AN IMPROVED SILICEOUS COMPOUND
Year: 1878

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to William Morgan-Brown, of the Firm of Brandon and
Morgan-Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings,
London, and 1, Rue Laffitte, Paris, for the Invention of AN IMPROVED
SILICEOUS COMPOUND." A communication from abroad by John Wesley
Hyatt, of Newark, New Jersey, United States of America, Gentleman.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morgan-Brown at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd April 1878.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-Brown, Engineers
and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London, and 1, Rue Laffitte,
Paris. "AN IMPROVED SILICEOUS COMPOUND." [A communication from abroad
by John Wesley Hyatt, of Newark, New Jersey, United States of America,
Gentleman.]
This improved siliceous compound or material is formed of the ingredients or
their equivalents combined, and treated substantially in the manner herein-after
described and manipulated, substantially as below set forth.
The object of the Invention is to produce a material the elements of which are
thoroughly blended, and which is insoluble in water, plastic when acted upon by
heat or heated surface, non-combustible, and possessed of such other qualities as
adapt it for producing nearly all the articles now made of bone, horn, hoof, ivory,
porcelain, and other analogous substances.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morgan-Brown at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd April 1878.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-Brown, Engineers
and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London, and 1, Rue Laffitte,
Paris. "AN IMPROVED SILICEOUS COMPOUND." [A communication from abroad
by John Wesley Hyatt, of Newark, New Jersey, United States of America,
Gentleman.]
This improved siliceous compound or material is formed of the ingredients or
their equivalents combined, and treated substantially in the manner herein-after
described and manipulated, substantially as below set forth.
The object of the Invention is to produce a material the elements of which are
thoroughly blended, and which is insoluble in water, plastic when acted upon by
heat or heated surface, non-combustible, and possessed of such other qualities as
adapt it for producing nearly all the articles now made of bone, horn, hoof, ivory,
porcelain, and other analogous substances.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
To finely pulverized bone, horn, ivory, ivory nut, or other similar substance
containing gluten, albumen and animal oil, or gluten or albumen, is added two
equal portions by weight of a solution of any of the alkaline silicates (a silicate of
soda preferred), the silicate being of about the consistency of syrup or molasses.
This mixture forms a doughy mass wherein the powdered bone, for instance, is
[Price 4d.]

page_text: partially dissolved by the action of the silicate, being so softened as to be plastic,
hence any substance that will thus affect the said first-named ingredient is to be
held and deemed an equivalent of the said silicate in this relation.
The operation of mixing should be thoroughly performed, preferably until the
said mass becomes of such tenacity and consistency that it will not adhere to
Burfaces with which it comes in contact.
The admixture may be very conveniently and satisfactorily effected by means of
mixing rollers, which may be heated or cool as desired, though of course many other
means may be employed. This operation can be very satisfactorily effected by
grinding the silicate and bone dust, for example, together in an ordinary paint mill
in the manner in which pigments and oil are ground together. The composition
thus produced is now rolled or otherwise formed into sheets or strips, which without
further treatment may be divided, and the whole strip, or the portions thereof, may
be formed into the shape desired by means of moulds or dies made of porous
material, whereby the composition is simultaneously formed into shape and dried,
the result being a very hard and useful material.
Another method of manipulating the composition is to dry the sheets thereof by
placing between every two of them a sheet or quantity of blotting paper or other
bibulous material, and then subjecting the sheets of composition and paper to
pressure, which causes the moisture in the former to be taken up by the latter, and
thus enables the production of a denser and harder article. The composition thus
dried is now ready for the dies or moulds, which should be hot during the operation
of pressing.
Obviously other means of removing the moisture than those above indicated may
be resorted to, such as evaporation, but care should be exercised that the com-
position is not rendered too dry, as that would tend to produce a less desirable
result.
