IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT. OR MANUFACTURE OF CAOUTCHOUC
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT.
OR MANUFACTURE OF CAOUTCHOUC."-A communication.
Sealed the 8th July 1858, and dated the 24th February 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 24th February 1853.
I, WILLIAM JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT OR MANUFACTURE OF CAOUTCHOUC" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, in the first place, to the treatment of the raw
juice of the caoutchouc tree in such manner that the juice shall remain
in a fluid state without deterioration; and secondly, the after treatment
of such fluid matter for the production of a new article or raw material
of manufacture.
Shortly after the milk or juice is collected it is strained, and has

page_text: then added to it a quantity of the concentrated liquor of ammonia or
other ammoniacal matter; the mixture is then well mixed, when it will
remain in a white fluid state capable of transportation and use as a
preserved material if kept in air-tight receptacles.
For the production of a new article of manufacture from this com-
position it is run out on a suitable surface, and submitted to slow
evaporation: this gradually solidifies the layer so poured out, and the
mass becomes a new article of manufacture, very elastic, and tough,
and transparent, and suitable for all the ordinary uses of caoutchouc, as
well as many others not yet in existence.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Johnson, in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 18th August 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for IIerself, Ier heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Johnson, Her special licence
that I, the said William Johnson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Johnson, my executors,
administrators, or 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 "IшPROVEDENTS IN THE
TREATMENT OR MANUFACTURE OF CAOUTCHOUC," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Johnson, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the

page_text: 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 William Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the saine
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, that is to say:
The said Invention relates, in the first place, to the treatment of the
raw juice of the caoutchouc tree in such manner that the juice shall
remain in a fluid state without deterioration; and secondly, to the after
treatment of such fluid matter for the production of a new article, or
raw material of manufacture. Shortly after the milk or juice is col-
lected it is strained, and has then added to it a quantity of the concen-
trated liquor of ammonia, or other ammoniacal matter, or any com-
bination of nitrogen and carbon. The mixture is then well mixed,
when it will remain in a white fluid state, capable of transportation
and use as a preserved material, if kept in air-tight receptacles. For
the production of a new article of manufacturo from this composition,
it is run out on a suitable surface, and submitted to slow evaporation.
This gradually solidifies the layer so poured out, and the mass becomes
a new article of manufacture, very elastic, and tough, and transparent,
and suitable for all the ordinary uses of caoutchouc, as well as many
others not yet in existence.
I shall now describe the special system of manufacture which I
prefer for accomplishing these improvements. The milk or juice
of the caoutchouc or india-rubber tree is collected by tapping the
trees in the ordinary manner, the liquid so obtained being permitted
to flow into suitable vessels of clay or other material. When the
liquid is collected, and before it has time to sour from atmos-
pheric exposure, that is to say, within about three hours from the time
that the liquid is produced, it is strained through a clean cloth, or
filtering fabric or strainer, into a clean tin or glass vessel. When
this is done, concentrated liquor of ammonia, or ammonia in any other
:',

page_text: form, or compounded to produce a like result, or any combination
or compound of nitrogen and carbon, is added to the liquid or juice in
the proportion of about one fluid ounce of the liquor of ammonia to
every pound weight of the juice. In this mixture I prefer the concen-
trated liquor of ammonia as the added ingredient, and I also prefer the
proportions which I havo stated; but these proportions are variable
within reasonable limits. After this admixture the composition is
thoroughly mixed up, so as to be perfectly incorporated. The com-
position so produced is still a liquid under exposure to the atmosphere,
and its colour remains equally as white as when drawn from the tree.
In this state it may then be put up in air-tight cases or vessels for
transportation or after use; tin cases or glass bottles being used by
preference for this purpose. When thus treated and packed, the
mixture may
be preserved for any reasonable length of time, and it
may be conveyed to any part of the world, whilst it still retains its liquid
state and pure white colour suitable for manufacturing purposes, and
in many respects far superior to the smoked or common india-rubber
of commerce.
For the production of a new and original article of manufacture from
this substance, it is poured or run on to plates of glass, or polished
metal, or glazed paper, or other suitable receiving surface of the desired
size and form. In this condition it is subjected to slow atmospheric
evaporation, either in the open air or at the ordinary atmospheric
temperature, or at a temperature of from seventy-five to one hundred
degrees of Fahrenheit. By this treatment the liquid portion of the
spread-out mass is dissipated, leaving behind it a solid mass, very elastic
and tough, and comparatively transparent or translucent, and possessing
properties distinct from all other known substances. Such manu-
factured substance is of great utility, and may be used as the material
for, or be employed in, the manufacture or production of a great
variety of articles, embracing those for which previously known caout-
chouc compounds have been used, together with many others for which
the material has not hitherto been used.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or

page_text: carried into effect, I may observe in conclusion that I do not confine
or restrict myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have
had occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made
therefrom without deviating from the principles or main features of the
Invention; but what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent, is,—
First, the system or mode of treating or manufacturing the milk or
juice of the caoutchouc or india-rubber tree as herein-before described.
Second, the application or use, in combination with caoutchouc
milk or juice, of the concentrated liquor of ammonia or ammoniacal
matter in any other form, or any combination of nitrogen and carbon.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Johnson, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this sixteenth day of August, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three.
WILLIAM JOHNSON. (L.B.)

