IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PRESSED LEATHER,' AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED FOR THIS PURPOSE
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Dickson and Thomas Law, both of
Leicester, in the County of Leicester, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PRESSED LEATHER,' AND IN MACHINERY
EMPLOYED FOR THIS PURPOSE."
Sealed the 16th August 1870, and dated the 24th February 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Dickson and
Thomas Law at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 24th February 1870.
We, ALFRED DICKSON and THOMAS LAW, both of Leicester, in the
County of Leicester, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF 'PRESSED LEATHER,' AND IN
MACHINERY EMPLOYED FOR THIS PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
"
•
23
The material known commercially as "pressed leather" or "compressed
leather is now extensively used for the insoles and interior parts of
boots and shoes as a substitute for new or more costly leather.
"
Hitherto " pressed leather of the character' to which our improve-
ments are applicable has been made chiefly from curriers' shavings and

page_text: tanned"
fleshing pieces," which being cut from the internal surface of
the hides are of a soft and flabbly nature, and when made up into sheets
and combined with paste, gelatine, or other adhesive materials, and
pressure applied thereto, as is well understood, produce a very inferior
substitute for ordinary leather. Pressed leather has also been made up
from waste scraps, cuttings, or pieces of comparatively thin leather, also
united by adhesive materials and pressed into sheets.
Now according to one part of our Invention we manufacture "pressed
leather ***
in sheets of suitable size from manufactured leather scraps,
"butts," or thick pieces_of_hides,-by-preference-such-pieces-as-are pro-
duced in cutting out the soles and heels of boots and shoes, or the waste
pieces of comparatively thick leather resulting from saddle and harness,
mill bands, hose pipes, or other manufactures in which such leather is
employed.
22
Heretofore leather; scraps of this character have been of little value,
such thick pieces of leather being unsuitable for the manufacture of
pressed leather as hitherto practised, and the only method of
utilizing such waste leather scraps as a substitute for leather has been
to grind or otherwise reduce them to a pulpy condition combined with
adhesive material, and then manufactured into sheets as practised in the
manufacture of paper or pasteboard.
In order to render thick pieces of manufactured leather scraps or
cuttings of the above description suitable for the manufacture into sheets
of suitable size of pressed leather in accordance with our Invention we
split or divide them in the direction of their thickness, by any suitable
means into several pieces or thicknesses, each piece being by preference
about the thickness of stout paper. The pieces of leather scrap being
thus reduced to a suitable thickness may be treated with paste, glue, or
other adhesive materials, and made up into sheets of the required size,
and subjected to pressure in like manner to that previously practised in
the manufacture of pressed leather” from other descriptions of waste
leather scraps or cuttings. The thick pieces of waste leather scraps or
cuttings which we utilize in carrying out this part of our Invention
being cut from the thickest and best portions of the hides are generally
of supérior quality, and when split and made up into sheets of pressed
leather"
in accordance with our Invention impart great strength thereto.
Before making up the split leather pieces into sheets we prefer to
saturate them in a weak, alkaline solution for about twelve hours; they

page_text: are then arranged in layers with ordinary glue, and pressed into sheets
of any desired size and thickness by hydraulic or other pressure, as is
well understood.
Various means may be employed for splitting or dividing the pieces
of thick waste leather scrap or cuttings used in carrying out the first
part of our improvements, but according to another part of our improve-
ments we prefer to split or divide the pieces of waste leather scrap by
means of rotary knives or cutters. For this purpose a rotary knife or
cutter is mounted upon an axis and arranged to revolve at a high
velocity, the pieces of leather being fed up to the cutting edge by
means of feed rollers suitably formed and arranged for conducting and
holding each piece of leather up to and against the edge of the knife or
cutter whilst being split or divided. Or other means may be employed
for conducting and holding the pieces of leather up to and against the
edge of a rotary knife or cutter whilst being split in accordance with
our Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of
the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Dickson and Thomas Law in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 23rd August 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALFRed
DICKSON and Thomas Law, both of Leicester, in the County of Leicester,
send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Alfred Dickson and Thomas Law, Her
special licence that we, the said Alfred Dickson and Thomas Law, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said
Alfred Dickson and Thomas Law, our executors, administratous, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term 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 MANUFACTURE
"

