IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANufacture of WATERPROOF AND AIRPROOF FABRICS.”
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Young, of Silvertown, in the County of
Essex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANufacture of
WATERPROOF AND AIRPROOF FABRICS.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Young at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th April 1875.
I, JOHN YOUNG, of Silvertown, in the County of Essex, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF WATERPROOF AND AIRPROOF FABRICS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the vulcanizing of india-rubber or compounds
of india-rubber used for cementing together two textures of animal
fibres, such as wool or silk to make water or airproof fabrics, which
fibres if subjected to the ordinary process of heat for vulcanizing india-
rubber would be injured or destroyed.

page_text: Hitherto the process has been to coat fabrics with india-rubber or
compounds of india-rubber, and to unite the two coated surfaces by
passing them between rollers under pressure. In the case of cotton and
linen fabrics the united cloth is put into a steam or hot air chamber,
and vulcanized in the usual way of vulcanizing india-rubber goods, but
when textures formed of animal fibres are used, such as wool or silk,
the vulcanizing has to be dispensed with, as the great heat used in the
process would destroy the fabrics, and the result is liability of the india-
rubber cement to decompose and the certainty of the fabric becoming
stiff and rigid when exposed to cold.
In order to vulcanize compound fabrics composed of wool or silk I
coat one side of the fabrics to be joined with a solution of india-rubber,
and I run the rubber covered sides of the fabrics over a roller mounted
in a vessel charged with a solution composed of bi-sulphide of carbon and
chloride of sulphur, or any other liquid vulcanizing agent, and imme-
diately bring them together by passing the coated fabrics between a pair
of nipping rollers while the two surfaces are tacky. By this means I
get a perfectly vulcanized double texture fabric without employing heat
and consequently without injuring the fabric.
By choice I prefer coating each of the fabrics with an equal quantity
of india-rubber or compound of india-rubber before vulcanizing and
bringing them together as explained, but all the rubber or compound of
rubber may be applied to one side of one of the fabrics, or the other
fabric may have one single sticking coat. In either case I apply the
vulcanizing liquor or solution to the full coated fabric only, and then
immediately while it is tacky close the two fabrics together.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Young in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN 30
YOUNG, of Silvertown, in the County of Essex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year

page_text: of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Young, Her special licence
that I, the said John Young, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Young, my exccutors,
administrators, 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 OF WATERPROOF AND AIRPROOF FABRICS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Young, my
exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Young, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 Drawings here-
unto annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :—
This Invention relates to the vulcanizing of india-rubber or compounds
of india-rubber used for cementing together two textures of animal fibres
such as wool or silk to make water or airproof fabrics, which fibres if
subjected to the ordinary heating process used for vulcanizing india-
rubber goods would be injured or destroyed.
The Invention also applies where textures of cotton or mixed fibres
are used in producing the compound fabric.
Hitherto the process has been to coat fabrics with india-rubber or
compounds of india-rubber, and to unite the two coated fabrics by
passing them between rollers under pressure. In the case of cotton and
linen fabrics the united cloth is put into a steam or hot air chamber and
vulcanized in the usual way of vulcanizing india-rubber goods without
any material injury to the vegetable fibres, but when textures formed of

page_text: animal fibres are used, such as wool or silk, the vulcanizing has to be
dispensed with as the great heat used in the process would destroy the
fabrics. The result of this omission is the liability of the india-rubber
cement to decompose and the certainty of the compound fabric becoming
stiff and rigid when exposed to cold.
In order to vulcanize compound fabrics composed wholly or in part of
wool or silk I coat one side of the fabrics to be joined with a solution of
india-rubber in the well-known manner, and I run the rubber covered
sides of the fabrics over a roller mounted in a vessel charged with a
solution composed of bi-sulphide of carbon and chloride of sulphur or
any other liquid vulcanizing agent and immediately bring them together
by passing the coated fabrics between a pair of nipping rollers while the
two surfaces are tacky. By this means I get a perfectly vulcanized
double texture fabric without employing heat and consequently without
injuring the fabric.
I prefer to coat each of the fabrics with an equal quantity of india-
rubber, or compound of india-rubber before vulcanizing and bringing
them together as explained, but all the rubber or compound of rubber
may be applied to one of the fabrics only, or the other fabric may have
one single sticking coat. In the first case I apply the vulcanizing
liquor or solution to both of the full coated fabrics; in the other casc
the vulcanizing liquor is applied to the one full coated fabric only,
then while the india-rubber is tacky I close the two fabrics together.
In carrying out my Invention I use an arrangement of machinery such
as is shown in the accompanying Drawing, employing that shown at
Fig. 1 when both the tissues are fully coated with india-rubber cement,
and that shown at Fig. 2 when one tissue only is thus coated.
Fig. 1 shews in side elevation the machine used for supplying the
vulcanizing solution to both of the tissues which are intended to
constitute the compound waterproof fabric.
A, A, is a framing of cast iron upon which is mounted a pair of
pressing rollers B, B'. The roller B turns in bearings in fixed standards
bolted to the frame A; the other roller B' is mounted in journals carried
by a pair of vertical rocking levers O pivotted to caps bolted to the
framing A. These levers stand nearly vertical above the framing and
are caused to bear the roller B' against the roller B by a weighted

page_text: cord which is carried over guide pulleys and attached to a pendant
weight b. D, D, are boxes arranged on opposite sides of the pair of
rollers B, B', and fixed to the framing A. On the upper edges of these
boxes are mounted vulcanizing rollers E, E, which are intended to apply
to the india-rubber coating of the tissues the vulcanizing solution. The
solution which I prefer to employ is that above mentioned, and it
consists of bisulphide of carbon, say, one hundred and sixty ounces to,
say, seven ounces of chloride of sulphur. The solution is contained in
troughs F, F, which slide freely up and down in guides formed in the
boxes D. These troughs are pivotted at bottom to the outer ends of the
two horizontal rock levers G, G, the inner ends of which are connected
by links to the treadle H, so that on the treadle being depressed the
rock levers will raise the two troughs simultaneously and bring the
contents thereof into contact with the lower portion of the periphery of
the vulcanizing rollers E, E; I, I, are the rolls of woollen or silk
material coated on one side with india-rubber, they are carried in forked
bracket bearings A¹, A¹, at opposite sides of the machine. From these
rolls the silk or woollen tissues are led up over the vulcanizing rollers E, E,
which impart a coating of the vulcanizing solution thereto. The tissues
are then led up between the pressing rollers B, B¹, which cause the
moistened surfaces of the tissues to adhere and form the compound
fabric. The fabric is then passed to the take-up roller B³ which is
mounted loosely in vertical slots formed in the side levers C³ and bears
upon the pressing roller B¹ and is driven therefrom by friction of contact
to enable it to take up the compound fabric. Motion is communicated
to the machine by band pulleys on the driving shaft J through the
pinion 1 which drives the spur. wheel 2 on the shaft of the pressing

page_text: found it very advantageous to employ my Invention when manufacturing
compound waterproof fabrics from cotton tissues.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improve-
ments in the Manufacture of Waterproof and Airproof Fabrics," and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I
claim, the mode above described of manufacturing vulcanized compound
water and airproof fabrics.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Young, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Twenty-sixth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.