IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHIC CABLES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Wilks Drayson, of Plumstead, in the County
of Kent, Captain in the Royal Artillery, and Charles Richard Binney, of
Woolwich, in the same County, Captain in the Royal Enginects, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHIC CABLES."
Sealed the 25th March 1859, and dated the 18th October 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Wilks Drayson
and Charles Richard Binney at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 18th October 1858.
We, ALFRED WILKS DRAYSON, of Plumstead, in the County of Kent,
Captain in the Royal Artillery, and CHARLES RICHARD BINNEY, of Woolwich.
in the same County, Captain in the Royal Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHIC
CABLES," to be as follows:-
Ourluvention of improvements in submarine telegraphic cables relatestoa
novel mode of constructing these cables, and of protecting the electric wire
contained therein; the objects of the Invention being to produce a cable which
will not be so liable to damage from external causes as the telegraphic cables
now in use, and also to insulate and protect the wire in such a manner as
to prevent it from losing or giving off its electricity laterally, as is now
frequently the case. In carrying out our Invention we propose to use a much
thicker wire than usual,and cover it with silk or other fibrous material that
is a non-conductor or bad conductor of electricity. This fibrous material is to
Price 8d.]

page_text: be secured on the wire by means of a solution of india-rubber or other
analogous substance, and the wire thus protected is to be enclosed in a tube
or pipe of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable elastic non-conducting
material, in such a manner as to leave a vacant space of air round the inclosed
wire, which thus will be enclosed in a kind of tunnel. The interior bore of
the vulcanized india-rubber tube or pipe may be either round or square, but if
the tubeis externally round or cylindrical, we prefer the internal bore thereof
to be square, or vice versa. Owing to the absence of any other metal in the
cable than the electric wire itself, there will be much less liability than usual of
the electricity being lost, and from the construction of the cable with an outer
covering or tube of vulcanized india-rubber, it will be less liable to destruction
from friction against sunken rocks or other matters at the bottom of the sea
than the ordinary metallic submarine telegraphic cable. Owing also to the
specific gravity of a cable of the kind above described being much less than
that of one constructed principally of wire, there will be a reduced strain on
the cable when being paid out.
In order to compensate for any undue strain on the cable and impart to it
a certain amount of elasticity, we also propose to introduce at intervals, say of
50 or 100 miles, lengths of cable of from half a mile to a mile long, constructed
upon such a principle as will admit of such lengths elongating to a certain extent
when subjected to any undue strain,and of resuming their normal condition
when such undue strain is removed. To effect this object we make such half
mile or mile lengths of cable of wire coiled helically or spirally inside the
elastic or vulcanized india-rubber external tube or pipe, so as to admit of this
part of the cable being clongated or stretched to a considerable extent without
risk of breakage.
Although we have mentioned only one electric wire as being enclosed in the
external vulcanized india-rubber tube, it will be evident that two or more
wires properly insulated may, if desired, be enclosed in the same tube.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Wilks Drayson and Charles Richard Binney in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALFRED
WILKS DRAYSON, of Plumstead, in the County of Kent, Captain in the Royal
Artillery,and CHARLES RICHARD BINNEY, of Woolwich, in the same County,
Captain in the Royal Engineers, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Alfred Wilks Drayson and Charles Richard Binney, Her special license
that we, the said Alfred Wilks Drayson and Charles Richard Binney, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Alfred
Wilks Drayson and Charles Richard Binney, 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 SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHIC CABLES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Alfred Wilks Drayson and Charles Richard
Binney, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 we, the said Alfred Wilks Drayson and Charles
Richard Binney, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):-
Our Invention of "Improvements in Submarine Telegraphic Cables, "relates
to a novel mode of constructing these cables, and of protecting the electric
wire contained therein, the objects of the Invention being to produce a cable
which will not be so liable to damage from external causes as the telegraphic
cables now in use; the object of the Invention being also to insulate and
protect the wire in such a manner as to prevent it from losing or giving off
its electricity laterally, as is now frequently the case. In carrying out our
Invention we propose and prefer to use a much thicker wire than usual, and
to cover it with silk or other fibrous material that is a non-conductor or a bad
conductor of electricity. This fibrous material is to be secured on the wire by
means of a solution of india-rubber or other analogous substance, and the
wire thus protected is to be enclosed in a tube or pipe of vulcanized india-
rubber or other suitable elastic non-conducting material, in such a manner as

