IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATING ON AND TREATMENT OF VEGETABLE FIBROUS SUBSTANCES TO MAKE HALF STUFF TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER AND MILLBOARDS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Court of Rotherhithe in the County of Surrey
Engineer for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATING ON AND
TREATMENT OF VEGETABLE FIBROUS SUBSTANCES TO MAKE HALF STUFF TO
BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER AND MILLBOARDS
"
#
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Court at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th February 1883.
CHARLES COURT of Rotherhithe in the County of Surrey Engineer
IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OPERATING ON AND TREATMENT OF VEGETABLE FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
TO MAKE HALF STUFF TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER AND MILL-
BOARDS
"
I do not claim any vegetable as a new material or new in use for the manufacture
of half stuff for paper making as there are scarcely any, if any, vegetable fibres
which have not been tried in some way or other for that purpose but which have
failed or partially so by reason of the imperfect and ineffectual mode of treating
them-My Invention consists in my improved mode or means of operating on and
treating vegetable fibrous substances in combination to make what is known
among paper makers as half stuff for paper making and for that purpose I employ
and use the substances and treat them according to my Invention as follows-
I use and operate spent hops, by preference from Ale brewing, from the Breweries
in conjunction with the fibres of hemp or flax (and for which as a matter of
economy I use the waste hemp or flax known as flyers) and spent tau from the
Tan Yards-Each of these substances require to be cleansed and washed separately
and the water expressed I then have the tan crushed between rollers which I
prefer to be of unequal diameter and to give a rubbing action to open up the fibres
or by other known means-The substances thus treated are then boiled or steamed
in separate vessels or revolving cylinders with Chemicals-The proportions of spent
hops hemp or flax and tan will depend on their quality and the nature of the half

page_text: stuff required For spent tan and for hemp or flax I use caustic soda as a chemical
and for the spent hops I use soda ash but I do not claim or limit myself to these
chemicals The object in having separate vessels for boiling steaming or rinsing is
to prevent as far as practicable the colouring matter from either of the substances
staining or discolouring the others-It has been found difficult in fact almost
impracticable to remove or get rid of the knots or hard substances in the spent tan
and to effect that object I put the tan after it has been treated into a rotary
cylindrical wire sieve having meshes of different sizes or all of the same size and a
spindle through it with arms or beaters thereon to remove or crush the knots and
hard substances After the tan has been removed from this sieve and again washed
and drained it is put with the hops and hemp on flax which have been treated and
again washed and drained into a revolving cylinder or vessel called a mixer with
arms or beaters on a spindle therein to commix and combine the substances-This
commixture is then removed therefrom and compressed in quantities as may be
desired--None of the boilers or other vessels should be of iron but where practicable
of wood or of galvanized tinned iron but I prefer them to be lined with lead as
now in use The substances which have been treated can be bleached in the
ordinary way Paper can be made with these prepared substances which is half
stuff in the usual manner and also millboards

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Court in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd August 1883.
CHARLES COURT of Rotherhithe in the County of Surrey Engineer. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OPERATING ON AND TREATMENT OF VEGETABLE FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
TO MAKE HALF STUFF TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER AND MILL-
BOARDS
"
I do not claim any fibrous vegetable as a new material or new in use for the
manufacture of half stuff for paper making as there are scarcely any if any
vegetable fibres which have not been tried in some way or other for that purpose
but which have failed or partially so by reason of the imperfect and ineffectual
mode of treating them. My Invention consists in my improved mode or means of
operating on and treatment of fibrous vegetable substances in combination to make
half stuff for Paper Making and for that purpose by preference I employ spent tan
from the tan yards in combination with spent hops which for the purpose of
making white or light Coloured Paper I prefer from Ale brewing but for brown
or dark coloured I can use hops used for Porter or dark beer and I have found it
advantageous to keep such spent hops for some weeks in order to sour or ferment
before they are used in combination according to my Invention and the fibres of
flax or hemp and of which as a matter of economy I use the waste flax or hemp
and treat them according to my Invention as follows
I have each of these substances or materials cleansed and washed separately
preferably by steam in a rotary Cylindrical machine having a hollow metal spindle
through it with beaters thereon and the spindle being sufficiently perforated to
allow the steam to pass through the perforations into the cylinder Such an
apparatus as I have found suitable for this purpose is represented in Figures I II
& III on Sheet I of the drawings herewith annexed Figure I shewing a side view
in Section Figure II a sectional end view and Figure III an elevation The Cylinder
marked A is mounted on Standards B B so as to be capable of being revolved in one
direction by the toothed wheel X whilst the beaters C. C. C are driven in the opposite
direction at a much greater speed by the gearing Y the axle C' on which the beaters C
are fixed is a tube of brass or metal which will not rust from moisture or alkali and
through this tube steam is introduced to the cylinder through the holes cccc The
materials to be washed are introduced to the cylinder through the manhole D the
cover of which must be removed for the purpose. The steam may be let out from
the cylinder through the taps E E and the water produced by condensation of the
steam by the tap F. This cylinder I prefer to have made of wood strongly bound
and hooped After the substances or materials have been sufficiently cleansed they
are removed from the cylinder of this machine and I have the water or moisture
pressed out of them by hydraulic press or other suitable means and I then have the
tan crushed between rollers one of which may be smooth and the other slightly
corrugated or both smooth and which I prefer to be of unequal diameter so as to
work at different speeds and to give a rubbing action to open up the fibres. Such
an Apparatus as I have found suitable for the purpose is represented in
Figures IV, V and VI of which Figure IV is an end elevation Figure V an end
Section and Figure VI a side elevation. The substances or materials thus treated
are then separately steamed in a revolving cylinder. constructed as herein before
described in Figures I II and III of the Drawings and having therein a chemical
solution of about twenty eight pounds of caustic soda dissolved in twelve gallons of
hot water for each ton of spent tan hemp flax jute manilla or esparto grass and for

