TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND THE MODE OF CONSTRUCTING THE SAME, AND LAYING THEM DOWN.
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William H. Horstmann, of the City of New York,
in the County of New York, and in the State of New York, U. S. A.,
for the Invention of "TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND THE MODE OF CONSTRUCTING
THE SAME, AND LAYING THEM DOWN.".
J
Sealed the 10th June 1859, and dated the 16th February 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William H. Horstmann at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the.
16th February 1859.
. I, WILLIAM H. HORSTMANN, of the City of New York, in the County of New
York, and the State of New York, U. S. A., do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND THE MODE OF CONSTRUCTING THE SAME,
AND LAYING THEM DOWN," to be as follows:-
.This Invention has for its object improvements in telegraphic cables, and in
the mode of constructing and laying the same. For this purpose, I take a wire-
of copper or other good conductor of electricity wound on spools, reeled or
otherwise coiled in a way that will admit of being readily removed. I convey
this wire through an apparatus containing gum lac, dissolved in a pure state
or mixed with turpentine or other resinous material that will serve to make it
more elastic.
The apparatus I employ is a reservoir or kettle, made double and heated by
steam; this reservoir is hung on trunnions or lugs, so as not to be canted by
the rolling of the vessel. At the axis of this reservoir, the wire above named

page_text: is made to pass through a casing surmounted by a hopper, which feeds the
coating material to the wire as it is drawn through, and is itself supplied from
the reservoir above. The wire after passing from the first, runs through a second
similar apparatus filled with rosin, mixed with sufficient tar to make it pliable,
or with a similar compound of the resinous gums. This is followed by a
coating of mislin tape, paper, or other fibrous material, or gutta percha or
india-rubber; and it is then passed through a wrapping guide apparatus,
which wraps this material around the wire; the operation being completed
by a spring.fork above; a second. coating of the resinous compound and a
second tape may then be added, or more, if found advisable; after which
the wire is joined with a second, similarly coated, and the two are bound
together by a yarn, wound from a bobbin or spool around them, in a manner
similar to that used to cover bonnet wire. Afterwards, a second bobbin lays
a yarn in the opposite direction, crossing the first.
"
This partly formed cable of conductors, now passes over a spool of stout
iron wire, which has a cheek brake apparatus combined with it, and is
intended to bear the strain of the cable while being laid. It is bound to the
first-named wires similar bobbins winding yarns around all just beyond the
point of their union, each succeeding spool or bobbin winding in an opposite
direction. At a little distance from this first iron wire junction, there may be
a second similar iron wire apparatus to supply the place of the first in case of
accident or if a second wire is found necessary in case of rough weather or
very deep soundings. The cable is now conveyed overboard either at the stern
or other proper point for delivery.
In passing overboard, the cable enters a kettle of melted tar and rosin
compound, down through the bottom of which it passes, there being an elastic
mouth opening there that prevents any more of the compound being drawn
through the bottom than is necessary, and the cable is thence delivered into.
the water. The opening in the bottom of the kettle is governed by a rope,.
which is made to tighten the mouthpiece. The kettle is double, and heated
by steam.
After the cable has passed this last process, it receives upon it at proper.
intervals, certain buoys or floats that serve to support it and allow it to sink
more gradually and with less strain than would otherwise be the case;
suspending it in festoons or curves from float to float, and then gradually
descending to its bed and allowing the inequalities of the surface on which
the cable finally rests, to take up the curves without any chance of breaking
the cable..
The floating supports are made as follows:-There is a flat hook that is.

page_text: hooked on the cable, saturated with pitch so as to adhere thereto. This hook
is suspended from the centre of the float (which is a plain flat board) by a
cord; the cord is brought to the end of the float, and there fastened by a
loop of ribbon or tape, the tape being affixed to the board by wafers or glue,
that will dissolve quickly in water. In this condition, the float is launched
with the cable, and for a time descends with it endways; but when the tape
becomes detached and sets the cord free from the end of the float, the board
becomes a powerful resistant to the rapid descent of the cable. These floats,
placed a mile more or less apart, will greatly relieve the strain of the cable
upon the vessel.
In order to connect the several coils of wire, I employ a link, having at
each end a hole, through which the strand of wire is put and upset, so as to
form a head. This strand end and liuk are brought to the axis of motion
while the spool of wire is revolving, and serve as a swivel to prevent a twist
in the wire. By this means, all the spools may be unwound in succession in
one continuous line, without any stoppage. This is necessary in manufacturing
the cable as it is being laid. The wire heads, as well as the holes in the link
are wedge-shaped or conical; this insures the most perfect contact of the
parts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William H. Horstmann in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th August 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
H. HORSTMANN, of the City of New York, in the County of New York, and
the State of New York, U. S. A., send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William H. Horstmann, Her special licence that I, the said William H.
Horstmann, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William H. Horstmann, 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

