CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF LAYING OR CONSTRUCTING WOODEN PAVEMENTS FOR STREETS, ETC., AS WELL AS A NEW AND USEFUL PROCESS FOR PREPARING WOOD FOR PAVEMENTS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ira Hayford and Joseph Frost Paul, of Boston,
in the County of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, United States
of America, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE
OF LAYING OR CONSTRUCTING WOODEN PAVEMENTS FOR STREETS, ETC., AS WELL
AS A NEW AND USEFUL PROCESS FOR PREPARING WOOD FOR PAVEMENTS."
5
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Ira Hayford and Joseph
Frost Paul at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition and Declaration, on the 20th November 1869,
pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act,
1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, BE IT KNOWN,
that we, IRA HAYFORD and JOSEPH FROST PAUL, of Boston, in the
County of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS we are in the possession of an Invention of "CERTAIN IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF LAYING OR CONSTRUCTING WOODEN PAVEMENTS FOR
STREETS, ETC., AS WELL AS A NEW AND USEFUL PROCESS FOR PREPARING WOOD
FOR PAVEMENTS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto us, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the
same, and have made solemn Declaration that we are the first and true
Inventors of said Invention.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Ira Hayford and Joseph Frost
Paul, do hereby declare that the following. Complete Specification, under
our hands and seals, fully describes and ascertains the nature of said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and
by the following statement :-
In the Drawings accompanying this statement Figure 1 is a per-
spective representation; and Figure 2. a. vertical section of an example
of pavement embodying our Invention.
This Invention relates to a class of street pavement now coming into
general use, composed of a continuous series of rectangular blocks
of wood placed upon end upon a suitable foundation and properly
secured together, such Invention having for its object the production of
a pavement of this class which shall be equally solid and durable with
any heretofore constructed, and which may be prepared and laid with
much less expenditure of time and money than under any mode
previously adopted.
A point of novelty in this Invention by which we are enabled to
secure the advantages of low cost and of strength and durability a
will be found to exist primarily in the fact that the entire pavement,
including substructure. or foundation; is composed entirely of wood,
while secondarily, an existing advantage in the adoption of our Inven-
tion will be seen in the ease and celerity with which the blocks of
wood composing it may be prepared and laid down.
Another peculiar feature in our Invention which gives it prominence
and value as compared with others now in use results from the ability
to remove and relay, without any extended disturbance, small portions
of it should it be found desirable to excavate below the surface of the
earth (which frequently becomes necessary in large cities where pave-

page_text: ments are universally employed), a further resultant advantage of a
pavement, as herein-after explained, being that the laying of the blocks
may be begun at and continued from any point in the entire width of
the street.
In Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings to which allusion has already been
made as accompanying this Specification and which illustrate our Inven-
tion, a portion of a street pavement laid as contemplated by us is shown
at A, in which a, a, etc. represent a series of thin and narrow strips of
wood or stringers, which are to be laid upon the surface of the earth
composing the bed of the street, these stringers being deposited with
contracted intervening spaces for reasons of economy in the use of
material, and for permitting escape of any water which may find its
way between the blocks of wood composing the substructure, although
in practice we claim that it is nearly impossible for moisture to pass
between them. These stringers laying upon the convex surface of the
carth necessarily assume an arched outline, which as their ends abut
against the curbstones which bound the streets imparts a certain degree
of elasticity as well as strength to the pavement, and aids to a great
extent in preventing indentations in its surface or sinking of a portion
of its component blocks in isolated spots..
The blocks of wood composing in aggregate the superstructure of the
pavement are represented individually at b, b, etc. in the Drawings
as rectangular in general outline, oblong in cross section, and preferably
with their height exceeding their width, the latter being somewhat less
than that of the stringers. The blocks are laid end on upon the stringers
in the manner as represented, that is, each alternate block is placed in
the centre of each stringer, while the intermediate blocks are placed over
the blank spaces between the stringers and resting at each edge upon
the surface of the latter, these blank spaces as before observed admitting
escape of water should any find its way between the blocks of wood.
Each block 6 is scored upon its two opposite sides longitudinally, as
shown at c, such scores, when two blocks are united, forming an
enclosed groove for the reception of a series of tongues d, d, composed.
of long attenuated strips of wood, which should. tightly fill the groove
in order to bind the series of blocks firmly together. The upper edges
of the two opposite sides of each block are chamfered, as shown at e, e,
etc., the union of two blocks or two series of blocks thus prepared

