IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE ROPE AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake of the firm of Haseltine Lake
& C° Patent Agents Southampton Buildings London; for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE ROPE AND IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS THEREFOR "
Communicated to him from abroad by Charles
Carroll Colby of Stanstead, Quebec, Canada
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry Harris Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th April 1883.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & C° Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
" Communicated to
WIRE ROPE AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS THEREFOR
me from abroad by Charles Carroll Colby of Stanstead, Quebec, Canada.
This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of wire rope and to
machinery or apparatus therefor.
The object of the said invention is to produce a wire rope, or cable, in which the
strain applied thereto will be borne by the wires composing the same and, to
obtain a cheaper and superior working rope.
According to the said invention, I first place single wires around cores to form
cores for the strands, I then place single wires, around the said strand cores to
form strands and lastly I lay the strands around a main or rope core to form the
rope, all in one continuous operation
"
The said invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is a plan of a machine for manufacturing the improved rope some of
the parts being broken away, and others removed to more clearly illustrate the
principal working portion of the same.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of one of the general heads, or groups, of
mechanism with a number of the spool-carriers removed and the arm broken
away.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal, vertical section thereof.
Figure 4 is on and view

page_text: Figure 5 is a similar view showing the end opposite to that shown in Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a front elevation partly in section, of a spool carrier.
Figure 7 is a sectional view drawn to an enlarged scale of the strand laying-head
mechanism.
Figure 8 is an elevation of the slotted sector
Figure 9 is a transverse section of a hoisting rope.
Figure 10 is a detail elevation of part of the frame showing the rope drawing-off
mechanism.
Figure 11 is a sectional plan view of part of the rope drawing-off mechanism.
Figure 12 is also a sectional plan view of part of the rope drawing-off mechanism
in which the gear wheels actuating the drawing rolls and drawing off wheel are
shown and
Figure 13 is a front elevation of the drawing rolls and the mechanism connected
therewith.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of
the drawings.
A indicates a frame adapted to support the operating mechanism, and B the
central hollow shaft supported at its rear end in bearings a a¹, secured to the
frame A, and at its forward end is the rope laying-head C which is held in
bearings a² to the said frame A. This rope laying-head C may be of any known
form or construction suitable for the purpose.
Two hubs D, G are secured to the main shaft B at a suitable distance apart and
are respectively provided with six radiating arms d g whose extremities support six
general heads, or groups, of mechanism, which are designed to manufacture the
strand-cores and strands, and, since the said heads are alike in construction and
operation. I confine myself to a specific description of one of them, as illustrated
in Figures 2 and 3. in which d indicates one of the arms of the hub D partly
broken away and having the sleeve d¹ secured to its end the said sleeve receiving
and supporting the hollow shaft e Secured with a set screw e' to the hollow
shaft e in front of the sleeve d' is the head E provided with a number of arms e³
projecting from its rim, the said arms being designed to receive the spool-carriers
hereinafter described.
Secured to the head E opposite each other, are two arms F, F', which project
forward and inward, and, at the extremity of the shorter arm F¹ form an annular
bearing (shown in Figure 1) for the strand-core laying head. The other arm F
extends forward of the strand core laying head and terminates in the hub f which
has a rim f¹ connected to the said hub by means of the spokes f" (Figure 2) the
said arm F the hub f the rim f¹ and the spokes f being formed in the present
instance, in one piece. The rim f¹ has a bearing in the end of the arm gas
shown.
The base H of the strand laying-heads is screwed into the hub.f and is curved
and tapered, as shown, to receive the sleeve h which has its inner surface curved in
such a manner as to fit the curved surface of the base, as more fully indicated in
Figure 7. The sleeve his held on the base H by means of the tube 1 which
passes through the base H and receives at its forward end, the spider J which, in
turn, bears against the sleeve h.
The tube I receives a thumb nut i, at its rear end, which presses against a coiled
spring encircling the said tube between the said thumb nut and the end of the
base H, as clearly shown in Figure 7.
A set screw h passes partly through the base H and into a slot in the tube I
to prevent a rotation of the said tube, while permitting longitudinal motion
thereof.