page_text: "TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND THE MODE OF CONSTRUCTING THE SAME AND LAYING
THEM DOWN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
H. Horstmann, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William H. Horstmann, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, referring to the accompanying Drawings; in which Fig. 1.
is a general outline of the arrangement and disposition of the apparatus on
board a ship when the cable is to be submerged; Fig. 2 is a vertical section
of a reservoir, enlarged; Fig. 3 is a mode of splicing the conducting wires or
supporting wires; Fig. 4, float for cable; Fig. 6, cable.
My Invention consists, first, in the mode of coating and combining the con-
ducting wires so as to render the insulation perfect; and also diminishing the
danger of fracturing the conducting wires. To effect this object, I cover the
conducting wire after it has passed through a process of brightening on its
surface with a coating of gum lac, which may be repeated, if found necessary;
and then I coat the wire outside the covering of gum lac with cloth or other
fibrous material. I then submit the wire thus coated to a process of coating
with some sufficient pitchy compound or resinous compound, preferring for
this purpose a mixture of rosin and tar, or asphaltum and turpentine, to make
a sufficiently elastic compound. After this, an additional covering of fibrous
material should be put on; and if more than one conducting wire is used,
they should be united and bound together by winding a thread of fibrous
material around them. After which, stout iron wire of strength sufficient to
support the cable must be added, keeping it in a straight line and at its full
tension. This is also coated with the resinous compound in a melted
state, and bound to the rest by means of fibrous cord wound around the
whole. For certain purposes, such as the shore ends of the cable, when
used for submerging in the ocean, &c., more than one iron protecting wire is
employed and the conductor may be entirely surrounded by these protecting
wires, which in all instances must be made straight and parallel, so as to take
the full strain from off the conductors.
My second improvement is in the new mode of constructing the cable while
being laid. To effect this I take a wire of copper, or other good conductor

page_text: of electricity, wound on spools reeled or otherwise coiled in a way that will
admit of being readily removed. This is shown in the Drawing at a, a.
From thence I pass the wire through a series of sand paper or other proper
scourers and leather polishers at 6, by which the oxydized surface is removed
and the bright metallic wire thus cleansed is passed along the junction of two
inclined planes at c, down which the dissolved gum lac is caused to flow, and
thus coat the wire perfectly. After passing the coating apparatus the wire is
drawn through the center of a heated cylinder or oven c', when it is equalized
somewhat, and then passes between two rollers at ², where it receives a
covering of cloth or other proper fibrous material; the rollers being grooved
to receive the coated wire wrap the fibrous material closely around the wire,
when it adheres to the gum lac coating. (The rough edges of this fibrous
covering are laid down with the next coating of pitch, rosin, or other material
applied as hereafter described.) I convey the wire through the apparatus at c,
containing gum lac dissolved in a pure state, or mixed with turpentine or other
resinous material that will serve to make it more elastic. The construction
which I propose as the best for the reservoirs for the gum lac, pitch, or rosin
composition, hereafter described, is as follows:-I have a reservoir or kettle
(see Fig. 2) which if it is to be heated is made double, and is heated by
steam. This reservoir is hung on trunnions or lugs, so as not to be canted
by the rolling of the vessel. At the axis of this reservoir the wire above
named is made to pass through a casing, surmounted by a double-inclined
table or a hopper, which feeds the coating material to the wire as it is drawn
through, and is itself supplied from the reservoir. The wire then runs
through an apparatus at d, filled with rosin mixed with sufficient tar to make
it pliable, or with a similar compound of the resinous gums. This is preceded
by a coating of muslin tape, paper, or other fibrous material, or gutta percha,
or india-rubber, and it is then passed through a wrapping guide apparatus
like the former, or as seen at e, which wraps this material around the wire;
the operation being completed by a spring fork f above, a second coating of
the resinous compound and another tape may then be added, or 'more if found
advisable; after which the wire conductor is joined with a second similarly
coated, and the two are bound together by a yarn wound from a bobbin or
spool around them, in a manner similar to that used to cover bonnet wire.
This is done at 9. At h a second bobbin lays a yarn in the opposite direction
crossing the first. I give no particular description of this apparatus for
covering wire, as it is one well known. This incipient cable of conductors
now passes over a spool of stout iron wire which joins it at the point a. This
iron wire has a check brake apparatus combined with it, and is intended to

