A New or Improved Manufacture or Production of Foil, suitable for use as a Wrapper for Protecting Articles of Merchandise and the like.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Dec.. 1891
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Apr., 1892-Accepted, 28th May, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Manufacture or Production of Foil, suitable
for use as a Wrapper for Protecting Articles of Merchandise
and the like.
1, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention which
has been communicated to me from abroad by Albert Sichel, of the City,
County and State of New York, in the United States of America to be as
follows:-
My foreign correspondent has discovered that zinc can be rolled as thin as if
not thinner than the ordinary lead, tin or compound foil of commerce, and that
when rolled to exceeding thinness it will retain its strength and will have
imparted to it the flexibility and pliability requisite to enable it to be used
for wrappers.
It has been known in a general way for some years that zinc, notwithstanding
its high crystalline structure is under certain conditions of heat and the like,
malleable to an extent which will permit it to be drawn into wire or made into
sheets or comparatively thin leaves, as they may be called for want of a better
name. I believe that the thinnest leaf zinc however hitherto known is 1 of a
millemeter or about four one thousandths of an inch in thickness. Such a
material is stiff and wholly unfitted for use as a wrapper, and is not in any true
sense foil. The difference between any such thin sheet or leaf zinc, and the zinc
foil of this invention will be indicated by the fact that under this invention starting
for instance with a zinc sheet 002 of an inch in thickness, that is to say, a sheet
thinner by one half than any heretofore produced and which when even of this
comparative thinness is still unsuitable for use as a wrapper. According to this
invention that sheet is reduced by successive operations to a thickness of say
from 2000 to 400g of an inch--these limits not being arbitrary but being here
stated in order to illustrate the extent to which the reduction must be carried in
order to produce a foil suitable for wrappers.
The ordinary straight rolling process is wholly inadequate to produce this result.
Zine when thus rolled, becomes stringy, weak, full of small holes, and hence entirely
unfit for use for the purposes of a wrapper. What is required is that with the
reduction of thickness, the metal shall be evenly condensed, with a body that is
solid, free from openings or holes, however minute, and capable of being bent and
folded in any and all directions without danger of fracture or break.
"
This is accomplished according to this invention by a process of cross folding
and rolling, which I will now proceed to describe. I may here state that with
zine mined in the State of Virginia and bearing the brand "Bertha
my foreign
correspondents have rolled excellent zinc foil of an inch in thickness from
the ingot, without heating or annealing the metal at any time during the
operation.
Starting for example with sheet zine about 025 or of an inch thick (which is
a gauge that can be obtained without much trouble in the market) a good quality
of sheet zinc of this thickness is taken and reduced to about 002 of an inch in
thickness which is about twice as thin as any sheet zinc heretofore known. To
accomplish this the following is the manner of proceeding assuming for the purpose
of illustration only, that the sheet is 16 inches square:
The sheet is passed through between rolls and reduced gradually until it is
24 inclres long, and then it is cut in half so as to get two sheets, each 12 × 16
inches. These sheets are laid one upon the other, and then they are folded in the

page_text: middle, thus producing a package of 8 x 12 inches. This package is passed
through: between rolls presenting the closed or folded end to the rolls, and it is
gradually reduced until the package is about 12 inches long. It is then cut or
sheared so as to take, off the closed end, and the package is folded as before, but
so that the line of fold is at right angles with that of the previous fold (which has
just been sheared off). This package which measures now about 6 x 12 inches)
is then rolled presenting the closed or folded end to the rolls, until it is lengthened
to about 9 inches.
These operations of cross rolling and cross folding are repeated until sheets of
about C02 of an inch are obtained.
The object of this method of folding and rolling is that after every folding, cach
sheet of the newly formed package shall pass through between the rolls in a direction
transverse or approximately at right angles to that in which it had passed through
in the preceding package. It is only in this way that the result aimed at can
be obtained.
If at any time the metal should appear brittle, it should be heated to about
212° Fahrenheit and at that temperature be presented to the rolls. This refers to
the sheet with which the process is started as well as to the packages already
referred to, and those hereinafter described, at any stage.
Whenever the edges show signs of breaking, or when they are not in line with
one another, they should be trimmed.
Having thus obtained zinc leaves about 002 of an inch thick, then, in order to
produce the zinc foil of this invention the following is the proceeding.
Say four comparatively thick sheets of zinc each about 025 of an inch thick;
are taken and for purposes of illustration I assume them to be 12 x 18 inches in
size. They are laid one on the other with their edges coinciding and they are
folded in the middle to produce a package or book of 8 leaves, each 12 by 9 inches.
14 sheets of the thin leaves 002 of an inch thick and 12 x 9 inches, produced as
already described are then taken and two sheets of the thin are put between each
two leaves of the book or package formed by the thick. The closed end of this
package is then presented to the rolls, and the package is passed through them
until it has been lengthened about 50% or in other words until it is about
134 inches long. The free edges are then trimmed and the folded edge is cut or
sheared off and the package is folded the other way and the operation of successive
cross foldings and rollings are repeated until the thin sheets, interleaved between
the thicker ones, have become reduced to the thinness which it is desired to
produce.
