Improvements in Apparatus for use in the Manufacture of Wire.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 25th May, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 24th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 30th Apr., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for use in the Manufacture of Wire.
We, THE ROVELLO SYNDICATE LIMITED and JOHN CHARLES HOWELL, both
of Mansion House Buildings, in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention :-
Our invention relates to apparatus for use in the manufacture of wire by the
process forming the subject matter of the application of Alphonse Edouard
Tavernier, dated January 29 1891 No. 1680.
According to the present invention instead of mounting the rollers described by
Tavernier horizonally, we mount them vertically in the vats and cut on each roller
a series of grooves covering its entire surface from bottom to top.
In each vat we
mount a double series of rollers, one series of which carries bevel-wheels or other
means for communicating to them a positive movement while the other series of
rollers at the other side of the vat serves to hold the copper wire in position at the
required tension, and the rollers do not require to be driven but are pulled round
by the wire itself.
In order to provide for the alteration in the tension of the wire due to its
increase of diameter, as the copper is deposited on the surface, this second set of
rollers is mounted in bearings which are carried in elastic cushions. One convenient
mode of effecting this is to arrange that the bottom and top journals of each roller
should revolve in bearings made of ebonite, boxwood or other suitable material,
each of these bearings being forced into an elastic ring of india-rubber. The size
and limit of elastic play of these rings must be such as to provide for and take up
the increase in diameter of the wire during the process.
In the depositing vat anodes are placed between the sets of rollers, the said
anodes being of the same material as the metal to be deposited on the surface of
the wire, or the anodes can be arranged in vats constructed on what is known as the
"Rovello
principle and as described in the Specification of Letters Patent
No. 12208 of 1888 or our Provisional Specification No. 8837, of even date herewith,
that is to say, by enclosing between the rollers of each pair a porous compartment
containing the anode and the special electrolyte required to give the depositing E. M.F.
peculiar to the Rovelly" process.
In cases where it is desirable that the wire when passing round the rollers should
not be bent through any considerable angle, we sometimes, instead of employing
single rollers, prefer a series of smaller rollers, the axes of which, when seen
plan at the end of the vat, being arranged round a portion of a circle.
In this casc
if the "Rovello system is employed the porous compartiments may take the form
of cylinders placed concentrically within the above mentioned circular arrangement
of rollers, and then it is sometimes convenient to provide special rollers for the
purpose of communicating the driving power to the wire.
In cases where it is desirable to obtain deposits of copper in the form of flat
strips we sometimes employ, in place of the wire mentioned in Tavernier's Patent,
a thin strip of copper which may be either wound on to the rollers mentioned by
Tavernier or on the vertical rollers we have just described. This strip should have
one surface protected, but the surface on which the deposit is to be made shouid be
cleaned and burnished so that, after the deposit has been made to the required
thickness, the said strip can be stripped off. Another method of forming a strip is
to form a lead matrix or mould which may be either cylindrical, in which case it
can be mounted on a vertical cylindrical axis, or formed with flattened sides, in
which case it can be mounted on two vertical axes. We prefer that this lead

page_text: cylinder should have formed on it, by casting or other convenient means, a spiral
groove, the width and depth of which correspond with the width and thickness of
the copper strip that it is desired to deposit in the groove. We protect the edges
of the spiral-thread by the use of insulating varnish, so that the metal is only
deposited in successive layers on the flat bottom of the groove and so that deposit
does not also commence on the edges. In this way we avoid irregular deposits and
cavities in the strip itself. Where we use a mould with semi-cylindrical ends and
flattened sides it may be convenient to mount the lead mould on two vertical
metallic cylinders which may be caused to revolve slowly so that the deposit is
made absolutely equal and regular throughout the length of the strip, thus avoiding
irregularities which may occur in the deposits at the ends. After the depositing
is completed the lead matrix may be stripped off by a mechanical means, or it can
be melted away so as to leave the copper strip in the form of a helix..
We prefer to complete the manufacture of the wire or strip deposited by the
process above mentioned by heating it and rolling it as described in Tavernier's
Specification. In the case of large wire or strip we sometimes find it convenient to
apply part of the heat by hot air, gas-flame or other convenient means and only
raise it to the final temperature by means of the passage of an electric current
described in Tavernier's Patent. In this way we effect considerable economy in
the quantity of electricity required for raising the copper to the welding
temperature.
Dated the 25th day of May 1891.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.
GUNT LITE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for use in the Manufacture of Wire.
We, THE ROVELLO SYNDICATE LIMITED, and JOHN CHARLES HOWELL,
both of Mansion House Buildings, in the City of London, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our invention relates to apparatus for use in the manufacture of wire by the
process forming the subject matter of Letters Patent granted to Alphonse Edouard
Tavernier No: 1680 dated 29th January 1891.
According to the present invention instead of mounting the rollers described by
Tavernier horizontally we mount them vertically in elastic bearings and in two
rows or series, one at each end of the tank or vat, the axes of the rollers at one end
being opposite those of the rollers at the other end and each pair of rollers receiving
a number of endless lengths of mother-wire or core. One of the series of rollers
carries bevel-wheels or other means for communicating a positive movement
thereto.
In cases where it is desirable that the wire when passing round the rollers should
not be bent through any considerable angle we sometimes, instead of employing
single rollers, prefer sets or series of smaller rollers, the axes of which are arranged
horizontally in arcs of circles.
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe how it can be
carried. into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of an apparatus for the manufacture of wire
constructed with vertical rollers according to our invention:
Figure 2 is a plan of the said apparatus:
Figure 3 is a vertical cross section of our apparatus in which sets of rollers are
arranged horizontally in ares of circles.
-
Similar letters in all the figures indicate similar or corresponding parts.
Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, a is the tank or vat, and b, bare the two series

