A New or Improved Process for the Manufacture of Wire for Transmitting Electric Currents.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 16th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 19th Dec., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Process for the Manufacture of Wire for
Transmitting Electric Currents.
1, ALPHONSE EDOUARD TAVERNIER, of 3, Leamington Park Villas, Acton, in
the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a new or improved process for the manufacture of wire
for transmitting electric currents and has for its object the production of wire of a
certain diameter by electro-deposition, such wire being afterwards converted into a
wire suitable for the transmission of electricity by means of rolling and drawing.
My invention is divisible into two parts, the first consists in the manufacture of
a wire in the bath in which the electro chemical action takes place. The second
part consists in certain processes to be employed in the rolling and drawing.
In carrying out the invention I provide a tank in which are a number of shafts
placed at the upper and lower parts of the tank and carrying grooved pulleys.
The shafts pass through one side of the tank and are provided with pulleys the
other ends of the shafts turn in cross bars within the tank. The upper shafts are
also provided with other pulleys and within the tank is a piece through which the
positive current of electricity enters. The negative current enters through the
pulleys and the upper shafts to which they are attached and the grooved pulleys
are of copper. The lower shafts are of glass, wood or other suitable non-conducting
material capable of resisting the action of the bath in the tank and the lower
grooved pulleys are of glass or porcelain. The lower set of shafts is driven from
the upper set by means of driving belts. The upper cross bar is made of a
conducting material and the lower cross bar of wood or other non-conducting
material.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-
A copper wire of small diameter is passed around the grooved pulleys within the
tank, only one wire passing over all the pulleys; the two ends of this wire are
then soldered so as to make it endless by means of the pulleys. All the shafts are
made to rotate and the wire passes from one pulley to the other.
If a suitable bath is placed in the tank and a positive current and a negative
current are caused to enter therein, the wire will receive during its rotation galvano
plastic deposits and will thus increase its diameter.
The ampères of the current should be increased every hour so that there will
always be in the bath about a hundred ampères for each square meter to be
covered.
When the wire has attained the diameter required the part which has been
soldered is cut and the wire is withdrawn from the bath.
Another copper wire of small diameter is then placed upon the pulleys in the
same way as the one withdrawn and the preceding operation is repeated.
It is to be remarked that the upper cross bar and grooved pulleys are placed just
above the bath without being immersed therein.
During the operation a pump draws the bath liquor from the bottom of the tank
and drives it by means of leaden tubes full of holes among the wire in course of
formation. This is done to give more regularity to the galvano plastic deposits.
When the manufacture of the galvano plastic wire is completed and is.withdrawn
from the tank it is a wire of a very pure metal but has defects. attending.all electro
chemical deposits, videlicet, it is dry and brittle and there are parts of it where
the deposits are insufficiently cohesive and where the metal is liable to exfoliate.

page_text: To remedy these defects I proceed as follows:-
:-
The wire, which I term the core or mother-wire, is passed between two small
copper rollers, then through two larger rollers and again through two small rollers.
The large rollers are fluted which preserves the form of the wire during the
drawing operation. The wire is brought to red heat by an electrical current and
while in this state it is rolled by the rollers.
This operation may be repeated in a second set of rollers and in some cases
several sets are employed so as to reduce the wires to an extremely small sectional
area. The wire is then drawn for which purpose I employ the ordinary draw plate,
(adding thereto two series of small wheels) which, by means of electric currents,
heats the wire before cach passage through the draw plate; the current applied
should always be in proportion to the diameter of the wire so that the wire may be
heated simply to a red heat.
By these means the finished wire will be supple, a good conductor of electricity
and will not be liable to exfoliation.
Dated the 29th day of January 1891.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Process for the Manufacture of Wire for
Transmitting Electric Currents.
1, ALPHONSE EDOUARD TAVERNIER, of 3, Leamington Park Villas, Acton, in
the County of Middlesex, Engineer, 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 the manufacture of wire for transmitting electric
currents, and consists mainly in the electro-deposition of a suitable metal upon
an endless core which I term the "mother-wire," the electro-deposited wire being
subsequently treated by rolling, heating and drawing, all as hereinafter more
particularly described.
To enable my invention to be fully understood: I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawing which represents an apparatus suitable for
carrying my invention into practice. In the said drawing,-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus for the electro-deposition of
the metal upon the mother-wire; and,
Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same:
Figure 3 is a view illustrating the arrangement of apparatus for rolling, heating
and drawing the wire :
Figure 4 is a view of a pair of the rollers; and,
Figure 5 is a similar view of a pair of rollers of slightly modified construction.
a indicates the electro-depositing tank; b, b' two series of grooved rollers which
are arranged in the upper and lower parts of the tank respectively, and the
mother-wire, the said wire passing over the rollers b and alternately, as shewn,
and having its two ends soldered together so as to make the said wire endless.
It will be noticed by reference to Figure 2 that several wires care placed in the
tank and passed over the rollers b,.b¹ side by side.
The upper rollers are formed of metal or of some other good conductor of
electricity whilst the lower rollers are formed of a non-conducting material, such
as glass, porcelain, wood or the like, capable of resisting the action of the
electrolyte of the bath.
During the operation of the apparatus it is necessary that the mother-wires shall
be kept constantly moving, and for this purpose it is necessary to cause the
rotation of the rollers b, b In the arrangement for this purpose, shewn in
Figure 2, a. shaft d is mounted in suitable bearings upon the side of the tank and

