IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT. PREPARATION. OR MANUFACTURE OF SHEET CAOUTCHOUC. AND IN THE LETTERS PAT AND IN THE COMBINATION THEREOF WITH CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS.
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT. PREPARATION. OR MANUFACTURE OF SHEET CAOUTCHOUC. AND IN THE
LETTERS PATENT to William Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT. PREPARATION. OR MANUFACTURE OF SHEET CAOUTCHOUC. AND IN THE
COMBINATION THEREOF WITH CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS. --A communication.
Sealed the 17th February 1857 and dated the 3rd October 1856
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Johuson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
October 1856.
I, WILLIAM JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE TREATMENT, PREPARATION, OR MANUFACTURE OF SHEET CAOUTCHOUC, AND
IN THE COMBINATION THEREOF WITH CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS, a communication
from abroad, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a new mode of preparing sheets of caoutchouc
and combining them firmly with cloth and other fabrics, to produce either
elastic or inelastic goods for the manufacture of shoes and other articles in
which various degrees of elasticity are desirable.
The improvements consist in preparing sheets of vulcanized caoutchouc by
desulphuring their surfaces, which is effected by first boiling the sheets in
[Price Sd.1

page_text: caustic alkali, and afterwards in salt pickle, to neutralize the alkali remaining
on the sheet, and then washing the same. These sheets are then grooved or
roughed on their surfaces, by being brought in contact with a revolving
cylinder covered with emery, sand paper, or other buffing or grinding article
or substance, to destroy or change the glazed or glossy surface of the sheet
giving it a fine velvety appearance, of a consistance resembling finely prepared
fawn skin.
The cloth or other fabric to which the sheets are to be applied is prepared
by coating the surface thinly with a solution of caoutchouc dissolved in some
solvent, and then thoroughly evaporating the solvent,after which the prepared
sheet of caoutchouc may be applied either in a state of tension or in a free
state to the cloth or other fabric, and subjected to pressure by passing between
rollers or otherwise,and without the application of cement to the caoutchouc,
which injures its elasticity and strength, effecting a stronger and more per-
manent union without cement than can be done with it. When the caoutchouc
is applied while in an extended condition between two pieces of cloth, the
combined fabric contracts when left free to the normal dimensions of the
caoutchouc, and may be extended again to the proper dimensions of the cloth,
and is perfectly elastic between these limits. The goods thus constructed may
be made into shoes, and various other articles in which elastic properties are
desirable, in the usual manner of construction; or a shoe last or the pattern of
any other article to be made may be covered with a thin sheet of vulcanized
caoutchouc, and then another last, a pattern of the size and form to which it is
desirable the article should be extended when in the greatest required dimen-
sions, may be covered with cloth or other fabric; the caoutchouc is then drawn
on over the cloth pattern, and afterwards, while in this condition, the whole is
covered with another piece of cloth, closing the seams or joints of the cloth by
sewing or cementing and pressing every part to close contact, and the product
is a seamless covering of the pattern, which is elastic where necessary; and if
the product is a shoe, the sole may be attached by means of cement, or by any
of the known methods.
It is proposed also to apply this Invention to the manufacture of suspending
bands, and other similar articles of uniform width, by applying the sheets of
caoutchouc inside the folds of the fabric, which ought to be woven in the form
of a seamless bag.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd April 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Johnson, Her special license that I, the said William Johnson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
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
terin 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 TREAT-
MENT, PREPARATION, OR MANUFACTURE OF SHEET CAOUTCHOUC, AND IN THE COM-
BINATION THEREOF WITH CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS," (a communication from
abroad, upon the condition(amongst others) that I,the said William 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 immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This invention relates to a mode of preparing sheets of caoutchouc and
combining them firmly with cloth and other fabrics, to produce either elastic
or inelastic goods for the manufacture of shoes and other articles in which
various degrees of elasticity are desirable.
The improvements consist in preparing sheets of vulcanized caoutchouc by
desulphurising their surfaces, which is effected by first boiling the sheets in
caustic alkali,and afterwards in salt pickle.to neutralize the alkali remaining

