US3538702A - Reinforcing element - Google Patents

Description

NOV. 10, 1970 W EFAL REINFORCING ELEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 9, 1969 Inventor.- ommu Mons? 000! NOV. 10, 1970 WOLF ETAL 3,538,702

REINFORCING ELEMENT Filed Oct. 9, 1969 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor o'usrw mm? F1112. swasmmorv United States Patent 3,538,702 REINFORCING ELEMENT Gustav Horst Wolf and Fritz Singenstroth, Gutersloh, Germany, assignors to Firma Gustav Wolf, Seilund Drahtwerke, Gutersloh, Germany Filed Oct. 9, 1969, Ser. No. 865,217 Claims priority, application Germany, Oct. 16, 1968,

1,803,316 Int. Cl. D07b 1/00, 1/22 US. Cl. 57145 19 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An elongated parallel-stranded element has a crosssection resembling a polygon with a predetermined number of corners and includes a first plurality of inner strands corresponding'to the predetermined number of corners of the polygon and a second plurality of outer strands together surrounding the inner strands and correa BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to stranded articles, and more particularly to parallel-stranded articles. Still more specifically the present invention relates to reinforcing elements, particularly those which may with advantage be used in reinforcing rubber and synthetic plastic materials.

It is already known to provide such reinforcing elements. conventionally these are in form of braided wires, cables or ropes of circular cross-section, composed of a plurality of individual strands. The surface of these reinforcing elements is comparatively smooth because of the large number of strands involved and because of the manner in which the strands are interwoven, and therefore there is relatively little adhesion between the surface and the surrounding mass of material, whether it be rubber or synthetic plastic material. Furthermore, these reinforcing elements utilize a central reinforcing wire or core and because of this, and because of their overall construction, are capable of withstanding quite high tensile stresses. However, they have little flexibility, regardless of whether they are subjected to tensile or compressive stresses, because of the large number of individual strands involved and also because of the presence of the reinforcing core.

Another type of reinforcing element used for the purposes at hand is in form of a stranded element wherein the strands are arranged in parallelism. Here, all individual strands have linear contact which is obtained by variously dimensioning the individual strands, that is the cross-section thereof. Of course, a number of stranded elements may be united to form a cable or rope, and this may take place in the same operating procedure in which the stranded elements themselves are manufactured, that is immediately subsequent to the manufacture of the stranded elements. The cable or rope may be manufactured according to the parallel-stranding technique and may utilize as strands elements of circular cross-section or those which have been themselves made in parallelstranded configuration. The customary technical termi- 3,538,702 Patented Nov. 10, 1970 nology used for designating these parallel constructions are Filler, Scale and Warrington.

The problem with all of these constructions resides in the fact that when embedded in rubber or synthetic plastic material, they provide inadequate adhesion with the surrounding material because of the cross-sectional configuration and because of the comparative smoothness of their surfaces. A further disadvantage resides in the fact that these known constructions have inadequate flexibility which disadvantageously influences the flexibility characteristics of the embedding material itself, and that they require a comparatively large quantity of strands and therefore a fairly significant expenditure of material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a parallel-stranded element of the type under discussion which is not subject to the aforementioned disadvantages.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide such a parallel-stranded element which does not utilize a central reinforcing core or wire and is considerably more flexible than those which are known from the art.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide such an element which provides improved adhesion with rubber or synthetic plastic material in which it is embedded.

A concommitant object of the invention is to provide an element of the type under discussion which requires less material for its construction.

In pursuance of the above objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the present invention resides in a novel article of manufacture in form of a member which is, briefly stated, composed of at least one elongated parallel-stranded element having a section resembling a polygon with a predetermined number of corners, such element including a first plurality of inner strands corresponding to this predetermined number and a second plurality of outer strands which together surround the inner strands and which correspond to triple the predetermined number.

The construction according to the present invention is such that, as already suggested above, each of the inner strands has associated with it three outer strands, and according to the invention one of the three outer strands has a cross-sectional area which is greater than that of the remaining two outer strands. The element according to the present invention does not have a reinforcing wire or core.

It will be appreciated that with the element according to the present invention the total number of strands required is comparatively small as related to the known constructions, thus resulting in a saving in material. Furthermore, the novel element is highly flexible and is possessed, because of the ratio 1:3 of inner to outer strands, of a comparatively rough or uneven outer surface and therefore has much improved adherence to the material in which it is embedded. The flexibility of the element is further enhanced by the helically twisted configuration of each of the strands, and the surface of an element constructed according to the present invention-4o which surface the embedding material adheres-is greater by approximately 10% than what has been possible in the prior art.

