IMPROVEMENTS IN SPLINTS AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEETS OF MATERIAL SUITABLE FOR FORMING SPLINTS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Tonkin Cocking, of Penzance, in the
County of Cornwall, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPLINTS
AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEETS OF MATERIAL SUITABLE FOR FORMING
SPLINTS.
Scaled the 13th February 1872, and dated the 6th September 1871:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Tonkin Cocking
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 6th September 1871.
I, JOHN TONKIN COCKING, of Penzance, in the County of Cornwall,
5 do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SPLINTS AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEETS OF MATERIAL SUITABLE FOR
FORMING SPLINTS," to be as follows:-
According to this Invention I form sheets of a plastic and porous
✓ material, suitable for forming splints, from hair, wool, or other animal

page_text: fibre, felted together and subsequently "proofed" with a proofing
solution, composed by preference of about,
30 parts shellac,
10
"
resin,
4
2
"
"
frankincence,
borax, dissolved in water,
about 1 part methylated spirit is added. This composition is applied
by a brush to the sheets of felt, and the sheets are then passed
through rollers, and subsequently treated in a similar manner to
that adopted when proofing ordinary felt hats. Sheets of material
are thus produced which are plastic when heated and rigid when
cold or at the ordinary temperature of the body. In order also that
the sheets of material may be sufficiently porous to admit of respiration
through them, I prefer to add vegetable fibres, such as cotton or
jute, to the animal fibre before felting it together; the vegetable
fibre may be added in the proportion of about 1/th.
-
To form splints from strips of material prepared as above described,
the strips are first cut to the required shape and rendered plastic by
passing them through hot water, or otherwise applying heat to them.
The strip in a plastic state is then applied to the limb to which the
splint is to be fitted, and is pressed gently till the splint has set. The
splint thus prepared and fitted will retain its shape, and will be cool and
light, and cause little if any inconvenience to the patient.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Tonkin Cocking in the Great Seal Patent 2
Office on the 5th March 1872.
•
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
TONKIN COCKING, of Penzance, in the County of Cornwall, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 3
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: The bat or sheet of fibre to be felted is planked in the ordinary manner
without the use of acid, and in planking care should be taken to make
good felt without rendering it too tight in texture. Afterwards the
proofing solution before mentioned is applied to the sheet with a brush,
and is well rubbed in with the brush and with the hands. The sheet is
then allowed to dry for about 24 hours at a moderate heat and is then
placed in a steam chest and steamed smartly for about half an hour,
after which it is dried in a hot stove for forty-eight hours or more,
according to the thickness of the sheet, and is then soaked in an acid
bath of a strength of about one in two hundred for from 6 to 24 hours,
according to the substance of the sheet, and after being dipped in a bath
of urine and water is placed in a running stream to cleanse it
thoroughly; the sheet is then again dried and is pressed by a press or by
passing it through rollers. If white or fine orange lac is used in making
the proofing solution it is better to use spirit alone as a solvent, in
which case the acid bath will not be required, and it will be necessary to
pay more care as to the heat of the stove. The sheet will require longer
drying but not at so high a temperature. The urine bath also need not
be used and the surface of the sheet can be cleaned in the usual way
with soda. Sheets thus prepared from white lac will not be quite so
rigid as those proofed in the manner first described, but they will not
soften except at a much higher temperature, and consequently are well
adapted for splints to be used in hot climates. It is also well in some
cases, especially for thin and medium sheets, to combine both methods,
that is, to proof first with the proofing compound diluted to, say,
16 or 18 degrees and afterwards with the spirit solution. Sheets thus
prepared, although more expensive, are preferable to those where one
process only is used.
To form splints from strips of material prepared as herein-before
described, the strips are first cut to the required shape and rendered
plastic by passing them through hot water, or otherwise applying heat
to them. The strip in a plastic state is then applied to the limb to
which the splint is to be fitted and is pressed gently till the splint has
set. The splint thus prepared and fitted will retain its shape, and will
be cool and light and cause little (if any) inconvenience to the patient.
Surgical belts and such like surgical supports for different parts of
the body may likewise be formed from sheets of felt proofed as
herein-before described.

page_text: performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim,-
1. The manufacture of sheets of material suitable for forming
splints, substantially as herein described.
2. The manufacture of splints, substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Tonkin Cocking, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
JOHN TONKIN COCKING. (L.S.)