Wire rope cleaning tool

A wire rope cleaning tool adapted to be used against a bumper or stop which comprises a U-shaped guide for the rope to be cleaned. The tool includes a plurality of pie-shaped segments bolted between two washer-shaped apertured plates with one scraping bit mounted between each pair of segments. The scraping bit consists of hardened plastic formed with an arcuate scraping surface to fit into the helical creases of the rope. The top of the scraping bit has a recess in which a circular tension spring is held. The circular tension spring urges the scraping bits into engagement with the rope. It is preferred to place the cleaning tool in position around the rope next to the bumper which is fixed to an appropriate support close to the sheave wheel near the hoist drum which guides the rope attached to a car or elevator going down the mine shaft. In this position the cleaning tool rotates and removes dirt and grease while the rope is pulled down the track of the car or of the elevator. Between the bumper stop and the tool a washer of an anti-friction material, such as Teflon or Kel-F is used to facilitate the rotation of the cleaning tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
British Pat. No. 858,832 published Jan. 18, 1961, in the name of David 
Reekie describes an apparatus for cleaning wire ropes comprising two 
ligament anchoring members 5 forming the end of cylinder 5a, axially 
extending opposite arms 6, a central opening 7, a sleeve 8 in which the 
flange of another anchoring member 10 is fitted with a central opening 11. 
This elongated construction provides aligned gaps 12 at the sides to 
permit the apparatus to be fitted to a rope. The ligaments 5 and 10 can be 
tightened to insure uniform tensioning. Scrapers 25 are chisel pointed to 
engage the helical grooves. The scrapers are formed of hard metal and are 
set at an angle of 45 degrees. Compression springs 28 between collars 29 
press the scraper into the rope. The chisel edge on the metal rods tends 
to cause the separate helical wires of the rope to be cut or separated 
unless special care is taken to adjust the tensioning so that the scrapers 
do not act harshly on the rope. The Brisith patent makes special mention 
that the scrapers should not act harshly on the rope which requires 
skillfull application. The apparatus of the British patent contemplates 
the combination with a pressure lubricator in the form of an outer casing 
containing lubricant under pressure supplied to the rope while it is 
passed through the cleaning apparatus and this is particularly described 
in the last portion of the specification. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,576,159 to G. Timmerman describes an elongated box device 
for greasing hoisting cable, the box provided with lubricant for oiling 
the cable in motion. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,584,704 to F. Swan describes a rope guide lubricator of 
dovetail shape with a lining of non-conducting material for lubricating a 
rope. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,509,906 to G. G. Sawtelle describes a wire line lubricator 
of elongated cylindrical construction with openings at top and bottom, 
wing bolts for closing the split cylinder and special packing means to 
prevent leakage of the lubricant. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,752 to Harry Berkovitz in FIG. 2 describes an automatic 
lubrication means for elevator cable which is used to maintain the 
elevator system in good operating condition. 
U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 29,493 to Desmond Crump discloses and claims a cable 
cleaning unit comprising a chamber and a plurality of outlets in the 
chamber for high pressure fluid jets directed onto the surface of the 
cable at an inclined angle to the longitudinal axis of the cable being 
cleaned. This apparatus uses hydraulic pressure under 4000-5000 p.s.i. to 
remove extraneous matter from the surface of the cable. The fluid is a 
lubricant. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,225 to Walter Shenk shows a special cylindrical collar 
fitted with a plurality of annular discs and outer rubber seals for 
applying lubricant to a cable. 
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 2,370,314 to R. B. Jenner in FIG. 3 shows a rope 
lubricator comprising spaced multi-part internal spirally grooved dies 
mounted for rotation within a housing through which the rope passes and a 
pair of semi-circular rings permit the apparatus to be mounted and removed 
from a rope. 
