Improvements in the Coating or Protecting of Wire Ropes or other Drawn or Rolled Metals.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 25th May, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 25th Feb., 1895-Accepted. 30th Mar., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Coating or Protecting of Wire Ropes or other
Drawn or Rolled Metals.
We, SHERARD OSBORN COWPER-COLES of 16 Adam Street, Manchester
Square in the County of London, Engineer and BALDWIN WAKE WALKER
Baronet of No. 1 Queen's Place, Southsea in the County of Hants, Captain in
the Royal Navy do hereby declare the nature of this invention to he as
follows
This invention has more particularly for its object to provide ropes for mining,
ships rigging or other purposes which are better able to resist the corrosive
influences to which such ropes are liable. If such ropes be galvanized, or coated
with zinc, the coating rapidly deteriorates under the action of acids or salt water,
whilst non-metallic protective material rapidly becomes rubbed off, and the iron, or
steel, of the ropes is then practically unprotected. According to this invention the
ropes are coated, or plated, with a metal which will efficiently protect iron, or
steel, against corrosion and which is not injuriously acted upon by injurious
influences such as salt water or acids as zinc is acted upon. The metal which has
been found best suited to the purpose according to this invention is cadmium,
which has been found, by trial and experiment, to answer the purpose well and to
give much greater protection and endurance to the ropes than hitherto.
The protective and acid resisting metal, such as cadmium, may be applied in any
convenient manner, but it is preferred to effect the coating by electro deposition.
We do not limit ourselves to the use of cadmium alone as other metals, or alloys,
may also be used; for instance, a coating of zinc may first be applied to the iron, .
or steel, of the rope and the cadmium be applied as a second coating upon the zinc
nor do we limit ourselves to the coating or protecting of wire ropes as drawn or
rolled metals in other form may be similarly coated or protected.
Dated this 25th day of May 1894.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Agents.
Improvements in the Coating or Protecting of Wire Ropes or other
Drawn or Rolled Metals.
We SHERARD OSBORN COWPER-COLES of 16 Adam Street, Manchester
Square, in the County of London, Engineer, and BALDWIN WAKE WALKER,
Baronet, of 1 Queen's Place, Southsea, in the County of Hants, Captain in the
Royal Navy, 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 :-
This invention has more particularly for its object to provide ropes for mining,
ships rigging, or other purposes, which are better able to resist the corrosive

page_text: influences to which such ropes are liable. If such ropes be galvanized, or coated
with zinc, the coating rapidly deteriorates under the action of acids or salt water
whilst non-metallic protective material rapidly becomes rubbed off, and the iron, or
steel of the ropes is then practically unprotected. According to this invention the
ropes are coated, or plated, with a metal which will efficiently protect iron, or
steel against corrosion and which is (unlike zinc) not injuriously acted upon by
injurious influences such as salt water or acids, such as ropes are frequently brought
into contact with in use such for instance as the acid waters in mines. The metal
which has been found suited to the purpose according to this invention is cadmium,
which has been found, by trial and experiment, to answer the purpose well, and to
give much greater protection and endurance to the ropes than hitherto.
The cadmium may be applied in any convenient manner but it is preferred to
effect the coating by electro deposition. We do not limit ourselves to the use of
cadmium alone, as other metals, or alloys, may also be used with the cadmium, for
'instance, a coating of zinc may first be applied to the iron, or steel, of the rope, and
the cadmium be applied as a second coating upon the zinc, or zinc may be deposited
upon the cadmium coating, nor do we limit ourselves to the coating or protecting of
wire ropes as drawn or rolled metals in other form nay be similarly coated or
protected, for instance if copper wires for electrical or other purposes be coated in
this way with cadmium the coating will be much more durable than a tin coating
applied to such wires.
It is preferred in coating ropes as aforesaid to effect the coating on the wires
before they are made into the strands and ropes although if preferred in any
particular cases the strands or the ropes can be coated after they are formed.
The coating with cadmium can be performed very conveniently by the employ-
ment of rolled cadmium anodes and an electrolyte consisting of an aqueous solution
of ammonium sulphate or of the double salt of cyanide of cadmium and cyanide of
potassium.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
The coating or protecting of wire ropes or other drawn or rolled metals by the
application thereto or to their component parts of a coating of cadmium either alone
or in conjunction with a coating or coatings of other metal or metals substantially
as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 25th day of ATUALY
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.