TERRAMME IN GRADNELS FOR RAISING SUBMARINE CABLES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Claude Johnson, of No. 38, Old Broad
Street, in the City of London, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of
TERRAMME IN GRADNELS FOR RAISING SUBMARINE CABLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Claude Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 10th December 1874.
I, WALTER CLAUDE JOHNSON, of No. 38, Old Broad Street, in the
City of London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAPNELS FOR RAISING SUBMARINE
CABLES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to grapnels for recovering telegraph cables in
deep water, the object being to cut the cable at or near the the bottom
and then to raise one end only. The shank is similar in form and size to
that of a grapnel ordinarily used for recovering cables. At the base of
the shank are formed strong deep tapering jaws, preferably two in

page_text: number. In each of these jaws is placed a hinged clip capable of
securing the bight of the cable, the inner surfaces of which are
roughened or grooved so as firmly to grip the interposed cable. A bolt
of lead or other suitable material is placed under the clip so as to keep
it in the best position for receiving the cable, and a steel spring keeps
the sides of the clip pressed firmly against the cheeks of tapering
jaws. The prongs are made wide at their base so as to guide the cable
into the before-mentioned clip. Near one end of this clip is situated a
V knife, which is similar in construction to that in ordinary cutting
grapnels.
The working parts are protected from mud, stones, and other obstruc-
tions by a shield of some yielding material, preferably india-rubber,
through which the cable can force itself. Projecting arms on opposite
sides of the machine are provided so that one of the prongs must always
be in the right position for hooking the cable.
The cable when hooked after passing through the shield rests on the
knife and in the hinged clip, and remains in this position until a strain
is produced by raising the grapnel from or dragging it along the bottom.
When this strain reaches a certain point the hinged clip shears or breaks
through the leaden bolt and descends into the tapering jaws, by which
means the sides of the clip are forced together, gripping the cable fast
between them.
As the grapnel is lifted so the strain on the bight steadily increases
until the cable is cut through by the knife, when one end is released and
falls to the bottom and the other is held fast in the clip. The grapnel:
now continues to raise the single part only, which as the strain increases
is forced with the clip deeper and deeper into the tapering jaws.
In a grapnel of ordinary size the gripping surfaces of the clip will
extend over nearly a foot in length of the cable.
The hinged clip may be fitted with sliding wedges which will partially
or wholly encircle that portion of the cable which is held, and which
will slide by reason of and in the direction of the strain produced by
lifting the cable.
It is obvious that any combination or form of aiding wadono con he

page_text: SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Walter
Claude Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th July
1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WALTER
CLAUDE JOHNSON, of No. 38, Old Broad Street, in the City of London,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Walter Claude Johnson, Her
special license that I, the said Walter Claude Johnson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Walter Claude
Johnson, 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, excrcise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAPNELS FOR RAISING SUBMARINE CABLES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Walter Claude
Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 on or before the Sixth day of July, Ono
thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Walter Claude Johnson, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention relates to grapnels for recovering telegraph. cables in
deep water, the object being to cut the cable at or near the bottom and
then to raise one end only. The shank is similar in form and size to that of
a grapnel ordinarily used for recovering cables. At the base of the shank
are formed strong, deep, tapering side faces forming jaws, preferably.two

page_text: in number. In each of these side faces is placed a hinged clip capable
of receiving the bight of the cable, the inner surfaces of which are
roughened or grooved so as firmly to grip the interposed cable. A bolt
of lead or other suitable material is placed under the clip so as to keep
it in the best position for receiving the cable, and a steel spring keeps
the sides of the clip pressed firmly against the cheeks of tapering jaws.
The prongs are made wide at their base so as to guide the cable into the
before-mentioned clip. Near one end of this clip is situated a V knife;
which is similar in construction to that in an ordinary cutting
grapnel.
The working parts are protected from mud, stones, &c., by a shield of
some yielding material, preferably india-rubber, through which the cable
can force itself. Projecting arms on opposite sides of the machine are
provided, so that one of the prongs must always be in the right position
for hooking the cable.
The cable when hooked after passing through the shield rests on
the knife and in the hinged clip, and remains in this position until a
strain is produced by raising the grapnel from or dragging it along the
bottom. When this strain reaches a certain point the hinged clip shears
or breaks through the leaden bolt and descends into the tapering jaws,
by which means the sides of the clip are forced together, gripping the
cable fast between them.
As the grapnel is lifted so the strain on the bight steadily increases
until the cable is cut through by the knife, when one end is released and
falls to the bottom and the other is held fast in the clip. The grapnel
now continues to raise the single part only, which as the strain increases
is forced with the clip deeper and deeper into the tapering jaws.
In a grapnel of ordinary size the gripping surfaces of the clip will
extend over nearly a foot in length of the cable.
The hinged clip may be fitted with sliding wedges, which will partially
or wholly encircle that portion of the cable which is held, and which
will slide by reason of and in the direction of the strain produced by
lifting the cable.
Any combination or form of sliding wedges can be used either in con-
junction with or without the above described clip.
My Invention will be better understood on reference to the accom-
panying Drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of my improved
C

