An Improved Radial Wire Rope and Cable Stopper.
Year: 1884

page_text: An Improved Radial Wire Rope and Cable Stopper.]
I, JOHN LEITCH, of the Royal Albert Docks, in the county of Essex, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for "AN IMPROVED RADIAL
WIRE ROPE AND CABLE STOPPER to be as follows:
"
My invention consists of an improved stopper or compressor for wire ropes or
cables, principally adapted for use on board ship, but it may be employed on docks,
wharves, and other places where such stoppers are required.
My improved stopper is constructed essentially in the following manner-
A hollow circular casting, forming a standard or post is fixed to the deck of a ship,
or other place by bolts passing through a flange on the bottom of the said casting;
a flat ring is provided on the underside of the deck, and the bolts pass through
the deck and the said ring.
The top of the hollow standard or post, is provided with a circular recess.
The compressing part of the apparatus consists of a long casting of a saddle back
section for strength, which is provided with a longitudinal trough or groove on its
upper side, in which the rope to be secured is placed.
A cover of the same length as the said casting is attached thereto by one or
more hinges and can be forced down upon the rope by means of one or more wing
bolts and nuts with lever handles-The said bolts are pivotted to the aforesaid
saddle-back casting, and enter notches or open slots in the cover, so that to remove
the rope it is only necessary to slacken the nuts, turn down the bolts and open
the cover.
The aforesaid saddle-back casting is provided on its underside, at one end, with
a circular projection to fit in the circular recess in the standard or post before
mentioned, and is secured therein by means of a bolt and nut so that it is free to
swing or turn round therein horizontally-The other end of the said casting has
affixed to its underside a bracket carrying a roller which runs on the deck and
supports the free end of the compressor-Two pulleys pivotted to rotate in a
horizontal plane, are provided on each side of the rope, at the end of the compressor
which is pivotted to the standard to secure fair lead for the rope.
A powerful grip can be exerted upon the rope, as the cover being hinged on one
side of the rope and forced down by the screws on the other side, acts as a lever,

page_text: and to increase the holding power alternate ribs or projections may be provided
upon those surfaces of the compressor which embrace the rope.
The standard to which the compressor is pivotted and the bracket carrying the
roller may be made of any height required to obtain a fair lead from the capstan
or windlass to the compressor.
It is obvious that my improved compressor may be turned round to any required
position, and automatically adjusts itself in the direct line of strain on the rope or
cable, thus securing fair lead and obviating the strain and injury caused to the
rope by cross leads and sudden nips, and effecting also a saving of time and
labour

page_text: I, JOHN LEITCH, of the Royal Albert Docks, in the county of Essex, Engineer
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:-
My invention consists of an improved stopper or compressor for wire ropes or
cables, principally adapted for use on board'ship, but it may be employed on docks,
wharves and other places where such stoppers are required.
My improved stopper is constructed essentially in the following manner-A hollow
circular casting, forming a standard or post is fixed to the deck of a ship, or other,
place by bolts passing through a flange on the bottom of the said casting, a flat
ring is provided on the underside of the deck, and the bolts pass through the deck
and the said ring.
The top of the hollow standard or post, is provided with a circular recess.
The compressing part of the apparatus consists of a long casting of a saddle-back
section for strength, which is provided with a longitudinal trough or groove on its
upper side, in which the rope to be secured is placed.
A cover, provided on its underside with a groove, is attached to the said casting
by one or more hinges and can be forced down upon the rope by means of one or
more wing bolts and nuts with lever handles.
The said bolts are pivotted to the aforesaid saddle-back casting and enter notches
or open slots in the cover, so that to remove the rope, it is only necessary to
slacken the nuts, turn down the bolts and open the cover.
The aforesaid saddle-back casting is provided on its underside, at one end, with
a circular projection to fit in the circular recess in the standard or post before
mentioned, and is secured therein by means of a bolt and nut so that it is free to
swing or turn round therein horizontally-The other end of the said casting has
affixed to its underside a bracket carrying a roller, which runs on the deck and
supports the free end of the compressor.
•
Two pulleys, pivotted to rotate in a horizontal plane, are provided on each side
of the rope, at the end of the compressor, which is pivotted to the standard to
secure fair lead for the rope.
A powerful grip can be exerted upon the rope, as the cover being hinged on one
side of the rope and forced down by the screws on the other side, acts as a lever,
and to increase the holding power, alternate ribs or projections may be provided
upon those surfaces of the compressor which embrace the rope.
The standard to which the compressor is pivotted and the bracket carrying the
roller may be made of any height required to obtain a fair lead from the capstan
or windlass to the compressor.
In order that my invention may be more clearly understood, I will now proceed
to further describe the same by reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings.

