IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPH CABLES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Munton Bullivant, of 59, Fenchurch
:
Street, in the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN TELEGRAPH CABLES."
Sealed the 2nd June 1874, and dated the 2nd April 1874.
:
..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Munton
Bullivant at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 2nd April 1874.
I, WILLIAM MUNTON BULLIVANT, of 59, Fenchurch Street, in the
City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPH CABLES," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to avoid the use of protecting wires in
the manufacture of telegraph cables and to employ only yarns of
vegetable fibre, and I take such precautions as to avoid the difficulties
hitherto experienced arising from the shrinking of the vegetable fibro
when immersed in water,
hoon found to
ich afton
fow voans onl

page_text: conductor and render the cable unserviceable. After the decay has pro-
ceeded to a certain point the cable must be abandoned as it no longer
has sufficient strength to admit of its being lifted for repair. Hence an
efficient fibrous cable is very superior to a cable dependent on protecting
wires, the fibre does not decay, the cable is lighter and cheaper, and if
the bottom be rough it rests but lightly upon it, and hence is less liable
to be chafed. Heretofore however, a very serious difficulty has been
experienced with fibrous cables in consequence of the shrinkage of tho
fibre when it becomes moist; this shrinkage is liable to cause the con-
ductor to “knuckle" and even to protrude through the insulator. To
avoid this the fibrous yarns have in some cases been laid on in a moist
state, but when this is done it is difficult or impossible afterwards to
cause the cable to absorb the bituminous matter which is afterwards
applied to cement the whole together, and as far as possible to exclude
the water. Now I construct a light cable in the following manner :—
Around a conductor insulated in any suitable way I arrange a number
of hempen yarns saturated with tar compound; these yarns I preparo
from uncut Manilla hemp. I immerse the yarns in water to shrink
them, or I steam them, I then dry them thoroughly, and lastly, I
saturate them with the tar compound. I lay the yarns without again
moistening them around, the insulated conductor, arranging them in a
very long spiral or lay, I apply two or more layers of yarn with the lay
alternately in opposite directions; I separate the layers with pitch con-
taining silica to repel boring animals. Over these yarns I apply a
binding or other yarns laid in a short spiral with a view of consoli-
dating the lower layers on which alone the tensile strength of the cable
depends. The whole cable is then again covered with pitch and silica
compound, and it is then complete.

page_text: Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Munton Bullivant, Her special license that
I, the said William Munton Bullivant, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Munton Bullivant,
my 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, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain-
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPH CABLES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Munton Bullivant, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain. the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to bo
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 I, the said William Munton Bullivant, do.
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner.
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
.
-
The object of my Invention is to avoid the use of protecting wires in*
the manufacture of telegraph cables and to employ only yarns of
vegetable fibre, and I take such precautions as to avoid the difficulties:
hitherto experienced arising from the shrinking of the vegetable. fibre
when immersed in water.
Protecting wires have been found to break and the ends penetrate the
core, thereby destroying insulation and also to rust and perish after a
few years' submersion, destroying by the rust the hemp placed between
them and the insulator; the insulator then is liable to be chafed so as'
to expose the conductor and render the cable unserviceable. After the
decay has proceeded to a certain point the cable must be abandoned as
it no longer has sufficient strength to admit of its being lifted for repair.
Hence an efficient fibrous cable is very superior to a cable dependent on
protecting wires, the fibre does not by itself decay, the cable is lighter

page_text: as
and cheaper, and if the bottom be rough it rests but lightly upon it, and
hence is less liable to be chafed. Heretofore - however, a very serious
difficulty has been experienced with fibrous cables in consequence of the
shrinkage of the fibre when it becomes moist; this shrinkage is liable.
to cause the conductor to "knuckle" and even to protrude through the
insulator. To avoid this the fibrous yarns have in some cases, been laid.
on in a moist state, but when this is done it is difficult or impossible.
afterwards to cause the cable to absorb the bituminous matter which
and
together,
is or should be afterwards applied to cement the whole
far as possible to exclude the water and prevent the action of the toredo..
Now I construct a light cable in the following manner :-Around a con-
ductor insulated and twisted in any suitable way I arrange a number of
hempen yarns saturated with tar or other suitable bituminous - com-
pound, these yarns I prepare from Manilla or other hemp. I immerse
the yarns in water to shrink them or I steam them, I then dry them
thoroughly, and lastly, I saturate them with the tar or other bituminous.
compound. I lay the yarns without again moistening them around the.
insulated conductor arranging them in a very long spiral or lay, I apply
two or more layers of yarn with the lay alternately in opposite direc-
tions; sometimes I separate the layers with pitch containing silica to
repel boring animals. Over these yarns I sometimes apply a binding of
other yarns laid in a short spiral with a view of consolidating the lower
layers on which alone the tensile strength of the cable depends. The
whole cable is covered with prepared pitch and silica compound, and it
is then complete.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and.
readily carried into effect, I will describe in detail a cable which I have.
already constructed according to my Invention:-
The insulated conductor of this cable is of the diameter No. 1 of the
Birmingham wire gauge. Ten yards of Manilla hemp are laid around
it, making one turn in ten inches; outside these yarns another lot of
similar yarns are applied, there are four more yarns in this set making
fourteen in all in the outer layer to compensate for the increase of size
resulting from the application of the inner layer of yarns around the
The outer yarns are laiḍ opposite in direction to the inner yarns
and are inclined at an equal angle to the core.
core.
་
Before laying on the yarns they where prepared in the following
manner: The hanks were soaked in water for 48 hours and were then

page_text: thoroughly dried in a drying room. Afterwards as the yarns were
wound from the hanks they were passed through Stockholm tar kept
thoroughly fluid by heat. In this state and without again moistening
them the yarns were laid around the core. The cable as it was delivered
from the laying machine was passed through a steam heated trough
filled with prepared pitch with which fine sharp sand was mixed in such
proportion that when cold it formed a hard tough mass. At the end
of the trough the cable passed through an eye or metal die which
removed the surplus pitch and sand from its surface, and left it smooth
and cylindrical. In making this cable I did not apply any binding or
whipping yarn outside the two sets of yarns already referred to, as the
coating of pitch and sand was found to be sufficient to bind the whole
together and prevent the strands separating.
In place of using hemp other vegetable fibre may be employed, and
it may be saturated with other bitumious compound heretofore
employed in place of with tar. A thin felt also thus saturated may be
introduced between the insulated core and the strength giving fibrous
covering. Also the way of arranging the fibre around the core may be
varied; it may be woven into a band or bands in place of being applied
in the form of separate yarns, but I perfer to use separate yarns as I
have explained.
What I claim is constructing telegraph cables substantially in the
manner described, and especially shrinking and drying the fibrous mate.
rials and saturating them with tar or such like material before applying
them around the core.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Munton Bullivant, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
W. M. BULLIVANT. (L.S.)