made in sections and divisible longitudinally a broken or
incomplete one may be removed and a new one substituted therefor without
disturbing the others or removing the cables or conductors inside of the
latter.
In a further modification of my Invention, shown in Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11,
the conduits are composed of a series of chambered sections having grooved or
channelled sides, so that when brought together they form a cylinder or equivalent
figure or body having longitudinal orifices or passages for the electrical conducting
wires, cables, or tubes.
Referring to Figures 7, 8, and 9, L, L1, L2, L³, represent chambered sections of
any suitable material, such, for example, as iron, glass, clay, or wood. The
sections L and L³ have their sides formed with longitudinal semi-circular
channels, . The sections L1, L2, have both their sides formed with like
channels,, which correspond with each other and with the channels 1, 1, of the
sections L, L³, so that when the said several sections are brought duly together they
will form a cylinder or equivalent elongated body, having longitudinal passages
or chambers M for the reception of wires, cables, or other electrical conductors.
The said sections are also formed with longitudinal and transverse flanges m
through which pass bolts m' provided with keys m² whereby the said sections are
united longitudinally and end to end. If desired packing rings of metal or other
material may be inserted between the flanges to form tight joints, and the sections
should have hollow bosses N provided at one end and corresponding sockets at the
-other-end, so-as-to-form-couplings-when-fitted-together. If desired_bolts. of
sufficient length to pass through the several sections laterally, or from one side of
the conduit through the same to the other side, may be provided; such bolts are
shown at n, having keys n'. If desired an insulating material of any suitable
kind may be used as a lining for the passages M, such lining being shown at M' in
Figure 7. Should tubes or cylindrical cables be placed inside the said passages
the latter may have their walls longitudinally fluted or corrugated, as shown at O,
Figure 10, whereby such tubes or cables may find bearings on the ridges o, while
the hollows o between such ridges will form channels for the reception of any
suitable insulating fluid, such as shellac, which is injected into the said channels
around the tubes or cables after the latter have been introduced into the said
chambers; the sections may be also formed with transverse ribs or beads P on their
ends and corresponding grooves on their opposite ends which receive the said ribs
or beads when the sections are brought together, thus forming a packing, and the
said sections may also have dowels p for the purpose of rendering the structure
firm and preventing the joints from opening..
The sections may have their respective joints in like vertical planes, as shewn
in Figures 8 and 9, or they may be arranged to break joints, as shown in
Figure 11.
To permit the connecting wires to issue separately at various points the sections
are formed with lateral openings Q, which may, if desired, be provided with hollow
branches q fastened to hollow bosses q', and to afford room for making connections
between the main cable or conductor and branches the chambered sections may be

page_text: formed with annular groooves or other suitable recesses which will furnish space
for such purpose.
If shellac be used for the injected insulator it soon hardens, so that when the
sections are taken apart for repairs or other purpose, or should there be an
imperfect joint after such hardening has transpired, no leak of such fluid will occur.
Plaster of Paris or other plastic composition sufficiently fluid while cold to be
injected, and which has the quality or characteristic of hardening, may be used as
a substitute for shellac or equivalent fluid.
The conduits herein described may be laid under or upon the surface of the
ground, or submerged under water, or sustained upon poles or other supports, or in
or upon the walls of buildings, and will form perfect protectors and insulators for
the conductors enclosed therein.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The sections A1, A2, having external longitudinal flanges a, a, and internal
flanges a, a, substantially as shown and described.
Second. In combination with the sections A¹, A, having internal flanges or
ribs a², the diaphragms B having peripheral grooves 61 for the reception of the
ribs a², substantially as shown and described.
Third. The combination with the external casing A made in longitudinal sections
of the diaphragms B, having openings 6 and longitudinally divided pipes or
tubes C, C, supported on the said diaphragms, substantially as described and for
the purpose specified.
Fourth. The internal pipes or tubes C, C, made in longitudinal sections, and
having their upper halves divided lengthwise to permit of access to the interior of
the said tubes, substantially as described.
Fifth. The combination of the external casing F formed in longitudinal sections
having internal lugs fo and the diaphragms G having notches in their upper
section and passages g' in their lower ssection with the internal pipes N (also
formed in longitudinal sections) affording conduits for conductors, substantially as
shown and described.
Sixth. The diaphragms G having notches and openings g, g', for the reception
of internal conduits or cables in combination with the external casing F having
lugs f, the said lugs being adapted to prevent the diaphragms G from turning in
the casing, substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
Seventh. The combination with the internal conduits H of elastic rings or
clamps forming bearings for the said conduits and moisture-excluders for their
joints, substantially as shewn and described and for the purpose specified.
Eighth. The combination of the external sectional casing with the internal
sectional conduits, the said internal conduits being formed with curved connections
substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
Ninth. A conduit for electrical conductors consisting of two sections having
their opposite sides respectively grooved, whereby when two or more of the said
sections A are brought together with their grooved sides opposing, they will form
orifices or passages for conductors, substantially as shown and described.
Tentb. A conduit for electrical conductors composed of the sections L, L', L², L³,
having their opposing sides respectively grooved or channelled to form passages,
the said sections having transverse and longitudinal flanges whereby they are
bolted together, substantially as shown and described.
Eleventh. Chambered sections, substantially as described, having longitudinal
channels with fluted sides forming bearings for tubes or cables, and spaces for the
reception or injection of insulating fluid or material.
Twelfth. The method of insulating a wire or cable, or a tube containing con-
ductors by injecting an insulating fluid or plastic composition into a chamber
after such wire cable or tube has been introduced into the same, such fluid or

page_text: plastic composition being of a character which is fluid or semi-fluid while
cold, and which will harden or solidify at the same temperature, substantially as
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty eighth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
W. ROB. LAKE. (L.S.)