CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MEANS OF MANUFACTURING APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING ELECTRICITY
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
YOUNG, of Paisley, Manufacturer and Dyer, and ARCHIBALD M° NAIR, of the
same Town, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourth day of August, in the ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
William Young and Archibald McNair, Her especial license, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that we, the said William Young and Archibald
McNair, our executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as we,
the said William Young and Archibald Me Nair, our executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, our Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND
MEANS OF MANUFACTURING APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING ELECTRICITY;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging us, the said William
Young and Archibald M° Nair, by an instrument in writing under our hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Young (on behalf of myself and of the said Archibald M° Nair), do
hereby declare that the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, is particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say): :-
Our Invention of improvements in the construction of apparatus for con-
ducting electricity consists of a new and improved method of manufacturing elec-
tric conductors. These electric conductors are formed of one or more copper,
iron, or other metallic or mixed metallic wires, which may be covered with
cotton, woollen, or linen thread, in a manner similar to those termed bobbin
wires used in the manufacture of caps and bonnets. Or the wires may be covered
with threads in a plaited or braided form by means of a braiding machine, and
this latter method we prefer, such description of covering being much stronger
and less likely to be disturbed or rubbed off when passing through the machinery
hereafter described than the coiled coverings of the ordinary bobbin wires, or any
other description of covering hitherto employed for that purpose, as the liability of
the wires to come into contact, and thereby disturb the electric circuit, is greatly
diminished by braiding their surfaces. We consider this mode of protecting
the wires as one of considerable importance in the construction of electrical
conductors. The wires so covered are to be introduced into and enclosed
within a tube or pipe composed of lead or other similar soft metal; which
tube or pipe is filled with asphalte, pitch, wax, resin, or other suitable
substance, being a non-conductor of electricity, capable of being liquefied by
eat, and afterwards becoming concrete by cold. The wires being covered
with thread, as above mentioned, are prevented from coming into contact
with each other or with any adjacent conducting medium which might divert
the course of the electric fluid; and the spaces between the covered wires
being filled with pitch or other suitable conductor of electricity, as before
mentioned, and enclosed in pipes or tubes of lead, or other similar soft metal,
the wires will be effectually preserved in an insulated state, and protected
from damp as well as from other sources of injury.
The means of manufacturing our improved electric conducting apparatus
will be best understood by reference to the accompanying Drawings, of which

page_text: Sheet 1. represents one construction or arrangement of machinery for effecting
this object.
Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of a machine drawn to a scale of
one eighth of the real size. A is a cistern or vessel, formed of iron or
other suitable material, for containing the bituminous or resinous matters
which are intended to surround the wires in the leaden pipe. B represents
a tubular or hollow rod or mandril, open to and descending from the bottom
of the vessel A, which mandril we prefer to be made of polished steel, and
fixed by means of flanges and screw bolts to a triangular plate or head Q.
C is a tubular core at the lower end of the mandril B, also made of polished
steel, which is shewn in section upon an enlarged scale at C, C, in Fig. 10.
D, D, is a circular hollow die resting on the top of the ram E. The ram E
is cylindrical, having a perpendicular opening through its centre, the lower
part of the ram being enlarged at F, with a transverse slot through it, and is
bolted firmly upon a triangular plate S, seen in Figs. 1 and 2. G is a piston
working in the hydraulic cylinder I, having a projection or enlarged diameter
H, to be packed with leather or otherwise, so as to fit the cylinder I
accurately. This cylinder is of cast iron, bored and lined with copper, and is
bolted to the ground. K is a ring or cap plate over the end of the cylinder,
embracing the smaller diameter of the piston G, which is to be properly
packed. L is a malleable iron cylinder, having a chamber M within it, and
an aperture to admit the sliding tubular mandril B, and having also a small
opening at O for filling the chamber M with lead or other soft metal.
P, P, are pillars fixed upon the plate Q, and intended to support the cistern
or vessel A. This plate Q has an aperture in its centre to admit the tubular
mandril B, as shewn in the detached view Fig. 3. R, R, are three sliding
rods (only two are shewn in Fig. 1), each passing through one of the snugs
or ears of the plate Q, and fastened by nuts, and at the other end attached in
the same way to the plate S, represented in Fig. 2. These rods pass freely
through the plate V, which is a heavy circular plate, represented in two
views at Figs. 4 and 5, with an opening to embrace the cylinder, and having also
three openings, to allow the rods R to slide freely up and down. Y is a ring
plate bolted to the plate V, to keep the cylinder L by means of the belt X in
its place. Z, Z, are six iron pillars, with screw nuts at their ends, for binding
the plate V to the cylinder I, the top of which cylinder is shewn at
Figs. 6 and 7, and the bottom of the same at 8 and 9. The covered wires
which form the electric conductors are represented by the red lines passing
through the vessel A. These wires are intended to proceed from reels placed
in convenient situations, (but which reels are not represented in the Drawings);

