IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND IN APPARATUS FOR VULCANIZING OR TREATING CAOUTCHOUC
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Dorendorff, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF
AND IN APPARATUS FOR VULCANIZING OR TREATING CAOUTCHOUC." A com-
munication from abroad by Carl Wilhelm Julius Blancke, of Merseburg, in
the Kingdom of Prussia.
Sealed the 5th February 1878, and dated the 10th August 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Dorendorff at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th August 1877.
RICHARD DORENDORFF, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND IN APPARATUS FOR VULCANIZING OR
TREATING CAOUTCHOUC.' [A communication from abroad by Carl Wilhelm Julius
Blancke, of Merseburg, in the Kingdom of Prussia.]
»--
The Invention relates to the treatment of caoutchouc or india-rubber with
sulphur, or with compounds or matters containing sulphur, or to the operation of
vulcanizing caoutchoue, whereby its character is changed to some extent as is well
understood.
When conducting the said operation articles made of caoutchouc, mixed or
treated with the sulphur compound or matter, are subjected to the action of heat.
Previous to the said Invention high-pressure steam has been employed for the
purpose, and the operation has been attended with risk owing to the excessive
pressure and to the uncertainty as to the degree of pressure obtained, especially in
the cases of the small apparatus used by dentists and chemists.
In some cases hot air has been used, but the action of this is not so reliable as
that of steam.
According to this Invention superheated steam of a comparatively low pressure is
emploved.

page_text: In an apparatus, very suitable for dentists' purposes, two vessels are employed,
the steam being generated in the first vessel, and passing into a second vessel, in
which it is superheated, and in which the articles to be treated are placed.
Each vessel is provided with arrangements for heating by means of gas, or of
lamps, or ordinary arrangements not combined with the apparatus may be used.
The first vessel is connected with the second vessel by means of à pipe and
coupling or union, which communicates with a pipe leading to the lower part of the
second vessel. The latter vessel is provided with a safety valve, which is by
preference loaded to blow off with a moderate pressure, and the said vessel is or
may be provided with a thermometer to indicate the temperature. The steam
generated in the first vessel flows into the second vessel, in which it becomes
superheated. Any water arising from condensation flows down, and is at once
reconverted into steam.
In one arrangement the two vessels are formed of copper or other suitable metal,
and extend downwards into chambers in a cast metal base or framing, in which
the burners or lamps are placed, the heated gases escaping at or near the upper ends
of the said chambers.
Each vessel is fitted with a strong cover, which is secured by means of screws or
hinged bolts provided with wing nuts.
The cover of the steam generator is formed with an opening, through which the
liquid is introduced, and which is closed by means of a screw valve, or by other
suitable means, and the said generator is by preference provided with a glass water
guage.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Richard Dorendorff in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th
February 1878.
RICHARD DORENDORFF, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND IN APPARATUS FOR VULCANIZING OR
TREATING CAOUTCHOUC."
The Invention relates to the treatment of caoutchouc or india-rubber with
sulphur, or with compounds or matters containing sulphur, or to the operation of
vulcanizing, whereby its character is changed to some extent as is well understood.
When conducting the said operation articles made of caoutchouc, mixed or
treated with the sulphur compound or matter, are subjected to the action of
heat.
Previously to the said Invention high-pressure steam has been employed for the
purpose, and the operation has been attended with risk owing to the excessive
pressure and to the uncertainty as to the degree of pressure obtained, especially in
the cases of the small apparatus used by dentists and chemists.
In some cases hot air has been used, but the action of this is not so reliable as
that of steam.
According to this Invention superheated steam of a comparatively low pressure
is employed.
Two vessels are employed, and the steam is generated in the one vessel, and
passes into the other vessel, in which it is superheated, and in which the articles to
he heated are placed, or the superheating may be effected during the passage of
steam from one vessel to the other.
Each vessel is provided with arrangements for heating by means of gas, or of
lamps, or ordinary arrangements not combined with the apparatus may be used.
The first vessel is connected with the second vessel by means of a pipe and
coupling or union, which communicates with a pipe leading to the lower part of the
second vessel. The latter vessel is provided with a safety valve, which is,.. by
preference loaded to blow off with moderate pressure, and the said vessel is or may
be provided with a thermometer to indicate the temperature. The steam generator
in the first vessel flows into the second vessel, in which it becomes superheated.
Any water arising from condensation flows down, and is at once reconverted into
steam.
In one arrangement the two vessels are formed of copper or other suitable metal,
and extend downwards into chambers in a cast metal base or framing, in which the
burners or lamps are placed, the heated gases escaping at or near the upper ends of
the said chambers.
Each vessel is fitted with a strong cover, which is secured by means of screws or
hinged bolts provided with wing nuts.
The cover of the steam generator is formed with an opening, through which the
liquid is introduced, and which is closed by means of a screw valve, or by other
suitable means, and the said generator is by preference provided with a glass water
guage.
And in order that the said Invention may be readily described and fully under-
stood, I have appended hereunto à Sheet of Drawings made to a scale of about
eight inches to the foot, and marked with letters of reference, to which Drawings I
will now refer.
In
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section, and Fig, 2 a horizontal section of an
apparatus suitable for dentists' purposes, or to be otherwise employed in the
vulcanizing of single articles, or of a few articles of a comparatively small size.
the said Figures A and B represent the two vessels herein-before mentioned. In
the example the said vessels are cylindrical in form, and are mounted within
chambers C formed in a framing D, which sustains the two vessels, and also serves
to combine them into one complete apparatus. The said vessels are by preference

