Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Dec., 1898-Accepted, 11th Feb., 1899
I, ROBERT HARGRAVF MARTIN, a Citizen of the United States, residing at
No 354, West 122nd Street, Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, United
States of Amenea, President of the HW Johns Manufacturing Company, a
Manufactung Concern, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and m
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described aed
ascertained in and by the following statement
My invention relates to improvements in non-conducting coverings, and in the
method of making the same Generally stated, it consists in forming the covering
from a sheet of suitable material which is folded upon itself after the manner of
accordion pleating,' the pleats being of any desmed depth, so that the com-
pleted covering is made up of a succession of these pleats or folds, which are
laid up side by side until a sufficient quantity or area is provided to make any
length of sheet desired, the depth of the pleats or folds determining the thickness
of the covering
The invention also contemplates the employment of suitable means to attach
and hold the several pleats or folds firmly together, so that they will not separate
when being transported, handled, or applied to the surface to be protected; and
It also contemplates the employment of non-conducting material in fibred, granu-
lar or powdered form, interposed between the several folds or pleats. being held
therein in any suitable manneı When applied to the surface to be protected,
the abutting edges of the covering may be attached and held together by cement,
stapling. wapping with bands, cords of wies, or an exterior jacket oi stup of
suitable material, as now well understood in this art
Having befly stated the invention, I more particularly describe it as follows.
Referring to the drawings hereof
Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a sheet of material, in which the
pleats or folds are being formed
Figure 2 illustrates an edgewise view of a sheet of material, folded or pleated
into the desired shape, the pleats being pressed against one another, with adhesive
material or other means for attaching them together In this figure, for the sake
of clearness, the pleats are not shown as quite in contact, although in the actual
covering they will, of course, be so
Figure 3 illustrates an edgewise view of the covering as made with non-con-
ducting filling material located between the folds or pleats
Figure 4 illustrates a material, substantially the same as that shown in Fig 3,
and illustrating diagrammatically a method of attaching the edge of the folds
together, by passing a roller over them, which not only applies the cementing

page_text: material, but also presses the edges of the pleats into close contact with one
another, and compels them to assume a smooth, level position, conecting any
regulanties in the folding or pleating
Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view of a pipe protected by a coveing made
under my invention, in which the filling material is used.
Figure 6 illustrates the invention, the pleats being pressed or flattened into
an angling position relative to the surface upon which they are applied.
Figure 7 illustrates the covering in the process of being made from a bat oi
felt of fibrous material.
Figure 8 illustrates another method of making the covering from a bat or felt
of fibious material
Referring first to Figs 1 and 2. A represents a sheet of any suitable material,
preferably from two to three feet wide, more or less, and of indefinite length.
It may be plain, corrugated, indented, perforated, or of any other preferred
surface formation. When the cover is intended for application to surfaces which
are either cold or not excessively hot, it is not necessary that the material should
be incombustible or non-inflammable, and in which event, ordinary building
felt, han felt, or any similar material, preferably of a soft, poious and flexible
nature, may be emploved If, however, the covering is to be used upon highly
heated surfaces, then the material should, preferably, be of a fire-proof or sub-
stantially fire-proof character, such as asbestos paper, fine felt, so-called, or the
like The sheet, of whatever character or thickness it may be, is transversely
folded or pleated, as shown at B-B, the pleats being of such depth as desired,
say from a quarter of an inch to two inches, depending upon the desued thickness
of the covering, this pleating or folding operation continues until the thin sheet A
has been transformed into another sheet of a thickness determined by the depth
of the pleats, and it may be of indefinite length
After the pleats are formed, they are pressed together, as shown in Fig 2,
and in order that they may he held together, and prevented from separation,
adhesive material may be applied to one or both sides of the sheet A, prior to or
during the pleating operation, which will cause the several pleats to adhere
firmly together when they are pressed against one another With certai
materials, as for example, asbestos fibre, or other fibre or sheet which contains
size, meie wetting or dampening, with the requisite pressure, will sufficiently
