AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF WATER-TIGHT FABRICS
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edwin Ambrose Brydges at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th June 1883. Commu-
nicated to him by Franz Otto Spielhagen of the City of Berlin and German
Empire
"
EDWIN AMBROSE BRYDGES of the firm of Brydges & Co Engineers and Patent
Solicitors of 107 Königgrätzer Str: in the City of Berlin and German Empire
"AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF WATER-TIGHT FABRICS
communication to me by Franz Otto Spielhagen of the City of Berlin and German
Empire aforesaid.
a
The methods hitherto suggested or resorted to for the preparation of watertight
fabrics, made either of hemp, flax, wool or cotton fibres, have been attended with
the drawbacks of want of durability of the fabrics under the influence of
temperature and moisture; as well as an insufficient porosity of the prepared
material and of the very high price which excludes the more general use of the
same.
The object of my said invention is to remove these imperfections for which said
purpose I have made a long series of experiments which have resulted in a process
which has proved highly successful without being expensive.
The preparation of the mass to be used and its application to the fabrics to be
so prepared, takes place as follows:-
About 100 parts of india rubber (either fresh or old material in large or small
pieces) with 10 to 15 parts of linseed oil and about 5 parts of red oxyd of iron are
put into a boiler and heated above a strong fire.
These materials are heated to about 275-278° Centigrade under continual
stirring and kept at such said temperature until the same is converted into a viscid
or pulpy mass.
Through the addition of the red oxyd of iron which lessens the radiation of heat
from the boiling mass whereby the heat is more readily retained in the latter―
the preparation of the said mass to its required temperature and condition is
considerably accelerated so much so that only about one third of the otherwise
necessary amount of heat from the fire is required.
The so prepared mass is now forced through a metal sieve which is placed in
suitable proximity to the fire, for the purpose of freeing the said mass from all

page_text: impurities or foreign bodies that might have been contained in the said india
rubber or linseed oil. After the mass has been cleaned or purified in the manner
described, the same is put into an apparatus, vessel or boiler with double walls or
mantle and provided with steam heating and allowed to cool gradually down to
about 78° Centigrade. After this has been done up to 200 parts of ozocerite are
added to the mass and the same subjected to a temperature of not more than 78°
Centigrade until the ingredients are converted into a perfectly homogenous mass.
This process of heating is best carried out by means of steam, although other
modes of heating can be employed. At the above mentioned height of temperature
the so prepared mass combines readily with any colouring matter or property
which is otherwise foreign to ozocerite but which is of the utmost importance in
cases where a certain coloring of the prepared fabrics is either desirable or
necessary.
In the last mentioned vessel or apparatus which contains the so prepared mass,
I employ a system of small rollers by means of which the fabric put into the vessel
or apparatus for preparation is drawn through a calander of known construction.
This said calander is provided with two hollow, (heated) rollers and one solid
roller with a yielding surface (for instance india rubber) which latter presses the
superfluous mass out of the fabric under treatment. Experience founded on
experiments on a large scale-has proved that fabrics, impregnated with a mass as
aforedescribed,
1, are completely watertight and as smooth and flexible as in their original
condition without being air-tight.
2, are thoroughly protected against rot so that a wet fabric can at once be
compressed into its smallest volume and put away without any damage being
done to the same.
3, do not grow soft in warm weather, nor sticky and dirty, neither do they get
flawy or brittle if subjected to the greatest cold, but on the contrary retain their
flexibility;
4, increase in weight but very little.
It follows, that this process must be of great advantage if applied to covers for
vehicles, trucks, tents etc for sails and garments and especially for bread bags and
knapsacks of soldiers and other articles which are greatly subjected to the
influence of the atmosphere and therefore require the greatest possible durability.
If strongly impregnated, that is to say, if repeatedly passed through the calander
and when closely woven fabrics are employed, even hoses for the transport or
storing of liquids can be made.
In order to fully appreciate the new process it should not be overlooked that it
offers the advantage of the utilization of old waste material as for instance old and
worn out or otherwise useless articles of caoutchouc or india rubber, an advantage
which together with the aims of the whole process indicate its eminent importance.