IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF CAOUTCHOUC OR INDIA RUBBER, AND IN MANUFACTURING VARIOUS FABRICS OF WHICH CAOUTCHOUC FORMS A COMPETENT PART
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE. PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for. Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirtieth day of January, in the seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her especial licence, full power, sole pri-
vilege and authority, that I, the said William Edward Newton, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in
áll Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of
Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE PREPARATION OF CAOUTCHOUC OR INDIA RUBBER, AND IN MANUFACTURING
VARIOUS FABRICS OF WHICH CAOUTCHOUC FORMS A COMPETENT PART," being a com-
munication from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is
[Price 6d.]

page_text: contained a proviso obliging me, the said William Edward Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Edward Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
These Improvements in the Preparation of Caoutchouc or India Rubber,
and the Manufacturing of various Fabrics of which Caoutchouc forms a Com-
ponent Part, are fully explained in and by the following description thereof,
communicated to me by the Inventor:-
The principal improvement in the preparing of the caoutchouc or india
rubber consists in combining therewith portions of sulphur and of white lead,
and in submitting the compound thus formed to the action of heat, at a
regulated temperature, by which combination and exposure to heat it will be
so far altered in its qualities as not to become softened by the action of the
solar ray or of artificial heat at a temperature below that to which it was sub-
mitted in its preparation, say to a heat of two hundred and seventy degrees of
Fahrenheit's scale, nor will it be injuriously affected by exposure to cold. "It
will also resist the action of the expressed oils, and that likewise of spirits of tur-
pentine, or of the other essential oils at common temperatures, which oils are its
usual solvents. In combining the sulphur and white lead with india rubber,
these materials may be employed in varying proportions, but that which I have
found to answer best, and to which it is advisable to approximate in forming the
compound, is the following:-I take twenty-five parts of india rubber, five
parts of sulphur, and seven parts of white lead. The india rubber I usually
dissolve in spirits of turpentine or other essential oil, and the white lead and
sulphur also I grind in spirits of turpentine, in the ordinary way of grinding
paint. These three articles thus prepared may, when it is intended to form a
sheet by itself, be evenly spread upon any smooth surface, or upon glazed cloth,
from which it may be readily separated; but I prefer to use for this purpose
the cloth, made according to the present Specification, as the compound spread
upon this article separates therefrom more cleanly than from any other.

page_text: Instead of dissolving the india rubber in the manner above set forth, the
sulphur and white lead, prepared by grinding as above directed, may be incor-
porated with the substance of the india rubber by the aid of heated cylinders or
callender rollers, by which it may be brought into sheets of any required thick-
ness, or it may be applied so as to adhere to the surface of the cloth or of leather
of various kinds. This mode of producing and of applying the sheet caoutchouc
by means of rollers is well known to manufacturers. To destroy the odor of the
sulphur in fabrics thus prepared, I wash the surface with a solution of potash,
or with vinegar, or a small portion of essential oil or other solvent of sulphur.
When the india rubber is spread upon the firmer kinds of cloth, or of leather,
it is subject to peel therefrom by a moderate degree of force, the gum letting
go the fibre by which the two are held together; I have therefore devised
another improvement in this manufacture, by which this tendency is in a great
measure corrected, and by which also the sheet gum when not attached to
cloth or leather is better adapted to a variety of purposes than when not pre-
pared by this improved mode, which is as follows:-
After laying a coat of the gum, compounded as above set forth, on any suit-
able fabric, cover it with a bat of cotton wool, as it is delivered from the doffer
of a carding machine; and this bat I cover with another coat of the gum, a
process which may be repeated two or three times, according to the required
thickness of the goods. A very thin and strong fabric may be thus produced,
which may be used in lieu of paper for the covering of boxes, books, or other
articles. When this compound of india rubber, sulphur, and white lead,
whether to be used alone in the state of sheets or applied to the surface of
any other fabric, has been fully dried, either in a heated room or by exposure
to the sun and air, the goods are to be subjected to the action of a high degree
of temperature which will admit of considerable variation, say from two
hundred and twelve to three hundred and fifty degrees of Fahrenheit's
thermometer, but, for the best effect, approaching as nearly as may be to two
hundred and seventy degrees. This heating may be effected by running the
fabrics over a heated cylinder; but I prefer to expose them to an atmosphere of
the proper temperature, which may be best done by the aid of an oven pro-
perly constructed, with openings through which the sheets or web may be passed
by means of suitable rollers. When this process is performed upon a fabric
consisting of the above-named compound, it must be allowed to remain
upon the cloth on which it is made, in order to sustain it, as it is so far
softened during the operation as not to be capable of supporting its own weight
without such aid. If the exposure be to a temperature exceeding two hundred
and seventy degrees, it must continue but a very brief period.

