IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH CABLES, AND IN MACHINERY
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Hall and Arthur Wells, both of Erith, in
the County of Kent, India-rubber Web Manufacturers, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH CABLES, AND IN MACHINERY
Sealed the 8th February 1859, and dated the 28th October 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Hall and Arthur
Wells at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 28th October 1858.
We, WALTER HALL and ARTHUR WELLS, both of Erith, in the County of
Kent, India-rubber Web Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH CABLES, AND IN
MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF," to be as follows :—
Our Invention consists, first, in perfectly insulating the conducting wire or
wires as follows:-We commencebycovering the conducting wire or wires with
a spiral layer of cotton, and we prefer to use grey or unbleached cotton as being
the most pure; we then cover the cotton with a strip or strips of rubber cut
from the bottle or other form in which it is imported without being masticated
or otherwise operated upon; we lay on this strip or strips spirally, and with
overlap; we then wind round, outside of the spiral overlapping layer of rubber,
a thread of vulcanized rubber covered with cotton or other like suitable fibre.
We perform all these coverings at one and the same operation, and employ
for so doing a spiral covering machine, calculated to lay on the several cover-
ings in the order above described, Or, in some cases, in place of the covered

page_text: thread of vulcanized rubber before mentioned, we apply additional spirally laid
coverings of pure rubber laid on alternately in opposite directions, and envelop
the whole in a similar covering of vulcanized rubber.
Our Invention further consists in protecting insulated wire or wires, whether
insulated in the manner herein-before described or otherwise, in the following
manner-We commence by applying a covering of gutta percha of the
ordinary kind where that may be found desirable, and this gutta percha we
surround with plain hemp, or other fibre, free from oil, tar, or grease, braided
or spirally laid on. Where gutta percha is not used, the plain hemp or other
fibre is laid immediately upon the rubber; then we braid, wrap, or lay a
coating of spun yarn, or other fibre, saturated with tar or other preserving
substance. We apply these two wrappings at one and the same oporation
by a machine similar to that we employ in performing the first part of our
Invention. The spun or tarred yarn or wrapping of rubber is then protected
by wires laid on by means of a hollow tube braiding machine at one operation,
whereby one set of wires is laid longitudinally without any twist, while another
set forms the braiding, and encloses the longitudinal wires.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Walter Hall and Arthur Wells in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WALTER
HALL and ARTHUR WELLS, both of Erith, in the County of Kent, India-rubber
Web Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second yearof
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Walter Hall and Arthur Wells, Her special licence that we, the said
Walter Hall and Arthur Wells, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said Walter Hall and Arthur Wells, 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 ex-
pressed, 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 ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH CABLES, AND
IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF," upon the condition

page_text: (amongst others) that we, the said Walter Hall and Arthur Wells, or one of
us, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our
or their, or one of our or their hands and 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 rext and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Walter Hall and Arthur Wells, 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 thereof,reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :—
Our Invention consists, first, in perfectly insulating the conducting wire
or wires, as follows:-We commence by covering the conducting wire or wires
with a spiral layer of cotton, and we prefer to use grey or unbleached cotton
as being the most pure; we then cover the cotton with a strip or strips of
rubber cut from the bottle or other form in which it is imported without being
masticated or otherwise operated upon; we lay on this strip or strips spirally,
and with overlap; we then wind round, outside of the spiral overlapping layer
or layers of rubber a thread of vulcanized rubber covered with cotton, or other
like suitable fibre. We perform all these coverings at one and the same
operation, and employ for so doing a spiral covering machine, calculated to
lay on the several coverings in the order above described. In some cases, in
place of the covered thread of vulcanized rubber before mentioned, or in
addition thereto, we apply further, spirally laid coverings of pure rubber laid
on alternately in opposite directions, and envelope the whole in a similar
covering of vulcanized rubber or not, as may be desired. The whole of these
operations may be performed in one machine.
Our Invention further consists in protecting insulated wire or wires, whether
insulated in the manner herein-before described, or otherwise, in the following.
manner:We commence by applying a covering of gutta percha of the
ordinary kind, where that may be found desirable, and this gutta percha we
surround with plain hemp or other fibre,free from oil, tar, and grease, braided
or spirally laid on. Where gutta percha is not used, the plain hemp or other
fibre is laid immediately upon the rubber or other insulating material. Then
we braid, wrap, or lay a coating of spun yarn or other fibre saturated with
tar or other preserving substance. We apply these two wrappings at one and
the same operation by a machine similar to that which we employ in per-
forming the first part of our Invention, or by any equivalent means. The spun

