AN IMPROVED BUOYANT FABRIC FOR LIFE SAVING
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I JOSEPH SEXTON Manager to the firm of Messrs A. Hutchinson and Company
of 3 and 4 Great Winchester Street Buildings in the City of London India rubber
Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for AN IMPROVED
BUOYANT FABRIC FOR LIFE SAVING, to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to provide buoyant material for Voyagers
Emigrants Yachts' fittings and other purposes for which such material might be
required so as to form articles of utility and be life savers.
I take two or more pieces of material which may be either of Cotton Silk Woollen
or even vegetable fabric and coat the same on one or both sides in the manner
known to waterproofers by passing the cloth through rolls so that an even surface
is produced and as small a portion of solution of Rubber as possible is used
I then lay the cloth prepared as above on a table or on a specially prepared surface
and then introduce (between such cloths) bags or rolls or skins of any suitable
size shape and form. These cases or covers are generally waterproof but of very
light thin texture of cloth or even paper such as used by merchants for various
purposes or the prepared gut of animals or vegetable parchment. Any substance
which will contain during the process of manufacture sufficient prepared cork or
other buoyant material so as to produce a pattern and the required buoyancy. And
I then lay on the surface of these cases one of the sheets of material which may be
different to the one first laid down but must also have a coating of waterproof
solution on it so that when the two cloths (the lower and upper) come in contact
between the covers or bags they will adhere and thus be held in position and will
form cells to charge with cork or other buoyant material.
Fabrics so made can be cut in any part without destroying or damaging the
other parts
The fabrics may be so made as to be useful for mats on ship-board, articles of
dress mattrasses or bolsters and various other appliances.
Dated this twenty second day of February 1884.

page_text: I JOSEPH SEXTON Manager to the firm of Messrs A. Hutchinson and Company
of 3 and 4 Great Winchester St Buildings in the City of London India rubber
Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for AN IMPROVED
BUOYANT FABRIC FOR LIFE SAVING and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
The object of this invention is to provide buoyant material for Voyagers
Emigrants Yachts fittings and other purposes for which such material might be
required so as to form articles of utility and be life savers.
I take two or more pieces of material which may be either of Cotton Silk woollen
or even vegetable fabric and coat the same on one or both sides in the manner
known to waterproofers by passing the cloth through rolls so that an even surface
in produced and as small a portion of solution of rubber as possible is used.
I then lay the cloth prepared as above on a table or on a specially prepared
surface and then introduce. (between such cloths) bags or rolls or skins of any
suitable size shape and form. These cases or covers are generally waterproof but of
very light thin texture of cloth or even paper such as used by merchants for various
purposes or the prepared gut of animal or vegetable parchment. Any substance
which will contain during the process of manufacture sufficient prepared cork or
other buoyant material so as to produce a pattern and the required buoyancy and
I then lay on the surface of these cases one of the sheets of material which may be
different from the one first laid down but must also have a coating of waterproof
solution on it so that when the two cloths (the lower and upper) come in contact
between the covers or bags they will adhere and thus be held in position and will
form cells to charge with cork or other buoyant material.
Fabrics so made can be cut in any part without destroying or damaging the
other parts.
The fabrics may be so made as to be useful for Mats on Shipboard articles of
dress mattrasses or bolsters and various appliances.
And in order to explain my said invention more fully I will now proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings in which
Fig 1 represents a plan of a piece of buoyant fabric made according to this inven-
tion and Fig 2 is a section thereof.
The same letters indicate the same parts in both views a a shew two sheets
composed of cotton or other suitable material. b shews bags (charged with
granulated cork or other buoyant material) made of very light thin texture of
cloth or even of paper or parchment.
The buoyant bags b are placed between the sheets a a which latter are attached
together by sewing or otherwise between the bags b.
If the sheets a a are made waterproof then the material forming the bags need
not be so prepared and vice versa.
I prefer to prepare the cork with vaseline so as to render it non-absorbent.
I may also form the buoyant fabric without the aforesaid bags by moulding the
granulated cork or other buoyant material into suitable form (say long rolls for
instance) and cutting these rolls up into suitable lengths and causing them to adhere
to one of the sheets a by India rubber solution or otherwise and then placing the
other sheet over and attaching it to the first named sheet a as aforesaid between
the sections of buoyant material in which case the sheets a a would have to be
waterproof,

page_text: Although I have shown the sections containing the buoyant material diamond
shaped these may be of any suitable for so long as they are formed and arranged
in sections so that the whole fabric may be cut anywhere without damaging same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
Buoyant fabric formed in sections so that any quantity may be cut off without
damage to either portion substantially as set forth.