IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FLEXIBLE TUBES FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF WATER ILLUMINATING GAS, OR OTHER FLUIDS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Antoine Halter and Françoise Decorce (Widow
Douard) of 91, Rue de Malte, Paris, in the Empire of France, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FLEXIBLE TUBES FOR
THE CONVEYANCE OF WATER ILLUMINATING GAS, OR OTHER FLUIDS,"
Sealed the 15th February 1861, and dated the 24th August 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION ft by the said Antoine Halter and.
Françoise Decorce, Widow Douard, at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their l'etition, on the 24th August 1860.
We, ANTOINE HALTER and FRANÇOISE DECORCE (Widow Douard), of 91,
Rue de Malte, Paris, in the Empire of France, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FLEXIBLE
TUBES FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF WATER, ILLUMINATING GAS, OR OTHER FLUIDS,"
to be as follows, that is to say:-
The bor of these tubes is formed of copper or iron wire, over which is
rolled several strips or folds of linen cloth or hemp or such like material, and
then coated or plastered with liquid india-rubber or gutta percha. The metallic
bore is made by rolling the wire in helixes more or less apart upon a cylin-
drical mandril; this metal skeleton is then enveloped in the folds of cloth, as
before described, which forms a perfectly flexible tube. In some cases we add
to the cloth bands a roll of india-rubber or gutta percha so as to render thein
perfectly impervious. When the tubes are to be used in such a way that
friction or other hard work might damage them, in such a case we wind we

page_text: wind another coil of wire round the outer covering, before described, and cover
this the same as last mentioned. Similarly we add as many more thicknesses
of wire and cloth and india-rubber as we think proper.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Antoine Halter and Françoise Decorce, Widow Douard,
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd February 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ANTOINE
HALTER and FRANÇOISE DECORCE, Widow Douard, of 91, Rue de Malte,
Paris, in the Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundredand sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Antoine Halter and Françoise Decorce, Widow Douard, Her special licence,
that we, the said Antoine Halter and Françoise Decorce, Widow Douard,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Antoine Halter and Françoise Decorce, Widow Douard, our executors, admi-
nistrators, 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, usc, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FLEXIBLE TUBES
FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF WATER, ILLUMINATING GAS, OR OTHER FLUIDS,"
upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Antoine Halter and Françoise
Decorce, Widow Douard,our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our, 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 immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Françoise Decorce, Widow Douard, for
myself and the said Antoine Halter, do hereby declare the nuture of our
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement, refer.
ence being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say :-

page_text: The object of this Invention is the manufacture of improved flexible tubes
for the conveyance of water, gas, or other fluids; and the Invention relates
to the mode of manufacture and to certain means or apparatus applicable for
carrying out the same.
We construct our improved tubes in the following manner-We take a
mandril of the intended size of the tube to be produced, aud on this mandril
we wind iron wire spirally as if constructing a spiral spring. We use wire of
a diameter proportionate to that of the intended tube, and we wind it on regu-
larly so as to get as uniform and regular a spiral as possible, easing the coils
to prevent them from clinging too tightly round the mandril, and to allow of
the tube being drawn off the mandril when finished; we next wrap over the
wire three spiral layers of cloth coated with pitch, gutta percha, and caout-
chouc or equivalent materials, that is to say, we take a strip, fillet, or band of
cloth,coated as aforesaid, and of a breadth precisely,or very nearly, three times
the diameter of the tube, and we wind it obliquely upon the wire, that is, we
wind it spirally from end to end of the length of wire with the edge of each
successive turn or coil of band as wound on overlapping the immediately pre-
ceding edge and adhering thereto, first winding the band in one direction,
whereby we produce a first spiral layer or covering; we then wind it on back
again, that is, in the contrary direction to the first, but still spirally with the
edges overlapping as before, and from end to end so as to wrap over the first
covering and form a second spiral layer or covering, and then we wind it on
spirally with overlapping edges over the second covering from end to end but
in a contrary direction to the way in which that was wound, and therefore in
the same direction as the first covering, whereby we produce a third spiral
layer or covering. The strip or band receives its coating immediately before
being wound on by forcing it through a bath or vessel containing the pitch,
caoutchouc, and gutta percha or other coating materials used, which are kept
heated therein throughout the operation. Round the tube, prepared so far, we
next wind or wrap a strip or band of caoutchouc spirally so as to cover the last
covering completely, and we secure the whole together by binding wire over it
spirally, whereby the coated coverings and the caoutchouc wrapping are kept
in place and protected against shocks and accidents of various descriptions.
The accompanying Drawings exemplify the mode of carrying the Invention
into effect.
Figure 1 is a front view of a machine for manufacturing our improved
tubes; Figure 2 is an end view; Figure 3, transverse section (with the
"carriage" removed); and Figure 4 a plan of the same; Figures 5 and 6,
shew details on an enlarged scale; Figure 7 is a section of one of our tubes;

