IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS
Year: 1885

page_text: I ANSON COLEMAN TICHENOR residing at 226 Montgomery Street in the city of
San Francisco county of San Francisco and State of California in the United
States of America, gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS" 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 electric cables or conductors and consists in encasing or
enclosing a wire or metallic, strip of any required length or size surrounded or
enveloped by a core or body of powdered or pulverized carbon, in a tubular or other
equivalent formed case or cover composed of one or more layers or wrappings made
of any substance or material possessing suitable strength and flexibility and covered
or coated with some protective insulating compound substance or material as
hereinafter described.
The object of my invention is to produce a cable or conductor for telegraph,
telephone and other systems, wherein electric currents are employed which shall
not only be a good conductor of electric currents but shall be free from induction
from any cause or source, strong and durable, easily and readily used and handled
and cheaply and economically manufactured. It is well known that when metallic
conductors are used in proximity to each other, great difficulty is often experienced
in transmitting messages telegraphically or telephonically on account of the induced
currents from such neighboring wires and that to overcome such induction various
devices and divers means have been employed but so far as I know with only
partially successful results.
In the use of the conductor herein described I have found that no matter how
near it is placed to other conductors even if wound around them whether above or
below the surface of the earth there is no induction whatever so that messages
transmitted are received with equal loudness and distinctness as if there were no
such neighboring conductors..
This result is due to the perfect insulation of the conductor as herein described
and shown.
On the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which
like letters refer to similar parts.
Figure 1 shows a piece of the conductor with the wrappings removed at one end
and Fig 2 a cross section of the same.

page_text: In these drawings the outermost wrapping is represented by a the inner next to
this by b and the interior wrapping or tube by c.
Within the latter at d is represented the pulverized filling of carbon or other
equivalent material and in the center of such carbon core or filling at f¹ the wire
or metallic strip of any required size. Upon each layer or wrapping as it is applied
I preferably place a coating of asphaltum rubber paraffine or other substance capable
of resisting moisture and the action of the elements and on the outermost covering
I prefer to apply a coating of asbestos asphaltum or some equivalent protective
compound.
When the conductor is constructed and prepared as described it is ready for
immediate use.
This cable or conductor may be manufactured in different ways and I do not
limit myself to any particular method of manufacture but prefer to use the
machinery and processes now used which are well known in the manufacture of
submarine fuse for blasting.
In said method a central thread of cotton or similar fibrous material is employed
located within the filling of the fuse and extending throughout its whole length.
This thread passes through the core of pulverized material as it is forming within
the tube, wrap or envelope and is agitated in order to prevent the pulverized
material from choking up and leaving unoccupied places. In like manner the wire
or metallic strip is used in the manufacture of the cable or conductor herein-
described care being taken that the machine is so adjusted as to keep the same in
the center of the carbon core formed around it as well as in the center of the tube
formed by the wrappings or cover. In this way a cable or conductor may be made
of any required size or length in which the wire or metallic strip will be surrounded
or enveloped with a uniform thickness of the pulverized carbon throughout its
entire length the whole being of uniform size and strength.
The diameter of the tube containing the wire or metallic strip and powdered
carbon must be proportioned to the size of such wire or strip and should be at least
three times as great When used as a conductor for electric lighting I have found
a much smaller wire or metallic strip may be used than is now employed for such
purposes with equally good if not superior results.
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
A cable or conductor for electrical purposes consisting of a wire or metallic strip
surrounded and enveloped by pulverized carbon encased in one or more flexible
wrappings each of which wrappings is saturated or coated with a protective
compound substantially as described.
Dated this 10th day of March 1885