DIFFERENCES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION OVER THE PRIOR ART 
In the operation of deep coal mines and similar mines in the eastern part 
of the United States with which the inventor is very familiar having 
worked in the mines throughout his lifetime, the safety inspection of mine 
lift equipment and particularly ropes and cables has become very important 
to both the mine owner and to the mine worker. Under present rigid 
standards unannounced inspections are made by the Mine Safety Division of 
the U.S. Bureau of Mines and by other officials within the State and 
Federal Governments to assure that all precautions are taken for proper 
operation on mine lifts, barney cars and mine elevators. If corrosion 
takes place because of inadequate cleaning, and, if dried up lubricant is 
imbedded within the strands of the wire rope so as to cause separation and 
weakening, there is the possibility of failure which is guarded against by 
frequent inspection and by requiring replacement of any damaged cable. 
The use of hardened steel scraping equipment, such as described in British 
Pat. No. 858,832 runs into the danger mentioned in the patent of cutting 
the strands or deforming the strands so that a point of weakness is 
created by use of the cleaning tool itself. 
The use of expensive lubricant equipment has its disadvantages. Mainly, 
either the undesirable use of large amounts of lubricant for cleaning, the 
disposal of such lubricant after it is used and the inability to properly 
inspect and examine by eye the condition of each of the strands forming 
each of the ropes of the wire cable. 
Accordingly, there is need for a new approach which is inexpensive and 
which permits the removal of imbedded dirt between the strands of the rope 
by simple scraping without damaging, bending or cutting the separate 
strands forming the rope. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is the object of the invention to provide a new scraping means based 
upon a hard oil resistant low friction plastic, which is formed of an 
arcuate surface and spring tension to fit into the helical grooves between 
the adjacent ropes of a wire cable and to be removed by scraping imbedded 
dirt and grease without requiring the aid of a lubricant either a liquid 
oil or a grease. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a low cost scraping and 
cleaning means which is made of a synthetic plastic material hard enough 
to remove imbedded dirt, has anti-friction characteristics but will not 
damage the separate wire strands making up the rope and can be used 
independently of any liquid oil or paste grease to permit usual inspection 
of the cable and thereby assure its safe use for mine operations. Further 
and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following 
detailed description drawings and claims. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It has been discovered that efficient scraping bits can be cut and shaped 
from tough, hard, anti-friction synthetic thermoplastics, such as Teflon, 
tetrafluoroethylene polymer, Kel-F, trifluoroethylene polymer, 
polypropylene and polycarbonate, these thermoplastics having a Shore D 
hardness of about 50-60, being resistant to tearing and being hard enough 
to remove imbedded grime and dirt in the spaces between strands and ropes 
of the cable. In order to provide a low cost highly efficient dry scraping 
tool there is assembled a plurality of pie-shaped segments, preferably 6, 
with two holding washers and each segment is fitted with a hard plastic 
bit of the material identified possessing the essential anti-friction 
properties, the hardness sufficient to carry out scraping, the toughness 
and tear-resistance to prevent shredding by wire strands and the modulus 
characteristics high enough to prevent the bit from breaking when in use. 
The segment holding the bit, one bit being provided for each segment is 
fastened to the outer washers with countersunk screw means and between the 
two washers there is fitted a circular spring in the space provided in the 
bit for such spring whereby each of the bits is tensioned inwardly with 
the arcuate scraping surface fitted into the helical space between 
adjacent ropes of the cable. The washer-segment-bit assembly rotates as a 
single unit when the rope passes through the central openings of the 
washers between the bits. 
A preferred simple position for the wire rope cleaning tool is adjacent to 
the hoist drum of the cable or wire rope which is attached to the barney 
car on tracks or to an elevator going down the mine shaft. 
