IMPROVEMENTS IN FRICTION MATCHES AND IN MATCH BOXES OR HOLDERS FOR CONTAINING THE SAME.
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FRICTION
MATCHES AND IN MATCH BOXES OR HOLDERS FOR CONTAINING THE SAME.'
A communication from abroad by William Henry Rogers, of the
City and State of New York, United States of America.
"
Sealed the 15th October 1869, and dated the 19th April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th April 1869.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FRICTION
MATCHES AND IN MATCH BOXES OR HOLDERS FOR CONTAINING THE SAME," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to the manufacture of matches which
may be ignited at any portion of their length by friction. The matches
are flexible and may be coiled like a cord when it is so desired to carry
and use them.

page_text: Secondly. To a peculiar construction of box and holder for carrying
and using the flexible match.
Any of the ordinary friction match compositions used for dipping the
ends of those matches may be combined with caoutchouc or gutta percha
to form the flexible match, or a composition formed of the ingredients
herein-after named may be added to the caoutchouc or gutta percha,
viz., saltpetre, say, one ounce; pulverized orris root, half an ounce;
minium, one-eighth of an ounce; and phosphorus, one ounce combined
in. To these ingredients combined in or about the proportions named
dissolved about one ounce of dissolved caoutchouc or gutta percha is
added.
The flexible match is inserted in a tubular holder cut away near
the end to facilitate the pushing forward of the match, the projected end
of which will burn down to the tube. This tube may be fitted with a
cap or tubular cover; or the tubular holder may be hinged to a box so
shaped as to contain a coiled length of the match. In this instance
the holder will take a segment shape and will shut down on the perimeter
of the case, in which position it will be closed in by a hinged lid. The
box will conveniently be a flat, shallow, circular case with a hinged cover
that opens to allow of the insertion of the coiled match.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th October 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her
special licence that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred

page_text: Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FRICTION MATCHES AND IN MATCH BOXES
OR HOLDERS FOR CONTAINING THE SAME," being a communication to me from
abroad by William Henry Rogers, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office, within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):
This Invention consists, firstly, in the use of new materials or
ingredients for composing friction matches, whereby such matches are
made self-igniting and combustible throughout their entire length, and
whereby they are made flexible so that they may be coiled like a cord
when it is desired so to carry and use them.
And, secondly. It consists in the peculiar form and construction of
the box case or match safe for carrying and using the flexible match
composition, as herein-after described.
The principal object of this Invention is to form a match cord or
thread which shall not be affected by dampness, which may be coiled
in a very small space, and which shall be combustible and ignitible by
friction throughout its entire length, thus securing all the advantages of
the common friction match in about one-twelfth the space they ordinarily
occupy.

page_text: stances with which a combustible match composition could be combined
which would give it the required tenacity and flexibility has been
the discovery that by combining it with caoutchouc (india-rubber) or
with gutta percha the desired object is accomplished. Thus combined
the composition may be spun out into threads or cords which possess
all the qualities of the ignitible and of the common wood friction
match.
In carrying out the Invention any of the ordinary friction match
compositions is used for dipping the ends of those matches, or a com-
position of the ingredients herein-after named may be employed, to
which is added the caoutchouc or gutta percha, viz. :-One ounce salt-
petre, one half ounce pulverized orris root, one-eighth ounce minium,
one ounce phosphorus; to these ingredients dissolved about one ounce
of dissolved caoutchouc or gutta percha is added. I do not confine
myself to any particular proportions, as the composition may be used in
different forms, and the proportions of the caoutchouc or gutta percha
may depend upon the form or use for which it is intended.
The part of the Invention relating to the match safes I will now
proceed to describe.
Fig. 1 is a side view of the safe with a portion of the side broken
away to show the coil of match cord therein; Fig. 2 is an edge view
of the same showing the cover which encloses the match tube turned
back so as to expose the tube when the same is not in use; and Fig. 3
is a pencil match safe, which may contain a straight piece of the match
cord with the tube cut away for drawing out the match the same as in
Fig. 1. Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.
A represents the safe, which is a thin or flat box of circular but
irregular outline, as seen in the Drawing; it is made so as to open for
the insertion of the coil of match cord, the parts being hinged together
at B, and fastened together when closed by a snap or otherwise on the
opposite edge. The projecting portion of the box C is covered by a
hinged lid D. This lid or cover encloses the tube E through which the
match cord is used, as plainly shewn in Fig. 1. The tube E is attached
to the box by a pivot at f, on which it turns from the position seen in

page_text: Fig. 2. It is cut away on the sides, as seen in the Drawing, so that the
match cord may be reached by the thumb and finger for moving it in
the tube in either direction. When the match is extended from the end
of the tube, say, one-eighth of an inch, it is lighted by friction the same
as the ordinary wooden match. When it has burned down to the end of
the tube it will be extinguished unless it is again pushed out. By
keeping the match extended or pushed out as it burns down the light
may be retained for any desired length of time or until the whole match
coil is consumed. The tube acts as an extinguisher to the match, as the
flame ceases the moment the match burns to the end of the tube.
When the match has been used and allowed to burn down to the end of
the tube and be thus extinguished the tube is turned down into the
recess g and covered by the lid D, when the box may be carried in the
pocket with perfect convenience. When down to the end of the tube as
when extinguished the match cannot be ignited, but the box may be
carried or thrown around with perfect safety. The tube E may be used
without being attached to the box, and with only one side cut away, but
I prefer the arrangement shewn in the Drawing. This latter arrangement
is seen in Fig. 3, where the tube E is made straight and of a length to
contain a piece of the match cord sufficient for (say) twenty-four lights
or about three inches. This safe is in the form of a pencil case with one
end of the tube entirely closed, and with a sheath or covering tube for
the other end which protects the match.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements
in Friction Matches and in Match Boxes or Holders for containing the
same,'
," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim,-
First. A composition containing caoutchouc (or india-rubber) or gutta
percha for the manufacture of matches, substantially as described.
Secondly. The match safe A, constructed substantially as described,
whereby the coiled match and the tube E may be properly secured and
used, substantially as set forth.
Thirdly. In combination with a friction match cord the tube E either
had to a match safe or not either curved as in Fig. 1. or

page_text: straight, as in Fig. 3, and whether cut away on one or both sides for
giving access to the match, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)