IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING WOOD TO PRESERVE AND COLOR IT, AND IN APPARATUSES TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, E. C., Editor of the "Mechanics' Magazine," and
Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING WOOD TO
PRESERVE AND COLOR IT, AND IN APPARATUSES TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN."-
A communication from Messieurs Lègé and Pironnet.
Sealed the 21st December 1858, and dated the 21st June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald
Brooman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 21st June 1858.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, E. C., Editor of the "Mechanics' Magazine," and Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING
WOOD TO PRESERVE AND COLOR IT, AND IN APPARATUSES TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN,"
(communicated to me by Messieurs Lègé and Pironnet, foreigners residing
abroad,) to be as follows:-
These improvements consist, first, in extracting the air from the pores or
cells of the wood to be treated in a close vessel, in then admitting steam, which
may or may not be superheated, to the said vessel, which steam will enter,
heat, and expand the pores or cells of the wood, in then withdrawing the steam,
and finally in forcing, preserving, or coloring fluids into the said vessels, and

page_text: into the expanded pores or cells of the wood. The preserving fluids employed
are the metallic salts in solution, principally the sulphate of copper, with which
is sometimes combined sea salt, or sulphate of soda, or both. The coloring
fluids employed may be of any suitable kind.
The improvements consist, secondly, in the employment, for the purpose
described, of a cylindrical or other vessel, with a movable end or cover
attached to it by hooks or screws, with a ring of india-rubber between the two,
with which vessel are also combined a pump for exhausting it, a boiler for
supplying it with steam, and reservoirs for supplying it with preserving and
coloring fluids, together with suitable pipes, taps, valves, pressure gauges, &c.
The improvements consist, thirdly, in treating telegraph posts and other
pieces or lengths of wood by smoothing one of the ends of each, and placing
upon the smoothed end a ring of india-rubber, and against that a disc or discs
of wood or other material, so as to form a closed chamber within the india-
rubber ring, and by forcing a preserving fluid into this chamber, under great
pressure, hydraulic or other, until the said fluid is caused to penetrate and pass
through the timber, saturating the same; the discs are temporarily secured to
the ends of the posts by bolts or screws, or otherwise, and have a hole in the
centre to admit the fluid. By connecting a number of flexible pipes to one
feed pipe, and hydraulic or other apparatus, and leading each flexible pipe to
a post, any number of posts may be treated simultaneously.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office.
on the 21st December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, E. C.,
Editor of the Mechanics' Magazine and Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with; and no others,

page_text: from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING WOOD TO PRESERVE
AND COLOR IT, AND IN APPARATUSES TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN," a communication
from Messrs. Légé and Pironnet, foreigners residing abroad, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
These improvements consist, first, in extracting the air from the pores or
cells of the wood to be treated in a close vessel, in then admitting steam, which
may or may not be superheated to the said vessel, which steam will enter,
beat, and expand the pores or cells of the wood, in then withdrawing the
steam, and finally, in forcing, preserving, or coloring fluids into the said vessel,
and into the expanded pores or cells of the wood. The preserving fluids
employed are the metallic salts in solution, principally the sulphate of copper,
with which is sometimes combined sea salt, or sulphate of soda, or both. The
coloring fluids employed may be of any suitable kind.
The improvements consist, secondly, in the employment for the purpose
described, of a cylindrical or other vessel, with a movable end or cover
attached to it by hooks or screws, with a ring of india-rubber between the two,
with which vessel are also combined a pump for exhausting it, a boiler for
supplying it with steam, and reservoirs for supplying it with preserving and
coloring fluids, together with suitable pipes, taps, valves, pressure guages, &c.
The improvements consist, thirdly, on treating telegraph posts and other
pieces or lengths of wood, by smoothing one of the ends of each, and placing
upon the smoothed end a ring of india-rubber, and against that a disc or dises
of wood or other material, so as to form a closed chamber within the india-
rubber ring, and by forcing a preserving fluid into this chamber under great
pressure, hydraulic or other, until the said fluid is caused to penetrate and pass.

