Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Articles from Paper Pulp and the like.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 14th July, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 14th May, 1897-Accepted, 10th July, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Articles from
Paper Pulp and the like.
I, EDWARD CARSTENSEN DE SEGUNDO, Consulting Engineer, of 28 Victoria Street,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to the manufacture of articles from paper pulp and the
like; preferably from straw pulp or wood pulp or some pulp which has a fibrous
character.
According to this invention moulds having fixed and movable sections, the latter
being preferably operated hydraulically and moved in directions normal or
approximately normal to the surface of that part of the article which they are
intended to form, are used to form a great variety of articles, which when thus
produced possess great strength and neatness of finish, and leave the apparatus in
a condition of fitness for immediate service without requiring any considerable
subsequent finishing treatment.
Where ornamentation is to be imparted to the product, this may be conveniently be
done by forming upon the pressure surfaces of the mould-sections ornament in
intaglio which is to come out in relief upon the product and vice versa.
It is an important feature of this invention that the pulp is heated during a portion
of the period in which it undergoes compression in the mould; conveniently this
heating can be effected by steam-jacketting various part of the mould, or otherwise.
Preferably the heat should be applied on all sides of the article under treatment.
Another important feature of this invention is that the guides of the movable-
sections, at the parts where they join in the interior of the mould are not allowed to
present sharp angles to the surface of the article being formed, but instead are
bevelled off or otherwise so arranged as to form clearances. It is found that part
of the pulp in this clearance is forced into the article and does not remain in the
clearances; thus without producing any irregularity of form the finished articles are
made stronger where these masses coalesce instead of being weaker as they are apt
to be in articles made from pulp by the processes ordinarily employed. Means are
provided to enable the liquid in the moist pulp to escape during compression;
conveniently the pressure-surfaces of the moulds are perforated, or constituted by
wire gauze or the like laid as a facing upon escape-channels or grooves for the
liquid.
Articles of very various forms are producible by this process, and hollow articles
are as readily obtainable as those which are solid, provided that for the former,
suitable cores are employed upon which the pulp is compressed. Where the hollow
articles are of such form that a solid core could not be withdrawn from them at the
completion of the operation, collapsible cores, or cores made in pieces and adapted
to be taken out of the finished article in sections, are used. For instance, a seamless

page_text: barrel may be produced by compressing the pulp on to such a core one head being
fixed after the core is withdrawn. A hollow door knob is producible in analogous
fashion.
As an example of a solid and ornamented article a panel with moulding and other
ornamentation upon it may be mentioned.
If desired, starch, or other leguminous or binding material is mixed intimately
with the pulp before the latter is subjected to compression, so that in the final part
of the process the moist starch or leguminous substance is cooked by the heat applied
as aforesaid and caused to swell and burst its cell structure.
Dated this 14th day of July 1896
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Articles from
Paper Pulp and the like.
I, EDWARD CARSTENSEN DE SEGUNDO, Consulting Engineer, of 28 Victoria Street,
in the County of Middlesex, 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 :-
This invention relates to the manufacture of panels, and similar articles of more
or less tabular form, plain or with mouldings or other ornamentation upon them,
from "paper pulp" and the like; preferably I employ straw or wood pulp, or some
pulp which has a fibrous character.
I form such panels or the like in a mould having fixed and movable sections, the
latter being preferably operated hydraulically. Where ornamentation is to be
imparted to the product, this may conveniently be done by forming upon the
pressure-surfaces of the mould-sections ornament in intaglio which is to come out
in relief on the product and vice versa.
An important feature of this invention is that the several sections of the mould
at the parts where they come close together just at the completion of the
compression-process, are provided with clearance spaces so that the meeting parts
do not present sharp angles to the surface of the panel or other article. By the
provision of clearances in this manner there is a slight excess of pulp between the
different masses opposite the several moving parts of the mould, and it is found that
this excess is forced into the article and does not remain in the clearance spaces;
thus without producing any irregularity in form the finished article is made stronger
where these masses coalesce, instead of being weaker as they would be in articles
made from pulp by the processes ordinarily employed. Means are provided to
enable the liquid in the moist pulp to escape during compression; conveniently the
pressure-surfaces of the moulds are perforated, or constituted by wire or other gauze
or the like laid as facing upon escape-channels or grooves for the liquid.
It is also an important feature of this invention that the pulp is heated and kept
hot throughout the latter portion of the period in which it undergoes compression in
the mould; conveniently this heating can be effected by steam jacketting the various
parts of the mould or otherwise. Preferably the heat should be applied on all sides
of the article under treatment.
If desired starch or other leguminous material is mixed intimately with the pulp
before the latter is subjected to compression, so that in the final part of the process
the moist starch or leguminous substance is acted upon by the heat applied as
aforesaid and caused to swell and burst its cell structure; by such swelling it
produces an internal pressure causing the resulting adhesive mass to permeate and

