IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF VULCANISING AND REN- DERING HARD INDIA-RUBBER AND GUTTA PERCHA. AND IN THE APPLICATION OF THOSE MATERIALS WHEN HARD TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTS OF MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION AND MANUFACTURE OF FIBROUS PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inu Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF VULCANISING AND REN-
DERING HARD INDIA-RUBBER AND GUTTA PERCHA. AND IN THE APPLICATION OF
THOSE MATERIALS WHEN HARD TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTS OF MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION AND MANUFACTURE OF FIBROUS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st May 1855.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF VULCANISING
AND RENDERING HARD INDIA-RUBBER AND GUTTA PERCHA. AND IN THE APPLICATION
OF THOSE MATERIALS WHEN HARD TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTS OF MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION AND MANUFACTURE OF FIBROUS
MATERIALS AND TEXTILE FABRICS," a communication from abroad, to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates, first, to the application of glass as a surface upon

page_text: which sheets or articles of india-rubber and gutta percha may be placed
during the processes of vulcanising and rendering the same hard; and, second,
to the application of hard india-rubber or hard gutta percha to various parts
of machinery or apparatus employed in the preparation and manufacture of
fibrous substances and textile fabrics. The first head of the Invention
comprises a system or mode of vulcanizing and rendering hard india-rubber
or gutta percha upon sheets of glass, which may either be engraved or plain.
In using engraved glass, the ground may be left dead or frosted, similar to
ordinary ground glass, and the device upon it being left perfectly smooth or
transparent; by this means a brilliantly polished surface will be imparted to
the india-rubber or guttapercha at those parts where the glass is left perfectly
smooth and transparent, whilst those parts of the india-rubber or gutta percha,
which have been in contact with the deadened or ground portions of the glass,
will assume a correspondingly dead or dull surface. The device will thus be
left bright, and the ground dead, thereby producing an elegantly ornamented
surface on the india-rubber or gutta percha, according to the design on the
sheet of glass upon which the material has been vulcanized.
When plain
sheets of glass are employed, the whole surface of the material will be highly
polished on being removed from the glass. The various applications of these
materials when rendered hard, comprised under the second head of the
Invention, include its rollers or cylinders, fluted or otherwise, for drawing
& roving frames and mules, also all bobbins and rollers employed in the
several machines used in the treatment and manufacture of fibrous materials
and textile fabrics generally, the rovels or reeds of sizing machines, also the
hecks of warping mills. It is also proposed to make weavers reeds of these
materials, the reed being made in one piece, and having any required number
of dents cut in it by means of a circular saw or saws, in a similar manner to
the mode adopted for cutting comb teeth. Sheets or bands of these hard
materials may also be substituted for the ordinary perforated pattern cards in
jacquard looms,the perforations being made during the process of forming the
sheet, thereby dispensing with the punching process hitherto employed for that
purpose. The same materials may be advantageously used in the manufacture
of the combs and guide eyes used in machines for winding the raw silk from
the cocoons, and in the throwing mills & doubling and winding frames used
in the manufacture of silk and other fibrous substances, and in the eyes of
shuttles used in weaving, and heddle eyes. These materials may also be
employed in the manufacture of the needles, and hooks, cylinders, and spring
boxes of jacquard machines, and the spindles and flyers of spinning machines,
funnel or bell mouths of all kinds for guiding the threads or slivers of fibrous

page_text: materials. Sheets for hot or cold pressing, and for hydrostatic presses, and
calendering machines, whereby a gloss or smooth finish is imparted to the
materials treated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st November 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF VULCANISING AND RENDERING HARD INDIA-RUBBER
AND GUTTA PERCHA, AND IN THE APPLICATION OF THOSE MATERIALS WHEN HARD
TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTS OF MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE
PREPARATION AND MANUFACTURE OF FIBROUS MATERIALS AND TEXTILE FABRICS," a
communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that 1, the
said John Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, 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
iminediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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 in writing, that is to say -
This invention relates, first to the application of glass as a surface upon
which sheets or articles of india-rubber and gutta percha may be placed during

page_text: the processes of vulcanizing and rendering the same hard; and, second, to
the application of hard india-rubber or hard gutta percha to various parts
of machinery or apparatus employed in the preparation and manufacture of
fibrous substances and textile fabrics. The first head of the Invention com-
prises a system or mode of vulcanizing and rendering hard india-rubber or
gutta percha upon sheets of glass, which may either be engraved or plain. In
the engraved glass the ground may be left dead or frosted, similar to ordinary
ground glass, and the device upon it being left perfectlysmooth and transparent;
by this means a brilliantly polished surface will be imparted to the india-rubber
or gutta percha at those parts where the glass is left perfectly smooth and
transparent, whilst those parts of the india-rubber or gutta percha which have
been in contact with the deadened or ground portions of the glass will assume
a correspondingly dead or dull surface. The device will thus be left bright
and the ground dead, thereby producing an elegantly ornamented surface on
the india-rubber or gutta perchia, according to the design on the sheet of glass
upon which the material has been vulcanized. When plain sheets of glass
are employed, the whole surface of the material will bear a polish on being
removed from the glass. The various applications of these materials when
rendered hard, comprised under the second head of the Invention, include
rollers or cylinders, fluted or otherwise, for drawing and roving frames and
mules, mule carriages, all bobbins and rollers employed in the several machines
used in the treatment and manufacture of fibrous materials and textile
fabrics generally, the ravels or reeds of sizing machines, also the hecks of
warping mills. The drawing cylinders or rollers which form an important
part of certain machines for preparing fibrous materials are usually composed
of a series of cylinders, placed in pairs, one pair behind the other; the lower
cylinders are fluted more or less coarsely according to circumstances, whilst
the upper cylinders, intended to press upon the first ones, are composed of
metal or of wood, covered with leather. These cylinders require to be well
made, and are consequently expensive. By the 'substitution, however, of
caoutchouc for steel, the cylinders can be made with greater economy and
mathematical precision. The durability of this material and its softness and
polish will prevent the frequent accidents which occur when metallic cylinders
are used, however well they may be made, and will produce a soft, elastic, and
above all, a regular and even thread. These cylinders each turn upon a metal
axis, upon which they are fixed in any convenient manner; for example, two
collars may be placed upon the axis, between which collars the cylinder turns.
If the cylinder is solid, the axle may be passed directly through it, and may
be of small diameter. All bobbins or rollers used in spinning and carding

