Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for the Construction of Wire Ropes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 14th Feb., 1894-Accepted. 7th Apr., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for the Construction of
Wire Ropes.
HERBERT CHEESMAN Manufacturer of Wire Ropes, Moorcliff House,
Hartlepool, County of Durham, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
:-
My invention relates to an improved construction of wire rope & to apparatus
in
for the manufacture of the same & has for its object the obtaining of a wire rope
which the wires composing the strands are laid without torsion as also are the
strands composing the rope.
66
Wire ropes are at present manufactured on machines arranged with an epicyclic
train, or its equivalent by the use of cranks; producing the motion known as the
sun & planet," with the result that the spool carriers assume the same positions
relatively to the axis of the machine at each recurring revolution, that is to say,
the spool carriers do not revolve on their own axis during their passage round the
axis of the machine, this motion produces in the strand or rope at each revolution
of the machine certain torsion the amount of torsion being proportionate to the
pitch or angle of the spiral & resulting in unnecessary distress of the material & a
consequent deterioration in the efficiency of the rope.
By my invention this is entirely obviated & an example of my improved
apparatus is as follows:-On the axis of the machine is arranged a toothed wheel
in the ordinary manner, between this & the surrounding spool carriers are inter-
mediate wheels, gearing into the fixed centre wheel & also into wheels on the spool
carriers; the whole being so constructed & arranged that the spool carriers
partially revolve on their own axis during their passage round the axis of the
machine; the amount of such partial revolution depending on the pitch & angle of
the spiral & resulting in a rope in which the torsion produced by all other known
methods of construction is neutralized.
Dated 19th day Anil 1802
HERBERT CHEESMAN,
Hartlepool.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for the Construction of
Wire Ropes.
I, HERBERT CHEESMAN, Manufacturer of Wire Ropes, Moorcliff House,
Hartlepool in the County of Durham, 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 relates to the construction of wire ropes or strands and to apparatus
for the manufacture of the same and has for its object the obtaining of a wire rope
in which the wires composing the strands or the strands composing the rope as the
case may be are laid without torsion and as the wire has the same relation to the
strand that the strand has to the rope, I will for simplicity of description refer to
strands and ropes only but it is to be understood that I include in that expression
the like reference or meaning in respect of wires and strands.

page_text: Wire ropes are at presént manufactured on machines arranged with an epicyclic
train or its equivalent driven by cranks rotary driving shafts or the like producing
what is known as the "sun and planet" motion with the result that the bobbins
or spools resume the same positions relatively to the main body of the machine at
each recurring revolution that is to say that the bobbin or spool carriers which
are mounted on the "planet" wheels do not revolve on their own axes relatively
to the " sun or fixed centre wheel during their passage or circuit round the
machine.
A machine constructed on this principle but also embodying my invention is
illustrated in the drawing hereto annexed in which
Figure is a general plan of the machine and Figure 2 is a corresponding
elevation and this machine is to be taken as representative of such machines
generally so far as my invention is applicable to them.
In the drawing it will be observed that the strands aaa are led away at an angle
which may be any convenient angle to the main axis of the machine from the
bobbin or spool carrier frames c as they are drawn from the bobbins or spools d
the circumferential travel of which lays the strands a a a into the rope b and it is
found in praetice that in all such machines as hitherto constructed the motion
produces in the strand or rope at each revolution of the machine certain torsion
resulting in unnecessary distress of the material and a consequent deterioration in
the efficiency and quality of the rope.
Now I have discovered that it is capable of mathematical demonstration that
this torsion is due to the fact that the planet wheels e return to precisely the same
position relatively to the main body of the machine at each recurring revolution of
the said machine and that the amount of torsion so caused is proportionate to the
pitch, lay or angle of the spiral of the rope that is to say for instance that if the
spiral of the rope diverges from the lines of intersection taken parallel to its own
main axis at an angle say of 14° an expression which I will hereinafter further
explain with reference to Figures 3 and 4, then the torsion put into the strand at
each recurring circuit the bobbins or spools d is also equal to 141° and so on for
any other angle and that in fact each bobbin or spool should change its angular
position in the backward direction relatively to the main body of machine to the
same extent as the angle or pitch at which the strands are laid in to form the
spiral of the rope.
Referring to Figures 3 and 4 which are drawn to an enlarged scale Figure 3
illustrates in diagram a section of a rope cut off to a length in which the lay or
spiral exactly completes itself and Figure 4 is a corresponding transverse section.
Taking the line ggg in Figure 3 as representing the centre line of a strand the
spiral of which is represented in the solid by the figure of the cylinder hhhh
corresponding to the dotted circle in Figure 4 the line kk taken along the surface
of this cylinder in a direction parallel to the axis thereof (which may also be
termed the main axis of the spiral) is an intersecting line with the spiral of the rope
and the angle at the point of intersection is the angle at which the spiral of the
rope diverges from the lines of intersection taken parallel to its own main axis and
to which the foregoing description is to be referred.
This important modification in the construction of wire rope machines of the kind
illustrated in the drawing relieves the strands of the torsion and constitutes the
'essential feature of my invention. In order to effect this result instead of making
the planet wheels e exactly equal in number of teeth to the sun or fixed centre
wheel I provide them with such greater number of teeth as the angle or pitch of
the spiral of the rope requires thus for instance where equal wheels would set up a
torsion of 14° for each revolution of the machine for a given number of teeth in
the sun or fixed centre wheel I provide more teeth in each planet wheel e in the
requisite ratio which in this case would of course work out to 360 to 374.5 reduced
to its nearest practical equivalent with a view to attaining the result as illustrated
more particularly in the case of the planet wheel e¹ and the bobbin or spool d' in
Figure 1 in which at the commencement of the first circuit of the planet wheel e'
3%

page_text: its diameter ae is shown to correspond with the datum line XX taken in the direction
of a diameter of the machine itself which is also a diameter of its own circular track
but on the completion of the first circuit the diameter of the planet wheel e¹ is now
in the position of or has fallen back 14° relatively to the said datum line X X
and so on to the position at the end of the second circuit thus losing another
144° relatively to the machine about which it travels for each recurring circuit the
corresponding positions of the bobbin or spool & for the first and second circuits
being shown in dotted lines.
From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying
drawing it will be seen that I have provided a very simple way of modi-
fying the construction of wire rope machines so as to enable the wires and
strands to be laid into the ropes without torsion and it will be readily under-
stood from the hereinbefore described example how the planet wheels can be
adjusted to the sun wheel to avoid torsion it being a matter of calculation for each
machine to obtain the requisite angular retardation of the planet wheel relatively
to the sun wheel at the completion of each circuit the angular retardation being in
every case equal to the angle at which the spiral of the rope in course of
manufacture diverges from an intersecting line taken parallel to its own main axis
as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 3 and 4.
Having now particularly described the nature of my said invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-.
In the construction of wire ropes or strands the use of an apparatus constructed
and operated as hereinbefore described and illustrated in which the planet wheels
are so geared relatively to the sun wheel that the angular retardation of the planet
wheels at each recurring revolution of the machine is equal to the pitch or angle of
the spiral of the rope to be manufactured by which the wires composing the strands
or the strands composing the ropes are laid in without torsion.
Dated this 13th day of February 1894
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the Applicant.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the Applicant.