It goes without saying that a plurality of the novel elements may be united to form a rope or cable, and that in such a rope or cable the elements will be arranged and present in numbers in the same manner in which strands are arranged at present in each individual ele- 3 ment. The advantages of such a rope or cable are the same as those of the individual element.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of an element according to the present invention, utilizing two inner strands;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but utilizing three inner strands;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but utilizing four inner strands;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of a rope or cable composed of a plurality of individual elements according to the present invention, and being provided with three of these elements and the inner elements of the cable; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating yet a further embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before entering into a detailed discussion of the drawing it is thought necessary to emphasize that in all five figures the illustration is in form of a diagrammatic cross section. In other words, it is not thought necessary to show actual cross-section of sectioned material, but instead only to indicate diagrammatically the arrangement of the individual strands or elements with reference to one another.

Discussing now firstly the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 it will be seen that this is of an elongated parallelstranded element according to the present invention. The making and final appearance of parallel-stranded ropes, wires, litz etc. are already well known to those skilled in the art and require no detailed discussion. In accordance with the present invention, however, the element shown in FIG. 1 comprises two inner strands 1 and 2 which may be wires or the like of various different materials, for instance metal, vitreous material, synthetic plastic material or a combination of two or more of these materials. Thus, it is clear that for instance one of the strands could be of one material and another strand of a different material, and so on. Each inner strands has associated therewith in accordance with the present invention three outer strands. In FIG. 1 the inner strand 1 has associated with it the outer strands 3, 4 and 5; the inner strand 2 has associated with it the outer strands 6, 7 and 8. It will be seen that the outer strands 3-8 surround the inner strands and that there is always one of the three outer strands associated with each inner strand which has a cross-sectional area larger than that of the remaining two outer strands. In other words, of the outer strands associated with the inner strand 1, the strand 5 has a larger cross-sectional area than the strands 3 and 4; similarly, of the outer strands associated with the inner strand 2 in FIG. 1, the strands 8 has a larger cross-sectional area than the outer strands 6 and 7. By so varying the cross-sectional area of the outer strands, the resulting product has a very uneven outer surface whose overall surface area is significantly greater than what has been known from other elements heretofore taught in the art, for instance on the order of approximately 10% greater. This greatly improves the adhesion of the novel element to material in which it is embedded, such as rubber or synthetic plastic material.

Furthermore, the individual strands 1-8 contact one another only along a line, that is they have merely line contact with the result that a large part of the surface 4 of each individual strand is not supported so that when the element is subjected to tensile or compressive stresses, the flexibility of each individual strand is hampered only very little with the result that the total element has a considerably improved flexibility over what is known from the prior art.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 the overall cross-sectional configuration of the illustrated element resembles substantially a triangle. Accordingly, they are provided with three inner strands 9, 10 and 11 each of which has associated with it three outer strands, identified in the case of the inner strand 9 with reference numerals 9a, 9b and 9c, in the case of the inner strand 10 with reference numerals 10a, 10b and 10c and in the case of the inner strand 11 with reference numerals 11a, 11b and 110. The considerations and advantages outlined with reference to the embodiment in FIG. 1 are fully applicable with reference to the embodiment in FIG. 2.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 is of an element having a substantially quadratic cross-section with the inner strands being identified with reference numerals 12, 13, 14 and 15, that is there being provided four inner strands corresponding to the number of corners in the quadratic cross-section of the element. Each of the inner strands has associated with it three outer strands, two of which are of lesser cross-sectional area than the third one. The outer strands associated with the inner strand 12 are identified with reference numerals 12a, 12b and 120. The outer strands are associated with the inner strand 13 and are identified with reference numerals 13a, 13b and 130, those associated with the inner strand 14 are identified with reference numerals 14a, 14b and and those associated with inner strand 15 are identified with reference numerals 15a, .1512 and 150.

It will be evident from a consideration of the FIGS. 1-3 and from what has been set forth in the description of these figures, that a general formula may be derived for the construction of a parallel-stranded element according to the present invention, in that an element whose cross-section resembles a polygon having n corners is provided with n inner strands and with three times n outer strands. Inasmuch as it has already been pointed out earlier that a rope or cable may be constructed on the same principle as an individual parallelstranded element, it follows that such a rope or cable may be constructed in accordance with the same formula, except that instead of inner and outer strands it will utilize inner and outer stranded elements, for instance of the type shown in FIGS. 1-3. The relationships set forth above with reference to the individual element and its strands are true also of such ropes or cables.

FIG. 4 shows a rope or cable constructed of indi vidual parallel-stranded elements and having an overall construction resembling that shown with respect to the construction of the element in FIG. 2. In other words, the cross-sectional configuration of the cable in FIG. 4 resembles generally a triangle and accordingly the cable has three inner parallel-stranded elements 16, 17 and 18 each of which has associated with it three outer parallelstranded elements, that is the elements 16a, 16b, 16c, 17a, 17b, and 18a, 18b, 18c. Again, one of each of the set of three outer elements has a larger crosssectional area than the other two, this being the case in the outer elements 160, 17c and 180.