page_text: on the sheet, and then washing the same.
These sheets are then ground or
roughed on their surfaces, by being brought in contact with a revolving
cylinder covered with emery, sand paper, or other buffing or grinding article
or substance, to destroy or change the glazed glossy surface of the sheet,
giving it a fine velvety appearance, resembling finely prepared fawn skin.
The cloth or other fabric to which the sheets are to be applied is prepared
by coating the surface thinly with a solution of caoutchouc dissolved in some
solvent, and then thoroughly evaporating the solvent, after which the
prepared sheet of caoutchouc may be applied either in a state of tension or in
a free state to the cloth or the other fabric, and subjected to pressure by passing
between rollers or otherwise, and without the application of cement to the
caoutchouc, which injures its elasticity and strength, effecting a stronger and
more permanent union without cement than can be done with it. When
the caoutchouc is applied while in an extended condition between two
pieces of cloth, the combined fabric contracts when left free to the normal
dimensions of the caoutchouc, and may be extended again to the proper
dimensions of the cloth, and is perfectly elastic within these limits. The
goods thus produced may be made into shoes, and various other articles in
which elastic properties are desirable, in the usual manner of construction ;
or a shoe last or the pattern of any other article to be made may be covered
with a thin sheet of vulcanized caoutchouc, and then another last or pattern
of the size and form to which it is desirable the article should be extended
when in the greatest required dimensions, may be covered with cloth or other
fabric; the caoutchouc is then drawn on over the cloth pattern,and afterwards,
while in this condition, the whole is covered with another piece of cloth,
closing the seams or joints of the cloth by sewing or cementing, and pressing
every part into close contact, the article produced being a seamless covering of
the pattern, which is elastic where necessary; and if the article be a shoc,the
sole may be attached by means of cement, or by any of the known methods.
It is proposed also to apply this Invention to the manufacture of suspending
bands, and other similar articles of uniform width, by applying the sheets of
caoutchouc inside the folds of the fabric, which ought to be woven in the form
of a seamless bag.
And in order that the said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures on the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended, for the purpose of
showing one modification under which the improvements may be judiciously
carried into practical effect.
Figure 1 on the Sheet of Drawings represents a side or end elevation of the

page_text: machinery employed for buffing the surface or surfaces of the sheets of caouthouc
which have been previously prepared, by boiling them first in caustic alkali
and afterwards in salt pickle,for the purpose of destroying orineutralizing the
alkali that may still adhere thereto. Both the alkali and the pickle should
be about 20° of strength, as indicated by an alkalimeter. The caoutchouc is
then to be washed and thoroughly cleansed in water. This mode of treatment
has the effect of desulphurising the surface to some extent, whilst italso impȧrts
superior adhesive properties to the caoutchouc and increases its elasticity.
The sheet thus prepared is submitted to the action of the buffing machine.
(Figure 1)herein-before referred to. This machine consists of an
open timber
frame A,supported on suitable standards or supports B, and carrying at its
lower end a roller C, upon which the sheet a to be buffed is wound. This
sheet passes from the roller C over a pair of carrier rollers D, and thence
over and partially round the stretcher bar or temple E, shewn more clearly in
the detail plan, Figure 2. The rollers C and D and the stretcher bar E are
carried by a frame or holder F of their own, such frame being supported
by the studs G, which rest upon the main framing A,so as to enable the bar E
to be raised or lowered as required. The surface of the stretcher bar is
grooved in opposite directions from the centre, as shewn in figure 2,
so that as the sheet is drawn over it the reverse angular grooving of the
bar will keep it perfectly well stretched or distended breadth wise. From
the stretcher bar E the sheet passes below the grinding or buffing cylinder
G', the surface of which is coated or covered with emery, sand paper, or
other suitable grinding material. The sheet then passes over the drawing
cylinder H,and is finally wound on to the receiving roller beamI; but between
the buffing cylinder and the drawing cylinder its roughened or buffed surface
is subjected to the action of the circular brush K, which removes any loose
fragments and dust or dirt from the surface of the sheet. L is the main
driving shaft, fitted with the fastand loose driving pulleys at M. The grinding
or buffing cylinder G' is driven by the belt N from the large pulley O fast on
the driving shaft. P is an intermediate shaft, which carries a cone drum Q,
and receives motion by means of the belt R from another cone drum fast on
the driving shaft. A slow motion is transmitted from the shaft P by means of
the belt S to the stud pulley T,which carries a small pinion U, gearing into
the spur wheel V, fast on the axis of the drawing cylinder H.
This cylinder will obviously revolve at a very slow rate, and by the adhesion
of the sheet of caoutchouc to its surface (the receiving cylinder beam I resting
thereon) the sheet will be drawn slowly through the machine and round on to
the beam I, which rotates by surface contact with the drawing cylinder. The

