IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR TWISTING LINES, CORDS, ROPES, AND CABLES, AND HANKING AND COILING THE SAME
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Thomas Hughes, of the Firm of Hughes
and Son, Patent Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR TWISTING LINES, CORDS, ROPES,
AND CABLES, AND HANKING AND COILING THE SAME."-A communication
from abroad by Chauncey Orrin Crosby, of New Haven, Connecticut,
United States of America.
Sealed the 28th April 1868, and dated the 29th October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Thomas Hughes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th October 1867.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent
Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR TWISTING LINES, CORDS,
ROPES, AND CABLES, AND HANKING AND COILING THE SAME," a communication
to me from abroad by Chauncey Orrin Crosby, of New Haven, Connecticut,
United States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of lines, cords;
ropes, and cables, and consists,
First. In the peculiar mechanism for twisting the different strands into the
said lines, cords, ropes, and cables.
Second. In a device for a stop motion, which operates so that when either
of the several threads break the machine will be stopped.

page_text: Third. In machinery for hanking the said lines, cords, ropes, and cables.
And, fourth. In machinery for coiling the said lines, cords, ropes, and
cables.
To enable others to construct and use these improvements, I will proceed to
describe the same as illustrated in the accompanying three Sheets of Drawings,
in which Fig. 1 is a front view; Fig. 2 a side view; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5,
detached parts enlarged to illustrate the operation of these improvements;
Fig. 6 a side view of the banking machine; Fig. 7 a plan of the same; and
Fig. 8 a side view of the coiling machine.
A, A, Sheet 1 of Drawings, is a frame which supports the operative
mechanism of the machine; B, an upright driving shaft supported in
bearings C, and caused to revolve by the application of power to the pulleys D;
E, E, E, are spools supported in flyers F, which said flyers are caused to
revolve by a belt G on the pulley H of the driving shaft. The said spools E
contain the thread from which the line is to be made, and the number of the
spools and flyers must be the number of strands of which the line is to be
formed. I is the twisting apparatus shewn enlarged in Fig. 3, and is con-
structed and arranged as follows:-To a cross bar k a bearing L is fixed,
through which a hollow shaft a passes, its upper end forming a yoke M, which
supports the feed shaft N; the said hollow shaft a has attached to it a
pulley P; within the hollow shaft a is placed a second shaft d, to the upper
end of which is fixed a bevel gear R working in a corresponding gear S on the
shaft N. To the lower end of the said shaft d is fixed a pulley T, and below
the said pulley T a flyer U. Power is applied to the two pulleys P and T by
belts & w from pulleys b and c on the driving shaft. The two pulleys
P and T are of different diameters, the one T being a little larger than the
ether, proportioned as herein-after described, so that the shaft a carrying the
shaft N is caused to revolve faster than the shaft d, by so much as the
difference in their respective pulleys. The gear wheel R, therefore, revolving
with a less velocity than the yoke M, will by its connection with the gear S
on the shaft N, cause the said shaft N to revolve upon its own axis slowly
while being revolved upon the axis of the yoke M. The three threads from
their respective spools E are brought down as denoted in Fig. 1 through a
guide f, see Fig. 3 (a top view seen is Fig. 4) each thread passing through a
separate hole in the guide f, thence the three threads are wound several
times around the conical part of the shaft N, then passed down through the
hollow shaft d, through the flyer U, to a spool l, as seen in Fig. 1. Power
now being applied to the machine the twisting apparatus is set in motion,
revolving rapidly twists the threads into a single line winding around the

