Waterproof Collar, Ouff, and Front composed partly of Vegetable Parchment.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Jan., 1890-Accepted, 8th Mar., 1890
[Communicated from abroad by THE CELLULOID MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of New
York City, United States of America, a Corporation organized under the laws of
the State of New York.]
Waterproof Collar, Ouff, and Front composed partly of Vegetable
Parchment.
I, OLIVER IMRAY of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in the County
of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents 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:—
The present invention consists in a waterproof substitute for laundered collars, cuffs
and bosoms, and is the result of a protracted and costly series of experiments having
in view the production of an article possessing the desired thickness, elasticity, and a
surface closely resembling the grain of starched linen and having also a constitution
adapted to bend without cracking, not liable to easily absorb dirt when in use, or to be
softened when cleansed by soap and water.
The article in the present invention is formed of layers of fibrous vegetable material,
as paper or muslin, certain of the layers being treated with a solvent of cellulose, upon
one side only, to convert them into vegetable parchment, and the opposite side of such
layers being unconverted, and therefore of a porous and absorbent character.
The absorbent portion of such layers is saturated with waterproof substance,
which is thus thoroughly incorporated with the same layer containing a portion
of vegetable parchment, and the parchment and waterproof substance are thus
rendered wholly inseparable.
The vegetable parchment may be used as the core or body of the article to
give the desired stiffness and elasticity, and the waterproof material confined to
the exterior to protect the same from moisture; or the body may be made to resist
the moisture, and the vegetable parchment formed a thin film upon the
outside to give distinctive appearance and dirt resisting properties to the article,
while the waterproof body within serves to prevent the softening of the article by
moisture when cleansed.
as
The invention is readily distinguished from an article composed wholly of
vegetable parchment, as in either construction, the same layer, which is converted
into vegetable parchment upon one side, possesses upon its opposite side a fibrous
structure with which the waterproof substance is intimately incorporated.
As the conversion of vegetable fibre into parchment produces a tough and
elastic substance, the inner body of the article may consist in a very coarse
material, as cotton flannel or thick porous paper; neither of which could be utilized
without such conversion, and would not be adapted for exposure to view upon the
exterior of the article.
The manufacture of the article is greatly cheapened by making the composite
fabric in large sheets, cutting the article therefrom and finishing it in dies, which may
be adapted to produce a relatively thickened edge upon the article, in imitation of
hem as hereinafter described.
a
Vegetable parchment has already been used in the manufacture of cuffs and collars,
but it is so readily penetrated and softened by water, that it cannot be thoroughly
cleansed and subsequently dried without a wrinkling and roughening of its surface which
greatly impairs its usefulness.
The experiments which resulted in the present invention have demonstrated that
these objections to the use of vegetable parchment in such articles can be entirely
overcome by uniting a waterproof substance with the vegetable parchment, and they

page_text: have further shown that it is essential for the layer of parchmentized material to
consist, in part, of unparchmentized substance adapted to absorb the waterproof
coating.
The articles are illustrated by the representation, in Fig. 1, of a cuff; Fig. 2
showing a transverse section of a cuff made in three layers, which is the preferred
construction.
Fig. 3 is a similar, section of a cuff formed in two layers; Fig. 4. a similar section
of a cuff made in four layers. In Figs. 2 and 4 the layers are artificially separated at
one edge to distinguish them from one another.
Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the cuff with dies for compressing the same to
produce an imitation hem upon the border.
The preferred form of the article is shown in Fig. 2. To form the article in three
layers, as in Fig. 2, a sheet of blotting paper a is interposed hetween two sheets of
muslin c and the whole united by dissolving the outer surfaces of the paper with a
solvent of cellulose, as sulphuric acid, and then attaching the sheets of muslin to the
paper by pressure.
Solvents of cellulose and their action are too well known to require description, but
sulphuric acid, besides being effective, is very cheap and consequently is preferred.
It is proper to state however that the penetrative power of the solvent can be regulated
and made to act more slowly, when desired, by dissolving sufficient cellulose therein
to make it of a more or less syrupy consistancy.
Such a sheet of composite fabric, as just described, may be made from continuous
webs of paper and muslin, the acid being applied thereto in a continuous operation by
suitable means such as rolls, the several layers pressed together by other rolls, and the
acid washed therefrom by passage through a tank of water.
The composite sheet when finished consists of a parchment core with a fibrous
exterior adapted to absorb any liquid or adhesive substance.
If necessary, the composite fabric may then be bleached and tinted of any desired
color, a pale blue tint being preferably used as a foundation for the final waterproof
coating, if the latter is intended to resemble white starched linen.
The fabric is then dried by exposure to the air and flattened by suitable pressure,
the articles cut therefrom, and the button-holes cut therein where required.
A suitable waterproof varnish is then applied to the entire exterior of the article,
including the edges and the button-holes, which varnish readily penetrates the
absorbent surface of the unconverted muslin.
Such varnish must be strongly adhesive, must dry hard and smooth to present a dirt
repellent surface, and ought to be nearly or quite colorless, if the articles are intended
to resemble white starched linen.
Pyroxylene varnish has proved to be greatly superior to others in all these
qualities, although bleached linseed oil has been used with good results as well as
Dammar varnish.
A white pigment with a small proportion of blueing would be suitably mixed with
the varnish if required to imitate the color of starched linen, which in such case
would be nearly white; but other pigments or colors may be used if a colored surface
is desired upon the article.
The article may be finished by means of dies i, as shown in Fig. 5, the dies being
engraved to produce an imitation of stitching near the edge, as indicated by the
dotted line in Fig. 1, and formed with a central projection g adapted to compress
the article within the border and thus leave a relatively thickened edge h.
Such thickened edge presents a close resemblance to a hem, and the muslin surface
presents a grain like starched linen.
With such materials and such a method of production, the composite fabric may
be made by machinery with so little expense that the cost of the finished article will
be exceedingly small.
To form a still cheaper article, the outer layers c shown in Fig. 2, may be formed
of paper instead of muslin. in which case the dies i would be made by suitable

