IM- PROVEMENTS IN MODES OF PROTECTING WIRES FOR TELEGRAPHS."
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thomas Henley, of St. John Street
Road, London, Telegraph Engineer, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MODES OF PROTECTING WIRES FOR TELEGRAPHS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Thomas
Henley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 30th July 1853.
I, WILLIAM THOMAS HENLEY, of Saint John Street Road, London,
Telegraph Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MODES OF PROTECTING WIRES FOR TELEGRAPHIS "
to be as follows:-
My improvements consist, firstly, of a new mode of constructing
pipes or troughs with covers for the reception of wires used for the
conveying of electricity, either when buried in the earth, or placed
under water or otherwise.
I make a plain trough of iron or other suitable material, a section
of which is represented by Figure 1. The ends of these troughs butt
together when laid down, and are kept in their places by a short piece of
the same shape standing higher than the trough, and with 2 notches

page_text: cut in the upper part at each end, as shown at Figure 2, and Fig. 2;
and these notches are for the reception of the lid, which is made a
little wider at that part, as shown by Figure 3.. The troughs are first
placed the short lengths then passed underneath; the lid, as shown in
Figure 3, and 3, is laid on and slid into the notched piece; the next
notched short piece is then slid along a short distance; the notches catch
the lugs on the other end of the lid, as shown in Figures 2, and 3°; the
next lid is then put on the same way, and so on throughout the series,
taking care the ends of the troughs are always within the short lengths;
when laid in this way no lids can be displaced without moving the
whole series, neither can the troughs fall away from the lids in case of
excavating the ground or otherwise taking away the support; a rib
runs along the whole length of the lid except the ends.
Instead of the socket, Figure 2, one may be used with notches at
one end only; in that case the lid has lugs at one end only, as shown,
Figs. A, and B, and in section at a, and b, the end of the lid running
up and forming a chamber with the under piece for the reception of the
end of the other trough and lid; the latter is placed on, and the lugs
on the lid push into the notches; this is-as secure as the other, and is
shown in Figures C, and D.
Another plan is shewn in Figures 4, 5, 6, and 6". The lid has lugs at
one end only, as seen, Figures 5, and 6; the lid is put on, and pushed
into the notches at one end, and dropped into its place; the end of the
next lid, when pushed into the notches, laps over and secures the last.
.
Instead of the short length for receiving the end of the troughs
being separate, it may be formed of one piece, with the trough similar
to the sockets on gas and water pipes.
.
In another arrangement the loose piece or socket is of the shape
represented by Figure 7; the troughs and lids are both plain, and the
ends of the lids are passed under the beads on the side of the socket.
In another the loose socket has a lid fitting above the other lids, as
Figure 8, and 8; in the latter arrangement the lids or sockets may be
shifted, and the lids taken off at any point which may be necessary in
some cases.
Figure 9, represents a curved trough for deviating from a straight