attach the pleats together, or, they may be attached by a cord, tape, we or
equivalent ineans, shown at C (Fig. 2), thrust longitudinally through the pleats
or set into a saw kerf out in their edges, on one or both sides, as preferred, after
the covering has been formed In this latter event I prefer to employ a cord,
wire, tape or ibbon, which may be made of incombustible substance, such as
asbestos, if great heat is to be encountered, or hemp, cotton, manila, &c, if heat
is not to be contended with. I illustrate a tape at the upper side in Fig. 2,
marking it C¹ The covering, in whatever form it 18 made, may be attached
to a base sheet or foundation piece, as shown at A¹ in Fig 2
It may be a paper
or cloth fabric of asbestos, canvas, wire cloth or equivalent strengthening lining
and finishing material
In order to increase the porosity of the covering and to render the attachment
of the several pleats more secure, I teazle or otherwise pull or lift the fibre on
the surfaces, one or both, of the sheet, so as to give them flocculent character
In Fig 3, I show a construction in which, as shown at the right hand end
of that figure, suitable non-conducting, filling material is enclosed with the
folds or pleats The filling material may be deposited upon the sheet either
before or during the folding operation, and if desued, it may be attached to
the sheet by adhesive material or otherwise, before the same 1 pleated In
the figure, the material is shown at A, the same as before, and the filling material
at D-D, etc If the covering, as before stated, is not to be subjected to great
heat, then the filling material need not be incombustible, but any granulat,
fibrous on pulverulent substance, preferably of low cost, such as hair or other

page_text: animal o regetable fibie, shoddy, saw-dust, chuft, infusonal earth, de may
be used, but it the covering is to be applied to lughly heated surfaces, then an
incombustible material, preferably mineral wool, asbestos fibre, carbonate of
magnesia, various kinds of clays on earths, and the like, should be employed
In fact, any material may be used which will properly fulfill the desired end,
depending upon the use to which the covering is to be put, and, in order to attach
the several pleats together, when this filling material is employed, I sometimes
use the tapes or wires above referred to, and sometimes apply adhesive material
to the original sheet in such quantity that it will permeate more or less the
filling material sufficiently to hold the pleats together, or, I may treat the filling
material itself with a suitable adhesive material, which, when subjected to the
pressure employed to press the pleats firmly together. will be squeezed out, or
exude aufficiently to attach the structure together as a whole. I sometimes,
however, in order to not only attach the pleats together, but also to make their
edges smooth and even, and likewise bend them over so as to close the spaces
between adjoining pleate, prefer to pass a roller somewhat forcibly over the
edges of one or both sides of the pleats, as preferred, as shown in Fig. 4. This
roller, which I illustrate diagrammatically, may have a suitable trough or equiva-
lent receptacle located above it, which supplies adhesive material to it, and the
roller preferably passes over the edges of the pleats in one direction only, as,
for instance, from the loft to the right, as shown in this figure, and, in making
its transit, the adhesive maternal is supplied in sufficient quantity to the edge
of the pleats slightly an advance of the pressure of the roller, so that the roller
in its passage will bend forwardly and press downwardly the edges of the pleats,
as shown at EE, Fig. 4, F being the roller, thus closing the chamber or space
between adjoining pleats, and enclosing the filling material within such folds,
and likewise giving to the covering a smooth, even surface, correcting any negu-
larity which may be in the pleats, as shown at the night hand end of Fig. 4
It will be observed that the filling material will be applied in the pockets or
spaces on one side only of the covering, that is to say, the side which is upper-
most during the pleating operation I prefer this construction, as shown m
the drawings. it may, however, he applied by a reversal of the operation, or in
any other suitable manner, to the pockets on the other side if desired When
applied upon one side only, as shown, the pleats may be fastened together on
their other sides which come in contact with one another, in either of the
manners above stated, and I call attention to the fact that it is only necessary
to attach the pleats together at or near the surface which is outermost when
upon the structure to be covered; that is to say, if the pleats are attached together
on the outer surface of a pipe or like structure, the edges which are next to the
pipe, of course, cannot expand Therefore, the application of adhesive material
by the roller, as shown in Fig 4, or the employment of adhesive material, or
tape, or cords on wues, as shown in Fig 2, and, indeed, any other means employed
for holding the pleats together, are necessary only on one side I frequently,
