IMPROVEMENTS IN MOULDING AND VULCANIZING ARTICLES OF INDIA-RUBBER
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Josiah George Jennings, of Palace Road, Lambeth,
in the County of Surrey, Sanitary Engineer, and Manuel Leopold Jonas
Lavater, of Bath Street, Newgate Street, in the City of London, India-
rubber Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOULDING
AND VULCANIZING ARTICLES OF INDIA-RUBBER."
Sealed the 12th December 1863, and dated the 16th June 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Josiah George Jennings
and Manuel Leopold Jonas Lavater at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 16th June 1863.
We, JOSIAH GEORGE JENNINGS, of Palace Road, Lambeth, in the County
of Surrey, Sanitary Engineer, and MANUEL LEOPOLD JONAS LAVATER, of Bath
Street, Newgate Street, in the City of London, India-rubber Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOULDING
AND VULCANIZING ARTICLES OF INDIA-RUBBER," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in moulding and vulcanizing
articles of india-rubber, and is applicable particularly to reticulate articles,
such as the vulcanized india-rubber mats in common use. In order to
produce such articles we employ a frame with four or other convenient
number of sides; to this is adapted a bottom and a top with a number of pro-
jections upon it corresponding with the perforations to be made in the mat or
other article; the dough of sulphurized india-rubber is put into the frame, and
the projections on the lid are forced down in amongst the dough by a press,

page_text: and then the frame and its contents are subjected to heat until the india-
rubber is vulcanized, and thus a perforated block is produced; this then is cut
up into slices by means of a knife, and each slice forms a mat or similar
article. Or in place of proceeding in this manner, we employ a roller, to the
periphery of which we attach studs of the form of the perforations we desire
to produce; these studs are conveniently fixed to the roller by means of
screws, so that they can be taken off readily, and arranged according to any
desired pattern, or changed for others of different form, as may be required.
The roller so arranged is made to revolve in contract with another roller, and
the sulphurized india-rubber dough is placed between the two, and as they
revolve is pressed into the spaces between the studs of the figure roller. The
dough being thus moulded the moulded article may, if desired, be removed
from the roller and then vulcanized, but we prefer to vulcanize it whilst in the
hollows of the roller, and this we do by admitting steam or other heated fluid
to the interior of the roller. Or in place of employing a roller or cylinder,
we employ a drum with four or other convenient number of flat sides. The
drum is mounted on trunnions, and each of the sides is prepared with studs,
as already explained, by means of a press; sulphurized india-rubber dough is
pressed against one of the sides of the drum, so as to fill the spaces between
the studs; the drum is then turned partly round and another side similarly
filled, and so on. The drum is made hollow and supplied internally with heated
fluid, so that the material which fills the pattern is vulcanized as the work
goes on; and each time that the drum is turned partly round for another side
to be filled a mat or similar article vulcanized and finished is stripped from
another side of the drum, and so the work is constantly progressing.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Josiah George Jennings and Manuel Leopold Jonas Lavater
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th December 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSIAH
GEORGE JENNINGS, of Palace Road, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Sanitary
Engineer, and MANUEL LEOPOLD JONAS LAVATER, of Bath Street, Newgate
Street, in the City of London, India-rubber Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,

page_text: the said Josiah George Jennings and Manuel Leopold Jonas Lavater, Her
special licence that we, the said Josiah George Jennings and Manuel Leopold
Jonas Lavater, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Josiah George Jennings and Manuel Leopold Jonas Lavater,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Geat Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOULDING
AND VULCANIZING ARTICLES OF INDIA-RUBBER," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Josiah George Jennings and Manuel Leopold
Jonas Lavater, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of
us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Manuel Leopold Jonas Lavater, on
behalf of myself and the said Josiah George Jennings, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in moulding and vulcanizing
articles of india-rubber, and is applicable particularly to reticulate articles,
such as the vulcanized india-rubber mats in common use. In order to produco
such articles we employ a frame with four or other convenient number of sides
connected together in such manner that they can be readily separated the one
from the other, to this is adapted a bottom and a top with a number of
projections upon it corresponding with the perforations to be made in the
mat or other article; the dough of sulpherized india-rubber is put into the
frame, and the projections on the lid are forced down in amongst the dough
by a press, and then the frame and its contents are subjected to heat until the
india-rubber is vulcanized, and thus a perforated block is produced; this then
is cut up into slices by means of a knife, and each slice forms a mat or
similar article. In place of the projections being all carried by the lid, the
lid may be formed with holes through it to correspond with the holes in the
bottom of the frame, and cores or pieces to correspond with the perforations
to be made in the mat or other article are one by one forced through the
perforations in the lid, and caused to pass through the sulphurized india rubber

