IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN KINDS OR DESCRIPTIONS OF WIRE AND OTHER ROPES AND STRANDS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew Smith, of Princes Street, in the County
of Middlesex, Wire Rope Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN KINDS OR DESCRIPTIONS OF WIRE AND
OTHER ROPES AND STRANDS."
Sealed the 3rd October 1854, and dated the 27th June 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
June 1854.
I, ANDREW SMITH, of Princess Street, in the County of Middlesex, Wire
Rope Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN KINDS OR DESCRIPTIONS OF WIRE
AND OTHER ROPES AND STRANDS" to be as follows:-
It consists in the arrangement and application of certain machinery to the
making ofstrands for that kind or description of rope known as "formed rope,"
as also for making similar strands for other purposes when there are several
layers or concentric circles of wires or yarns.
Hitherto such strands have been made by winding the wires or yarns upon
separate bobbins, and mounting them upon spindles in a fixed rack or frame,
the bobbins revolving only on their spindles, to allow of the wires or yarns being
drawn off as required.

page_text: The end of each wire or yarn being passed through a separate hole in a
concentric ring or series of holes in a register plate, the several wires required
to form the strand are then carried together into a tube or nipper to con-
dense their bulk, give them a round form, and regulate the size of the strand
produced.
The strand so formed is then drawn through on the hook of a common jack
by an equalizer, or by some other machine or contrivance, for "drawing out"
or "drawing off" such strand, and giving to it a proper amount of "lay,"
ordinarily called twist.
In drawing of the wires for a formed strand in the course of making er
forming a wire rope, a certain tortion or individual twist takes place in each
wire, which is injurious to the wire by reducing its strength; moreover, the
existing arrangements and the mode of making formed ropes have prevented
the use of "hard" iron wire from its resisting the individual "twist," which
would be put into it. during the process above described of making up into
strand, and from becoming stubborn and unmanageable.
But inasmuch as "hard" or unannealed iron wire is of greater strength
than "soft," "black," or annealed wire of the same size or guage," it is
desirable to use hard instead of "soft" iron wire in the making of "formed
ropes," as it has been and still is used in the making of "laid "ropes, and it
is with a view to effect this object I have arranged the machinery, which I will
now proceed to describe the nature of.
Instead of mounting the bobbins containing the materials supon horizontal
axles in fixed racks or frames, whereby the reels have simply a revolving
motion upon such axles,and range one above the other verticallyand in several
rows side by side and behind each other, I hang or mount each bobbin in a
separato carriage frame or fork. Such carriage frame or fork has an inde-
pendent rotary motion, and in its revolutions carries the bobbins with it,
the bobbin being fitted on a spindle, which rotates in suitable bearings in
the carriage frame or fork, so as to allow of the material being drawn off; it.
has an arrangement of friction wheel and strap, to prevent the material being
drawn off too rapidly and to regulate its supply.
I have as many bobbins as may be required, and corresponding to the
largest number of wires probably required to form a strand, similarly hung or
mounted in separate carriages, frames, or forks; I arrange them in concentric
circles in corresponding bearing holes in a suitable bottom plate, so that each
carriage frame or fork will revolve clear of the other, and the whole in as
small a space as possible.

page_text: I connect them together under or upon the horizontal carriage frame,
plate, or wheel, which has a rotatory motion communicated to it, and which;
revolving, carries the whole around; but the bobbin forkes or frames are each
held in the same relative position from the forks or frames, being so connected
together, and revolving freely in their respective bearings in the bottom plate
before referred to.
The contents of the reels being drawn off, and the ends of the wires or
other material being separately carried through holes in a suitably divided
plate, they are united together ina tube or nipper, and thusa strand,composed
of any required number of hard wires, may be formed correctly in uniform
and concentric layers and without any individual twist, such wires pro-
lucing, when the strands are similarly treated, a very strong and well-
formed rope.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Andrew Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th
October 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANDREW
SMITH, of Princes Street, in the County of Middlesex, Wire Rope Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four in the sev ateenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Andrew Smith, Her special licence that I, the said Andrew Smith,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Andrew
Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN KINDS OR DESCRIPTIONS OF WIRE AND OTHER ROPES
AND STRANDS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Andrew
Smith, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed

page_text: in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Andrew Smith, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement -
My Invention consists in the novel arrangement and application of certain
machinery to the making of strands for that kind or description of rope
known as "formed rope," as also for making similar strands for other pur-
poses when there are several layers or series of concentric circles of wires
or yarns.
Hitherto such strands for formed ropes have been made by winding the wires
or yarns upon separate bobbins, and mounting them upon spindles in a fixed
rack or frame, the bobbins revolving only on their spindles, to allow of the
wires or yarns being drawn off as required.
The end of each wire or yarn being passed through a separate hole in a
concentric ring or series of holes in a register plate, the several wires required
to form the strand are then carried together into a tube or nipper to condense
their bulk, give them a round form, and regulate the size of the strand pro-
duced. The strand so formed is then drawn through on the hook of a common
jack, or by an equalizer, or some other machine or contrivance, for drawing out
or drawing off such strand, and giving to it a proper amount of lay, ordinarily
called "twist."
In forming a strand in the course of making or forming such a wire rope in
the manner just described, a certain amount of tortion or individual twist
takes place in each wire, which is injurious to it, by weakening it and con-
siderably reducing its strength. Moreover, the existing arrangement and the
mode of making formed ropes have prevented the use of hard iron wire from
its resisting the individual twist which would be put into it during the process
above described of making up into strand, and from its becoming stubborn
and unmanageable.
But inasmuch as hard or unannealed iron wire is of much greater strength
than soft, black, or annealed wire of the same size or guage, it is desirable
to use hard instead of soft iron wire in the making of "formed ropes," as
it has been and still is used in the making of "laid" ropes, and it is with
a view to effect this object I have designed or arranged the machinery,
which I will now proceed to explain the nature and peculiarities of, and
will afterwards more particularly describe the mechanical construction and

page_text: arrangement of the parts, reference being made to the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
Instead of mounting the bobbins containing the materials upon horizontal
axles in fixed racks or frames, whereby the reels have simply a rotary motion
upon such axles, and aro arranged one above the other vertically and in
several rows side by side and behind each other, I hang or mount each
bobbin in a separate carriage frame or fork. Such carriage frame or fork has
an independent rotary motion upon its own axes, and in its revolution, as part
of a series around the common centre, carries the bobbin with it.
The hobbin being fitted on a spindle, which rotates in suitable bearings.in
the carriage frame or fork, so as to allow of the material being drawn off, I
provide each bobbin with an arrangement of friction wheel and band to prevent
the materials being drawn off too rapidly to regulate their supply, and to give
an equal tension to each wire, I have as many bobbins as may be required,
and corresponding to the largest number of wires which may be necessary to
form a strand similarly hung or mounted in separate carriages, frames, or
forks; I arrange them in concentric circles in corresponding bearing holes on a
suitable bottom plate, so that each carriage frame or fork will revolve clear of
the other, and the whole in as small a space as possible.
I connect them together under or upon the horizontal frame, plate, or wheel,
which has a rotary motion communicated to it, and which, revolving, carries
the whole around; but the bobbins, forks, or frames are each held in the same
relative position, or what is known as "always presenting to view the same
face" during their revolution, in consequence of the forks or frames and their
respective cranks being so connected together and revolving freely in their
respective bearings.
The contents of the reels being drawn off, and the ends of the wires or
other material being separately carried through holes in a suitably divided
plate, they are united together in a tube or nipper, and thus a strand composed
of any required number of hard and strong wires inay be formed correctly, in
uniform and concentric layers, and without any individual twist.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1, is a side elevation of my improved
machinery for forming or laying up the strands of formed ropes; Fig. 2, being
a plan taken on the lines A, B, of Fig. 1, at the two levels indicated thereon.
In this plau, the centres of the cranks are shewn as if the second or upper
platej and all above it was removed; or rather, as if they were transparent, so
as to admit of the cranks being seen. That the construction and working of
the machine may be the more readily understood, without the necessity for