however, for the purpose of having a structure which will not be easily disin-
tegrated, prefer to attach the pleats together throughout
In Fig 5 illustrate my covering, of the form shown in Fig 3, as applied
to a pipe is the pipe and H is the covering
In Fig 6 I illustrate a form of the invention in which the pleated coveing
is subjected to a somewhat heavy pressure, as of a roller or equivalent surface,
so that they are forced or bent into a curved or angular position relative to the
surface upon which they are to be applied. This operation is performed upon
the covering preferably while it is still fresh, in other words, before the adhesive
material has set or hardened, or before the application of the other means used
to attach the several pleats together, so that the pleats mar move upon one
another and readily assume the curved position, and the exterior surface of
this form of the covering be made smooth and even and alosely adhered together
by application thereto of adhesive material in the manner shown in Fig 4, or in

page_text: any other preferied manner This construction is peculiarly advantageous in
making tubular covering to small sized pipes, although applicable also to other
forms, and it has the advantage of more easily and accurately fitting the cylindri-
cal surface of the pipes than other forms
In this figure, a illustrates the curved pleats, and b a pipe upon which the
covering is applied 1 show a section of the covering only.
In Fig 7 Illustrate a covering made from a bat or felt of fibrous material,
such as asbestos fibre, han, or equivalent soft, fibious matenal.
c is the bat
or layer of felt, and d illustrates, as an example only, one method by which the
fabric can be made, a ledger blade or ceasing kuite, which being actuated by
suitable mechanism, comes down upon the bat or felt, compresses a section of
it, and at the same time may be given a lateral movement, in this instance a
movement to the left, so as to press downwardly and likewise laterally, that
portion or section of the fibrous material shown at e, and after the lateral move-
ment is finished, ribs or pleats of the fibrous material, as shown at f may be
formed with a continuous sheet or plate-like portion of the fibie, shown at
undeilving the iibs or pleats The ledger blade or knife d may be then lifted,
the material fed along and the operation repeated Mahing the covering in
this way, I prefer to apply adhesive material to the surface of the bat or felt,
and if desued, to apply a size or equivalent adhesive material through the body
of the fibrous mass, so that the ribs or pleats will become firmly attached togetheı,
and the fibre held in position
9
In Fig 8 Illustrate another method of making the covering from a bat
felt of fibious material In it, the felt, either with m without a base sheet h
18 pleated, substantially the same as the sheets shown in Fig 1, and the several
pleats may be held together in any preferred manuet; I show a wine, >, passing
though the pleats as one way of doing this
Many advantages flow from the use of my invention, some of which are as
follow The covering is expensive, it is an excellent non-conductor of heat
o cold it is light in weight. it can he transported flat on in the form of a
lage oll without waste of space, the customer can cut off from a continuous
roll or piece of covering, sections of exactly such width as desired to cover any
given surface (cylindrical pipes, or curved or flat surfaces), the covering all
comes to him in the same shape, and is without trouble adapted by him to the
de med use, and, also, during application to the heated surface, especially pipes,
the covering more readily adapts itself to the cylindrical form, than any other
thick, sheet-like covering known to me
The filling material may be applied to any desued extent, so that covering
having quite widely differing characteristics may be made
Upon application to any surface to be protected the covering is treated in the
same manner as those heretofore in use, that is to say, it is laid upon or wrapped
about the surface, the edges are abutted together and confined by cementitious
material, the whole being suitably wrapped with bands, wire or cord, or jacketed,
as with canvas, o stups of canvas or paper may be placed over the joints,
It will be obvious to those who are familiar with this art that, if desired, an
irregular shape may be given to the covering by increasing the width of the
folds or pleats in certain places, as compared with others, so that the covering
may be offset somewhat from the surface to be protected, also so that under
certain encumstances it may be adapted to fit irregular surfaces, and, further
more, that it is not essential that the sheet of material from which the covering
is made ghould be a completely fabricated product before forming pleats t
may be more or less in the fibrous condition, as, for instance, a bat or layer of
fibre, more or less confined, may be treated in substantially the same manner
as the completely fabricated sheet
I do not limit myself to the details of construction shown, since it will be
evident to those familiar with this art, that various modifications may be made
therein, without departing from the essentials of the invention.

