IMPROVEMENTS IN BELTING MACHINERY
Year: 1884

page_text: CONE DELL
DIECIFICATION,
I RICHARD FREDERIC MARCH CHASE, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain
and Ireland, now residing in the City and State of New York, United States of
America, Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BELTING MACHINERY" and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention has for its object the production of a belt, band or rope of cotton
or other suitable material, with a vulcanized compound of India rubber or other
suitable substance, and is made in the following manner.
I take a knit tube either knit of cotton or other suitable fibrous material. This
tubo may be made in any well known way; I prefer however to use the knit
tubular fabric made on the machine described in letters patent to George Merrill,
dated July 8th, 1873, numbered 140,635. I place inside this tube, by any of the
well known methods of accomplishing it, India rubber compound, for the purpose of
causing the sides of the tube to adhere when pressed together. The tube is then
to be pressed together so as to make it flat, by passing it between rolls, or by any
other suitable method, so that a flat belt will be produced consisting of two layers
of fibrous material, with warps running lengthwise, and a layer of India rubber
in the centre. This belt may be coated on the outside with India rubber.
I have shown in the drawing in Fig. 1, a section of a belt made without coating
the outside; in Fig. 2, one made with an outside coating of vulcanized India
rubber, and in Fig. 3, one with both sides coated with vulcanized India rubber.
a is the knit fabric, and b is the India rubber applied thereto, as above explained.
I am aware that an India rubber and cotton belt has been long in use made of a
broad belt of woven fabric coated with India rubber, the edges of which are folded
towards each other so as to meet in the centre, or laid in plies the width of the
belt. Various objections however exist to the use of this belt, especially from the
fact that the seam or place of junction of the two edges is a source of weakness;
and that there is more or less stretch in a woven fabric.
In my belt there is no seam, and the fabric being comparatively inelastic, it
cannot stretch by reason of the warp running lengthwise, and, differently from
woven goods, the warp is perfectly straight; also from its peculiar construction it

page_text: has a uniform strain, thus giving a greater tensile strength than is possible by any
other method of knitting, weaving, or braiding, and further it can be produced
more rapidly and inexpensively. It has a still greater advantage, in that from the
elasticity of the knitting stitch there is no possibility of the outside threads cracking
or breaking while running over the pulley, which is the case with all other woven
belting fabric now made.
This is very obvious from the fact that when the belt is stretched over the
pulley, the strain is entirely on the outside threads. This I am aware is obviated
in some cotton belts by stitching, and if the stitching thread be of sufficient
strength to overcome that difficulty, it leaves an uneven surface and has not the
grip or frictional property of the belt herein described as my invention; still
further all cotton belts not coated are limited in their use, and cannot be used
where the damp atmosphere will affect them, and are entirely useless for outdoor
purposes, on account of the shrinkage being so great as in many cases to pull down
shafting.
This is entirely obviated in my belt by having a rubber compound or other
suitable substance so rolled, forced or pressed into the interstices of the fabric that
there is no possibility of any shrinkage. Also I am. aware that in English letters
to Robert Wm. Waithmaun, dated December 16th, 1853, numbered 2,936; to Jules
Le Blanc, dated July 8th, 1868, numbered 2,167, and to Charles Isidore Toussaint,
dated November 19th, 1873, numbered 3,753, there is described a tubo having
India rubber in the centre and pressed into the form of a flat belt, although I
believe such belts have never been used; and I also believe thein to be impracticable,
even if they should be made multiple, for the reasons given above and which are
applicable to all woven belts.
My invention differs from these, in the employment of a knit tubo inade of cotton
or other suitable fibrous material, and in the employment of vulcanized rubber with
which to unite the sides of the tube.
The impracticable character of such belts as those described in the English letters
patent to which I have referred, results from the fact of cotton not being employed
in the manufacture of the tube, together with a vulcanized compound; also that
all woven fabrics if made of sufficient strength and thickness will give way on the
outside as above explained, and that in woven fabrics the warps are not straight
as is the case with the knit fabrics above described, thus permitting the fabric to
stretch.
I have described a belt made of: cotton, although it is obvious that a belt of
.other materials may be made and be useful; but experiment has shown that cotton
is the best material for my use, and, that some materials, as linen for example,
would be unfit for my purpose, from the fact that the heat necessary to be used in
the process of vulcanizing or applying the rubber, would rot the fibres of the linen
and make it comparatively worthless.
I prefer to prepare my warps so twisted that it is not necessary after the
manufacture of the belt, to take out the stretch, thus avoiding the cracking and
breaking. of many of the binding threads, which is more or less the case in all
other ways of manufacturing. It is readily seen that this would allow a far
greater elasticity and freedom to the knitting, making it absolutely impossible
whatever the stretch may be, to break the outside cover or even to strain it. The
.durability of the belt is therefore very much increased.
In some cases I find an advantage to cover my warps with a rubber or other
suitable substance before or at the time of manufacturing the web, more particularly
when I do not use a partly or fully covered outside covering, as by that means
I have the rubber or other compound more thoroughly distributed into and, through
the fabric.
In making very heavy belts and bands, or in any caso where I wish to give
additional strength, I place in the tube an extra woven or knitted material, and to.
give greater strength, to the end of the bolt for lacing or splicing, I place a wire
cloth; and where a belt or band is required to be absolutely inelastic, I insert wire

page_text: warps suitably covered and suitably distributed into and through the fabric, either
in forming the web when first made by leaving out the cotton warps and having
the wire in their places, or by placing them in the additional band.
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:
First: Belting for machinery, made of a circular, seamless knit tube or tubos,
lined with a vulcanized rubber compound or other suitable substance, pressed or
rolled together in the form of a flat belt or band, substantially as described, and
for the purpose specified.
Second: Belting for machinery, of a circular, seamless, knit tube or tubes, with
a woven centre, lined with a vulcanized rubber compound or other suitable substance,
pressed or rolled together in the form of a flat belt or band, substantially as and
for the purpose above described.
Third: A belt or band composed of any suitable fibre, knitted in circular form
having loops formed by a continuous thread, and having warp and weft threads,
or warp or weft threads only, in addition to the looped fabric worked therein, in
combination with rubber or other suitable substance pressed or rolled together in
the form of a flat belt, covered either on one side, or forming a complete cover, or
without covering, substantially as described.
Fourth A circular, knitted fabric, in combination with a vulcanized rubber
compound or other suitable substance, so distributed into and through it, as to
cement the fabric together in the form of a flat belt, and always to present an
adhesive surface, independent of wear.
Fifth A belt, band, or ropo made of a circular fabric, having therein specially
prepared warps coated with rubber or other similar substance as above described,
and for the purpose specified.
Sixth A knitted or formed fabric of cotton or any other suitable fibre, having
warps of metal, for making a belt, band, or rope, as herein described.
Babad
lolova Batober 1881
Witnesses,
HENNING GRÂUBE.
GEO. TAYLOR,
Botaben
TSXI
RICHARD F. M. CHASE.