IMPROVEMENTS IN NON-CONDUCTING COMPOSITIONS FOR PREVENTING THE RADIATION OR TRANS- MISSION OF HEAT OR COLD
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Leadbetter, of Homerton, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
NON-CONDUCTING COMPOSITIONS FOR PREVENTING THE RADIATION OR TRANS-
MISSION OF HEAT OR COLD."
Sealed the 25th June 1875, and dated the 6th May 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Leadbetter at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th May 1875.
I, HENRY LEADBETTER, of Homerton, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the 'said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN NON-CONDUCTING COMPOSITIONS FOR PREVENTING THE RADIATION OR
TRANSMISSION OF HEAT OR COLD," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the prevention of loss of heat by radiation
from the surfaces of steam generators, steam pipes, and other like
surfaces, and to a peculiar non-conducting composition to be applied
to such surfaces.

page_text: In carrying out my Invention I coat the surface to be treated with
a peculiar non-conducting composition herein-after described, and I
protect such composition from the action of the atmosphere after
it has been applied by a wash or coating of the nature herein specified.
My improved non-conducting composition or coating consists of the 5
following ingredients, or some of them, in or about the proportions
given, namely,-
Cow dung
4 parts by weight.
Clay
Wood fibre
-
2
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2
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Animal or vegetable
fibrous substances, or
wool or hair.
"
1
33
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The animal or vegetable fibrous substances may consist of woolen
or cotton waste known as shoddy" and "flock," or the shreds or 1
waste of other textile or fibrous substances, or hay, or straw; or in lieu
thereof the cuttings of animal or human hair may be substituted, the
object of the said fibrous substances being to form a bond for holding
the mass firmly together.
The whole of the ingredients to be used in this composition are to be 2
well ground and mixed together in any well-known manner so as to
form a pasty mass, which is then applied by the aid of a trowel or
otherwise to the surface to be coated, the thickness of the said coating
varying, say, from about 2 inches upwards, according to the nature
of the surface to which it is to be applied. After the said coating has a
become dry the surface is washed over with a protecting wash composed
of a solution or mixture of alum and quicklime in water; or in lieu of
the alum, tallow or other fatty matter may be substituted, the object
of such outer wash or coating being to protect the non-conducting
composition from the action of the atmosphere. In some cases slate
dust may be substituted for the clay or cow dung above mentioned.
Although I have given the best proportions I am aware of at
present I reserve the right to vary such proportions as circumstances
may require.
The same non-conducting composition is obviously equally applicable
in cases where absorption of caloric is to be avoided.

page_text: filed by the said Henry Leadbetter in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th November 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
LEADBETTER, of Homerton, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Leadbetter, Her special
license that I, the said Henry Leadbetter, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Leadbetter,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, 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 NON-CONDUCTING COMPOSITIONS FOR PREVENTING THE RADIATION
OR TRANSMISSION OF HEAT OR COLD," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Henry Leadbetter, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, 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 Henry Leadbetter, 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 :-
:-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar non-conducting composition for
application to the external surfaces of steam generators, pipes, and other
surfaces with a view to preventing the radiation or transmission of heat
or cold; also to a protective coating or wash for the said composition ;

page_text: and consists in the employment in such compositions of wood fibre in
combination with plastic and binding substances or materials.
In practice I have obtained good results from the admixture or
combination of the following ingredients in or about the proportions
given, namely,―
wool or hair.
To the above I sometimes add soot to the extent of about 10 per
cent. of the whole mass, and in some cases about 1 part by weight
of slate dust may be substituted for a corresponding proportion of the
clay or the cow dung.
66
The animal or vegetable substances may consist of cotton waste or
shoddy" or flock," or the shreds or waste of other textile or fibrous
substances, or hay, or straw chopped into lengths of about 1 inch
to 2 inches; or in lieu thereof the clippings or cuttings of animal
or human hair may be substituted, the object of the said fibrous sub-
stances being to form a bond for holding the mass firmly together.
The whole of the ingredients employed in the said composition are
to be well ground and mixed together with water in any well-known
manner so as to form a pasty mass, which is to be applied to the surface
to be coated by the aid of a trowel or otherwise, the thickness of the
said coating varying, say, from about 2 inches upwards, according to
the nature and to the more or less exposed situation of the said surface.
After the said coating has become dry it may in some cases be protected
by a surface protecting wash composed of a solution or mixture of
about 1 lb. of alum and 2 lbs. of quicklime in about 2 gallons of water;
or in lieu of the alum the same quantity of tallow or other flatty matter
may be substituted, the object of such wash or coating being to protect
the non-conducting composition from the injurious action of the atmo-
sphere. In many cases however the before-mentioned protective wash
may be dispensed with.
Although I have found the ingredients and proportions herein-before
{

page_text: best results in practice, I do not confine or restrict myself precisely
thereto so long as the wood fibre is employed in combination with
suitable plastic or adhesive and binding substances in or about the
proportions given.
This composition is obviously equally applicable where absorption of
caloric is to be avoided, as well as to those cases where it is desired to
prevent loss of heat by radiation.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I
consider to be novel and original and therefore claim as the In-
vention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,
First. The employment of wood fibre in the manufacture of non-
conducting compositions in combination with suitable plastic or adhesive
and binding substances, such for example as cow dung or clay, as and
for the purpose herein-before described.
Secondly. The manufacture and use of the peculiar non-conducting
composition herein-before described for the purposes specified.
Thirdly. The application and use of the herein-before described
peculiar external protective coating or wash for non-conducting com-
positions, as and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Leadbetter, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of November, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.