Improvements in and relating to the raving of streets and other Places, and the Manufacture of Blocks therefor.
Year: 1885

page_text: Improvements in and relating to the raving of streets and
other Places, and the Manufacture of Blocks therefor.
I, CHARLES FROST FOSTER, of 103 Oxford Gardens, North Kensington, in the
County of Middlesex, Barrister at Law, do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE PAVING OF STREETS
AND OTHER PLACES AND THE MANUFACTURE OF BLOCKS THEREFOR
to be as
follows
-
33
The object of my invention is to provide for paving streets and other places with
a material which is hard, waterproof, fire-proof and very durable, the surface of
which is not slippery, and which will resist the action of the atmosphere and of
such substances and objects as usually come in contact with street and other
pavements.
In carrying my said invention into practice, I take rags, or other fibrous or
vegetable refuse, or other substance which can be worked or formed into a pulp
similar to that obtained in the manufacture of paper, and I treat such substance in
a beating engine in the following manner, that is to say I throw or otherwise
introduce the said substance into the tank of the beating engine or machine and
mix it, in the said tank, with creosote, or with a solution (preferably a saturated
solution) of alum, or of tungstate of soda, or other liquids generally used for water-
proofing The engine or machine is then made to act upon the mixture until the
latter is worked up into a pulp This pulp is run into a die or mould of iron or
other suitable material so as to form a block of hexagonal or other desired shape
Sand or other grit is sometimes sprinkled over, and made to mix with, the upper
surface of the pulp in the die or mould to increase the durability of the paving
block. The die or mould is then placed in a powerful hydraulic, stoam, or other
press, and the pulp therein is compressed preferably to about one sixth of its
original volume. The die or mould is made in halves which are secured together
by bolts or otherwise, and which must be taken apart for the purpose of getting
out the block when sufficiently compressed The top of the die or mould cin be
corrugated, if desired, in such a manner as to form two grooves in the surface of
each block, so that, when the blocks are laid, channels or receptacles are obtained
which will permit water or other liquid to run off from the 10ad-way This will,
moreover, be facilitated by the curve of the road produced in the manner herein-
after mentioned

page_text: The composition which I prefer to employ, in manufacturing my improved
blocks, is produced by mixing the following ingredients in, or about in, the
proportions named, that is to say
こ
-
Waste paper, rags, cardboard or pasteboard - 112 lbs
Bagging
Creosote, or saturated solution of alum, or
of tungstate of soda, or weak solution
of marine glue
-
A
-
14 lbs
300 gallons
444
Other materials may, however, be mixed with paper or other pulp to adapt it
for the manufacture of paving blocks according to my invention
The aforesaid die or mould can, if desired, be made with a plate of iron or other
material, to which is attached a metal rod passing through a hole in the bottom of
the die or mould, and by means of which the pulp, when compressed into a block,
can be pushed upwards and out of the mould The sides of the die or mould
should be lined with perforated zinc so as to permit the escape of the liquid used
in the manufacture and to facilitate the withdrawal of the block entire The die
or mould is, by preference, placed in a shallow iron dish the end of which projects
over a tank or other receptacle so that the liquid will be collected therein and
waste of the same will be prevented
For the purpose of producing a curve in the roadway for drainage or other
purposes the top of the die can be of a curved or slightly concave shape so that the
block will be convex.
The blocks are, by preference, laid upon a layer of Portland cement or concrete
about 6 inches thick They are cemented together by marine glue or pitch or by
other adhesive material In order, however, to obviate the necessity of employing
cement or other adhesive material, and to facilitate the taking up of any part of
the road, I prefer that the blocks should be keyed one into another For this
purpose I preferably form the blocks with triangular teeth or projections and
grooves or recesses so that the teeth or projections on each block will fit into
grooves or recesses in the adjacent blocks
The blocks are, in some cases, made with a channel or groove in the underside,
so that, when they are placed in a row, a small continuous tunnel will be formed
for the reception of telegraph or telephone wires, which can then be laid without
disturbing the concrete
An important feature of my invention is the employment of the paper or other
pulp in the manufacture of the paving blocks, whereby I obtain the great
advantage that the blocks can be formed by means of dies or moulds instead of ;
requiring to be cut to the desired shape.
I sometimes colour my improved blocks in any suitable manner either during
their manufacture or after they have been made They can then be used for
tesselated or other pavements in which coloured blocks are required.

page_text: Improvements in and relating to the Paving of Streets and
other Places, and the Manufacture of Blocks therefor.
I, CHARLES FROST FOSTER, of 103 Oxford Gardens, North Kensington, in
the County of Middlesex, Barrister at Law do hereby declare the nature of my
invention 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 my invention is to provide for paving streets and other places with
a material which is hard, elastic, waterproof, fire-proof, and very durable, the
surface of which is not slippery, and which will resist the action of the atmosphere
and of the traffic
In carrying my said invention into practice, I take rags, or other fibrous refuse,
or other substance which can be worked or formed into a pulp similar to that
obtained in the manufacture of paper, and I treat such substance in the following
manner, that is to say,-I throw or otherwise introduce the said substance into the
tank of a beating engine or machine and mix it in the said tank with water or with
a solution (preferably a saturated solution) of alum, or with some other liquid such
as is generally used for waterproofing The engine or machine is then caused to
act upon the mixture until the latter is worked up into a pulp, in which the fibrous
material is in a finely divided condition
The pulp which I prefer to employ for the purpose of my invention is produced
by mixing the following ingredients in, or about in, the proportions named, that is
to say waste paper, rags, cardboard or pasteboard one hundred and twelve
pounds (112 lbs), bagging fourteen pounds (14 lbs), and a sufficient quantity of
water or other liquid to form a pulp
I then
I drain from the pulp about one half of the liquid which it contains
combine the pulp with Portland cement, lime, plaster, or similar material in such
quantities that the composition or compound thus formed will, when dry, contain
about equal proportions of the fibrous material and of the cement, lime or the like
I prefer to combine, with the pulp and the Portland cement or the like, chloride of
zinc, creosote, tungstate of soda, or similar hardening material, in such proportions
as to impart the desired degree of hardness to the paving blocks formed from the
said composition or compound I afterwards treat the said composition or com-
pound in a beating engine to ensure homogeneity of the same
I manufacture paving blocks of this composition or compound by pressure upon
the required quantity thereof in a die or mould of iron or other suitable material
This mould is made in any convenient manner, for example it is made in halves
or parts which are united by bolts or otherwise, and which may be taken apart for
the purpose of removing the block when sufficiently compressed Or the said
mould is made in one piece and provided with a metal plate which is fitted to slide
therein like a piston, and to which is attached a rod passing through a hole in the
bottom of the mould, by means of this plate and rod, the finished block can be
readily pushed out of the mould. The sides of the mould may be perforated to
permit the escape of the liquid contained in the composition The mould 14,

