Improved Underground Electrio Conduit.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Dec., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 13th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 14th Nov., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Underground Electrio Conduit.
I, JOHN PITT BAYLY, of 18 Fulham Place, Paddington, in the County of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a com-
munication to me from abroad by Charles Edward Loth, of Troy, New
York, U.S.A. Inventor) to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the laying of electric wires, the main object of the
invention being to provide for the laying of the wires in a manner such as it will
be possible to dispense with insulating-covers except at or in close proximity to the
points of support; to provide for the gathering and removal of all water which
would otherwise collect in the conduit; to provide for the imparting of a uniform
and proper tension to the wires; to provide for the drawing of the wires from point
to point within the conduit; to protect linemen from injurious shocks while at
work, and, finally, to provide for ventilating the conduit to avoid explosions of
sewer-gas.
The subway or viaduct is preferably built up of masonry, and at certain
predetermined intervals there are man-holes, which extend laterally from the main
conduit opening. Between the walls of the lateral extensions of the manholes I
arrange metal plates, formed with horizontal flanges, said plates and the flanges
formed thereon serving as supports for racks that extend at right angles across the
conduit, the extending ends of the racks being built into the conduit-walls.
The racks are formed with upper ways and lower ways, and in these ways the
upper and lower ends of standards or brackets ride. These standards or brackets
are cach formed with recesses that are preferably shaped with a contracted
opening that is overlapped by projections. In order that the brackets or standards
may be readily adjusted to place within the rack, I cut away a portion of one
of the flanged of said rack, preferably one of the flanges forming the lower way,
this cut away portion being closed by a strip or bar that is bolted to place after
all of the brackets or standards have been inserted.
In order that the wires may be readily drawn from manhole to manhole, I
mount sheaves above the racks and over or under these sheaves I pass a rope, in
connection with which there is arranged a clamp, such clamp being arranged to
engage the rope and to engage one end of a wire. In this way the wire may be
drawn from manhole to manhole and the attendant at a manhole that is reached by
the leading end of the wire has simply to disengage the clamp from the rope, pass
it through the rack adjacent to the standard or bracket that is to support the wire,
and then readjust the clamp to the rope on the opposite side of the rack. In this
way the wire may be drawn throughout the length of the conduit.
As before stated, it is desirable that a proper and uniform tension be imparted to
all of the wires within the conduit, and to this end I provide a clamp consisting of
two pivotally-united jaws which may be adjusted to the wire that is to be tested
and held to place in contact with the wire by a sleeve which slides upon the main
arm of the clamp and engages the upper end of the clamp-arm. The arm is
pivotally connected to an adjustable standard, and is made integral with or rigidly
connected to a lever-arm, upon which there is adjustably mounted a weight, which
weight may be held to the fever in any desired position by a set or binding screw.
The standard is held to a frame by means of a set-screw, said set-screw passing through
a slot that is formed in the standard. The frame is provided with arms, each of said
arms being formed with downwardly extending projections that are placed so as to fit
closely upon either side of the rack, which rack is formed with slots that are
adapted to receive the ends of the arms, the frame being securely held to the rack

page_text: after having been placed in position by a wedge-shaped key that is driven to
place.
In order that the person of the lineman or attendant may be protected from live
wires within the conduit at times when he is operating upon any of the wires within
the conduit, I provide a shield being by preference a board and resting directly
upon a plate, a similar shield being arranged so that it may be secured to the top
of the bracket.
It is well known that the accumulation of water within the conduits is a source
of constant trouble and annoyance, and to overcome this difficulty I build my
conduits upon inclined lines, and at the point where two inclines meet I connect
to sewer or other drainage, if so practicable; if not, I locate a pit. As many
of these pits will come within the practicable lift of a suitable suction-
pump, I connect by a pipe having branch pipes leading downward into the pits,
and connecting said pipes to a suction-pump located at a suitable station. In the
branch pipes locate an automatic valve that is controlled by a large float, partly
counterbalanced by a weight of smaller size, the arrangement being such that. after
the water has been drawn down to a certain predetermined point in any one of
the pits, the weight of the larger float will carry it down and the valve will be
closed, so that the suction of the pump applied to the pipe will not be interfered
with at any other of the pits. Thus as long as the pump is kept at work the water
in any of the pits will never rise above a certain point, and be positively kept from
backing up into the conduit.
In order that a large quantity of water may be held by each pit, and for the
purpose of getting at the valves, I prefer to extend said pits laterally and to mount
therein benches or platforms upon which the lineman may stand.
If desired the upper cross-bar of the rack may be dispensed with, the standards
or brackets in this case being formed with bases.
Dated this 13th day of December 1890
J. P. BAYLY,
Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Underground Electric Conduit.