page_text: line; the lids are fitted in the same way as in the before-mentioned
arrangements.
Another arrangement is shewn in Figure 10, when the lid is made
to slide in a dovetail groove; this would be found advantageous where
fixed above ground, as the lids could not be withdrawn when arranged
in series, and, should the lid get broken in several pieces, they would
still remain in their places.
Figure 11, shows the lid fitted outside the troughs, and instead of
having to slide it the whole way, the projections on the trough and
under the lids might occur at intervals, so the lid so that the lid should
be dropped on and moved but a short distance to fix in its place. The
bottom and cover may be made in the form of half pipes, as shown in
Figures 12, and 13; they have two projections on one half socket, and
2 notches on the other, and fit together the same as the foregoing.
Figure 14, and 14ª, shows another arrangement. These troughs of
pipes may be made of any material, but I propose in general to make
them of iron, as being the most suitable.
Figure 15, shows a testing box, in which the lid is fastened on the
same principle; it is dropped on and turned partly round, where it
becomes fixed by the projecting pieces, or a square box may be used,
and the lid made to slide on according to any of the before-mentioned
plans.
I do not confine myself to the exact arrangements herein described,
so long as the principle is not departed from, (and which I claim,) of
fixing the lids, telegraph pipes, or troughs, by sliding into grooves or
notches or such like means, by which they become fixed without the use
of bolts and screws; also the method of ribbing the lids to give increased
strength, and the mode of so fixing the troughs and lids by sliding into
each other that they cannot be removed at any intermediate point
without cutting or breaking.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Thomas Henley in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 30th January 1854.
r
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM THOMAS HENLEY, of St. John Street Road, London, Telograph
Engineer, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seventeenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Thomas Henley, Efer special licence
that I, the said William Thomas Henley, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Thomas Henley, 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, usc, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MODES OF PROTECTING WIRES FOR TELEGRAPHS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, tho said William Thomas Henley, by an in-
strument in writing under my hand and scal, should particularly de-
scribe 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 William Thomas Henley, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Juvention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement:
.
My Invention consists of certain improvements in the mode of pro-
tecting the wires of electric telegraphs by placing them in an iron
trough so constructed as to be suitable for preserving them from injury,
whether placed above or below the surface of the earth, or submerged.
The ordinary practice is to pass the wires through an earthenware or

page_text: iron tube, or to place them in a trough made either of wood or metal,
the wooden covers being secured by screws, while the metal covers are
merely laid or placed on the trough. Both of these plans are objection-
able: In the first the wire or its covering is liable to serious injury in
drawing it through the tube or pipe; in the second plan, if the ground
be dug away round the trough, as in making or repairing sewers, &c.,
the covers of the troughs are liable to be displaced; or if a metal
trough is used the lower parts would fall away where the excavation
extended beyond the joints of the trough, thus leaving the wires
exposed. The desideratum is an arrangement that will protect the
wires as effectually as a tube, but in which they can be laid, and the
covers securely fixed in a simple manner without involving the expense
and trouble of fastening them by bolts or screws.
Invention may
I will now proceed to describe the manner in which my
be carried into effect, reference being had to the Figures shown upon the
accompanying Sheets of Drawings. Several forms of troughs or pipes
and covers are shown, in which the lid is secured by means of lugs or
projections made or cast upon it, and sliding into notches or grooves made
in the connecting parts of the trough. In some of the modifications
the pipes and lids are so fixed together that a lid cannot be removed
without cutting off one of the lugs or lapping pieces, or removing the
whole series. In another modification, in order to remove one of the
lids, all that is necessary is to slide a short lid attached to a move-
able socket along the tube, and the lid or cover is released. Figs. 1,
and 2, Sheet 1, represent perspective views of an improved trough or
pipe for telegraphic wires made according to the first-named arrange-
ment. The lower parts forming the troughs are made in lengths, as
shewn by a, a. The lids or covers b, b', are made of corresponding
lengths, and may be ribbed (as shewn in the Drawing) in order to give
them increased strength. Upon each side of the lids or covers, and
near to the ends, are cast or made lugs or projecting pieces c, c¹. D, is
a short piece of connecting pipe or trough similar to that marked a, a',
but large enough to allow the parts a, and a', to slide within it.
Notches are made in the upper part of the sides, as shown by e, c'.
The troughs a,' ', being placed within the connecting piece D, and the