By means of the thumb-nut i and coiled spring ¹, the sleeve h can be properly
adjusted on its base, yet not so rigidly but that there will be sufficient play, or
yielding, of the parts to permit wire having irregular surfaces to pass between the
sleeve and its base to prevent breakage of wires
As shown in Figure 2, the spider J has a number of slots ; in its periphery to

page_text: contain, each, an individual wire, whereby entanglement of the wires with one
another is prevented and their proper laying into the strand facilitated.
I provide the concave surface in the base H and the contiguous convex surface
in the sleeve h to cause the said base and sleeve and the spider J to act as a
wire straightener. It will be seen by referring to Figure 7 which shows the
sleeve h removed from close contact with the base H to permit the passage of a
wire between them, that the said wire bears against the parts at three points,
namely against the base H at its largest diameter, against the central part of the
curved surface of the sleeve h, and against the spider J in one of its slots. Further
it will be observed that the portion of the curved surface of sleeve h against which
the wire bears is at a point below a line drawn from the bearing points of the base
and spider. This construction is provided so that upon drawing the wire through
the parts it will be bent to a curve which shall approximate the curve otherwise
given to a wire when laid into a strand. By this operation of parts all bends or
curves that may be in the wire as it leaves a spool will be removed and the
curvature or bend given to it by the described mechanism will only remain.
Further, by reason of this operation of parts, and the fact that the said parts are
adjustable, a complete and thorough tension mechanism is provided, which is
capable of imparting an unvarying tension on all the individual wires passing
between the said parts, the said tensile strain being applied near the point of lay.
By this construction the parts act in a three-fold capacity, thus dispensing with
independent tension and straightening mechanism and greatly simplifying the
construction of the machine.
k indicates a hollow shaft partly enclosed by the shaft e but extending in either
direction beyond it, and having the disc K secured to it, in front of the head E
with a set screw k¹
:
This disc is provided with a number of arms projecting from its face, to
economize space, instead of from its periphery as in the case of the head E the
said arms being designed to bear spool-carriers containing wire bearing spools.
Formed in one piece with the hub of the disc K and extending forward
therefrom in a curved manner, as shown, is an arm L which ends in the hub
and rim formed in one piece therewith, the said parts supporting the strand-
core laying-head composed of the curved base M the sleeve m the spider N the
alotted tube m¹ the set screw m³, the thumb nut n and the coiled spring n' all
of which are constructed in manner similar to the parts composing the strand
laying head, with the single exception that the spider N has a less number of slots
than the spider J, because of the less number of wires used in the construction
of the strand-core. The strand core laying head has all the capabilities incident
to the strand laying head, as hereinbefore described.
Referring to the spool carriers one of which is illustrated in Figures 4; 5 and 6
that are secured to the arms e of the strand head E and the arms of the disc K;
O indicates the base, o the rigid arm disposed at right angles to the said base, and o¹
the swinging arm pivotted to the opposite end thereof. Engaging with the pair
of lugs o formed one on each side of the rigid arm o, is a friction block P held in
frictional contact with the friction wheel Q, journalled, in the upper end of the
arm o, by means of the spring pabutting against the adjusting screw p' working in
the lower part of the said arm o.
Cast on the inner face of the friction wheel is a corrugated, or ribbed stud q
which partly projects into the hub of the spool R and by reason of the corrugations
or ribs, causes the spool and friction wheel to be revolved together when the spool
is rotated. The swinging arm is provided at its end with a smooth, or, if desired,
corrugated stud q' working on the pin q² and partially inserted in the contiguous
end of the hub of the spool R, and is held in such position, to retain the said spool
in the spool-carrier, by means of the bent retaining wire o which is passed around
the swinging arm o¹ and engages with the cam-web o' on the said arm and has its
ends secured to the arm o as clearly shown in Figure 6.
By this construction of parts, it will be seen that the spool R can be readily

page_text: removed from the spool carrier by pressing or forcing the retaining wire o³ away
from the cam-web o, and towards the base O to permit the arm o' to be swung
outward to release the spool; and, further, that the friction between the wheel Q
and the block P can be increased or diminished by means of the adjusting screw p¹.
This frictional mechanism is designed to prevent the spool revolving by reason of
the "spring" of the wire coiled thereon.
The base O is provided with a projection having an annular opening of and set
screw of to enable the spool carrier to be placed and retained on an arm e² or k³ of
the bead E or disc K
It will be seen in the drawings that the head E is capable of carrying twelve
spool carriers containing, each, a wire bearing spool R, and that the disc K is
adapted to carry six spool-carriers which also contain wire bearing spools.
