Improvements in India Rubber Water Bags, Bottles, and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Sept., 1899-Accepted, 16th Dec.,
1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in India Rubber Water Bags, Bottles, and the like.
I, ADELBERT HENRY ALDEN, of the Town of Lawrence, in the County of Queens
and State of New York, United States of America, 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 invention, subject of the present Application for Letters Patent, is an
improvement in india rubber receptacles designed to be used as water bags
or bottles, or as the reservoirs of fountain syringes and the like, and has
for its objects to produce a bag of india rubber of practically seamless character,
whereby the tendency to leakage is reduced to a minimum; and to reduce the
cost of manufacture while at the same time producing a superior and durable
article but of lighter weight.
In the manufacture of articles of this description, it is usual to form the bag
by laying together two sheets of india rubber or rubber fabric and abutting or
over-lapping the edges of the same along the lines which form the edges of the
flattened bag, and reinforcing such edges usually by a strip of rubber secured over
such edges.
In my improved manufacture of these articles, I take a single sheet of the.
material which may be india rubber in a more or less pure form, or india rubber
fabric and fold the edges of such material over upon the main sheet until they
abut, approximately at the central vertical line of the main sheet. I then join
the said edges in the usual manner, to form a bag without seanis at its edges,
and open at the ends.
I then take strips or smaller sheets of rubber or rubber fabric and fold them
over the ends of said bag so as to close the same, securing their edges to the
sides, and finish the bag in the usual manner by forming a vent at one end and a
tag at the other. The construction thus described may be departed from in
certain respects as hereinafter noted, but the essential feature of the improvement
is in forming a bag which has a single seam or joint extending along one side
only and having no seams or joints along the side edges of the bag, where the
wear and tendency to leak in ordinary bags of this description are the greatest.
Water bags of this general description are made substantially in whole of
india rubber, and generally of pure rubber, and since, owing to the requirements
of ordinary use, they must be capable of withstanding considerable pressure
without becoming much distended, they are made with comparatively thick walls
to give them the necessary strength.
In the manufacture of such bags, however, I form them with vertical or trans-
verse bands or portions, or both vertical and transverse bands or portions, of
greater thickness than the remaining parts of the walls. In other words, my
improved water bag is, in general, distinguished_by_a_reticulated reinforcement
of thicker rubber than the walls of the bag, and this without regard to the specific
character of the strengthening bands or thickened portions, providing they be such
as to serve essentially as would a network for the sides of the bag.)
This form of bag involves no additional expense in its making, while it requires

page_text: for a bag of given size and strength less material than those made in the ordinary
way.
I have illustrated the improvements in the accompanying drawings to which
reference is now made.
Fig. is a plan view of a water bag embodying my improvements in the
preferred form;
Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modification of the invention.
To make the bag, I take a sheet of india rubber or other similar and suitable
material, and fold over the two side edges A A of the same until they meet along
the dotted line C. These edges are butted in the usual manner and joined. I
then apply to each side of the bag and over the seam indicated by the dotted
line C, a reinforcing strip of rubber or rubber fabric G.
The open ends of the bag as thus formed are then closed by folding over the
edges, indicated by the dotted lines DD, strips or sheets of rubber B B¹ and
securing the said strips to the opposite sides of the bag. The strip B used for
closing the top of the bag is formed before application with a tube E for the
stopper, and attached to this is a handle or loop F. To the bottom strip B is
secured a tag H for an eyelet. It is desirable to apply over the edges of the bag
at the corners, strips K after the parts have been assembled as above described
When the bag has been completed it is vulcanized in the usual manner.
When it is desired to make a bag of generally oval shape the difficulty of
forming strips K in condition to fold over the ends of the bag may be avoided by
rounding the corners of the sheet and joining such corners in the usual way,
reinforcing the joint by longer strips K and applying end strips B B over such
portions of the ends of the bag as may be covered by ordinary flat strips of crude
rubber. This form of bag is illustrated in Figure 2.
In such forms of bag the tendency to leak is very greatly reduced, as the seams
are not only of considerably less extent than in ordinary forms of bag, but where
they occur they are much more fully protected without the employment of any
excessive aniount of material.
In the manufacture of these and other bags I prefer to use somewhat thinner
rubber sheets for the body of the bags and to secure the requisite strength by
reinforcing strips or bands. These bands may be separately formed and applied
to the bag or the sheet rubber may be formed with thicker portions. For example
in Fig. 2, in addition to the vertical bands G over the seam, I apply any desired
number of vertical bands, as by continuing the strips K from end to end of the
bag, and, if so desired transverse bands G¹. These bands may extend in any
direction, but in any event are so arranged as to constitute a reticulated rein-
'forcement for the bag. When this is done the thickness of the rubber sheet in the
spaces between the reinforcing or thickened portions may be made so much thinner
without sacrifice of strength that the aggregate amount of rubber necessary for a
bag of given dimensions or capacity is reduced.
It is not necessary that the reinforcing portions should extend both trans-
versely and vertically across the bag, but, as above stated, they should be se
disposed as to have the effect of a net, leaving comparatively small or narrow
surfaces of the thinner wall between. An improved modification in the construc-
tion of the bag is in using a single piece of rubber or rubber fabric for the
reinforcement and the loop or handle of the bag. In other words, the loop or
handle F is formed by a portion of the reinforcement G extending beyond the
part B and bent over and applied to the opposite sides of the bag. The two ends
of the reinforcement 'G are then lapped and pressed together at the bottoin of the
bag to form the tag H in which the drummet or eyelet is inserted.
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:
1. A water bag composed essentially of a sliect of india rubber folded unðu

page_text: itself from opposite sides and having its meeting edges joined along a vertical
line, so as to form a bag without seam or joint along its side edges, as set forth.
2. A water bag composed of a sheet of rubber folded upon itself from opposite
sides and having its meeting edges joined on a line extending vertically across
one side of the bag, and its ends closed by sheets of rubber folded over said ends
and united to the sides, as set forth.
3. A water bag composed of a sheet of rubber folded upon itself from opposite
sides and with its meeting edges joined in a central vertical line running across
the side of the bag, and having strips or sheets of rubber folded over its ends and
united to the sides, and a reinforcing strip applied over the vertical seam or
joint, as set forth.
4. A water bag composed essentially of sheet rubber with a reticulated reinforce-
ment composed of thickened portions of the walls or sides of the bag, as set forth.
5. A water bag composed of sheet rubber having bands or portions thicker than
the remaining portions of the bag, extending across its sides and serving as
reinforcements therefor, as set forth.
6. A water bag composed of sheet rubber having bands or reinforcing strips
extending across its sides, the vertical band or strip being extended above the
neck of the bag to form a loop or handle and united below the bag to form a
tag, as set forth.
ADELBERT HENRY ALDEN,
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C. Agents for the Applicant.