.
Year: 1886

page_text: Wires.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
This invention relates chiefly to testing stations for systems of conduits for
electric wires and affords means whereby the wires contained in the said conduits
can be accessibly secured, for accurate and expeditious testing and repairing.
purposes, at convenient distances intermediate with their initial and terminal
points. It likewise affords means for making all line connections. I wish it
distinctly understood however that certain of my hereinafter described improve-
ments are applicable for analogous purposes, independently of a conduit system.
To these ends as will further appear my invention consists in the improvements
hereinafter set forth.
In Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing, illustrating the application of my
improvements to a system of conduits I have shown, partly in sectional elevation,
a portion of a conduit, in the station B of which are located a series of boards C
provided with binding posts which I employ for securing the main or other wires
of a conduit system for the before mentioned purposes; the section being taken on
the line xx of Figure 2. The latter Figure is a horizontal section, taken so as to
generally illustrate, in plan view, the operative arrangement within said station B
of the binding-post boards, and the manner in which auxiliary wires D, d, respec-
tively, are secured thereto and extended therefrom.
In Figure 3 I have shown in rear elevation a binding-post board C, composed of
a frame or marginal portion 3 and bars c carrying binding-posts or screws c¹; said
board being provided with a binding-post insulating substance which forms a
shield C, a section only of said shield being shown, which is deemed sufficient for
the purposes of this specification,

page_text: In Figure 4 I have shown a cross section of the binding-post board illustrated in
said Figure 3; said view, except with reference to the insulating shield C' which
is also shown in section, being taken on the line yy of Figure 3.
In Figure 5 I have shown, in enlarged detail, several of the bars c which form
part of the binding-post board C illustrated in said Figures 3 and 4; said detail
also illustrating the manner in which the wires are secured by the binding-posts or
screws c¹, the insulating shield being removed.
In Figure 6, which is a transverse section of Figure 5 taken on the line Z. Z.
thereof, I have further shown the manner in which the wires are held to the bars c
by the binding-posts or screws c¹, the insulating shield Ct being shown.
In Figure 7 I have shown a modified form of construction of the binding-post
boards C, illustrated in said Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6; a tablet or board C of non-
conducting material, provided with suitable holes or perforations C² being employed
in substitution of the frame or marginal portion 3 and the binding-post bars c
which are likewise composed of non-conducting material and laterally arranged
with relation to each other so as to form slots or open spaces c².
I will now comprehensively describe the operative arrangement of my invention
as illustrated in said described views.
Wires D being laid within the main portion A of the conduit up to the station B,
and one or more. binding-post boards C being loosely located within said station,
the wires are brought each to the front face 6 of the binding-post board, and
carried, by means of a loop D¹, through an open space or slot or perforation c* to
the rear face 7 of said board, and around the shank of a binding-post or screw c¹,
by which it is securely held in position. The running end of said wire, extends
from said looped or securing point through said station, into and through the
continuation A' of the main line of conduit; or from said securing point into
and through the diverging branch A' or through such other branch which may be
present and through which it may be desirable to run the same.
To run an auxiliary wire d from any main wire D, I connect said auxiliary wire
(as is substantially shown in said Figure 3.) with the binding-post or screw by
which said main wire is secured, thus enabling the taking of the electric current,
transmitted over said main wire, from said binding-post or screw; it being under-
stood that whenever a wire is looped around a binding-post or screw, or otherwise
held thereto, the insulating substance covering said wire is removed therefrom at
its point of contact with said binding-post or screw.
After the wires are secured to the board C by the binding posts or screws c¹, the
insulating shield C¹, which is preferably composed of soft india-rubber, but which
may be of any suitable material, is adjusted to the rear face of said board, so
as to fully cover the heads of the binding-posts or screws, as substantially shown
in Figure 3.
While the binding post boards may be firmly located in position within the
station B for operative purposes, where a limited number of wires are employed, it
is obviously of great advantage, when it becomes necessary to employ a large
number of wires within one system, that said boards should be loosely located
within said station. Thus for illustration :-
The binding-posts or screws being thoroughly insulated by the shield C¹, and
said boards being flexibly sustained by the wires connected therewith, or resting
by their lower ends upon the floor of the station, said boards may be in actual
contiguity with each other. This arrangement enables the employment, within
a limited space, of a much larger number of boards, and therefore the securing
of a greater number of wires than would otherwise be possible. When it becomes
necessary to reach for testing or other purposes a certain binding-post or screw
forming a part of any one of the series of boards, but little effort is required to
separate said boards from such contiguity and thereby reach the desired post
or screw.
The stations B being located at convenient intervals through the conduit system,
the same may be entered in consecutive order from the point of current supply,

page_text: and any defect existing in a wire may be accurately located between two of said
stations, or between the point of supply and any station within the system, by
the employment for such purpose of any suitable testing apparatus, which would
be applied to the binding-post or screw securing said wire to the board C said
apparatus being capable of transmitting or receiving a signal through said binding-
post or screw and wire, to or from the main office or source of supply, which would
be designated the initial station.
When a defect is located between any two of the stations of a system, the
defective section of the wire would be removed from between the said two stations,
and such removed section replaced by another wire which would be connected
with the binding-posts or screws originally securing said defective conductor to its
respective boards.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
First In a conduit for electric wires, a series of stations B forming a part of
said conduit and provided with one or more binding-post boards c to which are
secured the wires contained within, said conduit, substantially as described.
Second-In a conduit for electric wires, a station or stations b provided with
a series of binding post boards c loosely located therein and securing the wires
contained within said conduit; said binding-post boards being provided each with
insulating shields C₁ all arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.
Third- -A binding-post board C for electric wires, provided with slots, openings
or perforations c², binding posts or screws c¹ and an insulating shield C substantially
as described.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.