Year: 1888

page_text: I, ERNEST CHONET DE BOLLEMONT of Rethel (Ardennes) in the Republic of France,
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this Invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:—
My Invention has for its object the manufacture of a vegetable fibre from wood.
This novel product manufactured from wood according to my Invention is not in the
form of a shaving or thin strip but is a true filament or fibre resembling horse hair
being capable of resisting extension or strains exerted in the direction of its length
and possessing great flexibility, qualities which enable it to be applied to a variety of
useful purposes as hereinafter set forth.
To obtain this novel product I employ machinery similar to the machinery ordinarily
employed for making fine shavings such as are sometimes employed for packing fragile
articles etc. but I modify the construction of the apparatus as follows for the purposes
of my Invention.
To obtain the new wood fibre according to my Invention I provide the machine
with a series of knives or cutters preferably made from thin steel bands such as are
employed for springs for example. These knives or cutters are arranged so closely
together in the machine as to enable them to cut or divide the wood in such a manner
as to enable the machine to produce a corresponding number of fine filaments being
operated by mechanism constructed on the same principles as the mechanism ordinarily
employed in the manufacture of the aforesaid fine wood shavings. By these means I
obtain a very fine fibre of great strength and flexibility.
The new product thus obtained is capable of a multitude of useful applications.
For example it may be employed with advantage as a substitute for hemp in the
manufacture of cords string carpets or other woven fabrics and the like or as a
stuffing for mattrasses cushions and the like in place of the cotton wool or other
materials heretofore employed.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a front elevation of an apparatus
used for adjusting the tool employed for making wood fibre according to this invention.

page_text: Figure 2 shews the apparatus in plan and figure 3 in vertical section. Figure 4
represents a detail hereinafter described and figure 5 represents a cutter holder or
block T carrying the planing and scratching or grooving tools. According to this inven-
tion this block differs materially from those ordinarily employed in machines employed
for making the shavings heretofore employed for packing and other like purposes. The
blocks or cutter holders as employed in the said machines are provided with two
apertures as indicated in the drawing at B and B' for the reception of two planing
irons so that as the block travels to and fro the wood is planed in both strokes the
grooving or scratching tool being placed in an opening A between the openings B
and B. In order to make the extremely fine and delicate fibres forming the object of
the present invention the employment of two planes is inadmissible in practice because
wood that is planed in both directions does not work well the fibres being dragged
torn strained and crumpled. According to this invention the opening B¹ for example
is dispensed with and one plane iron only is used working always in one direction being
placed in the opening B for example. This single acting plane combined with the
grooving or scratching tool in the opening A enables the machine to produce filaments
of great length which are not strained and are capable of resisting tensional and torsional
strain being in fact a product hitherto unknown.
In machines of this class as heretofore constructed from 60 to 80 cutters or
scratching blades are employed to fill the opening provided for their reception.
According to this invention on the contrary about 24 or 25 blades are arranged in the
space of one centimetre (about 60 to the inch). Thus in a machine with an opening
7 inches wide for example about 400 cutters are placed side by side in one row.
These cutters are preferably made of thin steel blades such as the thin steel employed
for crinoline and like springs. These blades are very carefully sharpened at one end
so as to present a cutting edge truly in the centre of the thickness of the blade. By
means of the adjusting mechanism indicated in the drawing the whole of the blades
arranged side by side are adjusted in such a manner that the cutting point of each
blade truly coincides with the same level or plane surface n¹ n' fig. 1.
The scratching or grooving tool thus constituted is placed in the opening A and is
securely fixed there by the aid of screws c fig. 5. The block of wood operated on is
stationary being supported at each end by two toothed or serrated feed cylinders
driven by an endless screw or worm in opposite directions and causing the wood to
descend as it is cut away the planing and scratching cutters being placed underneath
the wood. The scratching blades necessarily precede the plane and scratch the surface
to a suitable depth being followed by the plane which removes or slices off the fibres or
filaments.
The mode of construction and of regulating the grooving or scratching tool before
it is placed in the opening in the plate of the plane are illustrated in figs. 1. 2. and 3.
This adjusting apparatus is constructed with a horizontal bar S of iron perforated in a
vertical direction by an opening or slot M of a length n n fig. 1. The steel blades or
cutters C (about 400 in number) which form the cutting or scratching tool are adjusted
in this opening and are pressed together by screws which act on both sides of the
apparatus upon keys or plates which are of the same width as the blades and support
the latter at each side.
The scratching tool proper is thus composed of the upper bar S carrying the blades C
in its opening M M the said blades being fixed by the screws acting on the plates l.
Before giving the final turn to the screws it is necessary to regulate the tool with
mathematical precision that is to say to adjust the points of all the cutting edges
truly in one line n¹ n¹ fig. 1. For this purpose a regulator S¹ is employed.
This regulator forms a lower bar fixed to the bed plate P and presenting an
opening N N through which the blades are passed in the same way as in the
opening M M in the upper bar S. A steel straight edge truly levelled is placed
under the bar S¹ and serves as a support against which all the edges of the blades are
adjusted. All the parts are kept in place by means of angle irons or squares m m
which are forced against the blades by screws v¹. When the tool is properly adjusted
* the screws vv are made quite tight the screws are loosened and the tool is

page_text: removed bodily from the support S¹. The tool thus fixed and adjusted is now ready
to be placed in the opening A in a planing plate or block such as that represented in
fig. 5 (but provided with only one planing iron) where it is firmly fixed by means of
serrated or toothed wedges or filling pieces d fig. 4. The machine can then be worked
as hereinbefore described to produce the wood fibres or filaments.
I am aware that fine thin shavings of about an eighth of an inch in width have been
manufactured from wood but these shavings are only fit for use in packing and a few
other applications of relatively insignificant importance and I make no claim to the
manufacture of shavings of this description.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1st. The manufacture of vegetable fibre from wood substantially as herein before
described.
2nd. The manufacture from wood of fibres or filaments of great fineness which are
regular and capable of resisting strains in the direction of their length and torsional
strains being applicable for spinning cord making and other like purposes by means
of a machine provided with a plate or block T partaking of a reciprocating motion
and provided with one opening for the planing iron and one opening for the scratching
or grooving tool and acting in one direction only the said scratching or grooving tool
being constructed with thin blades fixed and adjusted substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
3rd. The new fibre obtained from wood and capable of being employed for textile
and other purposes substantially as hereinbefore described.