Improvements in Shields or Guards for Clothing, Hats, and the like.
Year: 1892

page_text: VUMI DEILDI MUITA
Improvements in Shields or Guards for Clothing, Hats, and
the like.
A communication from ELLA N. GAILLARD, of the City, County, and State of
New York, United States of America, Lady, and WILLIAM X. STEVENS,
of Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America, Solicitor of
Patents.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 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 dress-shields which are worn to protect portions of the
clothing from being wet and particularly from perspiration. Heretofore india-
rubber-cloth and oiled-silk have been used for this purpose, but the indiarubber
soon becomes offensive from its inherent disagreeable odor, excited to unusual
activity by warmth; and oiled-silk becomes sticky in service, and the oil scales off
rendering the silk pervious to perspiration and useless for this purpose.
The object of this invention is to protect from being wet, the clothing, at the
armpit, hat linings, the lower edges of dresses, the clothing beneath bibs,
diapers, etc., and to accomplish the same by a shield of material which is odorless,
flexible soft, and always smooth and agreeable to the touch, to be interposed
between the dress and the source of moisture.
To this end the invention consists in a dress-shield made of such intestinal
membranes of animals as may be cured to a consistency like "gold-beater's skin"
as hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying
drawing, in which :
Fig. 1, represents a dress-shield according to this invention adapted to be worn
at the arm-pit.
Fig. II, represents this dress-shield in its simplest form located upon a fragment
of a dress at the arm-pit.
Fig. III, represents in cross section a portion of this dress-shield with the shield
proper interposed between a cushion of absorbent material and a backing.
Fig. IV, is a cross section of a portion of any dress-shield with the shield proper
above the backing.
Fig. V, represents a hat with a portion broken out to expose this dress-shield
serving as a hat lining.
The animal membrane with which my correspondents have experimented
successfully is commercially known as "gold-beater's skin," which is described in
Webster's dictionary as "The prepared outside membrane of the large intestine of
the ox, used for separating leaves of metal in the process of gold-beating."
It is well known that portions of other internal organs besides the large intestine
have been thus treated and used, and that the intestines of calves and various
animals other than the ox have served the same purpose, and it is proposed to use
any intestinal membrane of animal kind which when properly cured, shall prove
suitable for dress-shields.
It is a known property of such membrane that it permits to some extent the
passage of moisture one way through it, and resists its passage the other way
through, and it is proposed to apply this membrane to clothing with that side next
to the wearer in which it will resist the passage of perspiration from the person or
of wet from any source to the clothing, thus forming a shield for the dress against
moisture.

page_text: This membrane is a mere tissue so extremely thin and flexible that it requires
some kind of a supporter to hold it extended in service.
In Fig. I, a represents the membrane or shield proper, and b is the supporter
consisting of a covering of cloth secured to the membrane all around the edges.
At one corner the drawing shows the parts separated.
In Fig. II, a portion of a dress, in which d is the body, and e the sleeve, is
shown with a piece of the membrane a secured over the region of the arm-pit by
being tacked to the dress with stitches at the corners f. In this case the dress
keeps the membrane extended in place.
In Fig. V, g represents a hat provided with the usual band h, and with one of
my protecting membranes a to serve as a lining. In this case the membrane is
held extended by the hat to which it is stitched at its upper edge i and lower
edge k.
In some articles like infant's diapers it is advantageous to interpose a sponge or
cushion of absorbent material I Fig. III, between the membrane a and the wearer,
and a backing m may also be used. Or the shield a may be placed next to the
wearer and a backing m used to distend it, but in all cases the membrane is to be
placed between the source of moisture and the clothing, with its resisting side
outward or away from the clothing, to prevent the passage of moisture to the
clothing.
I do not believe that the skin or external covering of an animal is suitable for
this purpose and I do not claim it as the invention. Neither do I claim any
animal membrane which has been so treated as to be or to become stiff like
parchment, in service.
This prepared membrane is soft, flexible, entirely inoffensive and conducive to
health, emitting no perceptible odor and causing no itching nor irritation when
worn against a person's skin as in hat linings, and its smoothness renders it an
excellent shield to interpose where the clothing chafes the wearer, because it
prevents the clothing in such places from becoming wet and stringy. Being almost
transparent it is nearly colorless. As a shield for trailing dresses it is a perfect
protection and very durable.
For the purposes of the claim in this case the described membrane is termed
"gold-beater's skin" because, in practice, that article would probably be the most
generally used for these dress-shields, and by the term gold-beater's skin" is
meant any membrane of animal kind which is like gold-beater's skin in respect to
the qualities hereinbefore described as desirable in a dress-shield; and by a
supporter is meant anything which will keep the membrane extended in position
for service; and by the resisting side is meant that side of the membrane which
when turned outward or towards the moisture causes the membrane to resist the
passage of moisture through it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my invention, is-
1. In a dress shield a supporter and gold-beater's skin attached thereto with the
resisting side outward, substantially as described.
2. In a dress shield a cushion of absorbent material and gold-beater's skin
attached thereto with the resisting side next to the cushion, substantially as
described.
Dated this 9th day of August 1892.
ALFRED J. BOULT.
Chartered Patent Agent.