page_text: conical part of the shaft N as fast as twisted, which draws or feeds the twisted
line down to the flyer, which revolves around the spool l, winding the finished
line therein, the spool revolves with the flyer, sufficient friction being applied
thereto to retard its motion, so that the twisted line is wound thereon; this is
also the case with the upper spools E, which revolve with their respective
flyers, so as to draw the thread required therefrom. The feeding or conical
part of the shaft N is made of the form shown, so that as the line twisted
winds upon the conical part it will slip thereon, so as to retain nearly the
same relative position. The spool rests upon a bar A', which said bar A¹ is
hung to levers B', which said levers rest upon cams D', which being slowly
revolved through 'connection with the driving shaft causes the spool / to rise
and fall as the line is wound from top to bottom and returning. Some classes
of lines are required to be closer twisted than others, the closer or less oblique
the twist the slower should be the feed; this effect is accomplished by changing
the size of the pulleys P & T. It is evident that were these two pulleys of
the same diameter, the feeding shaft N would remain stationary upon its own
axis, whereas by revolving upon the axis of its yoke at a greater velocity
than that of the shaft d, the feeding shaft N will be revolved by so much
as the difference in the velocity of the yoke and the shaft d, therefore to
feed faster diminish the diameter of the pulley P or increase that of the
pulley T, or what will produce the same result, make a like adjustment
of the pulleys b and c on the driving shaft. Another, mode of adjustment is
made by changing the feeding shaft N by inserting a smaller or larger cone
accordingly as the twist is to be closer or more open.
The second part of this Invention, which relates to a stop motion, is seen in
Fig. 5. Above the guide f is hung a lever h upon a fulcrum i, the other
arm operating upon a trip arranged in any convenient manner and position
to disconnect the power from the driving shaft. Each thread as it passes
from the spool to the thread guide ƒ passes over a pulley n on the said lever h,
as denoted in Fig. 5, holding the lever up in the position denoted in black
(the thread denoted in blue); but when by accident or otherwise the thread
becomes too slack or broken, a counterbalance T on the fever h causes the
lever h to fall forward as denoted in red, in which movement the arm'
operates upon the trip and disconnects the power.
The third part of this Invention relates to an improvement in the manner
of winding or hanking the lines, and is seen in Figs. 6 and 7. A, A, is the
framework which supports the operative mechanism of the machine; B is the
driving shaft supported and so as to revolve in bearings C by the application
of power thereto through the pulley D or other means; E is a spindle resting.

page_text: in bearings F and passing through a pinion G, which said pinion is caused to
revolve, by connection with a gear H on the shaft B, and the spindle E is
arranged so as to move laterally through the pinion, and in its bearings the.
inner end of the said spindle is provided with a hook I, as seen in Fig. 7.
At the other end of the machine in bearings J, J, is arranged a second
spindle K provided with a pinion G' driven by a gear H¹ on the shaft B, and
extending inward is provided with a hook L similar to the hook I. The said
spindle K is divided so as to pass around a box M fixed in the said spindle to
receive each hank. after it is wound. The line is reeled upon the hooks L
and I over and over until the requisite quantity of cord has been laid thereon;
this is done while the spindles E and K are standing still, then, when this
requisite quantity has been reeled upon the hooks, the two spindles are caused
to revolve by being placed in connection with the power which causes the
shaft B to revolve, the operator, holding the cord a in his hand brings it against
a guide d, fixed to, and revolving with the spindle, at which point the cord
begins to wind around the hank, and winds across its length the proper
distance, and is there secured, then the hank completed is removed from the
hooks L and I and laid into the box M, and a second hank reeled and wound
in like manner as, first, and in its turn placed in the box M, and so on until
the dozen or requisite number of hanks have been so wound, then the several
hanks are removed from the box and a new set wound and placed therein, the
box M revolving with the spindle in no wise interferes with the winding.
The spindle E is adjustable laterally, so as to make the hanks longer or shorter
as may be desired.
The fourth part of this Invention, which relates to a mechanism for winding
the lines into coils, is illustrated, in Fig. 8, and, which I will proceed to
describe. A is the bed plate supporting a driving, shaft B in bearings C,
which said shaft is caused to revolve by, the application of power thereto,
through a fixed pulley D, the said shaft, extending beyond the bearing, and
arranged so that the cylinders Ę may be, placed thereon, in number to the
extent required for a single length of line, each cylinder being provided
with a flange e forming a distinct division between the several cylinders. On
to the first cylinder, the line is wound (as denoted in blue) by the revolution of
the shaft, and when the requisite, quantity, is wound thereon, then on to the
second cylinder, and so on until all the cylinders are covered, the; several
cylinders being held on the shaft by a clamp plate, F screwed on to the end of
the shaft, and when the several cylinders, have been filled or coils formed
thereon, the power is detached, the clamp plate removed, and the first
cylinder (that is the last one wound) is taken off, the coil, removed, and tied,.