The preferred modus operandi, however, is to dry the sheet of composition either
by atmospheric exposure or otherwise, allowing a slight amount of moisture to
remain in the sheet, which is next ground or otherwise reduced to a powder of
suitable fineness, which powder is then poured or otherwise introduced into dies or
moulds that are or may be heated to from two hundred to three hundred degrees
(200° 300°) Fahrenheit. The heat of the mould or die causes the powdered
material to fuse or weld, and thus to assume the contour of the interior of the mould
or die. Obviously, simultaneously, heat and pressure can be used to advantage in
this operation.
t
It is to be here remarked that if the composition is to be moulded from the sheet,
that is, without having been previously pulverised, as aforesaid, that preferably it
should not be exposed to atmospheric evaporation, as that has the effect of rendering
the composition dry, very porous, and irregular in form.
The product of the die or mould is now immersed in or otherwise treated to a
solution of the chloride of calcium of a suitable specific gravity, e.g., ten to fifteen
degrees (10° to 15°) Beaumé, wherein it is allowed to remain, or whereby it is treated
in such manner as to saturate the composition throughout or to the depth to
which it is desired to have the hardened and insoluble shell or coating extend,
since the effect of the chloride of calcium upon the composition is to neutralize the
alkali therein, thus rendering the silicate insoluble, while the silicate of lime that
remains is closely blended with the bone dust or other first-named ingredient.
It is believed that the resultant is a material of such nice and intimate relations
as to warrant the supposition of its being a perfect union of the substances as they
are finally treated.
The composition may be colored in any desired manner by the use of suitable
coloring matter, which should be added to the said ingredients when first mixed;
or the product of the mould or die may be colored by any suitable application of
coloring agents.
The proportions of alkaline, silicate, and pulverized bone, horn, hoof, ivory, or
analogues may be widely varied; all that is required is to employ sufficient silicate

page_text: to immediately or ultimately soften or agglutinize the other ingredient; hence the
proportions and characteristics above stated are convenient and relative, but not
absolute.
The bone, horn, hoof, ivory, or their analogues may be comminuted very finely or
otherwise, a pulverized condition being merely to insure the thorough, speedy, and
rapid motion of the silicate; hence such condition is relativo not absolute.
It is also to be remarked that an excellent result can be attained without sub-
jecting the product of the die or mould to the chloride of calcium; and, further, that
fragments of the composition before or after such treatment may be reduced to a
plastic condition by crushing and re-treating with the silicate; also that the
material when formed by the die or mould may be bleached to a clear white.
The composition may be formed by any suitable means into bars, or sheets, or
other shapes to facilitate subsequent mechanical manipulation, after which it may
be treated with the chloride of calcium, as aforesaid, or used without such treat-
ment, as desired.
The material ultimately formed may also be cut and polished, as it has a fine
hard surface.
This material may be used in the production of any article or all articles of manu-
facture where its peculiarities may render it suitable, and its application in this
respect is obvious, being at least co-extensive with that of all the substances afore-
said. It is especially adapted to the production of statuettes, works of art, sculptures,
basso relievo, buttons, jewelry, billiard balls, crockery, and can with facility be
moulded about or upon a metallic or other core.
To produce the material aforesaid in a pulverized condition the following expe-
dient may be employed:-The compound silicate and bone or other material is
reduced to a liquid of about the consistency of syrup, which is caused to come in
contact with the surface of a large heated drum, whereon the material hardens, and
from which it may be scraped or removed by blades or brushes appropriately placed.
The material so removed will be thus reduced to a very fine powder. The rotation
of the drum causes a constant production of the powder.
The chloride of calcium may be mixed with the compound bone and silicate in a
dried pulverized condition in the proportion of one (1) part of the chloride to one
hundred (100) parts of the compound, more or less, and this composition subjected
to heat and pressure, whereby the chloride is fused and a material produced in
many respects analogous to that aforesaid. By the above use of the chloride of
calcium, the necessity of treating the combined silicate and bone, or other analagous
substance, with a solution of said chloride is avoided,

page_text: To finely pulverised bone, horn, ivory, ivory nut, or substance containing albumen,
animal oil, or gluten, is added two equal portions by weight of a solution of any of
the alkaline silicates (a silicate of soda preferred), the silicate being of about the
consistency of syrup or molasses. This mixture forms a doughy mass, wherein the
powdered bone, for instance, is partially dissolved by the action of the silicate being
so softened as to be plastic, hence any substance that will thus affect the said
first-named ingredient is to be held and deemed an equivalent of the said silicates
in this relation.