S indicates a core-spool suitably held on an arm 8 screwed into the sleeve d¹ to
which also is held the shield 8¹ having retaining studs 82 the said shield extending
in an outward and then inward curved direction to the rear end of the shaft k, by
which means a core for the strand-core may be passed from the core spool S to and
into the hollow shaft k and thence to and into the tube m¹ of the strand core
laying head to become incorporated into the strand core at the spider N.
The spaces between the spokes f* the rim f¹ and the base permit wires from
the spools on the head E, to be passed to the strand laying-head; and the same
provision is made with reference to the wires passing from the spools on the disc K
to the strand-core laying-head.
As shown in Figure 3, the shaft e is provided at the rear of the sleeve d' with a
bevel gear wheel e and the shaft k has a similar gear wheel ³ at its rear end, both
of which mesh with the bevel gear wheel t on the outer end of shaft T held in
bearings secured to the back of the arm d. As shown in Figure 1 the inner end
of shaft T has a bevel gear wheel & engaging with the bevel gear-wheel u cast in
one piece with, or secured to the spur gear U to form a double gear wheel which is
free to turn on the main shaft B.
Engaging with the spur gear wheel U, of the double gear wheel, is an idler
wheel V, adjustably held, by means of a journal bolt v in the slotted sector v¹
secured to the frame A. The idle gear-wheel V engages, in turn, with the pinion w
on the shaft W held in bearings to the frame A. Larger or smaller pinions may
be placed on the shaft W in lieu of the pinion w
The slot v in the sector ¹ is concentric with the periphery of the main shaft B,
so that when a larger or smaller pinion is placed on the shaft W the idler gear
wheel V may be adjusted in the slotted standard to cause it to engage with the
spur gear wheel U and the pinion w whereby an increased or diminished speed will
be transmitted from shaft W to the said double gear-wheel from which motion is
communicated to the strand-head E through the shaft T, its gear wheel t, t2, the
bevel gear wheel e³ and the shaft e; and to the disc K through the said shaft T,
its gear wheel, the bevel gear wheel k³ and the shaft k.
Keyed to the shaft W is a spur gear wheel w³ engaging with the idler gear
wheel x held by a journal bolt x¹ to the arm a³ forming part of the sleeve X which
is free to turn on the main shaft B. The arm is removably held to the
standard to ensure the proper engagement of idler gear wheel x with the gear
wheel w¹, and the spur gear wheel X' keyed to the main shaft B. w³ indicates a
band wheel, keyed to shaft W. through which motion may be imparted to the said
shaft from a suitable motor.
Y indicates a reel held in bearings on the frame A below the main shaft, from
which a suitable rope-core may be passed to and through the main shaft B to the
rope laying head C. y indicates a shield to guide the rope core to the shaft B,
and ya pivotted lever which rests on one of the discs of the reel and is provided
with a weight y whereby the rope core will be drawn from the reel under tension
to prevent a too rapid unwinding thereof.
A bevel gear-wheel Y' is keyed to the shaft W and engages with a bevel pinion
secured to one end of the shaft y³ journalled in bearings attached to the frame A

page_text: which shaft receives, at its other end, a bevel gear wheel engaging with a bevel
pinion on the shaft Z arranged at right angles to the shaft y³ and having its
rear end held in one arm of a double sleeve z whose other arm encircle the shaft y³.
This construction permits play of that end of the shaft, when the other end is
raised or lowered for purposes to be presently set forth.
The forward end of the shaft Z receives a worm
engaging with a worm
wheel 2 secured to a shaft Z¹ placed at right angles to the shaft Z.
The shaft Z is supported, at its forward end, in a bearing w³ adjustably secured
by bolts win a slotted standard Z' attached to the frame A at that point, to
enable the vertical adjustment of the said shaft when worm gear wheels of different
sizes are used..
The shaft Zhas one of its bearings secured to the frame A and the other we to
a plate 1 itself fastened to the frame A. A mitre gear wheel Z is attached to the
inner end of the shaft Z' and engages with a second mitre gear wheel Z keyed to
the vertical shaft 2 having bearings in the plate 1 and the bracket 3 secured to the
said plate.