page_text: and to pass out through the perforations in the bottom.
cores.
After each core has
been so driven or forced in it is withdrawn, and the sides of the hole through
the sulphurized material, and also the exterior of the core, are dusted over
with powdered chalk or plumbago, and the core is then again inserted into
its hole; this is done in order that the sulphurized india-rubber may not,
when submitted to the process of vulcanization, be caused to adhere to the
When all the cores are carried by the lid, the lid with the cores
should also be withdrawn after having been first forced down into the
compound, in order that the cores and the holes may be dusted over with
chalk, plumbago, or other material, but we believe it is preferable to force in
the cores one by one, as just described. When all the cores have been inserted
into the frame as above described, the frame and its contents are subjected to
heat until the india-rubber is vulcanized. When this is done the cores are
separately withdrawn, and the sides and top and bottom of the frame are
separately removed. The perforated block thus produced is afterwards cut up
into slices of the desired thickness by a reciprocating or circular knife, such as
has heretofore been used for cutting india-rubber into sheets. What we claim
in respect to this part of our Invention is, the forming reticulate articles of
vulcanized india-rubber, such as the mats of vulcanized india-rubber now in
common use, by first forming a reticulate block of sufficient thickness to form
several articles, and afterwards cutting up such block, as above described, into
slices of the desired thickness. Or in place of proceeding in the manner
above described, we employ a roller, to the periphery of which we attach studs
of the form of the perforations we desire to produce; these studs are con-
veniently fixed to the roller by means of screws. For this purpose the studs
are each formed with a screw stem projecting from them, and the periphery
of the roller has holes formed through it, through which the stem of the stud
is passed, and a screw nut is screwed on to the stem from the interior of the
roller. By this means the projecting studs can be with facility changed for
studs of a different size or form. When the roller is of such a size that it
requires one complete revolution for forming a single article, a narrow
projection is formed across the roller, which extends in a line from one side of
the roller to the other, so that at each revolution of the roller a complete
article will be formed, and will be separated by the narrow projection above
mentioned from the article next formed. If the roller is of such a size as to
form two or more articles at each revolution, then the roller has formed across
it two or more narrow projections. The roller that carries the studs is
provided with flanges around its two ends of the same depth as the studs
carried by it; these flanges may, in some cases, be made in segments, and each

page_text: segment be connected to the roller by screws, in a similar manner to the studs
above mentioned; the flanges may then be placed at any distance from each
other upon the roller, so as to form a mat or other article of any desired
width. The roller carrying the studs works with a plain roller, the flanges of
the roller carrying the studs revolving in contact with the plain roller; the
sulphurized india-rubber dough is placed between the two rollers, and as they
revolve is pressed into, the spaces between the studs of the figure roller; the
studs should be first dusted over with powdered plumbago or chalk, or be
rubbed over with soap, before entering into the doughy material; the dough
being thus moulded, the moulded article may, if desired, be removed from
the roller and then vulcanized, the moulded article being for this purpose
placed on a flat plate, and the holes through the article afterwards filled with
sand or suitable powdered material to prevent the moulded article from losing
its shape when submitted to the requisite heat for vulcanization, as is well
understood.
What we claim in respect to this part of our Invention is the constructing re-
ticulated articles of vulcanized india-rubber by moulding the sulphurized india-
rubber dough by means of rollers, as above described. In place of removing
the article from the roller in order to vulcanize it, we prefer to vulcanize it
whilst adhering to the roller that carries the studs; this roller is for this
purpose closed at its two ends, and is by preference formed with hollow axes in
order that steam or other heated fluid may be admitted to the interior of the
roller. We prefer that the roller should be heated to about 350° Fahrenheit,
and that the sulphurized material should remain in contact with the roller for
about 7 or 8 minutes, but this may be varied according to the amount of
sulphur in the composition and the degree of heat employed. The moulded
article is by preference removed from the studded roller by the end of the
article being held by hand, so that as the roller revolves the article shall gradually
be stripped from the roller. When the mat or other article has been removed
from the roller it is desirable to place it immediately in cold water for a few
moments, in order to set the material and prevent it losing its shape. Or in
place of employing a roller or cylinder as just described, we employ a drum
with four or other convenient number of flat sides. The drum is mounted on
trunnions, and each of the sides is prepared with studs, as already explained;
by means of a press, sulphurized india-rubber dough is pressed against one of
the sides of the drum so as to fill the spaces between the studs.
A sheet of
dough being laid on to a flat plate or bed that can, by means of an hydraulic
or other press, be forced against the bottom of the drum, and the dough thus
forced into the spaces; between the studs à rim or edge is also placed around

page_text: the edge of each side, so as to govern the size of the mat to be made. The
sheet of dough that is placed on to the plate is carefully made of such a size
and thickness that the dough shall fill the spaces between the studs and leave
an extremely small excess of material that will be forced out around the sides
of the drum; the drum is then turned partly round, and another side is
similarly filled, and so on. The drum is made hollow and supplied internally
with heated fluid, so that the material which fills the pattern is vulcanized as
the work goes on; and each time that the drum is turned partly round for
another side to be filled a mat or similar article vulcanized and finished is
stripped from another side of the drum, and so the work is constantly
progressing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Manuel Leopold Jonas Lavater, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three..
M. L. J. LAVATER. (L.S.)