Method and Apparatus for Saturating, Vulcanizing, and Oxidizing Fibrous Materials, in the Production of Material to be used for Insulating and other purposes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Nov., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 30th Aug.. 1898-Accepted, 1st Oct., 1898
Method and Apparatus for Saturating, Vulcanizing, and Oxidizing
Fibrous Materials, in the Production of Material to be used for
Insulating and other purposes.
I, FREDERICK LAMPLOUGH, of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, in the United States of
America, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
follows:-
as
The apparatus consists of two suitably arranged sealed tanks capable of with-
standing both heat and pressure.
The fibrous material to be treated is placed in
the primary tank at an angle to allow of properly draining off the surplus oils when
being emptied. The tanks are connected so that one forms a secondary or storage
tank for the purpose of draining into after the process, which is as follows.
For the purpose of saturating the material, the primary tank is charged with
readily oxidizable resins or the like, and a proportion of non-oxidizable oil which has
been refined in the usual manner. The idea of placing a non-oxidizable oil with the
resinous mixture is to prevent brittleness of the after product. The temperature is
then gradually raised to slightly above the boiling point of water for the purpose of
expelling all air and dampness that may be in the material under treatment; this
being thus volatilised, is driven out through an ordinary condensing apparatus. When
the whole of the air and water has been extracted, the temperature is gradually
increased, everything of a volatile nature being distilled over, until the vulcanising
point is reached. This has to be varied according to the material under treatment,
some fibrous materials vulcanizing at a much lower temperature than others; the
action is now one of saturation at a temperature that will vulcanize at the same time
and change vegetable fibre into a solid homogeneous mass similar to vulcanite. After
being kept at this temperature for some hours, the time being usually determined
after a few experiments, the material ready for the next process, viz. that of
oxidizing. This can be done in many ways, by suspending the material in a warm
current of perfectly dry air, from which it will readily extract the oxygen, which,
combining with the resinous portion of the mixture held in suspension by the
material, causes it to harden, but in the first instance it is necessary before leaving
the vats (it being too tender to handle) that a protective coat or skin should be
formed; to do this a communication between the primary and storage tank is
opened, and air being pumped into the primary tank, the fluid contents are
discharged into the storage tank and the communication closed. The air is then
allowed to accumulate at a pressure of a few atmospheres, being constantly changed
for a few hours, by which time the material is sufficiently oxidized to be removed
from the tanks. It is then subjected to hydraulic pressure for the purpose of
increasing its density and removed to the dessicating chamber and kept at a
suitable temperature until the necessary hardness is reached, when it can be removed
ready for the market.
The principal point to be observed in the successful production of the material is
the treatment at an absolute temperature during the process. This is accomplished
by means of an automatic regulating device made as follows.

page_text: In the tank is suspended a metal tube or flask, which is charged with a volatile
fluid such as alcohol, water, &e. On the desired temperature being reached, the
pressure generated in this flask is made to impinge upon a diaphragm, which in
turn comes upon the gas valve, reducing the gas supply to burner and maintaining
a constant temperature throughout the entire operation.
Lo 1007
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
Method and Apparatus for Saturating, Vulcanizing, and Oxidizing
Fibrous Materials, in the Production of Material to be used for
Insulating and other purposes.
I, FREDERICK LAMPLOUGH, of 5, Green Terrace, Rosebery Avenue, in the County
of London, but formerly of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, in the United States of America,
Engineer, 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:-
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for treating fibrous materials for
the production of material to be used for insulating and other purposes.
In carrying out the method or process forming this invention there is employed a
resin resins or resin oil or both which is conveyed into a mass of fibrous material by
means of a suitable non-oxidizable oil which will act as a vehicle and have sufficient
penetrating effect to carry the resin into the material and thoroughly saturate it
therewith, the complete process including other steps among which are the driving
off by a destructive distillation of the non-oxidizable oil and the oxidizing of the
rest of the mass. By the employment of resins as the base a material having
excellent electrical insulating properties is obtained and one which has no acid
reaction to affect any metal conductors used therewith.
The invention will be described by the aid of the accompanying drawings in
which
Figure 1 is a general view of the apparatus shown in side elevation.
Figure 2 is an end elevation showing an arrangement of four tanks and their
connections.
Figure 3 is a vertical section.
Figure 4 is an end elevation and Figure 5 a plan partly in section of one of the
tanks, all these three being on an enlarged scale.
Figure 6 is a vertical section and Figure 7 a side elevation of an automatic
regulating device for ensuring a constant temperature during the process.