page_text: then the second, and so on until all the coils are removed: To wind the
requisite quantity on to each cylinder and to change to the next when so
wound automatically, I arrange a bar G parallel to the shaft B, upon the end
of which is fixed a guide H, through the eye of which the cord to be wound
is passed, and on the bar G I form notches 6 in number corresponding to the
number of cylinders, and in connection therewith I fix a latch I, which is
moved by a pin J on the cam wheel K, the said cam wheel being driven from
a shaft L through gears M from the main shaft, the pin J on the cam
wheel K strikes the arm N which is attached to or in connection with the
latch I, and moves the latch forward and with it the bar G, one notch carrying
the guide H from one cylinder to the next, and to cause the guide to move to
and fro to carry the cord across the face of the cylinder I arrange three
cams d, more or less in number, on the cam wheel K, which act through an
arm P and lever R upon the bar G, so that the downward movement of the
arm P draws the guide to the right, and the upward movement by the reaction
of a spring S or its equivalent moves the bar to the left, and so on to and fro
across the face of the cylinder according to the number of the cams d, and
when the requisite number of revolutions have been made the pawl I is
actuated as before, and carries the line on to the next cylinder, and so on until
all the cylinders or the desired number are filled.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Thomas Hughes in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th April 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent Agents, 123,
Chancery Lane, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victória, by Hér Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, Her special licence that I, the
said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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

page_text: of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an In-.
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR TWISTING LINES, CORDS, ROPES,.
AND CABLES, AND HANKING AND COILING THE SAME," a communication to me from
abroad by Chauncey Orrin Crosby, of New Haven, Connecticut, United
States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that J, the said
Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 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 Edward Thomas Hughes, 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 thereof, reference being had to the accompanying three
Sheets of Drawings, and to the figures and letters thereon (that is to say):
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of lines, cords,
ropes, and cables, and consists,―
First. In the peculiar mechanism for twisting the different strands into the
said lines, cords, ropes, and cables.
Second. In a device for a stop motion which operates so that when either
of the several threads break the machine will be stopped.
Third. In machinery for hanking the said lines, cords, ropes, and cables.
And; fourth. In machinery for coiling the said lines, cords, ropes, and
cables.
To enable others to construct and use these improvements, I will proceed to
describe the same as illustrated in the accompanying three Sheets of Drawings,
in which Fig. 1 is a front view, Fig. 2 a side view, and Figs. 3, 4, and 5,
detached parts enlarged to illustrate the operation of these improvements;
Fig. 6 a side view of the hanking machine; Fig. 7 a plan of the same; and
Fig. 8 a side view of the coiling machine.
A, A, Sheet, 1, is a frame which supports the operative mechanism of the
machine; Bán upright driving shaft, supported in bearings C, and caused to
revolve by the application of power to the pulley D; E, E, E, are spools
supported in flyers F, which said flyers are caused to revolve by a belt G on
the pulley. H of the driving shaft. The said spools E contain the thread from
which the line is to be made, and the number of the spools and flyers must
be the number of strands of which the line is to be formed.
I is the twisting
apparatus, shewn enlarged in Fig. 3, and is constructed and arranged as