The operation of mixing should be thoroughly performed, preferably until the
said mass becomes of such tenacity and consistency that it will not adhere to surfaces
with which it comes in contact.
The admixture may be very conveniently and satisfactorily effected by means of
mixing rollers, which may be heated or cool, as desired, though of course many
other means may be employed. This operation can be very satisfactorily effected
by grinding the silicate and bone dust, for example, together in an ordinary paint
mill in the manner in which pigments and oil are ground together. The composition
thus produced is now rolled or otherwise formed into sheets or strips, which, without
further treatment, may be divided and the whole strip or the portions thereof may
be formed into the shape desired by means of moulds or dies made of porous material
such as plaster of Paris, whereby the composition is simultaneously formed into
shape and dried, the result being a very hard and useful material.
Another method of manipulating the composition is to dry the sheets thereof by
placing between every two of them a sheet or quantity of blotting paper or other
bibulous material, and then subjecting the sheets of composition and paper to pres-
sure, which causes the moisture in the former to be taken up by the latter, and
thus enables the production of a denser and harder article. The composition
thus dried is now ready for the dies or moulds which should be hot during the
operation of pressing.
Obviously other means of removing the moisture than those above indicated
may be resorted to, such as evaporation, but care should be exercised that the
composition is not rendered too dry as that would tend to produce a less desirable
result.
The preferred modus operandi however is to dry the sheet of composition either
by atmospheric exposure or otherwise allowing a slight amount of moisture to remain
in the sheet which is next ground or otherwise reduced to a powder of suitable

page_text: fineness, which powder is then poured or otherwise introduced into dies or moulds
that are or may be heated to from two hundred to three hundred degrees (200°—
300°) Fahrenheit. The heat of the mould or die causes the powdered material to
fuse or weld and thus to assume the contour of the interior of the mould or
die. Obviously, simultaneous heat and pressure can be used to advantage in this
operation.
It is to be here remarked that if the composition is to be moulded from the sheet,
that is, without having been previously pulverized as aforesaid, that preferably it
should not be exposed to atmospheric evaporation, as that has the effect of rendering
the composition dry, very porous, and irregular in form.
The product of the die or mould is now immersed in or otherwise treated to a
solution of the chloride of calcium of a suitable specific gravity, e.g., ten to fifteen
degrees (10° to 15°) Baumé, wherein it is allowed to remain, or whereby it is treated
in such manner as to saturate the composition throughout or to the depth to which
it is desired to have the hardened and insoluble shell or coating extend, since the
effect of the chloride of calcium upon the composition is to neutralize the alkali
therein, thus rendering the silicate insoluble, while the silicate of lime that remains
is closely blended with the bone dust or other first-named ingredient.
The resultant material is of such nice and intimate relations that there is a per-
fect union of the substances as they are finally treated.
The composition may be coloured in any desired manner by the use of suitable
coloring matter which should be added to the said ingredients when first mixed;
or the product of the mould or die may be colored by any suitable application of
coloring agents.
The proportions of alkaline silicate and pulverized bone, horn, hoof, ivory, or
analogues may be widely varied, all that is required is to employ sufficient silicato
to immediately or ultimately soften or agglutinize the other ingredient, hence
the proportions and characteristics above stated are convenient and relative but not
absolute.
The bone, horn, hoof, ivory, or their analogues may be comminuted very finely or
otherwise, a pulverized condition being merely to insure the thorough, speedy, and
rapid action of the silicate, hence such condition is relative, not absolute.
It is also to be remarked that an excellent result can be attained without sub-
jecting the product of the die or mould to the chloride of calcium; and further, that
fragments of the composition, before or after such treatment, may be reduced to
a plastic condition by crushing and retreating with the silicate; also that the
material when formed by the die or mould may be bleached to a clear white.