I, JOHN PITT BAYLY, of 18 Fulham Place, Paddington, in the County of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a com-
munication to me from abroad by Charles Edward Loth, of Troy, New
York, U.S.A. Inventor,) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the laying of electric wires, the main objects of the
invention being to provide for the laying of the wires in a manner such that will
be possible to dispense with insulating-covers except at or in close proximity to the
points of support; to provide for the gathering and removal of all water which
would otherwise collect in the conduit; to provide for the imparting of a uniform
and proper tension to the wires; to provide for the drawing of the wires from point
to point within the conduit; to protect linemen from injurious shocks while at
work, and, finally, to provide for ventilating the conduit to avoid explosions of
sewer-gas.
To the ends above-named the invention consists of certain novel constructions,
arrangements, and combinations of elements which will be hereinafter fully
explained, and specifically pointed out in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this
Specification, in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in all the views.
Figure 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a conduit
embodying my invention.

page_text: Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of a portion of said conduit.
Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional plan view illustrating a portion of the support and
insulated section of the wire.
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the sectional button applied to the wire at the
point of its suspension.
Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view of a modified arrangement for carrying the wire-
supporting brackets.
Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the tension-regulating device.
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view on line x x of Fig. 6; and
Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view, the view being given to illustrate the arrangement
of one of the water-pits.
In the drawings above referred to, 10 represents the subway or viaduct, which
is preferably built up of masonry, and at certain predetermined intervals there
are man-holes 11, which extend laterally from the main conduit opening, as shown
at A. Between the walls of the lateral extensions of the manholes I arrange
metal plates 12, formed with horizontal flanges 13, said plates and the flanges
formed thereon serving as supports for racks 14, that extend at right angles across
the conduit, the extending ends of the racks being built into the conduit-walls, as
shown best in Fig. 7.
The racks 14 are formed with upper ways 15 and lower ways 16, and in these
ways the upper and lower ends of standards or brackets 17 ride. These standards
or brackets 17 are each formed with recesses a that are preferably shaped as
represented in Fig. 7-that is, with a contracted opening that is overlapped by
projections and c. In order that the brackets or standards may be readily
adjusted to place within the rack 14, I cut away a portion of one of the flanges of
said rack, preferably one of the flanges forming the lower way 16, this cut away
portion being closed by a strip or bar 18, that is bolted to place, as represented in
Fig. 3, after all of the brackets or standards have been inserted.
In order that the wires may be readily drawn from man-hole to man-hole, I
mount sheaves 19 above the racks 14, and over or under these sheaves I pass a
rope 20, in connection with which there is arranged a clamp 21, such clamp being
arranged to engage the rope 20 and to engage one end of a wire, as 22. (See
Fig. 6). In this way the wire may be drawn from man-hole to man-hole and the
attendant at the man-hole that is reached by the leading end of the wire has simply
to disengage the clamp from the rope 20, pass it through the rack 14 adjacent to
the standard or bracket that is to support the wire, and then readjust the clamp 21
to the rope upon the opposite side of the rack. In this way the wire may be
drawn throughout the length of the conduit.
The
As before stated, it is desirable that a proper and uniform tension be imparted to
all of the wires within the conduit, and to this end I provide a clamp 30, consisting
of two pivotally-united jaws which may be adjusted to the wire that is to be tested
and held to place in contact with the wire by a sleeve 31, which slides upon the
main arm d of the clamp and engages the upper end of the clamp-arm e.
arm d is pivotally connected to an adjustable standard 32, and is made integral with
or rigidly connected to a lever-arm 33, upon which there is adjustably mounted a
weight 34, which weight may be held to the lever 33 in any desired position by a
set or binding screw 35. The standard 32 is held to a frame 36 by means of a
set-screw 37, said set-screw passing through a slot f, that is formed in the standard.
The frame 36 is provided with arms g and h, each of said arms being formed with
downwardly-extending projections i, that are placed so as to fit closely upon either
side of the rack 14, which rack is formed with slots k and k¹, that are adapted to
receive the ends of the arms g and h, the frame being securely held to the rack
after having been placed in position by a wedge-shaped key l, that is driven to
place, as represented in Fig. 6.
In operation the jaws B of clamp 30 are applied to the wire, and the
strain upon the wire being relaxed, the tension is determined by the position of the
weight 34 on the arm 33, the proper tension being secured when such arms are in a

page_text: I
horizontal position. In this way it will be seen that a uniform tension may
be imparted to each wire within the conduit, so that all wires will run in
parallel lines, and hence the necessity of insulating the wires between the man-
holes is overcome in cases where supporting-points a a are practically far enough
apart. At the man-holes, however, it is necessary that all wires be insulated, as
otherwise the linemen would be in danger of receiving injurious shocks. To this
end, and in order that the wires may be held under the desired strain or tension, I
apply to each wire a flanged retaining device 40, such retaining device being made
either in sections m and m³, that are soldered or otherwise secured together after
having been applied to the wires in proper position, or may be made in one piece
with open slot and pinched together over the wire (after the wire has been
roughened in places where so necessary) and thus held by friction. After the
retaining device 40 has been applied, the wire upon either side thereof is wound
with insulating material », such material being carried over the retaining device,
as represented best in Fig. 3, and the wire having been so insulated is slipped into
one of the recesses a formed, as above stated, in the standards or brackets 17.