page_text: spent hops about twenty eight pounds of Soda ash dissolved in twelve gallons of
hot water for each ton of the spent hops-I keep the materials under treatment
with the above chemicals until the fibres are completely opened up which takes
place on an average of from one to two hours according to the quality and nature
of the fibrous materials in the course of treatment. The proportions of tan spent
hops, and hemp, flax, jute, manilla esparto grass or suitable vegetable fibre will
depend on the kind of half stuff required but as a general principle I use one part
of spent tan by weight to one part of spent hops by weight and two parts of fibres
of hemp flax jute manilla esparto grass or any other vegetable fibre known to be
suitable for making half stuff by weight-For spent tan and for hemp flax or other
such fibres I use as hereinbefore stated caustic soda as a Chemical and for the spent
hops I use Soda Ash but I do not claim or limit myself to these Chemicals or to
the proportions herein before stated as Chemicals for such purposes are well known
-The object of separately or at separate times using the apparatus for steaming or
otherwise treating is to prevent as far as practicable the colouring matter from
either of the substances staining or discoloring the others. It has been found
difficult in fact almost impracticable to remove or get rid of the knots or hard
substances in the spent tan and to effect that object I put the tan after it has been
treated as above stated into a rotary Cylindrical wire sieve having meshes of about
half an inch in diameter driven rapidly by steam or other motive power and a
spindle through it with arms or beaters thereon to remove or crush the knots and
hard substances As a general principle I have the cylindrical revolving sieve
about eight feet long and about two feet six inches in diameter on suitable
standards but the capacity will of course be according to the quantities required to
be operated on Such an Apparatus as I have found suitable for my purpose is
represented in Figures VII VIII and IX of which Figure VII is an end elevation
Figure VIII side view partly in section and Figure IX a section through the
lines A B in Figure VIII and these figures will sufficiently describe the apparatus.
-After the tan has been removed from this sieve and again washed and drained it
is put with the hops and hemp flax jute manilla esparto grass or other suitable
vegetable-fibres-which have been treated into a revolving cylinder called a mixer
with arms or beaters on a spindle therein to commix and combine the substances
the Apparatus shewn in Figures I II III can be suitably used for the purpose
without using the appliances for introducing steam to the cylinder-The combined
material produced by this commixture is then removed therefrom and compressed
in quantities as may be desired and is then halfstuff ready for the use of paper
makers. In some cases I operate on and treat according to my Invention spent tan
in combination with spent hops in about the proportion of one part by weight of
spent tan to two parts by weight of spent hops and in some cases I operate on and
treat according to my Invention spent tan in combination with the fibres of flax or
of hemp or with the fibre of jute manilla or of esparto grass or of maize leaves or
other vegetable fibre known to be suitable for paper making which when used as
above mentioned should be in a dry state. The Apparatus which I have shewn in
the drawings hereunto annexed are such as I have found suitable for my invention
but any known suitable apparatus may also be used for such purposes or processes
as I have described None of the Cylinders or other parts which come in contact
with the materials should be of iron unless lined with wood lead brass or other
unrustable material-The substances which have been treated according to my
Invention can if required be bleached in the ordinary manner and paper can be
made at the Paper Mills in the usual way with the half stuff thus prepared and so
can millboards Having described the nature of my said Invention and in what
manner the same may be performed I wish it to be understood that I am aware it
has been before proposed to use spent tan and spent hops with other materials for
the manufacture of paper and that Patents were granted to Henry Crosley dated
respectively on the 15th day of April 1839 N° 8032 and the 13th day of September
1854 N° 1994 for the same but the processes described in the Specifications of the
Baid Patents would not effect the objects desired I therefore do not claim such use

page_text: of spent tan and spent hops with or without other materials in the manufacture of
paper nor do I claim the discovery or use of any fibrous vegetable material
separately or any of the apparatus above mentioned but that what I claim as my
Invention secured to me by the herein before in part recited Letters Patent is the
use and employment of fibrous vegetable materials operated on and treated
separately and afterwards combining those materials in the mode or manner
substantially as herein before described for the purpose of producing half stuff In
witness whereof I the said Charles Court have hereunto set my hand and seal
this twenty third day of August in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three
CHARLES COURT (LS)