Im- PROVEMENTS IN ASPHALTE ROADS, WAYS, AND FLOORS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Henry Ellis, of No. 20, High Holborn,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of “Im-
PROVEMENTS IN ASPHALTE ROADS, WAYS, AND FLOORS."
Sealed the 8th March 1872, and dated the 14th December 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Henry Ellis at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th December 1871.
I, GEORGE HENRY ELLIS, of No. 20, High Holborn, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ASPHALTE ROADS, WAYS, AND FLOORS," to
be as follows, that is to say:—
My Invention consists, firstly, in forming asphalte or composite roads,
ways, and floors, by laying down two layers of bituminous or asphalte
composition, the lower layer being of an inferior and softer quality to,
and about twice the thickness of, the upper layer, whereby great
economy is effected therein.

page_text: My Invention consists, secondly, in a new combination of bitumen
with other substances, as herein-after described, whereby I obtain a
material for making roads, ways, and floors, having the property of
resisting the action of heat and of water or moisture.
To carry out the first part of my Invention I first lay, in the ordinary
manner, and on the usual concrete foundation, a coat of bituminous or
asphalte composition of an inferior and slightly soft quality. Over this
first coat I then lay a coat of bituminous composition of a better and
harder quality, preferably of my improved composition herein-after
described, the two coats or layers becoming, by the heat employed in
laying them, so cemented or united together as to form one solid mass;
the thickness of the upper layer is preferably about one-half the
thickness of the lower layer.
To carry out the second part of my Invention I combine bitumen
with glue, or other analogous substances having the property of resisting
the action of heat, and of entering into combination with bituminous
substances; a quantity of grit being afterwards added thereto, by which
I obtain a material that will resist the action of heat and water or
moisture.
This material or composition is prepared as follows :— -I take about
sixteen parts of bitumen, by preference English soft pitch, or a mixture
of soft and hard pitch, which I heat to ebullition in a suitable vessel.
To the melted bitumen (but after the ebullition has slightly subsided)
I add about four parts of glue (or other analogous material) broken into
small pieces and in a dry state; the whole is well stirred until the glue
or other material is thoroughly liquefied by and combined with the
melted bitumen. A small quantity of bi-chromate of potash is added
to the mixture to render the glue insoluble by water. I then add about
eighty parts of suitable grit (previously heated), such, for example, as
the quartz or particles of granite washed from kaolin in its manu-
facture, or decomposed granite or other suitable granular substance.
The whole is well stirred and mixed until the grit becomes thoroughly
incorporated with the bitumen and glue. In certain cases the grit
before admixture may be lubricated with a solution of india-rubber (or
the same may be added to and mixed with the pitch and glue), oil of
tar, or other suitable material.

page_text: The composition thus formed is ready to be laid on roads, ways, and
floors, as herein-before described, or it may be run into moulds which
have been previously about two-thirds filled with an inferior or low-
priced bituminous composition, by which means I obtain in an
economical manner blocks suitable for paving roads, ways, and floors,
and which will resist the action of heat and water.
Finally, in order to render the surfaces of my improved roads, ways,
and floors as much as possible non-slippery, I strew thereupon (while
they are heated and soft during the process of laying down) a thin
coating of dried and pounded slate or sawdust, the same being rolled
down and imbedded in the bitumen, or any non-metallic material having
similar properties to these substances may be employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Henry Ellis in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th March 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HENRY ELLIS, of No. 20, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in
the thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said George Henry Ellis, Her
special licence that I, the said George Henry Ellis, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Henry Ellis,
my executors, 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 ASPHALTE ROADS, WAYS, AND FLOORS," upon the

page_text: condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Henry Ellis, my
executors 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 immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Henry Ellis, 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, that is to say:-
My Invention consists, firstly, in forming asphalte or composite roads,
ways, and floors, by laying them in two parts or layers, the one under-
neath being about twice the thickness of the one upon the surface; and
the latter being made of a material of a superior and harder quality,
herein-after described, the object being to promote economy in the cost
of making such roads.
My Invention consists, secondly, in a new combination of bitumen
with other substances, as herein-after described, whereby I obtain a
material for making roads, ways, and floors, having the property of
resisting the action both of heat and water or moisture more perfectly
than the compositions hitherto used for such purposes.
To carry out the first part of my Invention I first lay in the ordinary
manner, and upon the usual concrete foundation, a layer of common
asphalte, which may be made of a mixture of grit or rough granite
particles, herein-after described, with pitch or tar; and over or upon
this I lay a coat of my superior bituminous composition, the two coats
or layers becoming, by being laid down in a heated condition, so
cemented or united together as to form one solid mass.
To carry out the second part of my Invention, to make what I call
my "superior bituminous composition," I proceed as follows:-I take
about sixteen parts of bitumen, by preference English soft pitch, or a
mixture of soft and hard pitch, which I heat to ebullition in a suitable
vessel. To the melted bitumen (but after the ebullition has slightly

page_text: CARTON PUB CHU!
07
subsided) I add about four parts of glue broken into small pieces in a dry,
state, the whole being well stirred until the glue is thoroughly liquified'
by and combined with the melted bitumen. To liquify or dissolve glue
by the ordinary process, ou; red. 24 %)
water is added thereto, and it is then boiled or
heated. Now one of the main objects of my Invention is to avoid the
073-710 Jugs bagong b
use of water, as water or the remains of water in the composition would
have a strong tendency to destroy its cohesion under the influence of
frost, and this object is effected by the employment of heated_pitch.
A small quantity of bi-chromate of potash is added to the mixture to
render the glue insoluble by water. I then add about eighty parts of
suitable grit.(previously heated), such, for example, as quartz or granite
particles found in decomposed granite, and such grit as is washed out in
the manufacture of China clay. The whole is well stirred and mixed
until the grit becomes incorporated with the bitumen and glue. In
certain cases the grit before admixture may be coated with a solution of
india-rubber or oil of tar, or the india-rubber may be added to and mixed
with the pitch and glue.
AED 37
The composition thus formed is ready to be laid on roads, ways,
and floors, as herein-before described, or it may be run into moulds
which have been previously about two-thirds filled with the inferior or
lower priced bituminous composition, herein-before described, by which
means I obtain in an economical manner blocks suitable for paving.
roads, ways, and floors, that will resist the action of heat and water
more perfectly than the compositions hitherto used for such purposes.
In order to render the surfaces of my improved roads, ways, and floors
as much as practicable non-slippery, I strew thereupon while they are
heated and soft, during the process of laying down, a thin coating of
pounded slate or sawdust, the same being rolled down and imbedded in
the bitumen, or other materials having the property of giving a granular
surface may be employed.
Having now described my Invention, and the best manner I am
acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, what I claim is, the
improved heat and water resisting bituminous composition, together
with the mode of using the same in conjunction with a layer of material

page_text: of an inferior or cheaper quality, substantially in the manner and for
the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Henry Ellis, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of March, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
GEORGE HENRY ELLIS. (L.S.)