Conductors and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1885

page_text: Conductors and in Apparatus therefor.
I JAMES TATHAM of 226 Sonth Fifth Street in the City of Philadelphia State of
Pennsylvania United States of America Manufacturer 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 :-
One object of my Invention is to prevent the burning or impairing by heat of
the insulating covering of an electrical conductor, during the process of coating or
sheathing the said insulated conductor by the application of hot lead or other
ductile metal thereto.
A further object of my Invention is to provide a simple device for use in
connection with an ordinary lead pipe press, whereby the latter at slight expense
is rendered available for the manufacture of lead covered electrical conductors.
A still further object is to insure the complete isolation of one wire from another
in a compound conductor.
In the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1, is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of part of a lead pipe press
with an attachment constructed in accordance with my Invention.
Figure 2 an enlarged section of part of the said attachment.
Figure 8, a sectional plan on the line 1-2, Figure 2 on a somewhat smaller
scale.
Figure 4, a diagram illustrative of the operation of the apparatus.
Figure 5, a view showing a duplex apparatus for the manufacture of compound
cables and
Figures 6 and 7, diagrams illustrative of the method of making a compound
cable in said apparatus.
In Figure 1, A represente part of the hydraulic cylinder of a lead pipe press,
B part of the plunger of the same, D the lead reservoir carried thereby F the inter-
posed hollow column with lateral passage a, and G the upper fixed ram bolted to
the cap H, which is secured to the cylinder A by means of posts or pillars b
Upon the hollow column F, is supported a block J, having a central chamber d,
and opposite lateral passages f, f, and into a threaded opening in the bottom of

page_text: the block, is screwed the die M, the projecting portion of the latter being contained
in a recess in the column F, or the device M may be simply a die holder for the
reception of dies of different sizes.
There is a threaded opening in the top of the block J, and into this opening is
screwed a hollow core, N, the upper end of which fits snugly to a block g, in the 5
lower end of the hollow ram G.
The core N has a detachable lower end P see Figure held in place by a set
screw m, this detachable end being tapered externally and projecting into that
portion, of the die which determines the external diameter of the pipe. The
block J forms a holder for supporting the hollow core N, above the die.
Secured to the upper end of the core is a pipe w, which terminates in a recep-
tacle 8, above the cap H of the press, or this pipe may, if desired, simply form a
continuation of the hollow core.
]
Before starting the press, the insulated wire is drawn down through the pipe w
through the hollow core N, and through the die, and carried out through the 1
lateral opening a of the hollow column.
The hollow core, pipe w, and reservoir s are then filled with oil or other liquid
insulating material, and are kept full during the working of the press.
Molten lead is deposited in the reservoir D when the latter is depressed and
said reservoir is then raised so that the ram G acts upon the lead and forces the
same around the lower end P, of the hollow core and through the die, the lead
pipe thus formed being drawn laterally from the hollow column and enclosing and
carrying with it the insulated wire fed down through said hollow core.
The insulated wire is surrounded by oil down to its point of exit from the end
of the hollow core, and this oil serves to protect the insulating material on the
wire from the destructive or deteriorating effects of the hot lead.
More than one insulated wire may be fed through the core, or a number of wires
may have a single insulating covering which is protected by the oil, in the same
manner as that of a single wire.
I am aware that insulating material has been fed through the hollow core of a
lead pipe press for the purpose of insulating the wire as it passes into the pipe,
but my invention is distinct from this in that the wire is, in the first instance
provided with a permanent insulating covering, and the oil or other liquid insu-
lating material is used simply to prevent the burning or impairing of the permanent
insulating covering of the wire by the heat of the lead.
I am also aware that it has been proposed to protect an insulated wire by
enveloping the same in water up to the point of application of the hot coating or
sheathing metal thereto, but this plan is objectionable, for the reason that the
presence of water or the vapour of water impairs or destroys the insulating quality
of the covering of the wire, an objection which is entirely overcome by the use of
oil or other liquid insulating material as the protecting medium.
In order to regulate the internal diameter of the pipe, and the consequent
thickness of the metal forming the same, the core N is adjustable in the holder J,
so that the tapered end P, of the core, may be made to project more or less into
the die, the internal diameter of the pipe being increased as the core is projected,
and decreased as it is withdrawn.
This enables me to confine the wire or wires closely by the lead covering, or to
increase the internal diameter of the pipe so as to permit the wire or wires to lie
loosely therein, as will be readily understood.
In order to effect the adjustment desired, the core N is screwed into or unscrewed
from the holder J, to the desired extent, and in order to prevent the access of lead
to the threads of the core and holder, the latter has a tubular projection w fitting
snugly to the core N, above the threaded portion of the same, as shown in
Figure 2.
Owing to the use of the hollow core holder J, the bulk of metal in proximity to
the end P of the core N, is comparatively limited so that the said core does not

