Improved Manufacture of Sheet Material, specially suitable for use as Label Cloth and Book-binders' Cloth.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 7th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 8th Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Manufacture of Sheet Material, specially suitable for use as
Label Cloth and Book-binders' Cloth.
I, EDWIN JOHN GOODWIN, of 104 Cottenham Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to an improved manufacture of sheet material
specially suitable for use as label cloth, and book-binders cloth.
According thereto sheet material consisting of textile fabric or cloth having a
close texture and composed of vegetable fibres is subjected to the action of dilute
sulphuric acid having a specific gravity of about 115° T. so as to partly convert the
said vegetable fibres into a parchment like state and to more or less completely close
the pores or interstices of the cloth without destroying the texture or woven
appearance of the cloth; then removing the excess of acid from the cloth by
washing, with or without previous neutralization of the acid by treatment with an
alkali for example caustic alkali; and subjecting the treated material to pressure
between rolls such as calendering rolls, whereby the desired finished appearance is
imparted to the material and the closing of the pores or interstices completed.
By this means there is obtained a smooth transparent or translucent material
specially suitable for use as label cloth and book-binders cloth for which latter
purpose it can be directly used, after being suitably dyed if necessary, without the
necessity of further treatment such as has heretofore been necessary to render
ordinary untreated cloth suitable for this purpose. The cloth should be saturated
For this purpose it is
or wetted throughout with the dilute sulphuric acid.
immersed in the dilute acid through which it is drawn.
Sheet material prepared as described has no objectionable smell, is not liable to
undergo chemical change by exposure in a moist atmosphere, and is capable of being
readily dyed as it rapidly absorbs dyeing agents.
Domhan 1802
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London; W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Manufacture of Sheet Material, specially suitable for use as
Label Cloth and Book-binders' Cloth.
I, EDWIN JOHN GOODWIN, late of 104 Cottenham Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, but now of Stakehill Works, Castleton
near Manchester, aforesaid, Agent, 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 :-
This invention has reference to an improved manufacture of sheet material
specially suitable for use as label cloth, and book-binders' cloth.
According thereto sheet material consisting of textile fabric or cloth (hereinafter
called cloth) having a close texture and composed of vegetable fibres, is saturated
with dilute sulphuric acid having a specific gravity of 115° Twaddle or thereabout
so as to partly convert the said vegetable fibres into a parchment-like state and to
more or less completely close the pores or interstices of the cloth without destroying
the texture or woven appearance thereof and then after treatment of the cloth for
11سلام

page_text: removal of sulphuric acid the treated material is subjected to pressure between rolls
such as calendering rolls, whereby the desired finished appearance is imparted to
the material and the closing of the pores or interstices completed.
And in order that my invention may be fully understood I will now describe with
reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings the best way known to me of
carrying it into practical effect.
In the said drawings,
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section; and
Fig. 2 a plan illustrating diagrammatically, apparatus suitable for carrying out
my invention, but which apparatus is not claimed.
1 is a lead-lined vessel containing a bath 2 of dilute sulphuric acid prepared as
hereinafter described. In this bath is immersed a guide bar or roller 3 formed of
suitable material such as wood, or wood covered with lead, under which the cloth 4
to be treated is drawn.
5 is a roller over which the cloth, after leaving the bath, is led into a washing
vessel 6 for the purpose of removing as completely as practicable the free sulphuric
acid from the cloth. This washing vessel in the example shown, is provided with a
series of guide rollers 7 over and under which the cloth is drawn so that the excess
of sulphuric acid is washed out by streams of water discharged over the upper and
lower surfaces of the cloth from perforated pipes 8, 8ª respectively. These pipes
are arranged longitudinally of the vessel above and below the guide rollers 7 and
near the ends thereof as shown. With a view of reducing the quantity of washing
water that would otherwise be necessary to remove the last traces of free sulphuric
acid from the treated cloth, it is advantageous to pass the said cloth through a bath
consisting of a very weak solution of an alkali, for example caustic alkali, or
ammonia which will neutralize the said traces of free acid and form therewith an
alkaline salt that will be washed out of the cloth as it passes through the said bath.
This bath should be tested from time to time by suitable means such as litmus
paper, to ascertain that it is slightly alkaline, fresh alkali being added thereto from
time to time, as occasion may require. A suitable construction of neutralizing
apparatus is shown in the accompanying drawings and comprises a vessel 9 provided
with a series of rollers 10 immersed in the alkaline bath 11 and so arranged that
the cloth, which is led direct from the washing vessel 6 between squeezing and
guiding rollers 12 and 12*, passes through the said bath in a zig-zag manner whence it
is led (with or without a final washing in water) to the drying cylinders and
calendering rolls. The excess of acid may be neutralized by leading the treated
material direct into an alkaline bath and then washing to remove the alkaline salt
thereby formed, but this method of removing the excess of free sulphuric acid is
not so advantageous as the method previously described on account of the greater
cost and difficulty of working. The cloth after being thus freed from sulphuric
acid, is dried by being led over and under drying cylinders as well understood and
is then passed between calendering rolls whereby, as herein before stated, the desired
finished appearance is imparted to the material and the closing of the pores or
interstices therein completed. The drying cylinders and calendering rolls may be
of the ordinary construction, employed in the manner usually followed in drying
and calendering textile fabric, and will therefore be readily understood without
further description. If the cloth is to be dyed, it is led through a dye bath after
removal of the sulphuric acid, and before passing over the drying cylinders.
In order that the sulphuric acid shall not be rapidly carried over from the acid
vessel 1 to the washing vessel 6 by the cloth, and thereby wasted, and also to
enable the washing of the treated cloth to be effected with as small a quantity of
water as practicable, I use in conjunction with the roller 5, a second similar roller 5ª
and so arrange these rollers that the treated cloth in passing between them, will be
subjected to considerable pressure so that the greater portion of the free sulphuric
acid will be squeezed out and returned to the vessel 1 for re-use.
In this way
also obviate injurious heating of the treated cloth, such as would be liable to occur,
if it were passed, whilst saturated with acid, into a washing vessel such as described,

