A NEW MATERIAL FOR COVERING CARRIAGES AND OTHER ANALOGOUS PURPOSES
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.]
I, HERBERT JOHN ALLISON, of the firm of Allison Brothers, of 52 Chancery
Lane, London, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agents, do hereby declare the
nature of my Invention for "A NEW MATERIAL FOR COVERING CARRIAGES AND
OTHER ANALOGOUS PURPOSES" and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My Invention has for its object to provide a material for covering carriage tops,
and other analogous purposes, the inner surface of which shall be a woollen fabric,
and the outer surface a waterproof fabric. Heretofore in the cheaper grades of
carriages it has been common to uso an ordinary grade of waterproof cloth the
back of which has been flocked in the ordinary manner, that is to say the back
has been covered with varnish or other adhesive substance, after which shoddy
wool has been dusted thereon. In the finer grades of carriages it has been
common to line the entire top with a woollen fabric which has sometimes been
stitched or cemented to the covering material and sometimes left loose. This lining
fabric is very expensive and requires careful hand finishing at the edges, it being
secured to the covering material by a blind stitch. Morcover if left loose the lining
soon becomes baggy, while if cemented to the cover, it makes it clumsy and stiff,
rendering it exceedingly liable to crack, so that in fact the more expensive material
is equally unserviceable with the cheaper. By my Invention I am able to
overcome these objections, and to produce a cloth which upon the wrong side is
equal in appearance to the finest broadcloth lining, is but slightly more expensive
than the flocked goods referred to above, is very much less expensive than a broad-
cloth lining alone and is light, flexible, and exceedingly durable, being able to
withstand the severest extremes of temperature without being injuriously affected
thereby. In my description I shall refer by letters to the accompanying Drawings
forming part of this Specification, in which :-
Fig. 1, is an edge view of a piece of my improved cloth greatly enlarged.
Fig. 2, is a plan view of the back before the waterproof material is applied, and
Fig. 3, is a plan view of the wool face thereof.
A, represents the warp, and B, the weft threads of a cotton fabric, made without
dressing. C, represents a facing of wool which is applied after the completion of

page_text: the cotton fabric; the bat of wool being laid upon the surface thereof, after which
the bat and cotton fabric are submitted to the action of a series of blunt or finely
barbed needles, the action of which is to force the wool into the interstices of the
cotton threads, causing it to take firm hold thereon, so that it becomes mechanically
interlaced therewith and forms part of the fabric itself. More or less of the wool
is forced between the cotton threads so as to show on the opposite side of the
goods, as indicated in Fig. 2. This, however, is incidental, but the right side of the
goods presents a smooth, even wool surface, which is as durable as if the fabric was
made of wool, and a nap raised in the ordinary manner. To the back of the fabric
I apply in any ordinary manner a coating of waterproof material D, which sinks
into the interstices of the cotton threads taking firm hold thereon, and upon the
wool itself which has been forced in from the opposite side. It will thus be seen
that in the completed fabric, its separate and dissimilar component parts are
thoroughly united and blended together, so that upon one side is presented an even
smooth wool surface, and upon the other a waterproof surface; the cotton threads
in the centre thereof serving to give strength and firmness to the fabric, while at
the same time the fabric as a whole is but slightly thicker than ordinary waterproof
cloth, or than the lining alone, with which it has been necessary to line the
waterproof cloth for use in the better grades of carriages. As compared with other
materials for carriage curtains now in usc, my improved cloth is wholly free from
the bulkiness and stiffness more or less common to all. It is exceedingly pliable,
so much so that it may be kept rolled or even folded for considerable time without
suffering injury, and will stand the long continued action of alternate sun and rain
without showing the slightest tendency to crack or rot.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
A new material for covering carriages and analogous uses, consisting of a cotton
fabric having upon one side a facing of wool which is forced into the interstices of
the threads, and upon the opposite side a facing of 'waterproof material which
enters said interstices taking firm hold both on the threads and the back of the
facing, substantially as described.