page_text: machines, warping frames, and looms may be made of hard india-rubber or
gutta percha, and substituted for the ordinary drums composed of wood used
accross the grain or of sheet iron, with this advantage, that by the employment
of hardened caoutchouc and gutta percha, a much smoother and more polished
surface is obtained, and one insensible to variations of temperature. These
hard materials are also particularly applicable to the manufacture of weavers
reeds, the reed being made in one piece, and having any required number of
dents cut in it by means of a circular saw or saws, in a similar manner to
the mode adopted for cutting comb teeth. Sheets or bands of these hard
materials may also be substituted for the ordinary perforated pattern cards in
jacquard looms, the perforations being made during the process of forming the
sheet, thereby disposing with the punching process hitherto employed for that
purpose.
Hard india-rubber and gutta percha present the following advan-
tages over the ordinary materials employed for this purpose:-First, they are
insensible to the variations of temperature; second, they combine considerable
strength and slidity with lightness, and consequently permit the holes to be
diminished in size and to be brought closer together, thereby lessening the
surface necessary for a given design; 3rd, the entire value of the material is
preserved when the articles made from it are worn out, or when the designs
for which they are adapted are no longer fashionable; fourth, they afford
great facility in making the design,since the operation of piercing the ordinary
cards of paper or wood can be performed simultaneously with the manufacture
of the sheets of hardened india-rubber or gutta percha, thus effecting a great
economy in labour. The same materials may be advantageously used in the
manufacture of the combs and guide eyes used in machines for winding the
raw silk from the cocoons, and in throwing mills, and doubling and winding
frames used in the manufacture of silk and other fibrous substances, and in
the eyes of shuttles used in weaving, and in heddle eyes. These materials may
also be employed in manufacturing the needles, and hooks, cylinders, and
spring boxes of jacquard machines, and the spindles and flyers of spinning
machines, and funnel or bell mouths of all kinds for guiding the threads or
slivers of fibrous materials. Sheets for hot or cold pressing, and for hydrostatic
presses, and rollers for calendering machines, inay be advantageously formed
from these materials, whereby a gloss or smooth finish is imparted to the
materials treated.
In manufacturing the articles which are moulded, videlicet, the guide
eyes, cycs of shuttles, the needles, hooks, cylinders, and spring boxes of
jacquards, the spindles and flyers of spinning machines, and the funnel or
bell mouths for guiding the threads or slivers, I prefer to adopt the processes

page_text: described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to William Johnson,
on or about the Eighteenth day of August, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-four, and numbered 1819, 54. By hard india-rubber, I mean that
horn-like substance now well known and in use for various purposes, being a
combination of india-rubber and sulphur carried to a high temperature; and
by hard gutta percha, I mean gutta percha when compounded with other
materials, producing a material of properties similar to that lastly above
described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features or the said Invention; but what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the vulcanizingand'rendering hard sheets and articles of india-rubber
and gutta percha upon surfaces of glass, either engraved or plain, whereby a
highly ornamental or polished surface will be imparted to the india-rubber or
gutta percha during the process of vulcanizing and hardening the same.
Second, the construction of the bobbins and rollers or beams used in
spinning and carding machines of hard india-rubber or gutta perchu.
Third, the construction of the rollers or cylinders, whether fluted or other-
wise, used in drawing and roving frames and mules, of hard india-rubber or
gutta percha.
Fourth, the construction of mule carriages of hard india-rubber or gutta
percha.
Fifth, the construction of the ravels, reeds, and hecks used in sizeing and
warping mills of hard india-rubber or gutta percha.
Sixth, the construction of weavers reeds of hard india-rubber or gutta percha,
in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
Seventh, the construction of cards for jacquards of hard india-rubber or
gutta percha, in the manner herein-before described.
Eighth, the construction of the combs or hecks and guide eyes employed
in silk-winding machines and throwing mills, and in doubling and winding
frames for silk and other fibrous substances, of hard india-rubber or gutta
percha.
Ninth, the construction of shuttle and heddle eyes of hard india-rubber or
gutta percha.

page_text: Tenth, the construction of the needles, hooks, cylinders, and spring boxes
used in jacquard machines of hard india-rubber or gutta percha.
Eleventh, the construction of the spindles and flyers used in spinning and
roving frames of hard iudia-rubber or gutta percha.
Twelfth, the construction of the funnel, bell, or trumpet mouths used for
guiding threads or slivers of fibrous materials of hard india-rubber or gutta
percha.
Thirteenth, the construction of the sheets used in hot and cold pressing,
and the rollers of callendering machines, of hard india-rubber or gutta
percha.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of November, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)