IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DRIVING STRAPS OR BANDS "
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Hyne Gibbs, of Stroud, in the County
of Gloucester, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF DRIVING STRAPS OR BANDS "
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Hyne Gibbs
at the Office of the Commissioners of. Patents, with his Petition,
on the 28th January 1873.
I, HENRY HYNE GIBBS, of Stroud, in the County of Gloucester,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
“IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DRIVING STRAPS OR BANDS," to bo as
follows:-
My said Invention consists in manufacturing singlo or compound
driving straps or bands, or driving straps or bands consisting of a single.
layer or of two or more layers of leather in the manner herein-after
described.

page_text: I will describe my Invention as applied to the manufacture of a
double driving strap or band. I take small picces of leather of a length
somewhat greater than the width of the band to be manufactured, tho
said pieces of leather having a rhombic figure. I place the said pieces
side by side so that the longer sides of cach piece shall be in contact |
with the longer sides of the pieces on either side of it, while the shorter
sides of each piece are in the same right lines respectively as the shorter
ends of the adjacent pieces. There is thus formed a strip or band
consisting of pieces of leather whose junctions cross the band obliquely.
I employ two of the said strips compounded of picces joined in the way
described, the said strips being placed one upon the other, the junctions
of the pieces of one strip crossing the junctions of the pieces of the
other strip at or nearly at a right angle.
The several rhombic pieces of leather are secured together at their
edges by sewing, and the two strips or bands are secured together by
pegs. Prior to the pegging together of the two strips or bands a layer
of gluc or other cement is placed between them, and they are subjected
to great pressure, whereby the superfluous cement is expressed from
between them, and the two strips or bands cemented into a compact
mass.
For additional security the two cemented and pegged layers may bo
secured together by means of several rows of stitches parallel to the
edges of the band. The band may be edged on either side by straight
or longitudinal strips of leather, by means of which injury arising from
the catching of the acute angles of the rhombic pieces against any
obstacle is prevented. The protection of the ends of the rhombic picces
of leather is however not required in ordinary cases.
Where additional strength is required a layer of canvas or other
flexible material, such as gutta percha, may be interposed between the
two strips or layers of leather.
Driving straps or bands may be made according to my Invention of
more than two layers of leather of the kind described, or driving straps
or bands may be made according to my Invention of one of tho said
layers, in which latter caso I especially prefer to use the outer edge
protecting strips herein-before referred to.
The cement described between the layers may be dispensed with.

page_text: Although I prefer to use pieces of leather of such a figure and so
arranged that their junctions cross the the band obliquely, yet the piccos
of leather employed may be rectangular, and their junctions cross the
band at right angles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Hync Gibbs in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 23rd July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
HYNE GIBBS, of Stroud, in the County of Gloucester, Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Hyno Gibbs, Her
special license that I, the said Henry Hyne Gibbs, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry
Hyno Gibbs, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DRIVING STRAPS OR BANDS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Hync
Gibbs, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 bo filed
in the Great Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Hyne Gibbs, 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 :-

page_text: My said Invention consists in manufacturing single or compound
driving straps or bands, or driving straps or bands consisting of a singlo
layer or of two or more layers of leather in the manner herein-after
described.
I will describe my Invention as applied to the manufacture of a
double driving strap or band. I take small pieces of leather of a length
somewhat greater than the width of the band to be manufactured, tho
suid pieces of leather having a rhombic figure. I place the said pieces
side by side so that the longer sides of cach picco shall be in contact
with the longer sides of the pieces on either side of it, while the shorter
sides of each picco are in the same right lines respectively as the shorter
sides of the adjacent pieces. There is thus formed a strip or band con-
sisting of pieces of leather whose junctions cross the band obliquely.
I employ two of the said strips compounded of picces joined in the way
described, the said strips being placed oue upon the other, the junctions
of the pieces of one strip or layer crossing the junctions of the pieces of
the other strip or layer at or nearly at a right angle.
The several pieces of leather are secured together at their edges by
sewing and the two strips or layers are secured together by pegs. Prior
to the pegging together of the two strips or layers, glue or other cement
is placed between them and they are subjected to great pressure,
whereby the superfluous cement is expressed from between them and the
two strips or layers cemented into a compact mass.
For additional security the two cemented and pegged layers may bo
secured together by means of several rows of stitches parallel to the
edges of the band. The band may be edged on either side by straight
or longitudinal strips of leather, by means of which injury arising from
the catching of the acute angles of the rhombic pieces against any
obstacle is prevented. The protection of the ends of the rhombic pieces
is however not required in ordinary cases.
Although I prefer to use pieces of leather of such a figuro and so
arranged that their junctions cross the band obliquely, yet the pieces of
leather employed may be rectangular, and their junctions cross the band
at right angles.

