IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING TELEGRAPHIC CABLES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND MACHINERY
FOR MANUFACTURING TELEGRAPHIC CABLES."-A communication from abroad
by Daniel Hovey Southworth, of the City and State of New York, and
Blase Lorillard and Charles Ferris, both of White Plains, in the State
of New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 28th February 1865, and dated the 23rd September, 1864..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd September 1864.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,.
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare:
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND
MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING TELEGRAPHIC CABLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to a novel construction of and mode of
applying an insulating piece of gutta percha, india-rubber, or other material.
which is a non-conductor of electricity, whereby the said piece is made to
serve both as a central core for the insulation of the several wires or con-
ductors, and an envelope for enclosing the same. This insulating piece is made.
by forcing gutta percha or such like material in a plastic state through a
die having radial grooves corresponding in number with the metal strands
intended to be insulated. These grooves serve to form fins or flanges which

page_text: radiate from a central core, and in the recesses formed by the flanges the
metal strands are laid. Or the insulating piece may be produced by taking a
strip of gutta percha or vulcanized india-rubber of suitable thickness, and
slitting it with a suitable cutting instrument to within a suitable distance from
the centre to form the fins or flanges, or by taking strips of woven fabric, and
sewing them together along their centres, and afterwards saturating and
coating them with gutta .percha, india-rubber, or other insulating material or
composition. When the wires or conductors are placed around the core the
fins or flanges are turned over them, and made to envelope and enclose them
separately, after which they are secured by one or more coverings of wire,
cord, yarn, or tape and cement.
The apparatus for manufacturing the cable consists of a train of machinery
acting simultaneously, and performing a consecutive series of operations. The
core is fed forward by grooved rollers shaped to correspond to the section of
the core. From these rollers the insulating piece passes through a stationary
die shaped to correspond to the section of the flanged core. At the junction
of the flanges are grooves for the passage of the wires or conductors, which
are brought thereinto from suitably arranged spools or coils. From the dic
the insulating piece and the conductors pass through a hollow mandril, 'which
has a taper or funnel-like entrance. This mandril has a rotary motion in its
bearings, and by this rotary motion it is caused to turn over the fins or flanges
of the core and make them envelope the wires or conductors. The insulating
piece with its enveloped conductors next passes through the hollow spindle of
a flyer arranged in line with the.mandril. Within this flyer there. is arranged
a bobbin fitted to rotate freely upon the spindle, and carrying wire; cord, or
yarn, which passes therefrom over guide pulleys in the sides of the flyer, and
through fixed guides in the end thereof, and is wound by the rotary motion
of the flyer around the insulating piece and enveloped conductors as they
issue from the hollow spindle through which they pass, and thereby made
to confine the fins or flanges around the conductors. From this . flyer the
now partly formed: cable passes through the hollow spindle of a second
flyer: Upon a spindle. which forms one. side of this flyer there are
-arranged two spools, which carry cords, yarns, or wires; and upon a second
spindle, which forms the other side of the flyer, is arranged another spool
carrying a tape. The revolution of this flyer first laps a cord, yarn, or wire
upon the cable, then a tape, and afterwards a cord, yarn, or wire outside of
the tape. The cable thus prepared passes through a bath of dissolved india-
rubber or gutta percha, or other suitable cement which is impervious to air
and water, kept 'fluid by the application of heat. From this bath the cable

page_text: passes through a vessel containing cold water, the object of which is to cool
and produce the setting of the coating which has been applied in the heated
vessel. The outlet through which the cable leaves the beated vessel is so
constructed or lined as to wipe or take off any superfluous coating material' or.
cement from its surface. From the water vessel the cable passes through a
hollow, axle, upon which rotates a hollow rotating pulley fitted with spools,
from which a covering of wire or cord is wound upon the cable by the rotation
of the pulley.
For a submarine cable it would be desirable to have this covering of wire
to form an armor, but for a cable to be suspended in the air, a covering of
cord or yarn would serve very well if afterward coated with a waterproof
varnish or cement. The cable may be drawn through the covering machinery
by means of take-up, drawing, or feed rollers suitably applied in front of the
pulley, and also if necessary at other points in the train of machinery.
It may be desirable to apply outside of the insulating piece, or outside
of a coating of cord or yarn coiled around it, a covering composed of longi-.
tudinally arranged wires. These may be conducted to it by any suitable.
system of guides from suitably arranged spools or coils.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 23rd March 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,. ALFRED.
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County.
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,. by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four,. in the twenty-eighth year:
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special.license that I, the said.
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 King--
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an:
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND MACHINERY FOR MANUFAC-