page_text: grinding or buffing cylinder G¹ rotates in a contrary direction to that of the
motion of the sheet, and revolves at a high velocity, say, about from eight
hundred to one thousand revolutions per minute, whilst the sheet is slowly;
traversed beneath it. The motion of the sheet may be regulated by suitably
shifting the belt R along its cone drums. The rotatory bush K is driven from
the second large pulley W on the main driving shaft by means of the belt X
and revolves in the same direction as the buffing cylinder. By fitting the
stretcher bar E in an independant oscillating frame it may be raised or
owered so as to bring a greater or less surface of the sheet in contact with the
buffing cylinder. The frame may either be adjusted and fixed in any desired
position by screws or other suitable contrivance.
The fabric to be attached to the sheet of caoutchouc is coated on the surface
to be united with a thin layer of dissolved caoutchouc, the solvent employed
being subsequently. thoroughly evaporated from the solution. The tabric
or fabrics thus prepared is or are to be brought into contact with the pre-
viously prepared sheets of caoutchouc by being subjected to a strong pressure
between a pair of heavy rollers or otherwise, the united services being made
to adhere firmly together without the application of cement to the caoutchouc.
Figure 3 of the Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section of a
machine for uniting the fabrics and sheet of caoutchouc. a is the sheet of
prepared caoutchouc, colored red in the Drawings; and bare the two lengths
of fabric which are to be united therewith. The caoutchouc is contained on the
beam I, which corresponds to the receiving beam I of the buffing machine
herein-before described, this beam when full being transferred to the uniting
machine. Bare the beams which carry the fabrics, a proper drag or tension
being imparted to the cloth by any convenient arrangement of friction appa-
ratus applied to the beams B; C,D, are heavy pressing rollers for uniting or
pressing together the three webs or sheets a,b; and E, F, are two other rollers
revolving in the same direction as the lower pressing roller D. These four
rollers C,D, and E, F, are all driven by a positive. motion by any convenient
arrangement of gearing, which I have not shewn in the Drawing, but which
will readily suggest itself to the practical mechanic.
The roller I rests obliquely or upon one side of the roller E, and receives
motion therefrom by frictional contact merely. The upper surfaces of the two
rollers E and F, and the point of junction or contact between the two pressing
rollers, should all be in one straight line in order that the three fabrics may be
simultaneously united at one point, such point being the point of contact
between the pressing rollers. The combined fabric is carried forward and
wound on to the receiving beam G, which rests upon the roller F. If it be

page_text: required that the combined fabric should be elastic or extensible, the roller E
should be driven at a slower rate than the rollers D and F; the surface speed
of the two latter however being always equal, it then follows that the sheet
or web of caoutchouc a will be united to the upper and under fabrics b in an
extended state, as the caoutchouc will be drawn out quicker than it is delivered,
the amount of extension depending on the relative speeds of the roller E and
the two rollers D and F. The combined fabric on being released will shrink
to the original dimensions of the caoutchouc before being stretched or dis-
tended, and it can be stretched or distended again to the original dimensions of
the cloth, the combined fabric being perfectly elastic within these limits.
For an elastic fabric, cloth of an open thin texture is the best, as it is more
easily shrunk than a closely woven cloth, which would wrinkle or pucker when
subjected to the contraction of the caoutchouc. After the combined fabric has
been thus manufactured, it should be subjected to a temperature of from one
hundred and fifty degrees to two hundred degrees Fahrenheit, in order to
secure the adhesion of the parts and to evaporate and destroy any exhalations
or offensive smells arising therefrom.
The process herein-before described of preparing the vulcanized caoutchouc
by boiling it in alkali and pickle may be dispensed with if preferred, but in
such case the sheet will require about double the amount of buffing or grind-
ing to prepare its surface for adhesion to the cloth. The sheet is usually passed
once or twice through the buffing machine when previously prepared by the
alkaline process, and three or four times when not thus prepared.
I am aware that unvulcanized caoutchouc has been prepared by passing it
in the form of sheets between engraved or roughened rollers, and by passing
it between two pieces of cloth with rough surfaces through rollers, thereby
producing roughness or minute cavities on its surface, so that when sub-
sequently vulcanized cement may be applied thereto, and may be retained in
these cavities and made to act as a solvent uniformly over its surface, and
become in a manner cemented with the coating which is applied to the cloth.
But the caoutchouc prepared in this mauner is not firmly combined with the
cloth, and the cement acting as a solvent soon destroys the strength and
elasticity of the caoutchouc, and the cloth strips therefrom, especially when
in use. But by the mode of preparation adopted by me, namely, the buffing or
grinding of the surfaces of the vulcanized sheet, the glazing of the surface is
destroyed, and it becomes as if coated with indefinitely fine fibres of unimpaired
caoutchouc similar to the finest velvet, or in texture like finely prepared fawn
skin, and when compressed with cloth thinly coated with caoutchouc it adheres
thereto firmly and permanently without cement.

