DIE I MOITICATION, New or Improved Leather Ropes and Apparatus for Manufacture thereof.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 5th July, 1893-Accepted, 23rd Sept, 1893
CUM DIE I MOITICATION,
New or Improved Leather Ropes and Apparatus for Manufacture
thereof.
I, JOSÉ OLIVER, of Barcelona, in the Kingdom of Spain, Manufacturer, 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:―
The object of this invention is to provide a rope made of leather strands with a
double twist, suitable for use for instance in place of hemp or other ropes or leather
or other bands for the driving of machinery, the new rope having greater durability
than wire or hemp or other ropes heretofore used without loss of flexibility and
other useful qualities possessed by ropes of vegetable fibre.
The improved rope is formed of two, three or more strands cut out of the skin in
a continuous strip, each of these strands being first twisted separately and
afterwards twisted all together.
In the manufacture of these ropes or cables care is requisite in the cutting of the
strips or strands as well as in the twisting.
To cut the strips to serve as strands in the manufacture of the leather ropes, the
projecting parts are first removed from the skin, so as to obtain a more or less
regular outline. This done a nitch is cut in one of the edges of the leather to a
depth equal to the thickness desired for the strip or strand, the strip is then severed
following the outline of the skin, until the whole is converted into a strip of
leather of uniform width.
In this way from half a skin a strand of 200 to 250 metres in length by
5 millimetres width may be obtained.
The skin may be cut by hand by aid of a knife or of scissors, but the apparatus
hereinafter described is by preference employed as it permits of a more rapid and
exact cutting of the skin.
This apparatus is shown in the annexed drawing, in Fig. 1 in plan, in Fig. 2 in
section on line Z Z Fig. 1 and in Fig. 3 in sectional view on the line y y Fig. 1.
The cutting blade X is fixed in a box like frame within a support b by aid of two
wedges X1 X2 operated by screws X3 X. The blade X is set at a distance from
the guide a equal to the breadth of the strip to be cut off. This space can be
regulated by the set-screws X³ X. The guide a may be grooved at a¹, serving to
facilitate the passage of the skin.
The upper guide V₁ is of elliptic shape of section and is fixed by screw V¹ in a
convenient position so that the skin I may pass exactly between this guide and the
support b. The skin and the cut off strip are represented by dotted lines.
To effect the cutting, the strip is drawn out by hand while the skin is kept also
by hand in that position in which it properly feeds to the guides. The breadth
of the strand or strip is equal to the distance between the blade X and the
guide a.
On the table where the apparatus is placed is a revolving drum i, the shaft of
which is moved by gearing from the crank shaft i, to wind up the strand or strip
on the drum while imparting to the strip the necessary tension for effecting the
cutting.
By taking out the key the fly wheel with its support may be lifted by
turning it up round the pivot to disengage the gearing ³.
By merely knotting together five strips five times-supposing medium sized
skins-a strand of 1000 to 1200 metres in length is obtained, a length which in
practice will seldom be asked for.

page_text: To give the leather strands the necessary torsion any known and suitable twisting
apparatus as used in the cotton or hemp rope etc., manufacture may be employed
with such modifications as the nature of the leather requires, so that such apparatus
may serve to impart to the cord the double torsion, that is to say first to each of
the strands a separate torsion and then all of them a simultaneous twist. A simple
apparatus illustrated by Figs. 4 to 12 is composed of two independent parts. One
of these parts (Fig. 4) is fastened by means of screws on a support, strongly fixed
in the floor or ground, while the other part (Fig. 5) is fixed, likewise by screws to
a running support k provided with wheels, so that it may be approached to the fixed
part, when the twisting of the cord requires this action.
The fixed apparatus is formed of a vertical standard a fastened on the support h
and another standard parallely fixed to the standard a by the aid of two screw
bolts of sufficient length to leave an interval for the free movement of the
cogwheel d which engages with the pinion e, the latter setting in motion a hook f
fixed at the extremity of the shaft of the pinion. The crank e serves to rotate the
cogwheel d.
The movable part (Fig. 5) has likewise two parallel standards o p usually of iron
fixed at their under ends on the running support while their upper parts carry
two metal (iron) sheets m n, suitably connected by means of screw bolts to allow
free movement for the wheels t t and each of which carries a hook r, rl and r
all rotating in the same direction.
The part g Figs. 11 and 12 is simply a wooden disk or block with longitudinal
grooves, equal, or at least very similar to what in rope making is called the
"laying top "or guide, and which serves for the same purpose as in the manufacture
of ropes of other materials that is to say which have to limit the twist of the rope
at any suitable distance for attaining a regular twist.
The method of operating this apparatus is as follows
-
The running supporting frame (Fig. 5) is placed in front of the rigid or fixed
part (Fig. 4) at a suitable distance according to the required length of the rope to
be made, then the strands are attached at one end to the hooks r, one to
each while at the other end the strands are fastened alltogether to the hook f
(Fig. 4).
This done, the crank is rapidly rotated from right to left while the crank c
(Fig. 4) is turned in the opposite direction each of the strands being kept separate
by aid of the laying top or guide g in order to attain a regular torsion. The
crank q sets in motion the cogwheels (Fig. 7,) and the latter turns the three small
cogwheels t t t through the pinion 2, these latter again on their part rotating the
hooks in the desired direction. Owing to the arrangement of the parts, the
hooks (Fig. 4) and 1 revolve in opposite directions.
r
When this double twisting is finished, the three strands forming the rope are
unhooked and placed on one hook only; for this purpose the rolling supporting
frame K (Fig. 5) is previously solidly fixed whereupon the two cranks c and q are
rapidly rotated for completing the torsion.
This second twisting must be continued until the rope has attained the highest
possible degree of tightness, that is to say until the rope becomes rigid and begins
to vibrate. The rope is then finished and it is only necessary to tar it or impregnate
it with a suitable preservative, if it is to be exposed to the open air.
The aforedescribed apparatus, illustrated by Figs. 4 and 5 is merely indicated
for the purpose of better understanding the performance of the double torsion to be
imparted to each of the strands and to the whole rope.
Leather ropes may also be made with only two strands but in general it is
preferable to take three and in using the beforedescribed apparatus for cutting the
skin into one strip, strands of 2, 3. 4. 5 or more millimeters width may be obtained
with a length varying from 200 meters, thus allowing of the production of ropes of
any required diameter and length.
The principal qualities of these leather ropes are their great flexibility absence
of lengthening or shortening such as ropes made of fibrous materials are liable to

page_text: under atmospheric influence, a resistent power and durability three times as great
as those of ordinary ropes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. Ropes or cables made of leather strips twisted with double torsion
substantially as set forth for employment in machine belting or gearing and
other purposes.
2. In the manufacture of ropes or cables of leather the method of preparing strips
or strands by cutting from the skin according to its outlines or in spiral form to
transform the skin into one continuous strip substantially as set forth.
3. In the manufacture of ropes or cables of leather an apparatus comprising
a blade combined with a guide board or groove for regulating the breadth of the
strip to be cut to transform the whole skin into one continuous strand or strip
substantially as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the annexed drawing and as set
forth.
4. The manufacture of ropes or cables of two, three, or more leather strands or
strips by giving a separate torsion to each strand from one end and afterwards a
collective torsion to all from the opposite end thus combining them into ropes to be
impregnated or not with tar or other matter, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 5th day of July 1893.
R. HADDAN,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.