Keyed to the shaft 2, below the mitre gear wheel is a spur gear wheel 2
engaging with a similar spur gear wheel 4* arranged on a second vertical shaft 4
held in bearings in the bracket 3 and plate 1, the said spur gear wheel 4" working
in the teeth 5 arranged in the bottom portion of the periphery of a large wheel Z³
horizontally arranged on a vertical shaft secured to the plate 3 which, in turn, is
held to the frame A.
This large wheel which I term the "drawing off wheel" is so arranged with
relation to the core in the main shaft B and the meeting edges of the drawing
rolls (to be presently set forth) that as the rope comes from the rope laying
head C it may be coiled one or more times around the drawing off wheel Z³ and
thence pass through the drawing rolls to a reeling device. By passing the rope,
issuing from the rope laying-head C one or more times around the drawing off
wheel Zo which is caused to rotate by the mechanism just described, and by
keeping it taut thereon by means of the drawing rolls there will be sufficient
friction between the rope and the drawing-off wheel Z' to prevent the former
slipping on the latter and cause the wheel Z³ to exert the necessary drawing strain
on the rope to overcome the tension on the individual wires and draw the rope
from the rope laying-head C at the required rate of speed.
The drawing-rolls are removably held to the splined vertical shafts 7 and 8,
one of said shafts having its bearings in the plate 1 and bracket 3 and the other
being held in bearings forming part of a swinging frame 9 binged on the vertical
shaft 2 as clearly shown in Figure 11.
The drawing-rolls 2 are intended not only to keep the rope taut in the drawing-
off wheel, but to compress the rope, more or less as is deemed advisable, to render
it more compact and even, and to straighten out and remove any possible
irregularities.
When compressed by the rolls the rope is slightly increased in length, owing to
such compression, and, therefore I cause the said rolls to draw the rope from the
drawing-off wheel Z" slightly faster than the wheel draws it from the rope laying-
head.
This slightly increased speed of the drawing rolls is obtained by having the
diameter of the said rolls slightly greater than the diameter of the pitch line of
the gear wheels or the shafts 7 and 8 which carry the said rolls.
Were not this done (that is increasing the surface speed of the rolls 26 over that
of the wheel Z') the rope would soon become slackened on the drawing off wheel Z³
thereby rendering the latter quite useless for the purpose designated.
After leaving the drawing-off wheel and before reaching the drawing rolls the
rope passes over a roll 20 pivotted in an arm 19 attached to the bracket 3 to
guide the said rope to the drawing rolls as shown.
Since the drawing-off wheel and drawing rolls are geared to and receive motion

page_text: from a common shaft Z' and thus have a fixed relative motion, the diameter of
the rolls must be increased or diminished according to the different sizes of rope
to be made so that the relative surface motions of the wheel and rolls will be
preserved.
The swinging frame 9 carrying one of the drawing rolls, is provided to permit
drawing rolls of different sizes baving grooves of varying diameters to be placed
on their respective shafts as required for the various kinds of rope made.
I provide a swinging dog 10 pivotted to the bracket 3 and having an adjusting
screw 11 to engage with a stud 12 projecting from the swinging frame 9. The
swinging dog with its adjusting screw is also intended to regulate the degree of
compression of the drawing rolls on the rope.
Pivotted in a bracket 21 secured, one, to each end of the plate 13 projecting on
opposite sides of the drawing-off wheel Z' is an inverted truncated cone 14 having
one or more grooves 22 in its periphery the bottom or working surface of each of
which is cut at right angles to the longitudinal axis of such cone. The cones are
arranged each upon an inclined axis 23 in close relation to the periphery of the
drawing off wheel Z' so that as the rope is coiled one or more times around the
said wheel it is passed through a groove in each of the cones 14 at relatively
increased heights in the direction of the rotation of the wheel Z³ in order that the
rope passing on to the wheel Z' at its lower part, will, by the action of the grooved
cones 14 be lifted at points around the periphery of the said wheel to raise it a
diameter so that it will leave the wheel at a higher point to pass between the
roll and thus prevent the rope winding on itself, or becoming twisted or scraped
on the surface of said wheel Z³. The immediate object of providing an inverted
truncated cone 14 with the lower or working surface of its groove or grooves 22
at right angles to the axis 23 of said cone, is to cause the rope to be lifted upward
and outward from the drawing-off wheel Z³ Were the rope lifted or forced
directly upward on the periphery of the drawing wheel Z, the wires thereof
would rub against one another and against the surface of the wheel and be damaged
more or less; especially so with the galvanized wire used in the manufacture of
rope for ships rigging. Besides, the rope itself, owing to its pressure on the wheel
would be twisted more or less.
