IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND IN THE APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Fauvin Jaloureau, Civil Engineer, of Paris,
in the Empire of France, and Charles Louis Lardy, Doctor of Law and
Professor at the Academy, Neuchatel (Switzerland), for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND IN THE
APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF.”
Sealed the 31st March 1868, and dated the 19th October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Fauvin Jaloureau
and Charles Louis Lardy at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 19th October 1867.
We, ALFRED FAUVIN JALOUREAU, Civil Engineer, of Paris, in the Empire
of France, and CHARLES LOUIS LARDY, Doctor of Law and Professor at the
Academy, Neuchatel (Switzerland), do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND
IN THE APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF," to be as follows:-
Our improved cables for submarine and other purposes are constructed in
the following manner :-The copper conducting wire is first covered with bitu-
minously prepared thread or twine; the cable thus formed is then subjected to
a hot bituminous bath, by which a layer or deposit of bitumen is obtained;
this is covered with bituminously prepared paper wound spirally round the
cable; it is then again subjected to the bath and a second layer of bitumen
deposited thereon, after which it is again covered with the paper as before,
and then covered with bitumen by means of the bath, then another layer of

page_text: paper, then a
layer of bitumen, then a layer of paper, then a coating of
thread as before, and finally a layer or coat of bitumen, which latter is sanded
all over. And in cases where a stronger cable is required it may be protected by
iron bands wound in a spiral form round it; this is done previously to the final
coating and sanding. The cables thus manufactured are flexible and solid,
whilst at the same time the wires being perfectly independent have all the
necessary conducting properties, and from the simplicity of the manufacture
and the materials employed therein these cables have considerable advantages
over those in present use.
The foregoing description will be readily understood by the accompanying
account of the apparatus and its employment in the manufacture of our cables.
The machine consists of a suitable iron or wooden frame, at one end of
which is a drum, round which the copper wire conductor is wound, from
thence it passes between two pullies which press it closely, the object being to
regulate the paying out or delivery of the wire; they receive motion from the
driving shaft by means of an endless screw mounted thereon, and which
governs a toothed wheel keyed to the axis of the lower pulley, the upper one
being so disposed as to press the wire, which passes from thence through an
opening made in the axis of the toothed wheel, then through a guide support
near which it is enveloped by two threads previously bituminously prepared
which unwind from two bobbins turning round the wire, which movement
they receive from the toothed wheel on which they are mounted. On leaving
the bobbins the threads pass through two small cylindrical guides fixed on the
guide support before alluded to, which follows the movement of the wheel
with which it is connected; these two guides are inclined and so arranged as
to regulate the winding of the threads round the wire, which in passing above
a boiler containing bitumen (melted either by means of steam conducted
thereto by pipes or by any other means for heating) comes in contact with the
generator of a cylinder, which in revolving bathes the cable in the heated
bitumen, thus forming a coat, the thickness of which is regulated by a metal
cone through which the cable passes, and which is fixed on the side of the
boiler, from thence the cable passes through a second wheel by means of an
opening made in the axis; here it receives a double casing of paper bitumi-
nously prepared and delivered, as before, from bobbins rotating outside the
cable. This movement is produced by the wheel on which the bobbins are
mounted. The strips of bituminous paper pass through openings made in a
guide fixed on the wheel above mentioned, and which turn with it; these
openings are so arranged as to cause the paper to wind in a slanting manner
round the cable, which then passes through a second hot bath of bitumen and

page_text: is then again covered with paper. This operation is repeated three or four
times so as to obtain as many coats of bitumen separated and maintained by
coatings of bituminous paper. When the cable has received its last double
envelope of paper it passes in a support furnished with gear wheels and four
bobbins exactly similar to those already described; it here receives a casing of
bituminous thread formed by the four threads from the aforesaid bobbins, the
object being to protect the cable from external danger; it is then finally
covered with a coat of bitumen, and passing through a box at the end of the
apparatus is sanded all over. When the cable is thus completed it passes
between three pullies at the end of the apparatus, the object of which are,
first, to regulate the delivery, the second to cause the sand to penetrate the
outer coat of bitumen, and the third to guage and give the cable an even
and circular form.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Fauvin Jaloureau and Charles Louis Lardy in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th April 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALFRED
FAUVIN JALOUREAU, Civil Engineer, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and
CHARLES LOUIS LARDY, Doctor of Law and Professor at the Academy,
Neuchatel, Switzerland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Alfred Fauvin Jaloureau and Charles Louis Lardy, Her special licence that
we, the said Alfred Fauvin Jaloureau and Charles Louis Lardy, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Alfred Fauvin
Jaloureau and Charles Louis Lardy, our 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 "Iж-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TELEGRAPHIC CABLES, AND IN THE APPARATUS
FOR THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said Alfred Fauvin Jaloureau and Charles Louis Lardy, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of

