IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WINDOW BLINDS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Hodgkinson, of the Hollins Mill Company, of
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WINDOW BLINDS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Hodgkinson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th June 1881.
SAMUEL HODGKINSON, of the Hollins Mill Company, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WINDOW
BLINDS."
The object of this Invention is to manufacture a textile ornamental fabric
suitable for window blinds.
In carrying out my Invention I either weave a fabric with dyed yarns (colored
warp and weft), so as to produce a suitable background, or I first die or print the
fabric in the pioce.
By means of blocks or rollers suitably engraved or embrossed I then produce the
desired pattern upon this fabric, and print the same upon the surface with gum or
other suitable adhesive material.
The fabric so treated is then whilst moist passed through an enclosed chambor,
in which gold, silver, or other metallic dust is caused to be agitated, and thus the
printed pattern becomes covered wholly or in part with a metallic surfacing, and a
rich and ornamental appearance is produced.
Instead of applying the metallic surface as aforesaid, a similar effect may be
produced by spreading the metallic dust over the printed pattern, or gold or silver
leaf may be employed when a more highly ornamented material is required.

page_text: sufficiently hard; they are then cooled, rubbed down with pumice stone or soft
sandstone, and polished with the usual polishing materials, the process being
repeated until the desired imitation is obtained.
I also sometimes uso soft enamel glazes, which melt at low heat, and submit
them to a sufficient degree of heat in an oven or kiln.
For the above purposes I employ the processes usually adopted by japanners,
potters, slate enamellers, and others to produce the enamels, and to paint the
different patterns, designs, or devices, such as printing them on paper and
transferring the impression, tracing the designs, or employing artists to paint
them.
The proportions of the above ingredients which I have found to answer
are:-
For granite, iron slag, gravel, broken pottery, or broken stone, 3 parts by weight
of the material to 1 part by weight of cement or thereabout, with the smallest
possible quantity of water to render the material plastic, as an excess of water
deteriorates the ultimate strength of the manufactured article.
For articles required of unusual hardness the proportion of cement is increased
to 2 parts of material to 1 of cement for tho coarser parts and 1 part of cement to
1 of material for the finer parts, and the water used is acidulated by the addition
of sulphuric acid in the proportion of one quart of strong commercial sulphuric
acid to 30 gallons of water, but this proportion is varied according to the size of
the article and its intended purpose.
But I do not confine myself to the proportions given above, except for articles
when high finish and great durability are required.
For coarser and inferior work, or the backing up of finer portions, the proportions
may be used as low as 5 of material to 1 of ceinent, the object being to render the
composition of each mass suitable when mixed to form a hard and durable
composition.
For large lintels, girders, and columns which are intended to support-heavy
weights, I insert in the moulds wrought iron which has been rolled in L, tee, or
girder shapes proportioned to the weight to be carried, which are imbedded in the
material which is cast solidly round them, but when this is done the sulphuric acid
is not usually needed, although I see no objections to its use, as the quantity used
is much too small to injuriously affect the iron.