IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO TELEGRAPHI WIRES AND THE METHOD OR PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick John Cheesbrough, of the Office for Patents,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Consulting Engineer,
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO TELEGRAPHI
WIRES AND THE METHOD OR PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME." A.
communication from abroad by Asahel Knowlton Eaton, of the City of
Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, State of New York, United States of
America, Chemist and Electrician.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick John Cheesbrough
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th February 1880.
FREDERICK JOHN CHEESBROUGH, of the Office for Patents, 15, Water Street,
Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Consulting Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND RELATING TO TELEGRAPH WIRES AND THE METHOD OR PROCESS OF MANU-
FACTURING THE SAME." [A communication from abroad by Asakel Knowlton Eaton,
of the City of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, State of New York, United States
of America, Chemist and Electrician.]
This Invention consists,-
"
First. Of a telegraph wire incased in a tube or sheathing of lead or other ductile
metal, and covered with a spungy or fibrous coating of some non inflammable
anaterial, such as asbestos, mineral wool," spun glass, and the like, interposed
between the lead sheathing and the wire, and filled or consolidated with an insu-
lating material introduced in the spungy coating between the wire and the
sheathing in a fluid or liquid state obtained by heat, and then allowed to cool and
consolidate upon the wire.
Second. Of the method or process of incasing and insulating the wire. Telegraph
wires have heretofore been sheathed with lead, but no practical method of which I
have any knowledge has been devised of applying the sheathing upon an insulated
wire of any considerable length so as to obtain a satisfactory insulation of the wire
in the sheathing.
Where the lead has been applied hot, the heat has charred or melted the insulating
material so as to destroy or displace it, and where it has been applied cold, the
pressure has been so great, the metal so unequal in density, and the insulating
material so soft, thin, or porous, as to practically destroy the insulation of the wire.

page_text: To overcome the difficulties hitherto encountered the following method or process
of manufacturing the insulated wire is adopted :-
In this Invention there is used a hydraulic ram, in which is made a retaining
cylinder, in the bottom of which a tubular nipple is fitted over or opposite a die.
The nipple is set transverse the axis of the retaining cylinder, and enters the die,
leaving an annular space between the die and the end of the nipple through which
the lead issues in the form of a tube. Now let the wire be covered with a coating
of spungy "flocking" of some non inflammable spungy fibrous material, such as
asbestos, "niineral wool," spun glass, or some good and well known substitute for
this purpose, and let the covering be just thick enough to fill the hole in the nipple,
and just hard enough to carry the weight of the wire and hold it in the centre of
the whole, and let this spungy or fibrous covering be as porous as possible.
Now let the wire be inserted into the nipple and the cylinder filled with lead
and kept hot enough to maintain it in a half fluid condition, and let power be
applied to the ram to force the cylinder upon the plunger. By these means the
lead will issue through the die in the form of a tube, in size equal to the small end
of the nipple, which should be small enough to make the lead tube bear hard
enough on the spungy covering to carry the wire forward as fast as the tube is
forced out of the die, but not hard enough to compress the coating upon the wire,
for the object is to get the coated wire in the centre of the sheathing tube without
compressing it, but in as loose and porous condition as possible. If, therefore, it is
found that by making the tube small enough to take the covered wire and carry it
forward as it issues from the press, compresses the coating too much, some other
means well known to the arts, of which there are many, can be adopted to carry
the wire forward as fast as the sheathing issues from the die.
To complete
The wire is now coated and encased, but only partially insulated.
the insulation and the wire as a whole, let a conrpound be made of paraffine, gutta
percha, india rubber, and rosin, in the proportion of about 75 of paraffine, 10 of
gutta percha, 10 of caoutchouc, and 5 of rosin: Let this compound be heated to at
least 450° of Fahrenheit thermometer to thoroughly expel any moisture that may
be in the coating, and let the wire be immersed in the liquid compound. Now let
the receiving tube of an exhausting air pump be applied to one end of the wire
thus immersed and the hot liquid compound drawn or forced between and into the
pores of the fibrous or spungy coating between the wire and the sheathing, by
which, upon the cooling of the compound, the wire will be perfectly insulated with
a flexible elastic coating, proof against ordinary changes of temperature, and capable
of resisting and maintaining in insulation currents of electricity of as high intensity
as may be necessary in the art of telegraphing.
I have described what I conceive to be the best method of filling the fibrous or
spungy coating with the insulating material, but in case the spungy coating be
sufficiently open and porous the pump can be dispensed with, as the hot liquid
compound will run into and through the spungy coating without the aid of the
pump, and especially if the sheathing be perforated to allow the liquid to enter.
The sheathing can be readily perforated as it issues from the press by perforating
discs or rollers applied to the press around the die.
The spungy or fibrous coating may be applied to the wire in any of the well
known ways of covering wire, either by "flocking," winding, or braiding. A good
way to flock it is to first cover the wire with a silicate of soda and then apply
the "flocking" by passing the wire through it, or by any of the well known means
of flocking.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Frederick John Chcesbrough in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 19th August 1880.
FREDERICK JOHN CHEESBROUCH, of the Office for Patents, 15, Water Street,
Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Consulting Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND RELATING TO TELEGRAPH WIRES AND THE METHOD OR PROCESS OF MANU-
FACTURING THE SAME." A communication from abroad by Asahel Knowlton Eaton,
of the City of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, State of New York, United States
of America, Chemist and Electrician.
