An Improved Substitute for Leather, applicable for Belting and other Purposes.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Sept., 1894-Accepted, 15th Dec., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Substitute for Leather, applicable for Belting and
other Purposes.
I, GEORGE EDDISON STEAD of Skinner Lane Works, Leeds in the County of
York, Manufacturer 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 relates to the manufacture of belts for driving and elevating and
of other articles usually made of leather, and consists in an improved combination
of materials in manufacturing said belts and other articles, the object, of my
invention being to produce belts and other articles as aforesaid that will be
thoroughly proof against water or moisture and, like leather, retain their grip and
other qualities until entirely worn out.
Textile belts for driving and elevating purposes have hitherto been made of grey
or white yarns in their natural state and afterwards impregnated or coated with oil
or paint. Such belts do not efficiently resist moisture and are unsuitable for use in
exposed positions or for working in water. In order to protect them when working
in water or exposed positions, they have at times been coated with tar, but this is
objectionable in many cases, for instance in the case of belts used for grain elevation,
as the tar taints the grain. Such belts also are liable to become frayed and lose
their cohesion and grip upon the pulleys when their surface becomes partly worn
off. The object of my invention is chiefly to remedy these defects and to produce
belts completely proof against moisture which will not taint the substances they
come into contact with, have a superior grip on the pulleys and retain such grip
and water-proof qualities even if part of their thickness should be worn away.
In carrying out my invention, I weave the belt of tanned yarn or make the same
of textile fabrics woven of tanned yarn and impregnate such textile belt with
resinous pitch so as to entirely fill all the interstices of the texture and yarn aud
consolidate the same. Tanning is a proved preservative of vegetable fibres and
tanned yarns are not injured by moisture. By filling the texture with resinous
pitch, the entry of water into the same is entirely prevented.
The resinous pitch used is such as is obtained as a residuum from the distillation
of crude resins mixed with some softening agent, for instance bees wax, brown
grease and stearine, tallow or their equivalents until the fatty acids have been
volatilized or decomposed. The proportions of the softening agents may be varied
according as a somewhat harder or softer pitch is preferable for the purpose for
which the impregnated material is applied. For belts I preferably use a mixture
which becomes plastic or kneadable at about 90 degrees Fah. but hardens at lower
temperatures.
The textile belts formed of tanned yarn are immersed into the pitch while melted
till they are completely filled with the same and then removed and allowed to cool.
They may be passed through callendering rollers while still warm and while the
pitch is plastic, or the rollers may be warmed.
The belts thus made are absolutely impervious to water and not affected by
moisture; they possess little odour and do not taint any materials they come in.
contact with. Their grip upon pulleys is greater than that of leather belts and
does not diminish as the surface becomes worn off, as is the case with many other
kinds of textile belts. When running they become slightly warmed and are
perfectly flexible, while when immersed into water, the pitch sets hard and stiffens

page_text: the belt, so that the warping or buckling occurring with other belts does not take
place with them and a perfect running is preserved.
The same mode of manufacture hereinbefore described with reference to belts,
may be employed for making a substitute for leather for manufacturing articles
exposed to wet, such as intermediate waterproof soles to be placed between the
under and upper sole of boots and shoes, or the outer soles of sand or similar shoes,
pump valves, hose pipes, leggings and waterproof covers. When used for such
purposes a layer of tanned fabric not impregnated with the vegetable pitch may be
attached to the impregnated fabric by softening the pitch and pressing the fabrics
together.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The manufacture of belts woven of tanned yarn or composed of fabrics woven
of tanned yarn and permeated and consolidated by resinous pitch, substantially as
herein before described.
2. The manufacture of a substitute for leather by weaving textile fabrics of
tanned yarn and permeating and consolidating the same by resinous pitch sub-
stantially as described.
3. The use of textile fabrics permeated and consolidated by resinous pitch for
the manufacture of driving and elevating belts, soles for boots and shoes, hose
pipes, pump valves, leggings, waterproof covers and similar articles usually made
of leather.
Dated this 25th day of September 1894.
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 5, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.