A NEW OR IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF MATERIAL COMPOUNDED OF CORK AND FIBROUS PULP
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Imray, of Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF
MATERIAL COMPOUNDED OF CORK AND FIBROUS PULP." A communication
from abroad by Achille Brüll and Pierre Besson, of Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Imray at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th December 1876.
JOHN IMRAY, of Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex. "A NEW
OR IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF MATERIAL COMPOUNDED OF CORK AND FIBROUS
PULP." A communication from abroad by Achille Brüll and Pierre Besson, of Paris,
France.
This Invention consists in the production of a new material compounded of cork
and fibrous pulp, such as is used for paper, the said material being applicable to a
variety of uses, such as those to which cork or pasteboard or papier maché is usually
applied, and also to other purposes, for which the peculiar character of the material
renders it suitable. It is porous, soft, light, a bad conductor of heat and sound,
whilst it is strong, continuous, and coherent in texture, and capable of being made
in a variety of shapes and dimensions. It can be used for corks, for nonconducting
casing of boilers, pipes, and the like, for soles, for shapes of hats and bonnets, for
gun wads, for floor cloths analagous to kamptulicon or linoleum, for linings under
carpets, for facing of walls, for partitions and parquet flooring, for the packing of
goods, for frames and ornamental mouldings, stamped, carved, or moulded; and the
material may be coloured, and have its surface covered with paper, gilt, painted, or
otherwise decorated, as desired.
In manufacturing this material, cork pulverised by grating, sawing, or grinding,
or cork in chips or small fragments is intimately mixed with paper pulp in excess
of water, and the mixture is kept agitated so as to promote the felting of the pulp
fibres or their envelopment of the particles of cork. The proportions of the mixture
may be varied according to the quality and purpose of the material desired to be
produced. A very good proportion is one part by weight of cork to three parts of
pulp.

page_text: Fragments or cuttings of the material itself may be used over again with suitable
proportions of fresh cork and pulp, and for part of the cork may be substituted
sawdust of soft wood. After intimate mixture and agitation by any known pug-
ging or mixing apparatus, such as is ordinarily used for paper pulp, a great portion
of the water is expelled either by pressure or centrifugal action, or it may be
poured off after subsidence, and then the material is farther dried either by exposure
to the air or by artificial heat.
The material, whether in a somewhat moist state or after complete drying, is
pressed or formed into sheets in the same manner as pasteboard or papier maché,
or moulded into the desired forms.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Imray in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th June 1877.
JOHN IMRAY, of Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex.
"A NEW
OR IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF MATERIAL COMPOUNDED OF CORK AND FIBROUS
PULP." A communication from abroad by Achille Brüll and Pierre Besson, of
Paris, France.
This Invention consists in the production of a new material compounded of cork
and fibrous pulp, such as is used for paper, the said material being applicable to a
variety of uses, such as those to which cork, pasteboard, or papier maché is usually
applied, and also to other purposes for which the peculiar character of the material
renders it suitable. It is porous, soft, light, a bad conductor of heat and sound,
whilst it is strong, continuous, and coherent in texture, and capable of being made
in a variety of shapes and dimensions. It can be used for corks, for nonconducting
casing of boilers, pipes, and the like, for soles, for shapes of hats and bonnets, for
gun wads, for floor cloth analagous to kamptulicon or linoleum, for linings under
carpets, for facing of walls, for partitions and parquet flooring, for the packing of
goods, for frames and ornamental mouldings, stainped, carved, or moulded; and the
material my be coloured, and have its surface covered with paper, gilt, painted, or
otherwise decorated, as desired
In manufacturing this material, cork pulverised by grating, sawing, or grinding,
or cork in chips or small fragments is intimately mixed with paper pulp in excess
of water, and the mixture is kept agitated so as to promote the felting of the pulp
fibres or their envelopment of the particles of cork. The paper pulp employed
should be of strong fibre that has a decided tendency to felt and that solidifics well,
reduced to moderate length; pulp weakened by strong bleaching agents should be
avoided. Thus good results are obtained with pulp rags of good quality, or with
pulp from the waste of linen or hemp thread, or from old ropes; the pulp may be
either with or without size. The cork may, in cases where no great elasticity is
required, be partly replaced by soft wood in the same condition as above mentioned.