page_text: several plan views, the smaller circles in red ink shew the rotation of each
bobbin, and the larger circles shew the eccentric rotation of the several series
or rings of bobbins mounted on the machine.
Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of one of the crauks complete, with the fork or
carriage and the bobbin or reel belonging thereto; the letters of reference
used for the same parts of the machino being the same in each Figure.
In Figs. 1 and 2, a is a sole plate or foundation, upon which the machine
and frame is erected; b,b, &c., are six columus, the bases of which are stepped
on to and properly secured to the foundation plate a; c is a top frame or
entablature of the same configuration on the plan as the foundation plate a,
and is supported upon the six columns b,b,&c., being securely attached to the
caps of said columns; d, d, &c., are four curved arms or spandrills springing
from the four corners of the main frame, and converging to a hollow cone or
tubeat the upper or summit of the arch formed by the convergence of the four
spandrills; e is a hollow tube, with a cone top and bottom, into which tube is
fitted a nipper tube or laying plate, and working in which on the under side is
a hollow cone piece, from which the stays or suspension rods of rotary machine
diverge, as shewn; is a cast-iron centre step or bearing, cored hollow, to allow
of the passage through it of the centre wire core or heart; g, the centre st ud
pin or pivot, which carries part of the weight of the revolving machine and the
materials used in the formation of the strands or ropes, but the weight of the
whole is mainly suspended by means of the cone bearing from the apex of
the spandrils of machine; h, an eccentric attached thereto, to guide the frame
plates or radial arm disc wheels, which carry the cranks and bobbins in their
revolution around the centre; i is the bottom frame plate carrying the various
cranks, the shafts of which are stepped into suitable bearings theren ;j is the
second or upper plate, somewhat similar to the lower plate, with a corre-
sponding number of bearing holes therein; those holes are bored to receive
the upper ends of cranks or the crank pins, which revolve freely in them.
Radiating from the outer rim and in continuation of the arms of this frame
plate are a number of snuggs or short arm pieces, bevilled upward, to form a
right angle with the line of the suspension rods h, k, towards the cone piece e*;
1, 1, are the cranks, before described, as taking their bearings in the frame
plates and j. On the plan, Fig. 2, 36 cranks are shewn in three circles
surrounding the centre pin or eccentric h; m,m,&c., are the forks or carriages,
secured or fitted to the upper end of cranks or crank pins, and carrying the
bobbins n, n, n, &c., side views of which are shewn at Fig. 1, and in the plan,
Fig. 2, more clearly exhibited, as arranged with their flanges in the same