The tool is used with a bumper or stop which is separated by a washer of 
anti-friction material, such as Teflon on Kel-F to permit the tool with 
its scraper edges in the helical creases to rotate as the rope is pulled 
through the tool. In this manner wire cable exposed to very dirty and 
dusty conditions in the mines, and in particular in coal mines, can be 
effectively and efficiently cleaned, the cleaning verified by simple usual 
inspection and compliance with Mine Safety regulations, both Federal 
regulations and State regulations assured. This inspection by Federal and 
State officials is facilitated. Any break in the wire quickly noted and 
the cable replaced as required without unacceptable delay. Rough handling 
of the wire rope, which occurs every day, may be monitored more carefully 
and proper maintenance and safety assured. 
It is important to distinguish between the scraping tool of the invention 
and a Teflon flexible spatula or flexible rubber doctor blade or a rubber 
blade. The Teflon or rubber blade has no special arcuate shape coming to a 
hard edge which wedges into the helical space between ropes, and in 
particular, does not have one such edge with an opposing same stiff edge 
on the other side of the rope as in the invention. The scraping function 
is surprisingly efficient without any risk of damage to the wire strands.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The wire rope cleaning tool of the invention 10 as shown best in the FIGS. 
3-8 of the drawing has a body portion comprising two washers, which in the 
specific embodiment illustrated are each 1/2 inch in thickness, and of low 
carbon steel which are illustrated as reference numeral 17 for the right 
outside washer and reference numeral 18 for the left outside washer. 
Segments 24, each being pie-shaped are held between the right washer 17 and 
the left washer 18, as shown in FIG. 5, by means of fastening means 28 in 
the form of countersunk screws which secure each segment to the tapped 
bore in the washer, each threaded bore identified by reference numeral 22. 
Each segment 24, there being 6 in all, holds an anti-friction high modulus, 
thermoplastic bit 14 which scrapes, in dry fashion, away the dirt, grime 
and old lubricant in the helical spaces. The edge 32 of the bit 14 is 
stiff and hard and the arcuate side of the edge as seen in FIG. 5 of the 
drawing are curved to closely fit a single rope of the cable, there being 
an opposing edge 32 of an opposite bit 14 at the opposite side of the 
cable, just 180.degree. away. 
The bits vary in size in accordance with the diameter and multiple rope 
structure of the wire cable. 
The Metals Handbook, Ninth Edition, Volume 1, entitled "Properties and 
Selection of Iron and Steel" which is published by the American Society 
for Metals, at Metals Park, Ohio 44073, describes the commercially 
available cables as being composed of wires having a tensile strength 
ranging from 590 to about 1930 MPa which corresponds to 85-200 Ksi. These 
cables are formed in diameters which may be as small as 1/16" and go up to 
7" in size. 
A circular spring 26 rests in the space between washers 17 and 18 and 
inside of each channel 34 at the top of the bits so that the one spring 
presses all of the bits 14 against the cable. To facilitate assembly and 
disassembly of the tool and bit assembly in fastened condition, the washer 
assembly is cut on a diameter at a location away from the countersunk 
screw fastening means 20,22 to thereby split the assembly into two 
semicircular disc assemblies, after removal of the spring, and staggered 
retaining bolts are provided to make each semicircular assembly a unit 
half assembly thus facilitating mounting the tool assembly or dismantling 
the assembly by insertion or removal of these staggered through bolts. 
Turning now to the assembly of the pie-shaped segments 24 as illustrated in 
the completely assembled condition in FIG. 4 with the bits in scraping 
condition between the wire ropes, it should be noted that the scraping 
edge of the bits 14 designated as 32 in FIG. 7 is cut with a milling 
machine router in such fashion as to provide a slight upward tilt at edge 
32 of the type which is had in a screw thread so there will be exerted by 
the tip 32 a positive scraping pressure under the force of the circular 
tension spring 26. Immediately opposite the bit which is at the nine 
o'clock position in FIG. 4 there is the corresponding bit 14 at the three 
o'clock position and the horizontal access passing through both of these 
bits also passes through both tips which are diametrically opposed to each 
other on opposite sides of the cable. In the configuration shown in FIG. 4 
with clamp 30 closed, diametric opposites of the bits are also shown in 
the pair of bits at one o'clock and seven o'clock positions and also in 
the pair of bits at the eleven o'clock and the five o'clock positions. 
