Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Flexible Tubing or Hose, and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Sept., 1891-Accepted, 17th Oct., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Flexible Tubing or
Hose, and to Apparatus therefor.
I, CHARLES FRIEDERICH SIMON, of 3 Mount Hope Avenue, in Bristol, in the
County of Bristol, State of Rhode Island, United States of America, Manu-
facturer of Rubber Goods, do hereby declare the nature of my 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 has reference to improvements in the manufacture of that class of
hose where a rubber lining is inclosed in a braided sheath or covering.
The object of this invention is to produce a sheath, or covering, surrounding a
rubber lining, which, when vulcanized together, will prevent the longitudinal
stretching of the rubber lining and consequently reduce the wear on the same. To
attain this end I have invented certain novel features in the process of manu-
facture to introduce a peculiar combination of elements which will hereinafter be
more fully described and pointed out in the claims.
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of a braiding-machine showing
the manner of bringing the warp-threads in position under the weft or braided
portion.
Figure 2. is a view of a portion of the improved hose showing the layers of thread
and the rubber lining.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the same.
Similar numbers of reference designate corresponding parts throughout.
In the drawings 4 indicates the bed-plate of an ordinary circular braiding-
machine, 5 is a plate having a central perforation to allow of the passage of the
rubber lining, which central perforation is surrounded by any number of smaller
perforations. 6 is a hollow flexible mandrel which may be formed of a section of
rubber pipe closed at the upper end and connected at the lower end with a flexible
tube and a valve 7' through which air is forced into the hollow mandrel 6 to expand
the same.
This tube 7 is much smaller than the inner diameter of the rubber-
lining; it is shown in the drawings as broken above the valve 71 in order to indicate
that this tube may be of any desired length; it may be in short sections connected
by couplings, or it may be of one piece. The valve 7' is made small enough to
readily pass through the bore of the rubber-lining, so that when drawn through
this lining, in the direction of the braiding, this valve will not obstruct the passage.
As the mandrel 6 and the tube are drawn through the lining, I couple on extra
lengths of the tube 7, so that, no matter what the length of lining, the tube extends
through that portion below the mandrel. This tube 7 may be connected with a
reservoir containing compressed air or gas, but I prefer to connect the free end of
the tube with a force-pump by means of which air may be forced through the tube
into the hollow mandrel to expand the same. In threading the tube 7 through the
lining 8 I use a heavy wire, longer than the section of lining, passing the wire
through the lining, then securing one end of the tube to this wire and thus drawing
the tube and mandrel into place; the tube 7 in all cases exceeding the length of
the lining.
In carrying out my invention I first pass the end of the rubber lining 8 through
the central perforation, or orifice, in the plate 5,-this plate 5 being made large
enough to extend over the edges of a perforation 4' in the center of the bed-plate 4
against the under surface of which it is secured, as shown in the drawings,-the
flexible mandrel 6 is now inserted into the bore of the lining 8 and air is forced into
the mandrel 6 to expand the same,-the warp-threads 9-9 are now passed through

page_text: the small perforations in the plate 5 and the ends brought against the outer surface
of the lining 8 and secured; the perforations in the plate 5 being thus closed,
rubber cement is now placed in the vessel formed in the perforation 4' of the bed-
plate 4, the plate 5 forming the bottom of the vessel.
The braiding-machine is now set in motion and the diagonal weft-threads 10-10
are-braided-around the warp-threads 9-9; as these threads 9-9 and the rubber
lining 8 move upward through the plate 6 they carry with them a portion of the
cement held in the vessel formed in the bed-plate 4. When the covering has been
braided as far as the bottom of the mandrel 6, the valve 7' is opened and the air is
exhausted from the mandrel which will then collapse and can be drawn down
through the rubber lining a distance equal to the length of the mandrel, air is
now again forced into the mandrel and the process of braiding continued. It may
be readily seen that any length of tubing may thus be covered without the use of a
mandrel of equal length.
After the covering has been braided on to the rubber lining, I remove the whole
from the braiding-machine and, after closing up one end of this hose with a coupling,
I force air into the same under considerable pressure, the open end of the hose is
now closed by a similar coupling and the hose placed in a vulcanizer to be subjected
to heat, as the heat increases, the air in the hose will expand until, in the ordinary
temperature used in vulcanizing, the pressure of the air in the hose will largely
increase and will force the rubber lining 8, which has become semi-liquified by the
vulcanizing process, into intimate contact with the non-expansible covering-
threads.
It is obvious that any number of layers may be braided around the first and the
longitudinally-extending warp-threads may be omitted from the subsequent layers
if desired.
In the present method of manufacturing rubber-lined braided hose, the covering
is first braided, the rubber-lining is then inserted into the braided covering and the
whole vulcanized on a mandrel which, being of a diameter equal to that of the
inside of the hose, merely holds the rubber lining in contact with the inside of
the braided covering and does not press the rubber, when it is semi-liquified, into
the braided covering, therefore the union is imperfect. Another objection to this
method is on account of the short lengths in which it is necessary to make
the hose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
Claim 1. In the manufacture of rubber-lined braided-hose, the combination with
the bed-plate of a braiding-machine having the central perforation 4¹, and a
circumferentially-perforated plate 5, having a central circular opening, secured
below said perforation 4' and forming the bottom of a reservoir, of a contractible
hollow mandrel 6 provided with the air-supply tube 7 having a valve 71 and adapted
to support the lining 8 in the central opening of the plate 5 to form the inner wall

page_text: 4. In rubber-lined braided-hose, the combination with the rubber-lining 8, of the
warp-threads 9-9 laid lengthwise of said lining and secured thereto by cement,
and one or more layers of weft-threads 10-10 braided over said warp-threads, as
described.
Dated this 7th day of Anonat. A D 1801
In the presence of :-
JOSEPH A. MILLER, JR.
HENRY J. MILLER.
CHARLES FRIEDERICH SIMON.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.