Improved Manufacture of Moulded Articles or Material from Cork or similar Material,
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Manufacture of Moulded Articles or Material from Cork
or similar Material,
I, CARL GRÜNZWEIG, Doctor of Philosophy, of Ludwigshafen-on-Rhine, Bavaria,
Empire of Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
-
Practice and experiments have shown that a material intended for protecting
bodies whose temperature is under 32° F. against the influence of heat, must be
perfectly water-proof for as soon as there is any possibility of the circumambient
air penetrating the material, the dew point is reached and the water which con-
denses renders the material unfit for use if it is not water proof. Coating the
material with hydrofuge substances such as pitch and the like having proved
unreliable, materials have been made, for instance, of finely divided cork, coated
with hot liquid tar, asphalte, resin, and the like on the outer surface, and moulded
under a greater or lesser pressure, whereby the envelope of tar etc. acts at the same
time as a binding material in the object thus moulded.
These materials are indeed water proof but they have the disadvantage that
under the influence of heat they get out of shape and swell if they have not been
made under a sufficiently strong pressure. This may occur for instance during
transportation in the hot season or freighting to the tropical regions or when
the objects so covered are exposed directly to the action of the solar rays, or have
been blown through with steam for the purpose of cleaning them and generally
whenever the material is subjected to a high temperature.
Now in order to obtain a material which shall not only be water proof but also
capable of resisting deformation under high temperatures it must be made with a
skeleton or casing capable of resisting the action of heat and rendered water proof
by further treatment with pitch, rosin and the like. I take preferably cork and
manufacture therefrom by moulding, objects of varied forms in the same way
as cork blocks are made, using therefor any suitable binding material such as
paste, dextrine, glue, paper pulp, clay, gypsum, lime, infusorial earth, or mixtures
of such substances or a watery emulsion of tar and clay.
These objects are placed and left in a bath of hot pitch, asphalte, wax, stearin,
paraffin, ozokerit, tar or the like or mixtures of these substances until all
cavities are filled up therewith, or more accurately until all the particles of the
material are coated with a resinous like skin, the aforesaid binding material being
likewise surrounded or penetrated by the resin layer. The water-proof coating
may in this case either fill up the whole of the cavities or it may be removed for
instance by a centrifugal machine or other equivalent means, so as to produce
cavities between the particles of material, due regard having been paid thereto
when first making the moulded objects.
It is of the greatest advantage to first remove the air from the moulded objects
in a vacuum and to introduce the impregnating material under pressure.
Moulded articles or material of this description can also be applied advantage-

page_text: ously on heated objects which are largely exposed to the action of water, such as the
vessels used in breweries, paper mills and the like, or in places wherein moulded
pieces of cork would soon be destroyed under the influence of water and steam.
They can also be used for the covering of conduits in damp shafts, on bridges, etc.
In order to improve the aspect of the moulded articles and render them more
durable, they may be provided with a complete or partial covering of paper paste-
board or any other substance.
The fixing of this covering can be effected in various ways, preferably by attach-
ing it with pitch, resin and the like.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improved Manufacture of Moulded Articles or Material from Cork
or similar Material.
I, CARL GRÜNZWEIG, Doctor of Philosophy, of Ludwigshafen-on-Rhine, Bavaria,
Empire of Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:.
-
Practice and experiments have shown that a material intended for protecting
bodies whose temperature is under 32° F. against the influence of heat, must be
perfectly water proof for as soon as there is any possibility of the circumambient
air penetrating the material, the dew point is reached and the water which con-
denses renders the material unfit for use if it is not water proof. Coating the
material with hydrofuge substances such as pitch and the like having proved
unreliable, materials have been made, for instance, of finely divided cork, coated
with hot liquid tar, asphalte, resin and the like on the outer surface, and moulded
under a more or less great pressure, whereby the envelope of tar etc. acts at the
same time as a binding material in the object this moulded.
These materials are indeed water proof but they have the disadvantage that
under the influence of heat they get out of shape and swell if they have not been
moulded under a sufficiently strong pressure. This may occur for instance during
transportation in the hot season or during transit to tropical regions or when
the objects so covered are exposed directly to the action of the solar rays, or have
been blown through with steam for the purpose of cleaning them and generally
whenever the material is subjected to a high temperature.
Now in order to obtain a material which shall not only be water proof but also
capable of resisting deformation under high temperatures it must be made with a
skeleton or casing capable of resisting the action of heat and rendered water proof
by further treatment with pitch, rosin and the like. I take preferably cork and
manufacture therefrom by moulding, objects of varied forms in the same way
as cork blocks are made, using therefor any suitable binding material such as
paste, dextrine, glue, paper pulp, clay, gypsum, lime, infusiorial earth, or mixtures
of such substances or a liquid emulsion of tar and clay.
These objects are placed and left in a bath of hot pitch, asphalte, wax, stearin,
paraffin, ozokerit, tar or the like, or mixtures of these substances, until all
cavities are filled up therewith, or more accurately until all the particles of the
material are coated with a resinous like skin, the aforesaid binding material being
likewise surrounded or penetrated by the resin layer. The water-proof coating
may in this case either fill up the whole of the cavities or it may be removed for

page_text: instance by a centrifugal machine or other equivalent means, so as to produce
cavities between the particles of material, due regard having been paid thereto
when first making the moulded objects.
It is of the greatest advantage to first remove the air from the moulded objects
by a vacuum and to introduce the impregnating material under pressure,
which may amount to several atmospheres.
Moulded articles or material of this description can also be applied advantage-
ously on heated objects which are largely exposed to the action of water, such
as the vessels used in breweries, paper mills and the like, or in places wherein
moulded pieces of cork would soon be destroyed under the influence of water
and steam. They can also be used for the covering of conduits in damp shafts,
on bridges etc.
In order to improve the aspect of the moulded articles and render them more
durable, they may be provided with a complete or partial covering of paper paste-
board or any other substance.
The fixing of this covering can be effected in various ways, preferably by attach-
ing it with pitch, resin and the like.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A process of manufacturing moulded cork articles capable of resisting the
action of water and heat, consisting in forming the articles of cork particles and
beat resisting binding material, impregnating the heat resisting binding material
with hot liquid pitch (or its equivalent), under pressure until the pores of the
binding material are completely filled up, substantially as described.
2. A process of manufacturing moulded cork articles capable of resisting the
action of water and heat, consisting in forming the articles of cork particles and
heat resisting binding material, impregnating the heat resisting binding material
with hot liquid pitch (or its equivalent), under pressure until the pores of the
binding material are completely filled up, the process being carried out in a
closed vessel in which a vacuum is created before the introduction of the pitch,
substantially as described.
3. A process of manufacturing moulded cork articles capable of resisting the
action of water and heat, consisting in forming the articles of cork particles and
heat resisting binding material, impregnating the heat resisting binding material
with hot liquid pitch (or its equivalent), under pressure until the pores of the
binding material are completely filled up, the process being carried out in a
closed vessel;in which a vacuum is created before the introduction of the pitch,
the latter being afterwards subjected therein to a pressure which may amount
to several atmospheres, substantially as described.
4. Moulded articles impervious to heat and water, substantially as described.
Dotal the 20th day of June 1800
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.