page_text: When the unvulcanized sheet of caoutchouc is passed, as referred to above,
between rollers with roughened surfaces corresponding uneven surfaces are
produced on the sheet, yet in the minute cavities and cells which may exist
in the surface there is the same glazed or glossy surface as on its plane
surfaces when passed between smooth rollers, and no proper adhesion can take
place in this state between the caoutchouc and the cloth to which it may be
attached except through the agency of cement, which acts as a solvent on
this surface, but by grinding or buffing the surface, as herein-before described,
it is prepared for secure and permanent adhesion without impairing its qualities
by using a solvent on the caoutchouc.
From the combined fabric produced by this improved method shoes, gaiters
bootees, boots, suspenders, belts, garments, and the various articles to which it
is applicable, may be formed in the usual manner of construction; or the
caoutchouc and cloth may be united while in the process of construction so as
to allow extensibility and elasticity where desired, and an absence of this
quality where not wanted, and the article so constructed may be seamless, and
impervious to water. The process of construction is as follows:-A model is
first formed of the required form and dimensions for the article to be cou-
structed; on this model a covering of vulcanized caoutchouc is laid, and so
connected, by cementing its edges and joining where necessary, as to make a
perfect covering of the model in a thin sheet of caoutchouc. Another modes
is then prepared of such size and form as is required to allow proper degree
of extension in every part where necessary, in the extreme enlargement
required in the article to be produced; this enlarged model is then covered
with cloth, being also fashioned into a garment by joining its edges where
uccessary either by sewing the same or by cement, and having its interior
surface covered with a thin coating of caoutchouc, as previously described,
when applied to plain sheets or webs. The caoutchouc covering on the first
model must then be buffed on both sides, if it has not been previously passed
through that operation before being formed into shape. For this purpose the
buffing or grinding can usually be better done by a belt covered with emery,
especially if the form is irregular, as in the formation of a shoe. The article to.
be buffed may be held by hand in contact with the buffing belt, cylinder, or
other revolving form, if necessary. When thus prepared, it is drawn over the
larger model, so as to cover the cloth form, and while in this condition another
cloth form, ccated thinly on its contact side with caoutchouc, as in the former
covering, is placed over the whole, the joints or seams of which may be closed
or secured by sewing or cementing, after which every part of the article should
be subjected to pressure sufficient to ensure perfect contact of the surfaces