Whenever the surface of the outer sheet of the package appears to become
rough or shows slight signs of breaking, the package should at once be put
between the leaves of a folded fresh sheet of the thick zinc (025 of an inch thick);
after which the rolling is continued as before. This is advisable when the sheets
have grown thin. When the sheets have thus grown thin and the package has
been put between the folds of a fresh sheet of heavy zine the package can be
lengthened more than 50% before refolding it.
In the manner above described my foreign correspondent has produced sheets of
zinc foil of about 400 of an inch in thickness.
Zinc foil can thus be produced as thin as the very thinnest of the ordinary foils
of commerce used for wrappers.
Metallic foil wrappers are used to wrap packages of tobacco, cigars, candies,
soap and such like articles. The metallic foil mostly used for these purposes is
made of tin, or of a core of lead with surface of tin.
Pure tin is expensive; moreover if rolled very thin either in the pure state or
even slightly alloyed with some metal such as antimony it is rather frail for
wrappers, except for very small packages, or for solids which require little or no
strength in the wrapper. Compound foil that is to say foil made of lead core with
tin surfaces to be suitable for wrappers, must not be rolled very light or thin for
in that case it would be entirely too frail.

page_text: The rolled zinc foil produced in the manner hereinbefore described is very thin.
It is made from an inexpensive metal. In common with other metallic foil
wrappers it is impervious to air and moisture. And it possesses weight for weight
á strength which is not found in other foil wrappers. It would require for example
a sheet of compound foil several times the weight of the sheet of zinc foil to have
the same strength and durability as the latter. As the result of the aforesaid
operations a very thin, light weight, strong zinc foil is obtained which is apparently
homogeneous and without flaw or brake in its body, and yet pliable and flexible
enough to be admirably adapted for a wrapper in place of the ordinary tin and
compound foils now in use for that purpose.
Dated this 2nd day of December 1801
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Manufacture or Production of Foil, suitable
for use as a Wrapper for Protecting Articles of Merchandise
and the like.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of
Middlesex Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has
been communicated to me from abroad by Albert Sichel of the City County
and State of New York in the United States of America) and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My foreign correspondent has discovered that zinc can be rolled as thin as and
indeed thinner than the ordinary lead, tin or compound foil of commerce, and that
when rolled to exceeding thinness it will retain its strength and will have
imparted to it the flexibility and pliability requisite to enable it to be used for
wrappers
It has been known in a general way for some years that zinc, notwithstanding
its high crystalline structure, is under certain conditions of heat, and the like,
malleable to an extent which will permit it to be drawn iuto wire or made into
sheets or comparatively thin leaves. I believe that the thinnest leaf zinc however
hitherto known is of a millemeter, or about four one-thousandths of an inch in
thickness. Such a material is stiff and wholly unfitted for use as a wrapper, and
is not, in any true sense, foil. The difference between any such thin sheet, or leaf,
zinc, and the zinc foil of this invention will be indicated by the fact that under this
invention starting for instance with a zinc sheet 002 of an inch in thickness that
is to say, a shect twice as thin as, that is thinner by one half than, any heretofore
produced, and which when even of this comparative thinness is still unsuitable for
use as a wrapper. According to this invention the said sheet is reduced by
successive operations to a thickness of say from 2000 to 4000 of an inch-these
limits not being absolute, but being here stated in order to illustrate the extent to
which the reduction must be carried in order to produce a foil suitable for
wrappers.
The ordinary straight rolling process is wholly inadequate to produce this
result. Zinc when thus rolled, becomes stringy, weak, and full of small holes, and
hence entirely unfit for use for the purposes of a wrapper. What is required is,
that with the reduction of thickness, the metal shall be evenly condensed, with a
body that is solid, free from openings or holes, however minute, and capable of
being bent and folded in any and all directions without danger of fracture or
break. This is accomplished according to this invention by a process of cross
folding and rolling, which I will now proceed to describe it being the best way
known to me of producing the article according to this invention. I may here state
that with zinc mined in the State of Virginia and bearing the brand "Bertha,"

page_text: my foreign correspondent has rolled excellent zinc foil 400 of an inch in thickness
from the ingot, without heating or annealing the metal at any time during the
operation.
