IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH CABLES AND IN SUBMERGING AND RAISING: SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH CABLES
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Hutton at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th January
1866.
I, THOMAS HUTTON, of Derby, Bank Cashier, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH CABLES AND
IN SUBMERGING AND RAISING: SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH CABLES," to be as follows:-
My improvements in submarine telegraph cables consist in constructing
the said cables in the following manner :-The metallic electrical conductor
or core of the cable is made of copper or other conducting material in the
usual way. Around the core I place a layer of india-rubber or gutta percha,
and over the layer of india-rubber or gutta percha a layer of cloth; over the
said layer of cloth I place a second layer of india-rubber or gutta percha.
In submerging the cable made as described I surround it wholly or in part
with a casing or jacket of cork, or I attach bladders or bags to it at intervals,
or I otherwise diminish the specific gravity of the cable by attaching
buoyant materials thereto, so as to give it a specific gravity little greater than
that of the water into which it is submerged. On the cable being payed out
from the ship carrying it, it falls very slowly through the water, and either
sinks down to the bed of the ocean or becomes stationary at a given depth,
according as its density more or less approaches that of the water in which
it is submerged. By thus giving buoyancy to the cable it is relieved from
the strain which is ordinarily put upon submarine telegraph cables in paying
them out, and besides being readily payed out cables constructed according

page_text: to my Invention are more readily raised when necessary for repairs or for any
other purpose.
My Invention consists further in the following method of submerging and
raising ordinary submarine telegraph cables :-In cables submerged according
to my Invention I encase them wholly or in part in cork, or I attach to the
cable while in the act of submerging it bladders, or bags, or buoys of india-
rubber, or buoys of cork or gutta percha, so as to give a buoyancy to it and
relieve it from the great strain which is ordinarily put upon cables in sub-
merging them. I effect the attachment of the bladders, bags, or buoys to the
cable by means of steel or other elastic rings to be fixed on the cable while
in motion from the ship or otherwise at the required intervals. The said
rings are open at top, and the sides are provided with handles or loops, which
serve both to open the elastic rings for placing them on the cable and for
affixing the bladders, or bags, or buoys to the rings. When the rings have
been opened and placed on the cable they close upon and clip it by their
elasticity, and thus securely fix the bladders, or bags, or buoys thereto. The
bladders, or bags, or buoys can thus be attached to the cable with ease as it is
payed out from the ship. A catch or spring may be placed, if thought
necessary, on the top of the rings to keep both ends fast. By giving buoyancy
to ordinary cables in this way they can be raised with greater facility for
repairs or for other purposes.