page_text: and Fig. 5 a cross section through the line X X in Fig. 1 of a wire rope and cable
stopper constructed according to my invention and attached to the deck of a ship.
The same letters refer to the same parts in each figure.
A is a hollow casting, forming a standard, secured to the deck B, by bolts C,
which pass through the 'flange A', the deck B and a wrought iron or steel ring D
on the underside of the deck.
The top of the said standard has a circular recess A2 formed therein.
:
E is the lower part of the compressor made of a saddle back form in section and
provided with a circular boss or projection E¹ to enter the recess A²; It is retained
in position by the bolt F; which is so adjusted as to allow the compressor to rotate
freely around the standard A-A cover H is hinged to the part E at H'H' and a
longitudinal groove is formed in E and H, to receive the rope. Eye bolts JJ are
hinged to the part E and enter notches in the lugs H³ H on the cover, they are
provided with nuts J2 J3, having wings or lever arms as shewn, or if preferred the
said nuts may have capstan heads to enable them to be rotated by the insertion of
a marlin-spike or other suitable implement. By slackening the nuts Ja J³, the
eyebolts J J¹may be turned down and the cover H thrown back. The rope is
then laid in position, the cover shut down, the eyebolts turned up and the nuts
tightened, until the rope is gripped with the required force.
To increase the holding power of the compressor, I prefer to provide projections Ķ
on the surface of the groove in E and H, each such projection being situated
midway between the two opposite projections, so that the rope is slightly deflected
by each projection.
.
The strain caused by the pull of the rope is borne by the circular projection E
and recess A2, which are of ample strength to resist such strain, the bolt F merely
serving to retain the parts in position..
1
To secure fair lead for the rope to the capstan the end E2 of the lower part of
the compressor, is enlarged as shewn, and two pulleys L L are pivotted horizontally
at such enlarged end of the compressor, so that the rope can be taken directly to
the capstan from the stopper without any sharp bend or nip.
If desired, a bracket M provided with a roller N to run upon the deck may be
attached to the end of the compressor to support such end as shewn.
*One radial compressor constructed according to my invention will do the work
of two or more fixed compressors as ordinarily used, and will perform such work
more quickly and easily, obviating the necessity of using lead and snatch blocks to
give a fair lead to the rope, as by the combination of the radial motion with the
horizontal pulleys or rollers L L it always gives a fair lead in itself. It may be
turned round to any required position and automatically adjuts itself in the direct
line of strain on the rope or hawser, thus securing fair lead and obviating the
strain and injury caused to the rope by cross leads, sharp turns and sudden nips
and effecting a great economy of time and labour.
The rope is drawn through the compressor by a capstan, winch, or other suitable
means and when a sufficient length is hauled through, the top of the compressor is
screwed down as before described and the rope. held fast where required, or it can
be slacked out at will: The rope can then be taken off the capstan or winch, which
is at once set free for any other work, thus doing away with the old method of
stoppering off with chain or rope stoppers.
+
In stoppers, fixed or otherwise, as ordinarily constructed; the rope cannot be
drawn through them in the manner above. described, for want of the fair lead
pulleys L L, and in the ordinary practice when a ship is hauled alongside a quay,
or up to a buoy with a wire rope by means of the capstan or winch, the rope bas
to be stoppered off with chain or rope stoppers, before it can be released from the
capstan or winch to be taken to the compressor, thus causing a waste of time and
labour and running the risk of the chain or rope stopper being carried away before
the wire rope is made fast in the compressor.
f:
4f

page_text: I wish it to be understood that in the construction of my improved stopper, I do
not claim the radial action per se, as such action is not novel and I do not bind
myself to the exact form of the various details of construction herein shewn and
described, but having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of
my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare
that what I claim is
1-A wire rope and cable stopper or compressor constructed in the manner and
for the purposes, substantially as herein shewn and described.
2. A standard A having a recess A² and secured to a ship's deck or other place
by bolts and a ring D, or other, suitable devices, in combination with a rope stopper
having a projection E¹ to fit the recess A² and secured therein by a bolt F, sub-
stantially as herein shewn and described.
•
.
3. The combination with a rope stopper of fair lead pulleys L L, substantially
as herein shewn and described.
4. The construction of the part E of the compressor of a saddle-back section,
and with an enlarged end E2 to contain fair lead pulleys L L, substantially as
herein shewn and described.