AN IMPROVED CLIP OR CLUTCH FOR RETAINING AND JOINING THE ENDS OF " ROPES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Franz Wilhelm Theodor Carl Cordua, of Well Court,
Queen's Street, Cheapside, in the City of London, for an invention of "AN
IMPROVED CLIP OR CLUTCH FOR RETAINING AND JOINING THE ENDS OF
"
ROPES A communication from abroad by Carl Maria Ernest Kortum, of
Berlin, in the Empire of Germany
(vora vy reason of the Iatentee aveng neglected to your spo
pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Franz Wilhelm Theodor
Carl Cordua at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th March
1882.
FRANZ WILHELM THEODOR CARL CORDUA, of Well Court, Queens' Street,
CLIP
"AN IMPROVED
Cheapside, in the City of London,
OR CLUTCH FOR
RETAINING AND JOINING THE ENDS OF ROPES," a communication from abroad
by Carl Maria Ernest Kortum, of Berlin, in the Empire of Germany,
This invention consists in improvements in the construction of clips or clutches
for holding and retaining or joining the ends of ropes made of fibrous material
such as hemp, or of metal, gut, leather or other similar materials, and consisting of
three or more strands whether such ropes be cable laid or round laid. By the
employment of the said improved clip or clutch the ropes are held more firmly and
securely whilst at the same time they are capable of resisting a greater strain than
when the ordinary means and apparatus are employed for securing or connecting
the ends thereof.
For ordinary purposes the clip or clutch is constructed and arranged as follows.
Within a hollow metal case, of a wedge shaped form, that is to say, with two sides
parallel, or nearly so, whilst the two ends are inclined and approach each other
towards one end, are placed two wedge shaped blocks the inclined back surfaces of
which bear against the interior of the ends of the said case whilst the front or inner
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71

page_text: surfaces are provided with teeth or similar projections which decrease in size
towards the smaller ends upon which ends any strain first has effect, so that the
action on them may be less than if all the teeth were constructed of the same size.
The lower end of the case has an aperture therein for the passage of the rope and,
by preference, around such aperture is formed a ridge or ledge for the reception of
the smaller ends of the said wedge shaped blocks, and the larger end of the case
which is formed open, is provided with a loop, hook or other similar contrivance
for the purpose of securing the apparatus in any desired position. When it is
required, to secure the end of a rope it is first passed through the small end of the
case and then between the toothed surfaces of the wedge shaped blocks and beyond
the larger end of the case, so that on the rope being strained it seeks to escape back
through the case, but drawing the said blocks further within the saine and
consequently closer together, it becomes firmly gripped by the teeth. In some
cases in order to assist in preventing the rope from moving back a cotter or other
analogous contrivance is placed through the loop, or equivalent part of the case, and
the projecting end of the rope. If desired, after the rope has been passed through,
the wedge shaped blocks can be hammered into their lowest position within the
case. In connecting the ends of two ropes they are both placed between the toothed
surfaces of the wedge shaped blocks, either in the same direction or in opposite
directions.
For ropes generally the wedge shaped blocks are made of malleable cast iron,
but when intended for wire ropes they are constructed of steel and the teeth are
made sharp.
In some instances the cross section of the case is made circular and three or more
wedges constructed as above described, may be employed.
Instead of employing wedge shaped pieces made of steel for wire ropes as
herein before described it will in many cases be found advantageous to employ
malleable cast iron wedge shaped pieces constructed as follows. The said wedge
shaped pieces are formed in two parts the back of the inner or toothed part being
provided with projections, more or less rounded, which fit into corresponding
depressions formed on the inner face of the outer part. In order to attach the end
of a wire rope, the same is untwisted and the wires annealed, and having been
placed in the proper position, the said wires are bent round those ends of, the inner
or toothed parts of the wedge shaped pieces which come into position at the larger
end of the case, and the said wires having been bent round the backs of such parts
of the wedge shaped pieces the two parts of the latter are placed together thus
enclosing the wires between the projections and depressions of the two parts of the
respective wedge shaped pieces, the ends of the wires are then twisted round the
wire rope of which they form the end. It will be readily seen that by the last
described modification the loosening of the ropes is entirely prevented, for besides
the pressure exerted on the end of the rope by the teeth of the wedge shaped pieces,
the unloosened wires, arranged as above described, are also pressed with the same
force between the irregular surfaces of the two parts of each wedge shaped piece,
whilst at the same time the twisting of the ends of the said wires round the ropes
constitutes a further security. The cases. for the said compound wedge shaped
blocks may be of an oblong, circular or similar cross section.