page_text: Figure 8, an outside view of same, representing it as slightly bent; we may
here mention that tubes constructed according to our method may be bent or
coiled in rings or loops of very small diameter comparatively to their section
or width of bore.
a is a crank handle, which turns the mandril 6 on which the wire is to be
wound; this handle a also drives a shaft c, on which are two toothed bevel
wheels d, e, nounted loose on the shaft, but so contrived that when desired
they may be made fast thereon to revolve with it, which is done by means of a
connecting and disconnecting clutch f. The arrangement of these wheels is
such that they revolve in opposite directions to one another when fast on the
shaft, and when one wheel is fast thereon the other is loose; or they may both
be loose on the shaft at the same time, which is necessary when the carriage
X has to be guided and moved by hand, as herein-after mentioned. The
wheels and e alteruately engage a bevil wheel g on a shaft h, that is to say,
one of the two wheels dor e is thrown into gear with the wheel g, according
to the direction in which it is desired to turn that wheel and its shaft h. The
shaft also carries a small toothed wheel in gear with a chain j extending
from one end of the machine to the other; this chain; actuates the carriage
X and propels it forward or backward, as desired, the direction of motion
being varied according to which of the wheels d or e gears with the wheel g
The chain used may be a band chain, pitch chain, or endless chain, or equi-
valent description of chain By suitably arranging the gearing shewn in red
lines, Figure, and in black, Figure 1, the relative speeds of the carriage X
and mandril & may be varied to suit the intended size of tube, or according as
we have to wind on the inner spiral wire or the outer binding wire, the coated
band, or the caoutchouc wrapping. When the attendant wishes in the course
of the operation to guide the motions of the carriage himself, as when he has
to start the winding-on in either direction, he disconnects both wheels d and e
from the shaft c, so that the handle a may cease to propel the carriage for a
time, and he turns the shaft h by the handle l.
The body or upper part of the carriage X is free to work on an internal
axis, so that it may be inclined at various angles without however moving
with it the lower part or frame of the carriage (to which the axis is connected)
or the shaft of the handle 1, so that these are always in proper position for
being moved as required by the shaft c; Y is a general framework supporting
the machinery.
In Figure 5 the carriage is shewn as arranged for winding the wire on the
mandril. m, is the wire; p, a reel on which the wire is first wound, En
whence it is delivered off to be wound on the mandril; as the mandril revolve

page_text: it gradually draws the wire on to it, the wire is kept in a proper state of
tension while being wound on by springs or otherwise, and the attendant regu-
lates its winding, and secures its being laid on properly by an instrument Z,
Figure 5, the two arms of which he closes together, so that they may bear
against each other in the position shewn in Figure 5. In the section Figure 6,
the carriage X is shewn engaged in winding on the coated band W; V is the
cup, basin, or hollow of the carriage in which the coating bath is held ; 'T' is a
double bottom, or a casing or jacket for containing hot water or other liquid,
which is kept hot therein by means of a fire-box, fire-pan, fire-basket, or
chafing dish S. 'The strip of cloth W is delivered off the reel or roller R, and
passed through the coating material in the vessel V, being conducted under the
tension roller q, and then led on to the wire on the maudril b; o is a spring for
guiding the covering band,and securing the proper spiral winding thereofon the
wire, the band as stated iswound on slanting. While the bandW is being wound
on, the carriage X is inclined at the required angle, as, for example, in the
manner shewn in Figure 4. In that Figure two carriages are shewn, one
engaged in winding on the coated band, and the other in winding on the wire,
but in the real machine there is only one carriage to perform both operations.
The machine may be modified so that the carriage mayremain stationary when
winding on the wire, in which case the head of the mandril is constructed of
somewhat larger diameter than the rest of the mandril. The wirebeingwound
spirally on the mandril, necessarily recedes continuously and gradually from
the point where the winding was begun, which may be effected by an arrange-
ment of guides or grooves on the mandril head or otherwise, and when it
arrives at the part where the diameter is reduced, the coil is consequently in
the position most suited for moving on the mandril readily, and hence for
being easily withdrawn either at once or as soon as the tube is completed,
In this arrangement the tedious and troublesome operation of easing the coils
is dispensed with.
By the means described and represented in the Drawings, we manufacture
superior flexible tubes of various gauges from the smallest to the largest
diameters. Among other applications, these tubes are suitable for employment
as the connecting pipes between locomotive and tender, or between the car-
riages of a railway train for the conveyance of steam into working cylinders,
or into steam break cylinders, or into compartments for warming the car-
riages. The employment of coated bands, of a width triple the diameter of the
intended tube, allows of such tubes being constructed with advantage, regu-
larity, and considerable flexibility.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: the same may be performed, we declare that we do not confine ourselves to
the precise arrangement of machinery herein-before described for manufac-
turing our improved tubes, as the same admits of variation, but that we
claim,―
First, the manufacture of tubes in the manner herein-before described, and
this we claim whatever the machinery whereby the same be carried into effect,
preferring however, the use of the machinery herein-before described.
Second, the employment as described of coated strips, fillets, or bands, of a
width precisely, or very nearly thrice the diameter of the tubes to be manu-
factured.
Third, the employment in the manufacture of our improved tubes of a
carriage which may be placed at various angles of inclination, and is so con-
trived as to be capable of being guided or moved according to option either
by hand, or by the arrangement of toothed bevil wheels, connecting clutch, or
contrivance, and chain, the said carriage being also arranged for holding a
bath or supply of coating material, and for keeping the same hot throughout
the process by a fire-tray, fire-box, chafing dish, or fire-pan.
Fourth, the general arrangement and combination of machinery constructed
as herein-before described, and especially the arrangement and combination
of parts for producing the winding-on operations, constructed and acting as
herein-before explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Françoise Decorce, Widow Douard,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness.
EMILE BARRAULT,
Ing Civil Diplomé,
33, Bard S. Martin.
FRANCOISE DECORCE,
VVE DOUARD.
(L.S.)