IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TELEGRAPH STANDARDS AND INSULATORS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Coles Adley, of the City of Dublin, in
the Kingdom of Ireland, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TELEGRAPH STANDARDS AND
INSULATORS."
Sealed the 11th June 1867, and dated the 13th December 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Coles Adley at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th December 1866.
I, CHARLES COLES ADLEY, of the City of Dublin, in the Kingdom of
Ireland, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TELEGRAPH STANDARDS AND
INSULATORS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to as novel mode of constructing telegraphic
standards or supports for telegraphic wire, the object being to obtain great
strength with the use of a limited weight of material. The standard consists
of two inclined struts secured together at their upper ends, while their lower
etids are bolted to base plates or fitted with spur plates to make them fast in
the ground; these base or spur plates may carry supplementary struts to
[Price 8d.1

page_text: resist excessive or exceptional strain in the direction of the line wire. The
main struts may be formed of T iron, but, by preference, each main strut is
composed of two bars of angle iron bolted together so that they may clip
between them the ends of diagonal bars crossing each other, and which serve
to brace the struts together after the principle of a braced girder. This
mode of putting the parts together will ensure great economy of material
in obtaining the strength requisite to withstand the exceptional strains to
which telegraph posts are exposed.
My second improvement relates to the maintenance of the insulation of
the wires of electric telegraphs, and consists in ensuring during heavy and
continuous rainsa dry internal surface for the bell-shaped insulator. Hitherto
this class of insulators when made with an inner shield has had that shield
of a cylindrical form, the consequence of which has been to leave such a
space between it and the bell cup as to form a comfortable harbour for
insects, especially in hot countries, and nests and other structures being
formed therein; the splashing of the rain has caused these structures to be
saturated with moisture, and with the wet surfaces of the insulator form a
surface of conduction for the electricity; to avoid this I form the insulator
with a double cup, taking care however that the edge of the inner cup does
not dip below the outer cup, and I leave a confined space between the two
cups which will also arrest the splashed rain, and secure a dry inner surface
for the outer cup. This surface, and also the outer surface of the inner cup,
may be formed with concentric or radial ribs to destroy the tendency which
the moisture has to travel upwards and establish electric conduction in the
insulator. The inner cup may be made in one piece with the insulator or
formed detached and secured in position by cement.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Coles Adley in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th June 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
COLES ADLEY, of the City of Dublin, in the Kingdom of Ireland, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,

page_text: the said Charles Coles Adley, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
Coles Adley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Charles Coles Adley, 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 THE CONSTRUCTION OF TELEGRAPH STANDARDS AND INSULATORS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Coles Adley,
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 Charles Coles Adley, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates, firstly, to a novel mode of constructing telegraphic
standards or supports for telegraphic wire, the object being to obtain great
strength with the use of a limited weight of material. The standard consists
of two inclined struts, the upper ends of which are brought together and
secured by bolts or rivets, whilst their lower ends are connected together by a
tie bar, and fitted with base plates to make the standard fast in the ground.
Diagonal bars are also used for bracing the inclined struts together. The
base or spur plates may carry supplementary struts to resist excessive or
exceptional strain in the direction of the line wire. The standards may be
constructed of wood or iron, and their structure will be on the principle of
the braced girder. When constructing them of iron the main struts may
be formed either of T iron or of two bars of angle iron rivetted together.
In the latter case the ends of the diagonal bracing bars will be clipped
between the angle iron bars.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 shews a front elevation of my
improved girder standard formed with T-iron bars.
A, A, are two bars of T iron brought together at the apex B, the web of
the bars being turned inwards; these bars are fastened together at top by
being rivetted to a wrought-iron plate C. At, the base D these two bars are

