US1410745A - Tape and process of making same - Google Patents

Description

B. W. GATES.

TAPE AND PROCESS 0F MAKING SAME. APPLICATION F|LEDJUNE15,19is.

Patented Mar. 28, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lible fibrous, paper,

stares BERNARD W. GATES, 0F PLEASANTVILLE, NEW YORK.

TAPE AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

il A110', 7415.

Application 1ed .Tune 15,

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, BERNARD W. GATES, a citizen of the United States, residing at leasantville, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tape and Processes of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in tape, and in processes of making tape. Efforts to produce a commercial paper tape which should have considerably more tensile strength than an equal weight of thick paper in plain strip form, and which should permit manipulation under stress and bending where ordinary paper would quickly tear, date back many years, as such tape might be used with equal or superior 'results for various purposes for which cotton tape, cotton twine and paper twine have heretofore been used or proposed. The present invention I believe to be first to succeed in this; and incidentally it provides a tape having other new and useful advantages. Among these are the retention of its flat form more persistently than any other kind of easily .flexor textile tape known to me. It is a tape moreover on which printing is easily applied and well displayed; and, oppositely, for caseswhere it is desired to protect printing from exposure or abrasion, it provides a flexible foldedltape which persistently refuses to open or spread'underany. normal handling, or to collapse. f

The advantages mentioned adapt this tape particularly for use in rope, for the purpose of associating printed information therewith without interfering with the rope structure. It istherefore amongithe objects of the inven-tion to provide a tape whose structure is firm and which affords a large -surface for receiving printed information; and yet which is so condensed together, and of such fiexible character and so shaped that the body of material of which itY consists does not interfere appreciably with that perfect spiral laying ofthreads and strands, androordination of arrangement and tension, which is essential to the manufacture' of a good grade of rope. F or commercial reasons it is also important that this be done by a method involving b ut little cost for labor and materials. The facilit-y with which the simple tape may be reinforced by Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented li'iar. 28, 1922. 191Bf Serial No. 240,155.y

a wire or textile thread, at its edges, adapts it particularly for other purposes, giving still Vgreater strength to resist tearing. ifi/hen used as a twine its flatness adapts it for tying bunches of asparagus and other vegetables, and for packages where it is desired that the string shall not cut into the surface.

he invention attains these objects by a continuous process in which a flat strip of paper of suit-able quality is converted into the tape as the stripl is drawn forward. The first step is rollin the edges thereof repeatedly upon themseilves inward and backward. The strip thus narrows obliquely to a fraction of its original width, for example, to about one-fifth of it. The narrowed tape with rolled edges is then, by organized crushing while under tension, condensed into a longitudinally wrinkled state, its two edge masses being in proximity in the middle, and the whole is by pressure iiattened in parallelism with what originally was the flat way of the tape. Preferably, the pressing is done gradually, and accompanied by restrictions which prevent the rolled mass from spreading.` In that case the upstanding loosely rolled edge portions, which were abut-ting together in the middle of the tape,4

adjust themselves to flat shape by each pressing beyond `the middle. In so doing, a fold of one of them enters a wrinkle in the other, aided by the preliminary edge crushing operation which hasy broken the material into wrinkles, resultingin an `interlocked arrangement of creases which makes a closed seam in the middle of one side. The tape is completed by a heavyfinal pressing. The multiple interior folds formed by the flattening of the original rolling are thus forced toward the edges, and, being creased by the heavy pressure, remain there in the finished product, giving strength where most needed. By the restraint against edgewise spreading existing at the time of this creasing the width of the product is made absolutely uniform.

When the tape is to be reinforced with cotton thread or otherwise a thread is introduced into each first or outside fold, and in the finished tape these two threads then lie near each edge toact as a reinforcing against possible tearing of the tape. 'Ihe folded material may be of waterproof nature or may be treated with a waterproof compound. By using adhesive materials or other compounds between the folds, various degrees of rigidity or pliability may be obtained.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the process by which the tape of the invention is made, one kind of apparatus for making it, and one kind of tape which embodies the invention; but it is to be understood that these are merely illustrative and that varia tions may be made within the scope of the appended claims. It is intended that the patent shall cover by suitable expression in the appended claims whatever features of patentable novelty are possessed by the process or by the product disclosed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the performance of the process;

Figures 2-6 are cross sections, through the material illustrated in Figure 1 at various points along its course, greatly enlar ed;

igure 7 is a side elevation showing the apparatus;

Figure 8 represents a form of the tape 1ncluding strengthening threads; or electric conductors;

Figure 9 is a front elevation, enlarged from Figure 1, but not to the scaleof Figures 2-6, of a detail; and

Figure 10 is a side elevation through the same viewed as in Figure 7, in section.