page_text: 5
subsequently dried and hardened.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is a plan partly in section and
Fig. 2 a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 of one construction of apparatus by
which this invention may be carried into practice.
Figures 3 and 4 are views, similar respectively to Figs. 1 and 2 of an alternative
construction of such apparatus.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
) A is a fixed mould; its walls A¹ serve as guides to the plungers BCDEF of
hydraulic rains used to compress the pulp G in the space between them and the
bottom A2 of the mould cavity, to form, in the example illustrated, a door.
Clearances A', triangular in shape are formed in the walls A¹ of the mould at the
angles at which the surfaces of these walls forming guides for the plungers BCDEF
meet; that is to say the surfaces guiding the plungers are bevelled at their meeting
places where otherwise sharp angles would exist, and by this bevelling, clearances
such as A³, Figs. 1 and 2, are produced. The disposition of these clearances with
regard to the plungers will be clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2, in which the plungers are
shown in the positions they occupy upon completion of the operation of compression.
It is understood that the several plungers complete their movement simultaneously.
The plunger B has its under surface formed to the shape of one side of the door
to be produced and is fitted on its upper side with two or more piston rods B¹, by
which pressure is applied to it. The bottom of the mould cavity is shaped to
conform to the desired surface of the underside of the moulded article.
Spaces B2 A formed in plunger B and mould A respectively, communicate with
steam supply pipes, and serve as steam jackets to enable the pulp to be kept hot
while under pressure. Steam may be taken to the jackets by means of a flexible or
other pipe or hose. The bottom of the mould is faced upon its interior with a
perforated plate A5 having its upper surface formed to the shape of the side of the
door to be moulded by it, the perforations A' in this plate A communicate with
the exterior of the mould by channels A' which. allow any superfluous moisture in
the pulp to make its escape during compression. Similar provision for drainage
may be inade if desired in the other pressure surfaces of the apparatus, as in the
plungers B in the examples illustrated.
To construct a door or panel or similar article pulp is put into the mould, steam
is admitted into the jackets B2 A, and pressure applied to the several
plungers BCDEF by which the pulp is gradually compressed into the desired
form, the pressure and heat being maintained to complete the consolidation of the
pulp, after the expulsion of the moisture as aforesaid.
In the modifications illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 the plungers CDE and F are
dispensed with and the pressure is applied to the moulded article by a single moving
plunger B only.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A door or panel or similar article composed of fibrous pulp-material, produced
by compressing the pulp in a mould and applying heat at the same time
substantially as described.
2. A door or panel or similar article composed of fibrous pulp-material produced
by compressing the pulp in a mould and applying heat, clearances such as A³ being
left between the fixed and movable sections of the mould substantially as described
and illustrated in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.
3. A door or panel or similar article produced by compressing fibrous pulp
material mixed with a leguminous substance, heat being used during the operation.
4. In apparatus such as described for the manufacture of doors panels and the
ike, perforated pressure-surfaces for the purpose described.

page_text: 5. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete apparatus
for the manufacture of doors, panels and similar articles substantially as described
and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 or Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying
drawings.
ED. C. DE SEGUNDO.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.