The composition may be formed by any suitable means into bars or sheets or
other shapes to facilitate subsequent mechanical manipulation, after which it may
be treated with the chloride of calcium as aforesaid, or used without such treatment,
as desired.
The material ultimately formed may also be cut and polished as it has a fine
hard surface.
This material may be used in the production of any article or all articles of
manufacture wherefor its peculiarities may render it suitable, and its application in
this respect is obvious, being at least co-extensive with that of all of the substances
aforesaid. It is specially adapted to the production of statuettes, works of art,
sculpture, basso-relievo, buttons, jewelry, billiard balls, crockery, and can with
facility be moulded about or upon a metallic or other core.
Whenever it may be desired to produce the inaterial aforesaid in a pulverized
condition, the following expedient may be employed:-The compound silicate and
bone or other material is reduced to a liquid of about the consistency of syrup which
is caused to come in contact with the surface of a large heated drum whereon the
material hardens, and from which it may be scraped or removed by blades or
brushes approximately placed. The material so removed will be thus reduced to a
very fine powder. The rotation of the drum causes a constant production of the
powder.

page_text: The chloride of calcium may be mixed with the compound bone and silicate in a
dry pulverized condition in the proportion of one (1) part of the chloride to one
hundred (100) parts of the compound, more or less, and this composition subjected
to heat and pressure whereby the chloride is fused and a material produced in many
respects analogous to that aforesaid. By the above use of the chloride of calcium,
the necessity of treating the combined silicate and bone or other analogous substance
with a solution of said chloride is avoided.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that
what I claim is,―
Firstly. The mixture of pulverized bone, of animal or vegetable ivory, of horn,
as well as of other substances equally pulverized, containing gluten, albumen, or
animal oil with a solution of alkaline silicate, preferably silicate of soda or its equi-
valent,in the proportions above named, in the manner and for the purposes above
described.
Secondly. The reduction of this composition into sheets or bands by rolling or
otherwise, and moulding it directly in moulds or porous material, in the manner
and for the purposes abové described.
Thirdly. The drying of these sheets or bands before moulding either with the aid
of bibulous paper, with or without pressure, or by means of their evaporation in
the-open air, and subsequently their moulding with the application of heat, in the
manner and for the purposes above mentioned.
Fourthly. The pulverization of these sheets or bands after being dried, and
moulding the powder in heated moulds with or without the aid of pressure, in the
manner and for the purposes above mentioned.
Fifthly. The treatment of moulded objects by immersion or otherwise in a
solution of chloride of calcium weighing from 10 to 15 Beaumé, so as to saturate
the entire mass completely or merely to such depth as may be required, in the
manner and for the purposes above mentioned.
:
Sixthly. The use of the above-mentioned moulded composition without sub-
mitting it to chloride of calcium, as well as the reduction afresh of this composition
whether it has been submitted or not to the treatment by the chloride of calcium
in a plastic state by pulverizing it and submitting it afresh to the action of silicate,
in the manner and for the purposes above mentioned.
Seventhly. The pulverization of the matter composed of bones or other similar
substances, and of silicate, by reducing it first to a liquid state of the consistence of
syrup, and placing this syrup in contact with a heated surface, such as the circum-
ference of a cast-iron drum, where it is solidified, and from whence it is then detached,
in the manner and for the purposes above mentioned.
Eighthly. The mixture of chloride of calcium with the composition formed of
bones and of silicate in a dry state, as above described, and the submission of
this mixture to heat and to pressure, in the manner and for the purposes above
mentioned.
Ninthly. The use of this composition, produced in either of the above-mentioned
ways, for the manufacture of all articles and objects for which it is suitable, such as
statuettes, sculpture, basso reliefs, stationery, brushes, jewellery, buttons, billiard
balls, crockery, etc., with or without cores, in the manner and for the purposes above
mentioned.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan-Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN. (L.S.)