Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Nov., 1886.
Specification Accepted, 14th Jan., 1887.
[Communicated from abroad by ISAAC BENJAMIN KLEINERT, of New York City,
in the County and State of New York, United States of America, Dress
Shield Manufacturer, and Arthur Clifton Squires, of Brooklyn, in the County of
Kings and State of New York aforesaid, Mechanic.]
I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 328 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex;
M.I.M.E. 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 :-
In the following description reference is land to the appended drawings in which
Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the main portion of an apparatus which is
employed in carrying out this method.
Figure 2 is a side view of one of the partitions of said apparatus detached.
Figure 3a similar view of a shaper to be inserted between the partitions of the part
shown in Figure 1.
Figure 4 an end view of this machine with the material shapers, covers etc., in
place and
'
Figure 5 a transverse vertical section through the line XX in Figure 1.
This invention relates to a method of and a machine for forming or shaping articles
made of flexible material and is more especially adapted to the manufacture of arm pit
shields; and the invention consists in the method of operation and the apparatus by
which we carry out our method as hereinafter described and then more particularly
pointed out in the claims :-
The objects of this invention are :—
1. To facilitate production.
II. To economize material.

page_text: IV. To prevent soiling the material by handling.
V. To produce a more uniform stretching.
VI. To economize space in vulcanization.
The appended drawings show what I consider the preferable form of apparatus by
which this method is carried out, but I do not wish to be limited to the exact form
shown therein as it may be varied in many ways. Referring now to the details of said
drawings A represents the main frame consisting of two side bars a a and two end
picces each of which end pieces is provided with a series of grooves to receive the
partitions or formers B, and a series of slots as shown plainly in Figures 1 and 4.
The partitions B are formed at their upper edge of the exact form the articles to be
produced have at their upper edges and are inserted, as shown, in the grooves in the
end pieces b. At C is shown the shapers whose exact form is shown in Figure 3, and
their lower edges are formed to correspond precisely to the lower edge of the article to
be shaped.
At D is shown a preferably perforated board provided with pins or buttons d which
pass or catch into holes formed in the fasteners or latches E, which are hinged to the
lowor part of side bars a a of the frame.
The side bars are provided with grooves a¹ in which fit the holding bars F which are
of such thickness that when a piece of cloth to be operated on is placed over one of the
grooves and a bar F forced therein the cloth will be firmly held by the same.
The frame is preferably made very nearly as long as the width of the goods which
is to be used and the number of the cells may be as many as convenient to handle in
one frame.
The method of using the apparatus in making dress shields and similar articles is as
follows:
I fasten one end of the material in one of the grooves a', by means of one of the
bars F, and then place the material in the cells formed by the partitions. This I prefer
to do by pressing it in with a series of rather heavy but thin flat metal bars which are
forced between the partitions one after the other until there is just sufficient material in
each cell to form the article to be produced. This is done uniformly by means of the
slots in the end boards & the bottoms of which form guides which limit the depth to
which the bars, and consequently the material, is pressed in by them. When all the
cells are so filled, the material is fastened in with the other bar For in any other
convenient way.
I then pull the goods projecting on each side of the frame sufficiently to take out all
wrinkles from the surface between the cells, and fasten the same preferably with thin
stiff wires G, stuck through the projecting ends of the material. I then insert the
shapers C into each of the cells and then place the board D on them and subject the
whole to a gradual pressure until the shapers Creach the extent to which the stretching
is to be carried, when the fasteners E are raised and buttoned on to the buttons or pins d
and thus the shapers Care held securely in the desired position. Any other device
may be used instead of the board, as long as the same object is obtained or the sune
functions performed, namely pressing down and holding in the desired position of the
shapers C. I then subject the whole machine and its contents to the action of any
known method to secure the "set" of the shaped article or material according to the
kinds of goods under treatment.
In the case of a seamless dress shield containing vulcanizible rubber the whole
apparatus and its contents may be put into the vulcanizer and treated in the usual
manner of vulcanizing such articles; after which the material is removed from the
frames and the edges cut by a dic which cuts or trims a large number at a single blow.
The advantages of this new method and machine over all others known to me is
strikingly apparent and of very great importance, chcapening the article and greatly
facilitating its production.
Heretofore the goods used for forming such articles of manufacture necessitated a
great waste of material, as every piece lad to be cut much larger than the desired area 5
of the article to permit of the handling of it, by the manipulator-In this improved

