A NEW OR IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING SOAP SHEETS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Frederick Redfern of the General Patent Office,
4, South Street, Finsbury, in the county of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for an
invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR
MANUFACTURING SOAP SHEETS."-A communication from abroad by Heinrich
Buczkowski, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Frederick Redfern at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th June 1882.
GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN of the General Patent Office, 4 South Street,
Finsbury, in the county of Middlesex, Patent Agent "A NEW OR IMPROVED
PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING SOAP SHEETS," A communication
from abroad by Heinrich Buczkowski of Vienna in the empire of Austria.
The invention communicated to me relates to a new or improved process and
apparatus for manufacturing soap sheets or leaves in a more expeditious and
economical manner than hitherto aud whereby a better product is obtained.
In carrying out the invention, neutral cocoa-nut oil, palm oil, or tallow soap and
glycerine soap are manufactured in the ordinay way and well seasoned. These
two kinds of soap are dried in order to free them as far as possible from the water
they contain for which purpose the soap is reduced into small pieces or shavings
by planing or otherwise to facilitate the drying and dissolving of the same.
I then prepare, in a suitable boiler, a mixture of about ten parts of glycerine and
about thirty five parts of spirit in which I place about sixty parts of dried
glycerine soap and about fifty parts of one of the other above named soaps
(cocoa-nut oil soap is preferred on account of its lathering properties). The whole
mixture is heated to from seventy two to eighty two degrees Centigrade, and kept
continually stirred until it is reduced to a homogenous and somewhat liquid mass
free from solid parts or lumps.
To facilitate the solidification of the soap and to give a finer gloss to the paper
or other substance which is to be coated with it, from one half to one per cent of
oil of turpentine may be added to the liquid. Disinfecting and perfuming agents
may also be added thereto.

page_text: The liquid mass is poured into a trough provided with a jacket, into which hot
water or steam is conveyed in order to keep the soap solution at a constant
temperature of from seventy two to eighty degrees Centigrade.
In order to enable the invention communicated to me to be better understood I
will proceed to describe the same by reference to the annexed drawing which
represents a longitudinal section of a suitable form of apparatus which may be
advantageously employed in carrying out the invention.
A, is the said trough, A', A', the steam jacket.
As will be seen from the drawing three rollers or cylinders a, b, c, are fitted in
the trough A; one of these rollers a, may be made to turn on its axis, but this is
not absolutely necessary.
On the outside of the trough are fixed a stretcher d,
and a cylinder e. The cylinder e, consists of a metal tube and may be heated by
hot water or steam, but in most cases, especially when the temperature of the
surrounding air is high, this heating may be dispensed with. The other rollers or
cylinders and the stretcher may be made of glass, porcelain, metal, or other
suitable hard smooth material.
The material employed for the preparation of soap sheets by coating it with
liquid soap should possess great capillary or absorbent property, such as is possessed
by paper, linen, silk, jute, cotton or woollen fabrics and such fabrics are preferably
employed in the form of a continuous roll. The paper or fabric runs in the
direction indicated by the arrow over the stretcher d, into the trough A, containing
the soap solution; it then passes under the two cylinders a, and b, which guide
and hold down the material or fabric in the liquid mass; it also passes under the
cylinder c, which may be heated, and finally over the cylinder c, to a rolling or
winding apparatus.
The stretcher d, (which may be replaced by a roller) has for object to cause the
material or fabric which is to be imbibed with the soap solution to enter the
trough in a properly stretched condition throughout its whole breadth and without
creases or folds.
The hollow metallic cylinder e, cleans off the surplus soap from one side of the
imbibed material or fabric, whilst the roller or cylinder c, removes the surplus soap
from the other side. The two cylinders c, and e, especially if they can be adjusted
allow of removing the surplus soap from the imbibed paper or fabric by cleaning it
off and of giving it just the desired thickness. The soap solution should be con-
tinually maintained at a temperature of from seventy two to eighty two degrees
Centigrade, whereby the formation of lumps is practically prevented, otherwise,
at a lower temperature spirit would have to be added, the repeated additions of
which would cause the mass to become too much diluted.
It is preferable to make the hollow metallic cylinder e, vertically adjustable, so
that it can be raised or lowered according to the varying level of the soap solution.
Any known arrangements for raising and lowering the rollers may be employed
other than that shewn in the annexed drawing. If lumps or solid parts should
form in the solution during the operation, the mass should immediately be diluted
by the addition of a proportional quantity of spirit and glycerine whilst stirring it.
The material or fabric imbibed with the soap solution commences to dry
immediately after leaving the trough and becomes completely dry by the time it
reaches the rolling apparatus.
The apparatus for rolling up or winding and unrolling the paper or fabric is not
shewn in the drawing; any suitable known apparatus may be employed.
In order to ensure the easy and regular working of the apparatus and thereby
prevent the breaking off of the paper imbibed with the soap solution it is
advantageous to make the roller a, moveable round its axis as heretofore stated.
The paper employed should possess great absorbent property and have the
necessary degree of toughness for resisting, even when saturated, the strain exerted
upon it during the operation; paper similar to cigarette-paper and containing a 5
certain quantity (not less than forty per cent) of cotton fibre has been found
suitable for the purpose of this invention.

