An Improvement in Coverings for Bits as used by Horses or other Cattle.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Dec., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 15th Sept., 1898-Accepted, 15th Oct., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Coverings for Bits as used by Horses or other
Cattle.
I, JOHN HANCOCK NUNN, 266, Goswell Road, London, E.C., India Rubber
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to readily and easily attach and detach rubber
or other suitable material-coverings to horses' bits for increasing their comfort.
This I accomplish by the rubber or other suitable material being made in one or
more cylinders curled up into the form of a tube with one or more plies or
wrappings but so manufactured as to spring tightly or loosely as desired on to
the bit and which can be easily removed or uncurled for the purpose of cleaning
the bit and when cleaned to be curled again round the bit.
An Improvement in Coverings for Bits as used by Horses or other
Cattle.
I, JOHN HANCOCK NUNN, 266, Goswell Road, London, E.C., India Rubber
Manufacturer, 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:
The present invention has reference to bits for horses which have the mouth-
piece covered with india rubber, for the purpose of rendering them more easy and
comfortable to the animal than the bare metal.
Hitherto the rubber has been applied to the mouth-piece of the bit in a manner
more or less permanent, so that it cannot conveniently be removed and replaced,
when required, for the purpose of cleaning or otherwise.
The object of this invention is to provide a rubber covering for the mouth-piece
of bits, which can be easily removed, and again applied as often as desired, so
that the bit can be used with or without its cover, and the cleaning of the same
is greatly facilitated.
In the accompanying drawing I have shewn my improved detachable mouth-
piece covering in forms to suit a plain straight mouthpiece, and also a jointed or
curved mouthpiece.
1:4
Figure 1 shews a sheet of rubber before it is made into a cover for a straight

page_text: Figure 3 is a cross section on line x-x of Figure 2.
Figure 4 shews a jointed snaffle furnished with one form of my detachable
cover.
Figures 5, 6, and 7, illustrate a mode of manufacturing a cover for jointed bits
according to this invention.
In carrying out my invention, referring first to Figures 1, 2, and 13, I take a
sheet of uncured rubber, A, of suitable dimensions, and I roll it on a core of
metal or other suitable material, approximately the size of the bit to which the
cover is to be applied, dusting the rubber with talc, or other powder, to prevent
the layers from adhering together. The rolled-up sheet is held upon
the core,
either
by inserting it in a mould, or by other means, and vulcanized in the usual
manner.
After vulcanization, the sheet is unrolled from the core, and, on being released,
it at once re-assumes its cylindrical form, and is ready for application to the bit,
as shewn at Figures 2 and 3, where the cover, A, is seen rolled around the mouth-
piece B, upon which it is retained by the elasticity of the rubber, and its tendency
to coil up into the form which it was forced to assume during vulcanization.
The cover C shewn in Figure 4, as applied to a jointed snaffle
bit D, is similar to the cover A, except that it is formed on a curved core, with an
enlargement in the middle of its length, so as to form a bulb, as at c, to facilitate the
play of the joint d.
This form of cover is, also applicable to a curved mouth-piece without joint, in
which case the central enlargement or bulb may be omitted, if desired.
When, it is desired to give the joint of the snaffle bit uncontrolled play, the cover
is made in two parts (see Figures 5, 6, and 7). E is a sheet of uncured rubber, of
peculiar form, having two connected portions, of which e is the smaller, and e¹ the
larger portion. F is a core, having a cross-head f' at its enlarged end f, which is
placed on the smaller portion e, as shewn in Figure 5. The rubber of the portion e
is then rolled around the core F, and turned over, as seen in Figure 6, powdered
tale being used to prevent adhesion of the layers, as before mentioned.
The larger portion el is then powdered, and rolled around the already rolled-up
portion e, and the whole is enclosed in a mould and vulcanized. After this opera-
tion, the sheet E retains its rolled-up position, so that when the core is removed
by unrolling, it can be readily applied to a snaffle bit, for one side of which it
forms a cover, a counterpart being provided for the other end, the two halves being
of such a length that the joint of the bit is left exposed between their ends.
The cover may be strengthened with canvas or other material, if required; for
instance, at the point where the enlarged end f of the core F has made a bulb to
receive the end of the bit. The cross-head f¹ is employed to make holes for the
passage of the cheeks of the bit, which are inserted therein when the cover is
opened, and flattened out for the purpose, previous to wrapping, first, the portion e,
and subsequently the portion el around the mouthpiece.
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:
The herein before described detachable cover for the mouth-pieces of bits, which,
being applied as above explained, retains its position by reason of the tendency to
roll up given to the rubber sheet, in manufacturing the cover, substantially as
set forth.