A New Elastic Material or Manufacture, composed chiefly of Gutta Percha, India Rubber, or other analogous Substance, and the Application of the same to various Useful Purposes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application. 30th Nov., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 14th Aug., 1894-Accepted, 13th Oct., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New Elastic Material or Manufacture, composed chiefly of Gutta
Percha, India Rubber, or other analogous Substance, and the
Application of the same to various Useful Purposes.
I, EUGENE MARIUS DESPREZ of 16 Rue Drouot, Paris, France, Doctor, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Experiments that I made sometime since with the object of applying gutta percha
to the manufacture of surgical bandages led me to recognize that this material
either by itself or combined with other matters but always covered with a fabric
both supple and strong or tough can be used to manufacture bands possessing
considerable strength and which do not lose any of the flexibility they possess on
the application of heat.
My invention consists primarily in the manufacture of a strong or tough elastic
material by taking gutta percha, caoutchouc or other analogous substance in the
state of a more or less thick sheet and covering it on one or both sides with a more
or less close meshed fabric composed of vegetable or animal textile material or in
some cases of wire, this fabric being perfectly agglomerated with the gutta percha
caoutchouc or analogous substance by simple pressure under heat. The gutta
percha or analogous substance can be employed alone or mixed with various other
substances such for instance as sawdust and oxide of zine according to the use to
which the elastic material is to be applied.
The elastic material thus made can be cut into strips or bands of greater or less
width and is adapted for various purposes as for example for surgical bandages or
for strengthening objects which are submitted to considerable strains or for
protecting objects against the effects of damp; it is particularly adapted for use in
combination with iron in shoeing horses or other animals.
Strips or bands made as above described possess after being immersed in warm
water, a suppleness that allows of their being wrapped round any object required;
these objects then become moulded so to speak in the strips which constitute after
cooling a carcase or envelope which considerably increases the resisting power of
these objects.
For
The objects to which these bands can be applied are very numerous.
surgical bandages which are obtained by combining gutta percha with muslin or
thin tarlatan the resisting power of the fabric should be slight. On the other hand
by employing woven fabrics having greater strength or toughness or even metallic
gauze strips or bands are produced having an extraordinary toughness or strength
which can therefore be advantageously used to consolidate or strengthen objects
which are subjected to considerable strain as for example pieces of artillery thus
allowing the weight to be considerably reduced.
The said strips or bands can also be utilized in the manufacture of jars or flasks
for holding dangerous liquids, the gutta percha successfully resisting the action of
these acids. Or they can be used to strengthen and consolidate submarine cables,
and for many purposes where protection from jars or shocks and at the same time
from the action of damp is necessary or desirable.
My new elastic material can also as already stated be utilized with advantage,
in the shoeing of horses or other animals. It completely does away with the
necessity of applying hot iron to the hoofs, which in the usual method is required
to obtain the shape of the shoe and further causes pain and lessens the durability
of the hoof. My new elastic material also dispenses with the necessity for thick

page_text: and therefore heavy iron shoes to diminish the fatigue caused by the roughness
and irregularities of the road especially when the horse is newly shod.
My new material renders unnecessary also the immediate juxtaposition of the
iron to the hoof and so does away with the beated impression; it allows iron of
much less thickness to be used and therefore less strain is caused to the horse's
legs. At the same time a shoeing of great durability is obtained and the chances
of accident due to defective shoeing are diminished. The application of my, elastic
material for this particular purpose is as follows:-There is placed between the
shoc proper and the hoof a cushion or pad formed of a sheet of gutta percha either
alone or mixed with other material which serves to increase its solidity, this gutta
percha being consolidated by means of a fabric, preferably metallic, which con-
siderably strengthens it. The foreign matters that can be incorporated in the
gutta percha with advantage are preferably wood, sawdust and oxide of zinc, which
give to the gutta percha a sufficient degree of flexibility and make it firmer; but
pieces of wood, leather or other material may be incorporated if desired. The
cushion thus obtained is applied directly to the horse's hoof which need only be
made even by means of a cutting tool. Then against the underside of this cushion
is placed the iron shoe in the ordinary way. After a very short time the hoof
impresses itself into the cushion and consequently the iron becomes firmly applied
to the hoof without the necessity of burning it. As the hoof retains its durability
and the cushion forms a sufficiently elastic medium to obviate the shocks and
jolts caused by the irregularities and roughness of the road it is not necessary
to employ iron as thick as that usually employed especially in the case of frost
shoes. Shoes of thin steel strengthened with frost nails of tempered steel can
be used, the nails being replaced by others when worn.