page_text: spread out and rivetted to a tie bar E; two base plates F, F, are also
rivetted to the two bars at right angles to the position of the separation of
their base. The two bars A, A, are further tied or strutted together by means
of ties or struts e, e, e, rivetted to their webs; the number and position of
these ties or struts may be increased or diminished in proportion to the
amount of strength and rigidity required. Fig. 2 shews a section of the
standard just above the base, exhibiting more clearly the position of the base
plates; Fig. 3 shews in elevation and Fig. 4 in sectional plan another form
of standard constructed by means of four bars of angle iron, the ties being
rivetted in between the two pieces of angle iron placed side by side together
to form each of the legs of the standard; base plates are also attached to
these bars in the manner shewn at Fig. 4. Fig. 5 shews another form of
strutting the two bars together where a single set only of ties are employed in
place of double ties placed diagonally, and Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of
this arrangement. Fig. 7 is an edge view of the standard, illustrating the
method of attaching supplementary struts H, H, where required to give
increased strength and stiffness; these supplementary struts, together with
the base plates, may have their dimensions increased in such proportions as
may be necessary to resist the exceptional strains that may arise. In erecting
these standards I prefer to erect them in such a manner that the braced
girder shall be opposed to the line of the greatest resistance which generally,
and especially around curves, is at right angles to the direction of the wire or
wires. It must be observed that two wooden posts can be fixed and tied or
strutted together in a somewhat similar manner, the ties being made either
of wood or iron, and secured by iron screw bolts or clasps.
I wish however to have it understood that I do not confine myself entirely
to the form of standards shewn in the Drawing, as cases may arise where
exceptional stains will have to be borne, when the standard can be made to
consist of three or more sides in place of two, thus forming a triangle or other
form at the base. The number and position of the ties or braces can also
be altered so as to adapt them in each particular case to the strains to be
counteracted.
The mode of putting the parts together above described with reference to
the Drawings will be readily seen to ensure great economy of material in
obtaining the strength requisite for withstanding the exceptional strains to
which telegraphic posts are exposed.
My second improvement relates to the maintenance of the insulation of the
wires of electric telegraphs, and consists in ensuring during heavy and con-
tinuous rains a dry internal surface for the bell-shaped insulator. Hitherto

page_text: this class of insulators when made with an inner shield has had that shield of
a cylindrical form, the consequence of which has been to leave such a space
between it and the bell cup as to form a comfortable harbour for insects,
especially in hot countries, and nests and other structures being formed
therein; the splashing of the rain has caused these structures to be saturated
with moisture, and with the wet surfaces of the insulator form a surface of
conduction for the electricity. To avoid this the insulator, which is usually cup
shaped, I form with double (two concentric) lips, or rather with an annular
recess in its under surface, taking care however that the edge of the inner lip
or shield does not dip below or materially below the outer one. The confined
space between the two concentric lips will arrest the splashed rain, and secure
a dry inner surface for the outer lip.
Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 shew in vertical section several forms of my
improved insulator.
a, a, is the inner shield so formed as to protect the inner surface b, b,
of the insulator from moisture caused by the splashing of rain upon the
telegraph wires. The insulator I propose to make of glazed stoneware as
usual.
It will be perceived from Figures 9 and 10 that I employ an auxiliary
shield c,c, of glazed stoneware or other insulating material which at the same
time that it protects or prevents the moisture from travelling upwards or
inwards, also so occupies the space within the internal surface of the insulator
as to leave little space for harboring insects, and affording them room to build
their nests therein. The main portion A of the insulator can be made in one
or two pieces, as thought most desirable, but the part c, c, is made separately,
and both parts are cemented to ordinary wrought-iron screw or other bolts in
the usual manner so as to enable them to be fixed to wooden or iron brackets
as may from time to time be preferred.
Fig. 11 shews an ordinary bell-shaped insulator with the inner protecting
shield a, a, applied, and Fig. 12 also shews the improved form of insulator
with a clip fastening for the wire applied thereto. The fastening consists of a
split bolt formed in the nature of a spring clasp, in the recess of which the wire
is placed, and fixed by means of a nut and screw; this split bolt is secured to
the insulator by cement. The surface band also the outer surface of the shield a
may be formed with concentric or radial ribs to destroy the tendency which
the moisture has to travel upwards and establish electric conduction in the
insulator.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of improvements in
the construction of telegraph standards and insulators," and explained the

page_text: manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First, constructing telegraph standards on the principle of a braced or
trussed girder in the manner above described.
Secondly, the application to insulators of an inner shield for the purpose
above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Coles Adley, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
CHARLES C. ADLEY. (L.S.)