IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING AND OTHERWISE IMPROVING LEATHER
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I SIDNEY HOPTON HADLEY of Aigburth near Liverpool in the County,
of Lancaster Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my said invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING AND OTHERWISE
IMPROVING LEATHER, to be as follows:-
The main objects of the invention are to so treat tanned or partially tanned
leather as to render the same waterproof; to impart to it greater solidity strength
and durability; to shorten the time required for tanning by allowing of the
removal of the hides from the pits or vats as soon as the tanning solution has
penetrated through the leather and to provide apparatus for enabling my improve-
inents to be carried out with rapidity, efficiency and certainty.
The invention consists essentially in saturating tanned hides or hides partly
tanned as above mentioned with a suitable waterproofing agent by means of the
novel apparatus hereinaftor described. The agent I prefer to use is solid paraffin
or its equivalent maintained in a fluid condition by the agency of heat.
Apparatus under my invention consists essentially of a trough or vessel for
containing the waterproofing agent, a steam jacket, furnace or other means of
applying heat, and dipping rollers within the said trough' or vessel. The said
dipping rollers are carried in bearings made adjustable as regards their vertical
position so that the leather may be caused to travel through more or less of the
liquid waterproofing agent.
The action is as follows:-The trough or vessel is filled to the required height
with the waterproofing agent maintained in a fluid condition by heat. The
bearings of the rollers are adjusted so as to be immersed the required distance into
the said liquid and the leather is passed rapidly between the rollers through the
waterproofing agent. The temperature of the waterproofing agent and the time
of immersion of the leather is varied according to the density and thickness of the
said leather. Feed and receiving boards or their equivalents are used if desired:
motion is given to the dipping rollers by means of gearing and any suitable motor.
In combination with the above apparatus I use heated rolls having differential
surface speeds imparted to them to act on the leather after or during immersion
so as to polish the leather and assist in forcing the waterproofing agent through
the pores. The dipping rollers may be used for the above purpose but it is
preferable to have additional rollers 'therefor.
A further part of my invention consists in heating the leather before treatment
as above setforth.
"

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, SIDNEY HOPTON HADLEY, of Aigburth, near Liverpool in the county
of, Lancaster, Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of the said invention
for IMPROVEMENTS_IN_AND APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING AND OTHERWISE
IMPROVING LEATHER--and in what manner-the-same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:=
The main objects of the invention are to so treat tanned or partially tanned
leather as to render the same waterproof to impart to it greater solidity strength
and durability to shorten the time required for tanning by allowing of the removal
of the hides from the pits or vats as soon as the tanning solution has penetrated
through the leather and to provide apparatus for enabling my improvements-to-be--
_carried out with rapidity efficiency and certainty.
The invention consists-essentially in saturating tanned hides or hides partly
tanned as above mentioned with a suitable waterproofing-agent-by-means_of_the
novel apparatus hereinafter described The agent used is solid paraffin or its
equivalent such as Bees Wax or an admixture of Bees Wax and solid paraffin
maintained in a fluid condition by the agency of heat.
Apparatus under my invention consists essentially of a trough or vessel for
containing the waterproofing agent a steam jacket, furnace or other means of
applying heat, and dipping rollers within the said trough or vessel. The said
dipping rollers are carried in bearings made adjustable as regards their vertical
position so that the leather may be caused to travel through more or less of the
liquid waterproofing agent.
In combination with the above apparatus I use heated rollers having differential
surface speeds imparted to them to act on the leather after or during immersion so
as to polish the leather and assist in forcing the waterproofing agent through the
pores. The dipping rollers may be used for the above purpose but it is preferable
to have additional rollers therefor.
A further part of my invention consists in heating the leather before treatment
as above set forth.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig 1 is an end view part in elevation and part in section and figure 2 a
longitudinal section of apparatus under my invention a trough or vessel con-
taining waterproofing agent, 6 steam jacket d furnace, e dipping rollers supported
in bearings f. Instead of using a furnace steam from a Boiler may be turned
directly into the jacket. The said bearings are adjustible vertically in the guides g
Screw or like mechanism may be used for raising and lowering the rollers. The
top roller is maintained with the desired pressure against the material being
treated by means of the springs and adjusting screws h, i, feed and receiving
boards, driving pulley, k handle for giving motion to the rollers by hand when
necessary, waste steam pipe, m, pipe for conveying steam from the jacket beneath
the fire grate so as to promote combustion,

page_text: In using the above apparatus under my invention I proceed as follows:-The
trough or vessel is filled to the required height as shewn by the dotted line with
solid paraffin maintained in a fluid condition by the heat from the steam jacket.
The action of the furnace and steam jacket would be so regulated that the water-
proofing agent is maintained for advantageous work at a temperature of not less
than 150° F nor more than 200° F At the lower temperature the leather will
require to be subjected to the action of the water proofing agent for a considerably
longer time than at the higher, Currying or partial or entire water proofing effects
being produced according to the duration of the treatment-There is danger of
spoiling the leather if the temperature exceeds 190° F and at a lower temperature
than 150° F it is difficult to produce the desired effects-I have found that with
solid paraffin the best effects can be obtained for waterproofing when a temperaturo
of 180° is maintained and for currying when a temperature of 160° F is used-
The time of treatment will vary from 5 seconds for porous leather of about 1/8 inch
thick to 4 minutes for hard leather about 1/2 inch thick-The time of treatment
will also vary according as the leather has been more or less tanned the more
perfect the previous tanning the longer the treatment required.
The desired duration of immersion is obtained by varying, the speed of the rollers
and the height of the waterproofing liquid.
If the leather is heated before immersion or if it is subjected to the action of
heated rollers before or after immersion the time of immersion may be shortened
for equivalent effects or with the same duration of immersion superior results are
obtained. The rollers should be heated to a temperature of 180° F and it is
always advantageous to subject the leather to the action of such heated rolls after
leaving the bath in fact better work can always be produced when such a course
is adopted and I recommend that the leather should be passed immediately after
dipping through two or more pairs of heated rollers and that the said rollers
should have differential surface speeds.
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
First Subjecting tanned or partially tanned hides to the action of solid paraffin
or its equivalent at the temperatures and for the times named by means of suitable
apparatus, as herein set forth..
Second Saturating tanned or partially tanned hides with water proofing agent
by means of the novel apparatus herein set forth.
Third Apparatus for treating tanned or partially tanned hides consisting of a
trough or vessel a steam jacket and furnace or its equivalent and dipping rollers
substantially as set forth.
Fourth In subjecting leather under my invention to the action of heated rollers
during or after immersion substantially as set forth.
Fifth In apparatus for heating leather under my invention the use of heated
rollers having differential surface speeds substantially as set forth.
Sixth-Heating leather before treatment under my invention for the purpose set
forth.