page_text: grapnel; Figure 2 is a similar view with the outer side and prong
removed, showing the hinged clip with the cable held therein; and
Figure 3 is a face view of my grapnel with one side in section.
The grapnel is formed on either side of the shank E with tapering
inner faces or jaws C and D tapering down from the top where they
are broadest to their bottom at the base of the shank where they are
narrowest. The top of the outer side of these side faces ends in prongs
or flukes A and B, one end of which, A, (in Figure 3) is shown as
attached by bolts to the outside portion of the grapnel, as shown
separately in Figure 4, while the other, B (in Figure 3) is shown as.
formed solid with the side face. At one side of the upper part of cach
of these tapering side faces C and D is pivotted at F a hinged clip G,
shown separately in plain view in Figure 5, which is kept in a straight
position, as in Figure 2, until the cable on being raised has exerted
a certain strain upon the grapnel by a bolt H of lead or other soft metal,
preferably shaped as shown separately in Figure 8. The flaps of the
hinged clip G are kept apart and pressed against the inner cheeks of
the tapering sides C and D by means of suitably formed springs J.
The prongs or flukes A and B are shaped as shown so as to guide the
cable when it has been caught by one of them into the hinged clip G,
and at the end of the grapnel at which the said clip is pivotted is
fastened a V shaped knife I into which the cable is guided by the prong
when it has been caught by the latter. The top of the jaw is covered
by a shield or roof of some suitable yielding material K, this sheet of
india-rubber for example being held in a frame M rivetted on the
grapnel for the purpose so as to protect the knife, the hinged clip, and
the inside of the grapnel from any loose stones or debris while the
grapnel is being lowered or dragged along the bottom, and so long
as they are not actually in action. The base of my grapnel is provided
with projecting arms R, R, on opposite sides, so arranged as to keep one
of the prongs constantly upon the bottom. The cable after it has been
caught presses through this india-rubber shield and becomes enclosed in.
the jaws of the hinged clip. As the grapnel is raised or dragged along
the bottom the cable exerts a strain which gradually increases until the
free end of the hinged clip resting upon the leaden bolt is forced or
shears through the latter, and the hinged clip moving upon its pivot
is forced down the tapering sides which press the sides of the clip
together so as to grasp the cable very tightly. As the strain increases

page_text: the hinged clip continues to descend lower and lower into the grapnel,
the hold of the clips upon the cable increasing in proportion until the
hinged clip and the grasped cable have assumed an acute angle with
the end of the grapnel at which the V shaped knife is fastened, when the
bight will be cut through by this knife, and one of the cut ends will fall
from the grapnel to the bottom. The grip of the hinged clip between
the tapering sides of the grapnel will be so firm upon the cable that the
end within it can be raised to the surface, the clip holding the cable
being forced still further into the tapering sides of the grapnel in
proportion as the weight of the suspended end or part of the cable
increases. The inner faces of the hinged clip are roughly serrated
so as to increase their holding power. The sides of the hinged clip
are kept apart or open before the cable is guided into it by means of
stout wire, or by a thin bolt or bar of lead or other soft metal, as well as
by the spring already mentioned for the purpose.
In some cases I fit the hinged clip with sliding wedges N so as to
increase the holding, power as more clearly shown in Figures 5, 6, 7,
and 9, in which Figure 5 is a plan view of the hinged clip open;
Figure 6, a side view thereof open, and Figure 7, a side view closed.
The faces of these wedges are so shaped as to wholly or partially encircle
the cable held within them as part of the hinged clip, and the wedges
slide therein lengthwise in the direction of the strain produced by the
cable being lifted. The sliding wedges N are so arranged as to be only
capable of sliding together, or rather so that one cannot move without
the other by means of V shaped springs J, the end of the one of which is
held by the other as clearly shown in Figure 5. I prevent the cable
in this plan falling below the wedges N, N, by means of a midfeather Q,
seen at Figure 6, upheld by the base of the hinged clip. In this case
the hinge will be in five divisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, as shown at Figure 5, the
right-hand side of the clip will be hinged by Nos. 2 and 5, the left-hand
side of the clip by Nos. 1 and 4, while the centre one No. 3 will be free.
and support the midfeather Q.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention and the
manner in which th

page_text: Firstly. The improved grapnel for raising submarine cables, as herein-
before described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The hinged clip G pivotted at one end so as to descend in a
radius down the tapering jaws, as herein-before described and shown in
the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly. The combination in grapnels for raising submarine cables of
the sliding wedges herein-before described and shown in the accom-
panying Drawings with the hinged clip, as herein-before described
and shown in the accompanying Drawings, both descending between
> tapering jaws.
Fourthly. The use of a bolt or bar of lead or other yielding material
as a support to the hinged clip herein-before described and shown in the
accompanying Drawings at the end opposite to that on which it is
pivotted, which is sheared through when the strain upon the cable
commences, and in order to keep the hinged clip open until the cable
rests therein.
Fifthly. The use of the midfeather as herein-before described and
shown in the accompanying Drawings to support the cable, herein-
before described.
Sixthly. The use of tho shield or roof of india-rubber or other soft
flexible yielding material to protect the knife and other interior parts of
grapnels from mud, stones, and other debris.
Seventhly. Forming the grapnel with projecting arms R, R, situated
near the base thereof, so arranged as to always keep one of the prongs
in position for hooking the cable, as described and shown in the accom-
panying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Claude Johnson, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five.
WALTER CLAUDE JOHNSON. (L.B.)
WALTER CLAUDE JOHNSON. (L.B.)