page_text: One of the improved manufactures or fabrics which forms part of this Inven-
tion consists in part of the india rubber prepared or compounded in the manner
above described, and which I denominate corrugated india-rubber goods. These
goods are formed by cutting sheet india rubber into narrow strips or threads,
say of one eighth or one sixteenth of an inch, more or less, in width, and
usually of about the thickness of a card. The strips are then stretched upon
a suitable board or table, in such manner as. that they may pass backwards
and forwards parallel to each other, say at the distance apart of one fourth of
an inch, more or less. The table or board is provided with pins or notches at
each end, and around these pins, or through the notches, the threads are to be
stretched as they are passed backwards and forwards; the stretching of these
strips may amount to twice, more or less, of their quiescent length. Whilst
so stretched, two laminae of cloth, or of other suitable material, of the requisite
width and length, which are covered on one side with moist india-rubber
cement, are to be placed one on either side of the stretched threads, the
cemented sides being towards the said threads; these laminae are to be brought
into contact with each other between the threads, which may be readily done
by passing a smooth piece of metal, ivory, or other article along the side of
each of the threads.
Having made known the manner in which I manufacture the corrugated
or shurredindia-rubber goods, when the same are made by hand, I will now
proceed to describe a new and useful machine by which the process of manu-
facturing the said goods is greatly facilitated. In the accompanying Drawings
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section, and Fig. 2 a top view of a part of the
machine; the stretching frame A, A, which may be of great length, say eighty
or ninety feet, being represented as cut off, and showing only its two ends and
a part of its middle portion. B, B', are two calender rollers usually made of
metal, between which the two laminae of cloth coated with india-rubber
cement, and the stretched narrow strips of india rubber, are to pass. These
rollers and others to be described, may be supported on a separate frame C, C,
placed at one end of the stretching frame A, A. In Fig. I the frame C, C,
and its appendages are shown in a vertical section from front to back through
the middle. D. D. are two rollers, around which the cloth is to be wound, which
is to be carried from them over the two rollers B. B'. and is to pass down
between them, embracing the stretched strips a, a, a, of india rubber between
them. b. b. represents the cloth in its passage from the rollers D, D, over those
marked B. B'. Around the roler B and around a tightening roller E
passes an endless apron c, e, e: this endless apron consists of gum-elastic cloth
or woollen or other yielding material, its use being to cause the two lamina

page_text: of cloth which have been coated with india-rubber cement to be brought
into contact between the stretched threads of india rubber. F is a part
of a tightening frame, borne out by screws G. for tightening the endless
apron c, c. II, H, are the screws for regulating the distance apart of the
calender rollers. I, I, is a sliding frame. which rests upon the longitudinal
pieces or cheeks of the stretching frame A, along which it may pass from end
to end, being kept from lateral motion by suitable rebates or guides.
To a
cross piece J, J, of this frame one end of each of the strips a, a, a, is attached
in such a manner as that the said strips shall stand parallel to and equidistant
from each other. From this sliding frame they are carried over a grooved
roller K, which preserves their parallelism. To stretch the strips a, a, straps
L, L, are attached to the sliding frame 1, and pass over rollers M, M, at the
near end of the machine, and down around the ends of the shaft N. upon
which they are wound. By turning the shaft N the narrow strips of india
rubber a, a, may be stretched to any required extent, and when the shurred,
pleated. or crimped goods are being formed, the frame I, I, is allowed to
advance towards the calender rollers with the same speed with which the
peripheries of these rollers move, and carry the cloth from the rollers D, D.
The corrugated material, as it is formed. may be allowed to descend after
leaving the calender rollers, as shown at O. Instead of the foregoing arrange-
ment I sometimes form the cross piece J. J. of the sliding frame so as to
constitute a grooved roller, and I join the two ends of each of the strips a, a,
together, forming them each into an endless band. These strips then
pass round the roller J. J. and round that marked K. and under the
calender roller B. The corrugated cloth, as it passes from the calender
rollers, instead of descending, as at O, is in this case conducted round, under
the calender roller B, to the roller J, J. The distance between the roller J, J,
and the calender rollers must under this arrangement be equal to half the
The manufactured
length of the corrugated goods in the stretched state.
article is. when thus made, to be removed from the machine by cutting it
across. Under this last arrangement the frame 1. I. does not approach the
calender rollers during the process, the rollers J. J. merely revolving, after the
strips upon it have received the proper tension by the action of the straps L. L.
Figure 3 shows a pall on the shaft N for preserving the tension of the
threads a. a.
I do not restrict myself to the use of any particular material
which is to constitute the laminar with which the elastic threads are to
be covered, but employ any such as may be adapted to
the corrugated material is to be applied. One side, for
of thin leather and the other of cotton or other cloth.
the purpose to which
example, may consist
In the manufacturing

