IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES MADE
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alphonse Rene le Mire de Normandy, of
Judd Street, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES MADE OF
Sealed the 16th April 1853, and dated the 15th February 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alphonse Rene le
Mire de Normandy at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th February 1853.
I, ALPHONSE RENE LE MIRE DE NORMANDY, of Judd Street, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES MADE
OF GUTTA PERCHA" to be as follows: _
This Invention consists of dissolving gutta percha in bisulphuret
of carbon, and filtering the solutions through charcoal to bleach, or
treating with bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid, or hydro-
chloric acid, as is practised for bleaching oils. A quantity of this
solution is poured into a vessel, by preference of glass; the vessel is
moved till the interior is coated with the solution, the excess is run
off, and a portion of the adhering edge of the gutta percha at the

page_text: neck or opening of the vessel is renoved, which allows the atmo-
sphere to pass between the vessel and the adhering coat of gutta
percha, by which the film will be separated; and the article thus
produced may be removed from the vessel, although the opening
into the vessel be small compared with the other parts, by which
means the article made will be of the form of the moulding vessel
used, but the same may be cut into sheets or otherwise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said Alphonse Rene le Mire de Normandy
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th August 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ALPHONSE RENE LE MIRE DE NORMANDY, of Judd Street, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of February, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the sixteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Alphonse Rene le Mire de Normandy, Her
special license that I, the said Alphonse Rene le Mire de Normandy,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Alphonse Rene le Mire de Normandy, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
.IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES MADE OF GUTTA PERCHA," partly
invented by myself, and partly communicated from abroad, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alphonse Rene le
Mire de Normandy, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
.said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,

page_text: and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alphonse Rene le Mire de
Normandy, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof
(that is to say):
My improvements in the manufacture of articles made of gutta
percha consist in taking the gutta percha to be operated upon
previously purified as much as possible by cutting and pugging
or kneading it in hot water, in a suitable machine, similar to that
used for agglomerating caoutchouc. I then expose it at a gentle
heat to the action of some volatile solvent, such as essence of tur-
pentine or benzole, but preferably in bisulpheret of carbon, in which
latter case no heat should be applied. One part by weight of gutta
percha dissolved in about twenty parts of solvent yields a brown
turbid syrupy mass, which I clarify and decolorize by first allowing
it to stand, so that the heaviest particles may subside. I then in-
troduce the supernatant liquid into the following apparatus:-A, is
a vessel containing the brown syrupy liquid just mentioned. It is
provided with three apertures B, C, D. E, is a connecting tube
between vessel A, and vessel F, full of animal charcoal. It is pro-
vided with a tap at the lower part, which tap is connected with the
vessel or receiver G, which has another aperture H, provided with
a tube which connects vessel A, and vessel G, together. All these
vessels may be inade of zinc plate, and all the connections should be
perfectly air tight. The action of this filtering apparatus is easily
understood. The brownish syrupy liquid above alluded to is intro-
duced into vessel A.; on opening the cock B, it falls into vessel F, per-
colating through the animal charcoal with which this vessel is filled,
and thence it falls into vessel G, in a filtered state. J, is a box full
of very cold water, into which vessel G plunges. The filtered liquid
thus obtained is then put into a still provided with a refrigerator, and
the superfluous liquid may then be distilled off. If it be desired to

page_text: obtain the filtered gutta percha in the solid state, the evaporation
must of course be carried to dryness; but in order to obtain sheets of
that material, or form balloons, shades, and various other forms of
gutta percha, I proceed as follows:-I take the solution of gutta percha
in bisulphuret of carbon, and pour a certain quantity of the solution
into a vessel; for example, a glass cylinder stopped at one end. I
then incline the vessel, and turn it in every direction until its sides
are completely and evenly smeared over internally by the solution,
and I then allow the excess of solution employed to drain off, by
holding the glass cylinder with its mouth downwards. In a short
time, the sulphuret of carbon volatilises completely, leaving the
inside of the glass covered with a thin layer of gutta percha. The.
contraction resulting from the drying of that layer loosens it, and
it may then be readily extracted. Care must be taken, how-
ever; not to touch the cylinder with a warm hand, otherwise the
gutta percha will adhere to the glass at the parts which have been
thus warmed. If the part which was in contact with the bottom-
or closed part of the glass cylinder be now cut off, a cylinder of
gutta percha open at both ends is obtained, which being further
cut longitudinally will form a sheet. Balloons, or in fact almost
any other form, may be produced in the same way; since the solu
tion of gutta percha will of course take the form of the vessel into
which it is poured. When, however, the gutta percha membrane
has to be removed through a small aperture as, for example, when
the syrupy liquid has been poured into a bottle or glass balloon or
mattrass, some contrivance must be resorted to, as, for example, in-
troducing into the vessel a tube, by means of which the air in the
vessel can be sucked out either by the mouth, or by means of a
syringe, by which means the gutta percha membrane is made to
recede from the sides of the vessel, after which it may be easily
removed. It is evident that, instead of a thin layer, a thick one
may be obtained by using a more viscid solution than that which I
have alluded to. If the mould is of such a nature, that it can be
easily removed altogether or in pieces, the solution may be applied
externally.

page_text: Having now described my said improvements, and the mode of
manufacturing the articles described, I should say that I do not
claim the mode of purifying gutta percha by kneading it, or other-
wise macerating and working it under water, such methods being
now well known; nor do I claim the use of the solvent herein inen-
tioned; but what I claim as my Invention is decolorizing gutta
percha by means of animal charcoal; and I also claim the manufac-
ture of films or layers of gutta percha as herein explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alphonse Rene le Mire de
Normandy, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this First
day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-three.
Witness.
S. CARPMAEL.
A. NORMANDY. (L.S.)