The drawings show the various stages of development of the tape from a fiat strip of paper of single thickness, which may, for example, be assumed to be l wide, to a finished folded tape which may, for example, be assumed to be wide. The tape as a whole is marked 10 and the successive portions are, respectively, the part a, which is the raw material, a mere fiat strip of paper; b, where the edges are being rolled inward and backward, obliquely, until the whole has been narrowed to te or thereabouts; c, where the structure thus produced is crushed or condensed edgewise to a width which may be less than 3;, being, however, permitted a little expansion in the direction of thickness, and the rolls acquire furrows or wrinkles extending longitudinally, and become more; or less intermeshed, and are then crushed in the original direction of thickness; d, where condensation or gradual compression in the original direction of thickness of the strip is in progress, reducing the thickness further, accompanied by lateral restraint which prevents the furrows from becoming unmeshed, and e, where the condensed product thus held enmeshed has been by heavy pressure flattened to and creased in its final form. The final form of the tape has the general aspect shown in the latter part of Figure 1, and has'the structure illustrated, with some distortion of proportions, on an enlarged scale in cross section in Figure 6. The under surface of the tape is smooth and constitutes a face on which printing previously applied-to the tape may be clearly displayed and be easily legible, or on which printing may subsequentlybe done. The upper surface is of two folds interlocked. When the tape is made with the apparatus herein described, the line of cleavage runs in the middle with great regularity, and in much of the finished product is hardly noticeable. This line, however, is the place where the tape may be opened if desired, by successively unfolding each Side until the strip is spread out in its original thinness and breadth; and thus any printed matter within is displayed. Notwithstanding the slant at which the edges are rolled inward, at b, which distorts rectilinear elements that originally extended perpendicularly across the strip, the said elements are found restored to their original perpendicularity'in the finished tape, as if it had been rolled in perpendicularly. Probably this restoration occurs as the rolls pass through the die. The finished tape. illustrated in the drawing is eight-ply in thickness, the several folds,'be ing engaged one within another at each edge of the finished product, and the central portion of the finished product being made up by the interlocking of the outer convolutionsof each side, which contain somewhat more material than the inner. The interlocking structure may be constituted by a subsidiary fold or crease on one of these outer convolutions overlying the edge of the other outer convolution while its main edge underlies the edgeof the said other convolution. Or the main edge of one may overlie and a subsidiary crease of it underlie the main edge of the other convolution, The arrangement of this may vary in different parts of the length ofthe tape, it being sometimes one and sometimes the other as chance may determine. And it appears that even if this feature be absent, and the two outside convolutions simply lie with the edges abutting in the middle they are so securely held in position by the arrangement and mutual engagement of elements of. the vgeneral structure that they maintain their positions very satisfactorily. Reinforcing wire or textile threads, if lthere be`any, lmay lie within the lnmost.

The process by lwhich this product is manufactured may lpreferably be carried out as a continuous operation by mechanism; and 1n that case the apparatus needed is simple. That illustrated in the drawings consists of a die, through'which the tape is drawn, intervenlngbetween a guide roll and a pair of drawing and compressing rolls. To this may be added, if desired, and as illustrated, a former consisting of a tapering groove closed on its open side .by resting against pass through the die the final compressing roll. In the drawings, the spool, on which the finished tape 10 is to be wound, is marked 11 and is carried by suitable spindles which are adapted to hold it removably and to cause it to rotate, and which may be driven by any suitable means, not shown. To reach this spool, the raw stock is drawn from a supply roll 9, where it has the shape of a single ply paper strip, over a tension rod 14 and over a guide roll l5 and through a die 16. Thence it passes through the former 21, if desired, and then between compressing rolls 17 and 18 whose action completes it, and makes it ready for spooling, or for any ,further treatment that may be desired. The draft may be arranged by any suitable means, preferably by the seizure of the tape between compressing rolls 17, 18, which may be equipped with intermeshing gears 20, and by positively driving one or both of said rolls. The condenser and former 21 which may be arranged to operatein conjunction with oneJ of the compresslng rolls, 18, is a simple metallic bar, preferably of steel, resting smoothly against the surface of the roll and having on its face which is against the roll a tapering groove 21 of suitable size and shape to receive and condense the thickness of the tape .passing through it, whose width has already been condensed by the circular die 16.

