IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION, OF ELASTIC PAVEMENTS AND LININGS FOR WALLS, THE MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC MATS, BRUSHES, AND PADS FOR PACKING FURNITURE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Warne, of Tottenham, in the County of
Middlesex, India-rubber Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION, OF ELASTIC PAVEMENTS AND LININGS FOR WALLS,
THE MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC MATS, BRUSHES, AND PADS FOR
PACKING FURNITURE."
Sealed the 5th November 1858, and dated the 1st September 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Warne at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
September 1858..
I, WILLIAM WARNE, of Tottenham, in the County of Middlesex, India-
rubber Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ELASTIC PAVEMENTS AND LININGS FOR
WALLS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC MATS, BRUSHES, AND PADS FOR
PACKING FURNITURE," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the construction of elastic:
pavements and linings for walls, and in the manufacture of elastic mats,
brushes, and pads for packing furniture. For these purposes tubes or hollow"
cells are used made of india-rubber, or india-rubber and its compounds,
rendered permanently elastic by sulphur, or sulphur compounds and heat.
In constructing an elastic pavement or lining for a wall of a lunatic asylum
or other building according to my Invention, the numerous cells or tubes of
which a pavement or lining is to be composed, are arranged side by side,. and

page_text: fixed at right angles to the surface on which they are applied. In pre-
paring the materials for a pavement or for a lining, the sides of the several
tubes or cells are cemented together, and then subjected to heat to produce
the change, and they are then affixed in their places. In making elastic
mats, brushes, and pads for packing furniture, similar constructions of india-
rubber cells are used. In some cases one or both surfaces produced by the
ends of the cells are covered by a sheet or surface of india-rubber, or of
india-rubber compounded with other materials and combined with sulphur,
is affixed before subjecting the cells to the process of heat to produce the
change.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Warne in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
March 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WARNE, of Tottenham, in the County of Middlesex, India-rubber Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Warne, Her special licence that I, the said William Warne, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Warne, my 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 Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF ELASTIC PAVEMENTS AND LININGS FOR WALLS, AND IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF ELASTIC MATS, BRUSHES, AND PADS FOR PACKING FURNITURE," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Warne, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under 'iny, or their; or one of
their hands and seals, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Warne, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed.
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 the construction of elastic
pavements and linings for walls, and in the manufacture of elastic mats,
brushes, and pads for packing furniture. For these purposes tubes or hollow
cells are used made of india-rubber, or india-rubber and its compounds,.
rendered permanently elastic by sulphur, or sulphur compounds and heat. In
constructing an elastic pavement or lining for a wall of a lunatic asylum or
other building according to my Invention, the numerous cells or tubes of which
a pavement or lining is to be composed, are arranged side by side, and are fixed
at right angles to the surface on which they are applied. In preparing the
materials for a pavement or for a lining; the sides of the several tubes or cells
are cemented together and then subjected to heat to produce the change, and
they are then affixed in their places. In making elastic mats, brushes, and
pads for packing furniture,. similar constructions of india-rubber cells are used.
In some cases, one or both surfaces produced. by the ends of the cells are
covered by a sheet or surface of india-rubber, or of india-rubber compounded
with other materials and combined with sulphur affixed before subjecting, the
cells to the process of heat to produce the change.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the method in which I
prefer to conduct the.manufacture.
. Sheets of india-rubber compound being rolled. out to one-tenth of an inch
in thickness, I cut them by scissors or a knife into strips one inch wide,
or I pass the sheets through a pair of rolls, one roll being so turned as, to
present knife-like edges one inch apart to the other roll, and so that a sheet
of india-rubber being passed through them would be cut into strips of one
inch wide; with these strips I proceed as follows:-I take round tubes of iron;
tinned one inch deep and one inch diameter, and I cut with scissors, or with
any other suitable tools, the strips of india-rubber of one inch width into
lengths just sufficient to go round the tinned tubes and join with an even joint,
or I cut them one-tenth of an inch longer, and lap them one end over the
other, or I cut the ends which are to be joined together bevil, so as to make
a stronger joint,. the object. being in all cases to make a piece of india-rubber
tube fit over the iron tinned tube, and I effect the union of. the rubber at the
joining in a solid and firm manner by the aid of a little naptha or turpentine,
as is well understood. by those acquainted with the working of india-rubber,

