IMPROVEMENTS IN PAVING OR COVERING ROADS AND OTHER WAYS OR SURFACES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
FREEMAN, of Milbank Street, in the County of Middlesex, Stone Merchant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventh day of September, in the fourth year of Her reign,
did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Freeman, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said William Freeman, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Freeman, my exors, admors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PAVING OR COVERING ROADS
AND OTHER WAYS OR SURFACES," communicated to me by a certain Foreigner
residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that. I,
the said William Freeman, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is, to be performed, to
be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Freeman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The Invention relates to a mode of paving or covering roads and other
ways or surfaces, and also the tops or surfaces of walls, usually paved or covered,
by the application of india-rubber (caoutchouc) combined into blocks or slabs
with other matters, as hereafter described; and in order that the Invention
may be most fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed
It is well
to describe the means pursued in carrying out the Invention.
known to persons acquainted with the manufacture of india-rubber into
various articles now made or partly made therefrom, that such substance
is capable of being reduced to a soft and pasty state by grinding, and the
process is performed in the following manner:-Into a strong iron cylinder,
having a strong axis passing through it, with teeth projecting therefrom,
the india-rubber (cut into small pieces) is put, and, by the revolving of the
axis with spikes, the india-rubber becomes reduced to a strong pasty state;
and when in this condition I gradually grind in a quantity of charred saw-
dust, in order to combine the same with the india-rubber, the sawdust
being charred by moving on a hot plate, or by using a heated vessel, such as
is used in roasting coffee, or by other convenient..means, such charring only
being carried to a very moderate extent, and by the process of grinding and
mixing, as above explained, until the mass will not take up more of the
charred sawdust. I then take out such compound, and put it into iron or
other moulds, of the size desired, and submit the materials to pressure in a
similar manner to what is now pursued for obtaining blocks of india-rubber
for manufacturing purposes; but in submitting the compound to pressure I
apply a quantity of strong rough sand into the mould to that surface of the
block which is to come to the upper or outer surface of the paved road or
way, or of the wall; covered or partially-covered, by such blocks or slabs, by
which means, when the blocks in the mould come to be pressed, the upper
surface thereof will have a quantity of rough sand forced into such upper
surfaces; and I permit the blocks or slabs so formed to remain under pressure
in the moulds till the materials are cold, I then take them out of the moulds,
and pile them away for use; but I prefer that the blocks or slabs so made
should stand as long as possible, subject to the influence of the atmosphere,
before using them for paving or other purposes. The sizes of the blocks
used may be varied, depending on the extent of traffic on the road or way.
For paving a road or way where there is considerable traffic, I consider
blocks 12 in. x 12 in. x 3 in. a proper size; and for paving footpaths, blocks
or slabs of one inch in thickness are of a convenient thickness; and for

page_text: covering walls; I make the blocks about the size of ordinary bricks; and in
using such blocks for paving, the road or way is to be brought to a proper
surface, as if about to pave with blocks of other materials, and the india-
rubber blocks are to be applied over such surfaces, and the blocks are caused
to adhere one to another by using india-rubber cement. Another mode of
using such blocks is by covering a surface to be paved with blocks of other
materials with such blocks of india-rubber, but not to the same depth, and
then applying blocks of wood or stone, and I would remark that although I
prefer to use sawdust in compounding blocks with india-rubber, yet the
same may be dispensed with, and sand or finely-broken stone may be used in
preparing the india-rubber blocks.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would have it understood that
I do not lay any claim to grinding india-rubber, nor to the pressing it into
blocks, india-rubber having been submitted to those processes before; nor do
I confine myself to the means described for accomplishing those processes,
but I believe them to be the best for the purpose. But what I claim is, the
mode of paving or covering roads, and other ways or surfaces requiring to be
paved or covered, by applying india-rubber (caoutchouc) combined with saw-
dust, sand, or finely-broken stone, and pressed into blocks or slabs, as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Freeman, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.