IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DRIVING STRAPS OR BANDS AND OF FLEXIBLE TUBES OR HOSE
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Spill, Thomas James Briggs, and Daniel
Spill, all of Hackney Wick, in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DRIVING STRAPS
OR BANDS AND OF FLEXIBLE TUBES OR HOSE."
Sealed the 4th March 1864, and dated the 26th September 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Spill, Thomas
James Briggs, and Daniel Spill at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 26th September 1863.
We, GEORGE SPILL, THOMAS JAMES BRIGGS, and DANIEL SPILL, all of
Hackney Wick, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DRIVING STRAPS
OE BANDS AND OF FLEXIBLE TUBES OR HOSE," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of driving
straps or bands and of flexible tubes or hose. Heretofore driving bands have
in some cases been made of woven fabrics, the fabrics being woven to the
desired width and thickness, and such woven bands have been coated with
various materials. Bands constructed in the above mauner have this defect,
that when the surface has been abraided by friction they contract in a damp
atmosphere and elongate when they become dry.
Now in order to prevent woven bands from so contracting and expanding,
and in order to render them more durable, we prepare them in the following
manner-We first saturate the band with metallic salts, or any other antiseptic
solutions, and when dry we place the band in an air-tight chamber, and by
[Price 81

page_text: means of an air pump we exhaust the air from the chamber until as perfect
a vacuum is formed as is practicable. The following compound is then
allowed to flow into the vessel, viz., 1 part water, 2 parts gelatine, and
4 parts saccharine matter, the gelatine is first allowed to absorb the water,
and is then heated with the saccharine matter. After the chamber has
been filled with the above compound, we force the compound into the
chamber by means of a hydraulic pump until a pressure of from two to
seven atmospheres is obtained, and this pressure is maintained until the band
is thoroughly saturated, the band is then passed between a pair of rollers
so as to consolidate the fabric and to remove the superfluous solution from
its surface; when the band is cold and dry we soak it in a decoction of any
astringent material capable of converting gelatinous fibres into leather, the
gelatinous matter in the band is thus rendered insoluble in water; after this
process the band is well cleaned on the surface and dried; in this condition the
web or band is rough on its surface, and to obviate this we coat the surface
of the band with any suitable compound of india-rubber or gutta percha that
can afterwards be vulcanized, and we then vulcanize or "change" this coating
by heat or by the liquid process. Instead of saturating a woven band by the
means' above described with a compound of saccharine matter and gelatine,
woven bands may in like manner be saturated with gutta percha or india-rubber
or the substance known as oxidized oil, or the substance known as "parkesine,"
or with mixtures of any or all these materials. For this purpose the gutta
percha, india-rubber, or oxidized oil, or parkesine, or mixture of these materials,
are reduced by a solvent into a semi-fluid state, and the band is then saturated
with them in the manner above described, the bands are then passed through
rollers to remove the superfluous material and are dried, and may afterwards
be coated with a compound capable of being changed or vulcanized, or with
any suitable material. Tubes woven from fibrous materials may also in like
manner be treated as above described, but after the excess of material has
been removed from them by passing them through rollers they should be
opened out by inflating them with air or other fluid.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Spill, Thomas James Briggs, and Daniel Spill
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st March 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE 3
SPILL, THOMAS JAMES BRIGGS, and DANIEL SPILL, all of Hackney Wick, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date, the Twenty-sixth day of September, in the year
of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto us, the said George Spill, Thomas James Briggs, and Daniel Spill, Her
special licence that we, the said George Spill, Thomas James Briggs, and
Daniel Spill, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we,
the said George Spill, Thomas James Briggs, and Daniel Spill, our 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF DRIVING
STRAPS OR BANDS AND OF FLEXIBLE TUBES OR HOSE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said George Spill, Thomas James Briggs, and Daniel
Spill, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our
or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them,
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 we, the said George Spill, Thomas James Briggs,
and Daniel Spill, 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 thereof, that is to
say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of driving.
straps or bands, and of flexible tubes or hose. Heretofore driving bands.
have in some cases been made of woven fabrics, the fabrics being woven to
the desired width and thickness, and such woven bands have been coated with
various materials. Bands constructed in the above manner have this defect,
that when the surface has been abraided by friction they contract in a damp
atmosphere and elongate when they become dry. Now in order to prevent
woven bands from so contracting and expanding, and in order to render them
more durable, we prepare them in the following manner:-We first saturate the.
band with metallic salts or any other antiseptic solutions, we prefer to employ
a saturated solution of chloride of zinc, and in this solution we soak the band,
or if the band be thick it is better to employ exhaustion and pressure in this
as well as in the next part of the process, in order that the solution may the.

