IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF WIRE ROPES, AND IN THE APPARATUS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME
Year: 1843

page_text: NEWALL'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
STIRLING NEWALL, of Gateshead, in the County of Durham, Wire Rope
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Sixth day of March, in the sixth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert
Stirling Newall, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Robert Stirling Newall, my exors, admors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Robert Stirling Newall, my exors, adiñiors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF WIRE ROPES, AND IN THE APPARATUS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Robert Stirling Newall, should cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same.
is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said.

page_text: Robert Stirling Newall, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, and the Drawings hereunto
annexed:-
In the manufacture of wire ropes it is of great importance that the
individual wires and strands should be free from twist, that is, should
be laid into the strands and ropes without being twisted or subject to
torsion about their respective. axes. It is also important, that the tension
and draw of the respective wires and strands should be the same through-
out the whole strand and rope, and that the joints occasioned by the inser-
tion of fresh wires and strands should be securely made. Several methods
of laying wires into strands and strands into ropes are described in the
Specification of certain Letters Patent granted to me, and bearing date the
seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and forty, and my present Invention relates to certain improvements on the
methods therein described, and also to certain other arrangements for effecting
the above-mentioned objects. And I would further remark, that I suppose
cores (as described in the Specification of my said former Letters Patent) to
be used in all cases for the purpose of keeping. the wires and strands equi-
distant from their respective centres, and giving strength and flexibility to the
ropes, and that the arrangements shewn in the annexed Drawings are those
to be employed. for making strands of six wires about a core, and ropes of
six strands about a core, which number I greatly prefer to any other.
.. The first part of my Invention, or one of my said improvements in. the
manufacture of wire ropes, consists in certain arrangements for laying the
wires into strands, and the strands into ropes,, without twist. For this purpose
I suspend the bobbins on which the wires or strands are wound, so that the
centres of gravity of the bobbins shall be below the points of suspension,
and as the system of bobbins revolves, each bobbin by its gravity will cause
the spindle in which it is supported to revolve in its bearings once for. every
revolution of the system. Figures 1 and 2 represent this plan. a is the
main shaft supported in bearings c, c', carrying two sets of arms b, b; the
spindles & are supported. in their bearings e, e', in the ends of the arms b, and
carry the bobbins. The bobbins turn. on centre pins,. having a screw and
nut at one end, by means of which an equal tension is given to cach of the
wires, or this equal tension may be given by small springs acting on the
bobbin. The wires pass from the bobbins through holes in the ends of the
spindles and in the end of the shaft a, and meet. beyond the laying plate g
hereafter described, where they are laid into a strand by the revolution of

page_text: The
the system, being drawn by the drum h, and wound upon the drum i.
core round which the wires or strands are laid is wound on a bobbin k, and
passes through the shaft a which is hollow, and through the centre of the
laying plate g. When the system of bobbins, arranged as described above, is-
driven beyond a certain speed, the spindles with the bobbins have a tendency
to fly out in a line with the arms, to prevent which I connect all the spindles
together by means of cranks 1, Figure 3, fastened to the end e of the spindles
and the tie rod m, the crank pins moving in holes in the tie rod, the distance
between the holes being equal to the distance between the centres of the
respective spindles. Or I make the crank pins move in a circular groove, as
in Figure 4; or I fix on the ends of the spindles e grooved pullies of equal
sise, as in Figure 5, a pulley of the same sise being fixed to the bearing
frame c, and a double pulley on the end of one of the spindles, an endless
band being then passed round the pullies as there shewn; or I fix on the ends
of the spindles toothed wheels as in Figure 6, and to the bearing frame ca
wheel of the same sise; three intermediate wheels working on studs fixed to
the arms revolve round the fixed centre wheel, and communicate motion to
the spindles. The arrangements represented in Figures 5 and 6 may also be
used with advantage when the centre of gravity of the bobbins is in the
line of the points of suspension, or when the bobbins do not revolve about
their centre by gravity as above described.
4
Another part of my Invention consists in an arrangement for regulating
the "draw," that is, the length of strand or rope made during a certain number
of revolutions of the machine containing the bobbins on which the wires or
strands are wound. This is shewn in Figure 1,' where the strand passes several
times round the drawing drum hi to obtain sufficient adhesion to prevent its
slipping; the pinion n on the axle of the pulley o works into the wheel p on
the axle of the drawing drum h, to which motion is communicated by a 'belt
working round the pulley o and the cone of pullies fixed on the end of
the shaft a, the belt being kept tight by the pulley o', and the speed being
regulated by the cone of pullies. The strand is coiled away or wound upon
the drum by the friction of the belt against the pulley ', fixed to the axle of
the drum i, an index being employed to count the number of revolutions; the
length of the strand or rope may be easily ascertained from the diameter or
circumference of the drum. A guide r is used for keeping the strand to
one side, so that it always leads fair on to it, and one part is prevented
from riding over another, which, if allowed, would cause an irregularity in the
draw.

page_text: Another part of my Invention relates to a peculiar method of inserting
fresh wires and strands, in laying the wires into strands and the strands into
ropes, and consists in the use of a fixed laying plate of a peculiar form, having
an, internal and uninterrupted communication between each of the wires or
strands. This plate is represented at g¹, Figure 1, and is fixed by means of
three rods screwed into the end of the shaft. a, or cone of pullies, at a distance
of about three feet or equal to the length of joint to be made from the end of
the shaft, so that it revolves with the shaft. The plate is so made that the
holes or slits through which the wires pass are at equal distances from each
other and from the centre, which is essential to be attended to in laying the
wires regularly. The fresh wire or strand is inserted in the following man-
ner: Suppose the wires are laid till an end is within three feet of the
laying plate, the empty bobbin is replaced by a full one, the core is cut close
to the apex of the cone formed by the wires at g, the end of the fresh wire
is passed through the hole in the end of the spindle d and shaft a, and, passing
through the centre of the laying plate takes the place of the core; the machine
revolves, and lays half the length of the remaining end, which is then taken
out of its place and put in the centre, while the new wire is brought from the
centre and put in the place occupied by the old one, which now forms the
core, so that the two ends cross one another, and are firmly held in their place
by friction. After the remaining half of the end is laid the core is again
inserted and the laying continued.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim as
the Invention secured to me by the above in part recited Letters Patent the
manufacture of wire ropes in which the wires are laid into strands, and the
strands into ropes without twist, but-
I claim the improvements in the manufacture of such ropes by the use and
application of the arrangements and apparatus herein described; and I also
claim the improvements in the manufacture of such ropes by the use of the
arrangements and apparatus herein described for ensuring the uniform draw
of the strand and rope; and
I claim, lastly, the improvements in the manufacture of wire ropes by the
use of a laying plate constructed and applied as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Stirling Newall, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight.hundred and forty-three.
ROBERT S. (L.S.) NEWALL.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fifth day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid Robert Stirling Newall came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-three.