The apparatus consists of two suitably arranged sealed tanks capable of withstand-
ing both heat and pressure. At Figure 2 there are represented four of these tanks
arranged side by side with discharge pipes a¹ and valves a² so arranged that any pair
of adjacent tanks can be so connected and used that either may serve as the primary
tank whilst the other serves as the secondary or storage tank. It may be here
remarked that other numbers of tanks may be employed and when using more than
two they may be so connected that any one of them may be used as the primary
tank and any other as a secondary or storage tank.
The tanks may be heated by gas jets acting on the bottom thereof or by other
means, that which is preferred consisting as represented in the drawings of a steam
coil a arranged within the tank at the bottom and up one end thereof and in order
to effect a circulation of the fluid contents of the tank a circulation plate as is fixed
over that part of the steam coil which is at the bottom of the tank and another

page_text: circulation plate a over that part of the steam coil which is at the end of the
tank so that the more highly heated fluid matters shall rise within the space between
the end circulation plate a6 and the end of the tank and shall flow over the upper
edge of such plate a and thus maintain a constant circulation of such fluid matters.
The tanks are also each provided with an air pipe a7 at one end connected to a
compressed air reservoir 6 by a tube as fitted with a stop cock a³ and such reservoir b
is supplied with compressed air by a suitable pump. One end of the steam coil a4 is
connected by a pipe ao to a steam trap c whilst the other end is connected by a'
pipe all to a boiler. On this pipe all is fixed' an automatic heat regulating device E
which is constructed and operates in the following manner :-
in
In the tank a is suspended a metal tube or flask & which is charged with a volatile
fluid such as alcohol, water or the like. This flask is by a pipe di connected to the
pressure regulating device E which is constructed as follows: e is a chamber fitted
with an elastic metal diaphragm e¹ the pressure from the tube or flask d acts on one
side of this diaphragm whilst the latter by its other side acts on one end of a valve
rod e² on the other end of which is a valve e acting in connection with a seat
the valve body e³. Thus on the desired temperature being reached in the tank the
pressure generated in the tube or flask d conveyed by the pipe d¹ is caused to
impinge on the diaphragm e¹ which in turn presses on the valve e³ thereby reducing
the supply of steam to the coil at and maintaining a constant temperature through-
out the operation. Adjustably weighted arins e act on the valve rod e² to keep it
in contact with the diaphragm e¹. If however gas is used as the heating.medium
then the regulating device would be fixed on the gas pipe and the supply of gas to
the burners regulated to that necessary to maintain the required temperature.
A pressure gauge fis fixed on the pipe d¹ to facilitate regulation of temperature
and a gauge glass g in communication with the tube or flask d is fitted to each tank.
The flasks are charged half-way up the gauge glass with preferably condensation
water.
The fibrous material to be treated may be either hemp, cotton, wood fibre, peat
fibre, or other loose fibre, or it may be in the form of nill board or in any other con-
venient form. When the fibrous material is in the form of mill board, it is placed on
edge within the tank a which for the time being is used as the primary tank and
preferably leaning at an angle against the sides thereof to allow of properly draining
off the superfluous oils with which the material is to be treated previous to the said
primary tank being emptied after the process. When in the forin of loose fibre the
material is placed in trays or cages suspended in the tank to allow of the drainage of
the oils therefrom.
For the purpose of saturating the material, the primary tank is charged with
readily oxidizable resins or the like or resin oil or both resins and resin oil and a
proportion of refined non-oxidizable oil preferably a fish oil which has been produced
by a process in which the fish is treated in boiling water or water somewhat under
that temperature the oil given off being immediately removed such as by a current
of water so that it is pure and uncontaminated, a feature not possessed by fish oils
produced by the ordinary process of steaming at a high temperature wherein the oil
is contaminated by a prolonged contact with the blood and mass besides being
affected by the high heat employed. The fish oil produced by the improved process
aforesaid is preferably refined in the usual way before use. Such oil is both pure and
very penetrating in its action which causes it to form an excellent vehicle for con-
veying the resins into the fibrous mass. It has been found that ordinary fish oils are
not as effective and in most cases quite unsuitable, as they contain, gummy and
objectionable matters which destroy their properties as a vehicle for carrying the
resins. The present invention however is not confined to the use of this one oil as
other non-oxidizable oils which will act as a vehicle and are otherwise fully suitable
may be employed. Together with the other materials there may be added powdered
sulphur if required.
The temperature within the tank is now gradually raised to slightly above the
boiling point of water for the purpose of expelling all air and dampness that may be

page_text: in the material under treatment. The gases are driven out from the tank through
an outward pipe a³ which may terminate in any ordinary condensing apparatus.
When the whole of the air and water has been extracted, the temperature within the
primary tank is gradually increased, everything of a volatile nature being distilled
over and passing away by the pipe a³, until what is herein termed the vulcanizing
point or temperature is reached. At this point the material is completely saturated
with the resins. This point has to be varied according to the material under treat-
ment, some fibrous materials saturating at a much lower temperature than others.