The operation of this apparatus is as follows. The paper strip is started through the die 16 by rolling in the corners of its leading end until a point is formed small enough to be led through the die. Then steady draft of the leading end on the other side of the die causes this rolling of the edges to progress steadily along the strip. As each fresh bit of the strip reaches the die, its rolling ceases and the rolled edges thereof that have just been made are crushed edgewiseof the tape so that they and the bit of tape intervening between them can loosely. This breaks up the stillness ot the stock, making longitudinal wrinkles only in the rolled portions and not the portion of tape intervening between the rolled portions, depending upon the relative size of Athe hole through the die, the quantity of paper which has to pass, and the tightness and the angle of the rolling. The latter depends upon the distance from the die back to the guide roll and the width of stock and the tension. These various elements interact and may be variously adjusted according to whatever stock is used or result desired, with the aid of a little experimenting to get the correct setting if necessary. lt appears that the shape of the die is not necessarily circular, as dies of various oval or elliptic shapes operate successfully. 0n work such as that illustrated, the plane of the plate having the circular die is set at an angle to the line of draft of the strip; and the latter line bends at the dies top edge.

The die may have straight sides or may have a chamfered throat approach or a bell 'mouth so that the tape is led into it gradually and without and rending effect. Being set at an angle as illustrated in the drawing, the bottom and curved sides of the strip ride in over the part of the smooth concave surface approaching the place of smallest diameter in the die, and are laterally crushed before the top of the' same part of the strip reaches the top edgeJ of the die. This last occurs immediately afterward, and as the strip passes through and is bent upward around the edge at the rear of the die the top undergoes a drag or retardation which helps introduce some wrinkles or creases extending obliquely, but in a general longitudinal direction. with their openings'facing laterally, and the rolled portions are somewhat crushed in the direction of the thickness of the strip. ln a tape having the original width above assumed for illustration, an inch and three-fourths, drawn through a die hole of one-eighth of an inch or thereabouts in diameter, the liat structure with rolled edges may be maintained down to a width of three-eighths of an inch or less` following which the crushing occurs in width and in thickness at the die, the tape expanding a little both in width and thickness after passing through. lf it goes then direct to the compression rolls., 17, 18, their effect will be to expand it a little in width as they flatten it, and to fix it by the formation of sharp creases on each edge of each ot the laminated edgerolls in thewidth thus determined. lt is preferred, however, to pass it through the intermediate condensing and forming die 21. This causes the convolutions of paper within the rolled parts to adjust themselves gradually to a tlat condition by slipping on each other as the thickness is gradually reduced, edgewise expansion beyond the predetermined limit being prevented by the sides of the groove, so that the tape issuinga therefrom is nearly dat and has not much slack for further edge-wise expansion. Being then immediately subjected to the heavy .compression of the rolls 17, 18, it acquires a permanent set. rllhe same forming operation makes the under side of the tape maintain or assume a flat smooth shape while the convolutions adjust themselves, because" the under side of the tape is tight against the cylindrical surface of the roll 18, and vsuch slipping of outside convolutions as occurs takes place by their slipping past each other on the other side of the tape where their free edges are. As the tape has already been made flexible internally by the formation of numerous sharp wrinkles, such of these as are suitably located produce an interlocking effect with each other. When the available depth of penetration of one into the other has been reached the remaining slack material, which must be spread out in order to be flattened, extends under or over the creases which are interlocked until it is substantially fiat. 'In this position and lying on the roll 18 it passes immediately to the heavy compression roll 1T and thus is creased and made fixed.

