Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Waterproof Felt.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 5th June, 1893-Accepted, 22nd July, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Waterproof Felt.
1, FERNAND DEVISE of 16 Rue Drouot, Paris, in the Republic of France,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention 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 an improved kind of impermeable felt, forming
a new industrial product, the applications or uses of which are manifold. The
imperviousness of this felt is so formed that the product preserves on one of its
faces the woolly appearance of felt and all the qualities which distinguish it,
whilst on the other face and for about half its thickness it is rendered impervious
by the application of a coating which prevents the penetration of moisture and
which consequently gives it exceptional qualities, rendering this product capable of
being employed for uses such as has not been the case hitherto.
In order to carry out my invention the felt is treated in the following manner;
the coating is applied in the ordinary manner by the usual processes on the surface
of the felt, such coating being formed in the ordinary way, for instance with a
coating having an oily base, such as is the case when the Fritz-Sollier process is
employed, the coating being spread for instance in a layer of about one millimetre
of thickness. That done, the two coated faces of two similar pieces of fabric are
placed one upon the other and then the whole is passed under a roller; under the
action of this pressure the coating penetrates the material for about half its
thickness and the surplus which overflows is collected. When this has been done
the surface thus coated is given a suitable polish by applying a layer of solution in
the usual manner and it is then allowed to dry. A plate of felt is thus obtained
impregnated for half its thickness and having a coating on one of its faces forming
a new industrial product, pieces of which can be cut off which may be employed
for making any articles for which it may be thought suitable, such for instance as
soles of boots, saddle cloths, etc. or any other articles for which it is useful to have
one face porous and one face impervious.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An improved kind of impervious felt, forming a new industrial product,
obtained by rendering impervious for half its thickness a sheet of felt which is then
covered, or not, with a coating or layer of solution in order to obtain a smooth
surface impervious to moisture substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. A new process for waterproofing my improved material, consisting in applying
in the ordinary manner a coating or layer of solution on one of the surfaces of the
sheet of felt, which is to be waterproofed, in placing two sheets thus prepared
against one another, and in then passing them together beneath a roller in such a
way as to cause the solution to penetrate to the interior of the substance of the
felt, and finally in coating the sheet on the side thus waterproofed with a layer of
solution applied in the ordinary manner substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 2nd day of June 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents.