Improvements in the Manufacture of Wire Belts and Hose.
Year: 1889

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Wire Belts and Hose.
We, JAMES EZEKIEL EMERSON and THOMAS MIDGLEY, both of Beaver Falls, in
the County of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America,
Manufacturers, 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 the manufacture of Wire Belts and Hose, and has for its
object an improvement in the method of stretching, or elongating and flattening the
helices of the sheet or body of the belt or hose.
In the nianufacture of wire belts and hose one of the greatest difficulties encountered
has been to stretch, flatten and seat the helices or links evenly and regularly
throughout the length of the sheet or body of wire from which the belt or hose is
made, and various means have been resorted to for the purpose. By practical-tests
we have demonstrated that this result may be obtained without the use or application
of rolls or other mechanical means for stretching and flattening the helices or links...
by pressure.
Referring to the accompanying Drawings:
Figure 1, represents a plan of a section of a sheet of wire composed of intertwined
sections of coiled wire, the upper end showing the sections in their original condition
after being intertwined, and the lower end showing the sections and the condition of
their helices after the sheet has been stretched.
Figure 2, is a similar view of a section of a wire belt after the sheet has been
flattened and folded to form a belt of two thicknesses, and an edge view of the same
on an enlarged scale.

page_text: Figure 3, represents a plan view of a section of a wire belt of two thicknesses partly
covered with rubber, and a cross-section thereof.
Figure 4, represents a plan view of a section of a sheet of wire :
Figure 5, is a side elevation of a tube formed from a sheet of coiled wire, and
Figure 6, is a side elevation of the tube after it has been stretched.
A, indicates helical coils of wire which are twined together by one coil being
screwed into another until a sheet of any desired length and width has been
formed.
After the sheet has been formed it is heated to about a cherry red heat by passing
it through a furnace of suitable construction, such as are used for heating and
annealing purposes, or other heating apparatus, and the helices stretched and flattened
into links, b, as shown.. In stretching and flattening the helices, the sheet or body
is drawn through the furnace under tension, which may be effected by passing it
between rubber or other rolls at the end of the furnace at which the sheet enters,
and winding the stretched sheet upon a suitable reel at the opposite end of the
furnace the drawing or stretching force being applied to the reel by any suitable
power.
By this operation the links, b, are made to seat one in the adjacent end of the
adjoining links throughout the entire length and breadth of the sheet to prevent
stretching of the completed belt when in use. In stretching and flattening the helices,
the width of the sheet is reduced about one-third, while the length is increased to
about double its original length.
The sheet after having been stretched may now be coated with rubber, or its
equivalent, and finished into belting, or it may be folded transversely thoroughout
its length bringing the edges, B, B, or the ends of the transverse section of wire
together at or near the center of one side of the folded sheet or belt, and the edges
secured by a strand of wire, a, or by a strip of rubber, a', the folded sheet is then
passed between rolls to set the folds at the edges, C, of the belt and the whole
covered with rubber, D, or its equivalent. After the body has been covered with
canvas and rubber, or rubber alone, it is passed between rolls heated to about 170°
or 172° F. to embed the material in the interstices of the body.
In the manufacture of hose the sheet, E, Figure 4, which is also composed of
intertwined sections, A, of coiled wire, is wound spirally around a mandrel, and the
adjacent edges secured together by screwing a separate section, c, of coiled wire into
the helices on the edges of the sheet, and a tube, F, formed as shown in Figure 5,
in which the helices, d, run diagonally around the tube, and resist lateral and
longitudinal strain.
The tube, F, is then passed through a furnace and treated in the same manner as
the sheet hereinbefore described, and the helices, d, stretched and flattened into links, e,
by longitudinal tension only. In stretching the tube, F, its length increases about
two and a half times, and its diameter is reduced to about one-third. The tube may
be stretched by any suitable means, such as grasping the front end which has passed
through the furnace with a clamp, or a pair of suitably constructed tongs and attaching
them to a tension producing device by which sufficient force can be exerted to stretch
the helices to their full extent.
The tube, G, may then be passed between rolls and flattened to form belting
of two thicknesses and be covered with rubber as herein before described, or it may
be tempered and lined, or lined and covered with a fluid repellant material to form
hose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is―
:
First In the manufacture of wire belts or hose the method herein set forth,
which consists in forming a sheet or body by intertwining sections of coiled wire,
then heating the sheet or body and elongating, flattening and seating the helices by
subjecting said sheet or body to longitudinal tension only, while heated.

page_text: Second: In the manufacture of wire belts or hose, the method herein described,
which consists in forming a sheet or body by intertwining sections of coiled wire,
then wrapping the sheet spirally around a mandrel and securing the adjacent edges,
then heating the tube so formed and elongating, flattening and seating the helices by
subjecting the tube to longitudinal tension, while heated.