Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 16th June, 1887
Complete Left, 16th Mar., 1888
Complete Accepted, 20th Apr., 1888
I JOSEPH OPPENHEIMER of 52 Brown Street Manchester in the County of Lancaster
Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to those methods of securing telegraph posts in the ground
for which Letters Patent No. 3286 dated November 20th 1867 and No. 2240 dated
June 18th 1875 and No. 4828 dated March 13th 1884 were granted unto me, and
my present invention relates to certain methods of constructing or forming the
carth-plate" or "earth-plates" by which the telegraph posts are secured in the
ground.
(
I use a metal earth-plate or earth-plates as heretofore and my present invention
consists in a method of constructing or forming such earth-plate or earth-plates by
which the said earth-plate or earth-plates is or are rendered cheaper to make, of
greater strength and more readily fixed.
In carrying my invention into effect I make each earth-plate of a plate of steel,
wrought iron or other suitable cheap metal except cast iron and malleable cast iron.
I form the earth-plate with corrugations which corrugations I produce by a stamping
process or by rolling or by hydraulic or other pressure or in cases in which the earth-
plate is formed of cast steel I produce the said corrugations by casting. The
corrugations may be formed by one operation or by a series of operations. Between
the earth-plate and the telegraph post to which it is to be applied I place a metal
packing or bridge-piece to bed against the corrugated surface of the earth-plate. I
secure the earth-plate, telegraph post and metal packing or bridge-piece together by
means of a strap provided with screws and nuts. Between the nuts above mentioned
and the earth-plate I place a plate or washer or plate and washer or plates or washers
or plates and washers having a surface formed to correspond with the contour of the
corrugations upon the earth-plate.
In some cases in order to increase the strength of the earth-plate I form a flange
around the edge of the earth-plate.
A further part of my invention consists in arrangements by which I am enabled to

page_text: secure the telegraph post to the earth-plate without employing a metal packing or
bridge-piece. In carrying this part of my invention into effect I employ an earth-
plate formed of a circular, oval or other shaped plate of steel, wrought iron or other
suitable cheap metal, except cast iron or malleable cast iron, and I impart to the said
plate of metal a recessed, curved or dished form. Partly across the recessed, curved
or dished earth-plate I form a groove in which 1 place the telegraph post and I secure
the said telegraph post and earth-plate together by means of a metal strap provided
with screws and nuts. If desired in order to impart additional strength to the earth-
plate I form such carth plate thicker around the holes through which the ends of the
metal strap pass.
Dated this Fifteenth day of Juno 1887
W. T. CHEETHAM,
Carlton Chambers,
18, St. Ann's Street, Manchester,
Agent to the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Fixing Telegraph Posts.
1 JOSEPH OPPENHEIMER of 52 Brown Street Manchester in the county of Lancaster
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention relates to those methods of securing telegraph posts in the ground
for which Letters Patent No. 3286 dated November 20th 1867 and No. 2240 dated
June 18th 1875 and No. 4828 dated March 13th 1884 were granted unto me and
my present invention relates to certain methods of constructing or forming the
earth-plate" or "earth-plates" by which the telegraph posts are secured in the
ground.
$
I use a metal earth-plate or earth-plates as heretofore and my present invention
consists in a method of constructing or forming such earth-plate or earth-plates by
which the said earth-plate or earth plates or are rendered cheaper to make, of
greater strength and more readily fixed.
In carrying my invention into effect I make each earth-plate of a plate of steel,
wrought iron or other suitable cheap metal except cast iron and malleable cast iron.
I form the earth-plate with corrugations which corrugations I produce by a stamping
process or by rolling or by hydraulic or other pressure or in cases in which the earth-
plate is formed of cast steel I produce the said corrugations by casting. The
corrugations may be formed by one operation or by a series of operations. Between the
carth-plate and the telegraph post to which it is to be applied I place a metal packing
or bridge piece to "bed" against the corrugated surface of the earth plate.
secure
the earth plate, telegraph post and metal packing or bridge-piece together by means
of a strap provided with screws and nuts. Between the nuts above mentioned and
the earth-plate, 1 place a plate or washer or plate and washer or plates or washers or
plates and washers having a surface formed to correspond with the contour of the
corrugations upon the earth-plate.
In some cases in order to increase the strength of the earth plate I form a flange
around the edge of the earth-plate.
In order that my invention may be understood and carried into effect I have here-
unto annexed a drawing in which Fig. 1 is an elevation and Fig. 2 a plan of so much
of a telegraph post and earth-plate as is requisite to illustrate my invention. Fig. 3
is a side view, Fig. 4 a plan and Fig. 5 a back view showing a portion of that which
is shown in Fig. 1.
In Figs. 1 and 2 a is a telegraph post and b is an earth-plate formed with
corrugations A.
For convenience of illustration I have shown the earth-plate b as broken off at C
and D but such earth plate b may be made of any desired or requisite length.
Between the earth plate 6 and the telegraph-post a I place a metal packing or bridge
piece c shown more clearly in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

page_text: The surface c of the metal packing or bridge piece c is formed to correspond with
the contour of the corrugated surface E of the earth-plate b. The surface c of the
metal packing or bridge piece c is formed to correspond with the circumference of the
telegraph post a. I secure the earth plate b to the telegraph post a by means of a
strap d provided with nuts e.
Between the nuts e and the earth plate b1 place a plate or washer fin which are
formed holes g through which the ends of the strap d'are passed. The surface of
the plate or washer f I form of a contour to correspond with the contour of the
surface of the earth-plate b. I provide the metal packing or bridge piece c with
projections which pass through holes formed in the earth plate such projections c
and holes serving to keep the metal packing or bridge picce e in position upon the
earth-plate 6 while the said earth-plate b is being secured by the strap d and nuts e to
the telegraph post a. By the nuts e being screwed upon the screw-threads formed
upon the ends of the strap d the earth-plate b, metal packing or bridge piece c and
telegraph post a may be firmly secured together.
I have only shown the earth plate bas being formed with five corrugations A but
a greater number of corrugations may be formed in such earth-plate b if desired and
the metal packing or bridge piece c may be made to correspond in form with the
corrugations upon the earth-plate b.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. The hereinbefore described method of constructing earth-plates for use in fixing
telegraph posts by forming each of such earth-plates with corrugations and of
steel, wrought iron or other suitable cheap metal except cast iron and malleable
cast iron.
2. For use in fixing telegraph posts, earth-plates each formed substantially as
herein before described with corrugations such as A and of steel, wrought iron or
other suitable cheap metal except cast iron and malleable cast iron.
3. For use in conjunction with each earth-plate of the kind herein before described
a metal packing or bridge-piece such as c and plate or washer such as f each provided
with a surface formed to correspond in contour with the surface of the earth-plate b
with which such metal packing or bridge piece c or plate or washer as the case may
be is in contact and formed and employed substantially in the manner herein before
described in reference to and indicated in and by the drawing hereunto annexed.
Dated this Fifteenth day of March 1888.
W. T. CHEETHAM,
Manchester,
Agent to the Applicant.