Improvements in Appliances for use in Training Hops and other Climbing Plants.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 29th July, 1893-Accepted, 2nd Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Appliances for use in Training Hops and other
Climbing Plants.
I EDWIN WOODS of The Longford Wire Works Warrington in the County of
Lancaster, Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The invention relates to appliances in which poles or standards erected at
suitable distances apart carry crossed wires sufficiently high above the ground to
allow of hop and other climbing plants being trained up strings or the like leading
from the ground to the said wires.
The main objects are to enable fewer poles or standards to be used whilst ensuring
increased rigidity; to facilitate erection and construction; and to enable wood
posts to be used with advantage.
Appliances under my invention consist essentially of poles or standards at
sufficient distances apart having clips near the upper ends to which straining and
strained wires are attached. The straining wires are made at their free ends with
hooks or eyes which engage with perforations or apertures in metal stems which
stems terminate in hooks or eyes secured to blocks buried in the earth; or the said
stems may be made with nuts or threads into which are screwed bolts attached by
swivels to the free ends of the straining wire.
The wires to be strained extend horizontally from pole to pole and are held
rigid by means of trussing wires which are attached to the poles or standards
above and below the horizontal wires and to the said horizontal wires.
The strings or the like which extend from the ground to the horizontal strained
wires are fitted with hooks which are held between jaws carried by a rod or handle
and provided with an operating lever and connection sufficiently long to enable the
said strings or the like to be hooked to the horizontal wires and the hook closed
whilst the operator stands on the ground.
Dated the 28th day of December 1892
Per pro J. T. KING,
'W. B. Johnson,
Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Appliances for use in Training Hops and other
Climbing Plants.
I EDWIN WOODS of The Longford Wire Works, Warrington in the County of
Lancaster, Manufacturer, 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:-
The invention relates to appliances in which poles or standards erected at
suitable distances apart carry crossed wires sufficiently high above the ground to
allow of hop and other climbing plants being trained up strings or the like leading
from the ground to the said wires. The main objects are to enable fewer poles or
standards to be used, whilst ensuring increased rigidity; to facilitate erection and
construction; and to enable wood posts to be used with advantage.
Appliances under my invention consist essentially of poles or standards at
sufficient distances apart having clips near the upper ends to which straining and
strained wires are attached. The straining wires are made at their free ends, with
Price 8d.1

page_text: hooks or eyes which engage with perforations or apertures or other suitable devices
in metal stems which stems terminate in hooks or eyes secured to blocks buried in
the earth; or the said stems may be made with nuts or threads into which are
screwed bolts attached by swivels to the free ends of the straining wires.
The wires to be strained extend horizontally from pole to pole, and are held rigid
by means of trussing-wires which are attached to the poles or standards above and
below the horizontal wires and to the said horizontal wires.
The strings or the like which extend from the ground to the horizontal strained
wires are fitted thereto with hooks, which hooks are held between jaws carried by
a rod or handle provided with an operating lever and connection sufficiently long
to enable the said strings or the like to be hooked to the horizontal wires and the
hook closed on the wires whilst the operator stands on the ground.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
The
Figs. 1. 2. and 3 are elevations of training appliances under my invention.
a represent poles or standards with their lower ends a sufficient distance in the
ground. These poles or standards may be of wood or metal, but under my invention
prefer to make them of wood. When wood is used I affix metal clips & near to
upper ends of the said poles or standards, and attach the strained wires c and
straining wires d thereto. Referring to Fig. 1, the straining wires d are made at
their free ends with hooks e which take into perforations f in metal stems o.
stems which are preferably made from tubes so as to be strong and light, are
bent around at their ends so as to form eyes through which pass blocks of wood or
other suitable material which said blocks are buried in the earth. Instead of
hooking the wires through the perforations, small bolts or studs may be passed
through the said perforations with the ends of the wires hooked to oi twisted round
such bolts. The stems g may be simply bent so as to form hooks instead of eyes
as shown.
In Fig. 2 the straining wires are threaded through a swivel piece i
which carries a screw bolt j. The bolt takes into threads in the tubular stem g.
In Fig. 3 the straining wires form loops which are passed into open slots f. The
straining of the wires c is readily effected by hooking the ends of the wires d in
one or other of the holes f by turning the bolts ; or by passing the loops of the
said wires d into a suitable slot f. Fig. 4 is a plan, and Fig. 5 an elevation of
the form of clip connection I prefer to use. The said clip is made in two
parts b, b, through which and the standard a, a bolt 62 is passed. A longitudinal
or cross wire is attached to the said bolt and such wire is tightened by a nut b³.
The straining wire d is twisted around the two halves of the clip.
To enable the poles or standards a to be at considerable distances apart and yet
allow of the wires c being sufficiently rigid to carry cross wires k without undue
sagging or straining of the said wires c, I make use of trussing wires which in
Fig. 1 are attached to the poles or standards a¹ above the wires c, and also to the
said wires c, at or about midway between the poles as shown in Fig. 1. Under a
modification shown in Fig. 2, two sets of trussing wires 1, 1, passing alternately
above and below the wires c are used, here the wires c are gripped by the wires
at the points m and also at the centre by the cross bar n attached to the said
wires 1, 11. In Fig. 3 the trussing wire passes alternately above and below the
poles or standards a' and is attached to the wires c midway between said poles
or standards. It will be observed that the trussing wires may be disposed in many
ways to obtain the desired sustaining effect. represents the cross wires which rest
on and are carried by the wires c there being a number of parallel wires cat
suitable distances apart. The cross wires are attached at their ends to clips on
poles similar to those shown for the wires c.
p represents the strings up which the plants climb, and they are held at the
bottom by hooks or pegs q driven into the ground in the usual or any suitable way
such as by hooking to or passing round a wire held down by pegs, and are attached
above by hooks r to the cross wires c.

page_text: In Fig. 1 the strings pare continuous and in Figs. 2 and 3 are shown detached.
In order to enable hooks to be readily affixed to wires I have devised the
apparatus shown in elevation in Fig. 6.
Figs. 7 and 8 are elevations at right angles to each other illustrative of the
construction of the jaws of the apparatus so as to render it efficient. s is a rod
or handle fitted or formed at its upper end with a jaw t. u is a second jaw
pivotted to the said jaw t at v. to is a lever pivotted to the handles at . y is
a connecting rod or wire between the said lever w and pivotted jaw u. The said
jaw u is advantageously made double ended so that it may be reversed when one
end becomes worn, the overhanging end also serves as a weight to automatically
close the jaw. z, are perforations by which the rod or wire y may be attached to
the jaw
in different positions so as to vary the leverage if necessary.
The jaws t
and u are made with curved channels t¹ and u' into which the curved open end of
the hook r fits and is held until it is in position on the wire after which the said end
is closed around the wire and secured by the pressure of the jaws.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
First. In appliances for use in training climbing plants, the combination of the
poles or standards with clips b. strained wires c, straining wires d, stems 9, and
anchoring blocks h substantially as set forth.
Second. The combination of poles or standards a with strained wires c and
trussing wires for the purpose set forth.
Third. The combination of standards, straining wires, strained wires, anchors,
and trussing wires substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.
Fourth. Appliances for affixing hooks to wires consisting of the rod or handle s,
channelled jaws t and u and operating lever and connections w substantially as
set forth.
Dated this 28th day of July 1893
Per pro J. T. KING,
J. Johnson,
Agent.