The edges of the tape thus formed present a calendered, tough paper surface, better able than an edge of a paper sheet to resist a tearing or rending stress and presents not only one such surface but multiple surfaces, one behind and closely reinforcing another. These both make it more difficult to start the rending of the outmost lamination, but also continue the resistance even after the outmost may' have been rent. Perhaps it is because of the extreme strength of the edges that. the tape is found in practice to have decidedly more tensile strength than a plain strip of paper of even greater bulk, for a break under tensile stress ordinarily begins with a rending of one edge. However, the intimate laminated relation of the layers to each other, with friction between them, also helps any part of the paper which may be weaker to withstand a tensile strength longer than it otherwise would. To this frictional resistance the interlocking of parts resulting from the pressing together of wrinkled surfaces contributes. 1f it be desired to increase further the strength, threads Q3 of textile or other material may be fed into the rolled edges of the original flat strip as indicated in the drawing, Figure 8; and thus in the finished product will lie close to each edge, giving further reinforcement..

Any suitable material may be employed for the tape. It is to be observed, however, that the successidepends largely upon those peculiar characteristics of paper which enable it to take and retain a crease and to be relatively stiff where not creased. Paper that is waterproof may be employed; or paper may be treated with any other kind of a compound, the treatment in such case being preferably applied ust before the rolling begins, as by a moistening roller 12 carrying the compound from a pan 13 and pressing against the tape while it is going over the guide 15. As the paper is rolled and put through the process immediately, the added compound does not have time to change the character of the paper-so as to interfere with the performance of the process. Various such adhesives may be used, it being preferred to select an adhesive composition of the-type which is somewhat slippery when moist.

It is preferred to mount the steel piece 21 by means of a spring 22 which-presses it upon the surface of the roll 17. The spring provides a safety appliance in case of need because it can yield if an incompressible bunch occurs in the tape and also makes sure that under ordinary circumstances the face of this steel piece is close against the face of the roll. The groove therein is slightly rounded and tapered, diminishing in depth from beginning to end, as seen in Figure 10 and adapted in dimensions to the material that is being handled, with the idea of crowding the two abutting outer convolutions into and past each other; and it ends close enough to the place where the tape is seized between rolls 17 and 18 so that the latter catch the tape with its parts thus arranged.

If it be desired* to fold one edge of the paper more than the other this may be accomplished by suitably arranging the angle at which the paper is guided to the die, so that either side is rolled more times than the other. The range of variation of the setting of the angle, and of the size and shape of the hole through the die, and of the distances between rolls is considerable. Indeed variations of adjustment may be made in many respects, within a rather wide range; and the particular adjustment which is best 'in any particular case depends largely on the material in hand, or the result desired.

Then an adhesive gum is used, whether by moistening a previously gummed surface, or by applying liquid gum, the paper need be treated on one side only, and the rolling of the edges is toward that treated side, so that the folds ultimately produced enclose and fully cover the gum. This leaves a cemented interior and an exterior which is smoothly finished with whatever qualities may have been givenlto the paper 1n advance such as calendering, printing, color, etc. Because of this concealment feature, any addition or treatment, such as for giving strength, or thickness', or other qualities, may be carried on that side and will be out of sight in the finished product. For example, a coarse mesh textile fabric, or a waterproofing or insulating compound, or a compound for other purpose may be spread on the side of the paper which is to be turned in; and in case two wire threads are run into the rolls they will be securely separated and may be thus insulated from each other, and the tape can then serve as a two wire electrical conductor. Such threads, either textile or wire, coming from supply rolls or other suitable source can be guided into the cylindrical holes made by the rolling edges b. the openends of which are clearly seen in Figure 1.-

In the immediatelyT following stage these threads lie each within one of the edge coils of paper marked b, as seen in Figures 2 and 3; and in the finished product one thread lies near each edge, as indicated in Figure 8. In such a case each is separated the outside by sevwires safelv 'eparated Ordinarily the rolls 17, 18 may be of steel or the like hard material; but if threads or wires are to be inserted it is better to use Some kind of roll having a surface that can yield under intense pressure, such as felt or rubber, because with steel the wire or thread may out the paper when the whole is compressed between runyielding surfaces. For some kinds of work these rolls may be omitted entirely, and the rope as it issues from the die 16 may be considered the finished product. This has the advantage that the strip can be run at higher speed. The product thus made has the characteristic form, the bottom being flat and smooth, and the rolled masses at each edge of the top compressed into flat folds; but it is not as perfectly creased and does not retain its form as perfectly nor as permanently as when the restrictive former 21 and the creasing rolls 17, 18, are used. The pressure which does the work, when they are omitted, is the compression of the edge rolls between the middle under portion of the strip, and the upper rear corner of the tilted die. The tension under which the strip is held, coupled with the sharp bend of the thick mass around that corner combine to make considerable compression on the top masses coupled with a smooth flattening of the bottom as the latter goes around the corner on those cushionlike masses above it.