page_text: of braces
have sometimes taken silk ribbon for one of the lamina and cotton
cloth for the other: but in general a material of much greater width than
ribbon will be used, and the article, when dry, cut into strips of such width or
into such other forms as may be required. When the material ihus formed is
removed from the board or machine on which it is made, it will, by the con-
traction of the stretched threads of indian rubber, become corrugated so as to
form distinct plaits between them; and although the same amount of contrac-
tion takes place upen the threads themselves, this part will be comparatively
smooth, and the whole will present a corded appearance, which is in itself neat,
and the fabric will possess a degree of elasticity limited only by the cotton,
silk, or other non-elastic material which constitutes one or both of the laminæ.
flaving thus fully described the nature of certain Improvements in the
Preparation of Caoutchouc or India Rubber, and the Manufacturing of various
Fabrics of which Caoutchouc forms a Component Part, that which I claim as
new in the above-described process and manufacture is,-
First, the combining of the india rubber with sulphur and with white lead
so as to form a triple compound, such combination being made either in the
proportions herein named or in any other within such limits as are substan-
tially the same and will produce a like result. And although the best results
have been obtained from using the carbonate of lead, some other salts of lead,
or the oxides of lead, may be substituted therefore, and will produce a good
result I therefore wish it to be understood that the substitution of such
salts or oxides in the place of white lead, so as to form a triple compound, is
included in this claim.
Secondly, I claim the formation of a fabric of the india rubber by inter-
posing layers of cotton batting between those of gum, in the manner and for
the purpose above described.
Thirdly, I claim, in combination with the foregoing, the process of exposing
the india-rubber fabric to the action of a high degree of heat, such as is
herein specified, by means of which this improved compound is effectually
changed in its properties, so as to protect it from decomposition or deteriora-
tion by the action of those agents which have heretofore been found to produce
that effect upon india-rubber goods.
Fourthly, I claim as a new manufacture what is herein denominated cor-
rugated or "shurred" india-rubber goods; (that is to say) I claim the forming
of such goods by the stretching of strips or threads of india rubber to such
extent as may be desired, and the covering the said strips or threads on
opposite sides with laminae of cloth, leather, or any other suitable material,
which lamina are to be united to each other and to the threads or strips by

page_text: means of india-rubber cement, the same being effected so as to produce a
manufactured article substantially such as is herein set forth and made
known.
Lastly, I claim as new the within-described machine for the manufacturing
of corrugated or "shurred "india-rubber goods; but as the gearing by which
the calender rollers B, B', are moved and the said rollers do not differ from
such as are generally used for a like purpose, to the construction of this part
of the machine I do not make any claim, similar rollers having been
employed in the manufacturing of india-rubber goods and for other purposes.
But that which I do claim as new in the above-described machine, and wish
to secure by Letters Patent, is, the combining with the calender rollers an elastic
endless apron, such as is represented at c, c, and a stretching frame, with its
appurtenances, such as is represented at I, I, for the purpose of giving and
preserving to the strips or threads their proper tension, and allowing them to
pass between the laminae of coated cloth or other material, so as to produce
the corrugated or "shurred" goods by an operation of the respective parts,
substantially as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of July, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-four.
W. E. (L.S.) NEWTON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of July, in
the eighth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said William
Edward Newton came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument afore-
said was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth
year of the reign of His late Maiesty King George the Third