page_text: By the above described process rolls of fabric, particularly paper, may be saturated
and coated uniformly with soap, in a manner both expeditious and economical in
operation and the manufacture of a uniform, fine and smooth product is effected.
The advantage of employing continuous rolls of fabric or paper is that a con-
siderable simplification is effected of the process of drawing the fabric or paper to
be saturated through the soap solution in the trough; in fact, as soon as the
commencement of the roll of fabric or paper has passed under the cylinders, no
further special attention is required to the passing of the remainder and further
the fabric or paper coated with soap remains always in a stretched condition, in
which condition it is also dried.
By so drying the imbibed fabric or paper in a stretched condition, perfectly
smooth soap sheets are obtained, whereas if the fabric or paper were otherwise
dried it would contract and form wrinkles and folds.
From the unrolling apparatus the endless soap sheet thus prepared passes to a
cutting machine, where it is cut, stamped or pressed into leaflets of the desired
forin and size, like cigarette papers. The unrolling apparatus may be dispensed
with and the soap sheet conducted directly to the cutting machine. The single
leaflets are then arranged in the form of books or blocks and packed and labelled
in any suitable way. They may be sewn in the usual manner with thread or wire,
or pasted together.
For pasting the soap sheets however ordinary gum, glue, paste or the like do not
answer. The pasting together of the sheets is therefore effected with the following
mixture and in the following manner:
To hot and thin glue is added about ten per cent of zinc-white and this mixture
is stirred until the mass becomes perfectly homogeneous, the backs of the leaflets
to be glued together are well coated with the mixture and they are then stuck
together in the usual manner, immediately after having been covered with this
mixture, and while it is still hot.
Having thus described the invention communicated to me I would have it
understood that what is claimed is:
Firstly. The herein described process of manufacturing soap sheets, such process
consisting essentially in passing woven fabrics or paper, (preferably from a
continuous roll) maintained in a stretched condition by stretchers or rollers, through
a soap solution, cleaning both sides of the fabric or paper from surplus soap and
winding it upon a rolling-apparatus or conducting it directly to a cutting machine,
the saturated fabric or paper becoming dry during its passage from the cleaning
rollers to the rolling-apparatus or cutting machine as the case may be as herein-
before described.
Secondly. The improved apparatus herein described consisting essentially of a
trough capable of being heated by steam or hot water the said trough containing
guiding and cleaning rollers (which may be heated if necessary) a stretcher for
stretching the paper or fabric as it passes through the trough, and a cleaning
cylinder for freeing the paper or fabric from surplus soap as it leaves the trough
substantially as hereinbefore described and represented in the accompanying
drawing.
Thirdly. The combination with the said herein described apparatus of any
suitable device for rolling up or winding and unrolling the fabric or paper
substantially as and for the purpose herein before described.
Fourthly. In an apparatus for manufacturing soap-sheets in the manner described
I claim the employment of stretchers or stretching rollers capable of being heated
as hereinbefore described.
Fifthly. The employment of a mixture or solution of about ten parts by weight
of glycerine, thirty five parts by weight of spirit, sixty parts by weight of dried
glycerine-soap and about fifty parts by weight of dried neutral soap for the
manufacture of soap-sheets as herein before described.
Sixthly. Adding a small quantity of turpentine oil to the said herein described

page_text: sonp solution, in order to quicken the drying of the soap solution and to give a
finer gloss to the sheets or leaflets as hereinbefore described.
Seventhly. The employment of paper or other suitable material in the form of
an endless roll for the manufacture of soap sheets as hereinbefore described.
Eighthly. The employment of thin paper, which contains more than forty per
cent of cotton fibre for the manufacture of soap sheets.
Ninthly. The employment of a soap solution heated to from about seventy two
to eighty two degrees Centigrade for the purpose herein described.
In Witness whereof I the said George Frederick Redfern have hereto set my
hand and seal this twentieth day of June in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
G. F. REDFERN. (L.S.)