For horses, such as race-horses, that travel over ground which is regular and
elastic, the iron itself can be omitted the horse being shod by means of my elastic
material alone this being attached to the hoof by nails having very large heads.
This gives an exceedingly light form of shoe which is very advantageous in this
particular case.
Dated this 30th day of November 1893.
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New Elastic Material or Manufacture, composed chiefly of Gutta
Percha, India Rubber, or other analogous Substance, and the
Application of the same to various Useful Purposes.
I, EUGENE MARIUS DESPREZ of 16 Rue Drouot, Paris, France, Doctor, do
hereby declare 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:-
Experiments that I made some time since with the object of applying gutta
percha to the manufacture of surgical bandages led me to recognize that this
material either by itself or combined with other matters but always covered with
a fabric both supple, strong and tough can be used to manufacture bands possessing
considerable strength and which do not lose any of the flexibility they possess on
the application of heat.
My invention consists primarily in the manufacture of a strong or tough elastic
material by taking gutta percha, caoutchouc or other analogous substance in the
state of a more or less thick sheet and covering it on one or both sides with a
more or less close meshed fabric composed of vegetable or animal textile material
or in some cases of wire, this fabric being perfectly agglomerated with the gutta
percha, caoutchouc or analogous substance by simple pressure under heat. The
gutta percha or analogous substance can be employed alone or mixed with various

page_text: other substances such for instance as sawdust and oxide of zinc according to the
use to which the elastic material is to be applied.
The elastic material thus made can be cut into strips or bands of greater or less
width and is adapted for various purposes as for example for surgical bandages or
for strengthening objects which are submitted to considerable strains or for
protecting objects against the effects of damp; it is particularly adapted for use in
combination with iron in shoeing horses or other animals.
Strips or bands made as above described possess, after being immersed in warm
water, a suppleness that allows of their being wrapped round any object required;
these objects then become moulded so to speak in the strips which constitute after
cooling a casing or envelope which considerably increases the resisting power of
these objects.
The uses to which these bands can be applied are very numerous. For surgical
bandages which are obtained by combining gutta percha with muslin or thin
tarlatan the resisting power of the fabric should be slight. On the other hand, by
employing woven fabrics having greater strength or toughness or even metallic
gauze, strips or bands are produced having an extraordinary toughness or strength
which can therefore be advantageously used to consolidate or strengthen objects
which are subjected to considerable strain as for example pieces of artillery thus
allowing the weight to be considerably reduced. The said strips or bands can
also be utilized in the manufacture of jars or flasks for holding dangerous liquids,
the gutta percha successfully resisting the action of their acids. Or they can be
used to strengthen and consolidate submarine cables and for many purposes where
protection from jars or shocks and at the same time from the action of damp is
necessary or desirable.
My new elastic material can also as already stated be utilized with advantage in
the shoeing of horses or other animals. It completely does away with the
necessity of applying hot iron to the hoofs, which in the usual method is required
to obtain the shape of the shoe and further causes pain and lessens the durability
of the hoof. My new elastic material also dispenses with the necessity for thick
and therefore heavy iron shoes to diminish the fatigue caused by the roughness
and irregularities of the road, especially when the horse is newly shod.
