Improvements in Sponge and like Absorbent Fabrics, and in the Application of the same to Mops, Sponges, Brushes, and the like.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Aug., 1896-Accepted, 21st Nov., 1896
.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by PATRICK JAMES GRACE, of 38 Court Street,
Brooklyn, U.S.A., Merchant.]
Improvements in Sponge and like Absorbent Fabrics, and in the
Application of the same to Mops, Sponges, Brushes, and the
like.
I, HUGH DONALD FITZPATRICK, of 70 Wellington Street, Glasgow, in the County
of Lanark, Registered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what mannor the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in the absorbent pads of mops, sponges and
like articles, and, particularly, to the manufacture of the same of sponge or other
suitable absorbent material, set in or secured to backs by means of suitable viscous
cementing substances which harden and themselves form a back or serve to cement
the sponge to other backs. These pads are very useful for mops, brushes and like
articles.
I may proceed either by forming a mould of suitable size and shape, as illustrated
in the accompanying drawings; then placing a sufficient quantity of the viscous
cementing material, (that is to say dissolve rubber gum), in the mould; then
assembling the pieces of sponge in a suitable frame and pressing the sponge into the
rubber gum, whereby the capillary action of the sponge and the pressure force the
rubber gum far enough into the pores of the sponge to give a firm hold therein; finally
drying and hardening the rubber gum and removing the frame; or I can proceed
without the mould by putting a sufficient quantity of the rubber gun on one side of
the piece of sponge and drying it, then coating the back with the rubber gum and
pressing the pieces of sponge thereon, whereby the pieces of sponge will be firmly
cemented to the back.
Referring to the accompanying drawings:-
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the mould before the sponge is put in ; .
Fig. 2 is a similar section showing the sponges in position;
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mould and sponges ;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the frame with the sponges after being removed
from the mould;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the finished product;
Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the mould left on the sponges as a back;
Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of a mould with an open mesh fabric laid in the.
rubber gum to strengthen the finished article ;
Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of an arrangement for cementing the pieces of
sponge to a rubber cloth or sheet rubber back;
Fig. 9 being a plan of the same; and
Fig. 10 showing a brush of which the absorbent surface or. pad. consists of such
rubber cloth with sponge;
Fig. 11 is a perspective view; and
Fig. 12 a cross section of a brush wherein the-sponge is cemented directly to a
wooden back.
Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7, A, Fig. 1, is a mould composed of any suitable
material, as wood, and shaped in cross section according to the shape of the article to
be made. B B are brackets secured near the corners of the mould; through holes of

page_text: said brackets work screws C which can be used if desired to adjust the depth which
the article enters into the mould A while absorbing the backing material. A quantity
of the backing material, dissolved rubber gum or other suitable material, D is put
into the mould in a liquid or viscous condition. A serviceable material is so-called
"rubber compound" which is rubber gum and sulphur in suitable proportions for
vulcanizing, first powdered and then reduced to a pasty or viscous condition by
benzine or other solvent, the bottom and sides of said mould having been first coated
with powdered chalk to prevent the material from sticking to the mould. When
using "rubber compound," I may find it advantageous to lay on the surface of the
backing material a piece of open mesh fabric, D2 Fig. 7, woven for the purpose and
cut to the proper size and shape. The backing material will work up through the
mesh, and the mesh will give additional tenacity to the backing.
Pieces of sponge F are assembled in a frame made of side bars H, which bars will
be shaped so as to fit in the mould A, and may be connected at the ends by removable
cross bars G. Pins or wires are passed through holes in the bars H as the pieces
of sponge are assembled and pierce the sponge and hold the pieces thereof at the
proper position between the bars H. The sponge is arranged so that it projects below
the bars G, as at f, Fig. 2, the amount of such projection determining the thickness of
the backing of rubber gum.
When the sponge is assembled in the frame, said frame is set in the mould,
(Fig. 2) the screws C caught a proper distance into the holes of the nuts k, according
to the distance which the bars & are to enter the mould, and then the frame with the
sponge pressed into the mould A by any suitable means, until further motion is
prevented by the shoulders c¹ on said screws C coming against the brackets B. The
backing material is soon taken up into the sponge and rises around its edges to the
bottom of the bars H. After a short time, the mould and all are placed in a furnace,
and the backing vulcanized and hardened in the usual manner. Then the mould is
taken out of the furnace, cooled, the frame and sponge taken out of the mould, the
frame separated from the sponge by drawing out the pins h, and an article like that
shown in Fig. 5 is produced, consisting of pieces of sponge firmly cemented into a
backing material. Before or after removing the sponge from the frame, its upper
surface is trimmed true by suitable knives.
In Fig. 6, the mould A' is made with inwardly inclined sides, forming a dovetail.
The buttom of the mould is roughened or corrugated to give a good hold to the
backing material. Through and through holes are provided in opposite sides of
the mould. The rubber compound solution having been placed in the mould,
the pieces of sponge are pressed in, and wires or pins inserted in the aforesaid
holes, the said holes being countersunk for the ends of the wires. The whole is now
put into a vulcanizing furnace, and the rubber compound vulcanized. It now serves
not only to bind the pieces of sponge firmly together but also to cement the whole
sponge fabric into the mould, which now becomes the back.
Referring to Figs. 8, 9 and 10, K is a piece of rubber cloth, sheet rubber or other
suitable fabric, of proper size and shape. A frame L which forms the sides and
ends of a mould, is set on the cloth or sheet rubber K, being pressed if necessary.
A suitable quantity of the rubber compound or other cementing agent is then put in,
and finally the pieces of sponge F F are placed in the mould and pressed, forcing the
compound into the pores of the sponges. After a time, the compound will have
dried, and the whole may be placed in a suitable furnace and vulcanized. The product
is a sheet of rubber cloth or other fabric with a pad of sponge, and the whole may be
nailed to a wooden back M forming a brush as shown in Fig. 10.
The product shown in Fig. 5 and also that resulting from the process indicated in
Fig. 8 consist of sponge or other absorbent pads fixed on a back, which is sufficiently
flexible to be curved by the hands, so as to squeeze the pad together to wring it out,
and this is a great advantage of the brushes and mops made of the same.
I may dispense with the mould, and proceed in the following manner:
A coating of the rubber compound solution is put on one side of the pieces of sponge
and allowed to dry. Then one face of the wooden or other suitable back N, Fig. 11,

page_text: is coated with the rubber compound, and before it dries, the side of the pieces of
sponge that was previously coated with the rubber compound is pressed on the coated
side of the back. The compound now firmly cements the sponges to the back and the
article may be placed in a suitable furnace and the compound vulcanized. In
proceeding in this manner, it is desirable to bore holes o o through the back and
these holes may if desired be enlarged on the inside. The rubber compound will fill
or partly fill the holes and thus key the compound to the back in addition to its
adhesive properties.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. As a new article of manufacture, a mat-like fabric consisting of separate pieces
of sponge and a backing of viscous material hardened on the ends of the sponge
fibres, substantially as described.
2. The process of manufacturing sponge fabrics consisting in reducing the backing
material to a fluid or viscous condition, and placing the same in a mould, then
assembling pieces of sponge into a mass, then working the backing material into the
pores of the sponge, and finally hardening the backing material on the sponge,
substantially as described.
3. As a new article of manufacture, a mat-like fabric consisting of sponge, backing
material hardened in the pores of the sponge, and an open mesh fabric through the
backing material, substantially as described.
4. A mop or brush consisting of a flexible back and an absorbent pad of sponge or
other like substance cemented to the back.
Dated this 8th day of August 1896.
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
70 Wellington Street, Glasgow.