page_text: method I waste practically no material, as only so much material is inserted into the
cells as the area of the shields or other articles which may be under treatment requires,
and the waste is limited to the small portion necessarily allowed for the trimming of the
edges. I thus save a very large quantity of goods or material, thereby reducing the
cost of the production. In the making of the article I obtain a still further saving as
this apparatus will turn out several dozen pairs of dress shields by the one operation
described; in fact the amount so produced is limited only by the number of cells in
each frame; the ordinary width of goods will produce from four to six shields to each
cell, according to the size of the shield and width of the goods.
The saving in labor as compared with the handling of each single shield, individually,
as usually done is almost beyond calculation.
After the article is taken from the frames, when it has been set or vulcanized,
another saving of time is effected by trimming the edges of as many shields at one time
as there are cells in the apparatus-This can be done by a die, with a single stroke.
The stretching of the shields being done, uniformly and without any extra strain upon
any particular point, amounts in reality only to a displacement of the relative angles of
the threads or meshes and no injury is done to the rubber, when rubber goods are used,
which is not always the case when the stretching is done singly by hand, or by tightly
fitting male and female dies which are sometimes employed.
By this process, no tightly fitting dies are needed to take out cockles or wrinkles on
the surface of the shield, for such things do not occur, because the stretch is even and
simultaneous at every part; and all liability of cutting the material by closely fitting
dies is avoided.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents and in what manner the same is
to be performed I declare that what I claim is
1. The herein described method of forming articles of flexible material which consists
in entering the same into a long narrow cell, then securing the material at the ends of
the cell and finally pressing a stretcher between the walls of the cell, substantially as
described.
2. The herein described method of forming articles of flexible material which consists
of first inserting one part of the material into one of a series of cells, then another part
into another cell of the series, and another part into another cell and so on until the
desired number of cells are filled, and then forcing down into said cells simultaneously
a series of stretchers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. The herein described method of forming articles of flexible material, which consists
in forcing the same between a series of partitions or formers, the outlines of whose upper
edges are substantially the shape of the edge of the article to be formed, then subjecting
the same to vulcanization, and finally cutting said articles apart and trimming the samo
to shape simultaneously, substantially as described.
4. The herein described method of forming articles of flexible material, which consists
in passing a fold of the material into one of a series of cells and temporarily holding the
same while another cell is filled, then inserting another fold of the material into another
of the cells and repeating said operation until the necessary folds have been inserted in
the cells, and finally pressing simultaneously a series of stretchers into the cells,
substantially as described.
5. The herein described method of forming articles of flexible material which consists
in passing a fold of the material into one of a series of cells and temporarily holding the
same while another cell is filled, then inserting another fold of the material into another
of the cells and repeating said operation until the necessary folds have been inserted in
the cells, next pressing simultaneously a series of stretchers into the cells, then
submitting the material to a setting operation, and finally cutting the different articles
apart and trimming their edges simultaneously, substantially as set forth.
6. The combination in a machine for forming articles of flexible material, of a frame
provided with a series of partitions, forming cells between them adapted to receive folds

page_text: of the material being operated on, means as the pins G for securing the edges of the
material, a series of stretchers constructed to pass between the folds and means as the
board and fasteners E for holding the stretchers in position, substantially as
described.
7. The combination in a shaping machine, of a frame, provided with a series of
stationary partitions or formers whose upper edges are substantially the shape of the
fold of the article to be formed, a series of movable shapers whose lower edges are
substantially the shape of another fold or edge of the article to be formed, and means
as the board D and fasteners E for holding the said shapers in position, substantially
as described.
8. The combination in a shaping machine, of a frame, provided with the side bars a,
the slotted end bars b, the partitions B, shapers C, top hoard D, and fasteners d E,
substantially as described.