US568930A - Phragmite structure - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

H. M. VAN ETTEN. l PHRAGMITE STRUCTURE.

Patented Oct. 6, 1896.

wirNEssES 1 l /ATTQRNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HELEN M. VAN ETTEN, OF MORAVIA, NEW YORK.

PH RAGMITE STRUCTURE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 568,930, dated October 6, 1896. Application filed December 2, 1895. Serial No. 570,798. (No model.) I

To all w/wm it may concern.'

Be it known that l, HELEN M. VAN ETTEN,

of Moravia, in the county of Cayuga, in the.

State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Phragmite Structures, of which the following, taken in con` nection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

rIhis invention relates to the utilization of the species of Eastlndian phragfnites which is extensively used for wrappers around teachests. Said phragmites are naturally very pliable and capableof resistinga vast degree of torsional strainand when woven or braided into sheets they form a fabric which is inexpensive and very flexible and durable, and thus specially well adapted for the aforesaid purpose. It has, however, one serious defect, which is thatit ravels very easily when deprived of the welt which is usuallybraided around the edges of the sheet. On account of this defect and its extreme pliability and liability of disturbance of its structure when under strain, said woven or braided phragmites are unfit to be used for purposes which require the material to be self-sustaining, so as to retain the integrity of its structure and at the same time possess the desired degree of flexibility.

The object of my invention is to obtain from said phragmites a suitable material formed in sheets from which to stamp or cut blanks for the manufacture of various articles, which blanks shall be infrangible, possess ample liexibility combined with integrity of structure and increased stability and durability, without the use of a backing of either paper or other fibrous material or textile fabric, which heretofore has been applied to sheets of plaitedlushes, palm-leaves, various grasses, &c. for the purpose of maintaining said sheets intact. I have found by experience thaTsuch backings become wrinkled andstrain or distort the structure of the sheet of woven phragmite, especially when said sheet is exposed to moisture and subjected to twisting' or severe bending or other torsional strains, and thus materially impair the utility and durability of the woven phragmite and render it unfit for many purposes for which my invention is designed.

My present invention consists of an improved sheet material from which to stamp or cut blanks for the manufacture of various articles, which sheet is of a uniform texture and thinkness throughout its length and breadth and composed of woven East Indian phragmites and flexible solidifying cement incorporated in the structure of the sheet to render the same infrangible and self-sustaining, as hereinafter more fully described, and set forth in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure lis a face view of my improved article of manufacture, and Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same.

a a designate the sheets or layers of woven or braided East Indian phragmites from which the body. of the invention is built up. In the process of manufacturing said body I rst apply to each of said sheets separately a coat of suitable iiexible cement, preferably rubber cement, which I thoroughly incorporate in the structure of the sheet, so as to prevent the braids from slipping or shifting on each other. By this treatment I insure the integrity of the structure and obtain a solid sheet which is of a uniform texture and thickness throughout its length and Width and is prevented from raveling without the ,use of the usual backing of textile fabric and other material or extra bindings of its edges. Such single sheets will answer for some purposes, such as the covers for portmanteaus and other small and light articles, but for the covers of heavier articles, such as satcliels, dsc., I prefer to place a plurality of such sheets, prepared as aforesaid, one upon the other, with a coat of the aforesaid cement between them, as indicated by the heavy line c in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The layers a a thus combined I place between two flat stiff plates and subject the same to suflicient compression to permanently unite the said layers in one solid sheet of a uniform thickness throughout and impart,- smooth liat surfaces to opposite sides of said sheet. As soon as the cement has become set ordried said manufactured sheet is ready for "the market, where it may be used for the manufacture of various articles, such as the bodies of pocket-books, satchels, book-covers, dac., the blanksfor which can be cut or stamped out of thesheet, as indicated by dotted lines b in Fig. l of the drawings. These blanks Ioo possess the desired degree of flexibility and are free from liability of becoming raveled, and form a body which is of a uniform texture throughoutits entire depth, and is much cheaper than leather and very much stronger and more durable than pasteboard, Woodpulp, or papier-mch heretofore used for such purposes.

In some cases the described manufactured sheet material may be required to be built up of more than tWo sheets of phragmite to increase the stability of the article to be manufactured therefrom, but in no instance is it necessary or even desired to quilt or stitch the sheets together or apply thereto an extra backing of textile fabric or other material.

What I claim as my invention is-f l. A sheet material from which to cut or stamp blanks for the manufacture of various articles, which sheet is of a uniform texture and thickness throughout its length and Width and composed of Woven East Indian phragmites and iiexible solidifying cement incorporated in the structure of the sheet to render the same infrangible and self-sustaining as set forth.

2. As an improved article of manufacture, a sheet material from which to cut or stamp blanks for various purposes, which material is composed of aplurality of layers of Woven East Indian phragmites, each of which layers is rendered infrangible independently of the companion layer by'a ,flexible solidifying cement incorporated in the structure of the layer and a coat of flexible cement uniting said layers, said united layers forming the aforesaid sheet material of a uniform thickness and texture throughout and infrangible in character as set forth. i A

In testimonyT whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 18th day of November, 1895.

HELEN M. VAN ETTEN. [his] Vitnesses:

J. J. LAAss, M. A. LEYDEN.

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