The effect of this saturation at the above temperature is to change the vegetable fibre
into a homogeneous mass which after subsequent treatment will have the characteristics
of vulcanite. After being kept at this temperature for some hours, the time being
usually determined after a few experiments, the material is ready for the next
process viz. that of oxidizing. This can be done in many ways; one which has been
found to answer consists in suspending the material in a warm current of perfectly
dry air, from which it will readily extract the oxygen, which, combining with the
resinous portion of the mixture, held in suspension by the material, causes it to
harden, but in the first instance, it is necessary before leaving the tanks (it being too
tender to handle) that a protective coat or skin should be formed; to do this a com-
munication between the tank which for the time being is used as the primary tank
and that which is used as the storage tank is opened by means of the cock or valve a²
on the pipe a¹ and on air being pumped into or compressed air being admitted to
the primary tank from the reservoir b the fluid contents of said primary tank are
discharged into the storage tank and the communication cock or valve a² is closed.
The air is then allowed to accumulate at a pressure of a few atmospheres being con-
stantly changed for a few hours, by which time the material is sufficiently oxidized to
be removed from the tanks. After these two steps it is subjected to a hydraulic
pressure for the purpose of increasing its density and removed to any suitable
arrangement of desiccating chamber and kept at a suitable temperature until the
necessary hardness is reached, when it can be removed ready for the market.
It has not been thought necessary to show in the drawings any particular arrange-
ment of desiccating chamber as such will be well understood and any suitable
arrangement may be employed.
The principal point to be observed in the successful production of the material is
the treatment of the materials at a uniform temperature during the process. This is
accomplished by means of the automatic heat regulating device d, E as hereinbefore
described.
Complete satisfactory results have been obtained by treating the following materials
in the various proportions, at the several temperatures and for the different periods
stated, viz.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. In the manufacture of material to be used for insulating and other purposes,
submitting vegetable fibre, together with an oxidizable resin or resin oil or both, and
a non-oxidizable oil as a suitable refined fish oil, to the action of a heat which is
destructive to the non-oxidizable oil, and to oxidation as and for the purposes
described.
2. The method of manufacturing material to be used for insulating and other
purposes by submitting vegetable fibre in a suitably heated hermetically closed primary
tank and in presence of oxidizable resins or the like and a proportion of non-oxidizable
oil to a gradually increasing heat until all air, dampness and volatile matters are
driven off continuing the action of such heat upon the material until the vegetable
fibre is changed into an homogeneous mass, and then discharging the fluid contents
from the primary tank into a secondary or storage tank and oxidizing pressing and
drying the material substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. The method of manufacturing material to be used for insulating and other
purposes by 1, placing vegetable fibrous material within a suitably heated hermetically
closed primary tank. 2, charging the said primary tank with oxidizable resins or
the like and a proportion of non-oxidizable refined oil. 3, gradually raising the
temperature within the primary tank to slightly above the boiling point of water until
all air and dampness are expelled from the materials under treatment and driven out
from the primary tank. 4, gradually raising the temperature within the primary
tank until everything of a volatile nature has been distilled over and the desired
temperature reached. 5, maintaining this high temperature until the vegetable fibre
is changed into an homogeneous mass. 6, opening communication between the
primary tank and a secondary tank and admitting air under pressure to the primary
tank to discharge the fluid contents from the latter into the secondary or storage tank.
7, closing the communication between the two tanks. 8, admitting air under pressure
to the primary tank and constantly changing it for a few hours to oxidize the
material and thereby produce a protective coat or skin to enable it to be handled.
9,removing the material from the primary tank and submitting it to a further oxidizing
and hardening process. 10, subjecting the material to pressure to give it the required
density and 11, placing the material in a desiccating chamber until the necessary
hardness is reached substantially as herein set forth.
4. In apparatus employed in the production as hereinbefore described of material
to be used for insulating and other purposes the combination of two or more tanks
connected together and usable as a primary and secondary or storage tanks, con-
nections with valves between such tanks, means for supplying air under pressure to
such tanks, a discharge aperture on each tank for air, moisture and volatile distillates,
means for heating each tank and ensuring circulation of the liquid contents thereof,
and means controlled by the temperature of the tanks for maintaining a constant
temperature in same during the vulcanizing process substantially as herein shewn and
described.
5. The method and apparatus for saturating vulcanizing and oxidizing vegetable
fibrous materials in the production of material to be used for insulating and other
purposes substantially as herein set forth and as illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
6. The improved product or material suitable for insulating and other purposes
produced substantially as hereinbefore described.
11
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent,
For the Applicant.