Starting for example witli sheet zinc about 025 or 4 of an inch thick this sheet
is reduced to about 002 of an inch in thickness-which is about twice as thin as
any sheet zinc heretofore known. To accomplish this the following is the manner
of proceeding-Assuming, for the purpose of illustration only, that the sheet is
16 inches square:-The sheet is passed through between rolls and reduced
gradually until it is 24 inches long, and then it is cut in halt so as to get two
sheets, cach 12 x 16 inches. These sheets are laid one upon the other, and then
they are folded in the middle, thus producing a package of 8 x 12 inches. This
package is passed through between rolls, presenting the closed or folded end to the
rolls, and it is gradually reduced until the package is about 12 inches long. It is
then cut or sheared so as to take off the closed end, and the package is folded as
before, but so that the line of fold is at right angles with that of the previous fold
(which has just been sheared off). This package which measures now about
6 x 12 inches) is then rolled presenting the closed or folded end to the rolls, until
it is lengthened to about 9 inches.
These operations of cross rolling and cross folding are repeated until sheets of
about 002 of an inch in thickness are obtained.
The object of this method of folding and rolling is that, after every folding,
each sheet of the newly formed package shall pass through between the rolls in a
direction transverse or approximately at right angles to that in which it had passed
through in the preceding package. It is only in this way that the result aimed at
can be obtained.
If at any time the metal should appear brittle, it should be heated to about
212° Fahrenheit and at that temperature be presented to the rolls. This refers to
the sheet with which the process is started, as well as to the packages already
referred to, and those hereinafter described, at any stage.
Whenever the edges shew signs of breaking, or when they are not in line with
one another, they should be trimmed.
Iremark here that so far as my foreign correspondent has been able to determine
it is necessary in order to obtain a good zinc foil that the thick sheet (supposed to
be of an inch thick) with which the making of the foil is started should be
produced by a process of cross rolling from the ingot itself. Of the various sheet
zinc in the market none of them, so far as my foreign correspondent has been able
to ascertain, is fitted for the production of the foil. My foreign correspondent
has tried for example to make foil from the softest German sheet zinc obtainable
in the German market-a zine of a millemeter in thickness and he has found
that the moment it is perceptibly reduced, even by cross rolling and folding, it
acquires the appearance of crotchet work or of a net or is full of holes.
Having thus obtained zinc leaves about 002 of an inch thick, then, in order to
produce the zinc foil of this invention the following is the proceeding.
Say four comparatively thick sheets of zinc each about 025 of an inch thick are
taken, and, for purposes of illustration I assume them to be 12 x 18 inches in size.
They are laid one on the other with their edges coinciding, and they are folded in
the middle to produce a package or book of 8 leaves, each 12 x 9 inches.
14 sheets of the thin leaves 002 of an inch thick and 12 x 9 inches, produced as
already described are then taken and two sheets of the thin are put between each
two leaves of the book or package formed by the thick.
The closed end of this package is then presented to the rolls and the package is
passed through them until it has been lengthened about 50%, or in other words
until it is about 13 inches long. The free edges are then trimmed and the folded
edge is cut or sheared off and the package is folded the other way; and the
operations of successive cross foldings and rollings are repeated until the thin
sheets, interleaved between the thicker ones, have become reduced to the thinness
which it is desired to produce.

page_text: Whenever the surface of the outer sheet of the package appears to become
rough or shews slight signs of breaking, the package should at once be put between
the leaves of a folded fresh sheet of the thick zinc (025 of an inch thick); after
which the rolling is continued as before. This is always advisable when the sheets
have grown thin. When the sheets have thus grown thin, and the package has
been put between the folds of a fresh sheet of heavy zinc, the package can be
lengthened more than 50% before refolding it.
In the manner above described my foreign correspondent has produced sheets of
zine foil of about 4 of an inch in thickness.
Zinc foil can thus be produced as thin as the very thinnest of the foils of commerce
used for wrappers.
Metallic foil wrappers are used to wrap packages of tobacco, cigars, candies, soap
and such like articles. The metallic foil mostly used for these purposes is made of
tin, or of a core of lead with surfaces of tin.
Pure tin is expensive; moreover if rolled very thin, either in the pure state, or
even slightly alloyed with some metal such as antimony, it is rather frail for
wrappers, except for very small packages, or for solids, which require little or no
strength in the wrapper. Compound foil-that is to say foil made of lead core
with tin surfaces,-to be suitable for wrappers, must not be rolled very light or
thin for in that case it would be entirely too frail.
thin.
The rolled zinc foil produced in the manner herein before described is very
It is made from an inexpensive metal. In common with other metallic foil
wrappers it is impervious to air and moisture and it possesses weight for weight a
strength which is not found in other foil wrappers. It would require for example
a sheet of compound foil several times the weight of the sheet of zinc foil to have
the same strength and durability as the latter. As the result of the aforesaid
operations a very thin strong zinc foil, light in weight is obtained which is
apparently homogeneous and without flaw or break in its body, and yet pliable and
flexible enough to be admirably adapted for a wrapper in place of the ordinary tin
and compound foils now in use for that purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. As a new article of manufacture, zinc foil, thin flexible and pliable enough to
be used as a wrapper, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
2. The manufacture of thin flexible and pliable zinc foil substantially as and for
the purposes herein before described.
Dated this 23rd day of April 1892.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.