Improvements in Endless Driving Bands or Ropes and in Connections for the same.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Feb., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 12th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 13th Dec., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. .
Improvements in Endless Driving Bands or Ropes and in Connections
for the same.
We WILLIAM KENYON, Senior, WILLIAM KENYON, Junior, GEORGE HENRY
KENYON, and EDWIN KENYON all of the firm of Messrs. William Kenyon and Sons
of the Chapel-fields Rope Works Dukinfield in the County of Chester Rope Makers
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our said invention relates to endless driving bands or ropes formed by twisting
together fibrous material as is well understood. In applying such ropes to driving
purposes the usual mode of connecting the ends is to splice them together and
this necessarily occasions a great waste of material irrespective of the time occupied
in forming the junction and the difficulty of taking up slack as the rope stretches.
According to our invention we form or twist the exact or about the exact required
length of rope with closed or looped ends and in the act of twisting we incorporate
with the ends of the rope means such as metallic fasteners or hooks and eyes for readily
securing the ends together, or we provide for the addition of hooks or fasteners
if the rope is twisted on hooks or parts which are part of the twisting apparatus.
In making such a rope as constitutes our inveution we arrange the twisting mechanism
at such a distance apart as will produce the required length of rope. At one end of
the mechanisın say at that end where are situated the yarn supply bobbins we arrange
in juxtaposition to each other three or a greater number of hooks capable of being
revolved on their own axes, and at the other end we provide an anchor having a
corresponding number of arms projecting at right angles from a central horizontal
shank capable of revolving. The yarn is first led from the bobbin or bobbins over the
respective hooks and the opposite arms of the anchor until three or more banks of
yarn have been wound in close neighbourhood to each other. We then rotate the
hooks so as to twist the hanks into strands and finally twist the strands into a rope by
rotating the anchor at the other end either by revolving the shank directly or by
bringing a chuck against the arms and so revolving the anchor. The effect of the
successive twistings as regards the anchor is that it becomes incorporated with the
closed or looped rope end, and the shank may be utilised as part of a fastener to
connect the two ends, the shank being either plain or formed to engage with another
part. The hooks bolding the strands may be allowed to remain in the rope and be
utilised as part of the fastening means or they may be removed from the strands and
other hooks or fastening means applied the looped ends of the strands being tied
together. The forms and constructions of the fastening or connecting means may be
greatly varied so long as they are used in conjunction with an endless driving rope of
the specified description. An endless rope formed as described may be shortened or
taken up as it becomes slacker by disconnecting the fastener and twisting the rope
more tightly up and so shortening its length. For very long driving ropes we might
when the rope is first put to work interpose a short length of rope between the ends.
As the rope stretches it can be twisted so as to take up the extra length and finally
when this mode of shortening the rope is exhausted the short length of interposed rope
can be entirely removed and the main length allowed to return to its original twist
which will lengthen it sufficiently to allow the ends to come together and be coupled
by the fastening means.
Dated this 10th t
1000
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester, Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Endless Driving Bands or Ropes and in Connections
for the same.
We WILLIAM KENYON Senior WILLIAM KENYON Junior GEORGE HENRY
KENYON and EDWIN KENYON all of the firm of Messrs. William Kenyon and
Sons of the Chapel-field Rope Works Dukinfield in the County of Chester
Rope Makers 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 and accompanying drawings :-
:-
Our said invention relates to endless driving bands or ropes formed by twisting
together fibrous material as is well understood.
In applying such ropes to driving purposes the usual mode of connecting the ends
is to splice them together and this necessarily occasions a great waste of material
irrespective of the time occupied in forming the junction and the difficulty of taking
up slack as the rope stretches.
According to our invention we form or twist the exact or about the exact required
length of rope with closed or looped ends and in the act of twisting we incorporate
with the ends of the rope, means such as metallic fasteners or hooks and eyes for
readily securing the ends together or we provide for the addition of hooks or
fasteners if the rope is twisted on hooks or parts which are part of the twisting
apparatus.
To render our invention perfectly clear we will now proceed to describe the same
more particularly with reference to the annexed sheet of drawings:
Fig. 1 is a view of one end of a driving rope with the hook attachment
applied.
Fig. 2 is a view of the complete connection.