page_text: TURING TELEGRAPHIC CABLES," being a communication from abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an;
instrument, in writing: under my hand and seal, should particularly 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 Alfred Vincent Newton; do hereby,
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures-marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to a novel mode of enclosing and separately insulating
several telegraph wires or conductors within one cable.
The principal feature of this Invention consists in a novel construction of
and mode of applying an insulating piece of gutta percha, india-rubber, or,
ither material or fabric which is a non-conductor of electricity, whereby the
said piece is made to serve both as a central core for the separation of the
several wires or conductors and an envelope for enclosing the same, and each
'wire being thereby insulated from the others so that it may be used as a
separate conductor. This insulating piece is represented in Figures 1, 2, 3,
and 4 and 4*, which are transverse sectional views; Figures 1, 2, and 3
shewing its condition before application, and Fig. 4 shewing it applied in a
cable; it is composed of a core a, having a number of longitudinal pins or
flanges .b, b, corresponding with the number of wires or conductors to be
enclosed. It may be made of india-rubber or gutta percha by forcing such
material in a plastic state through a suitable die with the fins or flanges
radiating from the central core, as shewn in Fig. 3, or be produced by taking
a strip of gutta percha or vulcanized india-rubber of suitable thickness, and
slitting it with a suitable cutting instrument, as shewn at c, c, in Fig. 1, to
within a suitable distance from the centre to form the fins or flanges b, b, or
by taking strips of woven fabric and sewing them together along their centres,
as shewn at din Fig. 2, and afterward saturating and coating them with
gutta percha, india-rubber, or other insulating material or composition. Tho
wires or conductors e, e, are placed between the fins or flanges, which are
afterwards turned over the wires and made to envelope and enclose them sepa-
rately, as shewn in Fig. 4 and 4*. The enveloped conducting wires are
secured by one or more coverings of wire, cord, yarn, or tape, as shewn at r,,
in Figs. 4.and 4*, or with coverings of all or any number of those fabrics,

page_text: also as many coatings of flexible airproof and waterproof materials,. compo-
sitions, or varnishes are applied as may be deemed necessary. Fig. 4 repre-
sents the insulating piece as covered with a single.cord, and Fig. 4* represents
it covered with several layers of cord, tape, and wire.
The Invention also consists in machinery for the manufacture of a cable in
which an insulating piece such as is above described is used; Fig. 5 is a
central longitudinal vertical: section of a train of machinery for the manu
facture of such a cable. At the extreme left of this Figure there is repre
sented a frame T with vertical arms, to which are attached the bearings for
the spindles of a number of spools U, U, from which the conducting wires
e; e, are supplied; Fig. 10 is a face view of this frame. At the right of the
said frame T, in Fig. 5, there are represented, arranged, in a suitable standard A;
two pairs of rollers ff, through which the insulating piece is first passed, two.
of its fins or flanges b, b, passing between the upper and lower rollers, and ono
through the space left between the two upper rollers, and one through the
space left between the lower rollers, as shewn in Fig. 6, which is a front view
of the said rollers and their supporting standard. The insulating piece passing
from these rollers meets the wires e,. in a stationary die B, which is sup-
ported in a suitable standard D; Fig. 7 represents a front view; of this die. and
its supporting standard, and Fig. 8 is a front view of the die on a larger scale.
The opening of this die is made of a suitable form for the passage of the insu
lating piece, and with suitable grooves i, i, in the central portion .h of the
opening between the radiating portions j, j, through which the fins or.
flanges b, b, of the insulating piece pass; these grooves are for the passage of
the wires or conductors e, e, which are brought thereinto from the spools U, U.
From the die C the insulating piece and the conductors e, e, pass through are
a hollow mandril E, which has a taper or funnel-like entrance; this mandril
has a rotary motion in bearings in the standard D, and by this rotary motion
it is caused to turn the fins or flanges b, b, of the centre piece over the wires
or conductors e, e, in the manner shewn in Fig. 4, and make them envelope
the said wires or conductors. From the rotating. hollow mandril E the
insulating piece and enveloped conductors pass through the hollow spindle F
of a rotary flyer G, the said spindle being arranged in line with the hollow
mandril E in a bearing or bearings in the fixed standard H.. Within this
flyer G there is arranged a bobbin I fitted to rotate freely upon the spindle F.;
this flyer carries wire, cord, or yarn; which passes therefrom over guide
pulleys k, k, in the sides of the flyer and through fixed guides.1, 1, in. the. end
thereof, and is wound by the rotary motion of the flyer around the insulating.