page_text: and the reels should be loaded with a weight or drag, to keep the wires always
at a certain tension. Fig. 10 is a vertical section, representing at its full size
the lower end of the tubular mandril, with the tubular core attached, and
also the relative position of the hollow circular die D, D. This core is
screwed into the tubular mandril, and is tapered off, and terminates before
it reaches the most contracted part of the opening in the hollow circular
die D.
The mode in which the machine operates is as follows:-The wire or wires,
covered as before described, are introduced into the machine through the
vessel A, where they become coated with pitch or other similar material.
They are then brought down through the tubular mandril B and the hollow
core C, the hollow circular die D and the tubular ram E, to the opening
at F, where they issue from the machine. The asphalte, pitch, wax, resin, or
other non-conductor of electricity capable of being electrified by heat and
afterwards becoming concrete by cold, is put into the vessel A, and brought
to a liquefied state by means of heat applied to the vessel A by any convenient
means. The liquefied pitch or other similar substance will descend into and
fill the tube of the mandril B and the hollow core C, and during its passage
down the said mandril the pitch or other matter will he kept in a liquefied
state. The chamh M of the hollow cylinder L is filled with lead or other
similar soft metal introduced in a molten state through the opening at O.
The metal in this chamber is to be forced therefrom by the action of the
hydraulic ram, which may be cold, but we prefer to operate upon it in a
heated though solid state, varying from two hundred and fifty degrees to
four hundred degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. This degree of tem-
perature may be preserved in the cylinder by any convenient means. When
the chamber M is filled with lead or other metal, the said mass of metal
will assume the form of a thick hollow cylinder or tube, of which the
mandril B and the core C form the centre. The cylinder I and piston G
constitute a common hydraulic press, and water being forced into the
cylinder I at the opening W below, by means of force pumps in the usual way,
the piston G will be made to ascend, and with it the ram E, and the whole
of the superstructure attached to the plate Q. As the ram ascends it will force
the hollow circular die D against the mass of the lead or other metal in the
chamber M, which having no other outlet than the channel between the core
C and the hollow circular die D, the thick cylinder of lead in the chamber M
will be forced into the form of a small pipe or hollow tube, and descending
through the tubular ram E, will be delivered finished at the opening at F,
with the wires firmly secured and enclosed within it. When the charge of

page_text: lead has been pressed out of the chamber M, it is again to be filled with
melted lead or other metal, to be operated upon in the same manner, and the
charge repeated until a proper length of tube is produced. The metal being
hot when it is poured in, will amalgamate with the remaining metal of
the previous charge, so that one continuous perfect tube will be formed.
Previously to commencing the operation of forming the pipes the wires must
be carried down to the opening at F, and when the first portion of the pipe is
produced, it must be made fast to the wires, the further operations will then
draw down the wires from the reel or coil through the pitch vessel A and
tubular mandril, so that the pipe or tube during its whole formation will
always have the wire or wires and the non-conducting material enclosed within
it. The screws at each end of the rods R and corresponding nuts are
intended for adjusting the mandril and die. The vacancy formed in the
cylinder I, between the projection H in the piston G and the ring K, is to
admit of water being injected through the opening at a by force pumps, for
the purpose of accelerating the descent of the piston.
The Drawings in Sheet II. represent various views of another construction
or arrangement of machinery, which is a modification of the one above
described; for although the arrangement of the parts is somewhat different,
the principle upon which both machines are constructed is the same, and the
effect produced is identical in both.
Fig. II. represents a vertical section of this second machine, drawn to a scale
of one sixteenth the real size. As many of the parts in both machines are
the same, their situation only being changed, we have not thought it necessary
to give a detailed description of this machine, but have employed similar letters
of reference to denote corresponding parts in both machines. A is the cistern
or vessel, formed of iron, containing the asphalte, pitch, or other bituminous
or resinous matter, and P is the hollow mandril, C the hollow core, and D the
hollow circular die. Figs. 12. to 18 inclusive represent detached parts of this
machine, which will be explained by the several letters of reference. The hollow
mandril in this machine is made of much greater length than that in the first-
described machine, and the position of the core and die is consequently changed.
L is a malleable iron cylinder furnished with a hollow chamber M, as before
described, for containing the molten lead or other soft metal, which is poured
in at the top by raising the ram or plunger E out of the chamber. In this
machine the hollow mandril and the dies do not move up and down with the
other moveable parts, but are stationary, and are only so far moveable as to
allow of their proper adjustment. The die D is placed in a recess made at
the bottom of the malleable iron cylinder L, and is secured therein by means

