IMPROVE- MENTS IN ROPES AND CABLES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Henry Pounds, of No. 1, Emmett Street,
Poplar, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of “IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ROPES AND CABLES."
Sealed the 8th November 1870, and dated the 24th May 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Henry Pounds.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th May 1870.
I, ROBERT HENRY POUNDS, of No. 1, Emmett Street, Poplar, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROPES AND CABLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in ropes and cables.
In order to protect from decay ropes and cables made of European
hemp, I cause the centre yarns of each strand to pass through oil, or
otherwise to be saturated with oil during the construction of the rope or
cable, whilst the outer yarns are applied without oil.
When the rope or cable thus made is in use the oil works outwards,

page_text: and affords a sufficient lubrication to the whole of the yarns. By
applying the oil to the centre yarns only an excessive saturation of
the rope or cable is avoided. The oil employed may be fish oil, or other
oil which has little or no tendancy to dry or become hard.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Henry Pounds in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th November 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
HENRY POUNDS, of No. 1, Emmett Street, Poplar, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Robert Henry Pounds, Her special licence
that I, the said Robert Henry Pounds, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Henry Pounds, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROPES AND CABLES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Robert Henry Pounds, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly 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 Robert Henry Pounds, 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, that is to say :-
-

page_text: This Invention has for its object improvements in ropes and cables.
The European hemp, which is obtained mainly from Russia, is very
liable to rot if left damp, and ropes and cables made from it and required
for outdoor use need protection from moisture. Heretofore such pro-
tection has been obtained by the use of tar, with which the rope or cable
has been saturated. The use of tar is, however, very objectionable in
hot climates; it becomes soft and is liable to choke the blocks, and in
cold climates it renders the rope or cable rigid, and the rigidity would
become extreme in the case of a rope or cable having as much twist
or "make" in it as for durability is desirable.
I have discovered that by the use of oil for the preservation of ropes
and cables of European hemp and by applying the oil to the centre or
"heart" yarns of each strand, not only is the rope or cable efficiently
preserved, but that whilst retaining all requisite pliability I can give both
to the strands and to the rope or cable one-tenth more twist or
than could be applied if tar were employed as the preservative material.
I commonly use seal oil or other fish oil, or unboiled linseed oil may
be used.
66 make
"
I take one-sixth of the yarns to be employed in making a strand of
a rope or cable wound on bobbins in the usual way and soak them in
the oil for about one hour, and of these oiled yarns I form the centre or
heart of the strand. The quantity of oil taken up by the yarns should
be about one-tenth the weight of the finished rope or cable. In other
respects the rope or cable is manufactured in the ordinary way, except
that about one-tenth more "make" is put in it than would be suitable
for the use to which the rope or cable is to be applied were tar to
be used.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Henry Pounds, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
coxanter