Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Applying Heat for Therapeutic or other Purposes.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 1st June, 1395-Accepted, 13th July, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Applying Heat for
Therapeutic or other Purposes.
We ROOKES EVELYN BELL CROMPTON, Engineer, and HERBERT JOHN
DOWSING, Engineer, both of Mansion House Buildings in the City of London do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to means or apparatus designed to facilitate the application
of heat derived from electrical energy, to therapeutic and other purposes.
In carrying out our invention we take wire or metal strip, or tape, or other
suitable conductor for the current which we crimp or bend to and fro so as t>
increase the resistance and distribute over a great area the heating surface of the
electrical resistance and around or on one or both sides of this metal resistance we
apply asbestos or equivalent non-conducting and indestructible material preferably
for most purposes where portability is desirable, using asbestos cloth. This coating
or covering we treat with an india rubber or like waterproof coating or covering
which is "cured" in the usual known manner.
This "solutioning," coating or covering serves to unite the asbestos material
which might otherwise be much too loose and friable besides being absorbent of
moisture to an objectionable extent producing most unpleasant feelings when
applied to the skin.
The india rubber waterproofing coating or covering serves to exclude moisture,
but must not come into contact with the electrically heated metal resistance as
it would thereby be injured or destroyed and an evil smell result; by the
interposition of the properly applied asbestos preferably in sheet or cloth between
the wire or other resistance and the waterproofing coating or covering the rubber
covering may be heated to the adjusted degree equally and sufficiently, without
destruction or smell and articles of a flexible or other character can be produced
highly useful in the therapeutic art and for other purposes.
The wire, tape, band or sheet metal may be crimped, bended or shaped to the
desired forms by means of apparatus embodying a reel or its equivalent, a frictional
delivery controller, a guide or guides, frictional holders, series of indented surfaces,
a crimping dog or former and receiving and winding means but this effect may be
produced by any other suitable mechanical means.
Dated the 3rd day of September 1894.

page_text: Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Applying Heat for
Therapeutic or other Purposes.
We ROOKES EVELYN BELL CROMPTON, Engineer, and HERBERT JOHN
DOWSING, Engineer, both of Mansion House Buildings in the City of London, 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:-
This invention relates to means or apparatus designed to facilitate the application
of heat derived from electrical energy, to therapeutic and other purposes.
In carrying out our invention we take wire or metal strip, tape, or other suitable
conductor for the current which we crimp or bend to and fro so as to increase the
resistance and distribute over a great area the heating surface of the electrical
resistance and around or on one or both sides of this metal resistance we apply
asbestos or equivalent non-conducting and indestructible material preferably for
most purposes where portability is desirable, using asbestos cloth. This coating or
covering we treat with an indiarubber or like waterproof coating or covering which
is "cured" in the usual known manner.
This "solutioning," coating or covering serves to unite the asbestos material
which might otherwise be much too loose and friable besides being absorbent of
moisture to an objectionable extent producing most unpleasant feelings when applied
to the skin.
The india rubber waterproofing coating or covering serves to exclude moisture,
but must not come into contact with the electrically heated metal resistance (except
for low temperatures) as it would thereby be injured or destroyed and an evil smell
result; by the interposition of the properly applied asbestos preferably in sheet or
cloth between the wire or other resistance and the waterproofing coating or covering
the rubber covering may be heated to the adjusted degree equally and sufficiently,
without destruction or smell and articles of a flexible or other character can be
produced highly useful in the therapeutic art and for other purposes.
The conductor or conductors a of wire, strip or tape is crimped, arranged or
formed in zigzags, to increase the length and make a suitable resistance to the
current. The wire may be crimped in the special machine described in the
Specification of Patent No. 21752, dated November 14th 1893 granted to us. It
may be laid flat on a non-conducting material, such as asbestos cloth, b, and sewn
firmly thereto, in order to keep the wires a from touching.
Diagram Fig. 1, shows one plan of doing this. In another form of crimping,
diagram Fig. 2, we use a zigzag sewing machine which has a zigzag motion,
carrying the wire a first in one direction and then in the other, the upper or lower
thread c holding the wire, and firmly attaching it to the cloth b at each bend. The
necessary length of wire may be sewn over the cloth, and the wire itself is used
bare, or covered with cotton, or an asbestos covering, to prevent the rusting action
caused by contact of fluids or oxidation of the air. At the ends of the wires we
form suitable connecting pieces, either of wire of a larger diameter, or copper strip.
The connecting pieces are attached to the heating resistance by being well wound
together, and may be further fixed by means of a hard solder. In some cases
where the resistance wires are intended to be heated to a higher temperature than
the melting point of the hardest solder, we use connecting clips which connect the
connecting pieces, or terminals, to the resistance wires by means of screws or spring
attachments. The heating wires, when firmly attached to the asbestos cloth which
forms a ground work for them and tends to hold them in position, are further
covered by another layer of asbestos cloth b¹ and the whole is then firmly sewn

page_text: together. An outer covering of flannel may be used (d) in order to give a good
appearance and a ready means of applying the heating pad to the body. In place
of the asbestos cloth 6, 61, we sometimes use a linen or other fibrous material which
has been previously steeped in tungstate of soda or similar preparation, to prevent
combustion.
When the heating effect is to be limited to a temperature of about boiling water,
and the appliance is to be used in connection with poultices or operations where
much moisture is used or produced, we find it advisable to enclose the whole of the
heating wires and the non-conducting material to which they are attached, in an
envelope or indiarubber bag. We find the best arrangement for making the
apparatus when using an indiarubber covering is to attach the wires to an asbestos
or other incombustible cloth, and to coat the whole with a solution of indiarubber,
to impress upon this a sheet of solid indiarubber, turning up the edges all round,
and causing them to adhere by means of the solution. The rubber sheeting is then
dried and carried through the usual process for vulcanizing. When even lower
temperatures are used we may fix our heating wires between two rubber sheets
caused to adhere, so as to form one solid mass, with the wires between them. The
whole may then be vulcanized or cured in any manner necessary to prevent the
softening of the rubber when slightly warmed. In order to prevent the over-heating
of the resistance wires we add to the conductor a short length of fusible wire which
will reach the melting point long before the wires themselves are over-heated.
The fuse of the alloy cuts off the current and prevents harm from arising. The
fusible plug portion is enclosed in a specially prepared fireproof material or in a
suitable case of wood or metal lined with porcelain.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
The construction and use of means or apparatus for applying heat derived from
electrical energy for therapeutic or other purposes, using wire, strip or tape or
other suitable conductor for the current crimped bent or arranged and secured to
or between protecting surfaces suitably prepared, substantially as and for the
purposes herein before set forth.
Dated this 1st day of June 1895.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56 Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicants.