IM- PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUSES FOR STRETCHING, SUPPORTING, AND UNITING TETE GRAPH WIRES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUSES FOR STRETCHING, SUPPORTING, AND UNITING TETE
GRAPH WIRES."-A communication from abroad by Charles Pougnaire,
of Marseilles and Joseph Stephane Bourcy of Paris. both in the
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUSES FOR STRETCHING,
TTING ILES
PPORTING, AND
GRAPH WIRES." A communication from abroad by Charles Pougnaire,
of Marseilles, and Joseph Stephane Bourcy of Paris, both in the
Empire of France.
Sealed the 11th March 1862, and dated the 16th September 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald
Brooman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th September 1861.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUSES FOR STRETCHING, SUPPORTING, AND UNITING
TELEGRAPH WIRES," (communicated to me from abroad by Charles Pougnaire,
of Marseilles, and Joseph Stephane Bourcy, of Paris, both in the Empire of
France,) to be as follows:-
The apparatuses now in use for stretching telegraph wires carry at each end
a roller, upon which the ends of the two wires are wound; this roller being
solid, a third wire is requisite to unite the two wires. By the means about
to be described, I dispense with a third wire, and this part of the Invention
consists in forming the rollers with a slot extending to the axis, and in forming
the axle of the rollers hollow from the point where the slot terminates. The

page_text: ends of the wires are carried through the slots, and passing through the hollow
axle are brought towards each other, and are united in and by a clamp in
which a wedge or wedges are inserted to jam the wires, with a pressure screw
for tightening up the wedges. The solid end of the rollers is provided with a
ratchet wheel and ratchet, and with a square or angular spindle, which on
being turned with a key stretches and tightens up the wires as required.
This Invention also consists in stretching telegraph wires by means of
pincers made with grooved jaws for gripping the wires. Behind the jaws is
a bar for uniting the jaws, while the legs of the pincers extend outwards from
each other; the ends of the legs are united by two connecting rods, themselves
connected by a pin to one end of a bar, the other end of which torminates in
an eye; a cord is fixed to this eye and is carried round a windlass or barrel.
By turning the barrel the legs of the pincers are pressed outwards and the
jaws are thereby tightened on the wire, and the strain being continued the
wire becomes stretched to the extent required. The apparatuses for supporting
telegraph wires consist of a fixed upright, and of a jaw hinged to it. The
upright and jaw are formed with grooves in which the wires are placed and
supported. The two parts of the support are kept together by means of a
screw.
The apparatus for joining the ends of telegraph wires will be best under-
stood by reference to the accompanying Drawing. It is fixed on a foot E,
terminating in a stirrup F; G is a bracket fitted with two blocks having two
holes or grooves t, t', formed in them, through which the ends of the two wires
to be connected together are passed, and held by the screw II, when these two
wires a and a¹ have been placed in the grooves t, t', one wire a extending
on the outside of the said blocks, and the other a' passing through the hollow
shaft J, the latter is caused to rotate by means of the handle K. At the
inner end of the hollow shaft there are three rollers u, u, u³, covered by tho
plate v, one of the rollers u is grooved to take the shorter end of tho wire, and
the rotation imparted by the handle causes this part of the wire to become
wound round the second wire. At this point the screw II is raised, the posi-
tion of the wires is reversed, and the operation is repeated for the second wire.