page_text: to leave a vacant space of air round the enclosed wire, which thus will be
enclosed in a kind of tunnel. The interior bore of the vulcanized india-rubber
tube or pipe may be either round or square, but if the tube is externally round
or cylindrical, we prefer the internal bore thereof to be square, or vice versa.
Owing to the absence of any other metal in the cable than the electric wire
itself, there will be much less liability than usual of the electricity being
carried off laterally and lost, and from the construction of the cable with an
outer cov. ring or tube of vulcanized india-rubber, it will be less liable to
destruction from friction against sunken rocks or other substances at the
bottom of the sea than the ordinary metallic submarine telegraphic cable.
Owing also to the specific gravity of a cable of the kind above described being
much less than that of a solid one constructed principally of wireas heretofore,
there will be a reduced strain on the cable when being payed out, and con-
sequently much less complicated and expensive machinery than that heretofore
employed will be required for depositing the electric or telegraph cable at the
bottom of the ocean.
In order to compensate for any undue strain on the cable and to impart to
ita certain amount of elasticity, we also propose to introduce at such intervals
as may be considered advisable, lengths of cable of from half a mile to a mile
long, more or less, constructed upon such a principle as will admit of such
lengths elongating to a certain extent when subjected to any undue strain.
To effect this object we make such half mile or mile lengths of cable of wire
coiled helically or spirally inside the elastic or vulcanized india-rubber external
tube or pipe, so as to admit of this part of the cable being elongated or
stretched to a considerable extent without risk of breakage.
Although we have mentioned only one electric wire as being enclosed in the
external vulcanized india-rubber tube, it will be evident that two or more
wires properly insulated may, if desired, be enclosed in the same tube.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a side view of a portion of a
telegraphic cable constructed according to our Invention; Fig. 2 is a longi-
tudinal section of the same, shewing the electric or telegraph wire therein;
Fig. is a cross section of the cable. The electric wire is seen at a, a, and is
colored red. It is proposed to coat it first with a solution or soft preparation
of india-rubber dissolved in any suitable solvent. This will form a varnish or
coating on the electric wire, which is to be further insulated by winding or
coiling round it in the ordinary manner silk or other filamentous material.
We prefer to use silk as it is composed of animal fibre, and is known to be
a bad conductor of electricity, and by becoming imbedded in the coating of
solution of india-rubber which surrounds the electric wire, it will be firmly

page_text: held and secured round the wire; but for further security we deem it advisable
to coat the insulated wire a second time with a solution of india-rubber, which
we consider will render the insulation complete. The electric wire being thus
as we consider perfectly insulated, is further protected from injury by being
placed inside a tube b, b, made of vulcanized india-rubber or caoutchouc
prepared in such a manner as to resist the influences of changes of tempera-
ture, as is well known. Vulcanized or mineralized india-rubber or caoutchouc
prepared in this manner preserves its elasticity under all ordinary changes of
temperature, and as far as we are at present aware is practically indestructible
in sea water. The india-rubber tube may be cylindrical internally and ex-
ternally, as shewn in the sectional view, Fig. 3, or it may have a cylindrical
bore and square, or rectangular section externally, as shewn in the other
sectional view, Fig. 4, or an hexagonal or other section may be adopted, if
preferred. The essential feature of this part of the Invention is, that the
electric conductor is free within the external tube or covering, the two parts
being perfectly independent of each other, except at a few points where small
plugs of pureindia-rubber are introduced to divide the cable into compartments
for greater safety in case of damage to the external coat, a body of air being
enclosed with the electric wire in the outer tube or tunnel.
An electric or telegraphic cable of this kind may be safely laid down under
ground, as there is little or no risk of the cable being strained or stretched
longitudinally, but if employed for submarine purposes it will be necessary to
provide for any undue strain that the cable may be subjected to while being
laid down, or even when deposited at the bottom of the ocean. With this
view we propose to construct certain portions of the cable in such a manner as
will admit of their stretching or elongating to a certain extent without the risk
of their being damaged thereby. In the Drawings Fig. 5 is a side view, Fig.6
a longitudinal section, and Fig. 7 a cross of part of a telegraph cable that
will admit of a certain amount of stretching or elongation without damage
or risk of breakage or derangement. The electric wire or conductor is to be
coated with a solution of india-rubber, and insulated by means of a yarn of
silk precisely as in the former instance; but instead of the conductor being
laid in a perfectly straight line inside the vulcanized india-rubber tube, as
shewn in Fig. 2, we propose to coil it in the form of a helix or spiral, as
shewn in Fig. 6. The proportion of coiled electric conductor, such as that
shown at Figures 5, 6, and 7, that is to be used with the straight conductor
such as that shewn at Figures 2, 3, and 4, must vary according to circum-
stances, and may be properly left to the discretion of the electrical engineer.
In some cases it may be found that a very considerable length of cable may

page_text: be laid without the necessity of introducing any of the elongating cable,
whereas in some other cases it may be deemed advisable to use a large
proportion of elongating cable, or a large number of short lengths at frequent
intervals, so as to allow or compensate for the stretching of the entire cable.
It will be seen that as the external covering of the cable is itself elastic, it
may without damage be stretched or elongated to any extent that the electric
conductor will admit of.
Having now described our Invention of improvements in submarine tele.
graphic cables, and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, we claim as our Invention under the above in part recited Letters
Patent, enclosing electric conductors within elastic tubes made of vulcanized
india-rubber or other analogous material in such a manner that the electric
conductor and the elastic external tube or covering may be free and inde-
pendent of each other, as above described. We also claim the combination
shewn and described in Figures 5, 6, and 7, which will admit of electric
conductors being stretched or elongated without detriment thereto, as above
set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Alfred Wilks Drayson and Charles
Richard Binney, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifteenth
day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-nine.
A. W. DRAYSON. (L.s.)
C. R. BINNEY.
(L.S.)