IMPROVEMENTS IN COATING AND INSULATING WIRE
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Johnson, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Wire Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COATING AND INSULATING WIRE."
Sealed the 26th January 1855, and dated the 28th July 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th
July 1854.
I, RICHARD JOHNSON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Wire
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN COATING AND INSULATING WIBE" to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention of improvements in coating or insulating wire
is to coat or cover wire with a mixture of such substances as will prevent its
decay from rust or oxidation, and which coating or covering will also insulate
the wire when used as a conductor in magnetic and electric telegraphs. To
effect this purpose, I dissolve in coal naphtha, or naphtha obtained from schist
or shale, or in turpentine, or other hydro-carbon or fluid capable of dissolving
caoutchouc, gutta percha, tars, pitch, asphaltum, resins, gum resins, wax, any
given proportion of the above-named substances in certain of the above fluids,
either alone or mixed, and into such solutions I dip the wire, and then dry it
either at the natural temperature or by artificial heat. But I find that the
following mixtures are those which by their easy. production and low cost are

page_text: best adapted for the covering or coating of wire. These mixtures consist of
various proportions of the following solutions, namely, of a solution of gutta
percha, of caoutchouc, and of tar. I mix these solutions together, and then
dip a bundle of wire into the mixture, after which the wire so prepared may
be dried. either by exposure to the air or by artificial heat; or I pass the wires
through such solutions and dry them, by-passing them over heated surfaces,
and then winding on reals or blocks
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th January 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
JOHNSON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Wire Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of July, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Richard
Johnson, Her especial licence 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 COATING AND
INSULATING WIRE," upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the said
Richard Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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 1, 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 following statement
(that is to say):-
The object of my Invention is not only to coat or cover wire with such a

page_text: -
mixture of substances as will prevent it from 'becoming oxidized by the action
of the atmosphere, but also to insulate such wire when employed to conduct
the electric or electro-magnetic fluids. To effect this desirable object, I first
prepare solutions of gutta percha, caoutchouc, tar, pitch, asphaltum, resins, or
wax in coal naptha, or in pure benzine or benzole, or in any other hydro-
carbon obtained from the distillation of bituminous shale, schist, wood, resin,
tars, or in other fluids, such as oil of turpentine. These solutions may be
prepared in various ways, but I prefer operating as follows:-I place a certain
quantity of any one of the above-mentioned fluids, for example, ten gallons of
coal naptha, together with three pounds seven ounces of gutta percha, in a
double-cased pan, and so arranged that a current of steam may be made to
circulate around it, and so heat the mixture placed therein. In this plan there
is also an agitator, which is set in motion by power or otherwise, which passes
through a cover, and which is also fixed on the pan to prevent loss of any of
the fluids. On steam being admitted into the casing of the pan, the agitator
is set in motion, and the operation is continued until the gutta percha is com-
pletely dissolved. To prepare the solution of caoutchouc, I place two pounds
eight ounces of this substance in a cast-iron pan, and add such a quantity of
heavy oil of tar as will cover the whole, which is heated over an open fire, and
the contents well stirred for several hours; when the caoutchouc has been
reduced to a thick homogenous mass it is mixed with ten gallons of coal
naptha, and then introduced into the above-mentioned double-cased pan, and
the whole is heated for about an hour, with the precautions described, for
obtaining the solution of gutta percha. The solution of coal tar is prepared
at the natural temperature by dissolving two volumes of such tar in one volume
of coal naptha. To coat the wire, I can operate in various ways, and mix the
above solutions in various proportions, but I prefer a mixture made as follows:-
One volume of tar solution, one volume and a half of gutta percha solution,
half a volume of caoutchouc solution, or one made of one volume of coal tar
solution, and one volume and a half of a solution of gutta percha, containing
five pounds ten ounces. per ten gallons of coal naptha. According to the
purpose to which the coated or insulated wire is to be applied, I use one or
other of the above solutions in the following manner :-I pass the wire from a
reel into the solution, then through a small aperture for removing the super-
fluous quantity, and after having ignited the naptha contained in the solution,
pass such prepared wire into water and reel it upon reels; or I dip a bundle of
wire into any of the above solutions and expose it to a moderate heat for
several hours, so that the volatile fluids employed to dissolve the gutta percha,
caoutchouc, or tars may evaporate, and leave a coating or covering on the wire;

page_text: or I may ignite the volatile fluids of the above solutions adhering to the bundle
of wire, and expose the wire so operated upon to the action of the atmosphere
for several hours; or I plunge it into cold water. These two latter operations
are performed with a view of more quickly hardening the coating or covering
which has been applied on the wire.
I claim as my Invention the right of coating or covering wire with solutions
of gutta percha, caoutchouc, tar, pitch, asphaltum, resin, or wax in coal naptha,
or in any other suitable fluid.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Johnson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
RICHARD JOHNSON. (L.s.)