To facilitate the different operations, the collar a of the winch K carries a pin
y, which acts as a key to the hollow shaft, in which it is held by a screw not
shown in the Drawing, and by removing this screw and the key, the collar
and winch can be taken off. There is a slot L formed in a second collar M,
whereby the wire is easily placed in the hollow shaft. The apparatus, which
is portable, is worked by means of the stirrup F, handle N, and winch K.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 15th March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 APPARATUSES FOR STRETCHING, SUPPORTING,
AND UNITING TELEGRAPH WIRES," (a communication from abroad by Charles
Pougnaire, of Marseilles, and Joseph Stephane Bourcy, of Paris, both in the
Empire of France), upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Richard Archibald Brooman, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say -
The apparatuses now in use for stretching telegraph wires carry at each end
a roller, upon which the ends of the two wires are wound, this roller being
solid, a third wire is requisite to unite the two wires. By the means about to
be described, a third wire may be dispensed with, and this part of the Invention
consists in forming the rollers with a slot extending to the axis, and in forming
the axle of the rollers hollow from the point where the slot terminates. The

page_text: ends of the wires are carried through the slots, and passing through the
hollow axle are brought towards each other, and are united in and by a clamp
in which a wedge or wedges are inserted to jam the wires, with a pressure
screw for tightening up the wedges. The solid end of the rollers is provided
with a ratchet wheel and ratchet, and with a square or angular spindle,
which on being turned with a key stretches and tightens up the wires as
required.
This Invention also consists in stretching telegraph wires by means of
pincers made with grooved jaws for gripping the wires. Behind the jaws is a
bar for uniting the jaws, while the legs of the pincers extend outwards from
each other; the ends of the legs are united by two connecting rods, themselves
connected by a pin to one end of a bar, the other end of which terminates in
an eye; a cord is fixed to this eyo and is carried round a windlass or barrel.
By turning the barrel the legs of the pincers are pressed outwards and the
jaws are thereby tightened on the wire, and the strain being continued the wire
becomes stretched to the extent required. The apparatuses for supporting
telegraph wires consist of a fixed upright, and of a jaw hinged to it. The upright
and jaw are formed with grooves in which the wires are placed and supported.
The two parts of the support are kept together by means of a screw.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a view of an apparatus for
stretching telegraph wires constructed according to this Invention. A, A', are
the hollow rollers, the wires a, a', which are wound round these rollers pass
through the groove or slot b, then issue by the axis c, which corresponds with
the internal slot in the roller, and are united by a clamp X. On setting up
the wires in this way, a wedge d connected to a chain e may be used, but it
is not necessary; that shown in the Drawing is most frequently required, when
as shown in Figure 2 the wires a, a', are cut on leaving the roller, and when
a third wire a², tightened by the said wedge, forms the communication.
Figure 3 shews in three separate views the wedge d, with the grooves e', e¹. The
arrangement of hollow rollers perforated at one end is applicable to hinged
stretchers, as shown at Figures 1 and 2, as well as to those shown at Figures 4
and 5. The stretching apparatus shown at Figure 2 is made in two parts,
each of which is free to turn upon a round rod; the supplementary wire a
is waved so as to adapt itself to any angular positions the apparatus may
assume.
Pincers for stretching the wires. The stretching apparatus at present
employed have a tendency to injure the wire, and are in other ways not
altogether adapted to the purpose for which they are designed. The apparatus
for the purpose constructed according to this Invention is shown at Figures 4

page_text: and 5. Each gripper is composed of two jaws e, e¹, united by the link o, a
spring of a V shape, but not shewn, tends to keep the two jaws apart. These
jaws have united to their legs or forked ends by a pin joint, rods f, f, which
are connected by the draw bar q, to which latter one end of a cord is
attached, the other end of the cord passes through the roller A¹ and is secured
thereto by a knot Y. To use the pincers, roll a portion of the cord g on the
rollers A or A¹, and seize the wire a between the jaws, by imparting rotary
motion to the roller the pincers pulled by the cord g draw the wire to the
required tension. A second cord g¹ may be applied to the same roller in
the contrary direction to the cord g; this cord has connected to it a second
gripper or pair of pincers which comes into action after the first gripper has
drawn the wire close to the stretcher. The rotation of the roller in the
contrary direction causes the first pincers to release the wire, and the second
pincers to continue its traction. The stretching apparatuses shown at Figures
4 and 5 are portable, and need not be kept on the supporting apparatuses
after the wires have been stretched. The rollers A, A', of the stretching
apparatus T, Figure 5, are perforated in the direction of their diameter with
two holes for each roller, in order to enable a cord g or g' to be led into each.