page_text: more thoroughly penetrate the band.
When the band is well saturated it is
removed from the antiseptic solution and dried, and when dry we place the
band in an air-tight chamber, and by means of an air pump we exhaust
the air from the chamber until as perfect a vacuum is formed as is practicable.
The air pump should be capable of producing a vacuum of about 26 inches of
mercury. The following compound is then allowed to flow into the vessel,
viz., 1 part water, 2 parts gelatine, and 4 parts saccharine matter, the
gelatine is first allowed to absorb the water, and is then heated with, the
saccharine natter. After the chamber has been filled with the above com-
pound, which is employed sufficiently hot to remain perfectly fluid, we force the
compound into the chamber by means of a hydraulic pump until a pressure,
of from two to seven atmospheres is obtained; this pressure will be found
sufficient for light bands, but for stout bands we employ a still higher pressure,
until for the thickest bands a pressure of 20 atmospheresis obtained, and this
pressure is maintained until the band is thoroughly saturated; the vessel is
lined with steam pipe, and the composition is kept at a temperature of about
200° Fahrenheit, the pumps are kept in action until the required pressure is
obtained, and the vessel is kept closed for several hours; the band is then
passed between a pair of rollers so as to consolidate the fabric, and to remove
the superfluous solution from its surface; when the band is cold and dry
we soak it in a decoction of any astringent material capable of converting
gelatinous matter into leather. The tanning solution we prefer to employ con-
tains 5 parts of tannin extracted from oak bark to 95 of water, and the band
is kept in this solution for from one to six days according to its thickness.
The gelatinous matter in the band is thus rendered insoluble in water. After
this process the band is well cleaned on the surface by washing it in water
and dried. In this condition the web or band is rough on its surface, and to
obviate this we coat the surface of the band with any suitable compound of
india-rubber or gutta percha that can afterwards be vulcanized, and we then
vulcanize or "change" this coating by heat or by the liquid process. The
composition we prefer to employ consists of one part of india-rubber and one
of oxide of zinc, to which we add 6 per cent of sulphur, and four per cent. of
ochre to color it, this compound is conveniently applied in a thin coating by
means of rollers, and the band is then put in a close vessel and heated by
steam to about 275° Fahrenheit, and it is kept at this heat for about 4 to 6
hours. Or in place of vulcan zing by heat, the band when coated with the
compound may be dipped in bisulphide of carbon containing about 2 per
cent of chloride of sulphur. Instead of saturating a woven band by the
means above described with a compound of saccharine matter and gelatine,

page_text: woven bands
may in like manner be saturated with gutta percha or india-
rubber, or the substance known as oxidized oil, or the substance known as
"parkesine," or with mixtures of any or all of these materials. For this
purpose the gutta percha, india-rubber, or oxidized oil, or "parkesine," or
mixture of these materials, are reduced by a solvent into a semi.fluid state,
and the band is then saturated with them in the manner above described; the
bands are then passed through rollers to remove the superfluous material, and
are dried, and may afterwards be coated with a compound capable of being
changed or vulcanized, or with any suitable material.
Thefollowing is the manner in which we prefertoproceed:-Thebandhaving
been saturated with antiseptic solutionand dried, as alreadydescribed, it is put
into a close vessel, which is then as before exhausted, and there is run into it
in place of the gelatine compound, india-rubber and gutta percha rendered
semi-fluid by a solvent and heat, the solvent we commonly employ is either
naptha or petroleum so purified or treated as not to commence to distil under
a temperature of about 240° Fahrenheit, or in place of india-rubber or gutta
percha, oxidized oil, or parkesine may be employed with the same solvent. The
latter substance, viz. parkesine, is a material well known in the market, but at
present it is difficult to obtain it in any considerable quantity. The vacuum
is maintained in the vessel during the time of running in the compound until
the vessel is full, and the pipe leading to the air pump passes through a
refrigerator to condense any of the solvent which may distil over. When the
vessel is full of the compound the force pump is put on to produce and main-
tain a pressure within the vessel as before. When the operation is complete
the band is removed from the vessel, passed between rollers, and all super-
fluous compound cleared off; then to extractthe solventandrecover it, the band
is placed in a close vessel, which is exhausted by the air pump, and the solvent.
drawn out as vapour is condensed by a refrigerator. The band is next coated
with an india-rubber or gutta percha compound as before and vulcanized.
Or it may receive a finishing coat of oxidized oil or parkesine rendered
plastic by solvent and heat, and then by drying out the solvent gradually, so
as not to blister the surface, the band is finished. Or the oxidized oil or
parkesine may be compounded with sulphur, and having been applied to the
band and dried as before it may be vulcanized. When vulcanizing oxidized oil
or parkesine, however, we prefer to compound it with india-rubber, otherwise
the surface coating will be rather brittle when finished. Tubes woven from
fibrous materials may also in like manner be treated as above described,
but after the excess of material has been removed from them by passing them
through rollers they should be opened out by inflating them with air or other

page_text: fluid. The vulcanizing process is conveniently performed when the tube is
mounted on a mandril.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Spill, Thomas James Briggs,
and Daniel Spill, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twelfth
day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-four
GEORGE SPILL.
(L.S.)
THOMAS JAMES BRIGGS. (L.B.)
DANIEL SPILL.
(L.S.)
GEORGE SPILL.
(L.S.)
THOMAS JAMES BRIGGS. (L.B.)
DANIEL SPILL.
(L.S.)