page_text: become excessively hot thus providing an additional safeguard against injury to
the insulating covering of the wire.
The core holder, however is constantly surrounded by the lead, so that it is
maintained at a practically uniform temperature, and thus prevents chilling of the
lead in the reservoir, and the formation of bad joints in the pipe which is being
made.
The core holder is of tapering or conical form, so as to provide the desired broad
supporting base, and yet permit the maintenance of a mass of metal around the
core holder.
It will be observed that the hollow core holder J, die M, and core N, form &
self-contained structure of simple and inexpensive construction which can be
applied to an ordinary pipe-press, without disturbing any part of the latter, the
press being thus rendered available at small expense for use in making lead
covered wires.
Owing to the use of the hollow core holder, the projecting end P, of the core N,
is so short that it is not likely to be deflected to one side or the other so as to
make uneven pipe, and as the metal enters the hollow holders from opposite
points, the flow of metal has no tendency to deflect the end of the tube.
Three or more openings, arranged equi-distantly, may be used with the same
effect.
The end P, of the cord N, need not be detachable in all cases, although it is
preferred to so construct it in order that it can be renewed, or one of a different
size substituted, without changing the entire core.
In making compound electrical conductors or cables, I sometimes coat or cover
each of the insulated wires with lead as shewn in Figure 6, a number of these lead
covered wires being then bunched together and a single covering or sheath applied
thereto, as shewn in Figure 7.
By this means, I insure the separation of each wire throughout its entire length
from the other wires of the series and thus prevent the crowding of the wires
together, so as to impair or destroy their insulation, a defect sometimes due to the
formation of a pipe or casing at one operation around a series of insulated wires.
Each of the wires may, if desired, be clothed with lead in a suitable lead pipe-
press and then wound on a reel the clothed wires from a number of reels being
then passed through the same or another press with a larger die, by which the
final coating of the series of wires is effected, but I prefer to form the cable by a
continuous operation and by means of the apparatus shewn in Figure 5 of the
drawing.
This apparatus comprises two presses, one below and in advance of the other,
each press being constructed substantially in the manner shown in Figure 1 and
herein before described.
The hollow core for the upper press has a multiple nipple with as many openings
as there are wires to be covered, the die having a number of openings, one for each
nipple, so that this press delivers through the hollow column a series of lead
covered wires.
These covered wires before entering the hollow ram of the lower press, pass over
a drum W, the shaft of which is adapted to bearings in boxes i guided in vertical
standards h, on the head block H of the lower press and hung to weighted cords or
chains n so that the drum is free to yield vertically when subjected to pressure
greater than that exerted by the weights.
The core, nipple and die of the lower press are single, so that the said press
forms a coating surrounding and enclosing the entire series of covered wires passing
through the core.
The object of the yielding drum W is to prevent the fracture of any of the
covered wires by reason of a draft upon the same when the upper press does not
deliver the coated wires as fast as they are required by the lower press and so as to
afford time for stopping the lower press in case the action of the upper press is
suspended for any reason.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said"
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
First. The within described mode of preventing the destruction or impairment
of the insulating covering of an electrical conductor while the latter is being coated
or sheathed by forcing hot lead or other ductile metal around the same the said
mode consisting in enveloping the insulated wire in oil or other liquid insulating
material as it passes through the core round which the metal flows, as set forth.
Second. The combination of the lead reservoir, hollow ram, and hollow column
of a lead pipe press, with the hollow core, core holder, and die, said core-holder
resting upon the top of the hollow column and being contained within the lead
chamber of the reservoir, but unconfined vertically by said reservoir, as set forth.
Third. The combination of the lead reservoir, hollow ram, and hollow column
of a lead pipe-press, with a structure, comprising the hollow core, core-holder and
die, said core-holder being contained in the lower portion of the lead reservoir, and
being of tapered or conical form, as set forth.
Fourth. The combination of the lead reservoir, hollow ram, and hollow column
of a lead press with the die, a core-holder resting upon the hollow column and
supporting the core close to the delivery end of the same, and a hollow core N,
projecting above the lead reservoir, adjustable, in the core-holder, and having a
tapering end projecting into the die, as set forth.
Fifth. The combination of the die, the threaded core N, having a tapering
end P, and the core-holder J., having a threaded opening for the core N, and a
tubular projection bearing on said core above the thread, as set forth.
Sixth. The mode herein described of manufacturing compound electrical
conductors, said mode consisting the first applying a covering of lead or other
ductile metal to each of a series of insulated conductors, and then applying lead or
other ductile metal to the series of covered conductors, so as to fill the interstices
and produce a solid rod of metal in which the insulated conductors are imbedded, as
set forth.
Seventh. The mode herein described of making a compound electrical con-
ductor, said mode consisting in applying a metallic covering simultaneously to each
of a series of electrical conductors, and then applying a general covering to the
series of independently covered conductors, as specified.
Eighth. The combination of the two presses, with a yielding support for the
wires between the presses, as set forth.
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