IMPROVEMENTS IN STANDARDS OR SUPPORTS FOR TELEGRAPH WIRES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Matthew Henry Larmuth, of Salford, in the
County of Lancaster, and Frank Norton, of Manchester, in the
same County, Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STANDARDS OR SUPPORTS FOR TELEGRAPH WIRES.”
Sealed the 5th November 1872, and dated the 9th May 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Matthew Henry Lar-
muth and Frank Norton at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 9th May 1872.
We, MATTHEW HENRY LARMUTH, of Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, and FRANK NORTON, of Manchester, in the same County,
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "In-
PROVEMENTS IN STANDARDS OR SUPPORTS FOR TELEGRAPH WIRES," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention relates to metallic standards or supports designed to be
employed in lieu of the ordinary wooden poles in sustaining telegraph
wires, and has for its main object to produce a support combining
strength with lightness and portability.

page_text: When constructing the said standards we employ clusters of rods,
bars, or tubes, connected together at intervals throughout their lengths
by the several methods to be described.
To avoid repetition we will herein-after describe a standard formed
with wrought-iron bars.
According to one arrangement we connect the said bars together at
intervals by means of cast-iron or malleable cast-iron frames, which
vary in size, so as to cause the bars to be wider apart at the lower end
of the standard than at the upper end thereof. The said frames are
formed with 'orifices, through which the bars are passed, such orifices
being formed in "bosses" cast on the said frames. The bars are secured
in each frame by means of keys, or by compressing the said bosses upon
the said bars, or otherwise secured as found to be most suitable, or the part
of the frame through which the bar passes is "split," so that it may be
tightened upon the bar by means of a bolt, or of holts, or is open on one:
side, and is formed with lips or edges which can be compressed or
hammered over” against or on to the bar.
66
In a modification of this arrangement the frame is cast in section
which are bolted together, the parts of any two sections which are drawn
together by the bolts embracing one of the bars. The said sections may
be formed of ordinary cast iron or of malleable cast iron as preferred.
In another modification a cast-iron frame is formed with jaws, or with
orifices split or open on one side, and bolts are employed to tighten the
said jaws or the sides of the said orifices on the bars.
In another arrangement we cast arms or connecting pieces in the
required permanent positions on the bars, the said arms or pieces being
suitably formed, so that the arms or pieces on any two of the bars may
be readily fastened together by means of bolts.
Another arrangement, which may be employed entirely or partially,
consists of an outer metal frame and of an inner metal block or piece;
parts of the inner surface of the outer frame, and of the outer surface of
the said block or piece, being formed to fit against the bars; the inner
block or piece being drawn upwards in the space between the said bars
by means of a bolt, or of bolts, the said bars are gripped between the
said block or piece and the said outer frame.

page_text: "
to a
A part of our Invention, which we consider of importance is, that we
in some or in all cases cast a separate foot on the lower end of each bar,
so as that the bars composing a standard may be "splayed" out
considerable extent without increasing the weight of the foundation, and
also the bars for each standard may be transported in a disconnected
state to the place of erection, and be there connected together to form a
standard.
In some cases each bar may be in two or more lengths, connected
together either by means of separate fastenings or by means of the part
or parts herein-before described as being employed to connect together
the bars in each standard.
The brackets, arms, or frames to which the insulators are directly
attached, may be made of a suitable form to suit the requirements in any
case, and be bolted or otherwise attached to the upper end of the standard,
as will be understood.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Matthew Henry Larmuth and Frank Norton in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th November 1872.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
MATTHEW HENRY LARMUTH, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
and FRANK NORTON, of Manchester, in the same County, Engineers,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Matthew Henry Larmuth and Frank Norton,
Her special license that we, the said Matthew Henry Larmuth and
Frank Norton, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Matthew Henry Larmuth and Frank Norton, 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,
aud vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

page_text: the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN STANDARDS OR SUPPORTS FOR TELEGRAPH WIRES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Matthew Henry Larmuth and Frank
Norton, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and 5
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
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Matthew Henry Larmuth and
Frank Norton, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, 1
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement and accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say :-
Our Invention relates to metallic standards or supports designed to be
employed in lieu of the ordinary wooden poles in sustaining telegraph 1
wires, and has for its main object to produce a support combining
strength with lightness and portability.
When constructing the said standards we employ clusters of rods,
bars, or tubes connected together at intervals throughout their lengths
by the several methods to be described.
To avoid repetition we will herein-after describe a standard formed
with wrought-iron bars.
The said frames are
passed, such orifices
The bars are secured
2
According to one arrangement we connect the said bars together at
intervals by means of cast-iron or malleable cast-iron frames, which
vary in size, so as to cause the bars to be wider apart at the lower end 2
of the standard than at the upper end thereof.
formed with orifices, through which the bars are
being formed in "bosses" cast on the said frames.
in each frame by means of keys, or by compressing the said bosses upon
the said bars, or otherwise secured as found to be most suitable, or the 30
part of the frame through which the bar passes is "split," so that it may
be tightened upon the bar by means of a bolt, or of bolts, or is open on
one side, and is formed with lips or edges, which can be compressed or
"hammered" over
against or on to the bar.
"
In a modification of this arrangement the frame is cast in sections, 3
which are bolted together, the parts of any two sections which are drawn