page_text: of a plate d, bolted as seen in Fig. 19. I is the large water or hydraulic
cylinder lined with copper, its upper end being closed by a cover or lid which
is firmly bolted down by a screw bolts, as shewn in the Drawing, and through
this cover passes the hollow mandril B surrounded by a strong tube N,
which is, in fact, a prolongation of the piston G, and is similar in appearance
to a piston rod, for the purpose of protecting the hollow mandril from injury.
The hole through which the tube passes is furnished with a good secure
packing, so as to make it water-tight. The piston or plunger G works in the
water cylinder, and by means of the enlarged diameter of the plunger at H,
and the contracted or smaller diameter of the cylinder at K, an annular space
round the plunger is produced, and by forcing water therein the plunger is
raised when required. In order to reduce the weight of the plunger, hollow
spaces are made therein, as shewn in the Figure. The ram E is firmly
bolted to the lower end of the piston or plunger G, and the hollow mandril B,
which at this part is contracted in diameter, is passed through it. The lower
end of the ram E is furnished with a steel plate which accurately fits the
chamber M. The cylinder L is suspended in a strong circular plate V, firmly
secured to the framework, and is prevented from moving from its seat by
means of a ring Y, which is bolted to the plate V, as shewn in the Drawing.
Qis a circular plate, supported from the top flange of the hydraulic cylinder
I, I, by means of rods, and has an aperture in its centre through which the
hollow mandril B passes. J is another plate supported above the plate Q
upon vertical worm shafts a, a, which pass through holes made in the plate,
and to the centre of this plate J the hollow mandril B is secured in such a
manner that by moving the said plate J up and down, the hollow mandril
is moved also in a corresponding ratio. The vertical worm shafts a, a, each
carry a toothed pinion b, and upon a horizontal shaft c, mounted in bearings
on the plate Q, are small endless screws or worms e, e, which gear into the
pinions b. When the pinions b, b, are made to revolve, the worm shafts a, a,
will raise or lower the plate j, and consequently the tubular mandril B to
which it is secured. By this contrivance the distance between the core C and
the die D is regulated, and consequently the thickness of the pipe is deter-
mined with the greatest nicety. It will sometimes happen that the core gets
out of the centre of the opening of the hollow circular dic, and when such is
the case a tube of unequal thickness must necessarily be produced. To
remedy this evil, we propose to make the opening of the hollow circular die
Da little out of the centre of the cylinder L, and we place it also in a
ring whose internal diameter is not concentric with the external diameter
or periphery; and when the die is placed in its proper position, if it