page_text: producing ridges in the general surface of the roadway and securing a
firm foothold for horses.
In laying a street with the pavement above described the stringers
(if such are to be employed) are laid upon the surface of the bed of the
street, and transversely thereof, with their ends abutting against the
contiguous curbstone. A series of blocks are to be secured together by
one of the tongues d, d, until a line sufficiently long to extend entirely
across the street is produced, when the series are to be placed upon the
top of the stringers as represented in the accompanying Drawings.
Another scries of blocks are then to be driven upon the projecting
tongue, and closely up against those already laid, until a second line is
formed extending across the street in like manner to the first, and so on
until the street is paved to the desired extent.
We are aware that previous to our present Invention many and
various modes of laying wooden pavements have been adopted, several of
which approximate more or less closely thereto. For instance in the
well-known Stafford pavement a series of blocks are employed provided
with dovetailed grooves upon opposite sides and joined by a double
dovetailed tongue. A number of blocks are thus joined together
sufficient to form a section of wood about two feet square, and a pave-
ment is produced by laying a series of theso sections side by side until
the road bed is filled. In many instances some of these sections are apt
to become misplaced or sunken with injurious effects. The employment
of the dovetailed grooves and double tongue in the Stafford pavement do
not permit the use of a continuous tongue extending entirely. across the
street, nor of applying a block independently or in any particular spot
upon the series previously laid, as the blocks must be driven upon the
tongue from one end.
By the adoption of the tongue and groove as shown in our Invention
we are enabled to secure the practical benefits of a continuous block
in addition to the advantages resulting from the case and rapidity with
which the individual blocks may be applied.
It will be apparent from the foregoing explanation and as has already
been observed that the laying of the blocks upon one another may be
begun and continued from any desired point in the entire street. Should
it become necessary for any purpose to take up a small portion of the
pavement laid as above described the desired number of blocks are to

page_text: be cut out and removed without disturbance to those remaining. To
substitute new blocks for those removed the excess of wood below the
groove upon each side upon such as are to be inserted is removed, which
will allow of their being driven directly into place. Or another mode of
effecting the last-mentioned result would be after the removal of the
desired number of blocks to cut off a small portion of the end of each
exposed tongue, which will allow the blocks to be first lowered upon the
stringers or foundation, and then driven upon the tongues.
.
We would remark that in practically carrying out of our Invention it
may be found beneficial for obvious reasons of economy to dispense with
the stringers a, a, and deposit the blocks directly upon the surface of
the ground, as the employment of a continuous tongue enables this to be
done without danger of sinking of any single block.
Modifications of our pavement are shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5 of
the accompanying Drawings. In the first-mentioned Figure (3) the
strips a, a, etc. extend longitudinally of the street in place of trans-
versely, as in Figure 1, the pavement in other respects being the
same.
Figure 4 represents the binding or supporting tongues d, d, etc. as
received within scores or grooves c, c, formed in the bottom of each
block b.
Figure 5 represents a series of blocks and their foundation strips of
wood a, a, as entirely isolated from each other, the intervening spaces
being filled with concrete, or the blocks alone may be thus separated
and provided with concrete filling, the supporting strips a, a, being
arranged in any suitable manner.
We will now describe our process of treating wood, and although one
important object of this process is to effect the preservation and, if
desirable, hardness and density of wood for the requirement of wood
pavement, the wood so prepared is susceptible of various uses, and is
especially valuable for the manufacture of butter and lard firkins, and
boxes, water pails, etc., the process to which the wood is subjected
having the effect in addition to its preservation of rendering it com-
paratively tasteless and odorless, as well as proof against changes in
temperature of the atmosphere, and against penetration and absorption
of liquid or oleaginous substances.

