IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TAPERS AND OF FRICTION MATCHES, AND IN THE MEANS OF IGNITING FRICTION MATCHES
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Alexander Bell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
May 1866.
I, SAMUEL ALEXANDER BELL, of Epping Villas, Stratford, in the County of
Essex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TAPERS AND OF FRICTION MATCHES, AND
IN THE MEANS OF IGNITING FRICTION MATCHES," to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of friction matches it is the practice to "dip" the
splints or tapers into the igniting composition, the splints or tapers having
been first arranged evenly and secured in clamps. These clamps after the
dipping operation are carried to a drying room, and placed in racks with the
coated ends of the matches downward, where they remain until the compo-
sition is set. This drying operation is often very tedious, depending greatly
upon the state of the atmosphere, and when completed the matches require
to be handled in the act of removing them from the clamps and placing them
in boxes. Accumulations of the matches, however, give off deleterious fumes,
and the handling of them is injurious to the workers, and frequently causes
the ignition of the matches. Moreover, the igniting composition has a great
affinity for moisture, and in some climates friction matches are but little used
in consequence of their rapid deterioration. To remove these several, defects
is the chief object of this Invention.
In order to expedite the drying of the igniting composition, and thereby
greatly to facilitate the making of friction matches without increasing the
"plant" employed, I propose to admit to the drying room streams of air

page_text: impelled by any suitable fan or blower and directed on to the pendent ends of.
the matches. The manner of carrying out this object may vary, but I prefer
to lead a series of pierced horizontal pipes around the walls of the drying
room at levels corresponding with the height at which the coated ends of the
matches are suspended, and to supply air thereto from suitable air trunks in
connection with the fan case. These pipes may be fitted with plates or lips,
which will direct the air in the form of a sheet on to the ends of the matches.
The air in hot weather I propose to cool in any suitable manner before dis-
charging it into the drying room, but in damp and cold weather it may with
advantage be passed through passages in a steam chest or other heater. The
exhaust or waste steam of an adjacent engine may be with advantage used as
the medium of heating, as the steam will never heat the air beyond a given
temperature, and thus no danger of igniting the matches by an undue
elevation of temperature will arise. When the drying has been thus com-
pleted I coat the ends of the matches by dipping them into a waterproof
solution, using for that purpose collodion or india-rubber, gutta percha, or
other like varnish, or the igniting material may be protected by oxidized oil.
When the coating is dry the igniting compound will be securely protected
from the action of damp, and no noxious effects will arise to the work people
from contact with the matches.
Another improvement relates to the manufacture of tapers. This improve-
ment has for its object to quicken the setting of the wax or composition used in
coating strands of cotton for the manufacture of tapers, and remove the necessity
for leading the strands of tapers a long distance through the air (after leaving
the bath and before winding on to the drums provided to receive them). I
pass the lengths of tapers through streams of cold air issuing from pierced or
slit pipes supplied with air from a fan or blower.
My last improvement relates to the preparation of the friction surfaces
used for igniting what are known as safety matches, and consists in coating
those surfaces with a waterproof varnish such as above mentioned. By this
means the friction surface is protected from the action of the damp and
atmospheric influences and retained in an efficient state in any climate.