Improvements in the Treatment of India rubber, Gutta Percha and other Natural Elastic Substances.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 1st June, 1898-Accepted, 27th Aug., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Treatment of India rubber, Gutta Percha and
other Natural Elastic Substances.
I, DR. CHARLES REPIN, of 23, Boulevard Montparnasse, Paris, in the Republic
of France, 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 relates to improvements in the treatment of india-rubber, gutta-
percha and other natural elastic substances, and consists in the use of the oil
expressed out of the seeds of "elaeococca vernicifera and elaeococca cordata
which is named in China "tong oil" (tong-yeon) in English, wood oil and has the
property of becoming converted into a solid and elastic mass when heated for
a few minutes at a temperature of 250° C. without it being necessary to add any
foreign matter thereto.
My invention consists in utilizing the property of this oil for the preparation
of a new or improved artificial caoutchouc destined to be used as an admixture to
ordinary caoutchouc, gutta percha and the like and having as compared with
artificial caoutchouc hitherto used the advantage that it contains no sulphur.
For this purpose I gradually heat wood oil until it reaches the temperature
of 250° C. when it becomes solidified and assumes the shape of the vessel which
contains it. If desired a less solid substance may be obtained by stopping the
heating process before the complete solidification takes place.
Another oil such as linseed oil may be added to the wood oil.
The addition of any foreign matter has for its result to retard or prevent
solidification.
To incorporate solidified wood oil with caoutchouc gutta-percha and the like, I
pulverize the same in crushing machines of the kind used for pulverizing other
artificial caoutchouc. This pulverization is greatly facilitated by previously
impregnating the substance with a liquid hydrocarbon such as petroleum which
swells it and renders it more friable without dissolving it. After the evaporation
of the hydrocarbon, the substance returns to its original state and may be readily
mixed with india rubber, gutta percha and the like in the form of a powder.
With the aid of a mixing machine, wood oil in an incompletely solidified and
hence pasty consistence can be mixed with caoutchouc either in a fresh state or as
a pulverised residuum, then its solidification is completed with the aid of heat or
by the action of sulphurous chloride or of another sulphurous compound.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
The improvements in the treatment of india-rubber, gutta percha and other
natural elastic substances, whereby oil of “elaeococca” (tone oil wood will die. 1
•

page_text: by heat and with or without the admixture of foreign matter is incorporated with
the above named substances in order to produce artificial caoutchouc, substantially
as herein described.
1000
ROBERT E. PHILLIPS, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., M.I. Mech. E.,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent,
70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Associate Agent.