These cords are secured at one end to the rollers by the knots Y, Figure 5,
they are attached at the other end to the stretching pincers. Each roller has
two cords and consequently two stretching pincers, but to whichever side one
of the rollers is turned one cord unwinds and the other winds up. This motion
constitutes the double effect; it is due to the arrangement of the two ratchet
wheels R, Figure 4, the square teeth of which offer similar resistance to the
pauls L, L, whichever way they may be turned.
Apparatuses for supporting telegraph wires.-In Figures 6 and 7 two plans
of supports made according to this Invention are shown; they may have fixed
to their lower end the portable stretching apparatus shown at Figure 4, by
which means any rupture in the wire can be almost immediately repaired, and
at any point at which it may have taken place. The support, Figure 6, is by
preference made of malleable cast iron; it consists of an upright P (Figure 6),
fixed to the bell (Figure 4). A rib N strengthens the support; I, I,
are grooves for receiving the wires; the jaw C has also grooves I, I, similar
to and corresponding with those in the upright, it is secured to the upright P
by a screw B, while a tenon V keeps it in a vertical position. The support shown
at Figure 7 differs from the preceding, in that the jaw C is hinged at one end to
the upright P, the other end of the jaw is retained by a key K entering a
mortice L.
Figures 8 and 9 show the ratchet key or brace used for turning the rollers

page_text: in order to stretch the wires. It is applicable to all the stretching apparatuses,
its lower end may be made to act as a screw driver or it may terminate in a
hammer for tightening and loosening the wedges.
X, Figures 1, 10, 11, and 12, shew different views of a clamp for uniting
the ends of wires, furnished with a pressure screw; it is in two parts and may
be made of malleable cast iron. Another clamp is shewn at Figures 18 and
14, in which there is no pressure screw; and it is composed of two wedges
b', c', which dovetail into one another.
The apparatus for joining the ends of telegraph wires is shewn at Figures
15, 16, and 17. It is fixed on a foot E, terminating in a stirrup F; G is a
bracket fitted with two blocks having two holes or grooves t, t', formed in them,
through which the ends of the two wires to be connected together are passed
and held by the screw H. When these two wires a and a have been placed
in the grooves t, t¹, one wire a extending on the outside of the said blocks and
the other a passing through the hollow shaft J, the latter is caused to rotate
by means of the handle K. At the inner end of the hollow shaft there are
three rollers u, u², ², covered by the plate v; one of the rollers u is grooved
to take the shorter end of the wire, and the rotation imparted by the handle
causes this part of the wire to become wound round the second wire. At this
point the screw H is raised, the position of the wires is reversed, and the
operation is repeated for the second wire. To facilitate the different operations
the collar of the winch K carries a pin y which acts as a key to the hollow
shaft, in which it is held by a screw, not shewn in the Drawing, and by
removing this screw and the key the collar and winch can be taken off. There
is a slot L formed in a second collar M, whereby the wire is easily placed in
the hollow shaft. The apparatus, which is portable, is worked by means of the
stirrup F, handle N, and winch K.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as the
"Improvements in Apparatuses for Stretching, Supporting, and Uniting
Telegraph Wires,"—
First, forming the rollers in apparatuses for stretching telegraph wires with
a slot extending to the axis and forming the axis hollow from the point where
the slot terminates, as heroin-before described with reference to Figures 1, 2,
and 3 of the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the construction and employment of apparatuses for stretching
telegraphic wires, consisting of pincers or jaws constructed and acting substan-
tially in manner herein-beforo described and illustrated at Figures 4 and 5
of the accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Third, the construction and employment of a traction or ratchet key sub-.
stantially in manner and for the purposes herein-before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings.
Fourth, the apparatuses for supporting telegraph wires, herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
And, fifth, the employment of an apparatus or tool for joining the ends of
telegraph wires, constructed and acting substantially in manner herein-before
described and illustrated at Figures 15, 16, and 17 of the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of March, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
R. A. BROOMAN.
(L.S.)