page_text: follows: To a cross bar K a bearing L is fixed, through which a hollow
shaft a passes, its upper end forming a yoke M, which supports the 'feed
shaft N; the said hollow shaft a has attached to it a pulley D. Within the
hollow shaft a is placed a second shaft d, to the upper end of which is fixed a
bevel gear R working in a corresponding gear S on the shaft N; to the lower
end of the said shaft d is fixed a pulley T, and below the said pulley T a
flyer U. Power is applied to the two pullies D and T by belts V and W from
pulleys and c on the driving shaft. The two pullies D and T are of different
diameters, the one T being a little larger than the other, proportioned, as
herein-after described, so that the shaft a carrying the shaft N is caused to
revolve faster than the shaft d, by so much as the difference in their respective
pulleys, the gear wheel R therefore revolving with a less velocity than the
yoke M will by its connection with the gear S on the shaft N cause the said
shaft N to revolve upon its own axis slowly while being revolved upon the axis
of the yoke M. The three threads from their espective spools E are brought
down, as denoted in Fig. 1, through a guide f, see Fig. 3 (a top view seen in
Fig. 4), each thread passing through a separate hole in the guide f, thence the
three threads are wound several times around the conical part of the shaft N,
then passed down through the hollow shaft d, through the flyer U to a
spool Z, as seen in Fig. 1. Power now being applied to the machine the
twisting apparatus is set, in motion, revolving rapidly twists the threads into a
single line, winding around the conical part of the shaft N as fast as twisted,
which draws or feeds the twisted line down to the flyer which revolves around
the spool Z winding the finished line thereon; the spool Z revolves with the
flyer, sufficient friction being applied thereto to retard its motion, so that the
twisted line is wound thereon; this is also the case with the upper spools E,
which revolve with their respective flyers so as to draw the thread required
therefrom. The feeding or conical part of the shaft N is made of the form
shewn, so that as the line twisted winds upon the conical part it will slip
thereon so as to retain nearly the same relative position. The spool Z rests.
upon a bar A¹, which bar A¹ is hung to levers B', which said levers rest upon
cams D', which being slowly revolved through connection with the driving
shaft causes the spool Z to rise and fall as the line is wound from top to
bottom and returning. Some classes of lines are required to be closer twisted
than others, the closer of less oblique the twist the slower should be the feed;
this effect is accomplished by changing the size of the pulleys D and T. It is
evident that were these two pulleys of the same diameter the feeding shaft N
would remain stationary upon its own axis, whereas by revolving upon the
axis of its yoke at a greater velocity than that of the shaft d, the feeding

page_text: shaft N will be revolved by so much as the difference in the velocity of the
yoke and the shaft d, therefore to feed faster diminish the diameter of the
pulley D or increase that of the pulley T; or which will produce the same
result make a like adjustment of the pulleys b and c on the driving shaft.
Another mode of adjustment is made by changing the feeding shaft N by
inserting a smaller or larger cone accordingly as the twist is to be closer or
more open.
The second part of this Invention which relates to a stop motion is seen
in Fig. 5. Above the guide f is. hung a lever h upon a fulcrum i, the other
arm operating upon a trip arranged in any convenient manner and position to
disconnect the power from the driving shaft; each thread as it passes from the
spool to the thread guide f passes over a pulley n on the said lever h, as
denoted in Fig. 5, holding the lever up in the position denoted in black (the
thread denoted in blue), but when by accident or otherwise the thread becomes
too slack or broken a counterbalance t on the lever h causes the lever h to fall
forward, as denoted in red, in which movement the arm operates upon the
trip and disconnects the power.
l
The third part of this Invention relates to an improvement in the manner
of winding or hanking the lines, and is seen in Figs. 6 and 7. A, A, is the
framework which supports the operative mechanism of the machine. B is the
driving shaft supported and so as to revolve in bearings C by the application of
power thereto through the pulley D or other means; E is a spindle resting in
bearings F, and passing through a pinion G, which said pinion is caused to
revolve by connection with a gear H on the shaft B, and the spindle E is
arranged so as to move laterally through the pinion and in its bearings; the
inner end of the said spindle is provided with a hook I, as seen in Fig. 7.
At the other end of the machine in bearings J, J, is arranged a second
spindle K, provided with a pinion G¹ driven by a gear H¹ on the shaft B, and
extending inward is provided with a hook L similar to the hook I. The said
spindle K is divided so as to pass around a box M fixed in the said spindle to
receive each hank after it is wound. The line is reeled upon the hooks L
and I over and over until the requisite quantity of cord has been laid thereon;
this is done while the spindles E and K are standing still, then when this
requisite quantity has been reeled upon the hooks the two spindles are caused
to revolve by being placed in connection with the power which causes the
shaft B to revolve, the operator holding the cord a in his hand brings it against
a guide d fixed to and revolving with the spindle, at which point the cord
beings to wind around the hank and winds across its length the proper dis-
tance, and is there secured, then the. hank completed is removed from the