page_text: by preference, placed in a shallow metal dish, the end of which projects over a tank
or other receptacle, so that the liquid drained from the composition will be collected
in the said tank or receptacle
When the block has been sufficiently compressed, it is removed from the mould,
and is subsequently dried either by exposure to the atmosphere or by heat in
a drying room The hardness of my paving blocks can be incieased or diminished,
by varying either the proportion of their ingredients, or the pressure to which
they are subjected, or by varying the temperature to which they are raised in the
drying process or the duration of such process
Paving blocks made from my improved composition or compound have a rough
surface which will prevent slipping thereon, and should abrasion of the blocks occur
they will still present a rough surface.
The said blocks may be of any desired shape, but I prefer to make them
hexagonal, in order to obviate any liability to displacement, by reason of their
expansion or other cause, when they are in use Sand or other gritty material 18
sometimes sprinkled over, and caused to enter, the upper surface of the composition
in the die or mould, to increase the durability of the paving block
In constructing pavements according to my invention, the blocks are, by
preference, laid upon a bed or layer of cement or concrete say from two to six
inches thick They are cemented together by marine glue, pitch, Portland cement,
or other adhesive material In some instances, I obviate the necessity for employ-
ang cement or other adhesive material and thus facilitate the taking up of any part
of the pavement, by forming the blocks with ribs or projections and with grooves
or recesses as hereinafter described
In the accompanying drawing
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are perspective views shewing different forms of my paving
blocks
Figure 6 is a plan of part of a pavement formed of blocks similar to that shewn
in Figure 2
Figure 7 is a plan of part of a pavement formed of blocks similar to that shewn
in Figure 4
In Figure 1, I have shown a plain hexagonal block a
In Figure 2, I have shewn a hexagonal block a formed with ribs or projections a¹
and with grooves or recesses b, when such blocks are placed together, as shewn in
Figure 6, to form a pavement, the ribs or projections a² of each block will fit into
the grooves or recesses 6 of the adjacent blocks, and the blocks will thus be securely
held in position without the use of cement The said grooves and projections may,
if desired, be of other shape than that shewn, and be arranged in any convenient
manner for the purpose specified
I sometimes form my paving blocks with a channel or groove c in the underside,
as shewn in Figure 3, so that, when they are placed together in a row, there will
be a continuous tunnel formed between the said blocks and the concrete or other
foundation, for the reception of telegraph or telephone wires, which can then be laid
without disturbing the said foundation If desired a semi-cuicular or other shaped
groove can be formed in the foundation, when laid, which groove will coincide with
those in the blocks, as indicated by the dotted line c¹, Figure 3, and will form
a tubular cavity or channel in which a pipe for holding the said wires can be
conveniently placed
In Figure 4, I have shewn a block a formed with a groove or channel d in its
upper side, when a pavement is formed of such blocks, laid as shewn in Figure 7,
the grooves or channels & meet end to end and thus form a series of continuous
grooves or channels which extend across the roadway and facilitate the flow of
water or other liquid from the roadway into the gutter or channel on each side
thereof These grooves also increase the foothold. In Figure 5, I have shewn
a block formed with two grooves & in its upper side for the purpose specified.
In some cases, the blocks are made with suitable grooves to receive tramway
rails, or so that they can be used in place of such rails.

page_text: The employment of the paper or other pulp as above described, is an important
feature of my said invention, as I thereby obtain the great advantage that the
blocks can be moulded instead of having to be cut to the desired shape, like wood
blocks
The blocks are sometimes made of two or more horizontal layers or sections
which are cemented together by marine glue or other suitable material
I sometimes colour my improved blocks in any suitable manner, either during,
or subsequently to, their manufacture They can then be used for tesselated or
other pavements in which coloured blocks are required
My improved pavement has the advantage over asphalt that the traffic upon
it produces less noise than upon asphalt.
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
-
First. A composition or compound, for the purpose above specified, of pulp
formed from fibrous material with Portland cement, lime, plaster, or the like, and
with or without chloride of zinc, creosote, tungstate of soda, or similar hardening
material, substantially as set forth
Second. A paving block made of the said compound, substantially as, and for the
purpose, set forth
Third. The hexagonal paving block formed with the ribs or projections and
grooves or recesses as above described, and as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings
for the purpose specified
Fourth The manufacture of my paving blocks in such a manner that they will
serve as substitutes for tramway rails, as above specified.
Dated this 25th day of February 1886
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co,
For the Applicant.