In order that the person of the lineman or attendant may be protected from
live wires within the conduit at times when he is operating upon any of the wires
within the conduit, I provide a shield 41, that is held to the rack 14 by a set-
screw 42, this shield being by preference a board and resting directly upon the
plate 12, a similar shield 43 being arranged so that it may be secured to the top of
the bracket, as shown.
It is well known that the accumulation of water within the conduits is a source
of constant trouble and annoyance, and to overcome this difficulty I build my
conduits upon inclined lines, as represented in Fig. 1, and at the point where two
inclines meet I connect to sewer or other drainage, if so practicable; if not, I
locate a pit, as C. As many of these pits C will come within the practicable
lift of a suitable suction-pump, I connect by a pipe 50, having branch-pipes 51,
leading downward into the pits, and connecting said pipes 50 to a suction-pump
located at a suitable station. In the branch-pipes 51, I locate an automatic
valve 52, that is controlled by a large float 54, partly counterbalanced by a weight
of smaller size, as shown in Fig. 1, the arrangement being such that after the
water has been drawn down to a certain predetermined point in any one of the
pits C the weight of the larger float 54 will carry it down and the yalve will be
closed, so that the suction of the pump applied to pipe 50 will not be interfered
with in any other of the pits. Thus as long as the pump is kept at work the water
in any of the pits will never rise above a certain point, and be positively kept
from backing up into the conduit.
In order that a large quantity of water may be held by each pit, and for the
purpose of getting at the valves, prefer to extend said pits laterally and to mount
therein benches or platforms 55, upon which the lineman may stand.
In Fig. 5 I illustrate a construction wherein the upper cross-bar of the rack 14
is dispensed with, the standards or brackets 17 in this case being formed with
bases o, as shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The combination, with the transverse rack having longitudinally-extending
ways 16 on its upper face, of a vertical wire-supporting bracket 17, having a base
mounted in said ways, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination, with a rack having longitudinally-extending bracket-receiving
ways and a longitudinally-extending slot, of a support secured at one end in said
slot, and a swinging tension-lever mounted on said support, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination, with a series of electric-wires, of retaining attachments held
thereon, insulating material that is applied to said retaining devices and to the
wires for a short distance at either side of said devices, the main portions of the

page_text: wires being free from insulating material, and wire-supporting brackets, substantially
as described.
4. The combination, with a conduit formed with man-holes having lateral
extensions A, of plates 12, built into the walls of such extensions, racks 14, that are
supported by said plates, and brackets or standards carried by said racks, substan-
tially as described.
5. The combination, with a conduit formed with man-holes having lateral
extensions A, of plates 12, that are built into the walls of said extensions, racks 14,
supported by the plates, brackets or standards that are adjustably supported by the
racks, and a shield 41, held to the racks, substantially as described.
6. The combination, with a conduit formed with man-holes having lateral
extensions A, of plates 12, that are built into the walls of such extensions, racks 14,
supported by the plates, brackets or standards that are adjustably supported by the
racks, and shields 41 and 43, held to the racks, substantially as described.
7. The combination, with a conduit having drip-pits for collecting drainage-water,
of a suction-pump pipe 50, extending to several pits and having branch pipes
entering said pits, and a separate and independent automatically opening and
closing valve in each one of said branch pipes opened and closed by the rise and
fall of the water, whereby when one pit is emptied the suction will be correspondingly
increased in the others, substantially as set forth.
8. The combination, with a conduit, of wire-supporting devices arranged in
connection therewith, a clamp, a means for supporting the clamp, and a weighted
lever arranged in connection with the clamp, substantially as described.
9. The combination, with a conduit arranged with wire-supporting devices, of a
clamp, a clamp-supporting device, a lever connected to the clamp, and a weight
that is adjustably mounted on the lever, substantially as described.
10. The combination, with a conduit having drip-pits for collecting drainage-
water, of a suction-pump pipe extending to several pits and having branch pipes
entering said pits, a valve in each branch pipe provided with an arm, and a float
connected with said arm to positively throw it in two directions and thereby open
or close the valve according to the rise or fall of the water, substantially as set
forth.
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J. P. BAYLY,
Applicant.