IMPROVEMENTS. IN COMBINING GUTTA PERCHA AND; CAOUTCHOUC WITH OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANTHONY
LORIMIER, of Bell's Buildings, Salisbury Square, in the City of London, Book-
binder, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Tenth day of July,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, in the twelfth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Anthony Lorimier, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Anthony. Lorimier,
my exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Anthony
Lorimier, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, .use,. exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of. Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
5. IMPROVEMENTS. IN COMBINING GUTTA PERCHA AND; CAOUTCHOUC WITH OTHER
MATERIALS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso..that I, the
said Anthony Lorimier, should cause a particular description of the naturo
of my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in. writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in
Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,

page_text: as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Anthony Lorimier, do hereby declaro that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say-
My Invention consists,―
1
First, of improvements in the means of cleansing gutta percha from impuri-
ties preparatory to its being combined with other matters, and thus to render
gutta percha more suitable for combining with other materials.
Secondly, my Invention consists of combining the matters hereafter described
with gutta percha, in order to make new compounds thereof. And,
Thirdly, my Invention consists of combining certain matters hereafter stated
with caoutchouc, so as to produce new compounds thereof.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood, and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
The first part of my Invention consists of cutting gutta percha into very thin
shavings. This may be done in any convenient manner, but I prefer to employ
the machinery hereafter described for that purpose; and such thin shavings are
then dried by spreading them over a convenient surface in such manner that
they may become well dried, and when dry they are to be subjected to other
machinery, by which the shavings of gutta percha are bent in varied directions,
and reduced or divided into less shavings, by which means the impurities or
matters not intimately adhering and blended will become separated and sifted
therefrom, and thus, without the use of heat or water, the gutta percha will be
cleansed, and rendered suitable for use, at very small cost.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, shew various kinds of knives or cutters, by 3
any of which I reduce the crude gutta percha to very thin shavings.
In Figures 1 and 2 (a top and front view), the knives a, a, are arranged
spirally round an axis to give a dragging cut. b, b, is an angular trough, in
which a block of gutta percha c is laid, and confined by the screws d, d, and
plates e, c, ready to be cut. When the cutters are put in motion the block c is 3
slowly advanced towards them by the screw f until the block is nearly all cut
into thin shavings; the portion not cut may then be cemented to another block
by heat, and the block cut up in like manner to that just described.

page_text: One of the plates e is drawn separate in Figure 3, to shew the hook g, which
lays hold of the trough at h to prevent the gutta percha, as it advances, from
dragging these plates with it.
Figure 4 shews a series of short cutters, arranged spirally round a cylinder.
Figures 5 and 6 are edge and front views of a disc, its face slightly hollowed;
on the face six cutters are arranged radially, one of them just crossing the
centre.
In Figure 7 similar cutters are arranged tangentially, to give somewhat of a
dragging or oblique cut.
Figure 8 is a spiral knife or cutter for slicing off thin shavings by a dragging
cut. When the thin shavings are well dried they are put into a machine
represented in the sections, Figures 9 and 10. i, i, is the hopper, with a slide
j to regulate its aperture. k, k, is a clyindrical case, around which three
bars 1, 1, 1, Figure 10, are placed at equal distances; from each of these
project two rows of spikes inwards, as shewn in Figure 9, and around the
central axis are arranged four bars m; m, m, m, at equal distances from which
two rows of similar spikes project outwards, these are also so placed as to pass
between the outer spikes without touching. When the shavings are intro-
duced by the hopper, and the inner bars revolving, their spikes keep passing
or dragging the shavings between the fixed spikes, by which they are so teased
and bent in all directions as to break loose all the dirt and foreign matter.
These matters whilst dry are easily broken, from the circumstance of their
having little or no adhesion to the gutta percha, which, from its adhesive
nature, can bear the teasing without being so much broken up. The bottom
of the case n, n, is made of wire gauze, to let the small dust fall through;
it is jointed at o, and opens at p. When the gutta percha has been sufficiently
teased this flap is let down to take it out, and then a fresh quantity is put in at
the hopper.
Figures 11 and 12 are section and top view of a vessel placed in a steam
case to keep it hot; around this vessel are three sets of thin bars or spikes q,
projecting inwards, and from the central axis four sets of similar spikes pro-
ject, so as to pass between the others. The cleansed gutta percha is put in
this vessel, and the rotation of the central bars keeps pulling it out in
strings. This process is sure to break open all spongy parts containing
air or moisture. During this operation the various dry materials are added, by
which I suit the compounds for my particular purposes.
Figures 13 and 14 are top view and section of a welding trough, also placed
in a steam case. In this two rollers of the same form and size are placed, and
similar wheels are placed on their axes to make them revolve accurately,