page_text: whilst on the model; it may then be subjected to moderate heat to perfect
its adhesion and to evaporate any exhaling odours, and the combination is
complete. When the article thus constructed is removed from the model on
which the cloth formation was effected, it will contract nearly to the proper
dimensions of the caoutchouc, or the model on which it was formed, and
may be again drawn out or extended in any of its parts to correspond with the
dimensions of similar parts on the model of the cloth formation, or can be
extended in any of its parts from the proper dimensions of the caoutchouc to
that of the cloth formation, and is clastic between these limits. If the article
to be constructed be a boot or shoe, a sole may be attached by the usual
known methods, and so as to cover most of the seams or joinings of the
external covering. In this manner a seamless shoe is constructed, and one
impervious to water, and which is extensible and elastic where necessary and
inextensible where not required; thus shoes, gaiters, bootes, and boots may
be made to fit close around the top of the foot and ankle, and yet be suscep-
tible of being drawn with ease over the largest part of the foot. In this
manner may also be constructed any seamless garment, possessing extensible
and elastic properties where required, and inextensible where not required
When much extension is requisite, the caoutchouc formation should be made
somewhat smaller than the required size, for otherwise its contractile force will
not be sufficient to reduce an extended cloth formation quite to the proper
limits of the caoutchouc, but if the cloth is of an open and thin texture it will
approximate thereto. Instead of applying a caoutchouc form between two
cloth forms, it may be applied to one cloth form with like results, and in this
way may be constructed caoutchouc shoes lined with cloth only, so as to be
extensible and elastic, the cloth serving to preserve their strength during
extreme tension.
For the construction of suspenders, belts, and any textile articles of uniform
width requiring elastic properties, the cloth forms may be woven in two folds
or thicknesses in the manner of weaving seamless bags, and a thin strip of
properly prepared caoutchouc in an extended state is applied within and
through the form, the whole being pressed between rollers to secure permanent
adhesion of the caoutchouc and cloth. The article so constructed will contract
to the natural dimensions of the caoutchouc, and may be again drawn out or
extended to the proper dimensions of the woven fabric, and is elastic to that
extent. The woven fabric may be produced in an ordinary loom, and several
forms or widths may be produced simultaneously ona loom of corresponding
width; it is only necessary that between each form or proper width for one
belt or suspender the weft shall interlock with the whole warp, uniting it in a

page_text: single fold or thickness, and in a manner well known and practised in weaving
seamless bags, as shewn at Figure 4.in the Drawing, which represents a web
in transverse section.
These forms when woven may be divided by cutting along the centre of the
united folds a,and when separated each forins a perfect bag or case with fringed
ends, at a, Figure 5. This bag is, then coated on the outside with a solution
of caoutchouc, as before described; it is then reversed or turned inside out,
so as to bring the fringed edges a within, and a strip of vulcanized caoutchouc,
prepared as before described, by buffing its surface, is inserted, and while in an
extended state it is passed between pressing rollers to secure its combination
with the cloth form. The woven fabric may be wrought in any style, pattern,
or colors which fancy may dictate, and the common appendages of end straps,
buckles, &c. may be connected thereto either after the materials are com-
bined, as described, or they may be inserted in each end, and connected by
cement or otherwise between the caoutchouc and cloth. Instead of applying
the caoutchouc to the cloth with a uniform tension, it may be extended in a
greater degree near the extremities than in other places, and the article pro-
duced will possess greater extensible and elastic properties near the ends.
I may here observe that I do not claim the process herein-before described
of boiling in alkali to desulphurise the surface of the caoutchouc, for this has
been practised, and does not dispense with the necessity of using cement inits
attachment to cloth. Neither do I claim the rasping or scraping of portions
of a vulcanized sheet of caoutchouc, for the purpose of applying thereto
another piece for mending a rent or for patching, for this has been practised,
but always by using cement to produce adhesion between the parts. Neither
do I claim the mere attachment of sheets of caoutchouc to cloth either in
an extended or unextended state for the purpose of forming an extensible
and elastic or inelastic fabric, for this has been attempted and done in various
ways, but always with the use of cement.
Neither do I claim the construction of shoes and garments in whole or in
part of caoutchouc combined with cloth.
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 made be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of 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,

page_text: First, the general system or mode of treating sheet caoutchouc and com-
bining it with woven fabrics, as herein-before described.
Second, the grinding or buffing of the surface or surfaces of a sheet of
vulanized caoutchouc by passing it in contact with a revolving cylinder or
other revolving form or detail covered with emery, sand paper, rasps, files, or
any other material or article giving it a rough grinding surface, for the purpose
of destroying the glazed or glossy surface of the caoutchouc, and giving it a
fine velvety fibrous texture, by which means its union to cloth can be effected
without depositing cement on its surface.
Third, the application of a sheet of caoutchouc prepared by buffing its
surface, substantially as described, to a single piece or between two pieces of
cloth previously prepared, by being thinly coated with caoutchouc subsequently
evaporated to dryness on the contact sides, such sheet of caoutchouc being
either in an extended state to produce an extensible & elastic fabric in a free
state to produce an unelastic fabric.
Fourth, the construction of elastic or partially elastic shoes, gaiters, bootes,
boots, garments of various kinds, and suspenders, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Johnson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven.
WM. JOHNSON. (L.S.)