IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SILICIOUS COPPER AND SILICIOUS BRONZE AND THE PREPARATION OF CERTAIN COMPOUNDS SUITABLE TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clayton Mewburn of 169 Fleet Street in the City
of London Patent Agent and Consulting Engineer for an Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SILICIOUS COPPER AND SILICIOUS
BRONZE AND THE PREPARATION OF CERTAIN COMPOUNDS SUITABLE TO BE
EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE Communicated to him from abroad
"
by Lazare Weiller of Angoulèmo France
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clayton Mewburn at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th November 1882,
JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN of 169 Fleet Street in the City of London, Patent
Agent and Consulting Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SILICIOUS COPPER AND SILICIOUS BRONZE AND THE PREPARATION OF CERTAIN
COMPOUNDS SUITABLE TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE" [Communi-
cated to him from abroad by Lazare Weiller of Angoulème France]
This Invention relates to the manufacture of silicious copper and silicious bronze
particularly suited for making electric conducting wires, as well as wires for other
purposes, machinery, parts of machinery and guns.
In the specification of former Letters Patent granted to me and dated 17th April
1882 N° 1821 for an invention communicated to me by Lazare Weiller I described
an economical process of manufacturing silicious copper and silicious bronzo on a
commercial scale. The said process has been found to give excellent results. The
present Invention relates however to substituting in certain cases for the materials
for producing the sodium necessary during the operation an amount of pure sodium
combined with tin when it is required to make silicious bronze, with copper when
it is required to make silicious copper, or even directly with bronze in special cases.
In this way there can be obtained on a commercial scale as much as 12 per cent of
silicium in an alloy by causing one part of sodium combined with tin, copper or
bronze to act upon 4 parts of fluosilicate of potass introduced directly into the alloy.
The new process in this form for making silicious copper or silicious bronze

page_text: necessitates a previous combination of tin and sodium, of copper and sodium, or
of bronze and sodium; these combinations I call respectively sodium-tin, sodium-
copper, and sodium-bronze. The present invention thus comprises the manufacture
of these compounds for the purpose of forming a combination of silicium with them
in the presence or by means of fluosilicate of potass. The said compounds are
inade by first inelting the tin copper or bronze in a crucible and stirring it while
the sodium is added thereto.
In certain cases however the sodium-tin, sodium-copper and sodium-bronze cin
be replaced by a mixture of the metals which would form, the alloy desired; pure
tin or pure copper or pure bronze would then be employed with pure sodium.
For some purposes pure sodium could also be used in addition to the sodium
compound.
The new process is therefore complementary to the process described in my said
former specification. It enables me to obtain not only wires adapted for telegraphis,
telephones, and the conduction of electric currents generally, but also wire for other
purposes, and also to manufacture machinery or parts of machinery and guns
which will offer great resistance to friction; blows, strain, and--other molecular
disturbance.
For the manufacture of the new compounds sodium-tin, sodium-copper and
sodium-bronze I generally employ from 10 to 30 parts of sodium to 100 parts of
tin, copper or bronze. The quantity of fluosilicate of potass which should be used
to cause the combination-of-the-silicium-with-the-sodium-tin,_copper_or_bronze is
about 3 to 4 times the weight of pure sodium contained in these inetals.
The materials thus combined-react-in-the-midst of-the-mass-itself during the
fusion of the alloy and by this process it is easy to get a considerable quantity of
silicium alloyed or mixed with the metal-
--
For the manufacture of the bronze the proportion of the tin may be considerably
varied from say about 0-20 to 15 per cent and for the manufacture-of-the-silicious-
copper and bronze the proportion of silicium, may be varied from say about 0-05 Lo
12 per cent.
The sodium compounds hereinbefore described although specially intended for
use in the manufacture of silicious copper and silicious bronze in the manner
explained, may also be used for other purposes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Clayton Mewburn in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th May 1883.
JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN of 169 Fleet Street in the City of London Patent
Agent and Consulting Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SILICIOUS COPPER AND SILICIOUS BRONZE, AND THE PREPARATION
COMPOUNDS SUITABLE TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE"
cation to me from abroad by Lazare Weiller of Angoulème Franco)
OF CERTAIN
(A communi-
This invention relates to the manufacture of silicious copper or silicious bronze
or silicious alloys of copper which are particularly suited for making electric
conducting wires as well as wires for other purposos, inachinery, parts of machinery
and guns.
In the specification of former Letters Patent granted to me and dated 17th April
1882 N° 1821 for an invention communicated to me by Lazare Weiller 1 described
an economical process of manufacturing silicious copper and silicious bronze on a
commercial scale. The said process has been found to give good results. The
present invention relates however to substituting in certain cases, for the materials
used in that process for producing the sodium necessary during the operation, an
amount of sodium, meaning thereby the metallic base of soda, combined with tin
or with tin and copper when it is required to make silicious bronze.