My new material renders unnecessary also the immediate juxtaposition of the
iron to the hoof and so does away with the heated impression; it allows iron of
much less thickness to be used and therefore less strain is caused to the horse's legs.
At the same time a shoeing of great durability is obtained, and the chances of
accident due to defective shoeing are diminished.
The application of my clastic material for this particular purpose is as follows:-
There is placed between the shoe proper and the hoof a cushion or pad formed of
a sheet of gutta percha either alone or mixed with other material which serves to
increase its solidity, this gutta percha being consolidated on its sides by means
of a fabric preferably metallic which considerably strengthens it. The foreign
matters that can be incorporated in the gutta percha with advantage are preferably
sawdust and oxide of zinc, which give to the gutta percha a sufficient degree of
flexibility and make it firmer; but pieces of wood, leather or other material may
be incorporated if desired. The cushion thus obtained is applied directly to the
horse's hoof which need only be made even by means of a cutting tool.
Then
against the under side of this cushion is placed the iron shoe in the ordinary way.
After a very short time the hoof impresses itself into the cushion and consequently
the iron becomes firmly applied to the hoof without the necessity of burning it.
As the hoof retains its durability and the cushion forms a sufficiently elastic
medium to obviate the shocks and jolts caused by the irregularities and roughness
of the road it is not necessary to employ iron as thick as that usually employed
especially in the case of frost shoes. Shoes of thin steel strengthened with frost
nails of tempered steel can be used the nails being replaced by others when worn.
There is obtained therefore by these means a shoe of a new style or construction
having a great relative lightness, specially adapted for shoeing horses, doing away
•

page_text: with the chance of injuring the animal and possessing a durability equal to those
shoes in present use in spite of the greatly reduced thickness, by reason of the
equal pressure on the horn of the hoof.
For horses such as race horses, that travel over ground that is regular and
elastic, the iron itself can be omitted, the horse being shod by means of my elastic
material alone, this being attached to the hoof by nails having very large heads.
This gives an exceedingly light form of shoe which is very advantageous in this
particular case.
By taking with these bands described above an impression from bodies of very
varying forms one can make with these impressions linings or coverings which
fit perfectly on the article to be lined or covered or more simply the lining
having been previously made I can apply it (previously softened by heat) on the
article to be covered and thus take the exact impression of it so as to avoid all
displacement which might in certain cases be very objectionable.
For example, I will proceed to explain the application to the lining of saddles-
or generally to harness for horses or other animals. Very often harness fits the
animal very badly, thereby causing rubbing and very rapidly producing sores
which more or less incapacitate the animal.
By the use of my band this serious inconvenience is completely overcome; it
allows a lining to be made for saddles and the like which is capable (ou being
softened by heat) of fitting very closely to the body of the animal, thus preventing
the possibility of sores by the pressure being even and properly distributed.
The saddle or the like thus lined can moreover be applied to different animals.
It is practicable when it has been used for one animal, which must be changed,
to heat the lining sufficiently to allow of its being fitted to the body of another
animal.
By these means the saddle acquires a perfect hold and in the case of a carriage
horse one can attach to the saddle the shafts of any sort of carriage, thus
simplifying the connection between the horse and carriage.
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 -
1. The manufacture of a strong elastic material by taking gutta percha,
caoutchouc or similar substances in sheets and covering them on one or both of
.their sides with a textile fabric or with wire substantially as described.
2. The manufacture of a strong elastic material obtained by combining gutta
percha, caoutchouc or similar substances with substances such as sawdust or oxide
of zinc or both, and by covering the same in sheets with a textile fabric or with
wire substantially as described.
3. The combination of the elastic material manufactured as hereinbefore
described with a shoe for horses or other animals so as to form a cushion as and
for the purposes herein before set forth.
4. The covering or lining of saddles or other articles as herein before set forth
with a material made of gutta percha, caoutchouc or similar substance covered
with a textile fabric or wire substantially as described.
Dated this 14th day of August 1894.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.