page_text: of grooved rollers mounted on vertical axes c, c, one of which series carries bevel-
wheels d, d gearing with bevel-wheels e, e on a shaft carrying a pulley y driven
from any suitable motor; h, h are the lengths of mother-wire stretched around
the pairs of rollers b, b, one in each groove, as shewn, the two ends of each length
being then soldered so as to make it endless. Only one set of rollers, namely
those carrying the gear-wheels requires to be driven, as the other set of rollers
is revolved by the wire.
In order to provide for the alteration in the tension of the wire due to its increase
of diameter as the copper is deposited on the surface, the rollers, bare mounted in
elastic bearings which are advantageously constructed of short cylinders i, i
of chonite, box-wood or other suitable material receiving the gudgeons c, c of the
rollers and surrounded by cushions or rings j, j of india-rubber or other
suitable elastic material fitted in bars k, k, the upper bars being secured to the
The size and limit
top edges and the lower bars to the bottom of the tank a.
of elastic play of the rings j, j must be such as to provide for the increase in
diameter of the wire during the process.
In the tank a anodes are placed between the sets of rollers which anodes may
consist of plates of the same material as the metal to be deposited on the
surface of the wire as described in the Specification of Tavernier's Patent, in
which case the positive conductor of an electric circuit is connected with the
anodes while the negative conductor is in connection with the wires which form
the cathodes, and the tank is of course filled with an electrolytic liquid.
::
Or, as shewn in the drawings, the anodes 1, 1 can be arranged in vats or
porous cells m, m on what is known as the "Rovello principle and as described in
the Specification of Letters Patent No. 12208 dated 24th August 1888, or in our
Specification No. 8837 of even date herewith, that is to say, a porous cell m,
containing an anode land the special electrolyte required to give the
depositing E.M.F. peculiar to the "Rovello" process, is enclosed between each
pair of rollers b, b. The cathodes constituted by the wires b, are situated and
inove in the cells formed by the spaces between the cells m, in which cells the
other electrolyte is placed, the anodes and cathodes being of course in electrical
connection by means of suitable conducting strips touching some part or parts of
the wire or strip.
The rollers and their gudgeons are made of materials such as glass or porcelain
which will resist the action of the electrolyte.
"
In the arrangement shewn in Figure 3, which we sometimes employ when it is
desirable that the wire, when passing round the rollers, should not be bent to any
considerable angle, b, b, bare the series or sets of small rollers which we provide in
lieu of the single large rollers shown in Figures 1 and 2, such small rollers having
their axes arranged horizontally in a segment of a circle. In this case, if the
"Rovello system is employed, the porous cells may take the form of cylinders m
placed concentrically within the above mentioned circular arrangement of rollers.
The anodes are in this arrangement also formed cylindrical and are supported
upon bars o fixed in the tank or vat a. The wire also passes over rollers p, p
driven by means of a suitable motor actuating pulleys on their axes and motion is
thus given to the wire h.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performel, we declare that what we
claim is
1. An electrolytical apparatus for causing a metallic deposit upon wire or strip
consisting of a tank or casing fitted with elastic bearings, a series of vertical
grooved rollers arranged in the manner described at each end of the said tank or
casing and adapted, by suitable means, to revolve in the said elastic bearings for the
purpose of giving motion to endless wires or strips placed in the grooves of each
pair of the said rollers, and a number of porcus cells containing the anodes of the
apparatus and surrounded by the travelling wires or strips which constitute the

page_text: cathodes of the apparatus, substantially as set forth and illustrated in Figures 1
and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
2. An electrolytical apparatus for causing a metallic deposit upon wire or strip,
consisting of a tank or casing fitted with several series of rollers arranged in arcs of
circles over or around cylindrical porous cells containing the anodes of the apparatus,
the said rollers serving to receive endless wires or strips, constituting the cathodes
of the apparatus and which are caused to travel over the said rollers by also passing
over other rollers to which motion is transmitted by suitable mechanism, sub-
stantially as set forth and illustrated in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 22nd day of March 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.