IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPH WIRE INSULATORS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International
Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPH WIRE
INSULATORS."-A communication from abroad by William Edgar
Simonds, of Hartford, Connecticut, United States of America.
Sealed the 7th January 1870, and dated the 22nd July 1869.
:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd July 1869.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office,"
6 No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPH
WIRE INSULATORS," a communication, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an insulator which has an insulating
substance contained in a cup placed upon the standard, (when the

page_text: cup
insulator is supported upon a standard) or upon the shank of a "hook "
insulator, that is, an insulator suspended upon a hook. The said is
fastened rigidly to the standard or the shank aforesaid, and its edge or
lip projects up into a groove in or surrounding the bottom of the
insulator, so that the edge of the cup and the sides of the groove interlap
is
but do not touch each other; at the same time the insulator proper
made to extend down into the cup so, as to nearly or quite touch the
I introduce into the
bottom, but it must not fill the cup diameterwise.
cup around, the lower part of the insulator some insulating substance,
such as paraffine wax. This wax is cast while fused, but must not quite
fill the cup. The standard or the shank which supports the insulator is
preferably made of malleable iron, and the cup cast upon it. The said
standard or shank must be firmly fastened in the insulator proper, so
that it will not shake or wabble in its socket, otherwise the paraffine will
be disturbed. In an insulator made in this way the paraffine will be
perfectly protected from the weather; and if any moisture settles on it it
must be the moisture of condensation, and if such moisture of con-
densation does settle upon it the unctuous nature of the paraffine will
cause it to separate into minute globules, so as not to form a continuous
film of moisture whereby the electricity might escape..
In the accompanying Drawing, Figure 1 is a section of my improved
insulator supported upon a standard or peg, and Figure 2 is a section of
a "hook" insulator with my improvements applied thereto..
In Figure 1, is the insulator proper, which may be made of glass;
hard india-rubber, flint, or other suitable non-conducting material;
is the line wire which may be secured to the said insulator by any
convenient method; c is the supporting peg or standard, which is pre-
ferably made of malleable iron, and upon which is cast or otherwise
secured the cup d containing paraffine wax or other suitable insulating
substance 8.
In Figure 2, A is a wooden block in which the insulator proper a is
fastened; c is the shank which terminates in a bifurcated hook, wherein
is supported the line wire b; d is the eup containing paraffine wax or
other suitable insulating material s; when this wax is used I prefer to
first fasten the insulator proper and the shank or standard firmly together,
and then to force melted paraffine into the cup through a bent tube. It

page_text: will be seen that the insulating substance is protected from the influence
of the weather.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters. Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of, the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third 1 year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, 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, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TELEGRAPH WIRE INSULATORS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument 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 William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, forming part of
this Specification:-

page_text: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of an insulator bearing my improve-
ments supported upon a standard or peg.
Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of what is commonly known as a
"hook insulator," bearing my improvements.
In Figure 1 the letter a designates the insulator proper, which is made
of glass, hard rubber, flint, or any other proper non-conducting material.
The letter 6 designates the line wire secured to the insulator proper by
any of the well known methods. The letter c designates the supporting
peg or standard, which is made preferably of malleable iron. Upon it is
cast or otherwise secured the cup d, whose edge or lip projects up into
but does not touch the groove e in the bottom of the insulator proper.
The lower part of the insulator proper extends down into the cup. so as
to nearly or quite touch the bottom of the cup. Into the cup is placed
by pouring while in a state of fusion, or by any other proper process,
some non-conducting or insulating substance, such as, for instance and
preferably, parrafine wax, which should not quite fill the cup. This last-
mentioned insulating substance is designated in the Drawings (both
Figures) by the letter s.
Any electrician or other person fairly skilled in telegraphy or electrical
science will readily understand from the above description that the
surface of the insulating substance & is almost perfectly protected from
the influence of the weather; and it is this arrangement and effect which
constitutes the essential element of my Invention claimed herein.
There are two kinds of insulators in common use, the one kind
supported on a standard or peg, and the other, often termed a "hook
insulator," where the line wire is pendent from a look whose shank is
screwed or otherwise fastened into the insulator proper, which in its turn
is fastened into a wooden arm or block, or iron casing, or some substitute
therefor.
I have already shown how my improvement is applicable to the former
kind, I will now show how it is applied to the latter.
In Figure 2 the letter A designates the wooden block above referred
to, which might as well be the iron casing referred to, or its substitute.
The letter a designates the insulator proper made of any proper non-
conducting material, and which is fastened into the wooden block or its

page_text: cquivalent by any of the well known methods in common use. The
letter c designates the shank which terminates at the bottom in a
bifurcated hook which supports the line wire b. The shank c is fastened
into the insulator proper firmly by any of the well known methods. On
the shank c is cast or otherwise secured the cup d, which juts up into a
shallow opening e in the bottom of the block A, but does not touch the
block anywhere. Thus the interior of the cup d is fully secluded and pro-
tected from the weather. The insulator proper extends down into the cup
so as to nearly or quite touch the bottom. Into the interior of the cup d
is placed by pouring while in a state of fusion, or by any other proper
process, any proper non-conducting material, as, for instance and pre-
ferably, parrafine wax, which must not quite fill the cup d. This last-
mentioned insulating substance is designated by the letter 8 and precisely
as in Figure 1 its surface is protected from the weather.
It must be always understood in applying my improvement to either
form of insulator described herein, or to any equivalent form, that the
standard or shank c must be firmly fastened into the insulator proper a,
so that it will not shake or wabble in its socket in the least, otherwise
the necessary continuity of contact between the insulator proper and the
non-conductors will be disturbed, and consequently the insulation
impaired. If glass is employed for the material of the insulator proper
this rigid fastening can probably be attained by some modification of the
process employed in the well known American "Lefferts "insulator. If
hard rubber is employed some modification of the process employed in
making the well known hard rubber "hook insulator" of America will
probably answer. In any case no part of my Invention consists in doing
this as it has already been effected in different ways, but the successful
working of my improvement depends upon its being well done.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I claim,-
First. A telegraph wire insulator having an insulating substance 8
interposed between the insulator proper a and the cup d, the whole
being arranged and constructed substantially as described for the purpose
set forth.
Second. The combination herein described of the insulator proper a,
the insulating substances, and the cup d, the whole constructed,

page_text: arranged, and operating substantially as described for the purpose set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.);
Witness,
H. J. GEDGE,
Clerk to Messrs. Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.