Year: 1897

page_text: A clerical error in the original Specification having been amended by
the Patentee with the consent of the Comptroller, the printed Specification
will now read as shown below:-

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Aug., 1897-Accepted, 18th Sepi., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Manufacture of Hard, Dense, Horny, Cellulose Material.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
in the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention (as communicated to me from abroad
by the Firm of Vereinigte Köln-Rottweiler pulverfabriken, Cologne, Germany,
Manufacturers) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
The object of this invention is the production of a hard, dense, horny material,
from fibrous cellulose without the use either of mechanical pressure or of a solvent
or of a cementing material or of any other chemical agent.
It is well known that if in the preparation of paper pulp, the pulping is carried
so far as to reduce the length of the fibres of the cellulose to less than I to
2 milimetres the felting power of the material is reduced and ultimately destroyed.
Now my correspondents have found that if the pulping is carried still further, so
as to reduce the cellulose to an impalpable condition in which its fibrous structure
is no longer apparent, even without the assistance of any solvent or any cementing
or binding material, yield a hard, dense, horny material which can be used
advantageously as a substitute for horn, vegetable ivory, wood and the like.
The manner in which this invention is carried out is as follows:-
I take ordinary fibrous cellulose (either in the natural state or prepared by
mechanical appliances or chemical means, but preferably such, as has been freed
from incrusting materials by any suitable process), and grind or cut the same with
the addition of water in a rag engine or pulping machine, until it is reduced to
an impalpable condition in which the fibrous structure of the cellulose is no longer
apparent. In this manner a large number of cells, which in the imperfect manner
in which cellulose now is generally cut or pulped remain closed, are opened up
and brought into contact with the water. A finely divided cellulose pulp is thus
obtained from which a part of the water can be drawn off by means of a very
dense filter.
I thus obtain a kneadable paste which can be further freed from part of its
water by treatment in a filter press or by rolling or by means of a centrifugal
machine, until only 60 to 90 per cent. of water will be present in the mass. The
paste is moulded into any desired form and left to dry either in the open air or at
gentle heat of about 40° C. In the process of drying the cellulose condenses or
shrinks up and forms a hard tough mass, of 1.4 to 1.5 specific gravity, which I
term "Cellulith." It can be worked with tools like wood, horn, vegetable ivory
and the like and can be used for imitation of ivory, horn, wood, lapis &c.
It is essential that the grinding cutting or pulping should be carried to the
utmost extent, as otherwise it will be found that the shrinking of the paste in
drying, which is the characteristic feature of this invention does not take place
to any considerable extent and consequently the final product does not shew either
the high specific gravity or the horny aspect of "Cellulith."
If it is desirable to obtain the "Cellulith" in a perfectly pure and homogenous
condition it will be found advantageous to have the pulp, such as it proceeds from

page_text: the rag engine, first boiled by admission of steam or otherwise in order to make
the air contained in the pulp escape, whereupon the pulp may also be poured
through a sieve which is fine enough to retain any impurities and all such particles
of cellulose as have not been pulped completely.
The hardness and density of "Cellulith" can within certain limits, be varied
and controlled by adding to, and mixing with the liquid pulp or with the plastic
mass, prior to drying, finely divided substances which are either soluble in water
or not, such as heavy spar, lamp black, salts, or the like which, according to the
purpose in view may either be left in the mass or subsequently washed out partly
by treating with water.
"Cellulith" may also be coloured in any desired manner by adding colouring
materials to the pulp or the paste.
Although an addition of solvents or cementing material to the cellulose is not
necessary for the production of "Cellulith" it may be advantageous in some cases
to add some such substances, such as dissolved shellac or caoutchouc to the mass;
especially when it is desirable to make "Cellulith" waterproof.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
-
A new manufacture consisting of cellulose in a hard tough horny condition, with
or without admixture of other substances, produced by grinding or pulping fibrous
cellulose in water until it is reduced to an impalpable condition in which the
fibrous structure is no longer apparent, removing part of the water to bring it to
a pasty consistency and allowing it to dry in the open air or with application of
a gentle heat, whereby it is caused to shrink and form a hard, tough material,
substantially as described.
Dated this 16th day of August 1897