Fig. 3 is a view of the fastener as it appears before being inserted into the loop
ends of the strands and being bent over.
In making such a rope as constitutes our invention wo arrange the twisting
mechanism at such a distance apart as will produce the required length of rope. It
will be understood that the twisting mechanism apart from the rope produced is no
part of our invention and we therefore do not illustrate it. At one end of the
mechanism say at that end where are situated the yarn supply bobbins we arrange
three or a greater number of the ordinary or of suitable twisting hooks. The hooks
which we prefer to use have their backs hollowed where they pass through the loop as
shown for example at a Fig. 1ª so as to permit of the easy insertion of the corre-
sponding arm of the fastener d when the twisting has been effected and before removal
from the twisting books at that eud. The hooks are arranged in juxtaposition and are
capable of being revolved on their own axes.
Before this twisting takes place the strands a be have at the opposite end received
a fastener d the fastener & being applied in its unbent form shown at Fig. 3 and then
bent into the shape shown at Fig. 1. The twisting means at this opposite end consist
of hooks engaging with the fastener d and capable of revolving the same so as to
twist the strands together into a rope.
;
In the preliminary operation the yarn is first led from the bobbins over the respective
hooks & and the opposite corresponding arms of the fastener d held as described at the
other end in the bent form until three or more strands of yarn have been wound in
close neighbourhood to each other. We now rotate the hooks x on their own axes so
as to twist the strands and when this has been sufficiently done we start to twist the
strands into a rope by rotating the hooks or chuck holding the bent fastener at
the other end. The spindles or shanks of the aforesaid hooks. are preferably made
flexible or jointed so as to allow the ends to be twisted closely together. The
strands are made into a rope by the ordinary process of "laying." The effect of
the successive twisting and "laying" is to form a rope such as is shown in the
drawings and consisting (in the example shown) of the strands a b c twisted

page_text: together into a rope in the manner described. Before removal from the twisting
hocks a fastener d is inserted in the loops as already described so that the rope
when removed has a fastener at each end.
In our Provisional Specification we mentioned incorporating an anchor and in
some instances the twisting hooks with the rope and letting them remain to be
utilised as fasteners.
This plan of utilising the fasteners in the first place as twisting anchors and hooks
we may still adopt but we prefer to remove the twisted ends of the rope from the
twisting hooks and anchor if such should be used and to insert the fasteners shown
separately at Fig. 3 of the drawings. The fastener consists in the case of a three
strand rope as illustrated of a three armed piece d formed of flat or round metal such
as steel, iron, brass, or other suitably strong and tough metal. Each arm is formed
with a hook and each arm is inserted into the twisted loop end of a strand. The
hooked ends are then bent or pressed over into the position shown at Fig. 1. The
other end of the rope is similarly provided as aforesaid and consequently the two ends
can be made to engage securely in the manner shown at Fig. 2 the hooked arms of
the one fastener engaging with the hooked arms, of the other. The three hooked arms
may be pressed together at one end of the rope so as to form one hook and the other
arms at the opposite end may be pressed together into the shape of an eye. The forms
and constructions of the fastening or connecting means may be varied so long as they
are used in conjunction with an endless driving rope of the specified description. An
endless rope formed as described may be shortened or taken up as it becomes slacker
by disconnecting the fasteners and twisting the rope more tightly up and so shortening
its length. For very long driving ropes we might when the rope is first put to work
interpose a short length of rope between the ends. As the rope stretches it can be
twisted so as to take up the extra length and finally when this mode of shortening the
rope is exhausted the short length of interposed rope can be entirely removed and the
main length allowed to return to its original twist which will lengthen it sufficiently
to allow the ends to come together and be coupled by the fastening means.
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
1. A driving rope having closed ends provided with a fastener capable of being
easily connected and disconnected substantially as described and shown.
2: A fastener for incorporating with or securing to the closed ends of the
improved driving rope, the said fastener consisting of a three armed or other radial
piece of metal, the arm having hooks and engaging with the looped ends of the strands
and being bent over so as to present the hooks or hook of one fastener to the hooks
or eye of the other and thus admit of mutual engagement substantially as described
and shown.
Dated this 11th day of November 1890
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester, Agents.