It is within the contemplation of the invention to use three bits instead 
of six bits in which case the bits would not be diametrically opposed. 
However, if four bits were used then the bits would be diametrically 
opposed. In that configuration, the four bits would occupy the three 
o'clock and nine o'clock positions for one pair of opposed bits and the 
six o'clock and twelve o'clock positions for the other pair of opposed 
bits. In the case where a fewer number of bits than is shown in FIG. 4, 
namely, where six bits are shown, then it is within the contemplation of 
the invention to run the cable through twice and reposition the tool 
between successive scrapings so that all of the interhelical spaces are 
scraped by the arcuate surfaces 16 and the tip 32. 
In the assembly of the preferred embodiment the pie-shaped segments 24 are 
attached to the right and left washers through the threaded bores and with 
bolt means 28 as seen in FIG. 6. These segmented spacers provide the 
framework between which the six bits 14 are placed with the channel 34 
open at the circular periphery of the washer plate so that the channel 34 
serves as the recess for the circular spring 26. The circular spring 26 is 
widened for assembly by opening the clamp 30, slipping it about each of 
the six bits 14 through each channel 34 therein and thereafter closing the 
clamp 30 to bring the circular spring in tension condition against eh bit 
thereby forcing the edge 32 into the inter-helical space of the cable. 
From the foregoing it is readily seen that the assembly of the tool 
requires the simple steps of setting up the segments and bolting them to 
the washer plates, inserting the individual bits in the six spaces 
produced thereby and threading the circular spring through the channels 34 
in each bit to define the circular tensioning means for the scraping 
position of the tool, the simple clamp 30 serving to expand the spring for 
dismantling the tool and to tension the spring to bring it into proper 
scraping relation after the tool is applied. 
In the preferred installation of the cleaning tool as shown in FIGS. 1 and 
2 a bumper stop means 12 is used as a stationary anchor against which the 
tool works, next to sheave 52. 
Wire ropes such as used on coal mine slope and shaft hoist must be 
lubricated often to prevent rust, corrosion and wear. 
After the ropes have been used and lubricated for a period of time they 
tend to get a buildup of dried grease and dirt. 
Men are transported on the hoist and the ropes must be inspected daily by 
the operator and periodically by Mine Safety Inspectors. The grease and 
dirt built up on the rope make a good inspection very difficult or 
impossible. 
The rope cleaner which I have manufactured removes all the old grease and 
dirt from the rope, permitting a much better examination to be made. 
After the rope has been properly cleaned and inspected it is necessary to 
apply new lubricant; this is done by one of the many methods now in use. 
The cleaned rope lets the new lubricant penetrate into the center of the 
rope therefore thoroughly lubricating the rope. The properly cleaned and 
lubricated rope now protects it from rust and corrosion and allows a 
proper inspection to be made daily. The process must be repeated again 
when rope becomes dirty and coated with dry grease. 
The cleaning tool which I have designed is different from other cleaners in 
the use of Teflon, polypropylene, or other suitable hard plastics for 
cleaning pins to remove the grease and dirt. 
The Teflon, polypropylene or polycarbonate plastic bit cleans more 
thoroughly and will not damage the rope. The Mine Safety Hazard 
Administration Inspectors do not like the use of steel or other hard 
metals used on wire ropes where men are being transported. 
The wire cleaner is also different and unique by using a Teflon thrust 
washer 40 as a bearing with the guide 12. This permits the tool to be 
light in weight, and can be used in almost any location along the rope. 
However, the preferred location is next to the drum 50 as shown in FIG. 1 
so that the rope can be scraped next to sheave wheel 52 before the point 
of attachment to the Barney car 60 which goes down the track and is held 
by the rope.