page_text: requires adjustment so as to bring the core over the centre of the
opening, this is easily effected by merely turning the circular hollow die and
its excentric ring round in opposite directions until the adjustment is complete.
Figures 20, 21, and 22, represent various views of this plan of mounting the
hollow circular die D, and Fig. 19 is an enlarged sectional view of the
lower part of the hollow mandril, shewing the core, the hollow circular die,
part of the cylinder L, and the means of fixing or securing the die thereto.
The mode of operating with the second machine is very similar to that adopted
with the first; it will not therefore be necessary to enter into any details
in reference thereto. The wires being enclosed in tubes or pipes filled in
the manner aforesaid, may be laid down or otherwise used either above ground,
in the open air, or under ground, or below the surface of water; and when
so constructed, according to our improved manner, will present outwardly the
appearance of a common leaden or soft metal pipe. The improved conductors
may be manufactured, by the machinery and means described, in long lengths,
and may be rolled up on reels. If the electric conductors are to be used in
great lengths on land, we purpose carrying them on reels on a wheeled
carriage, and while the pipe is being laid down one end is to be held fast as
the carriage proceeds in the direction in which the pipe is to be laid, so that
the reel may revolve on its journals or centres, and thereby allow the pipe
containing the wires to be unwound and delivered on the ground without risk
of injury, and with great facility. Should our improved conductors be required
to be laid in water, we employ a floating vessel, propelled at a suitable speed
by drawing upon ropes or chains made fast to the bottom or banks, or by
steamboat machinery, applied so as to regulate the speed. When the electric
apparatus is laid down or used on land, it may be laid in a trench made in
the ground; and at regular or convenient distances the ends of the pipes
should be raised above ground and placed in a cast-iron or other suitable case
or box, provided with a lock or other means of safe keeping, so that the wires
may be easily accessible to the examination of parties wishing to communicate
intelligence by them. The ends of the individual wires may also be discon-
nected from each other in these boxes, and the circuit, with the corresponding
wires belonging to the adjoining tube, completed when required by means of
small pinching screws, or by causing the ends of the wires to dip into a hollow
space filled with mercury, or an amalgam of that metal, so as to produce metallic
contact, in order that the conductors may be so joined as to form a continuous
length to any extent, but capable of being disconnected when required. For
this purpose we propose to employ an apparatus shewn in vertical section at
Fig. 23, and in horizontal view at Fig. 24. In these .Figs. are represented

page_text: the terminations of two pipes of soft metal, each containing three conductin
wires a, b, c, which are imbedded in asphalte, as before described. The end
of these wires extend beyond the terminations of the pipes, and are ben
downwards into cups of mercury g, h, i. By this means it will be perceived tha
the interruption of the conductors is restored through the mercurial medium
that is, the conductor a, by its end being immersed in the cup g, communicate
with the wire d; and the wire b in the cup h communicates with the wire e
and the wire c, through i, with f. Connection is also made with the outsides
of the pipes A and B by thick wires k and soldered to the pipes, which are
made to communicate through the mercurial cup m. This apparatus, placed
at any desired part or parts of the line of communication, may be enclosed in a
box n, and locked up securely.
Our improved electric apparatus may be used as conductors for telegraphs,
either by land or water, and also for firing mines, or other purposes for which
electric conductors have been or may hereafter be employed. We also propose
to use the leaden or other aforesaid metallic pipes or tubes as means of returning
the electric currents conveyed by the metallic wires enclosed in such pipes.
We produce metallic contact through the whole length of these tubes, so as
to complete the electric circuit, either by soldering a piece of copper or other
metal to each end of the leaden tubes, and bringing these pieces of copper or
other metal into metallic contact through the mercury, or by other means as
above said. When these conductors are used for electric telegraphs, these
ends, and the wires enclosed therein, are attached to the wires proceeding
from the clockwork of such telegraphs in the usual way, but which may vary
according to the construction of such telegraphs. When these conductors are
to be used for igniting gunpowder, a short piece of metallic wire, of small
diameter, may be placed in any convenient situation so as to form a part of
the electric circuit, and if the electric current be sufficiently powerful, this
small wire will be made hot enough to ignite gunpowder when a current of
electricity passes along the wires.
In conclusion, having described the nature of our Invention of "Improvements
in the Construction and Means of Manufacturing Apparatus for Conducting
Electricity," and the manner of carrying the same into effect, we desire it to be
understood that we do not intend to claim as our Invention, under the above in
part recited Letters Patent, the adaptation of wires surrounded with non-con-
ducting substances enclosed in tubes for electrical conductors; but that which
we do claim is, the construction and manufacture of the electrical conductors
by the employment of machinery having a tubular mandril or hollow rod
through which wires may be drawn, whilst the leaden or other soft metal tube is

page_text: rming, by pressure between a core and die, such wires being at the same time
abedded in pitch or other non-conducting material.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Young, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Fourth day of February,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid William Young came before our
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Fourth day of February, in the year above written.