l claim as my invention:

1. A tape, comprising a strip of paper or the like having each edge repeatedly folded on itself and with a fold of one edge thus made intermeshed with a fold of the other edge.

2. A tape, comprisinga strip of paper or the like having each edge repeatedly folded on itself, all of the folding being toward the same side of the strip; both sides of the tape being flat, the surface on one side consisting of said folded edges separated by a crevice, and the surface on the other being continuous.

3. A tape, comprising a pair of flattened rolls of paper or the like lying side by side, and integrally connected together, one at each edge of the tape.

4. A tape, comprising astrip of paper or the like, formed into two rolls extending longitudinallyof the strip, retaining their integral connection, flattened inte abutting relation to each other, and combined with two threads, one of which is encased in each roll whereby the threads are protected from external and from mutual contact.

5. A tape, comprising a strip of paper or the like, gummed on one side only and having its edges repeatedly rolled on themselves toward the gummed side, and flattened, with the said rolls enclosing, covering and held by said gum.

6. A process of making tape comprising the rolling of the edges of a strip of paper or the like obliquely, until the rolls thus made are near together; crushing edgewise into a form in which the rolls contact together; crushing in the direction of the thickness of the strip, forming intermeshing wrinkles in the two rolls; and then compressing in the said direction of thickness.

7. A process of making tape comprising the rolling of the edges of a strip of paper or the like obliquely,`until the rolls thus made are near together; and then compressing the said rolls and""strip in the direction of the thickness of the strip into a flat sided shape with creased edges.

8. A process of making tape comprising the 'rolling of the edges of a strip of paper or the like obliquely, until the rolls thus made are near together; forming longitudinal intel-meshing wrinkles in the rolls; and compressing the rolls in the direction of thickness of the strip under restraint uniformly limiting expansion in the direction' of width of the strip.

9. A process of making tape comprising the rolling of the edges of a strip of paper or the like obliquely, together; and then compressing the whole in the direction of the thickness of the strip to approximate flatness and afterward creasing the flat folds made by the compressing.

10. A process of making tape comprising the curling of the edges of a strip of dat paper or the like, and drawing the curled strip through a relatively small opening; bending the same around the further edge of the opening; and compressing dat the wrinkled mass thus produced.

11. A process of making tape comprising the curling of the edges of' a strip of flat paper or the like, and drawing the curled strip through a relatively small opening; and bending the same around the further edge of the opening under tension, whereby the curled portions are compressed between the uncurled part and the edge Vof the opening.

12. A process of making tape comprising the curling of the edges of a strip of flat paper or the like, vthereby forming a somewhat condensed rnass of the strip with inter-lor spaces; and then crumpling the mass by compression applied in the, direction of the thickness of the strip, meanwhile limituntil the rolls are near Vthe opening,

ing expansion of the mass in the direction of width of the strip.

13. A process of making tape comprising the drawing of a strip of flat paper or the like through an opening considerably smaller than the Width 'of the strip and meanwhile holding spread under tension that part of the tape which is close in advance of whereby buckling of the middle part of the tape is prevented and the diminution to the width of the opening occurs by/ curling of the edges of the strip; followed by compressing the curled portions in the direction of the thickness of the strip.

14. A process of making tape comprising the curling of the edges of a strip of flat paper or the like obliquely, until the stripas a whole becomes a mass having a small fraction of its original width and having multiple thickness with internal spaces; crushing this mass in the original direction which alone constitutes the whole of one edge of the tape, the mass as a whole being compressed together in all directions except the longitudinal, till its exterior is smooth and of a uniform Width and thickness which the tape tends permanently to retain.

Signed at Pleasantville, this tenth day ofV June, 1918.

BERNARD W. GATES.

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