page_text: direction, or in lines parallel to one another; 0, 0, &c., are the wires which
have been previously wound upon their respective bobbins, and which pass
through holes in the tops or narrowed parts of their respective forks or
carriages m, m, &c. The ends of the wires o, o, &c., are drawn from off the
bobbins, gathered together and passed through separate holes in concentric
series and rings in a laying plate, as shewn at e*, in Fig. 1; from thence they
pass through the hollow cone of the machine frame, and upon a rotary motion
being communicated to the machine, the whole of the wires are united and
formed in rings or concentriccircles, corresponding with the number of wires in
use and the arrangement of the bobbins in the frames i and j, as shewn at
Fig. 1. The strand so formed passes over the sheave or scored wheel and
is drawn off and taken away by the arrangement hereafter described; s is a
bevil wheel and t a bevil pinion, taking into the wheel 8, the wheels being
firmly secured or attached to the lower plate or revolving frame i of the
machine; a rotary motion is given thereto by the pinion wheel t, which is
keyed on to one end of the horizontal driving shaft u, to which motion may be
communicated by one of the strap pullies v, v, and the strap or belt from a line
of engine shafting, or in any convenient manner. Upon the driving shaft u is
fitted a screw or worm w, which takes into and drives a worm or tangent
wheel; connected with which and upon the same shaft is a band wheel or
drum x, with a coned rigger, grooved to correspond with the larger coned
rigger y mounted immediately above it, and shewn as taking its bearings in
the plummer blocks z,, fixed upon the upper face of the top frame or
entablature of the machine.
In the plan view, Fig. 2, a bobbin or real n* is shewn, mounted on one side
of the base plate or foundation of machine; upon this bobbin, which may be
fixed beneath the centre stepf of the machine, or in any convenient position,
the centre wire, core, or heart is wound, and the end being unwound therefrom
is passed through a suitable opening in the side of the centre step piece /
through its centre upward, and carriedinto the centre hole of laying plate exat
the apex of the machine.
When the several bobbins have been filled with wire or other material, and
the ends thereof carried upward, in the manner before described, inotion being
given to one of the drums a, e, the shaft u will revolve, as also the worm w
and the bevil pinion t, which will give motion to the bevil wheels, and cause
the frame plates i and j to revolveabout the centre, and carry round with them
the thirty-six bobbins n and n,&c. Now, in consequence of the frame plates i
and being connected together in the manner described, by meansofcranks, or

page_text: they may be connecting links or rods, and guided by thee ccentric h, which
is of the same eccentric length or throw as the cranks 1, 1, or the connecting
links or rods, the bobbins in their revolution around the common centre still
maintain the same aspect and relation to one another. Each bobbin is fitted
with a friction wheel and band to govern the drawing off the wire or other
material therefrom.
The arrangement of the drawing-off motion, as described by the letters of
reference x, y, z, is such, that whatever the angle of lay of the wires in a strand
or of the strands in a rope may be, the speed at which such strands or rope
should be drawn off can be accurately adjusted by means of the coned drums
over which the strand or rope passes, one or two turns being taken around a
groove of the proper diameter for producing the lay or angle desired.
I have shewn and described the machine as at Figs. 1 and 2, with a
governing eccentric in the centre thereof,and which is ofthe same eccentricity
or throw as the cranks of the concentric series or rings of cranks surrounding
it; and although I prefer this arrangement, I do not confine myself thereto, as
any mechanical equivalent may be substituted therefor to produce the same
result.
I wish it to be understood that I do not claim the use of cranks in horizontal
strand making, or in strand laying or closing machines for making "laid" wire
ropes, when the number of strands composing the rope are six, or any lesser
number in whatsoever manner such cranks may be connected together, worked
or governed; nor do I now claim the use of one ring, or series of such cranks
with their respective forks and bobbins working around or guided by a fixed
central crank in vertical machines for making wire strands, or for laying up
such strands into ropes when the number of wires composing such strand or
the number of strands composing such rope may be six or less in number, and
laid in one circle or series only around the core, forthat has already formed
the subject of certain Letters Patent granted to me in the twelfth year of the
reign of Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria; but what I do claim
as my Invention is,―
First, the machine, as described, for the purpose of forming strands for
"formed ropes," telegraph and other cables, without putting individual twist
into the wires or yarns composing such "formed" strand.
Second, the forming or laying up correctly of that description of strand
known as "formed strand " of hard or unannealed wires, and without putting
any individual twist into such wires in the course of manufacturing into a
strands, when such strands shall be composed of concentric layers or circles of

page_text: wires surrounding a centre wire, core, or heart; whether the forming of such
strand in the manner described be effected by the use of a central eccentric
and a series of cranks surrounding it, and arranged in the manner shewn in
the Drawing, or by means of any mechanical equivalents therefor, however
combined.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of October, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-four.
WILLIAM SMITH, C. E.,
10, Salisbury St.,
Adelphi.
ANDREW SMITH. (L.s.)