page_text: ends brought together, the lids are then placed on; the lugs c, c', slide
into the notches e, e', and thus hold the parts firmly together; another
connecting piece similar to D, is placed under the end of the trough
and into the lugs upon the other end of the cover, and so on through-
out the series. Fig. 2, shews the arrangement of the parts when the
tube is complete. Fig 3. represents a modification of the foregoing;
in this arrangement the lids or covers are made with lugs upon one end
only, as shewn by f, f, and consequently the connecting piece G, has
notches upon one side only h, h. The ends of the troughs a, a¹, and the
lid b, being placed properly within the connecting piece G; the lid b₁₂
is put on and pushed into the notches h, 7, the projecting part of the
lid b', overlapping the lid b, and effectually securing it in its place. The
other end of the lid b', is secured in like manner by a succeeding lid,
and so on throughout the series.
I will now describe the method of fixing the troughs and lids so that
they may be separated at any required part. Figs. 5, and 6, represent an
arrangement of this kind. The troughs a, a, and lids b, b', are similar to
the foregoing, but the latter have no lugs on their sides. The connecting
piece T, has its upper edges. bent inwards so as to bind the lids of the
trouglis on sliding them into their places; any portion of a tube made on
this plan may be removed if the connecting piece I, be driven along the
tube a short distance so as to pass beyond the junction of the troughs
which it binds together. Fig. 6, represents the arrangement complete. In
Figs. 7, 8, the troughs and lids are retained in their places by the lid k,
sliding over the projecting beads l, of the connecting piece M; a sec-
tional view of this arrangement is shewn by Fig. 9. In the foregoing
I have described and shewn the short connecting pieces for receiving
the ends of the troughs separate therefrom, but they may, if preferred,
be cast in one, similar to the sockets of gas and water pipes. Fig.
1, 2, Sheet 2, shew a modification of the foregoing improvements.
The trough a, is cast with a socket n, having notches o, o, in it for the
reception of the lugs p, p, cast on the lid q, which overlaps the lid q',
when in its place, as shewn by Fig. 2. Figs. 3, 4, represent a modifica-
tion of the foregoing; in this arrangement the lid is forced back into the
notches r, r, instead of being pushed in, as in the foregoing, thus form-

page_text: ing with the socket on the trough a chamber for the reception of the
ends of the other trough and lid. Figs. 5, 6, 7, shew an arrangement
of the improved trough or pipe, in which a semi-circular form is given
to the troughs a, a¹. Upon one end of each is cast the sockets, having
projecting beads s', s, the lid b', having corresponding grooves sl, sl, on
its under side, which slide over the beads s¹, s. The end of the next
pipe fixes into the socket of the preceding one, so as to form a con-
tinuous series, the lids of which cannot be removed or slid out without re-
moving the whole series. Fig. 6, represents the tube complete, and Fig. 7,
a vertical section of the same. In Figs. 8, 9, 10, is shewn an arrange-
ment in which the lids slide in dovetail grooves t, t, formed in the upper
part of the trough, the sides of the lids being chamfered off' to correspond
with the grooves; the part u, formed on the end of each lid overlaps
the joints, as shewn by Fig. 9. This plan is very useful where the
wires are carried along the surface of the ground, or placed in exposed
situations, for if one or more of the lids be broken in several parts
the grooves will still support and retain them in their place. In order
to adapt the troughs to the angles and curvatures of roads or streets,
or to pass over culverts or other obstacles, I use the forms represented
by Figs. 1, 2, 3, Sheet 3; Figs. 1, 2, being adapted for angles or
curves, and Fig. 3, for culverts &c. Fig. 4, represents a vertical
section of a testing box, the lid of which is secured by projecting
beads and grooves; as before referred to.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same may be practically carried into effect, I wish it to be
understood that I do not confine myself to any particular form or con-
figuration of the troughs or pipes so long as the principle of the
construction be adhered to. But what I claim, and desire to secure by
these Letters Patent, is,―
Firstly, the construction of troughs or pipes for protecting telegraphic
wires, and the connecting pieces used therewith or cast thereon, in the
manner herein-before described and shewn by the Drawings annexed.
Secondly, the various methods of constructing the lids or covers of
the said troughs or pipes, in such manner that they may be fixed to the
troughs or pipes without the aid of bolts or screws, and (where desired)

page_text: so that they cannot be removed at any intermediate point without
cutting or breaking; also the method of ribbing the lids to give them
increased strength, as herein-before described and shown.
Thirdly, the method of securing the lids of testing boxes, as described
and shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Thomas Henley, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of
January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-four.
WILLIAM THOMAS HENLEY. (L.S.)