IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF A FACTITIOUS MATERIAL TO IMITATE İVORY
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Raphael Hunter Brandon, of No. 1 Rue Laffitte, Paris, in
the Republic of France, Engineer and Patent Agent, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF A FACTITIOUS MATERIAL TO IMITATE
İVORY." A communication by Isaiah Smith Hyatt, of the United States of
Amonica
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Raphael Hunter Brandon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th April 1881.
RAPHAEL HUNTER BRANDON, of No. 1, Rue Laffitte, Paris, in the Republic. of
France, Engineer and Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF A
FACTITIOUS MATERIAL TO IMITATE IVORY." A communication by Isaiah Smith
Hyatt, of the United States of America.
This Invention has relation to a new and useful factitious material to imitate
I have in
ivory, and to certain improved methods of manufacturing the same.
the following pointed out the nature and objects of the Invention, with such
particularity that the same will be readily understood.
Perhaps the principal difficulty heretofore experienced in the use of adhesive
agents in the manufacture of articles in imitation of ivory has been, that to
accomplish a proper adhesion it has been thought to be necessary to use a very
large percentage of the adhesive agent, which has necessarily had the effect of
causing the resultant material to be discolored, which has rendered it comparatively
valuéless in the production of articles which are required to be white.
By means of my Invention I produce an article in which a very small percentage
of gum or other adhesive agent is successfully employed in effecting a complete
adhesion of particles of inert material, the resultant material being without
discoloration of exceptionally beautiful appearance, and which may be utilized in
the manufacture of all classes of articles usually made of ivory and analogous
substances.
The objects of the Invention are accomplished by the employment of a suitable
solvent of any kind in which the adhesive agent is dissolved. The inert material
is then added to the solution, and the mixture thus formed subjected to the action
of a grinding mill, after which the solvent is discarded, and the elements in a dry

page_text: state by preference are ground a second time to reduce them to an impalpable
powder, which powder is introduced into moulds or dies of suitable construction
and subjected to heat and pressure.
I include within the term inert material as employed herein any and all
substances which are not fusible or weldible under heat, and which may be
effectually comminuted by the means described.
By preference I use an oxide of zinc as possessing especial advantages.
The adhesive agent may consist of any substance which approximates in
character to the known vegetable gums; I prefer, however, to employ shellac or
some similar vegatable gum.
The solvent may be varied according to circumstances, its exact nature and the
quantity employed being matters of judgment dependent upon the character of the
adhesive agent and other circumstances; I have used an ammoniacal liquor with
satisfactory results, as hereinafter set forth, but other solvents in which ammonia
is not introduced may be made use of if desired.
The preferred method of practising the Invention is as follows:-I first make a
solution consisting of eight parts of shellac and thirty two parts of aqua ammonia,
of a specific gravity of, say, 995. These ingredients are placed in a revolving
cylinder, and agitated continuously for a period of, say, five hours, the temperature
being kept as near one hundred degrees Fahrenheit as may be practicable. At the
end of this time it will be found that they have been thoroughly dissolved.
While I recommend this particular method of effecting a dissolution of the
ingredients, it is obvious that other methods may be practised, although my
experience leads me to believe that any departure from that which I have described
will involve unexpected difficulties. The solution thus formed will be of about the
consistency of thin molasses. Having placed a suitable quantity in an appropriate
vessel, I introduce, say, forty parts of a good quality of zinc oxide, stirring it in and
mixing it by hand as far as practicable. The zinc oxide having been added, the
solution will consist of eight parts of shellac, thirty two parts of ammoniacal water,
and forty parts of zinc oxide. The proportion of zinc oxide may however be
somewhat increased or diminished if preferred, without endangering the result, and
the same is true of the other ingredients.
The shellac ammoniacal water and zinc oxide having been brought together, are
next introduced into a grinding mill by preference of the class known as paint
mills, in which they are thoroughly ground.
The next step is to effect a separation of the ammoniacal water, which has now
performed the offices for which it is used. This is accomplished by preference by
evaporation by means of heat, the mixture being dried upon glass, so as to
effect as complete and thorough a desiccation as is possible, but the desiccation may
be effectuated in other ways without difficulty. It is very desirable however that
the mixture be constantly exposed to the air, without which it will be found to be
difficult to completely deprive it of its moisture. A thorough desiccation is of great
importance, as there will be danger of an unsatisfactory result if any of the aqueous
particles remain when the material goes into the mould.
The desiccation having been performed, only the zinc oxide and shellac, the
elements out of which the article is to be formed, remain, being in a dry state, and
in such condition that they may be introduced into the moulds and the article
completed, as hereinafter setforth.
The result thus produced will be a satisfactory one. But in order to produce an
article of exceptional excellence, instead of introducing the desiccated elements
into the moulds, I subject them to a second grinding in a perfectly dry mill of
appropriate construction, the effect of which is to reduce them to a fine flour. The
elements being in this form are ready to be introduced into the moulds.
The moulds will be of any appropriate construction, and the heat and pressure
such as are usually employed, say, about a ton to the square inch, the heat being
about from, say, two hundred and fifty to two hundred and seventy five degrees
Fahrenheit, greater or less according to circumstances.

page_text: If it is desired to color the article, a coloring material or pigment will be added
to the solution before it is subjected to the first grinding or to the elements after
the desiccation has taken place, and before the second grinding, as may be
preferred.
If it be desired to use other inert substances than zinc oxide, the preferred
material will be substituted for it without departing from the method described;
when zinc oxide is employed the proportion of inert material will however be
varied if necessary according to its specific gravity, by which the quantity to be
used will be determined when the proportions are ascertained by weight.
The Invention it will be seen admits to a certain limit of various modifications
in the choice of the materials employed as well as in the proportions in which
they may be used, and in certain parts of the treatment I have sought to so
describe it as to make known its various uses and objects in connection with
which it may be practised. All of these uses and objects, as far as I am aware, are
new in the arts, but I do not claim them all as my Invention. On the contrary, I
expressly disclaim and disavow any intention to include within the Letters Patent
to which this Specification relates any article, method, or process whatsoever
herein before mentioned, described, or referred to except such as are hereinafter
claimed as my Invention, and I expressly limit and define what I believe to be my
Invention accordingly.
What I claim as new therefore and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-
1. The process herein before described of forming articles from an inert material
and an adhesive agent, which consists in (1) combining the inert material and
adhesive agent in the proportions specified with a solvent, (2) subjecting the
mixture thus formed to the action of a mill; (3) desiccating the solid elements of
the mixture, and (4) subjecting the desiccated elements to the action of heating
moulds.
2. The process hereinbefore described of forming articles from an inert material
and an adhesive agent, which consists in (1) combining the inert material and
adhesive agent in the proportions specified with a solvent, (2) subjecting the
mixture thus formed to the action of a mill, (3) desiccating the solid elements of
the mixture, (4) subjecting the desiccated elements to a second grinding in a dry
state, and (5) forming the article of the resultant powder by compression in heated
moulds.
In witness whereof, I, the said Raphael Hunter Brandon, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty sixth day of March, One thousand
Witness,
HENRI MEÀ,
A. H. GENTNER.
R. H. BRANDON. (L.S.)