page_text: or I use the india-rubber strips fresh from the rolls whilst it is in a warm.and
tackey state, or I warm the pieces of strips, after I have cut them to the proper
size, on a steam chest or over a gas stove, until they become stickey or tackey
enough to adhere firmly when pressed together, and by one or the other of these
processes, or by any other convenient process, I make tubes of india-rubber
one-inch diameter inside, and one inch deep upon and supported by the iron
tinned tubes as described. I now procure a plate of sheet iron, 3 feet long by
2 feet, wide, and one-tenth of an inch thick, with the edge turned up at right
angles one-fifth of an inch, so as to make it a kind of tray, and: I commence
by placing a strip of india-rubber one inch deep by a quarter inch thick on its
edge against the inside of the edge of the tray, so as to form a frame border or
strip for the mat or other article I am about to manufacture. I then place
in a vertical position a row of the iron tinned tubes coated with india-rubber
side by side, having previously rendered them tackey, or in a condition to
adhere firmly together, and I proceed to place in a similar position another
row rendered adhesive. also, and go on in this manner until I fill: in the
whole space between the rim of the iron tray, forcing with a moderate
pressure each tube as I place it on the tray against the other tube or tubes
it comes into contact with, so as to ensure a perfect union of the rubber, and
having thus filled the tray, I subject it' to heat in a steam chamber or hot
water chamber, or to the heat of a stove, until the process well known.as. the
curing or vulcanizing, converting or mineralizing process. has been produced.
To effect this change, it is necessary that sulphur in. its crude state, or in
combination with lead or zinc, should have been blended with the india-rubber
in the manufacture of the sheet of india-rubber compound from which the
sheets have been cut; and when the fabric of tubes united together as
herein described is subjected to about 270° of heat (Fahrenheit) for two and
a half hours, the whole will have become converted so as to remain per-
manently elastic in the coldest weather, and not be affected by the heat, of any
season or climate. :
.
Having "converted" this fabric, .I force out the iron tinned tubes, and I
have a mat of a kind of cellular fabric, or a combination of short tubes firmly
fixed together and of a most enduring character.
i
I sometimes. commence the fabric by using. square tubes one inch square
instead of: one inch diameter and one inch deep, of iron tinned, and coat a
sufficient number of them to form the outside row of the mat, and fill the
remaining space in with round ones. At other times I make the whole
fabric of square tubes. In almost.all cases I prefer to make the outside.row
or margin of articles, such as mats, or sections of pavement, or parts for lining

page_text: walls, of square tubes. In curing or vulcanizing quantities of these articles at
a time, I provide a number of sheets of iron or trays, and filling each with
the fabric as before, I place one over the other, making a pile. of them, and
put them into the curing chamber or stove in that condition.
an inch
When I require a light fabric for small floor mats or for table mats, then
I roll out the sheets of the compounds of india-rubber to the fifteenth or
the twentieth of an inch, and cut them into strips of half an inch wide, and
then into lengths sufficient to cover tubes an inch in diameter and
deep; and I make up the mats with square tubes for the outside row, and
round ones for the inside rows or space to be filled up, and I then cure or
vulcanize them. And I vary the thickness of the sheet of india-rubber
compound according to the strength I want to give the article I am about to
manufacture; and I give various degrees of rigidity or powers of resistance
to pressure by adopting certain sizes of tubes; sometimes I use them as small
as th of an inch diameter, and at others .I employ tubes round and
square as large as 2 inches diameter, or across. I do not confine myself to
the thickness of the sheet of india-rubber, nor to the widths of the strips I
first cut therefrom (which width determines the depth of my cellular fabric);
nor to the diameter or size of my round or square tubes; nor do I confine
myself to round or square tubes.; I sometimes make them triangular, pen-
tagonal, hexagonal, octagonal, or other shapes, and which give the .like
appearances to the fabric. And I make devices in my fabric by arranging the
different shaped tubes so as to form letters and words, using, for example, a
border of square tubes for the outside, then two or three rows of round_tubes,
and then I use square tubes to form the letters, filling in all the spaces with
round tubes, as is shown by the annexed Drawing.
I occasionally employ various sized tubes in preparing one fabric, by
arranging them to form certain designs, which will work in the article I am
making; this will be well understood by referring to a woven fabric of net
work upon which a pattern has been woven; and I sometimes use a border.
of square tubes made from thicker sheet than the interior tubes are made of;
this is to give extra strength and stability to the article I am making. For
the most part, I leave the ends of the tubes open top and bottom, but in some
cases I require a covering, and then I proceed as follows: I take a sheet of
india-rubber compound of the same thickness as the tubes, and of the length
and width of the mat or other article I am about to make, or to fit the sheet
iron tray within the turned up rim, and having previously made it adhesive on
one side by means of brushing over it a very small quantity of naptha or
turpentine, I place it with the adhesive side uppermost. in the tray, and put