page_text: hooks L and I and laid into the box M, and a second hank reeled and wound.
in like manner as first, and in its turn placed in the box M, and so, on, until
the dozen or requisite number of hanks have been so wound,, then the several..
hanks are removed from the box and a new set wound and placed therein;
the box M revolving with the spindle in nowise, interferes with the winding..
The spindle E is adjustable laterally so as to make the hanks longer, or
shorter as may be desired.
The fourth part of this Invention which relates to a mechanism for winding
the lines into coils is illustrated in Fig. 8, and which I will proceed to describe.
A is; the bed, plate supporting a driving shaft B in bearings C, which said, shaft[:
is caused to revolve by the application of power thereto, through, a fixed,
pulley D, the said shaft extending beyond the bearing, and arranged so, that
the cylinders E may be placed therein in number to the extent required for a
single length of line, each cylinder being provided with a flange,e forming a
distinct division between the several cylinders. On to the first cylinder the
line is wound, as denoted in blue, by the revolution of the shaft, and when the,{
requisite quantity is wound thereon, then on to the second cylinder, and so on
until all the cylinders are covered, the several cylinders, being held on the..
shaft by a clamp plate F screwed on to the end of the shaft, and when the
several cylinders have been filled or coils formed thereon, the power is
detached, the clamp plate removed, and the first cylinder (that is the last one
wound) is taken off the coil, removed, and tied, then the second, and so on,
until all the coils are removed. To wind the requisite quantity on to each
cylinder, and to change to the next when so wound automatically, I arrange
a bar G parallel to the shaft B, upon the end of which is fixed a guide H,
through the eye of which the cord to be wound is passed, and on the bar G, I
form notches 6 in number corresponding to the number of cylinders, and in
connection therewith I fix a latch I, which is moved by a pin J on the cam
wheel K, the said cam wheel being driven from a shaft L through gears M
from the main shaft; the pin J on the cam wheel K strikes the arm N, which
is attached to or in connection with the latch I, and moves the latch forward
and with it the bar G, one notch carrying the guide H from one cylinder to
the next, and to cause the guide to move to and fro to carry the cord across
the face of the cylinder, I arrange three cams a, more or less in number, on
the cam wheel K, which act through an arm P and lever R, upon the bar G,
so that the downward movement of the arm P draws the guide to the right,
and the upward movement by the reaction of a spring S or its equivalent
moves the bar to the left, and so on to and fro across the face of the cylinder
according to the number of the cams d, and when the requisite number of

page_text: revolutions have been made the paw! I is actuated as before, and carries
the line on to the next cylinder, and so on, until all the cylinders or the desired
number are filled.
Having thus fully described this Invention, what I claim as new and desire
to secure by Letters Patent is,
First. The feeding bar N arranged upon the hollow shaft a, and combined
with the hollow shaft d and the thread guide f, constructed and arranged to
operate substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.
Second: The levers h in combination with the respective threads of which
the line is formed, and the twisting apparatus constructed and. arranged to
operate substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.
Third. The arrangement described of the two spindles E and K with their
respective hooks L and I, constructed 'and arranged so as to receive and wind
the hank, substantially as herein set forth.
Fourth. The arrangement of the receptacle M upon one spindle so as to
receive the several hanks, as and for the purpose specified.
Fifth. In combination with the winding cylinder E, I claim the guide H,-
operated substantially as described, to carry the lines from one cylinder to
the next.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of April, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-eight.
E. T. HUGHES.
(L.S.)