page_text: q
piece and enveloped conductors as they issue from the hollow spindle F;
through which they pass, and thus the wire, cord, or yarn is made to confine
the fins, or flanges lapped around the conductors. From the flyer the now
partly formed cable, composed of the conductors, insulating piece, and sur-
rounding coil of wire, cord, or yarn, passes through the hollow spindle J of a
second rotating flyer K, which is fitted to rotate in bearings in standards S, S.
Upon the spindle p, which forms one side of this flyer, there are arranged
two spools m, m², which carry-cords, yarns, or wires, or one a wire and the
other a cord or yarn, and upon the spindle q, which forms the other side of
the said flyer, is arranged a spool n carrying a (tape. The revolution of this
flyer first causes the spool m to wind a cord; yarn, or wire upon-the cable; it
then.causes the spool n-to-wind upon this covering a tape, and it afterwards
causes the spool m² to wind a cord, yarn, or wire outside of the tape covering.
The spindle is capable of adjustment at different degrees of obliquity to tho
main spindle J; to allow the tape to run on to the conductor at any desired
angle: From the hollow spindle J of the flyer K the cable passes through a
stationary vessel L, containing melted or dissolved india-rubber, gutta percha,
or other suitable material or cement, which when set is impervious to air and
water; under this vessel there is arranged a lamp L', by which the contents
of the said vessel are kept in a melted state. This vessel is suspended on the
hollow spindle, J at one end and on a hollow journal J at the other end
opposite the spindle J, or otherwise. so supported that it will not rotate, and
around the openings in its ends through which the cable enters there is a
suitable packing t,t, the object of which is to prevent the leakage of its
contents. From the said vessel the cable passes through a vessel M, con-
taining cold water, the object of which is to cool and produce the hardening
of the coating which has been applied in the vessel L, and the inlet and outlet
through which the cable enters this vessel are fitted with suitable packing, as
shewn at u, u, to prevent the leakage of the water. The outlet through
which the cable leaves the vessel L is so constructed or lined, or its packing t
so applied as to wipe or take off any superfluous coating material or cement
from its surface. From the water vessel M the cable passes through the
-stationary hollow axle Q, upon which rotates a hollow rotating pulley P, in
which are arranged spools R, R, from which a covering of wire or cord is
wound upon the cable by the rotation of the said-pulley. For a submarine
cable it would be desirable to have this covering of wire to form an armor,
but for a cable to be suspended in the air, a covering of cord or yarn would
serve very well, if afterward coated with a waterproof varnish or cement.

page_text: The cable may be drawn through the covering machinery, by means of take-up,
drawing, or feed rollers suitably applied in front of the pulley P, and also if
necessary at other points in the train of machinery.
It may be desirable to apply outside of the insulating piece, or outside of a
coating of cord or yarn coiled around it, a covering or armor composed of
longitudinally arranged wires; these may be conducted to it by any suitable
system of guides from suitably arranged spools or coils, but generally in such
case it is proposed to conduct the wires from a system of spools similarly
arranged to those U, U, herein-before described with reference to Figures 5
and 10. The armor wires may be arranged helically about the cable by
giving the frame T which carries the spools U from which the said wires are
supplied a rotary motion, for which purpose the frame is represented in
Fig. 5 as attached to a hollow central rotating shaft T. When the cable is
to be manufactured with armor wires, the conducting wires may pass through
this hollow shaft T'. The frame T is represented as furnished with guides
w, w, through which the wires pass on their way from the spools U, U, and
by which any short bends in the wires are taker out.
It will be understood that it is not intended in. all cases to use a train of
machinery composed of all the parts herein described, as so many coverings of
cord, tape, and wire as are applied by this train will not always be needed,
but the machinery must be adapted to the number and character of the
coverings to be applied outside of the insulating piece.
The die represented in Figures 7 and 8 is constructed for an insulating
piece for four conductors, such as is represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4,
but the number of conductors in a cable may be varied, and this variation
requires a corresponding variation in the number of fins or flanges on the
insulating piece and a corresponding variation in the number of radiating
grooves j, j, and intermediate grooves i, i, in the die B. For instance, Fig. 9
represents a die with six grooves j, j, and a corresponding number of interme-
diate grooves i, i, for a corresponding number of fins or flanges and conductors.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in
the Mode of and Machinery for Manufacturing Telegraph Cables," and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be under-
stood that, under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim,-
First, the employment for separating and independently insulating several
wires or conductors in a telegraph cable of an insulating piece, substantially
such as herein described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 4*.
Second, the within described system of rollers f, f, for conducting the
insulating piece to where it receives the conductors.

page_text: Third, the stationary die B constructed, applied, and operating substantially
as herein set forth.
Fourth, the arrangement and combination of parts constituting a train of
machinery, commencing with the rotating hollow mandril E and ending with
the revolving spool pulley P, for covering conducting wires and overlaying
telegraph cables; substantially as and for the purpose herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of March, in the year of
set
my
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
-
66, Chancery Lane..
-
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)