page_text: :
The object heretofore sought in artificially treating wood has been to
arrest its decay, for the purpose of building bridges, wharves, navigable
vessels, fences, etc., and the substances employed to effect this object
have had the effect of tainting and discoloring the wood, while our
Invention, on the contrary, in addition to the preservative properties
has the effect of deodorizing the wood and of discoloring it to a very
little extent, while it adds in a very marked degree to the depth and
richness of its color, which is of great value in the manufacture of
fine furniture.
Produce dealers and housekeepers, as well as pail and tub manufac-
turers, have long felt the need of some effective means of removing the
taint of various kinds of wood, since a very large quantity of butter and
lard, as well as other kindred substances, becomes more or less im-
pregnated and contaminated, and in many cases spoiled by absorbing the
tainted and disagreeable moisture and gases from the wood of the vessel
in which they are packed.
Another important object sought in our experiments and effected by
our Invention has been to render the wood impervious to the penetration
by and escape of lard, etc., the loss from this source alone in large
establishments being of great moment.
Our present Invention is intended to deodorize wood to a greater or
less extent, according to its nature, to preserve it, to render it proof
against penetration by liquid and oleaginous substances, and to insure it
against changes in its condition from the effect of varying temperatures,
as well as to retard its decay, another object of the Invention being to
render wood fireproof, and for some uses to increase its specific gravity
and density.
The substance we employ to preserve this wood and render it com-
paratively odorless and tasteless, as well as impervious to moisture or
oleaginous substances by injection into its pores and tissues, is paraffine
or palm oil, while the substance we adopt to render it fireproof is
carbonate of ammonia, or an analogous chemical agent, while to increase
its hardness or density and, when desirable, its specific gravity we com-
bine with the paraffine and carbonate of ammonia a quantity of silicate
of sodium, or in place of.it powdered soapstone, an additional effect or
advantage of either of these last two being that they aid in imparting a
brilliant polish to the surface of the wood.

page_text: Among the many processes heretofore adopted has been that of per-
meating the pores and tissues and cellular structure of the wood by the
vapors of evaporated water and of fatty or oleaginous substances, the
water vapors expanding the pores and cells, as well as expelling moisture
and gases therefrom, the oleaginous matters following the escape and
supplying the place of moisture, &c.
In carrying out this mode of impregnation of wood various devices
have been adopted by different Inventions, and our apparatus will be
found to add to this number, since its basis is the penetration of the
pores of the wood by oleaginous vapors mingled with or held in
suspension by steam, which becomes the vehicle for conveying these
vapors into said pores.
So far then our process of impregnation of wood by foreign substances
may be said to follow in the steps of our predecessors, but in the peculiar
application of materials employed and in the effects produced, as well
as in local and characteristic details of apparatus our Invention will be
seen to possess several points of novelty and usefulness not found in
previous Inventions of its class.
We are aware that vessels for containing lard and other oleaginous
food have been dipped in melted paraffine, the object being to deposit
an impervious coating on the surfaces of the wood. This however very
imperfectly accomplishes the object sought, since the coating of paraffine
soon wears off.
In carrying out our Invention we produce, as shown in Figures 6, 7,
and 8, a strong generator or structure A of wrought iron or other
material capable of resisting an internal pressure of thirty pounds to
the square inch, the interior of this structure at once serving the
double purpose of a generator and a treating chamber for the pre-
paration of wood. The substances within the structure or chamber A
may be evaporated by heat applied directly to the under surface and
walls of such structure, but for various reasons we prefer to evaporate
its contents by steam admitted in a suitable manner or within a
suitable pipe to its interior. Within the chamber A and upon or
near the floor we create two side enclosures a, b, formed by erecting
partitions c, d, lengthwise of the structure, and covering the area
between such partitions and the walls of the structure with forami-
nous plates e, e, or their equivalents, the enclosures or tanks a, b,