page_text: or tarred yarn or wrapping of rubber is then protected by wires laid on by
means of a hollow tube braiding machine at one operation, whereby one set of
wires is laid longitudinally without any twist, while another set forms the
brading and encloses the longitudinal wires.
In Sheet 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed, we have represented a spiral
covering machine, with the parts of it arranged in a manner suitable for
carrying the earlier operations of our Invention into effect. This machine is
so constructed as to lay on the hemp, spun yarn, or other fibre for the pro-
tection of the insulated wire simultaneously with the insulation of the same.
Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2, an end elevation; and Figure 3, a
plan of the said machine. A is the framework of the machine; B is a drum
on which the conducting wire which is to be operated upon is wound, and
from which it is delivered as the covering proceeds, being put in tension, if
desired, by means of the weight W and the counterweight w; C is a drum
on which it is received and wound, when the winding on ofthe spiralcoverings
is completed; D is the main driving shaft, which is driven by pulleys on its
extremity, and upon which, at its other extremity, is fitted the worm E,
gearing into the worm wheel F. The shaft G on which the worm wheel F is
mounted, carries at its extremity the belt pulley H, round which passes the
belt I, which also passes round the drum C and drives it, thereby drawing the
conducting wire through the machine from the drum B. When the drum C
becomes full, the belt I slips, and thus acts as a friction belt, as is well under-
stood. The wire, after it leaves the drum B, passes over the pulley J and
under a small friction pulley into the machine. a, a, b, c, d, e, and f are
revolving bobbins mounted and fitted in the manner shewn, and driven
by cords passing round the pulleys a¹, b¹, c¹, d¹, e¹, f¹ on the shaft D. The
bobbins a, a, which are attached to one head, carry unbleached cotton, the
bobbins band c carry the thin strip rubber, the bobbin d carries the vulcanized
india-rubber thread covered with cotton or other fibre, the bobbin e carries
thin strip rubber, and the bobbin / carries spun yarn or other fibre, either
saturated with tar, or other preserving substance, or not, as may be preferred.
All these are successively laid over the wire by the bobbins as they revolve, as
is well understood. Between the bobbins, pairs of friction pulleys p, p, are
fitted, to prevent jibbing or other motion during the manufacture. Afterit
has received the last covering from the bobbin f, the wire passes under the
pulley K, over the pulley L (on the shaft G), and down to the drum C. If it
is thought desirable to apply coatings of india-rubber or other solutions or
substances between the successive coverings as they are laid on, gauges,
supported on standards, may be fixed for the purpose between the bobbins.

page_text: In applying these coatings, we prefer to employ gauges of the formn shown
detached in Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 1, of which Figure 4 is a plan, and
Figure 5 an end view. g is a box, fitted at one end with a tube or funnel,
through which the wire enters, and at the other end with a similar but
prolonged tube or funnel i, through which it leaves the box. Within the box
are fitted two elastic lips k, k, formed of leather, by preference. The solution
or substance with which the covered wire is to be coated is placed in this box,
and adheres to the covered wire as it is drawn through it, the elastic lips
pressing and spreading it upon the covering of the wire, and the tube or
funnel i finishing the operation. The upper portions of the ends of the box g
are made moveable, so that the gauges may be entirely removed from the wire
when the machine is at rest at night, or at any time during the process of
manufacture, to prevent injury to the india-rubber covering of the wire by the
solvents in the solution or substance. The wire having been insulated and
partly protected with successive coverings in the manner and by the means
above set forth, is next conveyed to the hollow tube braiding machine to
receive a wire covering consisting of one set of wires laid longitudinally
without any twist, and of another set which encloses them and forms the
braiding.
In Sheets 2 and 3 of the Drawings hereunto annexed, we have repre-
sented a hollow tube braiding machine, with the parts of it arranged in a
mauner suitable for effecting this operation. Figure 1,Sheet 2, is an elevation,
partly in section, of the machine, with the upper portion thereof removed, that
portion being shown separately in Figure 2, Sheet 2. Figure 3, Sheet 3, is a
plan view of the said machine, and Figure 4, Sheet 3, is a detached view,
partly in section, of one of the pipes and hollow tubes, shown separately.
A is the frame of the machine; B is the drum on which the insulated wire to
be covered is wound; C is a pulley, round which the finished cable passes
after it leaves the machine D. Figure 3, Sheet 3, is the main driving shaft
which carries the pulleys E, E, by means of which a steam engine or other
prime mover imparts motion to the whole of the machine through the various
shafts and wheels shewn in the several Figures. The insulated wire W, as it
leaves the drum B, passes under a pulley, and then ascends in the centre of
the machine, passing into and up through the central tube F. The wires w,
which are to be laid longitudinally along the cable without twist, are wound
on bobbins a, a, a, supported on the lower platform G. After leaving these
bobbins, they pass respectively under the pulleys b, b, b, and then ascend
through the various hollow tubes H, H, H, passing out over the small pulleys
c, c, c, and meeting the cable at the centre, as shown most clearly in Figure 3,