page_text: has upon it a series of worms e adapted to engage with worm-wheels ƒ upon one end.
of each of the spindles of the rollers b.
Motion is cominunicated to the rollers b¹ from the rollers through the medium
of pulleys, and belts h.
The shafts of the lower rollers pass through stuffing-boxes (not shewn in the
drawing) to prevent leakage around the said shafts.
ii, are a series of copper plates forming the anode, the said plates being, as
shewn in Figures 1 and 2, suspended by hooks j, j from bars k, k extending across
the top of the tank.
The operation of the apparatus thus far described is as follows, that is to say,
assume the tank to be filled with an electrolytic liquid to a point somewhat below
the rollers b, and assume the positive conductor of an electric circuit to be con-
nected to the bars and thus to the plates i forming the anode, whilst the negative
conductor is connected to the brackets carrying the shaft d and thus to the rollers
and the mother-wires, which latter form the cathode; the result of this will be that
a galvano-plastic deposit will take place upon the mother-wires and, as these wires
are caused to continuously travel, such deposit will take place upon all parts
thereof. It is obvious that as the deposition takes place the diameter of each wire
will increase, and that therefore the density of the current must also be increased
in proportion to the increase of the surface of the cathode. This can be effected
automatically by a suitable regulating apparatus or may be effected from time to
time by hand by one of the attendants. When each wire has attained the required
diameter it is cut at the point at which the mother-wire was originally soldered,
and to one end is connected a new mother-wire which, as the wire just operated
upon is withdrawn from the tank, will be drawn into the tank ready for treatment
in the manner herein before described.
A. pump, not shewn, is provided for causing the circulation of the electrolyte
during the depositing operation by drawing off the liquid from the bottom of the
tank and driving it through leaden perforated tubes among the wires in course of
formation; this being done in order to ensure the uniformity of the deposits.
The wire withdrawn from the tank is of very pure metal but has defects
attending all electro-chemical deposits, videlicet, it is very dry and brittle and there
are parts where the deposits are insufficiently cohesive and where consequently the
deposit is liable to exfoliate. To remedy these defects I treat the wire by rolling,
heating and drawing as hereinafter described; it being evident that the only
method by which the crystals of the electro-chemical deposits can be thoroughly
combined is by a kind of welding, that is to say, by the combination of sufficient
heat and pressure to change the nature of the deposited metal. To obtain this
result I pass the wire through a series of rollers and at the same time I pass
through the wire or through sections thereof an electro current having sufficient
quantity to bring the wire to a welding heat such an arrangement of rollers is
shewn in Figure 3, in which l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t indicate several pairs of rollers
through which the wire is successively drawn. Suppose the rollers, to be in
connection with the positive pole of a source of electricity and the rollers m, o in
connection with the negative pole, if the current is sufficient, the wire between 1 and m
and between n and o will be heated to the required extent; the same will also take
place between p and q and between and s if the rollers are connected in a similar
manner to a source of electricity.
u, indicate draw-plates which may be placed between some of the pairs of
rollers and, if desired, the wire may be finally finished by passing it through other
draw-plates in the ordinary manner.
'
The rollers I employ are advantageously of the shape shewn in Figure 4, but 1
may employ male and female rollers, as shewn in Figure 5.
In some cases in lieu of employing electricity solely for producing the heating
of the wire I use heat produced by other means; for instance, I can primarily
heat the wire by means of Bunsen burners and cause the final heating by
electricity.

page_text: Having now particularly described and. ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The improved process for the manufacture of wire for transmitting electric
currents, consisting in the electro-chemical deposition of copper or other metal upon
an endless mother-wire of small diameter, the said wire being caused to travel
through the bath in which the electro-deposition takes place, substantially in the
manner described.
2. The improved process for the manufacture of wire for transmitting electric
currents, consisting in the electro-chemical deposition of copper or other metal
upon an endless mother-wire of small diameter, the said wire being caused to travel
through the bath in which the electro-deposition takes place, and in subsequently
subjecting such electro deposited wire to rolling and drawing operations under the
action of heat, substantially in the manner described.
. 3. The process of rolling and drawing wire, obtained in the manner referred to
in the preceding claiming clauses, under the action of heat produced by an electric
current, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
4. In rolling and drawing an electro-deposited wire, heating such wire partly
by an electric current and partly by other means, substantially in the manner
described.
5. The improved apparatus herein before described with reference to the accom-
panying drawing for carrying out the processes described.
Dated the 16th day of November 1891.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.