page_text: thus produced being for reception of the paraffine or palm oil as well
as the fireproof and hardening substances when employed in the
process. A steam pipe g is conducted from an ordinary generator into
close proximity to the exterior of the structure A where it is divided, onc
branch or that marked in the accompanying Drawings being carried
in a serpentine or irregular direction throughout the two water tanks or
generators and returned to the outside of the structure, while the other
branch or that marked i is made to course throughout the area of the
paraffine tank f, the extremity of this latter pipe also being carried to the
outside of the structure. This simple arrangement of parts constitutes
the apparatus employed by us in carrying out our process. The wood
to be treated is placed within the chamber A and upon suitable racks
or supports after the manner of other devices for the purpose. The
water tanks a and b aro then to be partially filled with water and the
central tank supplied with a proper quantity of paraffine or palm oil,
the fireproof and hardening materials being also added if desirable when
steam is to be admitted into the branch pipes g and h before mentioned
until the contents of the several tanks are vaporized and the wood
thoroughly saturated with the resulting vapors, when the steam passing
through the said pipes is to be shut off the evaporation within the
chamber A being stopped. The vapors resulting from the evaporation
of water and from the liquifaction and ensuing evaporation of the
paraffine unite, and filling the chamber A circulate about all parts of
the wood contained therein. As before observed theso vapors fill and
expand the pores and tissues of the wood, coagulate the albumen therein,
and drive therefrom the tainted moisture and impure or injurious sub-
stances, tho resulting condensation, evaporation, and escape of the vapors
within and from the pores allowing the paraffine held in suspension to
deposit itself in a thin film upon the interior surface of the said pores
and about the tissues. The watery particles of the vapors then fall to
the bottom of the tanks a, b, and f, while the paraffine in excess of the
amount first entering the pores of the wood settles itself over the surface
of the water, and by preventing escape of moisture therefrom produces a
dry and warm atmosphere within the chamber A, which soon completes
the dessication of the wood. The fireproof and hardening substances
before referred to are also taken in suspension and deposited within the
pores and about the tissues of the wood with the results before stated.
One object in placing the wood in heating chamber A before heating the

page_text: water and paraffine is that by gradually raising the temperature of said
chamber we obviate the checking and cracking of the wood which often
takes place upon subjecting it suddenly to the action of hot vapors.
Large sums of money have heretofore been expended and many and
elaborate experiments conducted in the attempt to preserve wood in
such manner that lard shall not escape through its pores and tissues, the
amount of loss from this source being much greater than uninformed
persons are aware of. The paraffine or palm oil not only as before
stated protects wood from changes in temperature or climate, but renders
it impervious to liquid or oleaginous substances and deodorizes or
otherwise produces such effect upon it that no injurious taste or
odor is imparted to the lard or other food by contact with "it.
The natural decay of wood is also retarded to a great extent as before
observed. We are aware as before stated that the pores of wood have
been saturated with steam to expel their impuritics, and liquid or
oleaginous substance in a cold state or a solidified state allowed to
condense this steam and to enter and fill the pores of the wood. This
mode required a liquid substance, and all the liquid substances heretofore
used to preserve wood possess in a greater or less degree injurious
odors and tastes, consequently for the purpose for which our Invention
was originated they would be valueless. Under this mode also tho
preserving agents entered and entirely filled the pores of the wood.
Should paraffine be employed in treating wood in such quantities as to
fill the pores, as would be the case in other processes, it might be justly
urged that the expense would render its adoption nonfeasible. By
filling the pores of the wood with the combined vapors of water and
paraffine, as in our Invention, and then checking the evaporation we gain
a very important advantage, since the amount of paraffine thus held in
solution or suspension is not sufficient to fill the pores, but necessarily
deposits a thin film upon their inner circumference, and about the.
tissues or fibres of the wood. As an evidence of the economy of our use
of paraffine we would state that we are daily treating large quantitics
of wood at an expense not exceeding that demanded for other modes of
treatment. For the purpose of furniture making the color of wood
treated by our process is rendered very much deeper and richer, and as
this effect extends entirely through the wood moisture or wear will not
change or injure this color, as is now the case. The silicate of sodium,

page_text: while increasing the weight of the wood by increasing its density, also
adds very much to the facilities for polishing it.
We claim the herein-before described improvements in producing and
laying wood pavements and process for treating wood, or any changes
or modifications in such pavement or process as shall effect substantially
like results.
In witness whereof, we, the said Ira Hayford and Joseph Frost
Paul, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the 7th of October
1869
IRA HAYFORD.
(L.S.)
JOSEPH FROST PAUL. (L.S.)
IRA HAYFORD.
(L.S.)
JOSEPH FROST PAUL. (L.S.)