page_text: describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in front and edge view a portion of a compound
driving strap or band manufactured according to my Invention; and
Figure 2 is a cross section of the same taken on the line a, a, Figure 1.
The said strap or band consists of two strips or layers of leather, cach
layer being composed of rhombic pieces of leather arranged and con-
nected together as follows:-The rhombic pieces of the upper layer
are marked b, and those of the under layer are marked c. Tho said
picces b and c of each layer are placed side by side so that the longer
sides of cach picce shall be in contact with the longer sides of the pieces
on either side of it, and the short sides or ends of the several picces are
situated in the same right lines as represented.
The several rhombic pieces b, c, of cach layer are secured together at
their edges by sewing. By an examination of the Drawing it will bo
seen that the junctions of the rhombic pieces b and c of each of the
layers of which the band is composed cross the said band obliquely, and
that the junctions of the rhombic picces 6 of one of the layers cross the
junctions of the rhombic picces c of the other layer at or nearly at a
right angle, so as thereby to break joint. The two layers composed of
the several rhombic picces and care secured together at their edges
and middlo by longitudinal stitches at d, d, and the said layers are also
secured together by the pegs represented. Prior to the stitching and
pegging together of the two layers composed of the strips b and c, glue
or other cement is placed between them, and the layers are then
subjected to great pressure so as to remove the superfluous glue or
cement from between them. By this treatment the two layers are
cemented into a compact mass. Channels may be made in the abutting
faces of the rhombic pieces b, c, of the two layers (sec Figure 3).
Into these channels the glue or cement employed for cementing the
layers together passes and additional holding power is thereby obtained.
Figure 3 represents in front view and edge views a portion of a
compound driving strap or band made in the manner before described,
the said band being edged on either side by straight or longitudinal
strips of leather marked respectively c, e, and f, f, the longitudinal
strips e, e, of the upper layer being broader than the longitudinal

page_text: strips of the under layer. The longitudinal strips e and f of the
two layers are secured together by stitching at h and by pegging as
represented, and also by cementing if desired, and the rhombic pieces b, c,
constituting the middle of the strap or band are secured by pegging aud
cementing to the broad longitudinal edging strips c, c. The channels in
the rhombic pieces b, c, for holding the glue or cement are marked i in
Figure 3. By securing the straight or longitudinal strips e, f, to the
edges of the strap or band made of the rhombic pieces of leather b, c,
injury arising from the catching of the acute angles of the said rhombic
pieces against any obstacle is prevented.
Figure 4 represents in front view and edge views a portion of a
compound driving strap or band, the layers of which are composed of
rectangular picces of leather instead of rhombic pieces, the rectangular
pieces of the two layers being marked respectively and . The
junctions of the said pieces and cross the band at right angles to the
length of the said band, but the junctions of the two layers break joint
in the manner seen in the longitudinal edge view of Figure 4. The
pieces and respectively of the two layers are sown together at their
edges, and the two layers are stitched and pegged together in the
manner represented. They may also be cemented together and be
provided with outer edge protecting strips of the kind represented in
Figuro 3.
Where additional strength is required a layer of canvas or other
flexible material, such as gutta percha, may be interposed between the
two layers of leather.
Driving straps or bands may be made according to my Invention of
more than two layers of leather of the kinds described, or driving straps
or bands may be made according to my Invention of one of the said
layers, in which latter case I especially prefer to use the outer edge
protecting strips herein-before described and represented in Figure 3.
The cement described between the layers may be dispensed with.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner iu
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention. But I claim as my Invention, the improvements in the

page_text: manufacture of driving straps or bands herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, making the
said straps or bands cither of a single layer or of two or more layers of
leather, the said layers of leather being composed of pieces or strips
either of a rhombic figure or of a rectangular figure arranged and
secured together, substantially as described and illustrated, the layers or
layer so mado being used alone or in combination with the outer edge
protecting strips described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Hyne Gibbs, have hercunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
EDWARD SIMS,
Stroud,
Gloucestershire.
HENRY HYNE GIBBS. (L.s.)