It will be seen from the foregoing, that the main shaft B receives motion
through the gear wheel X' keyed thereto, while the groups of mechanism which
are designed to form the strands and strand cores receive motion from the double
gear wheel u U loose on the said main shaft B.
Assuming that the six groups of mechanism contain the required number of
spools R filled with wire; the core spools S are filled with the required cores;
the reel Y contains the proper rope core; the machine is properly "threaded" and
the wires are drawn forward around the drawing wheel Z3 and through the
drawing rolls, the operation of the parts to effect the laying of individual wires
around cores to form strand-cores; next laying individual wires around the
strand-cores to form strands, and, lastly, laying the strands around a main or rope
core to form the rope in one continuous operation will be as follows, that is to
say-Upon giving motion to the described driving mechanism, the discs K are
rotated on their axes the individual wires are drawn from the spools R in the
spool carriers on the said discs and passing between the base M and the sleeve m
of the strand core laying-heads, are bent, subjected to tensile strain, and laid
around the core wires passing from the core spools S to and into the shafts k and
the tubes m¹ to the spiders N to form the strand cores, which pass to and through
the tubes I to the spiders J of the strand laying-heads. During this operation of
parts the heads E revolve in an opposite direction to that of the discs K the
individual wires are drawn from the spools R in the spool carriers on the said
heads, and, passing between the sleeve h and the base H of the strand laying heads
are bent, subjected to tensile strain and laid around the strand-cores to form
strands, which, six in number, pass over grooved the rollers g¹ having bearings in

page_text: the brackets g³ secured to the arms g to and into the rope laying-head C to form
the rope; the said rope thence passing around the wheel Z' and through the
drawing rolls to a suitable reeling device
If desired, the discs K may be caused to revolve in the same direction as that of
the heads E by removing the shields 8' from the sleeves d to permit the bevel gear-
wheels to be removed from the shafts k then tightening the said screws e* to
cause the shafts e and k to move together, and replacing the shields &¹
It will be observed that the strand-core laying-heads rotate with the discs K
while the strand laying-heads rotate with the heads E. Further, that the groups
of mechanism are carried around the axis of the main shaft B by means of the
radiating arms d, g.
When the heads E and the discs K are filled with spool-carriers containing wire
bearing spools, the hoisting rope shown in Figure 9 will be manufactured upon
putting the machine in motion.
By the adjustability of many parts of the machine as herein-before described a
variety of ropes may be made on the said machine differing from that shown in
Figure 9 in the arrangement and number of wires, though embodying all the
features of the method herein set forth.
It will be noticed that in the foregoing operation of parts to carry out my
improved method or process, the strand cores after being formed are drawn without
being bent, directly to the strand-laying-heads, where individual wires are laid
around them to form the strands; and that the said strands are then drawn to the
main laying-head in an oblique direction and, without being bent in any other
manner, are laid around the rope core to form the rope
As is well known the strand cores instead of being formed of a number of wires
laid around a core or centre, may be made of several wires laid together, or around
one another, in which event the said core is dispensed with. This is so well
understood as to require no further explanation.
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent and the manner of performing the same I wish it understood
that I Claim.
First. The method of laying the wires, strand cores and strands together in one
continuous operation to form a wire rope, substantially as described.
Second. The method of laying, while being subjected to a direct unvarying
tension, the wires, strand cores and strands together in one continuous operation to
form a wire rope, as set forth.
Third The machinery or apparatus substantially as described with reference to
the accompanying drawings for manufacturing the improved wire rope.
Fourth The mechanism for subjecting the wires to a direct unvarying tension
after the said wires leave the spools and before they are laid together, substantially
as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fifth The spool carriers substantially as shown and described.
Sixth The mechanism for uniformly drawing the rope from the rope laying.
head and also for preventing the said rope from lapping on itself as set forth.
Seventh. The drawing rolls 26 in combination with the drawing-off wheel Z³
and suitable means for operating the said parts, substantially as, and for the purpose,
specified.
In witness whereof I the said Henry Harris Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Twenty fourth day of April in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty three.