This Invention consists,-
First. Of a telegraph wire encased in a tube or sheathing of lead or other ductile
metal, and covered with a spungy or fibrous coating of soine non inflammable
material, such as asbestos, mineral wool, spun glass, and the like, interposed
between the lead sheathing and the wire, and filled or consolidated with an
insulating material introduced in the spungy coating between the wire and the
sheathing in a fluid or liquid state obtained by heat, and then allowed to cool
and consolidate upon the wire.
Second. Of the method or process of encasing and insulating the wire. Telegraph
wires have heretofore been sheathed with lead, but no practical method of which
there is any knowledge has been devised of applying the sheathing upon an
insulated wire of any considerable length so as to obtain a satisfactory insulation
of the wire in the sheathing. Where the lead has been applied hot the heat has
charred or melted the insulating material so as to destroy or displace it, and
where it has been applied cold the pressure has been so great, the metal so unequal
in density, and the insulating material so_soft, thin, or porous as to practically
destroy the insulation of the wire. To overcome the difficulties hitherto
encountered the following method or process of manufacturing the insulated
wire is adopted :—
In order that this Invention may be clearly understood there is hereunto
attached a Sheet of Drawings marked with letters and figures of reference corre-
sponding with those in the following explanation:-
L, Figure 1, represents a hydraulic ram in which is made a retaining cylinder C,
in the bottom of which a tubular nipple G is fitted over or opposite a dic F. The
nipple G is set transverse the axis of the retaining cylinder, and enters the die F,
leaving an annular space between the die and the end of the nipple, through which
the lead issues in the form of a tube E. Now let the wire A be covered with a
coating of spungy "flocking" of some non inflammable spungy fibrous material,
such as asbestos, mineral wool, spun glass, or some good and well known substitute
for this purpose, as indicated in the Drawing by B, and let the covering be just
thick enough to fill the hole in the nipple G, and just hard enough to carry the
weight of the wire and hold it in the centre of the hole, and let this spungy or
fibrous covering be as porous as possible. Now let the wire be inserted into the
nipple and the cylinder C filled with lead and kept hot enough to maintain it in a
hall fluid condition, and let power be applied to the ram L to force the cylinder
upon the plunger H. By these means the lead will issue through the die in the
form of a tube, as shown by E, in size equal to the small end of the nipple, which
should be small enough to make the lead tube bear hard enough on the spungy
covering to carry the wire forward as fast as the tubo is forced out of the die, but
not hard enough to compress the coating upon the wire, for the object is to get the
conted wire in the centre of the sheathing tubo without compressing it, but in as
loose and porous condition as possible. If therefore it is found that by making the
tube small enough to take the covered wire and carry it forward as it issues from
the press, it compresses the coating too much, some other means well known to the
arts, of which there are many, can be adopted to carry the wire forward as fast as

page_text: the sheathing issues from the dic. The wire is now coated and encased, but only
partially insulated. To complete the insulation and the wire as a whole, let a
compound be made of parrafine, gutta percha, india rubber, and rosin in the pro-
portion of about 75 of parrafine, 10 of gutta percha, 10 of caoutchouc, and 5 of
rosin. Let this compound be heated to at least 450° of Farhneicht thermometer
to thoroughly expel any moisture that may be in the coating, and let the wire be
immersed in the liquid compound as at Figure 3. Now let the receiving tube of
an exhausting air pump, as shown by P, Figure 3, be applied to one end of the
wire thus immersed, and the hot liquid compound drawn or forced between and
into the pores of the fibrous or spungy conting between the wire and the sheathing,
by which, upon the cooling of the compound, the wire will be perfectly insulated
with a flexible elastic coating, proof against ordinary change of temperature, and
capable of resisting and maintaining in insulation currents of electricity of as high
intensity as may be necessary in the art of telegraphy.
The beforegoing is supposed to be the best method of filling the fibrous or spungy
coating with the insulating material; but in case the spungy coating be sufficiently
open and porous the pump can be dispensed with, as the hot liquid compound will
run into and through the spungy coating without the aid of the pump, and especially
if the sheathing be perforated to allow the liquid to enter. The sheathing can be
readily perforated as it issues from the press by perforating discs or rollers applied
to the press around the die, as shown by R in the Drawing Figure 2.
The spungy or fibrous coating may be applied to the wire in any of the well
known ways of covering wire, either by flocking, winding, or braiding. A good
way to Block it is to first cover the wire with a silicate of soda, and then apply the
flocking" by passing the wire through it, or by any of the well known means of
flocking.
The apparatus shown by the Drawing is intended to illustrate a practical
machine to be used in the practice of the method or process; but it is not
intended to confine the Patent to this form of apparatus, this Invention being
rather of the wire and the process or method of making it than of the machine
illustrated in the Drawing, the form and 'operation of which may be greatly
varied without changing the substantial method of making the wire, or of the
wire itself.
Figure 2 of the Drawings shows a section of the wire, the dies, and nipple upon
an enlarged scale.
What I claim as the Invention communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent is,―
First. A telegraph wire consisting of one or more wires covered with a coating
of non inflammable spungy or fibrous material encased in lead or other ductile
inetal, and insulated by a fusible insulating material interposed between the wire
and the sheathing, and into the pores and interstices of the coating, substantially
as described.
Second. The method, substantially herein described, of manufacturing encased
and insulated telegraph wire, consisting of covering the wire with a fibrous or
spungy material, of encasing it into a tube of ductile metal, either perforated or
plain, and of then filling the pores and interstices of the intervening covering
with an insulating material in the form of a liquid either with or without a
pump.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick John Cheesbrough, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Tenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
TAHA
FREDERICK JOHN (L.S.) CHEESBROUGH.