page_text: bear the strain of the cable while being laid. It is bound to the first-named
wires by similar bobbins winding yarns around all just beyond the point of
their union, as clearly seen in the Drawing at i, i, i, each succeeding spool
or bobbin winding in an opposite direction to the preceding one. At a little
distance from this first iron wire junction, there may be a second similar iron
ivire apparatus, to supply the place of the first in case of accident, or if an
additional wire is found necessary, in case of rough weather, or very deep
soundings, &c.; after which the cable is conveyed overboard, either at the
stern, as shown in the Drawing, or at the side at the most suitable point of
delivery. In passing over the side or stern the cable enters a kettle of melted
tar and rosin compound at 'm, down through the bottom of which it passes, as
clearly shown in the Figure 1, there being an elastic mouthed opening there
that prevents any niore of the compound being drawn through the bottom
than is necessary, and the cable is then delivered into the water. The opening
in the bottom of the last-named kettle m is governed by a rope o, which is
made to tighten. the mouthpiece. The kettle is double, and heated by steam.
In order to connect the several coils of wire I employ a link r, (shown in
Fig. 3), having at each end a hole, through which the strand of wire is put,
and upset so as. to form a head as at s. This strand end and link are brought
to the axis of motion while the spool of wire is revolving, and serve as a
swivel to prevent a twist in the wire. By this means all the spools may be
unwound in succession in one continuous line without any stoppage. This
is necessary in manufacturing the cable as it is being laid. It will be noticed
that the wire heads are wedge-shaped or conical as well as the holes in the
link. This insures the most perfect contact of the parts. Another modi-
fication of this is shown in Fig. 5, in which a is the link, having one wire
soldered thereto; the other wire 'c is inserted into a recess in this link through
a slit in a surrounding tube b, which is then turned so as to remove the slit
from opposite the recess in the link, and thus enclose and fasten the wire c.
After the cable has passed this last coating process it receives upon it at proper
intervals certain buoys or floats q that serve to support it and allow it to sink
more gradually and with less strain than would otherwise be the case, sus-
pending it in festoons or curves from float to float, and then gradually
descending to its bed, and allowing the inequalities of the surface on which
the cable finally rests to take up the curves without any chance of breaking
the cable. The floating supports q are made as follows:-There is a flat
hook that is hooked to the cable, filled with pitch, so as to adhere thereto.
This book is suspended to the centre of the float 2 by a cord 22, the float being
a plain flat board. The cord q² is brought to the end of the float, and there

page_text: fastened by a loop of ribbon or tape, the tape being affixed to the board by
wafers or glue that will dissolve quickly in water. In this condition the float is
launched with the cable, and for a time descends with it endways, but as the tape
loosens, the cord q² is freed, and then the board becomes a powerful resistant
to the rapid descent of the cable. These floats, placed a mile more or less
apart, will greatly relieve the strain of the cable on the vessel.
Having thus fully described my improved construction of cable, what I
claim therein as new, and for which I desire Letters Patent, is the cable made
by covering the conductors separately with gum lac, fibrous material, &c., and
combined with one or more iron protecting wire or wires, substantially as and
for the purposes set forth.
I also claim constructing the cable by the apparatus substantially as herein
described, consisting of the reservoirs, wrapping apparatus, &c., or their
equivalents, as specified.
I also claim the final reservoir m for coating a telegraphic cable after it has
passed all the other apparatus and before it has entered the water or ground,
constructed and applied substantially as herein specified.
I also claim the manufacturing of the cable at the time it is laid, so as to
perfect it, and at once to launch it into the place where it is to remain,
whereby I avoid all the chances for injuring and imperfections arising there-
from growing out of stowing and handling the cable after it has been made
as heretofore has been done.
I also claim the employment of the swivel link for connecting the several
spools or bobbins of telegraphic wire as specified.
I also claim the floats q with their appendages substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 14th