It is emphasized that in producing a rope or cable according to the present invention the parallel-stranded elements in FIGS. 1-3 may be utilized, or others produced on the principle enunciated earlier. This is suggested in the cross-sectional showing of the element 17 In FIG. 4. It is pointed out, however, that it is also posslble to produce such a rope or cable from stranded elements according to the prior art, that is those which are not parallel-stranded but instead are of circular crosssection. This is suggested in FIG. 4 by the cross-sectional showing of the element 180. If a rope or cable is completely made from elements such as suggested at 18c, then the flexibility and outer surface area will still be considerably enhanced over what is known from the prior art, although somewhat less than if the rope or cable were produced in part or entirely from parallel-stranded elements according to the present invention. From what has been said it follows, incidentally, that parallelstranded elements according to the present invention as suggested with reference numeral 17 in FIG. 4, and conventional circular-cross-sectional braided elements as suggested with reference numeral 180 in FIG. 4, may both be utilized in one and the same rope or cable.

Conversely, a rope or cable of circular cross-section may be produced in accordance with the teachings of the prior art. This is suggested in FIG. 5. According to the present invention, however, such rope or cable may utilize parallel-stranded elements according to the present invention, as suggested in FIG. with reference numeral 19 which is intended to indicate that the individual elements of the circular-cross-sectional rope or cable in FIG. 5 may for instance be of the construction shown in FIG. 2. Reference numeral 19 in FIG. 5 indicates a substantially triangular cross-section as shown in chain lines which replaces, of course, the conventional circular cross-section of the individual elements which has been shown in full lines in FIG. 5. In other words, each of the diagrammatically illustrated elements which make up the circular-cross-section cable of FIG. 5 has been shown in conventional manner as being itself of circular-crosssection for facilitating explanation. According to the present invention each of these elements is to be replaced with an element constructed according to the present invention, for instance an element -19 based on the construction shown in FIG. 2. It follows then that the resulting cable-while still having a substantially circularcross-section-will be provided with a considerably more uneven and larger surface area than was heretofore the case.

It will be appreciated that elements or ropes or cables according to the present invention may not only be straight but may for instance be endless, that is their opposite ends may be connected so that they are ringshaped. The latter type of configuration may be used to particular advantage if the elements are used as reinforcing elements in e.g. vehicle tires.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a rope, cable or the like, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. As a novel article of manufacture, a member composed of at least one elongated parallel-stranded flexible element having a cross-section resembling a polygon with a predetermined number of corners, said element including a first plurality of inner strands corresponding to said predetermined number, and a second plurality of outer strands together surrounding said inner strands and corresponding to triple said predetermined number.

2. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein two thirds of said outer strands have a crosssectional area smaller than that of the remaining third of said outer strands.

3. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said outer strands are arranged circumferentially of said element adjacent one another, each strand of said 6 remaining third alternating with two strands of said two thirds.

4. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said first plurality comprises two inner strands.

5. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said first plurality comprises four inner strands.

6. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said first plurality comprises three inner strands.

7. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said strands are wires.

8. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said inner and outer strands are exclusively in line contact with one another.

9. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said strands consist of metallic material.

10. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said strands consist of synthetic plastic material.

11. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said strands consist of vitreous material.

12. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said strands consist of a combination of at least two materials from the group comprising metallic materials, synthetic plastic materials and vitreous materials.

13. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said member is ring-shaped.

14. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said member is a parallel-stranded member and includes additional flexible elements similar to the firstmentioned element, a first number of said elements being interior elements and a second number constituting the remainder of said elements being exterior elements surrounding said inner elements with said second number of exterior elements being triple said first number of interior elements.

15. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 14, wherein said interior elements comprise at least two discrete elements.

16. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 14,

wherein said member is of polygonal cross-section.

17. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 14, wherein said member is of substantially circular crosssection.

.18. As a novel article of manufacture a parallelstranded flexible member composed of a plurality of elongated flexible elements at least some of which are of substantially circular cross-section, said member having a cross-section resembling a polygon with a predetermined number of corners and including a first plurality of inner elements corresponding to said predetermined number, and a second plurality of outer elements corresponding to triple said predetermined number.

19. As a novel article of manufacture, a flexible number of circular cross-section composed of a plurality of parallel-stranded flexible elements at least some of which have a cross-section resembling a polygon with a predetermined number of corners, and are composed of a first plurality of inner strands corresponding to said predetermined number and a second plurality of outer strands together surrounding said inner strands and corresponding to triple said predetermined number.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,999,502 4/1935 Hall 57-145 XR 2,605,201 7/1952 Howe 57145 2,620,618 12/ 1952 Chamoux 57-145 3,295,310 l/ 1967 Beighley 57145 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,034,328 6/ 1966 Great Britain.

1,038,938 8/1966 Great Britain.

DONALD E. WATKINS, Primary Examiner.

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