page_text: together by the bolts embracing one of the bars. The said sections may
be formed of ordinary cast iron or of malleable cast iron as preferred.
In another modification a cast-iron frame is formed with jaws or with
orifices split or open on one side, and bolts are employed to tighten the
said jaws or the sides of the said orifices on the bars.
In another arrangement we cast arms or connecting pieces in the
required permanent positions on the bars, the said arms or pieces being
suitably formed so that the arms or pieces on any two of the bars may
be readily fastened together by means of bolts.
Another arrangement, which may be employed entirely or partially,
consists of an outer metal frame and of an inner metal block or piece,
parts of the inner surface of the outer frame and of the outer surface of
the said block or piece being formed to fit against the bars, the inner
block or piece being drawn upwards in the space between the said bars
by means of a bolt or of bolts. The said bars are gripped between the
said block or piece and the said outer frame.
A part of our Invention, which we consider of importance is, that we
in some or in all cases cast a separate foot on the lower end of each bar,
so as that the bars composing a standard may be "splayed out" to a
considerable extent without increasing the weight of the foundation, and
also the bars for each standard may be transported in a disconnected
state to the place of erection, and be there connected together to form a
standard.
In some cases each bar may be in two or more lengths connected
together, either by means of separate fastenings, or by means of the part
or parts herein-before described, as being employed to connect together
the bars in each standard.
The brackets, arms, or frames to which the insulators are attached
may be made of a suitable form to suit the requirements in any case,
and be bolted or otherwise attached to the upper end of the standard,
as will be understood.
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood, wo will
in this place refer to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, which we
have caused to accompany this Specification, the said Drawings being
illustrative of the various methods by which we carry or may carry our
Invention into effect, and being marked with letters of reference.

page_text: In the said Drawings Fig. 1 represents a complete telegraph post,
drawn to a scale of about one-tenth of the full size, and Fig. 2 is a cross
section on the line A, B, drawn to a larger scale, the remaining Figures
being for the most part illustrative of modifications in the method of
connecting together the bars of which the said post is mainly composed.
In Figures 1 and 2 a, a, are three square wrought-iron bars, which are
connected together at intervals by the cast-iron or malleable cast-iron
frames b, b, one of which is shewn in plan at Fig. 2. Each of the said
frames is formed with bosses at each angle, which are “cored out” to fit
the bars a, and are split or formed with one side open, as shewn, in order
that the said bosses may be tightened upon the said bars by means of the
bolts and nuts c, c. Each bar is provided at its lower end with a foot or
shoe d, shewn in plan about half the full size at Fig. 3. The said shoes
may be keyed or otherwise fixed upon the said bars, or may be cast
thereon, as preferred.
Although we consider the employment of a separate foot or shoc to
each bar to be an important feature in our Invention, we do not confine
ourselves to such employment, as the lower ends of all the bars may be
fixed to a single ring or foundation plate.
In Fig. 1 the three upper frames are formed with projecting arms
'which carry the insulators e, e.
An alternative arrangement is illustrated by Fig. 4, wherein vertical
bars ff, are attached to the upper frames, the insulators being carried
by brackets bolted to the said bars.
The method of carrying or attaching the insulators may be varied to
suit varying requirements, as we do not confine ourselves to any par-
ticular arrangement for this object.
In Fig. 1 each of the bars a is formed by welding together two bars
varying in strength, the stronger bars forming the part which is inserted
in the ground. We do not however confine ourselves to this arrange-
ment, as each bar may be made of an uniform strength throughout, or
may be made of a tapering form from end to end, or may be made of
more than two bars of varying strength welded together, neither do we
confine ourselves to the form of the section of the iron nor to the
number of the bars in each post in this or in any of the examples yet to
be described.

page_text: Having now fully described and illustrated the nature of our said
Invention, and our methods of carrying the same into practical effect, wo
would in conclusion have it to be understood that we claim the formation
of metallic standards or supports for telegraph wires by uniting together
metal rods, bars, or tubes, substantially in the manner and by any of the 5
methods herein-before described and indicated, and also we claim the
attachment of a separate foot or shoe to each of the said rods, bars, or
tubes.
In witness whereof, we, the said Matthew Henry Larmuth and
Frank Norton, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this 1
Eighth day of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-two.
MATTHEW HENRY LARMUTH. (L.S.)
FRANK NORTON.
(L.S.)
Signed, and sealed by the said Matthew
Henry Larmuth and Frank Norton,
in the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent for the Patentees,
3, Smithy Door,
Manchester.