IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LINOLEUM FLOORCLOTH AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR to be as follows:
Year: 1885

page_text: ¡in Apparatus therefor,
I CHARLES EDWARD LUCAS of Thorpe Road, Staines, in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LINOLEUM FLOORCLOTH AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
to be as follows:-
"
Linoleum as usually made, is a mixture of ground cork and oxidized linseed oil
with other suitable ingredients spread or rolled upon canvas.
The reverse or
"
unprotected side of the canvas is afterwards covered with a kind of paint called
backing" but this backing material is not sufficient to entirely protect the
canvas from the effects of damp. This dampness has long been known to exert
an injurious effect upon linoleum floorcloth, not only rotting the canvas back
but also causing unequal expansion or contraction of the material after being laid
upon floors.
Attempts have been made to obviate these objections by covering the canvas
insertion on both sides with linoleum composition, but prior to this invention these
attempts have been unsuccessful.
I obtain a good result by passing the canvas through a pair of steam heated
rolls fed with linoleum material, in the usual way, by which one coab say the face
is applied. The fabric Bo coated then passes with the face side round a cooling
drun or cylinder the object of which is to render the composition hard and not
liable to be displaced by the subsequent processes by which the back coating is
applied at a suitable distance I place another pair of rolls one steam heated and
the other cooled by water and round the latter roll the half completed fabric passes
to receive the back which may be composed of a slightly softer composition and is
spread or rolled by the steam heated roll to which I impart a slightly accelerated
speed.
By this process the cost of "backing" the cloth is avoided and moreover a
cheaper quality of material can be used for the body of the cloth by reason of its
greater flexibility.
The hot roll that spreads the material forming the back or under coat may have
its surface cut or embossed in any way so as to form parallel grooves or a small
diaper or other pattern as found convenient in order to prevent the rotting of
floors by allowing an air space between the linoleum floorcloth and the floor
boards,
1000

page_text: <
in Apparatus therefor.
I, CHARLES EDWARD LUCAS of Thorpe Road, Staines, in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman 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 :-
Linoleum as usually made is a mixture of ground cork and oxidised linseed oil
with other suitable ingredients spread or rolled upon canvas. The reverse or
unprotected side of the canvas is afterwards covered with a kind of paint called
'backing" but this backing material is not sufficient to entirely protect the
canvas from the effects of damp. This dampness has long been known to exert
an injurious effect upon linoleum floorcloth, not only rotting the canvas back but
also causing unequal expansion or contraction of the material after being laid
upon floors.
Attempts have been made to obviate these objections by covering the canvas
insertion on both sides with linoleum composition but prior to this invention these
attempts have been unsuccessful.
I obtain a good result by passing the canvas through a pair of steam heated
rolls fed with linoleum material in the usual way by which one coat say the face
is applied. The fabric so coated then passes with the face side round a cooling
drum or cylinder the object of which is to render the composition hard and not
liable to be displaced by the subsequent processes by which the back coating is
applied at a suitable distance I place another pair of rolls one steam heated and
the other cooled by water and round the latter roll the half completed fabric passes
to receive the back which may be composed of a slightly softer composition and is
spread or rolled by the steam heated roll to which I impart a slightly accelerated
speed.
By this process the cost of "backing" the cloth is avoided and moreover a
cheaper quality of material can be used for the body of the cloth by reason of its
greater flexibility.
→
The hot roll that spreads the material forming the back or under coat may have
its surface cut or embossed so as to form parallel grooves in the back to produce
air spaces between the linoleum floor cloth and the floor boards thereby prevent
rotting of the floors.
The drawing annexed is a longitudinal section of a machine for manufacturing
linoleum. floor cloth in the above manner.
A. B. are a pair of rolls by which a face coating of linoleum material put on
to one side of the canvas C in the ordinary manner just as the coating of linoleum
material is now applied to canvas in the manufacture of linoleum floorcloth. The
canvas with the coating upon it is then led around a drum D which is kept cool
by water made to circulate through it-the axis of the drum being for this purpose
made hollow and a stream of water introduced through one and allowed to flow off
through the other,

page_text: Afterwards the canvas is conducted over guide rollers to the second pair of
rolls E, F. The roll E is kept cool by water whilst the other roll F is heated by
steam admitted to its interior. The rollers E F are geared together by toothed
wheels and the roll F, is made to revolve at a somewhat quicker speed than the
roll E by the toothed wheel on its axis being formed say with one tooth less than
the number of teeth on the toothed wheel of the roll E. The roll E should revolve
at the surface speed at which the fabric is delivered from the rolls A B. Motion
is given to the first pair of rolls from a pinion G on a driving shaft gearing into a
toothed wheel on the axis of the roller B.
From the driving shaft motion is also transmitted by an endless band to a shaft
on which is a pinion H gearing with a toothed wheel on the axis of the roller F.
The composition applied to the back of the fabric by the rolls E F. I preferably
make somewhat softer when heated than the composition applied to the face-the
softening of linoleum composition is usually effected by adding to them a greater
proportion of resinous material. The coating applied to the back I also preferably
make thinner than the face coating say about 10 of an inch for the back
and of an inch for the face. The fabric after passing from the last pair of
rolls is led away and wound into a roll in the ordinary manner.
The roll F may as above stated have small parallel grooves cut around its
circumference so as to form parallel grooves in the backing of the cloth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The manufacture of linoleum floorcloth by first applying a film of linoleum
material by one pair of rolls to one face of the canvas and afterwards as the
canvas so coated passes forwards from such rolls applying a film of linoleum
material to the other face of the .canvas by a second pair of rolls substantially as
described.
2. The manufacture of linoleum floorcloth by first applying a film of linoleum
material by one pair of rolls to one face of the canvas then leading the canvas so
coated around a cooling cylinder and afterwards leading the fabric between a
second pair of rolls by which a coating of linoleum material is applied to the other
face of the canvas substantially as described.
•
3. The manufacture of linoleum floor cloth with grooves in the back to form air
spaces substantially as described.