IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRES APPLICABLE TO TELEGRAPHIC PURPOSES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT. to Charles James Adolph Dick, of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, and George
Alexander Dick, of Cannon Street, in the City of London, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRES APPLICABLE
TO TELEGRAPHIC PURPOSES."
Sealed the 10th December 1872, and dated the 25th September 1872:
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles James Adolph
Dick and George Alexander Dick at the Office of the Commis-
sioners of Patents, with their Petition and Declaration, on the
25th September 1872, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent
Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
JAMES ADOLPH DICK, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United
States of America, and GEORGE ÅLEXANDER DICK, of Cannon Street, in
the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS we are in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRES APPLICABLE TO TELEGRAPHIC PURPOSES," and have.
petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto us, our executors, administrators,

page_text: and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made
solemn Declaration that we are the true and first Inventors thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Charles James Adolph Dick
and George Alexander Dick, do hereby declare that the following Com-
plete Specification, under our hands and seals, fully describes and
ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, in and by the following statement, that is to
say:
This Invention consists in certain improvements in the manufacture
of wires especially applicable for telegraphic purposes.
We have discovered that copper alloyed with tin in limited propor-
tions and treated as herein-after described is a valuable substitute for the
electric conductors hitherto used, and also that by adding a certain
quantity of phosphorus to alloys of copper and tin in limited propor-
tions the resulting product acquires additional tensile strength and
elasticity without material detriment to its conductive capacity, and
that by adding a further proportion of tin or of phosphorus, or of both
these ingredients, within certain limits determined as herein-after men-
tioned to copper, the wire drawn from such phosphorised alloys can
be used with advantage for telegraphic purposes as a support for
copper and other good conductors of insufficient tensile strength, and
also for the manufacture of wire rope, piano wire, wire for bell-
hanging, and for other purposes for which a strong and inoxidisable
wire is desirable.
It should be here observed that the soft ductile nature of copper
permits of its use for telegraphic purposes (except in short lengths or
for effecting connections) only when supported by other materials of
greater strength and elasticity.
The object of this Invention, in accordance with the discoveries before
mentioned, is to produce wire of alloyed metal which has greater con-
ducting capacity than the iron wire now in use, whilst it possesses great
tensile strength and elasticity, and is therefore self-supporting, and is
not so liable to corrosion and deterioration as iron wire, thus in fact
offering all the advantages of a good and permanent conductor having
great strength and toughness.
The object of this Invention further is to produce wires of phosphorised
alloys of copper and tin for supperts of copper or other like good con-

page_text: ductors of insufficient tensile strength for telegraphic purposes as herein-
after stated, and which wires have approximately the resistance of steel
wire, and are not subject to 'rusting or rapid deterioration.
By treating the metals composing the alloy of copper and tin in such
a way as to prevent the presence of oxides in the perfected alloy, which
may be effected by protecting the molten materials from contact with
the atmospheric air during the smelting operation or by the addition to
the molten alloy of a reducing agent, such, for instance, as phosphorus,
the wire drawn from such alloy will be found to be tougher, more rigid,
and more elastic, and not so liable to be stretched and lengthened as
wires formed of alloys in which oxides are present.
For the purposes of this Invention alloys of copper containing from
two to five and a half per cent. of tin and which are free from oxides
are used. Such alloys are rolled and drawn into wire in the usual way,
as well understood, and, by preference, the alloy is cast into chill
moulds, as the homogenity and other qualities of the metal are thereby
improved.
Phosphorised alloys of copper and tin are stronger and more elastic'
than those containing no phosphorus, and although, the conducting
capacity of the alloy is somewhat impaired by the presence of phos-
phorus it has been found that valuable compounds for electrical wires.
may be made of phosphorised alloys of copper and tin when used within
the following proportions:-
First. When not more than two per cent. of tin is used the com-
ponent quantity of phosphorus may amount to not more than one-half
per cent.
Secondly. When not more than four per cent. of tin is used the
component quantity of phosphorus may amount to not more than two-
tenths per cent.
And, thirdly. When five and a half per cent. of tin is used the com-
ponent quantity of phosphorus must not exceed one-eighth per cent.
It should be here observed, however, that intermediate proportions
may be used without departing from the principles of this Invention.
For the manufacture of wire in the application of which conducting
capacity is a less important consideration than great strength and resist-
ance, from three to six and a half per cent, of tin with a maximum

page_text: quantity of from six-tenths to two-tenths per cent. of phosphorus respec-
tively should be used, the said maximum quantity of phosphorus de-
creasing as the component quantity of tin is increased. The remainder
of the alloy consists of copper..
Wires manufactured from the last-mentioned alloys will be found to
be applicable for other than telegraph purposes, as, for instance, wire
ropes, piano wire, and bell hanging, but particularly for the support of
electric conductors of insufficient tensile strength employed for telegraph
purposes, and when used for such supports may be insulated from the
conductors, as in telegraphic cables, or may be in metallic contact with
the good conductors.
Having thus declared and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we would
observe in conclusion that what we consider novel and original, and
therefore claim as constituting our said Invention are,-
First. The manufacture of wire for telegraphic purposes of alloys free
from oxides and composed of copper with from two to five and a half
per cent. of tin, with, or without phosphorus, substantially as herein-
before described and set forth.
And, secondly. The manufacture of wire applicable for telegraphic 2
purposes of phosphorised alloys of copper and tin, substantially as
herein-before described and set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles James Adolph Dick and
George Alexander Dick, have hereunto set our hands and seals,
this Twenty-third day of September, in the year of our Lord One 2
thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.