IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOUNDS of INDIA RUBBER, OF GUTTA PERCHA, AND OF OILS, FOR INSULATING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS, AND FOR OTHER USES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Parkes of Bexley in the County of Kent for
an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOUNDS of
INDIA RUBBER, OF GUTTA PERCHA, AND OF OILS, FOR INSULATING ELECTRICAL
CONDUCTORS, AND FOR OTHER USES
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Parkes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th November 1882.
ALEXANDER PARKES of Bexley in the County of Kent "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOUNDS OF INDIA RUBBER, OF GUTTA PERCHA, AND OF
OILS FOR INSULATING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS AND FOR OTHER USES
"
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of compounds
of India rubber, of gutta percha, and of oils for insulating electrical conductors and
for other uses.
I prepare India rubber or gutta percha or oxidized castor or linseed oils in such
manner that either of them or combinations of them one with the other will
become incombustible-or combinations of these with other substances such as
paraffin, gums, unoxidized castor oil, pigments, steatite, or coloring matters. For
the above purpose I prefer to employ phosphate of zinc or phosphate of lead or
oxychloride of zinc or lead or magnesia. By combining paraffin or gums and oil
such as castor oil with India rubber or gutta percha I am able to incorporate with
them a greater proportion of the substances used for rendering them uninflammable
than I otherwise could and so am able to render them altogether uninflammable.
Compounds formed as above may be used alone to coat wires for telegraphic,
electric lighting and other uses and as they are good insulators they will be found
to possess great advantages over all other coatings at present used for such purposes.
They can be applied with great ease to covering wire and other substances and
wire so coated can be vulcanized by the hot or cold process after being coated.
When the hot process of vulcanization is to be adopted the compound has to have
sulphur incorporated with it as when vulcanizing India rubber.

page_text: India rubber admixed with oils especially castor oil and gums becomes more
plastic and can be used in the same way as gutta percha is now employed in coating
wire and as a protection to cotton, silk and other braiding material, it is a most
important protection and much strengthens the braiding.
The compounds will be found applicable to a great variety of other uses and as 6
they can be vulcanized by heat if sulphur is added to them or can be vulcanized
by chloride of sulphur vapour or in sulphide of carbon they furnish a highly
useful and cheap material.
By incorporating oxidized oil with India rubber or gutta percha or with mixtures
of these substances I likewise produce compounds. which can be vulcanized and 1
which if India rubber be used differ but little either in appearance or in their
properties from vulcanized India rubber.
Oxidized oil alone may also be admixed with sulphur and vulcanized or be
vulcanized by the cold process.
The proportions of the phosphates or oxychlorides added to India rubber or 1
gutta perclia or to combinations of these materials may be varied but for insulating
electric conducting wires a useful compound may be formed of about equal weight
of gum.
Thus castor oil and paraffin say about 1/2 oz of each to the 1 lb. of rubber
or gutta percha-these three substances. I prefer to melt together and then work
them in at the masticating rolls with the rubber and gutta percha and at the same
time I add say from 2 to 4 lbs of oxychloride of zinc or other of the substances
mentioned for rendering the compound uninflammable.
Solvents of India rubber or gutta-percha-maybe used if it is found desirable in
working up these compounds.
Compounds prepared as above are applicable to spreading on cloth, silk, paper
and other substances they can also be vulcanized in moulds or other forms by
combining sulphur with them-in-the-usual way. If I wish.a.cheap.compound I
employ a larger quantity of oxidized castor or linseed oil, in some cases as-much-as-
8 ozs to 1 lb of rubber or gutta percha, in this proportion-it-will-vulcanize-perfectly_
with the usual amount of sulphur and if hard vulcanite is to be made the sulphur
is to be increased as well known in the trade.
