An Improved Substitute for Leather or like Material and the Method of Manufacturing the same.
Year: 1897

page_text: - Date of Application, 4th Mar., 1897-Accepted, 10th Apr., 1897
An Improved Substitute for Leather or like Material, and the Method
of Manufacturing the same.
A communication from GOTTFRIED LUITHARD LIPPOLD of 6 Trompeter-
strasse, Dresden, A.-in the Kingdom of Saxony, Empire of Germany,
Manufacturer.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 111 Hatton Garden in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent 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 :-
.
After many experiments to find a strong product or material of light weight and
good quality suitable for use in the manufacture of trunks and for other purposes
in place of leather, my correspondent has found that the fibres of the esparto-
grass (alfa) forms excellent artificial leather after having been suitably treated.
The alfa-fibres are twisted into slivers or strands. which are glued or secured
together to form plates or boards. The connection of the slivers may be effected
by plaiting them together or by placing them next to each other in parallel layers
(as hereinafter more fully described and illustrated). The esparto-grass can be
employed alone or in combination with other suitable materials, such for instance
as split sticks of Spanish cane plaited together with esparto-slivers, and the whole
made into plates or boards by glueing and pressing. By such combination valuable
properties of other materials may be combined with those of the esparto-fibres, in
the instance mentioned the elasticity of Spanish cane is combined with the great
strength of the alfa-fibres.
If the plates or boards of artificial leather are to be formed of parallel rows of
slivers, it is advisable to combine two or several layers of slivers or plates in such
manner that the rows of one layer cross those of the other. Such a fabric is
shown in the accompanying drawing: Fig. 1 is an elevation of two layers according
to the section in Fig. 2.
The slivers a of the first layer A are placed close to each other on a table and
stretched by means of stretching devices, in order to prevent the finished plate
from expanding afterwards. This surface (which may be easily manufactured of
slivers of 3 mm. in thickness of 1.50 m. in width and of a length of 7 m. which is
hardly possible with natural leather) is covered with a suitable cementing medium,
such as glue, dextrine, resins or gums, which binds the slivers and fibres strongly
together. When half dry, the material is passed between rollers. A second
layer B, the slivers of which are treated in a similar way, is placed cross-ways
or at right angles on the first layer A, cement is again applied and the whole is
again passed between rollers.
This plate may be covered on one or both sides with a woven fabric or with thin
covering cd of leather, in order to improve its appearance.
The manufacturing of the plaited plates does not require any special
description for the plaiting is effected in any well-known manner and the treat-
ment with cementing material and pressing is effected in the similar way as for the
material illustrated.
In either case a flexible, strong material is obtained, similar to leather, but of
lighter weight and at a cost much cheaper than leather. Not only the walls of

page_text: trunks and similar articles, but also many other objects, which have hitherto been
made of leather (or card-board which is a very bad substitute for leather), may be
made by using esparto-fibres treated in the manner described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner
the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is ;-
1. The manufacture of a leather or like substitute consisting in twisting
together slivers of esparto-grass into cords or strands, placing a series of such
strands side by side applying cementing material and pressure substantially as
described.
2. The method of making a leather or like substitute consisting in twisting
together slivers of esparto grass into cords or strands, placing a series of such
strands side by side, applying cementing material to them and covering said
strands with a second series arranged cross-ways or at right angles to the first,
coating this layer with binding material and applying pressure substantially as
described.
3. In the process described the combination of split Spanish cane with
esparto fibres in forming the strands substantially as and for the purpose
described.
4. In the process described the application of a backing of fabric and a covering
of thin leather or fabric substantially as described.
5. A substitute for leather or like material consisting of parallel strands of
esparto fibre arranged side by side and connected together to form a plate or board
substantially as described.
6. A leather or like substitute consisting of two or more connected layers of
parallel strands of esparto fibres the strands of one layer being at an angle to
those of the next substantially as described.
7. A leather or like substitute consisting of two or more connected layers of
parallel strands of esparto fibres, the strands of one layer being at an angle to
those of the next in combination with woven fabric or leather covering on one
or both sides substantially as described.
Dated this 3rd day of March 1807
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.