To remedy a defect the first move towards an improvement, and the outcome was a new appliance brought out in 1874 by Bleichert & Otto; this is shown in the figure. The essential feature of this appliance was a reversal of the action, that is to say, the eccentric a, or rather an eccentric segment, had its smallest radius towards the rope instead of vice versa, so that in whichever direction the rope or the load might pull, it had a tendency to grip and hold fast.