I find I can use inferior gutta percha by dissolving it in benzoline or light spirit
of coal oil to a thin solution and filtering it warm to separate the impurities, the
filtered solution may be evaporated or I precipitate the gutta percha and combined
with oxychlorides of zinc or lead or phosphates of zinc or lead and together with
the oil gum and paraffin in similar preparations as at first named, the inferior gutta
percha thus becoming tough and strong will be found very useful, whereas it is of
no important use at the present time from its rotten and weak condition. The
oxidized castor or linseed oil (whether blown or treated by the chloride of sulphur
process) is to be masticated with sulphur or sulphide to become vulcanized either
soft or hard. Steatite or coloring matter may also be used with it.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Parkes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th May
1883.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOUNDS OF INDIA RUBBER OF GUTTA PERCHA, AND OF
OILS FOR INSULATING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS AND FOR OTHER USES
ALEXANDER PARKES of Bexley in the County of Kent
"
This invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of compounds
of india rubber of gutta percha and of oils for insulating electrical conductors, and
for other uses.
I prepare india rubber or gutta percha or oxidized castor or linseed or cotton
seed oils or other oils of this class in such manner that either of them or combi-
nations of them one with the other will become incombustible or combinations of
these with other substances such as paraffin, gums unoxidised castor oil, pigments
steatite (or tale or asbestos) or coloring matters. -
For the above purpose I combine with the above substances or with mixtures of
them, phosphate of zinc or phosphate of lead or oxychloride of zinc, or lead, or
magnesia.
By combining paraffin or gums and oil such as castor oil with india rubber or
gutta percha I am able to incorporate with them a greater proportion of the sub-
stances used for rendering them uninflammable than I otherwise could and so am able
to render them altogether uninflammable. In carrying out this part of my invention
I take india rubber by preference freed from impurities by the usual means and
to this I add the substances to prevent combustion preferring for this purpose
oxychloride of zinc or lead, and I find in practice that the best qualities of rubber
will take more of the oxychloride than the common qualities will to form a good
and strong insulator. To 100 lbs of good rubber I combine in the masticating
machine from 100 lbs to 300 lbs of oxychloride of zinc or lead and this combination
can be used alone.
If I wish a more ductile or less elastic compound I combine with the above
compound gutta percha or gums such as coarse shellac or damar or paraffin,
unoxidised castor oil pigments black lead steatite or talc or asbestos in fine powder,
anthracite, silica, or coloring matters.
Similar or even larger proportions of the oxychlorides or phosphates may in
the same way be incorporated with oxidized oil such as castor oil and valuable
compounds so obtained
The proportions of the phosphate or oxychlorides added to india rubber or gutta
percha or to combinations of these materials may be varied but for insulating
electric conducting wires a useful compound may be formed of about equal weight
of gum thus-Raw castor oil (this has no injurious effect on rubber or gutta percha)
and paraffin say about 10 lbs paraffin 10 lbs castor oil 10 lbs coarse shellac or other
gum or resin to each 100 lbs of rubber or gutta percha.
These three substances I prefer to melt together and then work them in at the
masticating rolls with the rubber and gutta percha and at the same time I add say
from 200 to 400 lbs of oxychloride of zinc or other of the substances mentioned for
rendering the compound uninflammable.
Solvents of india rubber or gutta percha may be used if it is found desirable in
working up the compounds.
Compounds formed as above may be used alone to coat wires for telephone.
telegraphic electric lighting and other uses and as they are good insulators they
will be found to possess great advantages over all other coatings at present used
for such purposes. They can. be applied with great ease to covering wire and.

page_text: other substances and wire so conted can be vulcanized by the hot or cold process of
vulcanization after being coated. When the hot process of vulcanization is to be
adopted the compound has to have sulphur or sulphides incorporated with it as
when vulcanizing india rubber by the well known means.