page_text: made of copper, but they may be made of other suitable material. Each vessel is
formed or provided at its mouth or upper end with a suitably strong flanch, and to
these flanches are secured covers e and f.
The meeting surfaces of the flanches and covers are or may be turned or faced
as is usual when a steam-tight joint is required, and washers of vulcanized
.caoutchouc, or other suitable means may be employed to obtain a sufficiently tight
joint. The cover is secured by means of screws or bolts.
The vessel A acts simply as a steam generator, and the cover of this vessel is
formed with an opening through which water can be supplied to the said vessel.
The said opening is formed in the lower part of a boss g, which is tapped to receive
a thumbscrew h. The lower end of this screw is coned, so that when screwed up
tight the orifice is tightly closed. The central part of the cover is cupped to
facilitate the introduction of the water. The vessel A is or may be provided with
a glass water guage, as indicated by s in Fig. 2. The vessel A is connected with
the vessel B by means of a screw coupling i.
The cover is secured to the vessel B by means of bolts K, which are hinged to
the flanch of the said vessel, and pass through slots in the edge of the said cover,
so that when the wing nuts on the said bolts are slackened, the bolts may be
turned down, and the cover be removed without removing the nuts from the bolts.
The vessel B is formed in two parts, an inner and an outer shell, that is to say,
it is formed with an inner shell or lining. The said inner shell is a little smaller
than the outer vessel, so that a space is left around and below the said shell. The
connection between the inner shell and the flanch is by preference steam-tight. In
the example the said inner shell is formed with a flanch, which is let into a recess in
the flanch of the outer vessel, so that the washer or packing renders the joint steam-
tight, whilst at the same time the inner shell can be lifted out of the outer vessel
when the cover f is removed. The vessel B is provided with a thermometer m and
a spring safety valve n of any suitable construction.
The safety valve is arranged to blow off at a moderate pressure, and if preferred
may be mounted on the vessel A.
The thermometer may be dispensed with if not considered to be necessary.
The articles or pieces to be vulcanized are placed within the inner shell of the
said vessel, and the cover fis secured by tightening the nuts on the bolts k. To
generate steam in the vessel A, and to superheat such steam in the vessel B, lamps
ör other suitable means are employed. Ordinary carburetted hydrogen burnt when
mixed with air is very suitable, as for example, the vessel may be heated by means
of ordinary Bunsen burners arranged below the openings o in the diaphragms p.
The heated gases arising from combustion ascend the annular chambers c, and
escape through orifices near the upper parts of these chambers, as indicated at r, r.
The steam generated in the vessel A. flows through the connection i into the space l,
and thus entirely surrounds the said inner shell, and descending enters the inner
space through an opening, or through openings q formed in the bottom of the said
shell; as indicated by the arrows. The steam whilst flowing through the said
annular space becomes superheated, and thus enters the inner space in a super-
heated state, and acts upon the articles or pieces which have been placed in the
inner space of the vessel B. Any water which may arise from the condensation of
steam in the space, or within the central space enclosed by the inner shell, flows
downwards towards the bottom of the space l, and becomes reconverted into
steam.
The two vessels may be separated when desirable by unscrewing the coupling i.
Various modifications in the apparatus may be made without departing materially
from the nature and intent of the Invention, as for example, the vessel A may have
any form suited to its office as a steam generator, and the inner shell in the vessel
B may be dispensed with; or the vessels A and B, or one of them, may be
horizontally arranged instead of being vertical as in the example; or the steam
may be superheated in its passage from A to B, as for example, it may flow through
a coil heated by a gas flame, or by other suitable means,

page_text: Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of the said Invention and
the manner in which the same is carried into effect, I would have it to be under-
stood that I claim,―
First. The apparatus formed, fitted, and acting, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth and indicated herein-before, and in and by the accompanying
Drawings.
Secondly. Apparatus having a vessel in which a low-pressure steam is generated,
and a second vessel, in which such steam is superheated, and in which the articles
or pieces to be vulcanized are placed, substantially as set forth and indicated.
And, lastly. The apparatus constructed, substantially as set forth and indicated,
for effecting the indicated objects of the Invention by the employment of low-
pressure superheated steam.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Dorendorff, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Signed and sealed by the said
Richard Dorendorff in the
presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentee,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
R. DORENDORFF. (L.S.)