page_text: OF PRESSED LEATHER, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED FOR THIS PURPOSE," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Alfred Dickson and
Thomas Law, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 we, the said Alfred Dickson and Thomas Law,
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 Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters, and figures marked thereon (that
is to say)
وو
1 The material known commercially as "pressed leather" or "compressed
leather is now extensively used for the " insoles" and other parts of
boots and shoes as a substitute for new or more costly leather.
<
Hitherto pressed leather of the character to which our improve-.
ments are applicable has been made chiefly from curriers' shavings and
tanned "fleshing pieces," which being cut from the internal surface of
the hides are of a soft and flabby nature, and when made up into sheets
and combined with paste, gelatine, or other adhesive materials, and
pressure applied thereto, as is well understood; produce a very inferior
substitute for ordinary leather. Pressed leather has also been made up
from waste "parings," "roundings," or pieces of comparatively thin and
soft leather, also united by adhesive materials and pressed into sheets.
butts
Now according to one part of our Invention we manufacture. "pressed
leather in sheets of suitable size from leather scraps cut from
or thick pieces of hides, by preference, such pieces as are produced in
cutting out the soles and heels of boots and shoes or the waste pieces of
thick leather resulting from the manufacture of saddles and harness,
mill bands, hose pipes, or other manufactures in which such leather is
employed.
Heretofore leather scraps of this character have been of little value,
such thick pieces of leather being unsuitable for the manufacture of
"pressed leather" as heretofore practised, and the only method of utilizing
such waste leather scraps as a substitute for leather has been to grind
or otherwise reduce them to a pulpy condition combined with adhesive

page_text: material, and then manufactured into sheets as practised in the manu-
facture of paper or pasteboard.
*
In order to render leather scraps or cuttings of the above description
suitable for the manufacture of pressed leather in accordance with our
Invention we split or divide them in the direction of their thickness by
any suitable means into several pieces or thicknesses, each piece being
by preference about the thickness of stout paper. The pieces of leather.
scrap being thus reduced to a suitable thickness may be treated with
paste, glue, or other adhesive materials and made up into sheets of the
required size and thickness, and subjected to pressure in like manner
to that previously practised in the manufacture of pressed leather."
The leather scraps or cuttings which we utilize in carrying out this
part of our Invention being of superior quality to the materials hitherto
employed for this purpose when split and made up into sheets of
"pressed leather" in accordance with our Invention impart great
strength and solidity to 'pressed leather" manufactured therefrom.
Before making up the split leather pieces into sheets we prefer to
saturate them in a weak alkaline solution containing from 1 to 2 per
cent of alkali (by preference a mixture of soda and lime) for about
twelve hours, they are then arranged in layers to the desired thickness
with ordinary glue and pressed into sheets of any desired size and
thickness by hydraulic or other pressure, as is well understood in the
manufacture of pressed leather.
Various means may be employed for splitting or dividing the pieces
of thick waste leather scrap or cuttings used in carrying out the first
part of our improvements, but according to another part of our improve-
ments we prefer to split or divide the pieces of waste leather scrap by
means of rotary knives or cutters. For this purpose a rotary knife or
cutter is mounted upon an axis and arranged to revolve at a high
velocity, the pieces of leather being fed up to the cutting edge by means
of feed rollers suitably formed and arranged for conducting and holding
each piece of leather up to and against the edge of the rotary knife or
cutter whilst being split or divided. Or other means may be employed
for conducting and holding the pieces of leather up to and against the
edge of a rotary knife or cutter whilst being split in accordance with
our Invention.
Figure 1 of the Drawing borcunta annaived chans
eplen
Tiane 2

page_text: end views of a machine suitably arranged for carrying out this part of
our improvements.
a is a rotatory knife or cutter attached to the disc a¹, which is screwed
or mounted so as to revolve with the axis b supported by and revolving
in bearings b¹ upon the bed or frame c of the machine; b, b³, are fast
and loose pullies for giving motion to the axis b from a steam engine
or other motive power. The position of the axis b is adjusted by means
of set screws b*, b*, so as to allow the edge of the knife_d-to-be-brought
-up-to-the-feed rollers as it wears away; d is a worm upon the axis b
which takes into and drives the worm wheel e, upon the axis of which
a toothed wheel e' is fixed, which gives motion by intermediate toothed
wheels e, e; to another toothed wheel fixed on the axis of the lower
feed roller f, so as to give motion thereto; the upper feed roller f¹ being
'pressed down upon and driven by the lower roller; g is a lever for
raising and relieving the top feed roller f from pressure when required.
The pieces of leather scrap to be split are fed through or between the
feed rollers f, f, up to the edge to the rotary knife or cutter a by hand
or by self-acting mechanism if desired.
We would remark that although we have shewn and described one
arrangement of machinery which we have found to answer in practise
for splitting the pieces of leather scrap into suitable thicknesses for
being employed in the manufacture of pressed leather in accordance
with our Invention, we do not confine ourselves thereto, as various
means may be employed for splitting leather scraps so as to render them
suitable for the manufacture of pressed leather in accordance with the
first part of our Invention.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
of carrying the same into practice, what we claim is,-
29
First. The manufacture of pressed leather from leather scraps,
butts, or other parts of hides resulting from various manufactures
as previously described, such waste leather scraps according to our
improvements being split or divided by any convenient means into
thicknesses suitable for being made up into sheets of " pressed leather
as herein described..
<<
Secondly. We claim the splitting or dividing of leather scraps of the
character herein-described for the manufacture of pressed leather" in
accordance with the first part of our Invention by means of rotary

page_text: knives or cutters, substantially as herein described and shewn in the
Drawing hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, we, the said Alfred Dickson and Thomas Law,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twentieth day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.