IMPROVE- MENTS IN TESTING THE STRENGTH OF WIRE FOR TELEGRAPHIC AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Johnson, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Iron and Wire Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN TESTING THE STRENGTH OF WIRE FOR TELEGRAPHIC AND OTHER
PURPOSES"
Sealed the 3rd May 1864, and dated the 6th November 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
November 1863.
I, RICHARD JOHNSON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Iron
and Wire Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TESTING THE STRENGTH OF WIRE FOR TELEGRAPHIC AND
OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in testing the strength of wire by passing it over
surfaces, one of which is caused to draw it forward at an accelerated rate.
The following is an arrangement I at present propose:-The wire passes
from the usual reel to a drum, around which it is coiled, and from thence to
another drum driven at a greater surface speed, whereby a strain is put upon
the wire as it is wound, and the strength is thus ascertained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 6th May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
JOHNSON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Iron and Wire Manu-
facturer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Richard Johnson, Her special license that I, the said Richard
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Richard Johnson, 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 TESTING THE STRENGTH OF WIRE FOR TELEGRAPHIC AND OTHER
PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard
Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Johnson, 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 fol-
lowing statement and accompanying Drawing, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in testing the strength of wire by passing it over
surfaces, one of which is caused to draw it forward at an accelerated rate.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents the arrangement of
machinery I employ for carrying my said Invention into practical operation,
and Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. The main driving shaft is at a, furnished
with fast and loose pullies ; upon this shaft is a pinion c gearing into two
wheels d, e. The former of these wheels is upon a shaft f, which carries at
its other end a drum g, and the latter is on a shaft h, upon which is mounted
a drum i; this drum g is furnished with a pair of jaws j, capable of being
brought together, and held firmly in that position by a screw k. The drum g
is also provided with sliding pieces 2, which when slidden outward radially
constitute an equivalent for a flange, and they may be retained in that position
by passing pins through them, and through the arms of the drum by which
they are carried; at m is a reel, upon which the wire to be tested is placed,
carried by a stud projecting from the framework; the arms of this reel on
one side thereof extend beyond the cross parts n, on which the wire is placed,
and act therefore as a flange, but on the other side the arms are discontinued

page_text: at the said parts n, and a flange is provided by separate pieces o, which by
loosening the screws p may be turned backward so as to allow a coil of the
wire to be adapted to the reel. The operation is as follows:-The wire
having been placed upon the reel, its end is conducted between guides q and
beneath a pulley r to the drum i, around the circumference of which it is
coiled several times; after this it is conducted to the jaws j, which are then
tightened upon it by means of the screw k; motive power being now applied
to the pulley b, the gearing above described will cause the two drums g and
i to revolve and draw the wire off the reel m, winding it upon the drum g;
but the gearing is so arranged that the surface speed of the said drum g is
greater than the surface speed of the drum i, and every length which is taken
up thereby will consequently become strained and submitted to a test by
which its strength is ascertained, which test may of course be increased or
decreased at pleasure, by varying the relative surface speeds of the two
drums g and i.
In the arrangement shewn the drum i is driven through the medium of a
clutch box 8, t, the part t thereof sliding with a feather upon the shaft h, and
the drum i being mounted loosely on the said shaft. By this arrangement I
am enabled to disconnect the drum i from the other parts of the machine,
and to turn it by hand on the commencement of the operation, so as to start
with the wire in a strained condition. The whole length of wire having
been tested the sliding pieces are drawn inward, the jaws j loosened, and
the coil removed from the drum g.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I desire it to be understood
that I claim, as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters Patent,
and for the purpose above set forth, passing wire over surfaces, one of which
is caused to draw it forward at an accelerated rate.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
RICHARD JOHNSON. (L.S.)