If the cork is in the form of powder it may be used direct, but it is always advisable
to classify it by sifting into different degrees of fineness. If the granules are too
large the fabric will have a rough irregular texture, which would make it unsuited
for many applications. If, on the other hand, it is reduced to too fine a powder
the fabric will have no elasticity, consequently, it is advisable to remove the coarser
and also the finest grains, the remaining different degrees being used according to
the purpose of the fabric. If the cork is not in a finely divided state it should be
reduced to such state by grinding in mills or by rasping, or preferably by masti-
cating or tearing machines. Processos that have a tendency to produce very fine
powder should be avoided. The woody particles of the cork should also be rejected,
and if it exists in any quantity in the small cork it should be removed by sifting
or by the process of separating, according to difference of gravity in water or air.
The proportions of paper pulp and cork used vary according to the use to which the

page_text: product is to be put. For two parts of cork one to six parts of pulp may be used.
When little pulp is used a very light and elastic product is the result, resembling
very much cork itself, but having little consistency and unsuitable for purposes
requiring strength and resistance to wear and toar. When a large proportion of
pulp is used the product is strong and resists fracture, but it has little elasticity,
and is heavy, resembling cardboard. A mixture of equal parts by weight give a
product possessing elasticity combined with consistency, lightness, and resistance to
tear, such as is suitable for gun wads.
For preparing the new compound from pulverulent cork and paper pulp already
prepared, the requisite proportions of each are first weighed out, and in certain
cases waste chips of the compound itself are added. The ingredients are then
mixed together with an excess of cold or warm water. For this purpose the
ordinary rag engine used in paper mills is most suitable, but any suitable mixing
or pugging apparatus may be used. With the rag engine, however, by adjusting
the cylinder so that there is little or no cutting action a perfect mixing combined
with a felting action is obtained, the pulp fibres being wrapped round the cork
granules. If the proper pulp is not produced beforehand the requisite rags or other
fibres are put in the rag engine, and are washed and reduced to pulp, after which
the cork is added, and the process continued as above described. When an inti-
mate mixture is obtained the material is run into a vat together with the water,
and it may then be manufactured either into sheets of any desired thickness or size,
or it may be moulded into blocks.
If it is desired to produce sheets the material is treated either in the ordinary
frames used for hand-made paper or it is passed through the ordinary continuous
paper-making machine. When using the hand frames the rims are made of a
height corresponding to the thickness of material required; they are dipped into the
vat so as to take up a quantity of the mixture, the water draining off through the
wire gauze and the frame being shaken so as to equalise the pulp; the cover is then
applied and pressed down either by hand or by a press, and the sheet is couched
upon a sheet of felt, alternate sheets of the material and of the felt being thus piled
one over the other to a sufficient height for charging into the press. The mixture
should be stirred up from time to time in the vat, not for the purpose of mixing the
ingredients, as they have no tendency to separate, but because they have tendency
to rise to the surface of the water, thus rendering the pulp at the surface more
dense than that below. The sheets are then pressed in a hydraulic or other press
so as to remove as much water as possible. If light and clastic sheets are desired
this pressure must be moderate, leaving rather more water in the sheets than with
ordinary paper or cardboard. On removal from the press the sheets are taken off
the pile one by one and placed in a drying room which may or may not be heated
by liot air or by hot water or steam pipes, after which the sheets are calendered
under moderate pressure of the rolls, varying according to the lightness desired for
the sheets, and they are finally cut to size. On account of the lightness of the
material thicker sheets can be obtained by the hand process than with ordinary
cardboard without tiring the operator. If, however, sheets of an inch or more in
thickness are desired it will be more convenient to pour the pulp on to the frame
than to dip the latter in the usual way. When made by the continuous paper
machine the fabric can be made considerably thicker than is possible with paper or
cardboard on account of the lightness and porosity of the material enabling it to
dry much more quickly. In making moulded articles of the compound it is
necessary to make the moulds in several pieces formed of porous material such as
wire gauze, plaster, perforated metal, &c. The moulds are filled with the compound,
the water is allowed to drain off, and the pulp is pressed either by hand or in a
press, and then removed from the mould and dried.
The new compound above described differs from paper and cardboard in several
respects; it is lighter, more porous and elastic, and a worse conductor of heat; it is
very durable, without defects, and susceptible of assuming a variety of shapes and
dimensions which cannot be imparted to cork by itself.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I
claim, the manufacture and use of the before-described material compounded of
cork and fibrous pulp.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Imray, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.