page_text: together. One of these rollers is drawn in section, to show the alternating
knobs and hollows, the knobs of one roller being always opposite the hollow
of the other; these, whilst revolving, keep both squeezing and stretching the
gutta percha, so as to cause the most intimate closing and union of all the
parts, by which greater strength is obtained, and much more elasticity. The
dust and powder which passes through the meshes of the sieve I put into
water, by which means any gutta percha which may have passed through
will swim on the surface of the water, the impurities for the most part' in 'time
separating from the gutta percha.
When the shavings of gutta percha are desired to be very pure I boil
them for about ten minutes in water acidulated with oxalic acid, and I use
about one ounce of the acid to a quart of water; and thus I do in a-machine
such as is shewn and described in respect to Figures 11 and 12.
I would remark, that I do not confine myself to the use of the above
machinery for carrying out the first part of my Invention, which consists of
cutting the crude gutta percha into shavings, and, when dry, causing them to
be so beaten and bent about and reduced as to remove the impurities or foreign
matters, as herein explained.
In carrying out the second part of my Invention, I employ, in combination
with gutta percha, burned clay, burned flint, broken articles of porcelain,
earthenware, and china, marble, Portland, Cornish, and other stones crushed
and sifted, also the oxide of zinc and the oxide of copper, the hydrate of lime
and oxalite of lime, also a compound of lime slacked with oxalic acid dissolved
in water. I use about three pounds of acid to a bushel of lime, the acid being
first dissolved in a quantity of water suitable for slacking that quantity of lime;
the product is well dried and sifted. Any one or more of these materials may
be intimately combined with gutta percha with or without other materials, so
as to produce new compounds of gutta percha, and useful for moulding
articles, or for making sheets suitable to be cut into soles for boots and shoes,
straps, bands, and other articles, and will, I believe, be found very generally
useful. The matters above mentioned are to be ground as finely as possible,
and the rougher parts removed by sieves, so as to obtain the powder as freo
from larger grains as may be. And such powder may be used in varied pro-
portions in respect to the gutta percha; care, however, is at all times to be
observed not to mix more than the gutta percha will take up, and still preserve
a close adhering mass.
For making soles for boots and shoes, the great object is to incorporate as
much of either of the above matters or mixtures thereof as the gutta percha
will take
and retain a flexible and adhesive character; but in cases where
up

page_text: the compounds are to be subjected to strain, such as straps and bands, then
lesser quantities will be combined with the gutta percha; but the workmen; after
a little practise, will quickly understand how far he may go in combining the
above-mentioned matters, or some one or more of them, with gutta percha,
so as to obtain the exact quality he may desire. The mixing or combining
of the gutta percha with any of the matters above mentioned may be performed
in any convenient manner, but I have found that by using a heated plate, kept
hot by boiling water or steam, or by other convenient means, and then taking
gutta percha (cleansed, when preferred, by the above process, or by any con-
venient means, but I believe the means above described to be the best at
present known), and by means of a roller I roll out the gutta percha into
sheet, in a like manner to rolling out dough on a board. I then sift any one
or more of the materials above mentioned over the sheet, which I then fold,
and reroll and fold, and roll again and again, and apply more and more of the
powder, till the desired compound is obtained; or I roll the gutta percha
between two smooth rollers, heated internally with steam or hot water, and
dust on the powder, and fold the sheets, and again and again roll the same till
the desired mixture is obtained; and I can, in place of using what I have
called the welding machine, above described, employ like means to those just
described for combining the small pieces or shavings into a mass.
The gutta percha compounds thus produced, while still heated, may then be
moulded into form by pressing the dough like mass in moulds, or the same may
be made into sheets by passing the same between rollers, such as I have above
described for mixing.
And I would state, that in some cases I mix caoutchouc with such compounds
of gutta percha, to obtain greater clasticity.
The third part of my Invention consists of employing oxide of zinc and the
oxalite of lime, also the compound produced by slacking lime with oxalic acid
and water with caoutchouc, and I use these matters either separately or com-
bined with caoutchouc; and I mix these matters, or either of them, with
caoutchouc, in like manner to what I have described in respect to gutta
percha. These compounds are useful for spreading over fabrics to make them
waterproof, and for other purposes; and to facilitate the spreading I prefer to
employ solvents with the india rubber, as heretofore practised.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would have it under-
stood that what I claim is,-
First, the means of cleansing gutta percha, preparatory to compounding and
using the same.

page_text: Enrolled the Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.