page_text: engraving, to emboss the paper in imitation of fine linen, the grain thus produced
being preserved by the waterproof coating.
The article may also be made of two layers a b, as shown in Fig. 3, the inner surfaces
of the layers being united by conversion into vegetable parchment, and the uncon-
verted surfaces being waterproofed as already described.
A body composed of two layers united in such manner may also be used as the
core of the article, and the exterior layers c be united thereto to form a quadruple
fabric as shown in Fig. 4.
In such case, the outer layers may be cemented by a solvent of cellulose to the
porous surface of the body a b and the entire surface of the finished article water-
proofed by a suitable varnish.
The parchment substance may be formed upon the exterior of the article, by
forming a body of thick paper or muslin externally waterproofed, and by cementing
external coverings of muslin with waterproof cement to the same, as shown in Fig. 2.
The inner substance of the muslin is thus saturated by the waterproof substance,
and the application of sulphuric acid or other solvent of cellulose to the surface
therefore forms a superficial layer of parchment upon the article, and renders it dirt
repellent in a high degree.
The article would not be softened when cleansed by soap and water; as the
moisture could not penetrate into the article to affect its character.
It is obvious that an article of greater cost might be made by forming one of the
covering layers c larger than the other, so as to fold over the edges of the article
sufficiently to form a resemblance to a hem upon the opposite side, to which it would
firmly secured by waterproof cement. It is preferable, however, because cheaper,
to form the composite fabric of even thickness and produce a relatively thickened
edge by compression.
With any of the above described constructions the article resembles starched linen
in color and grain, and the waterproof substance is so closely incorporated with the
layer which is partially parchmentized, that a separation of the parchment material
and the waterproof substance is not liable to occur by any contingency to which the
article is exposed in use.
Although a cuff only is shown in the drawing, a collar or shirt bosom may be made
in a similar manner, and can be finished by pressure between dies, to polish the
surface and to produce the imitation of a hem at the border, the same as in the cuff
illustrated.
The distinctive feature of this invention is the use, in the manufacture of collars,.
cuffs or bosoms, of a layer of fibrous vegetable fabric having one side converted into
vegetable parchment and the other side of the same layer unconverted and saturated
with waterproof material.
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
First. In the manufacture of collars, cuffs or bosoms, the use of a sheet of fibrous
vegetable fabric having one side converted into vegetable parchment by the action of
solvents of cellulose and having the other side unconverted and saturated with water-
proof material.
Second. A collar, cuff or bosom, having layers of fibrous vegetable fabric
converted upon one side into vegetable parchment, and having the opposite sides
of such layers unconverted and saturated with waterproof material, whereby
the softening of the article is prevented when its surface is cleansed by soap
and water.
Third. A collar, cuff or bosom, composed of two or more sheets of vegetable
fabric having their inner or unexposed surfaces converted into vegetable parch-
ment and united together by a solvent of cellulose, and having the exterior or

page_text: exposed surfaces unconverted and saturated with a coating of pyroxylene
varnish.
Fourth. A collar, cuff or bosom, composed of a waterproof fabric containing
fibrous material, and compressed within the border to produce a relatively thick edge,
substantially as herein set forth.
A
ABEL & IMRAY