page_text: upon it the tubes, which I make adhesive at the one end, which I place on
the stickey or tackey sheet, and in this way I cure or vulcanize them, so that
the sheet is found to be firmly secured to the tubes, and forms a complete
bottom for the whole cellular fabric; and when I want to cover both ends, I
perforate the sheet which is to be placed on.the top of the tubes with round
holes, so that when attached each hole admits of the escape of air during the
process of curing or vulcanizing, and is also sufficiently large to allow of the
tins being removed after the curing process; or in such a case I employ casts
of plaster of Paris in lieu of tins cast in a shell-like or hollow form, and
which I break up and extract in small particles at a time after the curing is
effected..
Sometimes I make a mat by cutting the sheets. into tape of a suitable
width, and arranging it in a zig-zag direction about the tins, and forcing rows
of it together, thus forming a cellular fabric; but I prefer covering the tins as
herein-before described.
I make pavement in precisely the same manner in which I make mats,..
regulating the sizes of the pieces or sections to fit the space or floor to be
covered.
In the manufacture of brushes for cleaning floors, I put the square tubes
covered as before with strips. of rubber cut from sheets Toth of an inch
thick for the rims or outside row, and fill in the interior with round tubes or
square tubes, according to the strength of the brush I require. And I make
the floor, brushes of various sizes, from 10 inches long by 5 inches wide, to
balf that length and width, but do not confine myself to the sizes nor to the
depth of the tubes, nor to the diameter of them.. And sometimes I make
them wholly of square tubes, or wholly of round tubes, or wholly of hexagonal,.
or I combine the different shapes according to the nature of the work the
brush is intended to perform. And.in some instances I put sheets to form
backs to the brushes, by placing the tubes upon the sheets cut to a proper
size, and made adhesive, as before described. And I form handles to the
brushes by attaching a strap of india-rubber compound one inch wide and one-
tenth of an inch thick, and of a length sufficient to go over the back of the
brush from side to side, and leave room enough to put the hand through,
similar, to the strap generally attached to the brush used for grooming a horse.
This strap I fasten by reason of the adhesiveness of the rubber to each side of
the brush before curing or vulcanizing, and after it has undergone that process
it will be found firmly attached thereto.
Sometimes I make what are called "flesh,brushes," by employing a suitable
thickness of india-rubber sheet, say, one-fifteenth of an. inch thick, and cut. it

page_text: into strips of half an inch wide, and cover tubes of an inch deep, so as to
make a finer and closer fabric than what I generally make for pavement; and
I make these of various sizes, and with handles similar to the floor brush.
And I make a brush suitable for cleaning the teeth and gums, particularly
if the gums be tender, and unfit to bear the bristles of ordinary tooth brushes.
I take a sheet of india-rubber compound rolled to about the twentieth of an
inch in thickness, and I cut it into strips of ths of an inch wide, having pro-
vided myself with tubes, or in this case with solid iron wire tinned, ths of an
inch diameter, in short lengths of ths of an inch each; I cut my strips to
suit the diameter, and cover them as before. I then prepare a sheet of india-
rubber compound one-tenth of an inch in thickness, and, say, one foot square,
and having rendered one side of it adhesive and one end of the small tubes,
I place them upon it, so that when the whole are cured or vulcanized the
tubes will be found firmly attached to each other and also to the sheet, and
this will be the case whether I have used, as I sometimes do, square, round,
hexagonal, or octagonal tubes; I then proceed to cut the sheet of tubes so
formed into sizes suitable for tooth brushes, and supply them to the handle
manufacturers, who secure these tooth brushes or tooth brush heads to handles,
by tying or stitching with silver wire, or otherwise.
It will be evident to those acquainted with rubber manufactures, and who
have read this Specification, that by adopting suitable thicknesses of the sheet
compound and sizes of the tubes, I make without difficulty pads for packing
furniture; these I make sometimes one foot long by a foot wide, and some-
times two or three feet long by one foot wide, in fact, of a great variety of
dimensions; the object being to pack costly and elegant furniture with them,
either for delivery from one part of a city to another, or for travelling long
distances by railway, or otherwise; the soft and highly elastic padding pro-
duced by this process being eminently calculated to preserve uninjured the
mouldings and delicate parts of furniture.
I
I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to any particular
compound of india-rubber and sulphur for the manufacture of pavements,
linings for walls, and elastic mats, brushes, and pads for packing furniture.
will, however, mention some which I believe to be most suitable, namely, I
blend with good cleaned native india-rubber, five parts by weight of oxide of
zinc and one part of flowers of sulphur with six parts of rubber; or I take five
parts of plumbago and one part of sulphur to five parts of rubber; or I take
six parts of lime and one of sulphur to five parts of rubber, or five parts of
protoxide of lead or litharge, one of sulphur, and five of rubber, six parts of
carbonate of lead, two of sulphur, and six of rubber; but I do not confine

page_text: myself to these quantities, as other proportions will do; but whatever pro-
portions I use, I well blend or mix them, together; in or through mixing
rollers until the whole compound is thoroughly blended, when I roll it out into
a sheet of the thickness I require. Sometimes I prefer to have a compound of
india-rubber and sulphur alone, and then 1 take pure native rubber nine parts,
and one part flowers of sulphur, and proceed as before.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Warne, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
B. GOBEY,
24, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.
WILLIAM WARNE. (L.S.)