In this way
there can be obtained on a commercial scale as much as 12 per cent of silicium in
an alloy by causing one part of sodium combined with tin or with tin and copper
to act upon from 2 to 4 parts of fluosilicate of potass introduced directly into the
alloy. In the new process of making silicious bronze a previous combination of
tin with sodium is made and this combination I call "sodium-tin," and when I
wish to add copper I mix sodium-tin there with and the compound thus formed I
call "sodium-bronze."
The present invention thus comprises the manufacture of these compounds for
the purpose of subsequently forming a combination of silicium with them or one of
them in the presence of or by means of fluosilicate of potass when melted with
copper or bronze to form the required silicious alloys.
The said compound sodium-tin is made by first melting the tin in a crucible and
stirring the molten metal while the sodium is very gradually added thereto; the
compound thus made may then be allowed to cool and may be kept for use as
required. In order to make sodium-bronze I add to melted copper the desired
proportion of sodium-tin.
Instead of forming these compounds previously the process of manufacturing
silicious bronze may be modified by making a direct mixture of the metals which
would form the silicious bronzo; tin and sodium with the desired amount of
fluosilicate of potass would then be introduced into the melted copper or bronze; or
if the bronze already contained sufficient tin, only the sodium and fluosilicate
would bo introduced. In like manner if it is desired to make silicious copper, the
sodium is introduced with fluosilicate of potass into the melted copper. In all
cases where sodium is used uncombined with tin it must be introduced very
gradually into the melted metal. The fluosilicate should be introduced first, then
the sodium, and lastly the tin when this is to be added.
When a larger amount of sodium is required than can be conveniently combined
with the tin to be employed in the alloy, sodium in an uncombined state can be
used in conjunction with the sodium-tin or sodium-bronze, the sodium and the
sodium-tin or sodium-bronze being introduced with fluosilicate of potass into the
melted copper or bronze.

page_text: The new process is therefore complementary to the process described in my
said former specification. It enables me to obtain not only wires adapted for use
in connexion with telegraphs, telephones and the conduction of electricity generally,
but also wire for other purposes and also to manufacture machinery or parts of
machinery and guns which will offer great resistance to friction, blows, strain and
other molecular disturbance.
For the manufacture of the new compound sodium-tin, I generally employ from 5
to 30 parts of sodium to 100 parts of tin; for the manufacture of sodium-bronze I
generally use an amount of sodium-tin which will give an amount of tin equal to
about 0-10 to 15 per cent of the copper.
For the manufacture of silicious copper or silicious bronzo the quantity of
fluosilicate of potass which should be used to cause the combination of the silicium
with the sodium is about 2 to 4 times the weight of sodium employed whether
such sodium be introduced into the melted copper or bronze in a separate state or
(for the manufacture of silicious bronze) it be combined with tin in the form
which I call sodium-tin, or with tin and copper in the form of sodium bronze.
The materials thus added to the melted copper or bronze react in the midst of
the mass during the fusion of the alloy and by this process it is easy to get a
considerable quantity of silicium alloyed or mixed with the metal.
For the manufacture of silicious bronze the proportion of the tin may be con-
siderably varied from say about 0.10 to 15 per cent of the copper, and for the
manufacture of silicious-copper and bronze the proportion of silicium added thereto
may be varied from say about 0-05 to 12 per cent. In order to obtain 12 per cent
of silicium in the alloy I employ about 3 parts of fluosilicate of potass to 10 parts
of copper; a smaller quantity of the fluosilicate will give a proportionately smaller
_ percentage of silicium in the alloy.
The sodium compounds hereinbefore described, and-which-I call -sodium-tin and
sodium-bronze, although specially-intended-for-use-in-the-manufacture of silicious
bronze in the manner explained may also be used for other purposes.
Having now described the nature of the said invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed as communicated to me I declare that I claim :-
First: The manufacture, substantially as herein set forth, of the new compounds
which I have herein called sodium-tin and sodium-bronze.
Second-The manufacture of silicious bronze, substantially as berein set forth,
by introducing one of the compounds which I have herein called respectively
sodium-tin and sodiuin-bronze and fluosilicate of potass with or without an amount
of uncombined sodium into melted copper or bronze.
Third-The manufacture of silicious bronze, substantially as herein set forth, by
introducing the metal sodium and fluosilicate of potass with or without an amount
of tin into melted bronze or with tin into melted copper.
Fourth-The manufacture of silicious copper, substantially as herein set forth,
by introducing the metal sodium and fluosilicate of potass into melted copper.
In witness whercof I the said John Clayton Mewburn have hereunto set my
hand and seal this fifth day of May One thousand eight hundred and
eighty three.