page_text: Sheet 3,and at I. Figure 2, Sheet 2. Instead of a single wire passing through
each of these tubes, two, three, or more such wires may be led from one or
more, or from as many bobbins. Further, in addition to the wires w just
described, the set of longitudinal wires may also comprise others led up
through the central tube of the machinealternately between the former ones, so
as to be braided in upon the spun yarn or other fibrous covering of the wire to
increase the strength. The braiding wires w¹ are carried upon the bobbins K,
the construction of which will be best understood by reference to Figure 4,
Sheet 3. The bobbin K runs loose upon the tube L, and the wire to as it
leaves the bobbin passes through a steel eye, or through a slot in the tail
piece M., and ascending passes over the pulley N on the upper end of the
same, and down through a hole in the latch O, which is jointed to the tail
piece. It then passes down under a pulley, which pulley is secured to the
upper end of the weight Q. From the weight pulley it again ascends, and
after passing through the latch O, leaves the tube I through a hardened steel
eye. The action of this part of the apparatus is in all respects similar to the
action of similar parts in the ordinary braiding machine,and therefore needs
no description. When the shaft D is put in motion by means of a belt on the
pulley E, the bevil wheel R on the said shaft communicates motion through
the bevil wheels S, S, to four vertical shafts T, T, which carry at their upper
parts the toothed wheels or spur gear U, U, by which the braiding tubes are
driven. We have adopted four upright driving shafts, and separate spur gear
for each, in order to ensure a better working and more uniform wear than
could be obtained if a single upright shaft and one set of spur gear only were
employed, as in the ordinary light machines. The shaft D carries a worm,
taking into a worm wheel on the shaft V, which shaft also carries a worm X,
which drives the worm wheel Y on the axle of the pulley C. As motion is
imparted to that pulley through these parts, the wire which passes around it,
is drawn through the machine, descending over the great pulley Z to the
pulley C as it leaves the machine in its finished state. By this arrangement
of the receiving pulley C, and this method of driving it, we avoid producing
that excessive friction and wear which would be occasioned in portions of the
machinery if the power for driving it were taken off at any point remote from
the main shaft D, whereby the bevil wheels and other gear would be unequally
worn; and the working of the machine thus deranged.
In addition to the wire covering which this machine is intended to lay upon
the cable, it may also be furnished with an arrangement for laying on a final
covering of spun yarn or other fibres saturated with tar before the wire is
braided on. This may be done by means of a revolving bobbin B¹ mounted

page_text: upon a platform P¹ in the central part of the machine, as shown at Figure 1,
Sheet 2. This bobbin may be driven by a small belt leading from a pulley on
any one of the upright shafts T, or in any other convenient manner.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, we declare that we do not confine our-
selves to the precise details before described, but we claim,―
First, the methods of insulating the conducting wire or wires of electric
telegraph cables herein-before described.
Secondly, the methods of protecting the insulated wire or wires of electric
telegraph cables herein-before described.
Thirdly, the employment in the construction of electric telegraph cables of
vulcanized india-rubber thread wound spirally round a layer or layers of
india-rubber.
Fourthly, the construction and arrangement of a spiral covering machine
essentially as herein-before described and illustrated in Sheet 1 of the
Drawings hereunto annexed, for the purpose of manufacturing electric
telegraph cables.
Fifthly, the construction of a guage, for applying solutions or substances to
the covering of the wires of electric telegraph cables essentially as herein.
before described and illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 1, of the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
Sixthly, the method of constructing electric telegraplicables by covering the
insulated wires, whatever be the insulating material, with longitudinal and
braided wires combined iu the manner herein-before described.
Seventhly, the construction and arrangement of a hollow tube braiding
machine essentially as herein-before described and illustrated in Sheets 2 and
3 of the Drawings hereunto annexed for the purpose of manufacturing
electric telegraph cables.
In witness whereof, we, the said Walter Hall and Arthur Wells, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-seventh day of April,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
WALTER HALL. (L.S.)
ARTHUR WELLS. (L.S.)