page_text: through the timber, saturating the same. The discs are temporarily secured
to the ends of the posts by bolts or screws or otherwise, and have a hole in the
centre to admit the fluid. By connecting a number of flexible tubes to one
feed pipe, and hydraulic or other apparatus, and leading each flexible tube to
a post, any number of posts may be treated simultaneously.
By means of this Invention a continuous current of steam may be passed
through or into the wood under treatment, and withdrawn from the same by
the action of the condenser, so that it will not condense in the pores of the
wood. The employment of a separate condenser in communication with the
vessel containing the wood also prevents that cooling down of the said vessel
which results from the system of direct jet condensation. If the preserving
and coloring solutions be introduced hot, they will tend to still further distend
the pores of the wood which the steam has already distended, and thus to
impregnate the wood more effectually than otherwise.
In Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed is illustrated an apparatus
constructed according to this Invention. A is the cylinder or vessel containing
the wood to be treated; B is a boiler for supplying steam to the cylinder A,
and for working the air pump G, and the force pumps H, H', which may be
vertical or horizontal; C, C', and D, D', are reservoirs for the preserving and
coloring fluids; E is a reservoir for water; F is a condenser, the upper part
of which communicates by a pipe, furnished with a cock with the cylinder A,
and in like manner with the force pumps H, H. The lower part of the con-
denser communicates with the air pump G. The operation is as follows:-
Steam is admitted from the boiler B to the cylinder A, to heat and expand the
wood, the degree of heat being regulated according to the dryness of the wood
and the season of the year. After sufficient time for this purpose has elapsed,
the steams turned off, the cock of the pipe leading from the condenser F to
the cylinder A is opened, so that the action of the cold water which enters the
condenser from the force pumps H, H¹, may expel the steam that is left in the
cylinder. There is a cock to let off the condensed steam from the cylinder;
a current of cold water is established, and then the air pump G is put in
motion to form a partial vacuum in the cylinder, which vacuum should be as
perfect as possible. Communication between the cylinder and the condenser
is then closed; the vacuum formed, the preserving and coloring fluids are
introduced into the cylinder, by the aid of syphons, at a pressure varying from
10 to 12 atmospheres according to the nature of the wood under treatment, and
this pressure is maintained by the force pumps for about five minutes, which
will be a sufficient length of time for the wood to become completely saturated
with the fluids. The wood may then be removed into the compartment

page_text: d, in which there may be a fresh supply of wood for treatment in the cylinder
A.
c, c, are lines of rails on which are wagons b, for supplying and removing
the wood; d¹ is a truck which traverses across the end of the cylinder A, and
receives the wagons 6 from either line of rail c, to carry them directly in front
of the cylinder A; Figure 2 shews a section of the cylinder A.
Another form of apparatus particularly adapted for treating long pieces of
wood, such as telegraph posts, &c., is represented in Figure 3. A is a
hydraulic press, from the foot of which are led three pipes, one to the force
pump B, another C, for conveying the preserving fluid, and the third to the
manometer D. On the pipe C are soldered a number of small copper pipes;
on which are fixed flexible tubes closed by being doubled up and tied by cords,
as seen at c, c, c. F is a reservoir for the preserving fluid. The fluid is driven
by the force pump B from the reservoir F into the hydraulic press A, causing
the piston a to rise. The amount of pressure will be indicated by the mano-
meter D, and can be increased, if not sufficient, by means of the weights b, b¹.
When the pressure is properly regulated, the cock communicating with the
pipe C is turned, and the fluid being driven forward by the descent of the
piston, fills the pipes C and the flexible tubes c, c, c. The pipe C is supported.
by the wooden trough d, d', which receives all the fluid that oozes out from the
small tubes and from the wood under treatment, carrying it back to the
reservoir F. One end of each piece of wood to be subjected to the operation
of the apparatus is made smooth and an india-rubber ring 9, Figures 5 and 6,
is placed against it, and against this india-rubber ring are fixed, by bolts or
screws h, h, discs of wood or other material e, e¹, so as to form a closed chamber
within the india-rubber ring. The pieces of timber are then placed against
the pipe C, and the flexible tubes c, c, c, are untied, one of such tubes being
fastened to each piece of timber through an aperture at f in the discs. The
preserving solution being driven forward into the chambers formed by the
india-rubber rings and the discs, is caused to penetrate and pass through the
timber, completely saturating it. This completes the process. Instead of
using a hydraulic press, an elevated cylinder, like that shown at G, Figure 4,
may be used; in this case the pipe i will take the place of the force pump B
in Figure 3, and the pipe j that of the pipe C. In order that the pressure on
the fluid may be properly regulated, all the pieces of wood treated at the same
time should be of equal length. For pieces of about 30 feet in length, the
pressure should be about one atmosphere. The hydraulic press, the cylinder,
the force pumps, and the pipe should all be of copper if a solution of sulphate
of copper be the preserving fluid employed.
The wood should not be used for about two months after treatment, in order

page_text: to allow time for the water forced into it to evaporate, and to prevent the
sulphate of copper or other salt crystallizing or combining with the albumen
of the wood.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that I do not confine myself to
the forms of apparatuses described and illustrated, as they may be variously
modified; but I claim,-
First, the methods or processes of treating wood for the purposes of pre-
serving and coloring it, by first extracting the air from its pores in a close
vessel, admitting steam therein, condensing the steam, and finally forcing in
preserving or colouring fluids, or both, as herein-before described.
Secondly, the construction of apparatuses to be employed in the treatment
of wood, essentially as herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1
and 2 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
And, thirdly, the method of forming a temporary chamber on the end of a
piece of timber, and of admitting steam and forcing fluids therein, so as to
impregnate the wood by the means and in the manner herein-before described
and illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of December, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
R. A. BROOMAN.
(L.S.)