page_text: their bands 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 we, the said Alfred Fauvin Jaloureau and Charles
Louis Lardy, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings,
that is to say:-
Our improved cables are constructed in the following manner :-The copper
conducting wire is first covered with bituminously prepared thread or twine;
the cable thus formed is then subjected to a hot bituminous bath, by which a
layer or deposit of bitumen is obtained; this is covered with bituminously
prepared paper wound spirally round the cable; it is then again subjected to
the bath, and a second layer of bitumen deposited thereon, after which it is
again covered with the paper as before, and then coated with bitumen by
means of the bath, then another layer of paper, then a layer of bitumen, then
a layer of paper, then a layer of thread as before, and finally a casing of
bitumen, which is sanded all over, and in cases where desired to make a more
powerful cable it may be strengthened by iron bands wound in a spiral form
round it; this is done previously to the final coating and sanding. The
cables thus manufactured are flexible and solid, whilst at the same time the
wires being perfectly insulated have all the necessary conducting properties,
and from the simplicity of the manufacture and the materials employed
therein have considerable advantages over those in present use.
Having thus described the cable we will now proceed to explain the appa-
ratus for manufacturing the same by aid of the accompanying Drawings.
It consists of a wood or iron frame, at one end of which is a drum A, round
which the copper wire conductor is wound; from thence it passes between
two pullies B, B¹, which press it closely, the object being to regulate the
paying out or delivery of the wire; they receive motion from the driving
shaft P by means of an endless screw M mounted thereon, and which governs
a toothed wheel 6 keyed to the axis of the lower pulley B, the upper one B
being disposed so as to press the wire, which passes from thence through an
opening made in the axis of the toothed wheel b, then through a guide
supports, near which it is enveloped by two threads previously bitumi
nously prepared, which unwind from two bobbins C, C, turning round the wire
which movement they receive from the toothed wheel 6, on which they are

page_text: mounted. On leaving the bobbins the threads pass through two small
cylindrical guides r, r, fixed on the guide support s alluded to before, which
follows the movement of the wheel b with which it is connected; these two
guides are inclined and so arranged as to regulate the winding of the threads
round the wire, which in passing above a receiver E containing bitumen
(melted either by steam conducted thereto by the pipe L, or by any other
means for heating) comes in contact with the generator of a cylinder I, which
in revolving bathes the cable in the heated bitumen, thus forming a coat the
thickness of which is regulated by a metal cone p, through which the cable
passes, and which is fixed on the side of the receiver E; from thence the
cable passes through a second wheel b¹ by means of an opening made in the
axis; here it receives a double casing of paper bituminously prepared and
delivered as before from bobbins D, D, rotating outside the cable. This
movement is produced by the wheel b¹, on which the bobbins D, D, are
mounted. The slips of bituminized paper pass through openings f, f, made
in a guide T fixed on the wheel above mentioned and which turn with it;
these openings are so arranged as to cause the paper to wind in a slanting
manner round the cable, which then passes through a second hot bath E¹ of
bitumen, and it then again receives a double coating of bituminized paper
from the bobbins D', D¹. This operation is repeated three or four times, or
even more if necessary, by aid of the bituminous baths E, E³, and of the bobbins
D2, D3, so as to obtain as many coats of bitumen separated and maintained
by as many double coatings of bituminized paper. When the cable has
received its last double envelope of paper it passes in a support R* furnished
with a gear wheel &* and four bobbins C¹, C, C', C', exactly similar to those
already described; it here receives a casing of bituminized thread formed by
the four threads from the aforesaid bobbins C¹, the object being to protect the
cable from external danger; it is then finally covered with a coat of bitumen,
and passing through the case or box E³, similar to the preceeding receivers at
the end of the apparatus, is sanded all over. When the cable is thus com-
pleted it passes between four pullies N, G, O, X, the object of which are,
first, to regulate the delivery; the second, to cause the sand to penetrate the
outer coat of bitumen; and the third, to guage and give the cable an even
and circular form. The groove pulley G is actuated by a toothed wheel
mounted on its axis and governed by an endless screw M keyed to the driving
shaft P, the pullies O and X are animated by a rotary motion sufficiently
rapid to admit of their giving a certain degree of smoothness to the cable,
which from thence is rolled round the drum A. All the thread and paper-
bearing, bobbins, as well as the cylinders containing the bitumen, receive

