Improvements in or relating to Electrical Connecting Boards.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in or relating to Electrical Connecting Boards.
I, ALFRED WHALLEY, of Ashville, Helsby, near Warrington, in the County of
Chester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the construction of electrical connecting boards, more
particularly those used as cross-connecting boards in telephone exchanges, and
has for its object the provision of a connecting board which shall be more com-
pact, more easily connected up both in front and behind and have the various
points of connection clearly and more cheaply marked than hitherto
In carrying out this invention as applied to a telephone cross-connecting board,
I place thereupon conducting pieces all insulated from one another, which pass
through the board from back to front and project convenient distances beyond
both back and front surfaces of the board.
The insulation of the conducting pieces may be secured by forming the board
itself of insulating material such, for example, as ebonite.
The conducting pieces may be affixed to the board in any desired manner, as
for example, by screwing, but I find a convenient way is to make holes in the
board into which the conducting pieces or conductors fit tightly, when in the
required position.
These conductors may be prepared at each end to receive the ends of the wires
or the like, to which they are to be electrically connected, as by drilling or the
like, or in any suitable manner.
+
Although I do not confine myself to any particular shape of conductor, I pre-
fer to employ tubular conductors since these offer special facilities for connecting
and manipulating, as they may be flattened at either end and drilled transversely
to receive the connecting wire and expanded if necessary to fit the holes in the
board sufficiently tightly.
The various conductors may be identified either by their position or by means of
numbers, letters, or other symbols, or in both ways.
In order to produce these symbols cheaply, I may make the board itself or
the surface of it, of a material which can be moulded, such as, say, ebonite, and
mould the symbols thereon; and I may also mark upon the board at the same
time indications as to the position of the holes in which the conductors are placed
and other marks for guidance in constructing or using the board.
It will be understood that when used as a telephone cross-connecting board, the
conductor ends projecting on one side of the board will be conveniently employed
to receive subscriber's lines and the lines leading to the various sections of a
multiple switch-board such as is usually employed, the reverse side of the cross-
connecting board being reserved for effecting the connections between the switch-
board and subscriber's line wires.
Although I have described this invention as applied to a telephone circuit I

page_text: do not confine myself to that use of it but may apply it to any purpose where such
a mode of effecting connections between various circuits is advantageous.
Dated this 2nd day of October 1897.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to Electrical Connecting Boards.
I, ALFRED WHALLEY, of Ashville, Helsby, near Warrington, in the County of
Chester, Engineer, 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 to the construction of electrical connecting boards, more
particularly those used as cross-connecting boards in telephone exchanges, and
has for its object the provision of a connecting board which shall be more com-
pact, more easily connected up both in front and behind and have the various
points of connection clearly and more cheaply marked than hitherto.
In carrying out this invention as applied to a telephone cross-connecting board,
I place thereupon conducting pieces all insulated from one another, which pass
through the board from back to front and project convenient distances beyond
both back and front surfaces of the board.
The insulation of the conducting pieces may be secured by forming the board
itself of insulating material such, for example as ebonite.
The conducting pieces may be affixed to the board in any desired manner, as
for example by screwing. but I find a convenient way is to make holes in the
board into which the conducting pieces or conductors fit tightly, when in the
required position.
These conductors may be prepared at each end to receive the ends of the wires
or the like, to which they are to be electrically connected, as by drilling or the
like, or in any suitable manner.
Although I do not confine myself to any particular shape of conductor, I pre-
fer to employ tubular conductors since these offer special facilities for connecting
and manipulating, as they may be flattened at either end and drilled transversely
to receive the connecting wire and expanded if necessary to fit the holes in the
board sufficiently tightly.
The various conductors may be identified either by their position or by means of
numbers, letters, or other symbols, or in both ways.
In order to produce these symbols cheaply, I may make the board itself or
the surface of it, of a material which can be moulded, such as, say ebonite and
mould the symbols thereon; and I may also mark upon the board at the same
time indications as to the position of the holes in which the conductors are placed
and other marks for guidance in constructing or using the board.
It will be understood that when used as a telephone cross-connecting board, the
conductor ends projecting on one side of the board will be conveniently employed
to receive subscriber's lines and the lines leading to the various sections of a
multiple switch-board such as is usually employed, the reverse side of the cross-
connecting board being reserved for effecting the connections between the switch-
board and subscribers line wires.
Although I have described this invention as applied to a telephone circuit I
do not confine myself to that use of it but may apply it to any purpose where such
a mode of effecting connections between various circuits is advantageous.

page_text: The accompanying drawings illustrate one construction of connecting board
according to this invention, as applied to a telephone exchange cross connecting
board Figure 1 being an elevation of the end portions of a board in course of
construction for 100 subscribers.
Figure 2 a side elevation and
Figure 3 a plan of the board shown in Figure 1.
Figure 4 shows a modified construction of base.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
The base A of the board as shown in Figures 1 to 3 is formed of a sheet of
ebonite, which material, as is well known may be rendered plastic by heat.
When thus softened the lines B between the sets of conductors C and the
numbers 1 to 100 together with the large head numbers 1, 21, 41, 61, 81, 20, 40,
60, 80, 100 are impressed in the surface of the ebonite.
The column for numbers 21 to 40 inclusive is shown incomplete, numbers 24
to 38 inclusive having only the centre dots D, lines B and numbers marked,
numbers 22, 23 and 39 having also the holes E drilled and the remaining numbers
the conductors C inserted.
The conductors C are arranged in the example shown, in rows and columns,
six conductors being allotted to each subscribed, three for the incoming outgoing
and
third"
wire respectively, and three to effect the connection of these with
the operator's board.
"
In order to facilitate the connection of wires to their ends the groups of con-
ductors C are arranged so that each group of six is formed of three pairs each
pair being of a different height from the other two pairs in the group.
The conductors pass through holes drilled or otherwise made, in the base A
and are of such a size and shape that when in the required position in the board
they are tight in the holes. This may be effected by making the conductors taper;
and driving them into the holes until they are tight; or, if the conductors are tubu-
lar, they may be expanded within, or on either side of the holes. Where great
security is desired they may be made taper, driven in tight and then expanded on
each side of the hole.
A convenient method of securing them is to slightly flatten them on each side
of the hole when in position the flattening in one direction causing expansion in
another, viz., that substantially at right angles to the first. The conductors are
preferably made tubular as shown in the drawings and flattened at one end as
at C and drilled transversely through the flattened portion as shown and drilled
transversely at the other end as at C².
The flattened and drilled ends C¹ afford facility for connecting the conductors C
to one another by cross wires F and the tubular ends drilled at C are a convenient
shape for the attachment of wires coming from other apparatus etc. The
same facilities may be obtained by the use of solid conductors flattened and drilled
at one end and drilled axially and transversely at the other.
The conductors may be of any desired cross section hollow or solid but are pre-
ferably of the shape shown in the drawings namely tubular and of circular cross
section.
In cases where it is desirable to make the base of a material that cannot be
moulded, the modification shown in Fig. 4 may be employed where A is a portion
of the base proper and A¹ a facing of mouldable material such as ebonite. Slots A³
are provided in the facing and the markings B and the identifying numbers
moulded therein.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim
is:-
1. The combination with an electrical connecting board of a tubular conductor
substantially as described.
2. In an electrical connecting board the combination with a base having indicat-

page_text: ing or allocating marks.or both moulded thereon or therein of one or more tubular
conductors such as C substantially as described or illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
3. The combination with a telephone switch board and line wires from telephonic
instruments of the cross connecting board substantially as described and illus
trated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
4. The cross connecting board substantially as described and illustrated in
Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 2nd day of July 1898
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.