page_text: 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 18:
1 A non-conducting covering made of a sheet or bat of fibrous material
pleated or folded upon itself so that the edges of the pleats extend across the
covering from side to side and form its outer surfaces, the sides of the several
pleats being in contact with each other and with adjacent pleats attached together,
tor the purposes set forth.
2. A non-conducting covering made of a layer of soft, porous, fibious material
pleated or folded upon itself so that the edges of the pleats extend across the
covering from side to side, are presented outwardly therefrom and form its outer
surfaces, filling material placed between the pleats, and means to hold the pleats
together, for the puposes set forth
3. A non-conducting covering made of a layer of soft, porous, fibrous material
pleated on folded upon itself so that the edges of the pleats extend across the
covering hom side to side, are presented outwardly therefrom and form its outer
burfaces, filling material placed between the pleats, and adhesive material in the
filling material, for the purposes set forth
4. A non-conducting covering made of a layer of soft, porous, fibious material
pleated upon itself so that the edges of the pleats extend from side to side of
the covering, are presented outwardly therefiom and form the outer surfaces
thereof, the edges of the pleats on the side of the covering which is not in
contact with the heated surface being attached to each other, for the purposes
set forth
5 A non-conducting covering made of a sheet or bat of fibrous material folded
or pleated upon itself so that the pleats are substantially at ught angles to th
plane of the covering, and the edges whereof form it's outer surfaces, filling
material between some of the pleats, the outer edges of such pleats being turned
over and attached to adjoining pleats, thus confining the filling material, for the
purposes set forth.
6. A non-conducting covering made of a sheet on bat of fibious material
folded or pleated upon itself so that the pleats are substantially at night angles
to the plane of the covering, and the edges whereof form its outer surfaces, filling
material between some of the pleats, adhesive material in the filling material,
the edges of the pleats forming one continuous smooth surface, for the purposes
set forth
7 A non-conducting covering comprising an unbroken sheet on bat of flexible,
fibrous material folded upon itself in pleats which, when in position on the
surface to be protected, are in contact with each other laterally and with the
adjacent pleats throughout the covering, and are substantially at right angles
to the said surface, for the purposes set forth.
8. A non-conducting covering composed of a sheet of soft, porous, fibrous
material, the fibres of one or both surfaces of which are in a loosened or uncou-
fined condition, the same being folded into pleats at substantially light angles
to the plane of the covering so that their edges form the outer surfaces of the
covering, said pleats being attached to each other sidewise, for the purposes set
forth.
9 A non-conducting covering made of a sheet oi bat of fibious material folded
or pleated upon itself at substantially might angles to the plane of the covering,
the sides of the adjoining pleats being in contact and attached together, and
the whole attached to a base sheet of suitable material, for the purposes set forth
10. A non-conducting covering composed of a layer of soft, porous, fibrous
material folded or pleated upon itself, the pleats resting upon and supporting
each other laterally and being bent o inclined relative to the surface upon which
they rest, and secured together side by side as by adhesive material, for the
purposes set forth.

page_text: 11 A non-conducting covering composed of a continuous layer of soft, porous
fibious material supplied with adhesive material and compressed vertically and
laterally into a succession of parallel ribs or pleats which extend transversely
of the covering, the edges of which pleats form the exposed surfaces of the
covering, for the purposes set forth.
Dated the 4th lov of loansho 1000
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
Chartered Patent Agents,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow,
Agents for the Applicant