page_text: In the Matter of Letters Patent granted to William Johnson, of 47,
Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow,
North Britain, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE TREATMENT OR MANUFACTURE OF CAOUTCHOUC," bearing date
the Twenty-fourth February, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three, and assigned to Samuel Thompson Armstrong, of New York,
in the United States of North America..
DISCLAIMER proposed to be entered by the said Samuel Thompson Arm-
strong at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents for Inventions,
pursuant to the Statutes in that case made and provided.
WHEREAS since the date of filing the Specification of the said Patent I
have found that exceptions may be taken to certain parts of the same:
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Thompson Armstrong, do hereby
disclaim the words "or other ammoniacal matter, or any combination of
"nitrogen and carbon," which occur at the second and third lines from

page_text: the top of Sheet two in the filed Specification; and I further disclaim the
word "or," occurring on the twenty-second line of Sheet two, between
the words "form" and "compounded," and also in the same phrase the
words "or any combination or compound of nitrogen and carbon." In the
claim, towards the end of the Specification, I strike out the word "First," and
also the whole of the second claim, commencing "Second, the application
or use, &c."
And I hereby declare that the said Specification, when so amended, will read
as follows:-
The said Invention relates, in the first place, to the treatment of the raw
juice of the caoutchouc tree in such manner that the juice shall remain in a
fluid state without deterioration; and, secondly, to the after treatment of such
fluid matter, for the production of a new article or raw material of manu-
facture. Shortly after the milk or juice is collected it is strained, and has
then added to it a quantity of the concentrated liquor of ammonia. The
mixture is then well mixed, when it will remain in a white fluid state, capable
of transportation and use as a preserved material if kept in air-tight recep-
tacles. For the production of a new article of manufacture from this compo-
sition it is run out on a suitable surface and submitted to slow evaporation.
This gradually solidifies the layer so poured out, and the mass becomes a
new article of manufacture, very elastic and tough and transparent, and suit-
able for all the ordinary uses of caoutchouc, as well as many others not yet in
existence.
I shall now describe the special system of manufacture which I prefer
for accomplishing these improvements. The milk or juice of the caoutchouc
or india-rubber tree is collected by tapping the trees in the ordinary manner,
the liquid so obtained being permitted to flow into suitable vessels of clay
or other material. When the liquid is collected, and before it has time to
sour from atmospheric exposure, (that is to say) within about three hours
from the time that the liquid is produced, it is strained through a clean
cloth or filtering fabric or strainer into a clean tin or glass vessel. When
this is done, concentrated liquor of ammonia, or ammonia in any other
form compounded to produce a like result, is added to the liquid or juice,
in the proportion of about one fluid ounce of the liquor of ammonia to
every pound weight of the juice. In this mixture I prefer the concen-

page_text: trated liquor of ammonia as the added ingredient, and I also prefer the
proportions which I have stated, but these proportions are variable within
reasonable limits. After this admixture the composition is thoroughly mixed
up, so as to be perfectly incorporated. The composition so produced is
still a liquid under exposure to the atmosphere, and its colour remains
equally as white as when drawn from the tree. In this state it may then
be put, up in air-tight cases or vessels for transportation or after use, tin
cases or glass bottles being used, by preference, for this purpose. When thus
treated and packed, the mixture may, be preserved for any reasonable
length of time, and it may be conveyed to any part of the world, whilst it
still retains its liquid state and pure white colour, suitable for manufacturing
purposes, and in many respects far superior to be smoked or common india-
rubber of commerce.
For the production of a new and original article of manufacture from this
substance, it is poured or run on to plates of glass or polished metal, or glazed
paper, or other suitable receiving surface of the desired size and form. In
this condition it is subjected to slow atmospheric evaporation, either in the
open air or at the ordinary atmospheric temperature, or at a temperature of
from seventy-five to one hundred degrees of Fahrenheit. By this treatment
the liquid portion of the spread-out mass is dissipated, leaving behind it a
solid mass, very elastic and tough, and comparatively transparent or trans-
lucent, and possessing properties distinct from all other known substances.
Such manufactured substance is of great utility, and may be used as the
material for, or be employed in, the manufacture or production of a great
variety of articles, embracing those for which previously known caoutchouc
compounds have been used, together with many others for which the material
has not hitherto been used.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or
restrict myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had
occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom
without deviating from the principles or main features of the Invention; but
what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Inven-
tion secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,

page_text: the system or mode of treating or manufacturing the milk or juice of the
caoutchouc or india-rubber tree, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Thompson Armstrong, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight, hundred and fifty-five.
S. THOMPSON ARMSTRONG. (L.B.)
To the Commissioners of Patents for Inventions.
I hereby grant my fiat, giving leave to the above-mentioned Samuel
Thompson Armstrong, assignee of the Patent granted to William Johnson,
24th February 1858, to file in the Great Seal Patent Office, with the Speci-
fication to which the same relates, the above-written Disclaimer..