page_text: motion from the shaft P by aid of the pinions c, c¹, c², c³, c, of the inter-
mediate wheels d, d³, d², d³, d³, governing the wheels 6, 61, 62, 63, 64, giving motion
to the bitumen distributing cylinders by aid of bands and flat or grooved
pullies and cords. In cases where bands of metal are wound round the cable
(which is done previously to its receiving the final bituminous coating), such
bands are twisted in a manner inversely to the bituminous thread casing.
These machines may also be constructed so as to revolve the conducting
wire, and by rendering stationary the bobbins bearing the thread and paper;
this is effected by placing the drum A and the pullies N, G, O, X, on large
platforms receiving rotary motion from a single shaft; the delivery of the
wire will be produced by means of pullies, the movement of which is regulated
by means of a fixed spiral screw placed on the support of the drum; the
advantages of this arrangement would facilitate supervision during the working
of the machine and the ready supply of fresh bobbins when required without
stopping the machine.
These machines may be so constructed and of such form and dimensions
as will admit of the driving shaft being placed either above or below the
bobbins and of its being actuated by bands and pullies instead of toothed
wheels.
Lastly, we must here remark that the bitumen we make use of in forming
the coats or casings is pure, but used at different degrees of temperature,
which render it more or less liquid. The interior coats should be made of
distilled bitumen from 20 to 25 degrees, so as to render it more supple, and
the external coats made from the same substance at a temperature of from
25 to 30 degrees, so that it may be dryer. Any kind of bitumen, whether
mineral or vegetable, on condition that it is sufficiently pure to be insulating.
As already mentioned we can manufacture our cables in making use of
conducting wires of copper or iron, galvanized or otherwise, or by the employ-
ment of other metal wires, and in place of the twisted threads we can make
use of untwisted threads of any vegetable or animal fibre, we can also sub-
stitute for the bituminous bands of paper bands of ribbon, thread, cotton, or
other textile matter. In cases where the cables are liable to injury
from carelessness or external injuries when laid inland through villages we
protect them by putting them in wooden cases injected with creosote and
bitumen, a section of which arrangement is shewn at Fig. 7; the cables
may also be placed in metal or earthenware tubes or bituminously prepared
paper tubes or cases.
Finally, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the
insulating of the conducting wire or wires for submarine and other cables by

page_text: the use of bitumen applied in thin coatings or layers separated and maintained
successively by double casings of bituminized paper, and protected by
bituminized thread, which latter may be secured against external injury when
deemed advisable by iron or wire bands, the whole being constructed pre-
cisely in the manner and for the purposes as herein described and illustrated
by the accompanying Drawings, of which Fig. 1, Sheet 1, is an elevation of
the machine, and Fig. 2, a plan of the same; Fig. 1 of the Sheet 2 is a
section following the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, Sheet 1; Fig. 2 is a section following
the line 3, 4, of Fig. 1, Sheet 1; Fig. 3 is a section following the line 5, 6,
of Fig. 1, Sheet 1; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the cable, shewing
gradually the disposition of the protecting and insulating envelopes or casings ;
Fig. 5 shews in transverse sections the different degrees of formation of the
cable, which are indicated by the longitudinal section, Fig. 4; Fig. 6 shews
an external view of the cable as provided with metal bands previous to
receiving the final coating of bitumen; and Fig. 7 is a transverse section of
the wooden cases for protecting the cable when laid in land or through towns
or villages.
In witness whereof, we, the said Alfred Fauvin Jaloureau and Charles
Louis Lardy, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirteenth
day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-eight.
ALFRED FAUVIN JALOUREAU. (L.S.)
CHARLES LOUIS LARDY.
(L.S.)