page_text: using a comparatively small quantity of washing water. When a pair of rollers 5, 5ª
is used as described, one of such rollers is driven by suitable means such as a belt,
so as to draw the cloth through the bath at the required rate. Similarly driven
squeezing rollers fixed at the outgoing end of each washing or neutralizing vessel
as shown then serve to draw the cloth from the squeezing rollers 5, 5 through the
washing and neutralizing vessels to the drying cylinders.
The bath 2 of dilute sulphuric acid is prepared by adding sulphuric acid to water
in such a proportion that the resulting dilute sulphuric acid will have a specific
gravity of 115 Twaddle or thereabout when at a temperature of about 64 to 65° F.
at about which temperature it is used for treating the cloth in the manner described,
and whereby the fibres of which it is composed are partly converted into a
parchment-like state, and the pores or interstices between them, more or less
closed.
It is essential in carrying out my invention that the specific gravity should not be
materially below 115° Twaddle, though it might be slightly increased, say up to
about 117° Twaddle.
In the manufacture according to my invention of label cloth and book-binders'
cloth I use cloth, such as calico, of close texture and in a pure condition, that is to
say, without any dressing or other impurities. The cloth should be scoured and
then thoroughly dried in which state it should be fed into the bath of sulphuric
acid so as to obviate heating of the said cloth, and consequent injury to the resulting
product, such as would ensue if the cloth were fed into the bath of dilute sulphuric
acid in a wet or damp state. To ensure that the cloth shall be completely saturated
with the dilute sulphuric acid, the roller 3 under which it is drawn may advan-
tageously be so arranged that its bottom portion will be about 8 or 10 inches below
the level of the bath.
The time during which the cloth is to be subjected to the converting action of
the dilute sulphuric acid, that is to say from the moment it enters the bath to the
moment it passes between the rolls 5 5ª will vary from about three to seven seconds,
according to the thickness of the cloth and its consequent ability to absorb the said
acid; the thicker the cloth the longer must it be subjected to the action of the
sulphuric acid. When treating light cloths, such as muslin goods, three seconds
will usually be sufficient, whilst for heavy cloths, such as twills, about seven seconds
will usually be necessary to ensure a satisfactory result.
Sheet material prepared as described has no objectionable smell, is not liable to
undergo chemical change by exposure in a moist atmosphere, and is capable of
being readily dyed, as it rapidly absorbs dyeing agents. If required to be dyed,
the dyeing process should precede the final pressing between calendering rolls
already described. After this final treatment (with or without previous dyeing)
the cloth can be written upon with ink, and the ink will not be liable to run or to
be washed off by rain or moisture. Furthermore such cloth is stiff, and owing to
the pores or interstices being completely filled up, the troublesome and costly
process of filling and stiffening the cloth with stiffening material, such as starch,
gum, or china clay, as heretofore usual in the case of label cloth and bookbinders'
cloth is rendered unnecessary. Another advantage is that label cloth prepared by
my process does not lose its stiffness when dried after being wetted as does ordinary.
label cloth.
Sheet material prepared as described is also suitable for window blinds, dress
linings, and other uses requiring a textile fabric having a permanently stiff finish.
Having since the date of my present application for Letters Patent discovered
that material of a transparent or translucent nature especially suitable for use as a
substitute for ordinary tracing cloth (which it closely resembles) can be produced
by treating finely woven cloth such as lawn, muslin, jaconet and the like in manner
herein before described but using dilute sulphuric acid having a specific gravity of
128° to 132° Twaddle or thereabout at a temperature that may vary from 64 up
to 72° F., and also that textile fabrics of an open nature such as lace goods can be
advantageously stiffened and better adapted for use by treatment in like manner

page_text: but using dilute sulphuric acid having a specific gravity of from 115° to
117° Twaddle, at a temperature of from 64 to 65° F., I contemplate obtaining
additional Letters Patent, and in the Specification thereof describing the treatment
of such materials for the purposes indicated.
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 I do not
claim broadly the treatment of vegetable textile fabric or cloth with dilute
sulphuric acid, but that what I claim is :--
1. In the manufacture of sheet material, specially suitable for use as label cloth
and book binders' cloth the hereinabove described treatment of textile fabric or
cloth having a close texture and composed of vegetable fibres saturating the same
with dilute sulphuric acid having a specific gravity of 115° Twaddle or thereabout
(whilst at a temperature of about from 64 to 65° Fahr.) and after treatment of the
fabric or cloth for removal of sulphuric acid subjecting the treated fabric or cloth
to pressure between rolls such as calendering rolls to impart to it the desired finished
appearance and complete the closing of the pores or interstices.
2. In the manufacture of sheet material specially suitable for use as label cloth
and book binders' cloth subjecting textile fabric or cloth that has been saturated
with dilute sulphuric acid and treated for removal of sulphuric acid to a final
treatment for imparting the desired finished appearance and completing the closing
of the pores or interstices by pressure between rolls such as calendering rolls as set
forth.
3. The bereinabove described improved manufacture of sheet material specially
suitable for use as label cloth and book binders' cloth.
Dated this 6th day of Contamation 100
W. Lloyd Wise,
E. J. GOODWIN.
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.