improvements in the Construction of Chains.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
improvements in the Construction of Chains.
I, WILLIAM COOKE, of 1A, Thomas Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Consulting Engineer, and Naval Architect, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
-
In chains as constructed at present, when subjected to tension, the sides of
the links tend to collapse thus putting unequal strain on the inner and outer
portions of the sides and there is great liability to rupture of the metal on the
inner portion first this necessitates making the chains much heavier than is
necessary for the desired strength.
The object of my invention is to construct chains so that there shall be much
greater resistance to collapse of the links thereby preventing rupture on the inner
side of the links and ensuring that a greater portion of the links shall be in
tension. For this purpose I so construct the links of the chain and dispose the
metal that the depth of metal in the planes of the links is much greater than the
depth perpendicular to the planes. The metal may be disposed with the greater
portion near the inner part of the link the outer portion being in the form of a
web, or connected by a web, to the inner part so that the neutral axis is nearer
to the outside of the link. In some cases particularly for small chains the metal
may be arranged with surfaces nearly parallel to the planes of the links. The
depth of the metal, or sectional area of the inner portion of the link, may vary
being greatest at the point where the tendency to rupture is greatest. Struts
or supports may also be used between the sides of the links to prevent collapse.
..
Π
£ Navem 1800
Improvements in the Construction of Chains.
I, WILLIAM COOKE, of 1A, Thomas Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Consulting Engineer and Naval Architect, 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, reference being had
to the accompanying drawings:-
-
In chains as constructed at present, when subjected to tension, the sides of the
links tend to collapse thus putting unequal strain on the inner and outer

page_text: portions of the sides and there is great liability to rupture of the metal on the
inner portion first: this necessitates making the chains much heavier than is
necessary for the desired strength.
The object of my invention is to construct chains so that there shall be much
greater resistance to collapse of the links thereby preventing rupture on the inner
side of the links and ensuring that a greater portion of the links shall be in
tension.
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a plan of a portion of a chain con-
structed in accordance with my 'invention. Fig. 2 is a cross section on the
line A A on Fig. 1.
For the purposes of my invention I construct the links a of the chain and so
dispose the metal that the depth of metal from 6 to c in the planes of the links
is much greater than the depth from dto e perpendicularly to the planes The
metal may be disposed with the greater portion at f near the inner part of the
link, the outer portion g being in the form of a web so that the neutral axis h
is nearer to the outside of the link than in ordinary chains thus offering greater
resistance to the bending of the links in the direction of their planes and con-
sequently lessening the initial strain on the inner surface of the link at the
points and obviating the tendency to rupture at those points.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a link under a modification of my invention. In
this view the inner portion f of the metal is connected to the outer portion g by
a web g¹.
Fig. 4 is a sectional view of another modification of a link. In this case the
inner portion f gradually diminishes in thickness towards the outer portion
in a lengthened egg-shaped section. In some cases particularly for small chains
the metal may be arranged with surfaces nearly parallel to the planes of the
links and Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a link constructed in this manner under
my invention. Here the inner portion f and the outer portion 9 are all approxi-
mately the same depth perpendicularly to the plane of the link. This is a
convenient form of construction for certain kinds of chains but for the same
weight of metal is not quite so strong as the modifications before described. The
depth of the metal or the sectional area of the inner portion of the link may be
varied, being greatest at the point where the tendency to rupture is greatest.
Fig. 6 a plan of a link showing the depth of the metal in the plane of the link
greater at the points than at the remaining portions of the link so that the
resistance to collapse inwardly is greater at such points i.
Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of a link showing the sectional area of the immer
portion of the link greater at the points i than at other portions of the link.
The usual struts or supports may also be used between the sides of the links
as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 if desired.
I do not confine myself to the modifications above described as it will be obvious
the others might be devised without departing from the nature of the invention,
the essential feature of which is to prevent the collapsing of the links at the
points when a strain is put upon the chain.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
First. The construction of the links of chains with webs or the. like extending
cutwardly in the planes of the links substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Second. The construction of the links of chains with a deeper or greater section
of metal at the points i substantially as described under Figs. 6 and 7 for the
purpose set forth.
Third. The construction of the links of chains with the metal disposed trans-
versely in the planes of the links in inner and outer portions connected by a web
or the like substantially as and for the purpose set fourth.
Fourth. The construction of the links of chains with the metal in the planes

page_text: of the links of a depth or thickness greater than the depth perpendicular to the
planes of the links substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Fifth. Chains having links constructed and with the metal disposed substan-
tially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this Twentieth day of August 1900
W. B. JOHNSON,
Agent, 4, Clayton Square Liverpool.