By incorporating oxidized oil with india rubber, or gutta percha, or with
mixtures of these substances, I likewise produce compounds, which can be
vulcanized and which if india rubber be used differ but little either in appearance
or in their properties from vulcanized india rubber. Useful compounds may be
formed by combining 100 lbs of oxidized castor or linseed oil or cotton seed oil
with from 10 lbs to 100 lbs of rubber or gutta percha with and without pigments
or coloring matters. If the oil be oxidized by the action upon it of chloride of
sulphur or vapour of chloride of sulphur no sulphur need be added to the compound
but if oil that has been oxidized by exposure to air be employed then either the
compound must have sulphur added to it and be vulcanized by the application of
heat or else the compound must be vulcanized by the wet method or by chloride of
sulphur and vapour.
The compounds will be found applicable to a great variety of uses such as those
herein before enumerated and as they can be vulcanized by heat if sulphur is
added to them or can be vulcanized by chloride of sulphur vapour, or in chloride
of sulphur or sulphide of carbon they furnish a highly useful and cheap material.
Compounds prepared as above are also applicable to spreading on cloth, silk
paper, and other substances, they can also he vulcanized in moulds, or other forms
by combining sulphur, or sulphides with them in the usual way.
If I wish a cheap compound I employ a larger quantity of oxidized castor
or linseed oil, in some cases, as much as 8 ozs to 1 lb of india rubber or gutta
percha, in this proportion it will vulcanize perfectly with the usual amount of
sulphur-or-its-equivalent-sulphide or 50lbs oil to 110 lbs rubber or gutta-percha.or
-mixtures of them and if hard vulcanite is to be made, the sulphur is to be increased,
as is well known in the trade.
I find that I can use inferior gutta percha by dissolving it in benzoline or light
spirit of coal oil to a thin solution and filtering it warm to separate the impurities.
The filtered solution may be evaporated and the gutta percha so obtained combined
with oxychlorides of zinc or lead, or phosphates of zinc or lead, and together with
the oil, guin, and paraffin in similar preparations as at first named.
The inferior gutta percha thus becoming tough and strong will be found very
useful, whereas it is of no important use at the present time from its rotten and
weak condition.
This invention in addition to insulating telegraph or telephonic wires is also
applied to a great variety of articles such as Battery cells, spreading upon textile
or felted or other flexible material water proofing, for mechanical purposes and
other uses.
What I claim is :—
First. The combination of phosphate of zinc or of lead or oxychloride of zinc or
of lead or of magnesia or mixtures thereof with india rubber or gutta percha or
with oxidized oils such as castor oil.
Second. The combination of phosphate of zinc or of lead or oxychloride of zinc
or of lead or of magnesia or mixtures thereof with india rubber or gutta percha or
with oxidized oils such as castor oil and the subsequent vulcanization of such
compounds as herein described.
Third. The combination of india rubber or gutta percha or mixtures thereof
with paraffin or gums and oil such as castor oil and phosphates of zinc or of lead or
with oxychlorides of zinc or of lead or of magnesia or with mixtures of these
substances.
Fourth. The combination of india rubber or gutta percha or mixtures thereof
with paraffin or gums and oil such as castor oil and phosphates of zinc or of lend
or with oxychlorides of zinc or of lead or of magnesia or with mixtures of these

page_text: substances and the subsequent vulcanization of such compounds as herein
described.
Fifth. The combination of india rubber or gutta percha with oil such as castor
oil that has been oxidized by the action upon it of chloride of sulphur or the vapour
of chloride of sulphur.
Sixth The manufacture of compounds of india rubber or gutta percha by
admixing such substances with oxidised oil such as castor oil and afterwards
vulcanizing such compounds as herein described.
Seventh Dissolving impure gutta percha in benzoline or light spirit of coal
oil and obtaining pure gutta percha by filtration and evaporation and afterwards
adding to the gutta percha so obtained phosphates of zinc or of lead or oxychlorides
of zinc or of lead or of magnesia as herein described
In witness whereof I the said Alexander Parkes have hereunto set my hand
and seal this ninth day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.
ALEXANDER PARKES (L.S.)