US348994A - beaedsley - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TRUMAN J. PEARCE AND MELVIN NV. BEARDSLEY, OF OAKLAND, A

TO THE PARAFFINE PAINT COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, (AL

INSULATING WIRE AND CONDUCTORS FOR ELECTRICAL PURPOSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 348,994, dated September 14, 1886.

Application filed March 21, 1895.

March 30, 1886, No. 162.442, and in 'Ilclgium March 30, 1981;.

To all whom, it play concern.-

Be it known that we, TRUMAN J. PEARCE and llIEIXI-N XV. BEARDSLEY, citizens of the United States, residing in the city of Oakland,

5 Alameda county. State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insulating \Vire and Conductors for Electric Purposes; and we do hereby declare. that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of our said invention and of the manner in which we produce, apply, and carry out the same.

Our invention relates to improvements made in coating or covering wires and conductors 1 for electrical purposes with an insulating water-proof and weatherproof compound.

"We have discovered that by coating or covering the surface of wires and conductors for electrical purposes with a mixture of bisulphide of carbon and maltha, as hereinafter specified, a protecting surface or covering will be producedand obtained that is both an ex cellent protecting medium against the action of water and moisture and the influences of the weather and an cfficient insulator of the wire or conductor from other surrounding conducting surl'aces or objects. itself is new, and it may be made with many variations of its incidental qualities, such as are common to other substances, and yet all. of the newly-found characteristics which are peculiar to itself will be preserved. Upon the compound itself Letters Patent have been granted to us, No. 838,868, dated March 30,

5 1886, and the formula given in said Letters Patent is employed by us in this invention when found applicable.

The following is a description of the mode in which our compound should be prepared 0 for producing and carrying out our said invention but we would not be understood as limiting ourselves thereto, as the proportions may be varied to make a thicker or a thinner composition.

It is better to make our new compound thicker forsoine purposes-snch, for instance, where the electrical wire or conductor is to be laid or embedded in a trough or trench underground or in wooden or metal conduits-than it should The compound I be when it is intended to be applied as a coat 5o ing or covering to the wire or conductor either alone or in connection with awrapping orcovering of textile or fibrous material around the wire or conductor. On account of this fact we will herein specify enough of the various pro- :5 portions in which the bisulphide of carbon should be mixed with maltha, in order to make the compound of any desired consistency and quality. to illustrate the nature of the mixture and enable persons skilled in the art of covering electric wires and conductors and producing insulated conductors of the kind to make any grade desired of the compound which the bisulphide of carbon and maltha is capable of producing when mixed together, both when other substances are and when they are not mixed in the compound.

e make the compound very limpid by combining forty (40) parts of bisulphide of carbon and sixty ((30) parts of maltha. \Ve 70. also make the compound extremely heavvand stiff by mixing twenty-five (25) parts of bisulphide of carbon with twenty-five 25) parts of refined maltha and twentyiive (25) parts of refined asphalt. This mixture is as thick in consistency as could well be applied with a brush; but the form of composition which we prefer to use is produced by mixing together sixty-six (BIS) parts of refined maltha and thirty-four (34) parts of bisulphide of carbon, as we find those proportions give satisfactory results. This form of the mixture is recommended both for coating the wire and for treating the wrapping or fibrous covering. 13y us ing a larger proportion of maltha than any 8 herein mentioned the compound can be made U so nearly solid that it can be applied with a trowel or similar instrument. All the proportions herein given are intended to be as certained by weight. 0

In this compound the various wellknown properties of various substances are employed to produce their natural eftcets-as for instance, asphalt tends to make the com pound more tenacious and adds body to it. 5

Sulphur furnishes hardness and smoothness of surlace, but makes it more brittle when it Rosin tends to make the corn becomes dry.

pound flow more freely, and also adds hardness to it. Parafiine makes it more elastic and pliable. Therefore, when desirable to give the compound special characteristics for special purposes, a proportion may be added to the compound of any of these substances.

In proceeding to carry out our invention we form a covering upon the surface of the wire by applying the compound in a coat or in successive coats laid one upon the other directly to the wire and either by spreading it upon the wire by means of brushes or suitable implements in such manner as to produce an even coating of uniform thickness, or, as will be found the more practicable in treating a considerable length of wire, by running the wire through the compound. In this opera tion the apparatus can be of the character used for coating wire with other substances and materials; but where the wire is to be used in situations exposed to rubbing contact with surfaces and objects, and be subject to abrasion, and where a covering for cables and sub merged wires is required, we employ fibrous or textile material or a braided covering,whieh we thoroughly saturate and coat with the compound. In such cases we apply a layer or coating of the compound to the surface of the wire, and then wrap the woven or fibrous ma terial around the wire, either saturating it at the time of wrapping or immersing the wire in the compound after being wrapped with the covering. In applying the braided covering we follow the same course, either saturating the cord or yarn at the time of braiding or immersing the covered wire in thelcompound until thoroughly soaked. In laying electric wires underground or in troughs, trenches, or conduits, or in other ways where they are designed to lie permanently, we apply the compoundof a thicker character or consistency, so.

that the wire is embedded in and covered by the compound. That form of the compound before described-as of a thicker or stiff consistency would be serviceable, it being understood that such form of the compound is produced by changing the proportion of the maltha in the mixture.

In proceeding to produce any of the forms of our said compound we first eliminate any dirt and objectionable matter in the maltha, and in doing this we take care to avoid forming any particles of coke or solid matter into carbon particles by refining the maltha at low temperature. The coveringthus applied and produced will be found to be both an effective insulator and a complete protective against the elements. It will be found, also, to resist the action of acids and alkalies, excepting concentrated sulphuric acid.

The compound can be applied at normal temperature, and when applied will form a firm tenacious coating and surface. The covering is tough, strong, and pliable, it does not harden or crack, and does not impair the pliability of the wire. The process of coating the wires is carried on at normal temperature, neither the wire nor the mixture being heated. The coating is not affected by extremes of heat or cold, nor by moisture in any form, nor by acids, alkali, or saline influences with which it would come in contact in ordinary conditions of use. It is also non-conducting in a very high degree. The good effects named are due to the character of the mixture which forms the coating.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A wire or conductor for electrical purposes having its surface covered or coated by or enveloped in a compound formed by the mixture of bisulphide of carbon and maltha, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The combination, with a wire or conduct or for electrical purposes, of an insulating protecting covering formed of bisulphide of carbon and maltha in mixture, and either with or without a wrapping or covering of fiber, applied substantially as herein set forth.

TRUMAN J. PEARCE. [L. s.]

MELVIN XV. BEARDSLEY. [L s] Witnesses;

EDWARD E. OSBORN,

L. OSBORN.